Chapter Ninety-Five: Standing by Idly

If the visitor had been Cang Ling, Hu Mo would not have been surprised at all. But this time, the one who had come was his own grandfather, and that truly astonished him.

Hu Yihu rode atop a massive Golden Lion Beast, his entire body radiating the aura of a born sovereign. Though he had not released his Battle Soul, his strength alone was already enough to stand against one of the four on equal terms.

Hu Mo noticed the other two and was shocked to discover that both of them possessed power no weaker than Hu Yihu’s. This left Hu Mo rather dazed. Since when had Battle Emperors become so commonplace?

“What is going on? Why did that old fox come out himself? Grandson? Could that brat be Hu Yihu’s pampered grandson?” The leading old man muttered in astonishment. This time, he was genuinely stunned.

“Two elder brothers, those water fiends dared to run into Flame City. It seems you have both been far too negligent. Now I have a good enough reason to make a move.” Hu Yihu said with a smile, though his attention never left Hu Mo.

Seeing the Chaos Fire on Hu Mo’s body, he had first been surprised, but when he saw Hu Mo’s current condition, his heart could not help but tighten. To endure the siege of four Battle Emperors for so long was no small feat.

“Haha, Brother Hu, then for both public and private reasons we have no choice but to act!” One of the old men beside Hu Yihu, riding a Crimson Fire Qilin, laughed heartily. Fire Battle Power streamed endlessly from his body. Hu Mo could clearly feel that this old man’s strength was leagues above his grandfather’s; he even suspected that the man had already reached the level of a Battle Saint.

The old man on the Fire Void Beast beside him was no less formidable. Though he was not of fire attribute, among the three of them he was an extremely terrifying existence. A fifth-rank wood-attribute Battle Emperor, he could enhance the power of fire-attribute fighters by one or even two levels, and in such an environment his strength was nearly inexhaustible. With that, even though the four water-attribute Battle Emperors held the advantage in elemental restraint, Hu Yihu’s side still had the upper hand in sheer strength.

Moreover, Hu Mo had already tied down all of their offensive power. At this point, if Hu Yihu and the others charged together, the four of them would have absolutely no room to resist.

Hu Mo looked at the three of them, and tears, snot, and drool all came pouring down at once. They had arrived far too timely, and their entrance alone, so impressive and so full of swagger, left a deep impression on Hu Mo.

His attention was mainly fixed on the battle beasts they rode. From his understanding of such beasts, Hu Yihu’s Golden Lion Beast was at the very least a high-tier sixth-rank beast, equivalent to the peak of a human Battle King. The other two were both standard seventh-rank battle beasts, creatures that even ordinary human Battle Emperors could not easily subdue. Thinking of this, Hu Mo’s expression grew even more solemn. With such powerful experts in Flame City, could his plan truly proceed smoothly?

“This is troublesome. Yan Jiulin and Yan Jiuyan, even those two old monsters have shown up. Fellow disciples, it seems we have a problem.” Han Xiaotian said gravely, his expression turning very severe.

“What is there to fear, Brother Han? We have always heard how strong they are, supposedly able to suppress our Four Ice Dragons without effort. I refuse to believe it!” Leng Qiu said sharply, showing no concern for the rising aura on Hu Yihu’s side.

“Yes, Brother Han, Brother Leng is right. How can we know the outcome if we do not fight? Maybe those two fellows are only famous in name and have no real ability.” Bing Jiudi sneered as he spoke, all the while directing the massive ice dragon to launch another assault at Hu Mo.

Bai Bing, who had remained silent the entire time, merely nodded and still said nothing.

Han Xiaotian’s heart hardened as well. He shouted, “Fine! Since the three of you are not afraid, if I hesitate any longer, I will truly bring shame upon our Four Ice Dragons! Let us deal with this brat first!”

With a fierce cry, Han Xiaotian launched a violent attack at Hu Mo without warning. Hu Mo immediately cursed their entire ancestral line of women in his heart at the fastest speed possible. This was simply absurd. The real powerhouses were clearly over there, so why were they fixated on him?

Hu Yihu was anxious at once. His Fire Battle Soul instantly manifested, and with the Golden Lion Beast in coordination, his aura surged to the extreme. As for Yan Jiulin and Yan Jiuyan, although they had already released their Battle Souls, they did not seem inclined to act.

“Hey, you two old brothers, how long do you plan to keep watching the show? My grandson is taking on four alone!” Hu Yihu shouted, his tone turning somewhat displeased.

“Brother Hu, don’t be impatient. Look carefully and you will understand. Your pampered grandson can still hold on for a while longer! Chaos Fire, who would have thought your pampered grandson would actually possess the legendary Chaos Fire, the very flame said to belong only to the Battle God? Truly unexpected!” Yan Jiuyan said with a smile. Though his face wore one, Hu Yihu could tell that this was absolutely not his true intent. That faint killing intent made Hu Yihu’s expression turn far uglier.

“Heh, Brother Yan, I only just learned of this myself. To be frank, Mo’er suddenly gaining such strength is probably related to his master. I even suspect that this Chaos Fire was gifted by his master.” Hu Yihu’s voice was extremely low, his expression likewise very solemn.

“Even Chaos Fire can be gifted? Could his master be the Fire God himself? Brother Hu, boasting too much will make it hard to win people over!” Yan Jiulin sneered, his tone becoming rather unfriendly as well.

Hu Yihu’s expression changed abruptly. The meaning of these two old men was very clear: they did not believe his words. Worried that the Hu family’s power might be growing too quickly, they wanted to borrow the hands of the four men to kill Hu Mo, and then make their move afterward. Not only would they eliminate four enemies of the Fire Heaven Empire, they would also sever the Hu family’s hope. How could such a double-edged scheme possibly escape Hu Yihu’s eyes?

Hu Yihu also gave a cold laugh. “Two elder brothers, we have known each other for decades. Do we really have so little trust? Do you want to watch my grandson die at their hands?”

Hu Yihu’s aura suddenly rose, and the Golden Lion Beast beneath him gave an excited, long cry. It had not been this exhilarated in a very long time.

Yan Jiulin smiled faintly. “Brother Hu, how can you think that way? We only want to see just how powerful the Chaos Fire truly is. We are merely curious. If that little fellow really cannot hold on, we will surely make a move. We have been friends for so many years. If you say such things, are you not also distrusting us?”

With a single sentence, Yan Jiulin blocked Hu Yihu completely. His smiling face carried a hidden trace of darkness, and Hu Yihu’s heart immediately turned cold.

“Since the two elder brothers say so, then this younger brother will go and fight them first. You can enjoy the show properly!” Hu Yihu sneered. With a thought, the Golden Lion Beast charged forward, and the massive Battle Soul behind Hu Yihu ran madly after it. Along the path, the surrounding trees were swept up by flickering flames.

Yan Jiulin and Yan Jiuyan watched Hu Yihu’s departing figure, both of them frowning tightly. Being born of the same mother, they were usually in perfect harmony, even in their gloom.

“Big brother, what should we do? Are we really going to let them die just like this? Hu Yihu holds such a high position in the empire. If he dies, the court will surely be thrown into turmoil. Sigh... but if they do not die, the Hu family’s power is simply too terrifying. That is Chaos Fire, capable of burning everything to ash!” Yan Jiulin sighed softly. Though he and Yan Jiuyan had made that decision moments ago, he had always considered matters more deeply than his elder brother, and could not help growing worried.

Yan Jiuyan nodded and said in a low voice, “What you say is reasonable, but in this situation we are truly riding a tiger and cannot dismount. The Hu family actually concealed such power. When something is abnormal, there must be something monstrous behind it. Their intentions are to be condemned, and it is no wonder we have turned ruthless. As for that talk about a master, that excuse sounds far too flimsy. If even Chaos Fire can be bestowed, is his master supposed to be a god?”

Yan Jiuyan sneered and shook his head dismissively. Looking at the grandfather and grandson in the battle ring fighting desperately, an inexplicable sense of pleasure suddenly welled up within him. What he hated most in this life was being deceived, especially being deceived for more than ten years. Not only had he been deceived, but so had the emperor, and the whole world besides. How could he possibly endure that?

Just as he was feeling thoroughly pleased and preparing to enjoy the spectacle, a white figure strangely drifted past him. By the time he reacted, he and Yan Jiulin were already standing at the center of the battle ring, directly facing the ice dragon that had been gathering force for the strike.

“You guessed right. I am not a god, but even gods are afraid of me!” Cang Ling’s voice suddenly rang out. The ice dragon controlled by the Four Ice Dragons directly crashed toward the two of them, and the brothers’ faces instantly turned livid.

Using a spatial transfer technique to move them both into the battle ring, and doing so without them sensing a thing, what sort of power could that be if not divine?

Seeing the ice dragon rushing at him, Yan Jiuyan immediately roared, “Wood and fire give birth to one another!”

In less than a second, Yan Jiulin’s wood-attribute Battle Power was hastily poured into Yan Jiuyan’s body. Yan Jiuyan, like a fire god bathed in flames, erupted with terrifying fire Battle Power, forcibly blocking the ice dragon before him.

Yan Jiulin swept his gaze across the battle formation and was horrified to discover that Hu Yihu and the others had completely vanished. The situation had now changed into the Four Ice Dragons battling the two of them.

Looking far into the distance, Yan Jiulin suddenly saw Hu Yihu and the others standing where they had been, while two people now stood atop his and his elder brother’s battle beasts respectively: one was Hu Mo, and the other was a woman they had never seen before. She was smiling at them, her lips moving slowly.

Reading the shape of her lips, he understood Cang Ling’s words. In that instant, his face turned deathly pale.

“Rest easy and go. I will take care of these two little battle beasts for you.”