Chapter 1617: Consumed by Jealous Rage
While Ling Feng remained in seclusion studying the Divine Desolation Treasure Box, news of his challenge to the Unrivaled Young Emperor had already shaken all of Dongling Immortal Pool.
Even the arrangements for Ling Feng's promotion into the inner sect were temporarily set aside, specifically to give him these three days to prepare fully for the coming battle.
This fight would become Ling Feng's final battle as an outer sect disciple.
It also meant that he was destined to become the strongest, most monstrous outer sect disciple in the history of Dongling Immortal Pool.
"That Ling Feng defeated the First Tianjian in the outer sect, and now he wants to challenge a Young Emperor of the inner sect?"
"Hehe, now this is interesting. I heard Ling Feng and Fairy Qingping grew close over time. He's probably fighting this battle to win her."
"Oh? There's a story like that? If it's true, then this is a man going to war for beauty. That takes courage."
"To be fair, Fairy Qingping is breathtakingly beautiful. She really is the kind of beauty that brings calamity."
"..."
For a time, the entire Dongling Immortal Pool buzzed with heated discussion.
As rumors spread, the story became more outrageous with each retelling.
By the end of it, the whole affair somehow turned into a melodramatic tale of Ling Feng and the Unrivaled Young Emperor fighting over a woman.
In the Heavenly Realm, within the Star Throne region, every expert ranked on the Creation Star Ranking possessed a throne of their own.
As for the Ten Young Emperors, they were set apart from the other ninety, seated high above in a separate region where spiritual energy was even denser, like emperors overlooking countless inner sect disciples below.
At this moment, several imposing men sat upon their thrones in the area reserved for the top ten.
Their auras were deep and powerful, their eyes sharp as lightning, and they quietly discussed the matter among themselves.
Clearly, Ling Feng's challenge to the Unrivaled Young Emperor had even drawn the attention of these elite inner sect figures who also bore the title of Young Emperor.
Among them sat a white-haired young man with profound eyes and a faint smile curling at his lips.
"I've heard that Ling Feng entered Dongling Immortal Pool less than a year ago, rose all the way from the outer sect, and later earned a place among the Heaven Slaying Ten Absolutes in the Hall of War. It seems his battle with Junior Brother Qin will be very interesting."
"Hehe, Senior Brother Murong, are you perhaps interested in challenging Ling Feng yourself?"
This Senior Brother Murong was none other than Murong Bai, ranked third among Dongling Immortal Pool's Ten Young Emperors.
As for the first and second ranked Young Emperors, they were elusive as divine dragons, rarely seen and impossible to track.
Since the Unrivaled Young Emperor had crippled his own cultivation and started over from scratch, he currently ranked eighth in the inner sect.
Yet many believed that with his talent, he was more than capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the top three.
Now that the Unrivaled Young Emperor had cultivated successfully and broken back into the Great Emperor Realm, the first seat he would likely covet was Murong Bai's position as the Third Young Emperor.
Murong Bai remained calm and lightly shook his head.
"At present, he is still too weak. He is not my match. Beating him would prove nothing."
"Senior Brother Murong, you shouldn't underestimate him. Even Yang Zhen, one of the older Heaven Slaying Ten Absolutes, fell to Ling Feng's hands. This little junior brother is far from simple."
Murong Bai only smiled faintly, utterly composed.
"I've heard all of that, but he is still nowhere near my equal. Before anything else, he must first get past Junior Brother Qin."
"Oh? Then Senior Brother Murong truly doesn't believe Junior Brother Qin has what it takes to challenge your place as the Third Young Emperor?"
"Dongling Immortal Pool hides dragons and crouching tigers everywhere. Junior Brother Qin may advance by leaps and bounds, but I, Murong Bai, have never relaxed for even a moment."
A sharp gleam flashed in Murong Bai's eyes.
In the next instant, an overwhelmingly terrifying aura swept outward.
The other Young Emperor experts all changed expression in shock.
The top three of the inner sect truly were monsters, every last one of them.
...
Across Dongling Immortal Pool, winds of excitement stirred in every corner.
Everywhere one went, people were talking about Ling Feng challenging the Unrivaled Young Emperor.
The rumor that Ling Feng was fighting for Fairy Qingping's sake spread even faster, becoming the hottest topic of all.
As one of the people at the center of it, the Unrivaled Young Emperor was furious beyond words.
After returning, the first thing he did was interrogate Fairy Qingping, demanding to know whether anything improper had happened between her and Ling Feng.
Under his relentless questioning, Fairy Qingping dared not hide anything and truthfully told him everything.
That included how Ling Feng had sucked the poison from her chest wound to save her life.
Upon hearing this, the Unrivaled Young Emperor felt not the slightest gratitude for the fact that Fairy Qingping had risked her life to find him.
Instead, he flew into a towering rage and cursed her as shameless and wanton.
Fairy Qingping tried desperately to explain, but to the Unrivaled Young Emperor, every word sounded like an excuse.
He was like a maddened bull, so furious that he wanted nothing more than to kill the woman who had brought him humiliation.
Her heart filled with bitterness.
Only now did Fairy Qingping finally understand.
The perfect Unrivaled Young Emperor she had worshipped in her heart had never existed.
It had all been her own fantasy.
She suddenly realized that between them lay a crack that had long been there, one she had deliberately ignored all this time.
Before, she had no other man to compare him to, so in her eyes, the Unrivaled Young Emperor had seemed flawless.
But after spending months beside Ling Feng, she found herself comparing the two without meaning to.
The Unrivaled Young Emperor had never cared for her feelings.
Ling Feng, despite appearing cold and distant, had quietly protected her at every turn.
Again and again, in ways so subtle she barely noticed, he brought her warmth.
Compared to him, the Unrivaled Young Emperor was nothing more than a selfish hypocrite, a false gentleman who cared only for himself.
"You slut. I should never have allowed you near that brat in the first place. Look what it's become. You've made me lose face!"
The Unrivaled Young Emperor cared nothing for Fairy Qingping's feelings.
The only thing he cared about was the rumor spreading wildly outside, that his woman had grown close to another man.
Even if it was baseless gossip, the thought of wearing such humiliation drove him mad.
Sitting opposite him, Fairy Qingping trembled.
Her heart was bitter beyond words.
She stared at the man before her in despair and no longer bothered to explain.
The innocent remain innocent.
Nothing improper had ever happened between her and Ling Feng.
Why keep speaking?
But when she fell silent, the Unrivaled Young Emperor only grew more enraged, taking her silence as admission.
"Good. Very good!"
He laughed coldly, fury blazing in his eyes.
"If that's how it is, then I'll grant your wish. If that brat can walk off the challenge stage alive, that is!"
Fairy Qingping's heart tightened painfully.
Tears filled her eyes as she said, "Senior Brother Qin, even if you misunderstand me and think I'm some shameless woman, I still don't want to see anything happen to you. This challenge... you should refuse it."
During those days in Dongxianchuan, she had seen with absolute clarity just how terrifying Ling Feng truly was.
Even the current Unrivaled Young Emperor was likely no match for him.
"Refuse?"
Hearing that, the Unrivaled Young Emperor exploded.
He grabbed Fairy Qingping by the hair and roared, "What, you think I'll lose? You think I'll be defeated by that filthy little bastard?"
"Ah!"
Yu Qingping cried out in pain.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at him in utter despair.
Then, gritting her teeth, she said, "He is stronger than you. At the very least, he has never taken his anger out on a woman!"
"Good! Excellent!"
The Unrivaled Young Emperor glared at her coldly, forcibly suppressing the madness raging in his heart.
He pointed toward the door.
"Get out. Three days from now, I'll show you exactly how miserably that brat dies!"
Yu Qingping clenched her delicate fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Crying, she rushed out of the great hall.
She had nothing left to say to a man whose mind had been utterly consumed by jealousy.
The Unrivaled Young Emperor trembled with fury, murderous intent filling every thought in his mind.
Staring at Yu Qingping's retreating figure, he threw back his head and let out a thunderous roar.
"Ling Feng, I will kill you!"
His furious bellow shook nearly all of Dongling Immortal Pool.
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