The First Deputy Chief had been planning to protect Ricky the whole time. Now that Ricky had become a core disciple of the Misty South Palace, it made more sense to look after him.
So when Muhammad raised his hands and launched another attack, the First Deputy Chief leapt in front of Ricky. He condensed his power, creating a large defensive shield and completely dissolving Muhammad's attack.
Then, the First Deputy Chief spat, "My friend, this young man is a core disciple of our Misty South Palace now that he has finished that rule. If you attack him, you will be attacking the Misty South Palace."
"First Deputy Chief, do you really believe that a demi-spiritual emperor like him can kill a demi-saint from the devil race?" Muhammad snapped back, glaring at the First Deputy Chief as he continued to stand in front of Ricky.
The anger inside of him could no longer be contained. His aura burst forth so powerfully that it could have pierced through the sky.
"Sir, he's right. I'm not strong enough to kill a demi-saint, but a demi-saint who was dying and seriously injured is a different story," Ricky replied in a loud, firm voice.
"I was so lucky when I met a demi-saint from the devil race that had come out of the ancient array injured."
After saying that, Ricky grinned.
Whether what he said was true or not didn't matter. It was the best reason he could have given at that moment.
All that was important was that the First Deputy Chief believed his story.
When they heard Ricky's words and saw the grin on his face, the members from the Phoenix tribe frowned.
"It doesn't look like the Phoenix tribe will be able to achieve their goal this time. They will return empty-handed." The onlookers discussed among themselves through their telepathic links.
"Out of the whole Misty South, only the Misty South Palace and a genius like Ricky could anger the Phoenix tribe this much."
"Yes. That's true."
"First Deputy Chief, are you really willing to risk becoming our enemy over this young man?" Muhammad asked in a cold voice.
"No. That's not why I'm doing it. I won't allow any force to take a disciple from the Misty South Palace away for no reason. Plus, you know it's against the rules for us to participate in the younger generation's conflicts. Stand down," the First Deputy Chief explained.
"And what if we tell you that we won't leave without him? After all, a talent from our Phoenix tribe was killed by him." Muhammad narrowed his eyes, trying to be as threatening as possible.
Meanwhile, every single one of the warriors from the Phoenix tribe was preparing for a fight behind him, cracking their knuckles and laughing.
"Then I'd say good luck," the First Deputy Chief replied.
At the same time, the saints from the Misty South Palace gathered behind the First Deputy Chief and lowered into fighting stances, ready for the oncoming fight.
The Misty South Palace had never been afraid of any force, not even the Great Phoenix tribe—the descendants of the sacred beast.
The calm before the storm settled down around the area.
Both sides stood and waited. Neither of them wanted to make the first move.
After what seemed like an eternity, a very young saint stepped away from the saints from the Phoenix tribe and broke the silence.
"Your name is Ricky, right? You killed a genius from our Phoenix tribe. My name is Liam Feng and I am here to challenge you. Please accept."
No one could believe what they were hearing. Glancing at the people from the Phoenix tribe, they grumbled and rolled their eyes. Someone said, "The people from the Phoenix tribe really don't have any shame. I think I'm starting to like Ricky more."
"Yeah! A saint wants to challenge a middle spiritual emperor! That's not fair!"
Liam Feng was the youngest Sage Level elder that the Phoenix tribe had had in years. In other words, he was the strongest talent in the Phoenix tribe other than Lanny.
Suddenly, Ricky started to smile.
As soon as he had finished speaking, the killing power gushed out of Ricky's body and crushed towards all of the saints from the Phoenix tribe.
Just like Wally had said, his strength was not that powerful, but his momentum could not be defeated.
When they heard what Ricky had said, everyone calmed down. Ricky was not as arrogant as they had originally thought.
However, a few discussions were still happening in the background.
"Twenty years? That's not a lot of time! Liam is an elder from the Phoenix tribe; that means he has to be at least a great saint. It will be very hard for Ricky to become a saint in twenty years."
"It looks like Ricky is still arrogant!"
"Twenty years?" the First Deputy Chief and Wally said through their telepathic links, looking at each other helplessly.
Even they thought that Ricky was being arrogant at that moment.
They were expecting Ricky to say one hundred or two hundred years from now, but he had said twenty years.
Going from a middle spiritual emperor to a saint in twenty years was almost impossible. In the past, not even an incredible demi-spiritual emperor could do it.
"Twenty years? This brat is still talking big. Sir, I think we should wait for the twenty years to expire. After all, the Misty South Palace won't let us take him away now," Liam Feng then suggested.
"Besides, he won't always be within the territory of the Misty South Palace."
"Yes. We have to retreat. Because of this, our Phoenix tribe has lost face. The blame is all on the Misty South Palace," Muhammad replied.
"Twenty years? Okay! You've stated your terms. When the time comes, don't try to say that our Phoenix tribe is bullying you," Liam Feng then said to Ricky.
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