They only cooperated once in the Blood Arena, so Yang Kai was not familiar with Bo Ya. Furthermore, she did not seem to be an obedient person at that time; in other words, this woman wasn’t the type to submit meekly or obey orders easily.
Yang Kai instinctively thought that she was joking, but soon his face changed again. He turned to look in one direction, sneered, and then turned back to Bo Ya. She looked embarrassed, the corner of her lips twisting into a faint smile.
More than a dozen kilometres away, many powerful auras were approaching. There were many High-Rank Demon Kings among them whose figures could even be seen from a distance, and they were all eyeing this place.
Although Yang Kai just swept his eyes over them, he recognized one among them; he was the middle-aged Demon King who he had met in the Blood Arena that day.
It was impossible that the Demons were coming for him, so there was only one explanation for this, they came for Bo Ya.
The submission of this woman was an act she had to carry out in order to seek protection; however, Yang Kai had no idea why she was being chased and hunted by the people from the Blood Arena.
Without any hesitation though, Yang Kai waved his hand, “Make way, or don’t blame this King for being rude!”
Bo Ya pleaded with a pitiful face, “Sir, please don’t stand by and watch me die! It’s all thanks to you that this Bo Ya fell into such a situation.”
Yang Kai snorted, “It’s none of my business that you offended others.”
Bo Ya explained, “It’s because of what happened in the Blood Arena yesterday! They seem to think that my intervention sabotaged their plans, so they have been chasing after me since then. Bo Ya has no where to go now and could only ask Sir to accept her. Sir has seen Bo Ya’s abilities; she will surely not disappoint you.”
Yang Kai sneered, “The Demon Realm is a vast, wide world. You can go anywhere you want, why come to me? Stop being ridiculous.”
As soon as these words came out, Bo Ya dropped her head in despair, “If I had another choice, I wouldn’t have come to you. All the Territory Gates have been blocked by them, so where else can I go?”
Yang Kai looked at her faintly, “I wonder if you’ve heard a particular saying we have among my Human Race?”
“What is it?” Bo Ya looked at him curiously.
Yang Kai’s mouth curved into a smile, “If a natural disaster happens to someone, he can be forgiven; but if it’s of one’s own making, he deserves the punishment!” Although he knew that he was a part of the reason Bo Ya was being chased and hunted down by those from the Blood Arena, Yang Kai truly did not want to be involved with this woman. As such, he simply waved his hand and demanded, “Make way!”
Bo Ya threw herself onto the Tiger Head Chariot and begged pitifully, “If Sir doesn’t want to take me in, can you just escort me out? Just help me to pass through the Territory Gate.” After a pause, she continued, “Right, you don’t need to pay me my ten percent either. I don’t want it anymore.”
“There was never ten percent for you! Cease your nonsense,” Yang Kai hissed.
Bai Zhuo suddenly interrupted, “Brother Yang, it’d be good to take her with you. This girl’s ability is more powerful than an ordinary High-Rank Demon King. She really could be of great use to you.”
Hearing what Bai Zhuo said, Bo Ya quickly nodded like a chicken pecking rice, “Yes, yes, Sir, just take me with you. I’ll serve you well!”
Yang Kai glared furiously at Bai Zhuo as he had no idea why Bai Zhuo was so interested in this matter. He shook his head slowly and remarked, “I don’t feel secure about this.” He did not know Bo Ya well, so how could he simply keep her with him?
Bai Zhuo laughed gently, “If that’s the case, I can do you a favour.”
After saying so, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Bo Ya. Bo Ya was taken aback, and instinctively attempted to retreat, but she was no match for Bai Zhuo despite her strength. Bai Zhuo’s big hand was directly inserted into Bo Ya’s head, but no blood gushed out of it. Bai Zhuo then pulled his hand out after a while. Bo Ya’s body went stiff before it shivered, as if she had suffered some severe damage, gasping for air with a horrified face.
At this moment, Bai Zhuo had caught hold of something like a twisted and erratic cloud in his hand. He then took out something like a puppet with another hand, and placed it in front of his chest. Followed by some chanting and a hand seal, he threw the cloud into the puppet, and then applied several seals. After that, he tossed the puppet to Yang Kai with a smile, “Now you can rest assured using her.”
On the other side, Bo Ya’s face turned pale as she retreated a few steps back, looking at the puppet in Yang Kai’s hand in horror, “Soul Puppet!”
Bai Zhuo smiled at her, “Since you recognize this thing, you should behave yourself in the future.”
Bo Ya was immediately distressed, “Sir Bai Zhuo, how can you do this to me? When did Bo Ya offend you?”
Bai Zhuo replied curiously, “Isn’t this King helping you achieve your wish? You should be grateful.”
Bo Ya was so infuriated that her teeth rattled, but she dared not rebuke.
Yang Kai pinched the doll as he questioned, “What’s the use of this thing?”
Bai Zhuo beamed lightly, “To control her life and death. With this thing, she won’t betray you.”
“Really?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows.
“Not at all!” Bo Ya yelled, and attempted to snatch the puppet, “Give it to me, and I’ll leave now.”
Of course, Yang Kai would not let her get what she wanted and turned aside to avoid her snatch. He then gently flicked the puppet’s forehead, and in the next moment, a thump was heard, followed by Bo Ya’s scream. She seemed to have been hit hard, and spun several times in the air before she stabilized her body.
When she finally came to a stop, a feeling of dizziness struck her. She covered her forehead with her hands and looked at Yang Kai with a depressed face. A red mark could be seen on her forehead, as if she had been punched.
She regretted it. Initially, she just wanted to pass through the Territory Gate with Yang Kai’s help, and then she would flee far away and never return to Enchantment Continent again; however, she did not expect Bai Zhuo to make a move without any warning and seal her Soul Brand into a Soul Puppet. From now on, she would not be free anymore…
On the other hand, Yang Kai became interested. He pulled the arm of the puppet upwards, and Bo Ya could not help lifting her arm. When he poked the puppet, Bo Ya immediately fell back in a stagger.
Everything that he did to the puppet would be reflected on Bo Ya. In other words, if the puppet was destroyed, perhaps Bo Ya would die without a chance for burial.
Yang Kai grinned. He did not have to worry about anything if he had this thing. He then turned to Bai Zhuo and asked, “Do you still have more of these things? Give me some if you do.”
Bai Zhuo returned with a smile, “It’s not easy to refine this thing, and it needs the corresponding Secret Technique to use. Even if I give you another, what’s the use of it if you don’t know how to use it?”
Yang Kai grinned, “Then just teach me that Secret Technique.”
Bai Zhuo shook his finger at Yang Kai, “Be contented.” He was obviously unwilling to teach Yang Kai the Secret Technique.
Seeing this, Yang Kai could only give up on that thought. He put the Soul Puppet into his Space Ring and then looked up at Bo Ya with great interest. To be honest, aside from her character, Yang Kai truly admired her outstanding ability, for he had witnessed it when he teamed up with her yesterday.
Now, with the restriction of the Soul Puppet, it would be harmless for him to take her around; therefore, he announced firmly, “Since you have come under me, you should obey my orders in the future. You will be rewarded if you have meritorious deeds and will be punished if you make mistakes. If you dare to have any thoughts of betrayal, you will die!”
The corner of Bo Ya’s mouth twitched, she lowered her head, “Can I say no?”
Yang Kai replied, “It’s up to you. If you are unwilling to, I’ll give you the Soul Puppet now, and we’ll have nothing to do with each other.”
Bo Ya looked at him dumbfounded, as if she did not seemingly expect that he would be so easily convinced; even Bai Zhuo was a little surprised. Although Bo Ya’s reputation was not good by any means, her strength was recognized by everyone. Many Half-Saints wanted to recruit her, but she did not want to be constrained by others in her early years. Later on, her reputation grew worse, so now no one wanted to recruit her anymore.
Unexpectedly though, when she came to Yang Kai, she was treated as an existence that could be abandoned, which discouraged Bo Ya.
However, she was quite interested in Yang Kai’s suggestion. She hesitated for a while, but after looking at the crowd from the Blood Arena she rubbed her hair ruthlessly, finally declaring with a resolute face, “I can work for you, as long as you don’t do anything strange to me.”
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth curved, “You think too much.”
Bo Ya turned her head away while cupping her fists, “May I know where Sir is going? Bo Ya is willing to open the way ahead.”
Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction, “Cloud Shadow Continent!”
Bo Ya accepted the task. As soon as she turned around, she took a deep breath, held her five fingers together, and a sharp arrow appeared at her fingertips. Without showing her movement, the bowstring of the great bow in her hand had been pulled and the arrow had been nocked. Everything was performed smoothly and swiftly.
The arrow turned into a stream of light, and was released towards a spot a dozen kilometres away.
Bo Ya guffawed wildly, “Eat this Lady’s arrow, you bunch of dogs!”
More than ten kilometres away, the faces of the Demon Kings turned pale one after another as they hurriedly dodged the arrow. With a bang, the colour of the entire world seemed to change. When everything returned to its initial state, the group of Demon Kings retreated another dozen kilometres away.
Bo Ya ignored those guys and led the way ahead arrogantly. The Demon Kings in the distance watched her leave with dark faces, but none dared to come forward to confront her.
They dared not be presumptuous in the presence of Bai Zhuo, even knowing that if they missed this opportunity today, it would be impossible to trap Bo Ya again in the future.
After a while, a Territory Gate appeared in the sky ahead, leading to an adjacent continent. As Bo Ya mentioned, there were Masters guarding the Territory Gate, and they were obviously people from the Blood Arena.
However, Bo Ya did not approach immediately and instead watched from a distance, waiting for the arrival of Yang Kai and the others. Once they regrouped, Bai Zhuo led the way through the Territory Gate, and the Masters standing guard there could not do anything but sigh.
One needed to pass through five Territory Gates and four different continents in order to travel from Enchantment Continent to Cloud Shadow Continent, but after the initial incident with Bo Ya, everything went smoothly.
They took only half a day to arrive at Cloud Shadow Continent.
After passing through the last Territory Gate, Yang Kai looked around and frowned.
He found that the Territory Gate here was indeed unstable, just as Bai Zhuo stated before. A normal Territory Gate would stand firm and remain unchanged for tens of thousands of years, but the Territory Gate of Cloud Shadow Continent was now fluctuating slightly from time to time, like a bubble that was warping and might collapse at any time.
According to Yang Kai’s prediction, within a hundred years, the Territory Gate here would collapse. By that time, Cloud Shadow Continent may be completely isolated and lose contact with the Demon Realm.
Moreover, the Territory Gate would be more and more unsafe with the passage of time. Perhaps one would accidentally be exiled to the Void when passing through it. The Territory Gate was similar to a Void Corridor, and this unstable Territory Gate was undoubtedly of great benefit to Yang Kai, because he could use it to study the Dao of Space.
But obviously, now was not the right time. Now that he had come to Cloud Shadow Continent, he needed to meet the Masters in this place; after all, he might still have to work with these people in the future.
Looking down from a high altitude, Cloud Shadow Continent covered a large area, and its border could not be seen at a glance. From the map that Yang Kai obtained yesterday, he learnt that among the continents in the Demon Realm, the size of Cloud Shadow Continent was above average, but because of the problem with the Territory Gates, this place’s strength wasn’t great. There were only ten High-Rank Demon Kings guarding this continent, while Demon Kings beneath High-Rank were not more than three hundred.
This couldn’t be helped though as no one knew when the final Territory Gate of this continent would disappear. Once the gate disappeared, Cloud Shadow Continent would be completely cut off from the outside world, trapping everyone here and dooming them. Therefore, some Masters, who had connections or were worried about the dangers of this continent, had long left and gone to work in other places. What remained here was either those who had other plans, or had no better way out.
In addition, with the war with the Star Boundary raging, many Demon troops were transferred out of Cloud Shadow Continent, leaving only four High-Rank Demon Kings behind and less than one hundred other Demon Kings.
This information was revealed casually by Bai Zhuo during their conversation.
There was a huge city at the centre of Cloud Shadow Continent. The buildings in the city were well-arranged in rows, with millions of Demons living within its perimetre. Cloud Shadow City was not only the most prosperous place on Cloud Shadow Continent, but also the hub of the whole Cloud Shadow Continent.
Clearly having received advanced notification, there were more than thirty Demon Kings waiting when the Tiger Head Chariot passed through the clouds and landed in front of a huge building in the middle of the city. Three people were standing in front, while the rest stood behind. After Bai Zhuo and the others got off the War Chariot, they cupped their fists, “Greetings, Sir!”
Bai Zhuo nodded faintly, swept his eyes across them, then raised his brow slightly as he asked, “Why are there only three of you? Where is Lie Kuang?”
There were supposed to be four High-Rank Demon Kings in Cloud Shadow Continent, but only three of them were here, and the last guy named Lie Kuang was missing.
The High-Rank Demon Kings in the middle immediately replied, “Lie Kuang reported that there was some matter that delayed his journey, and it will take some time for him to get here.”
Bai Zhuo remained nonchalant.
When he was asking the question, Yang Kai observed the three High-Rank Demon Kings; two men and one woman. The woman was a Shadow Demon and her figure was erratic with her face covered by black Qi. The High-Rank Demon King who spoke was a little elderly and showed signs of decline in vitality. As for the last one, he was a tall, pale, middle-aged man, who seemed to be malnourished and a little emaciated.
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth curved, showing a faint smile.
Yu Ru Meng gave him the task to prevent the collapse of the Territory Gate in Cloud Shadow Continent; however, while he was here, Cloud Shadow Continent would be his territory. Everyone here had to listen to his orders. In other words, these Demon Kings were all his subordinates now.
Yang Kai did not really care about this task, but he wondered if he could somehow use it to his advantage. It would be best if he could stir up a big mess among the Demons. Even if that was impossible, he should at least create a distraction for the Demon Race on this side to reduce their momentum in the war.
Bai Zhuo introduced the names and responsibilities of the three High-Rank Demon Kings to Yang Kai one by one, and Yang Kai just memorized them casually.
Among these three Demon Kings, the old Demon King was the one who had been guarding Cloud Shadow City, while the other two actually came from the other places far away. They all had their own territories to guard, and it was the same for Lie Kuang, who had not revealed himself.
After introductions were finished, Bai Zhuo waved his hand, “Let’s talk inside.”
Everyone agreed.
The crowd followed Bai Zhuo into a magnificent hall where sixteen pillars so thick it would take several people to wrap around them stood, carved with remarkable-looking Dragons and Phoenixes.
More than thirty Demon Kings lined up in several rows below while Yang Kai flicked his robe and sat at the head of the hall, glancing around casually.
Bo Ya stood ten metres in front and to his left with a valiant and heroic demeanour like a loyal guard, while Xiao Wu and Li Shi Qing stood on the left and right behind him.
The Demon Kings were dumbstruck by the scene and all of them turned to look at Bai Zhuo, before looking back at Yang Kai.
Given that Bai Zhuo was here, how could Yang Kai be so daring to take this seat without showing any courtesy? But at the same time, Bai Zhuo did not look mad at all, which made them even more confused.
Bai Zhuo beamed lightly, “Holy Venerable has an edict. She has appointed Yang Kai as Great King, and he will be in charge of all matters of Cloud Shadow Continent. All of you need to make great efforts to cooperate with him and demonstrate your loyalty to your duties. Those who dare act negligent will die!”
As soon as he announced this, all the Demon Kings became unsettled. They looked up at Bai Zhuo incredulously one after another, to confirm whether they had heard wrong. The female High-Rank Shadow Demon King even trembled violently, and it was obvious that she was greatly impacted by the news.
Although Bai Zhuo introduced Yang Kai in a friendly tone and let them know that this unknown man was special, they never thought it would be to such an extent.
There had never been any ‘Great King’ in the Demon Realm before; therefore, the Demon Kings had no clue about the meaning of this title, but by the look of the Holy Venerable’s edict and Bai Zhuo’s attitude, not to mention Yang Kai’s strength, he should at least have a status equivalent to a Half-Saint.
[Who the Hell is this guy? Why does Holy Venerable value him so much and entrust the authority of Cloud Shadow Continent to him?]
But since this message was conveyed by Bai Zhuo personally, it should not be wrong. After a little hesitation, the three High-Rank Demon Kings bowed together and saluted, “Subordinate greets Great King!”
The other Demon Kings behind them imitated them.
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched at being addressed as Great King, for he somehow felt like he had become some kind of bandit king… The title sounded pathetic, but he did not bother to correct them and simply waved his hand, “There’s no need for such ceremony. In the future, this King will be relying on you all in Cloud Shadow Continent. I hope we can cooperate with each other wholeheartedly.”
The old Demon King in the middle responded, “We shall not disappoint Great King’s trust!”
Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction.
Bai Zhuo remarked as he looked at Yang Kai, “Since it’s done, I’ll take my leave now. If you have any problems, you can contact Holy Venerable directly.”
Yang Kai straightened up, “It has been a tiring journey. Doesn’t Brother Bai want to rest for a few days before leaving?”
Bai Zhuo smiled and shook his head, “No need.” For him, a half day’s journey was nothing. Given that the two worlds’ war was currently in full swing, he did not have time to linger here. Although he would not return to the Star Boundary for some time, he still had tasks in the following days, such as mobilizing reinforcements from various continents to support the front line.
The dialogue between the two reached the ears of the Demon Kings, which further confirmed their guess. The new Great King was really comparable in status to a Half-Saint; otherwise, how could he be brothers with Bai Zhuo? All of them turned solemn, secretly worrying that they would soon be very busy.
“Have a safe trip, Brother Bai!” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
Bai Zhuo turned around and left. When he reached the gate, he suddenly turned back and grinned at Yang Kai, “Oh right, I forgot to tell you that the Blue Plains Continent that connects to Cloud Shadow Continent is Yue Sang’s territory!” After that, he winked at Yang Kai, and then turned into a stream of light that soared straight into the sky.
Yang Kai knit his brow as he stared off into the distance, as if deep in thought.
Bai Zhuo was clearly trying to warn Yang Kai to watch out for the activity of Blue Plains Continent before he left, but Yang Kai wasn’t worried since Yue Sang had been transferred to the front lines of the war by Yu Ru Meng. Even if Blue Plains Continent really came looking for trouble, Yang Kai would definitely make sure that they paid for it with their lives.
With a light sneer, Yang Kai put aside such thoughts and saw that the Demon Kings below were staring at him. He coughed lightly and declared, “By the order of Holy Venerable, this King is here to maintain the Territory Gate of Cloud Shadow Continent and to protect Cloud Shadow Continent. This matter is very important and no carelessness will be tolerated. So do your best to cooperate with me in the future.”
“Maintain the Territory Gate?”
The Demon Kings were shocked. They finally knew the reason the Holy Venerable sent Yang Kai here. This was great news to them, for these people had no ability and no chance to leave Cloud Shadow Continent. Once the Territory Gate vanished, they would be buried along with Cloud Shadow Continent. They initially thought that there was no hope for the future, but now they suddenly caught a glimpse of light in that endless darkness.
The old Demon King was exhilarated and asked, “Is Great King being serious?”
The other two High-Rank Demon Kings also looked at Yang Kai with scorching eyes that were filled with expectation.
Yang Kai could not hold his laughter and nodded, “Of course. There is no reason for this King to lie to you.”
The female Shadow Demon pressed on, “If Great King can really maintain the last Territory Gate, it would be a great grace to the whole continent. This subordinate will follow Sir through fire and water without hesitation!”
The voice of the female Demon King was surprisingly pleasant and refreshing to the ears.
Yang Kai looked at her in amazement as he did not expect she would have such a big reaction to his words. Thinking about what Bai Zhuo told him before though, he somewhat understood this woman’s thought. Keeping Cloud Shadow Continent connected was equivalent to saving their lives and futures. How could they not pay attention to it?
However, the pale middle-aged Demon King frowned and spoke, “Great King, please forgive this subordinate for asking, but in order to maintain the Territory Gate, one must be proficient in the Dao of Space, but as far as this subordinate knows, no one in our Demon Realm possesses such capabilities. How can Great King be so confident?”
Yang Kai smiled and replied faintly, “Indeed, no one in your Demon Realm is proficient in the Dao of Space, but that doesn’t mean this King is not. I forgot to mention this to you all, but this King… is Human!” As he finished his sentence, he stretched out his hand and slammed at the space in front of him.
Ten metres away, a dark black crack instantly appeared, one that emitted a fierce suction that seemed capable of devouring the whole world.
The black hole persisted for ten breaths before it disappeared with a slight grip of Yang Kai’s hand.
However, at this moment, the Demon Kings were still shocked to their core. For one, this newcomer Great King was truly proficient in the Dao of Space; he was able to shatter space with just a simple wave of his hand, creating a black hole that led to the chaotic Void. This demonstrated his profound control of Space Principles. On top of that, this Great King was actually a Human…
[With the Great War still raging, why did Holy Venerable appoint a Human as Great King and put him in charge of Cloud Shadow Continent?]
Yang Kai noticed their expressions, and sneered slightly, “Although this King is a Human, he has already become enemies with the Star Boundary. There’s no place for this King there. Holy Venerable personally recruited me to the Demon Realm, so you need not worry about where my loyalties lie.”
The reason why he revealed his origin so readily was that he could not hide it; after all, he would have to stay here in the future and as long as he used his strength even slightly, his identity as a Human would definitely be exposed. Instead of creating suspicion and vigilance in the future, it was best to just be frank in the beginning.
Without giving these guys a chance to speak again, Yang Kai spoke sharply, “Bo Ya!”
Bo Ya froze for a moment, but quickly reacted, turned around, taking two steps forward, and cupping her fists, “Yes, Great King.”
Yang Kai looked at her solemnly, “I shall appoint you as Cloud Shadow City’s Vice Commander to assist Lao Ke in managing the affairs within the city. Cooperate fully with him.”
Bo Ya’s beautiful eyes flashed, and quickly replied, “As you command!”
Lao Ke was the old Demon King, who was the Commander of Cloud Shadow City before Yang Kai arrived. This city was the hub of the entire continent and played an important role in all functions. Before this, Lao Ke alone could make all the calls, but now, there was Bo Ya, an extra Vice Commander.
Bo Ya was not a fool either. She knew Yang Kai appointed her as Vice Commander to intervene in the matters in Cloud Shadow City; after all, controlling this place was equivalent to controlling everything in Cloud Shadow Continent. It would make it very convenient to execute any plans he had in the future only after establishing a firm foothold.
Lao Ke and the others were his subordinates, but in name only. Even if the order was from Yu Ru Meng, it was still not as convenient as having someone truly loyal to him in place.
Yang Kai did not have a choice either as he had no better option; Bo Ya was the only choice. Fortunately, with the restriction of the Soul Puppet, Bo Ya would not betray him.
If Bo Ya could really gain a foothold in Cloud Shadow City, it would definitely benefit Yang Kai in the future.
The three High-Rank Demon Kings frowned at this arrangement. Lao Ke was old and was in the waning years of his life, but he was actually the fastest to recover his composure while it was clear that the female Shadow Demon and the other High-Rank Demon King looked worried, fearing that Yang Kai would also intervene in their turf. If this was the case, they would be very unwilling.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had no intention of doing so, and only gave a few words of encouragement to Lao Ke, such as asking him to help Bo Ya adjust so that she would become familiar with Cloud Shadow City as soon as possible.
Lao Ke responded respectfully, but who knew if he was feeling the same way on the inside or not.
Since he had only just arrived here, Yang Kai had nothing much to say so he simply led Xiao Wu and Li Shi Qing into the inner hall, leaving Bo Ya alone to discuss the day-to-day matters with Lao Ke.
The best room was prepared here for him, and there were wing rooms on the left and right sides, which he assigned to Xiao Wu and Li Shi Qing. After ordering Xiao Wu to get someone to fetch a detailed map of the entire Cloud Shadow Continent and a record of the forces under each Demon King, Yang Kai secluded himself in his room and began his investigation.
Since Yu Ru Meng had given him this opportunity, he naturally had to make good use of it.
He would try his best to maintain the Territory Gate, though it did not matter to him even if he failed. Yang Kai was more interested in seizing control of Cloud Shadow Continent. At that time, whether it was for self-protection or to silently ambush the Demon Race, he would need to utilize the power here.
After two days of research, Yang Kai figured out the general condition of Cloud Shadow Continent.
Just when he was putting down the various objects of study, there was a knock on the door.
Yang Kai raised his hand to open the door, and Bo Ya walked in. At this moment, the woman had lost all the respect she showed before, and her tone became much more casual. She scanned him up and down with a smile before quipping, “Should I call you Sir or Great King?”
“It’s up to you!” Yang Kai glanced at her and asked lightly, “What’s the matter?”
Bo Ya said, “I’m here to report to you some of the information I learned over the past two days. Do you want to hear it? If you don’t want to, I’ll leave.”
Yang Kai chuckled and squinted at her, saying, “It seems that you don’t understand your situation.” While talking, he took out the Soul Puppet from the Space Ring, flexing his fingers in a playful gesture!
Bo Ya could not help backing up a few steps, her beautiful face turning pale as she immediately covered her forehead with her hands and yelled, “Don’t be impulsive, let’s be civilized about this.”
“I’m very calm right now. As for whether I am impulsive, that will depend on how you perform,” Yang Kai looked at her with a smile.
Bo Ya snorted and spat disdainfully, “Cloud Shadow Continent has four High-Rank Demon Kings. The three you met are fine, but I’m afraid you need to be more careful with Lie Kuang.”
“Why do you say so?” Yang Kai frowned.
Bo Ya answered, “Have you not realized that Lie Kuang has still not come to greet you? Two days have passed, Ke Sen’s and He Yin’s territories aren’t nearby, they managed to rush here two days ago, while Lie Kuang has not shown himself even today.”
Ke Sen was the pale middle-aged Demon King, while the female Shadow Demon was the one with the peculiar name, He Yin.
These three, together with the Cloud Shadow City Commander Lao Ke, were the only four remaining High-Rank Demon Kings on Cloud Shadow Continent.
Yang Kai did not notice anything until Bo Ya mentioned this, but now that he thought about it, there indeed was something abnormal with Lie Kuang. Yang Kai had been named the Great King and was put in charge of Cloud Shadow Continent, so by right, Lie Kuang should have rushed over to at least show his face to his new boss, but Lie Kuang still had not shown up.
The other day, Lao Ke said that Lie Kuang had sent them a message that he was going to be delayed, but no matter what it was, it was impossible for him to be delayed for two days. What could have delayed a High-Rank Demon King in this Cloud Shadow Continent for so long?
“Is he trying to challenge my authority because I’m new here?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Bo Ya sneered, “Seem like you’re not stupid.”
The corner of her mouth twitched when Yang Kai raised the Soul Puppet again though and she hurriedly continued, “I’ve asked around. Before you came, these four High-Rank Demon Kings held complete authority over their own territories with absolutely no restriction. You suddenly came here to become their Great King though, and from now on, they will have to listen to your orders. I’m afraid that none of them are happy with the situation. If you were really a Half-Saint, it would be fine, but your cultivation is only equivalent to a Mid-Rank Demon King. How can they allow you to command them?”
Yang Kai pondered, “That makes sense. What else did you find out?”
Bo Ya continued, “As I said before, Lao Ke is old and frail. Although he’s a High-Rank Demon King, there’s no need to fear him. He has been cooperating with me these few days and I now have almost half the power over Cloud Shadow City. He Yin and Ke Sen probably intend to test out your capability; after all, although they are looking forward to you stabilizing the Territory Gate and keeping Cloud Shadow Content connected with the rest of the Demon Realm, they don’t know what your skills are. Naturally, they wouldn’t trust you too much, but they won’t be causing you any trouble for now. The two of them can be ignored for the time being. As for Lie Kuang, you have to be careful about him. I heard that his strength is also the greatest of the four, and he is just one step from being promoted to Half-Saint. He is also on good terms with Blue Plains Continent. By the way, his territory is where the Territory Gate is.”
Yang Kai looked thoughtful, “How convenient.”
Cloud Shadow Continent only had one Territory Gate, which was connected to Blue Plains Continent. Since Lie Kuang’s territory was where the Territory Gate was, it was indeed convenient for Blue Plains Continent.
Bo Ya seemed to be indulging in his misfortune as she snickered, “So if you want to maintain the Territory Gate, you have to go to Lie Kuang’s territory, and if you can’t win him over, how can you get his cooperation?”
Yang Kai looked at her steadily, making Bo Ya feel uncomfortable, “What are you looking at? I warn you, don’t even think of doing anything strange to me, not even a single thought; otherwise, don’t blame me if we have a fallout.” She crossed her arms on her chest defensively as she spoke.
Yang Kai laughed lightly, “I just thought you were pretty capable.”
Two days ago, he named Bo Ya Vice Commander of Cloud Shadow City. Yang Kai originally intended to use that as a message to the Demon Kings that he had the final say on everything here, but he did not expect Bo Ya to be able to help him with anything. Who would have thought that Bo Ya could actually gather so much information in just two days, and also take charge of half of Cloud Shadow City’s power?
Hearing this, Bo Ya smiled complacently, “Feather Demons are not only good at shooting, we are also good at gathering information.”
Yang Kai crossed his arms, rested his chin on his hand, and gazed at her with scorching eyes, remarking, “If this is the case, you must know where Lie Kuang is now.”
Bo Ya did not say a word but just pointed at her feet.
Brow raised, Yang Kai asked, “He’s in the city?”
Bo Ya nodded and replied, “He entered the city a day ago, but he’s in his own mansion now.”
“Very good!” A sneer crept onto Yang Kai’s face as he ordered, “Go, summon Lao Ke and the others over.”
Bo Ya could not help having a bad feeling as she frowned, “What are you going to do?”
Yang Kai stood up, and turned to look out the window, “Naturally, I’m going to demonstrate my authority. One must whip a disobedient dog lest others begin to underestimate him.”
Bo Ya gaped at him and objected, “Are you crazy? If you fight Lie Kuang at this time, Lao Ke and the rest won’t help you.”
“I don’t expect them to help me.”
Bo Ya pointed at herself and asked incredulously, “Don’t tell me you want to depend on me? This is not the Blood Arena. I can’t help you too much. And Lie Kuang is not alone; he brought a lot of Demon Kings into the city this time with him!”
She would not be afraid if Lie Kuang was alone. As long as Yang Kai could pin down the opponent, her shooting skills would be enough to make Lie Kuang suffer; however, according to the information she obtained, Lie Kuang brought almost all of the Demon Kings loyal to him into the city this time. He was clearly prepared.
“That’s even better,” Yang Kai gave her a faint look.
Bo Ya shuddered and was about to open her mouth to persuade again, but she saw the impatience in Yang Kai’s eyes and knowing that she would probably be punished if she raised any more objections, she finally voiced out in a resigned tone, “Since you insist on doing this, I will just obey it. If something happens, don’t blame me for not warning you.”
On the field of the city hall, more than forty Demon Kings assembled, led by Lao Ke, Ke Sen, and He Yin, standing at attention and facing forward.
Behind these Demon Kings, there were thousands of Demon Great Generals of varying strengths as well as tens of thousands of Demon Generals.
Although there was a large number of people, the field was dead silent, and the atmosphere was heavy and tense.
The three High-Rank Demon Kings exchanged doubtful looks. They had no idea why the Great King summoned them here this time, but they all had a premonition that something serious was about to happen.
Yang Kai stood in front of the Demon Kings, and swept his eyes across them lightly before he spoke, “This King has only been here for two days, but my Hallowed Treasure has been stolen! It proves the incompetence of the security of Cloud Shadow City. This King is truly disappointed!”
Lao Ke, who was standing in the centre of the front row, had his brow jump when he heard this speech. He was the Commander of Cloud Shadow City, who was in charge of everything in the city. If something had really been stolen from Yang Kai, he would not be able to avoid responsibility. Moreover, given that Yang Kai was making a big scene out of this, it seemed that the lost object was truly valuable. Lao Ke suddenly felt a little uneasy, and he was afraid that he would face disaster if he could not handle things well today.
He immediately stepped out from the line, and asked, “Great King, may I ask what exactly it was you lost and when it disappeared? This subordinate is willing to lead the team personally to investigate this matter and give Great King a satisfactory response.”
Yang Kai raised his hand, “That won’t be necessary. Vice Commander has already discovered the whereabouts of the thief, but this thief is powerful and has much manpower at his disposal. Today, the reason this King summoned you is to catch the thief and restore the reputation of our Cloud Shadow City.”
When Lao Ke heard the speech, he could not help glancing at Bo Ya. The woman’s head was hung low; her eyes pointed at her nose, while her nose pointed at her heart. The uneasiness in Lao Ke’s heart only grew more and more intense seeing this.
He knew that the new Vice Commander was trying every means to fight for power with him these two days, but he was not as ambitious as he was in his younger years. In addition, Bo Ya’s actions had all been within a reasonable limit, so he had just allowed her to do as she pleased. However, he only shared half of his authority with her, and the other half was still firmly held in his own hands. Even if he had lost his ambition, it did not mean that he did not have the intention to protect himself.
However… When did this Vice Commander inquire about this kind of news? How come he had not heard anything about it?
Not only did Lao Ke have doubts in his mind, but even Bo Ya was secretly cursing Yang Kai’s mother. She certainly knew what Yang Kai was up to. Capturing the Hallowed Treasure thief was indeed a good excuse, but even though there were many people and Masters here, could they really be of any help to him? She suddenly found that Yang Kai was too naive. He really thought that he could do anything with the little bit of authority given to him, and she was afraid that he might suffer a great loss if he did not handle the matter well tonight.
She secretly made up her mind that if the situation really turned bad, she would not care for Yang Kai’s life at all. She would find a chance to snatch the Soul Puppet, and then run away from here.
On the other hand, Yang Kai simply continued, “This King will lead this operation personally and expects all of you to obey his orders. Where is the Vice Commander?”
The corner of Bo Ya’s mouth twitched but she still stepped out of the line and answered, “Subordinate is here.”
“Watch over them carefully. If anyone dares to disobey orders or disrespect this King, execute them on the spot!” Yang Kai scanned his eyes across the Demons in front of him coldly.
“Yes!” Bo Ya had no option but to accept the order.
“Very good.” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction, and waved his big hand, “Depart!”
When the words fell, he was the first one to soar into the sky, with Bo Ya following closely behind. The three High-Rank Demon Kings exchanged looks, then hurriedly ordered their men to keep up with them. For a time, tens of thousands of figures filled the sky over the city hall.
Although it was late, Cloud Shadow City was still noisy and lively, so with the cover of night, this large group of people was able to depart without anyone being the wiser.
At the front, Yang Kai looked indifferent and calm, but Bo Ya was clearly uneasy. Her eyes drifted from side to side, as if she were looking for a way to retreat later.
Behind them, the three High-Rank Demon Kings quietly released their Divine Senses, obviously communicating with each other about something.
Yang Kai noticed it, but he did not bother to stop them. By the look of it, these three were trying to figure out his intentions, but he believed that they would understand soon enough.
And facts proved Yang Kai correct. Not long after, He Yin suddenly sent a Divine Sense transmission, “Is the Great King actually planning to deal with Lie Kuang?”
Both Lao Ke and Ke Sen were taken aback before they turned to look at her together and Ke Sen asked, “Did you notice something?”
Yang Kai’s so-called mission to capture the thief who stole his Hallowed Treasure was definitely a cover. They were not fools, so how could they not see at least that much? Given that such treasures were usually stored in one’s Space Ring, how could it be stolen for no reason? Previously, Lao Ke and the others thought that Yang Kai was making up some story to pressure or punish them, but now, they knew that it was not the case.
Nevertheless, he definitely was up to something for making such a scene.
He Yin sneered, “Don’t tell me that you didn’t know about Lie Kuang entering the city yesterday.”
Lie Kuang did not hide when he entered the city; rather, he came in swaggeringly and even contacted the three of them to inquire about the so-called Great King. As such, how could they not know about his presence?
Then, He Yin pointed to the front, “Lie Kuang’s residence is up ahead!”
When she mentioned this, both the faces of Ke Sen and Lao Ke turned solemn. They suddenly believed that the Great King was truly going to find trouble with Lie Kuang; otherwise, why would he use his ‘stolen Hallowed Treasure’ as an excuse to act like this in the middle of the night?
Ke Sen frowned, “If so, what should we do?”
In principle, they had to obey Yang Kai’s orders, but they were not close to this Great King yet nor were they convinced of his strength or leadership yet. If Yang Kai asked them to fight it out with Lie Kuang, they would surely be unwilling to act.
Lie Kuang was indeed unruly and disrespectful, but he was strong. If he was cornered, he could bring at least one of the three of them down with him, and none of them was willing to be a sacrifice.
He Yin frowned, feeling like Yang Kai had given them a big problem. At the same time, she was extremely infuriated too, because this guy thought that he could just do whatever he wanted with the support of the Holy Venerable. It seemed he was nothing more than an arrogant fool. Although the Holy Venerable appointed him as ‘Great King’ and gave him control of Cloud Shadow Continent, who would be willing to obey a person who had insufficient strength? Furthermore, the Territory Gate of Cloud Shadow Continent was about to disappear, and the whole continent would be completely isolated within a hundred years. The ones residing here were the kind of people that were not favoured by the higher-ups, so death was just waiting for them. If Yang Kai really tried to force Lie Kuang’s hand, he would be the one who would suffer losses.
After pondering for a while, He Yin spoke again, “Let’s observe the situation first.”
No matter what, she would not raise her hand against Lie Kuang. Although Yang Kai had given her some hope when he first introduced himself, that hope was so faint that it was not enough for her to risk her life working for him.
She hoped that the matter tonight would end peacefully; however, if things got out of control, she would not stand on Yang Kai’s side. At most, she would just betray Cloud Shadow Continent and take refuge under a different Holy Venerable.
A High-Rank Demon King would be accepted anywhere, though she might need to bear the name of a traitor and would certainly have a harder time in the future.
Ke Sen and Lao Ke obviously had the same idea and agreed with her with a nod.
While the three were secretly communicating, their group arrived above a huge mansion. Yang Kai, who was the leader, suddenly stopped, looked down at the bright lights below, and the corners of his mouth curved into a bantering smile.
Lao Ke, and the other two looked at each other, and realized that it was just as they thought! This Great King was really so reckless that he dared to provoke Lie Kuang!
Yang Kai pointed below, and ordered, “The thief who stole this King’s treasure is hidden here. You three, capture him for this King!”
He darted his gaze to the three High-Rank Demon Kings, but they just looked back at him quietly, not moving an inch
To the side, Bo Ya gave herself a facepalm. It was so embarrassing that she dared not to look. Awkwardness filled the air… she could not help feeling utterly ashamed about it.
Yang Kai, however, did not seem to sense anything off and just smiled faintly, waving his hand as he bellowed, “Surround this place!”
Lao Ke and the others frowned at this new order. It was not difficult to carry out this task, but it was just that it was unexpected. They thought that Yang Kai would force them to attack directly, which they were unwilling to do, but if it was just forming a perimeter, they could still cooperate with him.
As long as they did not have a direct conflict with Lie Kuang, then it would not count as really offending him.
Therefore, after a moment of pondering, Lao Ke nodded at Ke Sen and He Yin, and followed the order. Leading more than forty Demon Kings, thousands of Demon Great Generals and tens of thousands of Demon Generals, they immediately spread out and surrounded the mansion below. At the same time, they secretly gave orders to their subordinates not to attack without their explicit command.
In the meantime, in the main hall in the middle of the mansion below, lights were bright, cups went gaily round, and the atmosphere was filled with songs and dances.
A fierce and slovenly-looking Demon King with big arms and a robust chest was sitting at the head of the hall. He was clothed in black, with hair so rumpled he resembled a madman, and he had a woman in both of his arms. At the bottom of the seat, more than twenty Demon Kings were seated in lines on either side. Their tables were filled with exotic wine and delicacies.
In the centre of the hall, a group of young women were singing and dancing, and music filled the air.
From his seat, Lie Kuang looked down with a smile, looking extremely elated. The two women in his arms were particularly good at flattery and flirting, and they served him wholeheartedly.
Suddenly, a Demon King got up from the banquet, and cupped his fists as he questioned, “Sir, when shall we meet the Great King?”
As soon as he asked, the noise in the surroundings suddenly quieted down, and all the Demon Kings stared at the guy who spoke. Lie Kuang too, shifted his sharp eyes from his women to the speaker. His gaze was piercing cold, causing the Demon King’s back to be drenched in a cold sweat, thinking, [Did I say something wrong? Isn’t Sir here at Cloud Shadow City this time to meet the new Great King?]
While he was still wondering this, he saw Lie Kuang grab a wine jug in front of him and tossed it at him.
*Hong…*
The Demon King who spoke had his head smashed back. He could have dodged this blow, but he dared not do so. He did not even dare to use his Demon Qi to protect his body; therefore, even though he had a strong physique, his head was bleeding from this impact.
The pain in his head was not important though as he was more frightened by the reaction of Lie Kuang. Surely, he had said something wrong.
“Is this your first day following this King?” Lie Kuang looked at him coldly.
The Demon King was terrified and hurriedly half knelt on the ground with his head bowed, “Sir, please calm your anger. This subordinate knows his mistake.”
“What is your mistake?” Lie Kuang snorted coldly.
Cold sweat was trickling down the Demon King’s forehead. He knew that Lie Kuang was on the verge of erupting into a rage. If he could not handle it well, he would certainly have to suffer, but if he really knew what his mistake was, he would not have offended Lie Kuang with his words. At this time, he racked his brains, but he still could not think of an answer. Fortunately, someone on the side reminded him, and he hurriedly answered, “It should be that guy who comes to greet Sir, not the other way around.”
Only then did Lie Kuang’s face become a little calmer, shooting a glare at the Demon King who spoke first before ignoring him.
He definitely would punish him if he was someone else, but this particular subordinate had an accident while cultivating a Secret Art in his early years, resulting in him being a bit mentally dim; therefore, it was meaningless to argue with him.
Seeing this, the Demon King smiled awkwardly before sitting back down.
However, as soon the topic was brought up, the other Demon Kings could not sit still anymore. Someone immediately stated, “Sir, I heard that the so-called Great King seems to be weak.”
“Not only is he weak, but he’s also a Human!”
They had connections in Cloud Shadow City, and they used those connections to inquire about Yang Kai after entering the city yesterday. Since Yang Kai admitted in public that he was a Human, it was not a secret.
However, there was still a person who heard this for the first time, and he immediately exclaimed, “Human? How could it be a Human? Is the news confirmed to be true?”
“It’s true, he’s indeed a Human. I heard that this guy had committed some kind of crime in the Star Boundary, was demonified, and fell to the Demon path, causing him to be hunted by the Great Emperors and Pseudo-Great Emperors over there. He seems to have come to the Demon Realm as a last resort. Somehow, he won the favour of the Holy Venerable and was entrusted with an important task!”
“Is Holy Venerable blind? Our Sir should be the one who takes charge of Cloud Shadow Continent. Why did she send a Human over here? It’s ridiculous!”
“It would be fine if he was strong enough, but his cultivation is only equivalent to a Mid-Rank Demon King. Alas, Holy Venerable has erred this time.”
“The Human Race is cunning and treacherous. Who knows what kind of lies and deception he used to persuade Holy Venerable; after all, she is a woman.”
The group of people started gossiping, all looking like they were defending Lie Kuang against injustice, implying that Yu Ru Meng had been deceived somehow.
“Bastards!” Lie Kuang suddenly bellowed, putting a stop to all the conversations of the Demon Kings below. He looked around with his dignified eyes and growled, “Holy Venerable has her own reasons. How can you speak so casually about her commands? If a single word of this were to spread out, none of you would be able to bear the consequences!”
It was indeed wrong to speak ill of the Holy Venerable behind her back. If the Holy Venerable learned of this slight, she would definitely punish Lie Kuang heavily, even if she did not kill him.
After stating that, he snorted coldly, “I’m still fine with Lao Ke, for he was in charge of guarding Cloud Shadow City and was thus already here, but Ke Sen and He Yin, those two fools, rushing over to greet some Human as soon as they received the news, it’s shameful to our Demon Race! However, I, Lie Kuang, will not put him in my eyes. Does he really think that he can take charge of Cloud Shadow Continent with just an order from Holy Venerable? In his dreams!”
“That’s right, we don’t need him here in our Demon Realm. Strength is all that matters here, if he is not capable, how can he sit in that position?” A loud voice echoed from below.
Lie Kuang sneered again, “I’m afraid that you all don’t know about this. This little brat offended Sir Yue Sang in the Holy City a few days ago. Sir Yue Sang ordered this King to eliminate this person. As long as this task is completed, Sir Yue Sang guaranteed that this King will take charge of Cloud Shadow Continent. After assuming command, with the resources available, it will be possible for this King to break through to the Half-Saint Realm!”
The Demon Kings were overjoyed as soon as they heard his statement. They looked up at Lie Kuang and congratulated him, “With the trust of Sir Yue Sang, Sir definitely can control Cloud Shadow Continent, and be promoted to Half-Saint in no time.”
“Hahaha!” Lie Kuang could not help laughing. It seemed that he had seen the scene of his promotion to Half-Saint already and raised his hand and continued, “It’s too early to say this now. We need to finish Sir Yue Sang’s task as soon as poss… Huh?”
Before he finished, Lie Kuang suddenly frowned, looked up into the sky, and pounded the table angrily, shouting, “How dare you!?”
The table was smashed apart and the food and drink splashed everywhere while Lie Kuang soared into the sky.
There was a loud explosion as Lie Kuang opened up a hole in the roof of the hall while the other Demon Kings present only now noticed something was wrong. There seemed to be a lot of auras outside, surrounding the mansion.
Without further ado, more than twenty Demon Kings flew into the air together, flying out through the newly-opened exit.
At this moment, tens of thousands of Demons were scattered around the mansion in an orderly manner, surrounding a large area.
Lie Kuang flew up with a darkened face. He swept his eyes across them, then immediately fixed his gaze on Yang Kai, an obvious murderous intent flashing across his cloudy eyes.
*Shua Shua Shua…*
Many figures flew out and appeared behind Lie Kuang. They were all his subordinates.
Looking at each other, Yang Kai smiled lightly and looked at the High-Rank Demon King in front of him. He was indeed outstanding, with an intense vitality pulsing from his large body. This Lie Kuang was undoubtedly stronger than Lao Ke and the others. It seemed that Bo Ya’s information was right, this guy was only one step away from becoming a Half-Saint.
Lie Kuang, who was opposite Yang Kai, was stunned for a moment; however, after seeing Lao Ke and the others behind Yang Kai, he immediately understood Yang Kai’s identity. [Is this the Human Great King? We were still talking about him just now, but I didn’t expect to see him so soon. Especially not under such circumstances.]
It seemed that he was aware that Yang Kai was teasing him from his eyes, and he could see that this guy was not simple. He pretended that he did not know anything though, stretched out his hand and pointed at the front, yelling furiously, “Who are you? Report your name!”
With a faint smile, Yang Kai replied, “This King is the Great King who was appointed by Holy Venerable to command Cloud Shadow Continent. Who are you?”
“Great King? Since when has there been a Great King?” Lie Kuang’s eyes flashed fiercely as he bared his teeth and grinned, “This King has never heard of something so ridiculous. As for me… This King is Lie Kuang!” Since the other party did not come with good intentions, the matter today probably would not end peacefully. Lie Kuang planned to take this opportunity to kill this bastard. Even if Holy Venerable investigated later, he could just blame it on Yang Kai for picking a fight with him.
Yang Kai tilted his head, “Lie Kuang? Oh, I remember. This King has a subordinate named Lie Kuang, but I haven’t seen him yet. How can you prove that you are him?”
Lie Kuang sneered, “What proof do you want?”
The group of Demon Kings behind him burst into laughter, with a hint of mockery in their eyes. They thought, [Is this Human out of his mind? Why did he actually ask Sir to prove his identity? Isn’t his High-Rank Demon King cultivation the best evidence? Or is this Human just giving himself a way out?]
Yang Kai nodded, “It seems that you have no proof.” Then, he suddenly bellowed, “Vice Commander!”
Bo Ya really wanted to just ignore Yang Kai as she knew that things were going from bad to worse as soon as Lie Kuang came out. This guy was stronger than any Demon King she had seen before; moreover, it was said that he was a Stone Demon with incredible innate defence. Her archery might not be strong enough to stop him.
But Yang Kai yelled so loudly that she could not turn a deaf ear, for the Soul Puppet was still in the bastard’s hands, so she immediately braced herself and responded, “Yes Sir!”
“Take a closer look at this savage. Is he the one who stole this King’s treasure?” Yang Kai pointed at Lie Kuang.
Lie Kuang could not help frowning, [Who stole your treasure? What the Hell is this about?]
Bo Ya did not even look at Lie Kuang and she just followed up Yang Kai’s sentence, “He does… look like him… a bit,” She did not dare to answer too clearly, so that she would not gain hatred from Lie Kuang because of this.
“So it’s you,” Yang Kai nodded before charging toward Lie Kuang like a ghost right after he finished speaking.
Lie Kuang was taken aback. He did not notice how Yang Kai moved at all, and suddenly their faces were about to crash into each other. Acting on instinct, he surged his Demon Qi and his body instantly took on a stone lustre. There was no doubt that he was a Stone Demon now, born with thick skin and tough flesh.
At the same time, Lie Kuang swung a fierce punch forward.
Since the other party acted first, he would not return with a weak response. In any case, he was going to kill this person tonight, so he showed no mercy when he punched.
However, as soon as he made a move, he suddenly saw a golden vertical pupil appear in Yang Kai’s left eye. The vertical pupil radiated a strange power, which almost sent him into a trance, but that was all. Lie Kuang was a peak High-Rank Demon King, and his Soul was naturally quite powerful; therefore, even the Demon Eye of Annihilation could not affect him too greatly.
Nevertheless, what Yang Kai wanted was just this short moment.
The Soul Splitting Saber was used once not long ago, so Yang Kai had not condensed enough power to use his Heaven Severing Slash again. Instead, he executed his Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique.
For a moment, Lie Kuang’s vision was covered by a budding lotus, blinding him to everything else.
The lotus rooted strangely in his mind, and absorbed his Spiritual Energy crazily as the petals bloomed gently. Unimaginable pain struck Lie Kuang and he could not help letting out a pained grunt.
At the same time, his fist hit Yang Kai’s left shoulder.
Everyone was stunned. Even Lao Ke, Ke Sen, He Yin, and Bo Ya were all dumbstruck and did not regain their senses until this moment.
They initially thought that Yang Kai wanted to borrow the strength of the tens of thousands of troops under them to deal with Lie Kuang, so all of them had secretly been making their own plans, but how could they have anticipated that Yang Kai had no such intentions at all and would start a fight with Lie Kuang all on his own without hesitation.
[Does he not know how to write the word ‘death’?]
Even though Lie Kuang was a Stone Demon and his strength was inferior to a Strength Demon, could a Mid-Rank Demon King take his punch head-on?
Seeing that punch hit Yang Kai on the shoulder, everyone’s eyes flashed as they subconsciously thought that Yang Kai would die without a doubt. Bo Ya even readied herself to pounce, preparing to snatch Yang Kai’s Space Ring as fast as possible and then flee as far as possible.
But what she saw at the next moment made her jaw drop.
Lie Kuang’s punch indeed hit Yang Kai, but Yang Kai was not blown up or even away. His body only sank slightly as he stubbornly withstood the strength of the fist.
Immediately after, Yang Kai opened his mouth, and a deafening Dragon Roar resounded, sending a visible blast of air towards Lie Kuang in the shape of an awl.
Lie Kuang was already tormented by the Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique, and was even more stunned when he was hit by the Dragon Roar Secret Technique directly. His Soul was shaken and dazed while the Mid-Rank and Low-Rank Demon Kings behind him looked horrified, their footing becoming unstable as their formation was instantly disrupted.
Taking advantage of this good opportunity, Yang Kai raised his hand and the Mountains and Rivers Bell was summoned, grew rapidly as it spun, and then covered Lie Kuang and himself directly.
With a bang, the Mountains and Rivers Bell fell over Yang Kai and Lie Kuang, who both disappeared and were confined together inside.
Lao Ke and Ke Sen were completely dumbfounded. When Lie Kuang’s subordinates finally stabilized themselves, frowning at the Mountains and Rivers Bell with strange looks.
[Judging from this situation, does the Human want to… fight Sir Lie Kuang alone? Otherwise, why would he use this artifact in such a way?]
[Where does he get such confidence from?] Although Lie Kuang was a High-Rank Demon King, he was only one step away from becoming a Half-Saint. It could be said that as long as he had the right opportunity and sufficient time, he would definitely break through.
Even Lao Ke and the others, all of whom were High-Rank Demon Kings, knew that they were no match for Le Kuang; but a trivial Human equivalent to a Mid-Rank Demon King was recklessly challenging Lie Kuang. Did he court death?
The Demon Kings could predict the following situation – the Human would be beheaded by Sir Lie Kuang on the spot. There was absolutely no second possibility.
One of the Mid-Rank Demon Kings glanced at Lao Ke and the others indifferently and waved his hand. Twenty-odd subordinates under Lie Kuang immediately swarmed and spread out around the Mountains and Rivers Bell. It was obvious that they did not want Lie Kuang to be disturbed before the battle ended.
The faces of Lao Ke and the others darkened slightly. They were not worrying about Yang Kai as there was nothing they could do if Yang Kai wanted to dig his own grave, but the disrespectful attitude of these Mid-Rank Demon Kings was annoying.
But that was all, they did not take any action. Lao Ke glanced at Ke Sen and He Yin, and could not help but sigh. This was going to be difficult to explain to the Holy Venerable, why the Human Great King was killed by Lie Kuang only a few days after arrival. Moreover, they were actually more worried about whether Lie Kuang would trouble them later.
They were suddenly overwhelmed with worry. Yang Kai had really burdened them this time.
…..
Inside the Mountains and Rivers Bell, there was only a space of about sixty metres across. Yang Kai and Lie Kuang stood opposite each other, the former cracking his neck and stretching his muscles and joints, while the latter had fires blazing in his eyes as he glared at Yang Kai furiously.
He had fallen into a disadvantage. Although he was not in any life-threatening danger, it was enough to send Lie Kuang to the verge of eruption so his expression was absolutely hideous.
Despite his anger though, Le Kuang’s mind was still clear. He turned his head to look around and spread out his Divine Sense to feel the surroundings before quickly comprehending his own situation. Understanding this, he could not help but sneer, “Human, you are indeed courageous to act like this!”
To be honest, what Yang Kai just did was beyond his expectations.
Yang Kai replied lightly, “You’re quite brave yourself. This King was ordered to take charge of Cloud Shadow Continent. Since you entered the city, why did you not come to greet me immediately?”
“What makes you think you’re qualified to be greeted by this King?” Lie Kuang sneered before he cracked his knuckles and shouted, “Do you think you can survive after crossing Sir Yue Sang?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Yue Sang has been assigned by Holy Venerable to the front lines of the war. Didn’t you know?”
At that moment, Yang Kai confirmed that Lie Kuang had close connections to Blue Plains Continent, and just as Bai Zhuo had mentioned before, Blue Plains Continent was Yue Sang’s territory.
Lie Kuang was stunned when he heard these words and his face went blank.
Yang Kai sneered, “It looks like you really didn’t know.”
Lie Kuang definitely would not react this way if he was not clueless about it.
Lie Kuang waved his hand angrily however and growled, “Don’t talk nonsense, Sir Yue Sang has won the trust of Holy Venerable, and is regarded as her right arm. How could Holy Venerable send him to the front lines of the war so suddenly? You, however… If you are willing to submit to this King, I may spare your life today.”
“I’ll return those words to you!” Yang Kai looked at him with a grin, “This King is a newcomer with a shallow foundation in this place, so I am eager to gather as much force as possible. Your cultivation is passible so it would be a pity to kill you. If you open your Knowledge Sea and allow this King to mark you with his Soul Imprint, you will be saved from death today!”
Lie Kuang burst out laughing, “What shameless boasting!” Looking around, he then asked, “Are you relying on this artifact? En, this artifact indeed is quite good. Although this King hasn’t experienced it, I can tell. It may not be easy to break through it, but your mistake is that you shouldn’t have confined yourself in here with this King. In this small space, if this King wants to kill you, where can you hide?”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head and smiled mockingly, “Last chance, surrender, or die!”
Lie Kuang’s face became cold as he exploded, “Die!”
When the voice fell, he pounced at Yang Kai with his Demon Qi flaring, like an unleashed dog that no one could stop.
As if he had not realized the danger at all, Yang Kai just stood still and smiled at Lie Kuang.
Lie Kuang frowned, wondering what Yang Kai was up to when he showed no sign of resistance. Lie Kuang instinctually felt something was wrong, but at this moment, the arrow had already flown from the string, so all he could do was go all out with his attack.
In the next instant, he saw Yang Kai suddenly raise his hand, and a tall figure strangely appeared in front of him, blocking the way.
Before Lie Kuang could see exactly what this figure was, a fist with the size of a door appeared right in front of his face. Lie Kuang felt the force behind this punch before it even came in contact with him and suddenly had the impression that a mountain was falling towards him!
Responding as quickly as lightning, Lie Kuang crossed his arms across his chest, and at the same time hurriedly activated his Innate Divine Ability. The surface of his body glowed in a golden sheen that radiated solidity.
There was a bang and under Lie Kuang’s shocked gaze, his whole body was blasted away by a powerful force. The golden light on his body flashed wildly as he slammed into the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
Every organ in his body shifted violently, roiling his vitality. With great difficulty, Lie Kuang got up, spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and looked up in horror. Only then did he see exactly what had punched him.
It was a thirty-metre-tall stone giant covered in evil fire and sharp spines. A terrifying aura exuded from within the evil fire.
Divine Spirit!
There were also Divine Spirits in the Demon Realm, and even Half-Saints had no choice but to give way before the stronger ones. Although Lie Kuang did not recognize the origin of this Divine Spirit, he knew that he was not its match!
There was severe pain in both of his arms. The enemy’s punch had broken his limbs and even the bones in his chest were broken. If he was not protected by his Innate Divine Ability as a Stone Demon, that punch alone would have smashed him to paste.
What terrifying power!
Lie Kuang’s brow twitched and his heart filled with anxiety. Rather than being intimidated by the strength displayed by this Divine Spirit, he was even more at a loss as to how it appeared here! It was obvious that he and Yang Kai were the only ones in here just now, and this space had been thoroughly sealed off by the strange artifact, so where did this Divine Spirit come from?
Just as Lie Kuang’s mind was spinning, the Embodiment shook his head and mumbled in a rumbling voice, “It’s a bit awkward in here…”
Although the Embodiment could change his size easily, he felt quite restricted inside these sixty metres of space.
Yang Kai walked out slowly from behind the Embodiment with a smile on his face, “Don’t complain, just do it!”
With Yang Kai’s current skills, dealing with Lie Kuang was naturally not a problem, but if he really fought on his own, it would cost him some time and effort. His main purpose tonight was to subdue the group of Demons in Cloud Shadow Continent, so the faster and more decisively he finished this battle the better. If he was delayed for too long, something unexpected could happen outside.
When the Embodiment heard these words, he took a big step towards Lie Kuang while Yang Kai’s flickering figure followed after him.
Lie Kuang’s heart clenched tight, knowing that he could not overcome this challenge today. This would undoubtedly be his burial place if he could not escape. Without any hesitation, Lie Kuang reached out and summoned a six-metre-long spear into the palm of his hand. Resisting the pain he felt, he roared as he surged his Demon Qi and hurled it towards the back. That toss contained all the strength Lie Kuang could muster, which was so immense that it could shatter worlds, and a fist-sized pitch-black ball appeared at its tip.
As long as he could break this artifact, he could get the support of his subordinates outside, and the situation could be reversed. At worst, he could just escape. This was undoubtedly his only option now.
With a bang, the Mountains and Rivers Bell trembled but remained completely unscathed.
On the contrary, Lie Kuang was forced back by the shockwave and a sense of disbelief flashed in his eyes. He had greatly underestimated the grade of this artifact. It would not budge even if he attacked with full strength. This was undoubtedly a Saint Grade Artifact.
This Human was only comparable to a Mid-Rank Demon King, so how could he possibly deserve such a divine artifact? Even though his life was on the line, Lie Kuang could not help feeling jealous.
At that moment, the Embodiment suddenly raised his hand and pressed downward.
In an instant, an inexplicable force enveloped Lie Kuang, causing him to feel extremely heavy, turning his movements sluggish. Not only that, strands of red aura escaped uncontrollably from his limbs and pores towards the Embodiment’s hand.
[What kind of evil Secret Technique is this!?] Lie Kuang was shocked, clearly aware that his strength was being absorbed by the opponent, albeit the speed was not very fast. However, given enough time, his foundation would be damaged. He would not even need to consider breaking through again because it would be a great fortune to even be able to retain his High-Rank Demon King cultivation.
Lie Kuang was horrified and quickly retrieved his long spear. He wanted to forcefully break the Embodiment’s Secret Technique.
Yang Kai suddenly launched an attack. His hands had turned into Dragon Claws, with Dragon Pressure pulsing from his body.
Fear filled Lie Kuang’s heart as he realized now that he had severely underestimated this Human as well.
He looked over and saw the phantom image of a Great Dragon behind Yang Kai, falling into a stupefied daze as Yang Kai’s claw broke through his proud defence.
In normal times, such an injury could only be regarded as a minor wound, but under the influence of the stone giant’s strange Secret Technique, fresh blood poured out of the claw print like a river.
Even though Lie Kuang was quick to react to this situation by instantly sealing the wound with Demon Qi, his aura had plummeted greatly in that short moment.
As the central city of the whole continent, Cloud Shadow City had always been bustling and lively, but tonight, the city was strangely quiet.
The news about more than forty Demon Kings, thousands of Demon Great Generals, and tens of thousands of Demon Generals besieging a mansion had spread widely. Many Demons had no idea what was happening but had come to watch silently in the dark.
However, some Demons knew that this was Lie Kuang’s mansion and that he had just entered the city a day ago. The question was, why had the city hall sent so many people out to surround this mansion, were they going to kill Lie Kuang? Since when had Lao Ke been so daring?
Or was it the order of the new Great King?
In any case, there would be an interesting show tonight. Even those weaker Demons could feel that the entire Cloud Shadow City was shrouded in an inexplicable atmosphere, and a storm was brewing.
The Mountains and Rivers Bell covered a large area inside Lie Kuang’s mansion, and while Lao Ke and the others were watching from far away, the twenty or so Demon Kings under Lie Kuang were frowning, hesitating about what they should do next.
It had been almost half a cup of tea’s time since the artifact isolated the Human and Sir Lie Kuang from them, and none of them had any idea what was going on inside. All they knew was that muffled rumbling sounds were constantly echoing from inside.
It was beyond any of their expectations that the Human could last so long under Sir Lie Kuang’s assault. To them, with Lie Kuang’s cultivation, it was obvious that the arrogant Human would die quickly and everything would be over, but in fact, the activity inside actually showed the high intensity of the battle.
The more than twenty Demon Kings had lost their initial calmness as a trace of worry surfaced on their faces. Was Sir Lie Kuang having trouble inside? This artifact was owned by the Human, but they had not noticed it displaying its power yet. It seemed that the use of the bell was just for isolation.
Trying to calm their worries, they firmly believed that it was impossible that Sir Lie Kuang would fail to deal with a mere Human, so they continued to wait quietly.
In the meantime, inside the Mountains and Rivers Bell, Lie Kuang was running like a stray dog with maddened eyes, but where could he escape within less than sixty meters of space?
He never thought that he would fail miserably at such an easy task. He did not put the Human in his eyes previously, but when they really began to fight, only then did he realize that Yang Kai’s strength was not inferior to his own. With the aid of the Divine Spirit, Lie Kuang was completely outmatched.
His original burly body has shrivelled up, as if he was turning into a dried fish. All thanks to the Divine Spirit, his vitality and strength had been drained enormously. He had no clue what evil skill the Divine Spirit had cultivated, which allowed it to devour his blood and energy, but with every new wound on his body, a large amount of vitality would flow out to be devoured and refined by the Divine Spirit.
It was fine if it occurred just once or twice, but even Lie Kuang could not bear it when it happened over and over again.
At this moment, he felt that his foundation had been severely damaged. His High-Rank Demon King cultivation had dropped to Mid-Rank, and it was impossible to recover from that…
His heart was filled with grief and anger. There was no light at the end of the tunnel for him, and all he could see was darkness.
Seeing Yang Kai blocking his way and stretching his sharp claws at him again, Lie Kuang hurriedly half-knelt on the ground and shouted, “I surrender, please forgive me. Lie Kuang is willing to follow and serve Sir with all his heart!”
He would undoubtedly die if he delayed any longer. At this time, integrity or reputation was not important anymore; keeping his own life was the top priority.
Yang Kai’s Dragon Claw stopped in front of Lie Kuang’s neck as he tilted his head slightly, but upon noticing the reluctance in Lie Kuang’s eyes, Yang Kai simply grinned, “It’s too late to surrender now… What do I still need you for?”
Yang Kai was interested in subduing Lie Kuang when he was still at the peak of the High-Rank Demon King Realm, but now, much of Lie Kuang’s vitality had been extracted by the Embodiment’s Heaven Devouring Battle Law, and his strength has dropped sharply. It was impossible for Lie Kuang to recover his peak state now, so it was meaningless to subdue him anymore.
He had given Lie Kuang a chance, but he did not know how to cherish it. Now that he was being cornered, Lie Kuang simply wanted to compromise to save himself; there was no deal that good in the world.
When the words fell, Yang Kai slashed out.
…..
Lights flickered, and the Mountains and Rivers Bell spun and shrank rapidly.
All the Demons who were watching lit up, and Lie Kuang’s twenty subordinates also put on excited faces.
Bo Ya’s brow jumped as she really did not dare to watch for fear of seeing a scene she did not wish to see. She was still fine with the Soul Puppet in Yang Kai’s hands, because at least Yang Kai did not embarrass her much these past few days, let alone force her to do anything she did not want to do.
But if the Soul Puppet fell into Lie Kuang’s hands, Bo Ya was sure that her life in the future would be no better than death.
Therefore, although she did not have high hopes, she still secretly prayed that Yang Kai could pull off a miracle and appear before her eyes alive.
When the Mountains and Rivers Bell floated up into the air, the space within was finally revealed to everyone’s eyes.
Lao Ke and the others narrowed their eyes in shock, while Lie Kuang’s subordinate Demon Kings who were full of expectation could not believe the scene that they saw. A chill instantly ran down their spines to the bottom of their feet.
Bo Ya was stunned too. She wiped her eyes vigorously, as if to confirm whether she was seeing wrongly.
Yang Kai survived. Not only was he alive, but there were no injuries on his body at all. He stood there majestically, holding a long spear in his hand, and a shrivelled body limply hanging at the spear’s tip.
The body looked as if it had been dead for countless years. It was so dry that it had lost its original shape, but the face and figure were still recognizable. As for the dark eyes which were wide open, they clearly showed that this man died with incredible unwillingness and hatred.
The long spear was obviously the Demon Artifact of Lie Kuang.
[Lie Kuang… Is he dead?]
Feeling as though their hearts were hammered hard, everyone’s emotions were agitated violently, as if they were in a bad dream.
How did Lie Kuang die? How did it end like this?
Lie Kuang was the most powerful High-Rank Demon King among the four in Cloud Shadow Continent. He would not be in trouble even if he encountered another High-Rank Demon King. On the other hand, Yang Kai’s cultivation was just equivalent to Mid-Rank Demon King, a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master according to Human Race standards. It was completely unreasonable for him to kill Lie Kuang without taking any damage.
[Is it because of the bell-like artifact?] Although the big bell did not seem to release its power earlier, no one knew what kind of strange ability it had. Perhaps, Yang Kai could achieve such a victory all thanks to the big bell.
What terrified these Demons even more was the Secret Art cultivated by Yang Kai which was able to turn Lie Kuang into a shrivelled-up corpse. They could imagine that Lie Kuang must have suffered extreme torture before he died as all of his Blood and Spiritual Essence seemed to have been sucked out. This kind of Secret Art would undoubtedly be called an evil technique by the Human Race.
[No wonder this guy was exiled from the Star Boundary. Given that he cultivated this kind of wicked technique, how could the Star Boundary allow him to remain?]
Yang Kai was carrying Lie Kuang’s corpse with the spear as he looked around coldly with sharp and searing eyes. Perceiving the vicious aura, the twenty or so Demon Kings who were gathered closest to him took a few steps back together, terror-stricken.
“Lie Kuang dared to steal my treasure, damage Cloud Shadow Continent’s reputation, disobey direct orders, and offend his superior with evil intentions! This King has executed him, to serve as a warning today!” Yang Kai shouted loudly while pushing his Emperor Qi so his voice spread far and wide, allowing all the Demons in Cloud Shadow City to hear him clearly. After making this declaration, Yang Kai hurled the spear together with Lie Kuang’s corpse and pinned him to the top of the tallest building nearby.
The corpse swung with the strong wind, and his wide, unclosing eyes truly terrorized the surrounding Demons.
Things hadn’t ended yet though as Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and looked at the more than twenty Demon Kings around him, yelling, “Lie Kuang’s subordinates showed grave disrespect for their superior and assisted a tyrant to do evil! All of you should be executed for this crime, but this King believes that you were all put under pressure to follow unreasonable orders, as such, you will not be executed for the time being. Your fates will be decided after a thorough investigation is completed.”
With a wave of his hand, Yang Kai looked at Lao Ke, Ke Sen, He Yin, and the others with a sharp glare, “Take them away. If anyone dares to rebel, execute them on the spot!”
Lao Ke and the others could not help shivering as the mild-mannered impression that Yang Kai gave them when they first met two days ago was totally overturned. They thought that this Human was a sheep putting up a strong act, but he turned out to be a ravenous wolf. Tonight, he revealed his true colours.
With Lie Kuang being an example, Lao Ke and the others naturally didn’t dare to neglect Yang Kai’s orders. Even Lie Kuang was killed by Yang Kai alone in just the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, so how could they be his opponents? If they really offended him, they definitely would not live well in the future, if they lived at all.
So as soon as the order was passed down, Lao Ke and the others immediately waved their hands and ordered, “Begin!”
All of a sudden, more than forty Demon Kings rushed out together and pounced at Lie Kuang’s subordinates.
Lie Kuang’s subordinates were still in a daze and had not recovered from the shock of their leader’s death, so when they heard Yang Kai’s ferocious order, they were all flustered. Although the twenty of them were still a potent fighting force, the other side outnumbered them two to one, and there were three High-Rank Demon Kings taking charge; therefore, most Demon Kings just surrendered with a gloomy face, allowing themselves to be arrested.
Not knowing whether they panicked or remained loyal to Lie Kuang though, three Demon Kings actually rebelled violently, breaking through the siege in anger. One after another, they performed their own Secret Techniques and fled outside in streams of light.
Fortunately, thousands of Demon Great Generals and tens of thousands of Demon Generals surrounded the periphery, so with the slight hindrance of these Demons, three shooting star-like arrows pierced through the air and hit the three fugitive Demon Kings precisely, killing them on the spot.
Yang Kai turned toward a certain direction just in time to see Bo Ya storing away her bow.
Soon after, the dust settled.
All the people in Lie Kuang’s mansion were captured or killed without any omission. Perhaps they wanted to make up for their previous cold shoulder, so Lao Ke, Ke Sen, and He Yin cooperated with Yang Kai quite well this time, following his orders without any hesitation.
After half a stick worth of incense, Lao Ke came to Yang Kai and cupped his fists, “Great King, all twenty-two Demon Kings under Lie Kuang have been dealt with. Nineteen were captured alive and three were killed. Besides them, 348 others were also arrested.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and replied calmly, “Take all of them back.”
Lao Ke received the order and left.
He Yin strolled forward, and handed over a bunch of jingling rings, “Great King, these are the spoils of this battle.”
The Space Rings of the group of captured Demon Kings were naturally confiscated. There were exactly twenty-two of them, all belonging to the Demon Kings under Lie Kuang. As for Lie Kuang’s own Space Ring, Yang Kai had already taken it earlier.
Yang Kai glanced at her, and waved his hand, “It has been a difficult night for everyone. Divide these things amongst yourselves, consider it as a small gift from this King.”
The resources of the Demon Race were not useful for Yang Kai, and he was satisfied with just collecting Lie Kuang’s Space Ring. As such, he might as well put these things to use to win over his new subordinates. Killing Lie Kuang was enough to deter Lao Ke and the others, so now it was time to reward them.
He Yin was silent for a while before she cupped her fists without saying much, “Many thanks for your reward, Great King.”
Although there were many good things in the twenty-two Demon Kings’ Space Rings, it was not enough to share with everyone since Yang Kai had gathered many forces tonight; however, the sign given by Yang Kai made her feel at ease, for she knew that he still had to rely on them, and would not blame them for their previous indifference.
After a moment, everything was sorted out so Yang Kai waved his hand and led the Demons back to the city.
Lao Ke looked back at the corpse nailed to the tallest building and could not help sighing. Although he had never gotten along with Lie Kuang, he never expected this guy’s death to be so tragic.
Lie Kuang’s death did not matter to him, but after tonight, it was clear a true ruler had risen in Cloud Shadow Continent.
The next day, inside his room, as soon as Yang Kai came out of the Sealed World Bead, he noticed several auras waiting outside. It was Lao Ke and the others, but he had no idea how long they had been waiting.
With a swing of his hand, the door was opened and the trio entered in turn, all of them approaching close before cupping their fists, “Greetings, Great King!”
“What is it?” Yang Kai began to pour himself a cup of water from a nearby jug and looked up at them while he could not help sneering in his heart. These three did not care so much about him the first few days of his arrival, and they did not even bother to pay him a visit; however, they actually approached him together early this morning. It seemed that the incident of last night had a great impact on them.
Lao Ke announced, “Reporting to Great King. We have interrogated Lie Kuang’s subordinates overnight as ordered. This is what we discovered.” While speaking, he handed over a jade slip.
Yang Kai took the jade slip and sent his Divine Sense into it to examine its content.
It was nothing else other than all kinds of information regarding the nineteen captured Demon Kings, including their Clans, origin, and even cultivation, as well as their relationship with Lie Kuang, their level of loyalty, and so on.
Among them, five were highlighted.
Lao Ke further explained, “The highlighted five have been followers of Lie Kuang for a very long time, with the shortest having been under him for over a thousand years. May I know what Great King wants to do with them?”
These five people were undoubtedly Lie Kuang’s confidants, similar to the three people who were executed by Bo Ya last night. Since they were Lie Kuang’s confidants, they should not be kept alive. In any case, Yang Kai did not care about the lives of the Demons here; therefore, he looked up at the three in front of him, and asked, “What do you think?”
Lao Ke pondered for a moment before he answered, “This subordinate thinks that it’s better not to keep them around, so as to avoid any trouble in the future.”
He Yin and Ke Sen nodded in agreement.
Yang Kai responded plainly, “Since all three of you agree, do as you see fit.”
The corner of Lao Ke’s mouth twitched when he heard Yang Kai’s words because it sounded like he was the one who sentenced the five Demon Kings to death. Lao Ke felt that these five Demon Kings were just following orders too, but he dared not to express opposition here. After a short pause, he continued, “The other fourteen people don’t seem problematic and are unlikely to seek revenge for Lie Kuang.”
“Then break them up and assign them to work under the three of you.”
“Yes!”
Yang Kai sipped some tea. Seeing that they had no intention of leaving, he could not help laughing, “What else do you have to say?”
Lao Ke and the others exchanged glances, but in the end, it was still Lao Ke who took the courage to speak, “Great King mentioned that the purpose of you coming to Cloud Shadow Continent was to maintain the Territory Gate and protect Cloud Shadow Continent. Now that Lie Kuang has fallen and Cloud Shadow Continent is totally under Great King’s control, we can start to make arrangements as soon as possible. May I know when Great King wishes to begin?”
This was a constant worry in their hearts, so they wished to settle the issue as soon as possible; therefore, even if they felt like they were in no position to urge Yang Kai, they still could not help asking about it.
Yang Kai chuckled, “I shall begin shortly, but before I do, I have something for you to do.”
“We await your orders, Great King.”
“Find me all the information about the Cloud Shadow Continent’s Territory Gates, including those that have already vanished. I need as much as you can gather.”
Although they had no clue what Yang Kai wanted with this information, it was a simple task so Lao Ke and the others readily accepted the order.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment, then reached out his hand and took out a delicate jade box, “On a different note, I want to ask you about one thing.”
Lao Ke and the others immediately responded humbly.
Yang Kai opened the jade box and took out a pill-like object the size of a pigeon egg. It was black all over and looked just like an unimpressive black pill; however, this black pill had no medicinal fragrance. All Yang Kai knew was that when he probed it with his Divine Sense, he found that this black pill contained a horrifying amount of energy.
However, this kind of energy could not be absorbed just by anyone. The energy contained in it was chaotic and malevolent. If a Human consumed this thing, he would be demonified in an instant. On the contrary, if a Demon took it, it would surely be of great benefit to their cultivation.
He found this object in Lie Kuang’s Space Ring, three of them in fact. Each one was put in a jade box and was placed in the deepest place of the Space Ring, so it was obviously very valuable.
Yang Kai knew nothing about this thing, but he believed that Lao Ke and the others should know about it.
To his surprise, when he took out the black pill, the three Demon Kings gaped at it with scorching eyes and even some light panting.
Yang Kai raised his brow at them and asked, “What is this?”
Lao Ke gulped and cupped his fists. “It’s reasonable that Great King doesn’t know about this since you’re a Human. But to the Demon Race, it is a supreme tonic, especially for we Demon Kings. This is a Myriad Demon Pill!”
“Myriad Demon Pill?” Yang Kai was shocked, “This thing is a Myriad Demon Pill?”
Yin replied, “Has Great King heard about the Myriad Demon Pill before?”
Yang Kai put on a weird look, “I heard someone mentioned it a few days ago.”
Previously, when Yue Sang attempted to stop Bai Zhuo, he offered eighty Myriad Demon Pills to him in exchange for Yang Kai’s life. Although Yang Kai asked Bai Zhuo about the Myriad Demon Pill that day, Bai Zhuo just smiled without saying anything, leaving him clueless.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai did not expect to obtain such a thing so soon.
No wonder the Half-Saints used these to barter with. It was indeed extraordinary. The internal energy was enormous to the extreme, comparable to a Pill Cloud enveloped Emperor Pill that had been nourished for thousands of years.
Yang Kai estimated that a Low-Rank Demon King would only need to consume a few dozen of these pills to break through to the Mid-Rank Demon King Realm. Of course, this would depend on if said Low-Rank Demon King had sufficient time to digest the energy.
As for the Mid-Rank Demon King, they would probably need four to five hundred pills to break through to the High-Rank. However, this was only his own estimations as he did not really know the facts about this thing.
“Who refined this?” Yang Kai was an alchemist himself, so he understood that it would definitely not be easy to refine such a thing. The energy was too massive, so those who were not powerful enough would not be able to condense such energy in the first place. He was truly interested in whoever refined this pill as such a marvellous Alchemy technique was probably comparable to those of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s.
He did not expect that there was such a Grandmaster in the Demon Realm.
He Yin could not help laughing as she heard this and explained, “Great King is likely unaware, but Myriad Demon Pills are not refined by people, they are generated by the World itself.”
“Generated by the world?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“These are indeed natural products!” Lao Ke nodded solemnly and explained, “There are hundreds of continents that make up the Demon Realm, and eighty percent of them have a Myriad Demon Cave. After a set number of years, a Myriad Demon Cave will produce a batch of Myriad Demon Pills. These pills will contribute to a Demon King’s cultivation after consumption and shorten our cultivation time. We have all taken Myriad Demon Pills at least once.”
Flabbergasted, Yang Kai asked, “Eighty percent of the continents have Myriad Demon Caves?” He froze for a while, then proceeded to ask, “What about our Cloud Shadow Continent?”
“It has one.” Lao Ke nodded. “Similar to the Territory Gate, it is located in Lie Kuang’s territory. Every time the Myriad Demon Pills ripen, he would be the one who collected them and offered them to Holy Venerable.”
“You’re not involved?” Yang Kai looked at the three in front of him, puzzled. Since the pills were so useful to them, and given that they were the top Demon Kings in Cloud Shadow Continent, they must also have the right to participate in the harvest. But according to Lao Ke’s words, it seemed that Lie Kuang was doing it all by himself.
A look of embarrassment suddenly appeared on the faces of Lao Ke and the others.
Ke Sen disclosed, “Great King, in the past, the task was given to all our High-Rank Demon Kings, but ever since Lie Kuang took refuge under Sir Yue Sang, we… have been excluded.”
“Having a strong backer is certainly a good thing,” Yang Kai sneered and wanted to ask them why they did not take refuge under Yue Sang too; however, after he thought about it carefully, he believed that they might not have the choice, because Yue Sang probably would not want to accept them either. After collecting the Myriad Demon Pills, Yue Sang definitely had to share some profits with the collectors as a reward. If he accepted more collectors, he would have to give out more of his profits too. As such, why should he accept others when he already had Lie Kuang working for him?
“How did the Myriad Demon Caves come into being? Why do eighty percent of the continents have one?” Yang Kai questioned curiously.
This was a difficult question for Lao Ke and the others as they had no idea how the Myriad Demon Caves were formed. Ever since ancient times, it had been the case in all continents of the Demon Realm. They were simply used to it now as it was normal for them to collect Myriad Demon Pills in the Myriad Demon Caves. If they wanted to know the truth behind all of this, they would probably have to ask those older Half-Saints or the Holy Venerables.
Seeing that they were clueless about it, Yang Kai did not make things difficult for them. He further inquired about the Myriad Demon Pills, and learnt that the collection frequency and quantity of the Myriad Demon Pills were different in each continent.
On Cloud Shadow Continent, they were basically collected every ten years, and there were typically several dozen to a hundred Myriad Demon Pills each time. The quantity varied widely. There could be many during one harvest, and then only a few in the next.
The matter regarding the Myriad Demon Pills bothered Yang Kai a little. No wonder Demon Kings in the Demon Realm were far more numerous than Emperors in the Star Boundary. It was because of the existence of these pills.
According to his previous estimation, several tens of Myriad Demon Pills could promote a Low-Rank Demon King to a Mid-Rank one. In other words, Cloud Shadow Continent alone could promote a Low-Rank Demon King every ten years, and still have extra pills.
If this situation continued over thousands of years, how could there not be many Demon Kings?
Of course, although this calculation method was too idealized, with these Myriad Demon Pills, it would be much easier to cultivate Masters in the Demon Realm, and their growth time would be shorter than that in the Star Boundary.
Why did the Star Boundary not have such benefits? And how did Myriad Demon Caves appear? Why did they produce Myriad Demon Pills?
Maybe Yu Ru Meng knew the answers to these questions, but he could not ask her right now.
At this moment, He Yin smiled, “Speaking of which, Great King came at just the right time. The next Myriad Demon Pill harvest is not far away. Within six months, Great King will be able to see it with his own eyes.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed, “Since the Myriad Demon Cave is located in Lie Kuang’s territory, he must have sent someone to guard it.”
“Indeed!” Lao Ke nodded.
Yang Kai glanced at him and continued, “But as far as I know, Lie Kuang brought all the Demon Kings under his command to Cloud Shadow City. Who is guarding the cave now?”
Lao Ke was stunned when he heard these words and suddenly seemed to have realized something. Cupping his fists hurriedly, he declared, “Subordinate will go to the Myriad Demon Cave to investigate.”
The Myriad Demon Cave was the most important place on every continent and must not be left unguarded. Since Lie Kuang had brought all the Demon Kings under his command here, it was very likely that no Master was defending the cave, or others were guarding it on behalf of Lie Kuang. Since Lie Kuang had taken refuge under Yue Sang, it was not difficult to guess who was guarding the cave now.
Cloud Shadow Continent was Yang Kai’s territory, and the Myriad Demon Pills collected from Myriad Demon Cave would naturally belong to Yang Kai, so how could he allow another to seize what was his?
“Bring more people, Ke Sen will accompany you.” Yang Kai waved his hand.
Ke Sen responded, “Yes!”
The two of them did not hesitate and left immediately to avoid trouble caused by undue delay.
The only one left was He Yin, the unrecognizable Demon King shrouded in black Qi, “If Great King has no other instructions, this subordinate will take her leave.”
“Bring me those five Demon Kings!” Yang Kai ordered and closed his eyes.
He Yin glanced at him curiously, wondering what his plans for the five Demon Kings were, but she did not ask any questions and simply left to carry out his order.
After a short while, five Demon Kings with sealed cultivations were brought into the room. They looked defeated after a night of torture, but as they walked into the room and saw Yang Kai, their eyes were filled with anger and a few arrogant ones even spat unpleasant curses at him.
They knew that they were most likely going to have miserable deaths, and they were completely helpless against Yang Kai, so they figured they might as well just run their mouths to let out some of their resentment. It would be best if they managed to provoke Yang Kai into slaughtering them as a quick death was better than a long, drawn-out one.
The soldiers were dismissed, the doors were shut, and a barrier was opened. Yang Kai glanced at the five people indifferently, then grabbed at them with his hand.
In the next instant, Space Principles fluctuated, and all five of the Demon Kings vanished.
Immediately afterwards, Yang Kai too flickered, and vanished from the room.
Inside the Small Sealed World, the Embodiment sat down cross-legged in an empty land, his sixty-metre-tall body looking like a towering hill as he stared down at the five Demon Kings who Yang Kai brought in with great interest.
Yang Kai appeared, and without delay, he raised his hand, “Let’s start.”
The Embodiment nodded, placing his hands together as he assumed a strange posture. A moment later, an invisible force fluctuated, enveloping the five immobilized Demon Kings. The initially confused looks of the Demon Kings turned into panic due to the sudden change as their vitality, Demon Qi, and even Spiritual Energy began flowing out of their bodies uncontrollably.
Yang Kai watched as an aura that resembled blood gushed out of the five Demon Kings and converged towards the Embodiment, who consumed all of it into his abdomen with every breath he took.
In just a few breaths of time, the initially extremely strong scarlet aura dwindled drastically as the physiques of the five Demon Kings shrivelled up at a visible rate.
Yang Kai shuddered at the sight.
The Heaven Devouring Battle Law was indeed overbearing and evil, and it was reasonable that the Star Boundary tried to purge it from existence.
Although the Embodiment had the body of a Stone Spirit and was not afraid of the many side effects of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, Yang Kai tried his best to avoid allowing the Embodiment to use this Secret Arts inherited from the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor when he was in the Star Boundary to avoid suspicions.
In the past, the Embodiment had consumed the essence of enemies but had always stopped just before it became obvious what had happened.
But he did not even have to think twice here in the Demon Realm.
In the battle with Lie Kuang last night, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law executed by the Embodiment tormented Lie Kuang endlessly, and according to the Embodiment, one could grow stronger from the Heaven Devouring Battle Law even when fighting against another. When devouring the essence of, and weakening the strength of others, one could bolster himself. As long as one did not suffer from a one-time fatal injury, he was almost invincible.
The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor slaughtered many Great Emperors by himself in the Great Emperor War all thanks to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Yang Kai was going to let the Embodiment freely cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law in the Demon Realm and increase his strength as fast as possible.
Even though these five Demon Kings were only Mid-Rank or lower, their essences could not be wasted. It was just perfect to be used to feed the Embodiment. As long as sufficient energy was available for him to devour, the Embodiment would become powerful very quickly.
In the Demon Realm, Yang Kai only had Embodiment as an auxiliary force so he wanted him to be as strong as possible.
The five Demon Kings were no longer cursing and shouting as all of their strength was put into struggling violently, but how could they resist the devouring power of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law when their cultivations were sealed?
After only a few dozen breaths, all life had left the five Demon Kings. What remained was only dried and withered corpses. The Embodiment kept the same posture as his aura swelled and his flames trembled. As his body suddenly shook, a jet-black aura permeated from within him; it was purified Demon Qi digested from the essence absorbed from the five Demon Kings.
It was apparent that the Embodiment had favourable conditions to cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. The innate ability of the Stone Spirit Clan to expel all kinds of negative and unfavourable energies was put on full display here. If anyone else with a normal physique cultivated this Secret Art, even if they had a method to resolve most of the negative energies and impurities, they would be bound to suffer some negative effects; and in the long run, one’s temperament would inevitably be affected.
“I also have gotten clarification about this,” Yang Kai raised the three jade boxes in his hands and tossed them over while passing the information he had learned to the Embodiment.
The Embodiment caught the three jade boxes, raised an eyebrow, and muttered, “Myriad Demon Pills? En, this is a good thing.”
After that, with a thought, he opened the jade boxes, directly downed the three Myriad Demon Pills, and then immediately urged the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to begin refining them, all while Yang Kai watched with his eyes widened.
Myriad Demon Pills were generated by the world itself and contained a huge amount of energy. Demon Kings needed to be fully prepared before consuming one, and then spend a lot of time refining it. It was not something that could be done overnight.
However, the pills were just like candies to the Embodiment, who swallowed three pills in one go. This would baffle any Demon King if they really witnessed it.
Even High-Rank Demon Kings did not have the courage to act so recklessly!
Visible to the naked eye, the aura around the Embodiment’s body trembled. There was a steady stream of dark aura escaping from his body, which was on a much larger scale than when the essence of the five Demon Kings was consumed.
Only after a stick of incense worth of time did the Embodiment slowly open his eyes, flames flickering in their depths.
Yang Kai knew exactly what he was thinking and pressed his lips together, “You need about three thousand pills to reach the next stage. That’s quite a lot.”
Cloud Shadow Continent only harvested these pills once every ten or so years, and each harvest only yielded a few dozen to a hundred Myriad Demon Pills. It would require the entire Cloud Shadow Continent hundreds to a thousand years to produce three thousand pills.
But if these things could really allow the Embodiment to reach the next level, it would be worth it.
The Embodiment currently possessed the Divine Spirit Shi Huo’s Source, and had the body of a Stone Spirit as a foundation, leaving nearly unlimited room for him to grow. Already, the Embodiment was stronger than an ordinary Third-Stage Emperor. Compared to a Half-Saint, he was slightly inferior, but if he managed to reach the next realm, he would be able to compete with a Half-Saint all on his own.
Yang Kai could only try to collect more Myriad Demon Pills. If these things could greatly shorten the Embodiment’s development time, it was worth investing in doing so.
Suddenly, he regretted being so generous last night. He did not know if there were more Myriad Demon Pills in those Demon Kings’ Space Rings; however, seeing how Lie Kuang only had a surplus of three, it was unlikely that the other Demon Kings had any. Even if they had a chance to obtain one, those Demon Kings would have likely consumed it immediately to strengthen themselves.
In addition, Yang Kai could also capture more Demon Kings and throw them into the Sealed World Bead to feed the Embodiment. Although the effect was not as good as taking Myriad Demon Pills, it was not bad either.
After leaving the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai waited in the room for a while before He Yin brought back a large amount of information about the Territory Gates.
Yang Kai spent an hour reading these materials and pondered a while before getting up and walking out.
“Sir!” Xiao Wu, who was waiting outside the door, hurriedly saluted, her eyes twinkling with admiration.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, but just as he was about to speak, he suddenly turned his head to look at the room in the corner with a weird expression, and asked, “How long has she been in there?”
“What?” Xiao Wu did not know what he meant.
“Bo Ya.” Yang Kai glanced at her.
Finally understanding his question, Xiao Wu replied, “Since she came back last night.”
The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he quickly walked over to the room and pushed the door open.
This was Li Shi Qing’s room. In order to take care of her, Yang Kai deliberately arranged for her to live next to his room. Over the past few days, Li Shi Qing had been very well behaved. She was probably too afraid of Yang Kai, so she had been locking himself in her room.
She did not come out, but someone had now gone in.
At this moment, Bo Ya was in her room, sitting side by side with Li Shi Qing, holding her hand and speaking to her.
Chills ran down Yang Kai’s spine as he saw a trace of lust in Bo Ya’s eyes.
[This woman! She’s hopeless!]
Hearing the movement, the two women in the room both turned their heads to look. Li Shi Qing shivered instinctively and shrank to hide behind Bo Ya. She was really scared of Yang Kai to the extreme.
Bo Ya on the other hand let out a dissatisfied grunt, looking resentful, as if her good deed had gone bad.
After fiercely reprimanding Bo Ya and yelling at her to get out, Yang Kai turned to look at Li Shi Qing who was now curled up on the inner corner of the bed, holding her knees in her hands, the blood drained from her face, looking dreadfully afraid.
Yang Kai was speechless and eased up his face a little before advising, “Don’t get too close with that female Demon in the future. She’s not a good person!”
Li Shi Qing further curled her body, and nodded weakly.
Seeing her like this, Yang Kai knew she did not take his words to heart. He was probably the biggest villain in the world to her at this point, but he could not say anything more to convince her otherwise, so he could only stop here for now.
After pondering for a while, he flickered a Space Beacon and instructed, “In case of danger, activate the seal on that bead to protect yourself.”
He couldn’t take care of Li Shi Qing all the time, especially when he still had many things to deal with, but since he went through all that trouble to get her out of the Blood Arena, he naturally could not let her fall into any danger.
A Space Beacon was sufficient to protect her safety. As long as she was not too slow in reacting, she could be teleported to Yang Kai through this bead when she encountered unmanageable danger. Of course, the premise was that she had to be on the same continent with Yang Kai.
However, given that Yang Kai was fully in charge of Cloud Shadow Continent, he believed that she would not have the need to use the bead here. None of the Demon Kings under him would dare to disobey his orders now, so it was unlikely anyone would dare to lay their hands on his people.
After a brief explanation, he strode out without caring what reaction Li Shi Qing had.
Behind him, Li Shi Qing looked up at Yang Kai with mixed feelings and hesitated for a long time before keeping the bead with her.
At this moment, Yang Kai was already with He Yin, flying in the Tiger Head Chariot towards a certain place on Cloud Shadow Continent.
Half a day later, the Tiger Head Chariot stopped in the wilderness at a high altitude. Yang Kai and He Yin got off the chariot, and he asked as he looked around, “Are you sure it’s here?”
He Yin also turned around to look for a while, seemingly trying to confirm her position, but after a short while, she flew up slightly and declared, “It’s where I am standing now.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly and the Space Principle around him fluctuated as he closed his eyes and quietly perceived his surroundings.
He Yin stared at him curiously, but she did not dare to disturb him and just waited quietly.
After half an hour, Yang Kai opened his eyes, shook his head slowly, and looked at He Yin, “When did this Territory Gate vanish, and where did it connect to?’
Earlier, he checked the data about the Territory Gates of Cloud Shadow Continent and confirmed that Bai Zhuo’s previous statement was correct. There were once five Territory Gates, each connecting to a different continent; however, over the past millennium, four Territory Gates had disappeared one after another, with the last remaining gate being connected to the Blue Plains Continent. Cloud Shadow Continent was almost isolated because of this.
A woodcutter must sharpen his axe if he was to do his work well. If Yang Kai wanted to stabilize and repair the last Territory Gate, he would first take a look at the four disappeared Territory Gates. At least, he must examine the situation and it would be best if he could understand the reasons for their disappearance. Even if he could not understand it, he must at least find some clues.
But although he had done his best just now, Yang Kai did not obtain anything. Nothing was unusual here. If it was not confirmed by He Yin, and also the data he collected that proved there was a Territory Gate here before, Yang Kai probably would think that he was in the wrong place.
He Yin disclosed, “This Territory Gate was the first to vanish. It happened about a thousand years ago. Before it disappeared, it had symptoms similar to the last Territory Gate now, showing the signs of instability. Previously, this Territory Gate led to Blood Flame Continent.’
After a pause, she pressed on, “Did Great King discover anything?” She did not have much hope looking at Yang Kai’s expression, but she still could not help asking.
To her disappointment, Yang Kai shook his head, “I didn’t find anything. Let’s go to the next place.”
He raised his hand and summoned the Tiger Head Chariot. He Yin naturally had no opinion about it, got on the chariot with Yang Kai, and guided the direction to the next place.
Half a day later, they arrived in the sky over a vast sea with endless waves rolling and crashing.
Just like before, Yang Kai closed his eyes and felt the surroundings, while He Yin waited patiently beside him.
A moment later, Yang Kai raised his brow, revealing a look of surprise. The Space Principles around him turned more and more turbulent. He Yin, who had been watching him, could not help but perk up, realizing that Yang Kai probably found something.
The next instant, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and stared toward a certain spot with a solemn look on his face. Following the faint traces of Space Principle fluctuations, he stretched out his hand to probe the area before him.
He pushed both his hands forward at an extremely slow speed, as if fighting against great resistance. What astonished He Yin though was that after Yang Kai pushed out about a hand’s length, Yang Kai’s fingers began to disappear, as if they were sinking into another space.
He Yin’s face turned solemn.
Then she heard Yang Kai shouting, “Open!”
Following his voice, Yang Kai suddenly spread his arms widely to both sides. Space seemed to be torn at that moment and a crack opened in front of him. The crack was filled with chaotic nothingness which not only devoured up her sight, but also drowned her Divine Sense into it.
Exhilarated, He Yin squealed, “Great King!”
Yang Kai ignored her as he applied more force with his hands. His clothes were flapping and flying without any wind while the crack in front of him got bigger and bigger.
Soon, there was enough space for the two to pass through, so Yang Kai immediately reached out his hand, grabbed He Yin’s arm, and rushed into the crack together with her.
All of a sudden, the two vanished.
The world spun, and He Yin’s vision went blank. When she regained her senses, she had arrived in another world. She gathered her wits and looked down startled. After seeing a familiar scenery, she shouted in excitement, “Thunder Heaven Continent!”
The Territory Gate that disappeared was originally connected to Thunder Heaven Continent. He Yin had lived in Cloud Shadow Continent for thousands of years, and before these Territory Gates vanished, she often came to Thunder Heaven Continent for business, so she was familiar with the scenery. However, she had not been here since the Territory Gate disappeared.
She never expected that she could still have the chance to see this scenery again.
She instantly became fully confident in Yang Kai and realized that it was reasonable for the Holy Venerable to send him to Cloud Shadow Continent to maintain the Territory Gate. With such means, Yang Kai had proven that he could really open the vanished Territory Gates again, meaning Cloud Shadow Continent would no longer be isolated.
“Don’t get too excited.” Yang Kai suddenly said, immediately dampening He Yin’s excitement, “Look behind you.”
He Yin was stunned for a moment, and quickly turned back to look; however, the Void Crack that they had passed through was closing at a rapid pace and would probably disappear in less than ten breaths of time.
The exhilaration and expectation that filled He Yin just now instantly deflated as she asked in shock, “How can this be?”
Yang Kai laughed and explained, “I just followed the traces of the previous Territory Gate and forcibly broke through the Void to arrive here. The two continents have their own World Principles, so they will repair the interference of external forces to restore things to their original states.”
“Then the Territory Gate…”
Yang Kai continued, “It’s too early to be sure, but it’s not hopeless yet. Since the connection has not been severed, there should still be a way to re-establish it. Let’s go back first.” Then he turned around and tore open the crack that was about to be closed before returning the same way with He Yin.
After a moment, they returned to Cloud Shadow Continent.
Looking at the rapidly closing crack, He Yin sighed in her heart; however, after such an experience, she finally saw hope.
After that, they visited the other two lost Territory Gates and examined them carefully.
It took two days for this inspection and He Yin felt better after seeing the results, because the next two places were similar to the vanished Territory Gate that connected to Thunder Heaven Continent. There were still some traces remaining, which was enough for Yang Kai to tear through space and arrive at the other continents.
Yang Kai was only helpless regarding the first Territory Gate leading to Blood Flame Continent. In other words, three of the four vanished Territory Gates still had hope to reappear, but the first one was completely hopeless.
Yang Kai was a little puzzled about this. In theory, the four lost Territory Gates were no different from one another and should all have the same condition, but the place where they first investigated turned out to be somewhat different.
“He Yin, try to remember carefully, what are the differences between the four Territory Gates? Especially the difference between the Territory Gate connecting Blood Flame Continent and the other three.” Yang Kai could not figure it out; after all, he was a newcomer to this world, so he could only ask He Yin. This was also the reason he brought her with him.
“Perhaps it is about when they each vanished?” He Yin pondered for a moment and put forward a hypothesis, “The first Territory Gate was lost much longer ago. Could that be the reason why?”
“It’s only a thousand years versus several hundred, but we can’t rule out this possibility. What else?” Yang Kai frowned.
He Yin continued to recall. After a while, she looked up at Yang Kai and disclosed, “Oh right, Blood Flame Continent has completely disappeared. The Territory Gate of Cloud Shadow Continent that connected to it was the last Territory Gate it had.”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he showed a wry smile, “Why didn’t you tell this King such an important detail earlier?”
If there was no mistake, this was the reason that the traces of the Territory Gate had completely vanished. Given that even Blood Flame Continent had disappeared, how could the traces of the Territory Gate remain?
He Yin replied embarrassingly, “I had forgotten…”
Yang Kai shook his head, but he did not blame her. Since he had figured out the reason, what happened next would be simpler. If he wanted to maintain the Territory Gate, Yang Kai had to figure out why they could persist for so long. Logically, this kind of tear should have been repaired by the local World Principles, but in fact, there were still more or less Territory Gates in many continents of the Demon Realm, ranging from one or two, to more than ten. This phenomenon was very odd to him.
Therefore, in any case, he had to pay a visit to the only remaining Territory Gate. Not only could he examine and explore it, but he could also try to study the Space Principles involved in their formation and maintenance. It would be best if he could improve his comprehension of the Dao of Space in this way…