When Heavenly Sun Douluo asked him to give him some face and let the matter end there, Jing Hongchen laughed.
"Sure. Then leave your life behind."
When he heard Jing Hongchen say "sure," Heavenly Sun Douluo immediately sighed in relief, but the second half of Jing Hongchen's words instantly put him on guard as though facing a formidable enemy.
As Jing Hongchen finished speaking, dozens of Soul Guidance Ray cannons floated into the air and unleashed a barrage on Heavenly Sun Douluo.
Heavenly Sun Douluo immediately unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar to contend with Jing Hongchen.
But in mere moments, Heavenly Sun Douluo was completely on the back foot.
Even at level 93, Jing Hongchen had been on par with level 98 existences like Xuan Zi and Du Busi, let alone now that his cultivation had reached level 94.
Jing Hongchen had absolutely no trouble fighting a mere level 97. Even with Yan Shaozhe helping Heavenly Sun Douluo on the sidelines, Jing Hongchen still held the upper hand firmly.
Watching the practically one-sided battle in the sky, Su Yun remained silent.
He really wanted to ask Heavenly Sun Douluo, What the *** are you showing off for?
If you had the strength to interfere, that would be one thing, but with your measly strength, what were you butting in for? Weren't you just asking for a beating?
Did you really not have the slightest fucking clue how strong you were?
In the sky, Heavenly Sun Douluo struggled to hold on. As a level 97 Titled Douluo, he had lived for far too many years-more precisely, he had lived in the Dou Ling Empire for far too many years.
And the strongest person in the Dou Ling Empire was him, a level 97 Titled Douluo. With his absolutely overwhelming strength, even the emperor of the Dou Ling Empire had to observe the etiquette of a junior toward him, while the other Titled Douluo respectfully addressed him as their senior.
On the surface, the entire Dou Ling Empire belonged to its emperor, but in reality, whenever Heavenly Sun Douluo spoke, the emperor's opinion was no different from a fart.
Being the strongest for so many years had long accustomed him to resolving everything through his prestige. Thus, when Jin Hongchen crushed Yan Shaozhe, he intervened, not wanting the Dou Ling Empire to have trouble answering to Shrek.
With his level 97 strength suddenly entering the battlefield, he had easily rescued Yan Shaozhe, but he had never expected his instinctive words to dig him into a pit.
Right now, Heavenly Sun Douluo really wanted to tell Jing Hongchen, "I was only joking just now."
But clearly, Jing Hongchen probably did not want to hear him speak.
Heavenly Sun Douluo desperately needed reinforcements from the Dou Ling Empire now, but even he, a level 97 Titled Douluo, was being suppressed, let alone the other Titled Douluo.
Although the Dou Ling Emperor had already dispatched other Titled Douluo to help, every one of them waited for someone else to act first. After all, judging by the combat strength Jing Hongchen had unleashed, Titled Douluo below the Super Douluo level really might be killed instantly.
They had all cultivated for so many years and finally managed to become Titled Douluo, ruling over their own domains in the Dou Ling Empire. Even the emperor had to respectfully address them as seniors and give them some face. Who would willingly step forward and truly risk their life?
Thus, the emperor had given his order, and they had agreed, but the Titled Douluo coming to Heavenly Sun Douluo's rescue still failed to appear.
Seeing the other Titled Douluo making excuses, while Jing Hongchen was also guarding against them joining the battle, Heavenly Sun Douluo knew he could not go on without doing something.
"Please calm your anger, Hall Master Hongchen. I acted rashly just now. Our Dou Ling Empire is willing to offer compensation for this matter."
Heavenly Sun Douluo's voice softened. At this point, he could no longer worry about face. After all, face was less important than his life.
And as Heavenly Sun Douluo finished speaking, Jing Hongchen finally reined in his offensive.
"Tell me, then. What compensation can you offer?"
Seeing that Jing Hongchen really had stopped attacking, Heavenly Sun Douluo finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although, with Jing Hongchen's strength, he ultimately could not contend with the entire Dou Ling Empire.
If the Dou Ling Empire truly reached the point of annihilation and fought desperately, Jing Hongchen would face even more risks, especially since he would still have to pass through Heavenly Soul or the Star Luo Empire afterward to return to the Sun Moon Empire.
But while Jing Hongchen lacked the strength to contend with all the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, killing him was indeed quite easy.
After this battle, he somewhat understood why the Illustrious Virtue Hall could sit at the same table as the Body Sect and Shrek Academy.
Its raw strength really was not something a level 97 like him could hope to measure up to.
And just how many level 97s were there on the entire Douluo Continent?
Even counting those living in seclusion, whether there were five was still unknown.
"Thirty kinds of rare metals possessed by our Dou Ling Empire, one hundred thousand jin of each."
Heavenly Sun Douluo gritted his teeth as he spoke. The Dou Ling Empire's rare metals were limited to begin with. Thirty kinds, and one hundred thousand jin of each-after handing over that much, there would hardly be any rare metals left in the imperial treasury.
But to stay alive, Heavenly Sun Douluo could not concern himself with anything else right now. As long as the green hills remained, there would be no fear of running out of firewood.
If a level 97 Titled Douluo like him fell, the Dou Ling Empire would have even less backing.
"Agreed."
Jing Hongchen was surprised by Heavenly Sun Douluo's offer. He had not expected Heavenly Sun Douluo to be so generous. Ultimately, Jing Hongchen knew his own limits too.
Although he was strong, facing all the original Douluo Three Kingdoms while protecting the students would indeed make it somewhat difficult to keep everyone safe and sound.
But now that Heavenly Sun Douluo had offered something worthwhile, ending the fight was not out of the question. After all, with Ring Detonation, Jing Hongchen felt his cultivation could rise further. Eliminating whatever enemies he had a little later was not a bad option for him.
After Jing Hongchen agreed to stop, Heavenly Sun Douluo finally sighed in relief.
Yan Shaozhe, meanwhile, felt somewhat chilled with fear. He had known the Illustrious Virtue Hall would not be weak, but he had never expected it to be this strong.
Once he returned, he had to inform Shrek's higher-ups that the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament absolutely could not have someone at level 95 like him leading the team. To be safe, it would be best to have Xuan Zi come instead. Otherwise, if Jing Hongchen attacked again, one or two Shrek students might well die.
"I was in the wrong just now, but your student should stop too, shouldn't he? This is a tournament, not a place for killing!"
Seeing Zhang Lexuan beaten within an inch of her life, alive solely because Su Yun wanted to torture her to death and thus had not killed her immediately, Yan Shaozhe hurriedly spoke up.
Su Yun glanced at Yan Shaozhe, raised his foot, and planted it on Zhang Lexuan's neck. With just a little more force, he could snap her neck at any moment.
"So you know this isn't a place for killing too? Then what were you doing when she tried to kill my sister just now? Only now that your student is about to be killed do you remember this isn't a place for killing? Isn't it a little late?"
"But your sister is fine, isn't she?"
"So he isn't a pile of minced meat now, but if anything had really happened to my sister, Zhang Lexuan wouldn't have been the only one in trouble."
Snow Empress: "..."