The whole stalactite cave's formation suddenly began to change as the lazy voice echoed in the area, freezing everything as if time had stopped. And Billy's attack wasn't at all safe from this as his moves were also forced into a halt.
Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, Billy, Jim, Garrett, and everyone in their team fell to the ground with blood gushing from their mouths as they were struck by an unknown and invisible energy.
Their pupils shrank in fear as they could not believe how they could be overpowered by such a mysterious attack that just struck them out of nowhere.
''Ruling power! I can't believe this! It's the true ruling power!'' Billy said with terror in his shaky voice.
But there could only be one explanation for their current situation—they might have been attacked by an innate spiritual emperor who stood at the peak of the Eastern Land. This could be the only justifiable explanation since only a true spiritual emperor was able to use the ruling power.
''Who did that?'' Ricky said in a confused yet thankful tone as he and his fellows looked around for anyone who might be responsible for the attack.
''Sorry for the interruption, sir, but may I know your name?'' Still terrified from what had happened to them, Billy immediately stood up.
''You are not qualified to know my name. Leave this place right now, or I will use my ruling power again to make you suffer. Beware that I will show you no mercy next time around, '' the lazy voice threatened.
But the voice seemed all too familiar to Ricky as he listened to it the second time around. It was not that long before he recognized that this voice belonged to no other than the Evil Emperor of the Oriental College.
'It turns out that the Evil Emperor has always been following me wherever I go. Everything makes sense now. Now I understand why the Heavenly Ape Demi-spiritual Emperor told me not to worry about my safety when I left the Oriental College, ' Ricky thought to himself as he instantly figured out everything.
But it shouldn't come as a surprise to him. After all, The Heavenly Ape Demi-spiritual Emperor did tell Ricky about it.
Buzz! Buzz! As the ruling power reappeared from the void, Billy and his fellows felt a crushing pressure in their chest yet again and spat out mouthfuls of blood.
Terrorized by the owner of the voice, they had no choice but to flee for their lives. They spared no time and hurriedly tore the space apart to leave the cave and save themselves from more danger.
If a spiritual emperor really wanted to kill them, then they would never have the chance to escape. They were lucky that they were still alive since the Evil Emperor never had the intention of killing them in the first place.
But Ricky and his fellows already had a clue on who might this spiritual emperor be—a member of the Oriental College.
''Oh? By the way, none of this ever happened. You must not tell anyone about anything that happened at this place, at least for now, or your Garuda tribe will become the first sacrificial lamb of the Oriental Realm," the Evil Emperor warned Billy and his company as they fled the premises.
After apologizing respectfully, Billy and his fellows finally disappeared. But of course, they did not forget to take Keyon, who once fought with Soar outside the cave.
Meanwhile, after all the enemies had left the stalactite cave, the ruling power in it began to disappear. Still dumbfounded by what had happened, Scar and others gradually picked themselves up as they recovered from the shock.
''I can't begin to think of how to thank you, Evil Emperor. You have saved all of us, '' Ricky said as he thanked the Evil Emperor with so much gratitude.
''Ha-ha, what a smart boy you are, huh. To be honest, I never really expected that you would recognize me.'' Hearing what Ricky said, the Evil Emperor smiled. His voice came from the void again and then added, ''Your mask made of human skin cannot protect your identity. If any creature knows any information about you, they will sure be able to recognize your identity just by observing your skills.
Anyway, I'm just glad that I can be of help to you.''
''It's my fault, Evil Emperor. I did not take that into consideration, '' Ricky said apologetically.
Scar, Madeline, and other fellows also solemnly thanked the Evil Emperor. It was crystal clear that the Evil Emperor only showed himself up to protect Ricky.
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