Hearing Zhao Xing Chen’s order, Meng Hong and the others turned pale in horror. They had never expected for things to take such a dramatic turn.
Chen Yue’s face turned pale in shock and she stepped forward to intervene, “Senior Brother Zhao, this is a misunderstanding!” While speaking, she tried to pull Zhao Xing Chen.
Zhao Xing Chen shook her away and impatiently stated, “Go away!” Chen Yue was directly shaken back to one side, almost falling to the ground.
“Junior Sister Chen!” Meng Hong hurriedly stepped forward to help, but Chen Yue promptly avoided him. Seeing this, Meng Hong’s face turned ashen and became a little listless.
Zhao Xing Chen glanced at her and coldly snorted. Afterwards, he turned his attention to Yang Kai and gloomily stated, “Brother Yang, this Commander considered you a genius and had every intention of recruiting you, but unfortunately, Brother Yang didn’t appreciate it. Since that’s the case, this Zhao will have to invite Brother Yang to my Scarlet Star’s dungeon for a chat!” He waved his hand and shouted, “Apprehend them. If they try to resist, kill them!”
The moment he said this, a dozen or so people rushed over and tried to capture Yang Kai, Meng Hong, and the others.
The three Great Moon Province disciples were suddenly at a loss. They wanted to resist, but at the end of the day, this was Scarlet Star’s territory. If they really couldn’t resolve this, their end would not be good.
On the contrary, the few people who tried to arrest Yang Kai suddenly groaned in unison and flew backwards, smashing the tables and chairs in the lobby.
Zhao Xing Chen cried out in shock, “You dare fight back?”
Scarlet Star had been gaining momentum for the past few days, and in this Star City, Scarlet Star cultivators ran amok. No one dared to provoke them, so Zhao Xing Chen never thought that someone would actually do something to his men in public, rooting him to the spot.
Yang Kai scoffed, “You dare to attack this King, so why wouldn’t this King dare to attack you? Come!”
He stretched his hand towards Zhao Xing Chen as a fierce suction emerged from his palm. The next moment, Zhao Xing Chen flew uncontrollably towards Yang Kai, who grabbed him by the neck and pressed him onto the table. A scorching heat radiated from Yang Kai’s arm as he looked at Zhao Xing Chen in contempt, “You dare to act presumptuous before this King with your feeble skills?”
Zhao Xing Chen became angry out of shame, “You’re dead! Dead! Do you know who I am? Scarlet Star’s Fifth Manager is my brother-in-law! Boy, let go of me or else!”
He kept screaming and struggling, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t free himself. The big hand holding his neck was like an iron hoop, sealing off all his strength.
Zhao Xing Chen was stunned. He too was an Emperor Realm cultivator and had even condensed five Elements into his Dao Seal. He never thought that he would be suppressed and have no power to fight back against another Emperor Realm cultivator!
Their own Commander was captured so easily, so the Scarlet Star cultivators didn’t know what to do. They looked at each other and stood rooted in their spots.
Zhao Xing Chen slapped the table and angrily shouted, “Why are you still standing there? Are you still not going to help this Commander?”
Helpless, everyone could only rush over; however, they couldn’t even get within ten metres of Yang Kai before they were sent flying, crashing into the ground and crying out in pain.
Meng Hong and the others were stunned while Chen Yue slightly opened her mouth with a worried look on her face.
Although she knew Yang Kai was amazingly strong and had personally witnessed him face hundreds of members of Emperor Heaven alone, she never thought he would be daring enough to attack others here.
However, the arrow was already fired. It was too late for her to stop it now. All she could do was worry. She wanted to persuade Yang Kai, but didn’t know where to start.
“I advise you to quickly release and kowtow to me! Otherwise, you won’t see the sunrise tomorrow!”
Although Zhao Xing Chen was in a miserable state, he was still acting headstrong. He was relying on his identity as a minor Commander of Scarlet Star, believing that Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to do anything to him.
“You want me to kneel and kowtow to you?” Yang Kai sneered before suddenly lifting his hand and kicking Zhao Xing Chen, “Then you should kneel first!”
Many cultivators in the lobby turned pale one after another and dared not stay here for another moment. They all paid for their drinks and ran out.
Before leaving, some people looked at Yang Kai with pity and shook their heads sighing, thinking that he would come to regret this sooner or later. An elderly man even tried his best to persuade Yang Kai, “Young Man, quickly escape from here before things turn bigger. If you don’t leave now, it will be too late; after all, this is Scarlet Star’s territory!”
Yang Kai just smiled at the elderly man, who couldn’t say anything after seeing his attitude.
In the blink of an eye, all the guests in the lobby had run away, leaving a pale shopkeeper trembling in fright! A Junior Commander of Scarlet Star was beaten in his inn; he wouldn’t be able to escape punishment now. His inn was likely never going to open again.
Having been forced to kneel by Yang Kai, Zhao Xing Chen was still wailing for a while. He glared at Yang Kai with incomparable hatred and roared, “This Commander will remember today’s shame, and will make you pay for it a thousand times over!”
“I’ll be waiting!” Yang Kai indifferently nodded.
Yue He’s obsession only grew stronger as her beautiful eyes flickered with an unusual gleam, staring straight at the side of Yang Kai’s face.
Zhao Xing Chen turned his head and shouted, glaring at the dumbstruck Chen Yue, “You stupid slut, do you only know how to sit there and watch? Don’t you know how to save me!?”
Chen Yue’s face turned pale when she heard this. She puckered her lips as she looked at Yang Kai pleadingly, “Senior Brother Yang…”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Sister Chen, don’t be ridiculous. You and I just met by chance, I really don’t deserve the honour of being addressed as Senior Brother by you. Please don’t ever address me as such again.”
Chen Yue’s face turned even paler after hearing this. She knew that Yang Kai was drawing a clear line with her. She couldn’t help but feel bitter, but then again, she and Yang Kai had nothing to do with each other from the very start. They only got to know each other through Meng Hong.
Unable to beg Yang Kai, she could only turn to Meng Hong.
Meng Hong clenched his fists before lowering his head and saying nothing.
Seeing this, Chen Yue sighed in her heart. She didn’t have the face to say anything.
“Since you can’t help me at all, what’s the use of keeping you with me, you slut,” Zhao Xing Chen angrily rebuked.
Yang Kai gave Chen Yue a cold look, “Your choice of men is truly terrible!” Chen Yue trembled after hearing this as her head dropped to her chest.
Yang Kai slapped Zhao Xing Chen once again, knocking out a few of his teeth in the process as half of his face swelled up. Yang Kai looked at him coldly and stated, “If you dare to speak another word, I will kill you right here and now!”
Zhao Xing Chen’s eyes turned red and widened in anger. Obviously, he was unwilling, but his fist was smaller than Yang Kai’s, so he had no choice but to choke down his anger.
The lobby fell into silence for a moment, leaving only the sound of Yang Kai drinking at his own leisure.
Yue He looked left and right before she giggled and asked, “How are things going to end now?”
The likes of Zhao Xing Chen weren’t even worth her attention. Not to mention Zhao Xing Chen, even the Fifth Manager above him was nothing in her eyes. Yue He might not even look straight at him, but they were inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary after all; more importantly, this place was Scarlet Star’s turf. Since Yang Kai had created such a scene, it would definitely not end that easily.
“I can understand that you acted like this because of your friends, but you have created quite a big scene.” Yue He continued via transmission, “If we want to leave, we must leave now. Once the news about this spreads, we won’t be able to leave no matter what.”
Yang Kai replied after hearing this, “Do you think I did this for Meng Hong?”
“You didn’t?” Yue He asked back.
Yang Kai thought for a moment and replied, “It’s a part of the reason, but the main reason is that he was eyeing my treasures. Since they aren’t willing to give up, I have no choice but to set up my prestige, and let them know that no one can covet my things.” Saying so, he proudly smiled, “Besides, if I want to leave, how can the likes of Scarlet Star stop me?”
He was proficient in the Dao of Space and could easily come and go as he pleased unless Scarlet Star had set up a shocking Grand Array that could isolate space!
“Yes, yes, you’re amazing, keep it up then,” Yue He sneered sarcastically as she shot him an angry glare.
Scarlet Star’s Junior Commander Zhao Xing Chen was beaten and forced to kneel in public; this news spread like wildfire across the Star City. Many people couldn’t believe it; after all, who would dare to do something like that to Scarlet Star’s men in this Star City? But the people who spread the news said that they saw it with their own eyes and that Zhao Xing Chen was still kneeling at the inn.
Some people who didn’t believe the news came to watch it secretly. After one glance, they realized it was just as they had heard. They all found it a little bizarre, and what was even more shocking was that the person who beat Zhao Xing Chen was still here.
In the backyard of a certain mansion in the northwest corner of the Star City, there was a small bridge over a creek and some artificial mountains of strange sizes and shapes. An incredibly fat man with fish food in his hand stood by the pond, attracting the fish to compete for the feed.
Suddenly, a heart-wrenching cry came from the courtyard. The fat man’s hand trembled the moment he heard this cry as a pained look appeared on his face, like he was having a sharp headache.
The sound of crying quickly approached as a well-endowed woman wearing luxurious jewellery appeared. Who knew what she had encountered, but tears kept rolling down her face, making her look extremely pitiful.
She arrived before the fatty and knelt down with a thud, heartrendingly weeping, “Husband, you must seek justice for me.”
The fatty turned his head and looked at her speechlessly. He sprinkled all the fish food in his hand before helping the woman up and consoling her, “If you have something to say, get up and say it, why are you crying?”
The woman didn’t get up though and wailed, “Husband, if you don’t agree to seek justice, this Mistress will not get up.”
The fatty rubbed his forehead in headache and asked, “Did your brother cause some kind of trouble again? Didn’t I give him the Junior Commander position last time, what do you want me to do this time?”
The woman looked up and woefully replied, “Husband, how do you know that it’s about Xing Chen? Did someone tell you about it?”
The fatty angrily rebuked, “Why would you come looking for me unless it’s for your idiot brother? Tell me, what is it this time?”
The woman couldn’t let this rest, “Husband, you shouldn’t blame Xing Chen, he didn’t cause trouble this time, rather someone else provoked him! The guards who went with him came back and told me that he was beaten by someone!”
The fatty coldly snorted, “He was bound to be beaten sooner or later thanks to his shitty character! I told you a long time ago that you should control him a little, and prevent him from making trouble everywhere!”
The woman cried, “Xing Chen didn’t cause trouble this time! The guards said that someone named Yang Kai bullied him. Not only did he beat Xing Chen, but he also forced him to kneel in public by shattering his knees. His face was beaten so badly that he spat teeth!” As she described her little brother’s condition, she once again became despondent and couldn’t stop crying.
“Xing Chen has been forced to kneel?” A sinister and ferocious look flashed across the fatty’s face when he heard this.
If Zhao Xing Chen had just been thrashed, it would only mean that he was weaker than his opponent, but if he was being forced to kneel, that would be a complete humiliation. Regardless of his character, Zhao Xing Chen was a Scarlet Star Junior Commander, and more importantly his relative, whether he liked it or not. Abusing Zhao Xing Chen like this was tantamount to slapping his face. As Scarlet Star’s Fifth Manager, how could he take this lying down?
Seeing this, the woman quickly repeated what she had heard, of course after heavily embellishing the details.
The fat man coldly snorted, “Good, you stay here, I’ll go see who is so bold!”
After saying this, he went out, carrying his hands behind his back. At the same time, the woman behind him shouted aloud, “Husband, you must bring back Xing Chen, if he met any kind of misfortune, I won’t be able to live.”
“I know, I know,” The fatty waved impatiently.
After gathering his men, the fatty left his mansion and headed straight towards the inn.
Within an incense stick of time, the fatty and his men had arrived at their destination.
When he arrived at the door, the fatty saw his battered and bruised brother-in-law, Zhao Xing Chen, kneeling on the ground. He also found three men and a woman in the room standing to the side while a man and a woman sat at a nearby table. The young man sitting on the chair was drinking wine calmly and leisurely, like he cared nothing about the world around him.
The fatty paid no attention to the others, but when he saw the woman sitting, he couldn’t help but frown.
Yue He had visited the Star City many times before, and as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she was not some nameless character. Even if the higher-ups of Scarlet Star had never dealt with her personally, they all recognized her.
In the outside world, the fatty wouldn’t dare to provoke a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master willfully; after all, he was only a Fourth-Order Master. Although there was only a single Order of difference between the two, there was a wide gap in their true strength.
However, they were inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary now. The Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog suppressed and sealed all universes, so no matter what Order of the Open Heaven Realm they were outside, in this place their strength was greatly suppressed.
When the fatty walked into the restaurant, the entire restaurant shook with his steps.
Yang Kai turned his head to look, and saw a plump ball of meat slowly approaching. Every time his foot landed on the ground, the entire building quaked. Yang Kai’s pupils couldn’t help but shrink at the sight of this.
He had never seen someone this fat in his entire life. This man’s height and girth were basically identical. At first glance, he looked like a rolling ball of meat. His facial features were squeezed together because of all the fat, making it hard to distinguish them.
[Who in the world is he?] Yang Kai looked surprised.
Yue He knew that Yang Kai had been in retreat refining pills and knew nothing about the outside situation, so secretly informed him, “He is Scarlet Star’s Fifth Manager, Chen Tian Fei. He cultivates some unique Secret Art, and everyone calls him Fatty Chen Tian!”
Zhao Xing Chen, who was kneeling on the ground, also noticed Chen Tian Fei’s arrival and was immediately overjoyed and shouted, “Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, save me!”
While speaking, he struggled to get up.
“Did I tell you to get up?” Yang Kai coldly snorted and flicked his wrist, shooting a beam of energy out. Zhao Xing Chen immediately screamed and crashed to his knees once again as fresh blood spurted out of his thigh, unable to stand up anymore.
Chen Tian Fei kept approaching, but the fat on his face trembled a little as a cold gleam flickered across his long and narrow eyes.
Very soon, Chen Tian Fei arrived before the table and stood there like a mountain of meat, blocking all the light and giving everyone an invisible pressure.
Meng Hong and the others couldn’t help but be taken aback at the arrival of such a character. At the same time, they were secretly worried for Yang Kai.
“Brother-in-law…” Zhao Xing Chen miserably raised his head and looked at him pleadingly, his face filled with humiliation.
“Waste!” Chen Tian Fei coldly snorted and waved his hand, taking out a chair from his Space Ring. He placed the chair behind him and sat down.
His chair appeared to be custom-made. It was very wide and incomparably strong; ordinary chairs would not be able to take someone his weight and size.
After being seated, Chen Tian Fei leaned back on the chair and greeted, squinting his eyes, “Lady Yue He, it’s been a long time.”
“Manager Chen,” Yue He gave him an amiable smile.
Chen Tian Fei continued, “Lady Yue He, haven’t you gone overboard a bit this time? You should have left a little room for negotiation so as to not bring any harm to your companions! If my brother-in-law really did something stupid, it would have been fine to beat and scold him a little. Killing him would have been excessive, but making him kneel like this doesn’t make sense either!”
Yue He gazed at him and stated, pursing her lips into a smile, “Manager Chen, you are speaking to the wrong person. This has nothing to do with me, it was all done by my Young Master. If you want to say something, you should speak to him.”
“Young Master?” Chen Tian Fei was shocked and now focused his gaze on Yang Kai.
When he saw Yue He here, he made a prejudgment that Yue He was in charge, but he had never expected a ‘Young Master’ to appear out of nowhere.
[This young man doesn’t look like anything special. I really don’t know why a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Master is addressing him as Young Master!]
After pondering for a while, Chen Tian Fei asked, “May I ask Little Brother’s name?”
Yang Kai smiled at him and introduced himself, “Yang Kai!”
Chen Tian Fei nodded lightly, “So you’re that Yang Kai!”
Previously, his concubine kept shouting about someone named Yang Kai beating his brother-in-law, only now did he come to know that the assailant was sitting right before him.
“Does Little Brother Yang have anything to say to this King?” Chen Tian Fei asked.
Yang Kai glanced at him and asked, raising his eyebrows, “What’s there to talk about?”
Chen Tian Fei’s facial fat trembled. It looked as if he was smiling, “You hurt someone under me, but instead of running away, you have been sitting here and waiting for this King. Doesn’t it mean that you have something to say?” His tone turned colder, “Or is it that Little Brother doesn’t take my Scarlet Star seriously, and feels that you can come and go freely in this Star City. If you are thinking along these lines, then you have made a big mistake.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and stated, “Manager Chen is quite easy to talk to. Then I won’t beat around the bush either.” Yang Kai’s face turned serious as he continued, “I want to join Scarlet Star!”
When Yue He heard this, she turned her head and gazed at him in shock. Yang Kai never told her about any of this, and even Meng Hong and the others looked surprised.
Chen Tian Fei chuckled after hearing this, “Join Scarlet Star? You injured my Scarlet Star’s Junior Commander and have yet to give this King a satisfactory explanation, and now you want to join my Scarlet Star? Little Brother, what do you think my Scarlet Star is?”
“Manager Chen wants an explanation, right? Then I will give you an explanation!” Yang Kai stated and raised his hand, gently pressing it towards Chen Tian Fei.
A doubtful look appeared on Fatty Chen Tian’s face. He also raised his big fatty palm and pressed it towards the oncoming palm.
The palms came into contact with each other silently and uneventfully as if they just touched each other lightly.
Yang Kai retracted his palm, picked up the glass of wine, and swirled it playfully.
Chen Tian Fei’s plump figure trembled all of a sudden as the fat on his body rippled like waves and the chair under his heavy and plump butt shattered into pieces.
Afterwards, Chen Tian Fei’s face turned redder, as if he was being cooked from the inside. Steam even rose from the top of his head.
Chen Tian Fei let out a furious cry and stomped his foot on the ground, causing the floor of the restaurant to collapse. At the same time, a surge of heat gushed out from Chen Tian Fei’s pores, along with a lot of sweat.
In an instant, Chen Tian Fei looked like he had been fished out of the water, drenched all over. Not only that, but his plump body also seemed to have shrunk by half, making his tight clothes a little loose.
Chen Tian Fei looked at Yang Kai in horror as the fat on his face kept pulsating.
“Does Manager Chen find this explanation satisfactory?” Yang Kai asked without so much as raising his head to look at him.
Chen Tian Fei gazed at him deeply and then turned his gaze at Zhao Xing Chen, who had been kneeling there. And under Zhao Xing Chen’s desperate gaze, he nodded and stated, “It’s enough.”
“Brother-in-law!” Zhao Xing Chen’s face turned ashen in an instant. He had been counting on his brother-in-law to avenge him. Who knew that things would take such a turn? Chen Tian Fei just said ‘it’s enough’ and that was it. Where was his revenge? Perhaps he would not be able to wash today’s shame for the rest of his life.
“Shut up!” Chen Tian Fei coldly snorted. He took out another chair from his Space Ring with a wave of his hand, put it under his butt and stated, looking at Yue He, “Lady Yue He, your Young Master is impressive. He has a bright future ahead of him!”
Yue He smiled triumphantly, “Obviously.”
Chen Tian Fei then turned his gaze at Yang Kai, “Little Brother Yang, you have been waiting for me here just to join Scarlet Star, am I right?”
“Indeed!”
Chen Tian Fei asked, “Can I ask why? With Little Brother Yang’s ability, you can roam freely in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and have anything you want. Why choose my Scarlet Star?”
Yang Kai replied with a grin, “It’s just a coincidence, there is no special intention behind this, but if you really want to know the reason I want to join, I want to find something. Scarlet Star has a lot of people, which will make it easy for me to find what I want.” He had condensed his Wood, Fire, and Earth Elements. More importantly, he found the Power of Earth in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Naturally, Yang Kai wanted to find other Open Heaven materials while Scarlet Star happened to have no shortage of manpower and information.
“Just because of this?” Chen Tian Fei still couldn’t believe it.
“Just because of this!”
Chen Tian Fei looked at him seriously for a while. Afterwards, he nodded and added, “I understand Little Brother Yang’s intention, and Scarlet Star also welcomes the addition of someone as talented as you. This King can induct you into Scarlet Star. As for the position, how about the position of Junior Commander like Xing Chen?”
The kneeling Zhao Xing Chen was dumbfounded after hearing this.
The man who thrashed him and forced him to kneel was not only accepted into Scarlet Star by his brother-in-law himself but was also given the position of Junior Commander. That would put Yang Kai on an equal footing with him.
[How can this be considered revenge?]
“Junior Commander?” Yang Kai looked at Chen Tian Fei with a shadow of a smile.
Chen Tian Fei asked curiously, “Are you not satisfied? Little Brother Yang, I admit that you are pretty talented, but at the end of the day, you have just joined Scarlet Star. You haven’t made any contributions. The position of Junior Commander is already the very limit that this King can promote you to. It’s absolutely impossible for me to advance you to the position of the Great Commander.” He switched the topic of conversation, “But if Lady Yue He wants to join Scarlet Star, the Great Commander post is open to her!”
Yue He chuckled and remained non-committal.
Scarlet Star had a few Managers, and the strongest of them were just on par with her, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, that’s all. How could she be content with the position of Great Commander, listening to someone else’s orders?
“I don’t want to be a Junior Commander, nor am I interested in being a Great Commander.”
Chen Tian Fei asked in amazement, “Then what does Little Brother Yang want?”
Yang Kai looked at him with shining eyes, “I want to be a Manager of Scarlet Star!”
The moment he stated his demand, everyone was shocked. Even Yue He looked at him in a daze, wondering whether she had heard it wrong.
“You want to be a Scarlet Star Manager?” Chen Tian Fei looked at Yang Kai in astonishment. He looked completely surprised, just like Yue He, and wondered if he had heard incorrectly. He was already being very generous by offering Yang Kai the position of Junior Commander, but he had never expected this boy’s appetite to be so big that he directly demanded the position of Manager.
Chen Tian Fei had never seen such an arrogant person, so he couldn’t help but be a little outraged.
“Manager Chen thinks I’m not qualified?” Yang Kai looked at him, squinting his eyes.
Chen Tian Fei replied with a serious look on his face, “All seven Managers of my Scarlet Star are Open Heaven Realm Masters. Although you are pretty good, it still doesn’t change the fact that you haven’t reached the Open Heaven Realm. If we let you take the Manager’s post without sufficient strength, how would you be able to convince the public?”
Yang Kai stated, wagging his finger, “There are no Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Grand Ancient Ruins, so talking about Realm with me is pointless!”
Chen Tian Fei quickly added, “Be that as it may, my Scarlet Star has never had a Manager who had not reached the Open Heaven Realm since its founding!”
“There are always exceptions, aren’t there?”
Chen Tian Fei stared deeply at Yang Kai as a faint glow slowly emerged from his body, but after a while, he burst into laughter, “Little Brother Yang, you are pretty ambitious, you have opened this King’s eyes today! It’s not impossible for you to be a Scarlet Star Manager, but my Scarlet Star has its own rules. If you wish to be the Eighth Manager, you need to get the consent of four of the current Managers!”
“Then I’ll request Manager Chen to take me to meet the other Managers,” Yang Kai smiled.
Chen Tian Fei narrowed his eyes and added with a smile, “I can take you to them, but whether you can get their approval or not will depend on your own ability.”
“But of course!” Yang Kai gently nodded before standing up and assuming an inviting posture, “Please.”
A reluctant and malicious smile slowly crept up on Chen Tian Fei’s face as he stood up and walked out.
Yang Kai followed closely after him, with Yue He right behind him. The Great Moon Province disciples didn’t dare to stay here either, and followed suit one after another.
“What are you doing?” Yue He asked via Divine Sense, “Are you really going to meet Scarlet Star’s Managers?”
“Of course? Otherwise, how will I get their approval?”
Yue He angrily rebuffed, “Can’t you see that Fatty Chen Tian has something else in mind? You are venturing into a Dragon’s den! And even if you really become a Manager of Scarlet Star, how will that benefit you? I really can’t understand what’s going through your mind.”
“You’ll know when the time comes,” Yang Kai casually replied.
Yue He asked with a snort, “You really love chaos, I wonder how you survived until now?”
“Of course, because this Young Master is blessed by the Heavens!” Yang Kai assumed a calm and composed stance.
Yue He was outraged!
She kept her anger aside though and quickly told him about everything she knew. Yue He might not have met Scarlet Star’s seven Managers, but she had heard about them. For instance, Lady Qin was proficient in the Dao of Music while Gan Hong was a Master of assassination. Then there were the Ou Yang twins, who had cultivated together since childhood and were both Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, allowing them to act as one body and one soul. They were extremely hard to deal with, to the point that even Yue He would find it stressful if she ran into them outside.
In addition to these four, there was also Bei Yu Shan, who possessed extreme physical strength. Du Niang Zi, whose entire body was poisonous, was not a woman to be trifled with. Many Open Heaven Realm Masters that were in the same Realm as her had tragically died at her hands.
Counting Chen Tian Fei, the Managers of the Scarlet Star could be said to each have unique skills, and none of them could be offended easily.
As for the Head Manager of Scarlet Star, rumour had it that he had been trying to break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but no one had heard about him for many years. No one knew whether he had succeeded or not, but if he had, he would become a character who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Proprietress. Even Yue He would have run as far away from him as possible if she were confronted by him.
Yue He kept chattering all the way, instilling all the information she had into Yang Kai’s head.
Yang Kai silently memorized every piece of information.
Very soon, everyone arrived before an audience hall. The door of the audience hall was extremely thick, and was about a hundred metres tall. Chen Tian Fei stepped forward and pushed the door, which opened a little with a creaking sound.
“Little Brother Yang, please come in, almost all my Scarlet Star’s Managers are inside!” Chen Tian Fei assumed an inviting gesture with an inscrutable smile on his face.
Yang Kai glanced at him before exhorting Yue He and the others, “You guys wait outside.”
Saying so, he headed inside.
Yue He promptly appeared at his side, “I’ll go with you!” How could she let Yang Kai go into the Dragon’s den all by himself? She had already decided to advance and retreat together with him, so she had no reason to back down now.
On the other hand, Meng Hong and the others knew that their strength was insufficient. Even if they followed Yang Kai inside, they would likely be more of a burden than a help, so they all stood at the door, obediently waiting.
The heavy door closed again, blocking the inside view from outsiders.
The huge hall was completely dark, and the moment the door shut, some clanking sounds echoed as masses of flames lit up everywhere. The flickering light of the flames revealed some figures sitting on the chairs around the hall, creating shadows that danced like a group of devils. The atmosphere of the entire hall had turned dark and gloomy at this moment as well.
There weren’t that many people in the hall. Apart from Yang Kai and Yue He, there were only five others in total, each sitting on their respective seats. Chen Tian Fei’s figure shook as he arrived next to another empty chair and sat down.
A sweet voice suddenly echoed in the empty hall, “Fatty Chen, is this the brat who wants to be my Scarlet Star’s next Manager? After listening to such nonsense, you brought him here just like that?”
Not only did the woman’s voice sound sweet, but it also carried with it a pleasant scent, making anyone who sniffed it have a sweet taste in their mouth!
“Poison!” Yue He’s face slightly changed as a five-coloured film suddenly appeared over the surface of her body, protecting and isolating her from the surroundings. She looked around and found that the speaker was a petite woman. She appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old and looked quite cute and obedient, but Yue He recognized her at a glance. She was Du Niang Zi of Scarlet Star; only she could display such a marvellous poisonous technique.
Du Niang Zi was just a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but using just her terrifying poison, she had once killed a Fifth-Order, two Fourth-Order, and three Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. She had become famous after that incident and no one dared to underestimate this charming woman who seemed to remain perpetually young.
Yue He looked over at Yang Kai with worry, but saw that he was completely fine. Not only was he not showing any signs of being poisoned, but he was also looking at Du Niang Zi with interest.
She couldn’t help but wonder how Yang Kai was resisting her poison.
Yue He didn’t know about the extremely rich Dragon Blood flowing through Yang Kai’s body. The Dragon Clan had a strong resistance towards all forms of poison. Not to mention the poison technique secretly cast by Du Niang Zi, even if he swallowed her most potent poison, he would not be in any trouble at all.
What’s more, Yang Kai had also condensed his Wood Element from the essence of the Immortal Tree and his Fire Element from the Golden Crow’s True Fire. Even if a little poison managed to enter his system, it would be easily eliminated by these two energies.
When Du Niang Zi spoke, Chen Tian Fei chuckled, “Don’t underestimate Little Brother Yang, this King suffered a bit of loss at his hands just recently. If this King’s guess is right, he has condensed a Sixth-Order Fire Element!”
Only a Sixth-Order Fire Element Power could make him suffer when he received Yang Kai’s palm. Under that palm, Chen Tian Fei felt a scorching energy invading his body and it took him a lot of effort to expel it.
Of course, Yang Kai hadn’t used his full strength, otherwise, Chen Tian Fei would not have mistakenly judged it as Sixth-Order.
“Sixth-Order Fire Element!”
As soon as this was brought to light, the Scarlet Star Managers were all shocked.
Being able to condense a Sixth-Order Fire Element showed how impressive Yang Kai’s abilities were. Most people couldn’t bear the pressure of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven material, More importantly, Sixth-Order materials were invaluable and priceless enough for all Open Heaven Realm Masters to compete for them. Generally, only those who belonged to top forces were qualified to condense Sixth-Order materials.
“Little boy, you’re quite ambitious!” Du Niang Zi couldn’t help but re-examine Yang Kai, “Are you trying to reach the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm?”
Yang Kai grinned at her, showing his white fangs, “First one!”
“What first one?” Du Niang Zi furrowed her brow. She had a bad premonition as if she was being targeted by a poisonous snake, which made her hair stand on end.
“Why are you talking so much nonsense with him? Let’s just kill him and get it over with. How dare he disdain my Scarlet Star! A trivial Emperor Realm trash shamelessly wants to be my Scarlet Star’s Manager? Ridiculous!”
From a seat on the right, an icy voice came from an ethereal figure. There was someone sitting there, but it looked like a constantly distorting shadow, making it extremely difficult to see his face. Even his voice was erratic. He was none other than Gan Hong, the one Yue He mentioned was proficient in assassination!
“Second one!” Yang Kai nodded.
A thunderous voice came from the left side, reverberating in the hall, “Is there something wrong with your head, Brat? What first one, second one?”
Yang Kai ignored this voice and looked at Chen Tian Fei, asking, “Manager Chen, it’s different from what you said. Didn’t we come here to discuss my admission into Scarlet Star and making me a Manager? These Managers don’t seem to be very keen on it.”
Chen Tian Fei looked at him with a smile and replied, “That’s right, but this King said before it that if you want to be a Scarlet Star Manager, you need the approval of four Managers at the very least. But now, it seems that no one agrees with this idea. Furthermore, since ancient times, Scarlet Star has only ever had seven Managers. We really don’t have an extra seat for you to sit on. So… I’m afraid that you will have to give up on this idea.”
If Yang Kai had agreed to be a Junior Commander, Chen Tian Fei would more than welcome it. Having someone as strong as Yang Kai under him would also be good news for Chen Tian Fei. He could naturally forget about Yang Kai beating Zhao Xing Chen in the face of such benefits.
However, Yang Kai’s audacity and greed were higher than the Heavens themselves. He didn’t even place any importance on a Junior Commander or Great Commander position and wanted to stand on equal footing with Scarlet Star’s true leaders.
How could Chen Tian Fei agree to such a thing? He invited Yang Kai here to lure him into a trap. Now that the Scarlet Star Managers were gathered here and the Spirit Array of the hall had been activated, Yang Kai could not escape. He didn’t need to pretend to be polite and compliant now.
Yang Kai nodded when he heard this, “I understand what Manager Chen means, you mean to say that Scarlet Star will always only have seven Managers?”
“You can say that!” Chen Tian Fei slightly smiled.
“That makes things easy.” Yang Kai also grinned, “I just have to kill one of you and take his or her seat.”
Just as he stated this, he kicked the ground as he flew towards Du Niang Zi like a Great Peng spreading its wings.
Yang Kai was decisive in his actions, acting the moment he declared his intentions.
No one had expected him to be so ruthless. Everyone thought that Yang Kai’s hands and feet would be tied here, leaving him at their mercy. His life and death would be completely up to them. No one had thought that he would be the first to launch an assault.
“Impudence!”
“Preposterous!”
Everyone angrily shouted as they flew off their seats one after another. Especially Gan Hong, the moment his figure moved, he disappeared into the darkness in a flash.
The Ou Yang Brothers, who had been sitting still like a mountain, also moved swiftly. Their auras became connected, giving the impression that they had turned into one person, mutually strengthening one another.
Chen Tian Fei’s plump and round body bounced like a ball, flying straight at Yang Kai.
*Dong dong dong…*
The towering Bei Yu Shan strode forward, shaking the hall every time his feet touched the ground. His body suddenly grew to more than twenty metres tall and his muscles radiated a tremendous might. He stood right before Du Niang Zi like a hill and smiled wickedly at Yang Kai before throwing a punch at him.
A boom reverberated inside the hall, deafening everyone’s ears, Bei Yu Shan’s punch was so strong that it could shatter a mountain.
In front of everyone’s disbelieving eyes though, instead of trying to dodge or evade, Yang Kai threw a punch of his own, meeting fist-to-fist with his enemy.
Yue He’s beautiful face turned pale as she shouted, “Be careful!”
She was anxious like an ant on a hot wok. She had informed Yang Kai before that Bei Yu Shan was born with great innate strength that could crush mountains. How could Yang Kai be thinking of taking this punch head-on? Wasn’t that tantamount to bringing disgrace to himself?
The others couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the sight of this.
Among the Managers of Scarlet Star, Bei Yu Shan was the strongest in terms of pure physical power. He had a Special Constitution, giving him innate brute strength comparable to exotic beasts. Within the same realm, no one could block his punch. Not to mention that he was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and Yang Kai was just an Emperor Realm Junior. Although there were no Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Grand Ancient Ruins, and Bei Yu Shan was unable to exert his full strength here, he still had his foundation. An ant couldn’t compete with an elephant in physical strength, could it?
It was simply an impossible feat!
Only now did Chen Tian Fei realize how headstrong and unyielding Yang Kai was! He had gone to such great lengths to bring Yang Kai here, but it seems he was acting too cautiously. Had he known this would happen, he would not have bothered coming up with such an elaborate scheme!
All kinds of thoughts flashed across everyone’s mind as the remaining Scarlet Star Managers abruptly stopped, watching patiently. It looked like they could all predict what would happen next.
A deafening explosion suddenly rang out…
What happened after the clash made everyone’s face twitch violently. When the two fists clashed with each other, it wasn’t the smaller Yang Kai who was sent flying, but the twenty-metre-tall Bei Yue Shan.
His enormous body flew out like a sack and crashed straight into the rear wall, creating a huge indent. At the same time, the entire hall quaked violently.
Yang Kai’s figure just shook a little before he continued charging forward without losing any momentum.
“Impossible!” Chen Tian Fei almost bit his tongue off in shock. His long and big eyes were narrow because of all the fat on his body, but they were now widened bigger than a bull’s eyes. What he was seeing had simply subverted his expectations. He simply couldn’t believe it.
The Ou Yang Brothers and Lady Qin also lost their wits!
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai arrived within a hundred metres of Du Niang Zi, grinning from ear to ear.
Apparently, Du Niang Zi had failed to realize her predicament as her thoughts had been thrown into chaos. When she came to her senses, Yang Kai’s grim smile was right in front of her face.
Her expression involuntarily changed as she promptly opened her mouth and breathed a pink mist at him. At the same time, she shattered the chair behind her as she retreated back.
The mist was extremely poisonous. Even an Open Heaven Realm Master would not be able to resist it if he or she was struck. If one couldn’t remove the poison in time, they would be reduced to a pool of pus.
Yang Kai charged straight into the mist, however, his body swaying slightly the next moment. Obviously, he was affected by the poison.
Du Niang Zi couldn’t stop giggling, “Boy, I have to hand it to you, you actually sent that brute flying, but this Great Aunt’s Soul Devouring Smog isn’t so easy to deal with. You can slowly enjoy the pain of your Soul melting!”
Just as she stated this though, her eyes widened in shock as she stared in Yang Kai’s direction in horror.
Inside the pink smog, Yang Kai opened his mouth and took a deep breath, directly inhaling like a whale swallowing water. Afterwards, he looked towards Du Niang Zi as his eyes glowed with a dazzling light, shaking Du Niang Zi’s Soul!
Du Niang Zi couldn’t help but scream as her tender figure rapidly fled back.
“Where do you think you are going?” Yang Kai coldly snorted and stretched his hand towards her before clenching it. The next moment, Space Principle fluctuations undulated as Yang Kai caught Du Niang Zi by her slender neck, ignoring the distance between the two, and slowly pulled her before him.
Du Niang Zi struggled hard, but the big hand that had grabbed her neck remained unmoving.
Suddenly, Du Niang Zi’s figure exploded with a bang as poisonous liquid flew everywhere, splashing all over Yang Kai.
Immediately after, sizzling sounds echoed in the hall as Yang Kai’s clothes melted away, revealing his slender yet well-proportioned muscles. In addition, there was a film of khaki light over the surface of his body. When Du Niang Zi’s highly toxic poison splashed on this khaki film, it was unable to corrode it at all and just slid down it.
“You…” Du Niang Zi’s reconstituted figure stared at Yang Kai in horror. She really couldn’t understand why the poison she was so proud of had no effect on this boy.
“Earth Element Power!” Yue He covered her mouth in shock and murmured to herself, looking at the khaki-coloured aura around Yang Kai.
[If memory serves me right, Yang Kai told me a few months back that he had only condensed his Wood and Fire Elements, so where did this Power of Earth come from? And it seems to be of High-Order as well; otherwise, how could it resist Du Niang Zi’s poison so easily?]
She couldn’t help but think about the time when Yang Kai had disappeared in the Crouching Dragon Mountains for twenty days. Could it be that he condensed his Power of Earth during that time?
“Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?” Yang Kai stared coldly at Du Niang Zi.
Du Niang Zi’s pupils immediately dilated. She was so horrified that she couldn’t even speak. She was shivering like a quail in the cold winter. The poison she was proud of had no effect on Yang Kai, leaving her without any other options.
“My turn!” Yang Kai cruelly smiled as he stretched out and pinched Du Niang Zi’s cherry-red lips. Afterwards, he brought his head closer to her, and under her terrified gaze, he took a deep breath as his chest and abdomen ballooned.
“Fire Dragon’s… Flaming Breath!”
Yang Kai spat out a scorching hot jet of flame straight into Du Niang Zi’s body from less than an arm’s length away. Naturally, it was the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
Du Niang Zi instantly started screaming in pain, writhing left and right, but she couldn’t break free from Yang Kai’s grip. All the poison on her body splashed out randomly, but Yang Kai didn’t even try to dodge or evade it. He let the poison fall on him while depending on his Power of Earth to defend himself.
“Stop!” Chen Tian Fei shouted as his round and plump body turned into a ball of meat, slamming straight at Yang Kai.
The others also violently attacked Yang Kai at that moment.
When they saw Yang Kai being enveloped by the Soul Devouring Smog earlier, they all thought that everything was settled. Yang Kai was going to die for sure and they instantly relaxed, but they had never thought that their brief moment of laxity would result in Du Niang Zi’s capture. How could they dare to hesitate any longer?
In the blink of an eye, Chen Tian Fei, the Ou Yang Brothers, and Bei Yu Shan, who had just crawled back up, charged straight at Yang Kai. Each of them summoned their artifact or used Secret Technique to attack Yang Kai.
“Hou…”
Beastly roars suddenly resounded through the hall as two enormous figures, one red and one black, appeared out of thin air. One breathed fearsome flames to defend against the enemies, while the other spattered toxic and sticky mucus everywhere, forcing the Scarlet Star Managers to flee.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon had taken the stage!
The two 300-metre-long exotic beasts coiled around Yang Kai, guarding him with an airtight defence. All the oncoming attacks were blocked by the two exotic beasts!
Chen Tian Fei and the others were immediately flabbergasted.
Yang Kai still continued to breathe flames at Du Niang Zi, whose screams were gradually becoming hoarse. She was staring at Yang Kai with a pleading look in her eyes.
Unfortunately for her, Yang Kai remained unmoved.
Suddenly, sonorous and melodious chimes rang out as if someone was plucking the strings of a guqin. When these chimes entered everyone’s ears, they found themselves in an illusion, making them uneasy. It was none other than Lady Qin, who had taken out her guqin at some point and plucked its strings with her soft and tender hands gently, creating invisible sound attacks!
Yue He let out a light snort and arrived before Yang Kai in a flash. She summoned her Little Flower Umbrella and twirled it. The next moment, ripples emerged from the umbrella one after another, spreading into the surrounding.
The melodious and sonorous zither music immediately became discordant, causing Lady Qin’s pretty face to involuntarily sink!
With the two exotic beasts on the defence, and Yue He blocking the front, Scarlet Star Managers couldn’t do anything at all. They wanted to rescue Du Niang Zi, but they couldn’t find any openings. All they could do was helplessly watch Du Niang Zi suffer miserably, much to their frustration.
The sharp screams slowly became faint before they ceased to exist. Du Niang Zi’s vitality had disappeared into thin air in just a dozen breaths.
The next moment, Yang Kai shut his mouth, cutting off the scorching flames. As he shook Du Niang Zi a little, her body jiggled left and right as if she had no bones left. And along with all the shaking, bloody foam flowed out of her seven orifices, along with her internal organs.
“First one!” Yang Kai threw Du Niang Zi’s corpse aside as if he was throwing away a piece of garbage.
The hall sank into complete silence. The Scarlet Star Managers’ eyes fiercely trembled as their gaze alternated between Yang Kai and Du Niang Zi’s corpse. They couldn’t believe that Du Niang Zi, who had been with them for hundreds of years, actually died just like that.
Moreover, she died a miserable death at the hands of an Emperor Realm Junior!
If they were outside, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been Du Niang Zi’s opponent at all as she was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Not to mention a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, even if he was up against a First-Order or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he would have to escape at the first sight of them.
But the special environment of the Grant Ancient Ruins Boundary allowed Yang Kai to flaunt his skill before these Open Heaven Realm Masters. The Small Universes in their bodies were suppressed and sealed, making it impossible for them to mobilize their World Force. As such, killing these Open Heaven Realm Masters was now as easy as killing Emperor Realm cultivators.
In the hall with the flickering flames, Yang Kai’s cold and piercing voice chilled the hearts of the Scarlet Star Managers.
Only now did everyone realize what Yang Kai meant by ‘first one’. Du Niang Zi was the first to offend Yang Kai, resulting in her being the first to be killed.
If there was the first, then there was a second…
Suddenly, a light clang rang and sparks flew about as Gan Hong’s figure mysteriously appeared beside Yang Kai out of thin air, slashing diagonally at him with the curved blade in his hand.
The Power of Earth around Yang Kai’s body was unable to block this attack completely, allowing Gan Hong’s sharp blade to leave a long gash on Yang Kai’s waist, drawing fresh blood from the cut.
However, Gan Hong, who had finally appeared again, looked stunned, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.
That was because his attack didn’t have the intended effect. A forearm-length gash might appear terrifying, but his sneak attack should have cut Yang Kai in two.
When his curved blade cut through Yang Kai’s body, Gan Hong instantly realized that the physique of this young man was unreasonably strong and firm. Yang Kai’s sturdy body could actually withstand his attack that could even split the Heavens and the Earth.
Horrified, Gan Hong’s figure flickered as it disappeared into the darkness once again, immediately retreating.
His concealment technique was unparalleled, so even a Master who was one or two Orders higher than him might be unable to track him.
While he was making a quick retreat, his eyes happened to meet Yang Kai’s gaze, and the next moment, his heart clenched as he saw a golden vertical pupil suddenly appear in Yang Kai’s left eye. The sight was extremely daunting. Under the gaze of this golden pupil, Gan Hong couldn’t help but feel an invisible pressure bearing down on him.
The next moment, he saw a ghastly smile creep up on Yang Kai’s lips, who raised his hand and summoned a long spear into his grasp. However, Gan Hong failed to notice Yang Kai’s next move. All he saw was a spear coming at him as its sharp tip rapidly enlarged in his vision. The murderous intent emanating from the tip of the spear made his Soul shudder.
Gan Hong’s face turned pale and he promptly raised his curved blade to parry the oncoming thrust.
With a deafening clap, Gan Hong felt a tremendous force passing through the curved blade as his skinny figure was sent flying. In a flash, he felt like a boat caught in a stormy sea, at risk of capsizing at any moment.
Gan Hong shouted as his concealment technique was disrupted, “Save me!”
At the same time, a figure hurriedly rushed towards Chen Tian Fei.
Chen Tian Fei’s facial fat twitched wildly at the sight of this and he secretly cursed Gan Hong for putting him in danger; however, he really couldn’t just sit by and not save the latter. Chen Tian Fei’s figure transformed into a ball of meat as it rolled straight towards Yang Kai, carrying an unstoppable momentum with him.
The Ou Yang Brothers’ aura became interlinked with each other. One controlled fire, and the other controlled ice, creating an ice-fire attack that flew straight at Yang Kai.
In response, the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s figure moved to block them.
Lady Qin plucked her guqin’s strings once again, but the sound attack was blocked by Yue He. The two women were locked in a heated contest.
As for the Earth Dragon, its mouth chomped as it sprayed sticky mucus towards Bei Yu Shan. Bei Yu Shan might have the strength to flip mountains, but facing this exotic beast that was like a slippery loach, he was having a difficult time as he was unable to break the Earth Dragon’s defence.
The entire hall was in chaos as various kinds of energy were wreaking havoc.
Chen Tian Fei hurriedly shouted, “Little Brother Yang, please stop, we can talk about this!”
“Whatever there is to talk about, we can do it later!” Yang Kai pursed his lips into a smile. Looking at the ball of meat rolling towards him with unparalleled force, he thrust his spear straight towards it. The next moment, a black ball appeared on the tip of the spear before shooting ahead as terrifying Space Principle fluctuations undulated.
A deafening explosion rang out as space shattered, forcing Chen Tian Fei back. Every time he stepped back, his plump body shrank visibly. His clothes started to become loose and oversized as his entire body was drenched in sweat, as if he was just pulled out of the ocean.
After finally regaining his footing, Fatty Chen Tian looked like an ordinary-sized man, the only difference being that his face was extremely pale.
When he looked around, his now thin face couldn’t help but twitch.
Because he saw that Gan Hong had already been pushed to the wall and was unable to retreat anymore, a panicked look on his face.
Yang Kai’s eyes shone with brilliance as he thrust out his spear.
Gan Hong shouted in horror. He was an Open Heaven Realm Master, but in the Ancient Ruins Boundary, he couldn’t display his full strength. He couldn’t be any more vexed.
He mustered up all the strength he could bring out and poured it into the curved blade in his hand before hacking down. Immediately after, a peerless sword aura shot straight at Yang Kai like a torrential river.
However, the Azure Dragon Spear shattered through the curved blade before a light squishing sound rang out. The next moment, it was as if time had frozen.
Chen Tian Fei’s brow twitched hard as he stared at the scene painted on the wall, feeling as bitter and frustrated as if he had eaten bitter gourd.
The Ou Yang Brothers also stopped moving together while Lady Qin stopped playing her zither. Bei Yu Shan also turned to look.
To everyone’s surprise, on the tip of Yang Kai’s spear hung a somewhat scrawny figure. It was none other than Gan Hong.
The Azure Dragon Spear had pierced through Gan Hong’s chest and out his back. Yang Kai grabbed the spear with one arm and lifted it up high. His current stance made him look like a figure from legend, causing the remaining Scarlet Star Managers’ eyes to tremble in disbelief.
“Ke…” Gan Hong lightly coughed and spurted blood before he warned with difficulty, “If you kill me… Head Manager will not let you off.”
Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at him with a grin, “Are those your last words?”
Gan Hong’s eyes widened as he roared, “You dare?”
Yang Kai shook his arm a little as violent energy passed along the Azure Dragon Spear, invading Gan Hong’s body and wreaking havoc.
Gan Hong let out miserable screams, but only for three breaths before falling silent.
Yang Kai’s grim and ghastly voice reverberated the next moment, “See whether I dare or not!”
Yang Kai flicked his spear, but not a single drop of blood spilled. Afterwards, he turned around and looked at the remaining Managers, smiling slightly as he casually commented, “Second one!”
Lady Qin’s finger trembled, accidentally plucking the string as an ethereal chime echoed in the hall. The Ou Yang Brothers’ faces turned cold, whereas a tight frown appeared on Bei Yu Shan’s brow. Chen Tian Fei was drenched in a cold sweat from head to toe.
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile, “Manager Chen, you look much better now.”
Yang Kai was being honest. Chen Tian Fei looked handsome in his thin state, but because he cultivated some strange Secret Art, he had to maintain his fat body. Now that all of his fat had disappeared, he had regained his handsome and elegant appearance.
Chen Tian Fei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry in the face of Yang Kai’s teasing, wearing a complicated look on his face.
Yang Kai looked around as he rested his spear on his shoulders and stated, “Manager Chen just said that Scarlet Star only ever has seven Managers, and there aren’t any seats available for me. Fortunately, there are seats available now, and I want one of them, do you have any objections?”
No one answered, in fact, no one dared to speak at will. Everyone was on tenterhooks, afraid that Yang Kai would attack again.
After this battle, the Scarlet Star Managers realized that this boy was a complete lunatic. He wasn’t even afraid of challenging Open Heaven Realm Masters when he was just an Emperor Realm Junior. More importantly though, a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters were beaten black and blue by him. If word about this incident got out, they would not be able to lift their heads in public ever again.
“This is your territory, so we will follow your rules. Manager Chen also said before that if I want to be a Manager of Scarlet Star, I need the approval of four or more current Managers! So ladies and gentlemen, please state your opinion, do you agree or disagree!”
Chen Tian Fei and the others were filled with unspoken criticism after hearing this. [So you know you are on our turf?]
Although they had hearts full of complaints, they had no choice but to give it serious thought.
Both Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong were dead. Although they had some friendship with these two, it wasn’t deep enough for them to seek revenge against this madman who could easily kill the two of them.
Furthermore, Yang Kai’s combat power was quite terrifying. If they could really have him as a Scarlet Star Manager, it would greatly benefit Scarlet Star.
So, after some pondering for a moment, Chen Tian Fei was the first to raise his hand and declare, “I agree!”
Melodious chimes of zither rang as Lady Qin agreed with a smile, “I agree too!”
The Ou Yang Brothers looked at each other and nodded their consents.
Bei Yu Shan stood there scratching his head. He looked at Du Niang Zi’s corpse and agreed in a humming voice, “Then, I agree too.”
Chen Tian Fei immediately cupped his fists and welcomed Yang Kai, “Little Brother Yang, welcome to Scarlet Star, everyone will be one family from now on. There will be times when we will have to rely on you, please don’t refuse!”
Yang Kai calmly smiled, “Very good.”
The nearby Yue He suddenly stated, “I also want to be a Scarlet Star Manager!”
Seeing everyone turn their gaze at her, Yue He assumed a stance that said that it was a matter of course, “Your Scarlet Star is short of two Managers, can’t I make up the number?”
Chen Tian Fei blinked his eyes in dumbfoundedness before agreeing with a smile, “Of course, you are very welcome!”
They had been trying to make Yue He join Scarlet Star for some time now, but she had always been ambiguous with her responses. Now, she was asking to join Scarlet Star of her own accord, so why would they refuse?
And as she had brutally mentioned, Scarlet Star was short of two Managers, so they needed to fill the numbers. Not to mention, Yue He herself was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, someone stronger than Chen Tian Fei and the others, making her more than qualified.
After the fight, two top positions in Scarlet Star had changed hands. Yang Kai and Yue He joined Scarlet Star as the Sixth and Seventh Managers respectively. Even though the others weren’t exactly happy about this situation, their strength had indeed been boosted. Chen Tian Fei and the others could also accept this result.
Now that Yang Kai was a Manager of Scarlet Star, he didn’t need to act wantonly arrogant anymore. Yang Kai straightened his clothes, put away the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon, and started chatting with Chen Tian Fei and the others.
After a while, Yang Kai asked, “What about the Head Manager? I’m a new member of Scarlet Star, don’t I have to greet him?”
Chen Tian Fei smiled lightly, “Head Manager is in retreat year-round. Even we don’t see him often, so why would he care about overseeing us? If the opportunity presents itself, I will introduce Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. He couldn’t help but be a little curious about Scarlet Star’s Head Manager. He didn’t participate in this fight at all, like a hidden Dragon that shows its tail but never its face. Who knew if it was as Yue He had said, that he was trying to break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Outside the audience hall, the Great Moon Province disciples were waiting with bated breath. They were surrounded by a few Scarlet Star cultivators who were glaring at them, their gazes filled with malicious intent.
Meng Hong and the others felt like they were on pins and needles, but there was nothing they could do.
The door of the main hall remained closed, so they had no idea what was going on inside. Be that as it may, Meng Hong could vaguely tell that Yang Kai and Yue He had definitely entered a Dragon’s den.
Just when Meng Hong and the others were feeling restless, the door of the main hall suddenly opened wide.
Meng Hong was startled and hurriedly raised his head to look; however, what he saw next blew his mind away. Yang Kai walked right out of the door in the lead, with Yue He closely following behind him. Furthermore, a handsome and kind-looking middle-aged man was accompanying them. The middle-aged man was quite strange as his clothes were quite loose and his face was a little pale, but he was still maintaining a smile.
When they arrived before everyone, the middle-aged man finally spoke, “Sixth Manager, Seventh Manager, please stay at your previous inn for a few days while I arrange things here. I will notify you when I am done; then, you can move in. If you have any requests, feel free to let me know and I will ask someone to meet them.”
Yang Kai smiled and stated, “Do as you see fit, I don’t have any special requests.”
The middle-aged man replied, “Then this Chen will look after the arrangements. If Sixth and Seventh Managers don’t like them, they can always be changed.”
“Many thanks, Manager Chen!” Yang Kai cupped his fists slightly.
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement before calling Meng Hong and the others over and walking off towards the inn.
After they had travelled a fair distance, Meng Hong couldn’t hold his curiosity and finally asked to confirm his guess, “Brother Yang, was that Chen Tian Fei of Scarlet Star?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded his affirmation.
Meng Hong was quite surprised, “How did he become like that? Wasn’t he fat before?”
Yue He pursed her lips into a smile and replied, “Of course, he was beaten to the point he lost weight. His foundation is damaged now. Who knows how long it will take for him to recover.”
[He became thin from being beaten?]
The Great Moon Province disciples looked at each other in confusion. They thought that Chen Tian Fei was beaten to this point by Yue He, imagining a great battle between two equal opponents must have happened in the hall, otherwise why would Chen Tian Fei be following her and Yang Kai so mildly?
“What’s this Sixth and Seventh Manager about?” Meng Hong asked in confusion.
Yang Kai replied, “Yue He and I have joined Scarlet Star, we will be Managers from now on.”
“Joined Scarlet Star?” Meng Hong was shocked. He had heard Yang Kai mention being a Scarlet Star Manager at the inn, but he didn’t expect for it to come true, and so quickly. Nevertheless, it was good news for them. Yang Kai and Yue He could provide them with better shelter as Scarlet Star Managers.
Meng Hong sighed in admiration, looking at Yang Kai who had joined the top echelons of Scarlet Star as an Emperor Realm cultivator. When he compared himself with Yang Kai, how he couldn’t even make the woman he had a crush on love him back, and how she gave herself to another man instead for a better sense of security, Meng Hong couldn’t help feeling a little sad and ashamed.
Yang Kai could tell what was going through his head with one look at his state, but he had no idea how to comfort Meng Hong; all he could do was pat him on the shoulder.
When they returned to the inn, Zhao Xing Chen was nowhere to be found. The entire inn was in shambles and the manager of the inn was sitting behind the counter, feeling sorry for himself. When he saw Yang Kai and the others return alive though, his eyes involuntarily widened.
Everyone else returned to their room while Yue He ran to Yang Kai’s room and sat at his table, resting her cheek on her palm and staring at Yang Kai with an obsessed look on her face.
Yang Kai completely ignored her. In his opinion, she was completely crazy and it was better not to provoke her.
But Yang Kai was a little concerned about one thing, so he couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t Scarlet Star have seven Managers? There were seven people in the hall though, right? Together with their Head Manager, wouldn’t that make it eight people?”
Chen Tian Fei, Bei Yue Shan, the Ou Yang Brothers, and Lady Qin altogether made it five, and including Gan Hong and Du Niang Zi who were killed, it was seven.
Yue He pursed her lips into a cute smile, “The Ou Yang Brothers advance and retreat together as one soul in two bodies, so they are always considered as one.”
Yang Kai suddenly understood. He threw a Dragon Blood Pill into his mouth and closed his eyes to refine it.
“I have a question too!” Yue He suddenly turned around and sat at the edge of the bed. A sweet and seductive smell wafted from her as she looked at Yang Kai with her beautiful eyes.
“What is it?” Yang Kai opened his eyes and looked at her.
Yue He asked, “Have you already condensed your Earth Element?”
“Yes!”
“I knew it!” Yue He softly sighed. She had guessed that the defensive shield around Yang Kai’s body was created by his Earth Element, but it was confirmed at this moment, “Did you get it from the Crouching Dragon Mountains?”
After thinking about it, she realized the only time Yang Kai had a chance to condense his Earth Element was during the twenty days he went missing back in the Crouching Dragon Mountain Range.
It was just that she couldn’t understand what he had found.
“Why do you ask?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
“Seventh-Order?” Yue He asked nonchalantly, staring straight at him.
Yang Kai closed his eyes, too lazy to answer her.
Yue He sighed and continued, “I guess you didn’t listen to my warning. Do you know that you are digging your own grave?”
Yang Kai snappily responded, “If you have something to say, speak up. I’m just gathering my Five Elements, how is that the same as digging my own grave?”
Yue He opened her lips but stopped just when she was about to speak. Finally, she looked away and muttered, “When you leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, you can ask Lan You Ruo. If she wants to tell you, she will naturally tell you. If she doesn’t want to, come to me then.”
Then she switched the conversation topic and sternly warned, “Let me repeat it again, do not let others know that you have condensed Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm materials; otherwise, no one in the entire 3,000 Worlds can guarantee your life, not even Lan You Ruo!”
Saying so, she swiftly left the room.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow. Yue He had warned him about this before, but she always spoke vaguely. There appeared to be some unspeakable secret about this subject!
Yang Kai was filled with doubts, wondering what was so dangerous about what he was doing.
Yue He only thought that he had refined Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm materials, but if she knew that he had actually gathered stronger Elements, she would definitely go crazy.
Yang Kai didn’t completely trust Yue He, but he could tell that she held no malice towards him. [I guess I have to ask the Proprietress after leaving this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.]
Scarlet Star’s management was very efficient and in just two days, Chen Tian Fei had already arranged Yang Kai’s new mansion.
He personally came to the inn to guide Yang Kai and Yue He to their residences; after all, they were the Sixth and Seventh Managers of Scarlet Star now. If they continued living in a common inn, it would be detrimental to Scarlet Star’s face.
The mansion was big and its location was good. It wasn’t any worse than the other Managers’ homes.
Chen Tian Fei led Yang Kai and Yue He around the mansion and introduced its facilities. After a while, they arrived at a hall where the host and guests took their seats, while maids served them tea and water.
Chen Tian Fei sat right below the host’s seat, smiling brightly, “Are the two of you satisfied with the mansion? If you aren’t, just inform this Chen and I will have the adjustments made to your specifications.”
In just two days, he had gained a lot of weight already, so the fat on his face shook when he smiled.
Yang Kai nodded and replied, “Manager Chen is thoughtful, everything is perfectly fine.”
As far as he was concerned, this mansion was just a temporary stopover, there was no need to be too particular about it.
Chen Tian Fei responded, “That’s good.” Saying so, he lightly coughed, and clapped his hands, “Come in.”
Two people walked in immediately, one man and one woman. The man was limping when he walked. He was none other than Zhao Xing Chen who had his knees broken by Yang Kai before.
Obviously, he had taken some precious pills over these two days; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to heal so quickly.
When he saw Zhao Xing Chen, Meng Hong, who had been standing behind Yang Kai, had no change in his expression, but when he saw the woman, a complicated look inevitably appeared on his face.
The woman was none other than Chen Yue.
The two walked in one after the other. Zhao Xing Chen had a flattering smile on his face, while Chen Yue was staring at her feet. Her hair was hanging over her head, covering her face. Only the Heavens knew what kind of expression was on her face at the moment.
“Greetings, Sixth Manager, Seventh Manager!” Zhao Xing Chen’s face was still slightly bruised, and several of his teeth were missing, so when he spoke, his words were a little slurred.
At this moment, he possessed none of the arrogance he had two days ago. He put a smile on his face that was uglier than crying, and assumed a flattering stance.
Chen Yue also elegantly bowed and greeted in a mosquito voice, “Greetings Sir and Madam.”
Yang Kai looked at Chen Tian Fei with a shadow of a smile, “Brother Chen, what’s the meaning of this?”
Chen Tian Fei replied solemnly, “Sixth Manager, this brat had eyes but failed to see and offended you before. Although you have taught him a lesson, in the end, he is still guilty of offending you. My Scarlet Star has strict rules, and anyone who dares to go against their superior deserves severe punishment! Today, I made this brat come and apologise to you. Whether you want to kill him or cripple him is your choice. This King won’t interfere!”
His words were quite eloquent, making him appear just and fair.
Zhao Xing Chen was startled after hearing this and immediately looked at him and cried pitifully, “Brother-in-law!”
“You still have the gall to call me brother-in-law!?” Chen Tian Fei coldly snorted, “This King has lost all face thanks to you! I told you a long time ago not to use your status as a Junior Commander to cause trouble. I told you that there is always someone better than you, but you didn’t believe me. You bastard, you are lucky that you ran into Sixth Manager who showed you mercy. If it was someone more ruthless, you would have died many times already!”
He then turned to Yang Kai and proclaimed, “Sixth Manager, I will leave him to you. If you want to kill him, you can do so. I, Chen Tian Fei, won’t stop you.”
Saying so, he really closed his eyes, giving the impression that his heart would not grieve for what he couldn’t see.
Zhao Xing Chen was horrified. Realizing that he could not count on Chen Tian Fei, he could only kneel on the ground and beg Yang Kai, “Sixth Manager, please spare me. I must have been possessed at the time and failed to see the truth, offending Sixth Manager which deserves capital punishment! This waste has learned his lesson and will never repeat this mistake again! Sixth Manager, please spare me!”
While begging, he kept kowtowing again and again. After a few moments, he started bleeding from the spot on his head that was banging against the floor.
Yang Kai looked at him indifferently, only declaring after a good while, “Commander Zhao, there is no grudge between you and I. Even if there is, you have just offended this King, and this King broke your legs in return. The matter is settled. If you want to live, it’s not me that you should beg!”
Zhao Xing Chen was startled when he heard this, but the next moment, he realized what Yang Kai meant and quickly acted upon it. He turned to Meng Hong and squeezed a smile as he sadly begged, “Brother Meng…”
Zhao Xing Chen’s mournful cries pulled the absent-minded Meng Hong back to reality. He looked up and saw Zhao Xing Chen looking at him, pitifully and pleadingly. He couldn’t help but recall how he bluntly spoke and showed off the day before yesterday.
Suddenly, he had mixed feelings.
He knew that Yang Kai was giving him a chance to avenge himself, so he glanced at him gratefully.
Be that as it may, Zhao Xing Chen wasn’t bowing to him because of Meng Hong’s own strength, and he had already made peace with the fact that the woman he loved had already become someone else’s. Meng Hong had no intention of getting entangled with him, so there was an indifferent look on his face, like his interest had worn out.
Zhao Xing Chen continued in trepidation, “Brother Meng, please let me off on account of the many times we’ve helped each other in the past. This Zhao knows his mistake and will never repeat it.”
Meng Hong still remained silent. He just kept staring at him indifferently, as if he was watching a clown’s performance.
The two remaining Great Moon Province disciples, on the other hand, were outraged. One of them stepped forward and cursed angrily, “Shameless bastard, you and our Eldest Senior Brother called each other Brothers, but you seduced our Eldest Senior Brother’s woman behind his back, and you still have the gall to beg for mercy now!?”
He then looked at Meng Hong and shouted, “Eldest Senior Brother, let me kill him!”
Zhao Xing Chen was shocked. Before he came, Chen Tian Fei had told him that it was up to him whether he lived or died. Chen Tian Fei had told him that he couldn’t afford to offend the new Sixth Manager. Yang Kai had personally killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong back in the main hall with minimal effort. If Zhao Xing Chen really got into trouble, Chen Tian Fei would be like a clay idol fording the river, hardly able to save himself.
If not for this, why would Zhao Xing Chen follow Chen Tian Fei here and apologize? If the other party made his move, he could not depend on his brother-in-law.
Knowing that his life or death depended all on Meng Hong, Zhao Xing Chen threw his pride aside and quickly stated, “Brother Meng, it’s a misunderstanding. Sister Chen Yue and I are still pure, nothing has happened between us! If you don’t believe me, you can ask her.”
He then turned his head and looked at Chen Yue, who just lowered her head, slightly trembling.
Zhao Xing Chen hurriedly added, “Brother Meng, I brought Chen Yue here to give her back to you. Let’s just treat it like nothing has happened, and everything is as before?”
“Shut up!” Meng Hong, who had not spoken a word till now, suddenly cursed. He glared at Zhao Xing Chen with flames of anger in his eyes as he continued, grinding his teeth, “Zhao Xing Chen, what do you think Junior Sister Chen is? She is a person, not some object that can be traded back and forth at will! By acting like this, aren’t you disgracing her sincerity!”
Zhao Xing Chen’s mouth opened wide but had no idea what to say. He thought to himself that Chen Yue was just trying to climb up the ranks, so how could there be any sincerity at all? It was quite evident that Meng Hong still had feelings for Chen Yue though, so if Zhao Xing Chen really spoke what was in his mind, he would die right here and now.
After Meng Hong was finished shouting, he suddenly waved his hand and stated, “Get out, I don’t want to see you again in the future.”
He wasn’t completely ruthless. First, it wasn’t him who made Zhao Xing Chen bow his head and beg him for mercy; rather, he was riding on Yang Kai’s coattails. Second, Yang Kai had just become Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager, so if he really killed Zhao Xing Chen, it would definitely cause Yang Kai some trouble. At the very least, Chen Tian Fei would definitely be outraged because of this. He might have said all those things before, but if Zhao Xing Chen was really killed right before him, he would definitely not be pleased.
Zhao Xing Chen was overjoyed after hearing this, and a smile immediately bloomed on his black and blue face, “Many thanks, Brother Meng! Many thanks!” Then he turned to Yang Kai and thanked him, “Many thanks, Sixth Manager!”
“Why are you still here!?” Chen Tian Fei kicked him and knocked him onto the ground.
Zhao Xing Chen didn’t even bother to get up and quickly crawled out of the hall. He was elated that he could escape with his life today.
As soon as he left, Chen Yue was left standing alone in place, her presence incredibly conspicuous. Her charming face was pale and her tender body was trembling slightly. Who knew whether it was because of fear or she was just extremely ashamed?
Meng Hong glanced at her before heaving a slight sigh and not saying anything. He then cupped his fists to Yang Kai before turning around and leaving.
Seeing this, Chen Tian Fei chuckled, cupped his fists and bid his farewell, “Sixth Manager, Seventh Manager, this Chen has other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first. I have left some people in the mansion for the two of you to use. Just tell them if you have any orders.”
“En, I won’t see you off!” Yang Kai gestured with his hand and stated.
Chen Tian Fei nodded before getting up and walking away.
“How should we deal with her?” After Chen Tian Fei left, Yue He motioned to Chen Yue, who was still standing to the side with her head lowered.
Yang Kai rolled his eyes. He had no idea how to deal with this woman. Originally, Meng Hong should have been the one to deal with her, but he left without saying a word. Yang Kai truthfully didn’t want to get involved in this mess.
“Figure it out yourself,” Yang Kai also left after throwing out this sentence.
In the inner courtyard, Meng Hong was standing by the pond alone, quietly watching the fish swimming in the clear water below.
The two Great Moon Province disciples were standing not too far away from him. They were looking at Meng Hong’s back with worry pasted on their faces.
Hearing footsteps, they turned around, and upon seeing that it was Yang Kai, one of them asked in a low voice, “Senior Brother Yang, will Eldest Senior Brother be okay?”
The other Great Moon Province disciple was also worried, “I heard that people who become heartbroken have very high chances of developing a heart demon. Can the Elder Brother overcome this hurdle?”
The Great Moon Province disciple, who had spoken first, angrily stated, “That slut should have been killed. Her death would have ended all these troubles. What’s the use of keeping that opportunistic slut? She would just be disturbing Eldest Senior Brother’s state of mind in vain!”
The other disciple shook his head, however, and commented, “It’s not like you don’t know that Eldest Senior Brother still has feelings for her. If you really kill her, you should be ready to face Eldest Senior Brother’s wrath!”
“Then what should we do?”
Yang Kai rebuked, confounded, “Stop arguing, I will go take a look.”
The Great Moon Province disciples looked at Yang Kai as if they saw their saviour, “Senior Brother Yang, you must persuade Eldest Senior Brother.”
Yang Kai remained noncommittal. He couldn’t rashly agree to this kind of request. Love was the most difficult thing to see through. Meng Hong had to rely on himself to understand it. It didn’t matter what the others’ opinions about this were.
After a few steps, Yang Kai arrived by Meng Hong’s side and stood silently. He glanced at him, and to Yang Kai’s surprise, Meng Hong’s expression wasn’t that bad; at least not as bad as he had imagined.
Before Yang Kai could speak, Meng Hong asked, “Brother Yang, are you worried about me?”
Yang Kai smiled and replied, “Your two Junior Brothers are worried about you developing a heart demon.”
Meng Hong slightly smiled and replied, “That should not happen. Although I like Yue’er, she is free to make her own choices. It is not my decision to make. I just feel sad for her. She didn’t choose the right person, and in the end, she was abandoned.”
“As you said, that was her own choice.”
Meng Hong nodded lightly, “Yes, everyone rises or falls along with the times just like the fish in the pond. In the end, they couldn’t escape from the shackles of time.”
After a bout of silence, Meng Hong continued, “Brother Yang, I want to become stronger!”
Yang Kai turned his head and looked straight at him, “Everyone grows stronger as they keep treading upon the Martial Dao.”
Meng Hong turned around and gazed at Yang Kai with passionate eyes, “I want to grow even stronger!”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow. He knew that although Meng Hong was saying that he was fine, Chen Yue’s affair had indeed affected him; otherwise, how would he have such an idea? People always desire more strength after suffering setbacks.
“There is no Open Heaven Realm in the Grand Ancient Ruins. If you want to become stronger, you can only continue to gather your Yin, Yang, and Five Elements in order to break through to the Open Heaven Realm once you leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary,” a pleasant voice suddenly rang in their ears. It was none other than Yue He who was coming over. She came to Yang Kai’s side and stood there as her hair gently danced along with the wind, brushing against Yang Kai’s face.
Yang Kai brushed her hair away, nodded and added, “There are many Open Heaven Realm materials in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, which should be able to meet your needs. Brother Meng, what Order of Elements have you condensed?”
Meng Hong replied, “Third Order!”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding; after all, Great Moon Province wasn’t a powerful force. Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang who Yang Kai had met before were both Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Meng Hong, as a disciple of Great Moon Province, could naturally only access Third-Order materials.
“Before, I used to think that the Third Order was enough, but now it seems that Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are just ordinary characters in the 3,000 Worlds. I have to become a higher Order Master!”
Yang Kai frowned after hearing this, “Brother Meng, if I’m not mistaken, you should have already condensed several Elements.”
As the Eldest Senior Brother of Great Moon Province, it was impossible for Meng Hong to remain in the Emperor Realm forever. He should have already condensed three or more Elements into his Dao Seal, and since his foundation was laid, he had no choice but to continue moving forward. He couldn’t turn back.
Meng Hong replied with a nod, “En, I have condensed four Elements.”
“Then how would you…” Yang Kai looked puzzled.
Just then, Yue He remembered something and her face slightly changed as she muttered, “Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water?”
Meng Hong nodded solemnly as a jade bottle appeared in his palm with a flip of his wrist.
“You’re courting death!” Yue He’s face turned extremely serious.
Yue He continued, “You should also know that to reach the Open Heaven Realm, you need to condense the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements into your Dao Seal before splitting Heaven and Earth apart in your body to form a Small Universe. Only with the power of a Small Universe can one be called an Open Heaven Realm Master. Once a cultivator has condensed a certain Order Power, it cannot be changed. The final Order of a cultivator is always the lowest Order Element they have consolidated. For example, if one has condensed six Third-Order Elements, and one Second-Order Element, then the Open Heaven Realm they can achieve is Second-Order. It will not change just because the other six Powers are Third-Order.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I know.”
The process of reaching the Open Heaven was like building a barrel to hold, one can only fill up to the height of the shortest board in the barrel.
Yue He continued, “But there were always some people in the world who are not satisfied with the Order of Elements they condensed and want to climb to a higher Order when they have achieved the Open Heaven Realm. Except, their foundation has already been laid, so how can they change it at will?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown and ask, “If it can’t be changed at will, does that mean it can still be changed?”
Yue He confirmed with a nod, “En, and the surest method is by using Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water. Once someone takes it, the Power of Yin, Yang and Five Elements they had condensed will be completely stripped from their Dao Seal. If one manages to survive the stripping process, they will gain a chance to start over!”
“How dangerous is it?” Yang Kai asked worriedly. Only now did he understand Meng Hong’s plan. He obviously wanted to use the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water to start condensing his Open Heaven Elements again.
Yue He sneered upon hearing this, “The danger depends on the number of Powers the person who consumes it has already condensed. The fewer Powers gathered, the smaller the risk. If one has only condensed a single Element, the chances of success is basically 50%.”
“50% after condensing just one Element?” Yang Kai couldn’t help but turn pale, “What if one has gathered four?”
Meng Hong just said that he had already condensed four Open Heaven Realm Elements, so the chances of success were probably much smaller.
“About 10%,” Yue He replied in a solemn voice.
10%!
Yang Kai was horrified. It really was akin to courting death.
Yue He looked at Meng Hong with a sneer, “Even so, are you really going to do this?”
Meng Hong clenched the jade bottle in his hand and calmly nodded, “I have already made up my mind!” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Brother Yang, please don’t try to dissuade me, I have been thinking about this for a long time, I just didn’t have the courage to go through with it until now. Furthermore, even if I had taken the risk before, there was no way for me to acquire enough precious materials with Great Moon Province’s strength. But it’s different here. We are in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, which is a vast treasure trove. Brother Yang, you might not know, but in the few months you were in a retreat, I frequently heard stories of people finding Fourth-Order, Fifth-Order, and even Sixth-Order materials. This is my opportunity. If I don’t give it a try, I will regret it for the rest of my life!”
Yang Kai remained silent. If Meng Hong was just acting on impulse because of Chen Yue, then he might try to dissuade him; after all, it wasn’t wise to take such a big risk right now. However, Meng Hong just said that he had been contemplating this course of action for a long time, but he just didn’t have the courage to go through with it.
This time, everything that had happened had just given him the push he needed to make up his mind.
After pondering for a while, Yang Kai gave his encouragement, “Since you have said as much, then I can only wish you all the best.”
He then turned to Yue He and asked, “What will happen if he fails?”
Yue He solemnly replied, “Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water cleanly strips the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements from one’s Dao Seal. If one fails, their Dao Seal will shatter. What do you think would be the consequences of that?”
If one’s Dao Seal got shattered, what else could happen? One would either lose their life or have their cultivation permanently crippled.
“I’m a little curious, where did you get Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water? Although it’s not rare, it’s not something you can get your hands on as an Emperor Realm cultivator. Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water is basically as valuable as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm material.” Yue He furrowed her bow.
Meng Hong replied with a smile after hearing this, “I accidentally acquired it many years ago and decided to keep it. I wasn’t willing to sell it as I thought that I might need it someday.”
It was quite apparent that Meng Hong’s decision wasn’t on a whim, he really had been planning for this for a long time.
Yang Kai stated, nodding, “Brother Meng, since you have already made up your mind, I won’t try to dissuade you. If there is anything I can help you with, feel free to speak.”
Yue He scoffed, “You can’t help him with anything except finding him a quiet place.”
Meng Hong requested, “Brother Yang, I request you to keep this a secret from my Junior Brothers. If I am successful, I will explain to them in person. If it doesn’t work out… then I ask Brother Yang to burn my corpse and hand over my remains to my Junior Brothers to take back to Great Moon Province.”
Meng Hong had just handed over his will; obviously, he too didn’t have much confidence in himself.
Yang Kai suddenly wanted to dissuade him, but he had no idea how to start. [If I was in Meng Hong place and I had such an opportunity, how would I have chosen?]
[I’m afraid even if I knew that there was just a 10% chance of survival, I would still have gone through with it!]
“When are you planning on starting?” Yang Kai asked.
Meng Hong replied, “There is no day better than today.”
He was very resolute, so Yang Kai had no choice but to find him a secluded cultivation room. He then arranged a powerful isolation Array together with Yue He so that Meng Hong would not be disturbed by the outside world during his ordeal.
The Great Moon Province disciples had no idea why Meng Hong suddenly decided to enter retreat, but they thought it might be related to Chen Yue’s incident, causing them to hate her even more.
Outside the cultivation room, Yang Kai and Yue He got busy and finally managed to arrange everything.
Yue He softly sighed, staring at the secret room, “It’s pointless to worry, so don’t bother. It will take him anywhere from three days to half a month to complete the process; when the time comes, you will know the result.”
Yang Kai nodded and stated, “Let’s hope for the best.”
Suddenly he remembered something and asked, “How did you deal with Chen Yue?”
Yue He replied, “I decided to let her stay. We can’t drive her away, can we? She is weak, and if we drive her out, she would get devoured till not even her bones were left within a few days.”
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter, “You’re quite kind.”
Yue He coldly snorted and stated, “You can easily tell that Meng Hong still has feelings for that Chen Yue girl. If we drive her away, how could Meng Hong rest at ease? We can only leave her for Meng Hong to deal with.”
Yang Kai nodded his appreciation, “Good job.”
Yue He sweetly smiled and elegantly bowed, “Many thanks for the compliment, Young Master!”
“What’s gotten into you?” Yang Kai flicked his sleeve and left with his hands crossed behind his back, leaving Yue He giggling.
Before leaving, Chen Tian Fei said that he had left some people in the mansion for him to use. Yang Kai soon met the Commander of these people, a man called Guo Zi Yan.
Yang Kai was now Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager, so they had to allocate a little manpower to him, even if just to keep up appearances.
In Scarlet Star, Guo Zi Yan was also a Great Commander-level figure. He was a Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so he wasn’t weak. In the outside world, he might not even pay any attention to Yang Kai, a trivial Emperor Realm Junior. Unfortunately, they were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary now and Yang Kai had the strength to kill Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong. Guo Zi Yan had no choice but to lower his head, even though his cultivation was higher!
After a few questions and answers, Yang Kai had a slight understanding of Guo Zi Yan’s character; in short, he was a rather taciturn person. Originally, he was Du Niang Zi’s subordinate, but since Du Niang Zi was already dead, the resources under her were naturally divided among the other Managers, leaving Guo Zi Yan for Yang Kai.
Guo Zi Yan didn’t have many subordinates, but they weren’t few either. He had a total of a hundred or so people under him. The entire team was under Yang Kai now. Ignoring loyalty, at least he could order around these people.
Needless to say, Yang Kai went to see his hundred new subordinates with Guo Zi Yan.
The reason why Yang Kai wanted to join Scarlet Star and take the position of Manager was because he wanted to use Scarlet Star’s resources and manpower to search for the Open Heaven Realm materials he needed. More people would lead to more information. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was filled with high-quality precious treasures, but it would be difficult for him to find them all on his own. Scarlet Star was different. With this Star City as their base, their influence spread in all directions rapidly. Nothing within a radius ten thousand kilometres could remain hidden from Scarlet Star’s eyes.
Scarlet Star was itself a relatively loose organization, with all kinds of people of varying strength and temperaments. As such, many of its members had unruly personalities.
When they heard that the new Sixth Manager was only an Emperor Realm Junior, they didn’t pay much attention to him. The hundred or so people stood in their positions, completely relaxed. But when Yue He, who was with Yang Kai, arrived, everyone instantly paid attention to her. After all, Yue He was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Such a Master could be considered a hegemon in the 3,000 Worlds, and all cultivators had an instinctive awe towards the strong.
Yang Kai didn’t care too much about this, and after a few words, he ordered Guo Zi Yan to take these hundred or so people out and gather intel. He ordered him to report any news about High-Order materials to him right away!
Guo Zi Yan naturally complied.
The next few days remained uneventful.
Yang Kai took Dragon Blood Pills every day to purify his Dragon Vein while spending his time comprehending his Wood and Fire Elements. He had learned an Innate Dragon Technique from the Dragon Bead he refined, but Yang Kai vaguely felt that he still could not bring out the full might of his Wood and Fire Elements.
From the energy gathered from the Immortal Tree essence and Golden Crow’s True Fire, he should also be able to produce powerful Divine Abilities! If he could successfully comprehend the mysteries of these powers, then his strength would definitely increase by leaps and bounds and he would be able to deal with more powerful enemies in a more relaxed manner.
Every day, Yang Kai would go and check up on Meng Hong. Unfortunately, since he entered retreat, Meng Hong’s cultivation room had remained completely silent. With the Array blocking everything, Yang Kai had no idea what was going on inside.
The Great Moon Province disciples were completely oblivious to what Meng Hong was doing; as such, they didn’t show much concern either.
Today, Yang Kai went to check up on Meng Hong in his spare time, but he saw Yue He coming over as well.
When their eyes met, Yue He shook her head.
Yang Kai stated with a frown, “It’s been eight days.”
Yue He heaved a soft sigh, “I’m afraid he was more unfortunate than fortunate.”
“Isn’t there any way to help?”
Yue He replied, “Once he took the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water, it became solely up to him whether he lived or died. Outsiders can’t interfere. Even if you go in, you will only be disturbing him, causing him greater danger.”
Yang Kai sunk into silence. Since Yue He said as much, he couldn’t provide any help even if he wanted to.
“Wait two more days. If he still doesn’t come out, it means he has failed. Then we will have to collect his corpse,” Yue He brushed her hair back behind her ear.
Just as she was finished speaking, Yang Kai suddenly looked up, staring at the secluded room’s heavy door.
With his Divine Sense, he seemed to sense some subtle movements inside the cultivation room.
Yue He too had noticed it by now and turned her head to look at Yang Kai in surprise.
After a while, the Array arranged around the room was slowly deactivated. Yang Kai raised his brow and went forward, opened the door, and walked in.
Yue He followed close behind.
There was a strong scent of blood in the air, and everything inside the room was in a mess, as if several violent energies had fought chaotically within.
A figure was sitting cross-legged in the centre of the cultivation room, his head drooped as his black hair was hanging loose, covering his entire face. Meng Hong was in an extremely miserable state at the moment, his entire body covered in dried blood.
By the looks of it, he had suffered a lot.
Furthermore, his aura was quite weak. Yang Kai couldn’t tell whether he had succeeded or failed.
A little worried, he stepped forward and called out gently, standing right before Meng Hong, “Brother Meng?”
Meng Hong slowly raised his head. His face was dark, sunken, and extremely pale, but there was a glint in his eyes. He looked at Yang Kai as the corners of his lips slowly rose into a smile, “The Heavens have blessed me!”
A heavy weight was immediately lifted off Yang Kai’s shoulder and he broke into laughter, “Brother Meng is truly blessed with good fortune!”
In a situation where he was meant to die nine times out of ten, Meng Hong had carved a way out. Yang Kai might not have any idea what Meng Hong had gone through these eight days, but judging by his state and the state of the room, he could tell that Meng Hong had constantly been wandering between life and death.
After making him take a few pills and adjust his breathing, Yang Kai finally sent Meng Hong back to rest.
The Great Moon Province disciples were summoned and Meng Hong explained the entire ordeal to them personally. A look of fear immediately appeared on their faces and one of them rebuked their Eldest Senior Brother for not even saying anything to them before taking such a big risk. What would they do if he had an accident? The other Junior Brother was indignant, clamouring to kill Chen Yue for causing disturbing thoughts in their Eldest Senior Brother’s mind.
While they were raising a fuss, Yang Kai and Yue He withdrew, leaving the three Fellow Brothers to talk it out.
Over the next few days, Meng Hong’s condition improved gradually. The Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water had stripped him of the four Third-Order Elements, allowing him to return to the state when he had just condensed his Dao Seal, which was equivalent to gaining a chance to start over. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that not everyone could have.
This time, Meng Hong would naturally not act arbitrarily.
A few days later, Yang Kai went to visit Meng Hong again to ask about his future plans.
Meng Hong replied, “Since I have wiped clean my Third-Order foundation, naturally I want to achieve a higher order. Fourth-Order is too low, while Sixth-Order is beyond my capability. If I could become a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it would be worth the risk I took.”
Yang Kai lightly nodded after hearing this. Meng Hong’s ambition wasn’t big compared to his own, but for a disciple of Great Moon Province, the Fifth Order was absolutely a luxury. After all, any Fifth-Order material would cost 1.5 million Open Heaven Pills, so seven materials would cost at least 10 million Open Heaven Pills. Great Moon Province might be able to collect this sum if they were willing to sacrifice greatly for hundreds of years, but it was meaningless to do so if they couldn’t find sellers for such materials.
It should be known that even with the backing of the Proprietress, Bai Qi could only achieve the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
If Meng Hong could achieve the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, then he would have the chance to reach the Seventh-Order in his lifetime, ascending beyond the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm. He would have a chance to appreciate the scenery from the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm.
Furthermore, Meng Hong had also said that Sixth-Order materials weren’t something that he could withstand.
Someone had told Yang Kai before that condensing Higher-Order Elements wasn’t necessarily the best for a cultivator. Everyone had their own tolerance limit, and if one exceeded that limit, they might lose their life in vain before reaching the Open Heaven Realm.
Meng Hong had judged that he could at most bear Fifth-Order Elements, which was also the limit most cultivators could bear. If he went for higher Order materials, whether it was his body or Dao Seal, both would be unable to bear it.
“If it’s Fifth Order, I can give Brother Meng something!” Yang Kai stated with a flip of his hand. The next moment, a hot aura appeared in his palm, as if he was holding a small sun.
Meng Hong’s expression froze as he exclaimed, “Sun’s True Fire! Is this… something you got from the Sun Star?”
He had also seen Sun’s True Fires before; after all, he was among the Great Moon Province disciples present when the Sun Star was extinguished. He had followed Wei Que to search for the Sun’s True Fire, so Meng Hong recognized it at a glance.
Yang Kai replied with a nod, “Yes, it’s from that Sun Star.”
Yang Kai had not only seized the Golden Crow carcass right under the nose of many Open Heaven Realm Masters, but also pocketed a lot of Sun’s True Fires at the Fourth and Fifth Order. However, he didn’t have that many Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fires, just three. They had been lying useless all this time in his Space Ring, but since Meng Hong needed it now, Yang Kai would not be stingy.
Meng Hong kept staring at the Sun’s True Fire in a daze. He wanted to refuse, but at the same time, was really reluctant too.
Great Moon Province had also obtained a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire, but instead of letting their disciples use it, they decided to exchange it for a batch of Fourth-Order materials. Owing to this careful planning, Great Moon Province would be able to raise a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master someday in the future. When that happened, Great Moon Province would be able to have a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master assume command of the Sect, allowing them to barely become a Second Class great force.
After observing Meng Hong’s words and expression, Yang Kai smiled and stated, “Brother Meng, please accept it for now and think of it as a loan. You can pay me back in the future if the opportunity presents itself.”
After Yang Kai had said so, Meng Hong couldn’t refuse anymore, so he immediately nodded, “Thanks are not enough for this kindness, this Meng will definitely not disappoint Brother Yang’s intentions.”
Urging his Qi, he wrapped the Sun’s True Fire and accepted it. In an instant, a wave of heat blew against his face, making Meng Hong involuntarily groan as his expression changed slightly.
He was used to dealing with Third-Order materials, which he could still handle with ease. Now, when he came in contact with a Fifth-Order material, he knew that not everyone could absorb these high-quality materials. If one’s foundation was lacking even a little, he or she would quite possibly get burned to death by this scorching heat once they began absorbing the Fire Element Power.
Meng Hong was secretly glad that he didn’t have overly lofty goals and only aimed for the Fifth Order. He made a wise decision.
Leaving Meng Hong to refine the Sun’s True Fire and condense his Fire Element, Yang Kai summoned the two Great Moon Province disciples to stand guard for him before finally leaving.
Passing through the corridor, Yang Kai saw a familiar figure sweeping the fallen leaves in the courtyard, which startled him slightly.
The other party seemed to have noticed him too. Chen Yue looked up and when their eyes met, she promptly lowered her head and greeted, “Sixth Manager!”
Yang Kai lightly nodded, having no intention of talking to her. Yue He had let her stay for Meng Hong to deal with. Unfortunately, Meng Hong had been in retreat all this time and now that he had a Sun’s True Fire to refine, perhaps he could care less about personal affairs for a short time.
Just as Yang Kai was about to leave, Yue He hurried over, “Guo Zi Yan was here. His men have found a Yuan Magnetic Mountain.”
“Yuan Magnetic Mountain?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Yue He explained, “A Yuan Magnetic Mountain nurtures Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones, which are Metal Element materials.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “What’s the location?”
He had just finished gathering his Earth Element, so the next on the list was Metal. At this time, Guo Zi Yan had timely sent a message, making Yang Kai feel as if pies were falling from the sky.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but wonder whether there was a Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain that was Seventh-Order or above.
Yue He handed him a jade slip which he promptly scanned with his Divine Sense. The next moment, he found a map with a spot marked a few tens of thousands of kilometres away from the Star City.
Yue He added, “Not just our people have discovered the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, but many other people have also found it. According to Guo Zi Han, some Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones have already been extracted.”
“What Order?” Yang Kai asked.
“Third-Order, Fourth-Order, Fifth-Order, all of them.” Yue He seemed to know what he wanted to ask. After she was finished speaking, her red lips moved again as she added, “Fifth-Order materials are very rare even in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. You better not expect too much.”
Yang Kai remained non-committal, “I’ll go take a look. Meng Hong is focusing on condensing his Fire Element, so you stay here and oversee things.”
“I don’t care about his life or death.” Yue He disdainfully spat. She then turned to Chen Yue and ordered, “I’ll leave it to you!”
Chen Yue blinked in stupefaction as she pointed at herself and asked, “Me?”
When she looked up though, she saw that Yang Kai and Yue He were nowhere to be found.
After leaving the mansion, Yang Kai soared into the sky, found his bearings after a moment, and then flew off with Yue He closely following behind.
In the corner of the Star City, two figures were quietly standing, staring in the direction Yang Kai and Yue He left. One of them was a middle-aged man, who was wearing a golden crown and a python robe. He was incredibly fat. This fat man was none other than Chen Tian Fei of Scarlet Star.
As a Scarlet Star Manager, Chen Tian Fei also had thousands of people under him; however, at this moment, he was standing behind a middle-aged man.
“That’s the new Manager?” The middle-aged man suddenly asked.
“Yes, it’s him. His name is Yang Kai,” Chen Tian Fei respectfully replied. His cultivation had recovered over these days, allowing him to regain his original fat layers. At this moment, his face was red and radiant.
Observing the other party’s expression and bearing, Chen Tian Fei cautiously asked, “How should we deal with him, Head Manager?”
The middle-aged man was Scarlet Star’s hidden Dragon who showed his tail but never his face, the Head Manager. Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong had tragically died at Yang Kai’s hands, yet this Head Manager had never made an appearance. However, he had come out for some reason today.
“What do you think I should do?” The Head Manager indifferently asked.
Chen Tian Fei pondered and replied, “Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong lost their lives at his hands before he forced us to recognize him as a new Manager. However, word of it has already spread. If we don’t give an explanation to the people below, I’m afraid it will be difficult to convince the public.”
“You want to kill him?” The Head Manager asked.
Chen Tian Fei replied, “It will be up to Head Manager’s discretion!”
The Head Manager continued, “If what you said is true, that this little brat killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong in such a short time, then he is a rare genius. It’s not possible to kill him with Scarlet Star’s current power.”
Chen Tian Fei was shocked, “Head Manger, you are also not sure about it?” He was very surprised by this. He thought that the Head Manager would not spare Yang Kai once he left his retreat. If not, how could the rest of the Managers so easily compromise? But judging by what the Head Manager has said, it was actually impossible to kill Yang Kai now.
[Are we really going to let him occupy the magpie’s nest and take the position of Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong?]
The Head Manager indifferently added, “He was able to kill Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong while stopping all of you. He is already invincible in the Emperor Realm. In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, this King has no confidence in defeating him!”
Chen Tian Fei’s eyes couldn’t help but widen. Although Scarlet Star was a loose organization, the Head Manager had near absolute control as his strength was immense and his vision was acute. Much to Chen Tian Fei’s surprise though, this man even stated that Yang Kai was invincible in the Emperor Realm!
Since Yang Kai could get such an evaluation from the Head Manager, it was evident that he was truly outstanding.
Chen Tian Fei considered and asked, “Head Manager, you mean…”
“Let’s wait and see!” The Head Manager turned around and headed towards his place of retreat, his voice drifting back, “It won’t be too late to deal with him after we have left the Grand Ancient Ruins. He is just an Emperor Realm Junior after all.”
Chen Tian Fei cupped his fists, “Head Manager is wise!”
The Yuan Magnetic Mountain was tens of thousands of kilometres away from Scarlet Star’s base, which was far beyond the range of Scarlet Star’s influence. Yang Kai and Yue He flew all the way, taking more than an hour to reach their destination.
In front of them was a rolling mountain range. It wasn’t too long, nor was it too high, and its peaks were sparsely distributed. Yang Kai scanned it with his Divine Sense and found many auras of cultivators in the mountain range.
Before he could get close though, Yang Kai felt an extremely strange energy lingering in the surroundings. The energy gave off a Metal Attribute aura; however, it wasn’t exactly like a Metal Element. It felt extremely strange. It was changing every moment. Sometimes it was pulling and sometimes pushing, and sometimes it even felt like it was swirling.
Yang Kai raised his brow and asked, “Yuan Magnetism Force?”
Yue He replied with a nod, “Yuan Magnetism Force is unpredictable. If you can use the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone to refine your Metal Element, you might be able to comprehend a Yuan Magnetism Divine Ability.”
After hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. He became more and more sure that he had not fully mastered the Immortal Tree and Golden Crow’s True Fire Power, so he was looking forward to this Yuan Magnetic Mountain.
A figure soon rushed over. It was none other than Guo Zi Yan.
Apparently, he got the news and came to greet Yang Kai and Yue He.
When he got closer, he cupped his fists and greeted, “Sixth Manager, Seventh Manager!”
Yang Kai lightly nodded, “How’s the situation here?”
Guo Zi Yan reported, “We have gained a little, but it’s not worth much. A few Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones at or below Third-Order.”
“Let me see.” Yang Kai stretched his hand towards him.
Guo Zi Yan handed him a plate-size stone without any objection. Yang Kai checked it out and found that it was pitch-black. At first glance, it didn’t seem special, but after a thorough inspection, he could feel the abundant Power of Metal inside.
The Yuan Magnetism Force in this stone was a lot more obvious than he had felt in the ambient air.
Yang Kai slightly nodded before handing the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone back. He then looked down and saw many figures rushing about here and there.
Guo Zi Yan quickly reported, “Sir and Madam, news about the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones has already spread, so many people are rushing over. This humble servant has also summoned all our nearby people, but we only have thirty or so in total. With just this many people, the scope of our search is limited. Do I need to send messages to the other Managers and ask them to bring some more people for support?”
Yang Kai glanced at him and indifferently declared, “No need, since the news has already spread, they will come if they want to. It will be useless if they don’t want to come.”
Guo Zi Yan thought to himself, [Many people have already got the news about the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, but the other Managers might not have received word so far. We have not seen the other Managers until now, so who knows if they don’t want to come or they are on their way.]
After flying with Guo Zi Yan for a while, they landed on the top of a certain mountain. Everyone here was busy. Thirty or so men under Yang Kai’s command were gathered here and the mountain was laden with many pits, some of which were quite deep. From the shallower pits, faint clinking noises could be heard. Obviously, everyone was trying hard to dig up Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones.
Yang Kai turned to look at Guo Zi Yan and asked, “How did you distribute the profits in the past?”
Guo Zi Yan replied, “Everything everyone obtained would be collected and evaluated before rewards were distributed according to respective contributions. But generally speaking, Managers take about half for themselves!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Such a distribution might have been used in the past, but Yang Kai was not going to follow suit.
“Relay my order, any Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone below Fifth-Order our people find belongs to the one who unearthed it, they don’t need to turn it over. This King only needs Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones of the Fifth Order and above. If anyone dares to pocket them, they will be shown no mercy!”
Guo Zi Yan’s expression turned serious upon hearing this, “Sixth Manager, are you serious?”
Yang Kai may have only wanted Fifth-Order or above Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones, which sounded a bit ravenous at first, but it should be known that their group had been searching this place for some time now and had yet to find a single Fifth-Order Divine Stone. On the other hand, they had found quite a few Third-Order Divine Stones already.
In other words, Yang Kai was taking the risk of returning empty-handed. On the contrary, the thirty or so subordinates could keep everything below the Fifth Order.
From another point of view, this was very beneficial to the thirty of them; after all, if Yang Kai followed the previous practice just like Du Niang Zi, even if they found a Fifth-Order Divine Stone, they would not have any share in it.
Yang Kai stated, “If I ask you to relay my order then relay it. Why do you have so many useless questions?”
Guo Zi Yan immediately cupped his fists and responded, “Yes, Sir!”
The order was quickly disseminated to everyone, causing the thirty or so men to be extremely elated. They immediately started searching even harder. Even Guo Zi Yan rushed into a nearby pit and disappeared.
Yue He looked at Yang Kai and asked, “What are you going to do with the Fifth-Order Divine Stones?”
She knew that Yang Kai had condensed Seventh-Order Elements, so she was a little puzzled at the moment.
“I have my uses for them,” Yang Kai casually responded.
The Fifth-Order materials might not be of any use to him, but he had many friends and relatives in the Star Boundary who would eventually enter the Outer Universe. They would definitely need them at that time. Yang Kai’s own starting point was very high, so naturally, lower Order materials were not of interest to him. The Fifth Order was barely the threshold that could interest him.
It didn’t hurt him to plan for the future early on. What’s more, the Fifth-Order materials were quite valuable even if he didn’t personally use them.
Yang Kai next looked around and found a spot with no one around before waving his hand and releasing the Earth Dragon.
His Divine Sense surged as he communicated with the Earth Dragon for a time. The Earth Dragon turned around and plunged into the ground soon after, quickly drilling an enormous pit.
The Earth Dragon was an exotic beast that lived underground, so it was simple for it to open a pit. Loud rumbling noises came from inside the pit that quickly faded away. The solid rock couldn’t resist the corrosion of the Earth Dragon’s mucus.
The Earth Dragon alone was equivalent to hundreds of people in this environment.
Yang Kai didn’t remain idle either. He exhorted Yue He to guard the spot while he followed the Earth Dragon underground. The moment Yang Kai jumped into the pit, he started scanning with his Divine Sense.
It didn’t take him too long to find a Third-Order Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone and put it into his Space Ring.
With the Earth Dragon leading the way, Yang Kai easily penetrated a thousand meters into the mountains. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary had remained untouched for thousands of years, breeding many rare and precious treasures. There were a lot of Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones in the Yuan Magnetic Mountains, and the deeper he went, the denser the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones became.
In just half an hour, Yang Kai had already found six Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones. Unfortunately, their Order wasn’t very high. The highest Order materials he had found were of Third-Order, the others were either First or Second-Order.
Yang Kai wasn’t picky, however, and put them all into his Space Ring. Although these Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones weren’t useful for him, they could be sold for some Open Heaven Pills.
Now, all the Open Heaven Pills in his possession had been used to buy the herbs in the Star City; even Yue He had to fork out some of her pills too, which made Yang Kai a little embarrassed.
As the Earth Dragon continued to explore, Yue He’s voice suddenly rang in Yang Kai’s ear, “Come out, something has happened!”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow when he heard this. He stopped chasing after the Earth Dragon and disappeared from the spot in a flash of Space Principles.
When he reappeared, he had already arrived at the peak.
He gazed down as a slight frown appeared on his brow. He saw Yue He and Guo Zi Yan standing in the lead, while their men stood behind them. But at this moment, they were surrounded by another group.
The size of that group was quite big, about three or four hundred in total, giving them a ten-to-one advantage. The people leading the other group also looked quite strong. In just one glance, it was quite evident that they would not be easy to deal with.
The two groups were confronting each other, weapons drawn, the atmosphere heavy.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown. There seemed to be some kind of conflict here, but as he had been following the Earth Dragon to search for Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones down below, he had no idea what exactly transpired.
His figure flickered as he arrived beside Yue He the next moment and asked, indifferently looking at the other group, “What happened?”
Yue He bitterly smiled as flipped her hand. The next moment, a fist-size Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone appeared in her hand. Although this Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone appeared pitch-black, it also gave off an everchanging gleam from its surface. A strange force was lingering around the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone, which was no different from the Yuan Magnetism Force Yang Kai had felt before.
Yang Kai raised his brow, “What Order?”
In just one glance, he could tell that this Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone was a little different than the others he found so far. It was completely different from the Third-Order Divine Stones he had found before. Although this Divine Stone was much smaller, it was of extremely high Order.
“Fifth-Order!” Yue He replied, “One of the men found it and shouted in excitement, drawing them here.” While speaking, she turned her head and glanced at a lean man beside her.
Obviously, this Fifth-Order Divine Stone was found by this man. At this moment, the man was looking quite guilty, secretly blaming himself for being too careless. He got too excited and couldn’t stop himself from shouting; after all, he had never seen a Fifth-Order material before.
[So it’s a case of having evil intentions at the sight of someone else’s wealth!]
Yang Kai quickly understood what was happening. He reached out and took the Fifth-Order Divine Stone and stuffed it straight into his Space Ring. He then patted the lean guy on the shoulder and praised, “Good job, I will note your merit down!”
The man looked at Yang Kai in a daze after hearing this. His face was filled with excitement. He was thinking that the Manager would blame him for being careless, but instead of getting blamed, he was praised.
The new Sixth Manager seemed a little different…
At this moment, a person on the other side stepped forward and shouted in fury, “It’s you, you little bastard!”
While speaking, he was grinding his teeth, as if there was some kind of unforgivable enmity between the two.
Yang Kai looked up and found this man to be a little familiar. Apparently, he had seen him somewhere before. He took a closer look and couldn’t help but grin as he stated, “What a small world, we meet again.”
Surprisingly, the other guy was none other than Bie Jian whom he had run into back in the Crouching Dragon Mountain Range a few months ago.