Tai Fang Mountain stood amongst a mountain range that was neither too big nor too small and stretched from north to south across a wide region.
The original mountain was considered to be a lush and verdant land, covered in flowers and trees, exuding a beautiful and refreshing spring like air, but now the entire range had become a battlefield.
The Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land’s forces gathered on the south side of the mountain while the allied forces from the Great Han Dynasty occupied the north.
A young man and two young women looked out across the once pristine mountain that had now become a warzone. During these past few months, Tai Fang Mountain had been severely damaged, and traces of blood and dead bodies were scattered everywhere. It was unknown just how many cultivators had lost their lives here.
In the confrontation between these two sides, such a scene was not uncommon.
After all, in this war, Tai Fang Mountain was just one point along the front!
Since leaving the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land, the Hu Sisters moved as fast as possible to reach this place because this was where their fellow disciples and elders from Blood Battle Gang had been stationed.
Previously, they had also fought here but a few months ago they had been encountered enemy masters and were forced to flee into the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land.
Along the way, Yang Kai had learned a lot of useful information from the two sisters.
Tai Fang Mountain wasn’t a key strategic location in the overall war, so there weren’t that many masters gathered here. Besides the Blood Battle Gang members, there were also people from Storm Hall here as well as numerous elites from various other second-class forces, all of them under the command of a single first-class family.
The Xiang Family!
Because the Great Han cultivators here had come from all over the dynasty and mostly belonged to second-class or lower ranked forces, the first-class Xiang Family held absolute authority.
Even if someone didn’t agree with it, they had no choice but to obey the orders of the Xiang Family here. After all, the background of the other was far superior.
Tai Fang Mountain’s camp was an easily defended site, with a lot of simple accommodations having been built over the past few months; it was a place where weary cultivators who had fought against the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land forces could rest.
On this day, a dusty trio consisting of one young man and two young women walked up to the camp.
As the three approached the camp’s checkpoint, they were stopped by several bright clothed disciples and were asked to identify themselves.
These guards had noticed early on that Yang Kai and the Hu Sisters weren’t very strong; therefore, they hadn’t taken too many precautions, only stopping them to make some routine inquiries.
All of these male guards subtly sized up the Hu Sisters’ enchanting figures, but when they caught a glimpse of their dirty, pock-marked, and haggard faces, all of them immediately lost their appetites, and a faint trace of disgust flashed across their eyes.
The whole time Yang Kai remained indifferent and did not bother to comment.
Instead, Hu Jiao Er and Hu Mei Er quickly wiped off the disguises on their faces to reveal their original appearances.
After cleaning up somewhat, even though the tiredness was still apparent on their faces, it did little to diminish their outstanding beauty.
Suddenly, one of the guards who had been resting by the side of the road stood up and exclaimed, “Aren’t you the Hu Family’s two young ladies from Blood Battle Gang?”
“En!” Hu Jiao Er casually acknowledged.
“So it’s you two!” The first guard who had gone up to question them called out in joy and quickly said, “It’s good that you two girls managed to return safely, please come in.”
Saying so, the guard quickly opened the way and put on a humble expression “Please forgive us, we are only performing our duties and ask the two young ladies to not pay it mind.”
Hu Jiao Er’s brow furrowed, her expression neither warm nor cold as she led her sister and Yang Kai forward.
As they were about to pass, the guards all glanced towards Yang Kai skeptically, the one in charge asking cautiously, “Young ladies, excuse this humble one for asking, but this is…”
“My friend.”
“Oh. Since he is the young lady’s friend, then it’s alright.” The head guard said with a smile and didn’t dare to ask anything more.
When the three youths had disappeared into the camp, the head guard’s expression become solemn as he motioned to one of his subordinates, “Quickly inform the Young Lord that the Hu Sister have returned safely. Go now!”
“Yes sir!” One of the men nodded and dashed off.
Yang Kai followed behind the Hu Sisters as they walked through the camp and soon arrived at the inner dwellings.
“Over there!” Hu Mei Er suddenly shouted in surprise and pointed towards a nearby place.
Looking in the direction she pointed, Yang Kai saw a group of people gathered around, engaged in some kind of discussion.
“Uncle Le!” Hu Jiao Er also burst into a smile and hurriedly walked towards this group.
When these people perceived someone approaching them, all of them lifted their heads and glanced over.
The next moment, a burly old man who looked about fifty or sixty years old, trembled and jumped to his feet as he stared towards the Hu Sisters, as his aged eyes were filled with joy.
Guan Chi Le was an Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage Master and one of Blood Battle Gang’s strongest elders. He was also one of the men who had participated in the battle against Meng Wu Ya.
However, unlike Long Zai Tian, Guan Chi Le was extremely loyal to Blood Battle Gang and to the Hu family. He had even watched over the Hu Sisters as they had grown up, as a result, the two sisters’ relationship with him was quite good
“Young Ladies, is it really you?” Guan Chsi Le asked hesitantly.
“It’s us, Uncle Le!” Hu Jiao Er nodded with a warm smile adorning her beautiful face.
“You’ve really returned safely!” Guan Chi Le cried out and burst into tears.
The rest of the people around him also looked happily towards the Hu Sisters. Since the two sisters had disappeared, it had already been two or three months. The last time someone saw them, they were being chased into the Tai Fang Mountain range by a group of Devil Path masters, and no one had expected them to be capable of escaping. Yet now, all of a sudden, they had returned alive and well.
Since these people had all gathered here together, they were definitely not strangers, so all of them were undoubtedly thrilled that the Hu Sisters had returned.
This group was relatively small, only a dozen or so in number, but when Yang Kai swept his gaze past them, all of them were familiar!
All of these youths were either Blood Battle Gang or Storm Hall disciples!
Moreover, Yang Kai noticed his old acquaintance Fang Ziji amongst them!
It seems like this extremely patriarchal guy was actually pulled here to fight as well.
These two Sects’ disciples had been forced to come here to participate in this battle, so it was not surprising that they would gather together when not on duty.
“Good good! It’s good you’ve come back! Truly good! At last the Sect Master can rest assured.” Guan Chi Le quickly composed himself, repeatedly proclaiming as he firmly nodded. When he turned his gaze to Yang Kai, he couldn’t help his brow from wrinkling, suspiciously and asked, “Has this old man met this little brother somewhere before?”
Suddenly, the Hu Sisters didn’t know how to explain.
If it was just this group gathered here who knew Yang Kai’s identity it was nothing important, but if cultivators from other forces stationed here found out that Yang Kai was from High Heaven Pavilion, things would definitely not end well.
Fang Ziji shot a meaningful glance towards Yang Kai before hurriedly stepping forward to lightly cough while wearing an odd grin on his face as he cupped his fists, “Greetings, this one is Storm Hall’s Fang Ziji, I once had a friend who looks just like you! Dare to ask what this new friend’s name?”
“Yang Kai!” Even though Yang Kai was laughing to himself inside, his expression remained calm and composed.
“So it is Brother Yang! Good good, not only does this new friend look very much like my deceased friend, he even shares the same name as well! Hahaha, such coincidence, isn’t it?” Fang Ziji hit the shoulder of one of his nearby Junior Brother.
“Yes, yes…” That Junior Brother helplessly nodded, his shoulder obviously in some pain from how hard Fang Ziji had struck him.
The whole situation was… more than a little bit forced.
Everyone else also understood Fang Ziji’s meaning, and after a momentary gaff, all of them silently agreed to play along.
Guan Chi Le was a perceptive man as well as an old master, so after hearing Yang Kai’s name he also realized why he had felt that this kid was so familiar, [So it’s him!]
The whole group had a tacit understanding of the situation, so no one tried to make things difficult.
The scene was a pleasant one, but Yang Kai was keenly aware that the laughter and smiles of the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters from Blood Battle Gang also concealed a hint of worry and anxiety.
While the group was chatting amongst themselves, Fang Ziji’s expression suddenly became cold as his eyes flashed an angry light, and his lips twitched slightly as he muttered, “Xiang Chu is coming.”
As he said these words, he unconsciously glanced towards the Hu Sisters.
Everyone suddenly went silent; Guan Chi Le’s face also grimaced. His expression was clearly displeased.
Noticing the obvious and dramatic change in atmosphere, Yang Kai scanned the area around them and quickly discovered a handsome young man accompanied by two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters striding towards them.
His robes were clean and tidy, and his smiling face was refreshing like a spring breeze that gave him a mild aura, the perfect image of a free spirited young noble master.
From his appearance, he seemed to only be around twenty five or so years old.
Xiang Chu!
As the first-class Xiang Family’s Young Lord, Xiang Chu’s identity and status was naturally not low, at least on par with the likes of Bai Yun Feng and Dong Qing Han, one of the leaders of the younger generation.
During the past month’s journey, Yang Kai had also heard the Hu Sisters mention this Xiang Chu a number of times; however, every time his name came up the two sisters’ expressions would cramp up before they quickly changed the subject.
Now seeing him with his own eyes, Yang Kai finally understood why the Hu Sisters didn’t want to talk about him.
Not only did the Hu Sisters’ expression look ugly, even the rest of the Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall members couldn’t help frowning when they saw this youth.
Only Xiang Chu still maintained a mild smile as he casually strolled towards their group.
Walking right up to them with his eyes revealing a joyful light, Xiang Chu emphatically said, “Jiao Er, Mei Er, what happened to you two must have been terrifying. Thank goodness you’ve returned safely.”
Guan Chi Le’s old eyes couldn’t help narrowing as his aura fluctuated, but as soon as it did the two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters behind Xiang Chu immediately locked their gazes on him.
Hu Jiao Er’s expression visibly dimmed as she said in a cold tone, “Young Lord Xiang, Jiao Er and Mei Er aren’t names you can call us sisters, haven’t I once told you this before?”
Xiang Chu showed a ‘surprised’ expression, like he had suddenly remembered something, and he cupped his fists and replied, “Young Ladies, please forgive this one. Reuniting after such a long separation caused this Young Lord to become too emotional and as such made a small slip of the tongue.”
“I hope there won’t be a next time!” Hu Jiao Er ruthlessly stated.
“Yes yes, there most certainly won’t be a next time.” Xiang Chu nodded before letting out a sigh, his expression becoming forlorn, “But this one must first apologize to the two young ladies.”
“Oh?” Hu Jiao Er’s frown deepened as she stared at him.
Xiang Chu smiled wryly and continued, “During that battle, when you two young ladies were being pursued, it was this one’s responsibility to come to your rescue, but alas, this young master was not strong enough and could only watch helplessly as you young ladies were trapped by those wicked devils. For the past three months, this one had been greatly concerned, unable to sleep at night, cursing the fact that I had not a pair of wings which could carry me to your side so that I might protect you.”
Suddenly wearing a radiant smile, “Fortunately, the two young ladies received the Heaven’s blessings and managed to return unharmed! It is a great relief for this one’s heart to know you are safe.”
Every word he spoke rolled off his tongue, as if he was completely sincere and his motives were as pure as the moon’s gentle rays.
In response though, the Hu Sisters remained cold and indifferent.
However, Xiang Chu didn’t seem the slightest bit put off by their attitude, and once more cupped his fists and politely said, “The two young ladies have just returned from a long and dangerous journey and must be tired. This one shall retire to allow the two young ladies to get some much-needed rest, if there is anything the young ladies require, please do not hesitate to ask this one. This Young Lord guarantees he will satisfy the young ladies!”
Finished, Xiang Chu flashed a final warm smile and then quickly departed.
Watching as Xiang Chu strode away, Yang Kai couldn’t help but grin wryly.
This group of people, who had never seen him before, had completely treated Yang Kai as though he was air.
The Xiang Family was a first-class family, so their treasured Young Lord acting aloof and domineering wouldn’t be abnormal.
But now, seeing this Xiang Chu first-hand with his elegant manners, harmless disposition, carefree and unrestrained personality, allowing people to have a positive impression of him, Yang Kai couldn’t help but be surprised.
Yang Kai could clearly see that this person had great interest in the two Hu Sisters and made no effort in hiding his meaning. On top of that, even though Hu Jiao Er responded so coldly to him, he did not respond with any kind of displeasure or annoyance, instead maintaining an ever-genial temperament.
Yang Kai couldn’t understand at first glance why the Hu Sisters and everyone else seemed to despise this young man.
However, everything must have a cause, and Yang Kai also understood well that one’s outer persona didn’t always reflect their true self. His intuition told him that this Xiang Chu must have a side to him that he didn’t expose to the public.
After Xiang Chu had departed, the genius of Fang Ziji approached Yang Kai and said with a chuckle, “Yang Kai, you mustn’t be deceived by that guy. Although he looks kind and harmless, his tongue is slippery and his mind is scheming, it’s just that he hides all of this deeply, or else there’s no way he’d be able to maintain his command over this place.”
“En.” Yang Kai nodded lightly. He never had any intention of underestimating Xiang Chu’s depths.
People like Bai Yun Feng, who wore their arrogance on his sleeve and clearly treated people either with respect or disdain, couldn’t cause any threat to Yang Kai.
But someone like Xiang Chu who would smile warmly while plotting against you had to be guarded against.
“This place is actually under his command now?” Hearing this, Hu Jiao Er couldn’t help asking before glancing towards Fang Ziji strangely, “What exactly happened? He’s just a member of the young generation, how could he be put in command here? Are there not any Elders from the Xiang Family present here anymore?”
Fang Ziji however just laughed wryly and turned his gaze to Guan Chi Le.
Guan Chi Le hesitated a moment before saying, “The Young Ladies must be tired and should rest for now, as for these other matters, this old man will explain in the evening.”
“Good.” Hu Jiao Er nodded without hesitating; firstly, although she had noticed that something was unusual as soon as they had arrived at the camp, it didn’t seem to be a pressing matter. Second, she really did mean for her and Mei Er to clean themselves up. This past month of running and hiding with Yang Kai made it so they hadn’t had a chance to do so at all.
Women always loved to be clean.
“Yang Kai, you come with me.” Fang Ziji warmly said.
Yang Kai smiled and followed him away.
That night, around a big outdoor campfire, the cultivators from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall all gathered round while Yang Kai and Fang Ziji both roasted some wild game atop the flickering flames.
The sizzling of oil and crackling of wood gentle echoed about.
After a long time, Hu Jiao Er finally asked, “Uncle Le, what happened? The number of masters here has dropped significantly. Where did the Elders of our Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall go?”
Three months ago, before the two sisters had been forced to flee into the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land, there were many Immortal Ascension Boundary masters here, but now that they had returned, they soon discovered that there were less than ten such masters remaining. Aside from the two who served as Xiang Chu’s guards, the other Immortal Ascension masters here didn’t have particularly strong cultivations.
Although this location in relation to others on the front wasn’t too important, it wasn’t negligible either. With the camp’s current combat strength, if the enemy across the hill were to suddenly attack in force, everyone here would quickly be overwhelmed.
Guan Chi Le let out a sigh before calmly replying, “The situation has changed. A month or so ago, the Eight Great Families sent out a summons recalling all of the masters and elites who were participating in the war with the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land. It seems that the Eight Great Families and the Demon Lord want to stage a decisive battle.”
“A decisive battle?” Hu Jiao Er exclaimed.
Guan Chi Le nodded sternly, “We’re not a proper army after all, all of us just happen to be grasshoppers on the same string. Although we started off with a great amount of hatred and enthusiasm, after fighting for so long most of us simply want this war to end earlier. It’s probably that the heads of both sides have reached some kind of consensus so most of the masters here have been transferred away, your father included.”
“Dad also left…” Hu Mei Er whispered softly.
Although Hu Man’s cultivation had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage and could be considered one of the elite able to look down disdainfully on the whole world, now that he was forced to participate in this so called decisive battle, if he was the slightest bit careless, there was still a chance he may die.
How could the the Hu Sisters not worry?
“It’s the same for our Storm Hall, the Sect Master and all the Elders left, fortunately the masters across the hill have also left.” Fang Ziji grinned wryly, his master was Xiao Ruohan, Storm Hall’s Sect Master.
“If it wasn’t for Sect Master’s request, this old man wouldn’t have been able to stay here.” Guan Chi Le’s blank look suddenly livened up, “Sect Master said that the two young ladies would surely return here one day, so he requested permission for this old man to remain here, firstly to take care of our disciples, and secondly, to wait for the two young ladies. Now it seems that Sect Master’s decision was the right one.”
Speaking till here, Fang Ziji suddenly cut in, his voice filled with extreme resentment and hatred, “If it weren’t for Senior Guan’s help, your Blood Battle Gang and our Storm Hall’s disciples would probably have all died.”
“What happened?” Hu Jiao Er’s face sank.
“The same as before,” Fang Ziji sneered, “Because our two Sects were lumped together with High Heaven Pavilion, none of the other Sects here have a very good opinion of us. When the two of you were here things were better because Xiang Chu would intervene here and there, but after you disappeared, Xiang Chu simply brushed us aside, and any dangerous task was then quickly pushed onto our two Sect’s disciples.”
His expression became cold, and then Fang Ziji angrily said, “When we first arrived here there were more than a hundred of us, but now? There’s only a dozen or so of us left.”
Having witnessed the tragic deaths of so many of his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, the pain Fang Ziji’s felt was difficult to describe.
Suddenly, Fang Ziji suddenly remembered something, quickly turning towards Yang Kai, “You shouldn’t mind me, I don’t mean anything else.”
“I know.” Yang Kai nodded lightly. Although Fang Ziji went out of his way to not create a misunderstanding between them, Yang Kai knew very well that it was because of their relationship with High Heaven Pavilion that Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall received such harsh treatment.
Without a doubt, High Heaven Pavilion held some responsibility for these two Sect’s current circumstances.
However, these other forces were taking things too far! Just because it was the Sect the Demon Lord had come from, High Heaven Pavilion had been burnt to the ground while the treatment given to Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall was completely unreasonable.
Having heard Guan Chi Le’s remarks, Hu Jiao Er thought to herself for a moment before saying, “Since that’s the case, then this region is even less important than before, right?”
Guan Chi Le nodded lightly, “Young Lady is correct, as soon as three or five days, or as late as half a month from now, a decisive battle will be fought. The victor from that battle will essentially decide the outcome of this war, so whether it’s us or the forces on the other side of the mountain neither wants to stir up any trouble. As long as we wait until after the decisive battle is finished, both sides will likely withdraw from here so both sides here probably think fighting each other is pointless.”
“En.” Hu Jiao Er nodded slightly.
“That being the case, the Xiang Family simply gave command here to Xiang Chu.” Fang Ziji grinned wryly, “They probably wanted to use this rare opportunity for him to hone himself.”
There weren’t many opportunities for this kind of gathering. In this place, there were various elite disciples and elders of at least five or six forces. When this many parties gathered together, there would inevitably be disputes. If Xiang Chu could handle these matters well, it would prove he was also capable of handling matters related to the Xiang Family. Such experience would be of great use to him if he was to become Patriarch of the Xiang Family some day!
Clearly this was the Xiang Family’s way of training him as a future successor.
After learning about these things, the Hu Sisters were finally able to put down most of the burdens in their hearts, though they were still worried about Hu Man’s safety.
A short time later, the wild game was cooked and the fragrance of roasted meat wafted through the air. Yang Kai chewed on it with impunity, and it wasn’t long before the Hu Sisters were unable to bear the temptation and began eating gracefully.
In this one month following Yang Kai, life had been difficult and was very much lacking these simple pleasures.
After eating and chatting for a while, the serious atmosphere eventually became lighter, especially when the surviving members here thought that they’d soon be able to return to their Sects. Nothing would make them happier now; Fang Ziji even pulled out some wine he had hidden somewhere and drank heartily with Yang Kai.
Yang Kai even feared he would keel over drunk on the spot.
While they were enjoying themselves, a group casually approached them amidst the darkness.
The leaders of this group were a handsome man and a beautiful woman, neither of whom seemed very old.
In particular, the woman was particularly enchanting, wearing a tight-fitting garb that clearly highlighted her exquisite figure. Her sleeveless top exposed her two snow-white jade arms that even in the dark or night seemed to glisten like freshly fallen snow under the moonlight.
As these two walked closer, a malicious grin appeared on their faces and quickly spread to the rest of their companions.
When this group of newcomers was less than three meters away, the lead man suddenly ‘slipped’, nearly falling to the ground.
As a result of his actions, a large amount of dirt and sand was sent flying right into the faces of the Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall disciples.
“Ah…” The man exclaimed in an exaggerated manner, seeming to hurriedly try to stabilize his stance.
The people from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall who just now were laughing, eating, and drinking of course noticed this sudden change and though Guan Chi Le immediately took action, he couldn’t stop all of the sand.
After all, packed into this ordinary soil was no small amount of True Qi.
*Pu pu pu…*
Everyone was pelted, many of their faces experiencing a stinging pain, and all of their drinks and food had been covered in dirt.
Quickly recovering, the disciples from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall all stood up and glared at these newcomers angrily.
What they saw there was a man exaggeratedly shaking his head, a fake look of shock plastered all over his face as he cried out, “That was close! I almost fell!”
The beautiful woman next to him giggled, “How could you be so clumsy Senior Brother Xie Rong?”
That Xie Rong replied, “Junior Sister Li Fu is mistaken! Senior Brother was watching a pack of monkeys doing tricks and accidentally stumbled.”
Li Fu laughed cheerfully, glancing around, wearing her best innocent smile as she pouted, “Senior Brother loves telling jokes, how could there be any monkeys out this late at night? How come Junior Sister can’t see them?”
Xie Rong smiled slyly “Junior Sister’s eyes aren’t very good, can’t you see, these monkeys not only do tricks but also eat meat and drink wine, isn’t that so strange?”
Li Fu suddenly wore an amazed expression, “Is that true? Do such entertaining monkeys really exist? Junior Sister must have a look at them! Where are they? Where?”
As she spoke, her seductive eyes glanced ‘unintentionally’ towards the campfire, a thick disdainful smile upon her face.
Everyone obviously knew that these two acting out this play were referring to the disciples from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall.
The conditions for the disciples of Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall right now were very bad. Not only were they consistently sent to the most dangerous position during the battles with the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land forces, even when they were resting in their camp, many people would intentionally come over to ridicule them.
There were five or six forces gathered here; except for the leading Xiang Family which was a first-class force, the others were all second and third-class Sects.
These forces, whether it was their numbers or strength, were similar to those of Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall. Some of them were even slightly inferior, but they still dared to add insult to injury. When they were in a good mood, they’d come and laugh at them a few times, when they were in a bad mood, they’d hurl insults and abuse.
All of them innately felt like Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall owed them something.
When Hu Man and Xiao Ruohan were still here, the other Sects still had some reservations, but now that all of the masters here had left, what were left was just these idle rampant juniors, so the situation had clearly deteriorated.
Amongst their tormentors, the juniors from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court were the worst.
These days, the Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall disciples had suffered intense taunting and provocations; however, because they had suffered many casualties, leaving only a dozen or so of them alive, they had no choice but to swallow their anger.
This group, including the prideful Fang Ziji, in their hearts were deeply unwilling, but eventually held back, not wanting to provoke any trouble.
But their constant forbearance and patience had given rise to people like Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court who concluded that they were easily bullied trash. Today, when this group led by Xie Rong had passed by and seen these normally reserved youths drinking and eating meat, happily smiling, how could they let such a golden opportunity pass?
In any case, there was no war here and no sources of entertainment, what else could they do to pass their time?
Being glared at by the dozen Storm Hall and Blood Battle Gang disciples didn’t affect Xie Rong and Li Fu at all. The two of them still stood there calmly as they sneered disdainfully. It seemed like they thought these hateful glares were the best source of entertainment rather than any kind of threat.
“All of you sit down!” Guan Chi Le’s old face was gloomy, and his eyes swept his juniors as he shouted.
The dozen or so disciples grit their teeth in hatred as their fists clenched up but in the end they still managed to hold it in and slowly sat down.
Although their blood was boiling, they also knew that if a fight was to really break out, the ones who would ultimately end up suffering would be them.
With their current combat strength they couldn’t win, and even if they somehow could, after the Xiang Family investigated, because of their circumstances, the situations of both Sects would only become worse.
All of them sat down one by one, Fang Ziji being the last to relent. The look on his face was rather twisted, and his brow was completely furrowed as it twitched every now and then.
Even if he was not resigned in his heart, he knew he had to be patient.
From the start Yang Kai’s expression had remained indifferent, and he dusted off the few grains of sand on the meat in his hand as he calmly observed the situation.
Some of these newcomers were True Element Boundary cultivators, but most of them had only reached the Separation and Reunion Boundary. This group’s strength wasn’t high, but with his keen perception, Yang Kai noticed that there were several Divine Senses remotely observing this scene.
Amongst them were two Divine Senses that exuded traces of vigilance and hostility. These were likely the elders of Xie Rong and Li Fu who were monitoring the situation here in order to prevent Guan Chi Le from harming their juniors.
There were also two Divine Senses that were significantly more powerful than the others, likely belonging to the two masters beside Xiang Chu.
Perceiving all this, Yang Kai grinned and sneered silently.
After seeing the people from Storm Hall and Blood Battle Gang forced to swallow their anger, Xie Rong and the others would normally laugh and walk off, but today they were obviously reluctant to do so.
As soon as the Storm Hall and Blood Battle Gang disciples sat down, Xie Rong and Li Fu not only didn’t leave but instead stepped forward. Li Fu covered her mouth and smiled towards the Hu Sisters, casually saying, “You two sisters actually made it back! I heard that the two were forced to flee into the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land. Elder Sister is curious, in that demon filled Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land with so many obscene devils staring at you, how is it that two beautiful girls like you managed to escape?”
Hu Jiao Er’s expression became dark as she glared back at Li Fu, angrily saying, “What do you want to say?”
However, Li Fu just giggled and sneered, “Elder Sister is just curious how you two sisters managed to return from that hell. If you don’t mind, could you explain to Elder Sister exactly what you did to survive? For instance, how many men did you seduce and how many times did you sell yourselves to those devils…”
Hearing this blatant slander, Hu Jiao Er and Hu Mei Er’s eyes flashed a cold light.
“Oh oh… I apologize, Elder Sister said something uncouth.” Li Fu giggled lightly; although she had spoken words of apology, there was clearly no sincerity behind them.
The male disciples behind Li Fu also started towards the Hu Sisters with disdainful eyes, as if they were looking at two pairs of worn out broken shoes. Clear signs of ridicule, scorn, and even some obscenity were all mixed into their gazes.
“I’m also curious about this!” Xie Rong grinned, “Not only are we curious, everyone in our camp is also curious about how you two were to come back from that place alive and exactly what kind of methods you used.”
Hu Jiao Er’s brow furrowed as her breath quickened but quickly she wore a defiant smile, “What business is it of yours?”
“Naturally it’s our business.” Li Fu smiled maliciously, “If the two of you escaped from the place by betraying our Great Han Dynasty and colluding with those devils how could we just idly stand by and do nothing? Maybe you’ve already become servants to those Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land devils! Or perhaps you’ve brought back spies from that hell with you, in any case, we must thoroughly investigate!”
“That’s right!” Xie Rong’s eyes suddenly became cold as he glanced towards Yang Kai, staring at him and unhurriedly asked, “This friend looks somewhat strange, where exactly does he come from?”
Yang Kai who had been casually listening while he leisurely ate suddenly wrinkled his brow, suddenly realizing that this group of people had seemed to come specifically for him.
All their previous provocations had just been a set up.
“Inconvenient to say!” shaking his head, Yang Kai answered coldly and indifferently.
“Oh, inconvenient to say is it?” Li Fu sneered evilly.
Xie Rong calmly turned to the Hu Sisters, “He was brought here by both of you so you should be clear about his origins, right?”
“I don’t know, we happened to meet along the road.” Hu Jiao Er indifferently replied.
How could she explain where Yang Kai came from? Storm Hall and Blood Battle Gang had fallen into disaster simply be being neighbours of High Heaven Pavilion, if they were to know Yang Kai was actually one those that Sect’s disciples he’d surely suffer a much worse fate.
If the people here were to act without restraint, he might even be killed on the spot.
“Sure enough, you’re suspicious!” Xie Rong righteously roared, “Capture him!”
“Who dares to!” Fang Ziji snarled and stood up. His True Qi surged forth like an erupting volcano.
When he moved, the others did too. All of them vigilantly stared at the Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court disciples. The latter naturally refused to show any weakness as well and drew their weapons while circulating their True Qi.
The scene had rapidly turned violent.
“Hah!” Xie Rong taunted with a sly grin, “You dare to shield people from the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land? You’re all dead!”
Grinning maliciously, a treacherous smile emerged on his face, like things had gone exactly as he planned, and he quickly shouted, “Do it!”
As soon as his voice fell, the two hostile Divine Senses that were locked on this place suddenly turned into a sharp attack filled with a decisive killing intent and plunged straight towards Yang Kai.
Perceiving this, Guan Chi Le’s face filled with rage as he roared, “Be careful!”
The two silent attacks struck Yang Kai’s mind, but in the next instant they had been dispersed by his Soul Palace.
Yang Kai’s face sank, and his eyes became cold.
He had thought that this group of people just wanted to provoke trouble, but now it seems their objective was not so simple.
In the direction the two Divine Senses had emerged from, a purple light flashed across the night sky.
An icy coldness suddenly burst forth and then disappeared without a trace, making everyone wonder if they were imagining things.
But then, two muffled sounds resounded from afar, and the two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters who belonged to Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court both went pale, and their eyes quickly turned bloodshot as they stumbled and nearly collapsed to the ground.
At that moment, both of these masters had simultaneously been attacked by Yang Kai’s Soul Skill. This bizarre Soul Skill was filled with a cold evil intent and had nearly frozen their Knowledge Seas.
Fortunately for them, they had immediately realized the danger they were in and swiftly defended themselves, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Hurriedly stabilizing their Souls, the two masters couldn’t help but look towards each other, and both of them were aware of the shock and panic in the other’s eyes.
Outside, Yang Kai had already moved.
After using his Soul Skill to counterattack those two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters, he moved as swiftly as the wind and instantly arrived before Xie Rong.
Xie Rong still wore the triumphant expression on his face when Yang Kai’s palm landed on his chest and poured blistering True Yang Yuan Qi into his meridians, which sent a wave of extreme pain throughout his body.
Only a single scream was heard before a hand gripped his face and covered his eyes. In a flash, Xie Rong had been dazed and blinded.
“Ah…” The disdainful look on Li Fu’s pretty face instantly disappeared. It had never occurred to her that Yang Kai could survive the attacks of two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters.
The next moment, Yang Kai’s other hand had already grasped Li Fu’s slender neck.
Viciously bringing his hand together, Yang Kai smashed Xie Rong and Li Fu’s heads onto on another, and the tremendous resulting force all but knocked the pair unconscious.
Before they had a chance to being circulating their True Qi, they had been repeatedly beaten into submission.
Both of these two were considered elites from their respective Sects, but at the moment they were like weak children in Yang Kai’s hands, utterly unable to resist.
*Peng Peng…*
After knocking their heads together, Yang Kai slammed Xie Rong and Li Fu into the ground, creating two human-shaped craters as the sounds of bones breaking and shrieks of pain rang out.
It wasn’t until that moment that the rest of the disciples on the scene regained their wits.
*Shua Shua Shua…*
The disciples of Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court all stared towards Yang Kai, and their expressions fluctuated rapidly between rage and fear.
“Who dares make a move!?” Yang Kai mercilessly stepped on Li Fu’s face, half burying her head into the dirt, not showing the slightest bit of restraint, which caused everyone’s eyes to widen.
In his other hand, a sword condensed from his True Qi appeared and arrived atop Xie Rong’s chest.
Under this dark night, the flickering light from the bonfire illuminated Yang Kai’s cold face and created a particularly brutal and terrifying picture.
Everyone from Storm Hall and Blood Battle Gang also stood around awkwardly, apparently stunned into silence as they stared in disbelief at the scene before them.
“Good! Who dares to move!” Fang Ziji was the first to awaken from this stupor, roaring fiercely as he smashed his cup onto the fire.
After a crackling explosion, under the influence of the strong alcohol, the bonfire spat flames like a Fire Dragon a dozen meters into the sky, making the scene even more intense than before.
The bonfire crackled as countless pairs of eyes concentrated on Yang Kai. Concern, surprise, shock, fear, humiliation, anger, a myriad of different emotions all surged forth at once.
One of the Thunder Light Sect’s people quickly stepped towards Yang Kai and with an ugly expression said, “This friend, if you wish to discuss things, can you first let our people go?”
The Soaring Rainbow Court’s response on the other hand was more visceral, and someone yelled in panic, “Quickly release Li Fu Senior Sister!”
Li Fu was a Heaven-sent female in her Sect, and was looked up to and admired by countless numbers of her fellow brothers. At this moment, seeing her enchanting face being stepped on by this brat’s smell foot, how could any of these young Soaring Rainbow Court disciples possibly tolerate such a grave offence?
What was this? It was an unforgivable insult!
Yang Kai however didn’t even blink. His eyes remained cold as he grinned, “Is there anything to discuss?”
“This friend, we haven’t acted against you yet you’ve so severely injured two of our members, don’t you think you’re being a bit excessive?” The young man from Thunder Light Sect replied in a dignified manner.
“Oh really? Interesting!” Yang Kai grinned fiercely and glanced over towards Guan Chi Le, “Senior, what do you think?”
Out of everyone present, only Guan Chi Le was an Immortal Ascension Boundary master, so naturally no one else understood just how dangerous the last few moments were for Yang Kai.
The two Soul Skill attacks from the Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court Elders were undetectable to those who hadn’t cultivated their Souls yet. If Yang Kai hadn’t already cultivated his Divine Sense and been in possession of a defensive Soul Skill, it was almost certain that he’d already be dead.
To all the other juniors here, it had only seemed like Xie Rong had shouted, and then Yang Kai took the lead, making his all out attack seem rather arbitrary and overbearing.
However, Yang Kai and Guan Chi Le were clear about just who the first one to strike was.
Guan Chi Le was also somewhat confused; he didn’t understand how Yang Kai could still be alive, much less completely unharmed. When he heard Yang Kai’s question though, he quickly gathered his wits and stood up, and his expression was no longer the casual one he had been wearing. A touch of curiosity and admiration were apparent in his gaze when he looked at Yang Kai again.
After a moment of indifferent silence, Guan Chi Le smirked, “If it was I, I wouldn’t tolerate it either!”
“Haha, what Senior said is good!” Yang Kai laughed heartily and increased the amount of pressure he was applying to Li Fu’s face again.
“You… you dare do this to me!” Li Fu wailed and shrieked, as dirt and sand filled her mouth the moment she opened it. Her once pretty face was now bloodied and battered, and her eyes were filled with humiliation and unwillingness.
Overall, her strength wasn’t high, her aptitude also wasn’t very good, but in a second-class sect like Soaring Rainbow Court she was still considered one of the elite; with the addition of her innate beauty, naturally she was able to command the wind and rain and had grown a proud and arrogant attitude. Except for young talents like Xiang Chu, other males of her generation weren’t worthy of her attention and instead would fawn over her endlessly. When would she have ever suffered such humiliation?
Tasting the sand in her mouth and imagining how the face she was so proud of was being trampled on, Li Fu almost fainted from anger.
“Shut up!” Yang Kai spat as he shot her a cold glare.
“Go to hell…” Xie Rong obviously was unwilling to be controlled by others, cursing with all his might.
But before he could say another word, his face was greeted by Yang Kai’s fist.
With a loud bang, Xie Rong’s face was planted into the ground and at least five or six of his teeth were shattered, as his mouth filled with blood.
Frightened by this ruthless display, he didn’t dare speak again.
“Stop!” It wasn’t until that moment that the two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court managed to arrive. After the two of them had been counterattacked by Yang Kai’s Soul Skill, they immediately realized that the situation wasn’t good and hurriedly rushed over; however, they still failed to arrive in time.
*Shua shua* The two Elders appeared at the same time and stood roughly five meters in front of Yang Kai, glaring at him coldly with a touch of wariness apparent in their eyes.
Guan Chi Le also moved at that moment, quietly putting himself between the two of them and Yang Kai.
Yang Kai raised his eyes and observed these two.
The strength of these two weren’t very high, even lower than Guan Chi Le. Both of them had apparently only recently broken through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary.
After all, the real masters had already been recalled so those who were left behind were only responsible for supervising the remaining juniors and didn’t need to be that strong.
The three people glared at each other, and the atmosphere grew heavier by the moment.
After a long silence, the two Elders shifted their eyes towards Xie Rong, who was bloodied, and Li Fu, who was sunk into the mud, and couldn’t help but feel a burst of anger.
Seeing their juniors bullied so brutally made their expressions darken. What’s more, this had happened because the two of them had sneak attacked this young man yet had instead been injured when he struck back.
“We understand,” said the Immortal Ascension Boundary from Thunder Light Sect.
“Just some tit for tat!” Yang Kai replied sarcastically.
The Soaring Rainbow Court’s Immortal Ascension Boundary coughed and hesitated, “Young man, you should first let them go, this scene isn’t pleasant to look at.”
“That’s your business, not mine!”
The Elder’s face sank slightly and said, “Are you determined?”
The Thunder Light Sect’s Immortal Ascension Boundary Elder was also displeased, and his expression became cold, “Young man, the things just now was these two old masters’ responsibility, so how about you release our juniors? You should know, as long as we stay on the front lines, we’ll all need to rely on each other at some point.”
Everything that was being said had an air of ambiguity, so the others present only thought they were discussing the impoliteness of Xie Rong and Li Fu, but Yang Kai knew that they were actually referring to the attack these two had launched against him.
Grinning fiercely, Yang Kai shook his head, “Some things can’t be solved before everyone has arrived.”
“What is it you want?” The Thunder Light Sect’s master expression sank even more. Although he knew that Yang Kai wasn’t simple, he also didn’t fear him, but with Xie Rong and Li Fu’s life in his hands, lowering himself to this point was something he had to do.
“I don’t want anything!” Yang Kai sneering again and again as his True Qi violently circulated about his hands.
What Yang Kai really wanted was to clarify why these two people had tried to kill him!
He had only arrived here today with the Hu Sisters, so it made no sense that he had would suddenly provoke such intense murderous intent.
Although he had an idea about what was happening, Yang Kai also thought that his idea was somewhat embarrassing. In short, someone was jealous of him!
“This old master advises you to release them quickly, or you’ll definitely regret it for the rest of your short life!” The Elder from Thunder Light Sect suddenly said, no longer trying to be polite with Yang Kai, and he circulated his True Qi as he spoke to indicate what would happen if Yang Kai didn’t let their people go immediately.
“Are you threatening me?” Yang Kai frowned, and his expression became cold.
“You can think of it like that!” Thunder Light Sect’s Elder replied.
“And you?” Yang Kai turned his eyes to the master from Soaring Rainbow Court.
However this person simply snorted, saying nothing, obviously signaling their agreement.
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded lightly. His expression suddenly became ferocious as he shaped the True Qi in his hands into a pair of swords and swiftly slashed at Xie Rong and Li Fu’s shoulders.
With two crisp sounds, the faces of Xie Rong and Li Fu suddenly went pale, and after a brief stunned silence, terrified screams burst from their lips.
Each of them had lost an arm!
“You…” The masters from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court stared at Yang Kai in horror and disbelief. Neither of them had ever dreamed Yang Kai would act so mercilessly.
Guan Chi Le also couldn’t help feeling like he was staring at a madman, and his eyes filled with shock.
The same went for all of the juniors present.
Yang Kai face once again became indifferent, and he stared with scorn at the two masters before him as he coldly snorted, “Next time, I’ll strike their chests!”
“You dare!” The Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court Elders roared furiously, if Yang Kai really ran them through, how could Xie Rong and Li Fu possibly survive?
“You think I don’t!?” Yang Kai smiled viciously.
The two Elders could barely contain their rage. However, neither of them saw any trace of hesitation or doubt on Yang Kai’s face, nor did they hear any hint of deception in his voice.
Since he dared speak such a threat, he dared carry it out.
The two old men suddenly realized that the young man in front of them didn’t fear them at all. If he did, he wouldn’t have been so decisive. Moreover, his personality was one that would only eat soft food but refuse hard food. Them threatening him had only served to stir up his anger.
“Speak! What do you want in order to end this?” The Soaring Rainbow Court’s Immortal Ascension Boundary master took a deep breath and asked in a low growl.
“You two can’t give me the answers I want.” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, and his gaze shifted slightly, as he stared towards somewhere in the distant darkness.
In the direction he was glaring, Xiang Chu couldn’t help rubbing his nose, and a wry smile blossoming on his elegant face.
“Young Master…” One of the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters behind him whispered, and his brow furrowed slightly, “Is he looking at you?”
“En.” Xiang Chu gently nodded, “Does he know that I’m here? How did he find me?”
“That young man’s intuition is far too keen!”
“Perhaps.” Xiang Chu felt this was all a bit too strange, but he couldn’t come up with a better explanation. Puzzling over it for but a moment, he once again wore a carefree smile and boldly stepped out of the shadows.
Soon after, Xiang Chu appeared in an inconspicuous place nearby and shouted, “What happened? Why did I hear the sounds of fighting?”
Seeing the man in charge of the camp appear, the tension between the two sides suddenly eased slightly.
However, the disciples from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall couldn’t help showing worried expression, while those from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court sneered happily.
These youths all felt that since Yang Kai had blatantly attacked Xie Rong and Li Fu he would certainly receive some kind of punishment.
“Young Master Xiang!” The three Immortal Ascension Boundary experts present all quickly greeted Xiang Chu.
Xiang Chu only nodded lightly before smiling towards the Hu Sisters gently.
Xie Rong and Li Fu grit their teeth and endured their pain, calling out, “Young Master Xiang, save us! This man wants to kill us!”
As soon as they spoke though, Yang Kai sent out two palm strikes to their faces.
Two loud bangs harshly resounded through the night air.
Seeing this, Xiang Chu couldn’t help but frown slightly as the stared a dozen or so meters ahead at Yang Kai.
A trace of dissatisfaction flashed across his eyes but it was immediately hidden.
“Young Master Xiang, the situation is…” The Thunder Light Sect’s Elder quickly approached and tried to explain what had just happened.
However, Xiang Chu raised his hand to stop him before sweeping his eyes across the crowd, finally fixing his gaze on Hu Mei Er and asking, “Mei’er, can you explain what exactly happened here?”
Hu Mei Er was so concerned about Yang Kai right now that she didn’t even care that Xiang Chu had called her by her given name and instead immediately began recanting the events that had transpired just now.
“Is this true?” After listening to Mei Er’s version of events, Xiang Chu turned to the people of Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court and asked.
All of them suddenly hesitated, not knowing how to answer, and all of them simply directed their eyes towards their Elders.
Seeing this reaction, Xiang Chu sneered, “Oh? This young master asked a simple question yet none of you dares to answer?”
The crowd quickly lowered their heads and whispered, “Yes.”
Xiang Chu grinned and said, “So that’s the case. Then the cause of all this was Xie Rong and Li Fu’s inappropriate actions. Although everyone is from different forces, since we’ve gathered together here to fight against the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land we are all part of the same team. Each of us is supposed to help and support one another yet you sought to provoke others and then were taught a lesson because your real skills were inferior. I believe everyone understands who is at fault here. Why haven’t all of you hurried to apologize to Storm Hall and Blood Battle Gang’s disciples?”
“Apologize?” The Immortal Ascension Boundary masters from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court couldn’t help but twitch slightly when they heard this.
Their juniors were also stunned silent and stared blankly at Xiang Chu in confusion.
A light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes as a mysterious grin inexplicably formed on his face.
“Young Master Xiang…” Xie Rong mumbled through his broken teeth and blood leaked from his mouth as he spoke. He had been beaten and humiliated, and just when he thought that Xiang Chu would uphold justice for him he suddenly felt a cold fierce gaze land upon him, hurriedly shutting him up.
Wearing a big smile, Xiang Chu walked forward towards Yang Kai, “Friend, this Xiang Chu has been negligent in his responsibilities and has caused Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall to suffer this injustice. I understand that you are angry, but can you give I, Xiang Chu some face and forgive them? Only by continuing to live can they learn from this lesson and repent. As for tonight’s events, please be at ease, this Chu guarantees that such things will not happen again.”
Seeing him apologize so readily with a completely sincere expression, and his attitude neither haughty nor arrogant, if one didn’t know any better, they’d think Xiang Chu really felt like he had made a mistake.
Xiang Chu humbling himself so caught everyone here by surprise.
The juniors from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall also suddenly felt relieved and elated, though none of them understood how dangerous things were for Yang Kai just now and only thought of this as a fight between members of the younger generation.
Xie Rong and Li Fu who ridiculed them repeatedly had just suffered a big loss, and now Xiang Chu was biased against them, so how could they still be unsatisfied?
Only Fang Ziji and the Hu Sisters glanced towards Yang Kai thoughtfully, faintly feeling that something wasn’t right.
Across a dozen meters or so, Yang Kai stared back at Xiang Chu. It wasn’t until this moment that he truly understood what true hidden intentions looked like.
What had just happened here was obviously seen by the two masters behind Xiang Chu via their Divine Senses. Xiang Chu himself was also not far from here and had clearly watched everything play out, but when he stepped forward he still pretended to know nothing.
This person really hid himself well, a natural born snake.
“What other dissatisfaction does this friend have? If you have any requirements you should feel free to state them.” Xiang Chu smiled slightly.
“Seeing Young Lord Xiang act so fairly, I am naturally satisfied!” Yang Kai grinned.
“Good good!” Xiang Chu said with a warm smile and laughed, “Let us make big things small. Everyone here is a fellow comrade, there’s no need to let this situation become serious. We must know that our true enemy is the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land. This friend, if you could please release them we can then resolve these matters peacefully!”
“Good!” Yang Kai dismissed his swords and then sent out two swift kicks.
With two bangs, Xie Rong and Li Fu flew back to their camps like rag sacks and were caught by their respective Elders, causing a few more of their ribs to break in the process.
Xiang Chu’s eyes couldn’t help but squint, but Yang Kai simply sneered back at him, completely unafraid.
“Little brat…” The Immoral Ascension Elders from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court roared.
“Apologize!” Yang Kai turned to look at them, and his eyes were filled with a profound chill, and his tone was unquestionable.
Both of these masters were enraged, eager to rush forward and rip this arrogant junior in two, but both of them still first turned to Xiang Chu for his opinion, only to see him nod his head.
Seeing Xiang Chu’s response, even though the two of them were a hundred kinds of unwilling in their hearts, they couldn’t afford to affront him, and they muttered under their breaths, “Just now, our juniors had committed a grave offence towards Blood Battle Gang and the Storm Hall! This old master will strictly discipline these disciples and will not allow them to provoke any more trouble!”
“Scram!” Yang Kai sneered.
“Let’s go!” The Elders from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court each held Xie Rong and Li Fu and led their group of young disciples away hurriedly with their hearts filled with resentment.
After they left, Xiang Chu smiled at the Hu Sisters and then politely retreated.
Beside the campfire, it was silent for quite some time until suddenly the disciples from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall burst into cheers. All of them gazed towards Yang Kai with looks of respect and worship and treated him like a great hero.
Although all of them belonged to three different sects, but since they came here, these minor differences no longer mattered. With everyone working together and suffering so much injustice, they had long ago formed deep bonds of friendship. Now seeing Yang Kai act so decisively and exact revenge for them, naturally they felt jubilant and excited.
Only Guan Chi Le sat alone, with his brows slightly wrinkled and his expression pensive.
The Hu Sisters walked over and Hu Jiao Er whispered, “What happened just now?”
“Nothing.” Yang Kai shook his head gently. Just now, almost all of the juniors here realized nothing out of place, and there was no need to spoil their mood by telling them.
Fang Ziji also noticed that something more had happened, but although he still had his doubts, he didn’t ask any more instead changing the subject, “Shall we drink?”
“Good!” Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
Back at Xiang Chu’s temporary residence.
The Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court’s masters had left the injured Xie Rong and Li Fu in their respective Sect’s care and then came there.
A short time later the door opened, Xiang Chu walked in and then sat down without saying a word. His two guards silently took up positions behind him to his left and right.
“Greetings Young Lord!” The two masters from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court hurriedly saluted, but their faces were filled with unwillingness and anger.
However, Xiang Chu simply glanced at them and lightly said, “Tell me, what happened just now? Why is that little brat still alive?”
The masters from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court exchanged a glance before recanting what they had experienced.
After listening to them, Xiang Chu’s brow wrinkled as he quickly asked, “What you’re saying is that not only were your Soul Skills blocked by him, you were instead injured by his Soul Skill?”
The two old men’s faces turned bright red, obviously quite embarrassed.
The Elder from Thunder Light Sect hurriedly continued, “Young Lord, I know this reason sounds far-fetched, but this old master guarantees it is the truth. Please investigate if you have any doubts!”
“Enough, I don’t doubt what you said.” Xiang Chu paused for a moment before suddenly turning to the two masters behind him and asking, “What do you think?”
One of them calmly responded, “If what these two say is true, that kid must have a high quality Soul type artifact on him.”
The other hurriedly added, “It may actually be two! One for defense, another to attack. If not, considering that young man’s cultivation, it would be impossible for him to display an offensive Soul Skill!”
“En.” Xiang Chu nodded, “I think so too.”
Suddenly grinning, “Interesting, he actually has a Soul type artifact. That’s not something an average person can have.”
The eyes of the Thunder Light Sect Elder flashed a cold light, and he solemnly said, “Young Master Xiang, do you want us to…”
“Do you have the ability?” Xiang Chu coldly snorted.
“As long as we can entangle Guan Chi Le, taking that little brat’s head is as easy as pie!”
“No, that brat’s already suspicious!” Xiang Chu shook his head slowly, his expression was rather unpleasant.
“Yes.”
“That’s right, how are Xie Rong and Li Fu’s injuries?” Xiang Chu asked with a hint of concern.
Both the Thunder Light Sect and the Soaring Rainbow Court’s Immortal Ascension Boundary experts gratefully replied, “That little brat was quite vicious with his strikes but still restrained himself somewhat, at the very least there’s no risk to their lives.”
Xiang Chu nodded and casually signaled to his guards.
Immediately, one of them took out a pair of pill bottles and threw them to the Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court Elders.
“These are special healing pills from my Xiang Family. After you return, dissolve them in warm water and feed it to them, they should be able to fully recover after about ten days,” Xiang Chu said.
“Many thanks, Young Lord!” The two elders rejoiced upon receiving this gift and hurried to thank Xiang Chu.
“Good, draw back.” Xiang Chu waved lightly, dismissing the two elders.
“Young Master.” After waiting for the masters from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court to leave, one of the old man behind Xiang Chu took a moment and said, “Why are you so concerned with that young man? That little brat is certainly a little interesting but he’s hardly worthy of your attention.”
Xiang Chu smiled indifferently and slowly got up, “The first time I saw him I knew at first glance that he was very strong. Didn’t you notice that the whole time today he displayed absolutely no fear? Even when both of you showed up, he still maintained the same aggressive stance all while keeping an indifferent attitude. That kid is obviously not someone average. I can’t even estimate his true depths. Good, for now I won’t move against hi. Let’s wait a few days and see how things play out.”
“But after a few days, the war’s decisive battle will be over. At that time we’ll have to return to the clan. Young Master, aren’t you determined to bring those two Hu Sisters back with you?”
Xiang Chu grinned and nodded. “En, so I will have to solve this matter before we are summoned back. Otherwise it will be difficult to meet them later.”
Everything today was because Xiang Chu had seen the Hu Sisters getting along well with Yang Kai. Upon noticing this, he immediately wanted to get rid of Yang Kai. Therefore, he had used the Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court as proxies. After they had killed Yang Kai, he would superficially punish Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court in order to win the Hu Sisters’ favor.
However, he hadn’t counted on Yang Kai’s strength being so tyrannical.
Casually stretching his back, Xiang Chu lightly said, “This is just the first round, nothing to get worked up over. This Young Lord will go rest.”
The two guardians looked at each other and couldn’t understand what their Young Lord was thinking. Tonight’s action had been quite hasty and carried an air of urgency, but now Xiang Chu seemed indifferent to everything. Neither of them could figure out what their Young Master was planning.
For the next ten days, there was peace and tranquility.
Although the confrontation with the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land still technically continued, right now, neither of the forces stationed here had any desire for battle. Everyone’s mind was focused on outcome of the final battle, so there were essentially no battles fought.
The disciples from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court didn’t dare come to provoke trouble after they had eaten such a big loss that night. Even the juniors from other forces detoured around both the Blood Battle Gang and the Storm Hall disciples now.
Yang Kai took this time to enter secluded cultivation. His current environment was incredibly peaceful, and he temporarily had no immediate business to attend to, so naturally he made the best use of this rare idle time.
After half a month of cultivation, Yang Kai’s True Element Boundary Sixth Stage cultivation had been fully consolidated and he was not far from breaking through to the Seventh Stage.
The next day.
Hu Jiao Er and Hu Mei Er stormed into Yang Kai’s room.
“What happened?” Yang Kai asked the two sisters.
“We have to go out,” Hu Jiao Er grinned and said, “Xiang Chu said that this is the last mission we’ll be assigned. After we finish it, we’ll be allowed to return home.”
The thought of returning to their Sect and their family obviously made the two sisters quite excited.
“I’ll accompany you!” Yang Kai stated and quickly stood up.
Hu Jiao Er’s expression suddenly became solemn, and she shook her head, “You can’t.”
“Hm?”
Hu Mei Er continued, “Your identity is still unknown, if you go along with us it will only cause suspicion.”
Hu Jiao Er nodded slightly, “Because of Xie Rong’s prior accusations, many people now suspect that you are a spy from the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land!”
Yang Kai frowned slightly and then looked at the two sisters thoughtfully, “How many people will be deployed this time?”
“Almost the entire camp is being sent, leaving only a minimum number of people behind to guard the camp. All you have to do is stay here and wait for us to return. This mission should only last half a day to three days.” Hu Jiao Er suddenly smiled happily, “Just sit tight. After the mission is completed, Big Sister here will take you home!”
Tai Fang Mountain, atop a ridge.
Hundreds of cultivators were scattered about, and they cautiously monitored their surroundings as they lay in ambush.
According to Xiang Chu, the spies on the other side of Tai Fang Mountain came back with intelligence saying a group of cultivators from the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land would make a final attack today.
So in order to take the initiative, he wanted to set up an ambush here to crush the enemy forces.
Originally, the disciples from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall were skeptical about this news; after all, neither side had shown any interest in fighting for quite some time now so it was odd that the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil cultivators would choose to attack now in the waning moments of the war.
But not long after, a group of devil path cultivators really appeared, which instantly dispelled their doubts.
There weren’t many enemies in this assault, probably about sixty or seventy in total, and the number of Immortal Ascension masters was also miniscule. Under the effective arrangements and commands of Xiang Chu, the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land forces suffered heavy casualties and were forced to flee in panic.
The battle didn’t last long, only about half a day before a complete victory was obtained.
When the Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall disciples gathered together afterwards, they were shocked to discover that there were a lot less of their allies around than expected.
After a closer look, they noticed that the ones who were missing were actually the cultivators from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court!
Immediately everyone realized something was wrong.
“Xiang Chu!” Hu Jiao Er went straight to the Young Master of the Xiang Family, asking with a solemn expression, “Where are Xie Rong and Li Fu?”
Xiang Chu showed a slightly surprised face and replied, “Weren’t they with you while you were fighting the enemy?”
“No!” Hu Jiao Er’s eyes went cold, “I haven’t seen them since the start of the fight!”
“What?” Xiang Chu also wore a confused look and wrinkled his brow for a moment as he watched Hu Jiao Er’s sullen expression, “You mean… bad! Quickly, return to camp!”
Issuing this order, the group of Great Han cultivators dashed off.
Hu Jiao Er stared at Xiang Chu’s back and gritted her teeth as her fists clenched, but eventually held her tongue and instead coordinated with her sister to maximize their speed and race forward as fast as she could.
With the Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court cultivators suddenly disappearing, what they were up to was already obvious.
Originally Hu Jiao Er wasn’t worried about these two Sects seeking revenge from Yang Kai for the previous incident because everyone in the camp was supposed to be involved in this mission. With everyone together on the front lines she could easily monitor their movements, so Hu Jiao Er hadn’t given it any more thought.
How could she imagine they would suddenly disappear after the battle began? By the time she noticed it was already too late.
It seems like everything today was just an elaborate set up, a trap set for them and Yang Kai!
With the anxiety in their hearts surging, Hu Jiao Er and Hu Mei Er began to circulate their Twin Qi Shared Spirit Divine Art, which caused their speed to instantly double, and their two shadows shot past Xiang Chu like meteors.
Xiang Chu’s eyes couldn’t help but squint slightly being surprised by the Hu Sisters’ sudden burst of speed, apparently not having expected the two sisters to be so formidable.
……
Back at the camp, Yang Kai sat cross-legged atop a mat, circulating his True Yang Secret Art as he silently awaited his companions’ return.
However, he didn’t have to wait too long.
When the Hu Sisters left, Yang Kai had regularly swept the area around him with his Divine Sense for any abnormalities.
Opening his eyes suddenly, a brilliant light flashed across them, and his lips curled into a vicious grin as he quickly mutter to himself, “They finally came.”
Since hearing that Hu Jiao Er and the others were going out on a mission, Yang Kai realized that someone would come to deal with him.
However, among the cultivators here, Yang Kai wasn’t concerned with anyone except the two Xiang Family Immoral Ascension masters! But it was impossible for those two to take action because their priority was to protect Xiang Chu and would therefore not leave his side. So, after Yang Kai analysed his current situation, he saw no reason to worry much less leave.
*Shua Shua Shua…*
From all around, the sound of clothes swishing could suddenly be heard. Obviously Yang Kai’s visitors didn’t have any intention of hiding themselves and blatantly took up positions to surround him.
A moment later, everything was silent again, and only a thinly veiled hostility and murderous intent lingered about.
“Since you’ve all come, why bother trying to hide!?” Yang Kai shouted before standing up and sending out a flurry of punches.
As these fist shadows flew out, the house Yang Kai had been staying in exploded into pieces.
Dust and smoke filled the air.
When everything settled again, a series of figures came into view.
Xie Rong of Thunder Light Sect and Li Fu of Soaring Rainbow Court glared at Yang Kai with a pure hatred. Both of them had suffered a major loss at Yang Kai’s hands, and were humiliated and disgraced in front of everyone from their Sects. Xie Rong still didn’t dare open his mouth to speak, fearing that others would see the ugly appearance of his broken teeth.
Behind each of these two stood fifty or so others, but with the exception of the two Immortal Ascension Boundary experts from that night, all of them were members of the younger generation.
Seeing all of this, Xie Rong let loose a burst of arrogant laughter and roared, “Little brat, let’s see if this time you won’t die!”
Li Fu’s pretty face also twisted into a malicious grin, “Never once has anyone shamed me so! I’ll make sure you pay back ten times what you owe!”
The two of them were originally in serious condition; however, with the help of the special healing pills Xiang Chu had provided, after half a month they had basically made a fully recovery, so once they learned that they were free to find trouble with Yang Kai, they naturally couldn’t wait to get their revenge.
“It’s impossible for you, you’re both too weak!” Yang Kai sneered contemptuously, and his expression showed a thick disdain.
Hearing this, Xie Rong and Li Fu glanced at each other and couldn’t help but remember back to that night when they were helpless to defend themselves as Yang Kai had beaten them, and it caused their pride and self-confidence to immediately plummet.
“Young man, you’re insane!” The Thunder Light Sect’s Elder snorted and stepped forward while staring coldly at Yang Kai, “With us old masters here today, do you think your end will be good?”
Yang Kai simply sneered and stared back at him, before casually asking, “All of this is Xiang Chu’s doing right? Including what happened that night.”
The two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters grinned but didn’t answer.
Yang Kai had already planned to settle this at some point, so he didn’t mind their silence and nodded carelessly before asking, “What benefits did he offer you? Were they really worth you offending me?”
The Thunder Light Sect’s Elder laughed disdainfully, “Worth offending you? What dog shit do you count for? After today, you’ll be nothing but broken bones, what does it matter if we offend you?”
A cold light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes as a malicious laughter leaked from his lips, “The price for offending me, I’m afraid you can’t afford it!”
As soon as his words finished, a purple light suddenly burst from his forehead.
[Soul Skill!]
“Spread out!” The Soaring Rainbow Court’s Elder yelled, as he released his own Divine Sense in an attempt to intercept Yang Kai’s attack.
He had eaten a small loss that night and naturally knew the danger of this attack; therefore, he used his Soul’s full force.
However, he hadn’t anticipated that the Soul Skill used by this brat right now would be somewhat different from the previous time. The purple light shot forward into an empty space before suddenly expanding out. A purple halo visible to the naked eye spread to the entire surrounding area, instantly engulfing all the young disciples and causing them to grab their heads and cry out in pain.
The two Immortal Ascension Elders eyes bulged when they saw this, never having dreamed that Yang Kai’s Soul Skill could transform so drastically, catching them off guard and completely negating their efforts to stop it.
The effect was devastating as the purple halos pulsed outwards one after another.
It was as if someone had thrown a stone into a calm lake, causing a continuous burst of ripples.
Before anyone could react, four or five halos had already spread out.
A number of the young disciples who were swept up in this attack soon after ceased crying out as blood spilled from their eyes and noses, dying the ground around them a dark shade of red.
In an instant, eight people had died!
These juniors weren’t very strong nor did they possess artifacts that could defend against Soul Skills, so how could they possibly resist this kind of assault?
“Junior! You court death!” The two old masters from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court burst into fury and flew out to attack Yang Kai.
Laughing wildly, Yang Kai once again used his Soul Skill while simultaneously pushing out both his palms to summon the White Tiger and Divine Ox Seals to constrain the two old masters. Meanwhile, Yang Kai shot forward and flew into the Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court disciple’s ranks and sent out a series of Burning Sun’s Three Layer Blasts in quick succession.
It was like a tiger descending upon a flock of sheep; this group of young disciples was completely unable to cope with Yang Kai’s onslaught. His strength was so fierce that every strike he sent out would collapse someone’s chest or crush someone’s limb, and there was almost no one who could withstand a single blow.
Only Xie Rong and Li Fu, after desperately joining forces, could barely block Yang Kai’s punch, but they were still sent flying over a dozen meters from the impact and fell to the ground unable to get up.
The two Immortal Ascension masters tore through the White Tiger and Divine Ox phantoms in short order, but the scene that greeted them was Yang Kai slaughtering their disciples. In the brief time they had been obstructed another six of their juniors had been killed. Immediately they charged forward and let out an enraged roared, “Little brat, you dare!”
“Dare or not dare, it’s already done!” Yang Kai sneered maliciously and snapped the neck of a Thunder Light Sect disciple before casually tossing his corpse away. The body tumbled five or six meters before stopping.
The hearts of the two Immortal Ascension Elders were nearly bursting with rage. Today, the two of them had led their juniors to find the trouble with Yang Kai, assuming they could settle things with a wave of their hands, but the battle had barely even begun and already a dozen of their disciples had died while their target, on the contrary, was completely unharmed.
Hurriedly charging in, the two old men finally managed to interrupt Yang Kai’s slaughter.
“Stand back!” The Soaring Rainbow Court’s Elder snarled.
Hearing this command, all of the remaining juniors wore ugly yet relieved expressions as they retreated several tens of meters from the fight, and they trembled in fear as they gazed back upon the battle.
Without having to worry about injuring their juniors, the two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters began concentrating on the fight. Attacking together, they launched a flurry of fierce strikes, Their True Qi flashed about like lightning and enveloped Yang Kai in an inescapable torrent.
The two of them were extremely vexed. An Immortal Ascension Boundary master’s biggest advantage when dealing with a True Element Boundary cultivator was the use of their Soul and Divine Sense, but in front of Yang Kai, the two of them not only didn’t dare use their Souls, they also had to divert part of their attention to defend against his Soul Skills. It was easy to imagine how aggrieved they felt.
The three of them fought an exceptionally fierce battle, and although Yang Kai was obviously at an absolute disadvantage, all but completely suppressed by the two masters, he was able to somewhat hold his own. A True Element Boundary being able to withstand the attacks of two Immortal Ascension masters was already a shocking achievement.
Xie Rong and Li Fu paled as they watched, suddenly realizing that on that night, Yang Kai had been holding back against them. It wasn’t that they were negligent or caught by surprise, it was that from the start they were powerless to resist.
Even just now, though they had fully defended themselves, they hadn’t been able to escape Yang Kai’s attack.
“What kind of monster is he, how can he be so strong?” Xie Rong muttered incoherently with a look a pure disbelief plastered all over his face.
Li Fu nodded unconsciously, and her pale face was unable to utter any words as a cold chill ran up her back. In her heart, she infinitely regretted getting involved with such a freak.
His strength and ruthlessness had far surpassed Li Fu’s imagination, and even her original desire for revenge had been all but snuffed out.
Now, Li Fu only hoped that the Elders would be able to severely wound. or better yet kill Yang Kai on the spot. Otherwise, she would never be able to rest easy again.
Waves of heat billowed forth as Yang Kai pushed his True Yang Yuan Qi to the extreme and displayed the full range of his abilities without any hesitation, yet he was still unable to simultaneously confront these two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters.
Not long after, his chest was struck by these two old masters, which caused Yang Kai’s face to pale slightly. As he flew backwards, Yang Kai crashed into a large tree, smashing it to pieces, before hitting the ground with a loud bang.
“Good!” Xie Rong couldn’t help shouting out in joy at that moment, as if he was the one who had managed to injure Yang Kai.
The Elders from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court swooped down and stood a couple dozen meters in front of Yang Kai, staring him down.
Although Yang Kai was wounded by them, both of them knew that it was only a superficial injury. The True Qi of circulating through this young man’s body was extremely rich and pure, enough so that he had resisted at least eighty percent of their attack.
However, the two were still satisfied with this result.
Two Immortal Ascension Boundary experts had joined forces to bully a True Element Boundary junior. If they still couldn’t win, then what face would they have left?
“Brat, let’s see if you can act crazy in front of this old master again!” The Thunder Light Sect’s Elder bellowed angrily.
The Elder from Soaring Rainbow Court also glared at Yang Kai and coldly said, “You’ve killed so many of my Soaring Rainbow Court’s disciples; today you must pay this debt in blood!”
“Heh heh heh …” Yang Kai chuckled as he slowly stood. Although he looked a little miserable at this moment, he was still laughing. Wiping the blood from his mouth he lifted his eyes and stared back at the two Immortal Ascension masters, his fighting intent still raging forth.
“An Immortal Ascension expert. Sure enough, really extraordinary!” Yang Kai’s tone was slightly low, but rather than distressed it was eerily calm.
The two masters opposite him slightly frowned, unable to understand why the young man in front of them still looked calm, relaxed, and completely without fear.
His expression became cold, and the Thunder Light Sect’s expert roared, “Brat, although you’ve killed so many of our juniors, this old master is merciful and is willing to spare your life! Kneel down, waste yourself, and I’ll let you live!”
Yang Kai grinned, “Won’t kill me? Xiang Chu’s instructions I suppose?”
The two Immortal Ascension masters’ brows twitched simultaneously, secretly frightened at how perceptive Yang Kai was.
Yang Kai had killed so many of their disciples that if they were the ones making decisions, how could he possibly keep his life? However, Xiang Chu’s order had been to cripple Yang Kai, so they definitely couldn’t outright kill him! Obviously, Yang Kai being alive was of use to the Xiang Family’s Young Master.
The two factions wanted to form a good relationship with the Xiang Family, so how could they defy Xiang Chu’s order? He was the most likely candidate to become the next Xiang Family Patriarch, so it was imperative to be in his good graces. In the future, such a connection would be extremely beneficial for Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court.
Hearing Yang Kai’s veiled taunt, the master from Thunder Light Sect coldly snorted, “The heavens return kindness with fortune. Of course, that means retribution as well. This matter does not need Young Lord Xiang to meddle in!”
The Soaring Rainbow Court’s Elder quickly followed up, “Damn little brat! Will you waste yourself or do you want this old master to cripple you?”
“Good, good, good!” Yang Kai nodded heavily, and a vicious grin appeared on his face as he sneered at the two old me, “Since you insist on acting as Xiang Chu’s dogs, I’ll treat you as such!”
“Little animal! You’re far too arrogant!” Thunder Light Sect’s Elder roared furiously.
“You really think you two with your Immortal Ascension First Stage cultivations can beat me?” Yang Kai’s look suddenly turned frigid, as he slowly lifted one of his hands. Along with this motion, the burning hot True Yang Yuan Qi that was originally surrounding him disappeared suddenly.
The two Immortal Ascension Boundary experts didn’t know what Yang Kai wanted to do, but their instincts warned them that it wasn’t anything good. They hurriedly exchanged a glance, and then, without hesitation, charged forward again.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly, and his index finger gently wiped across his brow as he eerily chanted.
The faint sound of his voice seemingly contained a mysterious power that caused it to ring clearly in everyone’s ears.
“Devil Transformation!”
*Hong…*
The entire world seemed to shudder. The ground shook, and the sky trembled. An overwhelmingly evil Devil Qi enshrouded the area.
This Demonic Qi was indescribably pure and tyrannical, making the surrounding area feel like it had been plunged into an icy hell. It affected everyone nearby, gripping their hearts with fear while stimulating their darkest impulses.
With this rapid change, the Heavens and Earth roiled; at this moment, Yang Kai seemed to have transformed into a different person.
Before the two masters from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court could reach Yang Kai, their expressions suddenly changed, and they let out a strange cry before abruptly retreating.
*Deng deng deng deng…*
After withdrawing a dozen or so steps, the two old experts managed to regain their footing as their eyes gazed towards Yang Kai, and their expressions became dignified.
The young man in front of them appeared the same as he did just a moment ago. In fact they couldn’t spot a single different, but his temperament and the aura he radiated were completely different. The only thing they could tell was that there was a huge difference in the strength of his Blood Force from before they had charged him.
If the previous Yang Kai made them feel troubled, the present Yang Kai gave them a feeling of dread.
Right now, they sensed fatal danger from him!
Both of them were Immortal Ascension Boundary masters and possessed incredibly keen senses. Although they didn’t know how the young man in front of them had instantly undergone such a drastic change, their instincts were warning them that if they were to fight with Yang Kai now, they would very likely die!
Wild beasts rely on their instincts and intuition!
As for experts like them, their perceptions were even sharper than wild animals.
As soon as this idea flashed across their minds, both of the old men were shocked. How could a trivial True Element Boundary Sixth Stage cultivator give them such an uneasy feeling?
There was also the demonic aura that surrounded them. Even if it was one of the Six Great Evil Kings of the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land, they wouldn’t possess such stifling Evil Qi.
Before the two old men could compose themselves, a series of crackling noises rang out.
Looking straight ahead, with Yang Kai as its centre, they saw a wave of ice spreading outwards, blanketing the ground and freezing the air.
In just a few breaths, a radius of several meters had become a frozen glacier.
The two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters once again retreated, and a glimmer or shock flashed across their eyes.
This cold aura and frigid ice wasn’t ordinary, it even seemed capable of freezing their True Qi; how would they dare easily contact it?
The younger generation disciples nearby shivered violently as horror filled their expressions.
This was the second time Yang Kai had used his Devil Transformation, yet he was still amazed by it. As he cracked his neck and stretched his arms, a burst of overwhelming strength seemed to ripple from his body.
With the exception of his face, Yang Kai’s body was covered from top to bottom in black tattoos. These patterns were intricate and complicated, depicting a mystical charm that was invisible to others.
“Little brat, you really are a spy from the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land!” The Immortal Ascension Elder from Thunder Light Sect suddenly shouted, drawing this conclusion from Yang Kai’s aura.
“Believe that if you want!” Yang Kai snapped back loudly before slowly lifting his hand towards the two Immortal Ascension experts, and then swiftly pressing his palm down a moment later.
From an outsider’s perspective, obviously nothing had happened, but the two old men were stunned as they suddenly felt like a mountain descending from the Heavens was pressing down on them. Under this pressure, the two experts nearly collapsed, and they increased their True Qi circulation to its limit but still were unable to fully offset it.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
The sound of something breaking through the air in front of them caused the two old men to look up, only to see a series of jet black attacks flying towards them from Yang Kai’s direction.
These attacks were like snakes with bloody fangs, suddenly opening their mouths midair, darting about as they snapped towards them viciously.
*Kachaca…*
The ground where these attacks pass over resembled earth that had been ripped open by a fierce wind, and clearly visible gullies were formed as dirt was sent flying to either side. A shocking scene to behold.
These fierce incomparable attacks contained a concentrated frigid aura that seemed to freeze everything in their path and carried an overwhelming force as they sped forward.
The two elders were shocked and horrified, and their faces became pale as ugly expressions appeared on their faces, as both of them immediately did their best to avoid a head on confrontation.
“Trying to dodge?” Yang Kai laughed, while waving both his hands as he directed the Demonic Qi to send it chasing after the two old men.
Simultaneously, Yang Kai once again used his White Tiger and Divine Ox Seals, summoning the two black beast phantoms; however, this time he didn’t use them to attack the two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters but instead sent them after the Thunder Light and Soaring Rainbow disciples.
The two beast phantoms seemed even stronger than the pair he had previously summoned, and in the next instant they appeared in front of a dazed Soaring Rainbow Court disciple.
This young disciple only had a Separation and Reunion Boundary Eighth Stage cultivation and hadn’t yet recovered from his shock. In the blink of an eye, this unfortunate junior had been shredded into a bloody pulp, not even having the chance to scream.
“Run, run, dodge all you want! If I can’t kill you, killing your disciples is just as good!” Yang Kai shouted ruthlessly.
Hearing this shout, those surviving disciples suddenly awoke from their stupor, and an icy chill shot up their spines.
“Shameless bastard!” The Elders from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court both cursed, their rage soaring to unimaginable heights.
Seeing the two phantoms rush up to another of their disciples, the two old men didn’t dare to escape again, and both of them sent powerful strikes towards the two black beasts, narrowly saving that disciple.
“No longer running?” Yang Kai had waited for this moment for a long time, sneering as a cluster of black lights flew out of from his body, once again turning into that snake like attack as it shot towards the two old men.
The Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court’s Elders didn’t have time to avoid this attack as it converged towards them from all directions, so instead they fiercely pushed their True Qi and summoned their artifacts in an attempt to protect themselves, their whole bodies being wrapped up in darkness the next moment.
A series of rumblings rang out from inside that darkness.
Everyone’s eyes stared nervously at the mass of darkness, not knowing what kind of fate would befall the two people surrounded by it.
*Hua…*
The darkness suddenly collapsed and two figures fell from the sky. Both of them were disheveled and embarrassed, but otherwise seemed uninjured.
But if one looked closely, they would quickly discover that the two old men’s eyes that were originally sharp and serene were now flashing with all kinds of evil light as traces of black gas swirled around their bodies.
These black lights were actually wisps of the purest Devil Qi which had been condensed by Yang Kai; if an ordinary person were to touch it they would instantly die!
Yang Kai could ignore the effects of this Devil Qi, but others couldn’t.
The two old men had been affected by this Devil Qi at the moment, which had caused all the malicious and evil thoughts they had suppressed within themselves to rampage. If they couldn’t resolve this Devil Qi in short order, sooner or later they’d fall to the Devil’s Path.
But how could it be so easy to rid purify this Devil Qi? Even a master as powerful as Ling Tai Xu after being affected by a similar form of Demonic Qi had been unable to resolve it, let alone these two Elders from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court.
To some extent, Yang Kai’s Devil Qi was even more potent than the Demon Lord’s.
“Ruthless little brat!” The Thunder Light Sect’s Elder roared as he glared at Yang Kai, and his eyes filled with incomparable hatred.
“I said that you can’t afford the price of offending me!” Yang Kai coldly snorted. His eyes were filled with a frigid indifference.
This was the first battle Yang Kai had after acquiring his Devil Transformation. Although he had long been aware that in this form his strength was greatly enhanced, the extent to which his combat efficiency had been enhanced even surprised him.
Without using the power of the Unyielding Golden Skeleton, with his current cultivation, at best Yang Kai felt he was able to evenly match an Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage expert.
But after using his Devil Transformation, he was able to completely suppress these two Elders without even using his full strength.
Feeling the power coursing through his body was very enjoyable, but Yang Kai knew not to allow himself to drown in it either
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
A series of cracks appeared on the ground beneath the Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court’s Elders as a hidden attack tunneled towards them.
Immediately frightened, the two old men’s faces paled as they instinctively leapt up to dodge.
Yang Kai sneered to himself as he waved his arms, controlling the dark Demonic Qi and sending it flying into the sky at a shocking speed, striking the two Immortal Ascension experts, further embarrassing them.
With the recent lesson still fresh in their memories, the two old men no longer dared to flee indiscriminately and stopped from time to time to jointly repel these attacks so as to avoid Yang Kai’s ferocious killing intent being directed towards their helpless disciples.
However, these attacks were too numerous and both of them had been influenced by Yang Kai’s Demonic Qi before, so right now they couldn’t exert their full strength nor control their bodies freely; therefore, moments later they found themselves suppressed by these black serpents.
At the same time, a black potent Devil Qi suddenly emerged from Yang Kai.
Sending out a deafening roar like the advent of a dragon.
Everyone’s attention was drawn towards this phenomenon, and all of them were immediately struck dumb.
A huge phantom had emerged above Yang Kai, appearing akin to a living entity, atop its head were two dragon horns and it exuded a chilly aura, and its basin sized eyes mercilessly stared down towards the two Immortal Ascension Boundary from the sky.
When this pair of eyes fell upon them, the Elders from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court immediately smelled the breath of death.
Suddenly…
The phantom bellowed and drew out a large amount of Demonic Qi from Yang Kai and shaped it into a physical body.
What ultimately appeared before everyone’s eyes was a towering black dragon, its hundred meter long body condensed completely of vicious Evil Qi, exerting a kind of inexplicable pressure on everything in its surroundings.
This dragon was born from the combination of the dragon tattoo on Yang Kai’s back merging with the Demonic Qi stored inside the Golden Skeleton.
Yang Kai possessed this dragon tattoo while Su Yan bore an Ice Phoenix tattoo.
This tattoo that should have been a symbol of the Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art had now, for some unknown reason, manifested itself in reality. Even Yang Kai had only felt that his back was a bit itchy and casually tried responding to this sensation, never having anticipated such a dramatic result.
Wherever the dragons passed, black snakes formed from Devil Qi followed closely, like the stars surrounding the moon.
The Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court’s masters were trapped mid-air and were still struggling to break free, but before they could get extricate themselves, the huge dragon’s mouth was already upon them.
With a bone chilling crunch, the Immortal Ascension Boundary of the Thunder Light Sect was bitten in two, and his blood splashed out across the ground below.
The black dragon then soared a thousand meters into the air before turning around and dove back down. Its eyes were fixed on the Soaring Rainbow Court Elder.
Having just witnessed his companion die in front of him in such a gruesome manner, being torn in half and eaten, the Immortal Ascension expert from Soaring Rainbow Court was scared stiff, and under such tremendous pressure, his body had lost any ability to resist.
All of a sudden, this old man’s eyes flashed, like he had spotted a chance for survival, opening his mouth and yelling off into the distance, “Fang Lao, Xu Lao. Save me!”
Yang Kai’s expression became cold as he turned his gaze in the same direction and noticed as two mysterious lights quickly approached this place.
It was Xiang Chu’s two guards!
Both of them had cultivations at the Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage and were far stronger than these two Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court Elders.
As these two flew over, they both sent out strikes towards the black dragon, Fang Lao angrily roaring, “Demon! You dare to hurt our people?!”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, kicked off the ground, and flew in front of the Soaring Rainbow Court’s Elder in a single bound, while summoning the Asura Sword to his hand.
*Zheng…*
Numerous sword cries sounded, and with a slash of the Asura Sword, an overwhelming sword wave greeted the attacks of Fang Lao and Xu Lao.
*Boom…*
A series of violent turbulence erupted midair, which pushed Yang Kai back a few steps before he managed to steady himself, and eventually stopped the other side’s attack.
The black dragon descended once more, and just when Fang Lao and Xu Lao managed to close to within two hundred meters, it bit off the head of the Soaring Rainbow Court Elder.
*Kacha…*
The master from Soaring Rainbow Court immediately became a headless body as blood spewed from where his neck once was like a spectacular fountain.
Fang Lao and Xu Lao saw everything but were helpless to do anything. The two of them immediately erupted in rage and mercilessly attacked. One of them sent out a fierce piercing wind, the other a golden light, using various Martial Skills to assault Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s expression remained as calm and indifferent as before, even when facing these two Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage masters, almost like he was fighting two pieces of trash instead.
No longer holding anything back, a thousand blood-red petals suddenly fluttered, accompanied by a rich floral fragrance, every petal akin to an incomparably sharp blade.
Sword Qi flew about as the White Tiger and Divine Ox Seals shot forward.
The three quickly exchanged ten blows but Yang Kai had already fallen into a disadvantage. Even if he had summoned two Heaven Grade artifacts he was still unable to compete with these two masters.
Just as Yang Kai was thinking about whether or not to withdraw directly, two figures rapidly approached.
Hu Jiao Er and Hu Mei Er!
The two beautiful sisters’ faces were both filled with anxiety, but after seeing that Yang Kai was unscathed, they couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief. In the next instant when they saw Fang Lao and Xu Lao attack, anger quickly welled up inside them.
Without any discussion or hesitation, the two joined forces and joined the battle.
Their Twin Qi Shared Spirit Divine Art shined at this moment; both sisters’ cultivations were just True Element Boundary Fourth Stage, but using this mystical Secret Art, the force of their True Qi shot up exponentially, and each of them showed combat abilities not inferior to peak True Element elites, and when the two of them synchronized their swordplay, attacking in concert, they had enough strength to compete with an average Immortal Ascension First Stage master.
Either Fang Lao or Xu Lao could easily defeat them regardless of how heaven defying the increase in their combat strength was; however, these two flowers were Xiang Chu’s favored women, so neither of them dared injure them, which left the two old men feeling somewhat helpless.
Instead, with the Hu Sisters’ assistance, Yang Kai and his black dragon were finally able to defend themselves.
“Two Young Ladies!” Fang Lao’s expression became grim as he shouted, “This man is a demon!”
Hu Jiao Er simply snorted, “I don’t know whether he’s a demon or not, I only know that he is my friend!”
“Young Ladies, please stand back! You do not recognise this man!” Xu Lao also advised.
“If you want to kill him, you’ll have to kill us first!” Hu Mei Er appeared more innocent and naive than her elder sister, but at this moment she firmly made her resolve.
“He’s already killed so many of our comrades from Soaring Rainbow Court and Thunder Light Sect. He’s already fallen onto the Devil’s Path! He’s no longer the person you knew! Now he has no consciousness and won’t recognize the two young ladies at all! Quickly separate yourselves from him!” Fang Lao argued anxiously.
Listening to these overtures, Yang Kai simply grinned, silently sending out an order, launching the black dragon towards him with a demonic roar.
“Presumptuous!” Fang Lao angrily shouted and sent out a palm strike towards the black dragon, striking its head dead centre, knocking it backwards before it had a chance to bite him. But Fang Lao was also shaken back a step, causing him to stare blankly at the hundred meter long dragon, and an uncomfortable feeling welled up in his heart.
“Stop!” An angry voice rang out through the air from somewhere in the distance.
After hearing this voice, Fang Lao and Xu Lao hesitated for a moment before glaring furiously at Yang Kai and then falling back.
Hu Jiao Er and Hu Mei Er also hurriedly arrived at Yang Kai’s side and asked with concern, “Are you alright?”
Yang Kai shook his head slowly, his eyes gazing forward.
After slaughtering so many cultivators from Thunder Light Sect and the Soaring Rainbow Court he had already achieved his purpose. At this moment, with his black dragon floating nearby, if Yang Kai wanted to leave, even Fang Lao and Xu Lao couldn’t restrain him.
Right now, Yang Kai was truly fearless.
Along his line of sight, Yang Kai carefully observed Xiang Chu as he approached the camp. Even with such a chaotic situation before him, this Young Master Xiang displayed a calm demeanor befitting the son of a great noble family.
However, while looking at the bloodied and broken bodies scattered across the ground, Xiang Chu’s eyes showed clear traces of surprise and discomfort.
*Shua Shua Shua…*
A large group of people emerged behind Xiang Chu soon after, the disciples from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall all anxiously looking around before their eyes quickly landed on Yang Kai.
Guan Chi Le’s old eyes narrowed as his heart shuddered. After seeing the two dead bodies of the Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court Elders, he couldn’t stop himself from trembling lightly.
Right now, clear lines had been drawn.
Except for the members of Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall who sided with Yang Kai, everyone else was clearly stood with Xiang Chu.
Fang Lao and Xu Lao even quietly circulated their True Qi, guarding against any actions Yang Kai might take.
As Xiang Chu swept his eyes across Yang Kai and felt the dense Evil Qi radiating from his body, he couldn’t help but wrinkle his brow, and when he saw the black demonic dragon that floated nearby, his expression became even sterner.
He could feel the frightening power this dragon resonated, and a coveting and greedy impulse flashed across his thoughts.
But as he examined further and discovered that this dragon was condensed purely from Evil Qi, Xiang Chu quickly dispelled these thoughts.
After looking around for a moment longer, Xiang Chu solemnly asked, “What happened here?”
Fang Lao hurriedly replied, “Young Master, when I and Xu Lao arrived, we discovered that this little brat had fallen to the Devil’s Path and was attempting to kill Cheng Ming of Soaring Rainbow Court. Unfortunately these two old masters were incompetent and couldn’t rescue Cheng Ming before…”
“Cheng Ming is dead?” Xiang Chu’s expression revealed a look of surprise.
“Yes,” Fang Lao nodded, pointing to a body not far away, “That is all that remains of his broken corpse!”
“What about the Immortal Ascension Elder from Thunder Light Sect?” Xiang Chu asked.
“Dead before we arrived.”
Xiang Chu involuntarily trembled.
He thought he had overestimated Yang Kai’s combat ability as much as possible, but he never expected that his ‘overestimation’ still far, far underestimated Yang Kai’s strength.
Two Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage Elders had actually been killed by him. Just how strong was he in the end?
“Young Master, that young man has already stepped into the Devil’s Practices, unable to recognize his friends of family any longer. This old master asks the Young Master’s permission to seek justice for our fallen comrades by executing him!” Fang Lao grunted.
Xiang Chu frowned, seeming to hesitate.
Hearing this request, Hu Jiao Er hurriedly interrupted, “Old bastard, who exactly has fallen to the Devil’s Practices?”
Hu Jiao Er had always been stronger willed than her sister. On any other day she would still treat Fang Lao as an honored Senior, however, at this moment, seeing him actually wanting to kill Yang Kai, she couldn’t help but curse him as an old bastard.
Fang Lao’s eyes twitched upon hearing a junior insult him so, but due to this girl’s identity, he couldn’t respond too forcefully and instead calmly replied, “Him? With his current appearance how hasn’t he fallen to the Devil’s Practices?”
Hu Jiao Er simply sneered, “If he’d already fallen into the Devil’s Practices, do you think we could still stand safely beside him? Are you blind?”
Hearing this argument, although they were annoyed with her tone, Fang Lao and Xu Lao also couldn’t help but hesitate, uncertain about what exactly was happening. Yang Kai’s current state was completely beyond their understanding. There was no doubt that he was under the influence of a Heaven shaking Evil Qi that should have completely distorted his consciousness, but the look in his eyes was clearly calm, without the slightest taint one would associate with the Devil’s Practices.
“Also, you only saw him kill Cheng Ming, have you ever once stopped to think about what the old dog did to him?” Hu Jiao Er’s tone became more intense.
Fang Lao moved his mouth to retort only to freeze up the next instant, and he remained silent for a few moments before saying, “This old master only believes what he has seen.”
Hu Jiao Er’s sneer became even deeper, “Two weeks ago, these people from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court suffered a big loss at his hands. Today they abandoned their duties at the front lines and came back here in secret. For what purpose? I’m sure you can guess! Even if Yang Kai really killed them, it can only be considered self-defence. All the dead here brought this on themselves; what does it have to do with him? When an elder wants to kill you, do you have to stretch out your neck and let them cut off your head? If someone else attacks you, are you not allowed to resist?”
Guan Chi Le nodded firmly, “The First Young Lady is right! The people from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court not only took action behind our backs but also deserted the battlefield in order to kill one of our own! The Young Lord must uphold justice!”
“Please judge the situation fairly Young Lord!” Fang Ziji barely managed to contain his smile while also adding his voice.
Xiang Chu smiled indifferently and said, “If things are really like this, this young master will certainly mete out punishment to those from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court to serve as a warning to others!”
Pausing here though, Xiang Chu continued, “But in the end all of this is just your assumptions. All of you came back with me and none of you saw clearly what happened. Naturally this young master also did not witness what happened either; therefore, I suggest that the parties involved, both sides, explain exactly what happened here.”
“I have no objections!” Yang Kai grinned and nodded.
“This young master appreciates this friend’s understanding.” Xiang Chu nodded then turned to his guards, “Fang Lao, Xu Lao, gather up those who are still alive!”
“Yes!” The two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters flew out and after a few short breaths had brought back all the juniors who had survived.
Many of them were seriously injured and could barely keep themselves from falling over. Xie Rong and Li Fu, although quite embarrassed, still couldn’t hide how badly beaten they were.
Quietly glancing towards Yang Kai, the two juniors quickly took back their gaze in a panic, and their junior brothers and sisters didn’t even dare to look at Yang Kai.
Over the course of the previous fight, a deep and profound fear of this mysterious youth had taken root in their souls.
Even the powerful Elders who were from their parents’ generation had been easily slaughtered by Yang Kai, so how could these young people have any ability to resist?
“Xie Rong. Li Fu.” Xiang Chu called out firmly.
“Ye… ye… yes…” Xie Rong trembled as he stuttered to respond, Li Fu, even more so, was unable to compose herself enough to speak.
Xiang Chu’s brow furrowed slightly but quickly put on a kind expression, “You two should have seen everything with your own eyes, right?”
“Ye… yes.”
“Good, then recount everything that happened, including all the details you can remember, if you dare conceal or lie about anything, you know the consequences!” Xiang Chu said lightly.
Xie Rong and Li Fu glanced at each other, but neither of them dared to speak.
Seeing this, Hu Jiao Er smirked, “A guilty conscience makes one nervous.”
Xiang Chu rubbed his forehead before grinning, “Jiao Er, please don’t say such things before we’ve made a conclusion.”
Hu Jiao Er coldly snorted in return, “Young Lord Xiang, I don’t want to remind you again, please don’t call my name so familiarly.”
“Apologise Young Lady Hu, I was distracted and spoke negligently.” Xiang Chu replied smoothly without a hint of embarrassment in his voice and once again turned to face Xie Rong and Li Fu before continued, “If you don’t dare to speak, then this Young Lord must conclude that you are in the wrong and will kill you right now!”
Xie Rong and Li Fu couldn’t help shuddering as their eyes met Xiang Chu’s.
However, Xiang Chu swiftly added, “But if you are the ones who have been wronged, this Young Lord also swears to uphold justice for you!”
Hearing this sentence, everyone from Storm Hall and Blood Battle Gang couldn’t help but frown.
Xiang Chu’s words sounded fair and unbiased, but upon further thought they held a profound meaning.
Sure enough, Xie Rong and Li Fu once again looked at each other, and their panic-stricken emotions gradually stabilized as they seemed to have found a support to lean on.
Li Fu finally managed to whisper, “Xie Rong, you say it.”
Xie Rong swallowed hard, grit his teeth, and nodded. “Good.”
Taking a deep breath and not daring to look in Yang Kai’s direction, he spoke in a deep and aggrieved tone, “Earlier today, when we were fighting on Tai Fang Mountain our two Sects ended up chasing down a group of Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land cultivators. After killing them, we discovered that we were not far from the camp and decided that backtracking to meet up with Young Lord Xiang wasn’t necessary, so we simply returned here.”
“Dog shit!” Hu Jiao Er couldn’t help shouting, “Since the beginning of the fight, I never once saw anyone from your two Sects! What ‘chasing down Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land cultivators?’ You clearly decided to sneak off and return to camp from the very start!”
“I swear what I’ve said is the truth! Young Lord Xiang, if you don’t believe me, you can search the western outskirts of the camp, there should still be some fresh bodies left there.”
Xiang Chu nodded slightly, “I’ll definitely investigate your claims. If you were chasing down our enemies, that is something to be commended, however… failing to return to the rally point was definitely a mistake in judgement by your two Sects. I have no choice but to reprimand you in regards to such an error, I assume you have no complaints, correct?”
“None!” Xie Rong and Li Fu shook their heads at the same time.
The Hu Sisters nearly choked on their anger as although Xiang Chu seemed to be properly handling matters, his statements and judgements so far were clearly favouring Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court.
“Continue!” Xiang Chu motioned casually.
“When we and our respective Elders returned to camp, we planned to send out a few of our members to report our situation to Young Lord Xiang but before we had a chance to sit down and rest, we suddenly felt an eruption of Evil Qi.”
“An eruption of Evil Qi?” Xiang Chu frowned.
“Right, we had never felt this kind of wicked aura before. The Elders of our two factions thought that some incredibly powerful demons had infiltrated the camp and thus led all of us back to confront them, but when we found the source of the aura it was actually… actually…”
“What, speak up?”
“It was that person.”
“What man?” Xiang Chu asked.
“The strange man the Hu Sisters brought back with them the other day!” Xie Rong replied in a horse voice.
Xiang Chu looked over at Yang Kai, who simply smiled back at him.
It was a plain smile filled with a look of self-confidence, leaving Xiang Chu at somewhat of a loss.
“And then?” Xiang Chu asked, turning his eyes back to the two juniors in front of him.
“Then… then… that man madly attacked us! Our two Elders couldn’t stop him and many of our fellow disciples were either killed or heavily wounded. In the end, the two elders sacrificed their own lives trying to save as many of us juniors as possible.” As Xie Rong recanted this horrific tale, his voice seemed to contain infinite grievances and pain, and even his breath quickened as he mournfully said, “This humble one begs Young Lord Xiang uphold justice and exact revenge for the fallen Brothers, Sisters, and Elders of our two Sects!”
Li Fu also shed tears as she frantically wiped her eyes, weeping as she added, “Young Lord Xiang please! This hatred cannot go unsettled!”
Listening to these two, the disciples from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall ground their teeth, and a bitter rage and hatred welled up in their hearts.
Xiang Chu was silent for a moment before motioning, “You two, get up.”
“If Young Lord Xiang cannot uphold justice for us and kill this demon, we will kneel here forever!” Xie Rong and Li Fu declared as they lowered their heads to the ground.
Xiang Chu’s expression became somewhat displeased seeing their display, saying, “Things have yet to be made clear. All of this is just your side, but if you wish to kneel, then just kneel.”
Lifting his eyes, he smiled towards Yang Kai and continued, “This friend, your situation doesn’t appear to be so simply described, if you have something to say, this Young Lord will hear you out.”
The Hu Sisters turned and stared towards Yang Kai.
However, Yang Kai simply shrugged and said indifferently, “Nope!”
“Yang Kai!” Hu Jiao Er’s beautiful face immediately cramped up, and she nervously seized his arm.
Xiang Chu was also quite surprised and couldn’t help looking at him strangely. It seemed like he hadn’t expected Yang Kai to not argue back.
Upon seeing the calm, disdainful look on his face, Xiang Chu had a faint bad premonition.
He dared not defend himself, and he didn’t seem the slightest bit nervous, so obviously he wasn’t afraid he would suffer any consequences from this situation. Was he simply arrogant, or was he still hiding something that gave him this sense of confidence?
“Yang Kai, you have to fight back, they’ve slandered you so, how can you just stand there and say nothing?” Hu Mei Er also pleased anxiously.
But Yang Kai just maintained a light smile and replied, “Since they already have the predisposition to condemn me, context does not matter. So let’s not waste our breath.”
At that moment, the Hu Sisters frozen for an instant before suddenly realizing that no matter what argument or defence Yang Kai put forward it was useless. His current state was enough for everyone to label him a demon!
Now that they were at war with the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land, what was the fate of a demon that had appeared here? Everyone would slaughter him! So even if the Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court people were the ones who acted first, Yang Kai’s reasons were meaningless.
Justifications? All of that was just wasted spit!
His expression gradually sinking, Yang Kai sneered, “Whether I am a man or a devil, that’s not for outsiders to decide.”
Xiang Chu’s eyes couldn’t help squinting as he stared at Yang Kai fixedly.
After a long time saying, “What this friend means to say is, this young master isn’t qualified to pass judgment on you?”
“You think you’re worthy?” Yang Kai looked at him indifferently.
“Bold!” Fang Lao shouted, “The Xiang Family is a first-class family, and the Young Lord is the commander of this camp, yet you, a mere stray dog, dares say the Young Lord isn’t worthy?”
“A first-class family, how awe-inspiring!” Yang Kai laughed rampantly.
“So be it! This Young Lord will let you understand the power of a first-class family today!” Xiang Chu was also angered by Yang Kai’s slights, and he coldly snorted, “Fang Lao, Xu Lao, capture this demon.”
“Yes!” The two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters responded firmly.
“You dare!” The Hu Sisters flew out, placing themselves in front of Yang Kai.
Xiang Chu’s complexion sank and a hint of jealous anger flashed across his eyes. Taking a deep breath he said, “Two young ladies, if you don’t want to get hurt, I suggest you stand back. If you continue to insist on this course of action, this Young Lord will have no choice but to assume you are in league with this demon and capture you together with him!”
“Such great prestige!” Guan Chi Le took a step forward and sneered, “Young Master Xiang, is this how your Xiang Family handles its affairs?”
Xiang Chu’s expression became gloomy, “This how I, Xiang Chu, handle affairs! If this demon isn’t punished, how could our people feel at ease!”
Xiang Chu’s words were forceful and inspiring.
The people from Thunder Light Sect and Soaring Rainbow Court were originally miserable, but as soon as they heard this, their expressions became excited. Xie Rong and Li Fu also raised their heads with pride and glared with hatred towards Yang Kai, hoping to see a look of desperation on his face.
“Good good!” A booming voice suddenly echoed from the distance.
This unexpected change startled everyone, and all of them quickly turned in the direction from where the voice came from.
A few thousand meters away, a group of beasts flew across the ground towards them at an astonishing speed.
Cloud Treading Colts, a Third-Order Monster Beast that although not strong in combat, possessed great speed and endurance! On top of that, they were relatively docile which made them suitable for use as mounts.
A Cloud Treading Colt was capable of traveling several thousand kilometers a day, the best amongst them even capable of crossing ten thousand kilometers at once. Such speed was faster than most low level Immortal Ascension Boundary masters and had the added advantage of a cultivator not needing to consume their own True Qi.
Therefore, amongst many large forces, it was common to domesticate some Cloud Treading Colts to use for transportation. However, the number of these Monster Beasts was not large, and each one was worth several tens of thousands of silvers. Besides first-class and great forces, others with weaker backgrounds had no way to afford such mounts.
To some extent, being able to ride a Cloud Treading Colt was a sign of strength and identity.
The newcomers approached to a distance of thirty meters or so before stopping. The age of their leader looked almost the same as Xiang Chu, and he obviously came from an impressive and powerful force. Behind him, he was followed by two Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh or Eighth Stage masters.
Crossing a thousand meter distance had only taken them an instant.
“After not meeting for a few months, it seems Brother Xiang’s temperament is the same as always.” The leading youth laughed heartily. In front of the crowd, he didn’t bother dismounting and instead proudly sat atop his Cloud Treading Colt and looked down at everyone from above. Only when his eyes landed on Yang Kai did he display a slightly dignified air.
Such potent Demonic Qi was naturally not something they could ignore.
The two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters behind the lead youth also fixed their gazes on Yang Kai and secretly circulated their True Qi to guard against any unforeseen threats.
“This guy is called Nan Sheng!” Fang Ziji knew that Yang Kai was ignorant of the circumstances and quickly approached to explain to him, “He’s the Young Lord of the Nan Family, another first-class family and has the same status as Xiang Chu. The Nan Family and Xiang Family have been marrying one another for several generations so the relationship between the two has always been very good. Be careful about him, he’s even more overbearing and uncompromising than Xiang Chu.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded slightly; if Xiang Chu was the kind of sinister character who plotted against you while wearing a smile, then this Nan Sheng should be a straightforward person who let his actions speak for themselves.
Xiang Chu gloomy expression finally settled when he saw this youth. Chuckling lightly as he cupped his fists and said, “Brother Nan, how come you’ve come here? Weren’t you stationed a few hundred kilometers away at a different section of the front?”
The Xiang Family was in charge of the Tai Fang Mountain region while the Nan Family had been given command of another section of the front line a few hundred kilometers away. It was also a first-class family and certainly had the qualifications to hold such a post.
Nan Sheng soon grinned, casually dismounted from his Cloud Treading Colt, and said, “Wasn’t the decisive battle finished two days ago? The Eight Great Families announced a couple days ago that we can go back, but as we were passing through we felt an unusual presence. Never did I expect to come across such a good show. How come you haven’t left here yet?”
While speaking, Nan Sheng looked Yang Kai up and down.
Xiang Chu’s face twitched slightly before replying, “We had just completed our last mission today and I was planning to tell everyone this good news after we had finished it, but I hadn’t thought some startling changes would have occurred here and thus haven’t had time to announce it.”
Suddenly, everyone from Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall stared at Xiang Chu.
The decisive battle had already ended two days ago!
If they hadn’t inadvertently heard this news from Nan Sheng’s mouth, they might still have been kept in the dark!
If all of this was true, then how would the cultivators from the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land come to attack their camp two days after the final battle?
What commander would do such a pointless act?
However, it was precisely at that moment that Yang Kai had encountered a problem here. Obviously there was more to the situation than met the eye.
In a flash, everyone had understood many of these key points.
“Changes…” Nan Sheng nodded slightly, frowning as he shifted his gaze to Yang Kai and said, “Him?”
“En.” Xiang Chu replied.
“A demon, heh, interesting!” Nan Sheng held his chin with one hand and looked over Yang Kai like he was evaluating a commodity. “This young demon actually has such a strong Evil Qi, it looks like his cultivation technique isn’t simple.”
“It’s definitely not simple.” Xiang Chu readily acknowledged in a serious tone.
Nan Sheng was slightly surprised, he had rarely seen Xiang Chu wear such a dignified look. Unable to hold back his curiosity he asked, “How so?”
“Two of our Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage masters were killed by him!”
“What?” Nan Sheng paled slightly while the two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters behind him were also equally shocked.
“Brother Xiang, you must be joking, right?” Nan Sheng paused for a moment before shaking his head, obviously he didn’t believe this outlandish claim. “He seems to only have a True Element Boundary Sixth Stage cultivation. How could he have killed an Immortal Ascension Boundary expert? Let alone two of them.”
“The bodies are right over there, how could I be joking with you? In fact, all the dead cultivators here died at his hands.” Xiang Chu shook his head grimly.
The Immortal Ascension Boundary masters behind Nan Sheng also came forward and whispered, “Young Master, this person can’t be underestimated. His Blood Force and his aura are both extraordinary, and the black dragon behind him is also unusual.”
Even the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters of his own family spoke so seriously, which forced Nan Sheng to hurriedly stifle his cynicism and whisper, “If I were to face him, what would my chances of winning be?”
The two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters silently groaned to themselves, at somewhat of a loss.
“Say it!”
“None!” The Immortal Ascension Boundary master grit his teeth and replied.
Nan Sheng took a deep breath and once again re-evaluated Yang Kai. Even if it was the juniors from Eight Great Families or the core disciple from the various great Sects, there were only a few people in his he stood no chance of winning against, but now this young demon had suddenly emerged and could also completely suppress him. Wouldn’t that mean his aptitude and strength were at least on par with those Heaven chosen geniuses?
His eyes narrowing slightly, Nan Sheng quickly said, “Such a dangerous character should be killed immediately, letting him live will only lead to more trouble in the future.”
Xiang Chu nodded, “I also think so.”
“Then why the hesitation?” Nan Sheng looked puzzled.
Xiang Chu could only grin wryly.
Nan Sheng swept the surroundings once again, frowning slightly, “These people are obstructing you?”
“En, it’s a bit complicated.” Xiang Chu nodded helplessly.
“Anyone who dares interfere, dies!” Nan Sheng coldly snorted, “Fighting together with demons at this time, even if we kill all of them nobody will object.”
The Blood Battle Gang and Storm Hall cultivators all paled while staring alertly at Nan Sheng.
Originally, the two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters beside Xiang Chu were enough to suppress them. Now that Nan Sheng had brought two more equally powerful masters, if they were really to fight, none of them would survive.
“Junior Brother Xiang, why are you still acting so softly in this situation?” Nan Sheng glanced towards Xiang Chu with his head tilted, a slight look of displeasure on his face.
However, Xiang Chu wryly smiled, “Some people… I can’t bear to kill.”
As he spoke, his eyes drifted towards the Hu Sisters, leaving no ambiguity in his intentions.
The Xiang Family and Nan Family had been related through marriage for several generations. Xiang Chu and Nan Sheng had even played with each other since childhood. They were as close as real brothers so when he saw Xiang Chu’s expression, Nan Sheng naturally understood what he was thinking.
Nan Sheng was well aware of Xiang Chu’s personality and methods, so with only a moment’s thought, he suddenly understood many things.
Some words were inconvenient for Xiang Chu say, but Nan Sheng could still grasp what he meant.
[Fuck, I had only planned to see him while passing through here but now I actually have to help this little brat with his schemes! This brat already has a few wives waiting for him back home but he’s still not satisfied!] Nan Sheng couldn’t help feeling depressed in his heart.
However, after stealing a quick glance at this pair of twins, they were indeed somewhat fascinating, and it was no wonder he had been tempted by them.
As such, Nan Sheng acted decisively, pointed to the Hu Sisters, and declared, “Two young ladies, do you want to die?”
Hu Jiao Er sneered back, “If it’s possible to live who would choose to die?”
“Good, step aside then, this matter has nothing to do with you, all we want is to kill that bastard beside you.” Nan Sheng ordered, all but disregarding the sisters’ opinions.
The Hu Sisters naturally shook their heads and stood firmly beside Yang Kai.
Nan Sheng was stunned, and a burst of complaints rattled around inside his head. [Damn that brat Xiang Chu, the two women he’s after already had a sweetheart, no wonder there was such a fuss.]
[I see!]
Under these circumstances, Nan Sheng finally understood everything. The drama that had unfolded before he arrived now abundantly clear.
Staring at them for a moment, Nan Sheng suddenly said, “Do you want to protect his life?”
The Hu Sisters were unhappy being stared at like this but eventually nodded their heads.
“Very well,” Nan Sheng laughed, “You two, marry my Brother Xiang and I, Nan Sheng, will guarantee his life for you!”
When this statement was made, everyone was shocked.
Xiang Chu immediately objected in a fluster, “Big Brother Nan you can’t! It’s true I have an interest in these two girls, but killing this demon takes precedent! How can we confuse our priorities here?”
Nan Sheng snorted in response, “What’s wrong? Here you can make the decisions, what you decide is what goes! If I support you as well then nobody will object.”
Turning back, he looked at the Hu Sisters and said, “What do the two ladies think?”
“In your dreams!” Hu Jiao Er refused quickly and decisively.
Nan Sheng’s face sank, and his gaze became slightly cold and contemptuous, so sneering he said, “You two seem to only be disciples of a second-class Sect, right? My Brother Xiang was born into a first-class family and is also a strong contender to be its next patriarch. Whether it’s status, strength, or looks, marrying him is nothing but beneficial to you. On the other hand, you two women are but trivial commoners, no matter what you try to achieve, sooner or later you’ll have to be married and now a Young Lord of a first-class family is willing to take you in! As far as I can see, you being able to marry my Brother Xiang is your life’s good luck!”
Although Nan Sheng’s speech was utterly offensive and demeaning, the Hu Sisters remained completely indifferent.
“I’ll say this once more, either he dies or you two marry my Brother Xiang and I let him live! How to choose, you can decide for yourselves.” Nan Sheng said in an overbearing tone, not giving the Hu Sisters any room to bargain, even sneering as he continued, “I’ll give you once incense worth of time, if by then you haven’t decided, I’ll show no more mercy. If anyone else objects or tries to stir up trouble, they’ll be executed on the spot!”
Done speaking, he stood beside Xiang Chu and gazed indifferently at the crowd.
From beginning to end, Xiang Chu had actually only said one sentence, and then was unable to interrupt again.
Things having developed to this point, the Hu Sisters would have to be stupid to not understand.
“Hmph, so all of this was all your doing.” Hu Jiao Er looked accusingly at Xiang Chu, “You set Yang Kai up like this and then planned to use him to threaten us right?”
Xiang Chu quickly wore an indifferent expression and said, “Jiao Er, if that’s what you think, then you have greatly misunderstood me.”
Nan Sheng couldn’t help roll his eyes, thinking that this little bastard still wanted to act aloof and arrogant at this point, if he had simply taken the direct approach anything these two girls said would be the same as farts.
Two second-class Sect’s female disciples, even if they were unwilling, what could they do in this situation?
“Whether or not I’m misunderstanding, you would know better than me!” Hu Jiao Er sneered disdainfully.