When She Meixiao first warned him about this fight, En Ci didn't pay her much heed. Sure, her disciple's Spirit Power was astonishing, but that's already it. Compared to his own disciple, Long Yue, with his Mountain Dragon King Spirit essence and bloodline, there shouldn't be anything he can do.
The only thing that kept him from lashing out at She Meixiao right when she told him to be careful was the fact that she only meant well. Although En Ci had seen Sheng Feilong lose control over his second Spirit Essence before, he wasn't able to gauge its strength due to She Meixiao suppressing the outburst with her own Soul Power.
Sure, he could have easily pried through that barrier back then, but She Meixiao would've surely noticed; He refrained from it in order to not seem rude as She Meixiao and her disciple were still guests of the Star Luo Empire.
However, the fight between Sheng Feilong and Long Yue proved him wrong completely. Not only was the former's Spirit Power even more immense than what anyone had predicted, his second Spirit Essences power was also far greater.
At first, En Ci didn't interfere for a few reasons. Long Yue still hadn't shown his full power and still had full control over himself. Sheng Feilong also didn't directly try anything against the rules, so although En Ci didn't like seeing his disciple beaten, he did not have a reason to interfere.
As the match continued, En Ci's face contorted more and more and finally, when both, Long Yue and Sheng Feilong, released their Battle Armours, he was finally able to relax, but even that only lasted seconds; Long Yue wasn't a match for Sheng Feilong in the slightest.
They had only exchanged a few hits, but Long Yue's Battle Armour was already in tatters, while Sheng Feilong was completely fine. Moreover, the injuries and the fact that he used his full strength made Long Yue slowly lose control over his emotions.
Finally, when Sheng Feilong grabbed Long Yue by the neck and ordered him to surrender, En Ci couldn't take it any longer. He stood up and was about to end the match then and there, but at the same time, Long Yue kicked out at Sheng Feilong again and again. Though mindlessly and powerless, he still didn't give up.
Even worse, before En Ci could speak up, the words became stuck in his throat and he stared at the arena in utter disbelief; Behind Sheng Feilong, a massive, grey-red Soul Ring silently appeared, releasing a pressure that even he had never felt from a Soul Ring before.
This short moment of disbelief lead to En Ci moving to late as he only regained his focus after Sheng Feilong struck out. Seeing this, and feeling the sinister power of the attack, En Ci's pupils constricted and he instantly dashed onto the area, ignoring and breaking the barrier that surrounded it and instantly kicking Sheng Feilong back. "Bastard! You dare hurt my disciple in front of me?!"
He didn't pay any more attention to Sheng Feilong and instead focused on Long Yue. En Ci spread out his spiritual sense to examine Long Yue's condition and his mind shook violently directly after; Long Yue's body was in even worse condition than his Battle Armour.
His whole body was overtaxed from the strain of the battle, nearly all of his bones broken with most of the joints dislocated or even crushed; There was basically no area in his body that wasn't in critical condition.
Then, there was the worst part. In the middle of his chest, with his sternum crushed into scraps, resided a gaping whole, sizzling with a greyish energy and releasing a mind numbing odour. Not only were his organs shred apart, the strange grey energy was continuously corroding away at Long Yue's flesh. It was fortunate that Long Yue was already unconscious; Such a pain wasn't something he, or anyone for that matter, would be able to bear.
En Ci pushed the rising anger in his heart to the side and started using his own Soul Power to carefully assist Long Yue in healing. His energy carefully spread through Long Yue's whole body, aiding in his recovery. However, even his energy was constantly corroded away by the grey energy in Long Yue's chest.
By now, the emperor and a few other high ranking people of both, the Star Luo Empire and the Douluo Continent's delegation, stood on the arena. The emperor looked at Long Yue and seeing En Ci's expression, frowned deeply. En Ci was the most powerful Soul Master of the continent; For him to make such an expression could only mean that Long Yue's condition was extremely severe.
She Meixiao already stood next to Sheng Feilong, carefully helping him up. The latter frowned and looked at En Ci and Long Yue. He stood up again. She Meixiao looked at him with an anxious expression and spoke in a soft voice. "Are you alright..?"
Sheng Feilong nodded slightly, holding his left arm. "I'm alright. The old man's attack broke my arm, but it's nothing too serious." The terrifying aura of the Netherworld Putrefying Demon receded, but Sheng Feilong was still in his transformed state; He was currently able to control it without any problem.
Sheng Feilong looked towards Long Yue and En Ci with a cold expression, but remained calm and said nothing. She Meixiao could see En Ci faintly shaking where he sat and frowned. She knew that Sheng Feilong used his Soul Skill on Long Yue, but she didn't know how severe it was. Still, from the fact that it could easily melt even strong Spirit Alloys without much problem, she could imagine the extent of the injury.
She Meixiao sighed lightly. Pitying Long Yue slightly, she turned to Sheng Feilong. The latter was still coldly staring at En Ci and Long Yue, not an ounce of compassion is his eyes.
En Ci continued to try and helpt Long Yue get rid of the corrosive grey energy, but because of Long Yue's condition, he had to be extremely carefully. If he used to much power, he might accidentally injure or even kill his own disciple. Due to this, the corrosive energy just eroded his own Soul Power away while constantly doing the same with Long Yue's flesh.
She Meixiao sighed once more and turned to Sheng Feilong. She opened her mouth and was about to talk to him when En Ci suddenly stood up and coldly stared at the two of them. "Remove that corrosive energy immediately." His voice was extremely grave and oozed with killing intent. If it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't help Long Yue with just his own Soul Power, he would've already killed Sheng Feilong on the spot.
Sheng Feilong stared back at En Ci, not fearing to cross his gaze, and replied nearly instantly. "And why should I?" En Ci's gaze turned even more hostile and an invisible pressure began radiating from him. "Bastard, don't force my hand."
"Force your hand? If you could help Long Yue on your own, you would've already tried to kill me, isn't that right?" Sheng Feilong didn't back down in the slightest, speaking to En Ci without a hint of respect. She Meixiao's expression turned into a slight frown, but she still didn't say anything.
The pressure radiating off of En Ci was growing more intense by the second when the emperor suddenly spoke up. "She Feilong. I know you are infuriated because of the indident involving Tang Wulin. However, if you commit murder in my Empire, I will have to judge you accordingly. Remove the energy from Long Yue's body and well' end this incident here."
Sheng Feilong slowly turned his gaze towards the emperor, still as cold as before. With the same impolite tone he used to speak to En Ci, he replied the to the emperor as well. "Again, and why should I?"
The emperor's expression turned into a frown, clearly displeased by the rude tone of Sheng Feilong when a person from the side suddenly spoke up in anger. "Brat, you dare to to His Highness, the Emperor, like this?! Show some respect before I personally slay you!"
Sheng Feilong sneered coldly. "Respect? What has your emperor done to deserve my respect?" This single sentence instantly silenced the whole coliseum. No one dared to believe their ears. Sheng Feilong actually dared to insult their emperor while the latter stood in front of him..?
However, Sheng Feilong wasn't finished yet. "An emperor who can't control his own subordinates and allowed a group of rebels to attack the political delegation of another continent when they just arrived on his lands, who allowed his own daughter to attack members of that delegation during a national ceremony and who allowed a random, wild Soul Master to critically injure – maybe even kill – a member of that delegation during a friendly competition?"
He turned towards the emperor, staring him directly into the eyes, and continued to speak without hesitation. "What right has this emperor to deserve my respect?"