Even an insect would struggle against death, let alone Qi Tian Che, a master who had touched the threshold of the Origin King Realm.
Despite falling into a disadvantage, he was not discouraged, he only focused harder on defeating Yang Kai.
“Old dog, choosing to fight with this Sect Master in this place was the biggest mistake of your life. Now, it’s time to pay the price!” Yang Kai was bathed in blood too, but he still roared with incredible fighting intent as a five-coloured radiance from his body.
Gold, green, white, red, and yellow light intermingled and merged to form a brilliant and domineering halo around Yang Kai, creating a ‘Chee’ sound effect.
Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi!
Yang Kai’s already extremely strong momentum skyrocketed once more, and a terrifying, violent force that seemed capable of crushing everything that stood before it filled his aura.
Qi Tian Che was horrified.
Having fought Yang Kai with fist and foot, he was clearer about just how intrepid his body was than anyone else, but when this five-coloured brilliance appeared, the intensity of his physical force increased again by more than thirty percent.
Thirty percent may not seem like much, but it was more than enough to expand the small gap in their positions into a massive one.
*Hong…*
Yang Kai threw out a fierce punch, to which Qi Tian Che raised his hand instinctively to block, but when the latter was struck, he could not resist in the slightest and the blow landed square on his chest.
A sound of bones breaking rang out and Qi Tian Che’s chest sank in while the arm he had raised to protect himself also drooped.
The flesh and bones he had tempered for over a thousand years was unable to withstand this single hit and burst open.
The sound of bones shattering continued to resound one after another from Qi Tian Che’s body as Yang Kai rained down a barrage of fists on him.
Fang Peng’s face twitched as he watched from the side, his eyes bulging wildly!
Qi Tian Che screamed in horror as his organs began to rupture. No longer daring to confront Yang Kai head-on, he subconsciously began to dodge while trying to withdraw.
But how could Yang Kai allow him to get away?
Like a ravenous beast, he continued to pursue Qi Tian Che while landing blow after blow.
Qi Tian Che’s extremely strong body was rapidly beaten into a bloody pulp, with almost no place left intact, his skin completely cracked, and his physique battered with broken bones all over that were visible to the naked eye.
He screamed repeatedly, but could not dodge, coughing up his blood each time Yang Kai struck.
The battlefield Qi Tian Che had carefully chosen to maximize his advantage had become a fatal constraint, making it impossible for him to manoeuvre or execute any of his prided Movement Skills.
*Peng…*
Yang Kai threw another punch, hitting the bridge of Qi Tian Che’s nose.
Under the strong impact force, Qi Tian Che’s nose was beaten crooked, making his already hideous and terrifying face look even more so, and with his eyes bloodshot and stained red, his body flew backwards.
“Xiao Xiao!” Yang Kai shouted.
The Stone Puppet waved the Heaven Shaking Pillar, leapt two steps forward, and slammed the black stick forward.
*Hong…*
The Heaven Shaking Pillar smashed onto Qi Tian Che’s back, seemingly shattering his spine, and sending Qi Tian Che hurtling forward again.
Yang Kai looked on coldly but did not move for the kill. He felt that Xiao Xiao’s blow had almost destroyed Qi Tian Che’s ability to resist.
Like a dead fish, Qi Tian Che fell to the ground, and after rolling a few times, he came to a stop, lying there without even the strength to move.
Yang Kai walked over and looked down at him condescendingly, his eyes flashing like a cold blade.
Qi Tian Che opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
“Don’t rush, take a moment to catch your breath. I have some questions to ask you,” Yang Kai grinned, flashing a ferocious smile dyed in Golden Blood, giving him a particularly menacing look.
Qi Tian Che closed his eyes, as if he had accepted his fate.
Yang Kai raised his head towards Fang Peng who was not far away and grinned fiercely, his eyes filled with malicious intent.
Being stared at like this, Fang Peng trembled as if he had been plunged into a blizzard, his hands and feet shivering as he panicked and hurriedly shouted, “Sect Master Yang, please be merciful. Last time in Fallen Emperor Mountain, this Fang was simply acting on orders, if I have offended you in any way, This Fang can apologize here and now.”
“Apologize?” Yang Kai curled his lips, “What good would your apology do me?”
Saying so, he pointed his finger and shouted in a low voice, “Kill!”
Receiving this order, the Stone Puppet rushed towards Fang Peng.
In the next moment, a shocking fight broke out.
Yang Kai no longer paid any attention to this though. If they were outside, Xiao Xiao may not have been able to kill Fang Peng; after all, the latter was a peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, so even if he couldn’t win, he could still run, but in here, things were different. There was nowhere for Fang Peng to escape as this entire world was only three hundred meters in diameter.
Yang Kai turned his gaze back to Qi Tian Che again, and after waiting for a moment, bluntly asked, “How do you want to die?”
Qi Tian Che also seemed quite relaxed, however, even managing to put on a light smile after hearing these words and saying, “If Sect Master Yang really wanted to kill this old master, he wouldn’t ask such a question.”
“You think I won’t kill you?” Yang Kai asked coldly.
“At least before leaving this place, Sect Master Yang won’t kill this old master. You’re clearly worried that if you kill this old master, you won’t be able to leave here.”
“Seems that beating hasn’t made you stupid,” Yang Kai grinned.
“If I could not even realize this, this old master would have lived all these years in vain. Sect Master Yang has something he wants, and this old master wants to survive, so why don’t we have a discussion?”
“What do you propose?” Yang Kai motioned.
“After this old master recuperates here to the point where he can move freely, I will let you out. Of course, Sect Master Yang can no longer find trouble with this old master in the future while this old master will guarantee he will exile himself from the world and no longer be your enemy,” Qi Tian Che panted as he made his proposal.
“This is what you wanted to say?” Yang Kai sneered when he heard these words and said sarcastically, “Aren’t you deeply mistaken about something here, old dog?”
“And what’s that?” Qi Tian Che asked leisurely.
“You’re just a fish on the block while I hold the knife, anything I want you to do now, you must do.”
As he said so, Yang Kai lifted his foot and stomped down hard on Qi Tian Che’s hand.
The sound of bones breaking rang out as this hand immediately changed shape.
Qi Tian Che’s face distorted because of the pain, but he did not make a sound, instead just glaring towards Yang Kai in hatred.
“Let me out and I’ll leave you a whole corpse, that is the biggest concession this Sect Master is willing to make!”
“Haha, if that’s the case, then this old master would rather die here,” Qi Tian Che slowly shook his head and said in a relaxed tone, “This old master also knows what Sect Master Yang is thinking, you believe that because your achievements in the Dao of Space far outstrip this old master’s, you can simply kill this old master then refine this Sealed World Bead and free yourself, yes?”
“Precisely,” Yang Kai nodded.
“If that is the case, Sect Master Yang is free to try. It’s not that this old master is looking down on you, but even if your comprehension of the Dao of Space is great, wanting to refine the Sealed World Bead from here… heh heh,” Qi Tian Che grinned mockingly, “This old master was in retreat for several dozen years but only managed to slightly refine this Sealed World Bead and open this tiny piece of Small Sealed World. But with Sect Master Yang now stuck inside this Sealed World Bead, trying to refine it will be hundreds, if not thousands of times more difficult. If Sect Master Yang is willing to be trapped here for dozens or even hundreds of years, feel free to kill this old master, he had nothing else to say.”
Yang Kai’s face sank.
He was somewhat uncertain whether Qi Tian Che was just trying to intimidate him or was telling the truth.
If he was trapped inside this place for a hundred years because of this, when he finally escaped, the entire world would likely have changed.
“Sect Master Yang needs to consider carefully. This matter is of importance, and there’s no room for mistakes,” Qi Tian Che said again, putting pressure on Yang Kai. Now that his life was hanging by a thread, with Yang Kai in control of whether he lived or died, he did not dare to let up.
Yang Kai stared at him without saying a word for a long time before suddenly grinning, “Senior really wants to do this? There’s no room for discussion?”
Qi Tian Che shook his head and insisted, “If Sect Master Yang refuses to agree, this old master would rather die here.”
“Fine, then you can die!” Yang Kai gently nodded, raising his foot again before stomping down on Qi Tian Che’s head.
With a crash, Qi Tian Che’s head burst to pieces like an exploding melon, blood and brains splashing out across the ground as two eyeballs rolled out, still seeming to contain a shocked light within them.
“Deceitful old bastard!” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
He had been hoodwinked by Qi Tian Che just now.
This old dog was easy to deal with. If not for Qi Tian Che getting caught in his own trap this time, it would have been truly difficult for Yang Kai to kill him so easily, so how could he let such an enemy go just like that? Regardless of whether what he said was true or not, Qi Tian Che had to die here.
Since that was the case, there was no reason to hesitate.
Kill first, worry later.
As for being trapped in this Sealed World Bead, it was not that big a deal. Even if what Qi Tian Che said was true, Yang Kai was not worried, with his comprehension of and proficiency in the Dao of Space, there was still a good chance he could find a way out of this place.
When Qi Tian Che died, Fang Peng, who was struggling against the Stone Puppet, became even more desperate. He had no desire to fight here, and after seeing Yang Kai act with such mercilessness and cruelty, the last remnants of his will broke.
As he fought back against the Stone Puppet, Fang Peng continued to beg for mercy.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to these pleas, not only refusing to grant Fang Peng mercy but instead becoming impatient with the battle and rushing over to join forces with Xiao Xiao to kill him.
Even Qi Tian Che was not Yang Kai’s opponent in this place, so how could Fang Peng put up any meaningful resistance?
After half a cup of tea’s worth of time, Thunder Typhoon Sect’s Sect Master died tragically under the Stone Puppet’s Heaven Shaking Pillar. Fang Peng did not possess a forged body like Qi Tian Che, so the Heaven Shaking Pillar was able to smash him into a pulpy mess, making his death terrible and gruesome.
With the two enemies in this place wiped out, Yang Kai collected his spoils before quickly sitting down cross-legged to meditate and immediately began looking for a way to leave.
The ability to tear space was undoubtedly Yang Kai’s biggest advantage, but Qi Tian Che had interrupted him while he was experimenting with this, so he didn’t know if this method was effective here.
Now that there was no one here to disturb him, Yang Kai was naturally going to experiment thoroughly.
Making up his mind, Yang Kai got up, stretched out his hand and slashed it forward while sending out his Space Force, opening a long and narrow Void Crack before him.
However, compared to when he usually tore space, this Void Crack was much smaller.
The World Principles in this Sealed World Bead seemed to be very firm!
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, but he didn’t dwell on this for long, instead just stretching out his hands and pulling hard at Void Crack’s walls as he poured his Space Force into it, enlarging the long and narrow crack.
After releasing his Divine Sense for a moment, Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised to see that this Void Crack was extremely stable.
[Was that old dog Qi Tian Che just talking nonsense?] Yang Kai thought suspiciously as he dove into the Void Crack.
But when he reappeared and looked around, Yang Kai’s face sank.
He found himself in a small space about three hundred metres in diameter with traces of battle left all over the place, along with two incomplete corpses that had blood and organs spilt across the ground…
The Void Crack he entered led back to this strange Small Sealed World!
Furrowing his brow, Yang Kai tried tearing space again, unwilling to simply give up.
…
After repeating this a dozen times or so, Yang Kai stopped and sat back down on the ground before falling into contemplation.
He could not leave this Small Sealed World even after tearing space a dozen times, only able to move about within the three-hundred-metre range of this place, a result that surprised him greatly.
Apparently, Qi Tian Che’s words weren’t all just posturing, this Sealed World Bead really had its mysteries and even tearing space couldn’t allow Yang Kai to escape it.
Although he had not managed to escape successfully, Yang Kai’s efforts were not in vain. After tearing space more than a dozen times here, Yang Kai vaguely became aware of a barrier surrounding this small space that isolated it from the outside world.
This barrier was somewhat vague and difficult to grasp, but it was precisely because of its existence that this Small Sealed World could remain independent of the outside world, and trap Yang Kai inside of it.
If Yang Kai was not mistaken, this barrier should be comprised of this Small Sealed World’s World Principles!
If he could tear through this barrier, Yang Kai was confident he could leave here.
However, how could it be so easy to break through the World Principles of this Small Sealed World? Qi Tian Che had spent several dozen years just to slightly refine this Sealed World Bead and grasp a tiny portion of its World Principles, allowing him to enter and exit it freely.
Yang Kai could not even guess how much time it would take him to reach that point.
But now, apart from refining this Sealed World Bead, there was no other way out.
How was he supposed to refine this Sealed World Bead though? Refining it was tantamount to refining this world. Yang Kai was at a loss, feeling like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog, uncertain of where to even start.
Sitting on a spot, Yang Kai silently pondered the issue.
After a long silence, Yang Kai’s confused eyes suddenly flashed, and this spark soon turned into a burning flame that cleared the fog from his vision.
He seemed to understand something and could not help showing a look of both shock and inspiration.
He had a severe misunderstanding before, thinking that if he wanted to leave, he would have to refine this world, a prospect that left him at a complete loss.
In the final analysis, this Small Sealed World was just the Sealed World Bead, an Emperor Artifact!
He did not know how to refine a world, but he knew how to refine an artifact.
And since Qi Tian Che had spent several dozen years in retreat refining the Sealed World Bead, his aura must have permeated this Emperor Artifact somewhat. As long as he could trace the ambient aura fluctuations and erase them, he could simply begin refining the Sealed World Bead from the start.
In the end, the simplest method was often the most perfect, Yang Kai suddenly understood.
Standing up, Yang Kai used two balls of Demonic Flame to turn the nearby corpses into ash before releasing his Divine Sense and beginning to carefully scan the surrounding three-hundred-metre space.
The result of his investigation went well, as it did not take long for him to find the remnants of Qi Tian Che’s aura in this space.
Erasing these marks was not difficult.
However, when Yang Kai tried to leave his own aura on this space, he was met with great resistance.
Qi Tian Che wasn’t wrong in saying that it would be extremely difficult to refine the Sealed World Bead from inside, at the very least, it would require far more effort than doing so from the outside, the difference calculated in multiples of a hundred times.
Even if Yang Kai’s attainments in the Dao of Space were countless times greater than Qi Tian Che’s, such refining could not be completed in a short time.
Yang Kai did some calculations, and the results startled him.
With his current strength and attainments in the Dao of Space, it would take him at least a dozen years before he could refine the Sealed World Bead enough to escape.
Yang Kai suddenly regretted that he had killed Fang Peng so quickly.
If he were still alive, Yang Kai could at least vent his stress on him.
After frowning and pondering for some time, Yang Kai calmed his irritability and stopped trying to refine the Sealed World Bead. Instead, he poured out a large number of crystals from his Space Ring in front of him before picking one up in each hand and rapidly absorbing the energy within.
Space Spirit Crystals!
Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Dao of Space far surpassing Mo Xiao Sheng and Qi Tian Che’s was all thanks to these Space Spirit Crystals.
These peculiar crystals had always only been used as material for refining Space Rings, but Yang Kai had a different use for them: Absorbing the energy inside to enhance his Space Force.
Space Spirit Crystals were extremely rare, and even if others have this idea, they would find it incredibly difficult to implement.
But Yang Kai was different. The Space Spirit Crystal lode Xiao Xiao found beneath Dragon Cave Mountain in the past had given Yang Kai enough capital that he could squander Space Spirit Crystals like this without worry.
There were many Space Spirit Crystals that were mined back then, but with Yang Kai refining some of them whenever he was free or in secluded cultivation, he only had about half as many as when he had started.
However, before chopping down a mighty tree, one needed to sharpen their axe.
If Yang Kai wanted to shorten the time he needed to refine the Sealed World Bead, his only option was to increase his comprehension of the Dao of Space.
As such, he planned to cultivate his Space Force first.
Pieces of Space Spirit Crystal turned into dust in Yang Kai’s hands one after, but he was unable to feel the passage of time in this Small Sealed World.
Yang Kai had no idea how much time had passed, but a thick layer of dust from spent and shattered Space Spirit Crystals eventually developed around him, nearly burying him alive.
By absorbing the power inside these Space Spirit Crystal, coupled with his own insights, Yang Kai vaguely felt that his attainments in the Dao of Space had advanced a step, but at the same time, he found that the benefits he obtained from absorbing energy from the Space Spirit Crystals were growing smaller and smaller.
Perhaps one day, no matter how much energy he absorbed from these Space Spirit Crystals, he would not obtain any harvest.
Yang Kai paused temporarily and released his Divine Sense again to try refining this Small Sealed World.
A moment later, a touch of joy flashed across his face.
The refining process was much easier than it was at the beginning, and he could now clearly feel the barrier separating this world from the outside one.
As long as he could break through this barrier, he could escape from this place.
Integrating his Space Force into this Divine Sense, Yang Kai began spreading out his awareness like a tide.
Yang Kai was trying to leave his mark on this world, carving his Soul Brand into it to make it his own.
A scene that completely shocked him soon appeared though. As Yang Kai spread his Divine Sense out, the originally tiny piece of land which was only about three hundred metres across suddenly became slightly bigger, and the scenery that had been completely obscured began to appear.
This result surprised Yang Kai.
But after thinking about it carefully, he understood.
Although Qi Tian Che had refined the Sealed World Bead slightly and could enter and exit it freely, his grasp of the Dao of Space was still very shallow, so he was only capable of opening a space three hundred metres in diameter.
Yang Kai was different. His comprehension of the Dao of Space was far more profound, so he was capable of expanding this sealed space.
Yang Kai suddenly became curious.
He wanted to know just what this Small Sealed World would look like when fully opened, and just how big it would be.
The original intention of refining the Sealed World Bead to escape began to quietly change as Yang Kai fully immersed himself in the process of expanding and exploring this Small Sealed World.
Madly urging his Divine Sense and Space Force, Yang Kai watched as the Small Sealed World emerged from the chaos and expanded little by little, revealing picturesque scenery around him he had not seen before.
During this process, Yang Kai found that all kinds of magical insights poured into his mind and soul, allowing his comprehension of the Dao of Space to grow at a rate vastly superior to absorbing energy from Space Spirit Crystals.
Expanding the Small Sealed World and cultivating the Dao of Space unexpectedly formed a virtuous circle.
Yang Kai was overjoyed and became more and more fixated on this task.
Inside the Sealed World Bead, the borders of the Small Sealed World expanded every day, while Yang Kai also experienced a period of rapid growth.
In terms of cultivation, the shackles of the First-Order Origin Returning Realm were easily broken, and Yang Kai broke through to the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm.
After all, he had already reached the peak of the First-Order Origin Returning Realm in Fallen Emperor Mountain, and if not for him deliberately suppressing it, he could have broken through at that time.
Yang Kai continued repeating the same actions over and over again in an endless cycle.
As his strength increased, his Saint Qi became purer, and the power of his Soul soared, causing Yang Kai to obtain a comprehensive improvement!
Even his Soul Clone was strengthened and nourished in this process.
When he was tired, he would rest for a while, but with no one else in this Small Sealed World, Yang Kai brought Xiao Xiao out to talk to for a while.
Xiao Xiao was still very interested in the Golden Stone Puppet, and even though its sentience was incomplete, and it had to rely on Yang Kai’s Soul Clone to move about, it was still the only other member of Xiao Xiao’s race.
Xiao Xiao treated the Golden Stone Puppet with great sincerity, sharing all of his treasures with it.
Time passed little by little.
Yang Kai lost track of how long he had been stuck in this Small Sealed World, but by now, he had consumed all his Space Spirit Crystals and expanded this Small Sealed World from its original three-hundred-metre diameter to one that had a radius of over a hundred kilometres, with new developments still occurring every day.
Within this hundred-kilometre range, there were mountains and rivers, creating beautiful scenery.
However, this was far from the end of the Small Sealed World; it still concealed many secrets that greatly stimulated Yang Kai’s curiosity.
One day, Yang Kai suddenly stood up and he released his Divine Sense outwards. In a flash, everything within a hundred kilometres was open to his investigation.
Grinning lightly, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and slowly, a vortex appeared before him, spinning slowly while exerting a huge suction force.
Yang Kai did not resist this force, allowing the vortex to pull him in, his figure disappearing in the next moment.
Star Emperor Mountain’s Star Ascendance Peak was covered in white clouds from the halfway point up, giving it a calm and serene atmosphere. One day, however, an unusual energy fluctuation suddenly appeared at its summit. The ambient World Energy rapidly converged towards a certain point before a vortex was gradually formed.
Initially, this vortex was very small, but as more and more World Energy poured into it, it steadily grew larger until it was several dozen metres in diameter.
A figure leisurely stepped out of this vortex, as if passing through the Void, and stood proudly mid-air.
Turning his head and looking around, Yang Kai found no trace of anyone nearby, only a lone altar which stood not far away, protected from the elements by a small temple.
Yang Kai’s expression remained calm as he was not surprised by this scene.
Although he didn’t know how long he had been trapped inside that Small Sealed World, it had definitely not been a month or two; at least several years must have passed.
After such a long period, Ye Xi Yun must have determined that it was pointless just waiting for him here and returned to High Heaven Sect.
Trying to sense his Dragon Bone Sword and Firebird Artifact Spirit, Yang Kai was unable to find any trace of them and assumed they were brought back to the Sect by Ye Xi Yun.
Qi Tian Che and Fang Peng were now dead. On Shadowed Star, the three behemoths who had reigned supreme above all other great forces had fallen, so there was now no one who could stop the advancement of High Heaven Sect. With Ye Xi Yun assuming command of the Sect, Yang Kai had nothing to worry about.
After sweeping it with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai found that there were no traces of anyone anywhere on Star Emperor Mountain.
It seemed that all the cultivators from Star Emperor Mountain had left, but whether they had chosen to follow Yang Xiu Zhu and the others back to High Heaven Sect or dispersed separately was unknown.
However, in Yang Kai’s opinion, the former was more likely.
Since there was no one here, Yang Kai naturally didn’t plan to linger any longer.
Turning around, he stretched out his hand towards the vortex behind him, after which it began to shrink and in the blink of an eye disappeared, being replaced by an unremarkable bead.
One of the two Emperor Artifact beads, the Sealed World Bead!
This was an incredible treasure that contained its own sealed world. With it, one of the problems which had been plaguing Yang Kai’s heart for many years had been solved.
Moreover, Yang Kai felt that if he could completely refine this Sealed World Bead and complete its World Principles, he could even allow Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators to break through inside of it to the Origin King Realm!
The cultivators of Shadowed Star were unable to break through to the Origin King Realm because of the suppression of this star’s World Principles.
But the Sealed World Bead contained an independent world of its own, with its own World Principles, which were un-tethered to those of Shadowed Star.
This was definitely a feasible method, but it was far too early to think about this. Although as Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Dao of Space grew, he was able to expand the Small Sealed World inside the Sealed World Bead to a hundred kilometres in radius, he was still a long way from completing it.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai took the Sealed World Bead back into his body before stepping out casually.
One moment, he was standing at the peak of Star Ascendance Peak, but the next moment, he was half-way down its slope.
With another step, Yang Kai reached the base of the mountain…
This kind of speed was simply unimaginable.
The Dao of Space was incredibly mysterious, and during his time trapped inside of the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai’s mastery of it had grown considerably. The rapid movement he was displaying now was almost akin to teleporting without leaving any trace behind, as if he could break through the constraints of space to appear a great distance away in an instant.
Compared to his original method of tearing space, this was actually a much more advanced technique.
There was a certain process required to tear space, one which could easily be disturbed by strong external stimuli like the attack of a powerful master, but now Yang Kai’s movements were as smooth and simple as taking a step, no longer suffering from this kind of restraint like before.
As for shortcomings of this technique, there was indeed one.
Yang Kai couldn’t travel as far in a single step as he did when tearing space.
With Yang Kai’s current strength, tearing space would allow him to instantly traverse two or three thousand kilometres, but this new teleportation method only allowed him to move about a dozen kilometres or so at once.
Between the two methods, each had its own advantages and disadvantages, and it was impossible to say which was superior. However, a common factor they both shared was that they consumed a great deal of Saint Qi.
Yang Kai spent the next while familiarising himself with his new comprehensions regarding the Dao of Space, but after traversing ten thousand kilometres or so, he summoned his Star Shuttle and continued on his way.
Continuously using his Space Force to travel put a heavy load on him, so it was far more economical to use his Star Shuttle to travel long distances.
…..
Inside a lush forest, the roars of a beast continued to ring out loudly. A group of five cultivators, consisting of both young and old, male and female, were working together to besiege a huge, hideous, Monster Beast.
This Monster Beast had a tiger head, elephant legs, and a leopard tail, giving it an imposing image.
The tiger’s head was a reddish copper colour and seemed extremely strong while many strange patterns on its body gave it a mysterious look.
It was a Cracked Copper Head Tiger, an Eighth-Order Monster Beast with thick skin and tough flesh, making it particularly resilient.
As for the group of cultivators present, the leader seemed to be an old man at the Second-Order Saint King realm while the rest were only Saint Realm Juniors. From how these cultivators addressed one another, it was apparent that they all belonged to the same small family and had come to this forest to hunt Monster Beasts to earn Saint Crystals.
An Eighth-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to a Saint King Realm cultivator.
However, this Cracked Copper Head Tiger was at the peak of the Eighth-Order, so even if it was currently besieged, its fierceness did not decrease and it continued to spit balls of extremely powerful energy from its mouth while roaring, making it difficult for these small family cultivators to get close.
But the old man was clearly an experienced veteran, so even though this was a dangerous fight, his Juniors did not seem to be in immediate danger.
With enough time, this group of five seemed to have a good chance to kill this Cracked Copper Head Tiger.
Suddenly, an energy fluctuation appeared at the edge of their perception, causing a young girl in a green dress to look up and shouted, “Second Uncle, someone is coming.”
Hearing this shout, the old man looked up and his eyes narrowed.
As someone with much worldly experience, this old man could tell at a glance that the strength of this newcomer was definitely not low, otherwise, they would never have this kind of speed. As he was considering whether this person was an enemy or a friend, however, his attention wandered and the Cracked Copper Head Tiger managed to break free from his suppression.
The tiger let out a fierce roar. After being besieged for so long, this Eighth-Order Monster Beast was clearly enraged, so once it managed to free itself, it directly rushed towards the young girl in green, opened its bloodstained maw, and bit towards her neck.
The little girl was so scared that her beautiful face went pure white, and in a fluster she tried to summon her defensive artifact, but wasn’t in time to stop the tiger from pouncing towards her.
Seeing the giant fangs rapidly closing in on her, a trace of despair flashed across the girl’s eyes.
Shouts were coming from all of her companions and the girl even saw her Second Uncle desperately race towards her, trying to save her from the tiger’s maw.
But it was obvious he wouldn’t make it in time.
She saw death beckoning to her.
At that moment though, a breeze seemed to pass by her and a figure suddenly appeared right before her eyes.
This figure seemed like a ten thousand-metre high mountain, shielding her from the violent storm, making her inexplicably feel at ease.
*Guangdang!*
A loud noise rang out, accompanied by the whimpers of a Monster Beast. The girl clearly saw the person in front of her simply throw a single punch and the Cracked Copper Head Tiger, which their group of five had been unable to kill even after fighting for so long, was sent flying like a sack.
Its head seemed to be deformed from the blow as well.
Falling to the ground, the tiger only convulsed a few times before no longer moving.
A breeze blew through the trees and the scene fell silent as five pairs of eyes stared straight towards Yang Kai, unable to compose themselves for quite some time, a look of shock covering their faces.
Although this Cracked Copper Head Tiger was only an Eighth-Order Monster Beast, its head was notoriously hard, so even an Origin Returning Realm master shouldn’t be able to deform it with just a punch.
Looking at the sturdy back of this figure, she didn’t know why, but the young girl’s heart beat violently and she couldn’t help drawing in a deep breath.
A pleasant scent wafted from this person, which made her feel extremely comfortable.
Stealing a glance at this person, the young girl quickly realized that the other party didn’t seem very old; in fact, he seemed to be a young man, a discovery which inexplicably made her feel excited.
“Ah, sorry, it seems I’ve ruined your prize,” Yang Kai scratched his cheek, feeling slightly embarrassed.
He also recognized that this Monster Beast was a Cracked Copper Head Tiger. The two most valuable parts of this Monster Beast’s body were its Monster Core and its head, the former was prized by Alchemists while the latter was sought after by Artifact Refiners.
His punch deforming the Monster Beast’s head would clearly decrease its value.
Hearing these words, the old man suddenly came to his senses and his expression turned solemn as he cupped his fists and said, “This old master greets Little Brother. Little Brother is far too modest, if not for little brother’s timely intervention, Fei’er would have died. This old master has only thanks for Little Brother’s assistance.”
“Old Sir is too polite, it was my sudden arrival that disturbed your concentration in the first place,” Yang Kai chuckled, “If we really must assign blame, then it should be me at fault.”
Seeing this young man act so friendly, the old man relaxed greatly; after all, this was the wilderness, and the other party’s strength was clearly very high, so their small group wouldn’t be able to resist if he had any malicious intentions.
Fortunately, the other party didn’t seem to be a wicked person; in fact, he seemed quite compatible and open-minded.
The old man couldn’t help having a good impression of Yang Kai.
“Actually, I simply wanted to ask where this place is,” Yang Kai turned to look at the old man.
“This is Blue Wave Forest,” The old man replied.
“Blue Wave Forest!” Yang Kai frowned; he had never heard of this place so obviously he had no clue where on Shadowed Star he was now.
After leaving Star Emperor Mountain, Yang Kai had been familiarizing himself with his new comprehension in the Dao of Space, but in the process, he had accidentally lost his way…
“Where’s the closest city to this place?” Yang Kai asked again.
“The nearest city to here is Blue Wave City which is fifty thousand kilometres to the west.”
“Is there a Space Array?”
“As far as I know, there is, but the Space Array doesn’t seem to be accessible to outsiders and is for internal use only. If Little Brother wishes to use a Space Array, he might as well start from Blue Wave City and go two hundred thousand kilometres north to Heaven Battling City, where there is a Space Array which is open to the public.”
“Oh? Heaven Battling City?” Yang Kai raised his brow, showing a look of surprise.
He hadn’t expected he would actually be in the vicinity of Heaven Battling City.
“Alright, strictly speaking, Blue Wave City can be regarded as an affiliate of Heaven Battling City and there is some connection between the two,” The old man, as a cultivator from a small local family, naturally knew such basic information very well.
“Heaven Battling City now belongs to High Heaven Sect,” Liu Fei’er suddenly interjected from behind Yang Kai.
She seemed to want to attract Yang Kai’s attention.
Which young girl didn’t have romantic fantasies? Yang Kai had just swooped in and saved her life, and she was at the age where she was most sensitive to stories of heroes saving beauties.
What’s more, when she examined him, Liu Fei’er saw that Yang Kai’s face was handsome, his build was strong, his age wasn’t old, and the aura around him was calm and comfortable, so she wanted to try to highlight her existence to him.
“High Heaven Sect…” Yang Kai smiled as he glanced back at her.
The girl’s face was reddened, but she still happily explained, “En, you must have heard about it, it’s a Sect that has only risen in recent years. I heard that their headquarters is actually inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field and even Star Emperor Mountain, Heaven Battling Union, and Thunder Typhoon Sect were destroyed by them. Now, High Heaven Sect is the most powerful Sect on Shadowed Star.”
She talked on and on, seemingly having endless words to speak, giving her a lively feel and appearance.
“Fei’er,” The old man glared at her, secretly blaming this little girl for being ignorant and rude.
“It’s alright, I’ve heard of High Heaven Sect,” Yang Kai chuckled, “But I didn’t expect it to be so famous. En, you all can carry on, I won’t disturb you any further.”
He had approached them to find out where the nearest city was, so now that he had the information he needed, Yang Kai naturally didn’t plan on remaining.
However, before he could leave, Liu Fei’er suddenly called out, “Wait.”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai gave her a surprised look.
“Second Uncle, we’ve already been out for quite some time, shouldn’t we head back now? If we stay any longer, father and the others will begin to worry, not to mention Third-Brother and the others have all suffered some injuries, so it’s not safe to remain here anymore,” Liu Fei’er turned to the old man and asked.
“En, what you say makes sense. It’s indeed time we head back,” The old man gently nodded.
“Then let’s all go together. That way, we can watch out for each other on the way,” Liu Fei’er suggested.
“Well…” The old man looked at Yang Kai in embarrassment. To be honest, he was hoping to travel together with Yang Kai as well; after all, this young man had just shown he had high strength, and although there shouldn’t be any major danger on the journey back, it was still better to have an extra layer of protection when out in the wild. If Yang Kai could escort them, the return journey would be much safer.
The old man very much agreed with Liu Fei’er’s proposal, but he was uncertain what Yang Kai’s opinion would be.
“Alright, I also don’t know the specific location of Blue Wave City, so I’ll trouble you to lead the way,” Yang Kai smiled slightly and nodded in agreement.
In any case, he wasn’t in a hurry.
“Then this old man will have to thank Little Brother for his care,” The old man was overjoyed.
“I’ll go and collect the materials,” Liu Fei’er cheered before running over to the dead Cracked Copper Head Tiger nearby.
The old man smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying with an apologetic look, “Little Brother, don’t blame Fei’er, it’s in her nature to act this way. Little Brother can rest assured, we will provide the materials to you later.”
“No need, you keep them, they’re of no use to me,” Yang Kai waved his hand.
The materials from an Eighth-Order Monster Beast were truly useless to him.
The wealth that Yang Kai possessed was hard for ordinary people to imagine.
When the old man heard this, his eyes lit up, and after reconfirming that Yang Kai did not need the materials, he repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
The Monster Core and skull of the tiger would yield a good profit for them.
Soon, Liu Fei’er processed the Monster Beast’s body with the assistance of her clansmen. It was clear that these juniors were well versed in this kind of processing as they moved quickly and efficiently.
After taking a moment to clean up, Yang Kai and the group of five departed towards Blue Wave City.
Liu Fei’er’s character was lively, and her curiosity was extremely strong. It was like she never ran out of things to talk about or ask, causing her to chatter on endlessly.
She asked for Yang Kai’s name, his origins, what he was doing out here, and so on. Many questions others would consider taboo to ask, she did so without any hesitation.
Since they were simply travelling at what he considered a leisurely pace, Yang Kai chatted back with her to pass the time.
In the end, however, rather than learning much about Yang Kai, she spent most of the time telling her own story in a thorough and complete manner.
The old man felt extremely awkward listening to this conversation; fortunately, he realized that Yang Kai was not an ill-intentioned person, so he simply let it slide this time. Of course, he secretly decided that when they returned to the family, he would teach this little girl a lesson about how sinister the world was so she would not mindlessly tell strangers all her secrets again in the future.
Occasionally, the group would encounter Monster Beasts blocking the way, but the old man and his juniors didn’t need to worry about them in the slightest as they were all easily dispatched by Yang Kai.
As a result, their group made massive gains.
The several juniors all admired Yang Kai to the extreme after witnessing his performance. All of them seemed to be roughly the same age, but Yang Kai’s strength surpassed theirs by a wide margin.
Worship and respect for true masters was an innate mentality for cultivators, and Yang Kai’s display of skill had completely conquered these youngsters.
If Yang Kai had been travelling alone, the distance of fifty thousand kilometres would only take him an hour or two to cross, but with the old man and his juniors in tow, it took a full day instead.
One day later, a city standing at the edge of an open plain came into view. Everyone walked to the gate, turned over some Saint Crystals, and then entered the city smoothly.
“Many thanks for guiding me this far, it seems we must take our separate paths. Take care!” Yang Kai cupped his fists before his figure flickered and he disappeared into the crowd.
Liu Fei’er called out a few times, but Yang Kai didn’t turn his head back, so she could only purse her lips unhappily.
“Let’s go, we need to sell our harvest first. I don’t know what kind of price we can obtain,” The old man sighed before leading the group away.
Yang Kai walked along the spacious streets of Blue Wave City, observing his surroundings with great interest.
He wasn’t in a hurry to find the Space Array in Blue Wave City.
Since this city was attached to Heaven Battling City, which itself was attached to High Heaven Sect, as the Sect Master, Yang Kai knew there wouldn’t be any problem using the local Space Array, he believed that the City Lord of Blue Wave City wouldn’t even bat an eye to his request.
However, he had been in secluded retreat inside the Small Sealed World for several years now, so Yang Kai wanted to take his time and relax, rather than continue to hurry along.
Along the road, Yang Kai appreciated the local customs of this place while wandering through the shops at will. Yang Kai felt both physically and mentally relaxed, and his mood unconsciously became calm.
Inside the Small Sealed World, his cultivation had broken through to the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm, so it was important for him to consolidate both his cultivation and state of mind now.
Half a day later, he entered a restaurant.
On the third floor, he ordered the shop-hand to bring him some good wine and food. Yang Kai sat by the window and looked out at the scenery below.
Not long after, the table was filled with delicacies that Yang Kai tasted at leisure.
Leisurely, he turned his head and glanced lightly at two cultivators sitting at a nearby table, showing an expression of interest.
The third floor of this restaurant did not have many guests, but what these two were talking about just now had piqued Yang Kai’s interest because he heard them mention High Heaven Sect.
The rise of High Heaven Sect was extremely rapid, and although they had some cursory knowledge of High Heaven Sect’s current situation, knowing it was becoming more and more famous with each passing day, how could they possibly know more about it than Yang Kai himself? At that time, listening to someone talking about his Sect, Yang Kai wanted to hear more.
But to his disappointment, these two didn’t seem to have any intention of continuing this topic and instead began chatting about other random news.
Yang Kai secretly shook his head and no longer paid any attention to them.
After a while, the two of them finished eating and the one with fierce facial features shouted, “Shopkeeper!”
This loud voice caused everyone to turn and look at him, but after seeing this person’s face clearly, everyone turned their gazes aside, as if they were afraid to provoke him.
*Deng deng deng…*
Footsteps sounded as an elderly man quickly ran down from upstairs, rushed over to the table the two men were sitting at, smiled, and bowed, “Two Sirs, were you satisfied with the food?”
“It was just so-so,” The fierce-looking man answered casually while picking his teeth.
“Two Sirs, please forgive me,” The shopkeeper said frantically, “Next time, this old man will serve you more delicious food, you will surely be satisfied.”
“Sure, seeing how you’re not completely blind, I’ll let it slide for today, but… what about ‘that’ matter?” The big man squinted at the shopkeeper.
“This old man has brought it, do two Sirs wish to count it?” The shopkeeper said as he placed a package he was carrying onto the table.
The fierce-looking man didn’t hesitate to open this package directly.
A large number of High-Rank Saint Crystals immediately appeared before everyone’s eyes. The Divine Sense of the fierce-looking man scanned the package and he immediately knew the number of Saint Crystals inside, his expression sank in the next moment as he shouted, “Why are there so few? Old Dog, are you looking down on this King? Is this really all you’re going to pay for this month?”
The shopkeeper immediately panicked and frantically wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he cried out pleadingly, “Sir, please understand, this old man’s restaurant has recently not had much business, so the number here is a little lacking. This old man is begging for just a few days of mercy, he will surely collect the rest by then.”
“A few days of mercy?” The fierce man coldly snorted, “If this King forgives you, who will forgive this King? If this King cannot complete his job, it will be me who is punished!”
Saying so, he slammed his fist against the table, immediately shattering it into pieces.
The shopkeeper’s face turned pale with fright and he instantly knelt and shouted, “Sir, please calm yourself. It will only take a few days for this old man to collect the rest, just a few days, please have mercy.”
“Hmph, don’t say that this King bullies the weak; I will give you three days, after which, if you still don’t have the required amount, this King will tear down your restaurant and twist off your head!”
“Yes, yes, this old man will not let Sir down!” The shopkeeper said repeatedly.
“Let’s go!” The fierce-looking man said impatiently, stood up, stuffed the parcel of Saint Crystals into his Space Ring, and walked off.
It wasn’t until after they left that the shopkeeper finally dared to exhale, a sorrowful expression still filling his face as he started to clean up the mess that was left behind.
A shop hand also came over to help.
After finishing with this, the shopkeeper made a round of the guests to apologize for the disturbance before sighing again, looking even older and more haggard than before.
“Shopkeeper, could you come here for a second?” Yang Kai waved at him.
Yang Kai had been watching the whole episode just now with cold eyes, not understanding exactly what was happening, but was eager to find out; after all, High Heaven Sect was somehow related to this incident.
“What is Honoured Guest’s order? Do you want any additional food or wine?” The shopkeeper came over to Yang Kai and asked with a forced smile.
“There’s no need for more food or wine,” Yang Kai smiled lightly before glancing suspiciously towards the stairs, “Who were those two just now? Why did they come into this restaurant, eat and drink, then not pay and also force you to give them Saint Crystals?”
“This…” A stunned look appeared on the shopkeeper’s face before he quickly glanced around to confirm that the other guests were drinking and having fun, not paying attention to him, lowered his voice, and said, “Is Honoured Guest a newcomer to Blue Wave City?”
“Indeed,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
“Then you’d best leave quickly. Blue Wave City is not a place to settle down long-term,” The shopkeeper said solemnly.
“Isn’t a place to stay long-term?” Yang Kai frowned, “Has there been some kind of dangerous incident here?”
He had seen people coming and going in the city, making it seem quite lively and prosperous as well as calm and controlled, completely unlike some kind of tragic event had taken place.
“Haha…” The shopkeeper gave a wry smile, “Honoured guest, please heed this humble old man’s advice. If you want to leave here, you’d best do so quickly. If you remain too long, you won’t be able to leave even if you want to.”
“What do you mean? Please explain more clearly.” Yang Kai stared at him with narrowed eyes, “I heard that this place is attached to Heaven Battling City, and is the property of High Heaven Sect, how could anyone dare stir up trouble in this city?”
“I can’t say it, I can’t say it. Although this humble old man has lived many years, he doesn’t want to die so soon, so please don’t force the issue,” The shopkeeper kept shaking his head, his expression quite ugly, turning around and walking away immediately after.
“I’m from High Heaven Sect!” Yang Kai quickly whispered.
“What?” The shopkeeper’s face changed dramatically as he turned around to stare at Yang Kai in amazement.
“Don’t be nervous,” Yang Kai smiled, “I am a disciple of High Heaven Sect, and am here on orders from the Sect Master to make an unannounced inspection. Old sir, if there is anything you wish to say, you may do so freely. I truly want to know what fool dares not put my High Heaven Sect in their eyes.”
“You’re from High Heaven Sect? Are you really from High Heaven Sect?” The shopkeeper looked excited and a little sceptical, approaching closer and asking in a low voice.
“Yes! Old Sir may rest assured, whatever words you say here today will only enter my ears and never leave my lips,” Yang Kai said in a soft, comforting tone, trying to appear as amicable as possible.
The shopkeeper’s expression changed, as if he was hesitating, but after some internal debate, he grit his teeth and sat down opposite Yang Kai.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and poured him a glass of wine. The shopkeeper took a sip to embolden himself before saying, “Honoured Guest, the reason this old man advised you to leave quickly was not because someone here has ill intentions towards High Heaven Sect, nor because some kind of disaster is approaching Blue Wave City, it’s simply because this city is really not a good place to remain in.”
“Oh? If Old Sir can please tell me in detail what happened, this Junior would be very grateful,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“Ha, it’s a long story!” The shopkeeper sighed deeply, “Honoured Guest, you just saw the behaviour of those two people, yes?”
“Yes, who are they?”
“The City Lord’s Mansion’s men.”
“City Lord’s Mansion?” Yang Kai was thoroughly shocked.
“Haha, Honoured Guest is surprised, no? The City Lord’s Mansion is supposed to protect us citizens, so why would they send people here to extort Saint Crystals?” The shopkeeper’s tone remained low, “Because that was the tax collected by the City Lord’s Mansion!”
Yang Kai frowned.
“As long as one opens a shop in Blue Wave City, they must pay at least seventy percent of their earnings to the City Lord’s Mansion in tax. The remaining thirty percent is barely enough for all kinds of expenses, but those people don’t seem to care and always find various reasons to take everything they can. This little shop is too weak to resist, and if we try, the consequences are dire. Just a few days ago, one of my workers was killed because he refused to comply with their demands,” The shopkeeper complained, seemingly becoming bolder and angrier as he sipped more and more of the wine.
“And this was all directed by the City Lord?” Yang Kai asked in a cold voice.
“Yes! How else would those people have the courage to act like this? Just now, those two were here to collect taxes.”
“Since the taxes here are so high, why doesn’t Old Sir leave Blue Wave City and make a living elsewhere?”
The shopkeeper gave a wry smile, “Who can leave? No one can leave! Once the people of the City Lord’s Mansion find that there are escapees, they will kill them without mercy. The heads which line the city walls are a bloody reminder of those who tried to flee. Not only are our small business targeted, but even the small families and cultivators living in the city live under the same restrictions. The various benefits they obtain from their adventures are largely stolen away in the form of tax, and anyone who resists is dealt with ruthlessly. Several small families have already been wiped out.”
Saying so, the shopkeeper looked at Yang Kai cautiously and asked softly, “Little Brother, may this old man dare to ask, is all this not on orders from High Heaven Sect?”
“How could High Heaven Sect give such vile orders?” Yang Kai wore an ugly expression as he coldly snorted, “My High Heaven Sect would never engage in such despicable behaviour. En, what about Heaven Battling City? Has Heaven Battling City not intervened at all?”
“This old man isn’t completely clear, but if Heaven Battling City was managing this situation, things shouldn’t have been like this. However, I do not know whether this situation has something to do with Heaven Battling City or is simply due to Blue Wave City’s City Lord’s Mansion. I have heard that since Heaven Battling City changed ownership, the taxes there have been extremely low, attracting many people to travel there and making it overcrowded. Many people were attracted by the name of High Heaven Sect, but none could find any way to join, and since Heaven Battling City is completely full, they could only choose to settle in places related to High Heaven Sect such as Blue Wave City. Outsiders can’t see the darkness which lingers beneath the surface in Blue Wave City, but this old man is perfectly clear about it, which is why he advised Honoured Guest to depart early. If you remain here and have your name registered with the City Lord’s Mansion, you will not be able to leave again.”
“Interesting!” Yang Kai smiled meaningfully.
“Little Brother, since you are here on orders from High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master to perform a surprise inspection, please send word back quickly. I hope you can quickly remove the festering filth from Blue Wave Cit,y so this old man can spend the rest of his life here in peace!” The shopkeeper looked at Yang Kai with expectation.
“Old sir, you can be assured, I won’t just sit back and watch this matter,” Yang Kai grinned, “In any case, there seem to be many people here using my High Heaven Sect’s name to bully others. If I allowed this to continue, it would ruin my High Heaven Sect’s reputation.”
“Little brother must not act impulsively,” The shopkeeper was startled when he saw the fierce light flashing across Yang Kai’s eyes.
“Relax, I have a sense of discretion,” Yang Kai said coldly.
If it wasn’t for a series of coincidences this time, Yang Kai might never have known that someone was committing such heinous acts under High Heaven Sect’s name.
Yang Kai suddenly recalled that, on the way back from Blue Wave Forest, the young girl named Liu Fei’er always hesitated when talking about the situation in Blue Wave City. Now he understood why.
The rise of High Heaven Sect was too fast, and the number of disciples in the Sect was too low, making its foundation unstable. Now was the time to win over the public’s trust, so the situation in Blue Wave City, which was discrediting High Heaven Sect, made it impossible for Yang Kai to simply stand idly by.
At that moment, a loud noise came from the street below, and immediately, a powerful energy fluctuation burst out, followed by exclamations and screams.
Yang Kai looked down towards the source of the sound and a familiar young girl in a green dress immediately caught his eye, causing him to raise his brow slightly.
“Old sir, here’s the money for the wine and food,” Yang Kai casually dropped a few High-Rank Saint Crystals onto the table before grabbing the wine bottle and leaping out the window.
In the middle of the street, in front of a small storefront, three young people stood with angry expressions, glaring at a pair of men with bloodshot eyes, their Saint Qi condensed, but none of them dared to act.
Behind these three, Liu Fei’er was supporting an old man. The old man seemed to have suffered a serious injury, his face pale, and blood flowing from the corners of his mouth.
Countless people were watching.
“Second Uncle, are you okay?” Liu Fei’er asked nervously, a worried look covering her pretty face.
“I’m fine,” The old man shook his head slowly, uttering these two words with some difficulty.
“How could you just hit someone like that?” Liu Fei’er turned her head and shouted at the two cultivators who had caused this scene.
“Hit someone?” One of the burly men heard this and grinned meaningfully, “So what if I hit someone? Who made this Old Dog unable to appreciate kindness? I didn’t want his life and acted mercifully little girl, yet now you dare not show this King any gratitude and even accuse me of committing a crime? Do you think I won’t dare kill him now!”
“You…” Liu Fei’er pretty face went white; after all, her strength wasn’t high and she was still quite young, so facing the other party’s overbearing intimidation, she didn’t dare argue back, lest these men become enraged and really kill them.
“Hmph, the City Lord has issued an order: Any time Saint Crystals are used in a trade, a portion of the proceeds must be paid to the City Lord’s Mansion. Old Dog, don’t tell me you’re both deaf and blind and dared to trade with others in secret? If not for Father here spotting your crime, he would never have dreamed someone would be so daring!”
“Ignoring the City Lord’s orders, it seems you’re impatient to die, Old Man,” The other man laughed maliciously.
The old man’s face was blue, but he didn’t dare to refute in the slightest. Although many people were watching, none of them dared to speak up in the old man’s defence, all of them simply directing sympathetic looks towards the old man and the young girl.
Blue Wave City’s taxes were so high and extortion was so common that barely anyone could earn enough to feed and clothe themselves properly. Worse, there was no way to escape from this place, so to maintain a living, after obtaining some kind of harvest, everyone would try to find a familiar and reliable source to trade within secret to avoid the harsh taxes.
This phenomenon had become commonplace in Blue Wave City.
This time, however, the old man and his party had bad luck and accidentally ran into the people of the City Lord’s Mansion, causing them to suffer greatly.
Taking a deep breath, the old man cupped his fists solemnly and said, “Two Sirs, it is not that I was trying to disobey the City Lord’s orders. I was going to pay the Saint Crystals after the transaction, but I had just not gotten around to it yet.”
“You, sure know how to speak the right words to us, Old Dog, heh heh, but what you think seems to be different from what you said,” The burly man obviously didn’t believe him.
“Since this old man has run into two Sirs here, he will pay the required taxes directly, please do not refuse these Saint Crystals!” The old man said while signalling to Liu Fei’er.
Liu Fei’er was covering her Space Ring and shaking her head repeatedly, apparently reluctant to hand over the gains from their recent adventure just like that; after all, it was the harvest they worked hard to obtain.
“Bring it out!” The old man ordered.
Under his firm gaze, Liu Fei’er unwillingly took out a package from her Space Ring and handed it to the old man.
The old man squeezed out a smile and said humbly, “These are all the Saint Crystals we gained, please accept them, two Sirs!”
Saying so, he tossed the package over.
The big man on the opposite side stretched out his hand to catch the package, weighing it slightly as his eyes lit up, “A good haul, Old Dog.”
“Haha, our luck was simply good this time,” The old man said bitterly.
In the past, they hadn’t gained much from their hunting trips, but this time, because they followed after Yang Kai, they had a good harvest.
“Two Sirs, we will take our leave first!” The old man cupped his fists slightly, not planning to stay here any longer.
“Wait, before I say you’re free to go, you actually dared to leave?” The big man threw the package to his companion and gave a low shout.
“Do the two Sirs have any further advice?” The old man asked in a panic.
“This time you secretly traded and got caught by Father here! So what happened before? When Father wasn’t around to see, how many Saint Crystals did you steal?” The big man asked with a dark expression.
“Sir must be joking, this old man paid his taxes every time he made a transaction, never once missing a single Saint Crystal, please believe me!” The old man was shocked.
“Heh heh, believe you? I’ll pass my own judgment. Today, either you hand over all the Saint Crystals from your previous illegal trades and I spare your life, or you refuse and this place becomes your grave!” The big man coldly snorted.
“This is a misunderstanding, Sir,” The old man said anxiously, “We have never done such a thing before, how could we possibly have extra Saint Crystals?”
“That’s right, almost all our Saint Crystals have been taken away by you, where are we supposed to find any extra to hand over?” Liu Fei’er also shouted.
“This little girl’s courage isn’t small,” The big man glanced at her, his eyes suddenly lighting up. The more he examined her tender, shapely body, the more obscene his face and laughter grew.
The old man did not miss this, and knowing the situation was deteriorating, he hurriedly stretched out his hand to pull Liu Fei’er behind him before cupping his fists and bowing again, “Sir, please show mercy and spare us.”
“Spare you…” The big man touched his chin, pretending to ponder for a moment before nodding, “Fine, this King is not an unreasonable person. In fact, he’s quite magnanimous, so he won’t pursue this matter any further.”
The old man was overjoyed and quickly bowed, “Many thanks, Sir.”
“Hold on, this King hasn’t finished speaking yet,” The big man chuckled lowly as he pointed his finger at Liu Fei’er behind the old man, “If you don’t have the Saint Crystals, it’s fine if you hand over some other kind of compensation. Leave that little girl behind and the rest of you can scram!”
As soon as these words came out, Liu Fei’er’s pretty face immediately turned white and the old man also began panicking, “Sir, Fei’er is still small…”
“Small? This King doesn’t think she’s small at all!” The big man gave a lewd smile, his meaning obvious. In the next moment, his expression turned fierce and he growled, “I’ll give you one last chance: Leave the girl and scram. If you dare try to argue, I’ll kill you all.”
The old man and the others fell silent; they were completely angered but didn’t dare to express their rage and could only cast their eyes around, praying that someone around them would speak to uphold justice.
But facing these gazes, everyone in the crowd turned their eyes aside.
The old man’s heart filled with despair, never having expected that things would develop to this point.
Liu Fei’er was also desperate.
“Things seem quite lively here, let me have a look!”
An abrupt voice suddenly called out from behind the crowd.
Everyone turned their heads towards the source of this voice only to see a young man in casual robes walking over with confident strides, his figure stalwart, a wine bottle in his hand, and a weird smile on his face.
His expression was arrogant and unruly, seemingly not putting anyone in his eyes. He strode forward while drinking from the bottle and smiling freely, “Did I hear that someone was going to kill?”
“Big Brother Yang!” Liu Fei’er cried out like a drowning girl who was grasping for a life-saving straw, the light of hope flashing across her beautiful eyes.
The old man and the others also wore complicated looks.
The crowd separated voluntarily and Yang Kai walked straight up to the old man and the others, his Divine Sense sweeping them briefly before he gently nodded.
Obviously the other party hadn’t wanted the old man’s life, as the latter’s injuries weren’t too serious, otherwise, the old man would likely already be dead with just a Second-Order Saint King cultivation.
After all, this big man was a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator.
“Little Brother…” The old man opened his mouth and looked at Yang Kai with some gratitude, but still said, “Why did you interfere in this turbid water?”
He sighed and spoke in guilt.
He knew that Yang Kai must have been walking nearby and saw what happened, then out of consideration for their brief association he had decided to show up to help them. He also knew that Yang Kai possessed profound strength.
But this was Blue Wave City, and Yang Kai was just one person, two fists can’t block four strikes, if Yang Kai really intervened here, he would likely not even be able to protect himself.
“Old Sir doesn’t need to worry about me,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Hearing this, the old man couldn’t help smiling bitterly but couldn’t say anything more.
“Boy, who do you think you are?” The big man’s face sank as he glared coldly towards Yang Kai.
“Just someone who wants to watch the fun,” Yang Kai grinned at him.
“Boy, you court death!” The big man shouted angrily. Ever since Blue Wave City became known as an attached city of High Heaven Sect, no one dared to act presumptuously here anymore. As a member of the City Lord’s Mansion, this man had become used to going wherever he pleased and doing whatever he wished, yet today, a little brat had appeared from nowhere and insulted him, so he became furious.
With a shout, the big man charged towards Yang Kai and summoned a hammer-like artifact into his hand which he proceeded to slam down viciously.
Exclamations rang out from the onlookers and even the old man and Liu Fei’er became frightened.
It seemed like this artifact would smash Yang Kai’s head in the next moment.
In response though, Yang Kai simply threw a punch to meet the hammer.
*Guangdang…*
A loud noise rang out, but Yang Kai remained unharmed while on the other hand the hammer artifact was struck by a strong force and sent flying.
Yang Kai swiftly raised the wine bottle in his hand and swung it down fiercely at the big man’s head.
With a crisp sound, the wine bottle shattered and the strong drink inside drenched the big man’s face. Before he could recover from this shock though, a big foot flew towards him and struck his face.
With a pitiful scream, the big man flew out like a paper kite, his face covered with blood, giving him a terrifying look. Yang Kai’s kick had broken the man’s nose and knocked out at least half of his teeth.
The audience was shocked!
Everyone stared at Yang Kai with a weird look, as if looking at some strange monster.
What shocked everyone was not Yang Kai’s strength, but that he dared to attack the people of the City Lord’s Mansion in Blue Wave City!
Feeling severe pain, the big man howled, “How dare you hit me!”
“So what if I hit you? Who made an idiot like you unable to appreciate kindness? I didn’t want your life and acted mercifully, yet now you actually dare accuse me of striking you instead of thanking me? Do you think I won’t kill you here?!” Yang Kai looked at and said in a mocking tone.
These words sounded familiar to everyone as they were the same ones this big man had used to ridicule Liu Fei’er just now…
The big man’s expression went dull.
His companion’s expression also changed as he stared at Yang Kai in horror.
If this young man could bring down his partner in a flash, then it was obvious his opponent’s strength was too high for him to contend with. Even if he wanted to recover his partner’s face, he couldn’t do anything. As soon this thought crossed his mind, his figure flickered and he tried to escape, only wanting to report this matter to the City Lord’s Mansion and call for help as quickly as possible.
“Before I say you can go, to think you dare to leave.” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and waved his hand, sending a Golden Blood Thread over towards the fleeing man.
A flash of golden light appeared for a fleeting moment before the escaping man let out a scream and fell to the ground.
There were no visible scars, but his vitality was rapidly disappearing.
Dead!
Eyes bulged everywhere. Yang Kai daring to attack the people of the City Lord’s Mansion just now was enough to shock the onlookers, but this scene completely exceeded their ability to comprehend!
This youth had killed someone from the City Lord’s Mansion!
Was this really happening?
Over the past few years, no one had dared to oppose the City Lord’s Mansion, and anyone who even had thoughts of rebelling was mercilessly killed, but today, a young man had actually killed a cultivator from the City Lord’s Mansion in full view of the public.
It was clear just what kind of violent retribution the City Lord’s Mansion would exact now.
Even if this young man had outstanding abilities, he wouldn’t be able to escape from Blue Wave City.
He was going to die!
Gasps sounded from the crowd as the looks everyone were giving Yang Kai changed again, becoming frightened and amazed. Many began to unconsciously distance themselves from this boy so as not to be misunderstood as being related to him, lest they become implicated.
“Little Brother, you…” The old man also looked incredulous.
Liu Fei’er and the other juniors stared towards Yang Kai with worshipping eyes, however, as if already regarding him as their idol.
Young people were always passionate and hot-blooded.
“I only took care of some trash, Old Sir doesn’t need to be so nervous,” Yang Kai smiled, his expression indifferent.
“Little brother, you must go quickly, you cannot remain here! Before the news spreads, there’s still a chance you can escape here with your life, but if you linger, I’m afraid it will be too late!” The old man hurriedly shouted at Yang Kai.
“Go? Why must I go?” Yang Kai shook his head.
The old man stared at Yang Kai dully, “You’re not leaving? Do you still want to stay?”
“Yeah.”
The old man looked as anxious as an ant on a hot wok, “Do you know who you killed just now? Do you know what kind of disaster you brought upon yourself? You still want to stay here? Do you not know how to write the word ‘death’?”
“Haha,” Yang Kai laughed lightly, “Don’t worry Old Sir, since I’ve chosen to stay, I’m definitely not afraid of them. If they want to kill me, they’re welcome to try.”
Yang Kai looked as if he didn’t even fear the Heavens, his tone was wild and arrogant.
The old man looked at him with an aghast expression, and after confirming Yang Kai wasn’t just drunk, he couldn’t help shaking his head, “I really don’t understand how you young people think.”
“Rest assured, since I’ve come here today, all the garbage in Blue Wave City will be cleaned up. Just sit back and watch carefully.”
“Haa… I don’t know what you have to rely on, but this matter is still partly my responsibility, so I will accompany Little Brother all the way. As for what happens next… it will be what it is.”
He was obviously not optimistic about Yang Kai, feeling he was too young and impulsive.
Even so, he chose to stay with Yang Kai and not let him fight alone.
“Many thanks, Old Sir,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
“Big Brother Yang, we pledge to live and die together with you too!” Liu Fei’er flushed and exclaimed with excitement, the other young members of her clan nodding with her, a type of fearless light flashing across their eyes.
“Alright!” Yang Kai nodded, “En, you all can accompany me into battle this time.”
“Nonsense!” The old man anxiously stamped his foot, “You… you troublemakers!”
He was willing to stay with Yang Kai and face death just to give his juniors a chance to escape, but how could he have anticipated that they would instead make such a reckless choice?
He was furious!
“Old Sir need not worry, I’ll keep them safe and sound,” Yang Kai said with a grin filled with confidence.
“This young man really doesn’t know how high the Heavens are.”
“Is he still ignorant of the disaster he caused? Does he not know who he killed?”
“Heh heh, this is interesting, someone actually dares to oppose the City Lord’s Mansion, there’s bound to be a good show.”
“How could the City Lord’s Mansion let him go? Such a pity that a talented young man will die today in Blue Wave City.”
Whispers from the onlookers came from all around, as many pointed at Yang Kai and talked about him with their friends. More cultivators who heard the disturbance were also arriving all the time, wanting to join in the fun.
Soon, the entire street became crowded, and Yang Kai and the others were surrounded by multiple layers of people.
Meanwhile, the extremely arrogant burly man from before wore a dull expression on his face. When he saw his companion killed by Yang Kai with a wave of his hand, a chill came over him from head to toe and a look of terror filled his face.
He never dreamed that someone would dare to kill people inside Blue Wave City, much less someone from the City Lord’s Mansion.
The sunlight suddenly seemed to get blocked, and when he looked up, he saw Yang Kai standing right in front of him, his arms crossed, looking down at him condescendingly from above, like a proud dragon overlooking an ant.
“Little Brother, mercy!” The big man struggled to get up before suddenly falling to his knees and kowtowing, “Little Brother, forgive me, I was blind and failed to see. I had no intention to offend Little Brother, I only ask Little Brother to be the bigger man and not care about a lowly dog like me.”
Compared with his life, a little shame was nothing to him.
He no longer had the guts to challenge Yang Kai.
“You want to live?” Yang Kai smiled at him.
The big man nodded repeatedly.
Yang Kai nodded back and his expression softened, “Good. Then, I don’t have to kill you.”
“Many thanks, Little Brother, many thanks Little Brother!” The big man cried bitterly, “What is it that Little Brother wants in return?”
He wasn’t stupid, Yang Kai being willing to let him go obviously had some kind of price.
“Is your City Lord currently in his residence?” Yang Kai asked.
“Yes, Sir City Lord is present.”
“Alright, then lead the way!” Yang Kai gestured.
“Uh…” The big man was dumbfounded, his expression turning extremely strange.
“Hurry up!” Yang Kai kicked him and shouted.
“Yes, yes!” The big man quickly got up, no longer daring to delay, and quickly led the way.
“Fei’er, come with me, we’re going to the City Lord’s Mansion to raise a ruckus!” Yang Kai beckoned to Liu Fei’er and the others.
“En,” The several juniors immediately followed.
The old man was dumbfounded and didn’t react until Yang Kai and his family’s juniors disappeared into the crowd, stomping his foot after he recovered and following after hurriedly.
The onlookers were now in an uproar.
This young man really didn’t know how to write the word ‘death’. After killing someone from the City Lord’s Mansion, instead of escaping from Blue Wave City, he wanted to go to the City Lord’s Mansion to make trouble.
There was actually such a fearless and reckless person in this world?!
What were his origins? Did he really have something to rely on, or was he simply tired of living?
Full of curiosity, everyone wanted to know what the fate of this young man would be, so they all followed after him.
It was not long before all of Blue Wave City was whipped into a frenzy, with a massive number of cultivators, led by Yang Kai, rushing towards the City Lord’s Mansion.
However, all of these people were just coming to watch the fun rather than fight with the City Lord’s Mansion because none of them had such guts!
In the centre of Blue Wave City, in front of a magnificent palace, dozens of cultivators were standing guard.
With such a big event happening in the city, it was natural that news made its way back to the City Lord’s Mansion. Blue Wave City’s City Lord was furious and immediately brought his men out to meet the enemy. He wanted to see which bastard had eaten the gall of the bear and the heart of a leopard to dare challenge him!
As a city attached to Heaven Battling City, Blue Wave City also had a large number of cultivators in its City Lord’s Mansion, making it a powerful force unto its own. There were also a large number of cultivators scattered throughout the city to deal with some unexpected events.
The City Lord and his inner circle were all Origin Returning Realm masters, with two of them even having reached the Third-Order.
For a City Lord’s Group, it could still be considered quite a powerful lineup.
At this moment, City Lord Dan Ying was furious as he stood outside the City Lord’s Mansion with his hands behind his back, staring out at the bustling crowd which was approaching from afar, his eyes narrowing as they honed in on a particular young man.
He knew at a glance that this young man was the one who was the source of this trouble.
Additionally, one of Dan Ying’s subordinates, whose face was covered in blood, was walking ahead of the crowd in a hunched-up posture, seemingly leading the way for the young man.
The sound of a few gulping could be heard when the cultivators of the City Lord’s Mansion saw the massive crowd of cultivators following behind this youth, many of them beginning to feel a little uneasy.
“Stop panicking!” Dan Ying roared, “Those people are just following the crowd, they won’t dare pick a fight with the City Lord’s Mansion so boldly. All we have to do is kill the young man leading them and the others will scatter like chickens and dogs!”
“Sir City Lord is right, don’t panic!” One of the Elders agreed.
Hearing this, the other cultivators managed to calm down.
Soon after, Yang Kai and the crowd arrived in front of the City Lord’s Mansion, but aside from him and the few members of the old man’s group, everyone else stopped to watch the fun from a thousand metres away.
This was per the laws of Blue Wave City. Anyone who stepped within a thousand metres of the City Lord’s Mansion without permission would be killed without mercy! Those who wanted to watch the excitement were still fearful of the City Lord’s Mansion, so they dared not step beyond this invisible boundary.
“That man is your City Lord?” Yang Kai cast his gaze towards Dan Ying and asked the man leading them.
The big man’s eyes glanced over quickly before he nodded very slightly.
“Deacon Liu, what happened? Why did you bring so many people to the City Lord’s Mansion to make trouble?!” Dan Ying stared at the big man with an imposing glare and asked.
The big man raised his head towards Dan Ying and his eyes flashed, as if he suddenly made a decision that was to decide his fate. Pushing his Saint Qi, this Deacon Liu shot out like a bolt of lightning.
In an instant, he rushed to Dan Ying’s side.
Seeing this, Yang Kai just smiled meaningfully, not making any attempt to stop him, seemingly having expected this to happen.
“Sir City Lord, please forgive me!” The big man yelled, “It’s not that subordinate wanted to lead these people here to make trouble, I was forced to!”
“Who dares to force you!” Dan Ying shouted coldly.
“It was that little brat!” The big man turned around and pointed straight at Yang Kai. After escaping from Yang Kai’s control, and standing next to Dan Ying, this man seemed to gain a sense of security and no longer had any scruples, grinding his teeth as he continued, “Subordinate was just doing his duty, collecting taxes with Deacon Zhou, but out of nowhere, this arrogant boy used his superior cultivation and attacked us, injuring me and killing Deacon Zhou. He did not put the City Lord’s Mansion in his eyes at all! To survive, this subordinate had to compromise and agree to lead this boy to the City Lord’s Mansion to seek justice from Sir City Lord!”
He had just been kowtowing and begging for his life, but if one had not seen that scene and simply heard him speaking, they would think he was a man of courage who braved great risk to bring Yang Kai to face punishment here.
Yang Kai’s eyes remained calm as he listened, finding this big man somewhat amusing.
“Good, well done!” Dan Ying nodded lightly.
“Idiot, do you think you are safe if you stand next to your City Lord? If I want to kill you, your City Lord can’t protect you!” Yang Kai sneered.
“Impudence!” Dan Ying roared, “Boy, you’re far too arrogant. Don’t think that you have the ability to not put the world in your eyes. This City Lord wants to see how you can kill Deacon Liu while he is here!”
“As you wish!” Yang Kai grinned and a golden light suddenly appeared in his left eye, after which a lotus bud manifested and shot forward, disappearing a moment later.
Screams suddenly rang out, as the big man standing beside Dan Ying put his hands on his head, dropped to the ground, and rolled about frantically.
His cries were miserable, as if he was suffering some kind of unimaginable torture, causing everyone who heard his voice to shiver in fear.
No one knew what had happened to the big man to cause him such pain.
Three breaths later, a dull thud sounded.
The head of the big man burst open like a ripe watermelon, splattering blood and brains all around, completely dying the surrounding area red.
Audible gasps echoed from all directions.
Dan Ying and the leaders of Blue Wave City all shivered when they saw this and their faces turned pale, clear signs of fear flashing across their eyes.
Standing behind Yang Kai, Liu Fei’er was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn’t realized what was going on, but soon, her pretty face turned pale and she rushed to the side to vomit the entire content of her stomach.
“Did you see it clearly?” Yang Kai looked over at Dan Ying contemptuously and chuckled mockingly.
Dan Ying’s face was extremely ugly and gloomy, but he didn’t say a word.
He didn’t know what kind of method Yang Kai used, but with his Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, he at least noticed that this boy had used some kind of powerful Soul Technique to silently kill Deacon Liu.
But just how strong would this boy’s Divine Sense have to be to make Deacon Liu’s head explode!?
Dan Ying quickly determined that he would not have been able to achieve such a feat.
A powerful enemy had appeared!
Dan Ying no longer dared to underestimate Yang Kai, his expression growing extremely solemn.
“Dare I ask who Your Excellency is and why you have come to my Blue Wave City to cause trouble?” Dan Ying asked in a deep, cold tone.
“Is that important?” Yang Kai curled his lips.
Dan Ying frowned, “This City Lord and Your Excellency have never met, but Your Excellency is quite unreasonable. Killing two of my City Lord Mansion’s Deacons is a bit too much for a greeting, is it not?”
He had seen that Yang Kai possessed extraordinary strength, so he didn’t dare confront him easily.
At such an age, with such strength, it was likely this young man had some strong backers, so Dan Ying didn’t want to act too aggressively before figuring out Yang Kai’s details.
“Too much?” Yang Kai grinned, “I don’t think it is too much. I’m here today not only to kill your two Deacons but also to take all your lives. None of you will escape!”
The cultivators of the City Lord’s Mansion felt a chill both physically and mentally.
Dan Ying’s expression went blank, but soon he burst into laughter, “Interesting, interesting, this City Lord hasn’t seen such an interesting young man in so long. Good, since you don’t know how to appreciate kindness, don’t blame this City Lord for not being polite! Kill him!”
Since Yang Kai shamelessly rejected his face-saving offer, Dan Ying decided to act ruthlessly.
Two of his Deacons had died, so if he simply swallowed this insult, it would deeply damage his face and authority in the future.
No matter what backing this young man had, it couldn’t be bigger than the one behind him, so Dan Ying was fearless and no longer bothered to discuss anything with Yang Kai, simply waving his hand and ordering the attack.
Dozens of the City Lord Mansion’s cultivators received this order and with ferocious expressions charged towards Yang Kai.
Although the tragic death of the big man just now had frightened all of them, Yang Kai was still just one person while Liu Fei’er and the other youths behind him weren’t even put in the City Lord Mansion cultivators’ eyes.
With so many of them, they were completely confident they could take down Yang Kai.
From the dozens of approaching figures, Secret Techniques and artifact attacks blossomed and flew towards Yang Kai.
The faces of Liu Fei’er and the others paled as a look of desperation flashed across their eyes when they felt the mass of chaotic energy fluctuations approaching.
They all thought they were about to die.
Yang Kai didn’t move; however, the smile on his lips just grew colder and colder.
Stretching out his hand towards the barrage of attacks, he leisurely summoned his Purple Shield.
The shield was originally about the size of a washbasin, but after it appeared, it suddenly expanded to several dozen metres in radius.
All the attacks landed on the shield.
A series of clanging sounds rang out and brilliant explosions blinded everyone’s eyes, but Yang Kai remained unharmed.
“An Origin Grade High-Rank defensive artifact!” Dan Ying narrowed his eyes as he recognized the shield’s grade, a touch of greed also appearing on his face.
Origin Grade High-Rank artifacts were incredibly rare on Shadowed Star, not to mention this was a defensive artifact which was more valuable than ordinary artifacts! With this artifact, anyone’s strength could be raised dramatically.
Dan Ying was now even more convinced that there was some great backer behind Yang Kai, otherwise, how could he have obtained such a good thing?
Suddenly, a golden light burst out from behind the shield as multiple golden silk threads shot out. A rough count put the total number of golden threads at around a hundred, and the vital aura which pulsed from each one was so shocking it caused many nearby to panic.
It was like these golden threads were alive.
The golden threads flickered back and forth, cutting through the crowd.
None of the cultivators’ protective Saint Qi could withstand the cutting a piercing power of these golden threads, the radiant glow surrounding their bodies no better than paper, unable to withstand a single blow.
Even ordinary defensive artifacts were unable to resist the sharpness of these golden threads, many of them being sliced in half, losing all spirituality and transforming into scraps.
Screams rang out one after another.
Blood splashed, broken limbs and meat scattered across the ground, heads flew up into the air, and corpses began piling up.
The cultivators from the City Lord’s Mansion screamed in horror as all those who were lucky enough to still be alive saw they were outmatched and hurriedly tried to escape from Yang Kai.
“You want to run? Since you’ve come, don’t even dream of leaving,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, a faint sneer appearing at the corner of his lips. Under the control of his Divine Sense, his Golden Blood Threads flew and cut even faster.
He was like a bloodthirsty demon!
The onlookers only saw glimmers of golden light and heard terrified screams. As for what was actually happening on the battlefield, only a few masters could see clearly.
“Quickly send a message to Heaven Battling City. Request City Lord Liang’s assistance!” Dan Ying turned pale and hurriedly yelled to a nearby aide. He faintly felt that even if he went into action personally, he wouldn’t be the opponent of this young man, so he decided to call for help without hesitation.
Hearing this order, the aide turned around and rushed into the City Lord’s Mansion without hesitation.
The tragic screams continued for a time but gradually grew thin until finally falling completely silent.
The golden glow faded and revealed the surrounding area again.
The onlookers looked over, and after seeing the situation, they felt their bodies shiver…
With Yang Kai as the centre, there was a region of almost a hundred metres where no other living person remained, all the enemies who had swarmed up to attack him just now lay dead on the ground.
The scene was extremely bloody and cruel, and a rich smell of iron filled the air, making people want to vomit.
A thousand metres away, the crowd of spectating cultivators were dumbfounded. Some people kept rubbing their eyes, subconsciously rejecting the scene before them.
Behind Yang Kai, the old man, Liu Fei’er, and the other youths gawked as they stared at Yang Kai’s back in a daze, their jaws dropped and unable to close.
Liu Fei’er’s tender body was constantly trembling, half from fear and nausea, half from an inexplicable excitement.
Just now, Yang Kai had told her to follow him to the City Lord’s Mansion to raise a fuss, to which she readily agreed, but how could she have known that their presence would be completely superfluous? Yang Kai alone could destroy the entire City Lord’s Mansion!
The scene was eerily silent for a time as the blowing breeze spread a rich scent of blood across Blue Wave City.
Few people had ever witnessed such a large-scale slaughter, with broken limbs and hashed meat filled with blood scattered all around them in a manner to ghastly it was difficult to describe.
Dan Ying and the other leaders of Blue Wave City nearly collapsed on the spot.
“Kill them!”
“Kill all of them!”
“Good job Little Brother, don’t let these people go. Kill them all!”
Suddenly, the sound of angry roars came from the crowd of onlookers.
A single call led to a hundred responses as more and more people began furiously shouting.
For the past few years, the cultivators of Blue Wave City had lived very unpleasant lives, being exploited and wantonly insulted by the City Lord’s Mansion’s people. Even if they wanted to leave this city, they were unable to find a way out.
Many people had been killed, many small families had been wiped out, and many young and beautiful women were humiliated without even being able to resist.
They have had enough.
A trivial Blue Wave City City Lord’s Mansion wasn’t enough for them to fear.
But none of them dared disobey High Heaven Sect!
Three years ago, Shadowed Star had three top forces, Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, and Star Emperor Mountain, but all three of these great forces were crushed by High Heaven Sect, instantly making the latter the most powerful force on Shadowed Star.
This Sect commanded great awe and fear.
Behind Blue Wave City was the shadow of High Heaven Sect, so even if these cultivators were dissatisfied with their current lives, none of them dared openly resist.
Anger and hatred were like good wine though, the longer it fermented, the stronger it became.
The events of today finally allowed the dissatisfaction in everyone’s hearts to explode. Seeing his overwhelming strength, the onlookers began supporting Yang Kai’s approach and vented their anger, wanting to see Dan Ying and the others’ receive retribution for their evil deeds.
Someone bravely stepped forward, walked over, and stood behind Yang Kai, glaring towards Dan Ying and the other city leaders.
Soon others followed.
The law which stated that ‘any who approached to within a thousand metres of the City Lord’s Mansion without permission would be killed’ was instantly broken.
The crowd swarmed forward, curses spewing from their lips as murderous intent flared up, forcing Dan Ying and the others to repeatedly retreat.
Even if an Origin King Realm master had been the one standing here, they would likely be forced back by this show of force.
Dan Ying had never thought that these people, who were always so obedient to him, would dare show any rebelliousness, causing his legs to shiver.
“Sir City Lord, right? Are you going to committing suicide, or do you want me to act personally? Let me say this first, if you force my hand, you won’t be able to die easily!” Yang Kai looked ahead with a sneer.
Dan Ying’s brow twitched and he tried to put up a strong front, roaring angrily, “Boy, do you know who you’ve offended today? I am Heaven Battling City’s City Lord Liang Yong’s subordinate! My Blue Wave City is under High Heaven Sect’s jurisdiction, so no matter what your background is, no matter where you are from, since you’ve dared to offend my Blue Wave City today, your end will be miserable! If you know what’s best for you, you’ll leave quickly. Do so and this City Lord will forgive your crimes, if not, the consequences will be dire!”
“High Heaven Sect?” Yang Kai snickered, “Don’t try to tarnish the reputation of High Heaven Sect, High Heaven Sect would never allow you to act so lawlessly.”
“You don’t believe me?” Dan Ying grit his teeth.
“Am I just supposed to believe anything you say?” Yang Kai sneered.
“Who dares not give High Heaven Sect face?” An angry shout suddenly came from the City Lord’s Mansion, “This King must see who has not learned the lessons of Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect and dares try to oppose High Heaven Sect!”
Hearing this voice, Dan Ying, who was originally grey-faced, suddenly became overjoyed and quickly turned to look into the City Lord’s Mansion, as if he were a drowning man who had spotted a life-saving straw, the panic and uneasiness he felt just now wiped away entirely.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a vicious light as he too cast his gaze towards the newcomer.
A short moment later, a man left the City Lord’s Mansion and stepped out in an imposing manner.
Behind him, there were many Origin Returning Realm masters who had equally arrogant and aloof looks to them.
“Dan Ying greets City Lord Liang!” Dan Ying hurriedly cupped his fists and saluted.
He had just sent a message to Liang Yong, but hadn’t expected the other party to rush over through the Space Array so soon.
He was saved now.
The masters from Heaven Battling City were far more powerful than those from Blue Wave City, so even if this evil boy had outstanding strength and methods, he would still need to surrender without a fight against City Lord Liang.
“En!” Liang Yong nodded faintly as he glanced over at Dan Ying and coldly snorted, “It seems you’re quite useless as a City Lord, are you unable to even solve a single person causing trouble?”
“City Lord Liang, please forgive me!” Dan Ying said in a cold sweat, “The little brat who came to cause trouble is truly extraordinary, several dozen of this City Lord’s subordinates were brutally killed by him in an instant! Please uphold justice here, City Lord Liang.”
“Since this City Lord is here, naturally he won’t just sit back and watch. Who is the one making trouble and refusing to give my High Heaven Sect face?” Liang Yong coldly snorted.
“It’s that boy!” Hearing Liang Yong’s question, Dan Ying pointed his hand and ground his teeth, “It’s him, he’s the one who doesn’t put our High Heaven Sect in his eyes at all! This Dan told him clearly that Blue Wave City is under the jurisdiction of High Heaven Sect and that this Dan is City Lord Liang’s subordinate, but this little brat arrogantly declared he does not believe me. Please teach him a lesson, City Lord Liang.”
After speaking, Dan Ying turned to stare at Yang Kai triumphantly, his eyes filled with expectation.
He was looking forward to seeing Yang Kai kneeling down and begging for mercy, allowing him to vent the anger he felt.
But to his disappointment, Yang Kai did not show any panic at all. He still stood there calmly, with his hands crossed in front of his chest, an inexplicable sneer on his lips as he stared arrogantly towards Liang Yong.
[This boy’s courage knows no bounds! Even with City Lord Liang here, he still showed no fear.] At this moment, Dan Ying could not help somewhat admiring Yang Kai.
However, this boy acting so defiant would only further anger City Lord Liang, making his ultimate end even worse.
Dan Ying sneered in his heart before sneaking a glance towards Liang Yong only to see the later stride forward towards Yang Kai quickly.
Dan Ying could not stop grinning, secretly looking forward to the good show.
Liu Fei’er and the others also clenched their sweat-filled palms as panic threatened to overwhelm them. The countless cultivators who also stood behind and supported Yang Kai just now saw how angry Liang Yong was and couldn’t help stepping back unconsciously, opening a little distance between them and Yang Kai for fear that the fire at the city gate would affect the fish in the moat.
Some even began to regret acting so impulsively just now.
All of them had heard Liang Yong’s name before.
Since Heaven Battling Union was destroyed, he had become the City Lord of Heaven Battling City which was directly managed by High Heaven Sect.
Although High Heaven Sect had gained a loud reputation in recent years, it continued to act in a very low-key manner. No one had ever heard of any High Heaven Sect disciple appearing in the outside world, so Liang Yong had become the external representative of High Heaven Sect almost by default!
Now that he was here, no matter what his strength was, what he represented was the behemoth High Heaven Sect!
Even if the one here was an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated, no one would dare to attack him, much less Liang Yong who was a peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master whose strength far exceeded Dan Ying’s.
This boy was finished!
Many people look at Yang Kai with a hint of sympathy on their faces. No matter what kind of backing this young man had, no one would dare to avenge him if he died tragically today.
The hundred-metre distance was narrowed in an instant as Liang Yong rushed up to Yang Kai; then, without pause, he actually knelt on one knee and lowered his head, “Subordinate Liang Yong greets Sect Master!”
This action was performed smoothly and neatly, as if it had been rehearsed countless times.
Yang Kai’s expression remained cold, however, as he looked down at Liang Yong condescendingly, the same sneer he had before never leaving his face, making his thoughts impossible to read.
Everyone’s eyes bulged.
All the people who saw this scene had their jaws drop, many of them thinking they were seeing things or that they had been caught in some kind of strange illusion.
The scene fell silent as a chill seemed to shroud the front of the City Lord’s Mansion, causing many to shiver unconsciously.
Dan Ying was also shocked as he stared towards Liang Yong in a daze.
He suddenly noticed that fine lines of sweat had appeared on Liang Yong’s forehead and were rapidly condensing into beads that dripped down onto the ground.
*Dida, dida…*
Dan Ying’s body shook and a thought flashed across his mind, suddenly remembering some details he had once heard before.
It was rumoured that Sect Master Yang Kai of High Heaven Sect was a young man, and the description of his appearance was indeed somewhat similar to the troublemaker in front of him…
Then there was what Liang Yong called him just now, so…
Dan Ying felt his heart clench as he nearly fainted from shock.
“Subordinates greet Sect Master. We did not know Sect Master had come, if we did, we would have come to welcome you immediately! Please forgive us, Sect Master!” The cultivators who were brought by Liang Yong shouted after recovering from their initial shock.
Liu Fei’er went sluggish again as he stared at Yang Kai foolishly, only after a long silence seemingly comprehending what was happening, at which point a strange brilliance flashed across her beautiful eyes.
“Liang Yong…” Yang Kai called out faintly.
“Reporting,” Liang Yong replied quickly, his voice trembling somewhat.
“I’ve not seen you for a few years, but it seems life is treating you well,” Yang Kai sneered.
“Certainly not!” Cold sweat on Liang Yong’s forehead kept dripping down, as if his whole body had been dunked into a river, his clothes soaking wet as he heard the clear dissatisfaction in Yang Kai’s voice. Anxiously, he called out, “Subordinate has been negligent in his duties, making Sect Master exhaust himself. Please mete out punishment!”
“Good, your punishment will come soon enough, but before that, this Sect Master has something he is curious about; when did you join High Heaven Sect? This Sect Master did not admit you, so who did?”
Liang Yong’s body shivered as he shot a hate-filled glare over at Dan Ying from the corner of his eye; the anger and rage in his heart were hard to describe in words.
He had just received information in Heaven Battling City about a disturbance here and hurriedly brought a group of people to this place through the Space Array, but how could he have expected that the moment he walked out of the City Lord’s Mansion, he would see the person he feared most in this life.
Liang Yong wanted to chop Dan Ying’s corpse into ten thousand pieces for being so stupid and blind.
“Sect Master please do not misunderstand! Subordinate has witnessed just how powerful the Sect is and earnestly wishes to pledge his life to it; unfortunately, Subordinate has not had an opportunity to realize this wish. Now, Subordinate only hopes to improve his usefulness to Sect Master as the City Lord of Heaven Battling City by gathering enough commodities and supplies. However, Subordinate and his supporters are, in the end, survivors of Heaven Battling Union, making it difficult to convince the public to obey, so outwardly we were forced to declare a different status. Vice City Lord also knows about this matter,” Liang Yong quickly explained after a moment of thought.
“Oh, Xiao Qi, is this true?” Yang Kai raised his head and looked towards a certain buck-toothed cultivator standing amongst the crowd.
The latter nodded.
“Alright, in that case, it’s fine,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
Hearing this, Liang Yong couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
But before he could truly relax, Yang Kai continued, “Now let’s talk about this Blue Wave City again.”
Liang Yong’s heart clenched up again, and an unpleasant premonition came to him.
“I heard that Blue Wave City is attached to Heaven Battling City, yes?” Yang Kai asked as he looked at Liang Yong.
“Reporting to Sect Master, that is the case. Not only Blue Wave City, but all the cities within a radius of a few million kilometres are now attached to Heaven Battling City. There are nine large and small cities in total!”
“Very good,” Yang Kai grinned.
“Many thanks for Sect Master’s praise, it is this one’s honour to serve the Sect.”
“So, all the actions in Blue Wave City are approved of by Heaven Battling City?” Yang Kai looked at Liang Yong with a smile.
Liang Yong wore a somewhat panicked look and quickly refuted, “That is not the case. Subordinate only ordered these attached cities to pay some materials or Saint Crystals every year as a tribute. As for the administration of each city, subordinate does not interfere, everything is decided by their respective City Lord’s Mansion.”
“A smooth answer,” Yang Kai smiled meaningfully.
“Sect Master…” Ge Qi looked at Yang Kai suspiciously, “Was there some kind of accident in this Blue Wave City?”
“I only arrived here today too, so I can’t say I am well informed, but if we wish to know more, we might as well ask these people,” Yang Kai motioned towards the countless onlookers.
Ge Qi’s brow furrowed slightly, vaguely feeling that things were not as simple as they appeared. Hastily walking out, he arrived in front of the crowd and cupped his fists, “Everyone, this one’s name is Ge Qi, Heaven Battling City’s Vice City Lord and High Heaven Sect’s disciple! If you have anything to report, please feel to speak with this Ge. This Ge guarantees by the Sect’s reputation that absolutely no one will embarrass you for stepping forward.”
The scene remained silent, with no one speaking, everyone simply staring at Ge Qi in a daze.
They were wary and afraid of Ge Qi, so they did not dare to expose the misdeeds of Blue Wave City’s City Lord Mansion.
Liu Fei’er opened her mouth, seeming to want to say something, but quickly swallowed them back down again.
“Fei’er, don’t hesitate to speak, with me here, no one will dare cause any harm to you,” Yang Kai saw this and comforted her gently.
Liu Fei’er seemed to receive courage from these words, took a deep breath, and declared loudly, “Fei’er’s Fourth Uncle was killed by the City Lord Mansion’s people two years ago because he was unwilling to pay them off with Saint Crystals!”
“And today, the benefits we obtained from our own hard work were taken away entirely by the City Lord Mansion. Not only that, but they also wanted to take Fei’er! If it were not for Big Brother Yang’s timely arrival, the consequences would have been disastrous,” Another young man stood forward and shouted.
Ge Qi’s expression instantly sank.
“Blue Wave City isn’t a place where people can live! Seventy percent of everything we make has to be turned over to the City Lord’s Mansion, it’s simply unbearable.”
“There is a register of names in the City Lord’s Mansion, and anyone one that has been registered is not allowed to leave Blue Wave City, or else they will suffer a painful death! Many who tried to flee were killed mercilessly.”
Sporadic shouts began emerging from the crowd, but it did not take long before almost everyone was voicing their complaints.
Ge Qi’s face became gloomier and gloomier, as did Yang Kai’s.
After a long while, when the clamours gradually subsided, Yang Kai and Ge Qi exchanged a glance, and both saw the anger in each other’s eyes.
The vile deeds which were committed in Blue Wave City were not the main problem. Shadowed Star was so big, and had so many people living on it, that such matters were bound to happen somewhere; what irritated Yang Kai, however, was that Blue Wave City was doing so by using High Heaven Sect’s name.
If not for this point, the City Lord’s Mansion would already have been razed by these countless cultivators.
The reputation of High Heaven Sect suppressed all the citizens of Blue Wave City, making them too afraid to resist no matter how bad things got.
This was nothing short of smearing mud on High Heaven Sect’s reputation. If things were allowed to go on like this, there would soon be no place for High Heaven Sect on Shadowed Star.
There were nine cities under the jurisdiction of Heaven Battling City, so if Blue Wave City was in such poor condition, what were things like in the other cities?
“Xiao Qi, you’ve failed at your job as Vice City Lord!” Yang Kai shot him a sharp glance.
Ge Qi lowered his head in shame.
He also did not expect the situation outside to be like this.
Since Yang Kai asked him to stay in Heaven Battling City as the Vice City Lord three years ago, he had essentially never left Heaven Battling City, often secluding himself in cultivation while only monitoring the situation in Heaven Battling City occasionally.
Over there, measures to win over popular support which were implemented by Yang Kai were strictly adhered to. Taxes were so low they were almost negligible, which attracted many cultivators to move and settle down. Today, Heaven Battling City could be described as overcrowded but thriving.
However, the situation seemed to be quite different for the cities under Heaven Battling City’s jurisdiction.
Under an attractive outward image, some people were secretly committing vicious acts which were causing public outrage.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had discovered this issue now. It could be considered early. Otherwise, if a few more years had passed, the consequences would have been difficult to estimate. When thinking about this, Ge Qi broke out in a cold sweat and at the same time became livid.
“Liang Yong ah, Liang Yong. Don’t tell this Sect Master you knew nothing about this,” Yang Kai smiled maliciously towards Liang Yong.
The latter’s body trembled and a frightened expression filled his face as he said in a panic, “Sect Master, please understand. Subordinate truly didn’t know about this. It is the first time that subordinate has heard about the situation here in Blue Wave City.”
He didn’t dare admit anything. He had seen Yang Kai’s methods before, so he knew if he admitted to everything, this would be his burial place.
Since he couldn’t admit it anyway, Liang Yong decisively rejected.
“So you won’t show regret unless you see your coffin? Good, seems like I must find evidence before you’re willing to give up. In that case, this Sect Master will satisfy you; hand over your Space Ring,” Yang Kai coldly commanded.
Liang Yong broke out in a cold sweat, but he still didn’t agree, trying to talk his way out of this, “Sect Master, please reconsider! Subordinate is truly loyal to Sect Master and has never disobeyed any of Sect Master’s wishes or done anything to tarnish the Sect’s reputation. This Space Ring holds all of Subordinate’s most intimate secrets, so even if it is Sect Master’s request, Subordinate cannot agree to it. Please be reasonable, Sect Master.”
“Enough nonsense,” Yang Kai snorted coldly, reaching out to take the ring from Liang Yong’s hand.
A trace of struggle flashed across Liang Yong’s face before his eyes became determined. Seeing Yang Kai reaching out towards his hand, Liang Yong pushed the Saint Qi in his body and turned around, wanting to escape.
But the moment he took action, the surrounding space suddenly became extremely viscous and a crushing pressure pressed him from all directions, making it difficult for him to even move.
Innumerable crackling sounds rang out as millions of tiny Void Cracks began swimming around him like a school of fish.
Liang Yong’s courage broke completely as he no longer dared to move, for fear that he would be swallowed by these Void Cracks if he did.
A moment later, Liang Yong’s Space Ring had fallen into Yang Kai’s hands, and his face went pure white.
Holding this Space Ring, Yang Kai sneered lightly and swept its content with his Divine Sense, his expression gradually becoming gloomy.
Soon after, Yang Kai waved his hand and a loud clatter rang out.
In front of the City Lord’s Mansion, a hill-like pile of High-Rank Saint Crystals appeared.
The surrounding people looked at the huge number of Saint Crystals and couldn’t help exclaiming in shock while gulping hard.
When had any of them ever seen such a great fortune?
Although no one knew the exact count, this many Saint Crystals would no doubt have to be counted by the hundred million. If one could obtain this treasure mountain, they wouldn’t need to worry about cultivation resources for a dozen lifetimes.
Besides Saint Crystals, there were also various boxes and containers. No one could see what was inside these boxes, but even the containers themselves were made of valuable materials, so the contents were clearly even more precious.
“Where did you get so many good things from then?” Yang Kai looked at Liang Yong with a calm face, “If you can give me a reasonable explanation, I won’t kill you!”
Liang Yong’s face was ashen as he had no way to explain.
The evidence was already in front of him. If he hadn’t lined his pockets with the wealth from the nine cities under Heaven Battling City, how could he possibly have amassed such wealth all on his own?
No one had such ability!
“Mercy, Sect Master, mercy please! Subordinate knows his wrongs! Please give this Subordinate another chance to make up for this mistake! Subordinate will definitely live up to Sect Master’s trust!” Liang Yong shouted.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “Everything deserves a chance or two, but three is asking too much. Liang Yong, this Sect Master spared your life on Fallen Emperor Mountain, and didn’t take your life in Heaven Battling City because you still had some use, but now… you can die content!”
As soon as his voice fell, Yang Kai stretched out his hand towards Liang Yong.
Liang Yong seemed to want to dodge, but for some unknown reason, he was unable to. Yang Kai grabbed his head directly and pushed his Saint Qi strongly; Liang Yong screamed as a bursting sound erupted inside his body.
As his voice faded, Liang Yong’s vitality rapidly disappeared.
After Yang Kai took back his hand, Liang Yong no longer had any life aura and collapsed to the ground, dark red blood flowing out of all his orifices.
Everyone was silent as they stared towards Yang Kai with complicated looks.
What kind of strength Liang Yong possessed, many of them knew well. As a peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, even if Liang Yong wasn’t as powerful as the fallen Heaven Battling Union Union Master, he was not far off.
But such a master was pinched to death by Yang Kai with one hand.
Like pinching an ant.
Although most people had long heard about Yang Kai’s extraordinary strength, those were only rumours after all. Seeing that it with their own eyes though, everyone realized that not only were the rumours true, they underestimated how terrifying Yang Kai was.
Dan Ying had already collapsed to the ground, his eyes glossed over.
He had pinned all his hopes on Liang Yong, thinking that City Lord Liang could teach this arrogant youth a good lesson.
But the situation had developed in a way he had never imagined.
First, Liang Yong called this young man Sect Master, which made Dan Ying vaguely guess his true identity, then Liang Yong, whom Dan Ying regarded as his support, was actually pinched to death.
Dan Ying had always relied upon High Heaven Sect as his backer, but how could he have known he would inadvertently offend the Sect Master of this backer!
How was he supposed to survive now?
He saw Yang Kai’s gaze sweep over him but not stop, completely disregarding him, as if he was of no threat or his very existence wasn’t even worth paying attention to.
“Heh heh, I don’t know how many of you are related to this matter, but don’t be too nervous. Liang Yong is dead, and this Sect Master doesn’t feel like slaughtering indiscriminately. This matter will end here then. If you still want to survive, you should know what to do,” Yang Kai looked at the cultivators who followed Liang Yong.
Most of these people were originally Heaven Battling Union cultivators while some were later recruited by Liang Yong, and all of them were Origin Returning Realm masters.
“Subordinates thank Sect Master for showing mercy!” All of them shouted in unison before turning to stare at Dan Ying.
“No!” Dan Ying yelled in horror.
But it was too late; all of these masters rushed forward and swarmed Dan Ying, bombarding him with various Secret Techniques and artifacts, granting him a quick but tragic death.
“Xiao Qi, handle matters here as quickly as possible then report back to me,” Yang Kai turned to Ge Qi and ordered.
“Yes.”
“Who is Blue Wave City’s Vice City Lord?” Yang Kai swept his eyes around again.
“It is I,” A gloomy-looking old man quickly walked out, his legs still trembling slightly as he nodded and bowed to Yang Kai.
“Good, take me to see Blue Wave City’s treasury.”
“This way please, Sect Master!” The old man didn’t dare to neglect and quickly led the way.
A short time later, Yang Kai stood in front of Blue Wave City’s City Lord Mansion’s treasury and saw a dazzling array of materials, as well as a large number of Saint Crystals.
This was the manifestation of the blood and sweat of Blue Wave City’s people.
“Have your subordinates empty out this treasury and hand everything over to Ge Qi, he should know how to process them,” Yang Kai gave an order before turning around and leaving.
The old man nodded and got to work.
Three days later, in the City Lord’s Mansion, Yang Kai sat on a chair and listened to Ge Qi’s report.
“Sect Master, the contents of Liang Yong and Dan Ying’s Space Rings, together with what was stored in Blue Wave City’s treasury, have all been catalogued. Subordinate has arranged for all of Blue Wave City’s cultivators to report the amount of Saint Crystals they were forced to pay over the past three years and, after verification, had the appropriate amount returned. I have also ensured that everyone knows that what happened here was not ordered by High Heaven Sect but was a result of Dan Ying’s unauthorized actions. Everyone who heard this news cheers and praised Sect Master’s righteousness and kindness.”
“Stop with the needless flattery,” Yang Kai glanced at him and didn’t know why, but the more he saw Ge Qi, the more dreadful he seemed. Yang Kai was really curious why Ye Xi Yun had picked this guy up and raised him as a disciple.
Ge Qi laughed embarrassedly.
“Liang Yong is dead, so Heaven Battling City lacks a leader. You’ll assume that role for now, and if you can train a capable and reliable replacement, you can have them take over as City Lord then return to Sect where you won’t need to concern yourself with these trivial matters.”
“Good, that’s what I planned to do,” Ge Qi nodded.
“What about the other cities under the jurisdiction of Heaven Battling City? Was the situation the same as here?” Yang Kai asked.
“Not exactly. The situation was different in each city, some good, some bad, but Blue Wave City was the most severe case.”
“Good, that’s good. Handle things according to your own judgement.”
“Sect Master may rest assured; Xiao Qi will not allow such dishonourable matters to occur again. By the way, Sect Master, I have sent news of your return back to the Sect. Great Elder wishes to know what your current status is.”
“Me? I’m doing well, tell her that I will return soon so she doesn’t have to worry.”
“Yes,” Ge Qi nodded, “There is one more thing, Sect Master.”
“Speak.”
“Outside the City Lord’s Mansion, there are several people who had been asking to see you. They say they know you,” Ge Qi looked at Yang Kai with a strange expression.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before figuring out who these people were and nodded, “Let them come in.”
Ge Qi nodded and left. A short while later, an old man leading several young people nervously entered.
Yang Kai got up and greeted them with a smile.
“This old man greets Sect Master Yang!” The old man hurriedly saluted.
“Old Sir doesn’t need to be so polite,” Yang Kai laughed, his gaze sweeping the youths behind the old man where he saw Liu Fei’er staring at him with a pair of big eyes, her face filled with curiosity.
“What are you doing in a daze, hurry up and bow! Such disrespect.” The old man shouted.
Yang Kai, however, just waved his hand, “No need, it’s fine like this.”
The old man smiled bitterly, “Please don’t blame them, Sect Master Yang, these few young ones are ignorant of how the world works. If they have offended you in any way, I ask you to please forgive them. En, this old man is here today simply to thank Sect Master Yang for upholding justice on behalf of all of Blue Wave City’s residents and for avenging the death of my family’s Fourth Elder. Please accept this old man’s worship.”
“Old Sir, please don’t say such things, if we really examine this matter, the fault lies with my High Heaven Sect for being negligent in its oversight. Fortunately, the situation here came to light before it was too late, and I can only hope to make up for the damage already done in the future.”
“It is our blessing to be able to live in Blue Wave City under the rule of High Heaven Sect,” The old man said solemnly.
Yang Kai gently nodded before turning to Liu Fei’er and smiling, “Why do you keep staring at me, don’t you recognize me?”
Liu Fei’er blushed and spoke hesitantly, “Are you really High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master? You’re not lying, right?”