"What...?!!!"
A collective gasp spread through the crowd. Even the Demonic Sea Tribe disciples widened their eyes in disbelief.
Tens of meters away, space rippled once again before Tony and Emma reappeared safely beside Ancestor Long. Emma slowly released Tony’s hand while the crimson wings behind her dissolved into countless particles of light.
Tony blinked twice before looking at Emma with genuine surprise. "I love you, Wifey," he muttered with an appreciative smile.
Emma snorted softly and turned her face away. "Don’t misunderstand. I only refused to let someone die before repaying my vengeance."
Unfortunately, the Demonic Sea Tribe showed no intention of stopping.
"Kill them!" someone roared from their ranks.
A second wave of martial techniques erupted into the sky, even fiercer than before.
Seeing this, Ancestor Long’s calm expression instantly disappeared. His aged eyes became ice-cold. The old man stepped forward and slammed the bottom of his ancient staff heavily against the sea.
"How dare you!" his furious roar shook the heavens themselves.
Boundless martial energy exploded outward from his body as terrifying winds gathered around the tip of his staff.
"Tempest Domain!"
The surrounding atmosphere immediately distorted before a gigantic ring-shaped tornado. The incoming attacks collided against the violent cyclone one after another, only to be swallowed completely.
Within only a few breaths every single attack had disappeared inside the raging storm without leaving behind even the slightest ripple. The tornado gradually dispersed, revealing Tony and Emma standing completely unharmed.
A suffocating silence descended upon the battlefield.
Ancestor Long slowly lifted his staff and pointed it directly toward the Demonic Sea Tribe. His voice no longer carried the calmness of a respected elder. Instead it sounded like the wrath of an ancient dragon.
"Shamless bastard... Who dares to attack in my presence."
Silence followed as nobody dared to attack.
"Luka! What is this? Have the Demonic Sea Tribe completely abandoned every rule agreed upon between our races?"
Countless human experts immediately released their own cultivation auras. The atmosphere instantly became explosive.
Luka slowly stepped forward from the Demonic Sea Tribe formation with the same elegant smile she always carried. She first glanced toward the unharmed Tony and Emma before looking at Ancestor Long with an innocent expression.
"Senior Long, there is no need to become so angry." She lightly waved her sleeve as though dismissing a trivial matter. "It was merely a misunderstanding."
Ancestor Long’s brows immediately knitted together. "A misunderstanding?"
Luka nodded gracefully with an unchanged smile. "Some of our younger disciples mistakenly believed the inheritor of the World Tree belonged to an enemy faction and became overly excited after spending so much time inside the trials. Young people sometimes act impulsively. Fortunately nobody was injured. Since nothing serious happened, let us simply treat today’s events as an unfortunate misunderstanding."
The human experts immediately became furious after hearing such shameless words. Even Tony could not help raising an eyebrow. Calling hundreds of killing techniques a misunderstanding... Only someone like Luka could say those words with such a calm smile.
Before Ancestor Long could continue speaking, Tony suddenly stepped forward with both hands tucked leisurely behind his back.
A carefree smile hung on his face as though he had completely forgotten that hundreds of experts from the Demonic Sea Tribe were glaring at him with murderous intent.
He slowly looked at Luka from head to toe before clicking his tongue in disappointment.
"How about this... I will kick your bum in front of everyone and later call it a misunderstanding. Since your tribe likes using that excuse, surely you won’t mind, right?" Tony said lazily.
The surrounding human disciples burst into laughter while the faces of the Demonic Sea Tribe immediately darkened.
Tony paid no attention to them and continued with a mocking smile. "The Demonic Sea Tribe truly lives up to its reputation. You people cannot win openly, so you resort to sneak attacks. If you really have guts, come straight at me. I will beat every one of you until you vomit your mother’s milk. At least then everyone will know whether your tribe truly deserves to stand among the great races or whether you are only good at hiding behind the sea salt."
Luka’s elegant smile finally disappeared. A terrifying pressure slowly spread from her body as she stared coldly at Tony. "Sharp tongue... Huh... Unfortunately, a sharp tongue cannot erase your crimes. Everyone, this is my command... First, I demand the life of Tony Clark!"
"During the first trial he deliberately targeted every disciple of my tribe, dragged them backward, humiliated them repeatedly, and caused them to lose precious opportunities. Because of Tony Clark, my entire Demonic Sea Tribe suffered heavy losses. Because of Tony Clark, my younger generation failed to compete fairly for the inheritance. The debt of my tribe must be repaid."
The moment those words fell, the Clark Family Patriarch suddenly snorted. Without uttering another word, he swung the ancient spear in his hand and hurled it toward the distant sea.
The spear transformed into a streak of golden lightning before crashing into the endless ocean with a deafening explosion.
BOOM!
Towering waves hundreds of meters high erupted into the sky as though the sea itself had been split apart. The explosive shockwave spread for miles, instantly silencing countless spectators.
The Patriarch slowly stretched out his hand as the spear returned to his palm before looking directly into Luka’s eyes. "What do you take the Clark Family for?" he asked coldly. "Do you believe you can walk to our doorstep, point at my son, and demand his life as though we are some nameless third-rate family?"
At that very moment another old voice echoed from behind the Clark Family ranks. "Heh... The sea tribes these days really have no spine."
An old man leisurely walked forward while softly whistling an ancient tune, completely ignoring the suffocating atmosphere around him.
The Clark Family experts immediately bowed respectfully. "Ancestor Kent!"
The old man casually waved his sleeve before stopping beside the Patriarch and looking at Luka with an amused smile. "Do I really have to educate the Sea Tribe again? It has only been a few hundred years. Have you already forgotten the pain?"
His calm words carried no killing intent, yet the Demonic Sea Tribe elders instinctively tightened their grips on their weapons. They clearly remembered the bloody wars of the previous generation.
-__ -
Thank you @ShadowEvolver for Ice Cola. Tq so much for support!