Fortunately, it seemed that Wu Ming’s Honoured Master was still busy with something. Yang Kai did not notice any movement after he brought Patriarch Gong back with him.
A quarter of an hour later, Hua Qing Si stepped onto the stage again.
Everyone looked up at the stage simultaneously, knowing that the second half of the auction was about to begin.
On the stage, Hua Qing Si announced in a sweet, feminine voice, “Thank you for waiting. The next item to be auctioned… is a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator!”
As soon as the announcement was made, everyone went into an uproar as each of them stared intently at the stage.
It had long been publicized that a Star Master from the Lower Star Fields would appear in this auction. At this moment, they undoubtedly assumed that the Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator Hua Qing Si mentioned was that Star Master.
Everyone was curious about the Star Master because they were a rarity even taking the entire Star Boundary into account.
Once there were many Star Masters, but some twenty thousand years ago, after Heaven Devouring Great Emperor destroyed many Star Fields, the channels connecting the Star Boundary and the various Star Fields were sealed, and the Masters from the Star Boundary could no longer easily travel to the Lower Star Fields to refine Star Sources.
Therefore, Star Masters were truly a rare existence in the Star Boundary nowadays.
Every Star Master possessed the essence of a complete Star Source in their body. If this Star Source could be extracted, one could inherit the position of Star Master for themselves, and their journey on the Martial Dao would become much smoother.
A skinny old man with a gloomy aura walked out from backstage like a ghost. The old man seemed to be affected by some kind of seal that caused his aura to be suppressed. Even so, he still gave out a ghastly feeling, especially the two clusters of ghost flames quivering in his pair of dreadfully horrifying sunken eyes
“Is this the Star Master?”
“Doesn’t look like anything special.”
“Having a complete Star Source but only reaching the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, it seems that his aptitude is not that good.”
“What do you know? It’s rumoured that all cultivators from the Lower Star Fields have top-notched aptitude as well as firm Martial Hearts, allowing them to dominate their respective Star Fields. If not, how could they make the arduous journey to the Star Boundary? Every cultivator who comes from the Lower Star Fields is comparable to a Core Disciple from a top Sect in terms of aptitude.”
There was a lot of discussion in the hall, with everyone whispering to each other, debating about the skinny old man on the stage.
They may not have seen a Star Master before, but they had at least heard some rumours about them.
Although it was rare for cultivators from the Lower Star Fields to reach the Star Boundary, many people knew that these cultivators were extremely rare talents, for they could still cultivate to the peak of the Martial Dao in their respective Star Fields despite the lack of good cultivation environments that exited everywhere in the Star Boundary.
It was precisely because of this that Liu Xian Yun told him that cultivators like them were very welcomed by many great forces back then when Yang Kai just arrived in the Star Boundary. They just needed to reveal that they were cultivators from a Lower Star Field, and they would definitely be accepted and trained vigorously by those big Sects.
Because cultivators like them had more hope to be promoted to the Emperor Realm than most cultivators from the Star Boundary.
“Gui Zu…” Inside room one, Yang Kai looked at the skinny old man on the stage with an unreadable expression, immediately recognizing him.
Gui Zu used to always be surrounded by Yin Qi, and ordinary people could not even see his true face. However, with his cultivation sealed, he could not release his usual aura.
His skinny and bony appearance was not because he was tortured, but rather his true form. Due to cultivating a Ghost Dao, his physique had already dried up and assumed its current form.
On the stage, Hua Qing Si continued, “He is not a Star Master, but he is a friend of that Star Master, and also a cultivator who came from the Lower Star Fields, so there is no need to worry about his aptitude.”
“Not the Star Master…”
“What the hell?”
“Why are they putting him up for auction if he’s not a Star Master? Is this a joke?”
Everyone below the stage started to yell unpleasantly, none seemingly willing to buy this old man.
“Jie jie jie jie…” Gui Zu cackled in a way that sounded like a vengeful ghost, causing chills for the cultivators in the hall.
“Sister Hua, enough games already,” Yang Kai suddenly shouted, “Your Honoured Master should be almost ready, just send him to me.”
Gui Zu stopped laughing, and turned to room one. Flabbergasted, the two wisps of ghost fire in his eyes immediately shone with a quaint beam.
Hua Qing Si smiled wryly, “Alright.”
She didn’t want to continue this charade any longer either; however, she had no choice but to obey the orders given by her Honoured Master. However, since Yang Kai had spoken so, she was happy to cooperate. The most important thing was that her Honoured Master did not make any objections, so it could be seen that Yang Kai was right about him having almost finished his preparations, not needing to delay for any more time.
Saying so, Hua Qing Si gestured with her hand, and a maidservant led Gui Zu to room one.
The door opened, and Gui Zu entered the room. When he saw Yang Kai, he got excited and cupped his fists, “Sect Master!”
“Supreme Elder has suffered,” Yang Kai lifted him up.
“It was all this Old Master’s incompetence,” Gui Zu looked ashamed.
Back then, when he roamed Heng Luo Star Field, even though he was not invincible, he was a peak level existence. There was hardly anyone in the entire Star Field who could suppress a powerful Third-Order Origin King cultivator like him; however, when he reached Star Boundary, he was being restrained everywhere and even ended up being captured as a prisoner and taken out as an auction item for public display.
It was a huge disgrace.
Gui Zu also knew that the enemy was strong, not someone that he could provoke with his current strength. If Yang Kai had not appeared, he would have been sold to someone else and worked as a slave for the rest of his life.
Gui Zu could not help shuddering just thinking about it.
Ye Hen, Ye Jing Han, and the others hurriedly went forward to meet him.
Gui Zu and the others had spent a lot of time in Thousand Leaves Sect, so all of them were quite familiar with each other. At this moment, they were naturally happy he was able to get out of trouble.
“Let me help you to remove the restriction.” Yang Kai put his hand on Gui Zu’s shoulder and started to examine him with his Divine Sense. In the meantime, he asked, “How are Chi Yue and the rest now?”
Gui Zu replied, “Their lives are not in danger, but their cultivations were all sealed. It seems that they will be brought out for auction later too.”
Yang Kai nodded in acknowledgement, “That’s good.”
After saying that, the Emperor Qi in his body surged into Gui Zu at once.
A trace of redness unnaturally flashed across Gui Zu’s pale face, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood. In the next moment, he felt that his body was relieved, and the sealed Source Qi in his meridians began circulating again.
The ghastly Ghost Qi gushed out and surrounded him at once. “Sect Master, your cultivation…” Gui Zu was dumbfounded.
Although he did not fully understand how powerful the person who sealed his strength was, he still had some guesses.
That man should have been a legendary Third-Order Emperor Realm Master!
He could not believe that his Sect Master could remove the seal on him after just a few breaths of time. Did this mean that Yang Kai’s cultivation was on par with that old man? It was natural that Gui Zu was so shocked because this was simply too unbelievable.
After all, they all came to Star Boundary together, but now he and his fellow Brothers and Sister were just Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, while Yang Kai had walked far ahead of them. Gui Zu had no idea how Yang Kai progressed so rapidly during these few years.
“I just broke through to the Emperor Realm,” Yang Kai patted Gui Zu’s shoulder, “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Gui Zu nodded, but he was still amazed. Although Yang Kai’s cultivation was much weaker than he had imagined, it was astonishing that one could reach the Emperor Realm in such a short time.
It was especially amazing when he could easily remove the seal of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master with just his First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation
Yang Kai had often created miracles and defeated opponents stronger than himself back in Heng Luo Star Field, and it seemed that he had not changed since he came to Star Boundary.
Realizing this, Gui Zu was secretly excited.
The few of them hardly had anyone to rely on in the Star Boundary, and even the Thousand Leaves Sect that they stayed at had been exterminated. But after witnessing the power Yang Kai possessed, Gui Zu knew that he had a strong backer to depend on now.
A man walked out of backstage at that moment. Yang Kai looked up and saw that it was the previous Union Master of Sword Union, Gu Cang Yun.
Hua Qing Si did not even try to introduce Gu Cang Yun and just signalled the maidservant to bring him to room one.
Soon, he was delivered to the room.
Gu Cang Yun was both surprised and delighted to see Yang Kai. It was Yang Kai who saved them the last time when they were in trouble in Sky Crane City, and now, a few years later, he came to the rescue again.
This made Gu Cang Yun lament in his heart that he still had to rely on others just to preserve his life.
The next who was brought out was Ai Ou.
The auction hall went horribly silent. The people there thought that the first half of the auction was strange enough, with the entire process being just an interaction between Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si, not leaving room for others to interrupt at all.
But they did not expect that the second half of the auction would be worse than the first.
The auctioneer did not even try to auction the ‘items’, nor did room one bother to bid. The whole process was just the ‘items’ being brought out and then delivered to room one.
What made them feel even more bewildered was that the Emperor Realm Masters in the private rooms were being quiet too, none of them questioning or complaining about anything.
No one had ever participated in such an auction. The whole auction looked just like a farce, which annoyed many people.
“Almost there!” Yang Kai stated with his eyes narrowed after settling Ai Ou down.
“What’s almost there?” Ai Ou looked at him with confusion, the shock on his face not having disappeared yet.
Just now when he learnt that Yang Kai had broken through to the Emperor Realm, he could not believe it until Yang Kai removed the seal on his cultivation.
As Yang Kai’s prospective father-in-law, Ai Ou was not sure whether he should be happy for him or feel frustrated. He was glad that his little girl, Xue Yue, had found a good man, but he did not know how many young women this prodigal son had flirted with in the Star Boundary over the years.
There were many good women in the Star Boundary, and given Yang Kai’s capabilities, it would only be normal for him to have a few women by his side.
If Xue Yue could come to the Star Boundary from their native Star Field one day, Ai Ou was afraid that she would not be able to compete with these Star Boundary women. As a father, Ai Ou could not help worrying. Sometimes it was not a good thing for a man to be too outstanding, especially a son-in-law.
“By the way, what about Chai Hu?” Yang Kai suddenly thought of someone.
Chai Hu was not from Heng Luo Star Field, but a native of Star Boundary.
However, he had a very close relationship with Gui Zu, Chi Yue, Ai Ou and the rest, and they had even become sworn siblings.
A total of five people came from Heng Luo Star Field with Yang Kai back then: Wu Dao, Gui Zu, Ai Ou, Chi Yue, and Gu Cang Yun.
Among them, Wu Dao was the strongest cultivator in the Star Field back then. Unfortunately, the Heavens were impartial, and Wu Dao’s life was taken in the World Energy Baptism when he attempted to break through to the Dao Source Realm, leaving the remaining four by themselves to struggle in Sky Crane City.
It was also at that time when the four of them met Chai Hu and received a lot of help from him. Later, their friendship deepened, eventually leading to an oath of brotherhood, with Gui Zu as the First Brother, Ai Ou as the Second, Gu Cang Yun the Third Brother, Chai Hu the Fourth Brother, and Chi Yue their Fifth Sister.
When Yang Kai was passing through Sky Crane City, he encountered the City Lord of the Sky Crane City, Luo Jin, who was compelling Chi Yue to marry him. At that time, Chai Hu took Luo Jin’s daughter Luo Bing, as a hostage in order to rescue Chi Yue, but his efforts fell short. If it was not for Yang Kai’s serendipitous presence, even Chai Hu would have found himself in serious trouble.
Later, Yang Kai raised a huge fuss in the City Lord’s Mansion of Sky Crane City, killing a lot of people, and ultimately rescuing his Seniors, bringing them to Thousand Leaves Sect where they had decided to remain temporarily.
At this moment, Yang Kai remembered Chai Hu.
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s question, Gui Zu cackled playfully, “Fourth Brother has gone off to pursue love!”
“With who?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Ai Ou answered with an equally cunning expression, “That little girl Luo Bing, do you remember?”
“Her?” Yang Kai was startled, unable to believe it.
Chai Hu kidnapped Luo Bing back then, and even if the two were not enemies, they should not have developed any good feelings between them, so it really did not make sense for the two of them to have developed an intimate relationship.
Ai Ou explained, “When Fourth Brother appeared to kidnap that girl, she happened to be encountering some dangerous circumstances, so even though he did so with ulterior motives, it could still be considered him saving her. It seems she is at least capable of distinguishing between gratitude and grudge. Unfortunately, her father died at your hands, while Fourth Brother is our sworn brother. That girl was unable to get past her grief and had hidden her feelings for Fourth Brother. She left two years ago, but Fourth Brother was worried and decided to follow after her, and we haven’t received any news from him since then.”
Gu Cang Yun continued, “You can call it a blessing or a misfortune, but because of this, Fourth Brother has also avoided this disaster.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. Since Chai Hu had not been in the Thousand Leaves Sect, he did not need to worry about anything. He only asked out of concern for Gui Zu and the others for he had no personal friendship with Chai Hu.
“Fifth Sister is still in the hands of that old bastard,” Ai Ou said with a dark face, “Who knows if she will be sent out for auction as well.”
“I hope so,” Gu Cang Yun turned his head and looked towards the stage. All of them were sent out, so in principle, Chi Yue should be sent out too.
Yang Kai, however, shook his head lightly, “If I was that person, I would definitely keep a hostage in my hand for leverage.”
The few of them were surprised.
At this moment, Hua Qing Si on stage spoke, “Dear guests, this concludes today’s auction, but please remain in your seats. All of you have travelled far and wide to attend this auction, and my Honoured Master has prepared a generous gift as thanks. We hope you will like it.”
“She really was held back,” Ai Ou’s face sank and became extremely ugly.
The auction was over, but Chi Yue was still nowhere to be seen; obviously, she was being kept as a hostage, just as Yang Kai had predicted.
Although the few of them had been held prisoner by that old thing, and even had their cultivations sealed, they had never understood why.
“Monster King, protect them!” Yang Kai commanded, then flickered out of room one in a flash, reappearing above the auction hall, peering towards the backstage.
There was no one there now; even Wu Ming had long since disappeared.
He signalled Hua Qing Si and said, “Sister Hua, go to room one.”
Ying Fei was there and could be of assistance if anything happened later…
Hua Qing Si nodded, leaping out and flying into room one, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Down in the hall and in the private rooms, countless eyes focused on Yang Kai, all of them wondering what exactly this arrogant young man planned to do next.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense spread out like a tide as he shouted, “Old dog, you used this auction to force this Young Master to appear, and this Young Master has indeed come. You used this Young Master’s friends to stall for time to make your arrangements, so this Young Master agreed and played along with your script. Now that everything is prepared, why haven’t you shown yourself? Are you that scared?”
He shouted, but there was no response at all.
However, many cultivators looked at each other in the hall and started whispering among themselves, watching Yang Kai like he had lost his mind.
“Old dog, do you feel no shame for behaving in such a cowardly manner? No matter what, you are still an esteemed Elder of Star Soul Palace, why act so timid?” Yang Kai sneered, his tone filled with ridicule.
“What? An Elder of Star Soul Palace?”
“There’s an Elder of Star Soul Palace here?”
“What does he mean?”
Yang Kai’s words set off an explosion in the crowd.
Star Soul Palace was not just another Sect in the Southern Territory, but also a symbol of hegemony and invincibility; after all, it was the Sect of the Great Emperor that protected the Southern Territory.
It was rare to be able to meet an Elder of Star Soul Palace, as such a figure was not inferior in status to a Sect Master of other top Sects.
And based on what Yang Kai said, it seemed like he had grievances with this Star Soul Palace Elder…
Was this not… courting death?
Of all the people in the Southern Territory, this boy had to offend a Star Soul Palace Elder, even daring to cause a commotion with such shameless boasting and incessant chiding! He simply did not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth!
At that moment, many people looked at Yang Kai as if they were looking at a dead man.
How could he survive from offending a Star Soul Palace Elder?
“Hahahaha!” A burst of loud erratic laughter sent the crowd into anxiety. The complexion of many Emperor Realm Masters in the private rooms changed, clearly feeling their auras destabilized slightly by the man’s laughter. Their Emperor Qi rolled uncontrollably, horrifying them as they realized how terrifying an existence the one who laughed just now was.
Was that the supposed Star Soul Palace Elder? There were not many Elders in Star Soul Palace, but with nothing but a laugh to go on, no one could identify who this person was.
“I have long heard stories about Little Friend Yang, and today I have finally seen that they are not just stories.”
Yang Kai snorted coldly, “This Young Master doesn’t speak to faceless people, show yourself.”
There was a moment of silence before the voice replied, “Since Little Friend Yang insists on it, then I shall do as you wish.”
When the words fell, the world suddenly dimmed, and countless Spirit Array patterns flashed across the entire auction house. The array patterns quickly lit up, like sparks that could start a prairie fire, spreading out all at once.
In the next instant, everyone had an illusion that the world was turned upside down and that space was divided up.
An invisible pulling force seemed to be drawing them into an endless void.
“En? Eight Sides Yuan Shielding Array!” In room one, Patriarch Gong’s complexion darkened as he hurriedly took out a set of array flags and poured his Emperor Qi into them. He flung both of his arms and threw the flags into the void one by one.
The array banners quickly disappeared, and the chaotically swirling space in room one immediately stabilized.
“Gong Tai, you court death!” An angry voice shouted. It was the same mysterious voice from before, but this time it was mixed with a shocking violent force, seemingly irritated by Patriarch Gong’s actions.
The shockwave that blasted towards Gong Tai’s Knowledge Sea caused him an incredible headache, resulting in him spurting a mist of blood from his mouth as he fell to the ground.
Things had not finished yet though as a five-coloured burst of light shot into room one, condensing into a sharp blade that slashed directly towards Gong Tai.
This five-coloured light blade was the same one that had previously killed an Emperor Realm Master.
Gong Tai’s heart screamed in panic, the blood draining from his face as he watched the blade pierce towards him.
Just when the five-coloured light blade was about to hit him though, an eagle claw accompanied by a powerful screech appeared from the side and firmly grasped the advancing blade, crushing it instantly.
Gong Tai was panting, his face pale, relieved that someone had saved his life at this critical moment.
He looked to the side with lingering fear and saw Ying Fei nodding at him with assurance, “Don’t worry, no one can kill you as long as this King is here.”
Gong Tai got up and respectfully cupped his fists, “Many thanks, Sir Monster King.”
An Elder of Star Soul Palace wanted to kill him, while a Monster King saved his life. The irony of the situation was hard to even comprehend.
Ying Fei waved his hand, “It’s fine. What is this Eight Sides Yuan Shielding Array that you mentioned?”
Yang Kai and Gong Tai had chatted briefly when the former brought the latter back to room one, so Ying Fei knew that Gong Tai was a Spirit Array Grandmaster. If this wasn’t the case, Gong Tai would not have been able to recognize the newly activated Spirit Array at a glance while also taking action to counter it.
Gui Zu and the others turned to Gong Tai with curiosity.
Gong Tai sighed, “It’s a Spirit Array that segments a section of space into individual sections. I knew that there was a nested Spirit Array arranged here, but I did not expect one of the arrays to be Eight Sides Yuan Shielding Array.”
“A nested Spirit Array? What is the other Spirit Array?” Ying Fei frowned.
“The Five Elements Grand Sealing Array!” Gong Tai replied, “These two Spirit Arrays complement each other and enhance each other’s effects. The one who set up the arrays is really quite skilled.”
After a pause, he looked at Ying Fei, “May I ask Sir Monster King, what grievances does Little Brother Yang have with this Star Soul Palace Elder that the latter would not hesitate to plant two Grand Spirit Arrays just to trap him?”
Ying Fei’s face sank and replied, “You mean, this Spirit Array has the effect of trapping people?”
Gong Tai nodded, “Yes,” He explained, “The Five Elements Grand Sealing Array has the effect of isolating those inside of it from the outside world. Right now, this auction house has become an independent sealed world of sorts. As long as the Spirit Array is not broken, I am afraid that no one in here can leave. As for the Eight Sides Yuan Shielding Array, it can isolate everyone here into small independent spaces. If this Old Master had not acted fast enough just now, I’m afraid that all of us would have been separated.”
Ying Fei’s face changed drastically at his words, “This is bad!”
He turned to look outside, but there was no trace of Yang Kai. It was pitch black outside of room one, as if the entire room had sunken into The Void. Releasing his Divine Sense, Ying Fei failed to detect anyone else’s aura.
It was like the thousands of people in the auction house had simply disappeared.
Ying Fei’s face darkened at once.
He had thought that a Star Soul Palace Elder would not be a problem with him guarding Yang Kai; after all, he was a Monster King, comparable in strength to a Third-Order Emperor. Why would he need to fear a mere Star Soul Palace Elder? But, now that they were isolated by the Eight Sides Yuan Shielding Array, how could Ying Fei protect Yang Kai if he had no clue where Yang Kai was? On the contrary, the person who set up this array could easily crush Yang Kai by using the power of his pre-arranged Spirit Arrays.
Deep remorse emerged in Ying Fei’s heart. Perhaps the situation would not be this bad if he insisted Yang Kai summon Xi Lei and Xie Wu Wei, but at that time, he did not persuade further when Yang Kai disagreed.
But on second thought, the opponent could isolate anyone with this Eight Sides Yuan Shielding Array, so it would be useless even if they brought more Monster Kings here.
He had exposed his identity as a Monster King a few days ago, so the opponent must have been fully prepared to deal with him since he dared to initiate this fight. It seemed that this plan was well arranged, and with the activation of these two Spirit Arrays, not only was Yang Kai trapped in this space, he was also isolated from everyone and he could only fight on his own.
“Patriarch Gong, can this array be broken?” Ying Fei asked in a deep voice.
Gong Tai sighed, “Yes, but it will take time.”
“How long?” Ying Fei did not have a good feeling.
“Ten days!”
Ying Fei was speechless. Ten days was far too long. In Yang Kai’s situation, how could Ying Fei just sit here for ten days?
Ai Ou remarked from the side, “Fortune always favours Yang Boy, although the opponent this time is powerful, he may not be able to do anything to Yang Boy. Patriarch Gong, the priority now is to break this array. We can only try to find another way to assist Yang Boy.”
This was the only solution in this helpless situation. Everyone knew what Ai Ou said was true, and immediately took action separately to look around, trying to find any flaws in the array.
…..
In a dark world, Yang Kai seemed to be suspended in a void, but the surrounding environment was notably different from the real Void. Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai found his perception blocked by an invisible barrier around him, making it impossible to detect the presence of anyone else nearby.
He stood quietly in place with his lips curved slightly. Instead of being frightened or anxious, he decided to wait patiently.
A pair of eyes was observing Yang Kai’s reaction silently in the dark, but seeing that Yang Kai did not show the slightest signs of panic, this observer realized how formidable Yang Kai’s mental strength was and understood that normal methods would be useless against him. Nodding, the observer decided not to hide anymore and openly revealed himself.
A light abruptly emerged in the dark world, followed by the appearance of a figure in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked up and saw an old man standing there calmly, as if he had been there all along as there were no prior signs of him walking over. Behind this old man were two figures; one was Wu Ming, who had disappeared before, and the other was Chi Yue, whom Yang Kai had not seen for a long time.
Chi Yue’s cultivation was sealed, and her pretty face was slightly pale as Wu Ming restrained her hands from behind, making it impossible for her to move in the slightest.
When she saw Yang Kai, surprise and joy flashed across her eyes. It seemed that she did not expect him to be here; but soon, her face turned solemn and she shook her head at Yang Kai slowly, signalling him to run away.
Wu Ming saw her signal, and sneered, tightening his grip and drawing a groan from Chi Yue’s lips as her face turned even paler due to the pain.
“Little Friend Yang!” The old man greeted Yang Kai with a smile. At first glance, this old man had a sage-like appearance. He wore a cyan robe and had a long beard on his face, possessing the noble image of some Senior Expert removed from the mundane world.
“Old dog, you finally decided to show yourself,” Yang Kai bared his teeth with a smile.
The old man shook his head lightly and smiled wryly, “Little Friend Yang, please show some mercy with your mouth. This Old Master’s name is Tan Jun Hao!”
“Old Dog Tan then,” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“Little bastard, be careful of your filthy mouth! Try barking again if you dare!” Wu Ming’s face flushed angrily.
Yang Kai looked up to the sky and shouted quickly, “Old Dog Tan, Old Dog Tan, Old Dog Tan, Old Dog Tan, Little Dog Wu, Little Dog Wu, Little Dog Wu, Little Dog Wu… This Young Master barked like you asked, so come and bite me.”
“Bastard!” Wu Ming’s nostrils flared; after all, he was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master and had never been insulted to his face like this. The rage in his chest was like a volcano threatening to erupt at any moment.
Tan Jun Hao on the other hand just let out a light breath and waved his hand to stop Wu Ming before squinting at Yang Kai, “Little Friend Yang looks like he is quite resentful and seems to have some problem with this Old Master.”
Yang Kai retorted coldly, “What do you think?”
Tan Jun Hao smiled faintly, and nodded, “This Old Master understands your wrath, but this Old Master has no choice. I hope you will forgive me.”
“I’ll forgive you when you die.”
Tan Jun Hao was stunned, then burst into laughter, “Little friend, you’re quite funny. This Old Master is an Elder of Star Soul Palace and receives the grace of the Great Emperor. Who in this world would dare to kill me?”
“So, this is why you are so daring!” Yang Kai nodded lightly, then he suddenly lifted his eyes and returned with a solemn voice, “This Young Master wants to see what the consequences of killing an Elder of a Great Emperor’s Sect will be!”
The corner of Tan Jun Hao’s eyes twitched as he noticed that Yang Kai was not joking, and truly intended to kill him; however, he did not really care about it because he doubted Yang Kai had the ability to kill him despite his murderous intent. Beaming, he continued, “This Old Master looks forward to it then, but before that, shouldn’t Little Friend Yang return this Old Master’s property? That thing belongs to me, but it was inadvertently acquired by little friend some years ago.”
“You mean this?” Yang Kai summoned a token into his hand. A lifelike dragon image was carved on the token, and there was a big ‘dragon’ character engraved on it. The token looked plain and aged, and it was uncertain what material it was refined from, seemingly having been crafted a long time ago.
“Exactly!” Tan Jun Hao nodded, his face changing the moment he saw the token.
The Dragon Island Token was an extremely precious treasure, and although it could not be used for Artifact Refining or Alchemy, it was the only pass for ordinary people to enter Dragon Island. With this Dragon Island Token, one could go to Dragon Island and make any request to the Dragon Clan that was within their ability to fulfil.
Tan Jun Hao was already a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, and the only higher realm left for him to reach was the Great Emperor Realm. He believed that it was impossible for him to become a Great Emperor though with his innate comprehension and ability, but perhaps something on the magical Dragon Island could help him in breaking through these shackles.
This Dragon Island Token was a great opportunity for him.
Not to mention other requests, it would be no problem to ask for a few drops of True Dragon Blood from the Dragon Clan.
Therefore, he had been searching for the whereabouts of the Dragon Island Token for all these years.
Now that he saw that the Dragon Island Token was really in Yang Kai’s hands, he naturally felt delighted. However, given that he was also an old monster who had lived for countless years, he had enough composure to not reveal any change of expression on his face.
On the other hand, Wu Ming could not help showing an excited face when he saw the Dragon Island Token.
He was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, and with his aptitude and efforts, he did not know if he could reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm any time soon. But if he could get the Dragon Island Token and take a trip to Dragon Island, he probably could make a breakthrough right away.
But the token belonged to Tan Jun Hao, so Wu Ming dared not have any thoughts about it even if he wanted it, too.
Yang Kai played with the Dragon Island Token by rolling it through his fingers as he pondered for a moment before saying, “This Young Master has something you want, while you have someone this Young Master wants. How about this? Let’s trade.”
Tan Jun Hao smiled faintly, “Trade can only be established between two equal parties. Look at this situation… Does Little Friend Yang think that he is qualified to trade with this Old Master?”
Yang Kai’s face darkened slightly, “It doesn’t make much sense for you to talk like this. Don’t tell me that you want this Dragon Island Token for free?”
Tan Jun Hao chortled, “No, but please return the Dragon Island Token to me first, and we’ll discuss the rest later.”
Yang Kai pressed on, “Let her go first, and this Dragon Island Token will be returned to you. This Young Master has no use for this useless token anyway.”
“Return the Dragon Island Token first!” Tan Jun Hao insisted with a faint smile on his face, not bothering to negotiate with Yang Kai at all.
“Let her go first!” Yang Kai shouted fiercely.
Seeing that they could not agree, Tan Jun Hao no longer continued to waste time and turned to Wu Ming and ordered, “Disciple, let Little Friend Yang have a peek at our chips. Show him our sincerity.”
Wu Ming grinned, “Yes!”
Then he turned to Yang Kai, “Little bastard, I heard that this devilish woman is your mother-in-law?”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he thought to himself, [Sister Hua, Sister Hua, why did you have to tell them everything? From the looks of it, you must have disclosed the secrets of my Sealed World Bead and Immortal Tree to them too.]
But he could not blame Hua Qing Si for that because she stood no chance of resisting under the suppression of absolute strength. She did not even remember what she had revealed to Tan Jun Hao at that time.
Only a sinister Secret Technique could force Hua Qing Si to reveal his secrets.
“If you dare to hurt her even a single hair on her head, you’ll die a miserable death,” Yang Kai warned in a deep voice.
Wu Ming snickered, “Don’t worry, how could this King be willing to hurt such a beauty? This King likes her very much. If it weren’t for Honoured Master’s command, this King would have long taken her as his concubine!”
Chi Yue was a rare seductive beauty, and while she was not as beguiling as Shan Qing Luo, she had a mature air about her that added a different kind of flavour to her charm. If this wasn’t the case, Luo Jin, the City Lord of Sky Crane City, would not have been bewitched by her at first sight and forced her to marry him.
While speaking, Wu Ming stretched his hands and gently caressed Chi Yue’s face.
Chi Yue’s tender body shook violently, her eyes filled with disgust. She felt helpless because her cultivation was sealed and her body was being restrained. She could not resist at all, and could only endure with her teeth gritted and her eyes closed.
“You dare!” Yang Kai was maddened. This bastard actually profaned his mother-in-law right in front of him. There was no way for him to tolerate it and with a stomp of his feet, he jumped towards Wu Ming.
Wu Ming’s face changed drastically when he saw this. He had suffered a loss at Yang Kai’s hand before, so he knew that this little brat was not easy to deal with. Hurriedly, he pulled Chi Yue back with him.
Tan Jun Hao immediately stepped in between them and with a wave of his sleeve, many five-coloured light blades were formed and slashed at Yang Kai.
“Hong hong hong…”
A series of explosions rang out as the surrounding World Energy was whipped into a frenzy. Yang Kaw was forced to retreat while all the five-coloured light blades collapsed at the same time.
Tan Jun Hao narrowed his eyes and could not help praising, “Little Friend Yang is truly amazing. This Old Master has underestimated you.”
He thought that the Five Elements Grand Sealing Array would be enough to subdue a trivial First-Order Emperor Realm Master, but he did not expect that Yang Kai could compete on par with this Spirit Array. Tan Jun Hao could not help feeling a slight fear in his heart. How could a mere First-Order Emperor possess such power?
If he was allowed to reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm, who could be his opponent other than the Great Emperors?
“If you understand how great this Young Master is, let her go now, otherwise, I’ll remove your skull and use it as a toilet bowl later!” Yang Kai yelled with his teeth gritted, forcing his rampaging blood to calm down.
Tan Jun Hao shook his head lightly.
Seeing that he was protected by his Honoured Master, Wu Ming was not frightened anymore and he taunted coldly, “Little bastard, aren’t you very strong? Show me your strength once more!”
While speaking, he grabbed Chi Yue’s long locks and tugged backwards. Chi Yue let out a cry as her body was lifted slightly and her chest was pushed out.
Wu Ming grinned, his fingers gleaming as he circulated his Emperor Qi. Then, he slowly pointed his fingers at Chi Yue’s chest and stared at Yang Kai, “This is your mother-in-law, right? Let’s enjoy the scenery of your mother-in-law’s body together, shall we?”
When the words fell, he flicked his fingers downwards.
With a tearing sound, an opening on Chi Yue’s dress was slashed, revealing more than three fingers wide of snow-white skin, which was now flushed in faint crimson from anger and shame.
Yang Kai was Shan Qing Luo’s man, while she was Shan Qing Luo’s adoptive mother. Now, her bare skin was not just exposed to Wu Ming, but also to Yang Kai. Despite Chi Yue being a member of the Monster Race, she still could not stand being humiliated like this in front of her son-in-law.
Yang Kai silently narrowed his eyes.
Wu Ming started to look at Chi Yue’s body unscrupulously, but even though the clothes were torn, he still could not see the important part that remained covered.
He extended his hand excitedly, as if he wanted to strip the clothes and enjoy the most exquisite parts of her body.
“Enough!” Yang Kai shouted.
Wu Ming ignored him.
Yang Kai retorted, “If you dare to touch her again, both of you will never get anything you want today.”
Tan Jun Hao, who had been watching coldly, frowned and raised his hand.
Wu Ming immediately stopped his action with a disappointed face.
Chi Yue could not help letting out a sigh of relief. If Wu Ming really stripped off her clothes, she would be too embarrassed to face Yang Kai and Shan Qing Luo in the future. Although she was still in an awkward situation now, only some of her skin was shown at the moment, which was not too big a deal for a member of the Monster Race.
“Does Little Friend Yang understand this Old Master’s sincerity now?” Tan Jun Hao remained calm and composed while he turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai sneered, “It’s an eye-opener that an honourable Star Soul Palace Elder would handle things in such a disgraceful manner.”
Tan Jun Hao remarked, “Little friend doesn’t have to be sarcastic. A man of great ambition does not bother about trifles. You should understand this.”
“I only see two shameless dogs bullying a helpless woman. It’s laughable you still dare call yourselves men!”
Tan Jun Hao chuckled, “It’s fine. As long as you hand over the Dragon Island Token to this Old Master, everything can be discussed.”
While speaking, he stretched out his hand to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai clenched his teeth and snorted, pouring his Emperor Qi into the Dragon Island Token and tossing it to Tan Jun Hao.
At this point, he had no choice. If he did not compromise now, he was afraid that Chi Yue would be stripped naked in front of him. If that happened, how would he explain himself to Shan Qing Luo when he saw her again in the future?
He did not care much about a trivial Dragon Island Token anyway. If Hua Qing Si had not reminded him earlier, he would have totally forgotten about this thing. The reason why he refused to return it was because he wanted to save Chi Yue first.
The Dragon Island Token turned into a stream of light, wrapped with a potent piercing power, but Tan Jun Hao caught it easily with a flick of his wrist, rubbing it carefully as he nodded, “Yes, this is the token.”
Yang Kai continued, “I have returned the Dragon Island Token as you asked, are you going to release her now?”
Tan Jun Hao beamed, “There’s no hurry.”
Yang Kai immediately rebuked as he snorted, “Old dog, you’re going back on your word.”
Wu Ming laughed, “Honoured Master never said that he would release her after you returned the Dragon Island Token. Honoured Master only said that if you returned the token, everything could be discussed. We haven’t even started our discussion yet, so how could this be considered Honoured Master going back on his word?”
Seeing Yang Kai being forced to submit, Wu Ming was gleeful, as if he had taken his revenge.
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s face turned dreadfully ugly. His emotions were unstable as he slapped his own thigh with regret, feeling as if he had been scammed.
“Hahahahaha!” Wu Ming finally could not help laughing out loud.
“Old dog, what else do you want? I have already returned the Dragon Island Token to you. Don’t force this Young Master anymore, otherwise I will fight with you until either the fish dies or the net gets torn,” Yang Kai gritted his teeth.
Tan Jun Hao replied, “This Old Master wants to ask a little friend for something, but don’t worry, if little friend can fulfil this Old Master’s wish, I will give her back to you immediately.”
“Out with it then,” Yang Kai spat.
Tan Jun Hao smiled lightly and started moving his lips to send a Divine Sense Message, “A bead. A small bead that is said to contain a sealed world!”
Sure enough, Sister Hua had exposed the existence of the Sealed World Bead, but from how Tan Jun Hao was acting, it seemed as if he did not want Wu Ming to know.
The Sealed World Bead was an extremely precious artifact, not to mention that a supreme treasure like the Immortal Tree was inside it. Even though they were Master and Disciple, it made sense that Tan Jun Hao did not intend to let Wu Ming know about the Immortal Tree, lest he covet it.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying!” Yang Kai kept a serious face.
Tan Jun Hao continued to transmit his voice, “My unfilial disciple reported all your secrets to this Old Master, little friend doesn’t need to hide it anymore. This Old Master has meticulously planned everything for this day. The Dragon Island Token is not my main aim; what this Old Master truly wants is that bead. This Old Master will be grateful as long as you can meet his request. If little friend has any needs in the future, this Old Master will definitely try to help you. After all, this Old Master is an Elder of Star Soul Palace, and there is nothing in the Southern Territory that this Old Master cannot settle.”
Yang Kai shook his head like a rattle, “I don’t have such a thing.”
Tan Jun Hao’s face darkened, “Since little friend refuses this Old Master’s kind gesture, then you will have to suffer the consequences.”
He had been polite since the beginning, but after Yang Kai repeatedly refused to hand over the Sealed World Bead, Tan Jun Hao showed signs of anger, which showed how attractive the Sealed World Bead was to him.
Wu Ming became suspicious when he saw Tan Jun Hao and Yang Kai constantly transmitting their voices to each other, wondering what his Honoured Master was unwilling to let him know about, feeling somewhat aggrieved.
Despite that, he dared not to show anything on his face. He could only bury his feelings in his heart while secretly plotting to find a chance to inquire about it after they were done dealing with Yang Kai.
Yang Kai replied helplessly, “I don’t have the thing that you ask from me, so how can I give it to you?”
Tan Jun Hao snorted coldly, then signaled Wu Ming with his eyes, and retorted, “Little Friend Yang is refusing this Old Master’s request. You can do whatever you want with this devilish woman.”
Wu Ming’s eyes lit up and thanked joyously, “Many thanks, Honoured Master!”
While speaking, he attempted to grab Chi Yue’s chest.
“Wait, wait!” Yang Kai hurriedly shouted.
Tan Jun Hao raised his hand and shook Wu Ming’s hand away, causing the latter to look annoyed but he still dared not resist.
“Little friend, have you reconsidered?” Tan Jun Hao looked at Yang Kai with scorching eyes.
Yang Kai scratched his cheek, and coughed slightly, “I seem to remember that there is such a thing.”
Tan Jun Hao’s eyes brightened and he continued eagerly, “Since you remember now, hand it over to this Old Master.” If he could get the Sealed World Bead and the Immortal Tree inside it, the Dragon Island Token wouldn’t even matter to him anymore.
It was rumoured that after refining the Immortal Tree, one could achieve an immortal and indestructible body, so doing so would surely allow him to break through to the Great Emperor Realm.
Yang Kai snorted, “But this Young Master doesn’t trust your credibility.”
Tan Jun Hao immediately replied, “You may rest assured that this Old Master will let you take back this devilish woman as long as you give me that thing.”
“Really?” Yang Kai questioned with a frown.
Tan Jun Hao raised his hand, “If there is any violation, may this Old Master be struck by lightning and split into two halves.”
Yang Kai curled his lip, “If oaths were useful, why would we even bother cultivating? But… since you are an Elder of Star Soul Palace, this Young Master will trust you once more!”
Tan Jun Hao twinkled, “Little Friend Yang is a straightforward person, this Old Master will not disappoint you.”
Yang Kai sighed and flipped his hand over, summoning a longan-sized bead into his palm. This bead looked ordinary at first glance, but a faint wave of Space Principles fluctuated from it.
Tan Jun Hao widened his eyes and ogled the Sealed World Bead, examining it carefully with his Divine Sense.
With his cultivation and insight, he naturally noticed the specialty of the bead at a glance, and immediately understood that it must be the so-called Sealed World Bead. By itself, it was just a special storage artifact, but what was more important were the things inside.
Not just anyone could refine this special storage artifact, but Tan Jun Hao believed that it should be no problem for him to do so and withdraw the Immortal Tree with his strength.
Wu Ming was watching too and frowned, having no idea why such a bead was worth his Honoured Master’s attention, even more so than the Dragon Island Token.
He vaguely felt that the true aim of his Honoured Master this time was not the Dragon Island Token, but this small bead.
“This Young Master obtained this many years ago. It was a gift from a friend. Now, this Young Master is handing it over to Elder Tan, hoping that Elder Tan can take good care of it.” Yang Kai seemed to have accepted his fate and looked at the Sealed World Bead on his hand longingly, reluctant to let it go. Even the way he addressed Tan Jun Hao changed.
Tan Jun Hao replied, “Don’t worry, this Old Master will conceal this treasure cautiously. From now on, little friend will be this Old Master’s friend.”
Yang Kai clenched his fist and pressed on, “Before this, I have one more request.”
Tan Jun Hao frowned, “What is it?”
Yang Kai revealed, “I want Hua Qing Si to be freed from her discipleship under Elder Tan.”
Wu Ming snorted, “In your dreams. That bitch did so many things that disrespected our Honoured Master. It’s already signalledmercy that we didn’t kill her on the spot, yet now you want to ask for her freedom?”
Yang Kai stared at him coldly, “Can you make the decision for Elder Tan?”
Wu Ming’s face immediately changed and he cupped his fists towards Tan Jun Hao, “Honoured Master, this Disciple did not have such intentions.”
Tan Jun Hao waved his hand, “This Old Master understands.”
In fact, Yan Jun Hao actually felt somewhat relieved. He was more worried that Yang Kai wouldn’t continue trying to bargain, as that would truly be suspicious. After having a brief communication with Yang Kai, Tan Jun Hao could see that Yang Kai was a person who valued relationships greatly. If this wasn’t the case, he would not have been able to force Yang Kai to surrender without a fight by just holding Chi Yue as a hostage, even getting him to obediently hand over the Dragon Island Token and Sealed World Bead.
This request seemed to be reasonable to Tan Jun Hao. According to Yang Kai’s behaviour and attitude, it made sense for him to put forward such a request.
After some brief thought, he nodded in agreement, “This Old Master approves your request. From now on, Hua Qing Si is no longer this Old Master’s Disciple and has nothing to do with this Old Master.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s useless to tell me this. Elder Tan, please tell Hua Qing Si directly. Since this Spirit Array is controlled by you, you should be able to contact her, right?”
Tan Jun Hao frowned and looked slightly impatient, “Little Friend Yang, please forgive this Old Master for not being able to accept this request.”
“Why?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
Tan Jun Hao explained, “Right now, room one is isolated from this Old Master’s Spirit Array and no longer under this Old Master’s control. This Old Master’s voice cannot be transmitted there.”
He could have done it earlier before Gong Tai interfered in the array and isolated room one from his control.
The capabilities of a Spirit Array Grandmaster were no joke.
“Is that true?” Yang Kai was astonished.
He was secretly delighted. This way, he did not have to worry about the safety of Hua Qing Si and his other friends. Initially, he thought that the lives of Hua Qing Si and the rest were controlled by Tan Jun Hao after he implanted Heart-Strangling Insects into them. Therefore, he was glad to hear Tan Jun Hao’s explanation.
Since room one was not under his control and he could not send any Divine Sense Messages, it should also be impossible for him to hurt them with the Heart-Strangling Insects.
It seemed that saving Patriarch Gong turned out to be a blessing to them.
“Good, this Old Master has satisfied all of little friend’s requests. Now, it’s little friend’s turn to grant this Old Master’s wish.” Tan Jun Hao stared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai sighed deeply and remarked helplessly, “I hope that it won’t be a mistake to trust Elder Tan.”
He seemed to have accepted his fate, and having said so, he tossed the Sealed World Bead towards Tan Jun Hao lightly.
Tan Jun Hao’s eyes lit up as he quickly reached out to catch the Sealed World Bead. He did not see Yang Kai tamper with the Sealed World Bead in any way; in other words, he seemed truly willing to give up his Sealed World Bead in return for his mother-in-law.
However, for some reason, a sense of crisis struck Tan Jun Hao just as he was about to catch the Sealed World Bead.
At Tan Jun Hao’s level of strength, his intuition was extremely sharp, so as soon as he realized something was wrong, he hurriedly pushed his Emperor Qi to protect himself while staring intently at the Sealed World Bead in case of accidents.
At this moment, a black vortex suddenly emerged in front of the Sealed World Bead, like a Void Corridor connecting two worlds.
Then, a gigantic fist stretched out from the black vortex. There were ferocious and terrifying bone spur-like existences on this fist, striking towards Tan Jun Hao together with the fist.
Tan Jun Hao’s face changed drastically in an instant, his eyes bulging as his grasping hand froze mid-air.
“Hahahaha!” A wild laugh resounded as Yang Kai, who followed closely behind the Sealed World Bead, charged forward, “Even if you are cunning like a ghost, you still have to drink the water this Young Master used to wash his feet! Now die, Old Dog Tan!”
At the critical moment of life and death, a realization dawned on Tan Jun Hao and he immediately identified the gigantic fist, calling out in alarm, “Stone Puppet!”
Tan Jun Hao learnt from Hua Qing Si that there was a huge Stone Puppet as tall as a mountain hiding in Yang Kai’s Sealed World Bead.
But Hua Qing Si also mentioned that even though the Stone Puppet had incredible physical strength, its true power was only comparable to that of a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, and as long as he made flexible use of his speed, it would not be hard to deal with the Stone Puppet.
Therefore, Tan Jun Hao did not really put the Stone Puppet in his eyes; after all, he was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. Even if the Stone Puppet was powerful, it would still be useless if it could not hit him.
However, Tan Jun Hao did not even recall the existence of the Stone Puppet until the gigantic fist, full of spikes, appeared.
And it was too late when he finally remembered.
What flabbergasted him more was that the power of this fist was far greater than the full-powered blow of a First-Order Emperor Realm Master. Even a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master like him dared not to take this violent punch. Furthermore, it seemed that the fist of the Stone Puppet was layered with another kind of power, a power that gave off a terrifying sensation.
Tan Jun Hao had no idea that the Stone Puppet had been refining Shi Huo’s Source. Once the refining was complete, it could become the next Shi Huo Divine Spirit.
Now, even though the refining was not yet complete, there was already a trace of Divine Spirit power in this punch, which was enough to crush ordinary Emperor Qi.
The Stone Puppet itself was refining Shi Huo’s Source in a deep slumber, which should have been impossible to awake from in just a year or two. Nevertheless, since it was ultimately Yang Kai’s Embodiment, Yang Kai’s mind was connected to it. As such, Yang Kai had no problem controlling it to ambush Tan Jun Hao by connecting his consciousness to the Sealed World Bead.
The fist coming out of the Sealed World Bead was exactly the result of Yang Kai’s remote control.
The price paid to execute this move was not small. Spiritual Energy flooded outward from Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, giving him a splitting headache.
The power of the fist was terrifying though, and with the addition of Yang Kai’s shout, Tan Jun Hao was thrown into a panic. With a wave of his hand, countless five-coloured light blades converged in front of him and shot towards the Embodiment’s fist. At the same time, he quickly retreated.
*Hong… *
All the five-coloured light blades shattered simultaneously, while the gigantic fist continued to blast forward unhindered. The sharp spikes broke through Tan Jun Hao Emperor Qi protection in an instant and stabbed a third of the way into his body, releasing a violent power that blasted him away while spurting large amounts of blood from his mouth. It was unknown if he was dead or alive.
On the other side, Yang Kai flew straight towards Wu Ming.
Although he shouted ‘die, old dog’, Yang Kai had no intentions to confront Tan Jun Hao at this moment as his priority was to rescue Chi Yue. Everything else could be considered later.
Therefore, Wu Ming could not react when Yang Kai advanced on him.
As their eyes met, Wu Ming was frightened pale and shouted, “Don’t come near, or I’ll kill her!”
While issuing his threat, a sword appeared in Wu Ming’s hand and immediately slashed towards Chi Yue fiercely.
“Solidify!” Yang Kai roared, causing the local Space Principles to condense and solidify the space where Wu Ming and Chi Yue were located.
The sword that was supposed to pierce Chi Yue was jolted slightly, and in that moment of delay, Yang Kai swooped in and snatched Chi Yue away from Wu Ming successfully while simultaneously landing a flying kick on Wu Ming’s head.
Followed by a painful howl, Wu Ming was sent tumbling through the air, crashing heavily to the ground some distance away as numerous teeth were knocked from his mouth.
As a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, even if Wu Ming was no match for Yang Kai, it should have been impossible for him to be sent flying so miserably even taking a direct hit like this. However, fear had crept into his heart ever since he was beaten up severely by Yang Kai. In addition to seeing his Honoured Master suffering a massive loss, how could Wu Ming still have the presence of mind to fight back against Yang Kai? One would not be able to exert even half their strength if they were in a state of panic.
“Senior, are you alright?” Yang Kai scanned Chi Yue with his Divine Sense to check her condition.
Chi Yue’s face slightly flushed as she gripped her torn clothes to cover herself and shook her head, “I’m fine, but my cultivation is sealed.”
Just as Yang Kai was about to respond, his face suddenly turned solemn and he looked up in a certain direction with his teeth gritted, “It seems your status as a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master is not undeserved!”
Over there, an extremely strong aura blasted into the air as Tan Jun Hao walked out of the darkness step by step. He had long lost his sage-like appearance and now wore a ferocious expression on his face, as if he wanted to drink blood and eat raw flesh. His eyes were full of hatred and rage.
There were several big holes on his body, and his chest looked slightly sunken, obviously the result of the punch he took from the Embodiment.
No ordinary person could survive the Embodiment’s punch.
It was unknown how he stopped his bleeding, but his robe was full of blood.
“How dare a mere Junior deceive me! For this, you must die!” Tan Jun Hao clenched his teeth, his voice sounding like the ominous winds of hell, sending chills down the spines of all who heard it.
While speaking, he slightly moved his hands to perform a seal.
Chi Yue who was standing next to Yang Kai suddenly grunted before quickly releasing miserable screams.
Yang Kai was taken aback and swept his eyes over her, swiftly focusing on the skin of Chi Yue’s neck, where it looked as if something was squirming around.
“Heart-Strangling Insect!” Yang Kai bellowed. Chi Yue’s condition was similar to that of Hua Qing Si before, and it was obvious that she was implanted with a Heart-Strangling Insect too.
Tan Jun Hao was furious now, and he obviously wanted to take revenge by killing Chi Yue first.
“Despicable!” Yang Kai reprimanded as he stretched out his hand and summoned the Sealed World Bead back to him. He quickly wrapped his Divine Sense around Chi Yue who was beside him and sent her into the Sealed World Bead.
Tan Jun Hao, who was stimulating the Heart-Strangling Insect, frowned as he realized his connection with it had suddenly been cut off. He scolded with his teeth gritted, “Damn!”
The Sealed Word Bead was an independent world, and Yang Kai had continually collected Source Strength to improve the World Principles of the Sealed World Bead. Even if the Heart-Strangling Insect was powerful, it could not be triggered by Tan Jun Hao given that they were in two separate worlds now. Unless Tan Jun Hao could break the barriers of the World Principles of the Sealed World Bead, he would not be able to send his Divine Sense into the Small Sealed World.
Even a Great Emperor may not be able to do this, let alone a mere Tan Jun Hao.
“Hahaha!” Yang Kai laughed wildly as his Divine Sense connected to the Small Sealed World and found Chi Yue was indeed relieved from the torture. The Heart-Strangling Insect in her neck calmed down too. After knowing that he made the right decision, he had no worries anymore.
On the other hand, Tan Jun Hao’s face was extremely ugly, as if his parents had just been killed before his eyes.
He had planned everything out, and everything was in his grasp, but he was continuously frustrated when he ultimately confronted Yang Kai.
“Damn Gong Tai!” He cursed again. If he knew that Gong Tai had such capability, he would have captured him earlier. With Gong Tai securing room one with his own Spirit Array, Tan Jun Hao could not do anything to the people in there.
Room one was like the Small Sealed World now, an independent space that was beyond his control.
If this wasn’t the case, Tan Jun Hao would still have several hostages over there to coerce Yang Kai with.
This was also the reason why he did not interfere with Hua Qing Si sending the hostages back earlier in the auction, for he thought that it would not harm him as he could still control their lives remotely.
One wrong move and his whole plan had failed. Life was but a chess game in this regard!
“Old Dog Tan, what else do you have up your sleeves? Show me everything you have so you can die convinced!” Yang Kai was gleeful and started to mock Tan Jun Hao again.
This mocking, however, was mainly to buy Yang Kai some time. He had consumed too much of his Spiritual Energy controlling the Embodiment to release a punch from the Sealed World Bead, which was still causing him a sharp headache. Fortunately, the Soul Warming Lotus was displaying its effect, sending a cool sensation through his Knowledge Sea, rapidly restoring his exhausted Soul.
Tan Jun Hao had been badly injured, as it was not easy to take a punch from the Embodiment. Yang Kai had the confidence to fight with him even when he was in his best condition, not to mention now he was in a terrible condition.
This old man had plotted to harm him before they met, and Yang Kai swore that would kill him no matter what.
“Junior, you court death!” Tan Jun Hao growled as he raised his hands in a posture of grasping the whole world and gritted his teeth, “Since you dared to disobey this Old Master, this Old Master will grant your death wish!”
When the words fell, many figures emerged and gathered around him.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow and quickly examined those figures. Soon, to his surprise, he found that these people were all the Emperor Realm Masters from the auction house.
Although most of them were First-Order Emperors, there were also several Second-Order Emperor Realm Masters among them. Many of them looked familiar and seemed to be Sect Masters and Elders from various big Sects in the Southern Territory who came to participate in the auction.
Their number was also quite large, about thirty in total.
These Emperor Realm Masters strangely appeared, and all of them looked quite puzzled. They were all separated in boundless darkness after Tan Jun Hao activated the Spirit Array and had been searching for an exit up till now but to no avail.
Then, inexplicably, a sudden force emerged and dragged them all here. The next thing they knew, they found themselves in the presence of Yang Kai and Tan Jun Hao.
Noticing Tan Jun Hao’s injury, these Emperor Realm Masters were immediately struck by shock and secretly felt terrified.
They saw that Tan Jun Hao was exuding his powerful Third-Order Emperor Realm aura, but he was actually wounded, and his wounds seemed to be quite serious. Other than him, Yang Kai was the only person standing here.
Could these injuries have been caused by the young man named Yang Kai? He was just a First-Order Emperor though, so how could he have the ability to hurt a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master?
“Ah? Elder Tan!” After looking at Tan Jun Hao carefully, a middle-aged man suddenly exclaimed and went forward with his fists cupped, “Greetings Elder Tan. Why are you here?”
Tan Jun Hao glanced at him and nodded, “You recognize this Old Master?”
The middle-aged man smiled, “More than ten years ago, this one was lucky enough to obtain a pass from Star Soul Palace to cultivate in a Heaven Grade Cultivation Room for a time. It was then that I saw Elder Tan from afar, so it is natural that Elder Tan doesn’t remember this humble one.”
The middle-aged man was a Sect Master himself, but he was just a First-Order Emperor and his Sect was only second-class in the Southern Territory. Therefore, he had to behave humbly in front of a Star Soul Palace Elder. Furthermore, he could only break through to the Emperor Realm Master thanks to the opportunity to cultivate in the Heaven Grade Cultivation Room of Star Soul Palace.
He was truly grateful to Star Soul Palace, so it was natural for him to show his respect to a Star Soul Palace Elder here.
Tan Jun Hao nodded lightly, saying nothing more to him.
Nevertheless, the middle-aged man’s words shocked everyone else.
“Elder Tan, Star Soul Palace… Don’t tell me…”
Although most of the Emperor Realm Masters here did not recognize Tan Jun Hao and had never even seen him before, they had made some vague guesses about this situation.
Star Soul Palace was a Great Emperor Sect, so in order to be an Elder, one must reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm. There were only a few Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters in Star Soul Palace.
Even if they had not met Tan Jun Hao before, everyone had heard his name.
All of them were awestruck in their hearts and went forward and greeted with their fists cupped, “Greetings, Elder Tan!”
“Drop the formalities!” Tan Jun Hao waved his hand gently with the demeanour of a senior expert.
The middle-aged man who spoke earlier asked in a solemn face, “Elder Tan, who was bold enough to oppose you? Moreover, you were even wounded.”
Tan Jun Hao looked at Yang Kai coldly, and answered, “It’s this little friend. He ambushed this Old Master!”
Yang Kai curled his lip hearing what Tan Jun Hao said. It was true that he ambushed him, but if Tan Jun Hao did not threaten him first, why would he ambush a Third-Order Emperor Realm for no reason?
The middle-aged man was infuriated and immediately pointed at Yang Kai, “It’s you again, little bastard. Elder Tan is an Elder of Star Soul Palace, who has a respected and noble status! Star Soul Palace is the ruler of our Southern Territory, sheltering billions of cultivators under its wings. Little bastard, it is your honour to be in Elder Tan’s presence, yet instead of showing gratitude, you actually ambushed Elder Tan? Kneel down and apologize now! Elder Tan is kind-hearted, and perhaps he might spare your life, but if you continue to be stubborn, we will kill you!”
His words were sonorous and reverberating, causing Tan Jun Hao to smile gleefully while listening to them.
But all the other Emperor Realm Masters showed different expressions. Unlike the middle-aged man, they had not gained anything significant from Star Soul Palace, so although they respected Star Soul Palace, they did not need to go as far as to bootlick Tan Jun Hao.
However, it was not good for them to refute this either, so they just stood quietly and looked at Yang Kai sympathetically.
Now, they recalled that Yang Kai did mention something about a Star Soul Palace Elder in the auction earlier. Now, it seemed that the Star Soul Palace Elder he mentioned was Tan Jun Hao.
No one knew how a feud between him and Tan Jun Hao started, or how he could still have a way to live in the Southern Territory after offending Tan Jun Hao? Sure enough, youngsters were always impulsive and did not know how to restrain themselves.
“Ah… I was wondering who it was! It’s actually my friend from room thirteen who ate three kilograms of shit! No wonder your mouth is so smelly,” Yang Kai looked sideways at the middle-aged man and fanned the air in front of his nose with his hand.
“Ah…”
“It’s actually him!”
“Did he really eat it?”
“This, this, this…”
After hearing Yang Kai’s words, all the Emperor Realm Masters stared at the middle-aged man simultaneously, their eyes widened. Furthermore, some of them immediately jumped back to widen their distance from the middle-aged man with a disgusted look, as if they really smelled shit from his mouth.
All of a sudden, the middle-aged man’s surroundings were cleared, like a giant pair of invisible hands and split him apart from everyone else. Even Tan Jun Hao frowned as he looked at the middle-aged man with a strange look on his face.
“You…” The middle-aged man pointed at Yang Kai angrily, his face turning red from shame and rage.
What happened in room thirteen before was the biggest insult of his life. At that time, he really felt that it would have been better to be killed by Yang Kai than to be humiliated like that, but the hatred in his heart pushed him to live on as he secretly plotted his revenge.
When he saw Yang Kai after being summoned here by Tan Jun Hao through the Spirit Array, he had guessed that Tan Jun Hao’s injury was somehow related to this little bastard and could not wait to step out and put pressure on Yang Kai using Tan Jun Hao’s name.
But he did not expect that he would be humiliated by Yang Kai again.
Pairs of disdainful and disgusted eyes were piercing him like countless thorns. He could not wait to find a hole to hide as he shouted, “Don’t listen to this little brat’s nonsense, it wasn’t me!” The middle-aged man hurriedly denied.
No one believed him though as everyone had clearly heard him speaking in the auction venue before and could now recognize that it was indeed the same voice.
“Little bastard, you and I will be sworn enemies forever!” The middle-aged man knew that his reputation had been completely ruined when there was no response from the crowd. When someone mentioned him again in the future, perhaps the first thing they thought of would be him eating three kilograms of shit…
Yang Kai lifted his head with his lip curled, “Sorry, this Young Master doesn’t talk to people who eat shit. Please keep your mouth shut, Your Excellency!”
*Pu…*
The middle-aged man’s vitality roiled from uncontrollable anger, but he had no way to vent it, so he ended up spurting a mouthful of blood.
Seemingly losing his mind, the only thought left in his head was to kill Yang Kai to avenge himself. Through gritted teeth, he shouted in a rage, “I’ll kill you!”
With a flash of brilliance, a sharp sword appeared in his hand, and with a surge of Emperor Qi, he wrapped himself in a sword light and charged towards Yang Kai.
Such a ferocious blow could almost be said to be the full strength of the middle-aged man as a First-Order Emperor Realm Master. Even the other Emperors present could not help looking slightly shocked and dared not to underestimate this move.
On the contrary, Yang Kai showed a scornful look and sneered arrogantly. A large broadsword abruptly appeared in his hand and with a flourish, he retaliated coldly, “Since you want to die so much, this Young Master will grant your wish!”
“You’re the one who will die!” The middle-aged man yelled, seemingly unleashing all his strength in this one strike as he rushed up to Yang Kai’s face.
Yang Kai simply stepped forward and with a swing of his arm, lifted the Myriads Sword up, releasing a shining blade of sword light, one that seemed capable of rending the sky asunder, terrifying all who saw it.
*Ci la… *
Like a piece of silk had been torn apart, the shining sword light that was charging towards Yang Kai’s face was suddenly split into two and passed by either side of his body. The dazzling light dispersed in an instant, falling heavily to the ground and rolling a long way before it gradually stopped.
“Ssii…”
Everyone gasped as they stared at this scene in disbelief and astonishment.
Long bloodstains were drawn on either side behind Yang Kai, while crushed internal organs were scattered all over the ground along with two halves of a fresh corpse.
The power of that one sword slash actually managed to split a First-Order Emperor in two.
And it seemed that Yang Kai just swung his sword casually, not using any of his strength at all.
Although everyone knew Yang Kai’s strength was outstanding and understood that the middle-aged man could not possibly be his match, they never expected him to be so vulnerable.
No, it was not that he was vulnerable, but rather that Yang Kai was unreasonably strong!
Everyone had learnt of his terrifying combat ability when he killed the old man in room seven with a single stomp of his foot and a slash of his sword, but at this moment, they realized that they had still underestimated him.
Yang Kai flicked away the blood on the Myriads Swords and grinned, “This is a place of discord. Just leave if you can, why stay and watch?”
Tan Jun Hao definitely did not summon so many Emperor Realm Masters just for them to watch. He was probably plotting something, and perhaps planned to use these people against him.
Yang Kai did not want to make enemies with so many people, for Tan Jun Hao was his only target now.
Sensing the malevolence from Yang Kai’s words and considering the lessons from the recent past, the Emperor Realm Masters could not help shivering. Although they thought that this young man was too domineering, arrogant, and did not put anyone in the auction in his eyes, he truly had the capital to act so, and it would not be wise for them to turn against him.
Furthermore, they had no grievances with him, so why would they try to provoke him?
No one who could reach the Emperor Realm was a fool. They were smart enough to judge that it was beyond their means to intervene in the grievances between Yang Kai and Tan Jun Hao.
At that moment, someone cupped his fists, “Elder Tan, this one still has important things to do and will take his leave first.”
He then turned around to leave after speaking.
The others glanced at each other and quickly followed in this man’s footsteps, bidding their farewells before trying to escape. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the crowd dispersed, leaving the other half frowning slightly, hesitating.
They seemed to have sensed that whatever the outcome, it was out of their control. With Tan Jun Hao having summoned them here, already having set up a Spirit Array in advance, it was obvious he wasn’t just going to let them leave. To insist on leaving at this time would probably just offend Tan Jun Hao.
For a while, they felt extremely annoyed at this situation. They already felt that they should not have come to Flowing Shadow City to participate in this bogus auction, and now they were inexplicably involved in someone else’s messy dispute, unable to leave even though they wanted to.
Sure enough, Tan Jun Hao snorted and bellowed loudly at the sight of the dispersed Emperor Realm Masters, “Do you really think you can leave?”
Those Emperor Realm Masters stopped one after another, turning their heads to look at Tan Jun Hao. The person who left first spoke with a frown, “Elder Tan, what is the meaning of this?”
There was a faint demanding tone in his voice. Even if Tan Jun Hao was a Star Soul Palace Elder with a noble status and superior strength, there was no reason for him to restrict the freedom of this many Emperor Realm Masters. Yang Kai was his enemy, not these people. But… Something felt wrong with what Tan Jun Hao had said.
Tan Jun Hao remained indifferent, “It’s nothing much, it’s just that this Old Master has already set up a Grand Spirit Array here, and no one can leave without this Old Master’s permission.”
Their faces changed abruptly at his words.
The person who had spoken before frowned, “Elder Tan, we respect you as a Star Soul Palace Elder, and Star Soul Palace is the hegemon of our Southern Territory, protecting billions of cultivators in our Southern Territory. So please enlighten us, what can we do in order to leave here?”
If it was another Emperor Realm Master who did this, he would right now be receiving a harsh beating. Who would tolerate having their freedom restricted for no reason? But Tan Jun Hao was different. He was not just a powerful Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, but also held the title of Star Soul Palace Elder. No one dared to be presumptuous in front of him, so even if this man was infuriated, he forcefully suppressed his anger and asked carefully.
“Yes, Elder Tan, please enlighten us,” someone else immediately echoed.
Tan Jun Hao smiled slightly, “You just need to do a simple thing if you want to leave this place,” He pointed his finger at Yang Kai and said, “Help this Old Master to kill him, and this Old Master will set you free.”
Everyone’s eyes widened instantly, and bitterness as if they ate a hundred kilograms of bitter melon spread in their mouths…
Everyone saw Yang Kai’s previous murders and knew that this young man’s strength was beyond their ability to handle, not someone they could provoke. None of the Emperor Realm Masters present were confident they could defeat Yang Kai.
Tan Jun Hao asking them to kill Yang Kai was equivalent to pushing them into the fire pit!
Was he really a Star Soul Palace Elder? Instantly, the image of Star Soul Palace, a tall and majestic symbol in their hearts, collapsed, not to mention the disappointment they had for Star Soul Palace.
Star Soul Palace was the overlord of the Southern Territory, but if their Elders were so unreasonable and so abusive of their power, who would respect it?
“Elder Tan… Are you making a joke? I have no grievances with this little brother…”
“Yes, Elder Tan, please don’t be hard on us and let us go.”
For a while, the crowd was stirred up, but in the face of Tan Jun Hao, everyone still suppressed their anger and did not dare to be too rude.
Tan Jun Hao was unmoved, merely shouting, “This boy was extremely disrespectful towards this Old Master. He not only insulted this Old Master but also injured this Old Master’s disciple. He even went so far as to steal this Old Master’s treasure. If you can help this Old Master subdue him, this Old Master will reward you generously.”
“Such a thing happened? Then it is really his fault.”
“Yes, Elder Tan is an Elder of Star Soul Palace after all. It’s far too much for him to insult and steal from Elder Tan.”
“Apologize. He must apologize.”
They were just a group of people blustering. It seemed like they were all on Tan Jun Hao’s side, but none of them took action as they were not fools, and it was not like they were seeking death. They would not cause trouble with Yang Kai with just a blank statement from Tan Jun Hao.
Yang Kai watched them happily and could not help shouting, “Old Dog Tan, you are a Star Soul Palace Elder, and your strength is two Minor Realms higher than this Young Master’s, yet you shamelessly ask for help to deal with this Young Master? If you have the capability, don’t involve innocent people and come fight this Young Master one on one!”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone’s impression of Yang Kai drastically improved, feeling like what he said was reasonable.
Why did they have to be involved in the grievances between these two? This Elder Tan was really unreasonable.
Tan Jun Hao’s face sank as he glared at Yang Kai bitterly before sweeping his eyes across everyone and asking, “You really don’t want to help this Old Master?”
Everyone had an embarrassed expression and avoided his eyes, but no one responded aloud.
The person who initiated the discussion spoke up again with a look of indignation, “Elder Tan, please don’t make things difficult for us. Everything should be settled with reason. It’s better for you to solve the problems you have with this little brother by yourself. With Elder Tan’s cultivation, it should be a simple matter for you to defeat him. Our help should be unnecessary.”
This man had a face full of beard and a heroic demeanor about him. He did not seem like one who used schemes and his statement had a sting because he was disapproving of Tan Jun Hao’s various deeds.
Tan Jun Hao glanced at him coldly then suddenly formed a certain hand seal.
The big bearded man screamed as if he was suffering terrible pain, his whole body trembling violently as a bump immediately appeared under the skin of his neck, squirming around rapidly.
“What happened?” Everyone was shocked and jumped away from the bearded man, for fear of getting involved.
“Brother Liu, Brother Liu!” Shouted a cultivator who was friendly with this bearded man.
However, the cultivator surnamed Liu continued to scream his head off. After a while, his face became pale and his body was soaked with sweat.
*Ci la…*
He suddenly tore the front of his clothes, and looked down at his bare chest, watching the little bump swim its way towards his heart with a pair of bloodshot eyes.
“This… what is this?”
The cultivator surnamed Liu took a deep breath with difficulty and stared at Tan Jun Hao, “You…what did you do to me!?”
“Heart-Strangling Insect!” Yang Kai’s expression changed as he growled in a low voice.
The hand seal on his hand still intact, Tan Jun Hao threatened lightly, “This is the fate of those who disobey this Old Master!” After a pause, he warned, “By the way, don’t try to circulate your Emperor Qi, otherwise you will only die faster.”
It was already too late though as the cultivator surnamed Liu had already pushed his Emperor Qi when he felt that his life was in danger. Sure enough, as Tan Jun Hao said, the more he pushed his Emperor Qi, the more fiercely the Heart-Strangling Insect moved. In the blink of an eye, the insect had gouged its way into his left chest.
A heart-piercing pain spread throughout his body!
The cultivator surnamed Liu shrieked, stabbing two fingers into his chest, causing blood to gush out. It seemed that he was trying to gouge the foreign object out of his body.
But before he could do anything, he heard a faint popping sound, and his pulse was cut off. His pupils enlarged, and his body collapsed.
“Ssii..” Everyone gasped with shock, feeling chills up their spines.
There was not a trace of movement by Tan Jun Hao at all. All he did was perform a hand seal, and the cultivator surnamed Liu had fallen to the Heart-Strangling Insect. This Heart-Strangling Insect was obviously already placed in his body long ago.
If this happened to the cultivator surnamed Liu, what about them?
The answer was quickly revealed as the hand seal in Tan Jun Hao changed again, his eyes sweeping across the audience.
The more than twenty Emperor Realm Masters present grunted in unison as a small bulge appeared under their skin and began quickly swimming toward their chests.
“Elder Tan, you…”
“When?”
The Emperor Realm Masters could not believe their eyes, they did not even know when they were implanted with the Heart-Strangling Insect. They recalled every detail after entering the auction, then someone suddenly realized, “The tea…”
Tan Jun Hao nodded lightly and confessed, “Yes, this Old Master did something to the tea.”
Yang Kai was shocked too, but at the same time felt relieved. It was good that he had been cautious and only drank some tea prepared by Ye Jing Han using her own tea leaves and tea set, otherwise, he too would have been infected with a Heart-Strangling Insect like the rest of these people, and would have no choice but to be manipulated by Tan Jun Hao.
The Heart-Strangling Insect was extremely hard to deal with as even an Emperor Realm Masters could not detect its presence until it became active. It seemed that Tan Jun Hao had cultivated these Heart-Strangling Insects for many years, otherwise they would not be so numerous and formidable.
This old dog was indeed cunning. He actually resolved to use these methods even with his Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation.
“Elder Tan, you’re crazy!” Someone looked at Tan Jun Hao furiously.
There were as many as thirty Emperor Realm Masters from all over the Southern Territory present here, so once rumours of what happened today spread, there was no doubt Tan Jun Hao would be placed at the top of the kill list of Star Soul Palace. How could Bright Moon Great Emperor tolerate such devastating damage being done to Star Soul Palace’s reputation?
But thinking about it, who would dare to spread the word about there being a Heart-Strangling Insect inside their bodies?
As of today, these people were destined to become Tan Jun Hao’s slaves, and had no choice but to obediently serve him.
Devastation flooded their hearts at this thought, together with unwillingness and fury, but they had nowhere to vent.
They did not know that Tan Jun Hao was willing to do anything in order to snatch Yang Kai’s treasures, for as long as he could get the Immortal Tree, he could completely cast off Star Soul Palace and find a place to hide and refine it. Once he gained an immortal and indestructible body, what could Bright Moon Great Emperor do to him?
When that time came, he would have nothing to fear even if his wicked deeds were exposed.
It was exactly because of this that Tan Jun Hao did not hesitate to use the Heart-Strangling Insects and even killed the bearded man directly to serve as a warning.
“Whoever helps this Old Master to kill him will be greatly rewarded!” Tan Jun Hao pointed at Yang Kai once more. He had already taken down his disguise, and there was no need for him to worry about anything anymore, so he immediately ordered the Emperor Realm Masters to take action.
Hearing this command, everyone looked at each other with deep helplessness and bitterness.
It was true that they had numbers on their side, but they were afraid that only less than half of them could survive if they really had to fight Yang Kai.
No one was willing to sacrifice their life to create an opportunity for others.
But if they disobey Tan Jun Hao’s order, they would undoubtedly end up like the cultivator surnamed Liu.
For a moment, everyone was caught in a dilemma.
Tan Jun Hao naturally understood their concerns and snorted coldly, changing his hand seal again.
The Emperor Realm Masters all groaned miserably, sweat trickling down their foreheads as the Heart-Strangling Insects under their skin hastily gouged their way towards their hearts. There were several Emperor Realm Masters who could not endure the pain and screamed shrilly.
“If the insect gets to your heart, you will die without a doubt!” Tan Jun Hao remarked lightly, “If anyone can help this Old Master to kill this boy, this Old Master will remove the Heart-Strangling Insect in him and return his freedom.”
A carrot-and-stick approach had always been the best way to manipulate people, and as an Elder of Star Soul Palace, Tan Jun Hao naturally was very familiar with it.
Their eyes lit up as soon as this remark was made. The torment of these Heart-Strangling Insects was simply unbearable, so it was worth fighting Yang Kai if they could get rid of it. The most important thing was that they would die if they refused Tan Jun Hao, but they would still have hope to live if they stood against Yang Kai.
It was a simple choice, yet a choice that left them no choice.
At this moment, someone gave in to the pain and temptation of Tan Jun Hao’s promise and shouted, “Elder Tan must keep his word!”
Tan Jun Hao smiled faintly, “Of course, you have this Old Master’s word”
“Good! Then this Xia will lend Elder Tan a helping hand today. Who else is willing to join with this Xia?”
He turned around to look while speaking, and all the Emperor Realm Masters nodded one after another. In a situation where an arm was no match for the thigh, what else could they do other than submit?
The confidence of the cultivator surnamed Xia was boosted when he won the support of the crowd. With his morale greatly heightened, his Emperor Qi began to circulate. Surprisingly, he was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master.
He roared as if to embolden himself then pounced at Yang Kai.
The rest of them followed closely after him.
In an instant, roughly thirty figures turned into streams of light and shot towards Yang Kai together. A series of Secret Techniques were unleashed as various Emperor Artifacts were summoned and used to attack, sending a series of colourful rays of light out.
Before they attacked, some of them even mumbled to themselves, “Little Brother, don’t blame us, we are being forced.”
The pressure on Yang Kai increased sharply, facing so many Emperor Realm Masters at once, as if several mountains were pressing down on his chest, making it hard for him to even catch his breath. However, he steeled himself and roared to the sky, “How can one be an Emperor Realm Master with so little courage? If one doesn’t have the will to fight for their own life, they should never bother fighting at all!”
“Little brat, you’re too full of yourself, now die!”
Not everyone felt sorry for Yang Kai as his previous actions in the auction had aroused public anger. At this moment, it was also because of him that they had been controlled by Tan Jun Hao. Unable to express their resentment towards Tan Jun Hao, these people who were implanted with Heart-Strangling Insects could only vent all of their grievances on Yang Kai, thinking that everything could end as long as he was killed.
Mercilessly, they launched their attacks.
*Hong hong hong… *
Thirty furious attacks bombarded Yang Kai at once, all of them from Emperor Realm Masters. The scene instantly turned into a chaotic explosion.
Tan Jun Hao narrowed his eyes as he believed that even he would end up with serious injuries if not death after encountering such attacks with his cultivation, but this little brat surnamed Yang was proficient in the Dao of Space, so this might not be sufficient to take him down despite the ferocity of the attacks.
Although he had sealed this space with the Five Elements Grand Sealing Array, he only made Yang Kai unable to teleport out of the Spirit Array’s bounds, but Yang Kai could still come and go freely within the Spirit Array.
This was why he did not hesitate to borrow the power of these Emperor Realm Masters. It was not that he was not confident he could beat Yang Kai alone, but that doing so would take a significant amount of time and effort.
When the dust settled after a short while, everyone found the place where all the attacks landed empty.
“Is he dead?” Someone asked.
“It’s unlikely for that brat to have survived so many attacks from us at the same time, even if his strength is far beyond normal. What a waste of a Heaven-defying genius.”
“Hahaha, he was truly overconfident for daring to make an enemy of Elder Tan. He deserved to die!” A man burst into laughter.
Now that Yang Kai was dead, it was time for him to bootlick Tan Jun Hao. Perhaps if Tan Jun Hao was in a good mood, he would remove the Heart-Strangling Insect out of his body and set him free.
Many of them secretly felt regret. If they had known that Yang Kai was so easy to deal with, they would have given their best just now in hopes of winning some small favour from Tan Jun Hao.
*Pu… *
A strange noise suddenly sounded. Although this noise was soft, it was not missed by the Emperor Realm Masters’ sharp senses. Everyone turned to the source of noise simultaneously, and the scene in front of them caused their faces to change drastically.
A broad and thick sword tip protruded out of the chest of the last man who spoke while a ghostly figure stood behind him, his profile appearing quite grim.
“Ah…” The man seemed to notice the coolness in his chest and his eyes widened as he looked down.
“Since you all decided to make this Young Master your enemy, then all of you should be prepared to die!” Yang Kai’s faint voice came up and shook the minds of the crowd like a deafening bell.
Before this man could react, Yang Kai flicked his wrist and directly split him in two. Blood splattered over the ground while the two halves of a body and internal organs rained down from the sky horrifyingly.
A First-Order Emperor Realm Master was just inexplicably stabbed and split in two, but what frightened everyone even more was that no one realized how Yang Kai escaped their attacks just now, or even how he returned to counterattack.
Was this boy a real ghost? Everyone shuddered in their hearts.
“This Old Master forgot to warn you that this boy is proficient in the Dao of Space!” Tan Jun Hao’s voice came up from the side.
“What? The Dao of Space?”
“Then he moved instantaneously just now?”
“I heard that people who are proficient in the Dao of Space can come and go mysteriously without a trace. They also possess unparalleled ability when it comes to escaping and chasing. How… how are we supposed to kill such a person!?”
…
After Tan Jun Hao explained that Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, everyone’s face changed again as they cursed Tan Jun Hao in their hearts, [Why didn’t he warn us of such important information earlier, only revealing it after this brat struck back?]
Yang Kai was already a frightening opponent before they learned of his mastery of Space Principles. If it weren’t because of the Heart-Strangling Insects, no one here would have obeyed Tan Jun Hao’s order and made an enemy of him. So, now that they learnt that he was proficient in this esoteric Dao, even possessing the ability to teleport at will, all of them could not help thinking that it would be impossible to kill him.
“Don’t worry. This Old Master has prepared for every contingency. This Old Master will give you a hand,” Tan Jun Hao comforted them.
Given the situation, he spoke as if he was helping them when it was actually the other way round.
Yang Kai carried the Myriads Sword and pointed at Tan Jun Hao with a derisive expression as he swept his eyes across the Emperor Realm Masters, shouting, “Don’t take it personally, but all of you here are trash! This Young Master held back just now only because you were being compelled, but if you still continue to be stubborn, all of your corpses will cover this place.”
His arrogance maddened many of them, but they knew that he was telling the truth. It was obvious Yang Kai held back just now, otherwise, he could have killed at least five people in an instant with his unpredictable movement.
It seemed that he really did not want to start a massacre.
“Stand aside. When this Young Master gets rid of Old Dog Tan, you’ll regain your freedom.” Yang Kai shouted
Everyone was moved by his words.
Tan Jun Hao rebuked in a deep voice, “Little boy, don’t boast so shamelessly! Is this Old Master someone who you can just simply kill just because you want to… hm?”
Before he could finish his sentence, his face suddenly sank as he swung his sleeves forward, condensing a barrier of light before him.
Yang Kai abruptly teleported in front of him, and swung his sword, slashing apart the light barrier and shattering it. At the same time, a strong repulsive force pushed him backwards.
“Everyone, what are you waiting for?” Tan Jun Hao yelled angrily.
He was dreadfully afraid of Yang Kai’s unpredictable movements too. If he had not been careful just now, perhaps Yang Kai would have succeeded in wounding him. Seeing that the Emperor Realm Masters he summoned were hesitating again, Tan Jun Hao could not help urging them again.
Hearing his call, although everyone was unwilling, they could only advance with their teeth clenched.
But they learned their lesson from the previous clash and did not use their full strength, retaining about seventy percent of their strength to guard their surroundings and not be caught off guard by Yang Kai.
Numerous Secret Techniques and Emperor Artifacts were once again unleashed radiantly with a rumble, all of them bombarding towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai tried to leave his spot with a flicker.
But just then, Tan Jun Hao chuckled and an array flag appeared in his hand out of nowhere, one he waved fiercely at Yang Kai.
A trembling force suddenly came up in the void, which shook Yang Kai’s disappearing figure, forcing it to materialize again.
Before Yang Kai could regain his stance, all of the attacks collided with him together.
Yang Kai was aghast and quickly circulated his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi.
Although these Emperor Realm Masters did not unleash their full strength this time, it was still the combined force of almost thirty Emperors, and Yang Kai would definitely suffer if he took it head-on. He did not expect that Tan Jun Hao’s Spirit Array could even disrupt the local space, neutralizing his ability to teleport, putting him at a huge disadvantage. It was too late for him to evade the attacks now though, so he could only try to defend himself.
The attacks landed one after another and caused his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi protection to tremble unstably. The glowing light dimmed from all the impacts as Yang Kai felt his organs shift.
Seeing that his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art could not hold on any longer, Yang Kai could only clench his teeth and roar, “Dragon Transformation!”
A golden light flashed behind him, revealing the figure of a giant golden dragon. Dragon Scales materialized on Yang Kai’s skin piece by piece, and his hands turned into the shape of dragon claws as his physical defence was greatly increased.
*Hong hong hong…*
The attacks landed all at once, tossing Yang Kai left and right, throwing him into an unstable condition.
*Pu…*
A mouthful of golden blood spewed out. Yang Kai tried his best to defend, yet it was too much for him to endure so many attacks at once, leading to him being wounded.
“It… It hit,” someone muttered to himself, staring in disbelief.
Most of the others could not believe it either. They did not seem to expect that their attacks could really hit Yang Kai; after all, his instantaneous movement had made them lose their confidence in dealing with him, so they were surprised that this second round of attacks actually hit him, even causing some injuries.
Tan Jun Hao burst into laughter, “A trivial Spatial Ability is nothing to be afraid of. What are you all waiting for? Finish him off quickly!”
Hearing this, the Second-Order Emperor Realm Master surnamed Xia waved his hand and shouted, “Now! Don’t give him a chance to breathe!”
Everyone’s morale was greatly boosted as they continued to perform their own hand seals, surging the power of their Secret Techniques and Emperor Artifacts.
Yang Kai’s face turned cold as he glared at Tan Jun Hao and began searching for a solution. Looking at this situation, as long as Tan Jun Hao was eliminated, the rest of these people would not be a threat because they were only compelled to kill Yang Kai because of the Heart-Strangling Insects inside them. If Tan Jun Hao died, they would not be threatened by the Heart-Strangling Insects anymore and would naturally stop attacking him.
With a plan in his mind, Yang Kai looked up and shouted angrily, “Old Dog Tan!”
He had already pounced at Tan Jun Hao with a ferocious face before he finished. The Wind and Thunder Wings spread behind him, accompanied by the sound of a raging storm, transforming him into a stream of light as he rushed to the front of Tan Jun Hao in the blink of an eye.
The latter’s face changed slightly at this sight.
Tan Jun Hao was surprised to see that Yang Kai still remained aggressive despite his predicament. Not only was this boy not afraid of facing several dozens of Emperor Realm Masters at once, he even became more ferocious. His courage and spirit were simply terrifying. Tan Jun Hao immediately raised his hand and a vast area of five-coloured light gathered in front of him before condensing into blades of light that slashed towards Yang Kai.
It was the Five Elements Grand Sealing Array. Having Tan Jun Hao, a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master controlling it personally, the power this five-coloured light blade could exert was equivalent to a blow from a top-level Emperor Realm Master.
*Chi chi chi chi…*
Countless five-coloured light blades condensed rapidly, yet Yang Kai continued to charge forward without hesitation. With a sweep of his hand, a large Moon Blade was formed, one that fluctuated with powerful Space Principles. The full moon blade was like the dark maw of an ancient beast, pitch-black in colour, filled with bottomless chaos and nothingness.
When the Moon Blade slashed out, the five-coloured light blades were shattered one after another, as if they were thin mirrors, turning into particles of light that dissipated into thin air.
Horrified, Tan Jun Hao’s eyes widened, he shouted, “An offensive Spatial Ability!”
It was his first time seeing Yang Kai using Space Principles to attack, an eye-opening experience for him. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, Tan Jun Hao would not have believed that a Spatial Ability could have such powerful lethality. His attack was instantly resolved by a single Moon Blade.
Yang Kai smiled grimly, “A trivial Spatial Ability? Die!”
He waved his hands continuously, sending out numerous Moon Blades which were much smaller than the previous one, exchanging raw power for numbers.
Tan Jun Hao narrowed his eyes, and quickly changed his hand seal while bellowing, “Five Elements Force, gather!”
The five-coloured light came together once again, radiating the aura of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, which mutually reinforced one another in an endless cycle. All of a sudden, a fortified five-coloured light shield was formed in front of him.
Things had not ended yet though as with a tap of his hand, Tan Jun Hao summoned a small shield that rapidly expanded to the size of a double door, adding a second layer of defence.
The shield exuded a rich Emperor Pressure and was obviously a formidable defensive Emperor Artifact.
It could be seen how seriously Tan Jun Hao took Yang Kai’s vicious attack by how solid a defence he erected.
*Hong hong hong…*
The Moon Blades collided with the five-coloured light shield, causing its brilliance to flash inconsistently and rapidly dim. The five-coloured light shield could not even stand for a breath of time before it shattered completely, but the remaining Moon Blades were all blocked by the Emperor Artifact shield, leaving Tan Jun Hao unscathed.
When Yang Kai was about to attack again, he sensed waves of energy approaching him from behind. It was the incoming attacks of the other Emperor Realm Masters.
He gritted his teeth and pushed the local Space Principles to teleport again.
But Tan Jun Hao waved the array flag again, destabilizing space and hindering Yang Kai from escaping.
“Quickly kill him for this Old Master!” Tan Jun Hao shouted madly and anxiously.
He thought his plan was perfect this time, and that it should be easy to catch Yang Kai, a trivial First-Order Emperor Realm Master with it. But contrary to his expectations, Yang Kai was far stronger and more difficult to deal with. Not only had Tan Jun Hao failed to take him down in a short time, but he was now the one being pressured, even forced to summon his defensive Emperor Artifact.
As a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, he could not accept this was happening.
But he no longer had the courage to fight head-on with Yang Kai, and could only command these Emperor Realm Masters to work for him.
Yang Kai’s teleportation was dispelled by Tan Jun Hao for a second time, but he was not as flustered this time, because he was already prepared. Facing the power of the several dozen Secret Techniques and Emperor Artifacts, Yang Kai bobbed and weaved to dodge the attacks.
Even so, he only managed to dodge less than half of these strikes while the rest ripped his skin and flesh apart, splattering blood from newly made wounds. If it were not for his Dragon Transformation, Yang Kai probably would not have survived this round of attacks.
After using his Dragon Transformation, Yang Kai’s defences had increased greatly. He was only still alive thanks to the Dragon Scales on his body that blocked most of the attacking power.
“He’s not dead yet…”
Everyone was stunned.
Although they only used thirty percent of their strength to attack Yang Kai the first time, this time they had used at least seventy percent of their strength. How was it possible that a mere First-Order Emperor could still be standing after taking so many blows?
For a moment, many of them secretly held Yang Kai in awe.
The strong would be respected wherever they went, and Yang Kai’s performance was enough to earn the respect of these Emperor Realm Masters, as well as making them feel deeply ashamed of themselves. If it were not for Tan Jun Hao and the Heart-Strangling Insects, they would definitely want to make friends with Yang Kai, but now their lives weren’t theirs to control, so they could only helplessly struggle on.
In the aftermath, Yang Kai turned and swept his crimson red eyes across the Emperor Realm Masters, releasing a murderous intent so heavy it was almost tangible.
Before, he planned to cut off the General’s head in order to warn the soldiers, thinking that everything would be settled by finishing Tan Jun Hao. Unfortunately, it seemed that this plan was not feasible. Tan Jun Hao himself was not weak, and with the assistance of the Grand Spirit Array here, it really would take a lot of effort to kill him.
Furthermore, Yang Kai could not just focus on Tan Jun Hao and ignore the attacks from these Emperor Realm Masters. If they continued to come at him, Yang Kai was afraid that it would only take two more rounds for them to incapacitate him.
“Then this Young Master will deal with you first!” Yang Kai roared and stared at the cultivator surnamed Xia, who had a Second-Order Emperor Realm cultivation. This particular man was quite merciless with his last two assaults, and the most serious injuries Yang Kai suffered were thanks to him. Most of the others just followed along, while the only one really going all out was the one surnamed Xia. It was as if this man was trying to impress Tan Jun Hao, probably hoping that he would remove the Heart-Strangling Insect in him and set him free later.
When the eyes of the cultivator surnamed Xia and Yang Kai met, fear filled the former’s soul and he hurriedly retreated to try to hide in the crowd. At that same time, he waved his hands and yelled, “This little brat is already seriously injured! Let’s finish him off now!”
Yang Kai roared as he warned, “Whoever dares to attack, dies!”
At the same time, his hands flashed as he formed a series of hand seals as he whispered with a solemn look, “Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream!”
A strange fluctuation began to propagate, while time itself seemed to slow down. This strange feeling of stagnation affected everyone’s mind.
When they regained their senses from this temporary dizziness, Yang Kai had unleashed a brutal palm strike towards the man surnamed Xia.
A withering power shot froth and the cultivator surnamed Xia was completely unable to dodge, taking a direct hit from the Time Flies Seal, causing blood to spew from his mouth.
Since the cultivator surnamed Xia had hidden in the crowd out of fear, and Yang Kai’s palm strike had a large area of effect, several cultivators near the one surnamed Xia took a hit too. Yang Kai didn’t care though as all of them had been attacking him before, so right now, they were all life or death enemies.
“This is…” Not far away, Tan Jun Hao slowly widened his eyes, as if he was recalling something. He stared at the cultivator surnamed Xia, observing carefully, refusing to miss out on any details.
The cultivator surnamed Xia stood up staggering, looking dispirited. Although there were no apparent injuries, he still seemed to have suffered a heavy blow.
He raised his hands in front of his face in a daze and watched his flesh rapidly age. The surging vitality in his body dissipated at a visible rate, as though he had aged thousands of years in the blink of an eye.
*Gudong… *
The sound of gulping was heard everywhere as everyone was terrified by what they were witnessing. Just what kind of Divine Ability could turn a hale and hearty Second-Order Emperor Realm Master into a crippled old man in such a short time?
When they turned to the other Emperor Realm Masters who were caught in Yang Kai’s attack, they found that they were withering away too. Their hair swiftly turned from black to white, their cheeks sunk in, their eyes bulged, and their original fitting clothes became loose on their shrinking frames.
“Time Flies Seal! The Divine Ability of the Flowing Time Great Emperor!” Tan Jun Hao shouted madly as his whole body trembled.
As a Star Soul Palace Elder, he had far better insight than ordinary Emperor Realm Masters. He doubted at first, but when he saw the transformation these Emperor Realm Masters experienced, he immediately recognized that what Yang Kai used was definitely the Time Flies Seal.
It was rumoured that this was a Divine Ability that involved Time Principles. Time Principles were even more abstruse than Space Principles, which was already an extremely esoteric Dao to comprehend.
Now that he recalled, this little brat had gone to the Four Seasons Realm back then, which was rumoured to be where the legacy of the Flowing Time Great Emperor was buried. It seemed that he had obtained the Time Flies Seal from the Four Seasons Realm.
But, how was it possible for a person to master The Dao of Space and the Dao of Time at the same time? The opportunities that Yang Kai obtained, as well as his innate comprehension ability, were truly terrifying, and Tan Jun Hao could not help wondering what kind of monster he had provoked.
Apart from feeling terrified, Tan Jun Hao’s determination to kill Yang Kai grew immensely. He would not feel secure allowing such a monster to fully mature.
There may be still a glimmer of hope to survive after being hit by a Spatial Ability, but if one was struck by the Time Flies Seal, even if they did not die immediately, their vitality would be greatly consumed, reducing their lifespan immensely.
In his day, the Flowing Time Great Emperor stood at the apex of the world with his Time Flies Seal. He was truly invincible, with none ignorant of his great name!
Just when everyone was dumbstruck, Yang Kai flapped his Wind and Thunder Wings and rushed into the crowd.
The faces of all the Emperor Realm Masters changed drastically as they fled one after another, none of them confident they could fight with him anymore.
Yang Kai cackled loudly as he ran like a tiger through a flock of sheep, charging without any resistance. He pounced directly at the cultivator surnamed Xia, while wrapping himself in sword light, and slashed at him.
Although the cultivator surnamed Xia was almost crippled by the Time Flies Seal and his vitality was greatly reduced, old ginger was still spicier than young ginger and he immediately raised his hand as he sensed the incoming danger. Emperor Qi surged in his body as a throwing knife-like Emperor Artifact turned into a stream of light that flew towards Yang Kai while the now old man surnamed Xia retreated in fear.
But even in his heyday, this man was no match for Yang Kai, let alone now that he had been seriously injured. The throwing knife that fired out with his full force looked ferocious, but it barely scratched Yang Kai’s skin as it passed by.
Yang Kai slid past the throwing knife and pierced the cultivator surnamed Xia with his sword.
*Peng…*
The cultivator surnamed Xia exploded into a blood mist, leaving no bones behind, only a Space Ring that flew out and landed somewhere.
The crowd took a clear look again and saw that Yang Kai was covered in blood, standing in the void. His whole body was shrouded in a crimson rain as he stood there with a cold and resolute face filled with murderous intent. He was grinning, revealing a mouth of pristine white fangs, like he was the reaper of death.
[There is no way to fight him! We’re not his opponents at all!]
Everyone had the same idea in their mind at that moment and knew that they would die if they continued to fight against Yang Kai.
It did not affect them too strongly when Yang Kai killed several people earlier because they were all just First-Order Emperor Realm Masters. But the cultivator surnamed Xia was a true Second-Order Emperor Realm Master. If a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master was as weak and vulnerable as a child in front of him, how could they be his opponents?
The fear in their hearts greatly amplified and no one dared to attack Yang Kai anymore, just standing on the spot in terror.
Yang Kai swung his sword horizontally and a storm of sword lights flew out, puncturing countless holes in the bodies of the other few Emperor Realm Masters who were hit by the Time Flies Seal, killing them instantly. With most of them having lost all their strength after being corroded by the Time Principles of the Time Flies Seal, these Emperors could not even react to Yang Kai’s attack and followed in the footsteps of the cultivator surnamed Xia.
“Do you want to live or die!?” Yang Kai pointed his Myriads Sword at the survivors and he shouted.
After hearing his question, everyone was shocked at first, but then they were all overjoyed.
They did not want to fight against Yang Kai in the first place, but they had no choice because they were infected with Heart-Strangling Insects. If they did not obey Tan Jun Hao’s command, the latter would be the first one to not let them go; but if they did, how many of them could survive under the terrifying strength that Yang Kai had shown?
However, Yang Kai’s question at this moment seemed to have an intention to spare their lives.
Many people nodded vigorously and answered, “To live, we want to live!”
It had taken them a great deal of time and effort to become Emperor Realm Masters, finally gaining the respect of hundreds of millions of cultivators. Beauties, wealth, power… they could have everything they wanted with their current status. Their good days had just begun, so who would want to die at this point?
“Stand over there if you want to live,” Yang Kai lifted his sword and pointed in a certain direction.
The people immediately looked at each other and hesitated. If they could live by just standing over there, why would they still be in this dilemma? The problem was whether Tan Jun Hao was willing to let them go or not.
Sure enough, Tan Jun Hao saw what Yang Kai was trying to do and immediately threatened with a deep voice, “If you listen to him, this Old Master is afraid that you won’t be far from death.”
Yang Kai snorted coldly and glanced at Tan Jun Hao with a trace of disdain flashing across his eyes. He then turned back to the crowd and reassured, “Stand over there if you believe me. This Young Master will protect you. If you don’t believe me, you can try to kill this Young Master again and see if this Young Master is capable of killing all of you or not!”
“What shameless boasting, boy! This Old Master would like to see how you can protect them!” Tan Jun Hao sneered. This part of the world had been sealed by his Five Elements Grand Sealing Array and everyone had been implanted with Heart-Strangling Insects by him; their lives and freedom were all under his control. Yang Kai was indeed impressive, but there was no way he could challenge his authority here.
“Then open your dog eyes and watch carefully!” Yang Kai sneered, turning to the crowd again, “Ten breaths of time. I will give you ten breaths of time. If you still don’t stand over there, there will be no mercy!”
Everyone’s face changed after hearing this, and they felt suffocated trying to make this difficult decision.
Tan Jun Hao and Yang Kai were both people who they could not easily offend, and they could not help feeling aggrieved that they were forced to be involved in this situation
It did not seem like they would have much chance to live by continuing to obey Tan Jun Hao and listening to his order, but if Yang Kai really could keep them safe, it was worth taking a risk. More importantly, compared to Tan Jun Hao, Yang Kai was not as hateful. Although he was arrogant, at least he still had some moral bottom line. He did not want to kill them from the start and only struck back when left with no choice.
Everyone’s mind was racing with a million thoughts, weighing the pros and cons. Yang Kai and Tan Jun Hao did not urge them either, simply standing there quietly.
Yang Kai did not actually care about these people. He did not know them anyway, so he would not mind killing them all, but if he could win their trust here, it would save him some energy; after all, he would need to pay a steep price to kill all these people. Furthermore, Tan Jun Hao had his eyes on him, and a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master was really not easy to deal with.
“Young Master Yang, this Mistress believes you.” A woman shouted all of a sudden and was the first one who stepped out and flew to the place designated by Yang Kai.
Yang Kai glanced at her and nodded slightly.
He had a slight impression of this woman. Previously, when he fought with the rest of them, this woman barely used any strength at all, obviously not wanting to offend him.
When the woman saw him looking at her somewhat curiously, she moved her lips and sent him a Divine Sense Message, “This Mistress is Xia Sheng’s friend.”
Yang Kai raised his brow and looked at her again. He realized that the reason why she chose to believe in him was not that she knew about him, but rather due to Xia Sheng. Perhaps she heard his name from Xia Sheng too, and learnt that he was a disciple of Azure Sun Temple.
Yang Kai’s brow rose as he sent a message back, “Xia Sheng’s friend is my friend too. Since I have said that I’ll protect you, I’ll definitely keep you safe.”
The woman was delighted as she sensed Yang Kai’s confidence and secretly felt that she was right about her bet this time. Although she had no idea what cards Yang Kai had to play, since he made such a bold promise, he must have a way.
Thinking so, she called out, “I’m afraid everyone doesn’t know yet, but this Young Master Yang is a Core Disciple of Azure Sun Temple, and Sir Wen Zi Shan places great importance on him. If word of today’s matter were to spread out, do you think there will still be a place for you in the Southern Territory?”
“Azure Sun Temple?”
Everyone was taken aback. It was the first time they heard about this and many began thinking to themselves, [No wonder this little brat surnamed Yang is so strong despite his young age! It turns out he’s actually a Core Disciple of Azure Sun Temple.]
Although Azure Sun Temple was inferior to Star Soul Palace in the Southern Territory, it was still a top Sect. They really could put their trust in Yang Kai given that he was a Core Disciple of Azure Sun Temple.
Even if they died, it would still be their choice, far better than being manipulated by Tan Jun Hao.
As soon as this thought came up, more than a dozen people answered the woman’s call and flew to her side.
Although the remaining people hesitated, they all followed the crowd eventually and approached the woman one after another.
It was not that they believed in Yang Kai, but that even with the numbers they had before, they were unable to defeat Yang Kai. He had even turned the tide alone and killed a few of them instead. Therefore, the remaining people did not want to face Yang Kai again.
Seeing this, Tan Jun Hao’s face darkened and he snorted coldly, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
No one answered as they all looked at Yang Kai and thought, [Hurry up if you have some method, otherwise with just a thought, Tan Jun Hao will kill us all!]
Yang Kai laughed rampantly, “Old Dog Tan, it seems this Young Master has won public support, unlike you with your despicable tricks.”
Tan Jun Hao was so vexed that he almost spat blood, fuming with his teeth gritted, “Very good. Since you’ve made your choice, you can all die.”
He glared at the woman who moved first, apparently intending to kill her to serve as a warning to the others.
Everyone’s faces changed drastically seeing this and exclaimed, “Young Master Yang!”
“Relax!” Yang Kai waved his hand, as if he was grasping towards the void. Suddenly, a small bell appeared before him, one that seemed quite ancient and was engraved with countless patterns of flowers, birds, fishes, insects, mountains and rivers. As soon as the bell emerged, an extremely strong Primordial Force filled the air, creating an illusion that they had suddenly been transported to Ancient Times.
“What… What is that!?” Tan Jun Hao’s movements froze as he stared at the Mountains and Rivers Bell with bulging eyes, feeling his heart throb strongly. He was instinctively aware of how terrifying this small bell was.
“Ignorant fool!” Yang Kai glanced contemptuously at Tan Jun Hao before he casually threw the Mountains and Rivers Bell towards the crowd.
In the next instant, the Mountains and Rivers Bell expanded until it was as big as a house then fell to the ground with a bang, covering the group of Emperors.
“Whoever betrays this Old Master must die!” The words ‘ignorant fool’ from Yang Kai had truly incensed Tan Jun Hao. Without scruples, Tan Jun Hao formed a hand seal in order to trigger the Heart-Strangling Insects to kill all those Emperor Realm Masters who opposed him.
Yang Kai just watched with a sneer, his arms crossed, looking extremely calm.
On the inside though, he was still a little nervous. He knew that the Mountains and Rivers Bell was said to be able to suppress the world itself, but he wasn’t sure if it could isolate those Heart-Strangling Insects from Tan Jun Hao’s control. He only had about seventy percent confidence this method would work.
If this really failed, the twenty or so Emperor Realm Masters inside the Mountains and Rivers Bell would die miserably.
However, he soon saw Tan Jun Hao’s face fill with a puzzled look.
Yang Kai snickered as he found that his guess was right; the Mountains and Rivers Bell was indeed capable of isolating the Heart-Strangling Insects from Tan Jun Hao.
“This… This is the Ancient Exotic Artifact, Mountains and Rivers Bell!?” Tan Jun Hao bellowed as he realized it.
Yang Kai praised while clapping his hands, “Old Dog Tan, you have good eyesight.”
At times, Yang Kai really admired the insight of these old monsters who had lived for countless years as they could often discern the origins and identity of rare treasures at a glance. Perhaps this was the advantage of living a long life.