Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

'These girls... I told them not to come looking for me, but they came anyway. What a troublesome bunch!' Ling Fei squatted down, his gaze sweeping across the three girls' faces. But a faint smile clearly appeared on his face. No matter what, the fact that these three had risked their lives to find him was a testament to their loyalty.

After all, they had been in mortal danger when the Demon Beasts ambushed them earlier.

It wasn't hard to imagine how deep their friendship ran for them to venture deep into the mountain range just for Ling Fei's sake.

So, as his eyes swept over the three of them and a smile graced his lips, Ling Fei's heart was filled with immense gratitude.

'Having friends like these in life... isn't that a form of happiness in itself?'

'No matter what the future holds, as long as they're safe, it was all worth it.' Then, Ling Fei's gaze grew resolute.

For these friends, he too was willing to shed his blood and risk his life.

"Thank goodness they're okay." After muttering this, Ling Fei's brow relaxed, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

If anything had happened to them because of him, he would have been consumed by guilt for the rest of his life.

Then, with a thought from his Heart Spirit, a flash of light flickered from his Sodium Ring, and a waterskin appeared, filled with fresh water.

Ling Fei sprinkled the water on the girls' faces.

As the cool water touched her skin, the unconscious Shangguan Yurou's eyelids twitched, and her eyes finally fluttered open.

Afterward, Huang Xiaoman and Mu Xue also opened their eyes.

"Young Master Ling!"

"Ling Fei!"

When the three women woke up, they were dazed and slightly dizzy at first. But as their blurry eyes focused on Ling Fei beside them, understanding dawned.

Then, all three cried out in alarm, their faces filled with tension and concern.

They still remembered being surrounded by Liu Ming and his men. Waking up now, they understood they had fallen victim to their Bloodline Eye Technique.

"Young Master Ling, are you alright?" Shangguan Yurou asked, gazing at Ling Fei with a face full of concern.

She could still picture the scene of Ling Fei confronting more than twenty young men.

"I'm fine. Nothing happened to me," Ling Fei said with a smile, then helped the three of them to their feet one by one.

After getting up, Shangguan Yurou, Huang Xiaoman, and Mu Xue saw the corpses littering the valley.

"They're all dead?" Seeing this, the three of them were shaken to the core, their faces etched with shock.

These were twenty-four masters of the Innate Realm!

So many experts, yet all of them were now lying here as corpses.

"You killed them all by yourself?" Shangguan Yurou asked in disbelief.

Beside her, Mu Xue and Huang Xiaoman were also utterly astounded.

Fighting Demon Beasts and fighting Cultivators were two completely different things.

Demon Beasts, though powerful, didn't know Martial Arts and weren't as agile in their attacks.

Cultivators were skilled in powerful Martial Arts. If they attacked together, the result would be terrifying.

"Yes." Ling Fei nodded. "These people went to great lengths to kill me. If I hadn't killed them, they would have killed me."

He seemed indifferent about it.

After experiencing one assassination attempt after another, Ling Fei had clearly begun to adapt to this cruel world of cultivation.

He was no longer the naive youth who had just left Longtan Town.

"These people did indeed deserve to die," Shangguan Yurou said with a slight nod.

Although Ling Fei didn't say it, she could imagine the immense danger he had faced.

The fact that they were now safe and sound was entirely due to Ling Fei fighting with his life on the line. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Were those Demon Wolves that attacked us earlier also lured by these people?" Shangguan Yurou asked after nodding.

"Yes," Ling Fei nodded. "That Wang Dongyang used Seven Fragrance Demon-Luring Powder to lure the Demon Beasts and ambush us."

"I see. I thought you were acting a bit strange earlier. Did you come out here alone this time to settle things with them?" Shangguan Yurou said.

"These people were determined to kill me. If I didn't go out alone, I would only have endangered you all. Since that was the case, it was better to settle it once and for all," Ling Fei said with a smile.

"I understand." Shangguan Yurou nodded. Then, her gaze swept across the area, and when her eyes fell upon the corpses of Wang Dongyang, Liu Ming, and the others, she frowned. With a grave expression, she said, "But Wang Dongyang, Liu Ming, and the others all had extraordinary backgrounds. With them dead, I'm afraid this will become very troublesome."

"Wang Dongyang was the son of the Marquis of Eatern, and his aunt is the current Empress. If they find out about this, the consequences will be unimaginable," Mu Xue added, also frowning.

The Empress... she was the mother of the Empire, a figure who commanded respect from all under heaven.

A single word from her could shake the entire Empire.

"And Liu Ming's grandfather is a Primordial Pill Realm expert."

These were major figures in the Empire. Any one of them could cause monumental shifts.

Now, Ling Fei had killed their descendants. One could only imagine the storm this would stir up in the Empire.

"Before anyone else finds out, we should leave this place quickly. That way, no one will know it was Ling Fei's doing," said Huang Xiaoman.

She too was worried for Ling Fei.

"It's too late," Ling Fei said with a bitter smile.

"Oh?" Hearing this, Mu Xue and the others froze.

But Ling Fei just smiled faintly and glanced toward the opposite hillside.

Seeing this, Shangguan Yurou, Mu Xue, and Huang Xiaoman immediately followed his gaze.

There, figures flickered as a group of Innate Realm Cultivators rushed over.

In the blink of an eye, they appeared at the foot of the mountain.

In fact, Ling Fei had sensed their arrival the moment Shangguan Yurou and the others woke up.

Yet, he was incredibly calm.

'In this life, there are things you must do, and things you must not.'

'In this matter, my conscience is clear. I acted according to my heart, repaying enmity with enmity. As for the consequences, they are beyond my control. Thinking too much about it would only bring more trouble. After all, even if I hadn't acted, what was bound to happen would happen sooner or later. My only worry is for my adoptive father and Xue Xi.'

'I hope Adoptive Father can still contend with a Primordial Pill Realm Cultivator and then take Xue Xi away from the Empire.' Ling Fei's eyes narrowed as he stared at the people rushing down toward them. He thought to himself, 'If Adoptive Father can hold his own against a Primordial Pill Realm Cultivator, then I can die without any regrets.'

'At least, they would still be alive.'

And now, he quietly awaited the coming storm.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

One by one, the Cultivators appeared in the valley, their movements like phantoms.

"That's really the Dongyang Crown Prince!"

"And Young Master Liu Jingyun!"

"Brother Jingsheng is there too!"

"They're all dead!" As these people rushed down, a single glance was enough for them to recognize the familiar faces among the corpses in the valley.

In truth, they had already seen the bodies below from the mountaintop and had noticed some clues.

But without a closer look, they couldn't be certain.

That was why they had rushed over so anxiously. Now that their fears were confirmed, everyone was utterly shocked.

Most of these victims were disciples from great clans. For them to have perished here was difficult to accept.

"Heavens, the Dongyang Crown Prince is dead! The Dongyang Crown Prince is dead! If the Marquis of Eatern and the Empress find out, what will happen?" someone exclaimed, frozen in terror.

"Will we be implicated?" someone else asked, their face full of worry.

"Ling Fei! It was Ling Fei who killed Young Master Dongyang!"

"It must be him! I just saw him kill five people in a row!" After their initial terror, the crowd locked their gazes onto Ling Fei.

From the mountaintop, they had seen Ling Fei in action.

This group of people included students from Tianyan Academy, as well as Celestial River Academy and the Royal Academy.

They had been led here in separate teams by Wang Dongyang, Liu Ming, Liu Yuan, and others.

But the day before yesterday, they encountered Demon Beasts, and Wang Dongyang and his group had used the excuse of scouting ahead to leave them.

Now they had caught up, only to discover this scene.

"This Ling Fei killed the Dongyang Crown Prince! Let's attack together and avenge him!" a young man from the Wang Clan at the lead shouted, his eyes turning cold.

This was a young man at the Late Stage of Innate.

"That's right! If we avenge the Dongyang Crown Prince, we can atone for our failure!"

"Alright, let's attack and avenge the Dongyang Crown Prince!" Immediately, the people behind him all echoed in agreement.

The Dongyang Crown Prince was dead. If they killed Ling Fei and avenged him, not only could they atone for their failure, but they might also find their own paths to power within the Empire and enjoy numerous benefits. For them, this was perhaps an opportunity. At this thought, killing intent flashed in everyone's eyes.