Chou Yuan thought that with Xu Zhi Shen coming in person, the latter would immediately kill Yang Kai to take revenge for the injured Young Master. How could Chou Yuan have anticipated that he would be forced to step forward?
Staring at the young man who was directing a meaningful grin towards him, Chou Yuan let out a cry of panic before turning around and fleeing before the stunned gazes of the crowd.
He didn’t dare to fight Yang Kai because he knew he would definitely die, so he chose to run.
The eyes of everyone on the scene bulged. Among the more than twenty people who had come, there weren’t just Xu Family cultivators, but also some from Hai Ke Family. Besides Wu Yi, who was looking at Yang Kai with anxiety, wondering how he would resolve this crisis, everyone else had intended to just watch the show.
But now, before the show had even started, this kind of strange scene had taken place, dumbfounding them.
Even Xu Zhi Shen was stunned for a moment, but soon his expression became cold and gloomy. With a wave of his hand, he condensed a rope with his Saint Qi before swiftly sending it out towards the fleeing Chou Yuan and instantly capturing him.
Xu Zhi Shen let out a snort and the rope let out a brilliant glow. Horrifying energy fluctuations broke out and as Chou Yuan let out terrified screams, the rope dug deeply into his flesh.
With a loud crack, the sound of bones breaking echoed through the air and a bloody smell wafted out. The panicking Chou Yuan suddenly seemed to obtain extrication and the fear in his eyes gradually dissipated, his vitality soon dispersing as his body exploded into a heap of rotten meat.
There was no will to fight in Chou Yuan’s heart; with the regression of his realm, he had only wanted to escape as quickly as possible, never had he expected that his own family’s Elder would suddenly send out a killing blow, leaving him no time to resist.
“Timid as a mouse!” Xu Zhi Shen became somewhat angry out of shame and cursed, unable to understand why Chou Yuan had acted so, actually wanting to flee when facing a young man whose strength only reached the Third Order Saint Realm. This was a huge loss of face for the Xu Family that caused the surrounding Hai Ke Family spectators to snicker.
Naturally, Xu Zhi Shen wouldn’t show any mercy.
“Fine, this old master will take action personally!” Xu Zhi Shen took a step forward and he glared at Yang Kai coldly, “This old master must see what gives you the guts to offend my Xu Family!”
The thinly veiled meaning behind is words was clearly felt by the several Hai Ke Family Elders, causing them to frown slightly. Although they weren’t pleased with his tone, none of them spoke out.
If any of them were to try to argue, it would mean that Hai Ke Family was supporting Yang Kai, and that would only fuel resentment between the two families. For a little brat of unknown origin, the Hai Ke Family would obviously not do so.
“Senior Xu, please wait a moment!” The Elders remained indifferent, but Wu Yi was different.
Everyone from Hai Ke Family suddenly turned a look of dissatisfaction towards her as Xu Zhi Shen let out a sneer, “You want to say something?”
“Wu Yi, know your place,” Before Wu Yi could respond, an old man in yellow robes chastised her.
Wu Yi ignored this warning though and simply sent a worried look towards Yang Kai, gathering her courage and shouting clearly, “Senior Xu, Yang Kai is my friend, and I know that he is not a person who likes stirring up trouble, isn’t it possible there is some kind of misunderstanding here?”
“He doesn’t like causing trouble? So are you saying it was my Xu Family’s people who are in the wrong here?” Xu Zhi Shen looked at her menacingly, “Misunderstanding? Is causing Tian Ze such serious injuries that he was rendered an idiot a misunderstanding? Girl, are you telling this old master this is all some kind of misunderstanding? If you are, then even if you are a member of the Hai Ke Family, this old master won’t spare you!”
“Brother Xu, don’t try to involve my Hai Ke Family, this matter has nothing to do with us!” The old man in the yellow robes snorted, becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Wu Yi and Yang Kai.
Wu Yi grit her teeth and continued though, “Senior Xu, as far as I know, Xu Tian Ze came here with several of his people and tried to harass Ms. Yang Yan. Was Yang Kai not supposed to fight back?”
The general process of the matter had already been explained by the Xu Family back at the Hai Ke Family manor, but there were many vague and questionable points. Without even mentioning how Yang Kai, a Third Order Saint, was able to seriously wound Xu Tian Ze who was under the protection of Chou Yuan, why had Chou Yuan not immediately sought revenge for their Young Master and instead fled back to the Xu Family to rally so many powerful helpers?
Wu Yi thought this was some kind of self-directed play by the Xu Family, but for what purpose, she couldn’t tell.
Xu Zhi Shen executing Chou Yuan also confused her.
However, she couldn’t sit idly by and watch Yang Kai be bullied.
“What of it?” Xu Zhi Shen coldly snorted, “Tian Ze is my Xu Family’s Young Master, him having a liking for that little girl is her blessing, yet instead of cherishing this opportunity she actually dared to resist! She insults my Xu Family.”
“What kind of explanation is that? Does any person your Xu Family takes a liking to have to obey you?” Wu Yi immediately became annoyed. Before anything else, Yang Yan was a woman just like her! What Wu Yi hated most was seeing young tyrants relying on their background to bully men and take their women. There were many innocent girls who had been ruined by bastards like Xu Tian Ze.
If Xu Tian Ze had really been made into an idiot by Yang Kai, Wu Yi wouldn’t shed any tears and would instead be happy he was enforcing justice on behalf of Heaven.
Xu Tian Ze’s expression became even colder as he shot a look over towards the old man in yellow, “Brother Ba, does your Hai Ke Family intend on getting involved?”
Ba Qing Yan also looked annoyed and glared at Wu Yan, “Come here, this is not a place where you have the right to speak!”
Wu Yi ground her teeth even harder and said nothing.
Ba Qing Yan then turned to Xu Zhi Shen and said lightly, “Feel free to take action, Brother Xu, this old master will not allow any interference from my side. This matter has nothing to do with my Hai Ke Family, this young man is just some stranger Wu Yi found outside, he is not part of my Hai Ke Family. “
“Good, I don’t want there to be any friction between my Xu Family and your Hai Ke Family. Since Brother Ba has spoken, this old master won’t waste any more time,” Xu Zhi Shen nodded with satisfaction. The two families were about equal in strength, but if Hai Ke Family insisted on protecting this young man, things would become difficult for Xu Zhi Shen. At worst, a battle with the Hai Ke Family might start up, and if that were to happen, the end result would definitely be a mutual loss. Now that Ba Qing Yan had made his stance clear though, Xu Zhi Shen naturally had no more worries.
“Stop!” Wu Yi hurriedly stood in front of Yang Kai and shouted, “He is my friend! I was the one who allowed him to live here, so now that such an incident has taken place, no matter who is right or wrong, my Hai Ke Family has some responsibility. Elder Ba, if you really stand by and ignore this situation and word of its spreads out, the reputation of my Hai Ke Family will definitely suffer, since that’s the case…”
“Impudence!” Ba Qing Yan trembled with anger. He had already declared that this matter had nothing to do with the Hai Ke Family, so he had never expected that Wu Yi, who was a direct descendant of the family, would come forward at such a sensitive moment and say such reckless words. If things went badly, a rift between the two families might be formed, something neither side wanted to see.
“Damn woman, do you think that just because you have half-decent aptitude you can act lawlessly? Have you forgotten what the Family Law was established for? Out of consideration for your inexperience, if you withdraw right now, this old master won’t hold you responsible for your words, refuse and you will be punished to the fullest extent!” Ba Qing Yan shouted furiously.
Hearing the words ‘Family Law’, Wu Yi’s tender body shivered, and a look of fear flashed across her pretty face.
Countries had laws, and so did families, each family or force had their own set of rules that once violated, would result in harsh punishment, some of which were even worse than death.
The Hai Ke Family’s Family Law was like this.
Once one faced its sanction, they would have to surrender half their life.
This look of panic however only lasted a moment before Wu Yi’s expression immediately became firm and she shook her head, “Yang Kai is my friend, I won’t let you treat him like this, at worst… At worst, I will compensate you for your loss!”
Her last words were directed to Xu Zhi Shen.
“Compensate for our loss?” Xu Zhi Shen sneered, “My Xu Family’s Young Master has been crippled, how do you intend to compensate us for that? Brother Ba, is this how your Hai Ke Family educates its family’s disciples? A little girl also dares to meddle in an Elder’s decision, simply outrageous!”
Taking a deep breath, Ba Qing Yan said with cold rage, “How my family handles its affairs is none of your concern! Wait a moment and I will deal with this bitch.”
Saying so, he turned an icy glare to Wu Yi and declared, “I’ll give you two choices, one, shut up and scram back to the family to receive judgement from the Family Law, or two, this old master will drag you back, you choose.”
Wu Yi’s face turned pale, never having expected that things would develop to this extent.
While she was female, among the Hai Ke Family’s younger generation, her aptitude was one of the best; as such, the family had always cultivated her diligently. Having received such great support, Wu Yi had worked diligently to contribute to the family over the years, never once thinking of herself as a woman who would one day marry and leave.
The previous mission away from Shadowed Star to mine ore amongst the Starry Sky, none of the men in the family had dared to go, so in the end, Wu Yi had stepped forward and volunteered for this dangerous task, taking Yu Feng and several others who were loyal to her.
After nearly more than a year, she had returned home with a great harvest.
During this period, there were several times when she nearly died, and of those who set out with her, only half returned! However, the moment they returned to Shadowed Star, the precious ore they had collected was snatched away from them.
At the time, the family didn’t even dare to put out a fart and didn’t even grant the returnees a decent reward. In the end, Wu Yi had to compensate Yu Feng and others out of her own pocket.
Wu Yi thought back on all the contributions she had made to her family, then about the cold attitude Elder Ba was directing at her, as well as the looks on all her peers and cousin’s faces as they took pleasure in her misfortune, Wu Yi suddenly became dejected.
She knew that she really shouldn’t have stepped in and interfered with this matter, but she just couldn’t bring herself to ignore Yang Kai’s plight.
She was the one who brought Yang Kai back with her and arranged for him to live in Dragon Cave Mountain. There was also a precious agreement between them…
At this moment, Wu Yi suddenly understood that her position in the family was not as firm or important as she had originally thought. If she was a man, the family’s Elders would have spoken a few words here, because she was a potential heir to the Hai Ke Family. But because she was a woman and destined to one day marry out of the family, they were willing to stand by and do nothing.
With Elder Ba having spoken these words, regardless of what choice Wu Yi made now, she would definitely face the Family Law’s punishment.
Wu Yi’s future was dark indeed!
Tears involuntarily leaked from her eyes, not because of her grim future, but because she felt she had worked so hard for so many years in vain.
Seeing Wu Yi silently crying, Yu Feng was also enraged and quickly stood beside her, his fists clenched tight and his glare focused directly towards the Elder called Ba Qing Yan.
“Dissolute!” Ba Qing Yan became even angrier. Wu Yi questioning his decision, even openly opposing him, was enough to infuriate him, but since she was a woman and destined to leave the Hai Ke Family sooner or later, he could still bear it, yet now even her subordinates dared defy him, how was this tolerable?
“Little Yi, it seems you haven’t been negligent in your management these past years. Do even your subordinates dare rebel against the family’s Elders?” A man standing to the side, who had not spoken yet, suddenly called out. This man had the appearance of a thirty-year-old and possessed a First Order Saint King cultivation, and from the attire he wore, it was evident his status in the Hai Ke Family wasn’t low. He called out sternly, “Quickly apologize to Elder Ba, you know the Elder has always been true to his word, don’t let a momentary lapse in judgement harm your future. “
This young man wore a righteous look upon his face and seemed to be helping Wu Yi, but as soon as her cousin spoke these words, Wu Yi knew there was no more room for maneuver.
Elder Ba was indeed a man of his word, stubborn and unrelenting, and now her cousin’s words had clearly fanned the flames.
Sure enough, as soon as his words had ended, Ba Qing Yan coldly snorted and declared, “Apologize? This old master only acts in the interest of the family, there’s no need for her to apologize, as soon as she returns to the family, she will receive judgement according to the Family Law!”
Saying so, he then turned to Yu Feng and added, “You will be held accountable too!”
Yu Feng’s face turned pale as he glanced over at Wu Yi with a stunned look, this sudden disaster befalling him had stunned him ignorant.
A hint of concealed joy flashed across the thirty-year-old man, but he still maintained an anxious look upon his face, constantly appealing for Wu Yi’s sake in front of Ba Qing Yan, listing out the various merits she had won over the years.
His words not only didn’t help though, they instead aggravated the situation as many who were listening began to feel that Wu Yi had grown arrogant and was trying to take advantage of her status.
“What wrong did I do?” Wu Yi suddenly wiped the corners of her eyes and stared stubbornly at her cousin and Ba Qing Yan, biting her red lips so hard they bled, “I haven’t done anything wrong, it’s you who are using strength to bully the weak!”
“Good!” Ba Qing Yan smiled instead of becoming angrier, “You dare talk back to this old master like this, it seems you’re impatient to die!”
Wu Yi smiled miserably, “I don’t need this kind of family. From today on, I hereby separate myself from the Hai Ke Family and will have nothing to do with it in the future. As for the Family Law, I need not accept it anymore!”
“You…” Ba Qing Yan never expected this little girl would dare say such outrageous words and for a moment was stunned silent.
All cultivators from the Hai Ke Family were also dumbstruck as the stared at Wu Yi in surprise, none of them having anticipated she would cut off her relationship with the family for a small cultivator of unknown origin. Something like this had never happened before.
It was always the family which cast out disciples, not the disciple who separated from the family. This was a display of pure contempt for the family, an outrageous insult!
Wu Yi’s cousin named Wu Ke was secretly overjoyed in his heart. Although Wu Yi was a woman, she had better aptitude and skill than him. Over these past many years, he had never underestimated Wu Yi, even taking pains to specifically investigate her. He knew that Wu Yi had ambitions of changing the family and also understood that if she really won the favour and affirmation of the Elders, becoming the Matriarch of the Hai Ke Family was possible.
Although the Elders of the family never expected much from Wu Yi because she was a woman, acting cautiously was never a mistake. What if those old fools were misled by Wu Yi and stupidly named her heir of the family?
However, today, Wu Yi had completely fallen out with Elder Ba and even gone so far as to declare she was leaving the family, a matter worth celebrating.
[Excellent!] Wu Ke was ecstatic while he maintained a look of calm on his face, silently sneaking a glance towards Yang Kai, wondering if Wu Yi had fallen in love with this man, making her act so recklessly to protect him. No matter the reason though, Wu Ke gave silent thanks to Yang Kai; if not for this stranger, his cousin might have become his strongest competitor in the future.
“Young Lady…” Yu Feng called out to Wu Yi in shock, also never having expected her to say such words, but quickly he too wore a determined expression and solemnly declared, “Wherever Young Lady goes, this Yu Feng will follow!”
“Thank you, Yu Feng!” Wu Yi glanced at him apologetically and said in low spirits, “I’m sorry.”
She knew that her actions just now had caused Yu Feng to become involved. Now, no matter what she said, Yu Feng would not be able to escape the family’s punishment so his best and only choice was to leave the family with her.
“There’s no need for Young Lady to apologize,” Yu Feng grinned, “If it weren’t for Young Lady rescuing me five years ago, I would have been killed by that Steel Armoured Beast. On that day, I swore I would only follow Young Lady.”
“Good good, such deep loyalty between master and servant!” Xu Zhi Shen suddenly clapped and smiled, turning his head to look at Ba Qing Yan, “Brother Ba, I didn’t expect to see such a good scene from your family today. This grand display has allowed the suffocation in this old master’s heart to ease significantly.”
Since the Hai Ke Family’s internal quarrel broke out, he had not moved and had simply observed with interest.
The Hai Ke Family had roughly the same strength as his Xu Family. The two forces also shared a border so although there was some trade between them, there was also some friction. Xu Zhi Shen naturally enjoyed seeing the Hai Ke Family squabble like this; after returning home, it would provide some good laughs for him and his friends.
Xu Zhi Shen’s blatant sarcasm caused Ba Qing Yan’s face to become very ugly, his eyes filling with murderous intent as they stared towards Wu Yi.
Family members squabbling wasn’t a big deal, there were always internal contradictions, but exposing those contradictions to outsiders and allowing them to laugh at them made Ba Qing Yan very angry, wishing he could waste Wu Yi right now and drag her back to punish her severely.
“Brother Ba, this old master doesn’t care how your family decides to settle your own matters, this time, I only want to kill the little beast that hurt Tian Ze!” After watching this good show, he had also grown somewhat impatient. Stretching out his hand, he pointed at Yang Kai and sneered, “Little beast, do you only know how to hide? Evidently you’re nothing but a piece of trash that can only survive by leeching off women, quickly come out and die!”
From beginning to end, Yang Kai had only watched; even when Wu Yi was being scolded by her own Elder and declared she would leave the Hai Ke Family, he never said anything.
Because this was a matter related to another’s family; although Yang Kai was the cause of this incident, him interjecting at that time would only make the situation worse.
Yang Kai knew that while part of the reason Wu Yi declared she would leave the Hai Ke Family was because of him, the bigger issue was because she had come to realize the coldness of these people towards her.
Regardless, Yang Kai was very grateful to Wu Yi, her taking such a decisive stand was more than he could have asked for.
Yang Kai secretly decided that he would compensate Wu Yi greatly for her actions today and satisfy her wish to see the world outside Shadowed Star.
A woman of her caliber shouldn’t remain chained to such a small family!
Considering all this, Yang Kai stepped forward, patted Wu Yi’s shoulder gently, and pulled her behind him before turning to Xu Zhi Shen with a sneer, “Old dog, you’re quite arrogant.”
Xu Zhi Shen’s eyes flashed a cold light as he nodded, “Good good good! Little brat, you’re certainly wild enough, I just hope your tongue isn’t the only thing that’s sharp!”
Saying so, a gloomy pulse of Spiritual Energy burst from Xu Zhi Shen’s eyes and shot forward like an arrow towards Yang Kai’s head.
Yang Kai had turned Xu Tian Ze into an idiot with a Divine Sense attack. Xu Zhi Shen knew this better than anyone present, so now he planned to return the favour in kind. Seeing that Yang Kai was only a Third Order Saint, an entire Great Realm lower than him, Xu Zhi Shen didn’t even use his full strength, wanting to prolong Yang Kai’s suffering so he could deeply understand the cost of boasting shamelessly.
The cold Spiritual Energy that pierced into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea was instantly incinerated by his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, unable to set off even a rippled, causing a backlash on Xu Zhi Shen’s Soul, turning his face pale.
“You…” Xu Zhi Shen stared at Yang Kai in disbelief. At that moment, he clearly felt a Spiritual Energy stronger than his own burn his thread of Divine Sense. If it weren’t for only using part of his strength, the backlash just now would have seriously injured if not killed him directly.
Xu Zhi Shen’s complexion changed as he quickly swept his eyes around Yang Kai, trying to find something.
He didn’t believe that pulse of Spiritual Energy had come from Yang Kai and instead thought he was wearing some kind of powerful Soul type artefact.
However, after searching for a long time, Xu Zhi Shen was unable to find anything and fear began creeping into his heart
Of everyone present, only the old man named Ba Qing Yan had the same strength as Xu Zhi Shen, the cultivations of the others weren’t very high, most of them just Saints with only a handful of them being First or Second Order Saint Kings, so none of them knew what just happened and all of them simply saw Xu Zhi Shen take action and were just waiting to see Yang Kai’s miserable fate.
But now, Yang Kai wore the same indifferent look on his face while Xu Zhi Shen had actually gone pale, seemingly having suffered some kind of wound, confusing all of them greatly.
Only Ba Qing Yan’s eyes flashed as he focused his attention on Yang Kai, as if he had discovered something, but soon he slowly shook his head, denying his own guess, refusing to believe that with such pitiful strength, Yang Kai could hurt Xu Zhi Shen.
But Xu Zhi Shen’s Soul aura had definitely become weaker, and it didn’t seem he was faking it, causing Ba Qing Yan to also wonder what happened.
“Old dog, are you going to make your move? If not, then I will!” Yang Kai grinned towards Xu Zhi Shen. When he had broken through to the Third Order Saint Realm, Yang Kai was able to kill Second-Order Saint Kings. Now that his body was coursing with pure Golden Blood, and his vitality was far stronger than before. It was rare for someone in the Third-Order Saint King Realm to offer themselves up for a fight, so Yang Kai was eager to take this chance to determine the full extent of his current strength.
Not wasting any more time, Yang Kai swiftly condensed a sword of Demonic Flame in his hand.
As soon as this sword appeared, both the Hai Ke Family and Xu Family members showed panic-stricken looks. Ba Qing Yan and Xu Zhi Shen, who were the strongest masters present, both wore dignified expressions as they stared at the dark Demonic Flames.
Everyone at the scene, regardless of their strength, could feel just how profound and unfathomable the Demonic Flames were. None of them had ever encountered such a strange power. The contradictory nature of the Demonic Flames along made many feel uncomfortable, as they were already being attacked by it. No one could tell what would happen if they were to actually be struck with it.
For a moment, expressions of dread and horror filled the faces of the crowd.
Ba Qing Yan’s sent a signal with his eyes to the other Hai Ke Family cultivators, silently ordering them to withdraw. He had finally noticed that there was something a bit off with Yang Kai; after all, how could a trivial Third-Order Saint stand so arrogantly in front of Xu Zhi Shen if he didn’t have something to rely on?
However, no matter what this youth had to rely on, Ba Qing Yan was disinclined to interfere in this chaos. The dispute between the Xu Family and Yang Kai had nothing to do with him so he was happy to simply stand aside and watch the good show. His only concern now was how he should handle Wu Yi’s treachery!
Daring to leave the family without authorization, no matter who it was, their end would not be good!
Yang Yan had already witnessed Yang Kai’s fight before, but she didn’t know if he could perfectly handle Xu Zhi Shen, so she quickly brought Wu Yi and Yu Feng to her side lest they get caught up in this conflict.
After seeing everyone else withdraw, the other cultivators from the Xu Family also pulled back.
In the blink of an eye, only Yang Kai and Xu Zhi Shen remained facing each other.
“Old dog, my principle has always been if others don’t provoke me, I won’t provoke them. Since you’ve come though, don’t even think about leaving!” Yang Kai wasn’t one to negotiate, not to mention this old dog calling him a little beast had angered him. Yang Kai had decided to teach this old dog a harsh lesson today.
Neither the Hai Ke Family nor the Xu Family could be placed in Yang Kai’s eyes. These two families didn’t even have a single Origin Returning Realm master, so Yang Kai was confident they had no way to restrain him. Even if an Origin Returning Realm master really came, Yang Kai could still escape.
As such, he had no scruples.
“Rampant Brat!” Xu Zhi Shen shouted indignantly, his old face somewhat pale as his Soul had suffered some slight damage just now. He had constantly been searching for the powerful Soul type artefact Yang Kai was wearing, but even until now he couldn’t find one. This alone was enough to shock Xu Zhi Shen and he quickly shelved his contempt. After a shout, he raised his hand and a nearly invisible black line shot towards Yang Kai.
He had hidden this weapon with his own Saint Qi a moment ago to easily kill the cultivator called Chou Yuan. Besides Ba Qing Yan, who knew about this strange weapon, no one else on the scene had noticed, all of them simply thinking it was Xu Zhi Shen’s condensed Saint Qi. However, Yang Kai Divine Sense was incredibly powerful, and he had long ago been on guard against this strange artefact, swiftly intercepting it with his sword.
The dark Demonic Flames were capable of burning everything in existence and was the foundation of Yang Kai’s strength, so he believed that even if this thin thread was an Origin Grade artifact, it could still be incinerated by his Demonic Flame.
A sharp sound rang out as sparks flew from Yang Kai’s Demonic Flame sword when it collided with the thin thread. At the same time, a wave of cold energy suddenly burst from the thin line, sweeping towards Yang Kai from all directions.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, and his powerful Divine Sense locked onto the thin black thread. He found that this thing was a little different from what he had expected, and that his Demonic Flames didn’t have much effect on them. Although he managed to deflect it, it wasn’t burnt in the slightest.
The corners of Xu Zhi Shen’s mouth rose slightly and a confident look filled his face as he shouted, “Surrender your life!”
As soon as his voice fell, the tiny black thread suddenly split into a giant woven net and threatened to engulf Yang Kai.
Yang Kai quickly evaded while at the same time sending out a huge Heaven Covering Hand, one grand enough to seemingly shroud the entire world. Everyone who was watching the battle couldn’t help feeling like the sky had become dark.
Violent energy fluctuations burst out and the giant net woven from black threads instantly disintegrated. Xu Zhi Shen’s body shook a bit as he turned a look of disbelief towards Yang Kai, never having expected his secret killing blow would be broken so easily.
It was because he feared Yang Kai’s ability to damage his Soul that Xu Zhi Shen had exerted his full strength right from the start. He wanted to kill Yang Kai as fast as possible to save face for the Xu Family, but his efforts have fallen short.
This Third Order Saint Realm youth’s eyesight was incredibly sharp and had apparently long ago seen through Xu Zhi Shen’s hidden artefact. On top of that, this young man’s Saint Qi carried a destructive force comparable to his own; if that weren’t the case, he would never have been able to deflect his Nether Shadow Soul Silk!
The method to repel the Nether Shadow Soul Silk was quite simple actually, but one needed incredible power to accomplish it.
If it was a cultivator in the same realm as him, such as Ba Qing Yan, Xu Zhi Shen could accept such a result, but this kid was clearly just a Saint Realm cultivator.
Did this boy actually have the ability to fight him on even terms? Xu Zhi Shen almost screamed out in surprise. Xu Zhi Shen was suspicious that the injury to his Soul just now was the result of Yang Kai relying on some powerful artifact, but now he didn’t dare think so.
It seemed this young man wasn’t any weaker than himself!
There was something very wrong with this young man! No wonder he had dared to utter such arrogant provocations, it turned out he was playing the pig to eat a tiger. No wonder Chou Yuan had been seriously injured when he returned to the family and no matter how he was asked he refused to explain. No wonder Chou Yuan had turned around and ran the moment Xu Zhi Shen tried to send him forward. It seems that his injuries were caused by this young man, but Chou Yuan hadn’t dared to explain for fear he would be further punished.
Being able to seriously injure a Second-Order Saint King and even inflicting a serious trauma on his heart, such ability was nothing short of terrifying.
At this point, Xu Zhi Shen no longer looked down on Yang Kai and his expression instead became dignified. The thin black thread which had been blocked by the Heaven Covering Hand was taken back by him and a pill was stuffed into his mouth.
After witnessing this exchange, the onlookers couldn’t help gawking.
Whether it was the Hai Ke Family or Xu Family members, all of them had their jaws dropped.
All of them had thought that with Xu Zhi Shen taking action personally, Yang Kai would immediately be captured or killed and that all his shameless boasting would be thoroughly wiped away! This youth daring to utter so many insults had all the cultivators of the Xu Family very much looking forward to how he would be crippled then forced to beg for mercy.
How could they have anticipated that after a single exchange, Yang Kai’s face would remain calm and indifferent with not a scratch on him while their Elder, Xu Zhi Shen was the one wearing a solemn look and being forced to swallow a pill?
As long as one wasn’t blind, they would know that things were quite different from what they had imagined.
“Elder Ba… what… what does this mean?” Wu Yi’s cousin named Wu Ke asked Ba Qing Yan haltingly as he honestly couldn’t understand.
Upon hearing his question, everyone turned their attention to Ba Qing Yan, hoping he could answer it.
“What does this mean?” Ba Qing Yan coldly snorted, “It means the Xu Family has kicked an iron plate this time!”
“Ah!” Even if his brain couldn’t keep up with the rapidly changing situation, Wu Ke could still understand the meaning of Ba Qing Yan’s words, his expression becoming complex as he stared towards Yang Kai and asked, “Elder Ba, he only looks like a Third Order Saint. Even if he can resist for a bit, Senior Xu will soon take him down; after all, the gap in their cultivations is enormous.”
Wu Ke’s words, however, were more to comfort himself than anything else. Wu Yi had left the family because of this young man, so as long as this young man died, Wu Yi’s end would be miserable and, at the time, Wu Ke wouldn’t fail to add insult to injury. Naturally, he didn’t want to see even the possibility of Wu Yi rising up again.
“Who knows,” Ba Qing Yan muttered as a profound light flickered across their depths. He was no longer paying any attention to Xu Zhi Shen and was instead focusing entirely on Yang Kai. When they first arrived, Ba Qing Yan had not cared at all about this youth, but now how could he afford to not care about him?
Just where did Wu Yi find this little brat? He was too extraordinary.
With the cultivators from both families unable to believe their eyes, obviously Wu Yi and Yu Feng couldn’t as well.
They were clearer than anyone else present about Yang Kai’s origins. It was Yu Feng who had brought back Yang Kai who at the time had been trapped inside a blood-red crystal, to their Starship. Although all of them had gotten along well enough, they had only regarded Yang Kai as a young cultivator who had drifted here by accident. Wu Yi giving Dragon Cave Mountain to Yang Kai was because he was familiar with the outside world’s situation and she felt he might be helpful to her later on.
Neither of them had imagined Yang Kai’s strength would be so astonishing.
Yang Yan wore a look of pride as she declared, “Don’t worry, Yang Kai won’t lose. Last time, he killed three First Order Saint King with ease and forced that guy named Chou Yuan to flee. Although that old man seems stronger than Chou Yuan, it shouldn’t be by much.”
“Ah!” Wu Yi couldn’t help covering her mouth, “Did you just say… he killed several Saint Kings? Is that really true?”
Yang Yan smiled helplessly, “He killed them right in front of me. It was so scary that I fell unconscious for three days before waking up.”
Yang Yan proceeded to colourfully describe the events of that time, and she did with a zeal that made it difficult to believe she had been so scared at the time. Wu Yi and Yu Feng listened intently as shock filled their hearts.
“Junior, this old master admits he greatly underestimated you, but what of it? Today, I, Xu Zhi Shen, will kill you. Don’t even dream of living to see the sun tomorrow!” Xu Zhi Shen swallowed a pill and finally the ache in his Soul eased; although he couldn’t repair it right now, with his injury temporarily suppressed, he could finally exert his full strength.
“Is that fine thread not an artefact?” After Yang Kai repelled this killing blow, he did not immediately counter-attack but instead stared towards the old man. Yang Kai faintly felt that the thin black threat wasn’t an artefact, otherwise, his Demonic Flame would have had some effect on it. From the brief confrontation, Yang Kai felt the dark thread was similar to a manifestation of Spiritual Energy, like a physical Divine Sense attack!
Suddenly, he became interested, “A good treasure, en, I want it.”
“Hmph, more shameless boasting. Before you worry about seizing my treasure, you should first worry about keeping your life!” Xu Zhi Shen coldly snorted, a strong aura erupting from his body as the ground beneath his feet suddenly caved in. Xu Zhi Shen’s clothes blew in the wind as his face filled with malicious intent and cold energy began swirling around him, giving everyone nearby the illusion they had been thrown into a winter storm.
Countless Nether Shadow Soul Silks shot out from Xu Zhi Shen’s body like a thick mess of hair. Those Nether Shadow Soul Silk threads were like living creatures and all rushed out towards Yang Kai in the next instant. Halfway to their target, these fine threads merged together to form a great rotating spear before continuing to stab towards Yang Kai’s heart.
The force of the spear’s rotation whipped the surrounding air into a tornado as it barreled towards Yang Kai with stunning momentum.
The Nether Shadow Soul Silk spear pierced forward with extreme speed and in the blink of an eye arrived in front of Yang Kai. What surprised everyone thought, was that in the face of such a horrible attack, Yang Kai didn’t show any intention to dodge and instead reached out his hand to grab the spear.
Demonic Flames tumbled on his palm as a dignified expression filled Yang Kai’s face. Clearly he was also exerting his full strength.
*Ci…*
A harsh screech rang out the moment Yang Kai grabbed the spear as the rotational force kept it spinning in his grip. Struck by this blow, Yang Kai was forced backwards at a frightening speed.
Golden blood splattered from his hand.
But soon, the speed of Yang Kai’s retreat decreased and his blurry figure which had seemingly disappeared became clear once again and eventually came to a halt.
From the tumbling Demonic Flames covering his hand, the smell of charred flesh wafted and it was obvious Yang Kai had suffered some minor injuries.
However, Yang Kai paid this no mind. Xu Zhi Shen’s thin black thread was truly difficult to stop or guard against. Even the Demonic Flame couldn’t burn it, so no matter the cost, Yang Kai was going to snatch it first and worry about the consequences later.
Otherwise, with the threat of this treasure looming over him, Yang Kai would have to divert a significant amount of attention during the fight to protect himself from it.
Yang Kai’s body had just stood still when Xu Zhi Shen flew over. Yang Yan and Wu Yi both let out panicked screams as a violent power condensed on Xu Zhi Shen’s palms then swiftly transformed into all kinds of attacks that rained down on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai tightly held the black spear in one hand as Spiritual Energy burst from his forehead and rushed into it, burning the Soul mark left behind by Xu Zhi Shen, destroying his ability to control it. Simultaneously, Yang Kai used his free hand to send out another Heaven Covering Hand to meet Xu Zhi Shen’s assault.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
As the ground cracked below them, Xu Zhi Shen was sent hurtling back the way he came like a paper kite in a violent storm. As he flew back, Xu Zhi Shen coughed up a mouthful of blood and his face paled again.
Yang Kai also backed up a dozen steps and the arm he had used to meet the enemy temporarily went numb. His vitality tumbling, Yang Kai was also forced to cough up Golden Blood.
However, his condition was obviously much better than Xu Zhi Shen’s and there was also an excited smile on his face as he glanced down at the countless silk threads scattered in his grip and directly stuffed them into his Space Ring.
“You… you were able to erase my Soul mark in an instant?” Xu Zhi Shen’s expression changed drastically as it flickered between anger and disbelief. His body shivered as he stretched out his hand towards Yang Kai while coughing up another mouthful of blood.
“Hahaha!” Yang Kai laughed wildly as he wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and proudly declared, “Old dog, since I said I wanted this thing, I’ll certainly take it!”
Wild! Overbearing! Domineering!
The audience was in an uproar.
Then everyone remembered. Just now, Yang Kai had said something similar, but how could they have known within only ten breaths of time he had actually accomplished such a feat?
A Saint Realm cultivator robbing an artefact from a Saint King, on top of that erasing the Soul mark of that Saint King in an instant, just how powerful did his Spiritual Energy have to be to do this?
“Holy shit!” Yu Feng could not help shouting as his eyes flashed violently.
Not only did Yang Yan and Wu Yi wear relieved looks on their faces, but even the young women from the Hai Ke Family also let out sighs of relief as their eyes lit up and they directed somewhat hot gazes towards Yang Kai.
They had suddenly discovered that all the so-called young talents they had previously encountered weren’t remotely comparable to this man of unknown origin. Those young masters were simply trash.
Even Ba Qing Yan’s pupils shrank as a tinge of fear and panic appeared in the depths of his heart.
What kind of strength Xu Zhi Shen possessed, he knew better than anyone else present. If Ba Qing Yan was to be honest, he wasn’t necessarily a worthy to be Xu Zhi Shen’s opponent, yet this young man in front of him had not only taken two moves from the latter, he had even managed to injure him in the process. Since that was the case, what would happen if this young man was to fight with him?
Suddenly, Ba Qing Yan felt a slight headache as it became difficult to breathe.
Yang Kai laughed happily, not just because he had snatched Xu Zhi Shen’s artefact, but because he found that his current combat power could indeed compete with those in the Third Order Saint King Realm. Although Xu Zhi Shen was clearly not the strongest amongst this realm, he was still a genuine Third Order Saint King.
Moreover, Yang Kai had yet to go all out.
Dao of Space, Golden Blood, Demon Eye of Annihilation… Yang Kai hadn’t used any of his trump cards yet and had only been relying on his baseline strength.
“Elder!” One of the Xu Family’s Saint King Realm cultivators saw Xu Zhi Shen suffer a loss and couldn’t help calling out.
Xu Zhi Shen waved his hand though, stopping anyone else from coming forward, a fierce look of madness quickly filling his face as he shouted hysterically, “Good good good, my respect to the young, this old master never dreamed someone like you existed in this world, but that matters not! Today, if this old master does not kill you, he will no longer be a man!”
Saying so, Xu Zhi Shen suddenly summoned a seemingly plain picture scroll into his hand. From this picture scroll though, a thick and solid momentum burst forth, causing everyone in the surrounding to feel a little breathless, as if they were under some kind of great pressure.
“Hundred Mountains Picture!” Ba Qing Yan clearly recognized this picture scroll and his face changed greatly as he shouted, “Retreat!”
The Hai Ke Family unconditional obeyed these words and immediately withdrew while those from the Xu Family naturally understood what this scroll was and also turned to flee.
When they saw everyone run away, Wu Yi and Yu Feng immediately became uneasy, with Wu Yi hurriedly urging, “We also need to retreat!”
“No need!” Yang Yan waved her hand though and summoned out a few strange looking objects which she tossed out around the trio. In an instant, Yang Yan had finished her arrangements and nodded lightly, “This is a good location, we can see what happens with ease from here.”
Wu Yi looked at her, a little speechless, wondering if she was hare-brained or simply ignorant.
However, it was too late to retreat now. After Xu Zhi Shen summoned the Hundred Mountains Picture, he immediately condensed an illusory mountain image from it. This mountain was over a hundred meters tall and with heaven destroying, earth-shattering momentum, it slammed down towards Yang Kai’s.
An incredible sense of crisis rose from the bottom of Yang Kai’s heart as his expression changed greatly. Not even thinking about it, Yang Kai quickly condensed a number of Grand Heavenly Shields above his head.
“Watch as this old master explodes your corpse into ten thousand pieces!” Xu Zhi Shen roared as the phantom mountain pounded towards the ground.
*Kacha…*
The just condensed Grand Heavenly Shields had no effect at all and were instantly crushed by the illusionary mountain, not slowing its pace in the slightest as it continued to press towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai struggled to move as he silently cursed to himself.
Xu Zhi Shen’s Hundred Mountains Picture artefact was clearly Origin Grade, and although it was clearly just a phantom image, the mountain which was falling towards Yang Kai right now carried with it the weight of the genuine article. If he was really crushed beneath it, Yang Kai estimated that even with his intrepid physique, he would not be able to survive.
With no other choice, Yang Kai could only use his Space Force.
In an instant, Yang Kai’s figure flickered and disappeared.
The mountain directly crushed the afterimage Yang Kai left behind, causing the ground to tremble and split in a giant spider web pattern. Even the distant mountain peaks shook noticeably as countless birds flew up into the sky to scatter in all directions.
After Xu Zhi Shen stared stunned for a moment, he couldn’t help bursting into a mad laughter, “Junior! Now you understand this old master’s power! Daring to fight with me? Naive!”
“Ah!” Wu Yi went pale as she thought Yang Kai had been killed.
“Old dog, is barking all you can do?” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly called out as a Heaven Punishing Spear broke through the limits of space and appeared directly in front of Xu Zhi Shen.
Xu Zhi Shen, who had just been cackling arrogantly, was shocked and immediately leaked cold sweat. With no time to think about it, he desperately pushed his Saint Qi into the Hundred Mountains Picture and summoned another phantom mountain, but this time it was even larger than the last.
The Heaven Punishing Spear was blocked by this illusionary mountain and failed to hit its mark.
Xu Zhi Shen became enraged and waved his hand to send the second mountain smashing towards Yang Kai again.
Yang Kai finally understood why this artefact was called the Hundred Mountains Picture. There were clearly a hundred mountain peaks hidden inside of this scroll. Every time Xu Zhi Shen summoned one, there would be one less inside the picture, moreover, it looks like these mountains were summoned in order from smallest to largest. Yang Kai couldn’t help shivering slightly as he stared at this, realizing that if he were repeatedly smashed by such mountains it wouldn’t be long before even his bones were ground to dust.
Although Yang Kai knew that with Xu Zhi Shen’s strength, there was no way he could summon all one hundred mountains, even part of this artefact’s power was still immense.
The second mountain flew towards Yang Kai at high speed while the first smaller peak flew up from the ground to sandwich him.
The two phantom peaks both sent out an oppressive aura that made it difficult for Yang Kai to move or circulate his Saint Qi.
Xu Zhi Shen seemed to have really been driven to his limits and did not hesitate to summon the third and fourth illusory mountains.
With four peaks now closing in on him, Yang Kai simply had no way to avoid them.
A violent impact sounded and the surrounding space seemed to collapse. A strong burst of energy swept out and ravaged Dragon Cave Mountain, blasting away dirt, stones and trees, smashing everything in its wake to dust.
Looking at this apocalyptic scene, many of the cultivators from the Xu Family and the Hai Ke Family went pale.
They knew that if they had not withdrawn just now and had been caught up in this explosion because even now, the residual waves of energy were cutting into their skin like sharp blades. Those with lower strength were even worse of, many of them being blown far away, their life or death uncertain.
“In front of the Hundred Mountains Picture, even this old master would have no choice but to withdraw. That young man is dead for sure,” Ba Qing Yan exhaled softly, a weird expression on his face, wondering whether he should rejoice or regret.
In the chaotic battlefield, there was only one place that was safe and sound, the spot where Yang Yan, Wu Yi, and Yu Feng were standing. When the powerful explosion swept towards them, Wu Yi and Yu Feng both thought they would soon be dead.
But to their surprise, a light curtain suddenly appeared in front of them and completely blocked out the blast, leaving them completely unaffected.
For the distribution, two will be on the usual timing. When there are three, it will be: 12am, 3pm and 12pm (+8GMT).
“Are you an Array Master?” Wu Yi paused for a moment as she stared at Yang Yan in shock. Although she knew Yang Yan had just arranged some kind of Spirit Array, she hadn’t expected it to be so powerful. This was far beyond Wu Yi’s realm of experience.
Yu Feng also stared at Yang Yan with a look of amazement and worship.
On the other side, Xu Zhi Shen, who had summoned out four peaks, seemed to be a bit dispirited at the moment, but looking down at the shattered domain below him, he couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief.
Even after living for so many years, he had never encountered anyone like Yang Kai. He didn’t even understand how Yang Kai had avoided his first attack as there were simply no signs of him moving, it was as if he ignored the bounds of space and directly moved from one place to another.
But none of that mattered now, this boy was undoubtedly dead. Xu Zhi Shen was both physically and mentally exhausted, but a hearty smile still filled his face, him going all out had not brought shame to the Xu Family’s name.
Suddenly though, a strange sense of crisis rose from his heart. Xu Zhi Shen was a veteran of many battles and didn’t even think about it before sending the four phantom mountains towards the source of this feeling.
Turning his gaze to the side, Xu Zhi Shen almost let out a scream.
The young man who he had assumed had died without a complete corpse was stood there completely unharmed, slashing a giant sword forged from black Demonic Flames and filled with destructive aura down towards him.
Xu Zhi Shen almost swallowed his tongue as he instinctually responded to this attack.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
The huge black sword slammed into one of the illusionary mountain peaks and was intercepted, but the contradictory hot and cold auras overflowing from it left cold sweat dripping from Xu Zhi Shen forehead.
Xu Zhi Shen was certain that if he was contaminated by these black flames, he would definitely be unable to repel them and would soon be burnt to a crisp! What kind of freak was this boy?
Not only was Xu Zhi Shen in a state of panic, but even the other cultivators from the Xu and Hai Ke Families were alarmed, Ba Qing Yan’s eyes bulging with confusion.
Even with his level of eyesight, he hadn’t been able to see how Yang Kai had avoided the four peaks just now.
Ba Qing Yan knew that if it was him, if he hadn’t been preparing to flee beforehand, he wouldn’t have been able to escape unharmed from that last attack, but this young man had done just that. Ba Qing Yan was shocked to find that he was still underestimating the strength of this young man. He wasn’t just a freak, he was a complete monster!
Xu Zhi Shen roared and surrounded himself with the four phantom mounts, forming a solid defense barrier.
He was scared, so scared that he refused to expose himself to Yang Kai for fear that if he moved carelessly, he would be struck dead.
A subtle Divine Sense and Saint Qi attack combined with Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Dao of Space flew towards Xu Zhi Shen, but to the former’s surprise, the four phantom mountains not only physically guarded Xu Zhi Shen, but even blocked the surrounding space, preventing Yang Kai’s strike from reaching its target.
The fifth and sixth peaks emerged from the Hundred Mountains Picture, both more majestic than the previous four. Xu Zhi Shen next bit his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the Hundred Mountains Picture and his feeble aura rapidly inflated as the light of madness filled with eyes and he drove the two newly summoned peaks towards Yang Kai.
All of Dragon Cave Mountain trembled violently and numerous new craters and pits were added to the ground as wanton destruction was wrought in all directions.
Yang Kai immediately became furious, “Old man, how dare you ruin my home!”
If he continued to pester with Xu Zhi Shen, Dragon Cave Mountain would definitely be destroyed, and once the ground collapsed in, the Space Spirit Crystal lode that was hiding below would likely be exposed.
Yang Kai’s murderous intent soared.
Yang Kai shot out a wave of Demonic Flame towards Xu Zhi Shen, but unlike before, these Demonic Flames did not disappear after reaching their target but instead condensed and rapidly expanded into a burning cloud of fire.
Engulfed by this cloud of Demonic Flame, Xu Zhi Shen and the four peaks guarding him were unceasingly burned down. Yang Kai did not relent and continue to pour in more Demonic Flames to strengthen the power of this cloud.
“No… nooo…” Xu Zhi Shen screamed in horror as the four illusionary mountains protecting him grew dimmer under the burning heat of the cloud of fire, all of them seemingly on the verge of collapsing.
Once these phantom mountains disappeared, Xu Zhi Shen would die.
“What are you still gawking at? Hurry up and help me kill this little beast!” Xu Zhi Shen hurriedly yelled to the other Xu Family Saint Kings who were watching the battle in the distance.
He had been fighting Yang Kai with only his own strength because he wanted to showcase his power and dignity as an Elder, but how could he have known that he was completely not this young man’s opponent? Right now, facing certain death, Xu Zhi Shen couldn’t be concerned about face anymore and ask for help from his family’s other cultivators.
In the distance, the Saint King Realm cultivators who had followed Xu Zhi Shen heard this shout but only two of them rushed over without hesitation. All of the others actually unconsciously retreated a few steps.
Xu Zhi Shen had even brought out the Hundred Mountains Picture but still wasn’t able to match Yang Kai, how could they step forward just to die?
The two Saint Kings who had rushed ahead had yet to understand the situation when two balls of Demonic Flame flew towards them. Both of them foolishly tried to block these flames but in the blink of an eye were engulfed by them. No matter what they tried, these two were unable to extinguish these black flames and soon fell to the ground, completely motionless.
Seeing this, the remaining Saint Kings of the Xu Family were unable to withstand the fear in their hearts anymore and turned around to run away, one of them even shouting, “Elder, hold on, we will return to the family to bring reinforcements!”
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi Shen was so aggrieved he spat another mouthful of blood and his expression became thoroughly dispirited.
Turning to Ba Qing Yan this time, Xu Zhi Shen screamed with all his strength, “Brother Ba, if you help me survive today, I will give you this Hundred Mountains Picture!”
Ba Qing Yan’s eyes narrowed as a covetous light flashed across their depths.
Ba Qing Yan had long ago heard about the might of the Xu Family’s Hundred Mountains Picture and today he had personally witnessed this Origin Grade artefact’s power. He believed that if he could really obtain the Hundred Mountains Picture, he could become the first master of the Hai Ke Family! He might even have the qualifications to trade a few blows against a normal Origin Returning Realm master.
However, the young man in front of him was clearly not an existence he wanted to provoke. Even after observing this fight for so long, Ba Qing Yan had yet to ravel this young man’s bottom line, and so, for a moment, he hesitated.
“Brother Ba!” Xu Zhi Shen anxiously screamed once more; he was already an arrow at the end of its flight and could not hold on any longer.
Ba Qing Yan’s hesitant look suddenly became firm and he was just about to step forward when Yang Kai suddenly shot him a bone-chilling look and shouted, “If you dare to move, whether you’re Wu Yi’s clansmen or not, I’ll slaughter every last one of you!”
Ba Qing Yan’s body immediately went stiff as a cold chill shot up his spine.
At that moment, accompanied by Xu Zhi Shen’s screams, the four phantom mountains finally disintegrated, and the billowing cloud of black flames burned him to ashes.
All that remained was Xu Zhi Shen’s Space Ring and the Hundred Mountains Picture which fluttered down to the ground.
Countless greedy eyes instantly locked onto the Hundred Mountains Picture.
Yang Kai, however, stood in place, a pensive expression filling his face, not reaching out towards this precious artefact and his aura also showing no signs of weakening. On the contrary, the momentum from his body was growing fiercer and more vigorous by the moment.
Yang Yan clenched her wide black robe with both hands and rushed forward with a light steps, picked up the Hundred Mountains Picture and Xu Zhi Shen’s Space Ring, then ran back in a hurry to stand inside the Spirit Array she had laid down.
“Ha…” Ba Qing Yan let out a tired sigh. He hadn’t been able to summon the courage to grab the Hundred Mountains Picture, filling his heart was disappointed.
Dragon Cave Mountain suddenly became deathly silent.
The cultivators from the Hai Ke Family looked around at each other, none of them daring to say a word. They had never expected this battle would have such an end. The Xu Family had even taken out their much vaunted Hundred Mountains Picture but the result was a mere Third Order Saint Realm cultivator had killed Xu Zhi Shen.
None of them would have believed such a story if they hadn’t seen it for themselves.
Wu Yi and Yu Feng were equally shocked and couldn’t find their voices for quite some time.
They had heard of so-called genius cultivators before. There had even seemed to be several of them within Shadow Moon Hall’s younger generation. These people were all capable of fighting opponents above their realm and were quite famous as a result.
However, those so-called geniuses who received countless accolades and praises weren’t worth shit compared to Yang Kai.
This time, Yang Kai had fought an opponent an entire Great Realm above him and managed to win without suffering any injuries.
Could he be a genius among geniuses? Wu Yi and Yu Feng couldn’t help thinking this way, the sadness they felt from leaving their family diluted by their shock.
“Ya…” Yang Yan was playing with the Hundred Mountains Picture when she suddenly turned her attention to Yang Kai and let out a yelp of surprise, a thoughtful look soon spreading across her face as a pleasant light blossomed in her beautiful eyes. After a moment, she grabbed her black robe once more, ran over in front of Yang Kai, and pulled out a number of items from her Space Ring to quickly arrange a Spirit Array around him.
When she ran back, Wu Yi asked curiously, “What happened to Yang Kai?”
“He must break through.”
“Ah?” Wu Yi was startled.
“This…” Yu Feng also wore a speechless expression, one mixed with envy and shame. After a great battle, Yang Kai was about to break through. His current cultivation was Third-Order Saint Realm, so a breakthrough meant he would rise to the First-Order Saint King Realm, the same as both him and Wu Yi. Any trace of superiority Yu Feng felt disappeared at this moment, but when he recalled Yang Kai’s horrific fighting strength, his heart relaxed.
Such a person breaking through at this kind of moment wasn’t strange.
Since Yang Yan could discover this matter, Ba Qing Yan naturally could as well. At this moment, he was staring deeply towards Yang Kai from far away, his expression fluctuating between fear, worry, surprise, shock, and a variety of others.
A middle-aged man next to him whose face was somewhat pale quietly approached and whispered, “Elder Ba, this boy seems like he’s about to break through, should we…”
Yang Kai’s terrifying strength had all but traumatised the Hai Ke Family’s cultivators. Alone, this young man had killed one of the Xu Family’s Elders. Their Hai Ke Family’s strongest master was only about equal in strength to Xu Zhi Shen, so if this young man wanted to deal with their Hai Ke Family, could they resist?
The only solution was to strangle this danger in the cradle, but to everyone’s surprise, Ba Qing Yan just smiled bitterly and slowly shook his head.
“Elder…” The middle-aged man who first made the proposal stared at Ba Qing Yan in shock, wondering what he was thinking. Although Yang Kai’s performance just now was indeed shocking, he was currently breaking through so this was the best moment for them to strike, if they missed this opportunity, the Hai Ke Family would have no way to oppose him in the future.
“Didn’t you see that woman wearing black robes arrange a Spirit Array around him just now?” Ba Qing Yan coldly snorted.
“Do we need to fear some simple Spirit Array?” The middle-aged scoffed lightly.
Ba Qing Yan sneered, “Just now, when Xu Zhi Shen was using the Hundred Mountains Picture, the fallout definitely spread to the spot that woman is standing, yet she, Wu Yi, and Yu Feng weren’t affected in the slightest, so how powerful do you think the Spirit Array she arranged is?”
“Ah!” The middle-aged man exclaimed. Just now, all his focus had been on the battle between Yang Kai and Xu Zhi Shen so he hadn’t really noticed the situation around Yang Yan, but hearing Ba Qing Yan’s words, his eyes immediately shifted to where she was standing. When his eyes landed on Yang Yan, they couldn’t help narrowing as he discovered that she, Wu Yi, and Yu Fend were standing very close to the centre of the battlefield, but at this moment there wasn’t even a speck of dust staining their clothes.
“Is she also a Spirit Array Master?” The middle-aged was startled and murmured, “Wasn’t she just a Saint Grade Artifact Refiner?”
“She’s the Artifact Refiner the family tried to recruit but failed to?” Ba Qing Yan suddenly recalled such an event and shouted, “Zhou Fu, was she the one you tried to solicit last time?”
The man named Zhou Fu walked over while leaking cold sweat and responded quickly, “Yes, Elder Ba, she was the woman I met with last time, but she had refused without the slightest trace of politeness, so I…”
“So you gave up, abandoned your duty, and ruined such a massive opportunity for the family?” Ba Qing Yan glared at him fiercely.
Zhou Fu shuddered and said bitterly, “Please forgive me, Elder Ba, I didn’t know she had such ability at the time, I was only informed she was a Saint Grade Artifact Refiner. If I had known, I…”
“Waste!” Ba Qing Yan scolded.
A Saint Grade Artefact Refiner wasn’t enough for Hai Ke Family to care about, such an Artifact Refiner could be cultivated by them with some effort, but a Grandmaster capable of arranging a Spirit Array capable of blocking the fallout from the Hundred Mountains Picture was someone they couldn’t afford to neglect.
The Hundred Mountains Picture was an Origin Grade artefact, so even if the Spirit Array Yang Yan arranged didn’t have to directly keep off a strike from it, judging from her current unruffled state, it was clear just how high of her attainments in Spirit Arrays was.
Where did Wu Yi find such freaks? One young man was capable of killing Xu Zhi Shen with just a Third Order Saint Realm cultivation and was now about to break through to the Saint King Realm while the other young woman present was not just a Saint Grade Artefact Refiner, but also an extremely skilled Array Master.
Suddenly, Ba Qing Yan felt a tinge of regret, regret that he had shown such a cold attitude towards Wu Yi, even somewhat wishing he could take back his previous words and have Wu Yi return to the family.
If Wu Yi returned to the family, perhaps this young man and woman could also be brought along with her.
If Ba Qing Yan knew that Yang Yan was an Origin Grade Artefact Refiner, perhaps he wouldn’t even hesitate to kneel down and apologize to Wu Yi.
Yang Kai had sunk into a profound state. The reason he dared to break through here was that he did not place the nearby Hai Ke Family cultivators in his eyes. If they understood discretion, they wouldn’t try to cause trouble, but if they dared move against him, Yang Kai didn’t mind educating them about who they could and could not provoke.
Yang Yan setting up a Spirit Array around him and the Hai Ke Family’s impetuous mood did not escape Yang Kai’s eyes, but he ignored all of it to continue immersing in the mysterious sensation that came over him.
Yang Kai’s meridians seemed to swell up and gradually became sore while a powerful vortex suddenly emerged from his body, creating a massive suction that drew all the surrounding World Energy towards him.
Suddenly, the pain in his meridians increased sharply and Yang Kai’s figure twitched, a cry of pain nearly leaking from his lips.
But soon, the pain disappeared and was replaced with an incredibly comfortable sensation. The meridians in his body inflated and became firmer than before as massive amounts of World Energy rushed into his body all on its own.
The wind and clouds suddenly changed and above Dragon Cave Mountain, an unimaginable amount of World Energy crashing down in a rampaging torrent towards Yang Kai, smashing everything within a thousand meters of him to dust.
“Fall back!” Yang Yan’s small face went pale as she swiftly withdrew, not daring to remain in place; Wu Yi and Yu Feng hurriedly followed behind her.
Ba Qing Yan’s jaw dropped as he witnessed the terrifying scene before him. He was secretly rejoicing that he had not allowed anyone from the Hai Ke Family to rush up and try to add insult to injury just now.
If they had done so, even if this young man didn’t attack them, the pressure generated from him breaking through to the next great realm would have been enough to reduce anyone who approached him to ashes.
The other Hai Ke Family cultivators shivered.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this breakthrough was more shocking than the previous battle.
They never knew that a person’s breakthrough could create such a massive disturbance, even changing the world’s scenery. How was this young man able to withstand such impact?
At that moment, many people even began to secretly curse Yang Kai, hoping his breakthrough would fail and he would die in the process. Comparing themselves with such a person was a big blow to their self-esteem.
The rumbling sounds seemed to pound against people’s hearts as the entire Dragon Cave Mountain shook violently. Every time a torrent of World Energy fell, it was like a sledgehammer struck their chests.
Just watching this scene gave many a sense of unbearable pressure, but the young man who was actually experiencing this breakthrough had nothing but excitement on his face as he opened his mind and body to accept this overwhelming World Baptism.
With each successive wave of World Energy that fell upon him, Yang Kai’s aura grew stronger.
It was like an ancient slumbering deity was awakening, standing proudly against the Heavens and Earth, making it impossible for people to stare directly at him.
Time passed and the gathered power of Heaven, which was obscuring the sky gradually cleared, but the sense of pressure weighing on everyone’s heart did not weaken at all.
Suddenly, the world became clear and bright once more and the momentum from Yang Kai’s body receded, his closed eyes shooting open as they shone with joy.
Saint King Realm!
He had finally arrived at the Saint King Realm, breaking through the limits of Tong Xuan Realm and catching up with the height Great Demon God had once achieved!
It wasn’t until this moment that Yang Kai felt he had completely integrated into the Star Field.
Power that was far more tyrannical than just a moment ago surged through his body and as Yang Kai gently clenched his fists, he could feel an explosive force gather around them. If he were to fight Xu Zhi Shen now, Yang Kai was confident that the old man wouldn’t be able to injure him in the slightest while he could easily break through his four-mountain defense.
In the distance, the cultivators from the Hai Ke Family stared blankly at Dragon Cave Mountain. It was as if this mountain was ravaged by a great storm and it had now become even more desolate than before. The rich World Energy fog that had been collected by the Aura Gathering Spirit Array had all disappeared and even the aura within a thirty kilometer radius of Dragon Cave Mountain had been drained dry.
Ba Qing Yan gulped silently, not daring to underestimate the current Yang Kai.
Yang Yan, Wu Yi, and Yu Feng rushed over. Yang Yan congratulated him excitedly while Wu Yi and Yu Feng did the same; however, Yang Kai could tell there was a slight sorrow in their tone.
After all, these two had publicly announced they would separate from the Hai Ke Family not long ago.
No matter how unfairly the family had treated them, it was still their family, the place where they had grown up. The bonds and sentiment they held dear could not be dismissed so easily.
“Congratulations, little friend. Today has been an eye-opening experience for this old master. Little friend is truly a dragon among men whose future achievements will certainly be boundless!” Ba Qing Yan led a group of people over and began calling out before they even arrived.
Yang Kai turned his head and gave him a passing glance.
Yang Kai didn’t have a good impression of this old man as he had previously persecuted Wu Yi. He was an Elder of Hai Ke Family, and from that perspective had not said anything inappropriate, but afterwards he had several times shown the intention to act against Yang Kai, such as we Xu Zhi Shen had called out for help or when he was trying to break through. Yang Kai had seen everything, and although Ba Qing Ya had each time managed to hold himself back, it wasn’t out of good intentions but simply because he wasn’t certain he could kill Yang Kai.
If Ba Qing Ya had been certain, he would have attacked long ago.
Seeing that Yang Kai was unwilling to respond to him, Ba Qing Yan’s expression became somewhat unsightly as he awkwardly continued, “Little friend is a friend of Wu Yi, so if you have time in the future, please do visit my Hai Ke Family, we will be sure to offer you a suitable welcome.”
“Wu Yi has left the Hai Ke Family, why should I visit your house?” Yang Kai shot him a cold look.
Ba Qing Yan was immediately struck speechless but quickly glanced over at Wu Yi and put on a forced smile, “Wu Yi is somewhat young and speaks before fully considering the consequences of her words. This old master believes she didn’t mean what she said just now about leaving the family, isn’t that right, Wu Yi?”
Wu Yi’s expression became even more forlorn and chose to remain silent
On the other hand, Yu Feng openly snorted and quipped, “Didn’t Elder Ba just say that Wu Yi must return to the family to accept discipline according to the Family Law? I remember you said you would even act personally to drag her back!”
Ba Qing Yan immediately glared menacingly towards Yu Feng!
In order to become friends with Yang Kai, he had no choice but to show consideration to Wu Yi, but that didn’t mean he had to do the same to Yu Feng. Yang Kai clearly disliked him and Wu Yi was ignoring him, so Ba Qing Ya couldn’t help becoming somewhat angry out of shame; now, with Yu Feng pouring oil on the fire, if not for having scruples about Yang Kai’s opinion, Ba Qing Ya would definitely have taught Yu Feng a lesson.
But to Ba Qing Ya’s surprise, Yu Feng, who had always been as timid as a mouse in front of him before, now actually dared to glare back defiantly.
This made Ba Qing Yan feel great shame.
But after thinking about it for a moment, Ba Qing Yan declared, “Little friend has just broken through a Great Realm and should need some time to consolidate his cultivation. This old master will not disturb little friend any longer. If little friend has any need of my Hai Ke Family’s assistance, please do not hesitate to ask, en since Wu Yi and Yu Feng are your friends, they should stay behind to help with any miscellaneous tasks; after all, this place can also be considered my Hai Ke Family’s territory. Wu Yi, Yu Feng, don’t show any negligence with this little friend, understand?”
After hearing Ba Qing Yan’s words, Wu Yi still didn’t respond while Yu Feng coldly snorted; it was the first time he realized that his own Elder could be so shameless, causing him a bit of embarrassment.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was just sneering. Ba Qing Yan was indeed an old fox, instantly making it appear that Yang Kai was the guest while his Hai Ke Family was the host, all but directly saying that this was their land, and since he was living here, shouldn’t he give them some face?
Ba Qing Yan also knew that he no longer had any prestige in front of these two, so after finishing what he had to say, he didn’t care about their attitudes and simply cupped his fists to Yang Kai before departing.
The man named Wu Ke also wore a complex look filled with envy as he glanced over at Wu Yi and Yang Kai for a moment. He had never expected that immediately after leaving the family, Wu Yi would find herself a powerful backer with seemingly unlimited prospects.
The young women following behind Ba Qing Yan also directed jealous looks towards Wu Yi, many of them turning their heads several times as they left, sending unambiguous looks towards Yang Kai, as if all he needed to do was nod and they would immediately throw themselves at him.
After a long while, only Yang Kai, Yang Yan, Wu Yi, and Yu Feng remained in the now barren Dragon Cave Mountain where neither birds nor beasts could be seen.
Wu Yi’s eyes were slightly red as she wore a forced smile, “Yang Kai, I’ve shown you something unsightly.”
“How can they be like this?” Yu Feng muttered. In the past, the two of them had felt pride in being members of the Hai Ke Family, but after all the events that transpired today, that sense of belonging had been directly destroyed. Wu Yi had even been forced into a position where she had to announce her separation from the family rather than be unjustly brought back by Ba Qing Yan to suffer sanctions under the Family Law. Even if she were to die here though, she had not wanted to see her Elders acting so pitiful and opportunistic.
Her family’s weakness was completely different from what she had imagined.
Yang Kai seemed to know what she was thinking and said lightly, “This world only respects strength, without it, one can only curry favour from others. Just surviving isn’t easy.”
Wu Yi heard these words and thoughtfully looked over at Yang Kai, but the confusion in her beautiful eyes did not abate.
Yu Feng didn’t think too deeply about the subject and instead asked with some worry, “Yang Kai, the Xu Family will never relent now that you’ve killed Xu Zhi Shen. Before today they didn’t understand how strong you were, so they only sent over a few masters, but those that ran away will certainly report what’s happened here so next time the Xu Family will prepare. Shouldn’t we hurry and leave this place?”
Before Yang Kai could respond, Yang Yan chimed in, “There’s no need to leave, just give me enough materials and I’ll arrange a proper Spirit Array here to repel any intruders.”
Yang Kai also didn’t plan on leaving. Even if he hadn’t implicated Wu Yi and Yu Feng today, with such a large Space Spirit Crystal mine beneath Dragon Cave Mountain, there was no way Yang Kai would abandon this place before the Stone Puppet finished clearing it out.
Yang Kai cultivated the Dao of Space and needed a lot of Space Spirit Crystals. There was nowhere else he would find such a rich deposit.
Yang Kai didn’t have a complete understanding of Yang Yan’s abilities with Spirit Arrays, but seeing her shocking performance today, he was quite confident in her skill.
Not to mention, Yang Kai was now a Saint King, and although he didn’t know if he could compete with Origin Returning Realm cultivators, the Xu Family didn’t have such a master anyway so he didn’t care even if they did come in force.
“What materials do you need?” Yang Kai asked.
“Ores and cultivation materials, basically anything besides spirit herbs for Alchemy will be useful.”
“I have some here,” Wu Yi immediately took some items from her Space Ring.
“Me too, but it’s not much nor is it very high grade,” Yu Feng also contributed.
“It’s no problem, just get Yang Kai to purchase them,” Yang Yan grinned. Others didn’t know how rich Yang Kai was, but she was different. The artefacts she refined for him had already been converted into Saint Crystals by Yang Kai and on top of that, he had so many Space Spirit Crystals that raising several tens of thousands of Saint Crystals was a cinch.
“I just broke through and need to consolidate my cultivation. Yu Feng, I’ll have to trouble you to make a trip to Heavenly Fate City,” Yang Kai said while taking out fifty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals from the Black Book space, storing them in a Universe Bag, and handing it to Yu Feng.
Although he had never seen such a low-grade storage artefact, when Yu Feng swept its content with his Divine Sense, he immediately went pale, “So many Saint Crystals?”
The amount of Saint Crystals he was holding was almost equal to the total income of the entire Hai Ke Family for a year. Yu Feng had never expected Yang Kai to so casually hand him such a shocking amount of wealth and he couldn’t help wondering just where he had acquired all of it in such a short amount of time.
After all, when they picked Yang Kai up, there was only one Space Ring on him and it had already found its way into Wu Yi’s hands.
On the other hand, Yang Kai handing him so many Saint Crystals at once gave Yu Feng a profound sense of responsibility and quickly stated, “Brother Yang can rest assured, I will definitely buy the require materials at the best price available.”
Glancing over at Wu Yi, Yu Feng declared solemnly, “I’ll have to ask you to look after the Young Lady for a while.”
Yang Kai nodded and Yu Feng flew off towards Heavenly Fate City.
Yang Kai felt quite comfortable trusting Yu Feng with this errand. Just a moment ago, he had continuously stood up to his own family’s Elder for Wu Yi. Although his actions could be considered quite simple-minded, they also perfectly showcased the depths of his loyalty.
“Wu Yi, you should first take a rest, your complexion is quite bad,” Yang Kai said to Wu Yi.
Wu Yi nodded gently before walking silently to the cave, accompanied by Yang Yan.
After also returning to the cave, Yang Kai began sorting through his Space Ring and Black Book Space. Everything he could use he handed over to Yang Yan. He had already confirmed her abilities and now that she was about to arrange a grand Spirit Array to protect the cave, the more materials she had the better.
Yang Kai kept the Thunder Attribute Bird Wood that had been formed from the corpse of the Tenth-Order Monster Beast Thunder Luan as he planned to discuss how to best use it with Yang Yan later.
After handling these trivial matters, Yang Kai took out several dozen High-Rank Saint Crystals, placed them around himself, and sat down in the middle of the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags to consolidate his new Saint King Realm cultivation.
If Yang Kai had only broken through a Minor Realm, consolidating his cultivation wouldn’t be particularly urgent, but breaking through to a new Great Realm was different. Stabilizing his realm was essential for his future cultivation.
And so, the storm surrounding Dragon Cave Mountain came to an end, but a new one was now brewing within the Hai Ke Family.
Wu Yi’s friend surnamed Yang, a Third Order Saint, had killed Xu Zhi Shen, a Third Order Saint King, and robbed him of two high-grade artefacts. On top of that, Wu Yi’s female friend turned out to not only be a Saint Grade Artefact Refiner but also a Spirit Array Grandmaster!
When this news spread to the Hai Ke Family’s leadership, all of them were incredibly shocked.
“Qing Yan, you mean to say that youth named Yang Kai killed that old fox, Xu Zhi Shen? You really saw it with your own eyes?” A long-bearded old man sitting in the middle of the family discussion hall asked with clear disbelief.
This old man was the current Patriarch of Hai Ke Family, Yi En.
It wasn’t that Yi En was unwilling to believe Ba Qing Yan, but the story this time was simply too difficult to imagine. Saying Yang Kai killed a First Order Saint King as a Third Order Saint might have been acceptable, but who was Xu Zhi Shen? He was a Xu Family Elder and one of their most powerful masters. Even if Yi En had taken action personally, he may not have been able to win such a fight, and if he had to face Xu Zhi Shen while the latter was wielding the Hundred Mountains Picture, Yi En would only be able to withdraw.
If it had been anyone else telling such a tale, Yi En would have just laughed it off as a joke, but it was Ba Qing Yan who was speaking.
Not only did Yi En have doubts, all the other Elders and Foreign Elders inside the hall were giving Ba Qing Yan strange looks.
“Old Ba, did you become muddled after cultivating too hard? Convening us here in the middle of the day to talk about such nonsense isn’t funny,” An Elder named Wa Lun sitting nearby chuckled.
“En, Elder Ba, if this is just a joke, I suggest you try something different. This one isn’t funny at all,” A beautiful woman with rich curves said with some dissatisfaction. She was a Hai Ki Family Foreign Elder named Huang Juan.
“Qing Yan, explain the situation carefully. I don’t believe you are one to make up such stories!” Yi En said seriously to Ba Qing Yan.
Ba Qing Yan’s expression remained unchanged. He knew that the words he was speaking sounded ridiculous and if he had been in everyone else’s position and heard them he wouldn’t easily believe them, so he didn’t mind Wa Lun and Huang Juan’s cutting remarks and instead just called out, “Come in.”
More than a dozen people walked into the hall after receiving this summons, most of them from the Hai Ke Family’s younger generation. This group had followed Ba Qing Yan to Dragon Cave Mountain and after entering the hall, bowed respectfully.
The Elders and Foreign Elders present didn’t know what Ba Qing Yan was up to but they held their tongues and waited quietly for whatever was to come next.
“Wu Ke, tell the Patriarch and the Elders present here what you witnessed day. Do not conceal anything, make any slanderous remarks, or add any exaggerations or you will be disciplined in accordance with the Family Law!” Ba Qing Yan said solemnly.
Wu Ke quickly cupped his fists and accepted this task before describing Xu Zhi Shen and the Xu Family’s crusade to Dragon Cave Mountain and the ensuing conflict with Yang Kai. Wu Ke was an eloquent speaker and although none of the Elders besides Ba Qing Yan were present today, from Wu Ke’s speech they had no trouble imagining the scene which had taken place.
When they heard about Wu Yi and Yu Feng choosing to separate from the family in order to protect Yang Kai while openly opposing Ba Qing Yan, the faces of many Elders and Foreign Elders became ugly, many of them calling for the Patriarch to capture them back and subject them to the harshest punishment available under the Family Law to serve as a warning to others.
However, after hearing that Yang Kai had snatched Xu Zhi Shen’s Nether Shadow Soul Silk and instantly erased his Soul Mark from it, forcing the latter to summon six of the Hundred Mountains Picture’s phantom peaks, none of them cared about this minor issue anymore. And when they heard that Yang Kai had managed to burn Xu Zhi Shen to death with his strange black flames even though the latter had the protection of four illusionary mountains and about this young man’s subsequent terrifying breakthrough to the Saint King Realm …
All the Elders and Foreign Elders were dumbfounded, hardly able to believe their ears.
They all already faintly believed this story though, because just now, all of them had felt the disturbance in the local World Energy aura. Dragon Cave Mountain wasn’t too far from here so, naturally, they had noticed this strange phenomenon, but none of them had cared much about it at the time.
Now it seems that disturbance was caused by a single young man breaking through to the Saint King Realm!
Wu Ke finished quickly, and Ba Qing Yan next turned to the other dozen young men and women present and asked, “Did Wu Ke speak even half a lie?”
The dozen people all shook their heads, “No.”
“This matter, did all of you witness it today with your own eyes?”
“Yes, Elder Ba!” The crowd nodded.
“Good, you’re excused,” Ba Qing Yan waved his hand and the dozen or so youths withdrew after saluting.
Many Elders and Foreign Elders in the Hai Ke Family’s discussion hall fell silent.
Any speculations about Ba Qing Yan making all of this up as a joke had now been completely dispelled.
It made no sense for more than a dozen of their clansmen to cooperate with each other to tell such a lie to them, so the only explanation was that they were telling the truth!
“Is there really such a Junior in this world?” Yi En muttered under his breath, clear shock still covering his face as he sighed, “Why was he not born in my Hai Ke Family? If he were…”
Yi En’s thoughts were echoed by many others. If such a powerful young man had been born to the Hai Ke Family, their rise would truly be right around the corner. They wouldn’t have to remain as just a peripheral force attached to Shadow Moon Hall.
Peripheral Force was just a title. It sounded good but carried no real weight. In truth, the Hai Ke Family was simply hanging Shadow Moon Hall’s sign next to their name in exchange for providing them with a certain amount of tribute each year. In return, Shadow Moon Hall didn’t look for trouble with them.
They didn’t receive any benefits from Shadow Moon Hall, and if Shadow Moon Hall wished, they could dissolve this relationship or even the family itself at any time.
“Patriarch, although this Yang Kai wasn’t born into my clan, it’s not necessarily impossible for him to become part of it,” The beautiful woman named Huang Juan who had spoken before suddenly said with a smile.
“Oh? The meaning of Foreign Elder Huang is…” Yi En immediately directed an excited look towards her.
Huang Juan pursed her lips into a smile and said, “Elder Ba just said that in order to shield him, Wu Yi even declared she would leave the family. In my opinion, the relationship between those two may not be so simple. At the very least, Wu Yi seems to have some strong intentions towards that boy.”
Hearing this, everyone’s eyes brightened!
“Foreign Elder Huang is right,” Wa Lun nodded in agreement, a grin appearing on his face, “Wu Yi’s looks are good and her aptitude is one of the best in the family. Regardless of whether that Yang Kai has feelings towards her now, all we have to do is match them together and the situation should progress all on its own. However, before we do anything, we need to find out about the origins of this young man; him being able to kill Xu Zhi Shen with just a Saint Realm cultivation makes it clear he cannot be an unknown person, yes?”
“Do you mean to say he may be the first master of Thunder Typhoon Sect’s younger generation, Fan Tian Zhong? Fan Tian Zhong is said to have the ability to kill enemies above his own realm. En, Wei Gu Chang of Shadow Moon Hall also has such ability along with Heaven Battling Union’s Qu Chang Feng. Could Yang Kai simply be an alias? If it’s not, why haven’t we heard about him before?” Someone asked.
“He is absolutely not any of them! Those geniuses are all already Saint Kings, possibly even having reached the Third Order by now. They are a full Great Realm above this Yang Kai in cultivation, he clearly has nothing to do with them.”
“About his origins, this Elder may know a little something,” An old man with a well-trimmed goatee spoke up, attracting everyone’s attention. After pausing for a moment, he continued, “I heard from one of those little brats that during Wu Yi’s last mining expedition, Yu Feng picked up a stranger from the Starry Sky. Yang Kai should be that person.”
“Picked up?” The group of Elders in the hall were all stunned. Could a young man of such astonishing aptitude simply be picked up?
Yi En expression changed once more as he glanced over towards a certain individual with a smile, “Foreign Elder Chang, when Wu Yi previously set out to mine ore, it was you who accompanied her, correct? What can you tell us about this Yang Kai?”
Chang Qi frowned slightly. He had a good relationship with Wu Yi and often looked out for her as she was growing up. Today, hearing Wu Yi had been forced to leave the family, Chang Qi had become quite disgruntled towards Ba Qing Yan. He didn’t want to comment, but now that the Patriarch had directly asked him, even if he wished to remain silent, he didn’t have a choice.
After all, when Yu Feng picked up Yang Kai, and when Yang Kai emerged from the blood-red crystal, Chang Qi had been present, so he knew better than anyone present about Yang Kai’s origins.
Grumbling to himself for a moment, Chang Qi reluctantly described what had happened at that time.
The looks on the faces present changed once more when they heard about Yang Kai’s bizarre origins, actually emerging from a blood-red crystal.
But soon, Huang Juan let out pleasant laughter, “Since we know his origins, everything is much easier to handle. In the outside world, he may not be an unknown person, but now that he is here on Shadowed Star, it is the same as him not having any family or backing. Although my Hai Ke Family isn’t too strong, it can still be regarded as a sizable force. If we show him favour, he shouldn’t have any reason to refuse, not to mention Dragon Cave Mountain where he lives now belongs to my family.”
“Foreign Elder Huang is right, young people are always reckless and impetuous, but all of them still love beauties. Since he seems to have some ideas about Wu Yi, we just need to push them together,” Immediately, someone else came forward to agree, with many others nodding in approval.
“We cannot!” Suddenly a voice of opposition sounded.
Yi En turned his eyes to the source and asked calmly, “Why does Elder Ba feel this is improper?”
Actually, Yi En had not expected the first one to object would actually be Ba Qing Yan.
However, Ba Qing Yan quickly explained, “First, Yang Kai killed Xu Zhi Shen, and although this clearly demonstrates his great strength and superior combat prowess, if it was not related to the Hundred Mountains Picture, the Xu Family may be able to swallow it, making big things small, and small things nothing, at most demanding some compensation from him so they can save face. But now that the Hundred Mountains Picture has been snatched, even if the Xu Family fears Yang Kai, it is impossible for them to back down. If my family now goes and shows goodwill towards Yang Kai, we will definitely have trouble with the Xu Family.”
“What thing is the Xu Family? My Hai Ke Family has never been afraid of the Xu Family, so what is Elder Ba worrying about?” Elder Wu Lun coldly snorted.
“That’s right, Elder Ba, the Xu Family now doesn’t even have the Hundred Mountains Picture, so we really have no need to fear them, perhaps we can even take this opportunity to annex the Xu Family completely!”
As soon as this remark was made, many people were moved.
The Xu Family’s Hundred Mountains Picture was a huge deterrent, but now that the Xu Family has lost this precious artefact, there was no need to fear them anymore. This was indeed a good chance for the Hai Ke Family to deal with the Xu Family while at the same time pulling Yang Kai closer to themselves.
Instead of rushing to agree though, Yi En frowned slightly and motioned to Ba Qing Yan, “Elder Ba, continue.”
Ba Qing Yan glanced around at the spirited faces of his colleagues who were not itching to immediately crusade against the Xu Family now and sneered, “The Xu Family need not be feared, but what about Shadow Moon Hall?”
Everyone froze up, but upon remembering a certain fact, all of them wore an expression of dread.
“We and the Xu Family are peripheral forces of Shadow Moon Hall. This dispute has nothing to do with Shadow Moon Hall, but that Xie Hong Wen has his eyes on Wu Yi. If we were to arbitrarily match Wu Yi with Yang Kai, do you think Xie Hong Wen will ignore it? A trivial Xie Hong Wen we need not fear, but that little bastard’s father is a genuine Shadow Moon Hall Deacon! A Deacon’s status in Shadow Moon Hall isn’t high, but it is still not a person my Hai Ke Family can provoke.”
“What Elder Ba says is true,” Yi En nodded, “Although that Yang Kai is good, after all, he has no foundation or background, a loner. If trying to befriend him offends Xie Hong Wen, the gains will not make up for the losses. En, this matter needs further consideration. Not only do we need to recruit that Yang Kai, but we need to do so in a way that does not offend Xie Hong Wen. Elder Ba, your methods are meticulous. Return to Dragon Cave Mountain and probe that young man’s intentions and desires and whether we can satisfy them. If he really covets beauty, my Hai Ke Family has many unmarried girls, several of whom are not inferior to Wu Yi. As long as we can gather him, sending him a few unimportant women isn’t an issue.”
“I will carry out Patriarch’s command!” Ba Qing Yan stood up and bowed gently, thinking about something before asking, “Patriarch, what should we do about that Saint Grade Artefact Refiner called Yang Yan? Her Spirit Array accomplishment shouldn’t be bad.”
“Act at your own discretion, Elder Ba. We have need of a good Array Master, but that Yang Yan is still very young, so even if she has some accomplishments in arranging Spirit Arrays, it can’t possibly be too profound. Our main concern now is Yang Kai.”
“Understood.”
Having received the Patriarch’s orders, Ba Qing Yan couldn’t easily object; however, his instincts told him that the Spirit Array arranged by Yang Yan wasn’t so simple and perhaps her value was greater than Yang Kai.
After leaving the discussion hall, Ba Qing Yan didn’t immediately rush to Dragon Cave Mountain. He knew Yang Kai didn’t want to see him right now and if he were to suddenly show up, he would definitely be met with closed doors. Moreover, Yang Kai had just broken through to the Saint King Realm and was probably in secluded retreat to consolidate his cultivation.
[Consolidate his cultivation?] Ba Qing Yan’s eyes brightened as he thought of something. Hurrying to the family’s storeroom, Ba Qing Yan withdrew a jade box from it, and upon opening the jade box, he found a longan sized pill that exuded a soothing fragrance.
Wasn’t what Yang Kai needed the most right now this Saint King Pill? Ba Qing Yan smiled confidently and walked out of the warehouse.
Inside Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai was engaging in meditative cultivation while Yang Yan was organizing her available materials with the help of Wu Yi.
The materials owned by Yang Kai were a real mixed bag with things of varies grades all piled together in massive quantities. When the two women saw this pile, they were both somewhat dumbstruck; however, they were also quite happy, neither of them having imagined Yang Kai had been hoarding so many treasures.
Suddenly, Wu Yi began laughing loudly.
Yang Yan looked over at her with a puzzled expression and asked, “What are you laughing at?”
Wu Yi explained through her giggles, “I’m laughing at how Yang Kai is too sly.”
“Sly? How is he sly?” Yang Yan asked curiously.
“When I picked him up, he only had a single Space Ring on his him, and it was quickly stolen by Yu Feng. When I realized this and saw what a pitiful state he was in, I gave him a few Saint Crystals and pills back, but seeing this now it’s clear he had other Space Rings on him, I just didn’t know where he hid them! If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have had so many Saint Crystals and materials left, yet back then, he showed me a sincere look of thanks, making me think I had done a good deed. Turns out he was playing tricks on me the whole time.”
“En, he really is quite cunning,” Yang Yan nodded, “But those Saint Crystals have nothing to do with him, those are all my credit.”
Wu Yi was puzzled but before she had time to clarify what Yang Yan meant, Yu Feng finally returned from purchasing materials.
“How did it go?” Wu Yi asked.
“It was amazing!” Yu Feng grinned from ear to ear, “Young Lady, you can’t even imagine the kind of joy receiving such supreme treatment is. All those stores I bought materials from treated me like I was their grandfather. The feeling of spending so much money is too awesome, there were even a few beautiful girls secretly sending hot looks!”
Seeing Yu Feng’s loose expression, Wu Yi glared at him and shouted, “Shameful! What I want to know about is the materials we sent you to purchase.”
“Oh, that. I bought them, it’s all here,” Yu Feng said, handing the Space Ring in his hand to Yang Yan.
Yang Yan accepted the ring and swept it with her Divine Sense for a moment before nodding, “Good, with these materials, as long as I have a month, I can arrange a Spirit Array to perfectly protect this mountain. When the time comes, we won’t have to fear anyone!”
Wu Yi and Yu Feng both looked at her with some surprise, but soon, Wu Yi shook her head and turned back to Yu Feng to ask, “What are you holding?”
“This? This was something Young Master Wu Ke brought over and told me to hand to Yang Kai,” Yu Feng explained. When he returned just now, he had seen Wu Ke loitering around outside the cave and went up to ask what he was doing here. As soon as Yu Feng asked though, Wu Ke simply shoved this jade box into his hands and said it was something Elder Ba wished to gift to Yang Kai before he quickly flew away.
“Elder Ba ordered my cousin to deliver this?” Wu Yi’s brow furrowed for a moment, but suddenly remembering something, her eyes fixed on the jade box as she said, “Open it and let me see.”
Yu Feng opened the jade box and a refreshing fragrance immediately filled the cave.
“Saint King Pill?” Wu Yi and Yu Feng both exclaimed at the same time, the former secretly shocked that her stingy family had so readily gifted away the last Saint King Pill they had in storage while the latter was constantly gulping as his eyes filled with avarice.
On the other hand, Yang Yan only took a brief look at the Saint King Pill before going back to her own business.
“Was this really what Elder Ba asked my cousin to deliver?” Wu Yi asked in an uncertain tone.
“En, otherwise where would I have obtained it?”
“It looks like the family intends to forge a friendship with Yang Kai…” Wu Yi muttered and before immediately chuckling, “En, it seems they haven’t gone senile from old age yet. They truly should want to create a friendly relationship with him, but seeing how they sent my cousin and not one of the Elders, they should still be having some scruples about something… Forget it, since they have sent this Saint King Pill, just give it to Yang Kai, he should need this right now.”
If it had been something else, Wu Yi would have told Yu Feng to send it back, but this Saint King Pill was different.
“Ok,” Yu Feng carefully closed the jade box before walking deeper into the cave.
Arriving in front of the stone room where Yang Kai lived, before Yu Feng had time to speak, Yang Kai’s voice came over, “Brother Yu, come in.”
Yu Feng grinned and walked inside, handing over the jade box in his hands before explaining where he had obtained it.
“A Saint King Pill…” Yang Kai looked at the longan sized pill inside the jade box with amusement. As an Alchemist, he naturally knew what the Saint King Pill was for.
After breaking through to the Saint King Realm from the Saint Realm, taking a Saint King Pill would help a cultivator consolidate their foundation and mood. Because this pill only had such effects when crossing this particular Great Realm, it was called the Saint King Pill.
The Saint King Pill was a Saint King Grade Mid-Rank pill, not to high in terms of grade, but refining it required a lot of materials.
Basically, a pill to help stabilize one’s cultivation existed for each Great Realm breakthrough; however, because Yang Kai possessed the Demon Eye of Annihilation and had absorbed the insights and sentiments into the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao of many higher realm cultivators, he had never needed such pills to consolidate his foundation.
While Yang Kai didn’t need this thing, others did, and for many cultivators, this pill was incredibly precious.
The Hai Ke Family delivering him a Saint King Pill was clearly their way of showing goodwill. Yang Kai knew this, and if he had been anyone else, it might have had some effect, but to him, pills were what he needed the least.
Yang Kai himself was a high-grade Alchemist, so if he ever needed pills, he would refine them himself as there was more than enough spirit grasses and spirit medicines in his Black Book space.
Seeing Yu Feng literally drooling at the sight of the Saint King Pill in his hands, Yang Kai closed the jade box again and tossed it over to him, “You eat it.”
“Ah?” Yu Feng was shocked and after fumbling to catch the jade box frantically waved his hands, “I can’t! This is something the family gave to you, it’s extremely precious! Our Hai Ke Family had to specially request an Alchemist to refine a few of these many years ago. When Young Lady broke through to the Saint King Realm, she took one, but as far as I know, this is the last.”
“If you want to eat it, just eat it. I have no need of it,” Yang Kai shrugged casually.
“But I broke through to the Saint King Realm over three years ago, taking this now will only give me some minor benefits,” Yu Feng couldn’t bear to waste this precious treasure.
“Then I’ll just give it to you instead. Whether you eat it or sell it is up to you,” Yang Kai smiled.
“Brother Yang, don’t you want it? I won’t be able to explain to the family if you do this.”
“Didn’t you just leave the family along with Wu Yi? Why would you need to explain anything to them?” Yang Kai gave him a wryly laugh.
Yu Feng froze up for a moment before patted his forehead, “Right…”
As if he had only now remembered he had left the family, Yu Feng’s expression became a little gloomy.
Yang Kai spoke a few words of comfort, “It’s not necessarily a bad thing for you to leave the Hai Ke Family. At the very least, you can rest assured that you’ll get better cultivation conditions here than in the Hai Ke Family.”
Yu Feng politely nodded, “Then I’ll express my thanks in advance for Brother Yang’s kindness. Honestly, it doesn’t matter much to me, but Young Lady, she… haa…”
Yu Feng was obviously more concerned about Wu Yi than himself. On top of that, he didn’t take Yang Kai’s words seriously. He acknowledged Yang Kai’s combat power, but to say he could provide better cultivation conditions than the Hai Ke Family wasn’t something Yu Feng could easily believe.
After Yu Feng left, Yang Kai sank into contemplation for a moment before sending out a Divine Sense Message.
A short time later, the Stone Puppet popped up from underground.
After a few days of hard work, the Stone Puppet had collected a lot of Space Spirit Crystals. Yang Kai let it spit out these Space Spirit Crystals before ordering it to open up a few more stone rooms in the cave.
Wu Yi and Yu Feng were now homeless and could only live here temporarily. It was because of Yang Kai that they had fallen into this awkward position so naturally, he wasn’t going to just abandon them.
The Stone Puppet opened up stone rooms incredibly quickly. On top of that, its thoughts were simple so when it received Yang Kai’s orders, it went all out, completely re-modelling the cave.
One stone room after another was neatly arranged on either side of the main cave tunnel, each of them equal in size and dimension, as if they had all been measured and cut by the most precise of tools.
Soon, there were hundreds of rooms in the cave.
A short time later, when Yang Kai swept the cave with his Divine Sense and saw this, he could only grin wryly before letting the Stone Puppet go back to mining Space Spirit Crystals.
While in retreat to consolidate his Saint King Realm cultivation, Yang Kai was also refining the purple shield artefact that Yang Yan had newly forged for him. Xu Zhi Shen’s Hundred Mountains Picture had caused Yang Kai some difficulties with just six of the phantom mountains being summoned. If all one hundred of the illusionary peaks had been summoned, perhaps the surrounding thousand-kilometre region would have been flattened.
Yang Kai desperately needed a defensive artefact.
After Yang Yan and the others sorted through their cache of materials and emerged from their chamber, they were shocked by the changes the cave had undergone. After just two days, there were now hundreds of stone rooms of equal dimension inside the cave, making Wu Yi and Yu Feng feel like they were in some kind of dreamland!
The two of them thought it was Yang Kai’s handiwork, but neither of them had even noticed when all this work had taken place. Only Yang Yan understood that this was all thanks to the Stone Puppet.
Since there were now many stone rooms, Wu Yi and Yu Feng freely chose one for themselves as their own residence. Yang Yan took out some Saint Crystals and materials to arrange small Aura Gathering Spirit Arrays for them inside their stone rooms to improve the cultivation environment before beginning her work on the mountain’s defensive Spirit Array.
Fortunately, Wu Yi cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art, and although she wasn’t versed in Artifact Refining, under Yang Yan’s guidance, it was still possible for her to refine some simple items.
The Stone Puppet was the busiest of all. Shortly after it had been sent Yang Kai to mine Space Spirit Crystals, it was called back by Yang Yan and began spending all day quenching different materials. This was the Stone Puppet’s innate ability and it could complete it both faster and with higher quality than any human could, so why wouldn’t Yang Yan use it?
As a result, Yang Yan saved a great amount of time and energy, allowing her to experience a far more relaxed and enjoyable Artifact Refining process. With the Stone Puppet assisting her, all she needed to do was mold the materials and portray the appropriate Spirit Arrays.
Half a month later, Yang Kai exited his retreat.
As soon as he left his stone room, he immediately realized the great changes that had occurred outside.
Originally it was just him and Yang Yan here, Wu Yi and Yu Feng joined them sometime later, bringing the total occupants of Dragon Cave Mountain to four. Now though, there were at least forty cultivators moving about the cave.
Some were cultivating in the stone rooms, others were running errands, the entire Dragon Cave Mountain had become lively.
What was going on?
Yang Kai was suspicious as he walked out, but everyone he met greeted him with great enthusiasm. Yang Kai soon discovered that he recognized all of these people, even if he didn’t know all of their names.
These people were the cultivators who had been aboard Wu Yi’s Starship as well as the ones who had helped set up the cave for Yang Kai under Yu Feng’s leadership.
“Yang Kai!” Wu Yi’s voice suddenly called out and Yang Kai turned a smile towards her.
After not seeing her for half a month, Wu Yi’s complexion had improved a lot, and the sorrow between her brows had disappeared. She now seemed more youthful and beautiful than before, her whole aura filled with happiness.
“These people are…” Yang Kai asked her curiously.
“They all came here to follow me,” Wu Yi looked at Yang Kai apologetically, “They also announced that they will separate from the family.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai was somewhat taken aback, he hadn’t expected Wu Yi to command such respect. If there were one or two men who decided to follow Wu Yi because they adored her, that would have been one thing, but over forty men and women not even hesitating to separate from the Hai Ke Family could only be a result of Wu Yi’s prestige and charisma, there was no other explanation!
It was not a trivial act to separate from one’s family without authorization, especially if so many left all at once. This was no different than slapping the Hai Ke Family’s face dozens of times! Facing this kind of insult, it was unclear if the Hai Ke Family would stand idly by.
“Sorry, I didn’t know things would turn out like this,” Wu Yi said guiltily. The main reason she had announced she would leave the family was not because she wanted to protect Yang Kai, but rather because the family had treated her too coldly. Wu Yi’s decision leading to more than forty others following her had caught her by surprise, but it was a pleasant one this time.
“If you disapprove, I can lead them away!” Wu Yi saw Yang Kai go silent and thought he might be upset, so she quickly apologized while biting her lip.
“And take them where?” Yang Kai smiled, “Since they’ve come already, let them stay. Moreover, this was your land in the first place.”
“But I already gave it to you,” Wu Yi said with embarrassment, “Since I gave it to you, it’s yours now.”
“Don’t think about it too much, so many people willing to follow you is all thanks to your own skill,” Yang Kai smiled slightly. “In any case, there are so many stone rooms in the cave now so it doesn’t matter if there are a few extra people around.”
“Thank you!” Wu Yi said gratefully.
Yang Kai shook his head and said sincerely, “It is I who should thank you.”
If Wu Yi hadn’t given him Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai would never have discovered the giant Space Spirit Crystal lode here. Although it wasn’t convenient for him to explain to Wu Yi right now, this great favour was something Yang Kai fully intended to repay, so allowing a few dozen people who chose to follow Wu Yi settle here wasn’t even an issue for him. Even if Wu Yi encountered real trouble, Yang Kai would happily face it for her.
“Stop thanking each other in circles,” Yang Yan called out. Yang Kai turned around to see her and although she seemed quite tired, her beautiful eyes were filled with excitement. Yang Yan casually tossed something over to Yang Kai upon making eye contact and said, “This artefact isn’t bad. See if you want to refine it, if not, we should sell it quickly. We’re quite poor now.”
Yang Kai caught this artefact and upon sweeping it with his Divine Sense, he discovered it was Xu Zhi Shen’s Hundred Mountains Picture. Immediately tossing it into his Space Ring, Yang Kai declared, “This thing isn’t for sale.”
During the battle with Xu Zhi Shen, Yang Kai had snatched two artefacts, one was the Nether Shadow Soul Silk and the other was the Hundred Mountains Picture. Yang Kai didn’t have time to investigate these two artefacts carefully, but he knew that the Hundred Mountains Picture was a good treasure. Xu Zhi Shen summoning six phantom mountains had boosted his strength significantly, if he could have summoned more, the strength he would have displayed would only have been stronger.
By the time all one hundred illusionary mountains were summoned, it was likely even Origin Returning Realm masters would have to give way. Yang Kai had never been too interested in offensive artefacts, but he really liked this Hundred Mountains Picture.
“Then give me some more Saint Crystals!” Yang Yan simply held out her small hand and demanded.
“Didn’t I give you fifty thousand Saint Crystal last time to buy materials? And they were all High-Rank Saint Crystals at that. Don’t tell me you’ve run out already, have you?” Yang Kai looked at Yang Yan in surprise. This woman was an expert at making money, but it seemed her ability to spend it wasn’t any worse.
“Do you think it’s easy to arrange a large-scale Spirit Array? Those materials were only enough to arrange the defensive Spirit Array. Now that there are so many people here, all of their stone room needs to have a small Aura Gathering Spirit Array arranged. On top of that, daily cultivating consumes many Saint Crystals.”
Wu Yi quickly interjected, “There’s no need for all this. Everyone here has never enjoyed such rich treatment in the family before. Also, Dragon Cave Mountain’s innate World Energy aura isn’t bad.”
During his recent breakthrough, Yang Kai had absorbed every scrap of World Energy within a thirty-kilometre radius of the cave, but after more than half a month, the ambient aura had basically been restored and faint traces of World Energy mist could now be seen lingering about the peaks.
“There’s no need to be polite with him, you can’t even imagine how much wealth he has,” Yang Yan whispered into Wu Yi’s ear.
Yang Yan knew about the countless Space Spirit Crystals Yang Kai possessed so she was well aware that he wouldn’t care about a few trivial Saint Crystals.
Yang Kai shook his head helplessly before stuffing tens of thousands of High-Rank, Mid-Rank, and Low-Rank Saint Crystals into a Space Ring, leaving only a few thousand pieces for his personal use.
“From now on, Wu Yi should be Dragon Cave Mountain’s treasurer, she can handle anything related to resource distribution. I need to focus on arranging Spirit Arrays so I don’t have time for it. I’ll make a list of things that need to be purchased. If you don’t have enough Saint Crystals, just tell Yang Kai, he’ll get more for you,” Yang Yan tossed the Space Ring stuffed full of Saint Crystals over to Wu Yi.
“Ah?” Wu Yi hesitated for a moment, not having expected Yang Yan to so easily transfer all the Saint Crystals Yang Kai had brought out to her. But soon, Wu Yi understood that Yang Yan was trying to give her something to occupy her attention, lest she suddenly become idle and has her thoughts drift to more unpleasant matters. Realizing this, Wu Yi was quite moved and did not shirk this responsibility, quickly declaring, “You can rest assured, I will see to it that every single Saint Crystal in my hand is used appropriately!”
Wu Yi’s dream had been to lead the Hai Ke Family and she had gained much experience managing matters in the family over the past many years, so handling a trivial forty people would not be an issue.
Yang Kai’s eyes glanced back and forth, understanding Yang Yan’s intentions and quietly giving her a thumbs up.
Yang Yan smiled happily, “My defensive Spirit Array is about to be completed, but Yang Kai, you really need to find a way to earn more Saint Crystals if we want to stay here long term. The current Spirit Array is only enough to secure the surrounding ten-kilometre radius.”
Yang Kai naturally understood the deeper meaning behind Yang Yan’s words. The Space Spirit Crystal lode was extremely important. The Stone Puppet had been mining it for so many days, but it showed no signs of slowing down. No one knew just how large this crystal lode was, but Yang Kai was determined to remain here at least until it was completely cleaned out.
What’s more, Yang Kai intended to remain in this place and use it as a springboard to project his name across the Star Field.
Nodding his head, Yang Kai said, “Don’t worry about Saint Crystals, I’ll find a way to collect more.”
Yang Yan sent him a worried look and reminded him, “Act carefully.”
She thought that Yang Kai might be compelled to sell some of the Space Spirit Crystals, but in truth, he had no such plans.
“By the way, Yang Kai, Elder Ba has come to visit here every day for a few days now, saying he wants to discuss something with you, but you’ve been in retreat, so I’ve always sent him back. You’re out now though and he happens to be outside at this moment,” Wu Yi said with a slight frown.
“Ba Qing Yan? What are your thoughts?” Yang Kai asked Wu Yi, “If you want me to meet him, I’ll meet him, if you don’t, I’ll send him away.”
“I don’t know,” Wu Yi shook her head as her fists clenched and a look of struggle appeared on her face.
“Then I’ll ask you something different, do you want to return to the Hai Ke Family?”
“I don’t!” This time, Wu Yi didn’t hesitate, shaking her head decisively and laughing somewhat self-deprecatingly, “I used to think that although the family was weak, we all shared a common goal and it didn’t matter if we had to gives our lives for that goal, but now… I really don’t want to go back. My parents died long ago, and although the family has been nurturing and raising me, I believe I’ve paid them back for all I’ve received.”
“Understood, I’ll see him then and make sure he won’t bother you in the future.”
“Thank you.” Wu Yi gently nodded.
Ba Qing Yan has come four days in a row now. He knew that Yang Kai was in retreat to consolidate his cultivation, so he had been patiently waiting, but he hadn’t thought that each time he came to Dragon Cave Mountain he wouldn’t even be able to see Yang Kai. With the task assigned to him, Ba Qing Yan couldn’t act arrogantly so his only choice was to quietly wait but seeing his family’s disciples walk in and out each day while staring at him curiously, he truly felt he was losing face.
However, today was different, as after a short wait, a familiar figure suddenly appeared from the cave. Ba Qing Yan smiled happily as he immediately recognized this young man as the one who had killed Xu Zhi Shen. With a great laugh, he cupped his fists and shouted, “Congratulations little friend Yang! Little friend Yang’s aura is deep and steady, it seems you have obtained a great harvest during your recent retreat. En, little friend Yang’s talent is truly astonishing, being able to stabilize your foundation so thoroughly in such a short time. This old man is impressed!”
Yang Kai glanced at him lightly, knowing that this old fox was implying this was all thanks to the Saint King Pill he had provided.
Consolidating one’s cultivation after breaking through to a new Great Realm was not a fast process for an average person, but taking certain pills could drastically shorten the necessary time. Ba Qing Yan had not specifically mentioned the Saint King Pill, but he was flagrantly hinting at it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai, however, wasn’t even willing to give him a nod regarding this. Forget about the fact that he hadn’t eaten that Saint King Pill, even if he had, it was just a trivial Saint King Grade Mid-Rank pill, how would Yang Kai care about such a paltry commodity?
“If you have something to say, say it, out of consideration for your status as Wu Yi’s former Elder, I will give you thirty breaths of time. Don’t squander them!”
Ba Qing Yan nearly choked when he heard Yang Kai’s words!
He hadn’t expected Yang Kai to not even bother inviting him in to sit down and discuss matters in private. After all the warm regards and flattery Ba Qing Yan had sent out, receiving such a cold response was quite discomforting, causing his face to flush. If it weren’t for the fact that he knew he couldn’t beat him, Ba Qing Yan would have already attacked Yang Kai.
As an old fox though, Ba Qing Yan quickly adjusted his mood and suppressed the anger in his heart, replacing the awkward look on his face with a smile and continuing, “The shocking battle half a month ago really opened this old man’s eyes. This old man had never imagined that a genius like little friend Yang existed in this world. Such awe-inspiring might and talent surely places little friend Yang at least on par with Wei Gu Chang of Shadow Moon Hall, Qu Chang Feng of Heaven Battling Union, and Fang Tianzhong of Thunder Typhoon Sect…”
Yang Kai stared at him coldly, without interrupting his words, only stating bluntly after Ba Qing Yan finished, “You have twenty breaths.”
Ba Qing Yan’s face twitched a few times. This Yang Kai was simply incorrigible. Ba Qing Yan had disregarded his own face to praise him, so couldn’t this brat show a hint of modesty? Even if he refused to act humble, Yang Kai should have at least displayed the arrogance of a young man; after all, flattering a Junior was not something easy for an old man like Ba Qing Yan, it had been many years since he needed to utter such false platitudes.
People often say that those who are young are all wild at heart, but that didn’t seem to apply in this case; it was as if Yang Kai simply didn’t have a rampant side.
As if he suddenly understood a bit about Yang Kai’s temperament, Ba Qing Yan’s expression immediately became serious and he didn’t bother with any more nonsense, directly stated, “My Hai Ke Family intends to betroth a few young girls from our clan to little friend Yang, has little friend Yang ever once gotten married?”
“Not interested!” Yang Kai stated flatly.
“Ah… little friend, it’s like this, you killed Xu Zhi Shen of the Xu Family and robbed him of his Hundred Mountains Picture. Considering all this, it is impossible for the Xu Family to relent. My Hai Ke Family is willing to shelter little friend Yang from this disaster as long as little friend Yang is willing to join our family. My family is willing to hire little friend Yang as the Foreign Elder and provide him with the corresponding treatment!”
“Not interested!”
“Little friend Yang, please listen to this old man’s whole story before making a decision,” Ba Qing Yan secretly grieved in his heart, thinking he should not have accepted this kind of task. He had never met a person as difficult to deal with as Yang Kai, no matter what he said, the only responses he got were indifference or flat out silence.
“Little friend Yang, you have offended the Xu Family and killed Xu Zhi Shen. The next time Xu Family comes, they won’t send just one or two people; for the Hundred Mountains Picture, they may turn out in full force. Without my Hai Ke Family’s shelter, how does your tiny mountain top plan on resisting them? Even if you are not afraid of the Xu Family, what about the young lady beside you? If the city gates are on fire, the innocents inside are the ones who suffer, I believe little friend Yang should understand this concept, right? Now is not the time to act defiantly, if you want to protect yourself and that young lady, allying with my Hai Ke Family is your only hope!”