After a short pause, Ah Hua coldly added with a frosty expression, “If you can’t prove your worth, then jump off this wall yourself!”
The moment the words left her mouth, she shot out another arrow. The huge force blasted the giant beast that was leaping towards them to death in mid-air. Moreover, her cold and disgusted gaze was fixed on Yang Kai’s face from the start until the end; she didn’t even shift her gaze away from him at all.
“A good-for-nothing?” Yang Kai murmured, lowering his head and examining his body before he glanced around at the bodies of the other villagers… [En, in this era, this body is truly that of a waste.]
Rather, the fact that the old man with a stooped figure was the Village Chief of this village surprised Yang Kai.
Although he didn’t know what Shamanic Spell the Village Chief had used to make the giant beasts turn a blind eye to him, it was definitely not due to a stroke of luck. [A Shaman Apprentice… Going by the name, it should be the lowest realm, right? It would seem that the number of Shamans in this ancient era is extremely scarce.]
Yang Kai and Ah Hua stood on the fence and worked closely together. After experiencing that initial sense of discomfort, he calmed down and no longer felt disoriented. In any case, he had to overcome this obstacle for now as it might be a test given by this Sealed World.
As he handed arrow after arrow to her, the pile of arrows at his feet dwindled at an incredibly fast pace; however, a young boy of the Barbarian Race soon brought over more arrows to replenish their stock.
The young boy looked to be around thirteen years old and was clearly a minor. Thus, he could only help out with some logistical work. However, even this thirteen-year-old boy had a stockier and sturdier frame than most of the people Yang Kai had seen in his life. Those firm muscles that he built up were simply not something a person his age should have.
Many other underage children of the Ancient Barbarian Race like this young boy were helping out in the village, and as time passed, the Beast Tide’s attacks were suppressed greatly under the influence of the Bloodlust Spell that the Village Chief applied. The villagers managed to turn the tides on those giant beasts while paying a very small price, causing countless casualties among the invading enemy.
All the villagers seemed jubilant. Meanwhile, Ah Hua shot out arrow after arrow as if she finally saw a ray of hope in winning this battle. In contrast, Yang Kai furrowed his brow deeply. Unlike the optimism of these ignorant villagers, he felt that the situation was very unfavourable for the village. Although the giant beasts were suppressed on the surface and suffered many casualties, the truth was that the villagers had consumed too much strength to achieve this. The long and high-intensity battle made it difficult for the villagers to continue fighting.
It was obvious just by looking at Ah Hua. In the beginning, she shot arrow after arrow as swiftly as the wind, almost without stopping, each one taking down a giant beast. However, she couldn’t even draw the bow to its fullest anymore. Her hands that were holding the bow trembled and not only did she now require two arrows to kill a single giant beast, the interval between each arrow was also getting longer. If this was the case with Ah Hua, then the other archers must be facing the same issue.
Besides, the condition of the rest of the villagers outside the village was even more worrying. After being blessed with the Bloodlust Spell by the Village Chief, they had overdrawn their Blood Essence. Hence, once the Bloodlust Spell lost effect and the backlash of the technique kicked in, the hundreds of villagers fighting outside would instantly become prey to the giant beasts, not having the strength to fight back at all.
On the other hand, Yang Kai could clearly sense that the Beast Tide was biding its time even though it kept up its aggressive offence. It seemed as though there was an intelligent existence among these beasts, commanding them from behind. This leader was quietly biding its time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to win this battle in one fell swoop.
[I guess I need to take action!]
Yang Kai had not behaved rashly or taken any overt action prior to this because he had been clueless about the situation he was in. He did not know what kind of changes would occur if he were to carelessly make a move; however, as time passed, he couldn’t help being affected by the hot-blooded spirit of the Ancient Barbarian Race villagers after observing them for so long. The identity he received as ‘Ah Niu’ for some mystifying reason, seemed to have grown on him, and he started having a faint sense of belonging to this strange village.
The Ancient Barbarian Race was admirable. Their tenacious will to survive in this primitive time, fighting against all manner of disasters, was what allowed the Human race to multiply until they became the dominant race in the world today. Their strength had been passed down through the generations, allowing the Human race to flourish in this world.
[I will protect this land! I will protect this village as Ah Niu!] The blood in Yang Kai’s body boiled all of a sudden. Bending down, he picked up a huge bow lying next to him. This huge bow originally belonged to another villager, but he had lost his head to a giant leopard that came rushing at him.
Yang Kai reached out and pulled on the bowstring, letting out a loud strumming sound. It felt as if a war drum was pounding in his heart, filling him with the urge to charge forward into battle.
“Arrow!” Ah Hua stretched out her hand, staring straight ahead with scarlet eyes that gleamed with hatred. To her surprise though, she did not receive any response. Turning her head abruptly, she was about to swear at Yang Kai when her words caught in her throat. Staring at him holding the huge bow in amazement, she exclaimed, “What are you doing?!”
Yang Kai simply grinned back at her, revealing a row of pearly white teeth as he commented, “You should rest. You’re exhausted.”
The hand Ah Hua stretched out to him was trembling, and her fingers were covered in bloody cuts. When their gazes met though, Ah Hua burst out angrily, “Rest?! Where will I find the time to rest?! Don’t you know what will happen to our comrades below without the support of we archers?!”
“I know!” Yang Kai continued to smile, reaching out to pick up an arrow and nocking it onto the bow. Tilting his head, he looked at her and said, “Just leave it to me.”
“You…” She was about to say something when her eyes suddenly bulged, extreme shock covering her face. [What!? What am I seeing? Ah Niu, who is known as a good-for-nothing in the village, is drawing a bow? What’s more… he drew it fully! Where did he get such strength with those twig-like arms and legs of his?!]
Ah Hua instinctively felt as if she had seen wrongly; after all, she clearly recalled that it had been very difficult for Ah Niu to even pick up a bow and arrow during their last training session, let alone draw the bow fully. What was happening in front of her completely overturned her perception of him.
The Ah Niu in front of Ah Hua didn’t even seem to be using much strength and she couldn’t feel any explosive power coming from his muscles. Rather, it felt as if he was drawing the bow back casually. Nevertheless, he drew it to its maximum.
Drawing the bow to its fullest, Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn as he loosened the arrow.
Ah Hua couldn’t help following the trajectory of this flying arrow with her eyes.
The explosive airflow coming from the arrow was distinctly identifiable and it was clear that his arrow contained a tremendous amount of power. It was no less powerful than an arrow she shot. More importantly, this blow was powerful enough to penetrate the bodies of the giant beasts.
For some reason, Ah Hua suddenly felt a sense of confidence in the good-for-nothing standing in front of her. She believed that this arrow of his would definitely kill one of the giant beasts.
*Sou…*
The arrow flew past the body of a giant beast and disappeared in the blink of an eye while the villager who was fighting hard with that giant beast had been startled. The arrow would have killed him in that instant if it went just the slightest bit off course.
Ah Hu turned his head, glared at the people standing on top of the fence, and roared, “Ah Hua, watch where you aim!”
“I…” Ah Hua opened her mouth to speak with a grievous look on her face. [How could I have shot such a lousy arrow? I wouldn’t make such a mistake even if I shot with my eyes closed! It’s obvious that Ah Niu was the one who did it, you know?!]
Her feelings of being wronged turned to rage as she turned back and glared at Yang Kai, unable to believe she felt the least bit confident in this good-for-nothing. She really must have been blind!
“En, I’ve gotten the hang of it now.” While Yang Kai was speaking, he picked up another arrow and nocked it.
“This isn’t the place for you to fool around! If you don’t want to help me, then just go away!” She shouted furiously. [Even if this good-for-nothing surprised me by fully drawing the bow, what’s the point if he can’t shoot accurately? He might as well go down and fight those giant beasts head-on. Who knows? He might prove to be more useful there. All excellent archers need to go through rigorous training and countless life-or-death battles to accumulate experience, but Ah Niu has never had such experiences before.]
“Just trust me!” Yang Kai said to Ah Hua earnestly as he drew the bow swiftly and steadily.
The raging expression on Ah Hua’s froze for a moment before she sighed and said, “Shoot in a direction without people!”
Compared to this good-for-nothing’s previous performances, the fact that he could pick up a bow and arrow to help share some of the village’s burdens was rather praiseworthy.
He smiled, “That won’t happen again.”
His target was still the giant beast that Ah Hu was fighting, and when the arrow left the bow, Ah Hua barely dared to look at the outcome, for fear of seeing him accidentally hurt Ah Hu. In reality, the giant beast so happened to jump up into the air with a roar the moment the arrow left the bow. The 3-meter-long arrow penetrated the giant beast’s mouth and shot out the back of its body, the horrifying power behind the shot smashing the giant beast’s viscera and organs. The giant beast collapsed to the ground with a whimper, blood flowing from it like a fountain.
“He really did it!” Ah Hua froze in shock once more, feeling completely dumbfounded. If she recalled correctly, Ah Niu couldn’t even draw a bow before, let alone shoot an arrow. In other words, this is his first time using a bow. Although the first arrow deviated from its course slightly and frightened Ah Hu, the second arrow was scarily accurate. Just what on earth happened to this good-for-nothing?!
While Ah Hua was lost in her own thoughts, Yang Kai had already picked up another arrow. He barely paused in his actions as he drew the bow and loosed the arrow. A moment later, in the distance, a giant beast fell dead.
Although Yang Kai couldn’t sense a single drop of his Emperor Qi in this Sealed World, it seemed as though his foundation as an Emperor Realm Master was still there. The huge bow and arrows would be incredibly difficult to control for an average person, but it was nothing to an Emperor Realm Master. The first arrow had simply been an experiment by Yang Kai to accustom himself to the equipment. What came after that was simple; none of his arrows missed their marks.
Yang Kai finished a bundle of ten arrows in just a few breaths, and aside from his first arrow that failed to hit its target, the following nine each killed their targets in a single hit.
“Brother Ah Niu, how are you so amazing?” The young boy that was in charge of logistics came over with several bundles of arrows and happened to witness Yang Kai’s martial prowess, immediately admiring him greatly.
The adults in the village were always spurning Brother Ah Niu, claiming that he was a good-for-nothing in this village that not only failed to contribute anything, but even wasted their food. Most of the adults had advocated for Ah Niu to be exiled from the village and left to fend for himself. If not for the Village Chief’s kindness and Ah Hu constantly sharing his food with Ah Niu, Ah Niu would have starved to death a long time ago. However, that supposedly worthless Ah Niu actually turned out to be so amazing! He was on par with Ah Hua, the best archer in the village. Thus, the young boy felt rather confused.
Heavy snow had begun to fall in this ancient and primitive world at some point, dyeing everyone’s vision with white. It also made the shockingly red blood stand out even more against the ground. Despite the freezing conditions, the villagers seemed oblivious to the cold, leaving their skin exposed to the elements as it gave off steaming heat.
Outside the village, hundreds of villagers were armed with primitive weapons such as stone axes and stone spears as they fought in a bloody battle against the giant beasts. More than a dozen archers stood atop the wall and provided strong support to the fighters with their superb skills. Meanwhile, the stooped figure of the Village Chief continued to run about the battlefield. His pitch-black cane occasionally flashed with weak bursts of light as he used his meagre Shamanic Spells to resist the invasion of the Beast Tide.
The bloody glow surrounding the bodies of the villagers that were subjected to the Bloodlust Spell was growing dimmer. Needless to say, it was a sign that the effects of the Bloodlust Spell were beginning to fade. These villagers would fall into a period of prolonged weakness and lose their ability to fight once the Bloodlust Spell lost its effectiveness, so if they failed to repel the Beast Tide before that happened, only one end was waiting for the entire village: Utter destruction.
Hundreds of the strongest warriors would become food for the giant beasts throughout winter. Similarly, the old, the weak, the women, and the children would suffer the same fate. At that time, all the lands touched by the cruel oppression of the giant beasts would suffer endlessly.
For that reason, the villagers continued to fight to their last breaths so long as the Beast Tide was not repelled. Their homes were behind them, so nobody could retreat.
*Sou sou sou…*
Yang Kai released three arrows, and three giant beasts fell dead instantly. These impressive techniques left Ah Hua feeling dazzled. If she had been stunned by him drawing a bow and shooting with such great accuracy earlier, she was now completely unable to process what she saw in front of her, her mind going blank from the shock.
[I didn’t know that the bow could be used like that.] She had her pride as the best Spirit Archer in the village. Nobody else in the village could beat her when it came to archery; however, she had never heard of, nor seen archery like what Ah Niu was performing, shooting arrows at the same time.
[We can win this! We will definitely win this!]
Ah Niu’s sudden transformation gave her a shining ray of hope for victory. As long as he maintained his current pace, something as trivial as the Beast Tide would be nothing to worry about!
“Sister Hua, Brother Ah Niu, this is bad! We don’t have many arrows left! These are the last five bundles! Aunt Li told me to let you know to use them sparingly,” the young man in charge of logistics shouted, running up to them with a few bundles of arrows in his arms.
His words felt like a basin of ice-cold water pouring down on Ah Hua. One bundle of arrows contained ten, so five bundles meant fifty arrows. At best, they could only kill another fifty giant beasts. But, the Beast Tide won’t end with just fifty more deaths!
Ah Hua’s complexion paled suddenly. If there was no support from the archers, Ah Hu and the rest fighting desperately below would undoubtedly die. Thus, she turned around, glared at the young boy, and roared, “How can there be so few left?! What about the arrows in the warehouse?! Didn’t you take them out?!”
The young boy looked mournful, “We took them all out, but you are consuming the arrows too quickly! Even though Aunt Li and the others are doing their best to craft more, they can’t keep up with the demand.”
[Consuming the arrows too quickly? It’s not that we are using them too quickly, it’s that too much time has passed! There has never been a Beast Tide that lasted for this long before. The giant beasts are not retreating even though they are paying such a heavy price in this battle. This is different from all the other Beast Tides we encountered before in the past!]
Ah Hua looked up at the sky, where large snowflakes were falling heavily while the whistling of the bitterly cold winds echoed throughout the forests. It was winter, and the beasts were hoarding rations for the coming freeze, lest they starve to death in their caves when the weather turns frigid.
[What do we do? What do we do?!] The shock of this depressing news made Ah Hua falter. She bit her pale lips hard, practically drawing blood, yet not realizing it. She turned her head to look outside the village where the sight of those villagers leaving their backs to the archers without any worries pained her heart.
“I’m leaving this place to you!”
Ah Hua was stunned by those words and turned to look at Ah Niu, asking almost subconsciously, “What?”
Yang Kai took a deep breath and put down the huge bow in his hand before cracking his neck and smiling at her, “I’ll be right back!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he jumped off the wall and rushed towards the bloody battlefield. Ah Hua’s eyes bulged suddenly and she opened her mouth to shout at him, but her words were blown away by the howling of the cold wind. She did not even know whether he heard her or not.
He was simply courting death! His performance might have been pretty good when it came to drawing a bow and killing giant beasts from afar; however, long-range shooting and close combat were two different matters altogether! Fighting with the giant beasts, which were often ten metres long, required extraordinary physical fitness and the courage to face death. Regardless of his courage, Ah Niu’s physical strength was apparent. His body was smaller than that of the underaged children in the village, so what could he do even if he entered the battlefield? Those giant beasts would definitely make a quick snack of him!
After jumping off the wall, Yang Kai casually picked up a stone axe he found lying on the ground. He braved the harsh cold winds and walked through the mud mixed with the flesh and blood of those strange monsters, racing into the herd of beasts in the blink of an eye. From afar, it looked like a newly born lamb rushing headfirst into a pack of tigers and his body was buried under them in an instant.
Ah Hua couldn’t bear watching anymore, reaching out to pick up a bow as she secretly decided to avenge him.
“Sister Hua, look!” The young logistics boy had not left, however, and suddenly lifted his hand and pointed while exclaiming in excitement.
Glancing in the direction he was pointing, Ah Hua saw the giant beasts in that direction being blasted into the air for some unfathomable reason. They flailed helplessly mid-air before crashing to the ground, bleeding profusely, and dying instantly. Some of these beasts fell dead, while others with their huge bodies actually exploded mid-air. Some were even split cleanly in two.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of giant beasts that had gathered in that spot were killed, and at that moment, a not-so-burly figure stood there, tall and strong like a spear. The stone axe in his hands was covered in blood and bits of flesh.
“How?” Ah Hua was dumbfounded.
Similarly, the dozen or so Spirit Archers standing on the wall were equally dumbfounded by the sight, so much so that they forgot to continue providing support with their bows. All of them were staring blankly at the weak-looking figure standing there. The person they used to ridicule and spurn to the point of wanting to exile him from the village had turned out to be as powerful and mighty as an Ancient God on the battlefield that was covered in blood and flesh.
Standing there, that person gave off the feeling that he could take on anything that came his way, giving the villagers an unprecedented sense of calm. Moreover, there seemed to be loud laughter coming from that direction, though the wind was too strong for them to hear clearly. However, those with sharp eyes could clearly make out the excited and jubilant smile on this small figure’s face.
The commotion soon alarmed the other giant beasts and numerous pairs of scarlet eyes turned toward that direction while a low roar rang out indistinctly. Immediately following that, a portion of the giant beasts besieging the villagers split off from the group and surrounded Yang Kai.
Yang Kai held the stone axe in his hand as his aura rose steadily. When his sharp gaze swept over the giant beasts, it made them all pause for a moment. The wild beasts instinctively felt that the person in front of them… was not one to be trifled with.
The indistinct howl hidden in the freezing wind sounded again, and only then did the giant beasts move forward once more.
The mutilated corpse of a villager was lying beside Yang Kai, but even in death, this villager continued to grip his stone spear tightly, stabbing into the soft belly of a giant beast. He had taken the giant beast down with him, but had half his head bitten off as a price. This happened so long ago though that the blood had already coagulated.
Reaching out, Yang Kai picked up the stone spear. Holding an axe in one hand and a spear in the other, spinning them lightly to accustom himself to their weight and balance, Yang Kai inhaled a deep breath and stomped his feet on the ground to charge into the herd of beasts like a flash of lightning.
Like an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated before, all of Yang Kai’s movements were simple and brutal chops, slashes, and stabs. Moreover, the weapons he used were the simplest and most primitive of weapons, a stone spear and a stone axe. Even so, these two simplistic weapons were given mysterious and miraculous effects in the hands of an Emperor Realm Master, even if his powers had been suppressed.
Yang Kai moved freely through the battlefield, defeating beasts as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. None of the giant beasts could stand against him, and one after another, they were thrown out or cut down. Every giant beast Yang Kai came across was left with shockingly large wounds. More importantly, all these wounds were fatal!
Whimpering continuously, the giant beasts retreated steadily. Consequently, the encirclement formed by hundreds of giant beasts was broken by Yang Kai. By the time he charged out of the encirclement, more than a third of his attackers lay dead on the ground.
At the forefront of the battle, a stoop-figured old man using spells to conceal his aura and his presence revealed a shocked expression. He stared at Yang Kai with murky eyes, as if recognizing him for the first time. Unfortunately, his great astonishment disturbed his mind and caused his Shamanic Spell to fail. As a result, his presence was revealed, and a giant beast nearby immediately lunged at him. The old man would have lost his life if nothing unexpected happened.
*Sou…*
A sharp arrow sliced through the air and shot through that giant beast’s head at that moment. The old man turned and glanced in the direction the arrow had come from only to see Ah Hua nodding at him lightly from the top of the wall.
“Village Chief, support me!” Yang Kai was covered in blood, and the internal organs of those giant beasts were splattered all over his body. Brimming with murderous intent, he grinned widely at the old man.
The old man shuddered in fear for some unknown reason upon seeing this sight, but even so, he raised his cane per Yang Kai’s request and a convoluted sound came from his lips. With a wave of his cane, a ray of light shot towards Yang Kai’s body.
In the next moment, Yang Kai felt the blood in his body boiling and raging like a wildfire. A dense layer of golden light appeared around his body next, making him look extremely majestic!
The old man felt even more shocked than before as turbulent waves in his heart were set off, his murky eyes immediately glowing brightly in response.
“So, this is the Bloodlust Spell!” Yang Kai breathed in lightly, distinctly feeling his strength increasing. Unfortunately, the Bloodlust Spell seemed to have several drawbacks. While it greatly increased one’s strength, it simultaneously weakened one’s five senses. However, Yang Kai, who had a cultivation at the Emperor Realm could ignore this level of dulling. Ordinary people like Ah Hu would have no way of compensating.
No wonder these villagers fought without fear of death when subjected to the Bloodlust Spell, it turned out it played a significant role in boosting their primal instincts such as courage. Deprived of their five senses, they no longer felt a strong sense of pain or fear. Hence, it was only natural that they were capable of fighting more bravely and recklessly than normal.
In any case, the golden light wrapping around Yang Kai’s body made him stand out from everyone else. While the others were giving off red light after being subjected to the Bloodlust Spell, only Yang Kai glowed with a golden light. That couldn’t be helped though, since the Bloodlust Spell stimulated one’s Blood Essence, and Yang Kai’s blood was golden.
“Take care of yourself, Village Chief! Don’t run around so much when you’re so old! Why don’t you go back and rest?” Yang Kai grinned at the old man. Then, he turned around and rushed into the herd of beasts again.
The old man’s mouth twitched in response. Despite the shock he felt, he did not forget to apply another concealment technique to himself. He was the Village Chief, as well as a respected Shaman. Hence, everybody in the village was very respectful toward him. In the past, Ah Niu didn’t even have the courage to look him in the eyes, so when did he find the courage to speak so brazenly to him?
Ah Niu had never made any contribution to the village before and instead had just used up food and shelter. Therefore, the old man once considered exiling Ah Niu from the village according to the villagers’ wishes, leaving him to fend for himself.
However, a life was at stake, and Ah Niu was still one of his villagers. Besides, the Village Chief strongly believed that Ah Niu would grow up one day and play his part as one of the villagers. In reality, Ah Niu’s performance over the years had been extremely disappointing. That was up until today, when he suddenly blazed with a blinding brilliance!
“We have been blessed by the Barbarian Gods!” The Village Chief parted his lips and muttered to himself as he watched Yang Kai rush back into the herd of beasts and begin a one-sided slaughter. Yang Kai was like a sharp sword of the Barbarian Gods, an unstoppable force emerging victorious on the battlefield.
The golden light wrapped around Yang Kai was so dazzling that it could not be concealed by the thickly falling snow. It sped across the battlefield and soon ploughed through the enemy ranks, leaving a trail of blood and bodies in its wake.
The giant beasts howled in panic as they slowly retreated from the battlefield. Conversely, the villagers became emboldened. Forming a human wall with their shields and bodies, they used the simplest group tactics to fearlessly drive the wild beasts out of their home.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai swapped out his broken stone axe and stone spear for new ones multiple times until the Beast Tide finally retreated. Now, the only sound was whipping winds and falling snowflakes as corpses and blood were scattered across the ground.
The villagers chased after the beasts for several dozen kilometres before finally stopping and letting out a thunderous roar in unison. That roar sounded like the roar of a great ancient beast, making the fleeing giant beasts flee in an even greater panic.
“We won! We won!”
The villagers cheered jubilantly. They were elated to have survived another Beast Tide; thus, their expressions were filled with joy as they danced and shouted.
“Ah Niu, is that really you!?” Ah Hu appeared out of nowhere, covered in blood but not severely injured, only suffering a bite wound on his abdomen. Widening his eyes, Ah Hu stared at Yang Kai for a while before patting him heavily on the shoulder and shouting, “I thought I saw wrongly!”
But how could he have been mistaken? The only one with this body shape in the village was Ah Niu. However, Ah Hu couldn’t believe his eyes even though he had noticed Yang Kai’s existence on the battlefield. It wasn’t until he saw Yang Kai for himself that he confirmed his suspicions.
The rest of the surviving villagers were also watching Yang Kai curiously. Their eyes were filled with gratitude and admiration. If it wasn’t for Yang Kai rushing into the herd of beasts at the last moment and turning the tide of the war, the fate of the village would have been disastrous. The Ancient Barbarian Race had simple rules and values, the first and foremost of which was that the strong ruled! In truth, this rule has continued to the present day even though the Ancient Barbarian Race had faded into history.
“This is a gift from the Barbarian Gods!” The old Village Chief walked up to Yang Kai shakily with his pitch-black cane in his hands.
In response, Yang Kai thought to himself. [I did all of this on my own! It has nothing to do with these so-called Barbarian Gods!] Unfortunately, these words could never be said out loud as they would make him the enemy of the entire Ancient Barbarian Race regardless of his contributions to the village. After all, blasphemy against the Barbarian Gods was the biggest taboo among the Ancient Barbarian Race.
“Village Chief, we killed so many beasts during this attack. Why don’t we hold a celebration?” Ah Hu looked at the Village Chief enthusiastically. Similarly, the rest of the villagers had looks of expectation in their eyes too.
Food was scarce in the village; however, hundreds of beasts had been killed during the Beast Tide this time. It was enough to feed the village for quite some time. The Village Chief had been worrying about their food supply for the winter just recently. Every year, many villagers would starve to death during winter; and this year was no exception. He had not expected such fortune to fall into his lap so suddenly. With the corpses of these beasts, there was no need to worry about food again this winter.
The Village Chief smiled and was just about to speak when Yang Kai stepped forward and said, “Village Chief, don’t you think that something is strange about the Beast Tide this time around?”
The Village Chief frowned and glanced at Yang Kai, “You noticed it too.”
Yang Kai was surprised, “Village Chief, what do you know?”
The Village Chief fell silent for a moment before answering, “It’s a Barbarian Beast. Only a Barbarian Beast can command a Beast Tide.”
Upon hearing those words, many villagers’ expressions changed drastically. That was because a Barbarian Beast was a very powerful existence, one only Shamans could deal with as raw physical strength was nothing in front of a Barbarian Beast.
“I see. So, it’s called a Barbarian Beast!” Yang Kai nodded. To him, it was just a weak beast that had gained some sentience and the ability to command others to form a Beast Tide. As a result, it caused the Beast Tide this time around to be so difficult to handle.
“Winter is here, so those beasts must be looking for rations as well. We might have repelled them this time, but they will definitely make a comeback if we don’t pull them out by the roots.”
The villagers’ expressions changed again as they knew that what Yang Kai said was right. Those wild beasts were nothing without that Barbarian Beast; however, things were different with a Barbarian Beast commanding them.
If the Beast Tide attacked again one day, it would surely be a disaster for the entire village. They had lost many warriors today; hence, they might not be able to cope with the next Beast Tide.
“Village Chief, why don’t we ask the clan for help?” Ah Hu suggested.
The Village Chief shook his head in response, “If we ask for help, most of the spoils we received today have to be dedicated to the clan. Are you willing to do that?”
When the villagers heard that, they shook their heads vigorously. So many of them had died in exchange for these trophies, so nobody would agree to give them away for nothing. Food was the foundation of survival in this land!
“What do we do then?” Ah Hu furrowed his brow.
Yang Kai piped up, “I’ll go kill it!”
After saying that, he turned around and headed in the direction the Beast Tide had retreated.
Ah Hu was shocked and hurriedly grabbed Yang Kai by the hand, urgently trying to convince him, “Ah Niu, don’t be rash! The Barbarian Beast is not something you can deal with.”
Yang Kai gently removed Ah Hu’s hand with a smile and replied, “It’s nothing but a Barbarian Beast. Just wait here for the good news.”
On the other hand, Ah Hu was stunned. When Yang Kai removed his hand, he felt a strength that shocked him greatly. [Is this really the Ah Niu that I know?]
“I’ll go with you!” He moved to chase after Yang Kai; however, he was hit by a wave of dizziness and staggered after taking several steps. The backlash from the Bloodlust Spell had set in. At this point, he wouldn’t be of much help even if he accompanied Yang Kai. Rather, he would become a burden. Thus, he could only watch as Yang Kai disappeared into the swirling snow. Turning his head, he asked, “Village Chief, what happened to Ah Niu?”
The villagers were curious too. The Ah Niu they saw today was like a completely different person compared to the Ah Niu they used to know.
The Village Chief remained silent for a long while before he replied, “The Barbarian Gods have given him strength. Ah Niu has shed his former self and has been reborn.”
The villagers reacted as if they received a sudden revelation; none of them seemed to doubt the explanation nor look even the slightest bit jealous.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai walked alone with a stone axe in his hand. This was an experience unlike any he had before. He was a living, breathing person, and the battle he just fought was undoubtedly real. It was almost as if he had broken the constraints of time and gone back to the ancient era. He had become a member of the Ancient Barbarian Race and was now witnessing this way of life firsthand.
He did not know what he would gain from this experience, but he knew that his sudden appearance in this village was the key. Obtaining the villagers’ goodwill might lead to unexpected gains; hence he was travelling alone to hunt down the cunning and hateful Barbarian Beast.
The Beast Tide had left behind many traces during their retreat and the snow-covered ground was full of their footprints. Although the snow was falling heavily, it was not enough to bury these traces in such a short time. Chasing after them, Yang Kai eventually caught up to the pack without expending much effort. However, the beasts were extremely swift-footed, so he couldn’t catch up to them quickly.
It wasn’t until evening that day that Yang Kai tracked the beasts to a certain canyon. The heavy snow had stopped by then, and countless footprints were left behind in the snowy ground of the canyon, along with many bloodstains.
From the outside, the canyon looked like a bottle gourd, a small entrance with a larger region further in. Furthermore, it was surrounded by cliffs and was brightly lit despite the time. Even at night, Yang Kai’s vision extended several thousand meters. More importantly, he could see the end of the canyon; it was a dead end.
[This will be simple!] Yang Kai grinned. He had no plans to complicate matters as he was only after a mere Monster Beast with some slight sentience after all. His body was still glowing with golden light from the Bloodlust Spell, so standing at the entrance of the canyon, he stuffed the stone axe into his belt, brought up his fists, and punched the cliffs.
*Hong hong hong…*
Loud noises reverberated throughout this bottle-gourd-shaped canyon, instantly alarming the herd of beasts that had just returned to this place not long ago. Numerous roars rang out as they rushed out of their hiding places.
When they emerged from their nests, the beasts were greeted by a dazzling golden light in the distance which made them stop in their tracks and stare in horror at the only exit of the canyon that was blocked by fallen rocks. During the day, their companions had suffered countless deaths and injuries at the hands of this person that exuded golden light; as such, they couldn’t help feeling afraid and hesitant to step forward when they saw the familiar and deadly golden light at this moment.
If they could have escaped, they would have fled as far away as they could in an instant. They never wanted to face this golden man again. Unfortunately, the only exit of the canyon had been sealed; leaving them no way out.
All this while, they had been the ones to attack the village of the Ancient Barbarian Race. They never expected the Ancient Barbarian Race to come to them one day. For that reason, the beasts lacked the knowledge and experiences to respond right away and were at a loss for what to do for a while.
At that critical moment, a low growl came from the depths of the canyon and the beasts reluctantly stepped forward as if complying with an order and surrounded Yang Kai. In response, Yang Kai grinned from ear to ear, revealing a mouthful of sharp, white teeth. Taking out the stone axe he had stuck in his belt, he approached the beasts slowly.
The killing spree started again in the next moment. Everywhere the golden light touched, the herd of beasts were defeated and scattered. One by one, the giant beasts collapsed in pools of their own blood.
Yang Kai’s pace was fast and steady, killing his way into the depths of the canyon. The roars and the howls of the beasts blended into one another, and the canyon was quickly filled with a strong stench of blood, which was extremely pungent.
Meanwhile, the stone axe in Yang Kai’s hand had long been smashed to pieces. Thus, he gave up on his weapon and clenched his fists instead, every punch he threw breaking the bones of the giant beasts.
At dawn, Ah Hu appeared outside the village with a pale face. He had yet to recover from the bloody battle yesterday, especially the effects of the Bloodlust Spell’s backlash. Even if he was one of the best warriors in the village, he would be weakened for several days at least; therefore, he couldn’t fight again within the next few days.
Still, he held his head high as he glanced at the large tree at the entrance of the village, and asked, “Do you see anything?”
A head popped out from among the foliage of the large tree. It was the young boy who was in charge of logistics on top of the wall from before. He replied, “I don’t see anything, Brother Ah Hu.”
Ah Hu frowned at those words with an anxious expression on his face. Ah Niu had gone after the Barbarian Beast yesterday and failed to return last night. Hence, the villagers were very worried about him. The young boy had hidden in the canopy of that tree for two reasons. One reason was that he was keeping watch; the other reason was that he wanted to look out for signs of Ah Niu’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, the young boy’s reply disappointed Ah Hu greatly.
“Didn’t the Village Chief mention that Ah Niu has been blessed by the Barbarian Gods? Why are you still so worried about him?” Ah Hua appeared behind Ah Hu with a longbow on her back.
“Ah Niu received the blessing of the Bloodlust Spell, but now that one night has passed, the effects must have faded, and you know what consequences that will bring.”
Even if Ah Niu had been blessed by the Barbarian Gods, allowing him to shed his former self and be reborn, the backlash of the Bloodlust Spell could not be ignored by any of the Ancient Barbarians. If they were surrounded by the herd of beasts in that weakened state, they would undoubtedly end up as food.
“There’s no point worrying about him anyway. Just believe in the Barbarian Gods and in Ah Niu.” Ah Hua patted Ah Hu on the shoulder and turned to return to the village. Although the battle yesterday had not damaged the village, there were still many things to take care of.
“Brother Ah Hu… I see someone…” The young boy suddenly shouted at that moment.
“Who is it?!” Ah Hu raised his head and asked anxiously.
“I can’t see clearly!” The young boy replied.
“Then open your eyes wider!” Ah Hu roared.
The young boy felt speechless and thought to himself. [It’s not like opening my eyes wider will make me see things clearer!] However, he soon called out in alarm, “It’s a Barbarian Beast!”
He clearly saw the body of a Barbarian Beast approaching this direction at an extremely fast speed.
“What?!” Ah Hu and Ah Hua paled in shock and horror. Looking at each other, a terrifying thought involuntarily emerged in their minds. [The village is done for!]
The Barbarian Beast had returned to attack again. Thus, it was obvious what kind of fate had befallen Ah Niu, who left in pursuit of it. Besides, yesterday’s bloody battle had caused most of the warriors in the village to lose a lot of their fighting power. Who could stand up to the Barbarian Beast now that it was attacking at this time?
“No… wait…” The young boy corrected himself, his voice trembling in delight, “It’s Brother Ah Niu! It’s Brother Ah Niu!”
At this point, Ah Hu was about to lose his mind in frustration as he roared, “Why don’t you look carefully!? Is it Ah Niu or the Barbarian Beast?”
One was a person while the other was a beast, they couldn’t look more different! How poor was this boy’s eyesight to confuse the two of them?! Without saying anything, Ah Hua immediately rushed forward and quickly scaled the tree. Standing atop the canopy, she peered into the distance. As a Spirit Archer, her eyesight was incredibly sharp. Just because the young boy couldn’t see clearly did not mean that she couldn’t.
On the other hand, Ah Hu anxiously stood in place and waited while looking up at them. A moment later, Ah Hua lowered her head and smilingly announced, “It’s Ah Niu! Ah Niu brought the Barbarian Beast back with him!”
Ah Hu was stunned. He asked incredulously, “Ah Niu… killed the Barbarian Beast?”
Ah Hua climbed down from the tree, tossed her long braid behind her back, and nodded in affirmation, “That’s right! Ah Niu killed the Barbarian Beast!”
Ah Hu let out a long sigh of relief before immediately laughing wildly. Turning around, he yelled in the direction of the village, “Everyone! Come out! Ah Niu is returning after killing the Barbarian Beast! He killed the Barbarian Beast!”
All the villagers that were busy working were taken aback by this shout and could barely believe what they heard. Even so, they quickly put down their work and gathered at the entrance of the village, murmuring questioningly among themselves
“Did Ah Niu really kill the Barbarian Beast?”
“Who witnessed it?”
“Ah Hu, are you lying to us?”
“Is that good-for-nothing, Ah Niu, really that capable?”
“He is no longer a good-for-nothing now. It’s all thanks to him that we managed to repel the Beast Tide yesterday!”
“Wasn’t he too weak to even draw a bow before? How did he change so suddenly? It’s like he is a completely different person!”
“The Village Chief said that Ah Niu was blessed by the Barbarian Gods.”
…..
Yang Kai carried the dead Monster Beast over his shoulder, and before he arrived at the village’s entrance, he saw from afar that a large group of people had gathered there. Moreover, they were pointing in his direction.
Standing at the forefront of the group, Ah Hu beckoned and shouted at Yang Kai with a huge smile on his pale face.
[According to Ah Hua, Ah Hu used to share his food with me in the past. That’s the only reason I didn’t starve to death.] Yang Kai might not have personally experienced that, but this body belonging to this era had been graced by Ah Hu’s kindness. Therefore, he was aware of the concern that this young man of the Ancient Barbarian Race had shown him.
He responded to Ah Hu by lifting the Barbarian Beast from his shoulders, holding it up high in the air, and displaying it to the villagers from a distance. Immediately following that, the villagers shouted and cheered, rushing over to welcome the hero’s return.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai was surrounded by hundreds of villagers, each of them patting him on the shoulder cordially and enthusiastically with looks of admiration and gratitude. Then, they cleared the way and let him continue forward. Even though he did not understand what kind of custom this was, Yang Kai could feel their respect with every pat on the shoulder that he received.
The old Village Chief appeared leisurely at the entrance of the village with a cane in his hand. His entire stooped figure was trembling as if he was about to drop dead.
Yang Kai was followed by countless villagers as he walked over to the Village Chief and placed the Monster Beast on the ground, grinning as he said, “Village Chief, I killed the Barbarian Beast.”
The Village Chief studied the Barbarian Beast seriously and nodded, “Good!”
He didn’t give many praises, but it sounded even more honest and kind as a result. Thus, Yang Kai continued smiling in response.
By now, many young boys and young girls of the Ancient Barbarian Race had gathered around. They were staring at the Barbarian Beast on the ground as if it was their first time seeing something so ferocious. Their eyes were brimming with curiosity while some of the more daring ones even reached out their hands to touch it, but they retracted their hands upon receiving death glares from their parents.
At that moment, a young girl walked over from the back of the crowd while carrying a bowl filled with an opaque liquid in her hands. The faint fragrance of wine filled the air. The young girl walked over to Yang Kai and stared at him shyly. Even though she was blushing furiously, she did not shift her gaze away, her fiery gaze making him slightly uncomfortable and at a loss for what to do.
Strictly speaking, the women of the Ancient Barbarian Race did not fit Yang Kai’s sense of aesthetics; however, this young girl was a little different from the rest of the women here. Even though she was still very tall, she was quite a stunning beauty in his eyes.
Tilting his head, he looked at the Village Chief curiously.
In response, the Village Chief explained, “Only the best warriors in the village are eligible to drink this bowl of Sacred Wine. Go ahead and drink it.”
[It really is wine…] Despite smelling the fragrance of wine, Yang Kai couldn’t be sure that that bowl of opaque unknown liquid was really wine before the Village Chief explained.
Accepting the stone bowl from the young girl, Yang Kai downed the contents in one go. The burning sensation in his throat flowed all the way down to his abdomen and a strange power spread out from his stomach, causing his meridians to tremble slightly. He lifted an eyebrow in response. Before he had the time to observe the feeling carefully, the villagers around him picked him up and lifted him into the air. The villagers chanted the name ‘Ah Niu’, throwing him up and catching him before throwing him again…
Yang Kai lost count of how many young girls took advantage of the situation and unscrupulously molest his body with their hands, stroking his bare muscles and private parts. The women of the Ancient Barbarian Race were so unrestrained and straightforward that it made him furiously blush. It was bad enough that the young and immature girls were taking advantage of him, but why are there some elderly women joining them too!?
The whole village was filled with joy, making it as lively as the new year celebration. A long while later, the villagers finally put the dizzy Yang Kai down.
Yang Kai staggered slightly as he was struck by a feeling that was even stronger than the backlash of the Bloodlust Spell.
The Village Chief smiled and stretched out his hand to the side. The young boy, who had been keeping watch on the tree before, immediately took off the stone dagger around his waist and handed it to the Village Chief. Then, the Village Chief bent over and cut into the Barbarian Beast. It could be seen that he was very knowledgeable and skillful in this aspect and it did not take long for him to take out a round, fingernail-sized object from the body of the Barbarian Beast and hand it to Yang Kai, “Dissolve this with wine and drink it. You will become stronger after!”
Many of the villagers looked envious as their gazes were fixed on the round ball stained red with blood.
[Isn’t this a Monster Core? Moreover, it’s an extremely low-grade Monster Core.] Yang Kai accepted it as he realized the Ancient Barbarian Race consumed Monster Cores directly. This was reasonable as the Martial Dao wasn’t very well developed at this point in time, while Alchemy was essentially unheard of. How could they possibly refine pills or elixirs in such a state?
Although consuming Monster Cores directly could increase one’s strength, there were hidden dangers to doing so; after all, Monster Cores were the essence of Monster Beasts. Not only did it contain the Monster Beasts’ strength, but also their residual natures. Therefore, there was a high chance a person would have their mentality distorted by the wild nature of Monster Beasts if they consumed cores directly.
“This Barbarian Beast is your war trophy. Take it back with you. Eating its meat for a long time will also make you stronger,” the Village Chief said, pointing to the Barbarian Beast brought back by Yang Kai.
“En!” Yang Kai did not decline the offer. He had only been here for a day, so there was no time for him to get a better understanding of the ancient culture; but even so, he could tell from the straightforward attitudes of these villagers that they were all very sincere and simple people.
Yang Kai then paused for a moment before saying, “By the way, Village Chief, there are more than three hundred dead beasts in the valley where I killed this Barbarian Beast. Do you want to bring them back? If so, I can lead the way.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, many villagers looked overjoyed. The Village Chief replied, “Naturally, we cannot let any precious food source go to waste. Still, let’s wait for a few days so that everybody can get some rest. Everyone is still too tired.”
Ah Hu smiled and said, “Village Chief, Ah Niu is back now, and we also have enough food for the winter. Shouldn’t we celebrate today?”
His saliva nearly flowed out of his mouth as he spoke. Likewise, the other villagers stared at the Village Chief with eyes full of expectations even though none of them said anything.
“Do you only think about eating!?” The Village Chief raised his cane and smacked Ah Hu’s head lightly. Ah Hu didn’t evade and received the blow before rubbing his head with an embarrassed chuckle. He had a brazen expression on his face.
Seeing the looks on everyone’s faces, the Village Chief eventually relented, “Fine then. We shall feast today!”
All the villagers suddenly cheered aloud.
As the saying went ‘food was the most important thing in life’, that was an unchanging principle. During the ancient times, being able to eat until they burst was definitely the most luxurious enjoyment one could have.
The Ancient Barbarian Race’s cooking methods were extremely simple, meat was roasted. They skewered large chunks of the beasts’ meat on wooden poles, set up bonfires everywhere in the village, and grilled the meat over the fire. The golden colour and the crackling grease of the meat whet one’s appetite greatly.
Even though they had obtained the meat yesterday, the entire village, including the Village Chief, had not taken a single bite out of it. That was because they had been waiting for the hero to return! Now that Ah Niu had returned, it was naturally time to celebrate.
The smell of barbeque soon drifted across the entire village. They did not use any complicated condiments and simply grabbed the meat with their bare hands, tore into it with large bites, and swallowed it. Some of the meat was still bloody and slightly undercooked, but even so, the villagers couldn’t care less as they ate the meat with gusto.
Meanwhile, the fattiest cut of the meat from the beasts was placed in front of Yang Kai. This treatment was not even enjoyed by the most respected Village Chief. This was because Yang Kai was the one that contributed the most to repelling the Beast Tide and slaying the Barbarian Beast, so it was only natural for him to receive the best treatment.
Yang Kai originally planned to casually respond to their treatment; after all, it didn’t matter even if he didn’t eat anything with his current cultivation. However, a gurgling sound came from his stomach when the smell of the barbecue entered his nose, stunning him greatly.
[I actually… feel hungry?! How is that possible? I’m an Emperor Realm Master!] Yang Kai no longer needed to eat anything, and under normal circumstances, it would be enough for him to simply absorb ambient World Energy to replenish his body’s needs. Yet, he actually felt hungry in this strange place! On top of that, he was even feeling fatigued.
[How is this world so realistic?!] He couldn’t ponder over it deeply. Affected by the villagers, he reached out to grab the cooked meat and wolfed it down.
The village women took out preserved dried vegetables, and the Village Chief also ordered for the sealed fruit wine to be fetched. The whole village was filled with an extremely lively and festive atmosphere. Even so, they did not neglect their defences and remained vigilant of their surroundings outside the village just in case the smell of barbeque attracted wild beasts to them.
The celebration lasted a whole day.
Yang Kai didn’t know how much he ate or how much fruit wine he drank, but in the end, he became faintly drunk. Staggering back to the log house where he lived, he immediately fell onto his bed.
At that moment, he noticed somebody entering his log house in his dazed state.
Despite being weary and drunk, he was still an Emperor Realm Master, so he opened his eyes immediately and shouted, “Who?!”
Just as the words left his mouth, he felt a scalding hot body slipping under his blanket made of animal skins. Subsequently, an arm reached out to hug his waist and a head buried itself in his chest. Furthermore, a delicate fragrance entered his nose while strands of messy long hair tickled his face. There was no hostility, but the person lying in his arms seemed to be breathing rather heavily and trembling slightly.
Yang Kai snapped awake instantly and tilted his head back. With the help of the dim moonlight coming in from outside his window, he finally saw the appearance of the person lying in his arms.
“Why are you here?!” Yang Kai stared at the young girl in astonishment. It was the tall girl who had served him the bowl of Sacred Wine when he returned yesterday. Her soft and warm body in his arms made him become more and more aware of an amazing elasticity pressing up against him.
“Brother Ah Niu…” the young girl murmured. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Despite her shyness, she made a bold gesture and pouted her red lips, making her look extremely seductive.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling dazed and subconsciously asked, “What are you doing here?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he had asked a stupid question. This girl had already given such obvious signals, so what else could she be trying to do? Sure enough, the young girl whispered, “Brother Ah Niu, Ah Ni turns fifteen years old today…”
She did not provide a thorough explanation, but even so, Yang Kai could vaguely guess what it meant for a girl from the Ancient Barbarian Race to turn fifteen years old. It probably meant that she was now an adult and a full-fledged woman! One should be given an amazing birthday gift on their fifteenth birthday. Moreover, it was her decision to dedicate herself to the best warrior in the village.
Upon realizing this, Yang Kai immediately felt awkward. If this had been the real world, it would have still been acceptable. The Ancient Barbarian Race was known to be very open to these kinds of things and they were not as rigid and conservative as ordinary present-day women. This would be considered nothing more than a love affair, and nobody lost anything from it.
Unfortunately, this place was a Sealed World! Even now, Yang Kai couldn’t figure out whether this place was real or just an elaborate illusion. If it was the latter, then what was the point of doing this? If he were to do such a thing with an illusion, what difference would that be from pleasuring himself?!
Just as he was mulling over this, the young girl arched back slightly and pressed her fiery body against his skin, as if trying to melt him with her heat. Lifting her head slightly, she whispered into his ear, “Brother Ah Niu, do you like Ah Ni?”
Deciding to bite the bullet, Yang Kai replied, “Of course I do!”
The desire for beauties was universal, to say nothing of such a pure and beautiful ancient-styled young girl. Ah Ni smiled brightly and, flipping up, she sat on his body, lifted her hands, and pulled at something. The simple animal skin top that she was wearing instantly came off, and under the pale moonlight, her perfect curves were clearly displayed before him.
Yang Kai suddenly felt as if he was about to suffer from a nosebleed.
How many years had it been… How many years was it since he last felt a woman’s skin? Yang Kai had remained abstinent ever since he left Heng Luo Star Field, so faced with such a stimulating scene, he felt incredibly overwhelmed even though his mental discipline was incredibly strong.
“Wait! Wait…” He hastily spoke up.
“What is it?” She glanced at him curiously.
Thinking on his feet, Yang Kai swallowed and said, “I’m injured! I’ve been severely injured!”
She covered her mouth with her hands, seemingly surprised by his words. She worriedly asked, “Is it serious?”
Yang Kai awkwardly replied as he glanced away, “It’s not that serious…”
“Then, it’s fine,” Upon hearing those words, she reached out to take off his clothes; however, Yang Kai gripped his clothes tightly, feeling extremely conflicted inside as he said, “Ah Ni, please don’t be rash!”
Pausing in her actions, she looked at him a little incredulously, “Brother Ah Niu, do you hate me?”
“Of course not!” He hurriedly denied.
“Then, why…” She pursed her lips lightly, feeling as if she had received a direct blow from a giant beast and suffered great damage as a result.
“I just feel that we should be more cautious about these kinds of things!” He replied solemnly.
Ah Ni looked at Yang Kai earnestly. After a long while, she turned around and grabbed her clothes that had been thrown aside. Flipping her body, she got up from his body and ran out the door with tears in her eyes.
“Ah Ni…” Yang Kai shouted after her. Even so, how could he possibly receive a response from her? All of a sudden, he felt lost as if he had a huge and empty void in his chest.
He had completely sobered up after Ah Ni pulled this little stunt on him. Thus, he decided to get up and sit cross-legged on the bed. His thoughts were a mess, and it took quite a while for him to calm down and consider how he should proceed in this Sealed World.
This strange place completely suppressed and sealed his Emperor Qi as soon as he had entered. All he could rely on here was the power of his body. When hunting down the Barbarian Beast from before, Yang Kai had tried to mobilize his Spiritual Energy, but he quickly discovered that both his Spiritual Energy and Emperor Qi had been sealed. He could not sense even the slightest trace of them.
[There were only five days before the one-month period ended when I entered the fifth layer, and I’ve been in this village for two days, so I only have three more days before I have to leave the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. What can I get from this Sealed World within three days? No matter how I look at it, what can this dilapidated old village give me? At my peak I could wipe out several of these villages with a sneeze!]
Subconsciously Yang Kai circulated his Secret Art and was immediately stunned by what he discovered. He could feel a trace of power circulating in his meridians! Although it was very weak, so weak that it was practically non-existent, it was definitely Emperor Qi.
[Why did my Emperor Qi suddenly reappear?] Yang Kai frowned. Then, he suddenly remembered that when he had just returned from slaying the Monster Beast today, he drank a bowl of Sacred Wine. After that, he vaguely felt an abnormality in his meridians. Yang Kai was just about to check on the abnormality, but unfortunately, the villagers’ enthusiasm had interrupted him.
[Is it because of that bowl of wine?] Yang Kai also drank some alcohol during the celebration banquet today, but it did not have the same effects as the bowl of wine Ah Ni had served to him before. [That bowl of wine Ah Ni served to me must have been specially handed to her by the Village Chief.]
This discovery made Yang Kai a little overjoyed. [That bowl of murky wine made my meridians produce some Emperor Qi, so what if I get more of it? Is it possible for me to restore some of my strength? Maybe even restore my power to its peak?]
Yang Kai couldn’t wait to go to the Village Chief and ask for more of that wine to confirm his suspicions. Even though he had yet to meet with any danger since entering this Sealed World, he couldn’t help wanting to take precautions; after all, Shamans existed in this ancient era, and a powerful Shaman was nothing like the old Village Chief; they were masters not inferior to the present-day cultivators.
Turning his head to look out the window, Yang Kai saw the moonlight shining brightly outside and sighed. [Everything can only wait until tomorrow. I wonder when I’ll fall back asleep again.]
At dawn the next day, Yang Kai woke up at first light and walked out of his log house. Many villagers were already up and working, but when they saw him, they looked respectful and nodded at him lightly. However, the moment they turned around, they also chuckled softly. Some of them even gathered together and pointed in his direction. If it had been only one or two, it would not have mattered. Unfortunately, all the villagers he met reacted the same way, making it difficult for Yang Kai to even ask them where the Village Chief’s house was.
[What’s going on?] He was utterly bewildered.
“I heard that Ah Ni went to your house last night and came out very quickly.” Ah Hu asked with a sly smile, appearing out of nowhere and wrapping his arm around his shoulders.
Yang Kai was shocked and asked, “How did you know?”
Ah Hu chuckled non-stop and pointed with his hand, “Everybody knows.”
Yang Kai suddenly felt exasperated. No wonder the villagers were acting so strange. It turned out it was because of this…
“How did everybody find out?” Yang Kai looked embarrassed. Although he was not too bothered, he did not know whether it would compromise Ah Ni’s reputation; after all, the village was not that big. If news about this got out, it would surely become public knowledge.
Ah Hu explained, “The night watch saw.” Then, he immediately leaned over and acted as if he was trying to be mysterious. He asked in a whisper, “Are you… incapable of doing it?”
“You’re the incapable one!” Yang Kai became livid. In response, Ah Hu burst into laughter.
“Village Chief! How are you doing?” Inside a dilapidated log house, Yang Kai met with the only Shaman in the village. The Village Chief woke up rather early even though he was getting on in his years and at this moment, he was holding a bowl containing a sticky porridge and eating it with relish.
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s voice, he glanced over, but only put down his bowl when he finished eating and said, “Oh, it’s Ah Niu. What’s the matter?”
“I wanted to ask you for some Barbarian Sacred Wine!” Yang Kai got straight to the point.
“The Barbarian Sacred Wine…” The Village Chief was stunned for a moment before he got up with the help of his cane and asked, “Why do you want the Barbarian Sacred Wine?”
“It was tasty, so I wanted to drink it again!” Yang Kai replied.
The corners of the Village Chief’s mouth twitched; however, he soon seemed to notice something and carefully looked Yang Kai up and down. An astonished light shone from his turbid eyes as he asked in a shaky voice, “Did you… Did you unlock the Shaman Strength?”
“What?” Yang Kai was taken aback. The Village Chief had changed the topic so quickly that he couldn’t keep up with what he was thinking.
“Give me your hand!” The Village Chief excitedly stretched out his hand and grabbed Yang Kai’s.
Despite being dubious about it, Yang Kai did not refuse, allowing the large and aged hand to grab his wrist. In the next moment, he felt a weak force invading his meridians and continuing upward along his wrist.
Following that, the Village Chief began trembling even more strongly. His aged face turned red as if he had gotten several decades younger in an instant and he exclaimed with pleasant surprise, “It’s really the Shaman Strength! The Blue South Village will finally have a successor!”
“Are you talking about this?” Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he activated the meagre amount of Emperor Qi in his body and produced a small burst of light at the tips of his fingers.
The Village Chief stared at Yang Kai fiercely and nodded repeatedly, “This is the Shaman Strength!” While speaking, he walked out of the log house and fell to his knees. He had a pious look on his face as he clasped his hands together in prayer, “Thank you for your gift, O’ Barbarian Gods! Thank you for your protection!”
Yang Kai frowned slightly. He stepped forward and helped the Village Chief up, lest the Village Chief keel over suddenly because he was overly excited. Subsequently, the Village Chief took a deep breath and patted Yang Kai on the shoulder, “Ah Niu, from now on, you are a Shaman too! I’m very happy!”
Yang Kai said, “Yeah… But, I am very confused!”
The Village Chief chuckled, “Don’t be confused. The Barbarian Gods will guide you in the right direction. You came looking for me because you felt this power, right? That’s why you wanted more Barbarian Sacred Wine.
“En!” Yang Kai nodded. He stuck his head into the house and looked around. Despite being the Village Chief, this log house barely had anything in it. Everything inside was clear at a glance, so Yang Kai couldn’t find any traces of the Barbarian Sacred Wine anywhere.
“I don’t have any more of the Barbarian Sacred Wine. That bowl yesterday was all that remained in this village.” The old Village Chief seemed to have seen through Yang Kai’s intentions and explained, “The Barbarian Sacred Wine was originally brewed to unlock Shaman Strength in our Ancient Barbarian Race. It requires many ingredients and the brewing method is extremely complicated. That bowl was all that remained after the ceremony two years ago.”
“Ceremony?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
The Village Chief continued, “Did you forget? Two years ago, you, Ah Hu, and all the other young people in the village participated in the ceremony. It was a ceremony to check if any of you had the aptitude to become a Shaman! It’s a pity none of you passed at the time.”
Yang Kai had a vague understanding of what the Village Chief was talking about.
“I can’t believe you suddenly acquired the Shaman Strength though!” The Village Chief was so relieved that he looked like he wouldn’t have any regrets even if he died at this moment.
“Is there really no more Barbarian Sacred Wine?” Yang Kai asked again, refusing to give up. He wanted to verify if he could use the Barbarian Sacred Wine to restore part of his strength, but it seemed he was faltering at this first step.
Yang Kai had experimented a little before this, and using his Secret Art here did not increase his power in any way. It seemed as though the World Energy in this era was vastly different from the World Energy in the era he came from, making it incompatible with the arts he had learned.
The Village Chief shook his head in response, “No, there’s no more. Besides, the Barbarian Sacred Wine will have no more effect on you since you have already unlocked your Shaman Strength.”
[I will only know if it has any effect on me once I try it out!] Yang Kai retorted in his heart.
All of a sudden, the Village Chief smiled brightly and looked at Yang Kai before asking in a bewitching tone, “Ah Niu, do you want to obtain greater power? Do you want to become a stronger Shaman?”
Yang Kai immediately nodded his head so vigorously that he looked like a chicken pecking greedily at rice.
The Village Chief chuckled at the sight. [This young man is promising; he is worth teaching.] Waving Yang Kai inside, he said, “Come in!”
The two of them then entered the house, one after the other, and immediately following that, the Village Chief scoured through his cabinets and dug out something that looked like a tortoiseshell from some random corner of the room. He handed the shell to Yang Kai and said, “Follow the teachings written on it to cultivate. In time, you will become a Shaman Warrior, a Shaman Master, and even a Shaman Grandmaster! I’m getting old, but you’re still young! I will leave the village to you in the future!”
Yang Kai took the tortoiseshell from the Village Chief with a solemn expression. It felt like he was being entrusted with a mission at a critical and difficult moment where the fate of the entire world rested on his shoulders. Moreover, his stature abruptly became much greater than before.
Then, Yang Kai scratched his head and asked, “Village Chief, what is this?”
The Village Chief looked at him in bewilderment and explained, “This is a Shaman’s cultivation method.”
“What?!” Yang Kai was shocked. He looked at the Tortoise Shell in his hand and exclaimed in surprise, “This is the Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation method?!”
“What are you going on about being Ancient or whatnot?” The Village Chief shook his head, “As long as you cultivate according to the teachings written on that, you will soon become much stronger.”
“But… I can’t read this…” Yang Kai glanced at the Village Chief helplessly.
Small, dense words were scrawled across the Tortoise Shell. Unfortunately, the characters written on it were completely different from the characters that Yang Kai was familiar with, so he could not read a single word.
The Village Chief’s mouth fell open in surprise. A long while later, he sighed and said, “It looks like we should start by teaching you how to read.”
Yang Kai stayed in the Village Chief’s house for the entire day. It wasn’t until evening rolled around that he stepped out of the house.
The Village Chief taught Yang Kai about the Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation methods recorded on the Tortoise Shell in one day. Then, he taught Yang Kai many ancient characters. Initially, Yang Kai had not been willing to learn how to read as it was enough as long as the Village Chief explained the Secret Art recorded on the Tortoise Shell to him.
However, one sentence from the Village Chief was enough to change his mind, “When you become stronger one day, you will have more choices to make when it comes to cultivation methods. How are you going to cultivate those methods if you can’t read?”
Yang Kai felt that those words were reasonable, and in any case, there was no loss to learning something extra. Thus, he calmed down and focused on studying.
Yang Kai’s comprehension ability was so high that the Village Chief was practically beside himself, beaming with joy. The Village Chief himself had taken three years to completely understand the cultivation methods recorded on the tortoiseshell while Yang Kai had already gotten a rudimentary understanding of it in just a single day. Although it was partly thanks to the chief’s guidance, there was no doubt that this child named Ah Niu had an unprecedented ability to comprehend the teachings.
That was only to be expected though as Yang Kai was an Emperor Realm Master. He had been exposed to various Secret Arts and Secret Techniques throughout his life, so he could almost understand everything about this technique after reading it just once. Besides, the Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation methods were not that advanced or difficult. Yang Kai easily learned everything and in fact, he would not have needed the Village Chief’s guidance if not for the fact that he couldn’t read the ancient characters.
Yang Kai’s stomach rumbled the moment he returned to his log house. He was utterly famished. This feeling of hunger was very nostalgic and he had no choice but to cut some beast meat, boil it in a pot, and wolf it down.
After filling his stomach, he began to cultivate using the Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation method and was overjoyed when the Secret Arts began to activate. World Energy that he couldn’t absorb no matter how hard he tried last night now began to flood into his body. With the help of the Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation method, he turned this World Energy into his own power, bit by bit.
At the same time, he clearly felt an energy source forming in his abdomen. Inexplicable energy gradually spread out from his lower belly and began filling his meridians. This energy source was formed from something he was not used to as it seemed all energy became the same under the transformation of the Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation method.
[It’s the essence of the Monster Beast’s flesh and blood!] Yang Kai instantly understood the truth of the matter. What he had eaten before was the flesh of a Monster Beast, and at this moment, the essence from that Monster Beast’s flesh was being turned into his own power under the guidance of the Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation method.
This way of refining a Monster Beast’s flesh and blood was much more convenient and rapid than slowly cultivating with ambient World Energy. In just a quarter of an hour, a gurgling sound came from his abdomen again as he completely digested the meat.
[I can’t believe I’m hungry again.] Yang Kai frowned. The sudden drop in the cultivation efficiency made him quite unhappy. Thus, he quickly got up and cooked another pot of beast meat, swiftly filled his belly, and continued cultivating.
…….
At midnight, Yang Kai finished off an entire Monster Beast, leaving only the skeleton behind. It was such a terrifying way of eating that if the rest of the villagers learned about it, they would surely be shocked. The meat of a Monster Beast was not something that could be consumed so easily as one’s mind would surely be affected by the hidden Monster Qi without a strong force suppressing it. Fortunately, Yang Kai now had the Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation method so forget about a trivial and weak Monster Beast, Yang Kai would have no trouble consuming a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast.
After cultivating for some time, he deeply experienced the simplicity and crudeness of the Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation method. It was just like a Monster Beast’s method. Monster Beasts had no Secret Arts as there was a far easier way to become stronger, eating. They ate to become stronger, thus the more they ate, the stronger they became.
To some extent, the Ancient Barbarian Shaman cultivation methods harmonized with the way of survival of the Monster Beasts. It later underwent countless generations of improvement and evolution to create modern Secret Arts.
Having finished eating the meat of the Monster Beast, Yang Kai had another flash of inspiration. He took out a round Monster Core from the head of his bed. [If the flesh and blood of the Monster Beast can be eaten, then the Monster Core should be okay too, right?]
His current body was enough to safely digest a trivial and weak Monster Beast Core; however, anybody else would have had to weigh their options carefully if they were to do the same thing. Otherwise, the Village Chief wouldn’t have told him to consume the Monster Core by soaking it in wine. Even so, Yang Kai simply opened his mouth and swallowed the Monster Core directly.
As his Secret Arts began to activate, Yang Kai soon felt a burst of energy in his lower abdomen. It was a hundred times fiercer than before as the Monster Core of a Monster Beast was the very essence of its strength. It was the most valuable part of a Monster Beast’s body, and even a Shaman Apprentice like the Village Chief would most likely explode and die if he were to consume it directly.
As for Yang Kai, all he felt was a little heat coming from his abdomen at most. Then… there was nothing else after that.
“Y-You…” In front of the dilapidated log house, the Village Chief looked at Yang Kai dumbfounded. His mouth was agape, and his murky eyes were filled with shock. He could barely speak a coherent sentence as a result.
Only one night had passed, but he discovered that Ah Niu had become a Shaman Apprentice!
[A Shaman Apprentice! I worked so hard throughout my entire life, and yet I am still just a Shaman Apprentice. I can’t believe Ah Niu achieved that in just one night! Compared to him, I have lived my entire life for nothing…]
He could sense that the vitality in Yang Kai’s body was extremely strong and the Shaman Strength lingering on the surface of Yang Kai’s body seemed to be several times more powerful than his, even though he was also a Shaman Apprentice.
“Village Chief, time is pressing, so let’s not waste it on nonsense. Please teach me all the spells you know as soon as possible.” Yang Kai went straight into the Village Chief’s log house. He had been in this village for three days now, so he only had two more days left. Naturally, he needed to hurry up.
Taken aback, the Village Chief followed Yang Kai inside obediently.
The two of them spent the whole morning studying. In addition to the few Shamanic Spells that the Village Chief taught to Yang Kai, the Village Chief also explained the divisions of the Shaman Strength.
Just yesterday, Yang Kai unlocked his Shaman Strength and was recognized by the ‘Barbarian Gods’. Strictly speaking, he could not be considered a true Shaman Apprentice at the time; however, he had become a true Shaman Apprentice today, which was the actual starting realm for Shamans.
Standing above the Shaman Apprentice was the Shaman Warrior, followed by the Shaman Master, Shaman Grandmaster, Shaman King, Shaman Saint, and the Shaman God which stood at the highest realm! Moreover, each realm was divided into three ranks: Low-Rank, Mid-Rank, and High-Rank.
For example, the Village Chief was a Mid-Rank Shaman Apprentice! Meanwhile, Yang Kai was now a genuine High-Rank Shaman Apprentice, one realm higher than the Village Chief and one step away from becoming a Shaman Warrior. Yang Kai could learn more powerful Shamanic Spells after becoming a Shaman Warrior, but it was a pity that the Village Chief did not know any such Shamanic Spells and could not teach them to him.
According to the Village Chief, the most powerful of them all, the Shaman Gods, were just legends among the many realms. No Shaman God had ever appeared. Although there were several Shaman Saints, they only belonged to the more powerful clans.
On the other hand, the Blue South Village belonged to the South Barbarian Clan. The strongest Shaman in the clan was only a Shaman King, a Great Realm lower than a Shaman Saint.
During the study session in the morning, Yang Kai not only learned how to read many ancient characters, but he also gained a deeper understanding of this ancient world. The second most important thing was that he learned the Bloodlust Spell!
That could be considered as the first harvest he gained in this Sealed World. The Ancient Barbarian Shaman’s cultivation method he learned yesterday was of no value as it only allowed him to cultivate in this world. That cultivation method would become useless once he left this Sealed World, but the Bloodlust Spell could occasionally be used.
However, the Village Chief had mentioned that the Bloodlust Spell he mastered was only the lowest level of the technique. Not only was the duration of the technique extremely short, but the backlash was also very severe. The Bloodlust Spell mastered by the Shaman Grandmasters of large clans was far better than the one the Village Chief knew. Even though there were still drawbacks to such spells, they did not cause the people to be weakened for several days as a consequence. It was just that one needed an equally strong ability to support the casting of such a powerful Bloodlust Spell.
At noon, Yang Kai walked out of the Village Chief’s house. It wasn’t that he did not seek to make more progress, but rather that the Village Chief had nothing else to teach him at the moment. Besides the ancient characters, the Village Chief had already taught Yang Kai everything he learned in his life. Meanwhile, Yang Kai learned and understood everything at once. His brilliance utterly shocked the Village Chief.
“From now on, come here every day to learn how to read for an hour. You can only rely on your own efforts to further your cultivation. I have nothing else to teach you.” When the Village Chief saw Yang Kai off, his tone was a little lonely and a little relieved.
Regardless of the era, the next generation would eventually overtake the previous. Even so, Yang Kai’s outstanding performance had made the Village Chief aware of his own incompetence and powerlessness.
All of a sudden, bursts of pained shouts and screams entered Yang Kai’s ears. He paled in shock, thinking that the village was under attack again, but upon lifting his head to look, he realized that he had been overthinking things. He saw that the villagers were gathered in a spacious place within the village and posing in extremely weird postures that could even redefine the limits of human shame, regardless of gender.
Their muscles trembled uncontrollably as large drops of sweat rolled off their skin and dripped onto the ground. Among all the various postures, the villagers seemed to insist on doing the most difficult ones. Occasionally, they even let out a scream or two but all insisted on continuing.
Yang Kai had sharp vision and vast experience, so he immediately realized that this was a kind of Body Tempering Art. Feeling surprised, he walked over to observe. He did not know what kind of effect this method of Body Tempering would bring, but he could tell just by looking at the physiques of the villagers in this Ancient Barbarian Race village that their Body Tempering Art was pretty impressive.
“Ah Niu!” Ah Hu had his head down with his hands propped against the ground and his body arched into the shape of a bow. When he saw Yang Kai walking over, he called out suddenly. Unfortunately, his expression changed drastically the moment he spoke. As if being struck by a heavy blow, his arched body suddenly bounced back and he flew out several tens of meters away before slamming into a tree and spitting out blood.
Yang Kai was shocked and hurriedly rushed over to help Ah Hu up, asking, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Ah Hu grinned from ear to ear. Reaching up, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as if he was accustomed to it, “Congratulations! I heard from the Village Chief that you unlocked your Shaman Strength!”
“It was a fluke!” Yang Kai smilingly replied.
Ah Hu shook his head in response, “That’s not a fluke; it’s a gift from the Barbarian Gods!” He patted Yang Kai on the shoulder heavily and earnestly said, “Ah Niu, you are a Shaman now, which means you will be the next Village Chief. You better cultivate well; the future of the village depends on you!”
Yang Kai responded with a wry smile. He would be leaving in two days, so what future could there be? However, he didn’t say much to these people that might be characters in an illusion. He simply changed the topic and said, “You seem to be in the middle of cultivating…”
Ah Hu said, “That’s right! Do you want to join us?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Sure! But, I don’t know how to do it.”
“Come! Come! I’ll teach you!” Ah Hu was extremely enthusiastic as he dragged Yang Kai into the training session, smiling very cheerfully as he did.
[Ah Niu is really different now. He has turned into a completely different person ever since he received the Barbarian Gods’ blessing. He used to refuse whenever I tried to drag him along to cultivate together, preferring to stay in his house rather than interact with the villagers. However, that very same Ah Niu now took the initiative to cultivate!] Naturally, Ah Hu was overjoyed beyond words.
Even if Ah Niu was now a Shaman, a strong body was still fundamental. Thus, Ah Hu immediately began to teach Yang Kai. These Ancient Barbarians were not Shamans and could not use Shaman Strength. Therefore, their cultivation was directed toward their bodies. In other words, it was Body Tempering!
In contrast to the rest of the villagers assuming different poses, Ah Hu explained the various movements of Body Tempering to Yang Kai, which he promptly memorized.
The body was not just crucial to the Ancient Barbarian Race, it could not be ignored in the present day either. Unfortunately, most present-day cultivators only focused on the improvement of their cultivation and neglected the tempering of their bodies. They were ignorant that the body was the carrier of all their power, and only with a mighty physical body could they exert their full strength. Yang Kai himself was a beneficiary of a powerful physical body, thus, he understood this concept very well.
The whole set of the Barbarian Body Tempering Arts took Yang Kai only an hour to master, but he was secretly surprised when he did. Although he had not personally cultivated nor verified the results yet, this Body Tempering Art was undoubtedly very sophisticated. [So, the Ancient Barbarian Race uses this Body Tempering Art… No wonder all of them are as strong as Dragons and Tigers!]
Regardless of whether this place was an illusion or whether the people and the things that he was in contact with were illusions, this set of Barbarian Body Tempering Arts alone was enough to make this trip worthwhile.
Since his physical body was incredibly strong, this Body Tempering Art could not bring about much improvement to him personally; however, that was not the case for the disciples of High Heaven Palace nor his friends and relatives back in Heng Luo Star Field. If they cultivated this Barbarian Body Tempering Art, their physiques would certainly improve several times over. It would also make it easier for them to progress with their cultivation.
After experimenting in person, Yang Kai became certain of his conjecture. This Barbarian Body Tempering Art was very impressive. Cultivating it in his current body was a little strenuous even for him. Moreover, his muscles seemed to have become denser while his entire body was sore.
The whole afternoon was spent cultivating, and when night fell, many of the villagers finally returned home, exhausted. Meanwhile, Ah Hu warmly welcomed Yang Kai over to his house.
Thinking about the lack of food back home, Yang Kai decided that he might as well grab a free meal at Ah Hu’s place and nodded in agreement.
This lifestyle repeated for the next two days. Yang Kai spent an hour in the mornings to learn ancient characters at the Village Chief’s house, then he joined Ah Hu and the rest in their Body Tempering training. When night fell, he would return to his log house, sit down cross-legged, and cultivate in meditation.
Without the supplement of Monster Beast meat and Monster Cores though, Yang Kai’s cultivation speed slowed greatly. He had not been able to break through to the Shaman Warrior Realm even though two days had passed.
Still, it didn’t matter anymore. It was already the fifth day and the one-month deadline was almost here. It was time for Yang Kai to say goodbye to this world, so sitting in his log house, he no longer looked for anybody and waited to be kicked out of this Sealed World.
…
Three days later, Ah Hu knocked on the door. Soon, the door opened and Yang Kai looked out with bloodshot eyes.
“Ah Niu, why didn’t you show up over the past few days? The Village Chief told me to check up on you! Everybody is very worried about you!”
Hundreds of villagers stood uniformly behind Ah Hu. Even Ah Ni, who was brought to tears because of Yang Kai the other night, stood among the crowd, her beautiful eyes filled with concern.
“Did something happen?” Ah Hu asked nervously.
“It’s nothing. I was just cultivating the Shamanic Spell the Village Chief taught me and lost track of time. I’m sorry for worrying you all,” Yang Kai forced a smile.
Upon hearing those words, Ah Hu breathed out in relief, “That’s great. We thought… Oh, right! The Village Chief mentioned that he wants to bring back the dead beasts from the canyon you mentioned, so we need you to lead the way. It’s going to start snowing again, so we won’t be able to leave the village anymore if we don’t go soon.”
“Alright. You get organized and I’ll come find you in a bit!” Yang Kai replied before closing the door again, all the while roaring in his heart, [What the hell is going on?!]
The one month period was up, yet Yang Kai was still stuck here.
[This is impossible! Lan Xun mentioned that the opening of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda can only remain open for one month, and the entrance will close after that… At that time, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda will produce an irresistible force to expel all the cultivators inside it…]
In other words, Yang Kai and the others would be returned to Star Soul Palace regardless of where they were once the time was up. Nevertheless, Yang Kai had not felt the rejection of this world at all, even though three days had passed since the deadline.
For the past three days, he had tried various methods inside the house but couldn’t find a way to leave this place. After thinking about it, he believed that either there was a problem with the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda or his departure had been intercepted by this Sealed World.
The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was a pivotal part of Star Soul Palace’s foundation, a legacy item passed down for tens of thousands of years, so if something were to go wrong, it would have gone wrong a long time ago. It was practically impossible for Yang Kai to encounter such a problem by chance. Therefore, the possibility of the latter hypothesis was high.
[Is there something special about this Sealed World? Why did it forcefully keep me here?] Fortunately, he gradually calmed down after ruminating over the problem for three days. [The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is the treasure of Star Soul Palace, so now that I am trapped inside it, Star Soul Palace will surely make some effort to get me out. If the Elders are powerless, then the Great Emperor will have to take action himself. In any case, worrying about my situation is meaningless, so I might as well search for my own way out while waiting for help to come from the outside world.]
Yang Kai cleaned up slightly before moving to meet Ah Hu and the others, after which they left the village. The canyon was located tens of kilometres away from the village. Previously, it took Yang Kai a full day of pursuit to arrive, but although he was in no rush this time, he couldn’t afford to delay either. After all, the Ancient Barbarian Race would have trouble walking once the snowstorm covered the mountains.
Under his leadership, the group consisting of a hundred villagers finally arrived in front of the canyon before evening rolled around. All of a sudden, though, Yang Kai stopped in his tracks and raised his hand up high. The hundred villagers following behind him stopped in unison, like a well-trained army, and instantly fell silent. Unfortunately, they were out of breath after spending such a long time on the road.
Ah Hu came over and asked quietly, “What’s the matter?”
“Someone’s here!” Yang Kai replied.
Ah Hu’s expression changed, “Are you sure?”
Every one of the Ancient Barbarian Race villagers here was an expert in surviving in the forest, so they had sharp instincts and a natural aptitude for tracking and stealth. These instincts were so finely honed that they were almost on par with those of wild beasts. Despite Ah Hu not sensing anything out of the ordinary in this place, since Yang Kai had spoken with such confidence, he didn’t dare to take those words lightly. There were no footprints left in the snow, but they might have been covered by the light snowfall today.
Yang Kai tilted his head to the side, signalling to a woman in the crowd. Ah Hua immediately equipped her bow and arrows from her back, swiftly moved towards the walls of the canyon, and soon disappeared.
The group stood in place for some time before Ah Hua returned, walking against the bitterly cold wind with a solemn expression, “It’s true; there are people inside. I saw bonfires inside the canyon; however, it’s too dark for me to tell how many people are there.”
Ah Hu angrily said, “Somebody from another tribe must have discovered the dead beasts here! Ahh! If only we arrived a few days earlier!”
The members of the Ancient Barbarian Race did not coexist peacefully with other tribes and clans. Rather, there were often skirmishes between them, especially when it came to food. The more than three hundred beasts Yang Kai killed were inside the canyon, which constituted a large amount of rations; enough to feed an entire village throughout winter.
“I hope they are from the South Barbarian Clan. Then, we can at least negotiate with them. Wait here; I’ll check out the situation.” Ah Hu said, preparing to walk into the canyon.
The Blue South Village belonged to the South Barbarian Clan, so if they were all part of the South Barbarian Clan, then they might be able to talk things out. In the worst case, they just had to share half of the food with the other party.
“Wait!” Yang Kai stopped Ah Hu, “You don’t need to trouble yourself with that.”
In response, Ah Hu glanced at him curiously.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai took a breath and lifted his hand slightly. An ancient and somewhat grating tone came from his mouth, and the meagre strength in his body began to fluctuate. In the next moment, the air in front of him rippled suddenly, looking like ripples formed when a stone fell into a calm lake. As the ripples spread, a translucent image appeared in front of everyone. From the looks of it, the image was a direct mirror opposite of the entrance to the canyon. Under Yang Kai’s control, the image continued to move inward.
“It’s the Eagle Eye Spell!” Ah Hu’s eyes lit up. [This is the Village Chief’s Eagle Eye Spell!] This unusual Shamanic Spell allowed the caster to obtain an eagle-like vision and was great for scouting. [Didn’t Ah Niu just become a Shaman several days ago? I can’t believe he managed to learn such a sophisticated Shamanic Spell in such a short time. No wonder the Village Chief named Ah Niu as his successor and claimed that the future of the village will depend on him.]
Similarly, every one of the villagers standing behind Yang Kai was emotional for some reason, and their eyes were filled with admiration.
In the meantime, the Eagle Eye Spell continued to advance into the canyon silently.
Everywhere it went and everything it passed were clearly shown in the image. It wasn’t until Yang Kai directed the Eagle Eye Spell into the canyon that the lights from dozens of bonfires were transmitted to them. Seven or eight strong Ancient Barbarian men gathered around each bonfire while slabs of golden-brown beast meat were being roasted atop the bonfires and plenty of laughter and cheers could be heard.
Ah Hu and the rest of the villagers saw this and immediately became red-eyed at that sight. All that beast meat belonged to their Blue South Village! How dare this group of people come out of nowhere and claim it for their own?! The crime of stealing our food is absolutely irreconcilable!
Then, Ah Hua’s expression changed slightly as she whispered, “They are from the Raging Flame Clan!”
She had noticed the patterns tattooed on the faces of those Ancient Barbarian Race men.
“I can’t believe it’s the Raging Flame Clan!” Ah Hu’s expression became a little ugly too, “Why are those savages here?”
Yang Kai shot a look at Ah Hu while thinking, [In my eyes, you are no different from them. Don’t you feel ashamed to claim that they are savages?]
At that moment, a burly figure stood up suddenly from where he sat next to a bonfire. His sharp pair of eyes danced like flames as he looked directly at the Eagle Eye Spell and into the eyes of everyone in the Blue South Village. It felt as though this man was staring right at them, and it made them feel extremely uncomfortable.
“Hmph!” The burly man suddenly snorted coldly as he lifted the cane-like object in his hands and pointed at the air in front of him. In the next moment, the Eagle Eye Spell broke and the air in front of Yang Kai burst into flames.
“Huh… I was discovered…” Yang Kai frowned.
“That must have been their Shaman!” Ah Hu looked pale.
It was bad enough to meet the Raging Flame Clan in the wilderness, but to think that a powerful Shaman would be travelling together with them! This was incredibly bad news for the villagers. The Raging Flame Clan’s brutality and combativeness ranked among the top three among all the Ancient Barbarian Clans. They were second only to the Bone Devouring Clan and the Flowing Blood Clan.
“Let’s withdraw quickly, Ah Niu,” Ah Hu hurriedly said.
Although the villagers of the Blue South Village had excellent fighting power, Ah Hu and others did not have much confidence in fighting the people of the Raging Flame Clan. Moreover, they had been on the road for an entire day while the people of the Raging Flame Clan had been resting leisurely. There was a great difference between their current physical conditions.
Most importantly, Ah Niu was travelling with their group at the moment. As the hope of the village, nothing was allowed to happen to him; they could not tolerate any mistakes. Therefore, the smartest thing to do right now was to retreat. What did it matter if they had to give up some food so long as they could protect Ah Niu?
“It’s too late.” Yang Kai shrugged, lifting his eyes to look in the direction of the canyon. The group of villagers followed his gaze, and their hearts sank instantly.
More than a dozen figures holding bows in their hands had appeared on the cliffs on both sides of the canyon. Furthermore, their arrows were nocked and aimed at Yang Kai and the others.
Fortunately, the other party did not shoot immediately, seemingly wanting the villagers of the Blue South Village to retreat in the face of difficulty. Although the Raging Flame Clan had a love for battle, they were not as brutal and cruel as the Bone Devouring Clan.
If Yang Kai and the others had encountered the Bone Devouring Clan instead, those arrows would have rained down on them by now; after all, that clan even considered other Ancient Barbarian Clans as food! It was an outlier among the rest of the Ancient Barbarian Race, and if not for the powerful Shaman Saint protecting it, the rest of the Ancient Barbarian Race would have worked together to eliminate them by now.
Ah Hua and the other archers reacted very quickly. Noticing that they were being targeted from a distance, they immediately dispersed and readied their bows to counterattack at any time. Unfortunately, there was a huge gap between the number of people and their position. If a fight really broke out, Blue South Village would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties.
“The other party is so… welcoming. En, let’s go and meet them!” Yang Kai grinned, suddenly lifting a finger and condensing a white light at his fingertips.
“It’s a Shaman!” Somebody exclaimed in surprise from the cliffs on the sides of the canyon.
In ancient times, the number of Shamans was very low, so any Shaman was a valuable asset to the Ancient Barbarian Race as a whole. Hence, the Spirit Archers of the Raging Flame Clan frowned when they saw Yang Kai displaying his Shaman powers. It was no big deal if several ordinary villagers were killed in a dispute, as countless clansmen died due to internal fighting among the Ancient Barbarian Race every year. However, the situation was different if a Shaman were to die at their hands. Such an act might enrage the Shaman Kings and Shaman Saints! Only a Shaman could kill another Shaman.
“I want to meet your leader!” Yang Kai shouted loudly, his voice echoing around the entrance of the canyon.
The people of the Raging Flame Clan did not dare to ignore a direct request from a Shaman. Thus, someone immediately rushed down the cliff and entered the canyon, seemingly to ask for instructions.
The archers on both sides of the cliff soon withdrew, one after another. Then, a tall figure walked out from the entrance of the canyon. Although he came out alone, he fearlessly approached Yang Kai and the others directly. At the same time, a sharp aura washed over them.
Ah Hu snorted coldly and stood beside Yang Kai, glaring fiercely at the Raging Flame Warrior. It felt as if two kings were present, and neither of them were willing to back down.
In response, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and patted Ah Hu on the shoulder, motioning for Ah Hu to stay calm. Then, he smiled at the other Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior and spoke, “Nice to meet you, friend from the Raging Flame Clan. I would like to meet your leader.”
Only then did the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior shift his gaze away from Ah Hu. He lowered his head and glanced at Yang Kai, who was standing in front of him, a moment later exclaiming in surprise, “Are you their Shaman?”
“Yes!”
The Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior frowned, “Why are you so weak…”
Even a Shaman shouldn’t be this weak. The young man in front of him looked like an underage child, his arms and legs thin and frail, a truly ugly appearance. He seemed so weak the Raging Flame Barbarian was worried a single flick of his finger would kill him.
“Ah Niu’s strength is not something you have the honour of knowing!” Ah Hu sneered. Similarly, many of the villagers looked at the Raging Flame Warrior mockingly.
In the past, they, too, had believed that Ah Niu was so weak that he was no better than a ten-year-old child; however, the Beast Tide a few days ago changed their perspectives greatly. The terrifying power and invincible bravery Ah Niu displayed back then was hardly something they had expected. If they had not seen it with their own eyes, it would have been difficult for them to imagine how much power could be hidden in such a thin body.
The Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior from the Raging Flame Clan sneered mockingly and said nothing in reply; it was obvious that he did not find Ah Hu’s words to be a threat. He simply turned around and said, “Shaman Ya is waiting for you inside. Please, come with me.”
While speaking, he walked ahead and led the way.
Yang Kai stepped forward and followed. Similarly, the rest of the villagers followed along.
Upon entering the canyon, Ah Hu and the others looked around and saw that the archers of the Raging Flame Clan remained on the cliffs on both sides of the canyon like shadows. Their bows and arrows never left their hands, an obvious warning that any rash actions would lead to terrible consequences.
Not long after that, that group walked into the deepest part of the canyon where hundreds of Raging Flame Clansmen looked savage and terrifying in the firelight.
The Raging Flame Warrior leading the way came to one of the bonfires and whispered to a burly man sitting on the ground. That man raised his eyes slightly and looked at Yang Kai, as well as the villagers behind him.
[So, this is their Shaman!] Yang Kai had seen him once in the Eagle Eye Spell and immediately recognized him.
Ya studied Yang Kai quietly, an expression of surprise flitting across his eyes. It was clear that he, just like the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior from before, felt that Yang Kai looked too weak even though Shamans generally did not focus on cultivating their physical strength. Most Shamans spent their time in meditation, so it was a given that their physical toughness would be much lower than their fellow clansmen. Even so, Yang Kai’s tender body was still a first for Ya.
“How should I address you?” Ya asked after observing Yang Kai seriously.
“Ah Niu!” Yang Kai smiled slightly. His expression was neither humble nor overbearing.
“Well then, Shaman Niu… What is your purpose for coming to this place?”
He replied, “We came to bring back my war trophies!”
Ya frowned in response, “Your war trophies?”
Yang Kai gestured around with his hand, “The ones you are roasting above your bonfires, as well as the ones placed over there… All of these are my war trophies!”
Many of the Raging Flame Clansmen, who had been looking at Yang Kai mockingly, immediately became livid upon hearing those words. They stood up and glared at Yang Kai, burning with the intent to beat him up.
Ya frowned for a moment before bursting into laughter, “You claim that these dead beasts are your spoils of war? Do you have proof?”
Yang Kai shrugged, “I don’t have any special evidence!” Pausing for a moment, he continued, “It’s just that our village suffered from a Beast Tide a few days ago. It was difficult, but we finally managed to repel the Beast Tide. After that, I pursued them to this mountain valley and slaughtered all of them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring all these supplies back with me since I was all alone. I had no choice but to return and ask for help. I did not expect you to arrive earlier than us.”
Ya’s expression became rather fascinating all of a sudden. He glanced at Yang Kai in astonishment and said, “Did you say… that you chased the giant beasts all the way here and slaughtered every single one of them after that?”
“Of course!” Yang Kai nodded before adding, “Oh, there was also a Barbarian Beast at the time.”
“There was also a Barbarian Beast?” Ya’s expression became even more fascinating.
“Hahahaha!” The Raging Flame Clansmen in the surrounding area burst out laughing, acting as if they heard the best joke in the world. Similarly, Ya couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head repeatedly.
If Yang Kai had claimed that he had worked with the rest of his village to defeat all the beasts in the canyon, then, the story would have been believable. However, he claimed that he alone had killed more than three hundred wild beasts and a Barbarian Beast on top of that! No sane person would ever believe such words.
The Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior that had led the way previously suddenly glanced at Ah Hu disdainfully and said, “Is your Shaman an idiot?”
“What did you say?! I dare you to say that again!” Ah Hu exploded with rage.
Shamans were the leaders of their villages; therefore, a Shaman was the supreme symbol of that village. Insulting a Shaman was akin to insulting the village the Shaman lived in, as well as the entire clan itself! How could Ah Hu and the others possibly accept such a thing?!
“Ah Hu!” Yang Kai shouted and shook his head at Ah Hu.
Only then did Ah Hu grit his teeth and swallow his anger.
“Alright, I have grasped the general idea regarding your purpose in coming here,” Ya smiled slightly, appearing calm and unruffled. He had met many other insolent youngsters like Yang Kai, who were overconfident in their abilities, “Let’s see… Seeing as we are both from the same race and you travelled a long way to get here, I will not make things difficult for you…” Turning to the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior of the Raging Flame Clan, he commanded, “Give them ten of the beasts and let them leave peacefully!”
When the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior heard those words, he looked very reluctant. Even so, he had no right to refuse since the Shaman had already said so. Thus, he could only obey.
“Ten… Shaman Ya, you certainly are generous,” Yang Kai smiled mockingly, clearly not appreciating Ya’s kindness.
“Young man, don’t test my patience.” Ya’s expression suddenly became solemn, “I’m sure you are not unfamiliar with my Raging Flame Clan. If it were in my younger days, you would have been lying on the ground by now. So, don’t push your luck!”
Yang Kai nodded, “Ah Niu will take your teachings to heart, Shaman Ya. However… I insist that you return all my war trophies to me. These things do not belong to you!”
As soon as those words left his mouth, he glared at Ya with a burning gaze.
Ya stood up in response, his tall and broad figure casting a shadow over Yang Kai. Looking down at him, he sneered, “You’re asking for trouble!”
The two Shamans were suddenly staring daggers at each other. Subsequently, the villagers responded in kind.
The sound of weapons being drawn rang out. Archers on both sides drew their bows and aimed their arrows at the other party’s strongest warriors while at the same time, Ah Hu and the rest took out their stone axes and stone spears. They were raring for a fight, and their fighting spirit was unbelievably high.
A huge battle was about to break out.
“You will die!” Ya warned.
“You won’t fare any better,” Yang Kai smirked as though he didn’t care who would live and who would die in this battle.
“Are you determined to go to war?”
“I told you that these are my war trophies. You refuse to believe me and are only willing to give me ten of these beasts. However, you know the truth. The wild beasts had been dead for several days by the time you arrived here. Hence, they don’t belong to you either!”
Ya raged, “These are ownerless goods! It’s finders’ keepers!”
“But, the owner has now come back!”
“Give me evidence!”
Yang Kai replied, “I don’t have any! There’s no way to prove my claims!”
Ya laughed mockingly, but before he could reply, Yang Kai continued, “Then, there is only one solution before us. With the Barbarian Gods as our witnesses, let us resolve this dispute the Shaman’s way.”
Ya’s pupils contracted abruptly, staring at Yang Kai in disbelief, “Are you challenging me?”
Yang Kai smilingly replied, “It’s the only solution, unless you want to see our clansmen on both sides suffering heavy losses? Winter is fast approaching. If they were injured here, they will have a hard time surviving this winter.”
Ya considered it for a moment and nodded, “That’s true. But…” He broke out into a savage grin, “Do you think you have a chance of winning?”
“Who knows? We haven’t fought yet, have we?” Yang Kai chuckled
“Good. Since you insist on doing this, then I, Shaman Ya, will accept your challenge in the name of the Barbarian Gods!” After saying that, Ya commanded his men, “Stand down!”
All of the Raging Flame Clansmen put away their weapons and fell back upon receiving his command.
Then, Yang Kai turned back and shouted, “All of you will stand down too!”
Ah Hu and the others looked at Yang Kai worriedly. Despite confronting the other party just now, they had heard Yang Kai’s words clearly. They might not have seen a Shaman’s battle before, but they were not unfamiliar with the concept. In a Sacred Battle witnessed by the Barbarian Gods, one fought with their life and reputation on the line. The victor would take all the spoils while the defeated party generally received a miserable fate.
“Ah Niu…” Ah Hu opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to persuade Yang Kai otherwise, but he knew that it was too late. Shaman Ya had already accepted the challenge; this battle could not be avoided anymore. Backing out of the challenge at this point was an act of blasphemy against the Barbarian Gods. Nobody could tolerate an act like that. In the end, all the words he wanted to say became one simple sentence, “Be careful!”
In response, Yang Kai nodded and gave him a look that seemed to say, ‘Don’t worry’.
Even so, Ah Hu and the others looked troubled. How could they not worry? Just a few days ago, Ah Niu was still a good-for-nothing, and although his performance during the Beast Tide had been extraordinary and he later became a highly-respected Shaman, it had not been long since that happened. On the other hand, the other party’s Shaman was in his prime. He might not be as old and experienced as their Village Chief, but his aura was many times stronger than the Village Chief. Did Ah Niu have any chance of winning?
Contrary to the worried expressions of the Blue South Village’s villagers, the clansmen of the Raging Flame Clan looked relaxed, as if just waiting for the good show to begin. Gathering in small groups, they pointed at Yang Kai and ridiculed him with mocking smiles as if laughing at his overconfidence.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Shaman Niu was not Shaman Ya’s opponent. He would surely suffer a miserable defeat.
Soon, the place was cleared out, and only Yang Kai stood facing Ya in the depths of the huge canyon. They stood approximately thirty meters apart, a commonly used distance in Shaman battles.
The bitterly cold winds were blocked by both sides of the canyon, but they made a whistling sound similar to that of war-horns. Random bursts of crackling sounds also came from the surrounding bonfires.
Ya smiled and asked, “Shaman Niu, I am a Mid-Rank Shaman Warrior, while the aura around you is not very dense. You should be a Shaman Apprentice, right?”
Yang Kai replied, “You have a good eye, Shaman Ya. The Village Chief told me that I am a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice at the moment!”
Ya nodded at those words, “Your courage is commendable. Moreover, you are still very young. If you worked hard, you might have had a better future ahead of you. It’s a pity that you are too arrogant for your own good!”
Yang Kai said, “Shaman Ya, you will have a lot of time to preach later. I’m going to make the first move if you don’t attack!”
Ya sneered. Apparently, he was unwilling to bully the weak, so he simply beckoned for Yang Kai to make the first move. Seeing this, Yang Kai did not hesitate, stomping his feet as he rushed towards Ya like a whirlwind. In response, Ya’s mocking expression froze on his face. [What the hell?! Why is he suddenly charging me?]
The battles between the Ancient Barbarian Races had always been simple and crude. It was their instinct to rush forward courageously, but that was only limited to ordinary warriors. The battles between Shamans were not martial battles, but rather competitions between their cultivations and Shamanic Spells.
For that reason, Ya had already conceived several plans to defeat Ah Niu in an instant the moment he agreed to the challenge; after all, there was no way a mere High-Rank Shaman Apprentice like Ah Niu could create any trouble for him. More importantly, he undoubtedly held the upper hand in all aspects, be it cultivation realm or combat experience.
Therefore, he couldn’t help blanking out in confusion when he saw Yang Kai rushing toward him in a straight line. [Isn’t he a Shaman? Why isn’t he using any Shamanic Spell? Why is he attacking like an ordinary warrior?]
Although the unexpected shock made Ya hesitate for a moment, he was ultimately an experienced Mid-Rank Shaman Warrior and quickly recovered, beginning his chanting in that ancient and jerky language. Waving the wooden staff in front of him lightly, the air rippled suddenly and transformed into a strong, transparent shield. Then, he continued without stopping and pointed his staff forward, sending out a ball of fire the size of a washbasin towards Yang Kai.
[I win!] These were two of the most basic Shamanic Spells, one for defence and one for offence. Even so, it perfectly reflected Ya’s talent as a Shaman. Even a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior would not be able to defend against this fireball. [This High-Rank Shaman Apprentice can only hate himself for being so weak!]
Ya calmly stood in place, unmoving, his eyes filled with a playful look as he quietly admired the scene where he had defeated Ah Niu.
When the fireball appeared, the villagers of the Blue South Village screamed in shock, their faces filled with worry and fear. Ah Hu opened his mouth to shout out a warning, but Yang Kai turned a deaf ear and ran straight towards it.
*Hong…*
The light from the explosion lit up the entire canyon so brightly that nobody could open their eyes. Simultaneously, the hearts of the hundred Blue South Village’s villagers sank to the bottom of the sea.
[It’s over… It’s over. Ah Niu is done for… How can he survive after taking such a large fireball head-on? I can’t believe we lost the Blue South Village’s ray of hope just like that!] Ah Hu clenched his fists tightly. He was filled with self-blame. He should have stopped Ah Niu from battling against Shaman Ya, even if it risked blaspheming the Barbarian Gods. That would still have been better than him losing his life.
Ah Hu and the rest regained their vision a moment later and glared in Ya’s direction. Then, they suddenly widened their eyes in surprise as if they had seen a ghost. Some villagers even rubbed their eyes vigorously before checking again.
On the other hand, the expressions of the Raging Flame Clan’s clansmen, who were originally taking pleasure in Yang Kai’s misfortune, changed abruptly. They were shocked and frozen by the sight in front of them.
Ya was standing stiffly in place while Ah Niu, who should have been defeated by the huge fireball, had appeared in front of Ya at some point. Ah Niu was staring at Ya with a smile, seemingly uninjured, with only his hair slightly burnt.
“Shaman Ya, I think I won this battle. What do you think?” He smilingly lifted his head to look at Ya.
Ya’s expression twitched slightly. He couldn’t understand how the situation ended up like this no matter how hard he thought about it. His fireball should have been a direct hit, so how did this scrawny boy avoid it? [No, I can’t just lose like this…]
“The battle has just started!” Ya roared as the ancient language sounded from his mouth again. Lifting his staff, he pointed it at Yang Kai; however, he didn’t get a chance to release his Shamanic Spell again as just as he lifted his staff, Yang Kai threw an uppercut at him.
The Shamanic Spell Shield standing in front of Ya was warped by the force, like a flying banner being hit with a rock. The force of the blow soon exceeded the limit of the Shamanic Spell Shield, and it shattered into pieces.
Ya widened his eyes to the size of saucers and a chill simultaneously ran down his back. The reason he had not dodged aside when Yang Kai closed the distance between them and stubbornly tried to release a Shamanic Spell instead was that he had absolute confidence in his Shield. He believed that Ah Niu was incapable of breaking his defensive Shamanic Spell, which is why he had calmly remained in place. Who could have known that the Shamanic Spell Shield he was so proud of couldn’t even withstand a single punch from the opponent?
[I didn’t make any mistakes with the Shamanic Spell just now, right? How is it so fragile?]
*Hong…*
A fist landed on Ya’s face, causing it to warp from the force of the blow, sending several teeth flying. Following that, a body nearly twice Yang Kai’s size flew high like a paper kite and landed heavily on the ground with a thud.
Before Ya could climb to his feet, Yang Kai lunged at him like a cheetah, grabbing him by the neck with one hand and raising the other in a clenched fist.
Grinning, he said, “Shaman Ya, will you admit defeat? Or, do I have to hit you until you admit defeat?”
That body that should have been weak suddenly became as majestic as a towering mountain in Ya’s field of vision.
“S-S-Such shamelessness!” Ya yelled furiously, his eyes filled with great reluctance to admit defeat. [If not for Shaman Niu’s strange and tricky tactics, which caught me by surprise, I would not have lost this battle! I am a Mid-Rank Shaman Warrior! He is nothing more than a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice! There’s almost a Great Realm of difference between us!]
Yang Kai sneered, “When you encounter a Barbarian Beast someday, will you also expect the Barbarian Beast to compete with you using Shamanic Spells? Will it keep its distance from you and give you time to chant and prepare yourself?”
Ya was dumbfounded, rendered speechless by those words.
“Let go of Shaman Ya!”
“Hurry up and release him!”
The Raging Flame Clan’s clansmen hurriedly gathered around and soon surrounded Yang Kai on all sides. They glared at him furiously and exuded hostility. Although hurting a respected Shaman was a huge crime for any member of the Ancient Barbarian Race, the clansmen of the Raging Flame Clan couldn’t remain indifferent upon seeing their Shaman being restrained on the ground.
Yang Kai turned his head, his gaze sweeping across the Raging Flame Clan’s clansmen coldly before his mouth curled into a disdainful smile.
“Stand back!” Ya shouted, gesturing for them to stand down.
The clansmen from the Raging Flame Clan reluctantly retreated when they heard what Ya said. Even so, they did not let down their guard against Yang Kai. If Yang Kai were to murder Ya, it would surely provoke a mad thirst for revenge in them.
On the other hand, Ya was much calmer after experiencing the reluctance of admitting defeat and the humiliation of being defeated by the weak, sighing as he admitted, “You’re right. I was careless!”
He refused to admit that his strength was inferior to Yang Kai’s, simply feeling he had been far too careless. That was the reason why he failed miserably in such an easy task.
Yang Kai understood Ya’s feelings, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue about it. Thus, he tilted his head to the side and asked, “So, this battle…”
Ya sighed, “You won. All the war trophies are yours.”
There was no need to continue struggling. Furthermore, he was too ashamed to continue struggling after being pinned to the ground.
“You have my respect!” Yang Kai grinned and loosened his hold on Ya’s neck. After getting up, he helped Ya up too.
Ya turned away and spat out a mouthful of blood, still feeling a burning pain in his cheek. Moreover, two of his teeth had been knocked out by Yang Kai’s punch just now. His face had gone numb previously, but now that the numbness was fading, he could feel pain set in.
He didn’t say much, though, as the loser had no qualifications to make demands. He simply glanced at Yang Kai with a complicated look before waving his hand at his men, “Let’s go!”
The clansmen of the Raging Flame Clan fell in line behind their Shaman without a word, preparing to rush back to their village during the night.
“Shaman Ya, wait a moment!” Yang Kai called out.
“What is it?” Ya turned his head and looked at Yang Kai, puzzled.
“Shaman Ya, don’t you want these beasts?” Yang Kai asked, pointing to the frozen dead beasts piled up like a mountain.
Ya’s expression warped when he heard those words as he snapped angrily, “Shaman Niu, are you trying to humiliate me?”
He had lost the duel and was no longer qualified to receive a share of these beasts anymore. Thus, the question Yang Kai directed at him at this moment seemed to him like a deliberate provocation aimed at him.
Yang Kai shook his head lightly, “That was not my intention. It’s just that you mobilized so many of your clansmen and travelled so far… You must have been searching for food for the winter, right, Shaman Ya?”
Ya took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, “Isn’t that the same for you?”
Yang Kai smiled, “In that case, I am willing to share some with you, Shaman Ya!”
“What?!” Ya was stunned while even the clansmen of the Raging Flame Clan were extremely surprised, all of them staring at Yang Kai in astonishment.
“I didn’t count the numbers in detail the last time I came here; however, there should be around three or four hundred dead beasts in this mountain valley. But you see, Shaman Ya… Only about a hundred villagers from my village could accompany me this time. Even if each of us drags two beasts back with us, a large portion of them will remain here, and a heavy snowstorm is approaching, so we won’t be able to come here again once we return to the village. In other words, the remaining beasts will be left frozen here. If you’d like, Shaman Ya, you can bring the remaining beasts back to your village. Although there are not as many in number, it should be enough for the winter if you ration your supplies carefully.”
“A-A-are you really willing to do that?” Ya could barely believe what he was hearing. Was this Shaman Niu willing to share some of his spoils with them? What Yang Kai just said was basically correct. There were somewhere between three and four hundred dead beasts in this mountain valley. Moreover, they did not have enough manpower to bring back all the beasts to the village.
[Even if we only take the remaining beasts, there will be at least a hundred of them! These wild beasts are incredibly large, so each one will be enough for one person to fill their belly for an entire month! If we ration our supplies carefully, we can definitely survive the winter with this amount! But, how could this be possible? I can’t believe there are people willing to give away what food supplies they have!] Shaman Ya thought to himself.
In these ancient times, doing this was equivalent to lending out one’s wife to become somebody else’s plaything in the present day. Therefore, Ya could not wrap his head around the notion; it simply did not make sense. Whatever the case; if this Shaman Niu was being sincere, he would have earned Shaman Ya’s entire village’s gratitude.
“Of course! In the name of the Barbarian Gods, I, Shaman Niu, will give you the remaining beasts!” Yang Kai looked solemn.
With these words, Ya no longer felt doubtful. When a Shaman invoked the name of the Barbarian Gods, there would be no falsities in their words. Ya looked at Yang Kai quietly for some time before he suddenly bowed with his hand on his chest and quickly said, “Shaman Niu, please forgive me for being rude and arrogant before. Thank you for your magnanimity and generosity. The Flame Sickle Village of the Raging Flame Clan will remember your kindness forever. You will be our eternal friend!”
Similarly, the other villagers of the Flame Sickle Village of the Raging Flame Clan bowed with their hands on their chests. That was the highest courtesy the Ancient Barbarian Race could give to another.
Meanwhile, Ah Hu and the others stood behind Yang Kai with looks of pride on their faces!
Bonfires danced merrily as the smell of barbeque filled the entire canyon. The villagers of the Flame Sickle Village and the villagers of the Blue South Village were chatting and laughing harmoniously. The two Shamans, who acted as their leaders, had set aside their differences and made peace with each other; thus, the villagers under them had put aside their vigilance and grudges to coexist peacefully.
The villagers of the Flame Sickle Village contributed the fruit wine they brought with them, allowing the villagers from both villages to eat and drink heartily. They were getting along so well that they were like one large family. Many men had even begun gathering around the beautiful women from the other village and were in the midst of courting them in hopes of leaving a beautiful memory behind in this valley.
On the other hand, Ah Hu and another villager from the Flame Sickle Village were competing in an impromptu arena.
There were few forms of entertainment in the daily lives of the Ancient Barbarian Race, with the most common form of entertainment being hand-to-hand combat. Besides, friendships among the Ancient Barbarian Race were formed from exchanging blows with each other. The villager from the Flame Sickle Village wrestling with Ah Hu was stronger, but Ah Hu was younger and had greater stamina. For a while, the fight between them was extremely close, and they could not distinguish who was better among them. It made the other clansmen that were watching nearby applaud and cheer.
Yang Kai cast his gaze at the battlefield and saw Ah Hu taking the opponent’s punch and bending over like a shrimp. However, Ah Hu took advantage of the moment the opponent carelessly rushed forward to end the battle to counterattack. He kicked the opponent’s knees, and in response, the Flame Sickle Village villager was caught off guard and knelt to the ground.
Then, Yang Kai turned back and asked, “Shaman Ya, is this the Shamanic Spell Shield you mentioned before?”
While speaking, he stretched his hand forward slightly and his Emperor Qi spread out. The air before him rippled slightly and turned into a transparent shield blocking in front of him.
Ya was so shocked that his jaw fell open. Only a long while later did he finally nod, “En. That’s it!”
“So, that’s how you do it!” Yang Kai nodded and continued, “But, this Shamanic Spell Shield can only defend against a Shamanic Spell one realm lower than your own cultivation. If a Shaman in the same realm casts a Shamanic Spell at you, this Shamanic Spell Shield won’t be able to withstand the attack.”
Ya replied, “At the very least, it will give me some time to dodge to the side. During critical moments, this spell can save one’s life!”
Yang Kai said, “That makes sense. However, don’t you think it’s better if we cast the Shamanic Spell Shield in this manner instead?”
As he spoke, he demonstrated what he meant…
Meanwhile, Ya felt like he was going to go crazy! After talking to Ah Niu, he found that the other party’s understanding of Shaman Spells and Shaman Strength was extremely shallow. Moreover, Yang Kai could not cast many of the commonly used Shamanic Spells. It was as if he had only become a Shaman recently and was still ignorant of his own abilities. However, this boy’s comprehension and creativity were beyond shocking.
Ya had explained and demonstrated several commonly used Shamanic Spells for him, and in turn, the other party absorbed the knowledge instantly and duplicated the Shamanic Spells all but perfectly on the first try. If not for Yang Kai’s sincere expression and lack of malicious intent, Ya might have suspected that Yang Kai was just pretending to be dumb.
Furthermore, not only was Yang Kai capable of quickly learning and improving these kinds of commonly used Shamanic Spells, his casting speed and the power of the spells he modified elevated them to a whole new level! How was he just a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice? Only Shaman Grandmasters could achieve such feats, right?
As a Mid-Rank Shaman Warrior, Ya had only been able to imitate what he learned and follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. He had no ability to improve the Shamanic Spells he learned. Even so, he witnessed various miracles, one after another, coming from this Shaman known as ‘Shaman Niu’.
Throughout the night, the two Shamans sat together and exchanged knowledge continuously with both sides gaining much. Yang Kai learned several simple and practical Shamanic Spells, while on the other hand, Ya gained a deeper understanding of those Shamanic Spells through Yang Kai’s inspiration and demonstration. Although his realm had not advanced, Ya’s strength had risen sharply. As long as he was given some time to absorb what he learned today, Ya would be able to fight back slightly even if he encountered a High-Rank Shaman Warrior in the future.
At dawn, the people from both villages prepared to set out, parting ways at the entrance of the canyon.
Ya looked at Yang Kai with some reluctance to part and said, “Shaman Niu, please be sure to visit the Flame Sickle Village one day. We will definitely entertain you and your clansmen with the best food we have!”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Sure. You should also visit the Blue South Village, Shaman Ya.”
Ya’s eyes lit up at those words, “Good! I’ll definitely visit you when the snow melts and spring comes!”
“Until we meet again!” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
Ya looked startled. Although he didn’t know what etiquette this was, he clumsily imitated the gesture.
After that, Yang Kai turned around, grabbed the hind legs of two wild beasts, and dragged them along the snow-covered ground, leading a hundred villagers behind him and gradually disappearing into the distance.
Ya watched Yang Kai’s departure and murmured, “I seem to be witnessing the birth of a new star!”
“What?” A clansman next to him asked.
“It’s nothing! Let’s go home!” Ya waved his hand. Following that, the villagers of the Flame Sickle Village each dragged a beast and returned home with a good haul.
…..
It was not easy for a person to drag two beasts behind them while running in the snow. Therefore, the group from Blue South Village only managed to return from the canyon to the village two days later. The hundred villagers were warmly welcomed back as heroes before everyone began processing the beasts for storage.
During that time, the Village Chief walked over on shaky legs and asked if anything happened during this trip, to which Ah Hu told the Village Chief about their encounter with the people from Flame Sickle Village.
When the Village Chief heard the whole story, he nodded at Yang Kai and said, “You did a good job, Ah Niu. Although we come from different clans, we are all from the same race. We shouldn’t be stingy when others are in need and we are able to help.”
“I think so too,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Good. You must be tired. Why don’t you go back and take a rest? I will speak with you again tomorrow.”
The next day, Yang Kai went to meet the Village Chief early in the morning.
“Ah Niu, I want you to be the Village Chief of Blue South Village. What do you think?” The Village Chief cut to the chase as soon as they met.
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, but quickly refused the suggestion, “That won’t work…”
“Don’t be in such a hurry to reject!” The Village Chief smiled slightly as if he had expected this reaction, sighing as he said, “Let me finish first.”
Yang Kai nodded.
Only then did the Village Chief continue, “I am old and won’t live for much longer, so you can formally take over as the Village Chief after I die. Originally, I was worried that this village would have to be taken in by other villages since it lacked a Shaman’s protection. You know as well as I do what kind of life awaits a village that is taken in by others. Fortunately, you were blessed by the Barbarian Gods and unlocked your Shaman Strength. Moreover, you are now a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice, which is one minor realm higher than me. You are fully capable of taking over as the Village Chief. I admit that you are still young and I was initially worried about leaving the position of Village Chief to you, but after seeing how you dealt with the Flame Sickle Village, I know that you will not disappoint me or the villagers in the future. You are kind, honest, and intelligent. I’m sorry I never noticed that before. That’s why I believe you will be a better Village Chief than I ever was. More importantly, the villagers already trust you and will follow you.”
After experiencing the invasion of the Beast Tide and the confrontation with Shaman Ya, the clansmen in the village had grown to respect Yang Kai greatly. Therefore, no one would say anything if he took over as the Village Chief.
Yang Kai shook his head in response, “Village Chief, I can’t agree to this matter.”
“Why?” The Village Chief showed a disappointed expression, not having expected Yang Kai to refuse after everything he said.
Yang Kai sighed. [I can’t just say I came to this Sealed World to cultivate… I don’t even know whether the Village Chief or these villagers are real or just elaborate illusions… In any case, I will have to leave this place one day.]
“I want to go out and see the world while I am still young. I probably won’t stay in the village for much longer.” Yang Kai quickly came up with a plausible excuse.
“You… Want to leave the village?” The Village Chief looked at Yang Kai in surprise; however, he quickly seemed to understand, “That’s true. Your aptitude is extraordinary, so being stuck in this village won’t benefit you much. You should go out and see the world, that would be what is best for your growth.”
“I’m sorry, Village Chief.”
The Village Chief smiled lightly, “Don’t be sorry. Your home will always be a part of Blue South Village, no matter where you go. Good, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s study.”
After that, the Village Chief taught Yang Kai to recognize those strange-looking ancient characters as always, as if nothing had happened just now.
Snow started falling two days after Yang Kai led the villagers back to the village from the canyon, and the whole world turned into a frozen land. Under such circumstances, even the beasts were reluctant to leave their caves without good reason, let alone people. All the villagers holed up inside their houses and rarely came out.
During this time, Yang Kai’s daily life went by with a fixed routine. He learned the ancient characters from the Village Chief for an hour in the morning, then he returned to his log house to cultivate his body. Later, he would accumulate his Shaman Strength.
Ten days later, he felt himself breaking through a barrier in his body. Power surged through his meridians, and his strength seemed to soar. He had just become a Shaman Warrior!
When he awoke his Shaman Strength, it only took Yang Kai one night to become a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice; however, he now took half a month to go from a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice to Low-Rank Shaman Warrior.
Over the past ten days, Yang Kai had been waiting for this Sealed World to kick him out, but for some reason, it had yet to do so. It had reached a point where he was beginning to doubt if he had really fallen into the Sealed World or was unable to break out of this Sealed World. Regardless of what it was, he had to make plans for the long term.
[This world is very strange and is suppressing my Emperor Qi. I can’t even release my Divine Sense or access my Space Ring either.]
According to the Village Chief, he would only gain something like a Divine Sense when he raised his power to the realm of a Shaman Master. Therefore, Yang Kai’s current goal was to quickly cultivate until he became a Shaman Master. Then, he could access his Space Ring and retrieve the millions of Monster Cores stored inside it. As long as he had those Monster Cores, he would be able to exponentially increase his cultivation speed. At that time, becoming a Shaman King or even a Shaman Saint would be a simple matter. Perhaps, he might even find a way to escape this world once his Shaman Strength reached a certain level.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai would need to rise an entire Great Realm to reach the Shaman Master realm. At his current cultivation speed, he estimated that it would take him another year to do so, and he simply couldn’t afford to wait that long!
Stuck inside this inexplicable Sealed World, Yang Kai felt strongly that his own strength was the foundation of his survival. Thus, he couldn’t wait to become stronger.
The best way to improve his strength would be to find Monster Beasts, obtain their flesh and blood, and retrieve their Monster Cores. The Monster Core was the most important part. Yang Kai could now consume them directly to increase his strength quickly, so as long as he had enough Monster Cores, breaking through to become a Shaman Master would be as easy as snapping his fingers.
“No! That won’t work! That absolutely won’t work!” Inside the log house, the Village Chief seemed to be stimulated by something. He shook his head vigorously and looked at Yang Kai with a devastated look, “Ah Niu, do you know what you are talking about?”
Yang Kai sighed, “I just want to go out and train for a bit. I’ll be back by spring.”
The Village Chief said, “Winter is at its worst and the snow has buried the mountain roads. Even if you are a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice… Huh? W-W-W-When did you become a Shaman Warrior?!”
When Yang Kai first came over, the Village Chief had not observed Yang Kai carefully; thus, he was shocked by what he saw at this moment. [Ah Nui has already become a Shaman Warrior!]
The Village Chief was not entirely capable of recognizing a Shaman Warrior when he saw one, but he took notice of the aura around Yang Kai as being something a Shaman Apprentice could not have. [How is that possible?! Ah Niu only received the favour of the Barbarian Gods and awoke his Shaman Strength half a month ago! It was shocking enough that he broke through to become a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice overnight! I can’t believe he has already become a Shaman Warrior! That’s the realm I had hoped to reach for my entire life but failed to!]
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Village Chief, don’t you think that I, as a Shaman Warrior, have the power to protect myself outside?”
The Village Chief said, “Even if you are already a Shaman Warrior, how many Shamanic Spells do you know? I taught you all the Shamanic Spells that you know…”
Before he could finish speaking, his mouth fell open in shock as he stared blankly at the Shamanic Spell Shield that emerged in front of Yang Kai and the Fireball Spell in Yang Kai’s palm. He parted his lips to speak only to realize that he could not find a reason to stop Ah Niu from going adventuring.
Yang Kai said, “Village Chief, I only came here to let you know about my plans. Even if you disagree, I will still find a chance to slip away.”
The Village Chief sighed heavily. After a long while, he finally spoke again, “Three days. Give me three days. I will teach you a few things you’ll need to know.”
“Good!”
For the next three days, Yang Kai stayed in the Village Chief’s house and lived there with him.
During those three days, the Village Chief did not teach Yang Kai any particularly powerful Shamanic Spell nor did he teach Yang Kai anything about cultivation. There was nothing else he could help Yang Kai with regards to this; however, he was aware that Ah Niu used to isolate himself and rarely interacted with the other villagers in the village, let alone having an understanding of the world outside.
Just strength wasn’t enough for Ah Niu to protect himself on this trip; therefore, what the Village Chief taught Yang Kai was the knowledge of the world, various local customs and practices, as well as ways to respond when encountering dangers. After all, he had also wandered the world when he was younger…
Three days later, the Village Chief had nothing left to teach Yang Kai and had even finished teaching Yang Kai how to read the ancient characters.
“I will tell the villagers that you are cultivating in retreat and ask them not to disturb you. You should secretly leave tomorrow before dawn arrives. Don’t forget to come home soon!” Like a parent instructing a child who was about to travel abroad, the Village Chief looked extremely worried and anxious.
“I know.”
“Go and rest. From tomorrow onward, you will be facing a new journey!”
…..
Before the sun came out the next day, Yang Kai set off on his journey. Most of the villagers were still asleep at this time; however, a sudden feeling made him look back when he left the gates. He saw Ah Hua standing on the wall quietly. She was in charge of the night watch and their gazes met, so they nodded at each other lightly. Everything that needed to be said was conveyed with that simple gesture so Yang Kai strode forward and soon vanished from her line of sight.
Five days later, Yang Kai stood at the foot of a mountain that was thousands of kilometres away from the Blue South Village and took out a yellowed animal skin. Checking his position against the map, Yang Kai looked at the mountains in front of him and said, “This should be the place.”
White Net Mountain! This was Yang Kai’s goal for this trip.
The Village Chief had not gone too far during his travels outside the village, but White Net Mountain had been one of the spots he visited during his journey. The yellowed map in Yang Kai’s hands was also something the Village Chief had given to him before he left.
According to the Village Chief, there were many Barbarian Beasts in White Net Mountain, some powerful enough to rival Shaman Grandmasters in strength. The Village Chief had repeatedly warned Yang Kai to only do what he could, but Yang Kai ignored those warnings. The main purpose of his trip was to look for these Barbarian Beasts after all.
A short while later, Yang Kai stepped into White Net Mountain. Another half-day later, he stood inside a cave and sighed. Stepping over the corpse of a Monster Beast under his feet, he murmured in dissatisfaction, “How weak.”
In his opinion, this Monster Beast was roughly equivalent to a Third-Order or Fourth-Order Monster Beast. At his current level, he could kill it with his physical strength alone without even using his Shaman Strength. Still, gains were gains.
Retrieving the Monster Core, Yang Kai cleaned it slightly before popping it into his mouth and swallowing it. Then, he sat down cross-legged and circulated his Secret Art to refine the Monster Core.
A strange yet thunderous gurgling sound came from his abdomen. The entire process took him less than a quarter of an hour to finish. Yang Kai then silently checked out his progress and frowned at the results.
[The results are very unsatisfactory. Even though I refined a Monster Beast Core, the increase in my power is not very obvious.] This Monster Beast seemed to be weaker than the one he killed in the canyon previously; therefore, it was only natural that the energy stored in its Monster Core was not that great.
[At this speed, I might not become a Shaman Master even if I refine a thousand Monster Cores!] Yang Kai’s goal was not that ambitious, he simply wanted to become a Shaman Master so he could finally use his Divine Sense. It was a pity but he had no better options at the moment even though he was dissatisfied with his progress. Hence, he could only persevere in his efforts and steadily accumulate his strength through numbers while searching for powerful Monster Beasts.
In the following days, Yang Kai wandered around White Net Mountain, going deeper and deeper inside to look for Monster Beasts to kill.
Time flew by, and a month passed just like that. During that period, Yang Kai killed many Monster Beasts and obtained many Monster Beast Cores. Unfortunately, his cultivation only increased slightly, without any further breakthroughs despite consuming so many Monster Beast Cores. In other words, he was still a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior.
[Weak. Too weak! The Monster Beasts in White Net Mountain are too weak to satisfy my needs!] He had planned to advance to become a Shaman Master within a month and subsequently access his Space Ring. Then, he wanted to focus on cultivating in retreat for two months before finally returning to the village as a Shaman King or even a Shaman Saint. From the looks of things though, he had been too optimistic about his goals. Even so, he could only go deeper and deeper into the mountain while trying to temper his expectations with reality.
One day, while Yang Kai was refining a Monster Core that he had just obtained, his ears twitched. Frowning slightly, Yang Kai listened carefully and picked up the sound of footsteps approaching the cave he was hiding in. Moreover, the footsteps sounded like they belonged to more than one person.
[Why are there people in this damned place? It’s the middle of winter right now, so who else would be willing to wander around outside, aside from me? Aren’t they worried about freezing to death or starving to death?] While Yang Kai was musing over his questions, those people reached the cave and one of them immediately called out, “Careful! I smell blood!”
The footsteps quietened down and they silenced even their breathing. Still, Yang Kai could sense that they were slowly but surely approaching him and sure enough, a member of the Ancient Barbarian Race appeared approximately fifteen meters away from Yang Kai a few moments later. When that man noticed Yang Kai, he was visibly surprised; shock covering his face. He obviously did not expect to encounter another member of their race here.
Several others appeared closely behind that man, one after another. All of them were badly beaten up, looking as if they had experienced a huge battle recently. The worst one among them had lost an arm and blood was still flowing freely from his wound. The injured person was pale-faced with pain and Yang Kai could tell at a glance that his arm had been bitten off by a beast. The Ancient Barbarian Race was truly amazing when it came down to it. Despite suffering such a grievous wound, this man didn’t make a single sound in complaint and even held a cracked stone spear in the other hand.
“Who are you?” The leader of those people took one look at Yang Kai and asked loudly while thinking, [This boy looks small and weak. He doesn’t look like one of us. Just where did he pop out from?]
Yang Kai shifted his eyes and glanced at that man, but seemed intent on ignoring them.
That rash and arrogant attitude instantly annoyed the other party, but just as he was about to explode in anger, a tall woman appeared from behind him without warning. She had a cold expression on her face as she said, “Don’t disturb him! He is in the middle of cultivating!”
The woman seemed to hold a rather high status in this group so after she spoke up, the man, who had spoken before, did not say anything else even though his anger was still simmering inside. Instead, he studied Yang Kai suspiciously with a frown and whispered, “Cultivating? Could he be a Shaman?”
The woman was also looking at Yang Kai in astonishment and nodded, “Yes, he is indeed a Shaman. Moreover, he is a Shaman Warrior!”
“A Shaman Warrior?!” The rest of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors jumped in shock. They could barely believe their ears; however, those words came out of their Shaman’s mouth, so they had no choice but to believe her. But could someone who looked so weak really be a Shaman?
Stepping forward, the woman looked at Yang Kai and said, “My companion was injured in the battle just now. We need a place for him to recuperate quietly and there are no other suitable locations nearby, so we could only choose to come here. Please, don’t worry; we will not disturb you.”
Yang Kai nodded gently and secretly found it rather funny. [They probably think that I am at a critical point in my cultivation and cannot afford to distract myself by talking to them. What they don’t know is that I am just too lazy to bother with them. I simply want to quickly refine the Monster Core I just ate.]
“Many thanks!” The woman thanked him then led the rest of her party a distance away, arranged for the injured clansman to sit down, and began to treat his wounds.
A distinct power fluctuation washed over him soon after, and although Yang Kai did not know what that woman was capable of, he had sensed that she was a Shaman Warrior too. Moreover, she was most likely a High-Rank Shaman Warrior! In other words, her cultivation was higher than his.
Still, she seemed to be a good person. She had not been hostile towards him. After all, as far as she knew, he was currently in a state of cultivation that could not be interrupted. If she were really malicious, this would have been a great opportunity to attack him.
A few members of the Ancient Barbarian Race had gathered near the outer half of the cave and watched as their Shaman treated the injuries of their companion. The Shamanic Spell that woman was using produced an extreme cold, seemingly having a special characteristic of freezing everything. She quickly froze the wound and then took out some herbs from an animal skin bag she carried on her for the injured person to eat.
Soon, that injured person looked much better. He was probably in less pain than before and in response, the woman breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice rang out from behind them, “He is poisoned. He won’t live for long if you don’t help detoxify the poison.”
As soon as the words left Yang Kai’s mouth, several Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors immediately turned around with their stone spears and stone axes at the ready, watching him warily as a chill ran down their spines.
Although they had been concerned about the safety of their companion just now, they had remained alert of their surroundings. Even so, none of them had noticed anybody approaching them from behind. This was simply inconceivable. If this young man had malicious intentions, they would have all died by now; after all, this person was a Shaman Warrior!
The woman who seemed to be a Shaman shuddered slightly, but her reaction was not as intense as the rest of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors. She turned around and gestured with her hands to signal her companions not to be so nervous. Following that, she said, “I know he is poisoned. I’ve also been using the Detoxification Spell.”
“It’s not working,” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at her. Pondering for a moment before asking, “Do you want me to help?”
“You?” She frowned with a look of distrust in her eyes. The Shaman Warrior in front of her was a stranger after all, who knows whether he was a good person or not? It was normal for disputes to occur between Shamans of different clans; even different villages. Besides, this boy seemed to only be a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior, so if even she, a High-Rank Shaman Warrior, was helpless, what abilities could he have to solve this issue?
Yang Kai simply shrugged and said, “I was just asking.”
“Which clan are you from?” The woman asked.
To which Yang Kai replied, “The South Barbarian Clan!” Pausing for a moment, he added, “You are from the Frost and Snow Clan, right?”
It was all thanks to the Village Chief cramming knowledge into his head before he left that Yang Kai could recognize the origins of these people. In this ancient world, some of the Ancient Barbarian Clans had distinct characteristics to tell them apart. For example, the people of the Raging Flame Clan had a tattoo of a burning flower drawn across their faces. That was the Green Lotus Sacred Flame, the emblem of the Raging Flame Clan.
Although the Frost and Snow Clan did not have any tattoos on their faces, the attribute shown when the woman cast her Shamanic Spell just now gave Yang Kai a clue. Not every Ancient Barbarian Clan had such distinct characteristics. For example, the South Barbarian Clan to which the Blue South Village belonged to, did not have such characteristics. That was why the woman failed to recognize his origins.
Having no intention of concealing her origins now that Yang Kai had seen through her, she nodded, “That’s right. We are from the Frost and Snow Clan. Can you detoxify him?”
“I can try.”
She furrowed her eyebrows in response. Although she did not believe this boy had the ability to do so, it couldn’t hurt to try everything at their disposal. She had used her Shamanic Spell to suppress her poisoned clansman’s wounds and cast a Detoxification Spell to remove the poison in his body; unfortunately, she could not remove the poison completely. The Bone Melting Poison of the Bone Melting Wolf was so strong that any remnant of the poison was enough to turn the strongest Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior into a puddle in time. If it was left alone, her clansman would die within three days, at the most! However, three days was not enough time for them to return to their clan.
“Please try!” She stepped aside.
Yang Kai stepped forward, only to be stopped by a warrior from the Frost and Snow Clan, “Madame…”
The woman raised her hand and stopped that man from continuing his sentence. Even so, the looks in the eyes of those Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors as they stared at Yang Kai were filled with obvious distrust.
Fortunately, Yang Kai was not bothered by their stares and walked straight to the injured Frost and Snow Clan clansman and crouched down. Studying the wounds carefully, he was secretly impressed. The injured man was only able to remain alert and silent despite losing an arm and being affected by a strong poison by virtue of his strong body and robust vitality. Otherwise, his wounds would have killed him ten times over by now. At the moment, his face was pale and slightly distorted because of the pain.
Yang Kai examined the injured man for a while, then he suddenly raised his hand and abruptly hit the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior’s body several times. The strength of his hits was neither heavy nor light as his Qi surged into the warrior’s body. After several strikes, the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior’s pale complexion flushed all of a sudden and he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of black blood.
Yang Kai had been prepared, so he shifted out of the way. After that, he broke the ice that was sealing the wounds on that man’s broken arm without hesitation. Using both hands to grab that man by the shoulders, he pushed his Qi into the man’s body.
Under the watchful gazes of the Frost and Snow Clan clansmen, the body of that injured man suddenly shuddered violently. Following that, a roar rang out, one that sounded like the roar of an injured beast, guttural and terrifying. In the next moment, a large amount of blood spurted out of the broken arm. When the blood hit the ground, it melted several holes into the rock with hissing noises, illustrating just how powerful the poison was.
Blood spurted out without stopping for approximately three breaths. During this process, the rest of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior from the Frost and Snow Clan would have rushed forward to stop Yang Kai if not for the female Shaman Warrior holding them back.
Three breaths later, Yang Kai stopped, turned to the woman, and said, “Seal his wounds.”
When the woman heard those words, she raised her hand and a rush of icy air flowed towards the arm’s stump, freezing the wound in the blink of an eye.
The injured Ancient Barbarian Warrior was as pale as a sheet due to extensive blood loss, and the aura coming from his body was so weak that it could barely be detected; almost as if he was dead.
Once this was finished, Yang Kai stood up and took several steps back. The other Frost and Snow Warriors immediately rushed forward to check on the condition of their injured clansman. A moment later, one of the clansmen lifted his head and said, “He seems to be much better. It’s just that he lost too much blood.” Glancing at Yang Kai, his gaze became a little conflicted.
Only then did the female Shaman Warrior nod and turn to Yang Kai, “My name is Yu. What is your name?”
“Ah Niu!” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
“So, you are called Shaman Niu. I thank the Barbarian Gods for letting us meet here!” Yu, who had been cold all this while, finally revealed a smile.
Yang Kai simply waved his hand and said, “The poison has been removed from your companion, but it will still be bad if you just leave him alone. It’s best if you bring him back to your settlement for further treatment.”
“I understand. Please wait for a moment, Shaman Niu,” While Yu was speaking, she walked over to the other Warriors and issued some instructions to them in a low voice. After that, one of them picked up their injured companion and carried him out of the cave. From the looks of it, they seem to be bringing him back to their village for treatment.
Turning around again, Yu asked another one of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors to bring out some dried meat and water. Then, she personally handed them to Yang Kai, “This is as thanks for saving my clansman.”
“The Ancient Barbarian Race is all one family. You don’t need to be so polite, Shaman Yu,” Yang Kai grinned. Even so, he did not refuse her offer, accepting the dried meat and water from her before he began to eat heartily without any hesitation.
His bold and unrestrained attitude gave Yu a favourable impression of him and the initial repulsion and disdain she had from seeing his scrawny frame completely disappeared.
[The Ancient Barbarian Race is all one family! That’s an interesting statement!]
“I also used a Detoxification Spell, but why were the effects so much worse than yours?” Yu humbly asked. Before coming to this cave, she had given emergency treatment to her clansman, but that had not been enough to remove the poison in his body. Hence, she could only freeze the wound and ask him to eat some herbs in hopes that the medicinal efficacies could help detoxify the poison in him. Even so, she had been aware that there was little hope of success.
“Do you mean to ask why the effect of your Detoxification Spell is not as good as mine even though your realm is higher than mine?” Yang Kai naturally knew what she meant. Thus, he smilingly replied, “Sometimes, control is more important than power.”
Yu fell into deep thought for a long time upon hearing those words before she finally nodded, “Many thanks!”
Yang Kai finished eating the dried meat in his hands and drank some water before asking, “What are you doing outside in this freezing weather?”
Although the people of the Frost and Snow Clan were generally not afraid of the severe cold, they still did not go out without reason under normal circumstances. This was especially true during winter where wild beasts and Barbarian Beasts were unusually active because they were searching for food. The risk of venturing outside was far greater than normal during this season.
“What about you, Shaman Niu?” Yu did not answer his question and instead countered with her own.
“I came out to train!” He smiled widely.
Yu seemed taken aback by his words for a moment before a look of admiration appeared on her face and she explained, “We are here to collect herbs to use in the Sacrificial Offering held in the spring.
“Sacrificial Offering…” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows at those words. The Blue South Village was such a small community that he didn’t even know if they held any Sacrificial Offerings. However, Yang Kai was aware that Sacrificial Offerings were commonplace in ancient times. Even the great Shamans who were successful in their cultivation would often offer up Sacrificial Offerings. The objects of their Sacrificial Offerings were usually to the Heavens or to Totems of their clans, but it was mostly the latter.
Smiling slightly, Yang Kai commented, “From the looks of it, your progress has not been going smoothly.”
Yu nodded sadly, “The herbs we need are being guarded by several Bone Melting Wolves. We were ambushed by them.”
“Several?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, showing great interest in this topic, “How many were there?”
“Six. If it wasn’t for their numbers, with my strength, I would not have allowed them to hurt my clansmen.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed suddenly and after a moment, he sat down in a formal position and asked in a low voice, “Shaman Yu, would you like a powerful helper when you go and collect those herbs again?”
Gazing at him in astonishment, Yu’s eyes soon brightened in response. She had been thinking about asking if he would lend them a hand. Unfortunately, they were neither familiar with each other nor clansmen of the same clan. Moreover, there were no benefits she could offer him. Thus, it had been difficult for her to bring it up, much less expect him to offer to help on his own.
Although the words of this self-proclaimed ‘powerful helper’ left her feeling slightly speechless, she couldn’t care less about such trivial details as the presence of two Shamans was enough to ensure the safety of her clansmen.
“Shaman Niu, what are your conditions?” As delighted by his offer as Yu was, she did not lose her reasoning. A Shaman Warrior of the South Barbarian Clan that they had met by chance was offering his aid, so he definitely had something he wanted from them.
“Give me those Barbarian Beasts,” he smilingly replied.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for her to agree to this condition. Those herbs might be precious, but the Barbarian Beasts were of great value too. Moreover, they had several people with them, as well as a High-Rank Shaman Warrior while he was just a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior in comparison. Sharing two of the Barbarian Beasts with him would be a reasonable condition; however, he had rescued one of their clansmen just now, so she simply groaned and readily agreed, “Good. The Barbarian Beasts are yours, but the herbs belong to us!”
Since she had made her decision, the rest of the clansmen had no objections.
Standing up, Yang Kai said, “Since it’s an urgent matter, we should set off now.”
Yu frowned in response, “My clansmen have just gone through a battle today and need to rest for a day…”
An Ancient Barbarian’s body might be extremely strong, but she had blessed them with the Bloodlust Spell during their previous battle. Even if it had only lasted for a very short period, the Blood Essence they lost would still make them weaker. They were no longer at the peak of their abilities.
“There’s no need for that. You only need to come with me.” After saying that, Yang Kai took the lead and walked out of the cave while beckoning to Yu and the others.
The Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors looked at their leader hesitatingly, while Yu was also feeling very troubled and thought to herself. [Why is this Shaman Niu behaving so impulsively? How can he act so rashly on mere hearsay?]
Unfortunately, there was nothing else she could do at this point, so she could only lead her men and follow after Yang Kai.
Yang Kai, Yu, and the others quietly lay in ambush in a mountain col.
Yu pointed to the front and said, “The Snow Flower we need is just ahead, and so are those Bone Melting Wolves.”
Yang Kai glanced up and saw that there were indeed traces of fighting nearby; bloodstains on the ground and messy footprints staining the white snow.
“Shaman Niu, we will work together to bless my clansmen with Shamanic Spells. You will be in charge of the left flank, and I will be in charge of the right flank. Although there are six Bone Melting Wolves, they are not that hard to deal with. Just be careful not to get bitten. Previously, we…” Yu was staring ahead while discussing the battle plan with Yang Kai with a serious expression, but halfway through her explanation, she suddenly realized something was wrong and turned her head back. Only then did she realize that he had disappeared from her side at some point in time.
“Where did he go?!” She was shocked, directing her question to the rest of her clansmen. However, it seemed that even they had just noticed Yang Kai’s absence. As they were looking around in confusion, one of the Ancient Barbarian Warriors widened his eyes in shock and pointed to the front, “H-H-He…”
Looking in the direction that man was pointing, Yu’s expression changed drastically as she snarled, “That fool!”
[I can’t believe Shaman Niu boldly waltzed out there without any preparations! If he alerts those Bone Melting Wolves to his presence, he will be forced into a difficult situation!] She had originally intended to cooperate with Yang Kai to kill off two of those beasts in a sneak attack first before the real struggle began; however, it seemed like her plans were no longer viable.
Just as she was about to call him back, she saw him stopping in the middle of the mountain col and spreading his arms wide open as if to embrace the world. Then, he took a deep breath and enthusiastically shouted, “Friends, I’m here!”
*Here… ere… re…*
The echo of Yang Kai’s voice reverberated in the mountain col so loudly that even the snow gathered on the trees fell from the vibrations.
Several Bone Melting Wolves walked out of their hiding places with energetic and lively steps upon smelling the scent of food. Baring their fangs at Yang Kai, saliva dripped out of the corners of their mouth, their eyes gleamed with a savage light.
Yu had always been a calm and composed person; however, she couldn’t stop her face from cramping at this sight.
“Lady Yu, what do we do now?” One of the clansmen asked.
“Retreat!” She made a decisive decision on the spot.
[Shaman Niu is insane! Why didn’t I notice that before?! If I had noticed that earlier, I would not have accompanied him here no matter what. This is terrible! I can’t believe he provoked those six Bone Melting Wolves without any preparations whatsoever! Even a Shaman Warrior like him will undoubtedly end up dead!] Even though she was grateful to him for saving one of her clansmen, she, as the leader of her group, could not accompany him on his crazy whims. They had to retreat for now. As for the gratitude they owed him for saving one of them… They could only recover their strength before returning to avenge him as a means of repayment.
Yu’s group moved swiftly as soon as she gave the order to fall back, preparing themselves for battle as they began to withdraw from this place. Yu shot a glance back to look at the situation, pitying Yang Kai.
Those Bone Melting Wolves did not hesitate after coming out of their hiding spots and immediately lunged towards Yang Kai like a whirlwind. Their bloody mouths opened so wide that they could devour a lamb whole.
Then, Yu saw an extremely shocking scene. Shaman Niu, who was clearly insane, let out a peal of riotous laughter before punching left and right repeatedly… Blood splattered like blooming flowers in mid-air, accompanied by the sound of bones breaking. Immediately after, short but rapid whimpers of the Bone Melting Wolves rang out. In the blink of an eye, four Bone Melting Wolves were sent flying, their heads bursting open before their bodies even hit the ground.
Stunned, Yu stood frozen on the spot. It was as if a Binding Spell had been cast on her by an invisible Shaman King. Her small mouth was slightly agape, and her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
“Lady Yu!” The Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors who had been retreating swiftly abruptly noticed that their Shaman had not kept up with them. Thus, they hurriedly turned back, but in the next moment, they were similarly frozen in place with shock. [What just happened?! Why are there four Bone Melting Wolf corpses lying on the ground? Moreover, where are their heads? Just what happened in the brief moment we turned away?!]
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the deaths of their four companions did not make the rest of the Bone Melting Wolves retreat. Instead, it aroused their ferocious nature. The remaining two rushed forward quickly, leaping high and lunging towards Yang Kai from both sides while snapping their teeth.
Yang Kai countered with a backhanded blow, cracking the skull of the Bone Melting Wolf on the left, causing its head to explode, killing it instantly. However, his right arm was bitten by the other Bone Melting Wolf.
*Kacha!*
Before Yang Kai could do anything though, something akin to an ice blade flew over swiftly and struck the last remaining Bone Melting Wolf in the eye and buried itself deep into its skull.
Yu had finally returned to her senses and supported his fight with her Ice Blade Spell from afar. It was a simple attack, but also a precise and powerful one that showed her rich combat experience as a High-Rank Shaman Warrior.
The Bone Melting Wolf whimpered and released Yang Kai’s arm, allowing him to step forward with a clenched fist and punch it twice to kill it.
Breathing lightly, Yang Kai revealed a disdainful expression on his face.
“You were bitten! Hurry up and expel the poison!” Yu rushed forward anxiously and warned him. She didn’t even think to ask him how he created such a miracle; however, she blanked out again as soon as the words left her mouth, because his right arm that had been bitten was completely unscathed!
[How is that possible?! I clearly saw him being bitten by the Bone Melting Wolf! With the Bone Melting Wolf’s horrifying strength, he can’t defend against it with just his body!]
Thinking about it carefully though, she realized that the cracking sound from before didn’t sound like bones breaking, but rather like a Shield Spell shattering from the force of the bite.
[So that’s it! He must have cast a Shield Spell at the same moment he was bitten! What incredible reaction and casting speed!]
“Don’t come over!” Yang Kai shouted suddenly, his eyes flashing with excitement as he stared into the depths of the mountain col. Licking his lips, he said, “There’s one more big guy over there.”
“What?” Yu did not understand what he was saying, but glancing in the direction of his gaze, she suddenly felt a chill running down her back as her limbs went numb with fear, “A Bone Melting Wolf King!”
In the clearing up ahead, a Bone Melting Wolf several times larger than the previous Bone Melting Wolves was approaching them. Moreover, the powerful aura it exuded pressed down on Yu so strongly that she found it hard to breathe.
[What is a Bone Melting Wolf King doing here?!] Wolves were pack animals, and regardless of whether they were wild beasts or Barbarians Beasts, their nature remained the same. However, even with six Bone Melting Wolves gathered in this place, the scale of this pack should not be enough to give rise to a Wolf King!
Yu quickly understood the situation though, because this Bone Melting Wolf King seemed to be heavily injured. His body was covered in wounds, large and small, and from the looks of it, these injuries were no more than a month old.
This Wolf King had been defeated in a battle between wolf packs and was exiled to this place as a result. A defeated Wolf King could no longer be the king of a pack and would be replaced by a younger and stronger Wolf King.
Even so, it was not an existence that a Shaman Warrior could fight against. A Bone Melting Wolf King was a powerful Barbarian Beast that could rival a Shaman Master in strength! Even if it was not fully healed from its wounds, it was still an opponent they could not face.
“Run!” Yu yelled at Yang Kai, deeply regretting not retreating immediately just now. She initially planned to flee, but after turning around and seeing such a miracle happening in front of her, she couldn’t resist coming back again. Who could have known that she would instead throw herself into such a crisis?
[This is bad. Every one of us will die here…] She couldn’t blame Yang Kai for rushing headlong into danger anymore, only herself for failing to investigate the situation clearly when they first arrived here. [I can’t believe we failed to notice the presence of a Bone Melting Wolf King hiding here!]
The Bone Melting Wolf King exuded a heavy pressure that was dense and terrifying. Yu could feel her entire body trembling under its influence. Meanwhile, Yang Kai only had an expression of scorn and contempt on his face despite facing such a terrifying existence, stretching his arms and legs, making little cracking sounds. It was a scene that left one unsure whether to laugh or cry. His carefree actions clearly enraged the Bone Melting Wolf King though and it widened its mouth as it shot out a green ball of liquid towards him like an arrow.
In response, Yang Kai raised his hand, and the temperature in the air rose abruptly as a fireball as large as a washbasin flew out.
With a loud crashing sound, the fireball and green poison ball collided mid-air. A loud explosion sounded, followed immediately by a mix of sparks and poison flying in all directions. Wherever they landed on the ground, the snow-covered ground melted away with loud hissing sounds, leaving large and small pits everywhere.
While Yu and the others were still in a daze, Yang Kai took advantage of the Wolf King’s unpreparedness to attack, leaping forward and engaging in a fierce melee with this new opponent.
On the other hand, the group from the Frost and Snow Clan were completely dumbfounded by the sight.
[Is he really a Shaman? Is this something a Shaman can do? How can he rush forward bravely and fearlessly regardless of the opponent he faces?!] That was the case when he was facing those six Bone Melting Wolves just now, and the same held true in his fight against the Bone Melting Wolf King right now!
[How is it possible for a Shaman like him to exist?!] Yu felt as if everything she knew was being turned upside down. Several dozen years of cultivation and long-held beliefs had collapsed in an instant as she had never imagined that a Shaman’s method of fighting could be so barbarous and brutal. It was even more barbarous and brutal than the fights of the strongest warriors in their clan.
It could be seen that Shaman Niu was extremely skilled and experienced in hand-to-hand combat. Not only did he possess the courage and diligence of the most powerful warriors, but he also possessed a Shaman’s ability. While engaging in close-quarter combat, he would cast various simple and practical Shamanic Spells freely. However, those Shamanic Spells played an unimaginable role at critical moments. For some time, he fought on par with the Wolf King, which could rival a Shaman Master in terms of strength, and nobody could determine who had the upper hand in this fight.
“Lady Yu… W-What should we do now?” This was not the first time the Frost and Snow Clan’s clansmen had asked Yu this question. It was just that the scene unfolding before their eyes were beyond their understanding, which caused them to lose their ability to think clearly.
Yu hesitated for only a moment before she decisively ordered, “We help him!”
As soon as those words were spoken, she began chanting in the ancient language. She cast several Shamanic Spells, including the Bloodlust Spell, the Light Body Spell, and the Bone Armor Spell on the warriors from her clan in quick succession. The auras of those warriors immediately expanded explosively and their eyes turned scarlet. A calmness hid in the depths of their madness though, and after glancing at each other, they approached the battlefield carefully.
Meanwhile, Yu took a small breath and raised her hand, condensing a huge ice blade in front of her. In this severely cold environment, the Ice Attribute Shamanic Spell she cultivated received the blessings from the surrounding World, becoming far more powerful than usual.
*Xiu…*
The huge ice blade trembled slightly before disappearing like a flash of light. By the time it reappeared again, it had already buried itself deep into the flesh of the Bone Melting Wolf King that was fighting against Yang Kai.
The Wolf King roared in pain and shook its body, shattering the ice blade into pieces.
The next moment, several Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors flanked the Wolf King from both sides, brandishing their weapons as they hacked and slashed at its exposed sides.
Half a day later, the dust finally settled.
Yu panted heavily, her face deathly pale as she stared at the corpse of Bone Melting Wolf King lying on the ground in disbelief.
There were no casualties in this battle on her side. Moreover, only a few of her clansmen had suffered light injuries! And, the biggest contributing factor to this miraculous occurrence was the weak looking, scrawny Shaman Niu!
He had kept the Bone Melting Wolf King’s attention on him the whole time, not giving it any time to bother about anything else. For that reason, the clansmen she led had been able to continuously inflict injuries on the enemy. The killing blow was landed only after a fierce battle lasting half a day. Rather than a decisive kill, it was more like they had gradually worn the Wolf King down to its death.
Looking at Shaman Niu, who was groping around inside the Wolf King’s corpse, Yu couldn’t help feeling mixed and conflicted feelings about it. Even now, she could barely believe what had just happened. The idea of victory itself was inconceivable; after all, that was a Wolf King that rivaled a Shaman Master in strength! Even if it was severely injured, it wasn’t something they could take down with such a small group of people. However, the Wolf King had been powerless against them due to Shaman Niu’s seemingly endless stream of tactics and tricks, turning what seemed like ordinary skills into something miraculous.
[How did he do it?] From the start until the end, this Shaman Niu had not cast any Shamanic Spell that was particularly powerful. All the Shamanic Spells he used were something she could use too. Even so, her Shamanic Spells would not have been anywhere near as effective in comparison.
“Yes! I found it!” Yang Kai laughed happily as he dug out a bloodied Monster Core from the Wolf King’s corpse. Then, he wiped it carefully against the snow before storing it away like a treasure. After that, he walked over to the other six dead Bone Melting Wolves without pause and took out the six Monster Cores from their corpses in the same way.
Yu composed herself somehow and shot a glance at her clansmen. One of them immediately went to pick the Snow Flowers they had originally come for while she walked over to Yang Kai and asked, “Shaman Niu, are you in need of Monster Cores?”
Yang Kai played with his bulging cloth bag and replied without looking up, “Yes!”
Yang Kai wanted to accumulate strength quickly, and in order to do so, he needed many Monster Cores.
Yu continued, “Although I don’t know why you need so many Monster Cores, there’s a place that might be of interest to you.”
“Where is that?” He looked up at her.
“Frost and Snow City!”
Yang Kai frowned at those words for a moment before asking, “The central city of the Frost and Snow Clan?”
“That’s right.”
“Will there be many Monster Cores there?”
Yu smiled in response, “Frost and Snow City is the only city belonging to the Frost and Snow Clan. More than eighty percent of the Frost and Snow Clan’s Shamans gather there. Even Shamans from other clans often frequent Frost and Snow City, especially during winter. Frost and Snow City is the only place that is not affected by the winter snows and remains open all year round. Furthermore, a large number of transactions are carried out in the city every day and Monster Cores of Barbarian Beasts are not uncommon there. You might even find Monster Cores of a higher grade than that of the Bone Melting Wolf King over there. As long as you can bring out goods of equal value, I believe other Shamans will be willing to trade with you.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai rubbed his chin thoughtfully, seeming to be swayed by the idea. If Frost and Snow City was as good as Yu said it was, then he should definitely go and take a look. At the very least, it would be faster obtaining Monster Cores there than simply searching for and killing Barbarian Beasts in White Net Mountain. Of course, Yang Kai had the slight problem of not having anything of value to trade with.
“What do you think? Do you want to check it out?” Yu struck while the iron was hot as she could tell at a glance that he was interested in the idea.
“It would be impolite of me to refuse your kindness, Shaman Yu,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
Yu nodded happily in response, “Then, let’s set off together later.”
At this time, the Ancient Barbarian Warrior that went to collect the Snow Flowers returned and whispered something to her. In turn, she looked up at Yang Kai and said, “Shaman Niu, about the corpses of these Barbarian Beasts…”
“Do whatever you want.”
“Thank you very much!” Yu thanked him. Subsequently, she turned around and instructed her clansmen to process the corpses of the Bone Melting Wolves.
If a Shaman consumed the flesh of Barbarian Beasts over a long period of time, it would help them improve their strength. Thus, she couldn’t bear to let so many Barbarian Beast corpses go to waste in this place even if she was a High-Rank Shaman Warrior. Especially so when it came to the corpse of Bone Melting Wolf King. That was a powerful supplement even for a Shaman Grandmaster.
In contrast, Shaman Niu only wanted the Monster Cores and not the meat. Yu did not know what he was trying to do, as even though a Monster Core was highly valued, the most common method of consuming it was to soak it in wine. Some Herbalists could also use the Monster Cores of Barbarian Beasts to make potions, but this boy didn’t look like a Herbalist.
Needless to say, it was not the first time for these Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors to deal with the corpses of Monster Beasts. On the contrary, they were extremely skilled and, in less than a quarter of an hour, they finished processing the six Bone Melting Wolf carcasses and the Wolf King carcass.
One way or another, everybody carried the seven wolf pelts, plus the most delicious and tender parts of the Barbarian Beasts. Once all the preparations were completed, they set off.
Frost and Snow City was quite far from White Net Mountain, so even if they ran at full speed throughout the entire journey, it would still take them at least three days to arrive. That was based on the premise that Shaman Yu blessed them with the Spirit Walk Spell. Without the Spirit Walk Spell, their speed would be much slower.
Halfway through the journey, Yang Kai asked Yu to teach him the Spirit Walk Spell, and unsurprisingly, he immediately grasped it, shocking her with his incredible comprehension ability.
Three days later, a large shadow loomed before their eyes. The Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors and even Yu couldn’t help breaking out into a heartfelt smile at the sight.
“Shaman Niu, that’s Frost and Snow City!” Yu pointed in front.
Yang Kai could not help feeling astonished at the sight before him. It was his first time coming to an Ancient Barbarian city; however, the sight that greeted his eyes was completely different from what he had imagined.
He thought that since it was a city, it should at least look like a city. However, this place had zero resemblance to a city whatsoever. Rather, there was a single towering tree standing on the horizon. Despite the distance, Yang Kai could feel the rich and majestic aura coming from this tree that seemed to reach up to the Heavens and cover the sky in its canopy. It was hard to imagine just how tall it was as it seemed to continue up forever.
Under the sky-like canopy of the huge tree, buildings were built across the ground in a disorderly manner. It was like a cluttered chessboard that had been overturned in which Yang Kai could vaguely see many people actively living their daily lives.
“This is Frost and Snow City?” Yang Kai turned to look at Yu.
Yu smiled, “Yes, this is Frost and Snow City! It is also the root of the Frost and Snow Clan. Do you see that Evergreen Divine Tree? That is Senior Qing; he is the guardian who protects the Frost and Snow Clan.”
“Senior Qing…” Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, “Are you saying that… That tree is alive?” [If it is alive… Won’t that make it a Monster Tree? Still, such a large Monster Tree is a rare sight to see.]
Yu’s expression became solemn as she said earnestly, “Senior Qing has lived for thousands of years and is immortal and indestructible. Shaman Niu, remember to never desecrate Senior Qing if you ever enter Frost and Snow City!”
[Immortal and indestructible? Doesn’t that really make it a Monster Tree? But, comparing my Immortal Tree and this Evergreen Divine Tree is like comparing an old man and a baby…]
As Yu was being very serious, so Yang Kai could tell that the Evergreen Divine Tree held an extremely high status in the hearts of the Frost and Snow Clan; thus, he nodded and said, “I understand.”
Yu smiled again and continued, “You don’t have to worry so much, Shaman Niu. Senior Qing is very tolerant, so as long as you don’t deliberately desecrate him, my clansmen will not cause you any trouble.”
They gradually approached Frost and Snow City while they were speaking. Upon a closer look, the shock and awe of seeing the Evergreen Divine Tree became more and more intense. The entire Frost and Snow City was not guarded by city walls or Spirit Arrays like in the later generations, but the huge canopy created a secure enclosure surrounding several hundred kilometres. The clansmen of the Frost and Snow Clan had survived for generations under the protection of this canopy.
Even though it was in the middle of winter, there was no snow in Frost and Snow City; instead, it looked like it was the middle of spring.
An hour later, Yang Kai followed Yu across the boundary of Frost and Snow City when he abruptly felt a powerful Divine Sense sweep over him. This powerful probe instantly made all the hairs on his body stand in vigilance as he scanned his surroundings warily, only to find nothing.
Yu did not miss his change in demeanour and explained, “You don’t need to be so nervous, Shaman Niu. Anyone who enters Frost and Snow City will be inspected by Senior Qing. Only if they are hostile towards the Frost and Snow Clan will they be expelled.”
Yang Kai sighed in amazement, “Senior Qing is amazing.”
This was not flattery, but his true feelings, as that Divine Sense just now was measurably stronger than his Divine Sense at his peak. This Monster Tree was an incredible Master!
Yu smiled in agreement, “Of course! Senior Qing is the guardian of Frost and Snow Clan, who has been protecting us for thousands of years. But, it’s a pity…”
“What’s a pity?”
She said sadly, “I heard that Senior Qing fell asleep thousands of years ago; and now nobody can wake him up.”
“Then…” Yang Kai was puzzled. If Senior Qing was asleep, what was that Divine Sense just now?
Yu seemed to understand what he was thinking and smiled, “Even in his sleep, Senior Qing can still distinguish between friend and foe.”
[Isn’t that plain nonsense… If I were cultivating in retreat, I wouldn’t be able to feel anything unless it was a sense of crisis involving matters of life and death. No matter how great this Evergreen Divine Tree is, it’s still impossible to achieve such a degree of unconscious skill.] Still, Yang Kai made no objections to that statement since this seemed to be a strong belief among the Frost and Snow Clan.
While they were conversing with each other, they entered Frost and Snow City. The Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors were exhausted after such a long journey so they seemed a little excited now that they finally returned safely. They even had a faintly proud expression on their faces.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai unexpectedly felt extremely nostalgic when he stood inside Frost and Snow City. The sounds of yelling and bargaining ringing in his ears gave him the illusion that he had returned to Star Boundary for a moment.
“Shaman Niu, thank you for your help in White Net Mountain. We have to part ways here as I need to meet with a Shaman Master here and hand in the Snow Flowers,” Yu said, turning to Yang Kai.
“Go ahead. You don’t need to worry about me.” He nodded.
She then stretched out her hand to one of the Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors standing next to her. That warrior instantly took out a water skin-like thing and handed it to her. Yu took it and handed it to Yang Kai, “Take this to water the roots of Senior Qing, then you can find a place to live.”
Yang Kai raised his brow slightly as he recognized this water skin. When they were at White Net Mountain, the Frost and Snow Warriors had processed the Monster Beast corpses and used this water skin to collect Monster Beast blood. At that time, Yang Kai had not known what Yu and the others planned to do with this blood; however, now, it seemed as though it had some kind of special use here.
Yu led the rest of the Frost and Snow Clan’s Warriors towards a tall building. Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood in the middle of Frost and Snow City and pondered quietly for a while. He was in no hurry to follow Yu’s instructions to find a place to live and instead wandered around the bustling city to explore.
The reason why he agreed to come to Frost and Snow City was none other than to obtain some Monster Cores as soon as possible to continue cultivating. However, he had nothing on him aside from the seven Monster Cores of the Bone Melting Wolves and a bag of wolf blood. Unfortunately, he needed all of these items; therefore, he had to check out the market situation for now before he could figure out his next plan. Yang Kai believed that with his abilities, even if his starting point was very low, he would quickly be able to start accumulating what he needed.
Looking around as he walked, Yang Kai stood out like a sore thumb in a city filled with the Ancient Barbarian Race. It couldn’t be helped though as his figure was just too weak looking, lacking the aesthetics of the Ancient Barbarian Race. Hence, he attracted strange and contemptuous glances wherever he went. Fortunately, he had long since grown accustomed to this, as it seemed every member of the Ancient Barbarian Race that met him for the first time would eye him with such intent.
Frost and Snow City was extremely prosperous, not inferior even when compared to the large cities of the modern era. Among the chaotic mess of countless buildings, stalls, goods, and Shamans from different clans gathered in this place, a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior like Yang Kai did not stand out at all.
Using the knowledge the Village Chief had taught him before he left the village, Yang Kai identified the origins of those Shamans, one by one. People of every city and every clan were gathered here, a grand sight that was very rare indeed. It was a scene that could only be seen in Frost and Snow City during winter because, unlike Frost and Snow City, such unique conditions did not exist elsewhere. This place was protected by the Evergreen Divine Tree, so even in the middle of winter, it remained in a state of spring.
The cities of the other clans did not have such good conditions; hence, it naturally attracted many Shamans here to exchange information and goods. Once winter passed, most of these Shamans that came from afar would return to their respective clans and cities. For that reason, Frost and Snow City became the most prosperous city every winter.
Yang Kai browsed through all the stalls, inspecting their wares and bargaining with the stall owners. He thought that trading would be carried out through bartering in this ancient era, but to his surprise, he found out that he was greatly mistaken. Frost and Snow City had its own currency, something similar to green leaves, which were known as Green Coins.
Since the Village Chief had not taught him about the Green Coin, Yang Kai concluded that it was a feature unique to Frost and Snow City. Green Coins weren’t used for cultivation and were rumoured to be the fallen leaves of the Evergreen Divine Tree that never decayed. It could only be used for transaction purposes and was only limited to transactions in Frost and Snow City. Even so, that was enough as the mere existence of a standard currency would have a great impact on the circulation of materials.
Business in Frost and Snow City was carried out all day long, so Yang Kai spent three consecutive days browsing without stopping for a single moment, forming a vague plan during this time.
After three days, he slowly walked to the bottom of the Evergreen Divine Tree, took out the water skin Yu had given to him previously, and poured it onto the roots of the Evergreen Divine Tree.
As the red blood landed on the ground, it was quickly absorbed and disappeared until not even a drop was left. In the next moment, a green light radiated from the canopy and shone down on Yang Kai. At the same time, an inexplicable force guided him and he slowly moved upward as if an invisible hand was lifting him up.
After soaring upward a few dozen metres, the lifting force stabilized and a clean and comfortable Tree Cave that was neither large nor small appeared before him. This would be his residence for the next thirty days.
There were two ways for outsiders to find a place to stay in Frost and Snow City. One was to live in places similar to inns, but those places required Green Coins. The other was like what Yang Kai just did. By watering the roots of the Evergreen Divine Tree with Monster Beast blood, the Evergreen Divine Tree would lend a Tree Cave to the waterer.
There were numerous Tree Caves like these located all over the towering Evergreen Divine Tree, and every Tree Cave was a natural residence. Upon receiving the protection of the Evergreen Divine Tree, one would not be disturbed by others no matter what they did inside the Tree Cave.
The Tree Cave was not that large, barely able to accommodate three people inside it, but it was enough for Yang Kai. Besides, the environment inside was extremely comfortable, so he sat down cross-legged to cultivate while working out the details of his plans in his head.
The next day, Yang Kai walked out of the Tree Cave and slowly dropped to the ground under the guidance of the Evergreen Divine Tree. Then, he went straight in one direction. Soon, he arrived outside a store that specialized in the acquisition of Monster Cores. Taking out the seven Monster Cores in his possession, he sold them all. A moment later, he left the shop with a bag of Green Coins in hand, turned around, and disappeared into the crowd.
A quarter of an hour and a difficult haggling session later, Yang Kai reached an agreement with an unfamiliar stall owner. He bought all the herbs sold at the store for the price of fifty Green Coins. Hence, the stall owner couldn’t help but be overjoyed as he knew he had met a big customer and enthusiastically wrapped up the purchase for Yang Kai.
A short while later, a similar scene occurred at another stall. It didn’t take long before Yang Kai spent all the Green Coins in his possession. In exchange, he obtained a relatively large amount of common, low-value herbs. After that, he returned to the Tree Cave and took out all the herbs.
There was no need to investigate them carefully as he simply took out a few random herbs by hand. Then, a bright and warm flame bloomed in his hand. Casually tossing the herbs into the flame, Yang Kai concentrated on refining them. Just like how Alchemists were very rare and sought after in the present, the status and number of Herbalists in the ancient era were no different.
A Herbalist was a rare talent in any clan. Moreover, the Herbalists of each clan would only create potions for their own clansmen. In this era where the Martial Dao was not popular and Alchemy was even less known than that, the process a Herbalist used to create potions was simple and crude. They would simply mix in a variety of herbs and blend them all together, which of course could not bring out the full effects of those herbs.
Yang Kai was an Emperor Alchemist, so even though his cultivation was sealed and his Divine Sense could not be used, the items he could refine with his current methods would still be superior to what an ordinary Herbalist from a large clan could produce. The medicines he refined would then become his way of making money and the starting point for creating a snowball effect.
Since the eras were different, Yang Kai did not dare to create anything that was too shocking. Besides, his strength was greatly suppressed at the moment so he couldn’t be perfect in his refining process. Even so, the items he refined and arranged were the embodiment of tens of thousands of years of accumulated knowledge, fundamentally incomparable to the crude potions produced by the current Herbalists.
Half a day later, all the herbs were consumed, and Yang Kai had a pile of bottles and jars in front of him. In this era, jade bottles to store pills were practically non-existent. However, Yang Kai was not very fastidious about the containers; after all, what he refined this time was not a pill. Rather, it was a large batch of paste, so it didn’t matter even if he stored them in those stone and wood containers.
After cleaning himself up briefly, Yang Kai left his Tree Cave once again.
Arriving at the most prosperous area in Frost and Snow City, where traffic flowed continuously, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged in a corner and placed what he had refined in front of him before taking out a piece of wood and using his finger like a sword to drew a single flamboyant word on the plank. He then placed the wood plank next to him, sat in an upright position, closed his eyes, and began meditating.
The Ancient Barbarian Race stall owner next to him glanced at him and the wooden sign with the large ‘medicine’ character written on it before snorting in disdain. [That black, sticky paste that resembles rotten mud is supposed to be medicine? Does this brat really think he is a Herbalist?] Herbalists were generally very well respected, so how could one possibly fall so low as to open up a stall by the roadside? If not for the Shaman aura coming from Yang Kai’s body, this stall owner might even suspect that he wasn’t part of the Ancient Barbarian Race. [Unless a miracle occurs, he won’t ever sell anything.]
And just as he expected, Yang Kai’s stall was completely ignored for the next two days. Even though this was a busy area with people passing by non-stop, all the Ancient Barbarians passing by Yang Kai’s store took one glance at the gooey paste he was selling and walked away.
Even so, Yang Kai remained as calm as an unmoving mountain. He simply sat there cross-legged without any worries. He was so immovable that even his neighbour began to admire him for his tenacity.
Two days later, that next-door stall owner had practically sold out his goods and was about to close his shop. Perhaps it was out of sympathy, but he couldn’t help saying, “You won’t be able to sell anything like this.”
Yang Kai opened his eyes to look at the stall owner and grinned in response, “In your opinion, how should I sell my medicine?”
The stall owner replied, “You should at least call out your wares once in a while. Although these medicines don’t look like much, somebody will eventually come and take a look at them if you advertise enough.”
“Quality goods need no advertising. My medicines are excellent, so people will come to buy them even without me advertising them.”
The stall owner spat disdainfully when he heard those words, clearly disagreeing with that statement even though it sounded rather reasonable. Shaking his head, he said, “You will never sell any of your wares unless a miracle occurs.”
Yang Kai smiled, “I don’t need a miracle. I only need an opportunity… And here comes an opportunity!” While speaking, his eyes suddenly sparkled.
The neighbouring stall owner was surprised by this sudden change and glanced in the direction Yang Kai was looking in only to see several Ancient Barbarian Race Warriors from the Frost and Snow Clan supporting each other and walking in this direction. They were covered in blood and fresh wounds, as if they had just come back from a huge battle. Moreover, one of them even had a large slash in his abdomen. It was an extremely deep injury that looked absolutely terrifying.
[How is this an opportunity?] The stall owner was a little puzzled, but just as he was wondering, those Ancient Barbarian Warriors walked by the front of the stalls.
At that moment, Yang Kai, the medicine seller, smilingly spoke up, “Please wait, strong warriors! The Heavens must be smiling down on us for us to have such a fateful meeting! As a Shaman, I feel a strong connection of destiny with you, so I would like to give you a small gift. I hope you will accept it!”
Creating medicines with Alchemy was Yang Kai’s forte. For that reason, Alchemy was the best choice for him if he wanted to earn enough for his use in an unfamiliar environment with limited financial resources.
Inside Frost and Snow City, those wounded Ancient Barbarian Warriors stopped suddenly. Their leader turned his head to look around him before looking down at Yang Kai with a malevolent aura, “Were you… speaking to us?”
Yang Kai smiled warmly to indicate that he was harmless, “That’s right!”
That Ancient Barbarian Warrior frowned. Even though he barely understood what Yang Kai had said just now, he understood the last sentence easily enough. [This guy has something to give me!]
There was no reason to turn down something that was given freely. Even so, he couldn’t help feeling distrustful upon seeing this scrawny person’s attitude; thus, he shook his head and turned to leave.
Yang Kai hurriedly said, “Wait, strong warrior!”
“What do you want?” The Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior was starting to get impatient.
Yang Kai continued, “Your injuries are rather severe, and it just so happens that I have some healing medicine and would like to give some to you. Please use it to treat your wounds!” While speaking, he pointed with his finger.
The Ancient Barbarian Warrior widened his eyes and glanced over at the stone pots in front of him before he scowled and asked, “You call this… Medicine?”
“Indeed!”
The Ancient Barbarian Warrior sneered with a look of disdain on his face. Meanwhile, the neighbouring stall owner couldn’t bear watching any longer. He packed up his stuff and prepared to leave this place, lest he hurt his eyes watching this farce.
“Just give it a try; you won’t lose anything from it. It’s not like you’re paying for it anyway. Won’t it be great if it works? If it doesn’t work… You can always come and destroy my stall,” Yang Kai said with a smile.
“Is this really a medicine?” The Ancient Barbarian Warrior could tell that Yang Kai was being serious and not simply talking nonsense. Thus, he couldn’t help becoming a little curious.
“It’s high-quality medicine!”
“If it doesn’t work, I will really destroy your stall!” Even though the other party appeared to be a Shaman, he did not take those words to heart. This was Frost and Snow City; moreover, they were clansmen of the Frost and Snow Clan, so if a Shaman from the outside were to break the rules and provoke them, they would not go easy on that person.
“What are you still hesitating for? Hurry up and give it a try!” Yang Kai urged energetically.
The Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior nodded. Crouching down in front of Yang Kai’s stall, he involuntarily frowned at the foul smell that assaulted his nose and he couldn’t help but hesitate, wondering if he should really try something so suspicious.
Yang Kai earnestly explained as if he was teaching a young student, “Good medicine tastes bad. My medicine might smell a little, but the effects are indisputable.”
“I hope it’s as you said.” The Ancient Barbarian Warrior revealed a determined expression while saying that, looking as if he had made a huge decision about something. Reaching out his hand, he scooped some of the paste out of one of the stone pots. Then, he carefully and evenly applied the paste to the wound on his abdomen under Yang Kai’s instructions.
That wound was an arm’s length long and cut very deep into the flesh. An injury like that was not considered life-threatening to an Ancient Barbarian, but it would still be bad if it were left untreated.
When that stinky paste was applied to his body, the warrior raised his brow abruptly. Simultaneously, a look of astonishment appeared on his face. Throughout it all, his companions stared at him curiously, wondering if the medicine was effective.
A cooling sensation spread out from the Ancient Barbarian Warrior’s abdomen, alleviating the pain, and in the next moment, he let out an exclamation of surprise and hurriedly lowered his head to look, as if he felt something changing. Then, his eyes widened in shock.
The flesh around the wound on his abdomen was slightly squirming. Following those wriggling movements, new flesh began to grow in his wound. That deep injury was healing at a speed visible to the naked eyes and forming a scar…
It was apparent that the rest of his companions had noticed the change going on too as they made exclamations of shock as they watched the changes happening to the wound in disbelief.
The neighbouring stall owner that had been preparing to leave was also staring stupidly with eyes as large as saucers. He looked like he wanted to dig out his eyes and stick them to the other party’s abdomen just to see the changes more closely. This strange behaviour attracted many others who were passing by, and when these people learned what was going on, they all stopped to spectate the changes in the wound out of curiosity.
An hour later, the Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior that had tried the medicine touched his abdomen dumbly. The remains of the medicine and remnants of dried blood fell off cleanly, revealing a scar about an arm’s length to the crowd. Although it was not completely healed, the miraculous effect was enough to make everybody gasp in amazement; after all, the wound had been a bloody mess just an hour ago.
“It really worked!” When that Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior that had tried the medicine looked up again, he gazed at Yang Kai with blazing eyes, his expression filled with both gratitude and admiration.
Yang Kai simply smiled without saying anything. [Of course the medicine I created works.]
Unfortunately, this medicine’s effects were limited to the Ancient Barbarian Race that had robust vitality and high amounts of Blood Qi. If it were applied to cultivators in the present day, it would not have been as effective. That was because a large part of the medicine’s efficacy came from stimulating the Blood Qi around the wound and speeding up the process of self-regeneration. Therefore, only the Ancient Barbarian Race could bring about such immediate effects after applying the medicine.
“Are you a Herbalist?” That Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior asked.
“I guess so.”
When the onlookers heard those words, they suddenly put away the contemptuous expressions on their faces. No matter how weak Yang Kai might look, a Herbalist was an existence worthy of respect.
Then, Yang Kai raised his head and looked at the people crowding around them. He smiled and said, “Warriors often face fierce battles, and if you receive an injury while in the wilderness, it will surely affect your fighting abilities. However, if you carry this medicine on you, you don’t need to worry about that anymore! As long as my medicine is applied to your wounds, it can make you as fit as a tiger again in an instant. This is my first time coming to Frost and Snow City, so I’m selling it cheaply as a sign of goodwill.”
Before that Ancient Barbarian Race Warrior tried the medicine, nobody would have bothered to listen to what Yang Kai said; however, nobody doubted the effectiveness of the medicine anymore after witnessing the miraculous scene with their own eyes.
Besides, what this Herbalist said was right; it was very troubling when Warriors from the Ancient Barbarian Race were injured in battle in the wilderness. Even though everybody knew how to provide first aid to a certain extent, how could it compare to this healing medicine? If they could carry some of this paste on them, they could treat their wounds at any time. Moreover, the healing effect was shockingly fast and complete.
“How much are you selling it for?!” Someone asked immediately.
“Ten Green Coins for one pot!” Yang Kai had prepared for this a long time ago and immediately named his price.
Ten Green Coins was neither high nor low, so any adult Ancient Barbarian Warrior could afford it. This would allow Yang Kai to maximize his gains.
Sure enough, countless people immediately yelled ‘I’ll take one!’ upon hearing those words.
Looking at the people in front of him, Yang Kai grinned widely, staring out at all his new money sources!
The few pots of medicine were cleanly sold out within a quarter of an hour. Those that managed to buy some were overjoyed while those that failed to buy some were highly depressed and remorseful.
Yang Kai packed up his stuff and smilingly announced, “The medicine is sold out for today! If there are any who wish to buy some of this medicine, please come by early tomorrow!”
As he turned to leave, the neighbouring stall owner glanced at his back enviously. For some reason, his back suddenly seemed so tall and imposing…
Selling the medicine once was enough to increase Yang Kai’s assets by more than tenfold.
Yang Kai proceeded to spend all his Green Coins to buy out all the herbs at several stalls in Frost and Snow City before returning to his Tree Cave to refine medicine again.
When he came to set up his stall the next day, he saw many customers had already gathered. Some were those that failed to obtain the medicine yesterday while some came after listening to the rumours.
A strange Herbalist had appeared in Frost and Snow City. Moreover, the medicine he made could make external wounds heal quickly. Word of this had spread across the entire city overnight. Furthermore, it received the approval of many Ancient Barbarian Warriors from the Frost and Snow Clan.
The people of this era were relatively simple and hardly engaged in schemes and plots. Therefore, no one believed this news to be fake. For that reason, even though Yang Kai brought more than ten times the amount of medicine compared to yesterday, it took less than half a day for him to finish selling it all. Incidentally, his financial assets began snowballing just as he had expected.
That was the case for five consecutive days. The momentum behind that mad rush to purchase his medicine showed no signs of stopping and the situation made Yang Kai very happy.
Yang Kai silently calculated the money he had in his hands and estimated that he could stop doing this in another half a month’s time. By then, he would have enough Green Coins to buy all the Monster Cores he wanted. As long as he could raise his realm from a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior to Shaman Master, he would be set for life. His cultivation would smoothly rise with all the resources he had accumulated.
On that day, Yang Kai finished selling his medicine and prepared to wander the streets of Frost and Snow City to procure more raw materials when, all of a sudden, he frowned as he instinctively felt that something was wrong. Reaching out his hand to check his waist, his expression immediately darkened as the animal skin bag he used to hold his Green Coins was gone.
That animal skin bag contained thousands of Green Coins he gained from selling his medicine today. Fortunately, he had stored most of his wealth in his Tree Cave, so security was not an issue and he hadn’t lost everything, but this was still a frustrating event for Yang Kai.
[A thief?! There are thieves in this era?!] If not for the empty feeling in his hands telling him that it was not an illusion, Yang Kai would not have believed his own judgment. Ever since he entered this Sealed World, all the Ancient Barbarians he met, whether they were friendly or unfriendly, had been simple-minded and straightforward. Hence, he never expected to meet a thief in this place.
In a moment’s carelessness, Yang Kai had failed miserably at something he should never have failed at. [What a great disgrace! An Emperor Realm Master like me, actually allowed somebody to swipe my money from me without me noticing! This shame is so deep that I will never live it down for the rest of my life!]
His expression turned solemn, and his gaze rove across the crowd. He quickly locked on to a beefy Ancient Barbarian who was weaving between the crowds. That person was dressed in a tightly wrapped robe that covered up their features to the point where it was impossible to tell whether they were even male or female, making them incredibly conspicuous.
With a snort, Yang Kai quietly followed behind that person, having no intention of alerting the people around him. That person was rather careful, zigzagging through the crowds. Only after circling about for an hour did this individual finally slip into a remote area off the bustling streets.
That tall and beefy Ancient Barbarian hid in an inconspicuous spot and took out an animal skin bag from underneath his clothes. Opening the bag and looking inside, he suddenly chuckled. There were thousands of Green Coins inside! Enough for an entire year’s worth of living expenses!
“Not a bad harvest, right?” All of a sudden, a voice sounded from behind and he jumped in fright, hurriedly turning around to stare at the speaker vigilantly. Immediately, he felt a pang of guilt in his heart as he met eyes with this newcomer. This was only natural since he recognized the speaker as the owner of that bag.
An Ancient Barbarian as weak and slender as Yang Kai was very rare in Frost and Snow City, so rare that Yang Kai could even be considered unique in this place.
Despite recognizing Yang Kai, that beefy Ancient Barbarian refused to admit anything, instead putting on a vicious expression as he snapped, “What do you want?”
Yang Kai instantly found this scene amusing as he commented, “You stole from me yet can still pretend to be so nonchalant about it. I have to say, your existence has overturned my perception of the entire Ancient Barbarian Race.”
“What do you mean by stole?!”
“I’m talking about that bag you’re stuffing into your clothes.” Yang Kai watched the other party’s movements coldly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The beefy Ancient Barbarian casually put the skin bag away and impatiently said, “If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving. Stop following me.”
Yang Kai was shocked and burst out furiously, “You shameless thief! How dare you act so arrogantly?! Will you believe me if I say I will call the Frost and Snow Clan’s guards to deal with you?!”
That beefy Ancient Barbarian Race looked at Yang Kai disdainfully and sneered, “Go ahead and do it!”
That person’s confidence left Yang Kai dumbfounded, but calling the Frost and Snow Clan’s guards was clearly impossible.
Though Yang Kai had identified the thief in this incident, he had no evidence that this person had stolen his money. Hence, bringing the guards was a waste of time. Besides, Yang Kai didn’t want to drag other people into this either. Clicking his tongue, he said, “You provoked somebody you should never have offended.”
That beefy Ancient Barbarian Race smiled coldly, “Stop talking nonsense. If you keep wasting my time, I’ll beat you up!” While speaking, he raised a large fist at Yang Kai with a threatening look.
As soon as the words left his mouth, his expression changed drastically as he saw Yang Kai rushing towards him. At the same time, a clenched fist appeared in front of his face.
“You court death!” The beefy Ancient Barbarian Race roared as he had not expected such a weak-looking man to attack. Even so, he swiftly threw out a punch of his own, despite his shock and anger.
Yang Kai let out a soft sound of surprise the moment their fists connected as contrary to his expectations, he discovered that no violent force was behind this punch. Rather, the other party’s imposing body and threatening fist seemed to be made of air.
A look of consternation and fear flashed across that beefy Ancient Barbarian Race’s face as his huge body flew backwards. All of a sudden, that large, sturdy body distorted and transformed into a petite and slender figure.
*Pa…*
A small figure crashed into the ground like a dead fish, landing with a loud thud. At the same time, a green leaf fluttered down from the sky.
Yang Kai’s eyes nearly popped out in shock as he stood blankly in place for a long time before finally recovering. This couldn’t be helped though as his punch turned the burly man into a young girl! How was that possible? It definitely wasn’t anything he did!
In the time Yang Kai was staring dumbfounded, the girl that had landed on the ground got up with some difficulty, the expression on her face as she stared at him full of fear.
Looking at the girl again, Yang Kai realized that she was no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. Moreover, she had a Shaman’s aura enveloping her body. As for what realm she was in, Yang Kai couldn’t tell. The time he spent in this world was very short. Furthermore, he had barely met any Shamans and did not have a clear understanding of the distinction between Shaman Strength and their realms.
After the huge change in the girl’s body, her clothes also became looser as a result. Still, that was not enough to conceal her voluptuous curves which went to show just how shapely her body was.
Meanwhile, the girl looked extremely flustered now that her real appearance had been revealed without warning. Glancing about in a panic, she hurriedly rushed forward to pick up the green leaf that had fluttered to the ground previously and pressed it to her head. Subsequently, her petite body distorted and transformed back to the burly appearance from before.
“You’re part of the Nomad Clan!” Yang Kai had a sudden realization and blurted out her origins.
“W-What nonsense are you saying?!” The beefy man, who was the disguise of that girl, retorted stubbornly and looked about shiftily.
“Is that so?” Yang Kai smilingly looked at the other party, as if he had already won, “Am I speaking nonsense?”
“What do you mean by the Nomad Clan?! I’m from the Flowing Clouds Clan.”
“Heh heh…” Yang Kai chuckled softly. All of a sudden, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Hey, everyone! There’s a thief from the Nomad Clan here! Hey…”
“Shut up!!” The girl’s expression changed drastically as she reached into her clothes, took out the skin bag, and tossed it to him, “I’ll return it to you. So, stop shouting!”
Yang Kai playfully tossed the bag in his hands and glanced at her teasingly, “Why are you so nervous if you’re not part of the Nomad Clan?”
She stubbornly insisted, “I’m not nervous.”
Among the knowledge the Village Chief had taught to Yang Kai was that basically all of the Ancient Barbarian Race clans considered a strong and robust body to be beautiful. However, one clan differed from the rest, the Nomad Clan! People of this clan drifted about with no fixed homes; moreover, there were very few in this clan. As such, it was very rare for ordinary people to meet them. Since the Nomad Clan did not focus on cultivating their bodies, their physiques were drastically different from that of the other clans. If that were all, it would be nothing worth mentioning. The key point was that the clansmen of the Noman Clan were not honest people. Every one of them seemed to be involved in nefarious trades. Hence, their reputation was very bad among the Ancient Barbarian Race.
There were two reasons why Yang Kai constantly received hateful looks wherever he went. The first reason was that his body looked too weak, meaning he wasn’t worthy of respect. The second reason was that some people mistakenly assumed that he was from the Nomad Clan. What Yang Kai experienced was the epitome of what a Nomad Clansman experienced outside their clan.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue and circled the girl several times, commenting with great interest, “I’ve heard of how special the Nomad Clan is, but this is the first time I’m meeting one. How interesting… Hey, let me see your real appearance again.”
This wanton examination of his made the girl’s skin crawl and she asked in a shaky voice, “What do you want?”
Yang Kai shrugged, “I just want to have a look. I’m not going to do anything.”
“In your dreams!”
Yang Kai cupped his hands around his mouth again and just as he took a deep breath to shout, the girl snapped, “That’s enough!”
She glared at him fiercely, but he simply looked back at her with a smile. In the end, she surrendered in defeat. Reaching out her hand, she plucked the green leaf from her head. At the same time, the beefy body immediately shrank in size and returned to the appearance of a young girl.
“You will regret this!” She spat as she bit her red lips, her eyes burning with resentment and fury, like there was an irreconcilable grudge between them.
“En, this is much better. You should just act like a girl. Why bother disguising yourself as a man?” He laughed softly.
Having seen so many wild beauties among the Ancient Barbarian Race, the appearance of a more normal girl suddenly gave off such a kind and comfortable vibe.
“Have you seen your fill?!” The girl snapped impatiently, placing the green leaf back on her head and turning back into the beefy man’s appearance in an instant.
Yang Kai shook his head and sighed, feeling dissatisfied. Even so, he asked curiously, “Is that an illusion spell? Why didn’t I feel any power fluctuations when you cast your Shamanic Spells?”
That strange green leaf seemed to hold an incredible effect. The girl’s appearance changed drastically with the green leaf on her body, but her real appearance was instantly revealed once she took it off. At first, Yang Kai thought that the green leaf was some kind of medium she used to perform her illusions; however, he felt something was amiss after considering it carefully.
From the looks of it, that green leaf was similar to a Green Coin. It was clearly a leaf of the Evergreen Divine Tree; still, Yang Kai had not heard of any Shamanic Spells that required a medium like this to cast.
“Why do you care? I’ve returned your money back to you, what else do you want?” She was extremely annoyed. Letting him see her true appearance was her biggest mistake so far as it could be said that he was holding her weakness in his hands. She would be at his mercy from now on.
Fortunately, Yang Kai was not as despicable as she imagined and after pondering for a moment, he simply asked, “What is your name?”
The girl fell silent for a moment. Then, she replied, “It’s Tiea!”
“My name is Ah Niu!” Yang Kai responded with a smile.
“Shaman Niu… I’ll remember you. If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving!” Tiea said, and seeing that he had no objections, she turned and left.
Yang Kai watched as her back disappeared out of sight, laughing softly to himself before going off to purchase the herbs he needed.
The next day, Yang Kai finished refining enough healing medicine and walked out of the Tree Cave; however, he did not go down immediately. He controlled the direction and floated over to another Tree Cave not far away before reaching out and knocking on the trunk.
Soon, a head popped out from within the Tree Cave. That person stared at him in surprise and stuttered, “H-H-How did you know that I live here?!”
This neighbour of his was none other than Tiea, the girl he met yesterday.
Tiea’s eyes were full of panic upon meeting Yang Kai again, not to mention that it was at her doorstep.
“I saw you come back here by chance yesterday.”
“What do you want?!” Tiea wished she were dead. She was fearless even when she had been caught red-handed stealing his money at the time; however, the fact that he knew her identity as part of the Nomad Clan left her at a loss for what to do. It was the first time somebody had seen through her disguise after she began living here more than ten years ago.
“Don’t be so nervous.” Yang Kai smiled slightly, “I just have a favour to ask of you.”
“What is it?” She furrowed her brow.
“You should know that I’ve been selling medicine for the past few days, right? It’s because you know that you decided to rob me, right?”
She frowned in response to his words and replied to his questions with silence.
“In that case, this will be easy.” While speaking, he handed her the stone pots in his hand.
Of course, she did not take the pot and instead stared at him suspiciously before asking, “What do you want?”
“Help me sell my medicine. You should know the price. I’ll give you ten percent of the profits.”
Upon hearing those words, Tiea’s eyes lit up and she exclaimed, “Really?!”
“I’ve already handed my goods to you. What do you mean by ‘really’?”
Following that, she hurriedly took the stone pots from him, feeling over the moon. After all, the man in front of her could earn thousands of Green Coins a day just by selling this healing medicine. Ten percent of the profits would be a few hundred Green Coins a day. Although it wasn’t that much, it was still far better than stealing from others.
“Why?” Tiea couldn’t understand. Logically speaking, it was good enough if he generously did not cause trouble with her or expose her identity after she stole from him yesterday, so why was he now sharing such huge benefits with her?
“No one would refuse such a great opportunity, so why ask me?”
“Because I don’t know anybody else here,” Yang Kai shrugged nonchalantly as he continued with a smile, “Besides, I know your weakness, so I’m not worried that you will try to run off with my money.”
The corners of Tiea’s mouth twitched.
What he was saying is true. As long as he held onto her weakness, she couldn’t do anything against him… However, all that was irrelevant in the face of that ten percent!
After seeing Tiea on her way, Yang Kai immediately went to the middle of Frost and Snow City and searched for the store he had scouted out previously. Spending a large number of Green Coins, he purchased many Monster Cores.
The money he had accumulated during this period had given him enough financial resources to buy Monster Cores to supplement his cultivation. Therefore, he needed somebody else to sell his medicine on his behalf; after all, running a stall was quite time-consuming.
Upon returning to the Tree Cave, Yang Kai held a longan sized Monster Core between his fingers and took a small breath.
The early stages of the snowballing effect had been completed, so from now on, he only needed to buy some Monster Cores every day and refine them. Once winter was over, he would surely be able to break through to become a Shaman Master.
Yang Kai swallowed the Monster Core and circulated his Secret Arts. A thunderous sound soon came from his abdomen while at the same time, his aura swelled at a speed that could be seen with the naked eye.
In the afternoon, Tiea returned from selling the medicine, obediently handing over ninety percent of the profits and receiving more medicine from Yang Kai to be sold the next day. It had only been half a day since they last met, but she was shocked to discover that he had become a Mid-Rank Shaman Warrior!
[He was just a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior when I last saw him this morning, so how did he become a Mid-Rank Shaman Warrior in just half a day?!] Despite the countless questions in her heart, Tiea did not inquire into the matter. Everyone had their own secrets and it was not wise to ask too many questions, especially since her secret was still in Yang Kai’s hands.
Thus, the two worked together perfectly.
Yang Kai would take some time every day to refine the medicine before going out to purchase Monster Cores. Meanwhile, Tiea was in charge of selling the medicine and buying raw materials along the way.
Time flew by, and soon one month passed.
During that month, Yang Kai achieved another breakthrough in his cultivation. He refined approximately ten Monster Cores a day, which made his strength grow rapidly. For that reason, he was now a High-Rank Shaman Warrior! He was on the fast track to becoming a Shaman Master as long as he had a sufficient supply of Monster Cores. Then, he would regain his ability to use his Divine Sense. At that time, he could finally escape from his current predicament.
Unfortunately, good times were always followed by challenges. On that day, Tiea did not return from selling the medicines until evening, and when she entered Yang Kai’s Tree Cave, she placed a number of stone pots down in front of him.
Yang Kai was surprised and asked, “Why didn’t you finish selling them?”
In the past, the medicine he refined would sell out without any trouble each day. This was the first time there were surpluses.
Tiea weakly replied, “The ones that want to buy the medicine have probably bought enough. Didn’t you notice that I’ve been returning later and later recently?”
Yang Kai was taken aback by her words, but thinking back on it carefully, he realized that that was indeed the case. He had spent his time cultivating during this period, focusing solely on trying to raise his cultivation. Thus, he had not paid much attention to her situation. Now that she mentioned it, he realized that what she said was true. In the beginning, she only needed half a day to sell all the medicines he refined; however, as time passed, it took her longer and longer to finish selling them. And today, she did not return until late in the evening. Moreover, she did not manage to finish selling the medicine.
“So the market has saturated…” Yang Kai rubbed his chin and muttered under his breath.
Although Frost and Snow City was not small, and the number of Ancient Barbarian Warriors was quite large, more than a month of sales had caused the market to start shrinking. After all, it was not easy for Ancient Barbarian Warriors to earn Green Coins here, so while the healing medicine was priced at a relatively inexpensive ten Green Coins, they would not purchase it without reservations either.
Under normal circumstances, they would keep one portion on them to use during emergencies and only buy a new one as a replacement once they finished using that. Therefore, the more time that passed, the lower the purchasing power of Frost and Snow City.
Mulling over this, Yang Kai nodded and said, “You should take a break and continue selling the medicine tomorrow.”
Tiea naturally had no objections to his suggestion. After spending more than a month working together, she had slowly gotten closer to him and no longer held any wariness or fear for him. Thus, she just turned around and left.
Inside the Tree Cave, Yang Kai frowned. Now that the market had been saturated, it would get harder and harder to sell the healing medicine he refined. If he couldn’t sell his medicine, he wouldn’t have enough Green Coins to purchase Monster Cores and his cultivation plan would be severely delayed.
Even so, Yang Kai had no way to break the current stalemate unless he moved to a different city that was similar to Frost and Snow City to display his skills. But where was he going to find another Frost and Snow City among all the Ancient Barbarian Race clans in the middle of the winter?
The situation progressed just as Yang Kai had expected; the healing medicine became harder and harder to sell as time passed. Some days they didn’t even sell a third of the amount he refined every day despite Tiea’s best efforts.
Consequently, the number of Monster Cores Yang Kai could purchase became less and less each day. Although becoming a Shaman Master was right at his fingertips, he could only sigh in frustration without a sufficient supply of Monster Cores.
In this situation, Yang Kai could only take things one step at a time. He could only finish consuming all the Monster Cores he still had on hand, then decide what to do later.
One day, Yang Kai was in the middle of cultivating when he suddenly felt a pair of eyes watching him. This made him extremely uncomfortable, but unfortunately, his cultivation was at a critical juncture and he did not want to take his focus away from it. He initially thought that the feeling was just a figment of his imagination; however, the feeling of being watched only became more and more acute as time passed.
Opening his eyes abruptly, Yang Kai’s pupils instantly shrank as he stared at a figure standing not too far away from him. This person was an old man that did not have the burly body common among the Ancient Barbarian Race. He was so old that he looked like he could drop dead at any moment, his hair and beard were all white. This old man simply stood there quietly with a smile, watching Yang Ka with great interest.
Yang Kai might have looked calm on the surface, but great storms were raging inside his heart. [How is this possible?! I’m staying inside the Tree Cave of the Evergreen Divine Tree! Under the protection of the Evergreen Divine Tree, even a Shaman King or Shaman Saint would not be able to enter this place without my permission! So, how did this old man appear before me without a sound?! How is this possible?!]
Fortunately, the other party did not seem to hold any malicious intentions; thus, Yang Kai did not make a fuss and simply studied the old man quietly.
Their eyes met inside the Tree Cave; however, the old man was in no rush to say anything, seemingly just scrutinizing Yang Kai while nodding to himself once in a while.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was feeling extremely uncomfortable under the old man’s watch. In the end, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Old Man, why did you trespass into my private residence?”
“Trespass into your private residence?” Upon hearing those words, the old man raised his eyebrows, “That’s an interesting way of putting it. However, my presence here does not count as trespassing into a private residence!”
Yang Kai smiled coldly, “This Tree Cave is where I live, so you entered my residence without my permission. That’s trespassing into a private residence. Old Man, you seem to be getting senile. I’m afraid you’re not quite lucid. You should leave while I am still being nice. You can’t claim that I am not being respectful to the elderly if I lose my temper.”
The old man smiled, “What’s wrong? Are you going to hit me?”
Yang Kai answered matter-of-factly, “Sometimes, the use of force is necessary. It is also one way to solve problems.”
The old man fell silent for a moment before nodding in agreement and commenting, “What you say makes sense. I couldn’t tell before, but despite your young age, you seem to have some worldly knowledge.”
“Stop being so long-winded,” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively. “Please don’t blame me for getting rough if you refuse to leave.”
The old man hurriedly tried to calm Yang Kai down, “Now now, don’t get so agitated, it’s just that I woke up suddenly when I felt a familiar aura, so I came to investigate. I don’t have any malicious intentions.”
Yang Kai spat out disdainfully, “Even jackals are kind to poultry.”
The old man smiled wryly and did not know how to refute those words.
At that moment, a knock came from outside the Tree Cave. Yang Kai turned to look and saw Tiea standing outside. Feeling glad, he quickly invited her inside. Although he had never really fought against her before, their time together recently had taught him that she was a powerful Shaman, at least several realms higher than him in terms of cultivation. The last time he managed to knock her down with a punch was simply because she had underestimated him. If she had cast a Shamanic Spell, he might not be her opponent even at his current realm.
[I wonder how she managed to cultivate to such a realm at such a young age.]
Regardless of the old man’s origin, he had appeared in Yang Kai’s Tree Cave for an unfathomable reason. Therefore, Yang Kai treated the old man as an enemy. He had been worried that he might not be a match for the old man alone, but with Tiea here, things would become much easier. In a two against one, they could at least put up a fight even if they were no match for the old man. At the very least, they could alert the people of the Frost and Snow Clan about their predicament.
Unfortunately, Tiea was clueless about the situation and, sticking her head into the Tree Cave, she sorrowfully said, “I didn’t manage to sell anything today…”
While speaking, she placed down the stone pots in her hand before in the next moment, she widened her eyes in shock and stared at the white-haired old man inside the Tree Cave in astonishment.
Yang Kai shot a glance at her, but contrary to his expectations, she ignored him and stared at the person in front of her blankly. Then, an expression of pleasant surprise appeared on her face as she asked happily, “Grandpa Qing, why are you here? Are you here to look for me?”
As she spoke, she ran over and affectionately hugged the old man’s arm with a sweet smile.
Yang Kai was instantly stupefied by what had just happened. Following that, he shuddered abruptly and felt goosebumps appearing on his skin…
If she had uttered those affectionate lines in her normal appearance, it would have been nothing to be surprised about. A beautiful woman acting coquettish was always a pleasant sight to see. Unfortunately, she was currently a burly and beefy man. Thus, her sudden actions nearly made Yang Kai want to poke his eyes out. He felt as if he had been hit by a traumatic blow more powerful than the full-powered attack of a Shaman Saint…
On the other hand, the old man just smiled and asked, “Why are you here? Do you know each other?”
An unnatural look surfaced on Tiea’s face, making it apparent that she was recalling her first encounter with Yang Kai, but even so, she nodded and honestly replied, “En, we know each other. We have been working together to sell medicine recently. It has earned us quite a lot of Green Coins.”
“Selling medicine?” Upon hearing those words, the old man swept his gaze over the stone pots before immediately looking interested. Stretching out his hand, one of the stone pots flew into his hands even though no energy fluctuation could be felt in particular. Then, he carefully took a closer look at the contents of the stone pot.
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn at this sight, because despite the simple move the old man made, it revealed perfect control over his power.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that by joining hands with Tiea they would at least give the old man some trouble even if they could not win against him, but now that he saw this old man’s capabilities, Yang Kai realized he had been naïve.
This old man… Was unimaginably strong.
If the old man really wanted to harm him, Yang Kai knew that he would not be able to withstand a single blow from him, even if he joined hands with Tiea.
However, the old man was obviously only interested in the medicine refined by Yang Kai. First, the old man took a sniff, but he was not satisfied with just that and proceeded to scrape some of it onto his finger and taste it. Immediately, the old man raised his brow and turned to Yang Kai, “Did you make this medicine?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Yes!”
“What an outstanding healing medicine.” The old man praised, “But it can’t be used frequently. Otherwise, it will cause some damage to one’s foundation.”
He spotted the disadvantages of the healing medicine at a glance, but that wasn’t surprising since Yang Kai’s medicine was only made from ordinary herbs. It did not theoretically have too potent of a healing effect, but it could stimulate the Blood Qi of an Ancient Barbarian, thus hastening their self-healing speed. This was similar to the Bloodlust Spell. It was fine to be used once or twice, but if it was used too frequently, it would damage one’s foundation and sap one’s vitality.
However, this wasn’t too big of a drawback as it was just an emergency medicine, not something one would use frequently.
“I can’t believe Herbalists nowadays are so powerful.” The old man was truly interested in the healing medicine, and began to identify the ingredients used in it.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yang Kai pulled Tiea aside, and whispered, “Who the hell is this old man?”
Tiea asked with a smile on her face, “Didn’t Grandpa Qing tell you?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Tiea continued, “Since Grandpa Qing didn’t explain, then I can’t say much either.”
Yang Kai stretched out his hand, “Give me back all the Green Coins you earned.”
Tiea was appalled and quickly jumped back in vigilance.
“No way. They’re mine,” She stared at him as she replied.
Yang Kai grinned, “Looks like you want people to know about your little secret.”
Tiea could not help gritting her teeth at his blackmail, and eyed Yang Kai contemptuously, “Shameless! Despicable! …Shameless!”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Can’t you be more creative?”
“Young man, why do you tease little Tiea when you already have a guess in your heart?” The old man put down the stone jar at the moment, and turned to him with a smile.
Yang Kai frowned slightly before he took a deep breath, still unable to hide the shock in his eyes as he slowly replied, “Although I have a guess, I’m still not certain.”
The old man smiled, “The truth is what your heart believes it is.”
Yang Kai was taken aback, stared at the old man in awe, and questioned in a deep voice, “Are you really… The Evergreen Divine Tree?”
With the evidence that the old man could appear mysteriously in his Tree Cave and that Tiea calling him ‘Grandpa Qing’, it would be strange if Yang Kai could not think of anything given his meticulous thinking. However, it was still hard for him to believe it.
The old man waved his hand, “Divine Tree was just an exaggerated title the Frost and Snow Clan gave to me. Many years ago, I was just an ordinary Evergreen Tree.”
[This ‘many years’ probably meant tens of thousands of years ago…]
Yang Kai was relieved by his admittance, but on second thought, it was reasonable because it was rumoured that not even a Shaman King or Shaman Saint could intrude into the Tree Caves of the Evergreen Divine Tree. Now that this old man suddenly appeared in his Tree Cave, who could he be other than the Evergreen Divine Tree?
Because of this, Yang Kai had nothing to worry about. Although he did not communicate much with people despite staying in the Frost and Snow Clan for a long time, he had heard a lot of legends about the Evergreen Divine Tree. It was a guardian of peace and blessing; therefore, it would hold no malice towards him.
“Senior Qing, please forgive this Junior for speaking recklessly. If I have offended Senior Qing, please be generous and forgive me,” Yang Kai cupped his fists solemnly.
Qing laughed, “Don’t worry. You have been taking care of little Tiea, how can I blame you?”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “Senior and Tiea are…”
One of them was the Evergreen Divine Tree, while the other one was an Ancient Barbarian from the Nomad Clan. The two were supposed to have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, Tiea seemed to be very close with Senior Qing, and even called him Grandpa.
“Someone abandoned a baby girl at my roots sixteen years ago!” Senior Qing explained briefly as he patted Tiea on the head.
Tiea did not seem to mind and she just smiled happily, enjoying the rare doting.
A realization then dawned on Yang Kai. It seemed that Tiea was raised by Senior Qing, so it made sense that she addressed him intimately. Perhaps, the Illusion Art Tiea used was a blessing granted by Senior Qing.
Previously, Yang Kai was curious about what kind of Shamanic Spell Tiea had used to change her petite figure into a burly body; after all, she simply placed a single green leaf on her forehead to perform this transformation. Now, it seemed that it was not a Shamanic Spell cast by Tiea but something Senior Qing did.
Below the canopy of the Evergreen Divine Tree, Senior Qing was in complete control, so by giving Tie a green leaf with mysterious powers, it was easy for him to conceal her appearance.
“Grandpa Qing, didn’t you wake up just last year? Why did you wake up again so soon?” Tiea asked curiously.
Hearing this, Senior Qing darted his eyes at Yang Kai, and revealed, “I sensed a familiar aura…”
Yang Kai did not believe him when he mentioned it before, but when he emphasized it for the second time, Yang Kai naturally did not doubt it anymore.
“A familiar aura?” Tiea turned to Yang Kai curiously.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he thought to himself, [Does he mean the aura of the Immortal Tree?]
If there was an aura that could be familiar to Senior Qing, it was undoubtedly the Immortal Tree. The Immortal Tree was a Supreme Treasure that although different from the Evergreen Divine Tree, was still ultimately a tree.
But what did not make sense was that the Immortal Tree was still in Sealed World Bead, and its aura should not have been exposed.
Although there was some doubt in his heart, Yang Kai did not try to explain much, because it was better not to reveal the secret of the Immortal Tree to too many people.
Senior Qing looked at Yang Kai intently for a moment before shaking his head, “It’s strange. This aura seems to be homologous with me, but it is notably different.” While speaking, he immersed himself in deep thought, as if he was pondering about something, his expression shifting constantly.
Yang Kai and Tiea exchanged looks, but dared not to disturb the old man, just waiting for him silently.
Half a day later, Senior Qing suddenly regained his senses and laughed again, “It seems I’m getting too old and almost fell asleep again.” Although he was an ancient and powerful being, Senior Qing actually spent most of his life sleeping, and the awakening this time was just a coincidence.
Tiea peeped coquettishly, “Grandpa Qing is not old.”
Senior Qing smiled lightly and continued, “Since I’m awake, little Tiea, help grandpa to scratch his body. I don’t feel so good again.”
“Good, good,” Tiea’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if she found coins on the ground, and turned to Yang Kai. “Shaman Niu, do you want to help too?”
Yang Kai was puzzled, wondering why someone would need help in scratching their body? But seeing that Senior Qing was a great elder, he did not feel right to refuse him and decided to follow the tradition of respecting the old. Walking forward, Yang Kai stood behind Senior Qing, reached out his hand, and started scratching his back.
Tiea was stunned for a while, but soon burst into laughter.
Even Senior Qing had a hard time holding his laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” Yang Kai glared at Tiea angrily. He was willing to help them without complaining, but he was being laughed at in return. Furthermore, Tiea’s mocking face was looking truly irritating to him.
Tiea doubled over laughing even harder at his comment before taking some time to explain, “This is not the way to scratch Grandpa Qing’s body. Not like this…”
“Then, teach me!” Yang Kai took a step backwards and gestured to Tiea.
Tiea stopped laughing, but the wide smile was still etched on her face. She then looked at Senior Qing and said, “Let’s begin.”
Senior Qing nodded, stretched out his hand, and pointed forward. The narrow Tree Cave suddenly split, revealing a channel that led into a seemingly bottomless darkness.
Tiea beckoned Yang Kai, “Follow me!”
While speaking, she walked into the channel and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai did not doubt her, so he simply kept up.
The moment Yang Kai entered the channel, he began slipping downwards, as if a slide was paved beneath him, leading him to some unknown depths.
A moment later, when Yang Kai landed on the ground, Tiea who arrived earlier performed an Illumination Spell to cast away the darkness of the surrounding space, then pointed around, “The reason Grandpa Qing feels itchy is because of them. Our task is to clean them up!”
When those words fell, numerous pairs of red eyes suddenly lit up in the surroundings.
Yang Kai looked up and was taken aback at the scene, “So many Monster Beasts!”
Tiea replied, “They are the parasites in Grandpa Qing’s body, and they reproduce super fast. I clean them up about once a year. Now that you are here to help, just consider it a favour from me.”
Yang Kai was puzzled, “Since you said I’m here to help, how is it a favour from you?”
Tiea pursed her lips as she smiled, “I saw you buying a lot of Barbarian Beast Cores, which seem to be used for cultivation. There are so many Barbarian Beasts here, don’t you have any thoughts?”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened at her words. Apparently, it was true that a window opens when a door closes. He was worried about how to earn more Green Coins to purchase Monster Cores as no one was buying his healing medicines anymore, but he did not expect that an opportunity would simply appear before him.
The inside of Senior Qing’s body was just like a Sealed World. Inside this world, countless parasitic Monster Insects were surviving by absorbing Senior Qing’s power, and they grew extremely fast. It could almost be said that these Monster Insects with different sizes and appearances were all Monster Cores.
While the two were still chatting, the surrounding Monster Insects could not hold themselves back anymore. They swarmed out of their hiding place one after another, buzzing with a faint noise in an attempt to surround the invaders.
For a moment, Yang Kai and Tiea seemed to fall into the world of Monster Insects, surrounded by a huge crowd of them.
“I’ll make it clear now. Whoever kills it, gets it. Don’t rob mine later!” Tiea warned Yang Kai warily. When she raised her hand, three bursts of Qi were already propelled forward.
When she made this move, Yang Kai sensed a vigorous wave of power.
[So, she is a Shaman Grandmaster!] Yang Kai raised his brow. He never thought that Tiea, who was driven by him to sell medicines without complaint, was actually a Shaman Grandmaster. Although he could not identify her specific grade, her power was definitely beyond the ability of a Shaman Master.
Tiea revealed her outstanding cultivation and power as soon as she unleashed the three bursts of Qi. Following three soft noises, three fat insect Monster Beasts were immediately split into two. Pale yellow juices spurted out, and a disgusting smell permeated the air instantly.
More Monster Insects pounced on them, spitting out highly corrosive venom. Tiea moved skillfully to dodge and found an opening to cast her powerful Shamanic Spells, resulting in countless injuries and deaths among the enemy.
On the other hand, Yang Kai dived straight into the swarm of Monster Insects with his fists clenched, like a brave warrior of the Barbarian Race. His fighting style was totally opposite to Tiea’s elegance, but his speed in killing insects was no slower than hers. With his Shamanic Spells shielding his body, Yang Kai had no need to fear their venom or juices.
Within half an hour, the nest of Monster Insects was cleaned up.
Without saying a word, they began to look for Monster Cores among the dead bodies.
However, when Yang Kai got the Monster Cores, he realized that they were incredibly small, not at all comparable to the Monster Cores of the Monster Beasts outside. All of them were ugly, and other than their small size, the energy contained inside was dreadfully poor too.
This was probably due to the environment here.
These Monster Insects lived by leeching the energy inside the Evergreen Divine Tree, so although they grew faster, they were certainly not as sturdy as the Monster Beasts outside, and even their Monster Cores were not as impressive.
Though, it did not really matter. Despite their poor quality, this could be compensated for with the tremendous number of these Monster Insects. Ever since Yang Kai came to the Ancient World, his appetite had been insatiable. He definitely had devoured at least eight hundred to a thousand Monster Beast Cores and would not let any Monster Core escape as long as he could use it to quickly break through to the Shaman Master Realm.
After collecting all the Monster Cores, Tiea looked up and shouted, “Grandpa Qing, next.”
When the words fell, a hole split nearby that would lead to the next Monster Insect nest.
The pair went to several places continuously slaughtering all the Monster Insects they found. Suddenly, a question floated into Yang Kai’s mind, “Since Senior Qing can feel the existence of these Monster Insects. Why doesn’t he drive them away by himself and instead rely on others?”
Although Yang Kai did not know much about Senior Qing’s strength, he still could make a slight guess about it. The Monster Insects in his body were just a small problem to such a powerful Master, so if Senior Qing really wanted to, he undoubtedly could get rid of them by himself, but he seemed to always ask Tiea to help him with this instead.
Tiea’s answer was simple, “Grandpa Qing never kills.”
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he was utterly speechless.
Although he could not totally agree with Senior Qing’s philosophy, considering that he was a tree of protection and blessing, Yang Kai could more or less understand why he had such apprehensions.
Over the next three days, Yang Kai and Tiea had cleaned numerous Monster Insect nests, and although the quality of the Monster Cores was still poor, there was a countless number of them.
After three days of continuous battle, Tiea started panting lightly, but Yang Kai was still as mighty as a dragon, which truly amazed Tiea.
“That’s good enough for now, you two little ones may come back.” Senior Qing’s voice suddenly reached their ears.
At the same time, a passage immediately appeared in front of them with a faint light at the end of the darkness.
Yang Kai and Tiea exchanged a glance then walked towards the passage.
Not long after, they returned to Yang Kai’s Tree Cave.
Senior Qing was still standing there, and he smiled at Yang Kai, “Many thanks, young man.”
“It’s a pleasure to help others. Don’t mention it, Senior.” Yang Kai grinned, holding a bag of Monster Cores with him happily.
It would certainly not be a problem for him to become a Shaman Master with these Monster Cores.
On the other hand, Tiea apologized, “Grandpa Qing, when I am stronger, I will help you to get rid of the Insect Queen!”
Yang Kai was stunned momentarily before turning and asking, “There is an Insect Queen?”
Tiea replied, “If not, why do you think those insects could not be killed once and for all? Every time Grandpa Qing wakes up, I have to clean them up, but there will still be more insects the next time I go in again.”
“Senior, you should have said so sooner,” Yang Kai immediately put down his bag, and remarked excitedly, “Open the passage, I will go and meet the Insect Queen!”
Tiea looked at him like he was insane.
Senior Qing smiled lightly and shook his head, “Your strength is not sufficient, so you are not its opponent at the moment.”
Tie added, “It was an existence comparable to a Shaman King. Be careful or it will swallow you.”
Yang Kai had never fought against a Shaman King before, so he naturally had no idea how strong it was. The hierarchical division of power of this world was very different from that in later generations. In this Ancient World, Shaman Kings were already great heroes with overwhelming power. Given that, in the present day, they would probably be equivalent to an Emperor Realm Master!
People like Tiea were probably equal to Dao Source Realm cultivators.
When Yang Kai was about to retort after being mocked by Tiea, Senior Qing suddenly informed, “You have a guest here, and she has been waiting for you for two days. You’d better meet her first.”
Yang Kai frowned and peeped out of the cave suspiciously. When he looked down, he saw a familiar figure pacing back and forth anxiously.
[Yu!]
Yang Kai did not expect that the guest who Senior Qing mentioned would actually be her. Although he and Yu had fought side by side, they were not close after all. After bringing Yang Kai to Frost and Snow City, Yu stopped contacting him, so why was she looking for him this time?
Senior Qing continued, “Young man, you have helped me scratch myself, so take this green leaf as a gift.”
While speaking, Senior Qing stretched out his hand and with a twirl of his wrist, a green leaf immediately appeared between his fingers. He flicked it gently, and the green leaf floated towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught the green leaf, but he did not feel the fluctuation of power from it, so he asked curiously, “Senior, may I ask what the use of this green leaf is?”
Senior Qing smiled lightly, “It’s just a little something that will allow you to return to your residence with a single thought as long as you are within the scope of my shelter.”
“I see!” Yang Kai raised his brow and carefully stored the green leaf. Although this green leaf could only return him to his Tree Cave and it seemed to be of no great use, since it was given by Senior Qing, he could only accept it.
Without another word, Senior Qing disappeared with a flicker.
After three days of fighting, Tiea looked a little exhausted, so after saying goodbye, she returned to her own Tree Cave to rest.
After the other two left, Yang Kai peeped out of the cave, looked downwards, and called out, “Are you looking for me?”
Yu looked up when she heard this voice and revealed a pleasantly surprised smile. She then mumbled an incantation and a green light shrouded her, allowing her to float up gradually and soon enter Yang Kai’s Tree Cave.
“What is it?” Yang Kai looked at her as he asked.
When Yu was about to disclose her intentions, she suddenly swept her eyes up and down at Yang Kai as if she realized something shocking, “Are you already a High-Rank Shaman Warrior?”
[How long has it been? Wasn’t it just a month ago?]
When she brought him back from White Net Mountain, Yang Kai was just a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior, so how could he break through to the High-Rank Shaman Warrior Realm in such a short time? Yu would not have believed that someone in this world could be promoted two Minor Realms in such quick succession if she had not witnessed this with her own eyes.
For comparison, her cultivation had not changed one bit this past month.
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and did not explain.
With the foundation of an Emperor Realm Master, he had no bottlenecks in his cultivation of the Ancient Shaman Arts. He only needed to accumulate enough power then he could naturally make a breakthrough.
This was even taking into account the overly poor quality of his Secret Art; the Secret Art that he cultivated was taught to him by the Village Chief. How could a Secret Art from a tiny place like Blue South Village be any good? If Yang Kai could obtain the Secret Art used by a Shaman Saint, his rate of cultivation would surely be much faster.
Yu returned to her senses after a while of shock but still looked like she just suffered a heavy impact, remarking lightly, “Shaman Niu, Shaman Che wants to see you!”
“Shaman Che? Who is he?” Yang Kai frowned.
A respectful expression appeared on Yu’s face as she answered, “Shaman Che is one of the Shaman Grandmasters in our Frost and Snow Clan.”
“Why does a Shaman Grandmaster from your Frost and Snow Clan want to see me?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
It was not like he had never seen a Shaman Grandmaster before as Tiea was a Shaman Grandmaster herself; however, due to her sensitive origins, she dared not to expose her identity. If not for her Nomad Clan background, she could easily become a leader who stood above ten thousand people. Therefore, Yang Kai did not feel nervous at all even when Yu informed him about this solemnly.
After a short hesitation, Yu continued, “Are you… really the one who made that healing medicine?”
“Of course!” Yang Kai nodded as he admitted.
Yu was awed, “I didn’t expect you to be a Herbalist. En, many of our clansmen bought the healing medicine from you during this time, and its effects have been excellent. As such, our Frost and Snow Clan would like you to make a stock of it for us. Of course, we will prepare all the materials for you, you just need to refine it.”
“I see!” Yang Kai nodded after listening to her. He would be delighted if he heard about this three days ago, because that was the time when his healing medicine could not be sold and he was worried about how to earn Monster Cores. If Frost and Snow Clan had this intention, he would not have to worry about not having sufficient Green Coins to buy resources.
However, he just got a plentiful harvest from helping Senior Qing and was thinking of refining the Monster Cores of the Monster Insects now in order to break through to the Shaman Master Realm.
Therefore, he felt a little helpless when the Frost and Snow Clan suddenly approached him now.
After pondering for a while though, Yang Kai responded, “Alright, lead the way.”
In any case, it would not take him too much effort to refine some healing medicines, so it should be fine for him to cultivate while he did so.
When Yang Kai agreed, Yu was immediately elated and nodded, “Many thanks.”
“The Barbarian Race is all one family,” Yang Kai laughed.
Led by Yu, Yang Kai went out of the Tree Cave and walked all the way to the most magnificent palace in the city. Such a palace was rare in the Ancient World as the homes where Ancient Barbarians lived were generally simple. Only those with extremely high status would live in palaces like this.
The palace complex of Frost and Snow City was essentially the royal palace of Frost and Snow Clan, one where the Shaman Kings of the Frost and Snow Clan lived.
The Shaman Grandmaster named Che also resided in this palace.
With Yang Kai’s current status, it was already a great honor to meet a Shaman Grandmaster; therefore, it was impossible for him to see a Frost and Snow Clan Shaman King.
Yang Kai followed Yu all the way into the palace and waited for about an hour before he met with a Shaman Grandmaster with a tall stature and a thick aura. It was unknown what Shaman Art this man cultivated, but he had an aura that looked like lightning and he had sharp, penetrating eyes that made Yang Kai feel a bit on edge.
“Shaman Che, this is Shaman Niu!” Yu gave a respectful bow, not daring to lift her face while introducing Yang Kai to Che.
Yang Kai also followed the appropriate customs and laid his hand on his chest, bowed, and spoke, “Greetings Shaman Che!”
Che nodded lightly and opened his mouth to speak, his voice echoing like muffled, rolling thunder, “Are you the Shaman who made that healing medicine?”
“Yes!” Yang Kai raised his eyes to meet Che’s.
Che questioned with interest, “It’s rare to see one like you. Are you from the Nomad Clan?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I am from the South Barbarian Clan, I was simply born somewhat small and weak.”
No Shaman or Ancient Barbarian would deny their origins as that would be equivalent to an act of self-contempt. So even though Yang Kai looked weak and resembled a Nomad Clan, Che did not doubt his words.
The corners of Che’s mouth curled into a forced smile as he spoke, “Herbalists do not need to be too strong. The healing medicine you refined is sought after by my clansmen, so there is no need to belittle yourself.”
“Many thanks for Shaman Che’s words!”
Yang Kai’s attitude was neither humble nor overbearing, which made Che look at him a little differently. It was rare to see a High-Rank Shaman Warrior who could face him so freely and easily.
[Wait… Didn’t Yu say that he was just a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior? Why is he now a High-Rank Shaman Warrior?]
This was a difference of two Minor Realms, and Shaman Che believed that Yu would not be mistaken in her report.
Although suspicious in his heart, Che did not ask much and just continued, “I believe Shaman Yu has already told you why we summoned you.”
Yang Kai replied, “She has, and I, Shaman Niu, am also willing to contribute to the Frost and Snow Clan.”
A light flashed across Che’s eyes as he smiled, “Very well, if that’s the case… Yu, Bring Shaman Niu in and report any herbs that are needed.”
“Yes!” Yu responded and took the lead to guide Yang Kai into the palace.
After a while, the two of them entered a certain room. Out of Yang Kai’s expectation, there were already two people waiting here, both of them very old. Their auras were much stronger than his, so it was obvious they were Shaman Masters.
One of them had a head of completely white hair, while the other had somewhat colourful hair. Both of them shot Yu with inquisitive gazes.
Yu nodded lightly, and the two old men stepped forward and chanted in unison, “Greetings, Shaman Niu!”
Yang Kai uttered in amazement, “These two are…”
Yu’s expression was a little uneasy when she explained, “They’re helpers Shaman Che arranged for you. If you need any assistance, just ask them.”
“Is that so…?” Yang Kai smiled lightly. He had some guesses about this situation, but he did not speak up; after all, this was not a big deal to him. Seeing Yang Kai’s smile meaningfully, Yu’s expression became even more uneasy while a trace of guilt flashed across her eyes.
Fortunately, Yang Kai did not question further and instead just got to work, “I need some herbs. Could you help me gather them?”
“Ah, en, what do you need?” Yu asked quickly.
Yang Kai immediately reported the names of the herbs and Yu noted each of them by memory. The two old men also perked up their ears at this moment and listened attentively, not willing to miss a single word.
After a while, when Yang Kai finished reporting the names of various herbs and the required quantities, Yu immediately turned around and went out to prepare them.
Yang Kai then turned to the two old men remaining in the room and asked politely, “How should I address the two Seniors?”
The two exchanged a glance before they shook their heads and waved their hands in embarrassment, apparently unwilling to reveal their names.
Yang Kai wanted to laugh, thinking, [The Ancient Barbarian Race is the Ancient Barbarian Race after all; they’re indeed simple-minded. Although it is obvious enough that they want to steal my knowledge and skills, they so obviously feel guilty about it. I guess that’s why they do not want to reveal their names.]
Yang Kai did not insist and instead found a place for himself, took out a handful of Monster Cores from the bag he carried with him, then stuffed them directly into his mouth, swallowing them in one gulp.
The size of these Monster Cores was just like rice grains, and not only were they small, they also had low concentrations of energy, so Yang Kai could ingest several dozen of them in a handful. His guts groaned strangely, and the two knowledge-stealing old men watched in awe. The two had no idea what Yang Kai had eaten and guessed that he should be cultivating, so even though they were surprised, they remained silent.
But within a stick of incense’s worth of time, Yang Kai had already finished refining the Monster Core he swallowed, and the intensity of his aura suddenly increased.
When he repeated the process again, only then did the two old men see exactly what he was eating.
The white-haired old man was shocked and quickly stopped him, “Shaman Niu, are those Barbarian Beast Cores? How can you swallow them directly?”
The colourful-haired old man hurriedly tried to stop Yang Kai, “You can’t eat them! You can’t eat them like that!”
They had never met someone who dared to swallow Barbarian Beast Cores like this. Was he not afraid of exploding?
“I have always eaten them like this though,” Yang Kai threw more Monster Cores into his mouth as he spoke, making a crunching noise that terrified the old men who were now staring at him as if he was a monster.
“Do you want some? They’re Monster Insects flavour and they’re quite crunchy!” Yang Kai smiled and opened his palm to offer them.
The two old men shook their heads like pellet drums, completely horrified.
Fortunately, at this time, a large number of Frost and Snow Clansmen flooded into the room, each of them carrying a large number of herbs. Yu, who was the leader, instructed the clansmen to put the herbs aside in different categories.
After all the herbs were placed, Yu reported, “Shaman Niu, all the things you requested are here, I’ll remain outside so just call me if you need anything else.”
“Thanks!” Yang Kai gently nodded at her.
Yu then turned and left, closing the door behind her.
Yang Kai closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing while he finished refining the Monster Cores he ingested. Then, he opened his eyes and said to the two old men, “Then let’s start.”
The two old men looked at each other and got up together.
“Two Rain Flower Branches, one Earth Fruit, three Sour Citrus Grass…” Yang Kai chanted the names and weights of various herbs continuously, and the two old men immediately began working after a short moment of astonishment. They gathered exactly what Yang Kai needed among the piles of herbs, not making the slightest mistake in the details.
Not long after, a pile of herbs piled up in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai smiled, “Watch carefully now…”
Saying so, he pinched a few herbs in one hand, and a ball of fire suddenly lit up in the other palm, its temperature fluctuating.
The two old men were stunned again and, ignoring any shame and guilt they felt, they fixed their eyes on Yang Kai’s hands, their gazes unmoving.
They were Frost and Snow Clan’s most outstanding Herbalists, and they were highly respected characters in their own right. It was truly shameful that they were tasked by Shaman Che to steal knowledge from Yang Kai, but they also knew that they were not capable of making that magical healing medicine on their own. Even though they knew the ingredients, they lacked the appropriate knowledge, leaving them strong in will but weak in strength.
Unfortunately, the knowledge of a Herbalist was often the secret of a Clan and would not be leaked easily, so if they wanted to know the refining method of this healing medicine, they could only obey Shaman Che and try to quietly steal the methods in the name of assisting Shaman Niu.
How could they have anticipated that Yang Kai had already seen through their intentions but did not even try to conceal anything from them? Not only was he generously refining medicines for their clan, he even deliberately taught them his knowledge.
Compared to their despicable actions, his generosity and kindness were a far cry, making the two highly respected Herbalists feel evermore condemned by their conscience.
Despite their guilt, the two Herbalists were still extremely focused and persistent in studying the refinement of the medicine. They held their breath as they observed, and planned to thank and apologize to this Shaman Niu when the time came.
The secret of refining the healing medicine was quickly understood by the two old men under the personal demonstration and teaching by an Emperor Alchemist like Yang Kai.
They were excellent Herbalists and Yang Kai’s healing medicine was not difficult to make; only the refining techniques were a little strange. The two old men only needed to figure out this methodology to comprehend the entire refinement process. After all, they too, would gain a new comprehension in this field of study.
Therefore, in less than a day, the two Herbalists had basically mastered the refining method of the healing medicine, and with the encouragement of Yang Kai, they experimented by themselves.
Yang Kai left them alone and refined his Monster Cores to improve his cultivation, only checking on the two old men after they finished each refinement, putting forward his own opinions and pointing out the mistakes they made during their refinement.
The quality of the healing medicine produced by the two Herbalists moved closer to perfection day by day.
The days passed by quietly and the men, two old and one young, all forgot the passage of time.
Despite the age of the two Herbalists of the Frost and Snow Clan, they were very energetic. The more contact they had with this Shaman Niu, the more they discovered how horrifyingly deep his knowledge of medicine was. Even a casual comment from him could lead them to an epiphany that would benefit them immensely.
The healing medicine made by these two was now no different from the one made by Yang Kai himself. In other words, this healing medicine would become a common medicine for the Frost and Snow Clan in the future, meaning they had no need to worry about any future serious injuries.
This was a great event that benefited the entire Clan, and the two old men were incredibly grateful to Yang Kai.
Ten days later, the huge number of herbs delivered by Yu were all refined into healing medicine by the two old men. With such a large amount of healing medicine, the Clan would not need to worry about any serious injuries for at least the next twenty years, and they could even sell some to other tribes in exchange for other precious resources.
While the two old men concentrated on refining medicine, they did not notice that the aura on Yang Kai’s body had suddenly escalated, and at the same time, the Monster Cores he had harvested were completely exhausted.
Examining his own condition in joy, Yang Kai opened his eyes slightly, and his eyes flashed in a terrifying light.
The ups and downs of the early stage have passed. From now on, his cultivation path would be smooth and rapid!
Inside the palace, Shaman Che was holding a small pot of sticky healing medicine, and looked up after a long silence, “Did you refine these?”
In front of him, the two old men exchanged looks, then the colourful-haired old man answered, “Strictly speaking, we refined them under the guidance of Shaman Niu.”
Shaman Che continued, “So, have you learned how to refine more?”
The two old men nodded, with the white-haired old man saying with obvious shame, “He… didn’t hide anything. He willingly taught us to make these healing medicines, so we learned very quickly.”
“Excellent!” Shaman Che revealed a faint smile, “What do you think about Shaman Niu?”
The old man with colourful hair replied, “Broad-minded!”
“Open-minded!” The white-haired old man added.
Che replied, “I was asking about his ability.”
The two old men pondered for a while, and responded in unison, “Unparalleled.”
Che’s eyes beamed, as if he were a hungry beast that had finally found its prey, and remarked faintly, “It’s a pity that the South Barbarian Clan doesn’t make good use of such an excellent Herbalist.” After a pause, he ordered someone standing by his side, “Yu, treat him well and try to meet any of his requirements, but… don’t let him leave the royal palace.”
Yu’s heart jumped, and she understood Che’s intention.
“Yes!” She replied with a complicated face.
The two old men looked at each other and sighed lightly. They wanted to say something more, but when they looked up, Che had already disappeared.
On the other side of the royal palace, Yang Kai sat cross-legged in a room that was considered luxurious by ancient standards. As he released his Divine Sense, feeling his recovered power, his heart filled with joy.
Sure enough, as the Village Chief mentioned, he regained use of his Divine Sense after he became a Shaman Master, and once he cleared this hurdle, the restrictions that hindered Yang Kai’s progress were all shattered.
His Space Ring could be opened again, and his various artifacts could be summoned too. For a moment, Yang Kai felt like he could break into anywhere in this vast world.
The first thing he did was check the Sealed World Bead.
The Sealed World Bead had devoured tremendous amounts of shattered Principles in the fourth layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, after which Yang Kai deliberately collected a massive amount of Five Elements Principles. According to his speculations, when the Five Elements joined together, they would give birth to a new world. However, he never got the chance to check the changes of the Sealed World Bead until now.
As his Soul Avatar entered the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai immediately noticed that this place was notably different from before. Although there was no obvious change on the surface, the Sealed World Bead had been with him for many years, so any slight changes would not escape his eyes.
If the Sealed World Bead had been an incomplete world before, it was now complete!
Yang Kai could clearly feel that the world was filled with all kinds of Principles. Using the Five Elements Principles as a foundation, they mutually reinforced and counterbalanced each other. They derived all things together by evolving each other, and gathered the three thousand Grand Daos of the Heavens and Earth.
This was a true world, a world without any flaws!
In the past, the Sealed World Bead had incomplete Principles, so one could not make a breakthrough to a new Great Realm even if their strength was sufficient, because it was impossible to resonate with the incomplete World Principles and gather World Energy to initiate a baptism.
Now though, the situation had changed.
There would be no obstacle even if someone was to break through to the Emperor Realm here now.
Yang Kai was overjoyed and carefully examined the Sealed World Bead, rejoicing many times. The improvement of the Sealed World Bead had a positive effect on his medicine garden as well, causing the various flowers and plants that were planted there to sway happily in the wind. With the Immortal Tree at the centre, the amazing vitality brought by it made countless herbs flourish.
What pleased Yang Kai most was that he now felt a hazy will in the Sealed World Bead.
It was the Will of the World, but like a newly born baby, it was clueless and not fully sentient. But Yang Kai knew that as long as it was given some time, it would definitely mature.
By that time, he could use it to comprehend World Force and allow him to break through the shackles of the Great Emperor Realm.
This was also why Yang Kai desperately wanted to repair and improve the Sealed World Bead in the first place. Now, it seemed that he had made the right decision.
Instead of hurriedly leaving the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai immersed himself into it by assuming an ethereal form, spreading out his consciousness and communicating with the newborn Will of the Sealed World Bead, like a parent tending to his child.
Despite the repeated failures and rejections, Yang Kai did not give up.
After an unknown amount of attempts, Yang Kai started to sense that the rejection of the World’s Will was slightly weakened, and seemed to have the sign of gradually accepting him. Just as Yang Kai was about to establish contact with one last effort, his vision was suddenly blacked out and his Soul Avatar collapsed while he returned to his true body instantly.
When he opened his eyes again, a sense of dizziness struck him. Yang Kai, who sat cross-legged on the bed, fell to the ground resulting in a loud bang.
Yang Kai was currently experiencing a splitting headache and his face was gaunt. He knew that this was due to excessive consumption of his Spiritual Energy.
Although he was now a Shaman Master, and could mobilize his Divine Sense, his strength was still far from his peak. He could not project his Soul out of his body without limit, as it caused a great load on himself.
If he was at his peak, this would not be a problem at all; however, it was a big problem now.
The sound of someone or something falling to the ground startled the guards outside the room, and Yu was the first one to rush inside. At first glance, she saw that Yang Kai’s face was pale and blood was oozing from all his seven orifices, so she hurriedly went forward to help him up, and asked worriedly, “Shaman Niu… What happened to you?”
Yang Kai opened his eyes sluggishly, and after identifying the person in front of him, he waved his hand to signal that he was fine. With a flip of his wrist, he took out some Spirit Pills that could supplement Spiritual Energy and swallowed them down without hesitation before sitting cross-legged on his bed.
Although Yu was worried, she also calmed down after seeing that Yang Kai was not in a panic, and looked after him closely on the side.
To her great shock, after a while, Yang Kai was in high spirits again, which astonished her to a degree that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Yu could see more or less what happened just now. It was obvious that something went wrong while Shaman Niu was cultivating. It was a matter that could lead him to death, so how could he have recovered in such a short time?
When she was still lost in thought, Yang Kai asked, “How long has it been?”
Yu was stunned, but she still answered, “Five days.”
It had been five days since Yang Kai entered the room. Yu came to check on him once before, but seeing that Yang Kai was cultivating, she did not want to disturb him and just kept guarding outside the door instead.
“It’s been that long…” Yang Kai jumped up while speaking. A series of crackles could be heard as he straightened himself up, then he stretched his waist and informed, “Since my job here is done. I should go back now.”
Yu was taken aback, before she immediately stopped him, “You can’t go yet.”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai looked at her with his head tilted.
Yu racked her brain, and finally came up with a good excuse, “Shaman Che still wants to see you.”
Yang Kai frowned, even though he felt things becoming a little troublesome, he tried his best to be patient and nodded, “Then take me to Shaman Che now.”
Yu replied with a stiff expression, “Shaman Che went out and hasn’t returned yet… And, I don’t know when he will come back.”
Yang Kai looked at her and noticed that Yu kept dodging eye contact with him, and dared not meet his gaze, so he could not help laughing to himself, “Lying has really never been a strong suit of the Barbarian Race.”
A certain thief’s face suddenly surfaced in his mind before he continued, “Most of them at least. Does Shaman Che want to keep me in the Frost and Snow Clan?”
Being exposed by Yang Kai, Yu immediately looked frightened and did not know how to explain.
Yang Kai reached out and patted her on the shoulder, “I have taught the method of making the healing medicine to your Herbalists, so please go back and tell Shaman Che that I don’t appreciate his intentions. Although I don’t mean to be an enemy of the Frost and Snow Clan, if he wants to restrict my freedom, I’m afraid that the Frost and Snow Clan will have to pay a heavy price for it.”
His tone was soft, but it still sent chills down Yu’s spine. At that moment, she felt that she was not facing a High-Rank Shaman Warrior, but a Shaman King or Shaman Saint…
Yang Kai walked straight past her, but Yu stood petrified on the same spot, unable to even turn around. She shockingly found that she could not freely control her body.
[What kind of Shamanic Spell did he use!? How could there be such a mystifying effect?]
Following a muffled grunt, the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground came from outside the door. The warrior who was standing guard outside had undoubtedly been put down too.
Yu sighed lightly. Although she felt a little sorry about it, she was also relieved at the same time.
Shaman Che intended to keep Shaman Niu in the Frost and Snow Clan, which was understandable. A Herbalist who could make such healing medicine was a huge source of wealth. If he could stay and serve the Frost and Snow Clan, it would be greatly beneficial to the Clan.
Unfortunately, before Shaman Che had time to explain it to him, Shaman Niu had already forced his way out. At this point, Yu had no idea how to handle the situation.
In any case, there was no way for her to intervene in this matter anymore. From the start, she owed Shaman Niu a favour for the incident in the White Net Mountain, so she was unwilling to deceive him. Therefore, she actually felt relieved now.
The Barbarian Warriors in the royal palace dropped silently one after another as Yang Kai passed by them.
When he was about to walk out of the royal palace, a tall Shaman Grandmaster suddenly appeared in front of him with a lightning sharp aura.
Who else could it be other than Che?
As a Shaman Grandmaster of the Frost and Snow Clan, one of the commanders of the palace, it would be a serious dereliction of duty if he had not noticed Yang Kai incapacitate so many guards along the way.
Che could not hide his admiration and surprise at the sight of the clansmen in front of him who stood no chance against Yang Kai.
It was already extremely rare to find a Herbalist with such outstanding skills, but Che had not expected this Shaman Niu’s strength to also be so exaggerated. No wonder he dared to wander through White Net Mountain alone in the cold winter and snow. According to Yu’s report, he killed six Bone Melting Wolves and one Wolf King almost completely alone with just pure physical strength and simple spells. Che could not completely believe it back then, but now it seemed that what Yu had reported was true.
[Why was such a genius not born in my Frost and Snow Clan?] Shaman Che pined.
But now was not the time to grumble about such things. It would be fine as long as he could persuade Yang Kai to join the Frost and Snow Clan; after all, it was not uncommon for a powerful Shaman to join a different clan in this world.
And the best way to win over a person was naturally to meet his wants and needs.
They had only just met though, so Che had no idea what Shaman Niu wanted. He had been collecting information about Yang Kai for the past few days, but he still could not find anything useful. He only knew that he followed Yu into Frost and Snow City one month ago, then stayed in a Tree Cave of the Divine Tree. If he did not come out to sell the healing medicine that he made, perhaps no one would have known he even existed.
Such a person should not be unknown. He should remain in the Frost and Snow Clan and make astonishing achievements.
“Shaman Che…” Across from him, Yang Kai grinned mockingly, “Is this the hospitality of your Frost and Snow Clan?”
Che’s expression remained unchanged, “Since you are already here, you seem to know my plan. This Shaman sincerely invites you to join our Frost and Snow Clan. What do you think about it?”
Yang Kai replied, “Many thanks for your sincerity. If there is nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”
Che frowned, and was obviously unhappy with Yang Kai’s arrogance and impudence. Although they were not from the same Clan, lower-ranking Shaman should show some respect to their superiors, but Che did not feel even the slightest respect from Shaman Niu.
However, this was his fault to begin with, so Che did not feel right criticizing him. It was already unbecoming for Che to arrange for his people to learn from him to steal his skills, but Yang Kai still generously taught them. Everyone in the Frost and Snow Clan was notably grateful for this, so Che would only seem insatiable trying to keep Yang Kai with them now.
“If you have any conditions, just state them. I can agree to any request my Frost and Snow Clan can grant!” Shaman Che was unwilling to give up.
“No price is worth my freedom!” Yang Kai shook his head lightly, and continued in a deep voice, “So far, I have no opinion about your Frost and Snow Clan, but if Shaman Che continues to speak nonsense, my view about the Frost and Snow Clan will change.”
Che sighed heavily and raised his hand lightly, “Shaman Niu, this Shaman did not wish for things to escalate to this point, but since we can’t bargain, then this Shaman will have to detain you here for now. I believe you will change your mind about our Clan if you stay in the palace for a little longer. Just like what you said to Yu, ‘the Barbarian Race is one family’. Isn’t it the same wherever you serve?”
After he spoke, he suddenly shot a flash of lightning out of his palm towards Yang Kai. The lightning shot through the air and abruptly spread into a net, trapping Yang Kai tightly, catching him off guard.
The lightning wrapped around Yang Kai and tied him up like a rice dumpling, causing his hair to all stand on end.
“En?” Che, however, furrowed his brow. Although he did not use his full strength, only focusing on suppressing Yang Kai without hurting him, he was still shocked to see this young Shaman’s face remained unchanged after taking a blow of his Shamanic Spell.
Yang Kai was just a High-Rank Shaman Warrior, and he should have passed out directly after taking this attack. However, Yang Kai’s eyes still looked crystal clear, not showing the slightest signs of fainting.
“Shaman Che…” Just then, Yang Kai voiced out leisurely, “Not that I underestimate you, but If I want to leave… I’m afraid that you can’t stop me!”
As soon as Yang Kai spoke those words, the lightning net shrouding him was suddenly shattered by a surging force.
Che was taken aback and his face changed as he called out in surprise, “Shaman Master!”
He was finally able to sense Yang Kai’s realm after the latter made a move. But, how did this boy become a Shaman Master?
When he saw Yang Kai a few days ago, it was clear that he was just a High-Rank Shaman Warrior, but he actually only spent a few days breaking through the shackles of a Great Realm. Although there was no significant difference for Shaman Che between a newly promoted Shaman Master and a High-Rank Shaman Warrior, it was still a watershed point which countless Shamans became stuck at, past which they were unable to advance for the rest of their life. Connecting the information reported by Yu before, Che’s eyes instantly lit up.
[I truly found a treasure!]
This was not a simple Shaman who happened to be a Herbalist. The strength of this Shaman Niu had been improving terrifyingly fast. He was just a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior one month ago, then he reached the High-Rank Shaman Warrior just a few days ago; but now after meeting again, he was already a Shaman Master.
Such rapid promotion obviously showed that this Shaman Niu received the favour and blessings of the Barbarian Gods. If he was given a little more time, achieving the rank of Shaman Grandmaster, Shaman King, or even Shaman Saint would not be a problem to him.
The Frost and Snow Clan lacked the leadership and protection of a Shaman Saint, and only had a few Shaman Kings. Therefore, there was still a gap between them and the top Clans; however, if there was a Shaman Saint born in the Frost and Snow Clan, the status of the whole Clan would be greatly improved.
No matter what, Che could not let Shaman Niu leave today and had to keep him here. Even if he would be despised or hated later, he still had to make Shaman Niu a member of the Frost and Snow Clan no matter the cost. When Shaman Niu reached the Shaman Saint realm, the Frost and Snow Clan would shake the world.
After a few quick thoughts, Che made up his mind. His aura surged as lightning arcs flashed across his skin, “Shaman Niu, this Shaman likes you more and more. Stay and become a member of our Frost and Snow Clan.” He smiled lightly.
Yang Kai snorted coldly, “I was born in the South Barbarian Clan, and I will die in the South Barbarian Clan. Whether I stay or go depends on if you have the ability to make me stay.”
Che wanted to say something more, but his face suddenly changed as he raised his hand to cast a shield in front of him. As a Shaman Grandmaster, he had mastered the use of this simple Shamanic Spell after years of practice. The power that he unleashed with the wave of his hand was just right, no more and no less, without the slightest excess or waste.
Furthermore, such Shield Spell was not one that a newly promoted Shaman Master could break through.
Che was full of confidence, but in the next moment, his face changed abruptly.
Because a clear cracking sound reached his ears, and the Shield Spell that he had just formed was suddenly shattered. Following that, a rather modest-looking fist rapidly enlarged in front of his vision.
His Shield Spell was broken!
It was hard for Che to imagine what kind of violent power could be contained in that small, weak body that gave it the kind of brutal force not inferior to the most powerful Warriors blessed with the Bloodlust Spell in the Clan.
*Hong… *
Yang Kai punched Che in the face, and instantly flattened his nose. Blood spurted everywhere, while Che was rebounded by the impact after a bang.
However, Yang Kai did not have the slightest joy of success. Instead, he raised his brow and showed a surprised look.
He saw that the Che, who was sent out flying, burst apart as he landed on the ground, Spiritual Energy pouring out as he transformed into a mist.
At the same time, a roar of thunder came from behind, as if a powerful force was advancing towards him, attempting to engulf him.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and found that Che had somehow reappeared behind his back. He was floating in the air with an object that resembled an animal bone in his hand. It was unknown what kind of beast the animal bone belonged to, but it shone with purple radiance as lightning flickered about it.
Che lifted the animal bone and slammed it towards Yang Kai, bringing down a flash of lightning bolts as he struck, making for an awe-inspiring sight.
Kicking the ground, Yang Kai immediately flickered away from his original position right before the lightning bolts struck on the ground and opened a number of huge pits.
Che raised his brow as he was secretly amazed by Yang Kai’s reaction speed. Although they had just begun the fight, he could see that this Shaman Niu was not to be taken lightly. It had not been long since he broke through to the Shaman Master Realm and so far he had mainly relied on the robust explosive power of his physique, but such power was still incomparable to the strength of a typical Shaman Master.
Unfortunately, Che was a Shaman Grandmaster! He was a Great Realm higher than Yang Kai.
As Che raised his hand, a lightning python flew out from his animal bone club, swaying its head and tail. The python snapped its jaws seemingly in the middle of nowhere just when Yang Kai’s figure suddenly appeared there.
Che seemed to have the ability to foresee the future, and predicted Yang Kai’s landing position, succeeding in catching him off guard.
“Just give up. You can’t compete with me with your ability. The Frost and Snow Clan is looking forward to your addition!” Che, who stood high above, remarked sincerely.
Yang Kai chuckled and stretched out his hand, summoning the Myriads Sword out of thin air. He lifted the sword up and swung it wildly, sending out a long sword light flying obliquely.
The extraordinarily sharp sword light cut through the body of the lightning python, splitting it into two before it flew past Shaman Che and smashed into pieces on a palace far away.
The corner of Che’s mouth constricted slightly as he stared fixedly at the Myriads Sword in Yang Kai’s hand.
Blue South Village was located in a remote place and there were no Masters in it, so there were no decent weapons there and the villagers just battled with stone spears and stone axes. However, the Frost and Snow Clan was different. All the powerful Warriors in the Clan had their own weapons, all of which were made of refined metal. Some powerful Warriors even wielded Shaman Artifacts that were granted to them by Shaman Grandmasters.
The animal bone in Che’s hand was also a Shaman Artifact.
He was not a man without vision and experience, but he was still greatly stimulated when he saw the Myriads Sword.
The sword was not just a Shaman Artifact, but was also a very High Grade Shaman Artifact. Che had only seen such a High-Grade Shaman Artifact once, in the hands of a Shaman King of the Frost and Snow Clan.
How could a Shaman Master possess such a powerful Shaman Artifact? Moreover, he could wield it at will with his meagre strength. Even he, a Shaman Grandmaster, would not be able to control such a Shaman Artifact so freely.
What Che saw in front of him was beyond his capability to fathom, much less understand.
Yang Kai pointed his sword at Shaman Che, and he smiled with his black hair flying in the wind, “Shaman Che, I’ll say it again. If I want to leave, you can’t stop me. If you continue to block my path, I won’t hold back anymore.”
Che could not help feeling intimidated by his assertive tone, but he clenched his teeth and replied in a deep voice, “The Frost and Snow Clan needs you, please stay!”
He stomped his foot, and a Thunder Domain spread wildly, revolving around him, covering an area of a thousand meters in an instant. Dense bolts of lightning filled this region, as if the apocalypse had come.
“A Domain!” Yang Kai grinned.
This Thunder Domain was somewhat similar to the Domain mastered by Origin Kings, but it was still notably different. The course of tens of thousands of years had resulted in many changes in the Martial Dao.
Che’s Thunder Domain was stronger than any Domain of an Origin King that Yang Kai had ever seen. Perhaps, even an ordinary Dao Source Realm cultivator would be troubled if they were trapped inside of this lightning sea.
Che was obviously going all out now, and with his hairs and beard billowing crazily, he bellowed, “All within my Thunder Prison fall under my command! Shaman Niu, surrender yourself. You know that I don’t want to hurt you.”
Yang Kai just snickered disdainfully, however, and replied once more, “That depends on if you have the ability.”
Che sighed and shook his head, “Looks like you must experience the power of this Shaman in order to change your view of my Frost and Snow Clan.”
Raising his hand, he shouted, “Bind!”
When Shaman Che chanted, pressure built up in the surrounding Thunder Domain and pressed towards Yang Kai, suppressing him directly on the spot.
Che lifted his head and asked proudly, “How about now? Do you feel like considering my offer?”
Inside the Thunder Domain, he was in control of everything, and even this Shaman Niu in front of him would not be able to play any tricks.
Yang Kai struggled a few times, but his body was firmly locked and could not move an inch, so he couldn’t help praising, “Not bad!”
Che frowned slightly, revealing a strange look. The faint praise of Shaman Niu in front of him gave him a strange feeling. It felt as if he was not facing a newly promoted Shaman Master, but a Shaman King or a Shaman Saint, who was standing in an aloof position and commenting on his proud skill.
[Why do I have such a strange feeling? Isn’t he just a Shaman Master?]
However, the next moment, Yang Kai took a deep breath, puffed up his chest, and gently flicked the Myriads Sword in his hand. An astonishing vibration occurred at the sword tip next, resulting in circles of small but visible ripples.
Wherever the ripples passed, the Thunder Domain rapidly loosened, showing signs of collapsing.
Che was appalled, and he dared not to hold back his ability anymore. With a shake of his body, he enhanced his control on the Thunder Domain.
Che had not previously exerted his full strength while unleashing his Thunder Domain. After all, the opponent’s cultivation was a Great Realm lower than his, so how could he have expected that this Shaman Niu would have the ability to directly nullify his Domain?
However, it was still futile. The ripples from the strange Shaman Artifact Sword seemed to have unstoppable power, and no matter how much Che strengthened his control, he still could not stop his Domain from collapsing.
Cold sweat instantly beaded on Che’s forehead as he stared at Yang Kai with horror-filled eyes, as if he was looking at a ghost.
With the Myriad Sword quivering gently and Space Principles pulsing out from its blade, the Thunder Domain quickly broke and Yang Kai lightly stepped towards Che.
In the modern world, an Origin Returning Realm cultivator needed to master Shi, while Origin Kings mastered Domain. When one arrived at the Dao Source Realm, they would be able to sense and inspire the surrounding World Principles. As for the Emperor Realm Masters, they would be able to directly use Principle Strength.
To be strict, Che’s Thunder Domain was slightly better than a Domain of an Origin King, and it could even slightly inspire local World Principles.
Nevertheless, the power that was mastered by Yang Kai was even greater than his.
If Che did not try to show off meagre skills before an expert but had instead forced on a direct close combat battle with Yang Kai, perhaps the latter would need to put up more effort in countering him. This was mainly because Yang Kai’s cultivation was restricted at the moment and the power he could use was limited. However, Che had no idea about Yang Kai’s situation and attempted to suppress Yang Kai by taking advantage of the difference in realm between them, which gave Yang Kai a chance to turn the tide.
Space Principles were extremely esoteric in the first place, so when they were introduced into the Thunder Domain, they caused it to destabilize and quickly collapse. Wherever Yang Kai passed, the sky full of lightning turned blank, and the Domain was completely wiped away.
The gap between their level of skill was clear at a glance.
Following the footsteps of his opponent, Che could even hear the collapsing noise of his own Domain.
The distance between the two was rapidly getting close.
Yang Kai’s face was full of mockery, while Che was no longer as calm and proud as before.
When Yang Kai’s foot made the last step, it felt as though he was not stepping on the ground, but on Che’s heart.
Che, who was a powerful Shaman Grandmaster, and one of the few Commanders of the Frost and Snow Clan, trembled and spewed a mist of blood. His Thunder Domain collapsed instantly, and he retreated in a stagger, with a hand over his chest as his initially bright eyes became much dimmer.
When his Domain was broken, it was equivalent to his foundation being damaged, a severe injury. He thought that Shaman Niu talked big and was lying about it being impossible to stop him, but now it seemed that… He was speaking the truth.
But how was it possible for such a Shaman Master to exist in this world?
Yang Kai did not feel elated from overcoming the situation however and instead just swept his eyes around and muttered in annoyance, “Tsk, so troublesome.”
After speaking, he took out a green leaf and communicated with it in his mind. Then, in a flash of green light, his figure disappeared into thin air.
In the depths of the palace, a horrifying aura was aroused like a sleeping dragon being awoken. The appearance of this aura seemed to cause a terrible chain reaction and soon, more incredible auras surged from every corner of the royal palace.
It was the several Shaman Kings who were alarmed.
The colour of the Frost and Snow Clansmen in the entire royal palace drained from their faces as they stood with their heads down, their bodies shaking.
A few powerful Divine Senses scanned across the palace while Che, enduring the pain he was in, placed his hand on his chest, bent his waist towards the void, and spoke, “Greetings, Sirs.”
“What happened?” The aura that appeared first suddenly asked in an erratic voice that echoed from all directions.
Che pondered for a moment before briefly explaining the previous incident, focusing on Yang Kai’s various abilities and his skill in making medicine.
The several Shaman Kings were silent for a moment, likely communicating amongst themselves. Eventually, the Shaman King who spoke earlier declared, “Since he is useful for the Clan, go and invite him again. However, Senior Qing seems to favour him, so don’t be rude.”
“Senior Qing…” Che’s face changed hearing this.
There was only one person in the entire Ancient Barbarian Race who could be called ‘Senior Qing’ by the Shaman Kings, the one who protected the Frost and Snow City, the Evergreen Divine Tree!
[He actually obtained the blessing of Senior Qing?]
After some hesitation, Che showed a look of enlightenment. No wonder Shaman Niu suddenly disappeared. Before, he was still thinking about what was going on just now, but it turned out to be an ability of Senior Qing.
Now that he thought about it, Shaman Niu seemed to have taken out a green leaf just before disappearing.
The auras of the several Shaman Kings arrived rapidly, but also disappeared quickly. In the blink of an eye, they retreated like a tide, leaving Che alone with a frown on his dark face.
The Shaman Kings ordered him to invite Shaman Niu back again, but Shaman Niu was sheltered by Senior Qing. If he was unwilling to, what could Che do to be able to invite him over? If it was before what happened earlier, he still had the confidence to subdue him directly with force; however, after the fight with Shaman Niu, Che felt that he did not have such skill.
That Shaman Niu could not be regarded as an ordinary Shaman Master at all; his strength was at least at the level of a Shaman Grandmaster, or even a peak Shaman Grandmaster.
..…
On the other side, Yang Kai arrived back in his Tree Cave after communicating with the Evergreen Divine Tree through the green leaf he obtained. He then knocked on the trunk and called out loudly, “Senior Qing!”
A figure flashed in the Tree Cave, and the old man appeared leisurely, looking at him with a smile.
Yang Kai spared no time on nonsense, and blurted, “Many thanks, Senior, for your care for all these days. Just as the mountains are always lush and the rivers forever flow, we are bound to meet again someday in the future.”
The Frost and Snow Clan wanted him, not for his life, but for his abilities; however, Yang Kai did not want to lose his freedom, so he decided to quickly leave.
With his current strength, he could easily defeat a Shaman Grandmaster like Che, but if he had to fight against the entire Frost and Snow Clan, he would stand no chance. Now that he had alarmed the Shaman Kings, he had to quickly leave before it was too late.
Moreover, his purpose of coming to Frost and Snow City has been achieved. Now that he broke through to the Shaman Master Realm, it was better for him to go back to a remote place like Blue South Village. With the supplement of the million Monster Cores in his Space Ring, as long as he was given some time, he could be promoted rapidly. Then, when he was strong enough, the Frost and Snow Clan would not be able to keep him even if they wanted to.
While speaking, Yang Kai looked out of the Tree Cave. It was calm and peaceful outside, with people coming and going freely, completely unaware of what just happened in the palace.
But on second thought, it actually made sense. Yang Kai had used the green leaf to teleport here, so no matter how fast the Frost and Snow Clan reacted, they still needed some buffer time.
This buffer time was enough for Yang Kai to leave the territory of the Frost and Snow Clan and run as far as he could. Once he left their territory, the Frost and Snow Clan could do nothing about him.
“Don’t be in such a hurry!” Senior Qing raised his hand.
“What instructions does Senior have?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Senior Qing touched his beard and smiled, “I saw the Secret Art that you used for cultivation for the past few days and found it to be extremely bad. Do you want to change to a better set?”
Yang Kai was stunned, and replied joyously, “I want, of course I want!”
Previously, he also considered changing to a better Secret Art; after all, the Secret Art he had was taught to him by the Village Chief, so how good could it be? But when Yang Kai thought about it carefully, most of the Secret Arts of the Frost and Snow Clan focused on Ice Attributes, which was not necessarily suitable for him. Furthermore, he did not want to be too involved with the Frost and Snow Clan, so he did not ask them for anything. In any case, the way he cultivated was different from others so he just dealt with it even if his Secret Art was bad, believing he would find an opportunity to change it in the future.
Therefore, he was overjoyed when he heard Senior Qing’s offer. He did not expect such a helping hand would be extended at this moment.
After a pause though, Yang Kai asked seriously, “Senior, what can I do for you?”
Although he didn’t have much contact with Senior Qing, Yang Kai could see that the Elder in front of him was not someone who simply liked to give benefits to others for no reason. He was incredibly even-handed with his actions. If one wanted to live in a Tree Cave, they had to offer Monster Beast blood first, and after Yang Kai helped ‘scratch’ him, Senior Qing rewarded him with a green leaf. Perhaps this had something to do with Senior Qing being a blessing tree.
He was looking after the entire Frost and Snow Clan, and if he just granted everything that people wished for, his vitality and strength would have been extinguished long ago.
Therefore, even though Yang Kai was elated, he still asked in caution.
Senior Qing smiled faintly, “I do need a small favour from you.”
“Please name it!” Yang Kai waited respectfully.
Qing disclosed, “If I tell you that my predestined time is approaching, what would you think?”
Yang Kai was taken aback and secretly thought that the change in topic was a bit unexpected, and for a moment he had trouble keeping up with Senior Qing’s thoughts. However, after sweeping his eyes over Senior Qing, the corner of his mouth twitched and he replied, “Senior, don’t joke with me!”
Senior Qing laughed out loud, and did not continue on the topic. Instead, he remarked, “You’re a very strange person, a unique individual I have only seen once in my whole life, so I want to entrust you with something.”
“What is it?”
Senior Qing did not speak anymore and instead reached out his finger to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was surprised, but he knew that Senior Qing did not mean to do any harm to him, so he did not try to defend himself. When Senior Qing’s finger tapped on his forehead, Yang Kai felt like he had been hit by a huge mountain and for a moment, he was dazed as some exceptionally mysterious words appeared in his mind.
However, he could not see clearly what those words were given his current state. Everything within his sight turned black, and he fainted directly on the spot.
In the moment before he passed out though, Yang Kai felt he heard Senior Qing speaking.
When Yang Kai woke up, he was no longer in the Tree Cave, but in the wilderness.
Pain lingered in his head and when Yang Kai recalled what happened earlier, he felt his heart palpitate.
Although he just became a Shaman Master and could finally use his Divine Sense, his strength was far beyond that of a Shaman Master. Given that Senior Qing could cause him to faint with just a tap of a finger by sending something to his Soul, it must have been a truly massive amount of information that was beyond his ability to currently bear.
There was no time for Yang Kai to examine carefully what information Senior Qing had passed though as, when he looked around, he was met with a pair of clear, bright eyes.
After being stunned for a short while, only then did Yang Kai question, “Why are you here?”
The petite young girl shrugged her shoulders, and replied, “Grandpa Qing asked me to explore the outside world with you. He said I’ve always lived in Frost and Snow City, and I was too unfamiliar with the outside world.”
“Is this the ‘favor’ he wanted to ‘entrust’ to me…?” Yang Kai touched his chin as he mumbled to himself.
Previously, Senior Qing remarked that he needed a small favor from him, and also mentioned that he wanted to entrust something to him. Looking at the current situation, it seemed that Senior Qing wanted to entrust Tiea to him. Sixteen years ago, Tiea was abandoned beneath the Evergreen Divine Tree, and Senior Qing was the one who raised her. However, Tiea and Senior Qing were different in the end. Tiea could not just stay in the Frost and Snow City forever, but her identity was too sensitive, so she would be an easy target if she were to travel alone.
Nevertheless, it would be different if Yang Kai took care of her.
Before he passed out, he seemed to recall Senior Qing mentioning Tiea…
After clearing his thoughts, Yang Kai also felt relieved.
Tiea was a Shaman Grandmaster, and she should be no worse than himself in terms of strength and ability so he did not need to really take care of her. The reason Senior Qing wanted her to travel with him was probably just to let her gain some experience.
“Where are we?” Yang Kai got up and looked around with a puzzled face.
Tiea answered, “Grandpa sent us out using his Soul Clone. We are now five hundred kilometres east of Frost and Snow City.” While speaking, Tiea also pointed to the side.
Yang Kai turned to look and saw an Evergreen Tree as tall as a man standing on the roadside, exuding an aura the same source as Qing’s.
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows and examined the Evergreen Tree with interest.
Tiea continued, “You don’t have to worry. The people in Frost and Snow Clan have no idea that you’ve left. They most likely still think that you are in your Tree Cave.”
“Senior Qing is impressive.” Yang Kai praised.
Tiea smiled lightly, “It’s Grandpa Qing after all!”
Her admiration towards Senior Qing was obvious from her words. Turning to Yang Kai, she asked, “Where do we go now?”
“Let me see…” While speaking, Yang Kai took out the map that was given to him by the Village Chief, and after searching for a while, he found his current location and gained his bearings.
When he left the village in the winter, he promised the Village Chief that he would return when spring came.
Now that spring was near, and his goal of travelling for cultivation had been achieved, it was time to head back. Blue South Village was a remote and untraversed place, which was a great location to cultivate in retreat. It would not be too late to explore the world when he regained his peak strength one day.
“Can you fly?” Yang Kai put away the map and glanced at Tiea.
Tiea chuckled before she chanted a spell and a pair of vibrant wings sprouted from her back. It was as though she had transformed into a beautiful butterfly, dancing and fluttering around gracefully.
Yang Kai retracted the amazement in his eyes before leading the way with a flicker.
This was Tiea’s first time leaving Frost and Snow City and she had always been very curious about the outside world, so her beautiful eyes constantly darted from left to right while a jubilant look filled her face, as if everything in the world piqued her interest.
However, she did not disturb Yang Kai and instead just enjoyed the scenery along the way on her own, exclaiming in amazement from time to time.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was digesting the information given to him by Senior Qing while travelling.
Initially, he thought that it would only be a profound Secret Art, but the more he read it, the more shocked he became because the information was not as simple as just a single Secret Art, but rather a tremendous amount of information that seemed to include the essence of Senior Qing’s entire life.
Although Senior Qing was a Monster Tree and had been guarding Frost and Snow City all year round, never leaving his current home, his life span was thousands of years or even tens of thousands of years, so during the passage of that much time, even the seas had shifted and the mountains had transformed, but Senior Qing remained unchanged.
He had seen all kinds of people, experienced the changing of eras, and watched the development of whole epochs from beginning to end.
His knowledge was wide and profound, essentially the epitome of the whole Ancient Time.
The information that he infused into Yang Kai was all his knowledge and experience. The most important message was not Secret Arts and Shamanic Spells, but the essence that he achieved from his endless life.
But… why?
Yang Kai was not convinced that he deserved such a precious gift from Senior Qing for just doing him a small favour.
Even a Great Emperor would be moved to receive such a gift, because it was greatly beneficial to one’s future cultivation. As long as this knowledge could be fully absorbed by him, Yang Kai’s future cultivation path would be smooth.
Yang Kai was sure that this must be the greatest benefit he received from this trip into this Sealed World. There was nothing else that could compare to it.
Thanks to the Village Chief’s efforts to teach him, Yang Kai was familiar with these Ancient Characters. Otherwise, he may not be able to absorb this knowledge at all. He silently rejoiced in his luck. It was indeed true that having an old man in the family was as good as having a treasure. If the Village Chief had not insisted before, perhaps Yang Kai would not have studied the Ancient Characters.
Yang Kai was so immersed in comprehending the knowledge along his journey that he did not even notice the passage of time. He just wanted to quickly find a place to completely absorb the knowledge given by Senior Qing in retreat.
However, no matter how long a journey was, there would always be an end. Furthermore, he was only returning to Blue South Village. Back then, it took him a longer time to travel because he was not strong enough to fly. Nevertheless, now that he could fly all the way back, he almost reached his destination in five days.
Yang Kai returned to his senses and he could not help feeling some joy in returning to his hometown, which he secretly found funny too.
On the other hand, Tiea seemed to be a little nervous, “Will the people in your village hate me and chase me away? Should I disguise myself?”
Since they were so far away from the Evergreen Divine Tree, they could not make use of Senior Qing’s blessings. Thus, Tiea could not always appear as a burly man; however, as a Shaman Grandmaster, it was not difficult to master a disguise technique. With her cultivation, once the Shamanic Spell was applied, no one in the village would notice anything off about her.
She chattered endlessly, like an ugly daughter-in-law who was about to see her father and mother-in-law, causing Yang Kai to laugh lightly, but just as he was about to answer, he suddenly frowned and looked forward.
The next moment, Yang Kai’s face changed and he accelerated rapidly, leaving Tiea behind.
“Hey…” Tiea shouted in annoyance as she had no idea what was going on, but she soon realized that something was wrong, because there was smoke rising everywhere from a village not far ahead.
How could there be so much smoke when it was not the time to make a fire to cook?
Frowning, Tiea felt an ominous premonition in her heart and sped forward to catch up without another word.
Soon, Yang Kai and Tiea landed in the village. Tiea looked around, and sighed.
The village had clearly been attacked. There were ruins everywhere and the ground was painted a dark red colour. Given the state of the dried blood, the incident should have happened a few days ago.
Such weak villagers were easy targets. Many villages were destroyed like this every year among the whole Barbarian Race.
Tiea sighed, “This wasn’t done by wild animals, this is done by people.”
Although she did not investigate thoroughly, it was obvious as there were no footprints of beasts on the ground and no signs of half-eaten corpses. Therefore, this couldn’t have been done by wild animals.
“And the battle ended pretty fast. Either there was a large number of attackers, or the attackers were extremely powerful… It’s more likely to be the latter.”
Even though Tiea had scant life experience, as a member of a Nomad Clan in the Ancient Barbarian Race, tracking and evasion were her instinctive abilities. As such, she could see a lot of information from what remained in the village.
“Does your village have any enemies?” Tiea asked.
Yang Kai shook his head and spread his Divine Sense wildly around like a tide.
Tiea’s eyes were filled with shock when she sensed the power of Yang Kai’s Divine Sense.
His Divine Sense actually seemed to be much stronger than hers.
Shortly, the light in Yang Kai’s eyes turned solemn as he darted towards a certain direction.
Tiea did not know what he was going to do, but she still kept up with him.
Not long after, they came to a stack of firewood. Yang Kai stretched out his hand to remove the firewood one by one and found a hole covered by a wooden board. After removing the wooden board, several frightened and pale faces were exposed underneath.
They were all children, about seven to eight of them, the eldest only ten years old while the youngest was no more than four or five.
After seeing Yang Kai’s face, the eldest Barbarian kid revealed a pleasantly surprised look and cried out, “Brother Ah Niu!”
“Come out first!” Yang Kai reached out his hand to him and the eldest child nodded before lifting the others out one by one towards Yang Kai.
It did not take long to rescue all of the kids out of the hole, but because they were frightened and had not been eaten for a long time, they all looked quite unwell.
“What happened? Who attacked the village?” Yang Kai asked while looking at the eldest child.
“The Village Chief said that they are from the Bone Devouring Clan.” The Barbarian kid bit his lips, shaking uncontrollably as he recalled the scene a few days ago.
“What!? The Bone Devouring Clan?” Yang Kai’s face changed drastically.
Tiea’s expression turned solemn in an instant too.
Each Clan of the Barbarian Race had different characteristics because of their different living environments and Secret Arts. For example, the clansmen from the Raging Flame Clan were aggressive in fights, while the clansmen from Wood Spirit Clan preferred flexible methods.
As for the Bone Devouring Clan, they were well recognized as the bloodiest and most ferocious clansmen.
No other Clan could compete with them for this title, because their clansmen would even butcher members of the Ancient Barbarian Race as food to fill their stomachs.
In other words, they were a cannibal Clan! When they lacked food, they would even kill each other to feed their own clansmen, so nothing needed to be said about how they treated outsiders.
The terrifying and brutal clan had made all the major Ancient Barbarian Race clans isolate them. Some even felt that the Bone Devouring Clan was not a Barbarian Clan at all, but rather a group of uncivilized scourges, one that was best eliminated.
Unfortunately, there was a powerful Shaman Saint residing in the Bone Devouring Clan, so unless the entire Barbarian Race joined forces, no one would be willing to start a war with them. The Bone Devouring Clan was also known for seeking revenge for the slightest grievance, so it was best not to provoke them.
The consequences were unimaginable for the Blue South Village to be attacked by such an enemy.
“Many have died, Brother Ah Niu. save the Village Chief and the rest quickly!” The eldest boy cried and looked at Yang Kai expectantly as if he was an omnipotent being.
“When did they attack?” Yang Kai asked in a deep voice.
“Three days ago.”
It had already been three days, so Yang Kai couldn’t help worrying if it was already too late. He turned to Tiea and instructed her, “Take care of them.”
Tiea grabbed his arm and whispered, “What are you doing? Don’t go courting death!”
Yang Kai grinned, “We don’t know who’s going to die yet.”
Tiea shook her head, “It’s been three days since the incident. You may not be able to catch up to them now. The fate of anyone captured by the Bone Devouring Clan will be ending up as food. Maybe the people in your village are already…”
“Then, they will have to pay the price for that,” Yang Kai flung her hand away and flew into the air.
Tiea stared at his back and sighed, shaking her head slowly.
Jaws dropped, as the few barbarian boys gaped at the sky in amazement. The eldest gawking in admiration as he dumbly shouted, “Ah! Brother Ah Niu can fly…”
…
There were nearly three hundred villagers in the Blue South Village and every man, woman, young, and old, were warriors. In order to capture such a huge number, the Bone Devouring Clan would need to send out a lot of people and would leave obvious traces in their retreat.
As such, it was not difficult for Yang Kai to trace and follow the trail.
The snow was melting, and all beings were beginning to stir from the cold. Perhaps the Bone Devouring Clan’s winter food storage had been running low, which drove them to scavenge for food. They must have accidentally discovered the remote Blue South Village and taken advantage of them.
As far as Yang Kai knew, although the people of the Bone Devouring Clan had no taboos and were willing to eat their own clansmen, they were still human in the end. They would prefer to eat fresh food. In other words, they would not kill all the prisoners at once, but would only kill their ‘livestock’ when necessary.
This gave Yang Kai some time to save his people.
As long as they were stopped or Yang Kai was able to find their lair before the situation became irreversible, he was confident he could rescue them.
Yang Kai arrived outside a stone fortress just as night fell.
The stone fortress was built on a mountain, on the side of a cliff, bordered by precipitous rocks as smooth as a mirror that covered a wide area. Inside the stone fortress were burly, hideous Ancient Barbarians walking back and forth, shouldering varieties of weapons, each of them flashing long fangs and menacing faces.
There seemed to be objects hanging on the stone walls, and as Yang Kai squinted at them with all his might, he was stunned by what he found.
The hanging objects were actually corpses, and based on his rough count, there were at least a hundred of them. There were only three hundred people in the entire Blue South Village, but a hundred corpses were already hanging here. Yang Kai’s heart turned cold, and a chill radiated from his body that could freeze the air.
He was still a step too late!
Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, Yang Kai stood up from his hiding place, preparing to take advantage of the darkness to infiltrate into the stone fortress. He was now a Shaman Master, and an ordinary Shaman Grandmaster would not be his opponent. It was highly unlikely that there was a Shaman King in charge of this stone fortress, but it was always better to be careful.
At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly crouched down again and concealed his aura as he noticed something as he looked in another direction.
There was a rustle of movement over there, and even though it was faint, Yang Kai heard it clearly.
He quietly swept his Divine Sense over that area, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai snuck over to that spot and reached out his hand.
Right after, a voice exclaimed in the dark, “Who!?”
Yang Kai immediately covered that person’s mouth with his hand and shushed, and comforted the Barbarian Warrior who was subdued by him, “Don’t be nervous, I’m not an enemy!”
The Barbarian Warrior was horrified as although the opponent had only used one hand, no matter how hard he tried, he could not escape from Yang Kai’s restraint. After several struggles, this warrior felt chills running all over his body and despair shrouded him.
The moonlight shone on them, and the Barbarian Warrior suddenly fell silent, staring at Yang Kai with astonished wide eyes, his voice muffled against Yang Kai’s hand, “Shaman Niu?”
“En?” Yang Kai was startled, “Do you know me?”
As he spoke, he let go of his hand, and after seeing the tattoo on the Barbarian Warrior face, Yang Kai suddenly blurted, “You’re from the Raging Flame Clan?”
The Barbarian Warrior was pleasantly surprised and nodded, “Yes, Shaman Niu, we met in the canyon previously.”
Yang Kai immediately understood at the mention of the canyon and his eyes lit up, “Is Ya here?”
“Shaman Ya is nearby, I’ll take you to him.”
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded.
He had noticed the presence of quite a few others here just now and knew that they were not enemies, but he did not expect an old acquaintance to be among them. Fortunately, the Raging Flame Clan Barbarian recognized him, otherwise, it would be troublesome to explain.
Yang Kai moved silently as he followed the Barbarian Warrior from the Raging Flame Clan, attracting suspicious glances along the way, all of them unable to fathom as to why another person had suddenly appeared here.
After a short while, the Barbarian Warrior came to the forefront and whispered, “Shaman Ya, Shaman Niu is here.”
A voice came from the front, “Shaman Niu? Which Shaman Niu?”
A familiar face appeared in front of him, and Yang Kai squeezed out a smile, “Shaman Ya, we meet again.”
Ya was shocked and gaped at him, “Shaman Niu, why are you here?”
This man called Ah Niu, gave Ya a very strong impression after the challenge in the canyon. Only one winter had passed after they met, so it was natural that he did not forget him.
Yang Kai quickly replied, “The reason should be the same as yours for being here!”
Ya froze, and he was dazed for a moment before nodding, “It looks like your village has also been attacked.”
“Why was yours attacked?”
Ya explained with a grim face, “I took some clansmen with me to gather food, and when we came back, the villagers were all taken away. We came here after following the trail.”
“Then, our goals are the same!” Yang Kai grinned, exposing a mouthful of pearly white teeth that ghastly gleamed under the shadow of the moonlight. Ya’s heart jumped in fright seeing this vicious look and quickly continued, “Are you alone?”
“I am the only one left in the village who can fight.”
Ya showed an expression of admiration. If he was in the same situation, and he was the only survivor of his village, Ya was not certain he would have the courage to even track the enemy to their base. The opponent was none other than the brutal and bloody Bone Devouring Clan, so returning alive from such an endeavour was questionable at best.
“Come with me to meet a few of our Seniors!” Ya beckoned to Yang Kai and then led the way.
Yang Kai followed with suspicion, wondering who he was going to meet.
After a short while, a low voice suddenly came from the front, “Ya, what are you doing here?”
Ya replied respectfully, “Shaman Chi, a friend from the South Barbarian Clan has come. It seems his fellow villagers have also been taken captive by them.”
“Oh?” The person called Chi responded in surprise, “Come here.”
Ya signalled to Yang Kai to come forward.
In the dense grass, a man and a woman sat cross-legged, their aura vigorous but well-controlled, blending seamlessly with the surrounding nature.
They were two Shaman Grandmasters! Yang Kai raised his eyebrows in astonishment.
That man should be Chi; he had a tattoo of the Raging Flame Clan on his face, and his aura appeared to be a little hot. He obviously cultivated Shaman Arts and Shamanic Spells related to the Fire Attribute. As for the woman, although she had a big waist and a burly body, she had a sense of elegance and flexibility, which was extremely contradictory to her appearance.
When Yang Kai approached, these two cast sharp gazes immediately at him, watching him with an uncomfortable, scrutinizing gaze.
“Shaman Niu from the Blue South Village, greets two Seniors!” Yang Kai stretched out his hand over his chest.
Chi nodded lightly, and complemented Yang Kai, “A Shaman Master, not bad at all.”
“What? Shaman Master?” Ya was flabbergasted, “Wasn’t Shaman Niu just a Low-Rank Shaman Apprentice? Shaman Chi, are you mistaken?”
Little did he know that at the end of winter, this Shaman Niu had already become a Shaman Master. If only he had known, Ya would probably have complained that the Barbarian God was being unfair.
“How could there be such a skinny clansman? Do you belong to the Nomad Clan?” The woman frowned and did not bother concealing her disgust for Yang Kai.
Before Yang Kai could open his mouth to reply, Ya spoke up, “Shaman Niu is not from the Nomad Clan. He is from the South Barbarian Clan. He is also a generous and righteous man, how could the Nomad Clan be compared to him?”
He recalled the one hundred wild beasts Yang Kai had given him last time as an act of kindness.
“That would be best!” The woman nodded lightly, seemingly having complete trust in Ya’s statement.
“How should I address this Lady?” Yang Kai asked, looking at the woman.
Chi answered, “She is Shaman Zhu of the Fierce Wind Clan.”
Ya spoke in a low voice, “The Bone Devouring Clan raided a total of three villages this time. One of them is your village, another is mine, and the other is of the Fierce Wind Clan. I approached Shaman Chi, and just ran into Shaman Zhu, so everyone is gathered here.”
“There is strength in numbers,” Yang Kai nodded, and said, “If I may ask, what is the plan for the next action?”
Chi simply replied, “We will wait for dawn.”
Yang Kai contemplated and nodded, “Dawn is the time when people are the most relaxed. It is indeed the best time to act, but both of you are Shaman Grandmasters. Are you not confident to take that stone fortress head-on?”
Zhu glanced at him and asked, “How much do you know about this stone fortress?”
Yang Kai answered honestly, “I don’t know anything about it.”
Before this, he was not even aware of the existence of a Bone Devouring Clan fortress here.
Zhu explained, “This stone fortress is only a small sub-clan of the Bone Devouring Clan. There are about seven hundred to eight hundred warriors inside, with more than twenty Shamans. The strongest one is called Yeow, and he’s a Mid-Rank Shaman Grandmaster.”
Yang Kai noticed a trace of fear appeared on Chi’s face when Zhu mentioned Yeow, obviously conscious that he was not strong enough to fight against this Bone Devouring Clan’s Shaman Grandmaster.
“Based on Yeow’s strength, we might not necessarily be able to take him down even if Chi and I joined hands.” Zhu explained calmly. She was not ashamed of being inferior to others, “Fortunately, our main purpose is to rescue our people. As long as Chi and I can keep him busy, the rest of you can save the others, so there’s no need to fight with him to death.”
After a pause, Zhu continued, “You’re a Shaman Master and can help a lot in battle. Since your people have also been kidnapped, let’s join forces.”
Ya looked shocked, and gaped at Yang Kai in terror as if he could hardly believe his ears. Was he really a Shaman Master? Previously, he thought Shaman Chi was mistaken, but now that Shaman Zhu had also said so, there was only one possibility; Shaman Niu was really a Shaman Master!
Yang Kai nodded, and asked, “Are the two planning to attack at dawn?”
“Yes.”
“If so, I might be able to help more than that.” Yang Kai’s eyes flickered.
Chi raised his eyebrows, “Let’s hear it!”
After a while, Ya and Yang Kai were dismissed.
Ya seemed to be a little dispirited from suffering a great impact, and only regained his senses after a long while, “Shaman Niu, be careful.”
Yang Kai smiled as he patted him on the shoulder, “You too!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Kai took action. Pushing his Shaman Strength, he began absorbing the essence of moonlight pouring down from the sky. Ya, stood flabbergasted in front of him, watching Yang Kai’s figure gradually become transparent with the influx of moonlight, then completely disappear.
A rustle of footsteps travelled farther and farther away from him, and Ya knew that Shaman Niu had left. Seeing him performing such a mysterious Shamanic Spell, Ya was truly astonished.
That should be the legendary Moon Concealment Spell of the Moonlight Clan. However, the Moonlight Clan was exterminated a few thousand years ago, and the Moon Concealment Spell should have been lost. Where did Shaman Niu learn it from? It was impossible for such a small place like Blue South Village to teach him such a profound Shamanic Spell.
Of course, Yang Kai did not learn the Moon Concealment Spell from the Village Chief, but from Senior Qing.
Yang Kai had been assimilating Senior Qing’s knowledge all the way back to Blue South Village. As such, he learned a lot of Shamanic Spells, and the long-lost Moon Concealment Spell just happened to be useful at this moment.
Under the moonlight, Yang Kai was almost invisible. Only Divine Sense, or someone in very close proximity with extremely sharp senses would be able to detect him.
He walked all the way to the stone fortress, climbed over the stone wall quietly, and infiltrated it without anyone noticing.
Numerous Bone Devouring Clan archers were patrolling back and forth vigilantly on the stone walls. Obviously, they were also aware that they may be attacked after raiding three villages. Despite the absence of Divine Sense, these archers had notably sharp senses and were naturally vigilant against danger.
An archer almost sensed Yang Kai’s presence when he climbed over the stone wall, their eyes darting towards the spot where Yang Kai was, but fortunately, upon seeing nothing there, he did not examine further, otherwise, Yang Kai would have been found.
Upon entering the stone fortress, the sickly stench of blood immediately reached Yang Kai’s nose.
The approximately one hundred corpses Yang Kai had seen earlier were composed of the villagers from all three clans, and the sound of blood trickling and dripping onto the ground was simply horrifying.
At that moment in the stone fortress, the Bone Devouring Clansmen were eating merrily, and the smell of meat permeated the air. Yang Kai quickly identified the meat the Barbarians of the Bone Devouring Clan were chewing were Human body parts. Ordinary people would lose their appetite just by looking at it, but the Bone Devouring Clan were truly delighting in it. It was no different for the children in the clan, who fought with each other over a bone with extra meat on it, refusing to give it away to the others, all while the adults watched from the side and laughed at them.
Yang Kai had long heard that the Barbarians of the Bone Devouring Clan were different from others, a group of uncivilized savages, and after seeing it with his own eyes, he could only admit that the rumours weren’t unfounded.
Taking a deep breath to quietly suppress his anger, Yang Kai started to investigate the inner structure of the stone fortress.
According to his agreement with Chi and Zhu, his mission was to find out where the captives of the three villages were being detained, then he would find a way to open the main gates of the stone fortress from the inside and create a distraction. Then, the people of Raging Flame Clan and Fierce Wind Clan would meet up with him from the outside.
By then, in addition to the release of the warriors of the three clans, they would definitely catch the Bone Devouring Clan by surprise.
Yang Kai could not be too reckless as there was a Shaman Grandmaster and a few Shaman Masters in the stone fortress, so he dared not to use his Divine Sense lest he alarm the enemies. As such, he could only slowly search the place to find out the location of the captives.
After midnight, Yang Kai had almost searched the entire stone fortress, but he still did not find the place where the prisoners were being held.
There should be at least seven to eight hundred prisoners from the three Clans and villages, and such a large number of people could not be held in a small place, yet Yang Kai was still unable to find them after much looking around.
In the end, he cast his eyes at the most central position of the stone fortress, where a strong and ferocious aura was being emitted. Obviously, this was where Shaman Yeow lived.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai pushed his Divine Sense and penetrated it into the ground.
Immediately after, he withdrew it.
Sure enough, there was a cave beneath the stone fortress inside which Yang Kai sensed many auras, but he did not examine thoroughly to avoid being noticed by Shaman Yeow.
However, once he determined the location of prisoners, the rest was easy.
Holding his breath and remaining still for a moment to make sure that his spying did not alarm Shaman Yeow, Yang Kai then took cover in a hidden place, waiting for the right time to move.
The stone fortress was merry and lively now, with the Bone Devouring Clansmen who had a rough winter finally having a good harvest, one that allowed them to celebrate. On the other hand, the clansmen of both Raging Flame Clan and Fierce Wind Clan were hiding quietly outside the stone fortress like two venomous snakes, waiting for the opportunity to reveal their fangs.
As time passed, the noises in the stone fortress gradually subsided, and snores resembling muffled thunder came up one after another, even the archers who were guarding on the stone wall began to yawn.
Before dawn, when the world was at its darkest moment, a figure appeared and rushed to the stone fortress gate like a gust of wind. Following a few dull thuds, the heads of the several Bone Devouring Clan Warriors who were guarding the gate split open, their brains and blood spurting everywhere. All of them died instantly in their sleep.
Above the stone wall, several archers who heard the noise were startled and turned to look down at the same time.
What they saw was a strange figure standing below them on the ground, and before they could react, he threw a punch at the gate.
The stone gate was broken with a loud bang and pieces of it were thrown out in all directions. The earth trembled, as if ten thousand horses were galloping towards them in scattered and rapid hoof steps.
The archers turned their heads in horror, and saw that under the cover of the darkness, numerous pairs of dreadful red eyes bewitched with the Bloodlust Spell emerged, wrapped in an aura of death, advancing on them like a flood of beasts.
“Enemy attack!”
Someone exclaimed.
The shriek was like an alarm bell that woke up the sleeping Bone Devouring Clansmen. At the same time, the archers on the stone wall pulled their bowstrings and began shooting arrows.
Ancient Barbarian Race archers were all Spirit Archers, so the archers in the Bone Devouring Clan were as well. A dozen invaders succumbed with just a single volley of arrows.
Two figures quickly flew out from behind the flood of people, one of them with his hands set ablaze. As he waved his hands, two Fire Dragons plummeted from the sky with swaying heads and tails, scorching a group of Bone Devouring Clan archers to death.
The other person chanted a spell, and a horrifying tornado composed of sharp blades of wind immediately blew over the stone wall. All the Bone Devouring Clansmen who were caught in the tornado were sliced and chopped into pieces. Their flesh was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving only their terrifying, white skeletons.
Chi and Zhu instantly cleaned up the threat of the archers.
Following behind the two Shaman Grandmasters were the Shaman Masters and Shaman Warriors of the two Clans. They were not great in number, only seven people in total. However, all of them chanted incantations incessantly and blessed the warriors of both Clans with various Shamanic Spells, making them faster, stronger, and more vicious.
Yang Kai turned around, hovered in the air, and looked coldly at the alarmed Bone Devouring Clansmen, watching them running out from all directions.
The Shaman of Bone Devouring Clan shouted at his people from inside the crowd, seemingly instructing them to attack Yang Kai.
Actually, they did not need to be instructed because Yang Kai, who was standing still, was an obvious target. Bone Devouring Clan Warriors saw him clearly, and before they even got near, numerous arrows already reached him.
But the powerful arrows were completely useless against the light of Yang Kai’s Shield Spell.
The Shield Spell remained intact after this barrage despite the ripples on its surface from blocking the wave of attacks.
The Shaman in the crowd was stunned, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
A dozen brave and ferocious Bone Devouring Clan Warriors rushed towards Yang Kai and leapt up high before swinging their weapons down at him.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and summoned the Myriads Sword. With a swing of his arm, a sword light tens of metres in length appeared out of thin air, one so powerful it cut through space.
*Huala…*
The dozen Bone Devouring Clan Warriors who jumped up high had their bodies severed from their waists, and they fell one after another with a grunt. Their internal organs spilled out of their bodies, while their blood gushed out like a fountain.
The rest of the Bone Devouring Clansmen who were charging towards Yang Kai stopped in their tracks, staring at Yang Kai in horror, as if they were looking at the cruellest devil. Fear grew within the fearless Bone Devouring Clan under Yang Kai’s domineering sword.
“How dare you be impudent in this Shaman’s place!? You court death!”
A roar came out from the inside of the stone fortress, and then a half-naked, vicious-looking burly man flew out like thunder, sending a punch flying towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and turned his Myriads Sword horizontally to block his side.
Without waiting for Yang Kai to fight back, two figures suddenly appeared by his sides.
It was Chi and Zhu. The two Shaman Grandmasters who belonged to two different Clans had arrived, and without another word, they immediately threw all the Shamanic Spells that they refined for years at the powerful Shaman Yeow, causing a burst of brilliant flashes of lights.
In an instant, the three Great Shamans were locked in battle, their fight rapidly ascending and disappearing above the clouds.
*Honglonglong…*
The three hundred people of the Raging Flame Clan and Fierce Wind Clan arrived, and the defence of the stone fortress was stomped by their unstoppable momentum. The dexterous Spirit Archers climbed on the stone wall one after another, releasing arrow after arrow that flew at lightning speed, whipping through the air and shooting down one Bone Devouring Clan Warrior after another.
Under the surprise attack from both the inside and the outside, the Bone Devouring Clan was totally caught off guard. Being awakened abruptly from satiety and sleep, these Bone Devouring Clansmen were not able to perform effectively in combat, and dozens of them were injured and killed in an instant.
But after a brief period of consternation, the bloodthirsty and ferocious Bone Devouring Clan finally regained their senses. Nearly twenty Shamans scattered in the chaos began chanting incantations one after another to support their clansmen with all kinds of Shamanic Spells.
Two hordes of hundreds of Ancient Barbarians rushed against each other. One side was fearless to die under the cover of their own archers, while the other side was driven by the smell of blood. Both sides crashed into each other with roars and screams.
Even the earth wailed under this intense battle.
The battlefield was like a huge melee, with blood spurting, flesh separated, and Barbarians of both sides collapsed again and again.
Yang Kai drew his attention away from the clouds and looked at the chaotic and barbaric battle ahead. Frowning slightly, with a flicker, he instantly appeared on top of the Bone Devouring Clansmen.
With a buzz, a sword light came out from the tip of the Myriads Sword, speeding towards the enemies below.
There was no sound and movement, only the flash of the sword light, and a long empty strip of land instantly appeared at the centre of the Bone Devouring Clansmen. All who once stood in that space had vanished into dust.
Everyone looked up as the chaotic battlefield abruptly fell silent for a moment.
Fear filled the eyes of the Bone Devouring Clansmen, while those of the Raging Flame Clan and Fierce Wind Clan were pleasantly surprised. No one expected that this weak-looking young man possessed such great power.
*Xiu…*
A blood light came up from below, transforming into a blood snake that opened its jaws and snapped at Yang Kai.
This was the Shamanic Spell of the Bone Devouring Clan, and it was difficult to guard against. The snake opened its mouth, releasing its revolting breath which was obviously highly toxic. One would not end well if bitten by this snake.
However, Yang Kai did not even look at it, and under the frightened eyes of the Raging Flame Clan and Fierce Wind Clan, he simply lifted his hand, grabbed towards the void, and caught the Blood Snake in his hand. With a clench of his fist, the Blood Snake turned into a pool of thick blood and poured down from the air.
At the same time, a Shaman Master among the Bone Devouring Clan grunted as blood flowed out his seven orifices.
The Blood Snake was his ultimate spell, one that he cultivated with his own Blood Essence, so he suffered a huge backlash when Yang Kai destroyed it.
This Shaman Master had combat fighting experience, so upon seeing his Blood Snake easily countered by Yang Kai, he knew that he was by no means Yang Kai’s opponent and attempted to hide in the crowd.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai simply tossed the Myriads Sword like a spear, transforming it into a stream of light that shot through the crowd and pierced straight through the chest of the Bone Devouring Clan Shaman Master before it flew out his back and returned to Yang Kai’s hand.
A dozen Bone Devouring Clansmen who were unlucky enough to be in the way also collapsed.
The targeted Shaman Master could not escape death, as even his Shield Spell was like thin paper in front of the Myriads Sword, standing no chance to defend against Yang Kai’s attack at all.
The Bone Devouring Clansmen were truly appalled and their eyes filled with horror as many of them involuntarily retreated a few steps.
Who could stop this man now that even one of their Shaman Masters was instantly killed by him? Only Shaman Yeow could possibly match him, but Shaman Yeow was being kept busy by the enemies atop of the clouds, and could not be in two places at once.
“Hou!”
The Raging Flame Warriors roared wildly and bravely charged at the Bone Devouring Clansmen, who were retreating timidly. When the two groups collided, despite their superior numbers, the Bone Devouring Clan was the one who was routed.
Yang Kai nodded at Ya who was in the crowd before immediately moving to leave the battlefield.
Although he had created a great advantage for the Raging Flame Clan and Fierce Wind Clan with his two attacks, demoralizing the Bone Devouring Clan, the enemy still held a two to one advantage in numbers, so Yang Kai wasn’t confident his side’s momentum could be maintained in a prolonged battle.
He now had a more important task.
Soon, Yang Kai slipped inside the area of the stone fortress where he had investigated before. The battle had drawn the attention of the Bone Devouring Clan, so no one was guarding this place, not that it would have mattered anyway.
After scanning around with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai quickly found an entrance to the underground at a certain location of the stone fortress. He smashed his way through the gates and quickly descended the steps.
A pungent smell reached the tip of his nose, and a faint light of fire came from deep underground.
Soon, Yang Kai entered a place similar to a dungeon, his footsteps startling the Bone Devouring Clansmen who were guarding the prison.
“What’s going on up there?” One of them asked in a muffled voice.
Yang Kai did not answer as he continued forward.
“I’m asking you what’s going on up there!?” The guard seemed to have a bad temper and yelled impatiently.
The answer that he received was a chilling light in the dark.
Yang Kai walked past him, and his head flew. His burly body shook a few times before falling down on his back, covering the ground with scarlet blood spurting from his neck.
The sudden event shocked the other Bone Devouring Clansmen who were guarding the dungeon. Unfortunately, before they could react, the Myriads Sword was sent flying like a sickle, reaping their lives like wheat.
After retrieving the Myriads Sword, Yang Kai swept his eyes around and saw that this underground prison was split into a dozen cells. Each cell was full, and many pairs of eyes looked at Yang Kai in amazement and anticipation.
A familiar voice suddenly called out, “Ah Niu?”
Yang Kai turned in the direction of the source and saw Ah Hu’s face.
“Brother Ah Niu?”
“Brother Ah Niu is here!”
“Ah Niu came to save us!”
The other villagers of Blue South Village shouted with excitement and joy one after another in the prison cells.
Yang Kai went forward and put his hand on the prison gate, pushing his Shaman Strength slightly to collapse the bars.
The villagers of Blue South Village swarmed out of the cells and without a word spread out to save the other prisoners in the other cells.
Yang Kai looked at them and found that they had no other problems except for being a little weak, but soon, he frowned and asked, “Where’s the Village Chief?”
He did not see that kind old man here.
As soon as he asked this question, the faces of villagers of Blue South Village gathered around Yang Kai darkened.
Yang Kai darted his eyes at Ah Hu, his gaze was as sharp as a knife.
Ah Hu replied with his head down, “Village Chief could not bear the torture when those bastards brought us here… He died on the way.”
Yang Kai said nothing, but his aura was spine-chilling.
Ah Hu looked up with his red eyes, and declared, “Ah Niu, I want revenge!”
“Please avenge the Village Chief!”
The villagers of Blue South Village clenched their teeth as they bellowed.
Yang Kai lifted his head and nodded as he saw the rage burning in their eyes.
At this time, the prisoners in the other cells were also rescued and two people stepped forward, seemingly the leaders of the Raging Flame Clan and Fierce Wind Clan villages. Before they could speak though, Yang Kai turned to them and remarked, “Shaman Chi and Shaman Zhu have brought people here. The clansmen of your two Clans are fighting above with the Bone Devouring Clan now. They need your strength.”
“Shaman Chi is here?”
“Shaman Zhu is here too?”
The clansmen of the two Clans were overjoyed when they received the news. With the presence of two Shaman Grandmasters, the clansmen of both Clans gained great confidence.
“Ah Hu, take everyone to fight with them. We shall not spare the Bone Devouring Clan!”
“Good! Today, we shall not spare the Bone Devouring Clan!”
“No hesitation! No mercy!” Everyone shouted. The hundreds of people seemed to be united through their mutual hatred, and their morale soared up to the sky.
Yang Kai chanted an incantation, and various exquisite Shamanic Spells gathered in his hands, turning into mysterious power that bolstered the strength of the clansmen of all three Clans.
The hundreds of people were shocked.
Especially Ah Hu and the others as all of them felt astonished. Although they knew Ah Niu was a Shaman, none of them had seen someone have the strength to bless hundreds of people with a variety of Shamanic Spells all at once. What’s more, they felt that the Shamanic Spells that Ah Niu casted were much more effective than those cast by the Village Chief.
To say the least, the Bloodlust Spell gave them a very different feeling. At the moment, their originally weak bodies were surging with endless power. If there were a tiger or leopard in front of them, perhaps they could just tear it apart with their bare hands.
All of them wondered just how strong Ah Niu was now.
However, the battle was raging already, so there was no time for questions. Yang Kai simply waved his hand and ordered, “Go! All of you!”
Ah Hu nodded at Yang Kai and led the hundreds of clansmen together with the other two leaders out of the dungeon.
Yang Kai stood still and gently closed his eyes. His Divine Sense spread out like a tide and instantly locked on Shaman Yeow’s location, who was fighting against two people above the clouds.
The next moment, he raised his sword and pointed it to the sky. With a flicker, he turned into a spinning top, and wherever the tip of the sword touched, the earth above him collapsed, gouging out a deep tunnel.
Following a crash, Yang Kai broke through the ground, wrapped himself in the sword light and soared to the sky.
At the same time, Shaman Yeow, who had the upper hand despite fighting two on one, was suddenly alerted as he felt himself become shrouded with the aura of death, causing a chill to shoot up his spine.
Seeing that he was distracted, Chi, who was suppressed earlier, hurriedly jumped away and cast a multi-layered Shield Spell on himself. Cold sweat was trickling down from him like droplets of rain.
It was a dangerous moment just now. He initially thought that with him and Zhu working together, they could at least hold Shaman Yeow back even if they could not kill him. As long as Shaman Niu freed their clansmen who were captured, they would be able to overcome the disparity in numbers on the battlefield then retreat safely.
The main purpose of this battle was to save people, so it was unnecessary to fight the Bone Devouring Clan to the death.
But after they started to fight, only then did Chi find that his judgement was wrong.
Although Yeow was indeed a Mid-Rank Shaman Grandmaster and only a Minor Realm higher than himself and Zhu, the former’s strength was much greater than what Chi had expected. He and Zhu had joined hands, yet still could not get the upper hand against Yeow.
Yeow’s Shaman Artifact was a bottle gourd that was capable of releasing a Blood Sea, one that was highly corrosive, and because Chi and Zhu fell into the Blood Sea, they could only unleash eighty percent of their strength.
Otherwise, things would not have become so difficult.
It was obvious that Yeow was planning to take them out separately. He bound Zhu with the power of Blood Sea, then focused on attacking Chi. It was just a while since the battle started, but Chi had already been forced into a perilous situation. If Yeow had not stepped back just now, Chi would have been seriously injured, if not dead.
[Why did he retreat?] Chi did not understand why, and was not sure if it was one of Yeow’s tactics, so he immediately retreated to Zhu and watched carefully.
But soon, he understood the reason why Yeow retreated.
Because a sensational and exceedingly sharp aura suddenly pierced all of them from the bottom of the Blood Sea. Although the aura was not targeting him, Chi’s Soul was still shaken.
Perhaps, Yeow would not feel any better facing this aura.
Indeed, he was right. Yeow, who had been acting at ease all this while, suddenly seemed to have encountered his natural enemy. He looked notably nervous, and his mouth moved unceasingly to chant more incantations. The Blood Sea rolled up as waves converged at one point then transformed into a whirlpool. A terrifying power that could collapse mountains and split the sea was transmitted from the bloody whirlpool.
Chi drew a chilled breath, his eyes full of terror.
It was not because of Yeow’s great strength; after all, he was just a Mid-Rank Shaman Grandmaster who was a Minor Realm higher than him, so how strong could he be? However, Yeow’s true advantage lay in his Shaman Artifact, the Blood Bottle Gourd.
It was definitely not a Shaman Artifact that a Shaman Grandmaster could easily obtain!
It should be a Shaman Artifact granted by a Shaman King or Shaman Saint. Chi’s heart sank as he thought of this possibility.
Before he could think of anything else, the sharp aura had collided with the Blood Sea, the impact creating a violent rumble. Numerous Sword Qi blades emerged out of thin air and swam within the Blood Sea, shredding a large portion of it into mist.
Chi’s eyes brightened as even though he had no idea where the strong aid came from and was flabbergasted by its power, he knew that it was the best timing for him to fight back. He exchanged a glance with Zhu, communicating with her silently.
The pair immediately began chanting their incantations, the Shaman Artifacts in their hands shining brightly as they charged forward to attack Yeow head-on.
The Blood Sea shook and formed a wall with its waves, guarding Yeow’s front, neutralizing the attacks of the two Shaman Grandmasters. Not only that, but their Shaman Artifacts were also damaged by the Blood Sea and lost a lot of their spirituality, which devastated the pair.
However, their actions more or less restrained Yeow, resulting in him being less able to resist the power of the sword aura.
The bloody whirlpool abruptly became disordered and scattered and a sword light surfaced out from the whirlpool together with its wielder who immediately slashed towards Yeow.
“Hou!” Yeow was not surprised by this development and lifted his hand as he bellowed, condensing arrows of blood that he sent flying towards the approaching sword.
*Chi chi chi chi… *
The arrow rain hindered the progression of the sword light, and gradually dimmed it as it was contaminated by the putrid blood light, revealing a person behind it.
Following a cold snort, Yang Kai landed on the Blood Sea and looked at his surrounding environment in surprise.
“It’s you!” Chi looked at Yang Kai in shock. He could not believe that the sudden strong aid was actually the Shaman Master of the South Barbarian Clan.
But was he really a Shaman Master? How could he be so strong?
Even Zhu’s eyes bulged as she obviously could not believe what she was seeing.
“A Shaman Master?” Yeow frowned. He thought that the intruder should be at least a High-Rank Shaman Grandmaster; however, when he examined Yang Kai clearly, he found that his opponent was still just a Shaman Master. But soon, Yeow showed an enlightened face and stopped his eyes at the Myriads Sword.
He noticed that the main reason why this Shaman Master could unleash far more power than he should be able to was because of this sword, which was definitely a Shaman Artifact that could not be ignored by even a Shaman King or Shaman Saint.
After realizing it, Yeow could not help cackling. The most powerful use of his Blood Sea was to corrode Shaman Artifacts, so no matter how powerful the Shaman Artifact was, it would lose a great deal of its spirituality if it was even stained with a little blood.
It was unwise to rely on the power of a Shaman Artifact to fight him.
As long as he could corrode the spirituality of this sword, he could do whatever he wanted in the Blood Sea, and it did not matter if there were two or three enemies to him.
But in the next moment, Yeow trembled and looked in front of him in horror.
Because Yang Kai just waved the Myriad Sword slightly and the blood on it vanished. The bright sword reappeared, and there was not the slightest corrosion that could be noticed.
[How is this possible!?]
Just when he was stunned, Yang Kai turned into a streak of light and charged at Yeow again.
“Be careful!” Chi was appalled. Although he was astonished by Yang Kai’s previous amazing move, he was still just a Shaman Master. How could he end well if he rushed towards the enemy so rashly?
Yeow burst into laughter as he stared at Yang Kai as if he were a dead man. As soon as he raised his hand, the Blood Sea separated and covered Yang Kai like a tsunami, causing the latter to vanish instantly under its crimson waves.
Jaw dropped, Chi revealed a furious expression, secretly cursing this South Barbarian Clan Shaman Master for not being able to achieve anything. Yeow’s Blood Sea was hard enough to deal with in the first place, but now that Yeow had melted down this Shaman Master to supplement his own strength, perhaps he would become even more powerful. If that happened, Chi and Zhu had no chance of winning.
[Retreat now!] Such thoughts came to his mind as there was still a possibility that they could survive if they escaped; otherwise, if Yeow managed to change his focus back to them, he and Zhu would not be able to leave even if they wanted to. As for his people, he could not care much about them now and just hoped that as many of them could escape as possible.
Although he considered it, Chi did not make a move because he saw something wrong with Yeow’s expression.
Logically, Yeow should be delighted to get rid of a strong enemy; however, he did not look happy at all. Instead, he looked a little shocked.
[Is there something wrong?]
Before he could finish his thought, a figure broke out from the Blood Sea. His animal skin clothes were entirely corroded, revealing a comparably small and weak Barbarian physique. Nevertheless, his seemingly small and weak body was unscathed and he swiftly arrived in front of Yeow like a gust of wind, lifted the huge sword high, and slashed down furiously.
Yeow was terrified of the sword as, although he was aware that it was only a simple slash, he could not dodge it no matter how much he tried, as if he had been locked in the spot.
He spewed out his Blood Essence in a hurry, and forcibly tried to retreat.
*Chi…*
Following a light slicing sound, Yeow’s left arm was severed and fell into the Blood Sea, turning into pus in the blink of an eye, agitating the Blood Sea to tremble more and more violently.
“You…” Dumbstruck, Yeow took a few steps back and looked at Yang Kai in horror as he covered the wound of his severed arm.
He had no idea how his opponent survived being engulfed by his Blood Sea, even emerging shortly after being drowned in the corrosive red liquid to cut off his arm.
Just as Yeow spoke, a cold face suddenly appeared in front of him, so close that they nearly bumped into each other.
Yeow was frightened out of his wits and hurriedly retreated, forming a bloody whirlpool beneath his feet with a single thought that he fell directly into, trying to hide himself.
At that moment though, his opponent’s right eye suddenly turned into a golden light, and a single majestic, heart palpitating, vertical pupil abruptly appeared. There was a mystical power in this pupil, which seemed to be tugging at his very Soul, making Yeow feel extremely uneasy.
That moment of distraction delayed Yeow’s escape.
Yang Kai slashed up with his Myriads Sword, and Yeow’s right arm flew off.
Yeow let out a scream as the severe pain shocked him back to his senses. He dared not hesitate anymore and quickly vanished into the Blood Sea.
Yang Kai shook his head and looked exasperated.
He could not unleash his full strength here due to the different World Principles of this ancient era and the suppression of this Sealed World. He already felt exhausted using his Demon Eye of Annihilation only once. However, since Yeow suffered serious injuries, with both arms being severed, he probably dared not to show up in front of Yang Kai again.
The vast Blood Sea trembled as a dumbfounded Chi and Zhu stood in place and gawked at Yang Kai.
[Was what I saw just now… real?] Both of them suspected something was wrong with their eyes.
A Shaman Master swung his sword twice and actually successfully cut off both of Yeow’s arms? On the other hand, Yeow did not seem to have the intention to dodge at all and took the slashes like a fool.
The two did not understand what happened in the battle even though they were Shaman Grandmasters.
However, it was still too early to celebrate their victory. Although Yeow was severely injured, he managed to hide inside the Blood Sea, and he could move freely inside of it. No one knew when he would ambush them.
Just as these thoughts fleeted through their minds, Yang Kai suddenly turned to both of them, and his cold eyes made Chi and Zhu’s hearts clench.
The next moment, a shocking scene was revealed in front of their eyes. Shaman Niu raised his hand and a pitch-black, blade-like attack strangely appeared, slashing towards them with a dreadful, deadly aura.
The pair had no doubt that they would die immediately if they took such a blow directly.
“What are you doing?” Zhu shouted furiously. At that moment, she thought that this Shaman Niu attacked his own side because his consciousness was polluted by the Blood Sea.
While speaking, she and Chi cast a Shield Spell together in front of themselves.
But the dark blade sliced through their Shield Spell without even slowing and struck towards their heads.
A chill was sent down the spines of the two Shaman Grandmasters as the aura of death surrounded them and actually made their minds go blank.
The next moment, a terrible scream came up from behind them.
It was Yeow’s voice!
Chi and Zhu were appalled. They did not have time to think about why they were still alive and intact as they hurriedly turned around and saw Yeow, who was filled with resentment and panic. His right leg was cut off for some reason as he quickly hid back into the Blood Sea, disappearing again.
“He was targeting you,” Yang Kai shouted, “Be careful!”
Chi and Zhu were ashamed when they heard this rebuke.
They had no clue when Yeow emerged behind them, and if Yang Kai had not initiated a pre-emptive strike, perhaps one of them would have died just now.
The three stood still in the Blood Sea.
Yang Kai spread his Divine Sense to his surroundings while his lightning sharp eyes darted around in search of Yeow. Chi and Zhu dared not to let down their guard either as they stood back-to-back to protect themselves from another ambush.
The Blood Sea was no longer trembling, but had calmed down into a tranquil state.
However, everyone knew that Yeow had not escaped and was still there.
It was not that he did not want to escape, but rather that he couldn’t. Once he emerged from the Blood Sea, the peculiar and powerful Shaman Niu would not let him go. After witnessing Shaman Niu’s skills, Chi and Zhu no longer treated him as a mere Shaman Master; after all, he was the person who could cut off Yeow’s limbs and force him into a completely passive position with just a few moves.
“Do you think I won’t be able to do anything to you if you keep hiding?” Yang Kai suddenly voiced out with ridicule and disdain, “Today, this Shaman will make you pay with your life!”
When those words fell, Yang Kai suddenly reached out and summoned a longan sized bead.
The bead looked ordinary, but when it was activated by Yang Kai, a black vortex with an irresistible suction force suddenly formed from it.
The Blood Sea that filled the whole sky rushed into the vortex.
Chi and Zhu’s eyes lit up, silently thrilled.
Given the situation now, Yeow dared not to reveal himself and was counting on his Blood Sea to hide. The two of them had no effective way to catch him, so they were afraid that they would let Yeow get away if the situation persisted.
After all, they could not stay in this Blood Sea for the rest of their lives.
But now, when they saw the power of Shaman Niu’s Shaman Artifact, it seemed that things had once again turned in their favour.
As long as the Blood Sea was completely removed, there would be no place for Yeow to hide. The only question now was whether the unremarkable-looking bead could absorb such a vast Blood Sea.
Of course, the answer was yes!
The Sealed World Bead was a whole world of its own, so although Yeow’s Blood Sea was not small, it was nothing compared to the Sealed World Bead. It would be completely devoured sooner or later.
As Chi and Zhu watched nervously, the Blood Sea that shrouded the whole sky visibly decreased and shrunk while the suction power bead did not weaken at all, the huge vortex continually drawing in the Blood Sea.
Within a stick of incense worth of time, the Blood Sea had shrunk to half its original size.
At this time, Yeow, who was hiding in the Blood Sea to heal his wounds, could no longer sit back and do nothing. Eighty percent of his strength was based on this Blood Sea, and without it, he definitely would not be able to fight back.
The calm Blood Sea suddenly trembled again and under a vicious roiling, a figure swam towards Chi and Zhu, moving so silently and secretly that even the vigilant Chi and Zhu did not notice him.
Following a sound of a crash, Yeow abruptly appeared in front of Zhu like a bolt of lightning falling from the Heavens, a ferocious grin on his face. His arms and leg that were previously cut off by Yang Kai were somehow recovered with notably fair and tender newborn skin, though they were not as muscular as before.
In fright, Zhu quickly performed a hand seal and a Shield Spell lit up immediately.
At the same time, a wind blade slashed towards Yeow in an attempt to force him to retreat.
The Blood Sea surged, and a wall of blood formed in front of Yeow, serving as a blockade against the wind blade. The blood wall collapsed, but Yeow was not there anymore.
Zhu noticed that her Shamanic Spell Shield was broken and was scared out of her wits, feeling chills all over her body.
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her, and although it was not tall and in fact, seemed quite scrawny and weak, it gave her an illusion of formidability.
[Shaman Niu!]
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and grabbed something. It seemed that he had caught something in the sky covering blood fog, and after a grunt, Yeow’s figure reappeared. However, his neck was now grasped by Yang Kai, like a helpless chicken.
Zhu gasped for breath as lingering fear could be seen on her face.
Everything happened so fast that she could not react at all. If this Shaman Niu had not come out at the critical moment and accurately caught Yeow, who was hidden in the blood fog, perhaps she would have been killed.
[How did he do that?] Zhu’s mind was blank, but she also wondered if this was the right time to think about such a thing. Now that Yeow was captured, given all the skills and strength that this Shaman Niu had displayed previously, Yeow would not be able to do anything, and it could be said that they had already won the battle.
Just when she began to feel relieved, she suddenly saw Yeow revealing a weird grin and asking in an aloof manner, “Do you think you’ve caught me?”
Zhu was confused, and she instinctively felt something was wrong, but she was unsure what it was.
“Do you think you’ve succeeded?” Yang Kai sneered as he asked back.
Yeow who had a victorious grin on his face suddenly showed a look of shock, and before he could say anything, Yang Kai tightened his grip, and snapped his neck.
*Hualala… *
Yeow’s broken body abruptly dissolved into blood, and returned to the Blood Sea.
“A Blood Soul Clone!” Chi and Zhu were appalled.
[If what Shaman Niu caught was Yeow’s Blood Soul Clone, where is the real Yeow now?] A realization dawned on both of them, and they turned around simultaneously. They saw that above the Blood Sea, Yeow had already reappeared in front of the bead that was continuing to draw in the crimson liquid. He reached out to grab the bead, obviously trying to snatch this Shaman Artifact.
This was undoubtedly a wise move.
Yeow’s strength was established on the foundation of the Blood Sea, so now that Shaman Niu had a Shaman Artifact that could counter his Blood Sea, and given that Shaman Niu was already unreasonably strong, Chi and Zhu would do the same if they were Yeow, which was to find a way to snatch away the Shaman Artifact first.
Without the Shaman Artifact that could counter his Blood Sea, Yeow would be invincible.
Previously, the Blood Soul Clone that he used to ambush Zhu was just a distraction to lure Shaman Niu away from the Shaman Artifact.
The facts proved that Yeow’s tactic was quite effective as Shaman Niu’s attention on the Shaman Artifact was indeed redirected, and the unguarded Shaman Artifact was now grabbed by Yeow.
At this moment, Yeow should have been ecstatic, but… He instead showed a deep fear on his face.
His hand that was holding the Shaman Artifact shook violently, as if it was struck by lightning.
“Fool!” Yang Kai sneered as he casually walked over towards Yeow on top of the Blood Sea.
Yeow was panic stricken seeing Yang Kai approach and madly surged the Shaman Strength of his whole body, but he still could not free himself from the suction of the Sealed World Bead.
He thought that everything would be fine after snatching the Sealed World Bead, but he had no clue that Yang Kai’s very Soul was connected to it, allowing him to control the Sealed World Bead with just a single thought.
Shaman Artifacts were very different from modern artifacts. If the Sealed World Bead was really a Shaman Artifact, Yeow would have succeeded in snatching it; however, the Sealed World Bead was a world unto itself, so how could Yeow seize an entire world with his measly strength without first refining it?
Even if it was a Shaman King or a Shaman Saint, they would not be able to pick it up either.
Instead, he was locked in place by the suction force from the Sealed World Bead.
Seeing that Yang Kai was approaching closer and closer, Yeow started to look flustered. Previously, there were not many changes with his expression even when his two arms and leg were cut off. But right now, he felt true despair.
Not begging for mercy or showing any sign of cowardice, Yeow looked at Yang Kai coldly and grinned, “The Bone Devouring Clan will not let you go!”
When the words fell, he put on a resolute face and the Shaman Strength of his whole body began rampaging.
Yang Kai frowned, and stopped his movement.
The next moment, Yeow’s body exploded with a loud bang, spraying blood all over the sky which then rained down on the ground, dying it red.
Yeow chose to self-destruct in his desperate situation, which demonstrated his strength of will.
However, most Ancient Barbarians were like him. It was very rare for them to choose to die a lingering death under the situation of certain death.
The Blood Sea disappeared, and the sky became clear again. At that moment, the sun had risen and dawn had come to the world, though a chill still permeated the air.
The battle below was continuing. There were seven to eight hundred people from the stone fortress of the Bone Devouring Clan, while even though only three hundred people of Raging Flame Clan and Fierce Wind Clan came here, they had some advantage in numbers after the addition of the prisoners Yang Kai freed earlier.
The only downside was that they had fewer Shamans than their opponents. There were only seven to eight Shamans from the three Clans, but the Bone Devouring Clan had twenty of them.
Therefore, the war remained an earth-shaking contest. Both sides were almost equal in strength, and more and more Barbarians were killed on the battlefield.
However, the balanced situation tilted the moment Yeow died.
When the Blood Sea that covered the whole sky vanished, everyone looked up to check the result of that fight. In a sense, the results of that battle were basically the final outcome for their current skirmish.
Seeing three figures standing up in the sky, the Clansmen of three Clans cheered wildly, while the faces of the Bone Devouring Clansmen went ashen.
“Kill!” Following a roar, the three Barbarian Clans launched a final assault. The Bone Devouring Clan that lost Yeow was no longer qualified to compete with the three Clans, and due to their loss of morale, the balance was broken in an instant.
Without saying a word, Zhu and Chi flew down and crashed through the battlefield with their powerful Shamanic Spells. Whenever they raised and waved their hands, enemies would die. The twenty or so Shamans of Bone Devouring Clan were all killed after less than ten breaths of time.
Without the support of their own Shamans, the combat power of the Bone Devouring Clan warriors was greatly reduced, and they were soon slaughtered.
It was a one-sided massacre in the later stage of the fight. Nevertheless, no one showed mercy, because the enemies in front of them were the Bone Devouring Clan! They were the scourge of the Barbarian Race, a Clan that should have been eliminated long ago.
The battle lasted for half a day, and when everything was over, the stone fortress was filled with blood and corpses while every last Bone Devouring Clansman was killed.
The clansmen of three Clans began to inspect the battlefield once the dust settled and gave the Bone Devouring Clansmen, whether dead or alive, a final strike to ensure their death.
Then, they began to gather the bodies of their clansmen.
As night fell, a simple ceremony was held outside the stone fortress where the dead from all three Clans were stacked together and cremated by Chi.
The Ancient Barbarian Race believed that after the death of a clansman, the hot flames could return them to the embrace of the Barbarian Gods.
After taking a whole night to clean out the stone fortress, the three Clans were ready to leave. Although almost everyone was injured and some even needed to be carried due to the loss of their limbs, everyone was delighted.
It was a great achievement to save their people from the hands of the Bone Devouring Clan.
Not far away, Chi, Zhu, and Yang Kai were whispering while taking a walk.
“Shaman Niu, you have to be careful of the Bone Devouring Clan trying to take revenge!” Zhu reminded solemnly, “The Bone Devouring Clan seeks vengeance for even the slightest grievance, so they definitely won’t sit back and do nothing after we wiped out one of their subordinate clans.”
Chi nodded, “You should find time to meet the Shaman Kings of your Clan. It would be better for them to handle this situation; after all, it was the Bone Devouring Clan who started this. With the intervention of a Shaman King, perhaps this matter can be settled.”
“It’s not going to be so easy,” Yang Kai shook his head. “Didn’t you notice that Yeow’s Shaman Artifact was not something that a Shaman Grandmaster could easily possess?”
Zhu and Chi’s face changed slightly at his words as they had obviously also realized this.
Yang Kai continued, “To have such a Shaman Artifact means Yeow’s background is not simple. He’s either the descendant of a Shaman King or the Shaman Saint of the Bone Devouring Clan. Either that, or he is highly valued by those Shaman Kings and Shaman Saint. We have caused great trouble by killing him, and it may not be resolved easily by the intervention of a Shaman King.”
Zhu replied, “But no matter what, we will stand a better chance with the intervention of the Shaman Kings. We can’t fight an enemy Shaman King alone with our current strength.”
Yang Kai smiled lightly and said nothing.
He was a Shaman Master now, and it was true that he might be no match for a Shaman King; however, with access to his Divine Sense, he could actually use Space Principles, so he was not afraid of facing a Shaman King.
Furthermore, as long as he was given enough time, his strength would definitely soar.
On the other hand, Zhu and Chi had no power to fight back if they were confronted by a Shaman King from the Bone Devouring Clan, so it was reasonable that they wanted to seek the protection of the Shaman Kings of their own Clans.
The three walked and talked all the way, and although Chi and Zhu’s cultivation was much higher than Yang Kai’s, they dared not underestimate him anymore after the bloody battle yesterday.
They were not capable of forcing a Mid-Rank Shaman Grandmaster to self-destruct.
As such, they took the initiative to lower their status and had an equal exchange with Yang Kai.
Half a day later, the three Clans parted ways, and Yang Kai led the two hundred surviving villagers back to Blue South Village.
Blue South Village originally had three hundred villagers, but after this incident, a third of their people had been lost, and as the only Shaman left in the village, Yang Kai naturally became its new Chief.
Three days later, Yang Kai and the two hundred people arrived at Blue South Village. Seeing the village full of ruins, many villagers were somewhat dejected.
At the entrance of the village, Tiea suddenly appeared, looked at Yang Kai, and nodded at him.
Eight children came out from behind Tiea and ran to their parents respectively, hugging them as both sides cried loudly.
The villagers were surprised to see Tiea, a stranger here, but fortunately, the villagers had little contact with the outside world and were unfamiliar with the Nomad Clan, so they were just a little curious about her. Tiea’s physique was somewhat similar to that of Ah Niu’s, which was not as burly as that of ordinary Ancient Barbarians, so that actually made the villagers have a friendly impression of her.
Yang Kai briefly introduced Tiea, stating that she was his friend, to the villagers. Immediately, she was warmly welcomed by the clansmen.
Since the village was destroyed, it naturally needed to be rebuilt. Fortunately, the villagers were all tall and sturdy, so the task was simple.
The reconstruction took less than five days, and the dilapidated village returned to its former appearance.
Once restoration work was completed, Yang Kai sat cross-legged in a wooden house and checked the contents of his Space Ring for a while, eventually taking out a Ninth-Order Monster Core.
If it was before, Yang Kai would not have paid any attention to the Monster Core of a Ninth-Order Monster Beast. Back then, Yang Kai only picked up Ninth-Order and above Monster Cores while collecting them in the Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb of the Ancient Wild Lands. He did not keep any Monster Cores that were lower than Ninth Order, otherwise, he would have several million of them rather than just one million.
Nevertheless, this Ninth-Order Monster Core might still be too potent for him now.
The Monster Beast Cores that Yang Kai used for cultivating before were nothing special, the highest grade one only being equivalent to that of a Sixth-Order Monster Beast’s Core. At the moment, this Ninth-Order Monster Core was just like a table of delicacies compared to the cabbage soup which Yang Kai used to eat, but he wondered if he could stomach it.
However, at this point, Yang Kai could not afford to hesitate. His physique was currently in good condition, so even if the energy of the Ninth-Order Monster Core would burden him, it shouldn’t hurt too much.
Yang Kai opened his mouth and swallowed the Monster Core, then immediately circulated his Shaman Art.
This Shaman Art was not the one taught by the Village Chief, but the one received from Senior Qing’s knowledge. It was a brilliant Shaman Art that was completely incomparable with the one taught by the Village Chief.
As the Shaman Art circulated, Yang Kai immediately felt a difference.
After all, he was an Emperor Realm Master and was naturally able to figure out the quality of a Secret Art with just a try. This Shaman Art was indeed amazing, boosting Yang Kai’s rate of cultivation more than ten times compared to before.
The most important thing was that he had ingested a Ninth-Order Monster Core.
A burning sensation filled his stomach, like a burning flame. When the surging energy shrunk and expanded again, Yang Kai’s belly inflated into a round swell in an instant. If his physique had not been strong enough, these changes alone would be enough to make him explode and die.
His face turned red, and veins surfaced on his forehead. Blood flowed out of Yang Kai’s nostrils from the overwhelming energy, but he remained as motionless as a mountain, focusing his mind on refining this wild energy with his Shaman Art.
His breathing was like the waves in the sea, the wooden house shook, and the surrounding World Energy trembled, frightening the villagers, who were utterly clueless about what was happening.
On the other hand, Tiea, who was teaching the children about the cultivating methods nearby, noticed some clues and stopped Ah Hu and the others from rushing into the wooden house.
Tiea had integrated into the village very quickly and helped a lot in the five-day reconstruction. For the villagers of Blue South Village, she was already a member of the village, and everyone knew that she was a powerful Shaman like Ah Niu.
Naturally, everyone listened to her.
This bizarre phenomenon persisted for a whole day before the activity in Yang Kai’s wooden house gradually subsided.
Inside the wooden house, Yang Kai’s round belly became flat again. The Ninth-Order Monster Core was refined by his Shaman Art, fused into his physique, and turned into his own powerful capital.
His cultivation was greatly improved all at once.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai took out another Ninth-Order Monster Core and swallowed it.
Once again, the torrent of wind and energy fluctuations that shocked the villagers repeated in the shaking wooden house.
…..
A month passed, and over that time, almost all the villagers in Blue South Village had gotten used to all kinds of abnormal activities in Ah Niu’s wooden house. They had changed from the initial curiosity to the present calm because they had experienced this abnormality countless times.
In the beginning, this kind of activity only happened once a day before gradually subsiding. However, this strange phenomenon became more and more frequent as time passed, and it subsided more and more quickly.
Tiea explained that Ah Niu was cultivating.
The villagers knew nothing about Shaman Arts and Shamanic Spells, but they felt that this cultivation was different from that of their previous Village Chief. The Village Chief had cultivated before, but there was never such an alarming display. However, they just listened to Tiea since she said so.
Ah Niu didn’t show himself this entire month. The villagers worried that he would starve to death in his house, but Tiea had stopped Ah Ni and the others from delivering food several times, causing Ah Ni to gain a little grudge against her.
However, if one wanted to point fingers, it was Ah Niu who was irresponsible for acting like this. Back then, when the Village Chief led everyone, he would guide everyone in every detail. Nevertheless, when Ah Niu became the new leader of the village, other than helping them in the five-day reconstruction, he just disappeared for the rest of the time.
Ah Hu and the others could only act according to the circumstances. If they faced some obstacles, they would approach Tiea, and although she did not have much experience, she could still manage the affairs of the village pretty well, which helped the villagers a lot.
For now, even though Tiea’s prestige was not as high as Yang Kai’s in the village, it was only slightly inferior.
On this day, the peaceful village was suddenly alarmed by a sharp whistle.
The villagers rushed out of their wooden houses one after another. Ah Hu and the other youngsters looked solemn, ready to fight at any time because the whistle coming from the wall was a warning alarm.
This noise represented that an outsider had come to the village.
“What’s the matter!?” Ah Hu ran up to the wall, and looked at the archer that was on guard duty.
“A Shaman Grandmaster has come!” The archer pointed forward, and Ah Hu looked in that direction. Sure enough, he saw a man flying their way from the sky.
A Shaman Grandmaster! A notably powerful Shaman Grandmaster!
Only Shaman Masters and those that were stronger could fly freely through the sky like birds.
Ah Hu’s face suddenly darkened.
“He’s injured!” Tiea’s voice suddenly came from the side. Ah Hu had no idea when she arrived, but after knowing her for a month, Ah Hu and the others understood that Tiea was also an outstanding Shaman Grandmaster.
Since she said it, it must be so.
“Injured?” Ah Hu frowned. When he looked again, he indeed realized it too. The Shaman Grandmaster who was flying over was unsteady and trembling. As he was approaching, Ah Hu could vaguely see traces of blood on him.
The Shaman Grandmaster really was injured.
“It’s the person from the Raging Flame Clan.” Tiea remarked.
“Shaman Chi!” Ah Hu finally saw his face, and could not help exclaiming.
It was none other than Shaman Chi of the Raging Flame Clan. They met in the stone fortress of the Bone Devouring Clan a month ago. As far as Ah Hu knew, Shaman Chi was a Shaman Grandmaster, so who could possibly injure him? Looking at his appearance at the moment, it was obvious that he was in a bad condition. He had lost his right arm, and blood was spurting from the wound, staining half of his body red.
From the wound, it seemed that it was not caused by a sharp weapon, but was… torn off by brute force.
Thinking of this, Ah Hu felt a chill down his spine.
Who could face an enemy capable of tearing off the arms of a Shaman Grandmaster?
In an instant, Ah Hu made the only decision he could, “Get Ah Niu here!”
He froze as soon as he spoke though, because he discovered that Ah Niu had already appeared behind him, floating mid-air, looking ahead coldly.
Chi, who sped over from the distance, also detected Yang Kai’s presence, and while there was a touch of pleasant surprise on his face, he suddenly came to a halt. His eyes widened, and his face was filled with horror as he trembled violently, unable to move at all, as if he was squeezed tightly by a huge invisible hand.
His face turned blue then purple as he grit his teeth and roared, “Quick… Run!”
As soon as those words left his lips, his body suddenly expanded and the crude animal skin clothes on his body were torn apart, exposing the skin underneath that had become transparent, revealing the blood vessels inside.
*Chiii… *
His skin reached its limits soon and Chi’s whole body erupted into a cloud of blood, without any remaining flesh and bones!
“Ah!”
Many villagers in Blue South Village were taken aback, unable to understand what was going on, all of them taking a few steps back in shock over Chi’s miserable fate.
When they looked over at the location of the tragic incident again, a burly figure appeared. This man was clad in a heroic attire, and on his waist hung a few uneven-sized skulls, each of them exuding a chilling aura that enveloped the entire Blue South Village.
The strange man was holding something in his hand, all the while looking at Yang Kai with a grin while he gnawed at the food in his other hand.
“The Bone Devouring Clan!” Ah Hu muttered as he identified the man from the unique patterns on his face.
It was well known that the Bone Devouring Clan would seek revenge for the slightest grievance, so when Ah Niu and the other two clans cleared out a small fortress of the Bone Devouring Clan, Ah Hu was already a little worried that the Bone Devouring Clan would retaliate. He was planning to suggest to Ah Niu about migrating the clan, but he could not because Ah Niu had closed himself inside his house.
It seemed that his predictions were right; the Bone Devouring Clan had really come to retaliate.
And the strength of this person was absolutely terrifying. After all, even the Shaman Grandmaster Chi was killed by him. Would Ah Niu stand a chance against such a foe?
The villagers nearby who heard Ah Hu were shocked. They had a deep experience of the horror of the Bone Devouring Clan and as they took a clear look of the object the Bone Devouring Clan Shaman was holding, the blood drained from their faces.
It was a calf belonging to a child definitely not more than five years old, its skin soft and tender. Tearing off a large piece of flesh with each bite, the Bone Devouring Clan’s Shaman chewed on the meat with relish, his appearance turning more and more ferocious.
The villagers felt extremely revolted, fighting hard to resist the urge to vomit.
Yang Kai’s eyes darkened slightly as he glanced at the blood-drenched ground resulting from Chi’s death and sighed.
Although he did not know what happened to Chi, he had a vague idea.
The Shaman of the Bone Devouring Clan did not kill Chi immediately, but rather deliberately pursued him torturously to locate Blue South Village. During this torturous period, he may have used many methods to prevent Chi from going to the main Clan of the Raging Flame Clan, forcing him to have no choice but to seek out other reliable allies.
But in any case, there was only one explanation as to how a Shaman like him was to be able to manipulate a Shaman Grandmaster like Chi. He was a Shaman King!
“I recognize the smell of your aura.”
The Shaman of the Bone Devouring Clan suddenly spoke, eyeing Yang Kai with scorching eyes, “You were in the stone fortress.”
Yang Kai sneered, “Yeah. I killed Yeow.”
The Shaman scoffed, “You?”
He obviously did not think Yang Kai had the ability to kill Yeow. After what happened in the stone fortress, he used many ways and methods to reproduce the battle that day and even though the traces were vague, it was enough for him to track down the murderer.
He visited the Fierce Wind Clan and the Raging Flame Clan, destroying two small villages and killing everyone who had been in the stone fortress that day. However, his last target was difficult to locate, as if something was blinding his senses. In the end, he could only use Chi to lead him to the last culprit of that day.
The plan was very successful as the desperate Chi had led him to this backwater place.
When he smelled Yang Kai’s aura, the Shaman decisively finished off Chi.
Now all he needed to do was destroy this small village. The majesty of the Bone Devouring Clan was inviolable, and any enemy who dared spill their blood would surely receive vengeance a thousand times over.
“You think I’m not capable?” Yang Kai asked with a smirk, and at the same time quietly transmitted a message to Tiea, instructing her to take the villagers into hiding. Although Yang Kai’s strength soared during this month-long retreat, he was facing a Shaman King, so he wouldn’t underestimate his opponent and could not afford to be distracted by the Blue South Village. If the villagers did not withdraw, the power of the upcoming battle would be sufficient to extinguish their Souls.
The Shaman snorted coldly, refusing to reply.
“Yeow felt the same way before he died!” Yang Kai snickered deeply.
The Shaman King asked condescendingly, “Are you trying to say that I, Shaman Chei, will end in the same way?”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, but that gesture was undoubtedly a tacit approval.
Shaman Chei looked at Yang Kai for a moment before he began cackling loudly. The laughter was thunderous, and it actually had a mysterious effect. The villagers who were quietly evacuating were caught off guard by it and began oozing blood from their mouths and noses.
Except for Yang Kai, who was right in front of him and remained unmoved.
As soon as the laughter stopped, Shaman Chei studied Yang Kai, and found that he was not pretending to be calm, but was indeed completely unscathed. Now, he found that this was a bit strange, “Hmm… it seems that this trivial Shaman Grandmaster does have… some skill…”
He was still a Shaman King, despite being a Low-Rank one, so how could his voice infused with his power be resisted by a mere Shaman Grandmaster? Nevertheless, Yang Kai stood there like an unchanging mountain, completely unaffected by his trick.
While muttering to himself, Shaman Chei dropped the calf in his hand and patted his stomach. Shaman Strength surged out as he belted out a howl and the skulls hanging around his waist emitted a freezing cold aura; their hollow eyes flashing with a green glow as they flew out together.
“How dare you to kill my Bone Devouring Clansmen; today, this Shaman will turn you all into food!”
As Shaman Chei roared, the flying skulls expanded in the air into the size of houses. They scattered and fenced the village, spitting an eerie and cold aura from their mouths, freezing the earth and log houses wherever it touched, extinguishing all signs of life.
In the blink of an eye, the village turned into a burial ground flooded with Death Qi.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had secretly made arrangements with Tiea and at this moment, the villagers had all gathered in the middle of the village and were about to retreat into the underground escape tunnel, so there were no casualties.
This tunnel was excavated under Tiea’s lead. After the last experience with the Bone Devouring Clan, the existence of this tunnel was to ensure the villagers’ safety if a similar situation occurred again.
When Tiea made this suggestion, Ah Hu and the others naturally cooperated wholeheartedly.
In a month, this tunnel was covertly dug out to a hidden place thirty kilometres away, enough to put a safe distance away from any disasters in the village.
However, the Death Qi was spreading extremely fast, and it took time for more than two hundred villagers to retreat. If nothing was done to prevent the Death Qi’s expansion, they would certainly not be able to evacuate safely.
Fortunately, when the skulls began operating, Yang Kai also made his move.
With a flicker, he instantly appeared in front of a huge skull.
Seeing this situation, Shaman Chei could not help but raise his brows and snicker with disdain, “You court death!”
These skulls were Shaman Artifacts that he had been refining for years, and they were more difficult to handle directly than even he was. If Yang Kai had chosen to attack his body, Chei may have to make an effort to repel him, but this boy actually decided to target his Shaman Artifacts instead.
Shaman Chei communicated with the skull and the green glimmer in its eyes flashed wildly, spewing a massive amount of cold aura from its mouth to completely envelope Yang Kai.
This frigid Death Qi was made by collecting the grievances of all those who were killed and consumed by Chei. It was mysterious and powerful; not to mention Yang Kai who was just a Shaman Grandmaster, even if a Shaman King was enveloped by this Death Qi, they would be haunted by evil spirits and have their mind thrown into chaos. By that time, they would become easy to manipulate and kill.
Shaman Chei could almost foresee Yang Kai’s end; he would be frozen on the spot by the chilling Death Qi, and then consumed by the skull.
All of a sudden, a five-coloured light ray burst out of the dense, cold Death Qi. The power of the Five Elements in the ray of light mutually reinforced and counterbalanced each other endlessly. It was like a pillar standing firm amidst the monstrous flood of Death Qi, and even seemed to be expanding slowly.
Shaman Chei frowned, instinctively doubting the situation.
His opponent was indeed just a Shaman Grandmaster, and in fact, he should be a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster. It was completely unreasonable for Yang Kai to be able to resist the power of his Shaman Artifact, but the scene before Chei was beyond his understanding.
The Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi pulsed rapidly and the formidable Death Qi that could subdue a Shaman King was thwarted.
Yang Kai lifted his sword high, surging power from his entire body, and a beam of light suddenly materialized and soared into the sky with a force that could pierce a hole in the clouds.
In the next moment, with a slash, a sword light that could divide rivers and the seas fell, splitting the icy Death Qi into two clear halves before continuing on to the giant skull.
A sharp howl echoed, and the green ghostly fire in the skull’s eye sockets flickered violently while under the sharp impact force of the sword light, the skull was sent flying so fast it looked like it would be thrown out of the world itself.
Shaman Chei was shocked. He never expected that a mere Shaman Grandmaster could exert such strength and hurriedly stretched out his hand to summon back his skull, which shrunk and returned to his hand.
Shaman Chei looked down at the skull and immediately became infuriated, his face twisting in rage.
There was actually a crack on his Shaman Artifact!
This was a Shaman Artifact of a Shaman King, so under normal circumstances, it would not take any damage no matter how much another attacked it, let alone a crack. However, the small crack on the Shaman Artifact now seemed to be mocking him for his ignorance with a big, wide smile.
While he was still examining the skull, he sensed a sudden movement and when he looked up, he roared, “Enough!”
The Shaman Grandmaster with a rather scrawny appearance was flying towards another skull and preparing to swing his sword at it. After suffering such a big loss previously, Shaman Chei learnt of his opponent’s ability, and hurriedly summoned back all his Shaman Artifacts that were releasing the chilling Death Qi that was turning the village below into a dead zone.
The six skulls flew back together, shrunk back to their original size, and surrounded him like small moons.
Without the skulls, the Death Qi that shrouded the village soon dissipated like snowflakes under the scorching sun.
Yang Kai rested the Myriads Sword on his shoulder and looked at Shaman Chi unconcerned, even laughing, “Not to boast, but you should really give this your all if you want to survive.”
Shaman Chei’s eyelids twitched. He would not even pay it any mind if another Shaman Grandmaster spoke to him like this; however, this Shaman Grandmaster in front of him… was a little different.
“Did you really kill Yeow?” Shaman Chei questioned coldly.
“Yes and no. He self-destructed in the end!”
“Then, it really is you!” Shaman Chei was maddened. He had some doubts before, because given Yeow’s capabilities, how could he have been killed so easily? Chi and Zhu were not capable of killing Yeow, so Shaman Chei believed that a Shaman King from either the Fierce Wind Clan or Raging Flame Clan had taken part in the previous battle, but now that he witnessed Yang Kai’s skills, Chei believed what he said was true.
Yeow had indeed died at this scrawny Shaman’s hands. Otherwise, how could he know the details so clearly?
Yeow’s strength was mostly dependent on his Blood Sea ability, which was linked to his Blood Bottle Gourd Shaman Artifact, but now it seemed that this Shaman Grandmaster who killed Yeow also possessed a powerful Shaman Artifact.
If it was only an ordinary Shaman Artifact, how could it manage to harm his skull?
However… He was still just a Shaman Grandmaster, so even if he had some skill, Shaman Chei was confident that he couldn’t escape death.
“You will pay for your insolence!” Shaman Chi bellowed and abruptly raised his hands, causing the six skulls to tremble before shooting towards Yang Kai. The skulls did not enlarge this time, and even though they were not as intimidating as before, they were undoubtedly more flexible and unpredictable.
In an instant, the six skulls surrounded Yang Kai from all directions, opened their mouths, and breathed out a freezing cold aura.
It seemed that this cold aura could freeze all things, and not even a Shaman King could escape from it. Yang Kai tightened his grip on his sword and released a tremendous sword radiance to defend himself.
After a moment of scraping noise, none of the six skulls’ attacks seemed effective. They were all blocked by Yang Kai’s Sword Qi, and the skulls wobbled unsteadily instead.
Shaman Chei did not panic though, because he had expected this to happen. The corners of his mouth curved into a scornful smile as he moved his lips quietly, whispering an incantation before flicking his fingers. A powerful Shamanic Spell was launched silently towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai, who was facing him from the side, seemed unprepared for it, and Shaman Chei sneered in his heart, anticipating Yang Kai’s inevitable death.
A transparent Shield Spell strangely appeared at that moment, and at the same time, a semi-transparent evil spirit appeared and collided with it, letting out a miserable howl.
Yang Kai did not even look at it and simply grinned. While fighting against the six skulls with the sword in his right hand, he cast a fireball as big as a washbasin with his left at the evil spirit.
A despairing scream sounded as the shadowless and formless evil spirit was vaporized.
Jaw dropped, Shaman Chei looked at the scene in disbelief. How did this brat have the spare attention and strength to deal with his sneak attack? How could his Divine Sense be strong enough to notice and guard against his sneak attacks during this high-intensity battle?
Shaman Chei’s face darkened as a sense of humiliation dawned on him.
He was a Shaman King, yet a Shaman Grandmaster actually managed to counter his spells?
Enraged by shame, Shaman Chei controlled the six skulls to keep exerting pressure on Yang Kai while waving his hands consistently to unleash one Shamanic Spell after another at Yang Kai.
Just because this little brat could resist him once, did not mean that he could resist every time. As long as he continued to distract himself, his Shaman Artifacts would eventually find a chance to kill this boy in one strike.
However, Shaman Chei was dumbstruck by the following scene.
Under the continuous attacks of Shaman Chei’s Shamanic Spells, Yang Kai handled the situation without panicking. His left hand kept releasing Shamanic Spells of his own to respond to Shaman Chei’s attacks in an orderly fashion.
For a moment, the two Shamans engaged in a competition of Shamanic Spells mid-air.
Although there was a Great Realm of difference between them, the Shamanic Spells that were released by the two enemies appeared equal in strength whether it was in terms of casting speed or killing ability. Their Shamanic Spells constantly collided and cancelled each other out, causing numerous dazzling explosions across the sky.
Perhaps at the beginning, Shaman Chei could still feel that he had an upper hand, and his opponent would be flustered occasionally; However, as time passed, his opponent was getting more efficient in casting his Shamanic Spells and the adjustment of his power also grew more and more refined.
[Damn it!]
This was just a small village that could not even be considered a sub-clan. Shaman Chei had purged at least eighty such villages in his life and knew that it was already fortunate enough to have a Shaman Apprentice overseeing such a tiny place, but this village was actually guarded by a Shaman Grandmaster.
What struck him more was that this Shaman Grandmaster could actually match with him in a duel of Shamanic Spells.
How could he have mastered so many spells though? Shamanic Spells of any clan could not be easily acquired and learnt. Every Shaman basically could only learn the Shamanic Spells from their own Clan that were passed on from generation to generation.
As far as he knew, the Shamanic Spells of the South Barbarian Clan were mediocre at best. It was already impressive for a Shaman Grandmaster to master ten to twenty Shamanic Spells, and even if there were more Shamanic Spells, one would have no energy left to master them. Moreover, among these ten to twenty Shamanic Spells, only a small handful could be used offensively, while the others were defence or auxiliary.
As a Low-Rank Shaman King himself, Chei had only mastered about fifty kinds of Shamanic Spells! And there were only twenty-seven of his Shamanic Spell that could be used for offence, all of which he was truly proficient in. Some Mid-Rank Shaman Kings did not even have such an achievement.
However, this appeared insignificant when compared to this strange opponent.
Within this short one-hour duel, Shaman Chei saw Yang Kai cast at least a hundred different Shamanic Spells effortlessly, each without repetition as if he had practised them many times before.
Many Shamanic Spells aroused his jealousy, because those Shamanic Spells were the unshared secrets of many other Clans that only their Shaman Grandmasters could learn.
[Is this guy really a Shaman Grandmaster? From his appearance, he is definitely quite young, so where and when did he learn so many Shamanic Spells? How did he have time to master all of these to such a degree?]
Shaman Chei would not have been so surprised if his opponent was an old man as the Elders were always capable of amazing and unexpected things, but his opponent actually looked no more than twenty to thirty years old.
Shaman Chei became more and more frightened as he fought as he had the illusion that his opponent was the Shaman King, while he was just a Shaman Grandmaster himself, because the performance of this Shaman Grandmaster truly astonished him. He could not wait to catch him now and bite off his flesh while he was still alive to savour the wonderful taste.
*Hong…*
During another exchange, two Shamanic Spells collided with each other, but they did not dispel each other like ordinary. On the contrary, Chei’s opponent’s lightning strike charged at him unabated after breaking through his Soul Collecting Technique. The dancing lightning was like a venomous snake, opening its mouth and showing off its fangs.
Shaman Chei was appalled as his Shamanic Spell was actually broken through. In a hurry, he could only form a Shield Spell in front of him.
After successfully stopping the lightning strike, Shaman Chei’s expression changed from fury to fear as he asked, “Are you… using this Shaman to train?”
Recalling the previous scenes, Shaman Chi suddenly had a bad feeling. If his guess was right, he would be in deep trouble.
Yang Kai burst into laughter and pushed back the six skulls around him with the sword as he remarked, “Many thanks for Sir Shaman King’s help!”
Yang Kai had not had time to fully absorb the massive amount of knowledge he inherited from Senior Qing, but during this month’s retreat, he had made some progress digesting this inheritance while cultivating.
Nevertheless, closed-door cultivation was never a substitute for practical experience. Now that a Shaman King had come to him, Yang Kai definitely wanted to seize this opportunity to test the results of his cultivation during this one month.
He was truly satisfied with the results. All kinds of ideas and thoughts he had during his retreat were verified today, and although there were some deviations from his expectations, that did not hurt him overall.
After receiving verification from Yang Kai, Shaman Chei’s face turned even uglier. Being overwhelmed by a great sense of shame, he shouted, trembling in fury, “You court death!”
It was definitely a wrong decision to have a Shamanic Spell duel with this boy as he had actually been taken advantage of by the other party. The result of this was that the Shamanic Spells this scrawny Shaman Grandmaster used had grown significantly more powerful, leading to Chei actually falling into a disadvantage.
This Shaman Grandmaster was truly horrifying. He could actually grow rapidly in battle, and this speed of growth made Shaman Chei uneasy.
As such, he decided to stop playing around and instead end this quickly.
As he bellowed, the six skulls that were lingering around Yang Kai suddenly flew back and returned to Shaman Chei in the blink of an eye.
With concentration, Shaman Chei chanted an incantation and the six skulls revolved around him faster and faster, gradually turning into a green light.
When the light dissipated, Shaman Chei and the six skulls disappeared at the same time. Instead, the spot where they were was replaced by a monster. The ferocious-looking monster was about five metres tall and had a green face, scary fangs and dishevelled hair that at first glance, looked like a Soul-reaping evil spirit.
On the body of the evil spirit were many semi-translucent faces, struggling and wriggling, revealing all kinds of tragic expressions and making all kinds of shuddering wails and howls.
Yang Kai stood with his sword, and remarked with a cold face, “You really should go to hell.”
The faces that were struggling to surface on the evil spirit were clearly real Souls! So, where did the Souls come from? Obviously, those were the Souls of people who were killed and gnawed on by Shaman Chei. They must have suffered great terror and torture before they died. Their flesh was consumed, and even their Souls failed to escape, being devoured and refined by Chei before being trapped in his body. They could not be reincarnated and fell into an endless purgatory.
Such a Shaman King would be known as an evil cultivator in the present day and would be an existence that was hated and chased down by all.
But in this era, he could just do whatever he wanted with the protection of the Shaman Saint of the Bone Devouring Clan.
After Shaman Chei turned into an evil spirit, his initially powerful aura rose to a new level, on par with a High-Rank Shaman King.
Grinning, the breath he exhaled seemed to radiate pure Death Qi, resulting in the surrounding trees and grass withering rapidly. Chei stretched his big hand widely, which turned into a light curtain that covered the whole sky, and grabbed towards Yang Kai.
The surrounding space became sealed, and when Yang Kai tried to teleport away, he failed to move. Instead of retreating then, Yang Kai chose to advance with a fierce look on his face. A circle of light rippled out of the Myriads Sword in his hand, wrapping around himself as he pounced at the big hand madly surging his Shaman Strength.
The big hand closed around him, and Yang Kai grunted softly, but the next moment, a hole appeared on the back of the hand and Yang Kai flew right out of it, covered in blood. He then swooped fearlessly down on Shaman Chei and slashed his sword vigorously.
Shaman Chei was not shocked or flustered, simply sending out a slap with his other hand, as if he was swatting a fly.
The slap sent Yang Kai reeling before he could land his attack, the protective Shield Spell he cast failing to even dampen this blow.
*Honglonglong… *
Yang Kai volleyed in the air and crashed into a hill before he could stabilize his stance. When he stood up again, he already looked like a mess, his nose and mouth were covered in blood.
“You’re finished!” Shaman Chei’s cold voice reached Yang Kai’s ear, and he emerged in front of Yang Kai to grab at him again.
“Aren’t you afraid of getting your tongue cut off by the wind while wagging it out of your mouth!?” Yang Kai sneered and immediately performed a hand seal with both hands, causing a mysterious power to pulse from him.
Shaman Chei was stunned as he inexplicably felt as if time was slowing down around him. At the same time, a massive sense of panic and crisis struck his heart. He had transformed himself into an evil spirit, his most powerful spell, one he could use to compete with High-Rank Shaman Kings for a time. But right now, he was dealing with a mere Shaman Grandmaster. Even if this Shaman Grandmaster were to struggle before death, what trouble could he bring?
But the sense of panic and crisis was so real that Chei could not ignore it.
With a single thought, he quickly withdrew eighty percent of his strength to protect himself, assuming a defensive stance.
In the next moment, the paused time seemed to flow again. The Shaman Grandmaster standing opposite of him leisurely pushed his palms forward in a seemingly powerless motion, but one that actually gave off a destructive aura that condemned all living things to death.
“Time Flies!”
Shaman Chei’s pupils contracted abruptly. Although he could not see what kind of mystery was hidden in this palm strike, his instincts told him that he must not be hit as he would at least lose a layer of his skin if he were.
Opening his mouth wide, he released a vicious roar.
In an instant, countless feral ghosts flew out of Chei’s mouth and rushed towards the palm print.
*Hong hong hong… *
The fierce and surging power exploded while Shaman Chei took this opportunity to retreat more than a thousand metres. As he expected, the spirits that were struck by the palm print were all extinguished.
Before they dissipated, these ghosts did not show any excruciating look and instead all looked calm and peaceful, as if they were relieved. Some of them even turned to Yang Kai with a look of gratitude before vanishing.
[What kind of Shamanic Spell was that? It was so formidable!] Shaman Chei looked flabbergasted as the spell cast by the Shaman Grandmaster standing across from him was beyond his cognition.
After the palm strike, Yang Kai was left panting. He felt like his strength had been completely drained, and secretly cursed in his heart.
Time Flies Seal was a Divine Ability of a Great Emperor, and although Yang Kai had cultivated it and comprehended it, it was not something that he could perform at will in his current state. It was still too forceful for him to use such a powerful Divine Ability as a mere Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster.
Therefore, Yang Kai immediately felt feeble after releasing this palm strike…
But Shaman Chei had already shown his trump card, so if Yang Kai did not give his all, he would not stand a chance to compete with him.
Without exposing his current weakness, as Yang Kai wiped the blood from his nose and mouth with his hand, he stuffed a handful of Emperor Grade Spirit Pills into his mouth and swallowed them into his stomach before taunting, “Are you scared now!?”
Shaman Chei snorted coldly, “Your tricks are truly unusual, but… It’s far from being enough!”
When his words fell, he grabbed at the void and a pitch-black scythe suddenly appeared in his hands before he swung it towards Yang Kai’s location.
Yang Kai’s face changed drastically as he suddenly felt his Soul shiver uncontrollably, like it was trying to fly out of his body. He immediately understood that this scythe was not a Shaman Artifact, but rather a strange Shamanic Spell that had the effect of reaping Souls. Fortunately, the strength of his Soul was not what an ordinary Shaman Grandmaster should have, otherwise he would be in great trouble.
Yang Kai grunted and guarded his mind by locking his Knowledge Sea in place all while resisting the powerful force of attraction that was attempting to extract his Soul.
It seemed that there was an invisible connection between his Soul and the pitch-black scythe and the suction force grew stronger the more the scythe was swung, which made Yang Kai not dare to make any rash moves.
“It’s terrible, right? If you feel miserable, just don’t resist, and put yourself into the arms of this Shaman. This Shaman will make you enjoy the remainder of your life,” Shaman Chei taunted with a ghastly voice, releasing a strong bewitching intent in order to distract Yang Kai’s mind.
“You want my Soul?” Yang Kai bellowed as he gritted his teeth.
“You can’t resist, so why continue your futile efforts?” Shaman Chei sneered.
“Fine then!” Yang Kai shouted, “If you want it, I’ll give it to you!”
Shaman Chei was stunned as he thought that Yang Kai was spouting nonsense. A man would be as good as dead when he lost his Soul, so who would be willing to give it up?
But soon, Shaman Chei was dumbstruck.
Because his opponent was not kidding at all. Yang Kai really released all his Knowledge Sea defences and allowed Shaman Chei’s Shamanic Spell to exert its full effect, dragging his Soul out of him.
“This taste…” Shaman Chei was amazed and immediately rejoiced, “Wonderful, how wonderful! This Shaman can’t wait to taste it!”
He never thought that the Soul of this Shaman Grandmaster could be so vigorous and pure. Logically, such a Soul should never appear on a Shaman Grandmaster, only possible on a High-Rank Shaman King.
[No, no, no. I have killed a High-Rank Shaman King before, but the Soul of that High-Rank Shaman King was still not as marvellous as this!]
Like a cat eyeing its favourite fish, Shaman Chei ogled with unblinking eyes and could not even help licking his lips.
“Then this Shaman will accept it! Don’t worry, since you are so cooperative, this Shaman won’t make you suffer long!” Shaman Chei laughed out loud. As he swung the black scythe once more, pulling a dazzling light out of Yang Kai’s forehead.
It could be vaguely seen that the light was pure and bright without any impurities. Not only was the purity unimaginable, but it was also exceedingly vigorous too.
Shaman Chei’s eyes lit up. Before, he could only smell the aura of Yang Kai’s Soul, but when he saw it with his own eyes now, he immediately knew that his judgement was right. It was truly an irresistible, delicious meal.
Yang Kai, whose Soul was dragged out of his body, fell from the air like a wooden stake.
One could no longer control his own body without his Soul.
On the other side, the Soul that was dragged out rapidly approached Shaman Chei, but at the last moment, his face changed dramatically, all the joy and expectation giving way to overwhelming anger as he roared, “How dare you lie to me!?”
Yang Kai cackled, “Fool, since when did this Young Master lie to you? Didn’t I offer myself to you? But… whether you have the ability to consume me or not is not my problem!”
When the words fell, light burst from Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar and he transformed into the form of a glowing sabre that shot towards Shaman Chei.
Shaman Chei abruptly retreated. Although he had no idea what his opponent was trying to achieve by willingly exposing his own Soul, this Shaman Grandmaster had performed incredible tricks before, so caution was warranted.
The pitch-black scythe in Chei’s hand turned into a pure Soul attack and slashed forward.
The next moment, Shaman Chei’s face changed once more because his Shamanic Spell had no effect at all. His opponent’s Soul in the form of a sabre cut through everything in its path like a hot knife through butter and in the blink of an eye, it reached in front of Shaman Chei.
Blood drained from Shaman Chei’s face as he pushed his Divine Sense furiously, strictly protecting himself as he dared not to let his opponent approach another step.
Nevertheless, he was stupefied by the result.
His Shaman King Divine Sense failed to stop his opponent’s sabre, which easily penetrated his defences. In the next instant, Chei felt a sharp pain in his mind as the Soul Avatar broke into his Knowledge Sea together with the sabre made of light.
Shaman Chei grunted. Although he suffered a lot, he did not seem to be panicking and rapidly landed on the ground and closed his eyes, quickly controlling his own Soul Avatar in his Knowledge Sea to go into hiding.
Chei’s Knowledge Sea was like a purgatory, with evil spirits and ghosts everywhere, their cries and howls echoing across the sky. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, Yang Kai would not believe that someone in this world could have such a horrifying Knowledge Sea.
[How is this a Knowledge Sea? It’s clearly Hell.]
A group of foolish small ghosts sensed the presence of a strange aura and together, pounced at Yang Kai; however, he destroyed all of them with a swing of his sabre before they could get close to him. Shaman Chei, who was snooping secretly, was appalled and eyed the long sabre with a complicated gaze, instinctively afraid of it.
[What is this Shaman Artifact? Why is it so strong?]
On top of that, Yang Kai even brought it into his own Knowledge Sea. How was that possible? There should not be such a majestic Shaman Artifact in this world!
Although the ghosts in his Knowledge Sea were also born out of living beings, they were nourished and refined by Chei himself, and ordinary ghosts were incomparable to them at all. They were capable of tearing up and consuming the Soul Avatar of even a Shaman King.
However, under the light swing of this sabre, Shaman Chei could clearly feel the fear the ghosts in his Knowledge Sea had, as if they were mice meeting a cat, not daring to get close to Yang Kai.
Holding the sabre in one hand, Yang Kai looked around and sneered, “Playing hide and seek? Shaman Chei, Shaman Chei, you are a Shaman King, aren’t you? Don’t be such a disappointment.”
Shaman Chei ignored him as no fool was capable of becoming a Shaman King. He would not dare to reveal himself before he understood what the long sabre Shaman Artifact was.
As if he could see through Shaman Chei’s inner fears, Yang Kai raised the sabre, flicked his wrist and declared, “This is the Soul Splitting sabre. It doesn’t harm the physique, but is instead designed to wound the Soul. Allowing this Young Master to enter your Knowledge Sea was your biggest mistake. So, now that you understand, Shaman Chei, come out and accept your death. This Young Master will show you mercy and make it quick for you.”
[Doesn’t harm the physique, but instead damages the Soul?] Shaman Chei did not want to believe such nonsense, but after what he witnessed, he had to admit that his opponent was right. This was definitely the most wicked Shaman Artifact he had ever seen.
“Good, good, good, you’re not showing yourself, right? Then just continue hiding!” Yang Kai sneered, holding up the Soul Splitting sabre as he poured Spiritual Energy into it before slashing downwards.
A massive sabre made of light that could tear apart this Knowledge Sea emerged. The sabre of light swung forward and the countless ghosts that tried to block it were all killed on the spot. Even Shaman Chei, who was hiding in the dark, felt excruciating pain, like his head was being torn apart.
This was his Knowledge Sea, so even the smallest damage Yang Kai caused here would affect him. Although this level of injury was not too big a deal, it would not be fine if this continued on.
Shaman Chei’s face turned deadly pale when Yang Kai slashed the Soul Splitting sabre everywhere like a madman, cackling wildly, “Do you like this? How about this? What about this!?”
Of course, there was no way Shaman Chei would ‘like’ anything Yang Kai did.
Shaman Chei could feel great pain with every slash of the sabre, which made his Soul Avatar shudder.
He knew that it was pointless to hide anymore, because it would be a disaster to allow this madman to continue destroying his Knowledge Sea, so Shaman Chei finally could not help but shout, “Enough!”
When his words fell, he appeared in front of Yang Kai and slightly raised his hand to block Yang Kai’s attack.
Although the Soul Splitting sabre was extremely strange and possessed the ability to tear apart his Knowledge Sea, this was his world where he dominated everything. If they really had to start a fight here, they most probably would end up causing destruction to both sides.
He was not powerless to strike back.
“Don’t you like to hide? Just carry on hiding then!” Yang Kai pointed the sabre at Shaman Chi mockingly.
“Scram!” Shaman Chei ordered him to leave with a cold face. It was not a good thing for his Knowledge Sea to be invaded by an outsider as it was not only the home of his Soul, but also the hiding place of all his secrets. No one would want their Knowledge Sea to be spied on.
“Beg. You can try to beg me to see if I am willing to leave,” Yang Kai grinned. His smug face triggered Shaman Chei, causing his anger to boil up like a volcano that was going to erupt.
“Get out!” Shaman Chei glared at Yang Kai coldly.
Yang Kai curled his lip, “You’re the one who wanted to collect my Soul, but now you want me to leave? You should really make up your mind!”
Shaman Chei slightly narrowed his eyes, and announced lightly, “It seems that you want this Shaman to kick you out. I hope that you can handle this Shaman’s wrath!”
In this short conversation, he realized that if he wanted to drive out this Shaman Grandmaster, he had to do it himself. After all, it was not easy for Yang Kai to gain an upper hand, so how could he let go of this opportunity? Shaman Chei spared no more effort trying to talk with him and decided to expel him even if he would hurt himself in the process. Yang Kai’s presence here was a threat to Shaman Chei’s life, so some sacrifices were acceptable.
After speaking, Shaman Chei collapsed and integrated into the Knowledge Sea.
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn as he understood that Shaman Chei was planning to fight him to the death.
For a split second, the space solidified, and a huge repulsive force came crashing towards Yang Kai. It reflected Shaman Chei’s power as the master of this Knowledge Sea.
If one was capable of invading the Knowledge Sea of another, they could cause great damage to the opponent; however, entering another person’s Knowledge Sea would mean fighting against an opponent who controlled the whole battlefield. Therefore, it was not common for this kind of thing to happen. Only someone with an overwhelming advantage in strength would dare invade the Knowledge Sea of another.
But then again, if there was such a huge gap in strength, there would naturally be no need to use this method to kill the enemy.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai sensed the pressure around him increase, and felt that he was going to be squeezed out of the world.
He forced himself to stand firm, but was barely holding on despite his best efforts.
Seeing that he was about to be expelled by Shaman Chei, Yang Kai suddenly took action. With a flash in his eyes, the Soul Splitting Sabre buzzed and burst into a beam of light, “I will deliver you a gift. I hope that you will like it!” He shouted as he slashed down.
“How is this possible!?” Shaman Chei’s voice was mixed with both surprise and anger as the power of this slash was almost double of what he had experienced before.
Being caught off guard, Shaman Chei failed to protect himself against it and his defences were instantly torn apart. His Soul was slashed, and he felt unbearable pain from the attack.
Yang Kai saw the whole world shake as he was expelled out of Shaman Chi’s Knowledge Sea. The next moment, a pitch-black light shrouded him, and when he managed to dispel the cloud of darkness, there was not a trace of Shaman Chei.
He had escaped.
“Smart move!” Yang Kai snorted coldly and did not chase after him recklessly. Thanks to his Soul Technique, Heaven Severing Slash, he was finally able to repel Shaman Chei.
Shaman Chei obviously noticed the situation was growing dire so he used a distraction and took the opportunity to escape.
If he stayed, it would definitely not end well for him.
Yang Kai sighed, located his body, and immediately returned to it, not daring to leave his Soul Avatar exposed.
When he opened his physical eyes and looked up, he saw that he was being held in Tiea’s arms. It seemed that Tiea had noticed that his Soul had left his body, and had come to guard him.
“How are you?” Tiea asked with concern.
Yang Kai shook his head and tried to stand up; however, he felt dizzy and fell back into her arms. Wryly smiling, he muttered, “I’m not dead yet.”
Tiea looked at Yang Kai with a look of strange disbelief. It was a miracle for a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster to badly wound a Shaman King, and although he also paid a price for it, the consequences were obviously not too serious.
After not seeing him for one month, he had become a Shaman Grandmaster.
[Just how does he cultivate?]
Tiea’s heart was full of questions.
“Where are the villagers?” Yang Kai laid down and asked after recovering some strength.
“They’re safe,” Tiea replied. She had taken the villagers out of the Blue South Village through the underground tunnel earlier, and after everything was settled, she came back to check on Yang Kai’s situation, just so happening to witness Yang Kai’s Soul leaving his body and immediately moving to protect his body.
“Call them back. It should be fine now.” Yang Kai let out a breath.
A Shaman King of the Bone Devouring Clan came, but was forced to retreat in the end. The Bone Devouring Clan would certainly not make any moves for a time now unless a more powerful Shaman King or the Shaman Saint was willing to take action.
However, a Shaman Saint would not even care about such trivial things and it would not really help much if other Shaman Kings of the Bone Devouring Clan came. After using his trump card, Shaman Chei, whose strength was comparable to a High-Rank Shaman King, was incapable of taking down Yang Kai, so what could other Shaman Kings do when they came?
Moreover, as long as Yang Kai was given time, he would grow stronger. If he met those Shaman Kings next time, he would definitely be able to handle them more easily than before.
While speaking to Tiea, Yang Kai suddenly frowned and looked in a certain direction.
Tiea obviously noticed something too and also looked towards the direction Yang Kai was staring, immediately remarking with a wary face, “Someone else is approaching!”
Yang Kai’s face darkened and secretly kept a sharp lookout.
Blue South Village was just a small village, so on most days, it was basically isolated from the world with few outsiders visiting. The only reason Shaman Chei could even find this place was because of Shaman Chi.
A man soon appeared after Yang Kai drove Shaman Chei away, so it was hard to guarantee that this newcomer wasn’t an ally of the latter. If he was a Shaman King too, they would be in deep trouble.
Tiea certainly thought of this too and her pretty face turned slightly pale.
But soon, she heard a sigh of relief from Yang Kai.
“What’s wrong?” Tiea turned to him.
“It’s just a Shaman Master. Don’t worry, maybe he is just passing by.”
After listening to Yang Kai, Tiea could not help breathing out a sigh of relief.
The Shaman Master was obviously not just passing by, however, because after a short time, he flew straight towards Yang Kai and Tiea.
A moment later, an honest-looking Ancient Barbarian appeared in front of Yang Kai, hovering in mid-air.
“Was someone fighting here just now?” The Shaman Master looked around and asked from above.
The traces of the previous battle were still there, and although he could not judge how strong the people in the previous battle were, he felt a little shocked by the residual fluctuations here.
It was clearly a high-level battle, which was not something he could involve himself in. Perhaps just the fallout from such a conflict would be enough to extinguish his Soul.
When he thought about it, he hurriedly turned to Yang Kai and Tiea.
Yang Kai revealed a weak expression on his face, the Shaman Strength from his body pulsing slightly which allowed this Ancient Barbarian to see his cultivation clearly.
“A Shaman Grandmaster?” The man was taken aback and immediately flew down from the sky.
Before this, this man had thought that there would be no Masters in this remote place. Therefore, he did not really care about showing a haughty attitude. After realizing that Yang Kai was a Shaman Grandmaster, however, he dared not act impudently.
“Greetings to Sir and Madame!”
Tiea supported Yang Kai to stand up and looked at this newcomer with a frown, only nodding after a short pause, “You don’t need to be so polite.”
After hearing this, the Shaman Master straightened up and asked curiously, “May I know… which village Sir and Madame are from?”
He did not know who Yang Kai and Tiea were, but since they were Shaman Grandmasters, they must be people of great status. This was especially important to him, who was sent as a messenger of his Clan to connect with their other smaller villages. He might not be familiar with all the Masters of the surrounding Clans, but he should at least know of them.
“Blue South Village!” Yang Kai answered.
“Huh?” The Shaman Master was stunned, staring at Yang Kai doubtfully, as if he could not believe his words, “Blue… Blue South Village?”
Since when did Blue South Village have two Shaman Grandmasters? From what he remembered, the Village Chief of Blue South Village was just a trivial Low-Rank Shaman Apprentice. Therefore, Yang Kai’s words were a little unbelievable to him, but there was also no reason for a Shaman Grandmaster to lie.
He then asked in a daze, “Is Sir from Blue South Village?”
“That’s right.” Yang Kai looked at him, “What’s the matter?”
“Then where is Shaman Li?”
Shaman Li was the name of the Village Chief, so when he asked, Yang Kai immediately understood that this man knew the Village Chief and he probably was here for the Village Chief too.
Yang Kai’s face slightly darkened as he replied, “The Village Chief is not here anymore. From now on, this Shaman is the Village Chief!”
“Shaman Li…” The man was slightly stunned, but he did not dwell too much on it. After all, Shaman Li was already old, and his cultivation was not high, so he was not destined to live long anyway. Perhaps his time had arrived and he had returned to the arms of the Barbarian Gods. Thinking so, the man changed the topic swiftly, “How may I address Sir?”
“Shaman Niu!”
The man nodded, and declared loudly with a solemn face, “Shaman Niu, I was ordered by Sir Shaman King to inform you to order all the villagers of Blue South Village to gather in King City within five days!”
“An order from the Shaman King?” Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
Although the South Barbarian Clan was a powerful force amongst the Ancient Barbarian Race, it still had a Shaman King presiding over it. As far as Yang Kai knew, this Shaman King was a High-Rank Shaman King, and with his protection, King City held the same position as the Frost and Snow City of Frost and Snow Clan. All the small villages and Village Chiefs of the South Barbarian Clan lived under the jurisdiction of King City, with the Shaman King having absolute authority over these small villages.
Yang Kai sensed something unusual about this sudden order and vaguely felt that big things were about to happen.
“Yes, it is a direct order from Sir Shaman King.” The man replied solemnly, “At first, I came here to inform Shaman Li, but since you are the Village Chief of Blue South Village now, telling you would be the same.”
Yang Kai slightly narrowed his eyes as he asked, “Is there a Clan at war with us?”
During the ancient times, it was common for the Ancient Barbarian Race to fight amongst themselves in order to compete for the land and for their own Clan’s interests.
Moreover, once this happened, all personnel and troops would be included, no one could avoid this draft.
So, as soon as he heard this order, Yang Kai subconsciously felt that some Clan wanted to wage war against the South Barbarian Clan, and the first Clan that came to his mind was the cruel and inhuman Bone Devouring Clan. In that case, Yang Kai did not mind getting involved.
Yang Kai regretted that he could not kill Shaman Chei today after all.
The messenger smiled wryly, then shook his head slowly as he responded in a low voice, “It wouldn’t be such a big deal if it’s only a Clan War.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “What could be more serious?”
After a moment of hesitation, the messenger answered, “This matter is supposed to be confidential and should not be leaked; however, since both Sir and Madame are Shaman Grandmasters and would definitely be summoned by Sir Shaman King when you reach King City, it will do no harm to inform you in advance.”
After saying so, he suddenly lowered his voice and declared solemnly, “The Demon Race has invaded!”
“Wha—what? Can you say that again?” Yang Kai thought he had heard wrongly.
“The Demon Race has launched an invasion!” The messenger repeated with an extremely solemn expression.
Yang Kai was stupefied for a long while, and only after a long silence did he ask with shock still visible on his face, “Seriously?”
The messenger replied, “Yes. Three major Clans have already been destroyed.”
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn in an instant. Although the Ancient Barbarian Race was sparsely populated, there should still be at least a few hundred thousand members of a major Clans. Three Clans being destroyed meant that a million people might have already died. This was truly Earth-shaking news.
The invasion of the Demon Race.
This sentence was not strange to Yang Kai, yet it was not familiar either. He learnt from the knowledge inherited by Senior Qing that this land had been invaded by the Demon Race more than once. The most recent incident was thirty thousand years ago. At that time, Senior Qing was just an Evergreen Tree that had gained consciousness and was working hard to absorb nutrients from the Earth to cultivate.
He witnessed the world-changing transformation of the land after the invasion of the Demon Race, where countless people died before his eyes. He also saw that many mighty people of this land sacrificed their lives to stop the progression of the invasion of the Demon Race, and countless later generations took up the positions of the fallen. They continued to fight with their precious lives for nearly a hundred years before eventually triumphing over the Demon Race.
Wails and cries filled the land during that hundred-year war, and it took another a thousand years after it ended for the vast mountains and rivers to gradually restore their vitality.
But now, the scene of thirty thousand years ago was happening again, and no one knew what was going to happen this time.
The Demon Race was just a general term and Yang Kai did not know what they looked like, only that they had a different form from humans or barbarians and were dreadfully violent. In comparison, the Bone Devouring Clan were like gentle lambs.
However, it was rumoured that the reason why the Bone Devouring Clan was different among the Barbarian Race was that they were descended from Demons. During the war thirty thousand years ago, some Demons defiled women, who gave birth to offspring. These were the ancestors of the Bone Devouring Clan.
Rumours were just rumours, however, so no one knew whether they were true or not. Especially in this era, when such rumours had all but been lost to the long annals of history. The truth remained unknown to even the descendants themselves, with only one, Monster Tree Senior Qing, who had stood for tens of thousands of years, knowing the truth.
Nevertheless, the rumor did not start from nothing. Perhaps, countless Ancient Barbarians had proposed to exterminate the Bone Devouring Clan because of this. It was just that until now, the descendants had no idea why they had to destroy the Bone Devouring Clan and simply thought it was because they were vicious cannibals.
The invasion of the Demon Race was definitely a catastrophe for the world!
No one knew where the Demon Race came from. Even Senior Qing, who was the most knowledgeable, had no clue about this. Thirty thousand years ago, the Demon Race seemed to just appear overnight. They were fearless and unscrupulous, doing whatever they pleased and killing as if it was their sole purpose in life.
The arduous war that lasted for a hundred years had severely damaged the foundation of this beautiful world, and nearly wiped out all sentient life.
And now, thirty thousand years later, another Demon Race invasion was happening. Yang Kai could foresee the incoming catastrophe, where bodies would pile up like mountains and rivers of blood would flow.
The grudges between him and Bone Devouring Clan were nothing compared to this.
“Sir…Sir…?” Seeing that Yang Kai was lost in thought, the messenger called him several times while smiling helplessly.
Yang Kai took a deep breath and replied, “Within five days, I will take the villagers of Blue South Village to King City!”
The messenger was overjoyed and saluted with a fist over his chest, “Many thanks, Sir. I have to inform the other surrounding villages, so I will leave first.”
Yang Kai nodded and did not try to keep him. After seeing him off, he turned to Tiea and asked, “How much do you know about the Demon Race?”
Tiea replied, “I don’t know anything, what do you know?”
Thinking about it, she was only a teenager, so even if she was raised by Senior Qing, she couldn’t know too much; after all, why would Senior Qing tell her about the Demon Race when it was basically irrelevant history?
“Rest in the village for today. Tomorrow you will be returning to Senior Qing,” after delivering this order, Yang Kai turned around and walked towards the village.
The Demon Race invasion would cause a huge wave that consumed the entire world. If there was still a peaceful land in the world, it would be the Frost and Snow City that was guarded by Senior Qing. It was perhaps the last safe haven.
“Are you trying to drive me away?” Tiea retorted with an angry stare, “Are you really driving me away?”
“Think what you like!” Yang Kai did not bother to pay attention to her, “By the way, gather Ah Hu and the others here. I have something to say to them.”
Tiea stomped her feet angrily and left with her teeth clenched.
After a while, the villagers returned to the village and were delighted to see that Ah Niu was safe, though his face was pale.
But not long after they were relieved, Yang Kai announced solemnly, “Everyone, listen. A messenger from King City has just informed me that the Demon Race has begun an invasion. Three Clans of our Barbarian Race have been destroyed already and Sir Shaman King has ordered all the villagers of our Blue South Village to gather in King City within five days to wait for orders.”
As soon as he made the announcement, the two hundred villagers fell silent.
“What is the Demon Race?” Ah Hu questioned.
Everyone wanted to know too, because they had never heard this term before.
Yang Kai answered, “I don’t really know much about the Demon Race. I only know that they are an enemy that are a hundred, or even a thousand times more violent than the Bone Devouring Clan. They are a living disaster, and the greatest enemy of our Barbarian Race, one that we cannot coexist with beneath the same sky!”
[A thousand times more violent than the Bone Devouring Clan?]
The villagers’ faces changed at his words. They knew how ferocious the Bone Devouring Clan was because they were caught by them before, so was it not crazy that someone was even a thousand times more violent than them?
“Although it was the order from King City, I won’t insist that you come! I will be departing for King City tomorrow, so whoever wants to join me, I will bring you with me tomorrow. For those who don’t, just stay in the village.” Yang Kai’s voice was not loud, but it resounded strongly in everyone’s ears, “I will not lie to you. This will be very dangerous, and chances are those who come will not come back! Think carefully before you decide.”
After his speech, Yang Kai didn’t wait for the villagers to respond before going straight to his house and stuffing a handful of healing pills into his mouth.
Although the battle with Shaman Chei was dangerous, his injuries weren’t too severe. It should not be a problem after recuperating overnight. Moreover, he benefited a lot from this high-intensity battle. If this kind of battle was repeated several times, it would be much more effective than him cultivating in retreat.
He readily accepted the order of King City because he intended to meet the so-called Demon Race in battle to enhance his own growth.
The next day, when Yang Kai walked out of his wooden house, two hundred pairs of eyes fixed on him simultaneously. All the men, women, young and old villagers were gathered here. Although there was a large number of people, they were all silent and unified.
The petite girl, Tiea, was standing at the head of the crowd, looking particularly eye-catching.
Yang Kai swept his eyes across the crowd, and every villager who met his eyes showed a simple and honest smile.
They probably did not know what the Demon Race was, and had no idea what the invasion of the Demon Race meant, but they all knew that once they left this village, they might die in a foreign land and never return.
Ah Niu had already made this clear yesterday.
But no one chose to remain. The Ancient Barbarian Race was destined to move forward bravely and never glance back in regret.
There was sadness in Yang Kai’s eyes, but he did not say much and instead just waved his hand, “Let’s go!”
He led the two hundred villagers to King City like a well-trained army.
With the strength of the Barbarians’ legs, they would take at least three days to reach King City. If it was an ordinary Shaman who led these two hundred people, they would probably have to travel at full speed in order to reach their destination within the specified time.
But Yang Kai was a Shaman Grandmaster now and was also proficient in various Shamanic Spells. With the application of the Light Body Spell, the movement speed of the villagers immediately increased by about thirty percent.
Although they were fast, everyone was calm and moved in an orderly fashion.
After two days, Yang Kai had led the villagers to King City, and his group of two hundred people had expanded to a thousand people!
It was because they met several groups from other villages along the journey. There were Shamans in those villages too, but they were incomparable to a Shaman Grandmaster like Yang Kai. Among them, the strongest one was just a High-Rank Shaman Apprentice, while the rest were just Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Shaman Apprentices.
The strength of these villages was almost the same as that of Blue South Village when the old Village Chief Shaman Li was still alive.
The Barbarian Race had a custom of revering strength, and since all of them were South Barbarian Clansmen, and Yang Kai was a Shaman Grandmaster, these villages naturally accepted him as their leader.
After witnessing Yang Kai’s Shamanic Spells that could completely bless an army of a thousand people, the Shaman Apprentices respected him even more. These villages had some contact with each other, so they were quite familiar with each other, and after gathering together, they soon became one unified group.
After this war, if these thousand people were not killed, Yang Kai could even establish a small independent Clan with his strength and prestige.
A thousand troops stood in front of King City. Looking from a distance, the structure of King City was no worse than that of Frost and Snow City, the only difference being that Frost and Snow City had the Evergreen Divine Tree guarding it, while the South Barbarian Clan had no such guardian deity.
Many Ancient Barbarians gathered in an open area outside King City in groups of hundreds to thousands. Each group had a Shaman in it, and their strengths varied greatly. Obviously, they all came after receiving orders from King City. It was impossible for all of them to enter King City itself though, as there were too many of them arriving at once. King City did not have enough space to house them.
Therefore, everyone could only wait outside, sleeping and eating in the open area, but such a lifestyle was nothing to the Ancient Barbarian Race.
Yang Kai and his people arrived neither too late nor too early. The places near King City had been occupied by other villages, so Yang Kai scanned over the region with his Divine Sense and then led his group to an average-sized space that he found.
Upon arriving at this place, without any further instructions, the team of a thousand people got to work. Some took out their rations, and some started fires while preparing to cook. Everyone was working efficiently.
Just then, a Shaman Master flew out of King City, and shouted while flying through the sky, “Sir Shaman King has ordered all Shaman Grandmasters to gather inside King City.”
He shouted several times, attracting everyone’s attention.
Immediately, a Shaman Grandmaster flew out of the crowd and straight into King City. As if a chain reaction was triggered after someone took the initiative, Shaman Grandmasters flew out from the crowd one after another, like swallows flying into the arms of King City.
Yang Kai glanced at them, then looked back and instructed, “I’ll go over. You should stand watch over here.”
Tiea nodded lightly.
Although she was also a Shaman Grandmaster, she belonged to the Nomad Clan, so it was inconvenient for her to appear on this kind of occasion.
King City was huge, but although Yang Kai had set out later, he still arrived earlier than most. Like the other Shaman Grandmasters, he landed in front of a palace of King City and waited quietly.
Many had gathered here as, due to the invasion of the Demon Race, the entire South Barbarian Clan had been assembled by the order of the Shaman King. As such, Shaman Grandmasters who were rarely seen were now like cabbages and radish in this square.
Yang Kai investigated with his Divine Sense and found that there were at least a hundred Shaman Grandmasters assembled here, and this was definitely not all of them as there should be more still on the way here, having failed to reach King City in time.
The Shaman Grandmasters dared not to intrude into the Shaman King’s palace rashly after being summoned and could only wait outside. Those Shaman Grandmasters who knew each other gathered together in groups to discuss the situation of the invasion of the Demon Race in hushed whispers.
They had obviously gotten some information from the messenger too, but no one knew what the Demon Race was. Therefore, the more they discussed, the more confused they got. Nevertheless, such a grand summons from King City had made everyone feel a little uneasy.
Everyone knew that the battle this time around was probably going to be unprecedented.
Just when Yang Kai was feeling bored, a dark burly shadow suddenly appeared and shaded him like a mountain.
Yang Kai turned around and saw a wide and strong chest covered in black hair.
“Are you also from our South Barbarian Clan?” The master of the dark shadow looked down at Yang Kai and asked in a rumbling voice.
The sound of discussion around them abruptly softened a lot as many Shaman Grandmasters turned their eyes to them, watching with great interest.
Previously, when everyone gathered here, many had looked at Yang Kai curiously; after all, his body shape seemed a little different from theirs and was quite out of place, like a goat appearing among a group of tigers.
It was hard for such a weird person to not attract attention. There were very few clansmen with this kind of body in the Ancient Barbarian Race. Even Shaman Li, the former Village Chief of Blue South Village, who was quite old, still had a burly physique similar to the one he possessed in his younger years.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai did exude an aura of a Shaman Grandmaster, so even if the others were curious, they did not care too much until someone questioned Yang Kai face to face.
Ever since he came to this ancient world, it had become a habit for Yang Kai to look up while talking to people, as if everyone wanted him to look up to them, which made him feel quite uncomfortable.
This time, however, he simply stared at the man’s black hairy chest and nodded, “En.”
“Ha!” The man laughed, “Little brat, I’m talking to you, look up at me.”
“My neck is sore, how about you squat down and talk to me?” Yang Kai shook his head and replied casually.
The burly Shaman Grandmaster’s aura abruptly became cold as someone nearby laughed at him, “Shaman Tu, this guy is underestimating you! Teach him an unforgettable lesson quickly!”
The Ancient Barbarian Race were basically all hot-tempered, so it was natural for fights to break out. Everyone felt bored standing here doing nothing anyways, so they were looking forward to some excitement to kill some time.
All of a sudden, everyone’s attention focused on them, anticipating a good show.
“I don’t need you to tell me!” Shaman Tu turned to bellow at the person who spoke to him, then turned back to Yang Kai and snorted coldly, “What? Are you afraid of looking at me?
Yang Kai continued to stare at the bundle of black hair on this man’s chest and remarked, “I prefer others to talk to me with their heads down.”
Shaman Tu was stunned, but soon he understood what Yang Kai meant, and retorted angrily, “Little brat, are you looking for a fight!?”
Just when he finished the sentence, he threw his plate-sized fist at Yang Kai.
Instead of being shocked, the onlookers were all overjoyed. Some of them even whistled, looking extremely excited. The Ancient Barbarian Race was known for its combative nature, and moreover, everyone here was a Shaman Grandmaster, so this punch would not be lethal. At most, this scrawny man would bleed a bit, and seeing blood in a fight had always been the Barbarians’ favourite pass-time.
Yang Kai remained unmoved, however, as if he did not realize his opponent was attacking him, the wind of the punch whistling as it approached him, sending his hair flying.
At the last moment, the palace doors that had been closed the whole time suddenly opened and a Barbarian Warrior with a steel blade hanging on his waist came out from inside and bellowed, “Sir Shaman King asks all of you to enter.”
The huge fist stopped abruptly less than a finger’s width from Yang Kai’s head. Shaman Tu’s face contorted with anger, and it took great effort to suppress his wish to push his fist forward.
“You got lucky. If you dare to do this again next time, it won’t be just a simple lesson,” he remarked as he withdrew his hand.
After that, he turned around and left.
He dared not ignore the Shaman King’s order. Although he could have let his punch continue, his loss would outweigh his gain if his action offended the Shaman King. Even though the Ancient Barbarian Race was simple-minded, they weren’t stupid. They clearly knew how to weigh profits and losses.
The group of more than one hundred Shaman Grandmasters walked towards the hall orderly and quietly, the whispering and discussion from before ceasing entirely.
Yang Kai was the last in line, and he intentionally shot a glance at the Barbarian Warrior as he walked by.
He could feel the insanely vigorous vitality coming from this Barbarian Warrior’s body; Ah Hu and the others were nothing compared to him. Yang Kai vaguely felt that this Barbarian Warrior was someone that he should not mess with.
Even an ordinary Shaman Grandmaster may not have a good end even after opposing such a man.
But Yang Kai did not notice any fluctuation of Shaman Strength from this warrior, which meant that he was purely a Body Cultivator.
Sure enough, the three thousand Grand Daos all led to the Heavens. It was rumoured that someone was able to achieve Sainthood through Body Tempering in ancient times. Yang Kai did not care much about this before, but after he saw this Barbarian Warrior, he believed that achieving Sainthood through Body Tempering was not just a rumor.
It was said that one of the four Great Shaman Saints achieved Sainthood through Body Tempering.
The Barbarian Warrior naturally sensed Yang Kai’s unbridled gaze and widened his eyes as he stared straight back at Yang Kai with a pair of eyes as sharp as two blades, actually causing the latter’s eyes to sting slightly.
Yang Kai smiled lightly and nodded as he passed by.
The Barbarian Warrior stared at his back for a long time before retracting his gaze and laughing softly, “Interesting!”
Although he was not a Shaman, he had tempered his body to an extreme degree, and as the Guard Captain of King City, his strength was not weaker than that of a High-Rank Shaman Grandmaster. Compared to a Shaman Grandmaster, what he lacked was just Shamanic Spells that were used to bless his clansmen. If they had to fight, none of the Shaman Grandmasters here could be his opponent. However, this extremely scrawny Shaman Grandmaster actually sparked his fighting spirit.
Those who could ignite a desire to fight were powerful opponents who could not be one-sidedly crushed!
This was evident when Yang Kai actually looked into his eyes calmly. Although there was no blessing of a Shamanic Spell in his stare, it was the same moment when his fighting spirit burst forth. It was impossible for any Shaman Grandmaster to withstand this kind of pressure, but Yang Kai did it without any difficulty.
[What an interesting Shaman Grandmaster. His physique looks weak and small, but there is unimaginable power hidden inside of it. That Shaman Tu should thank me, if not for my timely appearance, he wouldn’t have been able to avoid a great public humiliation…]
…..
Inside the main hall, a man whose aura was as deep as the sea stood there quietly, hands behind his back, waiting silently for everyone’s arrival.
Even after the hundred Shamans entered the hall, it was some time before this man turned around, his brow furrowed, seemingly worried about something.
He lifted his head to look at the crowd, and introduced himself loudly, “This King is Shaman Dang, the sixth Shaman King of the South Barbarian Clan. Some of you may know me already, some may have only heard of me, while others have no idea who I am, but it doesn’t matter, because starting today, we will often need to meet each other.”
“Greetings, Sir Shaman King!” Everyone placed a fist over their chest and bowed in salute.
Yang Kai was there too, his eyes flickering slightly. The sixth Shaman King, in other words, among the Shaman Kings of the South Barbarian Clan, this man was ranked sixth in terms of strength. Furthermore, it was unknown how many Shaman Kings were under him.
Yang Kai only knew that the South Barbarian Clan lacked a Shaman Saint. There were only four Shaman Saints in the entire Ancient Barbarian Race, who each commanded the four largest Clans respectively. Among the South Barbarian Clan, the most powerful Shaman King was a High-Rank Shaman King, but Yang Kai did not know his name.
Most of his knowledge of the South Barbarian Clan was taught by the Village Chief, and as a Low-Rank Shaman Apprentice, the information that the Village Chief had was obviously limited.
“I believe everyone knows the reason for my summons. It’s because of the invasion of the Demon Race, which has already exterminated three clans!” Shaman Dang’s voice was deep and low, but it clearly reached everyone’s ears.
When he stated that the three Clans had been exterminated, the faces of the hundred Shaman Grandmasters turned solemn.
Each of these three Clans was not weaker than the South Barbarian Clan and were overseen by at least one High-Rank Shaman King and up to two hundred Shaman Grandmasters, with thousands to tens of thousand other Shamans, but they were still exterminated. In other words, if the South Barbarian Clan encountered this kind of enemy, their ending would be the same.
This matter was not only about the three destroyed Clans, but about the whole Ancient Barbarian Race.
“However, that news is already outdated!” Shaman Dang’s words seemed to raise thousands of ripples, and when the people looked at him bewildered, he continued, “During the few days that we took to gather, the Billowing Clan was also exterminated!”
“What?”
“Really?”
“Even the Billowing Clan was destroyed.”
“It is said that the First Shaman King of Billowing Clan was the most likely to break through to become the fifth Shaman Saint within a hundred years. What happened to him?”
All the Shaman Grandmasters exclaimed one after another, and their faces turned ugly; however, they could not be blamed, because the overall strength of the Billowing Clan was stronger than most of the Clans of the Ancient Barbarian Race, only inferior to the four top Clans.
The news of the extermination of the Billowing Clan came too suddenly, and it was natural for them to be appalled.
Shaman Dang continued in a deep voice, “The Billowing Clan had no survivors. Not a single one!”
The hall was so silent that even a needle could be heard if it fell to the ground. No survivors, which meant everyone died, including the powerful Shaman King who was the most likely to become a Shaman Saint.
War was near, and everyone’s confidence was shaken when they heard this news. Given that the Demon Race had destroyed the Billowing Clan, how horrifying could they be? Who could resist them?
Shaman Dang seemed to see through their thoughts, and pressed on, “The four Shaman Saints have started moving, and I believe their strength will be enough to cause significant damage to the Demon Race, but this war involves our entire Barbarian Race. Although the Shaman Saints are strong, we cannot place all the burden on them. All Barbarians must do their part, which is why King City urgently summoned all clansmen here.”
Everyone was relieved at the news that the Four Great Shaman Saints were taking action. Shaman Saints were the strongest existences in this world, and with their help, the invasion of the Demon Race could be restrained. However, Shaman Dang was right, this was a war involving the whole Barbarian Race. No one could avoid their responsibility. Although the Shaman Saints were powerful, in the end, there were only four of them.
“I believe that you might want to ask me what the Demon Race is, where they come from, and why they want to destroy our Barbarian Clans,” Shaman Dang swept his eyes across the audience, and continued in a deep voice, “This King wishes to tell you too, but he doesn’t know much about these things. Nevertheless, just remember that the Demon Race is the sworn enemy of our Barbarian Race, and there is no way for us to live under the same sky. As long as there is a single Barbarian still standing and drawing breath, the Demon Race will not be allowed to contaminate this land!”
The morale of the Shaman Grandmasters was greatly inspired by his words. They looked excited and were ready to fight to the death, as if they could not wait to fly to the battlefield, stain the blue sky bloody red, and use their lives to push back the invasion of the Demon Race.
Yang Kai observed them indifferently, thinking that the Ancient Barbarian Race was indeed simple-minded. There was not the slightest bewitchment in Shaman Dang’s words; they were just a simple declaration, but that was enough to resonate with these Shaman Grandmasters. If Shaman Dang had added some bewitchment to his words, perhaps it would have been even more effective.
“Sir, what do we do now?”
“Yes Sir, are we going to the battlefield now?”
“I can’t wait to see the power of the Demon Race.”
“Hahahaha, I hope the Demon Race won’t wet their pants when they see this Shaman!”
The group of Shaman Grandmasters started shouting and did not put the Demon Race that already destroyed four Clans in their eyes. Seeing this, Shaman Dang smiled lightly, “All of you will have the opportunity, and I hope you will remember what you said here today. However…” he suddenly turned solemn as he pressed on, “It is not the time yet. We have to wait for news from the Shaman Saints. Moreover, our South Barbarian Clan has not fully assembled yet. There are still many clansmen on their way here. If we are given more time, our South Barbarian Clan will definitely fare better; however, time does not wait for us. Your job now is simple. Help me organize the clansmen of the South Barbarian Clan. Each of you will recruit two to three thousand clansmen. Train them, and make them listen to your orders.”
There were hundreds of thousands of clansmen in the whole South Barbarian Clan.
Each Shaman Grandmaster had to recruit two to three thousand clansmen, which was just enough to use up all the people of the Clan; however, these clansmen were all from different villages, so trying to put them all together would inevitably lead to all kinds of conflicts. It would certainly take some time to adjust to each other, and this kind of matter had to be handled by a leader, which was the Shaman Grandmaster.
Yang Kai nodded lightly in agreement. It was not good for an organization to be a snake without a head. Two to three thousand people as a unit seemed to be an appropriate number, as it was neither too small nor too big, almost the limit that a Shaman Grandmaster could control.
There were about a thousand people under his lead now, so according to Shaman Dang, he would still have to recruit at least another thousand people. However, that was a simple task. All the clansmen would cooperate under the order of the Shaman King, and villagers without a powerful Shaman leader would definitely need to join a strong force. But this matter needed consensus from both sides. There were many Shaman Grandmasters gathered in King City now, so if he wanted to attract those scattered warriors to join him, he would need to show his capability first.
No one would want to follow an incapable Shaman Grandmaster.
Considering all this, Yang Kai swiftly came up with a plan.
Shaman Dang did not say much more as the main purpose of this meeting was to inform everyone of this task. Therefore, after announcing it, he gave a few words of advice before dismissing them.
All of a sudden, the hundred Shaman Grandmasters elbowed their way through and pushed themselves out of the hall. They obviously could not wait to recruit people under them as, once the war began, it would be safer to have more subordinates, so at this critical moment, no one was willing to lag behind others and wanted to use their own means to keep the rest here, so that they could pick the most powerful warriors for themselves first.
Only after everyone else left did Yang Kai walk steadily towards the exit.
“What’s your name?” Shaman Dang’s voice came from behind.
Yang Kai turned around, “Shaman Niu!” he answered, “I was born like this, but I am really from the South Barbarian Clan’s Blue South Village!”
Shaman Dang nodded, “It doesn’t matter if your body is small or big. You’re a Shaman Grandmaster nonetheless. If anyone doubts you next time, just tell them my name.”
Yang Kai was stunned, clueless as to why Shaman Dang concerned himself with this trivial matter, but he still replied with a nod, “Many thanks, Sir.”
“Go!” Shaman Dang waved his hand.
Then, Yang Kai walked out of the hall.
A moment later, the Guard Captain who stared at Yang Kai before came in and looked at Shaman Dang curiously.
Shaman Dang questioned, “What do you want to ask?”
The Guard Captain asked, “Sir, is there anything special about that man?”
He had obviously heard the conversation just now, so he did not understand why Sir Shaman King stopped Yang Kai intentionally to talk to him.
Shaman Dang pondered for a moment before replying, “Special! Of course he is very special! That’s a Shaman Grandmaster who is favoured by the Barbarian God.”
The Guard Captain frowned, “Isn’t anyone who can become a Shaman is favoured by the Barbarian God?”
Shaman Dang smiled lightly, “He is different. Before the winter last year, he was just an ordinary person, or even worse than an ordinary person.”
“What?” The Guard Captain was dumbfounded, “Sir, are you sure?”
A man, who was still an ordinary person last winter, managed to become a Shaman Grandmaster? How was that possible?
Shaman Dang replied, “When I was still a Shaman Grandmaster, I once guided a young man named Shaman Li in cultivation for a while, and that Shaman Li… was the previous Village Chief of Blue South Village.”
Shaman Li, the old Village Chief, had taken good care of Yang Kai and witnessed his astonishing rise, so he knew that a small place like Blue South Village could not provide a nurturing environment for the latter, a Shaman who had a promising future.
Therefore, he wrote a letter last winter and delivered it to King City by eagle, asking King City for permission to allow Yang Kai to continue his cultivation there.
At that time, the letter was written to Shaman Dang; after all, the two had a Master-Disciple relationship. Although they had not been in touch for a long time, the old Village Chief believed that Shaman Dang would not refuse, given the aptitude and talent of Ah Niu.
If the Bone Devouring Clan did not invade their village, Yang Kai would have gone to King City after winter under the arrangement of the Village Chief. Unfortunately, the Village Chief died due to the Bone Devouring Clan’s attack, and he did not even have the time to pass down his last will.
In fact, Shaman Dang was also very interested in the man mentioned in the letter by Village Chief Li, but the invasion of the Demon Race had caused him a lot of worries and he had no time to deal with this matter until he saw Yang Kai in the hall. He vaguely felt that he was somewhat similar to the man described by Shaman Li in the letter, which prompted him to ask about Yang Kai purposely. Without any surprise, the weak looking Shaman was indeed Shaman Niu from Blue South Village.
What’s more, he was already a Shaman Grandmaster!
Shaman Li mentioned in the letter that Shaman Niu was just a Low-Rank Shaman Warrior before winter; however, the latter actually managed to become a Shaman Grandmaster after one season.
Was this a miracle from the Barbarian Gods? At this crucial moment, with the invasion of the Demon Race, did the Barbarian Gods deem to grant their blessings to the Barbarian Race in this way?
Suddenly, Wu Dang recalled a saying he had once heard before.
[With the fall of every catastrophe, a saviour will rise.]
…..
King City was packed with people, everyone jostling each other in the crowd. It was no worse than any modern city Yang Kai had been to before.
He did not rush back to gather his people like the other Shaman Grandmasters though and instead wandered around King City alone.
Not long after, he went directly into a shop and negotiated something with the shop owner. After a long time, he walked out proudly, followed by the shop owner behind him with a gleeful smile on his face, addressing Yang Kai with a notably polite attitude, as if he had gained some great benefits.
Without stopping, Yang Kai went into another store, and a while later, the owner of that store also sent Yang Kai off respectfully with the same attitude.
After repeating the process for almost half a day, Yang Kai had gone in and out of dozens of shops, repeating this every time.
It was not until half a day later that Yang Kai did some calculations in his mind, and after nodding lightly, flew out of the city.
After a while, he flew back to the place where he had originally been stationed where he found Tiea standing there silently. When she noticed him coming, she just looked up and nodded gently.
Several Shaman Apprentices who were under him greeted him and looked anxiously at Yang Kai.
One of the older Shaman Apprentices asked, “Sir, where have you been? Why have you only now returned?”
“I went to take care of something, why? What’s the matter?”
The old Shaman Apprentice answered, “It seems that other Sirs are recruiting people. I heard that Sir Shaman King gave all Shaman Grandmasters an order to gather two to three thousand subordinates. Sir, you are back late and most of those strong warriors have already been recruited by others.”
“En, Sir Shaman King did pass down such an order,” Yang nodded.
The several Shaman Apprentices immediately became anxious when they heard this, with the old Shaman Apprentice continuing, “Then what are you waiting for, Sir? Since you’re back now, you should quickly start recruiting. I think there are still some strong warriors left in other villages who seem to be having a dilemma over which Shaman Grandmaster to join. Sir, you might as well invite them too. We may stand a chance to persuade them to join us.”
“Yes, Sir, it should be done as soon as possible. If we continue to delay, only the weak warriors will be left.”
The other Shaman Apprentices began to persuade Yang Kai one after another.
They merged with Blue South Village that was led by Yang Kai while making their way here and did not intend to take refuge under the other Shaman Grandmasters now, but they were still worried that their leader was too calm and did not seem to be doing anything.
Everyone understood the current situation. Only with more strong warriors could they gain certain advantages in the future war. In the past half a day, the hundred Shaman Grandmasters had been wandering around, constantly drawing the Barbarian Warriors from various villages to their sides, but nothing was done on their own side, which was very strange.
They could not help feeling that they have fallen into a crisis under this tense atmosphere.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” Yang Kai waved his hand with a steady face, which really made the several Shaman Apprentices speechless as their blood boiled for a moment.
Then, they turned around and looked at the other groups. Those Shaman Grandmasters spared no effort in showing off their capabilities to win others over. Some of them even directly performed their powerful Shamanic Spells to attract people’s attention. Seeing the strong warriors approaching those Shaman Grandmasters one by one, they felt like their vitality was slipping away from their fingers.
However, since Yang Kai, who was their Shaman Grandmaster leader, was in no hurry, then it was useless for them to be anxious; after all, they were just a few Shaman Apprentices who could not play an important role in such an occasion, especially when they were not familiar with Yang Kai.
[It is indeed true that young men are unreliable.] The several older Shaman Apprentices exchanged looks with the same thought.
Time passed slowly in suffering. The scattered Barbarian Warriors gathered around King City were gradually recruited by the teams led by the Shaman Grandmasters one after another and the news of the invasion of the Demon Race gradually spread among the crowd. All the Ancient Barbarians began to unite as one, and some took the initiative to take refuge under those powerful Shaman Grandmasters without even having to be drawn in.
No one was interested in Yang Kai though, who looked so young and weak, while Yang Kai himself did not seem to have any intention to win over anyone either. After returning from King City, he just sat cross-legged side by side with Tiea and cultivated, as if all the bustle around him had nothing to do with him.
This made the several Shaman Apprentices under him feel more and more helpless.
When evening fell, however, a voice as striking as thunder suddenly boomed, “Where is Sir Shaman Niu of Blue South Village?”
With just a sentence, the noisy open field suddenly quieted down, and everyone darted their eyes over to him. They wondered who was the one looking for Shaman Niu of Blue South Village. Everyone had by now heard about Blue South Village, as it was just a tiny village, so how powerful would a Shaman be when he was born and raised in such a place?
How dare a Shaman from a small village be titled as Sir in this place where so many Shaman Grandmasters were assembled?
However, when the people saw the things carried by the owner of that voice, their eyes lit up and their breathing became rapid.
The man was carrying a lot of Shaman Artifacts made of refined steel, which shimmered in dazzling light in the afterglow of the sunset.
Those were the real weapons! By the looks of the sharp blades and heavy hilts of these weapons, if one was hit by them, he would be split in half easily. Countless Barbarian Warriors instantly felt shameful looking down at their own stone spears and axes.
Among the Barbarian Race, only the truly powerful warriors were qualified to wield such weapons, because these weapons were not widely available to ordinary people. They must exchange something of considerable value for these weapons, but what valuable things could the Barbarian Warriors from small outlying villages have?
In the whole Southern Barbarian Clan, only in King City could such weapons be crafted, no other village had such ability.
Therefore, they just looked like a group of country bumpkins with their stone spears and axes when this man carrying so many metal weapons walked in on them.
It was not over yet though as behind this man were a group of fully armed men, each of them carrying weapons on their backs and in their arms, shaking the ground with each step they took.
“I’m here!” Yang Kai flew into the air and waved to the side, “Over here!”
The Barbarian leader looked up and grinned when he saw Yang Kai, showing a mouthful of snow-white teeth. Then, he hurried the people behind him to speed up to Yang Kai.
“Eh… What’s happening with this guy!?” Not far away, a Shaman Grandmaster whose body was as strong as a steel tower, darted his eyes at Yang Kai, flabbergasted.
[He is Shaman Niu!?]
The abnormal situation here certainly attracted the attention of many people, and even many of the Shaman Grandmasters flew into the air and looked down to see what was going on with Blue South Village.
“Sir Shaman Niu, all the things you ordered are here. Please check them.” The Barbarian leader unloaded all the weapons on his back and threw them on the ground while speaking.
The weapons all had different shapes, but each one was solid and heavy, none of them weighing less than a hundred kilogram. This man actually walked like the wind despite carrying more than a dozen such weapons, and a cloud of dust was kicked up when he threw the weapons on the ground as he let out a groan.
“En. Just leave them here. Many thanks for your effort, everyone.” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
*Hong hong hong…*
One load of weapons after another was dropped while the Barbarian Warriors passed by one by one. Soon, a mountain of weapons was piled up in this place.
Jaws dropped as Ah Hu and the others stared dumbstruck at this sight.
Those Shaman Grandmasters who were watching were also dumbstruck.
The surrounding Barbarians gulped loudly as everyone’s eyes fixed on the mountain of weapons with overwhelming shock and desire. Weapons that were exceptionally valuable and could not be obtained by ordinary Barbarian Warriors in the past were all piled up in front of them now.
It was like a dream!
Even those Shaman Grandmasters present had never seen so many weapons gathered in one place. Any of the weapons here was a precious treasure, but things were far from over as more and more people continued coming to drop off more weapons.
[Why? Why did the shop owners in King City take weapons and bring them here? What is their relationship with Shaman Niu?]
[Why are so many gathered here?]
[Did they gift these weapons to Shaman Niu? Impossible, but what else can explain this scene?] Many of the Shaman Grandmasters knew these shop owners, and some had even dealt with them before. Therefore, they knew of their personalities.
[Why only him? We are all Shaman Grandmasters here, so why did they only give Shaman Niu weapons but not us? We are not any weaker than Shaman Niu!] Many of the Shaman Grandmasters grew agitated at the thought.
“Hey, what’s the meaning of this? Why did you send everything only to him? Why not this Shaman too?” A Shaman Grandmaster shouted from mid-air.
“Yes, war is near. These things should be divided equally. He can’t just get everything alone.” Someone immediately agreed.
Many Shamans agreed with the statement and for a moment, everyone clamoured endlessly and the scene turned chaotic.
“What’s all this noise for?” The Barbarian Warrior who led the way rebuked angrily, not giving these Shamans Grandmasters any face. He looked up and snorted coldly, “Who told you that we gave these weapons to Sir Shaman Niu? He bartered his belongings for all of these.”
“Ba… bartered?”
“Impossible!”
“What did he use to exchange for so many weapons?”
No one could possibly have such huge financial resources to exchange for at least a thousand weapons that had been piled up at the scene, and more weapons had yet to come. Even a Shaman King couldn’t have this much wealth to purchase so many weapons.
The Barbarian leader shook his head and answered, “I don’t know what Sir Shaman Niu exchanged with the others, but he gave me this.”
While speaking, he took out a round object. Many Barbarian Warriors had no idea what it was, but the faces of those Shaman Grandmasters changed drastically when they saw it and shouted, “A Monster Core!”
Moreover, it was a notably high-quality Monster Core. Such a Monster Core could even be beneficial to the cultivation of a Shaman King, let alone Shaman Grandmasters. Such a Monster Core was indeed worth a lot of weapons.
But no Shaman Grandmaster would be willing to trade this treasure for weapons that were not useful to himself. In order to get so many weapons, how many Barbarian Beast Cores had Shaman Niu spent?
It was scary just thinking about it.
“Sir Shaman Niu also exchanged this with me.” Another shop owner followed up, taking out a similar Monster Core and waving it in front of the audience, blinding the eyes of the Shaman Grandmasters.
If these various kinds of weapons had great attraction to the ordinary Barbarian Warriors, these Monster Cores had just the same effect on the Shaman Grandmasters.
The look they gave Yang Kai changed instantly, as only one question filled their minds, how did he get so many Monster Cores?
A Shaman Grandmaster was not capable of killing so many powerful Barbarian Beasts, not even a Shaman King could. Likewise, where were there so many Barbarian Beasts to kill?
Time passed slowly, and after learning the truth of this trade, the clamorous Shaman Grandmasters were too embarrassed to shout anymore. They could only stare at the weapons placed in front of them with envious looks. Some people were even silently plotting whether they should start building a good relationship with Shaman Niu. Not to mention others, just by getting Barbarian Beast Monster Cores from him would be enough to infinitely benefit them.
It took until after the sun had set fully for the final Barbarian shop owner to bring the last weapons to complete Yang Kai’s transaction. There were now thousands of weapons in total piled up on the ground!
Bursts of rapid breathing exposed the restless hearts of many surrounding Ancient Barbarians.
The villagers from Blue South Village were even more exhilarated, all of them gulping their own saliva in excitement; after all, they had already guessed what these weapons were going to be used for.
They were not fools. On this day, when the invasion of the Demon Race was announced, the reason why Yang Kai suddenly bought so many weapons was obviously to prepare them for the upcoming war. Nevertheless, Yang Kai’s incredible method was still too shocking for them to accept.
Ah Hu came up to Yang Kai, quietly pulled him aside, and whispered, “Ah Niu, are these things… for us?”
Yang Kai smiled, and patted him on the shoulder, “Of course, they’re for all of you.” Then, he waved his hand and invited them, “Choose one for yourself.”
The faces of the thousand of people turned solemn at his words.
The Shaman Apprentices who had secretly complained about Yang Kai’s inaction earlier had nothing to say at this moment, only respect and awe remained on their faces.
There were a hundred Shaman Grandmasters gathered outside King City, but who had the capability to collect so many weapons at once? Who could pull off what Shaman Niu did?
One must first sharpen their tools before doing good work. With so many sharp weapons, even if there were only a thousand people in their group, the advantage that they would have was by no means something a mere collection of two or three thousand more warriors could compare with. Furthermore, the number of weapons that were stacked up here was definitely more than a thousand pieces.
The several Shaman Apprentices seemed to be able to foresee what would happen next and their complaints and dissatisfaction towards Yang Kai completely vanished. Despite Shaman Niu’s youthful appearance, it seemed he was completely capable of handling this situation. He seemed to be doing nothing just now, but once he made his move, it delivered a killing blow so devastating that everyone could not help but admire his wit and courage.
The several Shaman Apprentices from different villages smiled as they glanced at each other.
The sound of gulping came up one after another. The thousand people under Yang Kai’s lead gathered around the mountain of weapons, but no one was eager to scramble for them. Everyone stared at the stacked weapons with giddy faces, their eyes glowing as if they were not looking at cold weapons, but at naked beauties.
“You guys go first!” Ah Hu suddenly turned around and looked at the villagers of the other villages. As a warrior who came from the same village as Yang Kai, Ah Hu felt that it was time to win some glory and establish prestige for Ah Niu. Therefore, he was not in a hurry to grab his weapon, but gave priority to the villagers of the other villages instead.
The leaders of those villages exchanged looks at his words, and one of them smiled and shook his head as he replied, “These are the weapons brought by Sir Shaman Niu. Blue South Village should go first. Please.”
“That’s right, Ah Hu. You pick first!”
“Yes, Ah Hu. Don’t refuse us!”
But Ah Hu shook his head, “It is precisely because Ah Niu obtained these things that I want you to pick first. These things are not just brought for Blue South Village, but for everyone.”
The leaders of the several villages burst into a quarrel with each other, because they did not give in to each other and were unwilling to pick first. At the same time, the surrounding Ancient Barbarians who were watching them secretly cursed in their hearts, feeling envious and helpless.
All of a sudden, the oldest Shaman Apprentice remarked with a smile, “Let’s not quarrel. Now that we are gathered together, there is no difference between this village and that village anymore. We are one now and are all under Shaman Niu’s command. It could be said we are now in the Shaman Niu Clan. It doesn’t matter who comes first or who comes later. Moreover, there are so many weapons here, so there will still be a lot left even if each of you takes one. So, there’s no need to be shy.”
“The Shaman Niu Clan…” Everyone’s eyes lit up listening to his words, and started to ponder about it.
The old Shaman Apprentice was right. Now that they had all gathered together, there was really no point to distinguish everyone by their original village. Only by truly combining into one whole could they unite in the upcoming war with a common will as strong as a fortress. If they deliberately distinguish themselves by their original villages, it would only allow selfishness to grow between them, and any disunity may result in death in the coming war.
After a moment of pondering, Ah Hu nodded, “I agree with what Elder has said. In that case, let’s pick together.”
The rest naturally had no objection and immediately rushed up to begin dividing up those weapons. When they found the weapon that was most suited for themselves, they took it out and moved back to allow others to choose their weapons.
For a moment, the whole place was filled with the noise of a celebratory crowd; laughter of contentment could be heard everywhere. The situation was lively yet not chaotic, as everyone moved in an orderly manner.
The other Shaman Grandmasters took in the scene before their eyes, their expressions complex.
Needless to say, envy and admiration were what they felt. Shaman Niu easily united a thousand people together with a simple giveaway of weapons, which was a method that was worth being commended upon. They took a look at the Barbarian Warriors in their groups, letting out a sigh, seeing that many were now gazing at these people in jealousy.
It could not be helped though, as although such a method seemed to be simple, they had no way to mimic it because they did not have the financial resources that Shaman Niu apparently did.
On top of admiration, they felt a sense of crisis.
The order of the Shaman King made it very clear that every Shaman Grandmaster had to win over two to three thousand clansmen. Quite a number of people had completed the task after half a day, but there were still a few of them working hard towards it.
There were also more scattered warriors and wandering heroes still waiting to decide who to follow. Originally, everyone used their own means in recruiting under fair competition, but now, with what Shaman Niu had done, he instantly gained the absolute upper hand over the other Shaman Grandmasters, throwing them far behind him.
Perhaps, more clansmen would be willing to join them after the thousand people finished getting their share of weapons. What would they do if those powerful warriors were all drawn away by Shaman Niu by then?
Thinking of this, a few Shaman Grandmasters who were on good terms with each other gathered together and began to discuss countermeasures.
After a stick of incense worth of time, the thousand Barbarian Warriors under Yang Kai had chosen their own weapons. Looking proud and majestic, they held up high the axes, swords, and spears that were forged from refined metal. On the other hand, the archers also replaced their old weapons with new, powerful bows and arrows.
The mountain of weapons that piled up in the place had only shrunk by a third of its original size, and there were still many more weapons waiting for their masters to choose them.
Groups of Barbarian Warriors started to approach the mountain and stare at the weapons with covetous looks, all of them shooting glances towards Yang Kai with desire-filled eyes.
Yang Kai smiled, snapped his fingers and announced, “The Shaman Niu Clan… is recruiting!”
“Sir Shaman Niu, I am willing to join!”
“I will join, of course I will join!”
“I also want to join! Sir Shaman Niu, please accept me. I’m the most powerful warrior in our village!”
As soon as Yang Kai’s voice fell, the voices of countless people immediately overwhelmed the area. The situation was almost out of control. Fortunately, Ah Hu and the others drew out their new weapons in time and stopped the other Ancient Barbarians from flooding the place.
Yang Kai raised his hand and assured, “Don’t rush and don’t push. Sir Shaman King ordered us to gather up to three thousand clansmen, and this Shaman Niu’s goal is precisely three thousand people. Therefore, many still have a chance. If anyone is interested in joining the Shaman Niu Clan, please line up here and come forward to get your weapon. Once you have your weapon, you will be a clansman of my Shaman Niu Clan.”
As soon as the words came out, everyone immediately quieted down and the Ancient Barbarians quickly formed a queue like a long, snaking Dragon.
“Three thousand people? Shaman Niu, as a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster, how can you manage so many people? Your stomach might explode because of your big appetite.”
At the same time, a burly figure fell from the sky and landed beside the mountain of weapons with a bang. The huge impact caused the ground to tremble, sending dust flying, and the whole mountain of weapons clunked noisily.
Yang Kai glanced at the bundle of black hair on the man’s chest, and responded with his brow raised, “Shaman Tu? What can I do for you?”
Shaman Tu laughed, “I’m just worried for you because you’re young and weak.”
“Many thanks for your concern, but you don’t need to worry for me.”
Shaman Tu shook his head, “How can you say that? We are all Shaman Grandmasters of the South Barbarian Clan and we should all help each other. Well, how about this? This Shaman is a little stronger than you, so I should take up more responsibility. You can recruit another thousand people, and I will take care of the remaining thousand for you. In exchange for this Shaman’s kindness… Just give this Shaman the extra weapons.”
After saying so, without giving Yang Kai a chance to respond, he reached out his hand directly towards the mountain of weapons.
“Stop!” Ah Hu was furious. These weapons were purchased at a huge price by Ah Niu. Although he had no clue how Ah Niu obtained so many Monster Cores that could be used for trading, he could not stand idly by and watch someone steal Ah Niu’s property.
[What a rotten Shaman Grandmaster. Whoever dares to rob our belongings is our enemy!]
While shouting angrily, Ah Hu swung his axe at Shaman Tu.
“Scram!” Shaman Tu roared without even turning his head around, immediately creating a visible wave made of compressed air around him. This wind wave obviously contained a massive amount of power because Ah Hu was sent flying into the sky like a paper kite as soon as he collided with it, crashing to the ground a moment later.
At the same time, Shaman Tu grabbed a fine steel spear with his hand. With a slight grasping force, the whole mountain of weapons trembled, and almost half of the weapons flew in the air. It was obvious that he was taking the weapons back to his Barbarian Warriors.
Seeing this, everyone in Shaman Tu’s group was overjoyed and anticipated the arrival of these weapons.
But just then, a figure suddenly appeared on top of the mountain of weapons out of thin air. It was not clear what he did, but the thousands of flying weapons dropped back onto the ground, as if pressed down by a mountain, and collided with each other in a loud clunk.
Mid-air, Yang Kai looked down at Shaman Tu with a teasing face, “Are you trying to rob me?”
Shaman Tu’s face turned red, “How is this robbing? Didn’t you hear me clearly? I already said that everyone here is from the South Barbarian Clan. This Shaman just wants to share your burdens. This Shaman is fine with your lack of gratitude, but Shaman Niu, how dare you spoil this Shaman’s reputation instead?” He justified himself.
Yang Kai sneered, “I didn’t allow you to share my burden.”
Shaman Tu shook his head, “It doesn’t matter whether you allow it or not. This Shaman is always happy to help others, so move away now. Don’t be someone who doesn’t know how to appreciate kindness!”
Yang Kai was amazed, “Shaman Tu, have you no shame? How can you tell such obvious lies with your eyes wide open? Don’t you feel ashamed?”
Sure enough, Shaman Tu blushed in shame, but he continued to stand firm, “Good, good, good, you’re an arrogant little thing, aren’t you. As a High-Rank Shaman Grandmaster, I have the responsibility and obligation to teach you to recognize reality!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and moved his lips in an incantation, and his Shaman Strength fluctuated. Two visible chains of Shaman Strength wrapped themselves around Yang Kai, binding him tightly, seemingly catching him off guard.
Shaman Tu could not help laughing and lectured, “Remember, if you recognize reality now, you will only be a bit embarrassed, but if you can’t see reality on the battlefield, you will lose your life. You don’t need to thank me for this lesson, it is this Shaman’s responsibility to educate his Juniors.” When he spoke, he tightened his grip on his hand in an attempt to drag Yang Kai down from the air.
But his face changed in the next moment as, despite his action, Yang Kai remained hovering over the mountain of weapons motionlessly, as if he was nailed there by some invisible force. Instead, Yang Kai just looked back at him with a grin.
Shaman Tu felt a slight palpitation in his heart and instinctively thought [Impossible!] His opponent was just Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster, who was two Minor Realms lower than him. Furthermore, Yang Kai was already bound by his spell, so how could his power be resisted?
Shaman Tu could not believe it and immediately tried again, but to his utter shock, he found that it was still ineffective.
It did not seem like he bound a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster, but a true mountain instead. His efforts were fruitless, and his face flushed in fury.
Many onlookers were dazed too. They did not understand what happened to Shaman Tu, while some Shaman Grandmasters kept sending him eye signals to end this farce quickly.
Previously, they were those Shaman Grandmasters who gathered to discuss possible countermeasures and they thought that the best way was to create a situation to humiliate Shaman Niu. It was true Shaman Niu brought thousands of weapons here, which attracted the attention of many powerful Barbarian Warriors, arousing their interest in taking refuge with him.
But this interest was only based on these weapons. The clansmen would probably change their mind about joining Shaman Niu if they witnessed his vulnerability through humiliation.
Weapons were indeed tempting, but a weak Shaman Grandmaster was not worthy to be depended on since that would be risking their lives.
Everyone knew the Barbarian Race was about to face a bloody life and death war, so having a powerful Shaman Grandmaster as a leader gave them more security than possessing those weapons.
That was why Shaman Tu jumped out to cause trouble and deliberately fought against Yang Kai. According to their previous plan, as long as they could crush Shaman Niu and humiliate him in front of everyone, he would lose his advantage.
However, the situation now was somewhat different from what they discussed before.
[Shaman Niu has already been successfully entrapped by you, Shaman Tu. So, what are you still waiting for?]
Instantaneously, another High-Rank Shaman Grandmaster flew down and also raised his hand to throw a chain-like Shamanic Spell to bind Yang Kai, shouting harshly, “Shaman Niu, Shaman Tu was too kind-hearted to simply let you bow out in front of everyone, but this Shaman is not as kind as him. Get down now!”
His hand tightened, but instead of Yang Kai, his body faltered and he almost fell to the ground.
The High-Rank Shaman Grandmaster’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets as, at this moment, he realized that it was not Shaman Tu’s intention to be merciful, but that he was really powerless to do anything.
[What happened?]
He looked up bewilderedly and saw that Yang Kai was grabbing their Shamanic Spell Chains with his hands, grinning as he spoke, “The scenery is splendorous up here. This Shaman doesn’t feel like getting down now. How about you come up instead!?”
He abruptly yanked on the chains in his hands and following two pitiful shouts, countless pairs of stunned eyes watched as Shaman Tu and the other Shaman Grandmaster were lifted off the ground and pulled towards Yang Kai involuntarily.
Their limbs flailed helplessly mid-air, and they only managed to stabilize themselves after some effort.
But soon, their hearts sank again.
Because they saw that Shaman Niu looked at them with a sinister smile, palming his fists with clear ill-intention.
Both of them forcibly took a breath and pushed their Shaman Strength together to condense Shield Spells before their bodies.
Just as the radiance of their Shield Spells lit up though, Yang Kai swung his fists at them.
The two punches flew at them like the wind.
*Kacha…*
Following a crisp sound, the Shield Spells protecting the two High-Rank Shaman Grandmasters shattered, unable to resist Yang Kai’s seemingly effortless punches for even a moment.
The two Shaman Grandmasters grunted and flew out like rag sacks, plummeting to the ground heavily with their faces stained with blood.
The whole world fell silent at that moment as everyone looked at Yang Kai in shock like they had encountered a ghost, especially the other Shaman Grandmasters. The corners of their mouths twitched, and their faces spasmed. They could not believe what they had just seen.
It was natural for the Barbarian Warriors to be puzzled because they had not cultivated Shaman Strength before and had no clue about the huge gap between a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster and a High-Rank Shaman Grandmaster. Nevertheless, the Shaman Grandmasters present definitely knew about it.
Under normal circumstances, a High-Rank Shaman Grandmaster could crush a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster easily as the gap of two Minor Realms was not there for nothing.
But the scene that happened in front of them was so surreal that they could not find a suitable reason to explain it.
The Shield Spells cast by the two Shaman Grandmasters were effortlessly broken by Shaman Niu. If the Shield Spell they used was this weak, why would they work so hard to cultivate it?
The fact was that the Shield Spells weren’t weak, but Shaman Niu was just too terrifyingly strong.
Goosebumps raised all over the Shaman Grandmasters. Previously, they felt a little bitter about him gaining the upper hand in attracting people by bringing in thousands of weapons. Furthermore, some of them were even ready to find trouble with him just like Shaman Tu did, and were waiting for an opportunity to snatch some weapons from him. But now, who would dare to have such thoughts?
If the two High-Rank Shaman Grandmasters were no match for him even when they joined hands, who else could be his opponent?
On the other side, the two Shaman Grandmasters who got beaten up were also lost in confusion.
Shaman Tu took a huge effort to get himself up from the ground, shaking his head to try to clear it. He looked blankly at the eyes of the clansmen around him, and his face changed from pale to red. He immediately became infuriated out of shame and reprimanded, “How dare you launch a sneak attack against me!”
He did not want to admit that he was no match for Yang Kai and felt that the defeat just now was due to a moment of neglect because he did not expect Yang Kai to really attack him. He believed that he would not be embarrassed in front of everyone if he was prepared.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The reason he stepped out to teach Yang Kai a lesson was to take the opportunity to suppress him and raise his own prestige. But he did not expect to go for wool and come home shorn. Not only did his scheme not go as he planned, it completely backfired and he made a fool of himself instead. There was no way for him to give up in this situation because, if he retreated like this, his prestige would plunge and he wouldn’t be able to recruit any more people.
“Surround him for me!” Shaman Tu roared.
When the words fell, nearly two thousand Barbarians rushed out and scattered around, surrounding Yang Kai and the thousand under his lead.
Seeing this, the other Shaman Grandmaster waved his hand silently, and his thousand and a half men also gathered.
For a moment, roughly four thousand people moved at Shaman Tu’s command. Ah Hu and the others tensed up their muscles and held their weapons closely in their hands one after another.
Other uninvolved Barbarians saw this and immediately understood that the issue would not be solved easily this time, quickly stepping aside to make room for the two opposing sides.
“You want to fight?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows and grinned wildly, “Good!”
When those words fell, he quickly chanted an incantation and waved his hands, causing a halo to immediately spread out, covering the thousand warriors on his side.
These thousand Ancient Barbarians were suddenly coated in a red light, as if they were wrapped by a layer of blood red fog. Moreover, crackling noises broke out from the bodies of Ah Hu and the others, their already tall frames rapidly enlarging while the animal skin clothes tightened on their bodies. Every pair of eyes turned scarlet, and each of them took on a fearless aura, one that said they would not hesitate to swing their weapons even if it was a Shaman Saint standing in front of them.
The malevolent auras of the thousand Barbarians could almost break through the clouds.
Endless power poured out of their bodies as they clung to the weapons in their hands as if they had gained a new life. Everyone looked excited and widened their eyes in surprise, because it was unbelievable that they could possess such overwhelming power.
Bloodlust Spell!
And it was a High-Grade Bloodlust Spell! Although the eyes of these thousand Barbarians were as red as blood and they appeared to be fearless and ferocious, they had not lost their minds. Such an effect was only possible with the highest quality Bloodlust Spell. Although general Bloodlust Spells could make a Barbarian Warrior stronger and dull their five basic senses to make them immune to pain and fatigue, it would also affect their minds to a certain extent. In severe cases, it might turn them crazy and damage their Souls, leaving crippling side-effects even after the Bloodlust Spell wore off.
But the Bloodlust Spell cast by Shaman Niu was different. It should only be something a Shaman King could achieve.
Many Shaman Grandmasters were shocked by this scene. Such a Bloodlust Spell alone was enough to make them change their opinions of Shaman Niu, because this was an ability beyond their capability to perform.
Especially when he cast his Bloodlust Spell on all one thousand Barbarians so calmly and casually, not leaving anyone out. How much control and power did he need to achieve this? Moreover, this seemed far from his limit.
Was a fight really going to occur?
It seemed the arrow was already released from the bow when the Bloodlust Spell was chanted.
Nevertheless, things had not ended yet.
After the Bloodlust Spell, Yang Kai continued chanting, weaving his hands in a complex pattern. Following his actions, lights of different colours burst out one after another and wrapped around his men.
Light Body Spell, Stone Armour Spell, Great Strength Spell…
Layer after layer of light shrouded every warrior under Yang Kai as an earthy yellow light, like a heavy layer of armour, was added onto the scarlet glow on the surface of their bodies. Other than that, a light breeze wrapped around their legs, increasing their swiftness and manoeuvrability, while the golden rays of light which symbolized the Great Strength Spell enhanced their strength by a further thirty percent.
The breath of these Barbarian Warriors grew heavier as their fighting spirits were fully unleashed.
The roughly four thousand who gathered around them were so frightened by their power that they could not help taking a few steps back, their faces filled with dread.
There was no need to even fight as everyone understood just by observing that each of these people in the Shaman Niu Clan had the ability to fight against two people alone.
The faces of Shaman Tu and the other Shaman Grandmaster turned dreadfully ugly. They thought that they could bring out their men to deter Shaman Niu, making him panic, but who knew that this guy would be so undaunted? Not only was he not intimidated, but immediately blessed his clansmen with a lot of auxiliary Shamanic Spells instead.
At the moment, like the rest of the Shaman Grandmasters, the two Shaman Grandmasters facing off against Yang Kai were immersed in deep shock.
Even a Shaman King could not afford to sprinkle so many large-scale Shamanic Spells one after another with solely his own strength on so many people. Shaman Niu was just a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster, so how did he have so much Shaman Strength in his body to spare?
By now, all of them realized that they had greatly underestimated Shaman Niu. Just the storage of the Shaman Strength in his body was already far beyond that of an ordinary Shaman Grandmaster. What’s more, he was just a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster now, so what would he be like if he were to break through to become a High-Rank Shaman Grandmaster?
Just when the two Grandmasters were staring dumbstruck, Yang Kai chanted an incantation again, and another light descended.
As the light fell, the Barbarians on Yang Kai’s side were stunned all of a sudden as the red light permeating from their bodies merged together.
In the blink of an eye, the one thousand troops seemed to have converged, no longer distinguished from each other. The overwhelming aura merged together and caused the ground to shake.
“Life Chains!” Shaman Tu’s face changed drastically. He could not help gulping nervously as he stared at Yang Kai as if he was looking at a monster.
Life Chains was a truly profound Shamanic Spell that only Shaman Grandmasters and above were qualified to cultivate. This Shamanic Spell could connect the vitality of the Barbarian Warriors together. Under the effect of Life Chains, the damage suffered by any individual would be spread out evenly to all those connected to them, so that the Barbarian Warriors could withstand far more damage than ordinarily.
The entire Ancient Barbarian Race relied mainly on this kind of Shamanic Spell in large-scale wars.
However, although Shaman Grandmasters could learn and cultivate Life Chains, they often needed the assistance of other Shamans to perform this Shamanic Spell.
It would be fine if it was a small number of people as the Life Chains cast by an ordinary High-Rank Shaman Grandmaster could connect the vitality of two hundred or so without trouble, but if the Grandmaster had the assistance of several Shaman Masters, Shaman Warriors, and Shaman Apprentices, that coverage could expand several times or even more than ten times over. The more assisting Shamans, the better the effect.
However, when Shaman Niu cast Life Chains just now, he had no assistance from anyone.
Still, the light of his Shamanic Spell instantly shrouded all one thousand Barbarian Warriors on his side, connecting their vitality and integrating their scattered lives into one.
If those Shaman Grandmasters did not witness it with their own eyes, they would not believe that such a thing was possible.
Only the Life Chains of a High-Rank Shaman King could link a thousand lives together at once.
The advantage of having several times the number of people vanished in an instant facing this terrifying group.
Although Shaman Tu and the other Shaman Grandmaster could also cast Life Chains to connect the vitality of their warriors, it naturally required some preparation time; after all, they needed to coordinate and cooperate with all the Shamans under their command to do this. How could they easily cast a Life Chains Spell like Yang Kai just did?
In other words, if they were really going to fight, the thousand warriors under Yang Kai’s command would certainly be enough to crush ten thousand scattered Barbarian Warriors without taking any serious damage.
“This Shaman is ready. When are we going to start the battle?” Yang Kai looked down at Shaman Tu from above and asked nonchalantly, his indifferent appearance causing the other Shaman Grandmasters’ brows to twitch.
He did not look exhausted at all after casting so many large-scale Shamanic Spells. Was he a monster?
Under normal circumstances, casting two or three of these large-scale Shamanic Spells would be enough to wear down the Shaman Strength of any Shaman Grandmaster.
Was there still a point of fighting against such an enemy?
On the other hand, was it even worth fighting now? The other Shamanic Spells still made sense, because they did not have much backlash on the warriors, but the Bloodlust Spell was different. Once it was used, it would consume the Blood Qi of the Barbarian Warriors and they would grow weak for several days after the effects wore off.
It was insane that Shaman Niu applied the Bloodlust Spell to his warriors without any hesitation. Did he not know the consequences this would bring?
In front of Yang Kai’s overbearing manner, Shaman Tu’s face turned red and he could not say a single word.
Could he really start a battle now?
He did not intend to really start a war with Yang Kai in the first place as his goal was to intimidate him by calling out his clansmen. However, he did not expect that this scrawny Shaman would be so wild and short-tempered.
Shaman Tu deeply regretted putting himself in this situation that was difficult for him to back down from now.
“Oh?” Yang Kai sneered at Shaman Tu, “By the look of Sir Shaman Tu’s face, it seems that he is not ready yet. Do you want me to give you a few days to prepare?”
Shaman Tu’s face flushed as he straightened his neck and shouted, “Shaman Niu, don’t be too arrogant! This is King City, and this Shaman does not wish to disturb Sir Shaman King with a trivial squabble now. If we provoke Sir Shaman King, no one will have a good end. It’s not that I’m afraid of you!”
As soon as these words reached the crowd’s ears, various looks etched on many Shaman Grandmasters’ faces. Everyone understood the situation; Shaman Tu knew that he had no chance of winning, so he could only use his tongue to save his pride.
However, Shaman Tu had probably lost all his dignity after such a fuss and it was meaningless for him to say more. It would also be impossible for him to recruit any more clansmen.
On the contrary, Shaman Niu, who had the record of sending two Shaman Grandmasters flying on his own as well as the ability to cast so many powerful Shamanic Spells by himself certainly attracted the interest of those scattered warriors.
Fortunately, the order of Sir Shaman King was that every Shaman Grandmaster should recruit two to three thousand people. Otherwise, if he was allowed to take advantage of the situation, this Shaman Niu would definitely attempt to recruit tens of thousands of people. Once that happened, many Shaman Grandmasters would be unable to complete this task.
“So what Sir Shaman Tu wants to say is now is not the time to fight?” Yang Kai smiled lightly, and replied with a disappointed look, “What a waste of my long preparations.”
Shaman Tu snorted coldly, “We are all from the Southern Barbarian Clan. What’s the point of fighting amongst ourselves? If you want to fight, go fight with the Demon Race to see who can kill more Demons by then!”
Yang Kai touched his chin and nodded, “What Sir Shaman Tu said makes sense too.”
Shaman Tu’s expression relaxed, “You think so too?”
Yang Kai smiled faintly, “In that case, let’s compete on the battlefield.”
“Good! It’s a deal! This Shaman will not lose to you!” Shaman Tu waved his hand and accepted the challenge. At the same time, his two thousand men let out a sigh of relief and dispersed.
Shaman Tu turned around and a breeze swept past him. Only then did he realize that his back was drenched in cold sweat. He could not help shivering and secretly scolded himself for being so stupid and putting himself in such an embarrassing position.
On the other side, Yang Kai performed various hand seals and dispersed the Life Chains and Bloodlust Spell.
To the surprise of Ah Hu and the others, they did not feel dizzy like normal when the Bloodlust Spell was removed. Although they were more or less tired, it was still within an acceptable limit. Moreover, such a small drawback was nothing to the strong Barbarian Warriors who could easily recover after a good meal.
Not only did Shaman Tu’s provocation fail to achieve the desired effect, it even helped Yang Kai build his own prestige.
Now, everyone knew that although this Shaman Grandmaster named Niu looked thin and weak, his strength was unfathomable. If anyone could follow such a Shaman Grandmaster, their future would be safer and more promising than the others.
Furthermore, anyone who joined him could obtain a fine weapon too.
Who would not be moved under such conditions?
Therefore, after Shaman Tu left, Yang Kai’s recruitment progressed extremely well.
Within one stick of incense, another two thousand people had joined his ranks and had weapons divided amongst them.
Yang Kai did not just accept any newcomers though. He mainly took in whole villages, with the village being between two to three hundred people. Two thousand people wound up being equivalent to eight or nine villages.
Ninety-nine percent of these people were Barbarian Warriors and Spirit Archers, with the rest being Shamans of varying strength.
Tiea recorded the statistics for the two thousand new recruits and then reported to Yang Kai. In addition to the Shamans who had followed Yang Kai to King City before, he now had thirteen Shamans under his command, among which were four Shaman Warriors and nine Shaman Apprentices.
There were no Shaman Masters, but Yang Kai could not do anything about it. Shamans were rare in the first place, and it was even more difficult for places like villages to raise a Shaman Master. Only some small Clans and major cities with thousands of people would have Shaman Masters.
But this was not a big problem for Yang Kai, because he still had Tiea with him.
Other Shaman Grandmasters had Shaman Masters under them, but Yang Kai had a Shaman Grandmaster. Furthermore, Tiea was no ordinary Shaman Grandmaster. She had been taught by Senior Qing for many years and had mastered a lot more Shamanic Spells compared to ordinary Shaman Grandmasters. Once the war began, the two of them could work together and would be enough to cover the three thousand people with their Shamanic Spells.
Next, Yang Kai personally divided the three thousand people into ten small groups, ranging from two hundred fifty to three hundred people in each group. Then, he assigned the most powerful warriors and archers as the Captain and Vice-Captain of each group.
He also picked a hundred elites out of the three thousand people to serve as an Elite Guards.
It did not mean that Yang Kai needed Elite Guards as, with his current strength, why would he need others to protect him? Instead, the task of these Elite Guards was to protect the thirteen Shamans other than him and Tiea.
These Shamans were just Shaman Warriors and Shaman Apprentices, and it was true that they could not play a huge role when fighting alone. However, when it came to small and medium-scale battles, they would become the core of the ten groups. Any death among them would definitely be a huge loss.
Therefore, Yang Kai had to make plans for their safety.
The three thousand people were made aware of the group allocations swiftly and each group was managed by its own Captain and Vice-Captain, with these Captains and Vice-Captains answering directly to Yang Kai. With this method, it was much more efficient than him giving orders to the three thousand people himself.
The Shaman Grandmasters observed Yang Kai’s way of handling things and quickly realized the benefits of this kind of subdivision. As such, they also followed Yang Kai’s example in managing their groups, and soon, they became organized too.
After Yang Kai demonstrated his abilities in front of the crowd, these three thousand warriors were completely obedient to Yang Kai as they believed that they truly followed the right person this time and might have gained the upper hand over other clansmen in the upcoming war.
After passing down the order to the three thousand people to train in getting familiar with the cooperation and formation of their groups, Yang Kai and Tiea quietly left King City.
……
“Where are we going now?” Tiea questioned curiously, wondering why Yang Kai was dragging her with him.
Yang Kai led the way without turning his head back and answered, “When I was in King City, I saw some tamed Barbarian Beasts. Let’s catch some too.”
“Do you want to tame beasts?” Tiea looked at him in surprise.
“Senior Qing taught you the Beast Taming Spell, right?” Yang Kai looked back at her.
Tiea nodded gently, “Yes, he did, but I haven’t used it before, so I don’t know if it has any effect.”
“It’s fine as long as you’ve learnt it. As for the effect, we’ll know when we try later; after all, I haven’t used it either.” Yang Kai grinned.
“But… Do you know where to find Barbarian Beasts?”
“Just follow me. Those Beasts in King City didn’t just appear out of thin air. Since they can catch them, then we can do it too.”
Yang Kai flew forward as he spoke.
He had inquired about a certain place before. There was a mountain range about half a day away from King City, where Yang Kai’s targets for this trip lived.
They set out at night, and by dawn, a mountain range appeared in front of the pair, like a giant Dragon lying on the Earth. After entering the mountains, they continued ahead without stopping.
Half a day later, a fierce screech came from above.
Yang Kai stopped, looked up through the scattered leaves, and saw a huge eagle-like Barbarian Beast swooping down from above into a mountain pass. When the Barbarian Beast flew up to the sky again, a Giant Python had been caught in its sharp claws. The Giant Python struggled wildly and coiled its body around the Giant Eagle’s claws.
The Giant Eagle lowered its head and pecked at the Giant Python’s body, causing blood to rain down from the sky. The Giant Python struggled even more, causing the Giant Eagle to lose some of its steadiness, as if it would fall from the sky at any time.
But soon, the Giant Eagle opened its beak, and a wind blade-like attack suddenly shot out from its mouth, cutting the Giant Python’s body directly into several sections. Its internal organs turned into pulp, and its struggling body gradually stopped moving.
The Giant Eagle let out a fierce screech again, turned around in mid-air, then flew towards a certain direction with its prey in its claws.
“Do you want to tame this kind of Barbarian Beast?” Tiea noticed Yang Kai’s interested and motivated look, and immediately understood his intention.
“Of course we should tame Barbarian Beasts like this!” Yang Kai chased after the Giant Eagle as he answered.
Tiea was speechless. She knew that Yang Kai was coming to catch Barbarian Beasts, but she did not expect that he was looking for Flying Barbarian Beasts. This type of creature was much harder to catch than the ordinary Barbarian Beasts, and it seemed that the cultivation of the Giant Eagle was not low given its size and aura. She was afraid that her Beast Taming Spell might not work on it.
Despite the uneasy feeling, Tiea did not say much but followed Yang Kai obediently.
After a stick of incense worth of time, the pair came to a certain mountain valley which was surrounded by high cliffs, precipices, and jagged rocks. On the cliff were countless giant nests nestled between the rocks, each with a Giant Eagle standing proudly above it, like kings overlooking their territory.
More Giant Eagles soared through the air, with some leaving to look for food, while some were returning from their hunt.
“So many!” Tiea was amazed by the scene.
“It’s good to have more.” Yang Kai grinned. To him, it was better to have more of them, but it only depended on whether the Beast Taming Spell was useful or not. If it was useless, everything was just empty talk.
“Wait here, I’ll give it a try.” Yang Kai said before disappearing from his original place with a flicker.
Tiea looked around with wide eyes, but she could not find any trace of Yang Kai, causing a look of shock to fill her pretty face. This was definitely not the effect of any Shamanic Spell that she knew.
The more she stayed with Shaman Niu, the more Tiea discovered how mysterious he was.
When she was looking around for Yang Kai, she suddenly sensed some abnormal movement on the opposite cliff, and sure enough, she found Yang Kai when she looked over.
She had no idea when he got there, but at that moment, he had caught a Giant Eagle by its neck and was pressing it down into the nest while lying down on its belly to avoid being noticed by the other Giant Eagles.
A faint light flashed and disappeared into the Giant Eagle’s body.
Tiea clearly saw that the Giant Eagle suddenly stopped struggling and a short moment later, it stood up again, spread its wings, and resumed its former aloof appearance, as if nothing had happened.
[He succeeded!]
Tiea’s eyes lit up. The Beast Taming Spell was an extremely oppressive Shamanic Spell, but not only did it consume a lot of Shaman Strength, it was also a Shamanic Spell like Life Chains that could only be mastered by those at the Shaman Grandmaster Realm and above. The conditions to cast it were also extremely harsh.
If one succeeded, he would leave a Brand in the Barbarian Beast’s body and be able to control its life. But if one failed, not only would the Shaman Grandmaster who performed the Beast Taming Spell suffer from a harsh backlash, but the Beast would also die instantly.
Therefore, in general, if one wanted to cast the Beast Taming Spell on a Barbarian Beast, it was better to capture it first and spend some time building a relationship with it to decrease its resistance to its new owner. This was the only way one could have some hope of success.
Basically, taking such a forceful action like what Yang Kai had done would almost always end in failure.
But, contrary to the norm, he actually succeeded.
Even after witnessing tremendous miracles that seemed to occur constantly around this Shaman Niu, Tiea was still dumbstruck.
[Was it just luck?] She wondered.
The next moment, the Giant Eagle subdued by Yang Kai suddenly spread its wings and flew directly towards her side.
After a while, when the Giant Eagle landed in front of her, Yang Kai, who was hiding in its feathers, popped his head out and remarked, “I have a good idea and I need you to cooperate!”
Tiea asked in a daze, “What idea?”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed, “I want to catch the Eagle King!”
Tiea’s whole face twitched.
But after Yang Kai explained his plan, she changed her mind and thought that it was indeed a good idea too.
After forcibly subduing a Giant Eagle with the Beast Taming Spell, Yang Kai was vaguely aware of the thoughts of this Giant Eagle. From it, Yang Kai learnt that there was an Eagle King in this place. The Eagle King was stronger than all the other Giant Eagles, and they had to submit to it.
If they could dive straight into the enemy’s lair and subdue the Eagle King, they could take away the numerous Giant Eagles here at their convenience.
It was a drastic measure to deal with the situation, but much more efficient than Yang Kai’s previous plan to ambush and subdue Giant Eagles one by one.
The two discussed for a moment and soon finalized their plan.
Then, the Giant Eagle flew up again, with Yang Kai and Tiea hiding on its back. The back of this Barbarian Beast was spacious enough for them to sit side by side easily without falling, and under the cover of its long feathers, Yang Kai and Tiea became all but invisible.
In a gigantic eagle’s nest, the Eagle King was locked in place by Yang Kai’s Shamanic Spell. Yang Kai directed gleaming Beast Taming Spells from his hand to envelop the Eagle King again and again, but to no avail. The Eagle King screeched endlessly with its scarlet eyes filled with unyielding spirit.
Around the eagle’s nest, up to a hundred Giant Eagles constantly rushed towards them fearlessly in order to rescue their King.
Tiea was hovering mid-air as she pushed her Shaman Strength, wrapping the whole eagle nest in a Shield Spell, cutting off all the incoming Giant Eagles and rendering their wind blades useless.
Yang Kai and Tiea had gone straight into the Eagle King’s nest where Yang Kai bound the Eagle King before attempting to cast the Beast Taming Spell on it, but before he could even make a first try, it had already let out a fierce screech, which had alarmed the surrounding Giant Eagles, all of which rushed here together.
If not for Tiea’s timely defense, Yang Kai would not have had time to deal with the Eagle King.
The Realms of these Giant Eagles weren’t low, but they weren’t high either. If Tiea wanted to be cruel, she could slaughter all of them all in an instant; however, the purpose of Yang Kai coming here this time was not for a massacre, but to subdue these Barbarian Beasts. Therefore, Tiea could only block the Giant Eagles from interfering and dared not hurt them. Because of this, she could not truly unleash her full power as a Shaman Grandmaster and could only remain passive in the situation.
“Ah Niu, hurry up! I can’t hold on for too long!” Sweat beaded on Tiea’s forehead, as defending against the tremendous Giant Eagles’ charge attacks and wind blades for such a long time was exhausting her.
“I’m trying!” Yang Kai responded as he sent another gleaming Beast Taming Spell into the Eagle King’s body, only for it to fail again.
Still, he had caused great damage to the Eagle King after his continuous attempts as the Beast Taming Spell was an extremely oppressive Shamanic Spell. Although the Shamanic Spell failed to achieve its effect due to the unyielding spirit of the Eagle King, blood was leaking from all its orifices as a result of the backlash.
Fortunately, the Eagle King was much stronger than the other Giant Eagles. Otherwise, it would already be dead.
However, by the looks of it, it would not be able to hold on much longer.
Eagles were the proud beasts that ruled the sky and who would suffer no restraint to their freedom.
Staring coldly at the Eagle King’s red eyes, Yang Kai warned, “You should be able to understand what I’m saying, but even if you can’t, you should know what I mean. You have only two choices. Surrender… or die! I don’t have much time to play with you, and you don’t have many chances left. Decide wisely.”
When the words fell, another Beast Taming Spell was released. But this time, the light of Beast Taming Spell failed to even enter the Eagle King’s body and was directly rebounded by its will.
Yang Kai cursed with a ferocious look on his face when suddenly, a realization dawned on him. With a lift of his hand, a Moon Blade materialized and struck one of the Giant Eagles outside the shield, accurately cutting its body in half.
With its shrill screeching suddenly ceasing, the blood and viscera of that Giant Eagle rained down from the air as its two halves fell into the deep mountain stream.
Tiea turned around and glanced at Yang Kai in shock, having no idea why he had acted so crazily.
Yang Kai stared at the Eagle King and threatened it with a grin, “Every time you reject me, I’ll kill one of your companions. Let’s see how many times you dare refuse!”
While speaking, he performed the Beast Taming Spell again.
This time, the light of the Beast Taming Spell did not rebound, but it was obvious that the Eagle King was still resisting and unwilling to cooperate with him.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai raised his hand again, and another Giant Eagle was cut in half and fell from the air.
*Liii!*
The Eagle King cried, infuriated. If it was not bound by Yang Kai’s Shamanic Spell, it probably would have charged at him right now and fought him to the death.
Instead of being offended though, Yang Kai was delighted, nodding his head as he declared, “Excellent! I’m glad that you’re angry! If you don’t want them to die, submit to me!”
Beast Taming methods could be traced back to Ancient Times and continued to be passed down even in modern times. In the Star Boundary there was even the renowned Beast Taming Sect. This Sect was famous for controlling Monster Beasts, and each of its disciples commanded several War Beasts, allowing them to fight multiple opponents of the same realm all on their own.
However, the method of Beast Taming used by that Sect was extremely gentle, but was also very complex and time-consuming.
Yang Kai did not know the secret methods of the Beast Taming Sect, but he believed that it was actually a derivative of the Beast Taming Spell from Ancient Times. No matter how despicable and insidious the method was, it only served one purpose, which was to subdue the Monster for their own use.
Using such means was the only way to achieve this goal.
With Yang Kai’s current strength, it would not be difficult for him to tame an Eagle King if he was given enough time, but the problem was that he did not have much time to waste. He had to hurry back to King City as soon as possible just in case there was a sudden outbreak of war.
The Eagle King was too rebellious though, so he had no choice but to use some extreme measure.
The Eagle King may not care about its own life as it would rather die than submit; however, as the ruler of its family, the inability to protect them was an even greater disgrace, one that was intolerable to any proud beast.
Every time a Giant Eagle was killed by Yang Kai, the Eagle King became more and more irritable, and the Shamanic Spell Chains that bound it even deformed from its unceasing struggles.
Yang Kai remained emotionless after killing off ten Giant Eagles in succession. Only then did the Eagle King abruptly stop its mad struggle and display a pleading look.
It probably noticed that if it did not give in, Yang Kai would kill its entire family.
Yang Kai observed its expression and understood that it was time to cast the Beast Taming Spell again. This time, the light of Beast Taming Spell neither rebounded nor was resisted, but instead easily broke through the Eagle King’s defences and directly branded itself into its body.
Yang Kai’s body shook as he suddenly felt a connection established between himself and the Eagle King, one that allowed him to control its life or death at any time.
The Eagle King, who had displayed unwavering arrogance, quickly became docile and lowered its noble head.
“It’s done!” Yang Kai grinned, patted the Eagle King’s head, took out several healing Spirit Pills, and offered them to it.
The Eagle King looked at these pills with almost human-like curiosity and after hesitating for a moment, swallowed them in one gulp. When the pills entered its stomach, the Eagle King immediately felt invigorated, all the lethargy caused by Yang Kai’s torture being removed.
Yang Kai tried to communicate with it.
And the Eagle King immediately responded.
The fearless Giant Eagles, that had been gathering around all the time without retreating despite Yang Kai’s killings, suddenly stopped attacking and just flapped their wings into the sky.
Seeing this, Tiea could not help letting out a sigh of relief as she looked back and asked, “Did you succeed?”
Yang Kai nodded.
Only then did Tiea remove her Shield Spell, looking a little pale.
“Take a rest. I’ll deal with things from here,” Yang Kai instructed her before he communicated with the Eagle King again for a while.
Although the Eagle King’s cultivation was not high enough for it to be able to assume human form, it already had a certain degree of sentience. Therefore, Yang Kai did not need to spend too much effort in communicating with it and requested it to order all the Giant Eagles to return to their nests. A moment later, all the Giant Eagles circling in the air returned to their nests.
Then, Yang Kai led the Eagle King to visit the Giant Eagles one by one.
If Yang Kai visited them alone, these Giant Eagles would certainly regard him as an enemy and launch an attack without any hesitation, but it would be different when he was accompanied by the Eagle King.
Under the suppression of the Eagle King, none of the Giant Eagles dared to resist. They stood quietly in their own eagle nests as Yang Kai implanted the gleaming Beast Taming Spell. The process went exceedingly smooth, and the procedure did not fail even once.
After working for an hour, Yang Kai had finally subdued all the Giant Eagles present. Counting them carefully, he found that there were seventy-six of them in total, including the Eagle King.
Yang Kai was overjoyed with the result.
With this many Giant Eagles, he could carry out the vague plan he formed earlier.
Tiea had also fully recovered after an hour of meditation. The pair immediately rode the Eagle King and returned along the way which they came.
Behind the Eagle King, seventy-five Giant Eagles flew in close formation, forming a huge shadow that shaded the entire vast land.
The flying speed of the Giant Eagles was quite fast, not slower than the maximum speed of a Shaman Grandmaster while still remaining extremely stable in flight. Not the slightest airflow interference was experienced by Yang Kai who was riding on the Eagle King’s back.
It took less than half a day for them to reach King City.
From a distance, an uproar was heard from below, and some people exclaimed, “The Barbarian Beasts are attacking!”
Many of the Ancient Barbarians, who had gathered from outlying villages, immediately responded. Spirit Archers drew their bows one after another, aiming at the Eagle King who led the way, while some Shaman Grandmasters chanting incantations, flew up in the air with the light of the Shield Spells covering their bodies as they moved towards the Eagle King.
The distance between the two sides rapidly narrowed and both overt and covert Shaman Strength fluctuations appeared from all directions one after another.
Seeing an attack was about to occur, Yang Kai quickly stood up from the Eagle King’s back and shouted, “Relax, relax!”
Many of the Ancient Barbarians were astonished to see a man on the eagle’s back.
And the Shaman Grandmasters who came to meet them were even more flabbergasted.
One of them wiped his eyes vigorously and questioned in shock, “Shaman Niu?”
The battle between Yang Kai and Shaman Tu yesterday was quite unforgettable. Many Shaman Grandmasters had witnessed the whole process, and they were deeply impressed by this thin and weak looking Shaman Niu, so they readily recognized him.
Among the crowd, Shaman Tu stepped out and asked in a daze, “Shaman Niu, where did you get so many Barbarian Beasts?”
Yang Kai smiled lightly, “I caught them.”
“Ca-Caught…” Their brows twitched at his reply. They would not be so astounded if these Flying Barbarian Beasts were easy to catch.
It was still understandable if Yang Kai was lucky to catch one Giant Eagle, but the number of these Giant Eagles was obviously one of an entire family.
[How did he manage to catch so many Giant Eagles in one go?]
Yang Kai stood on the eagle’s back and asked in a booming voice, “This is this Shaman’s Aerial Cavalry. What do you think?”
“Aerial Cavalry…” The Shaman Grandmasters were not idiots, so although this was the first time they heard about the term Aerial Calvary, they instantly understood Yang Kai’s plan. The next moment, many people’s eyes turned red in excitement as they gawked at those Giant Eagles with desire-filled eyes.
A great war was coming, and if anyone could have such an Aerial Cavalry, they would definitely have the upper hand in gathering information of the enemy, not to mention other advantages.
Above King City, the seventy-five Giant Eagles and the Eagle King were soaring high in the sky, their wings spread wide. On the back of each Giant Eagle sat an archer, who clung onto the feathers on the eagle’s back with a pale face. Some even vomited up in the air, but they held on and did not give up.
They were not Shamans, and they had never experienced the thrill of being up so high, so they were not used to riding Giant Eagles in the sky.
However, the Ancient Barbarian Race was tough and had strong adaptability, so as long as they were given a few more days, they should be able to get used to this.
This was Yang Kai’s Aerial Cavalry, while Ah Hua, who was born in Blue South Village, was the Aerial Cavalry Captain.
Yang Kai did not appoint Ah Hua as the Aerial Cavalry Captain out of bias. It was through the competition between the archers. All the archers of the Barbarian Race were Spirit Archers with excellent eyesight, able to hit a mosquito’s wing from a kilometre away. Naturally, no one with such good abilities would want to live under others.
When the Aerial Cavalry was established, every Archer coveted the position of Captain. Yang Kai did not say much and just let them compete in archery. Whoever was the best would be the Aerial Cavalry Captain.
The archers Yang Kai carefully selected went out for a competition, and when they returned, Ah Hua came back with a proud look on her face, while everyone else looked obedient.
But at this moment, even Ah Hua, who was the Aerial Cavalry Captain, also could not withstand such flight training. Every time she came down from the sky, she would be paralyzed on the ground for a long time before she regained her composure.
Inside Yang Kai’s camp was a newly built wooden house. It was exceptionally rudimentary but was still sufficient to shelter them from the wind and rain.
At this moment, Yang Kai and Tiea were cultivating inside.
After slowly withdrawing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai lifted his head and commented, “Ah Hua and the others are improving really fast. They should be able to fight in two days.”
Tiea opened her eyes and glanced at him, “I don’t know what the Demon Race are like, but although the Aerial Cavalry can move fast, they are easy to spot. If the Demon Race has any long-range forces, I’m afraid this Aerial Cavalry won’t be of any use.”
Yang Kai gave a small smile, “Being able to investigate the enemy is their best use!”
At this time, the old Shaman Apprentice’s voice suddenly came from outside the house, “Sir Shaman Niu…”
Before he could finish, Yang Kai shouted with his face darkened, “Ask them to go away. I won’t see any of them!”
Since Yang Kai brought back seventy-five Giant Eagles and his Eagle King two days ago, the other Shaman Grandmasters had come to visit him one after another with enthusiasm, as if they had been good friends with Yang Kai for many years. They even prepared some small gifts for Yang Kai as a courtesy when they came.
Under normal circumstances, the gifts from a Shaman Grandmaster would not be common things. Nevertheless, Yang Kai was already immensely wealthy, so he had no interest in the gifts from these bumpkins.
After all the fuss, these Shaman Grandmasters slowly revealed their purpose.
They hoped that Yang Kai could share some Giant Eagles with them.
Everyone could see that these Giant Eagles were useful in investigating the enemy, so everyone wished to obtain some from Yang Kai.
Yang Kai naturally refused without showing the slightest politeness to their rude, shameless, and unreasonable demands.
Yang Kai had subdued the seventy-five Giant Eagles one by one and formed a small-scale Aerial Cavalry, which was just sufficient for his own army. It was not like he had any extra to spare, so why should he share with them after working so hard to catch them?
Despite being rejected, those Shaman Grandmasters did not give up easily. Some tried to reason with him, some tried to move him with sentiment, and some even tried to threaten him with force…
Without exception, all of them were thrown out of the wooden house by Yang Kai while those Shaman Grandmasters who intended to fight him had their faces bashed in.
This resulted in Yang Kai’s reputation turning extremely bad in the entire South Barbarian Clan. All the Shaman Grandmasters knew that this guy was selfish, had a bad temper, and refused to listen to others.
Even so, there were still many Shaman Grandmasters who visited him brazenly, hoping that Yang Kai would miraculously change his mind.
So, as soon as he heard the call from the old Shaman Apprentice outside, Yang Kai thought that it was another fool who wanted him to give up a few Giant Eagles, and he was instantly annoyed.
Instead of chit-chatting with them, it was better to spend time cultivating.
Suddenly, another familiar voice came from outside the door, “Sir Shaman Niu, it is Sir Shaman King who summons you!”
“Hmm?” Yang Kai was surprised and immediately got up to open the door. After seeing a familiar face, he could not help grinning, “It’s you!”
This guy was the Shaman Master messenger he met in Blue South Village before. Yang Kai did not know his name, but he remembered his honest face.
The Shaman Master replied with a smile, “Yeah, it is this subordinate.”
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn, “Sir Shaman King summoned me?”
The messenger nodded, “Yes!”
Yang Kai answered, “Let’s go then.”
On the way, Yang Kai asked the Shaman King messenger for the reason for his summon, but the messenger did not give him a clear answer. It was unknown whether he was hiding information or he really did not know anything about it. However, Yang Kai did not want to embarrass him, so he just chatted with him all the way, which flattered the messenger.
In recent days, Shaman Niu’s name had spread all over King City and everyone knew that this thin and weak looking Shaman Grandmaster was not someone to be trifled with. Within just a few days of coming to King City, this Shaman Niu had beaten two Shaman Grandmasters who were two Minor Realms stronger than him and had formed an Aerial Cavalry with the Giant Eagles as mounts. The seventy-five Giant Eagles hovered over King City from time to time, and lumps of their droppings would occasionally drop on the top of the people’s heads, which attracted much hatred from the residents of King City towards Shaman Niu. They wished that they could just find him and punch him until not even his mother could recognize him anymore.
The messenger was also a little nervous when he came, but after he met Yang Kai, he found that this guy was not as malicious as the rumours claimed him to be. Instead, he was quite amiable, which made him feel that the rumours were all wrong.
They walked and talked all the way, and soon entered King City where they met with Sixth Shaman King Dang in the palace!
“Greetings, Sir!” Yang Kai saluted with his hand on his chest, “May I know why Sir summoned me? Is there anything urgent?”
The Guard Captain who was standing nearby Shaman Dang eyed Yang Kai with a sharp glare, making Yang Kai feel like two blades were going to pierce into his mind and spy on the secrets he hid there.
Yang Kai frowned and glanced back at him, thinking that this guy was a bit messed up in the head. This warrior would stare at him like this every time he came, as if Yang Kai would harm Shaman Dang at any time.
Shaman Dang turned around and grinned, “Sit down and talk!”
“Many thanks, Sir!” Yang Kai retracted his gaze and accepted the invitation.
After that, he took a seat.
Shaman Dang continued kindly, “Actually, there’s nothing urgent, but I’ve heard some interesting stories recently.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai looked at him in surprise.
Shaman Dang returned a smile. He thought that Yang Kai would have asked what interesting stories he had heard, but unexpectedly, he did not say much other than an ‘oh’. Shaman Dang was left hanging, slightly embarrassed, so he could only cough lightly and press on, “I heard that you spent a lot to buy many weapons from the city to equip your soldiers?”
Yang Kai immediately put on a painful expression, “Sir Shaman King, this subordinate has spent all his wealth selflessly for this war. The wealth that this subordinate has accumulated his whole life has been drained. This subordinate is loyal to our Barbarian Race, and the Sun and the Moon as well as Heaven and Earth can bear witness to my pure intentions. It’s really hateful that those unscrupulous merchants are still charging me such a high price at this time, even twenty to thirty percent higher than usual! They are really the cancer of our Barbarian Race. Shame on them!”
He was so agitated that he spat his saliva everywhere as he spoke, revealing a look of grievance as if those shop owners were his enemies.
The corner of Shaman Dang’s mouth twitched slightly and he could not help sweeping his eyes over Yang Kai for a while, not knowing how to carry on the conversation now.
As a Shaman King, he had seen a lot, but it was his first time seeing such a reaction.
He had only said a single sentence but the other party already responded with many complaints. It was new for him to see Yang Kai being so talkative, which was… interesting.
Yang Kai suddenly turned solemn and whispered, “Did Sir Shaman King summon me to come here to punish those unscrupulous merchants? The Barbarian Race is in great danger now, but these profiteers not only didn’t try to help, but instead raised their prices on us. They have to be punished severely. If Sir Shaman King gives the order, this subordinate is willing to testify against them and ensure that none of them can escape. We must punish all of them to put a stop to all the malpractices in the businesses of our South Barbarian Clan.”
At this point, even the Guard Captain who had been standing there quietly could not stop his face from twitching slightly.
The Shaman King Dang had no choice but to wave his hand, “This King does not intend to do that. A deal is a deal. Moreover, you could have just rejected any unreasonable offers, so there’s nothing wrong with those businessmen.”
“Oh…” Yang Kai showed his disappointment, but soon his eyes lit up and continued, “Is Sir going to reimburse this subordinate for his expenses?”
“What?” Shaman Dang was stunned.
“Reimbursement!” Yang Kai looked at him seriously, “This subordinate has spent all his wealth and is penniless now. This subordinate cannot buy anything anymore even if it is needed. King City is rich, so is it possible…”
“Impudence!” The Guard Captain finally lost his temper and reprimanded angrily, “How dare you talk nonsense in front of a Shaman King!?”
Yang returned a glance at him, then rolled his eyes, which truly boiled the Guard Captain’s blood.
Shaman Dang smiled helplessly. He realized that it was unrealistic to have small talk with Shaman Niu to bring them closer. Therefore, he could only go straight to the point, “Shaman Niu, actually, I have something to tell you.”
Yang Kai sat up properly, “You can say anything as long as it’s not about things in the sky!”
Shaman Dang replied, “It’s exactly about things in the sky.”
Yang Kai immediately looked aggrieved, “What? Even King City is aiming for my Aerial Cavalry? Sir Shaman King, what’s wrong with all of you?”
He already felt suspicious before arriving here; after all, he just met Shaman Dang a few days ago. If there was going to be an immediate outbreak of war, he would not just summon Yang Kai alone. Therefore, the only thing that could attract a Shaman King’s attention would be those Giant Eagles.
Perhaps, this trip would be more of a disaster than a blessing.
As he thought, Shaman Dang summoned him because of the Giant Eagles; it was obvious that King City wanted to take a share from him too.
Yang Kai and the other Shaman Grandmasters who wanted some Giant Eagles from him shared equal status; therefore, Yang Kai could refuse them without hesitation, and even dared to beat them up if they persisted. But if King City requested them, Yang Kai would be stuck as he could not disobey his superior.
[That is too shameless!]
“Sir, a few days ago, I noticed the presence of the Aerial Cavalry in King City. My Giant Eagles are Barbarian Beasts from the mountains that are not subject to domestication. I’m afraid that they can’t be of any use.”
Shaman Dang smiled, “There is indeed some Aerial Cavalry in King City, but not many of them. It is difficult to tame Flying Barbarian Beasts, so this King was also quite surprised you were able to tame so many of them at once.”
Yang Kai immediately responded, “I put in a lot of effort and spewed several litres of blood for it. I almost died there.”
Shaman Dang pressed on, “That’s why King City won’t take your Giant Eagles for nothing!”
Yang Kai suddenly became interested, his eyes lighting up as he questioned, “Then may this subordinate know how many Giant Eagles King City wants, and what price you are willing to pay for them?”
Since he could not reject King City, he could only try to minimize the loss. If King City wanted a few Giant Eagles, they had to show their sincerity; after all, Yang Kai’s Giant Eagles did not just appear out of thin air.
Shaman Dang answered with a solemn face, “I wish for half. You may name your price!”
As soon as he made this remark Yang Kai jumped up from his chair like a cat with its tail trampled on and furiously shouted, “Half!? Sir, why don’t you just rob me? I might as well give you all the Giant Eagles!”
His sudden movement startled the Guard Captain who immediately pulled out his weapon and stared at Yang Kai vigilantly.
Shaman Dang reached out his hand and patted Yang Kay on the shoulder with a smile, “Since you are so kind, then this King will accept it with much appreciation.”
Yang Kai looked at him dumbfounded, his face twitching, “Sir, I have a question.”
“Ask!” Shaman Dang raised his eyebrows.
“Do you not have shame?”
Shaman Dang beamed, “That’s why this King asked you to name your price!”
Yang Kai was truly surprised that Shaman Dang did not care about his rudeness and immediately felt that this Shaman King was an incredible character.
Yang Kai fell silent for a while before continuing, “Twenty-five for you, while I keep fifty for myself. Fifty should be still enough to change the tide in small-scale fights, so I can’t have less than that. On the other hand, King City probably wants Giant Eagles for scouting and investigation rather than combat, am I right?”
Without denying, Shaman Dang nodded, “Indeed!”
“Then, that’s fine. twenty-five Giant Eagles on top of the Aerial Cavalry owned by the King City are enough for such purposes.”
Shaman Dang wanted to negotiate, but Yang Kai stopped him, “Twenty-five. This is my limit.”
“Fine! Twenty-five then. This King won’t force you.” Shaman Dang nodded readily, obviously having prepared himself from the start. He then looked up and asked, “So, what is your price?”
Yang Kai immediately responded, “Equip each of my subordinates with a set of Battle Armour!”
Shaman Dang only looked at him with a strange expression.
Yang Kai scratched his face and continued, “Fine fine, a thousand sets of Battle Armours shouldn’t be too much, I assume?”
Shaman Dang shook his head, “King City can’t even take out a hundred sets now, let alone a thousand sets.”
“Why is King City so poor?” Yang Kai was taken aback.
“King City is not poor,” Shaman Dang smiled helplessly, “But the materials in the city have almost all been bought out by those Shaman Grandmasters. If you want to know why, you are the one who started it. You equipped three thousand people with weapons all at once, so how could the other Grandmasters not show some sincerity? Although they don’t have huge financial resources like you, how many things are there in the city for them to grab even if each of them just purchased a little?”
“Sounds reasonable,” Yang nodded and believed that Shaman Dang was not deceiving him. It was true that many Ancient Barbarians had appeared with new weapons and Battle Armours outside the city during these few days. Obviously, they were bought by the Shaman Grandmasters themselves.
But they could not fully equip all their clansmen, so they could only give priority to a small number of elites.
“Don’t mention any more about materials. I don’t have them to help you.”
Yang Kai thought for a moment and continued, “If materials are out of the question, give me more manpower then.”
Shaman Dang narrowed his eyes, “What kind of manpower do you want?”
Yang Kai grinned, “My group lacks Shaman Masters. Could Sir appoint some Shaman Masters under me!?”
“How many?”
“Five!” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “Five Giant Eagles for each Shaman Master. It’s a good deal, Sir!”
“Five are too many. I can only give you one Shaman Master!”
“What kind of Shaman Master is so valuable?” Yang Kai was amazed, “Sir, can you show some sincerity?”
Shaman Dang snorted coldly, “Then do you think you’re being sincere by asking for five Shaman Masters?”
Yang Kai replied frankly, “Everyone wants to gain the most in every deal. Business is just like this…”
“Two at most. That is this King’s limit. If you don’t accept, forget about it and leave.”
“How can I not accept?” Yang Kai hurriedly continued, “Two then. How can I reject Sir Shaman King?”
Shaman Dang pointed his finger at Yang Kai, wanting to rebuke him, but did not know how to start. After letting out a sigh, he turned to the Guard Captain and ordered, “Bring in Yue and Lu.”
The Guard Captain obviously was surprised by the order, but accepted it and went out without saying a word.
After waiting for a while in the main hall, footsteps drew nearer to the door.
Not long after, the Guard Captain led two young girls in. Yang Kai looked up, and his eyes lit up at the sight.
Although he vaguely guessed that Yue and Lu were girls, he did not expect that these two would be so gorgeous. Compared with other Ancient Barbarians, they were exceptionally beautiful with tall and ideal feminine figures.
The most important thing was the two girls looked exactly the same. They were clearly twins.
Yang Kai was dumbstruck.
The number of Shamans in the Ancient Barbarian Race had always been scarce, because only those who have been favoured by the Barbarian Gods were able to cultivate Shaman Strength. It was already impressive to have one Shaman Apprentice in a small village; however, it was even rarer for twins to both be Shamans. Moreover, they were Shaman Masters.
By the look of their young appearances, they did not seem to be older than Tiea by a lot, so they definitely had bright futures.
Being stared at by Yang Kai, both of them revealed a cold look and did not bother to glance back at him, simply stepping forward and greeting in unison, “Sir, did you summon us?”
Their voices sounded almost the same, and there were no differences in their intonation. If an uninformed person heard their voices, he would think they were from the same person.
“Heart Resonance?” Yang raised his brow and looked at them with his eyes blazing.
Although twins could connect with each other relatively easily, Heart Resonance was a whole different matter. By reaching this state, the twins would double their efficiency in anything they did, and if they worked together to cast Shamanic Spells, the power they could display would far exceed their current Realm.
In other words, although Yue and Lu were just Shaman Masters, once they joined hands, an ordinary Shaman Grandmaster may not be able to contend with them.
[What a steal!] Yang Kai was overjoyed to have picked up such a treasure. Initially, he just wanted two Shaman Masters to fill the gaps in his forces, but he did not expect that Shaman Dang would send such a pair of Shaman Masters to him.
Shaman Dang nodded and looked at Yue and Lu with some tenderness and love flashing across his eyes.
Yang Kai secretly felt that something was wrong, wondering if these two girls belonged to Shaman Dang. If so, he was worried that they would purposely give him trouble in the future after he took them under his wings.
Just when he was worried though, Shaman Dang announced, “From now on, you two will follow Shaman Niu. Listen to his orders, and don’t disobey him!”
When Yue and Lu heard this, they turned their heads and glanced at Yang Kai, then saluted with their hands on the chest in unison, “Greetings, Shaman Niu!”
Their tone was flat, and it did not seem like these two Shaman Masters were showing much respect towards a Shaman Grandmaster.
Yang Kai still posed like a Senior expert though and nodded, “You don’t need to be so polite.”
Shaman Dang smiled lightly, “Yue and Lu have been living and cultivating in the Shaman Divine Temple since they were young and only just returned to King City a few days ago, so they have not had much experience in the outside world yet. Since they follow you now, you can discipline them as you like. If they don’t listen to your orders, you can punish them at will.”
“The Shaman Divine Temple…” Yang Kai’s face turned solemn.
The Shaman Divine Temple was a symbol of the entire Ancient Barbarian Race. Inside, there was the statue of the Shaman God, and only the most outstanding Shamans of various Clans were qualified to enter its doors to cultivate and serve the deities.
In general, the Shamans who came from the Shaman Divine Temple acquired exquisite Shamanic Spells and possessed superior strength. They were basically invincible in their own Realm.
Yang Kai inherited Senior Qing’s knowledge, so he also knew how important the Shaman Divine Temple was to the Ancient Barbarian Race.
He used to think that if he had a chance, he would visit the Shaman Divine Temple to see whether he could learn something.
Nevertheless, he had abandoned such thoughts because of the invasion of the Demon Race.
But he did not expect that two Shaman Masters from the Shaman Divine Temple would be standing in front of him now.
No wonder Yue and Lu had reached this Realm of cultivation at such a young age. Since they could enter the Shaman Divine Temple, there was no doubt that Yue and Lu were Shamans who had the highest aptitude in the whole South Barbarian Clan.
Shaman Dang continued with a smile, “With your aptitude, you can enter the Shaman Divine Temple too without any trouble. So… Stay alive, Shaman Niu. The truly powerful Shamanic Spells can only be learnt in the Shaman Divine Temple. If you want to enjoy its greatness, you have to grow stronger and survive through the war!”
Yang Kai responded solemnly, “Yes, this subordinate will follow Sir’s instructions!”
“En, dismissed.” Shaman Dang waved his hand and spoke no more.
Yang Kai held his fist to his chest before withdrawing.
Before Yue and Lu left, they looked at Shaman Dang longingly and said in unison, “Take care, Sir!”
Shaman Dang nodded gently. Then, Yue and Lu turned around and walked out of the hall.
Leaving only Shaman Dang and the Guard Captain in the hall.
“Sir, he’s just a Shaman Grandmaster. Why did you give Yue and Lu to him?” The Guard Captain looked at Shaman Dang in bewilderment. He was obviously troubled by Shaman Dang’s decision. Yang Kai only wanted two Shaman Masters, and although there were not many Shaman Masters in King City, there were still some left. Shaman Dang could have simply chosen two at random, but he actually gave Yue and Lu to Yang Kai instead.
Shaman Niu had no idea about the relationship between Yue, Lu, and Sir Shaman King, but the Guard Captain knew of it.
War was coming, how was it safer to entrust Yue and Lu to a Shaman Grandmaster than keeping them beside a Shaman King?
Shaman Dang replied indifferently, “They only have hope to live by following him.”
The Guard Captain frowned slightly and obviously did not agree with him, but he did not dare to express it in front of the Shaman King, so he decided to be silent.
Outside King City, Yang Kai was leading the twins to his camp when he turned back and asked, “Which one of you is Yue? And which one is Lu?”
The two girls stopped, and the one on the left answered, “I’m Yue.”
The one on the right continued, “I’m Lu.”
Yang Kai grinned and nodded, “Noted. Good, Sir Shaman King mentioned that both of you have cultivated in the Shaman Divine Temple since young. Is it fun over there?”
The twins frowned, and Yue replied in a deep voice, “The Shaman Divine Temple is the most important place for all Barbarian Clans. Only the most outstanding Shamans are qualified to enter it and serve the Shaman God. It’s not a place for fun.”
Lu pressed on, “Mind your words, Sir.”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and roughly learnt the characters of these two young Shaman Masters. As such, he stopped talking and continued to lead the way.
A short time later, the trio returned to Yang Kai’s camp, where a group of Barbarian Warriors and Shamans who were training were surprised to see him bringing back a pair of beautiful twins after his trip.
Yang Kai clapped his hands to attract everyone’s attention, then announced loudly, “These two Shaman Masters are Yue and Lu. They were specially sent to our Shaman Niu Clan by Sir Shaman King. Now that you all know them, I hope that you all can live with each other peacefully and work together to resist the Demon Race in the future!”
Everyone accepted in unison while a group of wilder men looked at the twins with intoxicated eyes. If it were not for the noble status of Yue and Lu, some would even be tempted to flirt with them.
The Shaman Apprentices and Shaman Warriors came forward and greeted the two Shaman Masters with respect.
Yue and Lu just nodded lightly as they swept their eyes across the people of the Shaman Niu Clan to examine them.
“Continue your training.” Yang Kai waved his hand to the crowd, then spoke to the twins, “You two, join them. The Shaman Divine Temple only taught you to cultivate Shamanic Spells, but I think they never taught you how to unleash your potential in battle, right? Get familiar with it in these few days, so that you won’t panic when the fighting begins.”
The twins nodded.
After that, Yang Kai whistled loudly and in the next moment, the Eagle King that was on the ground received his order and raised its head to let out a screech.
The Giant Eagles of the Aerial Cavalry that were soaring in the sky responded one after another, and soon carried many archers back and landed on the ground.
Many faces of the archers looked pale and as they rolled down from the Giant Eagles’ backs, some ran to the side to vomit. Some of them even lost their balance and fell flat on their butts.
“Sir, what can I do for you?” Ah Hua came over bravely with a longbow hung over her back. Although her face was slightly pale, she was obviously much better than the others. At least, her footsteps were more stable than everyone else.
Yang Kai announced in a deep voice, “I just received an order from Sir Shaman King that I am to turn over twenty-five Giant Eagles to King City.”
Ah Hua was taken aback when she heard it, “Twenty-five Giant Eagles? Doesn’t that mean…”
Originally, each of the seventy-five Giant Eagles was assigned an archer, so if twenty-five Giant Eagles had to be given away, that meant twenty-five archers would be removed from the Aerial Cavalry, which was unbearable for any archer.
These archers were the elites of the Shaman Niu Clan. They were the elite who were selected through various trials and were all almost equally proficient in their craft.
“Which is why I will give you a day. After a day, the twenty-five archers who have the worst performance will have to return to the ground force, understand?”
Ah Hua pondered for a while, then nodded, “Understood.”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “Go, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes!” Ah Hua turned around in a complicated mood. As soon as she looked up, seventy-five pairs of eyes, full of fighting spirit, looked at her. Needless to say, everyone had clearly heard Yang Kai’s announcement, so if they wanted to keep their Giant Eagle, they had to perform better than the others today.
Not long after, the seventy-five Giant Eagles took to the sky again, creating a spectacular scene.
Yang Kai returned to his wooden house, swallowed a Monster Beast Core, and started to cultivate.
A day later, Ah Hua came to report the situation of the Aerial Cavalry. After Yang Kai’s approval, she demoted twenty-five of the weaker archers and sent the spare Giant Eagles to King City.
The following days were uneventful. The twelve units of Shaman Niu Clan trained in an orderly manner, and over time, they had gotten more and more used to working with each other.
With the addition of Yue and Lu, the Shamanic Spells that were cast by the Shamans of Shaman Niu Clan were enough to cover all three thousand people, which had not been done before.
Previously, they needed the help of Yang Kai or Tiea to achieve this feat, but with Yue and Lu, Yang Kai and Tiea did not need to intervene at all.
The Shamans discovered the strength of the twins, Yue and Lu, as they interacted with them more, and all of them were impressed by these two Shaman Masters who came from the Shaman Divine Temple. The Shamanic Spells the twins had mastered, their understanding of Shamanic Spells, and the speed with which they executed their spells were all incomparable to ordinary Shamans.
Under their guidance, the Shaman Warriors and Shaman Apprentices made rapid progress.
Although the twins had indifferent personalities, they were not cold. In fact, if the Shamans took the initiative to approach them, the twins were quite easy to interact with. Therefore, the Shaman Warriors and Shaman Apprentices had become familiar with them after a few days. They would approach them if they had any questions to ask, and the twins would teach them in detail without reservations.
A few days later, the two Shaman Masters gained great prestige in the Shaman Niu Clan.
Yang Kai was so free that he just hid in the wooden house all day and cultivated.
The benefits that a Ninth-Order Monster Core could bring him were not substantial anymore. Therefore, Yang Kai began to consume Tenth-Order Monster Cores.
In just three days, he had broken through a Minor Realm from Low-Rank to Mid-Rank Shaman Grandmaster Realm.
On this day, the peace was finally broken.
When the dull horn sounded in King City, all the busy Barbarians quieted down. Hundreds of thousands of eyes focused on King City, and everyone could sense a storm was approaching.
Many rose to the sky and rushed to King City one after another.
Soon, the Shaman Grandmasters arrived at the palace where they gathered previously.
The number of Shaman Grandmasters this time was fifty percent higher than last; after all, many of them had been on the road to King City previously. But now, all the Shaman Grandmasters in the whole South Barbarian Clan had gathered here.
Basically, all the elites of every village were present now.
When they arrived, they did not see Shaman Dang in the main hall, and naturally whispered in groups to discuss the development of the war. However, everyone was busy training their subordinates outside the King City recently, so no one had any relevant news and they had no idea what was happening outside. Therefore, their discussion was in vain too, and they could only wait for Shaman Dang to explain.
A moment later, Shaman Dang came out with a grim face.
The buzzing of the crowd ceased at once, and all eyes fixed on Shaman Dang. Seeing the Shaman King’s expression, many immediately had an ominous premonition.
Sure enough, Shaman Dang announced shocking news, “The Shaman Saints ventured deep into the territory occupied by the Demon Race a few days ago and fought a battle with their leaders. All of them managed to return after that battle, but three of the Sirs were seriously injured and have fallen into a deep slumber. Only Sir Xiong remains awake, but he won’t be able to fight again anytime soon.”
After listening to the news, everyone was petrified with their jaws dropped, as if their mouths had been stuffed with an invisible fist and could not close, shocked beyond words.
It was reasonable for them to react like this though as in an era without a Shaman God, Shaman Saints were the strongest Masters.
There were only four Shaman Saints in the entire Ancient Barbarian Race. A few days ago, when Shaman Dang revealed that all four Shaman Saints had made a move, many still had a glimmer of hope that these four Masters could drive out the Demon Race.
But after hearing the shocking news today, everyone understood that the Demon Race… Was strong.
Despite the combined force of four Shaman Saints, three of them were seriously injured and fell into an unconscious state to recover, while only one remained awake but was also powerless to fight. Given the outcome of the four Shaman Saints, it was obvious that the Demon Race did not lack existences on par with Shaman Saints.
If even the Shaman Saints were no match for them, what could they do even if they had greater numbers? In that instant, the colour was drained from their faces.
Shaman Dang looked around and continued in a loud voice, “But the efforts of the Shaman Saints were not in vain. According to the information provided by Sir Xiong, the strongest Masters of the Demon Race are also either dead or seriously injured. So, we were not the only ones who suffered this time.”
Hearing what he said, everyone immediately let out a sigh of relief. This was the result that they were looking forward to given that the four Shaman Saints had already taken action personally.
“The Shaman Saints need to rest and recuperate while the same is true of the Masters of the Demon Race. At this critical moment, the final outcome of the war will be decided by our hands. If we can take this opportunity to kill all the other Demons, we can protect our Barbarian Race! But if we fail, the world will sink into the abyss. Therefore, we have only one choice – to fight to the death!”
“Fight to the death!”
“Fight to the death!”
In the hall, the Shaman Grandmasters shouted together, their blood boiling in excitement.
Shaman Dang was satisfied with their reaction and pressed his hand down to calm them, “The efforts of the Shaman Saints have slowed the invasion of the Demon Race. Now, they seem to be building a defence line based on the four territories that they had conquered. Our task is to retake these four territories while eliminating all their footholds.”
“Sir, what exactly is our plan?” Someone asked.
Shaman Dang answered, “Take a look at this.”
While speaking, he waved his large hand and as his Shaman Strength fluctuated, a huge map was condensed above the hall. On the map, there was a large blood shaded area, which everyone frowned at.
This area was clearly the four territories that were occupied by the Demons.
Outside King City, horns blasted again and again as one group after another moved step by step, heading north, towards the warfront.
There were three thousand people in the Shaman Niu Clan formed into ten regular units, an Aerial Cavalry, and an Elite Guard, but not one person was making any extraneous noise.
At the front of the team, the two Shaman Masters from the Shaman Divine Temple, four Shaman Warriors and nine Shaman Apprentices looked up.
Yang Kai sat on his Eagle King’s back like a true commander, and swept his sharp eyes across the formation. Every clansman held their chest up and showed their bravest side.
Without much to say, Yang Kai simply waved his hand and ordered, “Depart!”
Following the screeches of the Giant Eagles, the Aerial Cavalry took the lead and soared into the sky.
Led by Yue and Lu, the Shaman Warriors and Shaman Apprentices joined hands to perform a large-scale Light Body Spell. As the light descended, they blessed the group of three thousand people, making their bodies feel lighter.
The Shaman Niu Clan rumbled off from King City at a great speed, and although there were a large number of them, they maintained a disciplined formation.
In the sky, sitting on the Eagle King’s back, Yang Kai was meditating and cultivating, not wasting any time.
The order given by Shaman Dang earlier in King City was very simple. Right now, the Demon Race was strengthening their fortifications and establishing a defence perimetre. It seemed that they wanted to delay for time so that the Masters on their side could have enough time to recover.
The Barbarian Race definitely would not sit idly by and watch though; therefore, all the major Clans had set out at this moment during the recovery time of the Demon Masters to retake the four occupied territories.
On the side of the South Barbarian Clan, about one hundred and fifty groups each led by a Shaman Grandmaster would attack the Demon Race from the South, destroy their encampments, and force them to retreat. Then, the Shaman Kings of the major Clans would lead the people to kill as many of the Demon Race as possible.
This strategy for the early stages of the war were made to be very flexible. There was no special task for the groups under the Shaman Grandmasters. As long as they encounter the Demon Race, they could just act freely and kill all the Demons.
Yang Kai was satisfied with this strategy as his strength was still in urgent need of improvement. If he had been given a special assignment, he would definitely be far more occupied. As such, this situation was the best for him.
If he could improve his strength to a certain extent before the climax of the war, he would certainly be able to shine brightly on this grand stage.
After living in this Ancient World for such a long time, Yang Kai had unconsciously put himself in the position of a real Ancient Barbarian, and he could no longer simply remain idle as a bystander after being involved in this war.
The roughly one hundred and fifty groups led by the Shaman Grandmasters departed from King City together, but over time, the groups dispersed to different destinations.
At first, there were still some friendly troops that could be seen around the Shaman Niu Clan, but after ten days, not a single friendly troop was detected within the investigation range of the Aerial Cavalry.
More than a hundred thousand people had been completely scattered on this vast land, and many Ancient Barbarians were rushing into the cruel war that would decide their life or death.
Ten days later, Yang Kai, who was cultivating on the Eagle King’s back, suddenly opened his eyes. Ah Hua flew over on the back of her Giant Eagle and when she approached, she stopped, skillfully stabilizing her body, and informed with a calm face, “Sir, there is a village up ahead.”
“What did you find?” Yang Kai questioned.
Ah Hua shook her head, “Nothing.”
Yang Kai nodded and instructed, “We’ll stop there to rest. I’m afraid it won’t be this peaceful for long. Replenish yourselves and prepare for the coming battle.”
“Yes!” Ah Hua received the order and the group continued to move.
Sure enough, they arrived at a small village about an hour later. The scale of this village was larger than that of Blue South Village, but not by much, while most of the houses were built of wood and stone with a low wall protecting its perimeter.
Immediately after entering the village, the Ancient Barbarians were delegated into different posts. Some were responsible for the security of the village, while others began to start fires to cook. Everything proceeded orderly.
Although such a group had just been established not long ago, it already had the makings of a well-trained army.
Yang Kai initially wanted to find a place to have a good rest, but he instantly felt uneasy when he entered the village. It felt like a pair of invisible eyes was staring at him.
This feeling startled him and he quietly released his Divine Sense to carefully investigate the situation of the village.
To his surprise though, he did not notice any abnormalities, and the feeling of being watched quickly disappeared. He shook his head and asked Tiea, “Ask everyone to be careful. Something might happen.”
Tiea looked at him in shock, “What did you find?”
Yang Kai replied faintly, “It won’t do any harm to be careful. This is already not a peaceful area.”
Tiea nodded, “Understood.”
After Tiea passed down the order, the clansmen all became more vigilant.
Not long after, the smell of cooked meat began to permeate the air. During the ten days of marching, they basically only had one meal each day and some of the Barbarians could not bear it any longer. Therefore, at this moment, their stomachs could not help growling when they smelled the fragrant meat.
Without waiting for the meat to be fully cooked, the clansmen began to split it and feast with satisfied looks on their faces.
At this time, Yang Kai suddenly felt a heart palpitation, and under the perception of his Divine Sense, several dozen strange and concealed auras emerged in the village out of thin air.
It was too late for him to investigate clearly what was going on so he simply roared, “Enemy attack!”
The people who were enjoying the meal were stunned at the call, but quickly reacted. They hurriedly put aside their food and took out their weapons forming a defence perimeter. A dozen Shamans also hurriedly pushed their Shaman Strength to get ready to attack at any time.
In the next moment, accompanied by a weird hissing sound, strands of dark aura surfaced from underground, and the whole village was shrouded by it in the blink of an eye.
The clansmen were surprised. No one knew what this was, but they instinctively readied themselves.
“Demon Qi!” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes in shock.
This was actually Demon Qi! Furthermore, it was a very pure Ancient Demon Qi!
Although he kept hearing about the invasion of the Demon Race before, Yang Kai also wondered whether the Demon Race in the Ancient World was the same Demon Race that he knew of. However, he could not judge at all because he had not gotten in contact with them personally and did not receive much information about them yet.
Only now, seeing the dark auras with his own eyes, did Yang Kai immediately understand that the so-called Demon Race was the same Ancient Demon Race that he knew of.
Back then, outside Maplewood City, when the Ancient Great Demon revived and besieged the city with its Ancient Demon Qi, many people were demonised by it and transformed into Demons themselves. Even Yang Kai himself was contaminated. Fortunately, he was able to seal the Ancient Demon Qi within his dantian thanks to the Firmament Tree, otherwise, he would have lost his mind to its corruption.
This Ancient Demon Qi had the ability to invade the body, and anyone contaminated with it was at risk of transforming into a half-Human half-Demon that could be enslaved by the Demon Race.
Given that such a deserted village could hide so much of this Demon Qi, it was obviously a trap!
Moreover, what surprised Yang Kai even more was that the Ancient Demon Qi was hidden so deeply that he could not detect it even with his Divine Sense.
It definitely did not appear out of thin air, and even if it was hidden underground, someone must have activated it. As such, Yang Kai was very concerned about the several dozen strange auras that he felt just now.
As soon as Yang Kai investigated with his Divine Sense, he immediately found a clue.
There were many bulges on the ground concealed by the Ancient Demon Qi, and those strange auras were being released from these bulges. These bulges emerged abruptly and silently. After swelling to a certain extent, they turned into figures made out of sand, with complete facial features, but the skin was dry like soil. An indescribable Ancient Demon Qi was exuding from all over their bodies.
These were real Demons!
The sudden change made the group of three thousand people panic.
No one had ever experienced such a thing before, where they could not see their own hands in the black shroud, and there seemed to be some other things hidden in the darkness as well that could evoke wicked thoughts in their minds and urge them to take action to kill everything in front of them.
Shamanic Spells lit up one after another in the dark, like beacons that were guiding the three thousand people to the light.
The light on Yang Kai’s body was particularly dazzling and directly spread out over a five kilometres radius, preventing the invasion of the Demon Qi.
“Solidify! Purify!” Yang Kai shouted and took the lead in waving his hands, shrouding the surroundings with circles of milky white light.
The dozen Shamans, whose brains had gone black after being caught up in this sudden incident, immediately came back to their senses and followed Yang Kai’s lead to perform the two Shamanic Spells.
Under this situation, the standard of every Shaman could be seen clearly.
The light of the Shamanic Spell cast by Yang Kai covered the entire village and even some of the surroundings while the light cast by Tiea could only cover half of the village. Yue and Lu were almost the same as Tiea with their combined force while the remaining dozen Shaman Warriors and Shaman Apprentices appeared deficient in comparison. The weakest Shaman could only light an area of several tens of metres around himself.
Hissing sounds rang out.
With the blooming light of Shamanic Spells, the darkness that shrouded the world seemed to have encountered its nemesis. Many large areas of the darkness dissipated into nothingness as the rich darkness receded at a visible speed.
The invading Ancient Demon Qi immediately tried to swim away in an attempt to escape like a living creature, but it was still unable to escape from the light of the Shamanic Spells.
The situation had turned favourable, but Yang Kai was still feeling chills.
The Ancient Barbarian Race did not know much about Demon Qi, but Yang Kai had experienced it once in person. He knew the terror and strength of this Demon Qi. Except for the dozen Shamans who timely pushed their Shamanic Spells, the rest of his three thousand subordinates were basically contaminated by the Demon Qi just now.
Once contaminated by Demon Qi, it would be inevitable for them to turn into Demons. At that time, they would not be able to recognize anybody, becoming blood-thirsty and ferocious.
Just as he thought about this, a shrill scream filled the air, and as Yang Kai followed the sound to perceive the situation, his heart sank.
Somewhere not far away, a clansman was already demonified. He slashed the weapon in his hand fiercely at another clansman, who was a close brother in the past, chopping off his head mercilessly.
Those who saw this wondered in worry. [How can this be… We have just set out, and we are already about to get wiped out?]
Screams reverberated, terrifying all the Ancient Barbarians. No one had a clue of the surrounding situation, and could only huddle back-to-back in groups while also remaining wary of one another.
The demonified clansman did not stop after murdering his companion and once again raised his sharp weapon in his hand to slash at a new target.
Yang Kai lifted his hand and a Chain Spell shot towards the clansman, binding him tightly.
More screams rang out as others encountered attacks from their once trusted companions.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense enveloped the entire village while he sent out one Chain Spell after another to constrain the demonified clansmen.
After a short delay, Yang Kai suddenly found that the situation was much better than he expected.
The three thousand warriors of the Shaman Niu Clan were not annihilated. After a rough count, only about a hundred people had been demonised, while the remaining warriors did not seem to have been affected, still maintaining their consciousness.
However, the omnipresent Ancient Demon Qi surrounding them was still constantly trying to invade their bodies, and it was only a matter of time before the entire army would be annihilated if the situation wasn’t reversed.
At this point, Yang Kai did not dare to delay anymore and cast a large-scale Purification Spell repeatedly. After each spell cast, the surrounding Ancient Demon Qi would become less dense.
The rest of the Shamans were recklessly spending their Shaman Strength as well to cast their own Shamanic Spells.
The Shamanic Spells displayed by these Shamans seemed to be the nemesis of the Ancient Demon Qi, and after only ten breaths of time, the darkness that enveloped the world had disappeared, replaced by warm sunlight again.
Many clansmen were only able to have a clear view of the situation around them at this moment.
Several dozens of their companions had perished on the spot, their blood still flowing down in streams, while many others who were bound by the Chain Spells struggled incessantly with inky black. Their tireless horrifying growls made them seem like they had lost their sanity.
The scene shocked everyone.
While on the other side, the several dozen strange existences that emerged from the ground had finally taken shape into Sand Demons.
Each of these Sand Demons prepared themselves, and monstrous Demon Qi swept out of their bodies, whizzing into the wind. All of them started to advance swiftly towards the surrounding Barbarians.
Although they had no idea what those Sand Demons were, since they had initiated an attack, they were enemies.
The Barbarian Warriors roared, raised their weapons high, and launched into a brave charge.
With a loud screech, the Aerial Cavalry lifted off and soared over the village, shooting sharp and precise arrows one after another. On the other side, led by Yue and Lu, more than a dozen Shamans chanted incantations continuously while Shamanic Spells were launched in brilliant and colourful light.
The battle started suddenly and ended just as quickly.
The several dozen Sand Demons successfully launched a wave of sneak attacks with the help of the shroud of Ancient Demon Qi, but apart from causing some disruption in the Shaman Niu Clan and killing some people at the beginning, the following fight was a complete crushing defeat for them.
Not a single clansman died; only a dozen people were slightly injured, while the several dozen Sand Demons were all killed.
The fierce battle ended, but at the sight of the tragic deaths and demonised companions around them, the Barbarian Warriors looked gloomy without the slightest sense of victory.
This was the first battle the Shaman Niu Clan had since the day they set off from King City, and the opponents were only a few dozen Sand Demons, but even so, they had suffered unacceptable casualties.
The Ancient Barbarians were all ashamed of the outcome.
“Ah Hu, come here!” Yang Kai beckoned with a solemn expression.
Ah Hu responded, and came to Yang Kai in a few steps, quickly asking, “What are Sir’s orders?”
Although the two of them came from the same village and they were friends even before partners in arms, Yang Kai was now the commander of their army, and Ah Hu could not address him casually in front of others. The commander needed to have the majesty of a commander.
“How do you feel?” Yang Kai asked as he reached out for Ah Hu’s wrist and pushed his Shaman Strength to examine his body carefully.
Ah Hu fell silent for a moment but soon confessed, “I don’t feel well…”
Yang Kai was shocked, “Where do you feel unwell?”
Ah Hu turned his head aside, and lamented, “If I had been more careful just now, we could have lost fewer people.”
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief and patted him on the shoulder in comfort, “You don’t have to blame yourself for this matter. Everyone is responsible for what happened.”
Yang Kai dismissed Ah Hu but remained a little dazed. He realized, after examination, there was not the slightest abnormality in Ah Hu, and there was no trace of demonization in him at all.
The Demon Qi had blanketed the entire village, and it would be reasonable if all three thousand people were contaminated.
In disbelief, he summoned a few other clansmen and examined them, only to find that they were all in good condition, just like Ah Hu, which confused Yang Kai.
It was a good thing that the clansmen were not demonised by the Demon Qi, but Yang Kai could not understand why.
If all the clansmen were the same, it would still make some sense, but there were about a hundred of them who had been demonised.
As he was pondering, Yang Kai came to a subdued demonised clansman. The clansman seemed to have lost his mind at the moment and roared tirelessly with his inky black eyes. Yue was standing beside him, constantly casting Purification Spells, though it did not seem to have much effect.
The other dozen Shamans were also busy casting various Shamanic Spells on the other demonised clansmen, but nothing happened.
“Sir, they can’t be saved,” Lu walked towards him from a short distance away, with a trace of grief in her eyes.
Yang Kai did not answer, but scanned every demonised clansman with his Divine Sense before quickly discovering that each of them had something in common.
These clansmen were somewhat weak compared to the other clansmen.
Although Ancient Barbarians were all physically strong, there were naturally individual differences, and these demonised clansmen were basically those who had lower vitality compared to the rest. Obviously, their demonization was related to their own strength.
Barbarian Warriors did not cultivate Shaman Strength, only Body Tempering. The stronger their physique, the stronger their Blood Qi, while on the contrary, the weaker their physique, the weaker their Blood Qi.
“Blood Qi… Blood Essence…” Yang Kai muttered to himself before his eyes lit up at an idea.
Walking straight to a demonised clansman, Yang Kai reached out his hand to tap on the clansman’s forehead.
Everyone was watching nervously, not knowing what Yang Kai was going to do.
A moment later, the demonised clansman was covered in a red aura after which their strength suddenly shot up and they became noticeably stronger.
[Bloodlust Spell!]
Yue’s and Lu’s eyelids jumped, they looked at each other in shock.
They did not even hear Yang Kai chanting to cast the Bloodlust Spell. In other words, this Shaman Niu had reached a point where he could cast the Bloodlust Spell without an incantation.
This was not something that just anyone could achieve; only a few people who had deep and profound comprehension of certain Shamanic Spells could do this.
This was something that even Yue and Lu, who were raised in the Shaman Divine Temple, could not do.
Despite being shocked, they were also confused as to why Yang Kai had used the Bloodlust Spell now of all times. It was already difficult enough to keep the demonised clansman under control, so the addition of the Bloodlust Spell was only going to turn the situation…
Before they could finish their thoughts, the sisters, Yue and Lu, gaped at the clansman who had been subjected to Bloodlust Spell in amazement.
As soon as the effects of the Bloodlust Spell were activated, a tinge of red appeared in the inky black eyes of the clansman. Although it was not very eye-catching, it was particularly obvious against the black background.
The clansman who had been struggling and roaring constantly seemed to have been thrown into a daze for a moment and stopped resisting.
Immediately afterwards, a painful groan tore from his throat, and a trace of consciousness reappeared in his eyes.
He rolled his eyes to look around before finally locking onto Yang Kai, immediately shouting with much suffering, “Sir… Shaman… Niu…”
Yang Kai quickly motivated him solemnly, “You are a child of the Barbarian Gods, you are a warrior of the Barbarian Race, with strong physique and perseverance. I believe you can overcome the evil in your heart and regain yourself. Your Brothers are waiting for you.”
The surrounding eyes fell on him.
As if encouraged, the demonised clansmen let out a low roar and the red light on his body grew more radiant. The crimson in his eyes burned like flames, and even the blackness in his eyes seemed to be melting quickly under the scorching flames.
The next moment, a dark light suddenly gushed out from all the orifices of the clansman’s head. This was obviously the Ancient Demon Qi that had invaded his body that was now being forced out.
Yang Kai swiftly raised his hand to cast a Purification Spell, cleansing the Ancient Demon Qi.
After the Ancient Demon Qi left his body, the clansman squeezed out a smile and immediately collapsed onto the ground.
Several clansmen who were familiar with him quickly went up to examine him and quickly turned around to assure Yang Kai, “He’s not dead. He just fainted.”
Yang Kai nodded, “He will be fine once he wakes up.”
He investigated the clansman’s body with his Divine Sense and confirmed that the Ancient Demon Qi inside had been completely eliminated. In other words, the hidden danger had been eliminated.
“Sir, is the Bloodlust Spell able to counter the Demon Qi?” Yue looked at Yang Kai curiously, with an insatiable desire for knowledge written all over her face.
Yang Kai instructed the clansmen to bring over the other demonised companions while explaining calmly, “I don’t know the specific situation myself, but I don’t think it’s the Bloodlust Spell that removed the Demon Qi. Instead, it’s the stimulation of Blood Qi of our warriors. Our Blood Qi has the effect of resisting Demon Qi, and the stronger one’s Blood Qi, the easier it is for us to resist the effects of the Demon Qi.”
Obviously, the reason Ah Hu and the others were still safe after being contaminated by the Ancient Demon Qi was due to their strong physiques and Blood Qi. However, the hundred demonised people were the weakest ones among them.
After Yang Kai applied the Bloodlust Spell on them, their Blood Qi immediately increased by two to three times, which was enough to force the Ancient Demon Qi out of their bodies.
Previously, Yang Kai only planned to give it a try, but he did not expect it to be so effective.
Now, it seemed that he just needed to cast the Bloodlust Spell on the clansmen when the Ancient Demon Qi came at them so that their Blood Qi strength would be stimulated and allow them to resist the corruption.
The Ancient Barbarian Race had too little an understanding of Ancient Demon Qi, and thus had too little useful information about countering it.
When the Demon Race invaded, the four Clans were all destroyed without any survivors, so there was not much intelligence gained. Then, the four Shaman Saints went directly to confront the strongest Masters of the Demon Race and had an equally matched battle with them.
Before departing from King City, Shaman Dang also reminded all the Shaman Grandmasters to look for the weakness of the Demon Race during the war. At this moment, Yang Kai felt that he had found a way to restrain the Ancient Demon Qi.
However, if they were blessed with Bloodlust Spell too many times too frequently, even the strongest clansman could not avoid the fate of premature aging. But who would care about this at a critical moment of life and death?
Thinking about it, Yang Kai felt something was wrong.
If the erosion of the Ancient Demon Qi could be blocked purely by Blood Qi, it did not make sense that so many cultivators were demonised into Demons when Maplewood City was besieged by the Ancient Demon Qi.
Although most cultivators in modern times did not pay much attention to Body Tempering, they still nourished their physiques with the World Energy for years if not centuries, thus their physical quality would not necessarily be worse than that of Ah Hu and the other Ancient Barbarians.
However, they could not resist the Ancient Demon Qi and all those contaminated by it were demonised without exception, which was far worse than how Ah Hu and the others performed.
Among Yang Kai’s three thousand subordinates, only about a hundred people failed to resist it.
[Is it because of the World Principles?] This was so long ago that the World Principles between the two eras were completely different.
Different Masters would be produced under different World Principles. Just like Yang Kai, who was an Emperor Realm Master himself, but could not unleash his full strength after coming here.
The Barbarian Race that lived in this Ancient World may have cultivated something under the influence of the invisible but ubiquitous World Principles that future cultivators did not possess, which allowed them to naturally resist the corruption of the Ancient Demon Qi purely with their Blood Qi.
The more Yang Kai thought about it, the more he thought it to be so.
After Yang Kai’s explanation, the dozen Shamans came to a realization, and even Yue and Lu showed great respect to Yang Kai through their expressions for the first time.
Both of them were the most qualified and outstanding Shamans in the South Barbarian Clan, and as long as they were given enough time, it was definitely not a dream for them to reach the realm of Shaman King. As the elites who came from the Shaman Divine Temple, they were exposed to the most powerful and profound Shamanic Spells available.
Although Shaman Dang assigned them to Yang Kai, Yue and Lue never once thought that this Shaman Niu could be much stronger than them.
All along, they only regarded Yang Kai as being their equal, and did not show any corresponding respect, because they felt that they would surpass this Shaman Niu sooner or later and reach a height beyond his reach.
But after what just happened, they found that not all the powerful Shamans had to come from the Shaman Divine Temple, and there were still some experts among the general masses.
They were shocked by the fact that Yang Kai could cast the Bloodlust Spell at will without an incantation, which neither of them could achieve even if they worked together.
On top of that, he figured out a way to cure the demonised people in an extremely short time, which was by no means something an ordinary Shaman could do. This required an exceptionally broad vision and profound knowledge as a foundation.
Yang Kai’s casual performance had gained the respect of the twin sisters.
At the same time, by the instruction of Yang Kai, the other nearly one hundred demonised clansmen were gathered in one place. All of their eyes had turned black and although they were bound by Shamanic Spells, they still struggled madly. They roared wildly like beasts and bared their fangs to the clansmen before them, which terrified the others.
As Yang Kai waved his hand, a bright red light enveloped these demonised clansmen and a layer of light that resembled blood mist glowed from their bodies, slowly allowing a crimson glow to emerge in their pitch-black eyes.
After stimulating their Blood Qi, some clansmen immediately regained their consciousness, but others required more time.
The black Ancient Demon Qi kept flowing out of their seven orifices and under the light of the Purification Spell cast together by the dozen Shamans, that Ancient Demon Qi was eliminated as soon as they appeared.
While everyone was watching with relief, an accident occurred.
A dull thud was heard as a demonised clansman’s head exploded. A mass of red and white spurted out as this man’s body collapsed.
Everyone was taken aback, and even Yang Kai narrowed his eyes.
Things had not ended yet though. This accident was like a spark that set a prairie ablaze, with similar occurrences spreading rapidly.
Following a few explosions, more than a dozen Barbarian Warriors collapsed to the ground one after another and died.
Everyone could see clearly that before the death of these people, the red and black colours in their eyes constantly struggled with each other, as if the two were fighting internally over control of the body.
When the conflict between these two colours reached a certain limit, the clansmen could no longer bear it.
Fortunately, only about a dozen people among the hundred succumbed to this fate, while the rest were safe, simply passing out after the Ancient Demon Qi in their bodies was expelled.
After everything was settled, Yang Kai declared, “Remember, today’s encounter is a disgrace to our Shaman Niu Clan! The Demon Clan must pay for this a hundred times over in the future!”
About a hundred people in the army of three thousand people died facing the sneak attack from that group of Sand Demons, and although it was mainly because of the lack of information, it was still unacceptable.
All the clansmen clenched their fists quietly, their chests becoming tight. They glanced at their dead companions, suppressing the anger in their hearts. They needed to wait for the right time to let them out.
After instructing the clansmen to take care of their comatose companions, Yang Kai beckoned, “Ah Hua!”
“Sir!” Ah Hua stepped forward.
“Send someone to inform the nearby allied forces of our encounter today and let them learn from it!”
“Yes!” Ah Hua received the order and immediately went to make arrangements.
Although about a hundred people in the Shaman Niu Clan died today, it was not for naught. At least they learned that the Sand Demons had the trick of concealing themselves below ground and could appear out of nowhere. They also discovered a method to counter the Ancient Demon Qi and cure demonified clansmen.
This was crucial information which needed to be reported as soon as possible so it could reduce the losses for other groups under other Shaman Grandmasters.
“Sir, since this was a trap, we can’t stay any longer.” Yue came forward and whispered. Previously, there were only several dozen Sand Demons, but if they delayed any longer, who knew if there would be more Demons coming.
Yang Kai nodded, “Pass down the order. We will leave after a quarter of an hour of rest.”
A quarter of an hour later, the fully equipped Shaman Niu Clan continued to march towards the North.
Just after everyone left, a bulge suddenly appeared in an open space in the middle of the village. The bulge slowly rose and turned into a dry-skinned Sand Demon.
He looked in the direction Yang Kai and the others had gone emotionlessly with his pitch-black eyes. Then, with a flicker, he sank into the ground and disappeared.
Half a day later, in a deep mountain cave, the Sand Demon suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
In the cave, a tall and slender woman with a short tail donning skimpy robes, exposing a large area of her snow-white skin, sat. This woman glanced over at the Sand Demon before she reached out and tapped his forehead.
Black Ancient Demon Qi gushed from the woman’s body and turned into a visible beam, wrapping around the Sand Demon.
The Sand Demon immediately seemed to have suffered inhuman torture and his usual emotionless eyes flashed with dreadful horror. Even so, he did not dare to resist in front of the female Demon and could only allow her to do what she wanted.
The female Demon’s eyes flickered continuously as fragments of the Sand Demon’s memories were glanced through by her, especially the scenes which had taken place at the small village.
It seemed that she had used some unknown trick to recreate the scenes the Sand Demon had previously seen. However, this method was obviously extremely overbearing and not something a normal person could withstand.
A moment later, the female Demon stopped and the Sand Demon fell to the ground feebly, his body so weak that he looked like he was about to die.
But the female Demon did not care about him at all, and sneered, “Damn Foreign Race, they really are coming.”
Nearby, a Demon with short stature and covered in Black Qi asked, “Madam, what happened?”
The female Demon turned around and sat on a large stone chair. She rested her chin on her small snow-white hand and replied lazily, “It’s nothing. It’s just that a group of our Sand Demons was killed, and the Foreign Race seems to have found a way to counter us.”
The short Demon continued, “Does Madam want this subordinate to lead his people to kill them?”
The female Demon shook her head, “No. The Demon Saints gave orders before they went into retreat to heal. They wanted us to just defend, so we don’t need to take any initiative to attack and cause more trouble.”
“Then… do we just let the Sand Demons die in vain?” The short Demon asked.
“Die in vain?” The female Demon laughed, but her eyes were piercing cold, “How could that be? I have committed the face of their leader to memory, and after the Demon Saints recover, I will settle accounts with him myself.”
As she spoke, she stretched out her pink tongue and licked her lips, a gluttonous look etched on her face. Her charming appearance made the short Demon tremble as he forced himself to keep his eyes away from her as cold sweat drenched his back.
This woman was a Charm Demon from the famous Charm Demon Clan. Even among the Hundred Clans of the Demon Race, her Clan was ranked quite high. Any man she targeted had never had a good end. Even if he was a Demon Great General himself, if he was immersed in the Light of Enchantment of this woman, he would soon lose his mind and become her toy.
It was a beautiful dream to spend a night with a Charm Demon, but if one would become a walking corpse after that, it was ultimately more a disaster than a benefit.
“Sir, where are we going?” Yue asked Yang Kai curiously.
Since they left the village three days ago, the marching direction of the three thousand man army had seemed very strange. There was no pattern at all, as if Yang Kai was navigating on a whim.
Logically speaking, Yang Kai was the leader of this group, and everyone must follow his orders.
But such a purposeless and strange march was confusing.
After enduring it for a few days, Yue finally could not hold her tongue and finally asked.
“Pass the order, turn southeast and advance at full speed!” Yang Kai yelled, then suddenly glanced at Yue, grinning, “Where else can we go? Of course, we’re going for revenge!”
[Revenge?] Yue and Lu who stood together were startled.
[Who are we seeking revenge from? Where?]
The troops had not been able to gather much information recently, and apart from the accidental attack in that village last time, everything had been calm for three days. It was to the point where they could not help but wonder if the Demon Race had retreated, so it was very puzzling that Yang Kai suddenly mentioned revenge.
Yang Kai did not bother explaining to her as he focused on tracing the faint connection guiding him in the direction they were headed towards. He looked in that direction with narrowed eyes, which flickered in a cold light.
A Sand Demon had been hidden in the village, which Yang Kai already knew at the time.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai did not finish him off immediately but instead quietly left a Divine Sense mark on him. Not long after his group had left the village, he could sense that the Sand Demon had begun travelling towards a certain direction, and stopped after half a day. In the past few days, the Sand Demon had not left that place, which meant that he had obviously returned to his hideout.
That was Yang Kai’s target!
The result of the first battle was not ideal. The army of three thousand troops lost a hundred people against just a few dozen Sand Demons. In the past few days, each and every Barbarian Warrior had been burning with rage and desire to avenge their dead companions.
That base was the best target for them to vent their anger, and the Shaman Niu Clan needed a tangible victory to boost their morale.
Their march the past few days had also not been aimless. If one observed from the sky, the Shaman Niu Clan had been marching in a circle with a radius of three hundred kilometres with the Demon’s base at its centre.
The situation was better than what Yang Kai had expected. There was no other Demon Race stronghold nearby. It seemed that it was the only base existing in this area of a thousand kilometres. In that case, once the Shaman Niu Clan started a fight against it, there was no need to worry about any attacks from behind.
The only question now was, how many Demons were there in this base? And what kind of Masters were leading them?
Half a day later, the army marched into a mountain col. Yang Kai slightly raised his hand, and the three thousand man army came to an abrupt stop.
An order was given to the clansmen to rest on the spot and restore their energy with some rations. Yang Kai summoned the dozen Shamans under his command for a short meeting next, and when they learnt about the Demon Cave located a hundred kilometres ahead, their faces were filled with shock and disbelief.
They had not seen Yang Kai take any unusual actions the past few days, and he did not even leave their group, so where did all this information come from?
The Shamans were worried after learning that Yang Kai was going to investigate the Demon Cave personally, and Yue and Lu even volunteered to take up this task in his stead. Although the two of them were just Shaman Masters, they went through intensive training in the Shaman Divine Temple for many years, and they had a good grasp of Concealment Spells. Spying did not require high strength, but if their whereabouts were exposed, they definitely would not end well.
Yang Kai naturally refused the twins’ good intentions.
After exchanging a few words with the Shamans, Yang Kai disappeared with a flicker. Tiea had gotten used to this odd technique of his, but the other dozen Shamans could not help dropping their jaws. They looked around for him but found no traces of Yang Kai.
After a while, Yang Kai flitted into the Demon Cave a hundred kilometres away like a ghost, the guards at the entrance completely unaware of his presence.
This seemed to be the middle of a mountain, its interior hollowed out. The space was huge, and the passage into the mountain was winding, which made it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Yang Kai concealed his aura and hid his figure while spying for information here.
Without knowing whether there was a powerful Master assuming command here, Yang Kai did not dare to release his Divine Sense at will and could only investigate slowly.
There were indeed a lot of Demons of various different clans in the middle of this mountain. These Demons had different sizes and body shapes. The tall Demons appeared to be even more muscular than the most robust Barbarian Warriors, while some Demons were only about a metre tall, like miniature men. Nevertheless, all of these Demons exuded the Ancient Demon Qi that Yang Kai detested, and the varying intensities of this Qi allowed their strengths to be roughly estimated.
It was Yang Kai’s first time being in such close contact with the Demon Race, and he did not know what kind of abilities they possessed. Therefore, he did not dare to act rashly.
As he swept through the Demon Cave in the middle of the mountain, Yang Kai quickly discovered something else of importance.
There were many demonised Barbarians confined here.
These Barbarians were obviously the clansmen of the four destroyed Clans. The intelligence said that the four Clans were wiped out and none of them survived, but it seemed that this was not the case. A portion of the Barbarians was transformed into Demons.
It was obvious that there was a big gap in status between these demonised Barbarians and the orthodox Demons. Any Demon could order and kick around a demonised Barbarian, while the latter would not complain at all. On the contrary, they were extremely cautious and obedient towards the Demons.
They were like slaves.
There were not only ordinary demonised clansmen, though, as Yang Kai even saw a few demonised Shamans, the strongest of which was a Shaman Master! But now, this highly respected Shaman Master among the Barbarians was treated like a slave, beaten and scolded by a short Demon, without the slightest complaint.
Shaking his head slightly, Yang Kai continued his investigation.
After a short walk, a sudden beastly roar mixed with indescribable hostility pierced the air.
Yang Kai frowned, followed the sound towards that side, and soon came to a huge cave.
In the darkness, many pairs of scarlet eyes suddenly lit up as if they had noticed something and focused their gaze on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s expression hardened as he quickly used his Nihility Secret Technique, exiling himself to the Void.
The red eyes continued staring for a while, before retracting themselves slowly.
Yang Kai could see clearly that the owners of these pairs of red eyes were giant beasts pulsing with Ancient Demon Qi. There seemed to be Barbarian Beasts among the Demon Race, or perhaps calling them Demon Beast would be more appropriate. As for what the difference between these Demon Beasts and Barbarian Beasts were, Yang Kai did not know.
After carefully observing these Demon Beasts for a while, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense slightly, and after confirming that no one else was around, he teleported next to a Demon Beast. In an instant, he covered it with his Divine Sense and stuffed it into the Sealed World Bead.
This action startled the other Demon Beasts and in an instant, hundreds of them stood up together, filling the cave with deafening roars.
A rush of footsteps drew near as obviously this uproar was noticed by the Demons and they had come to investigate.
However, Yang Kai had already flickered away.
When the Demons arrived, Yang Kai had already disappeared.
At this moment, Yang Kai was feeling slightly uneasy.
His sudden unplanned teleportation had brought him to a very unusual place. It was a very hazy grotto, one that was extremely empty, surrounded by strange rocks and stones.
And inside a room up ahead came breathless sounds that could make anyone who heard them blush.
The voice was tender and extremely pleasing to the ear, and the sound of it was like an invisible little hand plucking at one’s heartstrings, arousing the audience’s deepest desires.
Yang Kai hid in the dark shadows awkwardly, obviously conscious of what was going on inside this room.
Quietly, he checked the area quickly with his Divine Sense, and it was exactly the same as he guessed.
Inside the grotto, laid a strong and burly, naked Barbarian man on a stone bed, with a graceful, curvy figure sitting directly on top of him. Her delicate and fair body was drenched in fragrant sweat as she rode up and down continuously, gasping incessantly to catch her breath.
The movement of her snowy white figure sent Yang Kai’s head spinning and made his mouth dry.
A look of bliss and pleasure was etched on the face of the Barbarian Warrior, who lay motionless on the stone bed, completely drowned in lust. The visual from the strong contrast of the strong physique of the Barbarian and the tender body of the woman was almost irresistible to any man.
[Shameless!] Yang Kai cursed in his heart, and carefully withdrew his Divine Sense.
Although he did not investigate carefully, he knew that this woman was not to be underestimated. She should have the same strength as a High-Rank Shaman King, and was definitely the strongest Master he had encountered in this Demon Cave. Perhaps she was even the leader of this place.
The Demonic characteristics of this woman were quite obvious. Not to mention the vague Ancient Demon Qi surrounding her tender body, the short tail attached to her bottom was an apparent sign of her mysterious identity.
It was also fortunate that this woman was ‘distracted’ at the moment, otherwise, Yang Kai’s sudden appearance would definitely have alerted her.
Yang Kai was not really afraid of an existence comparable to a High-Rank Shaman King, but he was here just to gather some intelligence; thus, it would be bad if he alarmed the enemy.
Silently, Yang Kai waited for an opportunity to leave.
On the stone bed, the woman grew more and more excited, her hair flying about messily, waving in rhythm with her movements while her moans grew louder and louder.
When the woman was about to reach a peak, Yang Kai took the opportunity to leave, but a sudden black shadow appeared behind him and threw a dagger quickly towards his neck.
The dagger was a matte black without any shine, its existence had no trace at all, and there was no sign of movement from the black shadow before throwing the dagger, while Yang Kai, who was in the enemy’s lair, did not release his Divine Sense in time to defend himself.
In that moment he let his guard down, the dagger successfully landed on him.
Yang Kai’s alertness shot up when the chill touched his neck and he reflexively pushed his Shaman Strength to resist it.
*Chi… *
The pointed stab of the sharp dagger scraped Yang Kai’s neck, spilling a string of fine blood.
The man behind the sneak attack was surprised by this outcome. Although he succeeded in the attack, and knew that the other party was injured, the wound was superficial. In other words, his sneak attack failed to achieve the desired results.
Just as he was stunned, Yang Kai immediately turned around to punch him.
Following a grunt, a figure about a metre tall suddenly appeared from the black fog, his eyes bulged and his chest caved in, slamming into the stone wall and spurting out blood.
After landing squarely on the ground, apparent fear was etched on the short Demon’s face, fear that only grew more obvious when he saw Yang Kai swinging his fist again. With a flicker, the small Demon turned into a black smoke and dodged the incoming assault.
Yang Kai frowned. Although he had fought against Sand Demons a few days ago, it was his first time facing this type of short Demon and he did not have time now to find a way to counter such a troublesome skill.
The black fog quickly retreated.
At the same time, a sharp cry sounded from behind, like an evil spirit’s screech.
Yang Kai’s Soul trembled at the sound and his head began to spin as a flurry of illusions flashed before his eyes.
[Soul Attack!] Yang Kai shook his head vigorously and pushed his Spiritual Energy wildly to eliminate the influence of the scream.
The sound of something slicing through the air rang out at that moment.
Yang Kai quickly raised his arm to the side, blocking a soft whip, made of unknown material, but that was not the end. Although the sudden attack was blocked, the soft whip miraculously wrapped itself around his hand, and the tip of the whip struck straight at his face.
Instantly, the tail of the whip head actually transformed into a large mouth filled with fangs. A bright green light flashed in its mouth as it snapped its jaw at Yang Kai, hissing.
It was not a whip, but a venomous snake!
Yang Kai quickly reached out his other hand and accurately caught the snake head before clenching his fist and crushing its head.
“Eh?” A voice of surprise came from behind. It seemed that the attacker was taken aback by Yang Kai’s quick reflex and his ability to resolve her hidden killing move. The next moment, a whiff of fragrance flew to Yang Kai’s side and transformed into a white light, shrouding him with countless palm shadows.
Yang Kai took a deep breath, stood firm, and responded with his own flurry of palms.
*Pa pa pa… *
The clash resulted in a rapid and continuous series of crackles. When the white light turned back and withdrew, both sides had already exchanged a hundred palm strikes. The surging force caused the surrounding sand and stones to tremble, and the cave seemed like it would collapse at any time.
Everything happened in an instant. It was just a blink of an eye since the short Demon launched the sneak attack on him until the fight Yang Kai had with the white silhouette.
Only then did Yang Kai slowly turn around with a slight smile as he looked forward mockingly.
Less than twenty metres away from him, a woman was standing quietly, looking delicate and pitiful; however, her body was exceptionally curvaceous. She had tall, proud peaks, a flat belly, and long slender legs. Her snowy white skin seemed so delicate that one would desire to handle it with care lest it be marred.
As if she had just been graced with rain and dew, the female Demon’s face was slightly flushed, and her bright eyes were filled with a trace of satisfaction.
This female Demon was the same woman Yang Kai had spied on earlier, the Charm Demon.
In such close proximity, she could obviously sense the fight Yang Kai had with the black shadow.
The Charm Demon was completely naked at this moment, with her most beautiful parts generously revealed, but she didn’t seem the slightest bit uncomfortable or embarrassed.
Beside the Charm Demon was the fluctuating aura of the black shadow, drifting shakily. It was obviously the Demon who launched the sneak attack on Yang Kai but ended up being wounded instead.
“It’s you!” The Charm Demon looked at Yang Kai with her eyes brightened and tilted her head with an innocent look, “I’m impressed that you found this place.”
Yang Kai grinned, “Do we know each other?”
The Charm Demon giggled, “Don’t we know each other now?”
Yang Kai nods, “How can I address you?”
The Charm Demon let out a peel of silvery laughter as her snow-white peaks bounced slightly. Then, she replied with a flutter of her eyes, “I’m Demon King Sha Ya.”
“Demon King?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “If you are a Demon King, the position above Demon King must be Demon Saint, yes?”
Sha Ya smiled at Yang Kai and answered faintly, “Little Brother, are you trying to extract information from me? Your little trick isn’t clever enough.”
Yang Kai shrugged, “I’m just trying to have a conversation with you since this is our first meeting. It’s up to you to answer or not.”
“Interesting,” Sha Ya glanced up and down at Yang Kai before frowning slightly and continuing with a little regret, “But your physique looks quite weak.”
Yang Kai clicked his tongue, “Having a small body doesn’t mean I’m weak. You’re someone who has been through numerous battles before, so haven’t you met something that looked impressive but was utterly useless in the end?”
After hearing it, Sha Ya nodded in agreement, “You’re right. Above Demon Kings are the Demon Saints. Don’t you have Saints too? They just had a fight a few days ago, so don’t tell me you have no idea about it.”
“Of course I do. It seems that both sides suffered great losses. Unfortunately, I didn’t witness it with my own eyes.”
Sha Ya looked at him strangely, “Witness it with your own eyes? You should be careful that your recklessness doesn’t cost you your life.”
Yang Kai guffawed, “Everything I have is tough, especially my life.”
Sha Ya pressed on meaningfully, “I’ll have to confirm that for myself.”
“You will have the chance,” Yang Kai nodded lightly before changing his tone. “If what’s above you are the Demon Saints, then what’s beneath you?”
“What’s beneath me? Can’t you see for yourself?” Sha Ya’s face suddenly blushed with shyness and her tone became gentle. She half displayed half hid the alluring parts of her body intentionally as she spoke, causing the surrounding atmosphere to suddenly change.
Yang Kai gulped his saliva and looked down, “En…”
The short Demon who had been standing next to Sha Ya immediately grunted and fled from the scene as fast as he could.
Sha Ya was performing her Charm Technique, so he had to escape otherwise he would instantly become her slave.
“Don’t mind him, he’s just a useless little thing,” Sha Ya smiled gently, a slight moan reverberating out of her throat as her delicate body flushed and she asked as she bit her red lips, “I’m a little uncomfortable right now. Little Brother, can you help me?”
“Yes!” Yang Kai called out immediately with glazed eyes and walked forward. His breathing became heavy, and his eyes were locked on Sha Ya’s snowy white body like a leech. His aggressive look seemed to please Sha Ya and she felt unimaginable pleasure all over her body. She giggled, releasing a faint ripple of power in her laughter before she opened her arms and tossed herself at Yang Kai.
In her arms, Yang Kai’s eyes, which should have been lost in lust, suddenly flashed as he grabbed Sha Ya’s hair and pulled her body backwards.
“That hurts!” Sha Ya squealed, frowning a bit with a confused look in her eyes, “What are you trying to do?”
Yang Kai grinned, “What do you think I’m going to do?”
Sha Ya was shocked, “How can you…”
Seeing the mocking look on Yang Kai’s face, Sha Ya knew that she had failed to charm him.
How was that possible though? She was from the famous Charm Demon Clan! A Demon King Charm Demon! Yang Kai’s aura was obviously several realms lower than hers, so such an opponent should be easily manipulated, but her Charm Technique failed to work on him at all.
Clearly, his previous delirious actions were all just an act. Looking at the sarcastic and cold light in his eyes at the moment, how could there be any trace of him being charmed?
Yang Kai snorted, “You dare use such a trivial Charm Technique in front of this Shaman? You really don’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth!”
As his words fell, he punched out towards Sha Ya’s plentiful peaks.
Sha Ya had never encountered such a situation before; therefore, she could not react in time. Only when Yang Kai attacked her did her beautiful face change drastically as she let out a scream.
When Yang Kai was about to attack, it seemed that an invisible blade stabbed into his head; however, it did not deter his punch as he pushed through the pair to hit Sha Ya’s chest.
His Shaman Strength exploded with a bang.
A mass of blood burst from Sha Ya’s chest on impact.
At the same time, with the aid of the impact and taking advantage of the moment when Yang Kai’s Soul was affected, Sha Ya forcibly flung her head forward, sacrificing her hair in order to slip herself out of Yang Kai’s grip like a loach.
After regaining her balance, Sha Ya looked down at herself with a darkened face, her body trembling in rage.
One of her two snowy white peaks that she had always been incredibly proud of was gone and the blood from the wound was flowing all the way down her lower abdomen, staining her graceful legs!
“I’ll kill you!” Sha Ya madly screamed.
She was a Charm Demon, and her figure was an important part of her strength. It was difficult for her to accept that her perfect figure had been destroyed by Yang Kai, and although it was possible to recover from such an injury, she would need to pay a heavy price for it.
Because of her carelessness, she suffered a great loss from a Barbarian who was several Realms weaker than her.
Yang Kai did not say a word and instead flickered, shooting towards Sha Ya again. Although his purpose of coming here was to collect intelligence this time, since he was exposed, he would not shy away from a fight. It would be best if he could kill the Demon King here, so that this trip would not be wasted.
Seeing the scrawny Barbarian rushing towards her like an angry lion, Sha Ya instinctively felt a sense of danger, as if she would die here if she did not leave.
She could not believe that she would have such a thought, but after hesitating for a moment, Sha Ya decided to trust her instincts.
A circle of light suddenly burst out from her body, transmitting a huge and incomparable force of resistance. Yang Kai was already right in front of her, but before he managed to grab her, he was knocked back by this circle of light.
A Sand Demon suddenly popped out of the ground, grabbed the injured Sha Ya, and burrowed back into the ground once more, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
How could she dare delay and wait for Yang Kai to launch another attack?
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense, and found Sha Ya’s aura speeding away, burrowing deeply into the ground and soon escaping his range of perception causing him to sigh.
This Sand Demon’s ability was really annoying and Yang Kai could not help frowning. Fortunately, these Sand Demons seemed to have relatively low sentience; otherwise, this special ability to burrow through the earth alone would be enough to overpower the Ancient Barbarians.
Sha Ya had escaped, and Yang Kai was unable to pursue her. There were bursts of rumbling noises from all directions. Obviously, other Demons had noticed the commotion or had received Sha Ya’s orders to come, wanting to overpower Yang Kai with numbers.
Bundles of black shadows loomed in the darkness, all of them resembling the short Demon from before, who had superior concealment and assassination skills.
But before they could do anything, Yang Kai had already plunged into the enemy lines with a grin like a tiger descending from the mountain. Blood flowers blossomed everywhere Yang Kai moved as he crushed the enemy like dry weeds and rotten wood. The scene was both beautiful and grotesque.
The shadows were thrown into a panic, and they quickly retreated into hiding.
Apart from these smaller Demons, muscular Demon Warriors rushed out of the surrounding corridors with their weapons raised, launching a bold and deadly charge towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not evade though and instead summoned his Myriads Sword. With a swing, the Demons who dared to pounce at him were cleanly cut into two, not a single one able to escape. Blood and organs flowed out and filled the cave with the pungent smell of death.
The outcome of that fierce battle was the completely unharmed Yang Kai and the loss of hundreds of Demons.
The Demons began to hesitate. The person in front of them was not someone they could contend with, and stepping forward was just a useless sacrifice; as such, they did not dare to come forward easily and instead froze in place with horrified expressions, looking at Yang Kai vigilantly.
“You’re not coming?” Yang Kai raised his sword as he grinned, “If you won’t, I will!”
The Demons did not answer.
Yang Kai moved, flickering around the cave at lightning speed, and when he returned to where he first stood, viscous blood was dripping from the Myriads Sword.
Figures fell to the ground silently.
Yang Kai sneered, “A bunch of trash!”
Just as he finished speaking, his face suddenly changed as a greenish tinge crept onto his cheeks and he cried out involuntarily, “That slut actually used poison on me? Shameless!”
The green tinge was like a living being that immediately started spreading to all parts of his body after its emergence. In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai had turned completely green.
Yang Kai was fuming.
“Hahahaha!” Sha Ya’s erratic laugh echoed loudly in the cave. She must be hiding somewhere in the cave to observe him and with Yang Kai’s current strength, it was impossible to locate her with his Divine Sense. Satisfied with her little trick, Sha Ya called out, “Green Demon Poison! Although Green Demons don’t have the strongest poison, out of the Hundred Clans of the Demon Race, their poison is the most mysterious and difficult to resist. Little Brother, you’re dead. Maybe you can beg me to turn you into a slave and live.”
Yang Kai frowned and pondered. He recalled that there was indeed a green coloured Demon, who looked a little different from the other Demons he killed just now. If that was the case, that Demon was the Green Demon that Sha Ya mentioned.
But Yang Kai did not notice any trace of an attack from it, and he did not have any actual contact with that Demon at all. But even so, Yang Kai was poisoned. The Green Demon Poison was truly mysterious and difficult to guard against.
With a cold snort, Yang Kai growled in a low voice, “Sorry, but I have no interest in used goods.”
Sha Ya’s voice abruptly turned chilly, “I will slap all the teeth from your mouth and make you pay for your words!”
“Used goods, used goods, used goods! Your whole family is just a bunch of used goods!”
Sha Ya didn’t say another word, too angry to speak.
The area suddenly fell silent, with neither a trace of another Demon nor Sha Ya. Yang Kai curled his lip and mocked, “If you’re not coming out again, I’ll leave.”
There was still no response.
Yang Kai shrugged and with a flicker, disappeared from where he stood.
Long after they confirmed Yang Kai had left, Sha Ya slowly reappeared from the shadows, still naked, but her body no longer looked tender and charming like before. Instead, she was full of malice and rage, the chills radiating from her body even capable of freezing fire.
The black short Demon appeared beside her silently and asked nervously, “Madam, are we going to let that guy go just like that?”
Sha Ya coldly snorted, “You don’t want him to go?”
The short Demon replied, “He killed many of us.”
“Then, why didn’t you stop him just now?” Sha Ya turned to him and asked.
The short Demon looked embarrassed. [Even you refused to face such a madman, so what can I do with my pitiful strength? A reflexive punch from that guy almost took my life! I really can’t figure out how such force could be exerted from that thin-looking body.]
“Hmph, he’s poisoned with the Green Demon Poison. Unless he becomes a part of our Demon Race, he will die. Just wait, he’ll be back to beg me soon enough,” Sha Ya sneered confidently, her face looking smug.
The short Demon agreed after hearing that.
Although the Green Demon Clan held no significant position in the Demon Race’s Hundred Clans, only serving under the Charm Demon Clan, their poison was extremely lethal when used against non-Demons. Once affected by the Green Demon Poison, there was no other antidote than to be demonised.
Now that the terrifying thin Barbarian had been poisoned, there was no need to pursue him.
Sha Ya flickered and disappeared without a trace. The short Demon glanced at the corpses around him, and ordered with a sigh, “Throw these into the beast den!”
Many Sand Demons immediately appeared from the ground, carrying the fresh corpses without saying a word, transporting them to the beast den where they would obviously be turned into food for the Demon Beasts.
……
“Sir, what… what… what happened?”
A hundred kilometres away from the Demon Cave, Yang Kai appeared and a dozen Shamans looked at him in shock while all the surrounding Barbarian Warriors’ jaws dropped.
Yang Kai was currently entirely green and looked rather unusual. The great green glow coming from his head was particularly conspicuous amongst the crowd.
Such an appearance would make the crowd roll on the ground in laughter on other occasions, but everyone knew that Yang Kai had gone to the Demon Cave to gather information, and suddenly returned looking completely green. Something unexpected had obviously happened.
This shocked everyone, so how could they laugh? All eyes simply stared at Yang Kai nervously.
Yang Kai was the leader of this group and the spiritual pillar of everyone’s hearts. If anything unexpected happened to him, this army would become leaderless. In a war between two Races, how effective could an army be without its leader? Perhaps the Demon Race could wipe out the three thousand people in just one small counterattack.
“I was accidentally poisoned,” Yang Kai’s face darkened and with a wave of his hand he repelled the few Shamans who were about to approach him and ordered, “Don’t get too close to me, it could be contagious!”
[Contagious…]
Upon hearing this, the Shamans who were about to approach him instinctively retreated a few steps but immediately felt awkward after perceiving that this behaviour was not very appropriate.
“Is that the Green Demon Poison?” Yue suddenly asked.
“Huh?” Yang Kai looked at her in surprise, “How do you know?”
It was obvious that Yue was knowledgeable about this poison by guessing the name of this poison accurately. But even Yang Kai only knew about this just now, so how could Yue have known about it?
Yue nodded lightly, “So, it really is the Green Demon Poison.”
Lu continued, “Then there is no cure.”
The twins directly sentenced Yang Kai to death, and two pairs of beautiful eyes looked at him pitifully.
“How do you know about the Green Demon Poison?” Yang Kai asked again.
The twins glanced at each other before explaining, “There is an ancient book in the Shaman Divine Temple, which has some records of our previous conflict with the Demon Race. There is little information and it is not very comprehensive, but there is still some information about the Green Demons. We came across it accidentally while reading.”
[So it was from the Shaman Divine Temple.]
Yang Kai nodded lightly, from the knowledge he gained from Senior Qing ‘s inheritance, Yang Kai learned that this was not the first time that the Demon Race had invaded this world. In other words, the residents of this land had some dealings with the Demon Race before. It had been tens of thousands of years though, and over time, almost no one remembered what happened during that war. However, the Shaman Divine Temple was the most important place for the entire Ancient Barbarian Race, so it was only normal that it had some records about the Demon Race.
The oldest Shaman Apprentice of the Shaman Niu Clan trembled and asked, “Is there really no way to cure this Green Demon Poison in Sir Shaman Niu?”
Yue and Lu shook their heads simultaneously before Yue continued, “Although there is no way to get rid of it, you don’t have to worry about it being contagious. Green Demon Poison cannot be spread from person to person.”
As she spoke, she stepped forward to touch Yang Kai’s cheek to prove her statement. Yang Kai frowned, but did not avoid it. After Yue retrieved her hand, there was really no trace of contamination.
This was a small piece of good news.
However, the expressions on all of the Shamans present were grievous.
Yang Kai quickly asked, “What are the symptoms of this Green Demon Poison?”
Yue shook her head, “The information in that ancient book was incomplete, only a few words about the poison were mentioned. I only know that you will turn green and the only cure is to demonize yourself into a Demon, otherwise, you will undoubtedly die. I don’t know much more than that…”
Lu asked, “Sir, do you have any last words? We can convey them for you.”
Yang Kai burst out laughing, “I’m not dead yet.”
Lu pressed on seriously, “But if you die, you will have no chance to speak.”
Yang Kai nodded, “But I won’t die. Although I don’t know why, I actually feel fine now, so please don’t look so worried.”
Yue and Lu frowned at the same time and felt the anxiety in each other’s hearts when they looked at each other.
As twins, the two had been cultivating Shamanic Spells together for many years, and they had already reached the state of Heart Resonance. Therefore, although they only exchanged a simple glance, they clearly understood each other’s thoughts.
The Green Demon Poison was incurable, but since Shaman Niu mentioned that he would not die, he had no choice but to…
“How much do you know about the Demon Race?” Yang Kai questioned again.
Yue kept her thoughts to herself and answered, “Not much. There is little information about them recorded in the ancient books. Other than the Green Demons, there are similar Red Demons. These two types of Demons were responsible for killing and maiming countless Barbarians in the last war.”
“Red Demons?” Yang Kai raised his brow and some funny figures surfaced in his mind, “Are they short and round with red skin and hair?”
“Perhaps…” Yue was not sure.
“What special abilities do the Red Demons have?”
Yue replied, “Red Demons are also called the Burst Demons. The only value and function of their existence is their explosive ability!”
“Are there really such Demons?” Yang Kai was taken aback. In the Demon Cave, Yang Kai did kill several red-skinned Demons, who were short, fat and round like a barrel. He did not feel anything when he killed them, and only learnt that they were born to explode after listening to Yue’s explanation.
Thinking about it, if they encountered an army of Red Demons without knowing about this in advance, the Barbarian Race would definitely suffer a great loss once the Red Demons got too close.
This was another extremely crucial piece of intelligence.
However, the only thing the sisters Yue and Lu knew about the Demon Race were Red Demon and Green Demon, they had no idea about anything else, not even the Sand Demons.
Therefore, they failed to provide Yang Kai with a lot of information for reference.
On the contrary, Yang Kai found out a lot of information after his trip to the Demon Cave. He disclosed everything he saw to the Shamans and asked them to inform the others, so that the clansmen could watch out for these Demons in the future.
After that, Yang Kai found an empty place, lifted his hand, and summoned a huge black figure.
It was the Demon Beast that Yang Kai had abducted from the Demon Cave.
The dark aura lingering on its body was constantly spilling out, and as soon as it appeared here, it roared, startling the dozen Shamans. They looked at the Demon Beast in disbelief, and then looked back at Yang Kai. They had no idea how he could make such a large thing appear out of thin air.
Yang Kai cast a few restrictions on the Demon Beast to seal its strength and movement. Therefore, despite its fierce appearance, it could do no harm.
“The Demon Race seems to have cavalry too, and this Demon Beast seems to be a typical mount. Study it and see if you can find any of its weaknesses. It would be best if you can find something useful, but it’s fine if you can’t just kill it directly.”
After leaving an order, Yang Kai walked to a newly built wooden house.
The group of Shamans immediately surrounded the Demon Beast and started to study it with great interest.
Time passed as Yang Kai stayed in the wooden house and did not appear for two days. No one knew what he was doing while the three thousand strong army was full of anger and fighting spirit, but with no place to vent.
In the Demon Cave, Sha Ya sat on her throne, her tight and revealing clothes showcasing the exquisite details of her beautiful figure. It was unknown what kind of Secret Technique she used, but the ‘peak’ Yang Kai had destroyed a few days ago had fully recovered and regained its majesty again.
At this moment, she was resting her chin on her palm, as if she was taking a nap.
The short Demon stood quietly below the throne, exuding no aura, like a dead man.
After a long while, Sha Ya opened her eyes and asked faintly, “What’s going on over there? Why hasn’t he come yet?”
The short Demon immediately replied, “According to the Sand Demons investigation, the Foreign Race gathered over there seem a little emotionally unstable. As for that guy, he has been in hiding the whole time and did not do anything special.”
Sha Ya sneered, “It seems that he is trying to expel the Green Demon Poison. How ridiculous. If the Green Demon Poison could be so easily cured, it will not be the trickiest poison of our Demon Race. However, I’m impressed that he can endure for two days and still not give up.”
She stood up and continued with her sharp eyes, “Pass down my order. Prepare to move out.”
The short Demon was stunned, “Madam, are we going to fight them?”
Sha Ya sneered, “Since he doesn’t want to come to me, then I’ll go to him. It’s rare to find such an interesting slave. I don’t want him to die just for nothing.”
After hearing this, the short Demon could not help feeling some pity for the scrawny Barbarian, but he still turned around and went to relay the order.
In an instant, the Demon Cave was filled with Ancient Demon Qi as many Demons gathered.
An hour later, fifty kilometres away, Shaman Niu Clan clansmen suddenly felt a strange rumbling from the ground, and at the same time, the Aerial Cavalry patrolling in the sky sounded their horns.
The Earth-shaking sound resounded across the world as all three thousand Barbarian Warriors looked solemn and took up their weapons one after another.
Yang Kai’s body was still glowing green, but he quickly walked out of the wooden house and looked over towards where the Demon Cave was located. The sky over the cave was now dark, as if it was on the eve of a storm, and this darkness was rushing over quickly, seemingly swallowing the light wherever it passed.
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth curved up as he sneered.
The dozen Shamans standing in front of the three thousand warriors looked over at him with anxiety.
Yang Kai had been poisoned by the Green Demon Poison for two days, and although he appeared to be fine now, who knew when he would succumb? A battle was about to begin, so what if he was affected by the green poison and suddenly died?
In such a fight, once one side’s leader was killed, it would be a massive blow to morale. It may turn a certain victory into a tragic defeat in an instant.
But at this critical moment, no matter how worried they were, none dared to ask. They could only pray secretly in their hearts, while even Yue and Lu had prepared for the worst.
Yang Kai swept his eyes across the dozen Shamans, then across his three thousand warriors. After taking a deep breath, he shouted loudly, “Standing here are the most elite warriors of our Barbarian Race, the Brothers and Sisters of the Shaman Niu Clan! The Demon Race is coming for us now, and our only choice is to fight them to the death! Our opponents are the ones that ambushed us in that village a few days ago! Several of our Brothers and Sisters died that day, but this is just the beginning. If we cannot win this war, millions more will die! They will kill all our men, plunder our women, enslave our children and conquer our land!”
The breaths of the three thousand people became heavy, and their fighting spirit soared up to pierce the sky, as if it could tear the sea of clouds apart.
“This is our first real battle, so we have only one goal. To win! Not only to win! But to win decisively! Only by doing so can we wash away the humiliation suffered by our Shaman Niu Clan a few days ago! My warriors, are you ready?”
The troops roared passionately.
Even without the blessing of the Bloodlust Spell, the eyes of the three thousand warriors glowed red, like wild beasts.
Yang Kai smiled slightly and turned to point at the approaching dark cloud, “If you are ready, make them pay!”
The Giant Eagles screeched and the Aerial Cavalry took to the skies.
Under the leadership of their Captains, the ten sub-units quickly headed for the enemy without saying a word, organized and rapid footsteps shaking the ground beneath them.
The Elite Guards surrounded the dozen Shamans as obscure incantations rang out. The light of Shamanic Spells bloomed from the Shamans, enveloping the ten units, one after another.
Bloodlust Spell, Light Body Spell, Stone Armour Spell, Great Strength Spell, Life Chains…
Every warrior was covered with colourful radiance, and all of the Ancient Barbarians visibly grew in size, their muscles bulging as their faces turned vicious. Even their red eyes became a brighter shade of crimson.
Without playing any tricks, the Demon Race and the Barbarian Race seemed to have agreed to charge straight at each other.
Overlooking from a high altitude, two armies of thousands were approaching from opposite directions, and the broad flat land at the centre was where the battle would be joined.
The fifty-kilometre distance between the two groups was shortened in just a stick worth of incense.
The fighting spirit and murderous intent of the Barbarians reached a fever pitch during this several-dozen-kilometre charge.
When the dark clouds began to shroud over the land, the two armies officially met.
The Ancient Barbarians who were charging in front were slightly stunned, however, because they saw familiar faces before them, faces that belonged to the clansmen of the Barbarian Race of the past.
The vanguard of the Demon Race army was actually their demonised clansmen.
However, at this moment, these clansmen had lost their minds and gone insane. It seemed that what stood in front of them were not their former clansmen, but their sworn enemies.
The enemy mercilessly lifted their weapons and charged towards them.
“Kill!” Roars echoed.
The people of the Shaman Niu Clan were slightly stunned, but they quickly regained their composure and prepared themselves.
Thanks to the intelligence obtained by Yang Kai, everyone was aware that this situation would occur when they engaged the Demon Race.
Every Barbarian had asked himself, [If I really meet my demonised clansmen, would I be able to kill them?]
No matter what condition these people were in, they were once fellow Barbarians. They were their Brothers and Sisters, their clansmen. Perhaps, they would still have a chance to save them.
Nevertheless, they soon knew that it was a meaningless thought.
If they really encountered such people during battle, killing them would be the best mercy for them.
Hesitating would be an irresponsible act to their companions.
In front of the crowd, Ah Hu leapt ten metres into the air and slashed down with a huge axe in his hand.
Before the attack even landed, the sharp aura from the huge axe had already split the skin of the demonised clansman in front of him, and when Ah Hu’s attack was fully swung, that clansman had been split into two.
Ah Hu held up his huge axe and roared ferociously, “Kill!”
The battlefield seemed to have transformed into a huge meat grinder, crushing the creatures in it into paste.
One after another demonized Barbarians collapsed.
Although they were also born Barbarian Warriors, they had not been blessed by any Shamanic Spells, so after being demonized, they had lost their minds and their only instinct was to kill.
How could they win against fully equipped and enraged Barbarians with the blessings of Shamanic Spells?
Therefore, as soon as the two armies met, the Demon side suffered heavy casualties. The Shaman Niu Clan Warriors rushed over them like raging bulls, leaving no survivors wherever they passed.
The ten units, each with about two hundred fifty to three hundred people, were like ten sharp swords piercing into the formation of the Demon Race, led by their respective Captains.
Weapons clashed, heads flew off, and strong bodies fell down one after another, their eyes reflecting a hint of desire for home mixed with confusion.
The demonized clansmen did not know what they were doing even at the moment of their death. They had no idea why they had to block the way of their former Brothers and Sisters, or why they had to swing their swords at them.
Even so, they were being crumpled like dead leaves being swept. After just a stick worth of incense, the vanguard army of the Demon Race was completely crushed.
“Wastes!” Sha Ya, who was sitting behind the army, was not alarmed at all. She maintained her graceful pose as she looked at the deaths of the Demons in front of her emotionlessly.
Quite contrary to the Ancient Barbarians on the other side, it was not the first time the Demons were going to battle with the Barbarian Race.
Previously, they were under the lead of the Demon Saints, and had charged forth with unstoppable momentum, exterminating four Barbarian Clans easily. But now, when she took charge of the army, she finally realized the problem of facing this Foreign Race.
This Foreign Race and the Demon Race were basically equal in individual strength, but with the blessings of those contemptible Shamans, they immediately became superior to the Demons.
Shamanic Spells were truly amazing.
However, Sha Ya did not care at all as they were just a group of demonized slaves, so she naturally did not care about their deaths. The key of this war was not those Demons, not even the two armies, but the Shaman who was afflicted by the Green Demon Poison.
Looking into the distance and beyond the obstacles, Sha Ya saw a man completely covered in green light and curled her lips as she felt he was probably at his limit.
“Scatter!”
On the battlefield, Ah Hu roared and his voice echoed into the sky.
The Barbarians stopped their advance at the sound of this roar and changed their directions, dispersing in an orderly manner.
A group of short, round and red-skinned figures suddenly jumped out from behind the vanguard of the Demon Race. Each of these figures had a ferocious and excited look on their face, as if they had hot chicken blood flowing through their veins. Their bodies bounced off the ground, travelling several tens of metres each time as they fearlessly rushed towards the Barbarian Race.
It was the Red Demons!
Thanks to the knowledge the twins, Yue and Lu, learnt from the Shaman Divine Temple, the Barbarian Warriors immediately reacted after seeing these red-skinned Demons. Otherwise, they would have been seriously injured or even killed if they encountered them without a clue.
The dispersed Barbarians Warriors bypassed the Red Demons and continued charging forward.
The Red Demons pursued, bounding and bouncing towards the most concentrated gatherings with all haste.
*Xiu xiu xiu… *
Numerous sharp arrows came from high up in the sky, piercing through the air full of murderous intent.
Each of the arrows accurately hit the body of a Red Demon, setting them off. Their red skin became bloodier in colour, and a dreadfully dangerous aura gushed out of their bodies. Their originally round bodies suddenly expanded several times over before exploding with a loud bang. The explosive force was even strong enough to tear the local space.
“Oh…” Yang Kai looked at the fireworks in the air and could not help wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. The explosion of these Burst Demons was truly powerful. Although the explosion of an individual or even two of these Demons was not impressive, the impact of the explosion of a hundred of them could even take down a Shaman King.
He was really amazed by the Demon Race for being able to breed so many strange beings like the Green Demons and Red Demons.
On the other side, Sha Ya’s satisfied smile suddenly froze as she stared coldly at the Aerial Cavalry and gritted her teeth, “Damn it!”
According to what she knew, the Foreign Race should have little to no information about them; however, when the Red Demons appeared just now, the Foreign Race responded accordingly and completely neutralized their raid, which caused her to suffer a loss in manpower without any gain.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
The sound of the arrows whistled through the air endlessly as all the Giant Eagle riders possessed excellent marksmanship, consistently landing killing blows from above. Each arrow could kill a bouncing Red Demon and save many of their fellow warriors’ lives.
“Kill them!” Sha Ya waved her hand.
Numerous wisps of black fog behind her suddenly merged into the void.
A moment later, a small figure appeared silently beside an Aerial Cavalry rider without warning and slashed towards his neck with a dark dagger.
The dagger was extremely sharp, and even Yang Kai suffered a minor injury from it scraping him. Therefore, if these cavalry riders were hit, their heads would definitely roll.
The archer who was sitting on the Giant Eagle drew his bow, unaware of the incoming danger, his eagle-like eyes locked onto a Red Demon below.
Just as the short Demon was about to succeed, another dagger suddenly appeared from nowhere, accurately blocking the attack right in front of the Aerial Cavalry archer’s neck.
The two daggers collided and the Demon who launched the sneak attack frowned while vigilantly retreating.
He was a born assassin; thus, he only attacked opportunistically and was surprised that someone managed to block his blow.
When he looked up, he saw a petite girl with a delicate body and long hair flying in the wind like a waterfall. She appeared next to the Aerial Cavalry and strangely wielded a dagger in each of her hands; one in an obverse side while one in a reverse side. She looked so fragile that the wind could blow her away at any moment.
[She actually uses two daggers?] The Assassin Demon frowned.
As an assassin, he naturally knew the difficulty of wielding dual daggers. It seemed that she was an assassin too, and a highly skilled one at that. He could not help licking his lips, secretly feeling exhilarated and looking forward to competing with her.
“Slaughter…” The girl suddenly opened her mouth, her voice was low, her head slightly raised, her expression pious, as if she were praying to some God.
“Hm?” The Assassin Demon was stunned.
“Feast!”
When the words fell, the girl fluttered like a butterfly, her posture so elegant and beautiful that anyone would become entranced upon seeing her dance.
Her black hair flew in the air as she radiated a freezing cold light.
The Assassin Demon did not have the mood to appreciate this beautiful sight though as he was shivering all over. Assassins needed exceptional mental clarity and stability, and given that he was one of the best assassins, his mental fortitude was particularly outstanding. Therefore, under normal circumstances, his emotions would remain completely unaffected by what happened around him.
But at this moment, he seemed to be witnessing a terrifying scene. While he was lost in fright, he also showed a sense of satisfaction, as if he would not regret it even if he died right now.
He was witnessing the most subtle method of assassination he had ever seen.
The cold light permeated the air, flashing as it shrouded an area of three hundred metres.
*Chi chi chi chi…*
Slashing sounds rang out as strange spurts of blood appeared mid-air.
When the girl stopped her dance, a string of blood beads dripped from the dual daggers in her hands.
*Pu pu pu… *
The hidden Assassin Demons abruptly appeared with expressions of shock etched on each of their faces. It seemed that they did not expect anyone could find them while they were hidden.
Every Assassin Demon had received only one wound, but those wounds were all fatal.
Their eyes were filled with disbelief as one by one, they fell from the sky, collapsing into the masses of blood on the ground, horrifyingly.
“What is… your name?” The Assassin Demon, who was facing the girl directly, asked blankly.
The girl turned her head and looked at him, replying indifferently, “Tiea.”
The Assassin Demon mumbled, repeating the name to himself as if to memorize it before, in the next moment, a jet of blood shot from his chest and he too fell, dying before even hitting the ground.
Although Tiea’s action deterred the Assassin Demons and saved the lives of the Aerial Cavalry, there were still more Assassin Demons hiding nearby.
A beam of light shot from below at that moment and turned into a circle of light, enveloping all the Aerial Cavalry in it.
The next moment, the eyes of all the Aerial Cavalry suddenly brightened, as if there was a torch burning in them. This light seemed capable of piercing through the veil of the world and illuminating all shadows hidden in the dark.
Eagle Eye Spell!
After receiving the support of a Shaman, the eyes of the Aerial Cavalry immediately locked onto the Assassin Demons who were lurking around them, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Arrows shot out rapidly, impaling these still unaware Assassin Demons.
These assassins naturally did not sit waiting for death though, and upon seeing that they were exposed, they immediately launched a decisive attack.
The Aerial Cavalry riding their Giant Eagles agilely dodged the assassins mid-air, rendering this charge futile.
Yue and Lu, who had just regained their composure, chanted an incantation at the same time, and after three breaths, a long lightning snake shot from the twins.
An Assassin Demon was unable to evade and was struck by the lightning snake, causing all of his hair to stand on end and his body to be scorched from head to toe. The lightning snake then burst out of the Assassin Demon’s body, transforming into a lightning net, covering the entire sky.
One by one, the Assassin Demons were paralyzed and started shaking. The Aerial Cavalry, who were chasing after them, shot their arrows without even a moment’s delay, piercing their chests through.
The lightning net had exposed all the Assassin Demons while the Aerial Cavalry were not affected at all. This was evidence of Yue and Lu’s exquisite ability to control Shamanic Spells.
The Aerial Cavalry no longer had to worry about the silent assassins and once again demonstrated their amazing combat effectiveness by supporting their brethren down below.
Sha Ya sent three waves of Assassin Demons, one after another, but none of them managed to kill a single Aerial Cavalry, causing her to fume at the loss of so many of her troops.
On the battlefield, the Demons and Barbarians fought head-on with each other, with the demonised Barbarians as the vanguard. The strategy of letting the Red Demons use the frontal clash as a distraction turned out useless and instead allowed the Ancient Barbarians to rush the Demon formations and disrupt their coordination.
Sand Demons relied on their earth-escape ability to travel underground and create disturbances on the battlefield, which was indeed effective and caused some damage to the Shaman Niu Clan.
However, blessed by Life Chains, the lives of all the Ancient Barbarians were linked, so even if someone suffered a fatal injury, they would not die immediately. The damage was evenly distributed among those connected by the Life Chains while vitality from those who weren’t injured moved to help their wounded clansmen recover.
So far, the Demons suffered hundreds of casualties, but none of the Barbarians had fallen.
Life Chains deserved its reputation as one of the most important Shamanic Spells in large-scale warfare. With such a Shamanic Spell connecting them all, everyone in the Shaman Niu Clan dared to even face against a Dragon!
Sha Ya grew agitated.
She had paid a heavy price for her rash decision this time.
Before the battle, she thought she could secure a victory with a surprise attack using Red Demons, but did not expect that this strategy would turn out useless.
The Shadow Demon Clan who went forward after that were also killed by the opponent’s Shamans and archers.
Although the numbers of the two armies were similar, the combat effectiveness was vastly different.
Sha Ya had no choice but to use the strongest fighters under her command.
The roars from beasts caused the world to tremble as if thousands of horses were galloping across the plain. The Demon Cavalry charged out, riding on the hideous Demon Beasts. These burly figures plunged into the battlefield and none of the Barbarians could stop them. Everywhere they passed, Barbarians were routed and tossed about. It was at this moment that the tide of battle turned to favour the Demons.
The rest of the Demons, following behind their cavalry, immediately launched a counterattack on the Ancient Barbarians.
The sharp arrows shot by the Aerial Cavalry did not have much effect either this time as the hides of the Demon Beasts were too tough and bulky, causing the sharp arrows to simply tickle them.
“It’s time for us to make a move!” Yue and Lu announced in unison, their expressions solemn.
The dozen Shamans of different Realms had been fulfilling a support role from the rear the whole time. Some of the older Shamans were still calm, but the young Shamans were obviously nervous. It was a huge impact for them to see so many casualties in their first real battle.
But they were the key to curb the momentum of the Demon Cavalry.
The Elite Guards surrounding the Shamans marched towards the battlefield, drawing Sha Ya’s gaze towards them as she frowned. Although she did not know what the Barbarians were doing now, a sense of uneasiness fluttered in her heart.
“You’re finished,” A voice suddenly came from nearby.
Sha Ya was shocked, and when she turned her head around, she immediately saw a green man beside her.
Sha Ya’s heart almost jumped out of her well-endowed chest. With her strength, how could she not notice her enemy’s arrival, or even approach? If this man had directly launched a sneak attack, would she have been able to react?
[I… most likely would not have been able to survive…]
[But… Why is this man not watching over his people while they fight? Why did he suddenly appear here instead?]
As if she had thought of something, Sha Ya smiled, “Are you thinking about surrendering yourself into the arms of the Great Demon God?”
Yang Kai turned his head to look at her, grinning, “Still considering my options. Of course, if you can remove the green poison, I will consider it more sincerely.”
Sha Ya sneered, “In your dreams, the Green Demon Poison cannot be removed unless… you become my slave.”
Yang Kai frowned and asked, “Is that really the only way?”
Sha Ya answered, “The only way!”
Yang Kai nodded.
Sha Ya smiled charmingly as she teased, “The past two days haven’t been good, right? To be honest, I’m surprised that you can still maintain consciousness, but the more you persist, the more pain you will be in.”
Yang Kai sighed, “Right now, I do feel some slight degree of pain.”
Sha Ya tilted her head, “I can’t tell at all.”
Yang Kai grinned, “Men always have to appear strong, don’t they?”
Sha Ya elegantly smiled, “You are indeed qualified to be my slave. I can assure you that after you undergo demonification, I will allow you to keep your consciousness. There won’t be the slightest difference from before.”
Yang Kai raised his brows, “I can still retain my consciousness? But why did my demonised clansmen…”
Sha Ya curled her lips, and replied in disdain, “They are nothing but a bunch of disposable pawns, not worth the price I would have to pay to keep them sane. But you are different. It is worth some sacrifice on my part to keep a Master like you clear minded.”
“You flatter me, I really don’t know how to repay you.” Yang Kai smiled gently.
Sha Ya giggled, “Just be obedient.”
“So, shall we start now?” Yang Kai turned his head and looked at her.
Sha Ya’s smile narrowed and she looked over at the battlefield, only to see that the Demons were falling into a rout. After the dozen or so Shamans moved to the front, a series of powerful Shamanic Spells were released, forcing the Demon Cavalry to retreat. Some of the advantages they had obtained disappeared, and if it were not for the Sand Demons’ continuous harassment, the Demon Cavalry would have been wiped out already.
But even so, the situation for the Demon Race was not optimistic.
Since the battle began, more than half of their army had been lost, and the losses continued to accumulate. On the contrary, the Barbarian army was becoming increasingly confident and spirited.
“I need to pay a steep price to make you my slave, so what can you give me in return?” Sha Ya suddenly turned her head to look at Yang Kai.
“What do you need?” Yang Kai asked.
Sha Ya raised her hand and pointed to the front, “I want to see your sincerity. Only with enough sincerity can you win my trust. Decide for yourself. Your time is running out.”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Simple enough.”
When his words fell, he had already swooped into the battlefield, and anything that came his way was killed with a single hit. None of the Demons could resist his advance.
His bloody appearance did not displease Sha Ya though, and instead, she watched with relish, her eyes glued on Yang Kai’s body as a strange light flashed across their depths.
The Demons backed away and evaded Yang Kai, obviously aware that he was not someone they could contend with.
A moment later, Yang Kai arrived at the frontline of the battle between the two armies.
“Sir, why are you…” Yue suddenly noticed Yang Kai’s presence, and said with a dazed expression, “Did you come from that side?”
His own camp was at the rear, but Yang Kai had clearly come over from the Demons’ side just now. Moreover, as the commander of an army, it was an unwise move to appear inexplicably on the battlefield where the two armies were facing each other instead of issuing orders from the rear.
Just as she was about to persuade him to leave, she suddenly had a vague feeling something bad was about to happen.
Lu felt the same way, and looked up at Yang Kai vigilantly, “Sir, what are you planning to do?”
Yang Kai smiled lightly at the twins, “Come with me.”
The twins fell silent for a moment before slowly shaking their heads.
The other Shamans were also confused by this situation and exchanged looks with one another.
“It’s not good to be disobedient. Have you forgotten what Sir Shaman Dang said when he gave both of you to me?” Yang Kai looked at them sternly, a sense of majesty in his expression.
Yue quickly replied, “If Sir’s intentions are really for the benefit of the Barbarian Race, we will naturally not disobey, but now… aren’t you planning to submit to the Demon Race?”
“What!?” All the Shamans were shocked and could not believe what they heard.
In unison, they looked up at Yang Kai, hoping that he would deny it, but instead of denying it, he just smiled and commented, “You do have very keen insight.”
Yue added, “There’s only one way to detoxify the Green Demon Poison, and that is to be transformed into a Demon. Sir… You really disappoint us.”
The Shamans instantly understood what the situation was all about from that short exchange.
Sir Shaman Niu was afflicted by the Green Demon Poison, and he obviously did not want to die, so he had to take refuge under the Demon Race. The twins, Yue and Lu, seemed to have understood his intentions a long time ago and had been preparing for this.
[What… What should we do now?]
This was the Shaman Niu Clan’s first real battle, and the twelve units of the army had worked together almost flawlessly to achieve a huge victory, but at this critical moment, their leader was betraying them.
The sudden change made everyone lose the ability to think, and their heads spun in confusion.
“You are very smart, no wonder you were able to enter the Shaman Divine Temple, but even if you know, what can you do?” Yang Kai chuckled lightly and stretched out one hand towards the twins and instantly, a brilliant flash of light blinded everyone.
The twins’ complexion changed drastically. Although they knew Shaman Niu was strong, they did not know that he was this strong.
The two of them did not even have time to react before their bodies were petrified. Neither of them even knew what kind of technique Yang Kai used.
Yang Kai stretched out his large hands to grab the twins, seizing them as easily as if they were two chicks.
In front of everyone’s eyes, the twins looked frightened and uneasy but could not help being drawn over to Yang Kai, who then took them and flew back to the Demon Race’s side.
The rest of the Shamans watched, as chills spread out from every pore of their bodies, freezing them all in place.
Sha Ya’s proud laughter resounded across the whole battlefield, a grating sound in every Ancient Barbarian’s ears.
A figure suddenly flashed in front of the trio. It was Tiea, who blocked the way.
At the same time, Yue and Lu revealed a look of surprise and pleaded in unison, “Madam, Shaman Niu has defected to the Demon Race! Quickly stop him!”
After getting closer during their time together, Yue and Lu learnt that Tiea was also a Shaman Grandmaster, the same Realm as Shaman Niu, so perhaps she could successfully stop him.
Tiea turned a deaf ear to them, however, and just stood still, staring at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai also stopped, squinted at Tiea, and asked, “Do you want to stop me?”
Tiea fell silent for a moment before quietly moving aside to make way for him, causing the light of hope in Yue and Lu’s eyes to vanish.
Yang Kai nodded and flew past Tiea, taking Yue and Lu with him.
“Be careful…” Tiea whispered so softly that if one had not been paying very close attention, they would not have heard her.
Yang Kai flew off and soon disappeared.
“The battle is not over yet! What are you all just standing around for!?” Tiea shouted at the Shamans below and took the lead in charging ahead. She fluttered lightly and dived into the battle. From time to time, while she was slaying the Demons with her agile skills, her hands would release a burst of light as she cast Shamanic Spells, granting all kinds of support to the Barbarian Warriors around her.
Seeing her like this, the thirteen remaining Shamans regained their spirit and gradually stabilized their minds. Their incantations sounded again and the light of Shamanic Spells flickered repeatedly.
On the other side, Yang Kai landed on the ground and loosened his grip on Yue and Lu, who fell to the ground. The twins’ glared at him fuming as if a volcano was hidden in their eyes. After staring at Yang Kai, they took a glance at the half-naked Sha Ya with their teeth clenched. While feeling humiliated at their current situation, they also felt angry at Yang Kai’s cowardness.
If they had known that Shaman Niu was such a person, they would never have agreed to follow him.
“Is this sincerity enough for you?” Yang Kai questioned, smiling at Sha Ya.
Sha Ya smiled meaningfully as she looked down at Yue and Lu before looking back at Yang Kai and slowly shaking her head.
Yang Kai frowned, “They are the heart of three thousand Barbarians of my Clan. I have captured them for you, how is this not good enough?”
Sha Ya raised her hand lightly and casually pointed to Lu, “Kill her!”
As soon as these words came out, the faces of Yue and Lu changed.
“Kill her and I will believe you.” Sha Ya looked at Yang Kai with her head tilted, a trace of provocation apparent in her eyes.
She was not a fool. Although this Barbarian Shaman Grandmaster was poisoned by the Green Demon Poison and showed intentions to submit, that alone was not enough to win her trust.
This was her last test. If this Barbarian Shaman Grandmaster could kill his former subordinate without hesitation, she would not doubt his intention to surrender. Otherwise, she would assume this was all a trick to get close to her and save himself!
Sha Ya was feeling somewhat conflicted right now. She hoped that this Barbarian Shaman Grandmaster would insist until the end and would rather die than give in, because struggling prey was the best prey. On the other hand, she did not want him to die just like that. She sincerely wished he would become her obedient slave and follow her every command…
Therefore, she also had no idea which choice she hoped this man would make.
She observed his face carefully, hoping to see hesitation and struggle, which would at least entertain her for a bit.
However, to her amazement, Yang Kai just walked forward silently after listening to her order, without the slightest hesitation.
The twins’ faces changed drastically as Yue summoned her courage and stood in front of her sister, glaring at Yang Kai and shouting sternly, “Kill me, but let her go!”
Yang Kai stood in front of her like an insurmountable mountain, looking down at her as he nodded lightly, “What a touching display of sisterhood, but too bad…”
With a loud thud, Yang Kai sent Yue flying several dozen metres with a kick, sending her crashing into the ground as she spurted blood from her mouth.
“This is Madam Sha Ya’s first order, so I have to obey it!” Yang Kai grasped Lu’s slender neck as he declared and slowly lifted her up.
Lu struggled hard, her face turning red, but she couldn’t shake off Yang Kai’s grip with just her physical strength. The struggle she displayed with her hands and feet only made her look more miserable in the end.
“Let…” Yue choked on her blood as she shouted, “Let her go!”
Struggling to her feet, she screamed and tried to rush back but was firmly subdued by a black shadow at that moment.
Yang Kai’s grip on Lu’s neck tightened and his Shaman Strength began to surge, releasing an extremely dangerous aura.
Perhaps due to their Heart Resonance, the struggling Lu suddenly turned her head and looked at her Elder Sister, and Yue stared back in sorrow. Their eyes met, and Lu gently opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Yue knew that she was saying goodbye.
“No!!” Yue shrieked desperately.
*Peng… *
A mass of blood suddenly burst out and Lu, who was lifted by Yang Kai, exploded directly in his hand, leaving not even bones behind, only a mist of blood and minced flesh that sprinkled down to the ground.
Yue’s scream suddenly ceased as her whole body froze, as if she had just lost her Soul. She stared at the blood mist covering the sky, and could not believe that her Little Sister, who was still close to her just a moment ago, had met such a miserable end.
Two streaks of tears fell silently from the corners of her eyes. She did not cry out loud, but her eyes became piercingly cold, glaring at Yang Kai with unforgivable hatred. If possible, she would bite Shaman Niu to death, feast on his flesh, drink his blood, gnaw his bones to devour every last trace of him!
“Hahahaha!” Sha Ya suddenly burst into a frenzied laugh, her whole body trembling, looking extremely elated. It was as if the scene that just happened in front of her gave unprecedented satisfaction.
Yang Kai ignored Yue’s resentful gaze and turned to Sha Ya, “Madam, is this sincerity enough?”
“Enough!” Sha Ya nodded with satisfaction.
Now, she truly believed that Yang Kai was sincere about surrendering to her.
“Come!” Sha Ya called, as if summoning a pet.
Yang Kai walked up to her and stood in front of her.
“Kneel down!” Sha Ya ordered again.
Yang Kai frowned, and shook his head, “Sorry, my legs hurt, so I can’t kneel down!”
The smile on Sha Ya’s face immediately disappeared and she looked coldly at Yang Kai, “How dare you disobey my orders. Do you want to die?”
Yang Kai replied faintly, “There are some things you can abandon in life, but some things must be insisted upon. Madam, you are a woman, and you don’t understand the pride and perseverance of a man.”
Sha Ya curled her lip, “Ridiculous. You can even kill your own subordinate, but you can’t kneel to me?”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “I’d rather die!”
They exchanged looks, with Yang Kai staring back steadily at Sha Ya, a lofty and imposing aura exuding from his being.
After a long stare, Sha Ya curled her lip again. She found that this Shaman Grandmaster was a man who meant every word he said, and such stubborn perseverance did not annoy her and instead actually made her a little excited.
Only by taming such a rebellious slave could she have a sense of achievement.
“Good, since you have proved your sincerity, it’s my turn.”
Saying so, Sha Ya approached Yang Kai gracefully and gently tapped her finger on his forehead.
A black Ancient Demon Qi suddenly flowed out of Sha Ya’s fingertip.
The nature of this Ancient Demon Qi was similar to that encountered by the Shaman Niu Clan in the abandoned village, but there were some key differences. When comparing, Sha Ya’s Demon Qi was undoubtedly stronger, purer, and more invasive.
After forcing out her Ancient Demon Qi, Sha Ya’s face suddenly showed a trace of fatigue. This procedure obviously took a great toll on her.
The Ancient Demon Qi was like a living creature, and after circling around Sha Ya’s fingertip several times, it seeped into Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Kai grunted and took two steps back.
A faint black tinge immediately permeated around his body. The black tinge was like a burning flame, burning away all the Green Demon Poison wherever it passed.
The green radiance disappeared and was replaced by a strange and heavy darkness.
“Is it done?” Yang Kai frowned.
Sha Ya lightly smiled, “You are now a member of the Demon Clan. Even if you can withstand my Demon Qi without dying, you still need something more to become my slave.”
Yang Kai responded, “I am willing to serve Madam.”
“Very good,” Sha Ya nodded with satisfaction.
Next, Sha Ya opened my mouth and spat out something about the size of a fist.
Yue, who had been watching coldly from the side, narrowed her eyes at this moment because this thing looked exactly like a heart. A black heart that was even now beating rhythmically.
Sha Ya held this heart in her hand, and with each beat it made, a strange power was released from it, giving one who heard and felt it a sense of uneasiness and dizziness.
Yang Kai looked at this heart with relish.
Sha Ya smiled faintly and explained, “This is my Demon Heart.”
“Is it okay for Madam to take it out like this?” Yang Kai asked with concern, “Won’t it have any impact on you?”
Sha Ya replied with a chuckle, “For us Demons, every Master who achieves success in cultivation has their own Demon Heart, and as long as the Demon Heart remains, the Demon Race will not die! Didn’t your ancestors tell you about this?”
Yang Kai answered, “This is my first time hearing of it.”
Staring at the Demon Heart with hot light, Yang Kai continued, “In other words, this thing is your foundation?”
“That’s right,” Sha Ya nodded slightly.
“Can I take a look?” Yang Kai observed the Demon Heart curiously.
Sha Ya looked up with a meaningful gaze, as if she was wondering if he just asked the question casually, or he had some sort of scheme planned.
Yue suddenly held her breath, nervously.
From what Sha Ya could see, Yang Kai did not seem suspicious but was genuinely curious about the Demon Heart.
Sha Ya smiled lightly and unexpectedly threw the Demon Heart to him as she instructed softly, “Be careful, don’t break it.”
Yang Kai took it over and played with it.
Yue was so nervous that she could even hear her own heartbeat. She looked at Yang Kai with expectation and temporarily forgot that he was her sister’s murderer. There was only one thought screaming in her mind now, [Crush the Demon Heart!]
If Yang Kai could crush the Demon Heart and kill the Demon King in front of him, Lu’s death would not have been in vain. If Yang Kai really did so, everything that happened earlier would have been just for show and worth it. The purpose of him joining the Demon Clan would have been just to find an opportunity to kill this Demon King. Even if Lu died because of this, she still could forgive him.
To her disappointment though, Yang Kai simply examined the Demon Heart in his hand for a long time, not showing any signs of making a move.
“What are you hesitating about? Just crush it!” Yue finally could not help crying out.
Sha Ya glanced at her with a grin, and her eyes full of ridicule.
Yang Kai tilted his head and tossed the Demon Heart back, “What now? Did you take your Demon Heart out just for me to see?”
Seeing this scene, Yue’s face immediately turned pale and she collapsed to the ground as if she had lost all her strength.
Shaman Niu really submitted to the Demon Clan, and Lu had died in vain. It was ridiculous that she still had any expectations for this coward just now, and she felt shameful to even have such an idea.
The moment Sha Ya took back her Demon Heart, she beamed and looked quite satisfied, “Of course, it’s not just for you to see.”
As she spoke, without making any actions, the Demon Heart in her hand leaked a drop of black blood that seemed to be filled with unimaginable power. Sha Ya sent the drop of blood floating towards Yang Kai and ordered with a smile, “Drink it, and from now on, you are mine.”
Without hesitation, Yang Kai drank the Demon Blood, grunting as the dark aura on his body became richer.
Sha Ya chuckled and praised Yang Kai, “You made a wise choice.”
“Many thanks for giving me this chance!” Yang Kai replied indifferently.
“Now…” Sha Ya stepped forward and looked at the chaotic battlefield. At this time, the army of the Demon Clan was about to collapse and even the prided cavalry under her command was unable to turn the tide. However, Sha Ya’s eyes did not show even the slightest fluster and instead were filled with confidence in her victory. She raised her hand and remarked, “Let’s end this ridiculous battle!”
The commander of the Barbarian Race army had surrendered to her already, so although there were many enemies left, Sha Ya was not worried at all. As long as she joined hands with her newly recruited slave, victory would not be a problem.
“By the way, I don’t know your name yet.” Sha Ya asked without looking back.
“Shaman Niu! My name is Shaman Niu!” Yang Kai replied.
As he spoke, power overflowed from his body and a golden light suddenly bloomed from his feet and shot deep into the ground. The next moment, several dull thuds rang out from below the surface.
In that instant, all the Sand Demons hidden underground were killed by Yang Kai without any chance to resist.
Sha Ya was stunned, but before she could turn around, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. Looking down, she saw the tip of a broad sword piercing through her full bosoms, spilling a copious amount of blood.
Sha Ya’s beautiful eyes quivered violently, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Yue too, exclaimed in surprise, shocked by the sudden changes in front of her eyes.
“Madam, how do you feel?” Yang Kai’s casual voice came from behind, as if he was asking her how the weather was.
Sha Ya choked a few times, and blood overflowed the corners of her lips as she questioned viciously, “How can you disobey my will after drinking my Demon Blood?”
If this was even a possibility, she would never have been so careless and rashly exposed her back to Shaman Niu.
Shaman Niu had already passed all her tests perfectly.
When she demanded he show her sufficient sincerity, he had unhesitantly captured two of his Shaman subordinates and even killed one in front of her.
Although Sha Ya had seemingly thrown her Demon Heart to him next without wariness, that too was a test. If Shaman Niu revealed his true intentions at that time, Sha Ya still had a way to resolve the situation. She would not die even if her Demon Heart was really crushed. Nevertheless, he did not show any signs of betrayal at all and simply returned the Demon Heart after examining it for a while.
If he really was planning to betray her, that would have been the best time to do it.
Therefore, from that moment on, Sha Ya truly believed him.
Drinking her Demon Blood was the last assurance, because after that, he would be under her control and she could order him to do anything while he would not have even the slightest power to resist.
That was why she confidently turned her back to him.
But what she received in return was actually a betrayal, a devastating blow. There were no previous signs of treachery, as if it was just in that moment that he decided to change his mind, but such a decisive move was obviously premeditated.
Her Demon Heart was in excruciating pain and Sha Ya could clearly feel that it had been pierced by a sharp weapon. Even as a Demon King, she could not help trembling and almost collapsed to the ground.
“Hahaha!” Instead of being angry though, Sha Ya laughed as she turned her head with some difficulty to glance sideways at Yang Kai and sneered, “In order to win my trust, you were even willing to kill one of your subordinates?”
“Everything has a price,” Yang Kai replied lightly.
Sha Ya looked up at Yue who was not far away and stated, “Did you hear that? You are just a tool in his eyes. He can sacrifice all of you when necessary.”
Yue frowned, but her emotions didn’t fluctuate much. When she saw Yang Kai suddenly attack Sha Ya, she knew that her guess was correct.
Sure enough, Sir Shaman Niu really behaved the way he did just to get close to the Demon King, even going so far as to kill her sister without the slightest hesitation.
[Was Lu’s death… not worthless anymore?]
“Don’t try to sow dissension. Don’t forget that your life is in my hands now.” Yang Kai sneered lightly.
Sha Ya continued with a resentful look, “How did you do it?”
What she could not understand was that Yang Kai was able to go against her will. In theory, after drinking her Demon Blood, all of Yang Kai’s inner thoughts would not be able to escape her perception. She would have known the moment the other party had even the slightest thought of rebellion.
However, she did not realize his ill intention until he pierced her Demon Heart.
How could the blood of her Devil Heart not work on him?
“No comment!” Yang Kai replied, pushing his Spiritual Energy madly and engulfing Sha Ya in it in the next moment.
Sha Ya instinctively wanted to resist it, but with a slight tug of Yang Kai’s Myriads Sword, the severe pain made her give up.
A seemingly invisible whirlpool surged, and Sha Ya suddenly disappeared into the revolving vortex.
Yang Kai shook the blood off the Myriads Sword and sighed lightly.
The Shadow Demons who had been guarding Sha Ya were all dumbstruck and even now had not come out of their daze.
Yang Kai wiped the Myriads Sword with two fingers, inspiring its sword light before releasing it in all directions, causing a great spurt of blood as all the Shadow Demons were instantly killed.
Yue regained her freedom at that moment and looked at Yang Kai with a complicated expression, trying not to hate the person in front of her. However, the image of his sister’s tragic death was constantly replaying in her mind, making such a thing impossible.
“Lu isn’t dead!” Yang Kai grinned at her.
“What?” Yue was stunned, “What did you say?”
[Did I hear wrong? Or did he make some kind of mistake? Lu… Lu exploded right in front of me, how could she not be dead?]
Yang Kai tilted his head and pondered, “I thought you twins had a Heart Resonance and should be able to feel something. I didn’t expect you to be unable to sense anything. But… I suppose it can’t be helped with a World Barrier between you at the moment.”
Yue did not understand what he was talking about, but what she saw the next moment brought tears to her face.
Yue only saw Yang Kai silently waving his hand, and Lu, who was supposed to have exploded into a blood mist, suddenly reappeared in front of her.
“What I crushed was another dead body.” Yang Kai explained.
In the previous action, he turned his back to Sha Ya, so Sha Ya did not see some details clearly. The moment before he ‘crushed’ Lu, Yang Kai actually threw her into the Sealed World Bead while summoning a dead body that he had conveniently collected from the battlefield.
This was a risk, as any small mistakes would be enough to let Sha Ya see through his deception.
Fortunately, although Yang Kai was only a Shaman Grandmaster, he had the experience and methods of an Emperor Realm Master, so he was pretty proficient in this kind of little trick.
“Lu…” Yue’s eyes instantly filled with tears.
Lu was still a little confused. She did not know what happened, only remembering that Shaman Niu lifted her by her neck just now and then, in a flash, she had entered a quiet, mysterious world.
In that world, she was trapped in an empty place with an area about thirty metres wide, unable to leave. When she attempted to escape, she would immediately find herself back in her original place.
After hearing her Elder Sister’s voice though, Lu’s first reaction was to move closer before turning a vigilant look to Yang Kai.
Yue declared, “Sir Shaman Niu didn’t betray us. Everything just now was an act in order to win the trust of the Demon King.”
Lu was stunned, “That was all just an act?”
When Yang Kai grasped her neck and lifted her up, she was certain she was about to die because the emotionless look in his eyes really seemed like he was going to kill her.
Yue nodded, “Yeah, thanks to Sir Shaman Niu, that Demon King was… killed?”
Sha Ya disappeared for no reason, so Yue did not know what her fate was.
Yang Kai smiled at them and explained, “She suffered a little loss from our first two encounters, so if I didn’t find a way to win her trust, she never would have let her guard down around me. She also had the help of her Sand Demons and would have been able to escape at any time. I don’t know what other tricks she had, so I could only use this bad plan. In short, I’m sorry for frightening you two.”
The twins shook their heads together, and Yue replied, “It’s nothing, but I had some misunderstandings about Sir before…”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “It’s normal for you to have doubts in such a situation. En, enough talk we should put an end to this battle now.”
Afterwards, the battle ended very quickly. The Demon Race was already at a huge disadvantage with numerous casualties while Sha Ya pinned all hopes on Yang Kai turning to her side, but at the last moment, he was the one who delivered the killing blow.
Without their commander, the Demon Race army was just a pile of loose sand. There was no coordination between the various troops so they could only crash forward instinctively, but such a strategy was easily overcome by the Ancient Barbarians.
When Yang Kai led the twins back to the war, the situation had already become a one-sided slaughter.
The light of Shamanic Spells continued to flicker and blossom while Demons fell one after another. Even the most powerful Demons could not display any of their skills in front of such a united Barbarian army.
The Sand Demons who were good at escaping wanted to flee, but found that the Earth no longer sheltered them for some reason. The vast ground was dyed golden by the light of Shamanic Spells, and no matter how they used their Innate Divine Ability, they could not escape and were killed off one by one. The Shadow Demons, who could come and go without a trace, had also lost their advantages. Under the blessing of the Eagle Eye Spell, the Aerial Cavalry were able to locate these stealthy figures and shoot them dead one arrow after another. As for the most powerful Demon Cavalry, they had long ago been wiped out, leaving only their roaring Demon Beasts behind.
Screams reverberated continuously across the wilderness, horrifying anyone who heard them.
This was a victory for the Barbarian Race, a brilliant victory for the Shaman Niu Clan!
The last Demon fell, leaving the Ancient Barbarians panting heavily as they looked around with their scarlet filled eyes, only to see no enemies remaining.
Murderous intent permeated the surrounding world.
The clansmen stood on top of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood like undefeated gods of war, looking awe-inspiring and invincible.
A warrior raised the weapon in his hand, and roared into the sky, venting his excitement and joy.
More clansmen followed suit, and the successive roars were enough to arouse Heaven and Earth, darkening the Sun and the Moon.
Yang Kai, veiled in black Qi, flew into the air and looked around. He inspected every inch of the surrounding several dozen kilometres with his Divine Sense, and only after confirming that no fish had slipped through the net did he announce, “Clean up the battlefield and count the wounded!”
The ten main units received the order, and each became busy under the leadership of their Captain.
After this war, everyone had the highest level of respect for their commander.
The dozen Shamans looked at Yang Kai with worry, however, after all, the Demon Qi on Sir Shaman Niu was so obvious, and no one knew whether he would actually be transformed into a Demon. If that happened, this victory would be meaningless.
If the commander underwent demonification, any victory, regardless of how big it was, would still be a failure.
As if he read their thoughts, Yang Kai glanced at them and said without explaining, “Yue and Lu, take some people with you to the Demon Cave over there and begin inspecting it. This will be our base for the next few months.”
“Yes!” The twins received the order and immediately rushed towards Demon Cave along with the Elite Guards.
Soon, the report for the number of casualties in this war came out. More than two hundred of the three thousand clansmen in the Shaman Niu Clan were killed, which was almost equivalent to an entire combat unit, and almost all of the remaining Barbarians were injured. Such a loss could be regarded as a miracle and was mainly a result of Sha Ya’s carelessness. Her overconfidence had allowed the Ancient Barbarians to achieve such a lopsided victory.
She had placed all of her focus on Yang Kai, but was disappointed in the end.
In this battle, more than three thousand Demons were killed and there were even some captives taken.
The real Demons were already dead, while those captured were the Ancient Barbarians who had been demonised. These Barbarians were sent by Sha Ya to serve as the vanguard and were the first enemies the Shaman Niu Clan encountered.
Although Yang Kai had told his clansmen to not show mercy in battle, ultimately many clansmen chose not to kill in the face of their fellow Barbarians.
Therefore, many demonised clansmen survived; however, they were still mindless slaves to the Demon Race at this moment.
The more than a dozen Shamans gathered in one place, trying hard to save these clansmen without any idea if their efforts would bear fruit.
In addition to these demonised clansmen, the Shaman Niu Clan had also captured several dozen Demon Beasts from this war. It was much easier to handle the Demon Beasts, as they already had experience with the Demon Beast which Yang Kai brought back after his initial infiltration of the Demon Cave.
The Shamans tried a few methods and were pleasantly surprised to find that the Beast Taming Spell actually worked on these Demon Beast.
Although the Demon Beasts were more difficult to tame than regular Barbarian Beasts, as long as the Beast Taming Spell worked, these Demon Beasts could become mounts of the Shaman Niu Clan, with these several dozen Demon Beasts being sufficient to form a small cavalry unit.
The heroics of the Aerial Cavalry had long been envied by the other clansmen, and their desire to be able to perform similar feats was aroused again at the sight of the majestic Demon Cavalry earlier.
And now, the opportunity had come.
There were only a few dozen Demon Beasts, quite a small number compared to an army of three thousand Barbarians. Moreover, the Demon Beasts were not something that everyone could control. Even if a Shaman used a Beast Taming Spell to domesticate it, the Demon Qi these Demon Beasts naturally exuded could not be eliminated. To be able to ride on such a thing, one must first have the ability to resist the corruption of the Demon Qi.
All these factors led to only the most powerful warriors being qualified to ride these Demon Beasts and become members of the Cavalry.
Without any rest, the Shaman Niu Clan, after experiencing a big battle, spent an entire day cleaning up the battlefield.
Thousands of people dug a large pit together not far away into which all the bodies of the Demons were thrown. The Shamans then worked together to light up a large fire that filled half of the sky with orange light, incinerating the bodies and releasing a disgusting smell of burnt flesh into the surroundings.
The situation at the Demon Cave was also made clear during this time. Sha Ya never thought that she would lose this battle, so she basically invested all of her available combat power, leaving just a few Demons behind in the Demon Cave. When the twins and the Elite Guards entered, the Demons who were left behind were killed before they even had time to react.
The Demon Cave that was hidden in the mountainside instantly changed its ownership and became the Shaman Niu Clan’s base camp!
The clansmen spent the next few days recuperating; after all, everyone was exhausted after such a big fight, especially considering the aftereffects of the Bloodlust Spell that even the strongest clansmen could not avoid.
In other words, they would not have much combat effectiveness for the next few days. If a large number of Demons launched an offensive at this time, everyone would probably be slaughtered.
The dozen Shamans did not stop working either despite their exhaustion.
They had to treat the demonised clansmen, tame the captured Demon Beasts, and use Shamanic Spells to heal the injured clansmen, making all of them wish they could split themselves into ten or twenty clones. Yue and Lu’s complexion had been pale for the past few days due to lack of rest and overdrawn Shaman Strength.
Even Tiea was overexerting herself, not to mention the other Shaman Warriors and Shaman Apprentices. At times they would just fall onto the ground, snoring loudly, then wake up in a shock after a short rest, quickly wiping the drool from the corners of their mouths before continuing their work.
Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen during this time. After coming to the Demon Cave, he occupied a stone room that formerly belonged to Demon King Sha Ya, and anyone who came to see him was ignored.
No one knew his current condition.
In their private discussions, the Shamans expressed their worries for their commander, fearing he would suddenly turn into a Demon and they would be thrown into an internal war.
Naturally, Yang Kai couldn’t become demonised.
His condition was unexpectedly good, except for the lingering Demon Qi.
He first noticed something off when he was contaminated by the Green Demon Poison as, while it was not the most powerful poison in the Demon Race, it was definitely the most mysterious and difficult to deal with. It was complex, impossible to guard against, and had no other antidote other than submitting oneself to the Demon Race and undergoing demonification.
It was precisely because of this feature that the Green Demon Clan did not have much status in the Demon Race’s Hundred Clans, because their poison did not work on other Demons and was only useful against other races.
But despite Yang Kai having been afflicted with the Green Demon Poison, he did not feel the slightest discomfort, which led him to a vague conclusion.
In order to verify this speculation, he even took the risk of swallowing a drop of Sha Ya’s Demon Blood Essence.
As expected, even the blood of Sha Ya’s Demon Heart did not affect him, only changing the aura of his body slightly while eliminating the Green Demon Poison.
“Is it the Ancient Demon Qi?” Yang Kai mused to himself.
In his Dantian was sealed an extremely pure Ancient Demon Qi. Outside of Maplewood City, he was invaded by this Ancient Demon Qi and transformed into a nearly mindless Demon. It was only thanks to the sealing power of the Firmament Tree that he was able to regain himself.
After that transformation experience, Yang Kai figured he had developed a strong resistance to Demon Qi.
Unless the contaminated Demon Qi was purer and stronger than the Ancient Demon Qi in his Dantian, it should be impossible for it to affect him.
But whether it was the Green Demon Poison or Sha Ya’s Demon Heart Blood Essence, both were a far cry from the existence in his Dantian, therefore they couldn’t have any effect on him.
If even Sha Ya’s Demon Heart blood was completely inferior, just what was that Ancient One-Eyed Great Demon? Could it have been a Demon Saint? Yang Kai thought this was possible but had a vague feeling that the One-Eyed Great Demon he saw through the memories contained in the Ancient Demon Qi was probably a different kind of Demon altogether.
Because the Demonic War Hammer currently owned by the Embodiment was the weapon of the Ancient One-Eyed Great Demon, and the Demonic War Hammer was of extremely high grade, no worse than a Peak Grade Emperor Artifact.
An ordinary Demon could not possibly possess such a weapon; only true Masters of the Demon Race would be qualified to wield such a treasure.
Based on that memory, countless ancient powerhouses gathered together, burning the very essence of their lives in order to kill the One-Eyed Great Demon. After most of these ancient Masters sacrificed themselves for this noble cause, they managed to destroy the One-Eyed Great Demon’s body, but its single eye remained indestructible and those who were left were forced to seal it instead.
After countless years, the seal was partially destroyed and Maplewood City was thrown into a catastrophe. During that incident, Yang Kai obtained the Demon Eye and merged with it.
This was one of the trump cards he possessed, one he did not dare play rashly.
In the peaceful and quiet world, Sha Ya flew forward with a frown. The seemingly fatal stab wound on her chest had already disappeared without a trace, but there were still some bloodstains on her clothes.
The Demon Race’s durability had always been exceptionally strong, especially for Masters like Sha Ya. Her statement of ‘as long as the Demon Heart remains, the Demon Race will not die’ was no joke.
However, she had now been stuck in this strange world for days.
There were no Sun, Moon, or Stars here, but there was sufficient light, and the environment was also exceptionally beautiful with incredibly rich World Energy.
However, this did not make her feel better. After she was attacked from behind by that despicable fellow named Shaman Niu a few days ago, she inexplicably found herself in this beautiful world filled with the songs of birds and the scent of flowers.
Sha Ya thought she had fallen unconscious and was dreaming.
But the wound on her chest and the pain it brought her made her realize that this was reality.
[What is this place? How did I come here?] Sha Ya was puzzled and found no clues even after careful investigation, so she could only keep moving forward in hopes of finding a way out.
Despite her strength as a Demon King though, she still could not find an exit after days of searching.
This world was like an endless cage, and she was a beast trapped inside. No matter how hard she tried, she had no way to escape from this place.
Sha Ya was in an extremely bad mood now, and every time she thought of the bastard who stabbed her in the back, she would grind her teeth in fury.
She could not understand how Shaman Niu could betray her after drinking her Demon Heart Blood, and how she could not even perceive his treacherous thoughts.
Going by the standards of the Demon Clan, the aura of this Shaman Niu was equivalent to Demon Great General, a whole Great Realm lower than her, a Demon King, so how was it possible for him to resist her Demon Heart Blood?
There were too many things she could not understand! She found that she had suffered losses everywhere ever since she met that damnable fellow named Shaman Niu a few days ago, and now, she did not even know where she was.
Nevertheless, she had to report information about Shaman Niu no matter what. This little bastard was so tricky that even she had suffered a huge loss at his hand, so the other Demon Kings needed to be warned to remain extremely cautious if they ever encountered him.
While thinking so, Sha Ya came to a halt and frowned slightly.
She suddenly felt like she was being watched. This had never happened in the last few days, making it seem like she was the only sentient being in this world.
Sha Ya furrowed her delicate brow before sweeping her eyes around doubtfully. The next moment though, anger and hatred erupted from her beautiful eyes as she charged at a figure quietly hovering in mid-air to her left, bellowing madly through gritted teeth, “Shaman Niu!”
Yang Kai smiled back at her in a friendly manner and called out in a cheerful voice, “Good morning, Madam Demon King.”
“Good morning my foot!” Sha Ya lost her temper and could not help cursing. She did not even know if it was morning or night in this damned place where there was no Sun or Moon. Of course, this was not the point. The point was that she was particularly triggered upon seeing her mortal enemy.
Although her wound had healed, Sha Ya could still clearly feel the aching pain in her Demon Heart at the sight of Shaman Niu. The previous stab wound seemed to have torn open again, causing her extreme pain.
Yang Kai did not care much about her rudeness and just returned a smile to her, “It seems that I guessed correctly. Even if I really destroy your Demon Heart, you won’t die. Are all Demons so difficult to kill?”
Sha Ya’s face turned cold and indifferent, not answering his question and instead asking, “What is this place? What do you want, bringing me here?”
“This place…” Yang Kai looked up slightly, his gaze seemingly penetrating through the void, as if he could see the ends of the world before he turned back and opened his arms, “This is my world. Here, I control everything!”
Sha Ya chuckled, thinking that Yang Kai was talking nonsense. [How dare a trivial Demon Great General weakling claim to control a world? Even Sir Demon Saints don’t have such ability.]
“As for why I brought you here,” Yang Kai smiled gently, “Of course, it’s to teach you a lesson.”
“Teach me a lesson?” Sha Ya was stunned before she giggled pleasantly, “Interesting. This is the first time I’ve heard someone saying that to me.”
She had always been the one to say such words to others, so it was a new and refreshing experience to be in the opposite position for the first time.
“You think I’m joking?” Yang Kai looked at her seriously.
Sha Ya pursed her lips, “I just think you are too free and have nothing else to do.”
Yang Kai shook his head lightly, “You should be glad that you are still valuable in my eyes, otherwise you’d be a corpse already.”
“Oh?” Sha Ya stroked her hair coquettishly, leisurely displaying her charms as she looked at Yang Kai with her mesmerizing eyes and asked, “I wonder what value you think I have?”
“Definitely not the kind of value you’re thinking of,” Yang Kai curled his lip. “I already told you, I’m not interested in used goods, especially a piece of rotten meat like you that wild dogs would not even want to sniff.”
The flattery on Sha Ya’s face retracted in an instant and was replaced by a bone-chilling cold.
Yang Kai’s insults obviously touched her nerves and she found them wholly unacceptable.
Sha Ya opened her mouth and released a terrifying scream, causing an incomparably pure Spiritual Energy to ripple out violently, sending a huge impact rushing into Yang Kai’s mind, while a soft whip suddenly appeared in her hand and she lashed towards him.
Her movements seemed gentle, but they actually contained an incredible force.
The attack of an angered Demon King was truly extraordinary, even causing the surrounding World Energy to ripple.
Yang Kai, however, just stood still in place with a cynical smile on his face. Lifting his hand, he made a flicking motion with his thumb and middle finger, as if he were flicking away a mosquito.
This casual act caused Sha Ya to suffer a huge injury. Her lower abdomen caved in visibly as she was sent flying by a huge force, blood spewing from her mouth as she tumbled through the air uncontrollably.
It took Sha Ya quite some effort to stabilize herself, but when she did, the calm and composed look on her face had completely disappeared. Her eyes were now filled with panic as she stared at Yang Kai in shock, her beautiful eyes quivering violently.
[How is that possible?] Just now, she was certain this bastard did not use any strength at all, but she was still sent flying with just a simple flick of his fingers. The force was also just right, enough to cause her pain and draw blood, but not damage her foundation.
Did he have such a powerful ability?
That should be impossible!
Although she only fought Shaman Niu once, Sha Ya knew his capabilities. He was undoubtedly strong, but his strength still had a limit.
The scene just now befuddled her completely. Even the Demon Saint would not be able to achieve such a feat, so how was it possible for this foreign race Demon Great General?
The blow that Sha Ya just received was completely beyond her ability to understand.
Forcing herself to calm down, she examined Yang Kai again, looking for clues that could answer her doubts.
Yang Kai flicked his finger again at that moment, and Sha Ya’s face changed drastically. Completely by reflex, she pushed her Demon Qi madly, shielding herself from all angles.
But the next moment, she was still hurled back, spinning in the air as if she was hit by a falling star. The huge force of the impact caused her to be completely unable to stabilize herself.
Sha Ya gradually felt that the force weakened after she tumbled backwards for some distance, and after a huge effort, she managed to stop and stand firm once more. Hot, sweet liquid filled her mouth and dripped from her nose that she only recognized as blood when she reached out to touch it.
Her forehead was also so numb that she could barely feel her head, as if her skull had been bashed in.
When she looked up again, the foreigner in front of her had disappeared.
Before she could relax though, a terrifying voice came from right behind her, “I already said, I control this world! Even if your Great Demon God came here, he would have to kneel down to me!”
Sha Ya pursed her lips and wanted to refute, but she did not know what to say.
She was horror-struck by his two attacks. She thought that with her personal strength, Shaman Niu would not be her opponent, but now it seemed to be the opposite. She was no match to him, unable to even comprehend how he was attacking her much less react or resist his abilities.
Don’t fight the enemy, there’s no way to win! That was the conclusion she quickly reached in her heart.
The only choice she had now was to escape.
Thinking so, Sha Ya did not hesitate anymore. Without saying a word, she gathered whatever strength she had left and shot off in no particular direction, disappearing over the horizon in the blink of an eye.
It was only after Sha Ya could not sense Shaman Niu’s aura with her Divine Sense anymore that she relaxed, thinking that she had escaped death.
As a Demon King, there were only a few things or people in the world that she feared. Even facing the Demon Saints, she would only show sufficient respect and caution.
But Shaman Niu truly terrified her, with a type of fear that she had never experienced before in her life.
Although the Demon Saints were strong, Sha Ya knew their strength and how strong they could be. But there seemed to be no limit to Shaman Niu’s strength.
His wild words echoed in her ears again at that moment, and Sha Ya could not help wondering, [Is he really able to control this world?]
[How is that possible? Who can control a world?]
Sha Ya, who was escaping, suddenly widened her eyes and stared ahead of herself in complete shock. The very figure that frightened her so greatly was standing there quietly in the void, an unreadable grin on his face. When he saw her fleeing, he did not show any intention to stop her, simply folding his hands behind his back and enjoying the show.
[Damn!]
[I’m sure I didn’t feel any fluctuation of power, so how did he appear in front of me?]
Startled, Sha Ya hurriedly stopped, turned around and fled in the opposite direction.
After a stick of incense worth of time though, a scene that made Sha Ya despair appeared again.
Shaman Niu stood in front of her again, in the exact same posture, as if he had never moved, and when Sha Ya looked at the scenery around herself… It all looked oddly familiar.
There were bloodstains on the ground nearby.
It was the blood she coughed up earlier.
[Why did I come back to the same place? I escaped in a straight line, so how did I end up back here?]
The foreign race bastard smiled like a great devil at her, causing Sha Ya, a Demon King, to shudder uncontrollably. Her blood began to run cold as her face paled. Immediately, she turned around and ran away again, not even having the courage to face this strange enigma.
“What the hell did you do to me?” Sha Ya asked, gritting her teeth, panting slightly, feeling as if she was shrouded with despair.
She had been trying to escape for several hours now, but sadly, Sha Ya found that no matter how hard she tried, she could not leave a several-dozen-kilometre radius. It was as if she was constantly running around in a big circle, and would always inexplicably run into this Shaman Niu again and again.
A powerful Soul was innate to her Charm Demon Clan, so she initially thought that she was under a Shamanic Spell and was experiencing an illusion, but after repeated inspections, she found that it was not the case.
This was not an illusion, and she didn’t feel any kind of abnormality in her surroundings, but she always returned to her starting point.
This inexplicable encounter terrified her just as much as the inexplicable power Shaman Niu had shown before.
Her eyes dimmed, as if it was covered by hopeless darkness.
Frightened, she gave up the idea of running away, because several hours of effort made her understand that she simply could not!
“I told you before, I control this world. If I want you to live, you live, and if I want you to die, you die.” When the words fell, Yang Kai took a small step forward.
Sha Ya felt like that foot was stepping on her heart and opened her mouth to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Hovering in mid-air, Yang Kai walked towards her one step at a time. His expression was vague without the slightest emotion, and with each step, the aura around Sha Ya’s body weakened further, causing blood to spurt wildly from her mouth.
It seemed that the whole world was against Sha Ya, rejecting her existence, and vowed to not stop until she was crushed into dust.
At the brink of death, Sha Ya made the wisest choice she could. She suddenly fell on one knee, her expression extremely pious, and pleaded, “Sir, please spare my life. Sha Ya is willing to pledge her life to you!”
She was a smart person, so it was not difficult to guess Shaman Niu’s intentions here. Since this Shaman Niu did not covet her beautiful body and was also not in a hurry to kill her, then there was only one explanation for his actions, he wanted to subdue her!
Therefore, Sha Ya lowered her head immediately when she knew that she could not escape and could no longer resist. She did not have any unyielding pride; rather, she would do anything to survive. This was the instinct of all beings.
Yang Kai stopped his pace, and smiled slightly, “Good!”
Only then did Sha Ya felt that the ubiquitous pressure around her suddenly ease. Letting out a sigh of relief, she raised her head slightly to look at Yang Kai with a face so beautiful that it was sufficient to drive any living man insane, she asked pitifully, “What does Sir need of me to prove myself?”
Just how she wanted Yang Kai to show his sincerity when he surrendered to her before, now that she chose to abandon her dignity, she should naturally prove her loyalty. No one would be foolish enough to believe empty words.
“Open your Knowledge Sea!” Yang Kai ordered.
“…Yes,” Sha Ya hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she still lowered the defences of her Knowledge Sea. All her secrets instantly became undefended and were available for Yang Kai’s access at will.
Of course, if he had really done this, it may have caused Sha Ya irreparable trauma as one careless mistake would be enough to turn her insane.
Yang Kai, however, did not spy on those secrets and instead pushed his Divine Sense to leave a Soul Imprint in Sha Ya’s Knowledge Sea.
Sha Ya’s tender body trembled as she felt an invisible link connecting her to this Shaman Niu. It seemed that there was a rope tethering her to Shaman Niu’s hand.
Inexplicably, she felt close to Shaman Niu, and he no longer appeared as horrible as he did before. Sha Ya knew how such Soul Secret Techniques worked of course, and her heart sank in the next moment when she quietly checked the strength of this Soul Imprint.
She thought that with her own powerful Soul, even if the other party had left a mark in her Knowledge Sea, she would still be able to find the opportunity to erase it and free herself; after all, Yang Kai was just an existence equivalent to a Demon Great General.
But Sha Ya found that the Soul Imprint was as firm as a mountain, and would not budge at all, which extinguished any hope she previously had.
“You should know that I can sense every malicious thought you have,” Yang Kai looked at her with a smile.
Sha Ya’s face flushed slightly and she raised her eyes tenderly and said, “Sir, I was wrong, and I will never dare to do it again. From now on, Sha Ya will belong to Sir. Sha Ya only hopes that Sir… will show her mercy.”
Her infinite femininity and charming appearance dimmed the entire world’s brilliance.
Yang Kai raised his hand, and Sha Ya’s complexion changed wildly as a piercing pain shot through her chest. She looked down to find a thumb-sized hole that went through her chest and out her back, spurting blood wildly.
Sha Ya’s face suddenly paled.
“The next time you dare to use a Charm Technique on me, this hole will open in your head,” Yang Kai said coldly and ruthlessly.
“Yes!” Sha Ya replied with a solemn expression.
Although even opening a hole in her head was not fatal for her, it would not be a good experience, so she immediately became obedient.
Yang Kai tilted his head at her and frowned, “You said that as long as the Demon Heart remains, the Demon Race will not die… Since the Demon Heart is your foundation, why didn’t you die after I’ve destroyed it twice?”
In the previous battle, Yang Kai had ambushed her from behind and pierced through Sha Ya’s Demon Heart with his Myriads Sword, and just now, he had also pierced her Demon Heart with a flick of his finger. But other than looking a little weakened by his attack, Sha Ya was not in any life-threatening danger.
Sha Ya replied, “I have two Demon Hearts, and if either one exists, I will not die.”
Yang Kai raised his brow, “Is it the same for other Demon Race Masters?”
Sha Ya answered obediently, “Most of them have multiple Demon Hearts, only a few have just one. If Sir wants to kill any existence at the Demon King Realm or above, you must ensure that all their Demon Hearts are destroyed.”
She had just surrendered and was eager to prove herself, so she hid nothing regarding this piece of information.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded and raised his hand again. Sha Ya’s expression changed like a conditional reflex, thinking that she must have accidentally angered Yang Kai again, but soon realized that she was wrong. A delicate jade bottle suddenly floated towards her and fell to the ground lightly.
Sha Ya raised her head and looked at Yang Kai suspiciously.
“Take the pill inside, I have something to ask you later.”
Sha Ya picked up the jade bottle, opened the cap, and poured out the contents. A plump, sparkling, crystal clear Spirit Pill rolled into her palm, accompanied by a rich and potent fragrance. A desire to consume it was immediately born in her heart.
She did not hesitate and swallowed the Spirit Pill.
Sha Ya immediately sat cross-legged in shock and adjusted her breathing silently.
In less than a stick of incense worth of time, the injuries on her body had completely recovered. Even the hidden wounds and weakened aura she had suffered from before were greatly healed, and she had become completely rejuvenated.
The vitality of the Demon Race was indeed strong, especially for Sha Ya, who was a Demon King, but her quick recovery this time was mainly due to that mysterious pill.
[Could this foreign race refine such a thing? According to Sir Shaman Niu, it’s called a pill…]
Sha Ya frowned as her understanding of the Barbarian’s medicines only indicated that they were capable of making some herb mixtures that look like paste, never having heard of these Spirit Pills that exuded such fragrance before.
It was undeniable that the effects of this pill were extremely powerful. If the foreign race could make such pills casually, their injured clansmen would always be able to recover rapidly.
This was bad news for the Demon Race.
But after a moment of pondering, Sha Ya smiled wryly and thought, [What’s the point of thinking about this? Now that I am a prisoner, my fate is completely at the mercy of Sir Shaman Niu. It is completely meaningless to think about these things.]
[I really became someone else’s slave!]
Sha Ya let out a small sigh, composed her thoughts, and walked towards Yang Kai obediently. She came in front of him and reported, “Sir, I’ve recovered now.”
Yang Kai turned around to look at her, and began his interrogation, “Where did you come from?”
“The Demon Realm!”
“The Demon Realm?” Yang Kai frowned.
Sha Ya smiled slightly, “There are many worlds out there, and Sir’s world is not the only one. The Demon Realm comes from a world equal to yours.”
Yang Kai gasped slightly, “You mean, there are more of such worlds?”
Sha Ya nodded, “Of course. Although I haven’t been to any other places, according to the information left by my ancestors, there are indeed many worlds in this endless universe. It’s just that there are walls between the worlds and it is not easy to perceive the presence of other worlds, except for those that have reached the pinnacle of power and can faintly sense such things.”
“Then how did the Demon Race discover those worlds, and how did you enter them?”
“The strength of the walls between different worlds varies, with some being so weak they barely even exist. As long as you can find an entrance, you can enter and exit another world at will. On the other hand, the walls of some worlds are extremely strong, and only by paying an incredible price can one cross them. En, Sir, the World Barrier between this world and the Demon Realm is actually quite firm, so Sir Demon God had to personally take action to break through it.”
“Demon God!” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed.
He had heard Sha Ya mention these two words before, but Yang Kai always thought that this so-called Demon God was an existence like the Shaman Gods and Barbarian Gods, a symbolic or spiritual pillar.
But upon listening to Sha Ya’s information, it appeared this so-called Demon God actually existed, and he had even acted to break the walls between the two worlds.
This piece of information gave Yang Kai shivers as he wondered just how much power was needed to achieve such a feat. Even the famous Ten Great Emperors of the Star Boundary might not have such ability.
Sha Ya explained solemnly, “In the Demon Realm, only the strongest existence is qualified to become the Demon God.”
“There are more than one of them?” Yang Kai’s brow twitched furiously.
“Of course,” Sha Ya looked at him strangely, baffled at why he would ask such a question.
Yang Kai’s face was sombre when he returned from the Sealed World Bead.
He learnt a lot of information about the Demon Race after having a chat with Sha Ya, which made him realize that the Demon Race would not be easy to deal with. The Demon Race’s Hundred Clans was not just a saying, but a reality, and each Clan had its own Innate Divine Abilities. For instance, the Charm Demons like Sha Ya had the Light of Enchantment Innate Divine Ability. Once a Charm Demon executed this technique, any existence weaker than her would be beguiled by her. The minorly affected ones would be controlled and enslaved, while the severely affected would lose their minds and become walking corpses.
The short shadows that they encountered in the war before were the Shadow Demons of the Demon Race Hundred Clans. They were masters of concealment and assassination.
And there were the Sand Demons, Red Demons, Green Demons…
The largest Clan was the Strength Demon Clan, born warriors who faced the Ancient Barbarians head-on in the previous battle. Eighty percent of the Demons in the previous battle belonged to this Clan, though all of them were dead now.
When Yang Kai led Sha Ya out of his cave mansion, it set off a riot amongst the crowd.
The dozen Shamans and other Ancient Barbarians looked at the Demon King Sha Ya in shock, while the twins, Yue and Lu, prepared their Shamanic Spells.
This was a Demon King, the commander of the previous Demon Race army, so everyone naturally became alert.
Everyone except for Tiea, that is, who wore an indifferent look on her face, as if she had expected this all along.
“Don’t be nervous. I am now a slave of Sir Shaman Niu, so I won’t hold any malicious intent towards you,” Sha Ya smiled at the hostile looks on their faces.
“A slave!” The crowd exclaimed, all of them knowing what the title ‘slave’ entailed.
Yue and Lu shot inquiring looks at Yang Kai, and when he nodded, amazement swelled in their hearts. Although they had seen how powerful Yang Kai was before, it was still too unbelievable that he could enslave a Demon King.
None of the Barbarians believed Sha Ya wholly, of course, despite Yang Kai’s affirmation, keeping some vigilance against this Demon King.
After recovering from their initial shock though, Yue and Lu stepped forward with a report.
Having treated the demonised Barbarians for a few days, many of them the Shamans successfully purged their fellow brethren of Demon Qi, helping them to regain their senses. However, perhaps because they had been demonized for too long, more than half had their heads exploded and died in the process of treatment.
This was inevitable though as, after being demonized, these compatriots who had once belonged to the same race became mindless slaves to the Demons, so a price had to be paid to save even some of them.
Still, it was better to save half of them than to lose them all.
In the battle a few days ago, the Shaman Niu Clan lost more than two hundred soldiers, but now they had replenished their numbers all at once. However, the people that they saved still seemed quite weak and needed time to rest and recover.
Yue and Lu were currently trying to find a more efficient treatment method. The use of the Bloodlust Spell to stimulate their demonized clansmen’s Blood Qi, then the use of the Purification Spell to purge the expelled Demon Qi, was just a method that Yang Kai casually thought of before. Although it created some miraculous effects, there should be a better method.
Yue and Lu were born in the Shaman Divine Temple and had broad knowledge of spells; therefore, they were quite good at research and innovation. If they could find a more effective and efficient method, the casualty rate would be greatly reduced in future treatment.
In addition, most of the captured Demon Beasts were tamed by the Shamans with Beast Taming Spells. The twins wanted to pick some of the most powerful warriors from the Shaman Niu Clan to form a land cavalry unit, but they did not dare to make a decision without Yang Kai’s permission, so they only came to ask for advice now.
Yang Kai naturally had no objections to this plan.
Although the Demon Race was defeated overwhelmingly in the previous battle, Yang Kai was still amazed by their cavalry’s prowess. Now that they had tamed these Demon Beasts, it was not a bad idea to set up one more cavalry unit for the Shaman Niu Clan.
If there was such a cavalry, they would be in the upper hand if they encountered the same kind of battle in the future.
“Do you need my help?” Sha Ya took the initiative to ask Yang Kai.
She abandoned her pride and sought refuge with Yang Kai, even becoming his slave. As such, it was natural that she could not wait to show her usefulness.
Seeing Yang Kai looking at her, Sha Ya smiled faintly, “I am a Demon King after all. If I am present, those Demon Beasts would not dare to rebel. I also know more effective methods to tame and control them.”
“Good, go and help.” Yang Kai nodded.
Yue and Lu did not trust Sha Ya, but they couldn’t disobey Yang Kai’s orders, so they could only leave with Sha Ya to look for suitable candidates from their group for the cavalry.
The next few days were uneventful as the Shaman Niu Clan continued to recuperate and prepare for the next battle. Their first victory greatly boosted their morale and confidence, allowing them to realize that the Demon Clan that destroyed four Barbarian Clans was not the indestructible and immortal force they had imagined it to be. They too could bleed and die, and they could also feel fear while facing strong enemies.
The air of mystery and fear surrounding the Demon Clan vanished all at once.
The unknown was always frightening; however, when one learnt about his opponents, he could place himself in a good position during the encounter and unleash the full potential of his ability.
The previous battle had familiarized the Ancient Barbarians with the Demon Clan, allowing them to stand on equal ground in battle.
Sha Ya was also worthy of being a Demon King as she displayed impressive skills.
In just a few days, she had already become completely familiar with the Shaman Niu Clan. Even the dozen Shamans were no longer vigilant towards her, including the twins, Yue and Lu. Although Yang Kai did not deliberately observe her actions, he could still sense her situation through the Soul Imprint he left on her.
Sha Ya never used her Light of Enchantment, instead moving the dozen Shamans with sincerity and patience, slowly mixing with them until now they had all accepted her existence.
With her help, the several dozen captured Demon Beasts successfully became the mounts of the clansmen, forming a superb cavalry.
As expected, Demon Qi constantly overflowed from the bodies of the Demon Beasts, so the Ancient Barbarians dared not simply touch them. Only after gaining a certain resistance against Demon Qi by stimulating their Blood Qi could they gradually become familiar with riding techniques and mounted combat.
Five days later, Yang Kai summoned Sha Ya to his new cave mansion.
“What’s your order, Sir?” Sha Ya still looked notably dignified and beautiful when she put down her coquettish image. After being warned by Yang Kai in the Sealed World Bead a few days ago, she dared not use her charms on her Master anymore. Every time she faced Yang Kai, she would behave like an untouched virgin, but of course, there was no change in her revealing attire.
The reason why she could blend in with the Shaman Niu Clan so quickly also had something to do with her openly revealed beauty. A good majority of the dozen Shamans were men, and men always liked beauties.
“You mentioned before that there were other strongholds of the Demon Race around here, didn’t you?” Yang Kai looked up at her.
Sha Ya nodded, “Yes, now that the Demon Saints are recuperating, the Demon Race decided to halt its advance. Now, everyone is scattered in various places to form a defence line and prevent your Barbarian Race from moving forward.”
“Where is the nearest camp?”
“Five hundred kilometres away.” Sha Ya vaguely understood Yang Kai’s meaning, and smiled faintly, “Do you want me to lead the way and attack them? En, that won’t be a problem as no Demon King is overseeing that stronghold, only a Demon Great General as well as a thousand subordinates. With our current strength, we can just butcher them at will.”
She was a Demon King, but she used the word ‘we’ without any reservations at all, as if she had really become an Ancient Barbarian.
“We’re not going to attack them.”
Sha Ya was stunned and looked at Yang Kai, surprised.
Yang Kai grinned, “We’ll let them come to us!”
Sha Ya immediately understood Yang Kai’s plan.
“You should be able to contact them, right?” Yang Kai looked up and asked.
Sha Ya nodded, “We Demons do have methods to contact one another.”
“Then go and arrange it. I don’t need to tell you what to do, do I?”
Sha Ya smiled and declared, “This Queen has reached a critical juncture in her cultivation and has no time to spare for other matters, but a foreign race army is now trying to attack her base. Immediately send support after receiving this news!”
“Very good,” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand. “Go!”
Sha Ya bowed and left.
A short time later, Sha Ya stood mid-air outside the cave as a dark Demon Qi suddenly flowed out of her body and quickly condensed into a black crow. The black crow flapped its wings, flew in a certain direction, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
When Sha Ya turned around, she saw a girl standing there quietly, staring at her.
Although she did not make any accusations, Sha Ya could not help feeling a sense of guilt, as if she had just delivered some kind of secret message that did not favour the Barbarians.
Sha Ya had a deep impression of this girl, because in the battle a few days ago, she showed a set of extremely exquisite assassination skills that even the most powerful Shadow Demon under her command could not achieve.
This girl seemed to be called Tiea.
Sha Ya had some contact with the dozen other Shamans and got familiar with them, but as for this mysterious Tiea, Sha Ya had only seen her face a few times and never spoke with her.
Since it was not easy to meet this girl, Sha Ya naturally did not want to let go of this opportunity to get closer and smiled winningly, “Hello.”
Tiea continued to stare at her quietly and did not show any intention to reply, acting like a delicate puppet.
Sha Ya inexplicably felt a little fearful of this girl for some unknown reason and all of a sudden, she felt it might be better to not get close to her anymore. As such, she quickly explained, “Just now, Sir ordered me to send a message to the nearby Demons and lure them into our trap.”
Tiea still stared at her with that kind of indifferent look.
Feeling uncomfortable, Sha Ya forced a smile and said, “I’m going to report on completion of the task.”
As she spoke, she walked past Tiea.
After taking more than ten steps though, Sha Ya looked back nervously, but to her shock, no one was behind her. The girl named Tiea came and went like the wind, and even as a Demon King, Sha Ya had not noticed any trace of her moving.
Sha Ya suppressed a shiver and secretly decided never to stay in the same room with her alone again. The sense of crisis Tiea gave her was too strong, something Sha Ya never even felt when facing Sir Shaman Niu.
After Sha Ya reported the completion of her task, Yang Kai immediately summoned the Shamans and the Captains of each army unit.
The Shaman Niu Clan originally had twelve units, including ten standard units, the Elite Guard, and the Aerial Cavalry. Now that an additional cavalry group was added, Ah Hu was appointed as the Cavalry Captain.
As of now, the Shaman Niu Clan had thirteen units in total.
After briefing them, the Shamans and the thirteen Captains excitedly got to work.
After many days of training and recuperation, the Shaman Niu Clan was in excellent condition, and the victory of the previous battle had doubled their confidence. At this moment, another victory was crucial to maintain their morale.
Moreover, this was also the best way for the Ancient Barbarians to improve their strength.
After the war a few days ago, many Barbarians had felt that they had grown a lot stronger, especially the Captains and Vice Captains of each unit. As the best among the entire army, their individual potential had been forced out under the baptism of blood. Many other Barbarian Warriors had also grown tremendously from breaking through the shackles of Body Tempering that had been holding them back.
The current Shaman Niu Clan was desperate for battle.
Uneasiness agitated them during the period of tranquillity so they were naturally exhilarated when Yang Kai informed them to prepare for battle.
After some arrangements, the Shamans and Captains clarified the delegation of their tasks and positions, then separated.
At noon the next day, a group of uninvited guests arrived outside the cave.
It was a mix of about a thousand individuals, similar to the group commanded by Sha Ya before.
Reinforcements from the nearby Demons stronghold had come.
Sha Ya’s call was indeed very effective. She was a Demon King after all, and the leader of the closest Demon Race stronghold was just a Demon Great General. So after receiving Sha Ya’s order, he rushed over-eagerly to impress Madam Demon King in hopes that Madam Demon King would be pleased with him.
Therefore, the Demon Great General did not hesitate to bring all of his forces, totalling a thousand people. However, he felt something was not right as soon as he arrived at his destination.
It was mentioned in the orders of Madam Demon King that a foreign race attack had occurred during her cultivation, and she could not afford to be distracted; however, in the eyes of this Demon Great General, there were no traces of a battle here, and the surroundings were as tranquil as an ancient well.
This made him feel instinctively uneasy.
He did not rush blindly forward, but stopped about ten kilometres away from the cave and sent some Shadow Demons and Sand Demons over to investigate.
Right at that moment, a black shadow suddenly flew over from the front.
After sensing the aura hidden in the black shadow, the expression on the Demon Great General immediately turned solemn. Dismounting from his Demon Beast, he stood respectfully in place, waiting quietly for the black shadow to arrive.
A short time later, the infinitely alluring Sha Ya appeared before the eyes of this Demon Great General.
“Greetings!” The Demon Great General immediately saluted, all the while stealing glances at the beautiful parts of Sha Ya’s body. Although he was well aware of the horror of the Charm Demon Clan, he still could not stop his eyes.
[Madam Demon King is so beautiful! If I could spend just one night with her…] He gulped, breathing through his nose heavily.
“Have you brought all your people?” Sha Ya glanced down and asked.
“Yes, I have brought everyone at my disposal!” The Demon Great General responded respectfully, while also showing a hint of curiosity, “Madam, didn’t your message say that the foreign race was invading? Has the matter been resolved?”
[On second thought, since Madam Demon King has appeared, she must have taken action personally, so how could those damn foreigners survive against a Demon King?] The Demon Great General felt a little dejected that he had missed an opportunity to show Madam Demon King his capabilities.
“En, the matter has been resolved.” Sha Ya smiled lightly. This smile was like a blooming flower that dimmed all the other colours in the world. The Demon Great General stared at her stupidly as if she was all that existed in the universe. Sha Ya then continued, “But you have proven your loyalty by appearing right away upon receiving my orders. This Queen should reward your efforts.”
The Demon Great General answered excitedly, “This subordinate dares not to accept such a reward!”
Although he said that, his expression was filled with obvious eagerness, and he seemed to be quite looking forward to what kind of reward Sha Ya would grant him.
And the promised reward was soon delivered. Sha Ya waved her hand gently at him, and the Demon Great General suddenly felt that his head was spinning. Blinking his eyes in confusion, he saw a familiar figure standing in front of him, its neck cleaved off cleanly while scarlet blood spurted out of it.
[Why does it… seem to be my own body?]
[Was my head chopped off?] That was the last thought flashing across the Demon Great General’s mind before his consciousness completely vanished.
As soon as Sha Ya acted, the Demons under the command of the Demon Great General were stirred up into a riot. No one knew why Madam Demon King killed their leader without a word; however, a Demon King was still a Demon King, so even though they felt panic and fear, these Demons remained in their places, looking at Sha Ya anxiously, waiting for an explanation.
The Light of Enchantment rippled across them at that moment, giving them Sha Ya’s answer.
The magnificent light engulfed the thousand Demons all at once, and all who were below the rank of Demon General immediately wore blank expressions. Although the Demon Generals were resisting with all their might, it was still in vain, because it was obvious that they would soon fall to this power.
Following a loud screech, the Aerial Cavalry flew quickly from a distance, and the ground began to tremble. Shaman Niu Clan’s army swarmed in from all directions, and at the front of the charge was Ah Hu’s cavalry. The Demon Beasts leapt forward, performing their best in this first war with their new owners on their backs. The assembly of the several dozen Demon Beasts boosted the spirits of the army to the sky.
The ten regular units followed behind the cavalry, running hard, unwilling to be left behind.
With a distance of just twenty kilometres, only a couple dozen breaths were needed to close in.
Sha Ya’s complexion paled slightly at this moment, seemingly unable to carry on.
Although she was a Demon King and the Light of Enchantment was her Innate Divine Ability, affecting a thousand people at once was still a difficult and intense task for her. Holding on until the Shaman Niu Clan’s arrival left her a little weakened.
The Light of Enchantment disappeared and the Demons woke up, but waiting for them were the rampaging Shaman Niu Clan warriors.
Screams echoed one after another, followed by the fall of one Demon after another.
The radiance of the Sun was incomparable to the brilliance of the Shamanic Spells cast during this battle, and the blood on the ground soon gathered into a murmuring stream.
Grief and indignation filled the Demons’ faces. Even on their last breath, they could not understand why Madam Demon King would help the foreign race to kill her own kind. Even the Sand Demons, who were the best at escaping, could not slip away under the shroud of the Shamanic Spells.
The foreign race could be seen everywhere, and even the sky was filled with them, shooting precise arrows, harvesting their lives.
The Demons had no chance to escape at all; what awaited them was inevitable deaths.
After realizing this, the Demons rose up to resist, but the huge disadvantage in numbers and a complete lack of preparation made their resistance pitiful at best.
Ah Hu led a cavalry composed of several dozen Demon Beasts through the Demon ranks, and everywhere they passed, the cavalry sent streams of Demons to their deaths like a sharp, invincible blade reaping wheat in a field.
Everyone’s weapons were stained with blood, and their murderous intent soared to the Heavens. The Barbarian Warriors who were blessed with Shamanic Spells were like invincible War Gods, and their monstrous aura could even shake the world, so how could these disorganized Demons stand a chance against them?
It was a complete massacre.
The performance of the Demons in the previous battle was quite impressive, and the two opposing armies fought each other on equal ground. If Yang Kai had not taken down Sha Ya at the last moment and thrown her into the Sealed World Bead, the Barbarians would definitely have suffered more casualties. However, the Barbarians dominated the battlefield in this ambush attack.
No matter how fiercely the Demons resisted, it was meaningless under the crushing pressure of the Shaman Niu Clan.
After a short half-day, the fight was over with the Shaman Niu Clan wiping out all the demons at the cost of only a dozen or so of their own.
The only ones left alive were the demonized clansmen!
This time, the Shaman Niu Clan did not kill those clansmen because these demonized clansmen fell under the influence of Sha Ya and did not participate in the battle.
The demonized clansmen had no sentience and just instinctively obeyed the orders of whichever Demon was nearby. In other words, any Demon could control their lives and give them orders.
On this battlefield, Sha Ya was the most powerful Demon, so she gained complete control of these demonized Barbarians all at once.
When the battle began, she sent these demonized clansmen away from the fight.
At this moment, they were all alive, and not a single one was injured.
There were quite a lot of them too, as many as three hundred.
This was also one of the biggest reasons for the Demon’s defeat. They originally had only a thousand people, so the loss of three hundred meant that almost a third of their army was instantly eliminated. It would be stranger if they had put up any meaningful resistance against the Shaman Niu Clan’s army of over three thousand.
After the battle, a quiet count was done as usual. The Demons had many weapons on hand, all of which were plundered by the Shaman Niu Clan.
Next, the Shamans rushed towards the demonized clansmen to begin their treatment.
It was still uncertain how many out of these three hundred could be saved. Although the twins had been working on a more reliable treatment method, they had only begun their research a short time ago and there were naturally no results yet. This batch of Demons could actually serve as test subjects.
With the help of Sha Ya’s deterrence, these demonized clansmen would not resist, which provided the twins more research opportunities.
All the while during the battle, although Yang Kai did not show up, and even Tiea did not take any actions, the Shaman Niu Clan still won a great victory at a minimal cost. Although this was expected, everyone was still unavoidably excited.
They were now looking forward to more battles and hoped that they could kill more Demons, eventually driving the enemy from their homeland.
Outside the cave, different scales of battles broke out from time to time.
Sha Ya played the role of a traitor perfectly.
She baited all the Demon Great Generals within a ten thousand kilometre radius to this place, together with their corresponding subordinates. Every Demon group that rushed here for the purpose of ‘rescue’ was wiped out mercilessly by the Shaman Niu Clan without exception.
A three-month period of such battles had greatly promoted the growth of the clansmen in the Shaman Niu Clan, not to mention the Warriors who broke through their own shackles one by one under the baptism of blood, becoming true Warriors. Even many of the dozen Shaman Warriors and Shaman Apprentices had unknowingly broken through their respective bottlenecks and been promoted to a higher Realm.
Other than Yue and Lu, there were two newly promoted Shaman Masters in the Shaman Niu Clan, strengthening the power of the Shamanic Spells that blessed the whole army.
The increase in the number of the army was also extremely obvious.
At the beginning, there were only three thousand clansmen in the Shaman Niu Clan.
But three months later, the Shaman Niu Clan had grown to five thousand in number, almost twice its original size.
The additional two thousand clansmen were the captured clansmen that had been rescued in the battles. After they were purged of Demon Qi and regained their intelligence, they all joined the Shaman Niu Clan without hesitation and played a vital role in the following battles.
In the past three months, the Shaman Niu Clan had participated in more than a dozen battles, slaughtered at least ten thousand enemies, and killed more than a dozen Demon Great Generals. This was a glorious achievement. They could confidently say that no other army of a Shaman Grandmaster in the entire Barbarian Race had achieved such a splendid record; after all, Demon Great Generals were basically equally strong as Shaman Grandmasters. If other Shaman Grandmasters wanted to kill a Demon Great General, they would need to have the determination to sacrifice themselves and their army to achieve it.
But the Shaman Niu Clan was different. The leader of each baited Demon Clan group died the moment they met Sha Ya, and their respective subordinates would be thrown into chaos, ultimately being crushed mercilessly by the Shaman Niu Clan that charged at them from all directions.
After three months, not a single Demon could be seen within a ten-thousand-kilometre radius.
Sha Ya’s efforts were also recognized by all the Barbarians. Although she still had the identity of a Demon, everyone knew that she was on their side.
In fact, the battles in these three months were basically led by Sha Ya with the help of the twins, Yue and Lu. As for the commander of the Shaman Niu Clan, Sir Shaman Niu, he had not appeared for the whole three months and just stayed in his own cave.
Whenever a Shaman wanted to meet Yang Kai, he would be stopped by Sha Ya, or even by Yue and Lu.
If Sha Ya had not been committed to luring and killing the enemy and stood firmly on their side, perhaps everyone would think that it was actually Yang Kai being controlled by Sha Ya.
One day after the initial three months, the Shamans and Sha Ya were having a meeting and discussing what to do next when suddenly, Sha Ya looked back as if she sensed something, then bowed down and said, “Sir!”
All the Shamans also looked up and saw Yang Kai, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and hurriedly got up and saluted too.
Yang Kai waved his hand, “Pass down the order. Prepare to depart tomorrow.”
“Depart?” Yue was slightly stunned, “Sir, are we going somewhere else?”
Yang Kai replied, “There are no Demons around here anymore, so it’s meaningless to stay here. We’ll head to a new place where there are Demons.”
“Sir, you mean…” Yue was surprised.
There were indeed no Demons around here. After three months of Sha Ya’s baiting, she had lured in all the Demons within a ten-thousand-kilometre range and killed them.
Although there were Demons farther away, those Demons could not be commanded by Sha Ya. The jurisdiction of each Demon King was limited, so the Demons outside this range no longer fell under Sha Ya’s influence. Even if Sha Ya sent a request for reinforcements, those Demons would not necessarily obey.
They were also discussing whether it was time to move to another location, but no one could make a decision because Yang Kai was not present.
Unexpectedly, Yang Kai showed up at this critical moment and made such a declaration.
Yang Kai smiled, “Although I’ve been cultivating this whole time, I’m still aware of what has been happening outside.”
While talking, he glanced at Sha Ya. She was branded by his Soul Imprint and became his slave, so Yang Kai could easily pry into Sha Ya’s mind from time to time. As such, he was naturally well aware of the current situation.
“Then I’ll pass down the order now.” Yue looked excited and immediately began to make arrangements. Other Shamans were also dismissed one after another. Although the migration of an army of five thousand people was not too big a task, it also wasn’t a small one. There would be many things that needed to be arranged.
Only Sha Ya was asked to stay by Yang Kai.
When the two were alone, Sha Ya’s brow jumped as she stared at Yang Kai in surprise, “Sir, your aura…”
It had only been three months since their last meeting, but the aura of this foreign race man had become several times stronger than before. According to the divisions of the Demon Race, he should be on the brink of reaching the Demon King Realm.
If it was by the standards of the Barbarian Race, he was about to be promoted to a Shaman King! Sha Ya had been here for three months now, so she knew a lot more about the Barbarian Race than before.
She clearly remembered that when she first saw Yang Kai three months ago, he was just a Mid-Rank Shaman Grandmaster. Even if he did nothing but cultivate for the past three months, he should not have been able to advance so rapidly.
A rumour that was secretly circulating in the Shaman Niu Clan suddenly came to her mind.
According to the rumour, Sir Shaman Niu was just an ordinary, powerless man before last winter. He was even inferior to some Barbarian children, but one night, he received the blessings of the Barbarian Gods and from then on soared to the Heavens.
This rumour seemed to come from the villagers of the same village as Shaman Niu, and those who spoke about it swore it was the absolute truth.
At first, Sha Ya did not take their words seriously, but now it seemed that these rumours did not just appear out of thin air.
Being able to advance from Mid-Rank Shaman Grandmaster Realm to the brink of the Shaman King Realm in just three months was simply too terrifying.
Shaman Niu had even once severely injured her when he was just a Mid-Rank Shaman Grandmaster, but now, his strength had increased several times compared to then. Sha Ya felt that even if she fought head-on with him now, she may not be able to escape like last time.
Yang Kai ignored her shock and continued, “Tell me, where is the nearest Demon King?”
As Yang Kai’s slave, Sha Ya naturally could understand his intentions and quickly answered, “I know a guy named Bao Qi, and I happen to know his location!”
Yang Kai stole a glance at her, and smiled, “Do you hold a grudge with him?”
Sha Ya’s pretty face twitched slightly, but she still readily admitted, “He humiliated me in the past, but he was the one in the wrong the whole time. However, his location really is the closest to us, so…”
“Good,” Yang Kai waved his hand and nodded gently, “You’ve worked hard these few months as my slave. Since you have grudges with this Bao Qi, I have no problem teaching him a lesson.”
“Yes!” Sha Ya’s beautiful eyes lit up.
Early in the morning of the next day, the Shaman Niu Clan left the stronghold that they had been residing in for three months and headed for an unknown but larger battlefield, their five thousand soldiers marching in an orderly manner.
After three months of battle, the Barbarians learnt much about coordination and discipline. Fighting bravely was not the key point in a large-scale battle, only by banding together, supporting one another, and trusting their comrades, could they hope to achieve victory.
The Aerial Cavalry went ahead to investigate the situation and relay information back to the army. Meanwhile, the group of five thousand continued to advance, not encountering any interception from the Demon Clan.
With the help of Sha Ya in recent months, all the surrounding Demons had been wiped out, and even if there were any survivors, they couldn’t even harm Shaman Niu’s army, let alone block their way.
Half a month later, the Shaman Niu Clan came to a halt in a jungle, utilizing the tall trees and dense grass to conceal their presence.
Sha Ya pointed at the front and mentioned, “Sir, there is a city of your Barbarian Race in that direction, that’s where Bao Qi has set up his base.”
Yang Kai nodded before asking curiously, “You live in a cave while he lives in a city, but both of you are Demon Kings. Why is the treatment somewhat different?”
Sha Ya was a little embarrassed and replied, “Bao Qi is stronger than me. In terms of your Barbarian Race’s rankings, I should be a Low-Rank Shaman King, while Bao Qi is a Mid-Rank Shaman King.”
“What Clan is Bao Qi from?” Yang Kai asked.
Sha Ya’s face turned solemn, “The Blood Demon Clan! So you must be careful not to get wounded by him in battle. Any wound is enough for him to use his Innate Divine Ability to its full potential to drain your blood to death.”
“I’ll remember that.” Yang Kai nodded slightly, and looking into the distance he continued, “We’ll rest for half a day, then begin at night.”
Sha Ya received the order and left. Guessing Yang Kai’s intention, she felt a little uneasy. Although her Master’s aura was close to Shaman King and his true strength could not be judged by his realm alone, she did not know whether he could win against Bao Qi. He was a Blood Demon after all.
But now, as a slave, it was useless for her to think too much. No matter what decision Yang Kai made, she could not disobey it and did not even dare question him in her heart. Therefore, she could only find a place to adjust herself to her peak.
Time passed quickly, and when night fell, Sha Ya suddenly opened her eyes, looking over in a certain direction, and then walked out without saying a word.
Yang Kai stood a few kilometres away, waiting for her. After seeing her coming, he gently nodded his head, “From now on, I’m your slave, be careful not to expose any clues.”
Sha Ya smiled confidently, “Acting is also a skill of we Charm Demons. Don’t worry, little boy, Elder Sister will treat you well.”
She put away her respectful face and giggled, changing back to the way when Yang Kai first saw her.
Yang Kai did not care about her verbal offence and nodded slightly, following behind her with his head lowered, like a real slave.
In the sky over the crude city of the Ancient Barbarian Race, a pure black Qi flashed like lightning, breaking through its many defences and rushing past the perimeter in the blink of an eye.
Alarmed, the Demons in the city gathered from all directions. They appeared nearby one after another, staring at the two figures shrouded in black Qi with vigilance and fear.
One of them had a graceful figure and vigorous aura. She was definitely a Demon King.
This caused the other Demons around to not dare to simply approach them.
Sha Ya looked around and let out a burst of silver bell-like laughter, mixed with an innate charm that nobody could guard against.
Many of the Demons present quickly retreated and kept a distance from her. They obviously knew of the horror of the Charm Demon Clan. Only those Demon Great Generals with high strength dared to remain in place, but all of them were exerting significant effort to maintain their sobriety.
Yang Kai kept silent behind Sha Ya, barely attracting anyone’s attention.
“Slut, how dare you invade this King’s territory!” A thunderous voice suddenly came from the palace in the centre of the city. At the same time, a blood-red light suddenly shot out from inside and arrived in front of Sha Ya soon after, dispersing to reveal a lofty figure like an iron tower.
Grasping Sha Ya’s neck, this newcomer lifted her up directly, a ferocious smile on his face and murderous intent filling the air.
Sha Ya did not struggle and instead just stared at him quietly without the slightest hint of panic, as if she had expected this.
“Do you want to die?” Bao Qi stared coldly at Sha Ya.
“Killing a Demon King… without authorization… the Demon Saints… will not forgive such an act.” Sha Ya’s face was slightly pale, and it took quite an effort for her to utter these words. They were both Demon Kings, but in front of Bao Qi, she could not put up any meaningful resistance at all.
Bao Qi snorted coldly, “Only my people are here, so who would know if I killed you? The Demon Saints are recuperating now, so they will not have time to care about you.”
Sha Ya snickered and spat, “Then kill me.”
Bao Qi’s eyes became menacing, but he still held back and tossed Sha Ya away.
Sha Ya coughed violently for a while when she landed on the ground before slowly recovering her breath and looking up as she declared, “Bao Qi, I’m not here to have a conflict with you, but rather to discuss something.”
“I have nothing to discuss with you. Scram quickly, otherwise don’t blame me for really killing you.” Bao Qi snorted coldly.
Sha Ya smiled, moving her red lips, as if she was saying something but having no sound leave her mouth.
Bao Qi was stunned and looked at Sha Ya in surprise, “You really are nothing but a bitch!” He despised her openly.
Sha Ya ignored the insult and continued softly, “I’m just a Charm Demon, and it’s not easy for me to deal with the foreign race. Only by working with you can I hope to survive. For this, I’m willing to pay any price.”
Bao Qi sneered, “And that’s why I despise you.”
Sha Ya pressed on, “You are not the only one who looks down on me, but I only care whether you agree to my proposal or not.”
Bao Qi pondered for a moment, then nodded, “Since you already understand this, what is there to be afraid of?” While musing he licked his lips, obscene light flashing across his eyes, “I haven’t played with a Demon King Realm Charm Demon before.”
Sha Ya giggled and walked forward with her hips swaying, “Then you’ll have a whole new experience tonight.”
Bao Qi laughed, reached out his hand to grab Sha Ya’s waist, and slapped her ample bottom.
Sha Ya blushed shyly and whispered sweetly, “Not now… There are so many people here.”
Bao Qi commented scornfully, “You’re afraid of an audience?”
Even so, he grabbed Sha Ya and flew towards the palace with her.
The two were as incompatible as water and fire earlier, but were now mutually attracted in just the blink of an eye, which seemed a little unreasonable.
Yang Kai followed them without saying a word.
In the palace, Bao Qi let go of Sha Ya, looked back at Yang Kai, and snorted coldly, “Where did you catch this slave?”
He could see that Yang Kai was not a true Demon, but rather a demonized foreign race. Although there was Demon Qi on his body’s surface, the foreign aura underneath could not be concealed.
Sha Ya smiled as she replied, “This little boy was too overconfident and led his people to attack me, so I taught him a lesson he’ll never forget. Don’t mind him.”
Bao Qi continued sarcastically, “Weren’t you worried about people watching earlier? Aren’t you concerned he will be watching now?”
“He’s not a person, he’s a slave.”
Bao Qi no longer objected and instead stretched out his hand to tear off Sha Ya’s clothes rudely and violently. In an instant, her snow-white and alluring figure was exposed, displaying all kinds of enchanting beauty.
Sha Ya moaned softly, as if blaming Bao Qi for his barbarism, but her beautiful eyes were full of seduction, completely drawing him into her allurement.
She wrapped herself around Bao Qi’s burly body like a spirit snake, pressing her full peaks against his chest.
Following a sneer, Bao Qi grabbed Sha Ya’s seemingly boneless body tightly with one hand as if trying to meld her into his chest, while his other hand began to roam around freely.
At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly took a step forward.
This unusual action alerted Bao Qi, and he looked up at Yang Kai.
The first thing he saw was a golden light in the foreigner’s left eye. This vertical pupil was filled with majesty, as if it had a Soul swallowing power, causing Bao Qi to fall into a daze for a moment.
“Bitch!” Bao Qi yelled.
He never really expected that Sha Ya would join hands with him, but given that his strength was superior to hers and this was his territory, he thought that he only stood to gain by accepting such a delicious beauty, so he decided to play along for now.
He also believed that Sha Ya was incapable of harming him. The Charm Technique of a Charm Demon was indeed difficult to guard against, but as a powerful Demon King, he definitely possessed enough resistance to such attacks.
The reason he grabbed Sha Ya by the neck in the first place was to deny her the chance to execute any kind of scheme. As long as Sha Ya dared to show any improper attempt, he could just snap her head off.
Nevertheless, he never thought that the one to sneak attack him would not be Sha Ya, but the slave she brought!
He somewhat could sense the strength of the slave and knew he was only as strong as a High-Rank Demon Great General, so Bao Qi had not paid any attention to him.
But at this moment, Bao Qi was actually caught off guard by this Demon Great General’s move. In his anger, he pushed his Demon Qi wildly and attempted to kill Sha Ya directly. He could not afford to worry about orders or possible punishment from the Demon Saints at such a dangerous moment.
Sha Ya was obviously terrified.
Yang Kai’s attack did not just catch Bao Qi off guard, Sha Ya was surprised by his timing too. According to her thoughts, the best opportunity to make a move would be during a climax when she made love with Bao Qi.
Men’s vigilance would be greatly reduced at such a moment.
Yang Kai’s sudden move was so unexpected that she had no time to prepare or even respond. She felt the rampaging Demon Qi in Bao Qi’s body and instinctually let out an ear-deafening screech, causing Bao Qi to fall into a daze again after taking her Soul attack.
The next moment, Bao Qi suddenly saw a lotus bud appear before his eyes, and as it began to blossom, a sharp pain filled his head.
The surging Demon Qi immediately dispersed, and before Bao Qi even had time to yell, he felt himself oddly floating. When he regained control of his body, he was no longer in the familiar palace, but found himself in some inexplicable place.
His arms were empty, with Sha Ya having re-appeared a short distance away. At this moment, her pale face was full of lingering fear.
Yang Kai stood nearby, holding his hands behind his back while observing Bao Qi quietly.
“Sir, why did you…” Sha Ya looked at Yang Kai with dissatisfaction, but soon she remembered her identity and continued politely, “If you wanted to act so, it would have been better to inform me in advance.”
“It’s just dealing with a trivial Mid-Rank Demon King, why would I need to tell you beforehand?” Yang Kai glanced faintly at her.
Sha Ya did not dare to say anything. She thought to herself that if she had not escaped in time, she would have been killed by Bao Qi.
But she was still shocked because back then, she was dragged into this strange world by Yang Kai only after he pierced her Demon Heart and badly wounded her, making her unable to defend herself.
Although this world was strange and unfathomable, she guessed that Yang Kai could not simply drag anybody into it at will. There must be some conditions or some price to pay to do so; otherwise, he would be invincible in this world. But if he was invincible, why would he still bother cultivating?
Bao Qi was much stronger than her, so Sha Ya did not understand how Yang Kai had managed to drag him into this world with seemingly less effort than it took for him to capture her.
However, Sha Ya was relieved by the current situation. Since Bao Qi entered this world, his life was no longer his to control anymore. Thinking so, Sha Ya revealed a smile that came from the bottom of her heart.
“Slut, how dare you plot against me!?” Bao Qi did not panic, but examined the world calmly while looking at Sha Ya coldly.
Sha Ya replied with a smile, “Who told you to act so carelessly?”
She then turned to look at Yang Kai and continued, “Sir, let me kill him.”
“Sir?” Bao Qi narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Sha Ya contemptuously, “You actually call a mere Demon Great General ranked trash ‘Sir’? What ability does he have to stand above us Demon Kings? Sha Ya, you really are a disgrace.”
Sha Ya smiled, “You can’t imagine the power of Sir.”
Bao Qi shook his head, “You don’t deserve the status of Demon King!”
Although his face was calm, Bao Qi was actually shocked in his heart. Previously, he thought that Sha Ya was the Master while this foreigner was the servant, but it now seemed things were opposite to his expectations. He wondered what kind of tricks this Demon Great General possessed that allowed him to subdue a Demon King.
But upon further thought, Bao Qi realized that this foreigner’s ability really was mysterious. He failed to guard himself against the two Soul Secret Techniques of this scrawny man and was then dragged into this damned place by him.
“Put on your clothes first,” Yang Kai glanced at Sha Ya.
“Yes!” Sha Ya obeyed his order and quickly took out a brand-new set of clothes. Although much of her skin was still showing even after getting dressed, it was much better than her being completely naked.
Yang Kai then turned to Bao Qi and continued, “You probably know what’s going on now, so I’ll make things simple. There are only two choices in front of you.”
Saying so, Yang Kai raised a finger and pointed at Sha Ya, “Submit to me like she did, or die.”
The faces of the two Demon Kings changed drastically at Yang Kai’s words.
Sha Ya asked in shock, “Sir, do you want to subdue him?”
She initially thought that Yang Kai aimed to kill Bao Qi, so she put extra effort into it. Saying the Charm Demon Clan was unforgiving would be a gross understatement. It was not an exaggeration to say that they would remember every little resentment until the end of time, just like how Sha Ya did not forget about Bao Qi humiliating her even though it was only one round of slander many years ago. Therefore, when Yang Kai asked about nearby Demon Kings, she quickly sold Bao Qi out.
She was exhilarated at the thought that Bao Qi would end up dead after being brought into this world by Yang Kai, but then the latter suddenly mentioned other plans.
It did not sit well with her.
If Bao Qi was really recruited by Sir Shaman Niu, would she not have to work with him in the future? Sha Ya could not accept this idea at all.
“You want me to submit to you?” Bao Qi stared at Yang Kai with a mocking smile. This was truly funny to him, and he finally could not hold back his laughter and cackled in disdain, “Crazy Foreign Race, although I don’t know how you subdued this bitch, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed if you plan to make me submit. This King is different from that bitch!”
Sha Ya responded with a cold face, “Could your mouth be more filthy?”
Bao Qi snorted coldly and glared at her, but did not further argue, instead just warily staring at Yang Kai.
Although he made up his mind that he would never lower his head to this foreigner, this new world he was brought to gave him a strange and unnerving feeling. He had to be more careful to prevent himself from falling into another trap. For now, Bao Qi planned to find out what the hell this place was as soon as possible, then leave here to make plans for the future.
“Sha Ya, is he always this stubborn?” Yang Kai suddenly turned to Sha Ya and asked.
Sha Ya immediately answered, “Incredibly stubborn. He even dares to talk back to the Demon Saints.”
Bao Qi put on a proud face, as if this was a compliment to him.
Sha Ya then continued, “So, Sir, you should not waste time trying to convince him. Just kill him and get it over with.”
She suggested with a malicious expression, clearly having plans of her own. Other than the fact that she was not willing to work with Bao Qi, her special existence would become insignificant if Yang Kai accepted another Demon King, lowering her position in her new master’s eyes.
Therefore, she wanted Bao Qi to die as soon as possible.
“Then I have no choice,” Yang Kai nodded slightly and decided to act decisively, lifting his hand gently towards Bao Qi as he spoke.
Sha Ya’s beautiful eyes brightened up, cursing Bao Qi constantly in her heart all the while anticipating his tragic end.
Bao Qi also immediately pushed his Demon Qi and pounced towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai waved his hand slightly and Bao Qi was suddenly dumbstruck because he felt a huge and incredible force immediately bind him. He was a Demon King, but at this moment he felt as helpless as a newborn baby, immobilized and completely powerless to resist it.
His eyes shook violently, and the blood in his veins stopped flowing. Even the Demon Qi that he had condensed was suppressed inside his body by the invisible force.
Bao Qi had never encountered such a situation since he began to cultivate and could not help feeling bewildered.
Sha Ya laughed loudly, “Our Sir controls all here. Even a Demon Saint would not be his opponent here, let alone you.”
Three months ago, Yang Kai said the same words when he subdued her. At that time, Sha Ya did not take him seriously and regarded his comments as shameless boasting, but facts proved that he really had the power to control everything in this strange world.
And now, she repeated the same words to Bao Qi as she gloated over his misfortune.
Bao Qi’s face turned ugly. He was obviously struggling to resist, but in front of the power of a world, a Demon King’s resistance was equivalent to an ant trying to shake a tree, completely in vain.
The colour of Yang Kai’s left eye changed again, and golden light flashed.
He looked into Bao Qi’s eyes, pushing his Spiritual Energy wildly and destroying his Soul defences without any difficulty.
Great pain pierced through Bao Qi from the damage to his Soul defences. He screamed miserably as his face contorted in pain.
Looking at Bao Qi’s miserable appearance, Sha Ya laughed even more maliciously, her face displaying unconcealed pleasure.
As Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy did its work inside Bao Qi’s Knowledge Sea, the latter’s eyes rolled back into his head and his whole body trembled violently as it became drenched in sweat.
A short time later, the golden light in Yang Kai’s eye faded.
Bao Qi fell to the ground with a weak aura, and one would think he was dead without careful examination.
Sha Ya frowned, seemingly rather unhappy.
Because she found that although Bao Qi was in a truly miserable state, Yang Kai had not killed him. Instead, it seemed Yang Kai had implanted a Soul Imprint into Bao Qi’s Knowledge Sea, similar to what he did with her back then. However, she had willingly opened up her Knowledge Sea at that time, while Bao Qi was forced to accept this branding instead. The treatment was quite different.
But in the end, the result was the same. It seemed that she really had to work with Bao Qi in the future, a thought that caused Sha Ya to purse her lips unhappily.
After waiting for a long time, Bao Qi slowly got up from the ground and looked up at Yang Kai with a complicated expression. As a Demon King, he was actually subdued by an existence equivalent to a Demon Great General, and then marked with a Soul Imprint in his Knowledge Sea. Bao Qi could even feel that this Soul Imprint could control whether he lived or died.
Previously, he was still laughing at Sha Ya for being a traitor and a lowly slut, but he did not expect himself to wind up in the same situation as her so soon.
Yang Kai looked at him and declared faintly, “If you’re unhappy, you’re free to kill yourself.”
Bao Qi’s eyes flickered, but there was no impulse to commit suicide. It was not easy for him to reach the Demon King Realm, so why would he want to die? Although some people in the world would rather die than surrender, Bao Qi was not one of them.
“Very good!” The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth curved into an inconspicuous smile, “Then from now on, you will serve me.”
Sha Ya’s grimace deepened.
With great difficulty, Bao Qi asked, “Sir… What can I do for you?” For the first time, he called a man whose strength was inferior to his own ‘Sir’. Bao Qi could not help feeling a little awkward and tried to keep his back as straight as possible when asking to preserve his remaining dignity.
“Eat this first,” Yang Kai threw a jade bottle to him.
Sha Ya’s beautiful eyes suddenly lit up.
Bao Qi caught the bottle quickly and asked with some doubt, “What’s this?”
Sha Ya snorted, “If Sir wants you to eat it, you just eat it. Why do you have to ask so much nonsense? You can give it to me if you don’t want it!”
Sha Ya never forgot the taste of the Spirit Pill ever since the last time she obtained one from Yang Kai. Before that, she never thought that anything like that could possibly exist. It was funny that Bao Qi did not know how extraordinary this pill was and instead seemed vigilant and afraid that it was a poison.
Why would Sir want to poison him when he already controlled his life with the Soul Imprint in his Soul?
After hearing what she said, Bao Qi immediately realized that this was a good thing, and after a sneer, he opened the cap and directly stuffed the Spirit Pill inside into his mouth without even looking at it. The next moment, a look of shock appeared on his face and he immediately sat down cross-legged. The pain displayed on his face caused by the trauma to his Soul was immediately greatly relieved and a delighted expression soon filled his face.
Sha Ya looked disappointed and turned to look at Yang Kai with a longing face.
At that moment, a jade bottle was tossed towards her. Sha Ya caught it with pleasant surprise and smiled widely, “Many thanks for your reward, Sir. Sha Ya will work harder.”
Half an hour later, Bao Qi opened his eyes, his face still covered in shock as he realized he had just taken some kind of treasure that had a very powerful healing effect, one that almost completely repaired the damage to his Soul. Although he was not fully recovered, the damage that remained would not hinder him in any notable way. He only needed to rest for a month or two to fully recover, and there would be no drawbacks that would affect his future.
[What the hell was that? Why have I never heard about the foreign race having such miraculous things?]
While he was bewildered, he suddenly heard Yang Kai introducing himself, “My name is Shaman Niu. You can call whatever you want.”
“Yes, Sir Shaman Niu!” Bao Qi responded respectfully.
“Now tell me about the disposition of your troops.”
As soon as Bao Qi heard this, he knew what Shaman Niu was going to do. He hesitated for a while, but eventually sighed and began explaining all the details of his forces without any concealment.
He knew that trying to conceal things would be pointless in front of this Shaman Grandmaster.
After listening, Yang Kai frowned, “There are a lot of people.”
Bao Qi had about seven thousand people under his command, which exceeded the current number in the Shaman Niu Clan and was more than double the manpower controlled by Sha Ya previously.
After three months of recruitment, Shaman Niu Clan had only managed to gather a force of five thousand people.
Facing such a huge number, even with the blessings of Shamanic Spells, it would be inevitable for large numbers of casualties to appear in the Shaman Niu Clan during a head-on clash. In a war involving more than ten thousand people, it was simply impossible to avoid casualties.
After pondering for a while, Yang Kai continued, “Listen, this is what you will do when I send you out of this place…”
After giving his orders, Yang Kai brought Bao Qi and Sha Ya out of the Sealed World Bead.
In the room, Sha Ya looked at Bao Qi with a sneer, “Don’t screw up. Otherwise, your end will be miserable.”
As the first Demon King to take refuge under Yang Kai, although Sha Ya was not as strong as Bao Qi, her performance was strong enough to maintain her unique position in Yang Kai’s heart.
If Sha Ya had spoken like this to him before, Bao Qi would certainly quarrel with her or even start a fight, but now he was in a bad mood and did not want to mess with her. He just nodded his head gently and stated, “Don’t worry, Sir.”
“Good, then I’ll wait for the good news,” Yang Kai signalled Sha Ya, then the two flew out of the palace together, transforming into a streak of black Qi that rushed out of the city.
After the two left, several Demon Great Generals rushed in and one of them with a square face looked at Bao Qi and asked, “Sir, why did that bitch appear here?”
Bao Qi looked solemn as he replied faintly, “Nothing important, she just came to ask for reinforcements.”
“Reinforcement?” The several Demon Great Generals were dumbfounded.
Bao Qi pressed on, “A group of foreign race seem to be eyeing her, so she came to me for help.” While talking, he pointed at the square-faced Demon Great General and instructed, “Take two thousand people with you to investigate the situation.”
The square-faced Demon Great General mounted a huge and majestic Demon Beast with a straight back, surrounded by Demon Qi.
He led the way, followed by two thousand subordinates. Some of these two thousand people were the demonised Barbarians who had lost their minds and only listened to orders blindly, while the others were from various clans of the Hundred Clans.
This was the power he could control now.
The army was not advancing at a high speed, as they were performing an inspection rather than heading to battle.
The square-faced Demon Great General was not in a hurry as Sir Bao Qi ordered him to bring his men just to meet Sha Ya’s requirement. As for whether or not he could provide real assistance to Sha Ya, that would depend on the situation.
The square-faced Demon Great General had no respect for the slutty Charm Demon. Of course, the main reason for it was jealousy. Furthermore, he secretly criticized Bao Qi, the Demon King he was subordinate to, for overreacting. That bitch had just casually asked for some reinforcements, and Sir Bao Qi was actually willing to send two thousand people out? Was that not too much?
That bitch Charm Demon must have pleased Sir Bao Qi very well for her to get so much support.
Thinking of this, the square-faced Demon Great General could not help revealing a wretched smile on his face. He had experienced a Charm Demon before, and it was indeed completely different from any other woman. As a Demon King among Charm Demons, Sha Ya would definitely be incomparable to other Charm Demons.
He thought to himself that he should also try out that bitch himself when he reached the Demon King realm one day.
While he was still deep in his thoughts, he suddenly noticed some abnormal movements.
The square-faced Demon Great General immediately snapped back to his senses and looked forward vigilantly. After seeing what was in front of him though, he could not help wondering out loud, “Lady… Sha Ya?”
He saw that Sha Ya, who had left just half a day ago, actually came to meet him from the front. Puzzled, he did not understand why this woman suddenly turned back after leaving. Nevertheless, even though he looked down on Sha Ya, she was a Demon King in the end, so the square-faced Demon Great General still had to show some appropriate respect.
The Demon Beast that he was riding stopped, and two thousand people behind him came to a halt.
“Bao Qi is really quite obedient…” Sha Ya muttered with a soft voice, revealing a meaningful grin.
The square-faced Demon Great General frowned and was suddenly alarmed. Sha Ya’s attitude and expression made him a little uneasy, so he instinctively looked around the environment, and his heart stopped.
He realized that this place was actually a wonderful ambush zone. It was surrounded by mountains towering into the clouds, and the only ways out of here were from the front and the back of their current position.
It seemed that something was surrounding them from all directions, and the ground trembled slightly. Such a movement could be felt by the most ordinary Demons, not to mention the square-faced Demon Great General himself.
As he listened carefully, his face suddenly changed drastically and he shouted, “Prepare for battle!”
When the words fell, huge shadows appeared out of nowhere, covering the light from the sky with their huge spread-out wings. The Demons looked up and saw that it was a flock of Giant Eagles.
One sharp arrow after another flew down from the Giant Eagles, and several dozens of people fell in pools of blood in an instant.
[We’ve been ambushed!] The idea immediately popped into the square-faced Demon Great General’s head, but he did not understand who ambushed him, and what role Demon King Sha Ya played in it.
Was he not here to provide reinforcements for her? How did he get caught off guard?
Although the reaction of the Demon Race was fast, the enemy moved faster.
After a round of arrows, high-intensity lights suddenly flickered in the jungle one after another from all directions. The circles of brilliance were colourful and dazzling. Several dozen grand Demon Beasts rushed out from the side, and the Barbarian Warriors who rode on their backs pulsed with murderous intent.
“Foreign race!”
The cry echoed to the sky.
The square-faced Demon Great General turned the direction of his mount, drew his weapon and raised it high. When he was about to shout something to boost the morale of his army, he suddenly smelled a faint, intoxicating fragrance.
At that moment, a soft voice came from behind him, “Thank you for your head.”
In the next moment, the vision of the square-faced Demon Great General turned in a different direction, staring at the Demon King Sha Ya in her skimpy clothes who was now in front of him. He felt some pain on the side of his neck, and when he looked down, he saw a headless body falling off the back of a familiar-looking Demon Beast.
The square-faced Demon Great General was suddenly killed before the war even began. All the Demons were dumbstruck by this scene and stared at Sha Ya blankly, panic running through their minds.
Sha Ya simply giggled and turned into a mass of Black Qi that flew away with a flicker.
At this time, the Barbarian Warriors who received all kinds of Shamanic Spell blessings had besieged them. The cavalry that charged to the front rushed into the enemy group with irresistible force, and with a cold flash, many Demons collapsed to the ground.
The ten regular units that followed closely behind fenced the surrounding space tightly, not allowing a single Demon to escape.
The battle started with a bang, but with five thousand people against two thousand people, and one side being well-prepared while the other was caught off guard, the outcome was all but fated.
Up in the air, Sha Ya’s figure reappeared, holding the square-faced Demon Great General’s head in her hand as she reported in a crisp voice, “Sir, my task is completed.”
Yang Kai nodded gently and looked down attentively, while Tiea stood like a shadow behind him.
The battle was heated right from the beginning, with the Shaman Niu Clan having the intention of exterminating the Demon Race group. Although the Demons who were attacked had no guidance from the Demon Great General, they were well-trained and able to hold together to resist the fierce attack of the Shaman Niu Clan while looking for possible ways out at the same time.
Screams echoed across the battlefield and bodies fell again and again. A bloody stench rose to the sky while broken limbs were strewn everywhere. The Demon Race suffered heavy casualties, yet few were suffered by the Shaman Niu Clan.
After three months of continuous fighting, the Shaman Niu Clan became familiar with war and learned to cooperate with and support each other. Although they had the upper hand in terrain and number of people, no one was rushing in recklessly. They slowly nibbled the defence line of the Demon Race step by step, and gradually wore them down.
Yang Kai only observed from up top for less than a cup of tea worth of time before retreating his gaze. He did not need to worry about the rest of the battle.
It could be said that he had not concerned himself greatly with this fight from the start. Yang Kai had simply requested Bao Qi to send two thousand people into his encirclement, then asked Sha Ya to kill the square-faced Demon Great General. The rest of the work would be done by the Shaman Niu Clan itself.
Sha Ya, with a head in her hand, felt bored about it and soon tossed it away.
An hour later, the dust settled.
Without Yang Kai issuing another order, the Captains of the Shaman Niu Clan started to count their losses, and the dozen Shamans began to treat the wounded.
After resting in place for half a day, the Shaman Niu Clan set out and pushed forward, leaving a messy battlefield behind before setting up camp in a place thirty kilometres away.
Three days later, another group of two thousand people arranged by Bao Qi entered the encirclement of the Shaman Niu Clan. This battle went almost the same as the one three days prior. Under the ambush and sneak attack of more than five thousand soldiers of the Shaman Niu Clan, the two thousand Demons were completely powerless to resist and were soon beaten and wiped out.
In every battle, the Shaman Niu Clan would lose some manpower, but it would gain more than what it lost.
This was because there were many demonised Ancient Barbarians among the Demon Race’s ranks. After three months of research, the twins Yue and Lu had mastered some tricks and methods to treat the demonised Barbarians. More and more clansmen were saved each time as they gained more experience, and the success rate only grew higher.
This was excellent news to them.
After another three-day break and the clansmen fully recovered from the backlash of the Bloodlust Spell, Yang Kai immediately led the Shaman Niu Clan towards the Demon City like a great flood.
Bao Qi originally had seven thousand men under his command, but he had lost four thousand to two ambushes. Now, there were only about three thousand troops stationed in the city, a number not worth worrying about.
When the Shaman Niu Clan arrived at the city, the Demon Race went into an uproar. It seemed that they did not expect this foreign race to be so bold. Although their numbers seemed large, the Demon Race still did not put the Shaman Niu Clan in its eyes.
They had a Demon King with them. Many Demons stood on top of the city wall, pointing to the crowd below while laughing and mocking, as if they believed that as long as Bao Qi made a move, he could simply wipe out these several thousand enemies.
However, what happened next made their jaws drop.
Sir Bao Qi did appear, but rather than slaughter thousands like they had imagined, he respectfully opened the city gates and allowed the enemies to rush straight into the city to kill the Demons at will.
Many Demons could not believe this was happening even as they breathed their last breath.
In front of the city gate, Sir Bao Qi, who they always looked up to, was lowering his head and speaking deferentially to a young man who had black Qi all over his body, as if he was facing a Demon Saint.
Many of them recognized this young man as the one who came together with Demon King Sha Ya a few days ago. At that time, everyone thought he was Sha Ya’s slave.
But now, it seemed that it was not the case at all, because even Sha Ya stood behind him and showed corresponding respect.
It was a messy battle, with the Demon Race being taken by surprise and Bao Qi not showing any intention to help from beginning to end.
In just one hour, the Demons stationed in the city were annihilated. Even the Sand Demons who were most proficient in fleeing could not escape this disaster. It was a tragic scene with corpses lying everywhere.
The soldiers of the Shaman Niu Clan cleaned up the battlefield, while Yang Kai and Bao Qi went to the central palace.
“Sha Ya will tell you what to do next. I’m going to enter retreat to cultivate, so don’t disturb me unless it’s urgent.” After giving his instructions, Yang Kai picked a room and secluded himself inside, leaving Bao Qi looking at Sha Ya with an unconvinced face.
Sha Ya smiled and remarked playfully, “I hope that we can get along happily with each other in the future.”
Bao Qi’s face darkened. It was impossible for him to be happy because he was not willing to obey Sha Ya’s orders; however, he dared not disobey Yang Kai’s words. As such, he just felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he had eaten a dead fly.
The site controlled by Sha Ya back then had a radius of ten thousand kilometres, and it took the Shaman Niu Clan three months to wipe out all the Demons in that area.
The territory Bao Qi controlled was quite a bit larger than Sha Ya’s and naturally had more Demons inhabiting it. Besides the roughly seven thousand soldiers stationed in the main city, there was almost the same number scattered amongst Bao Qi’s subordinates.
However, in just the span of half a month, with the city as its centre, the Demons within a radius of fifty thousand kilometres were slaughtered. All the Demons stationed outside were summoned by Bao Qi for one reason or another, and the Shaman Niu Clan would ambush them and conduct a thorough purge without facing any real resistance. This surpassed their efficiency in the previous three months many times over.
Both Bao Qi and Sha Ya were guessing who would be the next hapless Demon King to suffer this fate, and the two racked their brains to submit names of Demon Kings who had offended them before to Sir Shaman Niu, anticipating these former enemies’ fall.
Just when the two of them were scheming which Demon King would be the next slave in their hearts, Yang Kai came out and summoned both of them, giving them an order that horrified the two Demon Kings.
Without giving them a chance to question though, Yang Kai turned and left, leaving Bao Qi and Sha Ya gazing at each other with dismay while shivering.
“Isn’t this plan… too extreme? What if it doesn’t work…” Sha Ya was a little worried about the possible gains and losses.
Bao Qi was so shaken up that he even forgot to argue with Sha Ya as he usually did. Although Sha Ya had been unpleasant these days, he agreed with her on this issue and pondered whether he should try to persuade Sir Shaman Niu against his impulsiveness.
After some thought though, Bao Qi found that he did not dare to raise objections, so he finally just sighed and declared, “Since Sir gave us the order, we can only follow it. Sha Ya, you have to help me with this.”
Sha Ya immediately jumped away, “Sir asked you to do this. I’m not interfering.”
Bao Qi persuaded, “We are now on the same boat. Neither of us can stay out of trouble once it comes.”
Sha Ya chuckled, “Since Sir only wants you to do this, he naturally has his own reasons. If he wanted me to help you, he would have stated it clearly. If I help you, I’m afraid we might ruin Sir’s plan.”
Bao Qi frowned. Although he felt that Sha Ya was just making excuses, her logic was not unreasonable, so he could only sigh and make preparations.
Unlike Sha Ya, he had very little communication with Shaman Niu, as the latter had been cultivating in retreat since returning to the city half a month ago. It seemed that he had isolated himself from the rest of the world, but Bao Qi knew that he was well aware of everything happening in the city.
This air of mystery only made Bao Qi more and more afraid of Shaman Niu.
Not long after, Bao Qi stood at the city wall, pushed his Demon Qi, and condensed several black crows from his aura that flew up into the sky.
Bao Qi stretched out his hand and with a wave, sent the twenty or so black crows off in all directions.
Looking in the direction where the black crows flew, Bao Qi shivered. If the strategy this time was successful, the Demon Race would suffer a heavy loss. Although their foundation would not be shaken, it would definitely have a big impact on their morale.
The next few days were unremarkable. Shaman Niu Clan, who had been resting from the latest battle, recovered and recuperated in the city, while Yang Kai remained behind closed doors, working hard to reach the Shaman King Realm.
The different World Principles of this ancient world gave birth to a special group like Shamans, but no matter how many paths led to the highest peak, there was only one ultimate destination.
Yang Kai was already an Emperor Realm Master, so cultivating the Shaman Arts of this Ancient World allowed him to compare and contrast the two different cultivation systems. The more he cultivated, the more he saw his previous weaknesses, and Yang Kai believed that when he finally left this strange Sealed World, his strength would greatly improve, even if his cultivation did not.
Five days later, Yang Kai came out again and found Bao Qi and Sha Ya standing before his door respectfully.
“Let’s go.” Yang Kai gestured and took the lead, the two Demon Kings following after him promptly.
A day later, Yang Kai came to a halt above a stretch of wilderness and looked around, noting that it was extremely barren and empty.
“This is the place you chose?” Yang Kai asked.
“Yes!” Bao Qi replied respectfully, hesitating for a moment before continuing, “We can change it if Sir is not satisfied.”
“No, let’s use this place.” Yang Kai nodded, took a deep breath, then summoned a round bead into his hand.
Bao Qi and Sha Ya watched curiously, wondering what this bead was. Demon Beasts and Barbarian Beasts on this land possessed Monster Cores, but they had never heard of Shamans possessing one.
A very strange power exuded from this round bead, and it did not resemble a Monster Core in the slightest.
Just when they were still puzzled over this item’s identity, the bead began spinning at an increasingly rapid rate. Suddenly, the spinning bead disappeared and was replaced by a visible vortex, inside of which was a chaotic, light-consuming nothingness that seemed to lead to another mysterious world.
Both Bao Qi and Sha Ya stared blankly, but realization quickly dawned on them.
The World that this whirlpool led to was obviously the same place they were sent into before. In that World, this Shaman Niu was omnipotent, comparable to a real God!
It turned out that that World was transformed from this bead!
[What kind of beads could have such peculiar abilities? What kind of treasure is this thing? I’m afraid that even the Demon Saints don’t have such a treasure, right?]
In spite of his shock, Bao Qi still advised, “Sir, with all due respect, although this entrance looks mysterious, it may not be able to deceive the other Demon Kings as they are all cautious fellows. They may not believe it even if I assure them that this portal leads to the inheritance of a fallen Ancient Saint.”
Just as Yang Kai planned, Bao Qi sent out a message that he had discovered the Sealed World of a fallen Ancient Saint. The last time the Demon Race invaded this world, a Demon Saint indeed fell, so this statement was also backed up by evidence and should be able to arouse the interest of a lot of Demon Kings.
The Sealed World of a fallen Ancient Demon Saint may contain secrets that could allow any Demon King to take a step further in their cultivation, and any Demon King who had a desire for power would be unable to restrain his curiosity to explore this place.
As long as those Demon Kings could be tricked into entering this entrance, no matter how many of them there were, they would be crushed in an instant by Yang Kai and eventually become slaves.
Bao Qi had always felt that this plan was too risky and there was not much hope of success; therefore, he was reluctant to send out messages and even thought of dragging Sha Ya down with him.
And looking at this situation, it seemed his worries were appropriate.
He passed on the message, and he believed that many Demon Kings would come, but the vortex in front of him… did not look like the land of the fallen Ancient Demon Saint at all. In fact, it looked exactly like a trap, so which Demon King would stupidly enter it?
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “What you said makes sense, but what if it’s like this…”
As he spoke, Yang Kai’s expression became solemn, and immediately afterward, a surging and pure Demon Qi suddenly rushed out his body. Bao Qi and Sha Ya were horrified at the sight of this Demon Qi and felt some instinctual fear and suppression welling up from deep inside their hearts.
Because even their Demon Qi was incomparable to the one Yang Kai exuded, which had the same feel as that of a Demon Saint.
“Sir… Are you a Demon?” Bao Qi suddenly exclaimed with excitement.
After being subdued by Yang Kai for so many days, and even though he had accepted his fate, deep down he still felt unwilling, but he did not dare to show it; after all, he was a Demon King, and it was shameful to be subdued by a foreign race. Only a shameless bitch like Sha Ya would feel indifferent to this kind of situation.
A Demon King should have the pride and dignity of a Demon King.
At this moment, Bao Qi could not help feeling excited by that pure Demon Qi exuded by that young man before him.
That was the aura of a true Ancient Saint! Could this young man be a descendant of that Ancient Saint? Indeed, when the Demon Race invaded this land last time, they did leave a trace of their bloodlines behind.
It was even rumoured that there was a tribe called the Bone Devouring Clan among the foreign race which had the blood of the Demon Race running through their veins.
If Sir Shaman Niu was the descendant of and inherited the bloodline of an Ancient Demon Saint, it would not be shameful to submit to him at all. The more Bao Qi thought about it, the more he realized it was possible. Bao Qi’s eyes gleamed as he suddenly felt a sense of closeness towards Yang Kai for the very first time.
Sha Ya too, had her jaw hanging wide, gaping at Yang Kai stupidly. A thought flashed across her mind soon after as she finally understood why her Demon Heart Blood Essence was unable to have any effect on Shaman Niu back then.
How could the blood of her Demon Heart have any effects on him when such pure and potent Demon Qi was hidden in his body? Was he really a Demon? But he led the foreign race to slaughter countless Demons these past few months, not showing the slightest sign of sympathy or compassion. If he was really a Demon, why was he fighting against the Demons?
In any case, the pure Demon Qi flowing out of Yang Kai’s body at this moment could not be faked.
In the face of the shock and questioning of the two Demon Kings, Yang Kai just smiled lightly without answering, his mysterious expression only making Sha Ya and Bao Qi even more agitated.
Of course, Yang Kai was not a true Demon. The Demon Qi that was mobilized at this moment was just the Ancient Giant Demon’s Qi which was sealed in his Dantian.
Yang Kai would not have dared to access this force at will if he had not cultivated Shaman Arts lest the seal break and Yang Kai was accidentally consumed by it, demonizing him permanently.
But the Shamanic Spells seemed to have the ability to suppress Demon Qi, so it was still safe to draw out some Demon Qi. As long as the seal was not completely unlocked, Yang Kai was not in any danger of becoming a demon.
The pure Ancient Great Giant Demon Qi floated slowly out of Yang Kai’s hand towards the vortex, camouflaging its appearance.
In an instant, the addition of the Demon Qi turned the vortex leading to the Sealed World Bead into a mysterious place with huge secrets about the Demon Race. This was sufficient to attract any Demon to investigate.
Even Bao Qi and Sha Ya felt the same way. If they had not seen Yang Kai transform the vortex with their own eyes, they would have found a way to go in and take a look.
Bao Qi’s expression became serious and remarked admiringly, “In this case, Sir will have no trouble fooling those idiots.”
In the wilderness, in front of the entrance to the Sealed World Bead, disguised as the place where an Ancient Demon Saint fell, Bao Qi sat cross-legged, alone, his eyes closed, as if he was waiting for someone. The swirling entrance that was visible earlier had now been hidden in the Void by Yang Kai, which caused it to be hard to detect if one wasn’t looking carefully. Only a Master at the Demon King Realm could feel the pure Demon Qi leaking from the Void.
Yang Kai and Sha Ya were missing at the moment.
After waiting for less than half a day, Bao Qi suddenly opened his eyes. Looking up into the sky in front of him, he pronounced in a deep voice, “Since you have already come, why hide?”
A strange laugh suddenly burst out from the void, followed by a black shadow appearing out of thin air. The newcomer was wrapped in pure Demon Qi, completely distorting their appearance, making it impossible to even identify their gender. The neither feminine nor masculine voice also seemed to contain a kind of power that made it sound as if it was coming from multiple directions
“Mo Ke Tuo!” Bao Qi narrowed his eyes and immediately recognized the identity of the person.
Shadow Demon Mo Ke Tuo! He was a peak level Master in the Shadow Demon Clan, and his true strength was even stronger than Bao Qi’s. The Shadow Demon Clan excelled in concealment and assassination, and as a Demon King, Mo Ke Tuo was one of the best.
Among all the Demon Kings, he may not be the most powerful, but he was definitely the most difficult to deal with.
Because once someone was targeted by him, even Demon Kings who were stronger than him would not dare to say that they could survive. He could always find the most appropriate timing and place to launch a sneak attack and send a fatal blow to the enemy.
Bao Qi did not expect that the first person to arrive here would be Shadow Demon Mo Ke Tuo and could not help feeling a little nervous. He was not afraid of fighting face-to-face with the other party, but this guy always came and went like the wind. If they really started a fight here, Bao Qi felt that he would be the one at a disadvantage.
“It seems that I have come early!” Mo Ke Tuo chuckled, seemingly an active person despite his penchant for concealment. Although Mo Ke Tuo’s body was wrapped in black Qi, Bao Qi could feel the former’s eyes staring at him, “You told me that this is the land where an Ancient Saint fell. Where is it? Why don’t I see anything?”
“It’s behind me. Look carefully.” Bao Qi remained calm and replied.
As expected, Mo Ke Tuo checked carefully and immediately found the hidden entrance. He could not help but be surprised, as he was obviously aware of the pure Demon Qi, “Are you sure this leads to where an Ancient Saint fell?” His tone suddenly became serious.
Bao Qi snorted, “Isn’t it obvious? What else could it be? Although I can’t guarantee anything, I think it’s highly likely.”
Mo Ke Tuo did not respond, seemingly agreeing with Bao Qi’s statement. No one dared to guarantee anything before entering, but the aura exuded by this hidden portal was really quite tempting.
“How did you find such a hidden place?” Mo Ke Tuo questioned casually, but Bao Qi knew that he was being cautious.
“This is inside my territory; I found it by accident.” Of course, Bao Qi was well prepared for such a question.
“You’re quite lucky, but since you found it, why didn’t you go in and see for yourself and instead invited me? If I’m not mistaken, you must have invited others too, right?”
“Of course, you’re not the only one.” Bao Qi replied slowly, “But I don’t know how many of them will come in the end; after all, this is the burial place of an Ancient Saint. Although the secrets to Sainthood may be hidden inside, there may also be fatal danger. I, Bao Qi, haven’t lived long enough and want to live a few more years, so I didn’t dare to go in alone.”
Mo Ke Tuo sneered with a little ridicule. He, who wrapped himself in black Qi, patrolled around and examined the entrance of the vortex.
Bao Qi continued, “You can go in if you wish and have a look now. I believe there should be no great danger with the abilities of your Shadow Demon Clan.”
He hoped that Mo Ke Tuo would not be able to withstand the temptation and go straight inside. As long as he went in, his life and death would no longer be his to control.
Mo Ke Tuo seemed to be a little moved by his proposal and stopped in place, pondered for a moment, but ultimately refused, “I think it’s better to wait for others to come over. Just like you haven’t lived long enough, neither have I.”
The land of a fallen Ancient Saint certainly contained some danger in it. How could he be willing to take the lead to explore for others?
“En,” Bao Qi did not persuade any further and just closed his eyes again to mediate.
Mo Ke Tuo walked a few more rounds as he had nothing to do, but soon he got bored and also sat down near Bao Qi like a shadow.
Over the next two days, more and more Demon Kings arrived one after another.
These Demon Kings were all Masters from their own Clans, and even though Bao Qi did not know them well, he was familiar with their names.
The number of visitors exceeded his expectation, which made him a little uneasy.
He thought it would be good enough to have ten people respond to his invitation; after all, the Demon Kings weren’t exactly free. Moreover, he was not close to some of them. However, a total of fifteen Demon Kings came after just two days, and most of them were stronger than him.
It seemed that he had underestimated the attraction of Sainthood.
[Can Sir Shaman Niu handle so many Demon Kings? He better not go for wool and come home shorn.]
Many Demon Kings gathered together at this place, and at this moment, the wilderness was saturated with Demon Qi. Every Demon King who came here would undoubtedly question Bao Qi about the situation here first, then check it for themselves. All of them would only remain after confirming that there was nothing wrong.
Bao Qi had to say that the portal created by Yang Kai was perfect, at least it did not arouse any suspicion from the Demon Kings.
It was rare for such Masters to gather together in one place, so naturally, there were Demon Kings who were close to each other who huddled in groups and loudly boasted about how many foreign Masters they had killed and how many foreign beauties they had captured. They were utterly immersed in bragging about themselves, and when there was a slight verbal conflict, they would put on a stance and looked like they were ready to break into a fight at any time.
Fortunately, everyone was quite restrained, so even if there were some conflicts, they would settle them with words rather than fighting with each other.
“Bao Qi, what are we waiting for?”
A fiery Demon King suddenly stood in front of Bao Qi, the hot flames coming from his body seemingly able to melt space. This guy looked different from other Demon Kings as his skin was notably red, resembling lava from a volcano.
Flame Demon Lai Wen! His strength was above the average among the Demon Kings present and was also well known for his impatience, clearly becoming agitated after waiting for the past two days.
The other Demon Kings’ gazes darted to Bao Qi with the same question in their eyes. Although Bao Qi’s strength was not the strongest among these Demon Kings, being average at best, this was his territory in the end. Furthermore, he was also the one who initiated this gathering to explore the Ancient Saint’s tomb, so everyone had to at least give him a little face.
Bao Qi looked around and announced, “The deadline for the agreed date is tomorrow, but since everyone is so anxious, let’s start now. Almost everyone is here anyway. Those guys who are not here yet are just unlucky. What do you think?”
Certainly, the Demon Kings had no problem with this. There were already fifteen Demon Kings here, so even if there really was any danger in this hidden land, they would be able to overcome it with their abilities. On top of that, the more people who came, the greater the competition would be. No one knew what would happen once they got inside.
Therefore, Bao Qi’s proposal was soon accepted by everyone.
Just when Bao Qi was about to continue, a charming voice called out from afar, “Oh, I’m late. Sorry.”
When the words fell, Sha Ya appeared in the vision of the Demon Kings and got close to them in a few steps.
Seeing that Sha Ya appeared just in time, Bao Qi secretly let out a sigh of relief. Their eyes met, and there was no need to communicate with words.
“Waste!” Someone bellowed as a gigantic skeleton suddenly stepped towards Sha Ya.
The skeleton did not possess any flesh, and instead of being the normal white, was pitch-black, as if it was painted in with a layer of black ink. Only a gloomy green ghost fire in his eyes added some colour to his form.
Bone Demon Fei Li!
As he spoke, he approached Sha Ya with a menacing aura.
This sudden change of situation surprised both Bao Qi and Sha Ya. They had no idea why Fei Li had such hatred for Sha Ya. Although the Charm Demons never had a very good impression, no one had heard of any grudge between Fei Li and Sha Ya.
Bao Qi cast an inquiring look at Sha Ya, but Sha Ya’s expression was filled with innocence.
Just as Sha Ya was hesitating, Fei Li appeared right in front of her, stretched out his huge skeletal hand, grabbed her slender white neck, and lifted her up high.
Sha Ya who was supposed to be a powerful Demon King, struggled like a weak child, seemingly suffocating from this strangling.
Sha Ya felt helpless. If it were another Demon King, perhaps she would still have some methods to save herself, but facing Bone Demon Fei Li who had no flesh and thus no physical desires, she had no ability to resist him at all.
The Charm Technique that she excelled at had no effect on Bone Demons.
“What… are you… doing?” Sha Ya asked with great difficulty. She looked pitiful, unable to get rid of his grip and her face was beginning to turn pale.
The surrounding Demon Kings watched indifferently, none of them showing any mercy to Sha Ya, because everyone knew that her pitiful appearance was nothing but a disguise.
“You failed to live up to the trust of the Demon Saints, yet you still have the face to live?” Fei Li’s pitch-black jaws opened and closed, emitting a strange, grating voice.
As soon as he mentioned this, Sha Ya and Bao Qi were taken aback and wondered whether the secret of them being subdued by Sir Shaman Niu was exposed, but it did not seem so, because if they were really exposed, Bao Qi would have long ago been attacked by the other Demon Kings here.
But if not, why did Fei Li pick on Sha Ya like this?
“What do you mean?” Sha Ya asked with a pale face. Part of it was due to Fei Li’s torture, but another part was the feeling of uneasiness from hiding her secrets.
“Fei Li, Sha Ya is still a Demon King, how did she fail to live up to the trust of the Demon Saints? Tell us if you know anything,” a Demon King took the initiative to ask.
The others turned their attention to Fei Li.
Fei Li just snorted coldly and disclosed, “The territory she ruled has fallen, and all three thousand of her subordinates were killed. Isn’t such a person trash? Doesn’t she deserve to die?
The Demon Kings were taken aback by the information provided by Fei Li. Furthermore, they totally had no idea about it. They encountered the foreign race before, and they knew what abilities the crude Barbarians had. They had personally killed some of the so-called Masters among them, so they did not think that the foreign race was so hard to deal with.
If they had not been ordered to stay on the defensive by the Demon Saints before as they went to recuperate in retreat, these Demon Kings would have taken the initiative to conquer more land. Therefore, they felt a little surprised hearing from Fei Li that Sha Ya’s territory had fallen and all her subordinates were killed all of a sudden.
“How can that be? Can the foreign race be so powerful?”
“Yeah, Fei Li, are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? Although Sha Ya is not strong, she is a Demon King after all. How can the foreign race have such great capability?”
Several Demon Kings who were clueless about the truth started to question, but the majority of the Demon Kings just stood by and watched.
Being doubted, Fei Li just returned a sneer, “Just ask her yourself. I have no grievance against her, so why would I accuse her without reason?”
The eyes of the Demon Kings immediately darted to Sha Ya.
Sha Ya knew that she had no way to hide it, so she could only admit bitterly, “Fei Li is right. The territory under my rule has indeed fallen, and all three thousand soldiers under my command have died. It was due to my dereliction of duty and incompetence!”
Hearing Sha Ya’s confession, the previous Demon Kings who questioned Fei Li immediately shut their mouths. The gaze that everyone cast at Sha Ya gradually turned cold, revealing a sense of disdain towards her.
Ever since they invaded this land and ever since the foreign race began resisting, they did not suffer too much loss. Even if the foreign race won occasionally, it was just some insignificant victories. None of the Demon Kings here had ever experienced the real taste of defeat.
However, not only did Sha Ya lose her territory, she even lost all her subordinates. This was truly a disgrace to the Demon Race.
She really failed to live up to the expectations of the Demon Saints, and such a failure was enough to deprive her of the rights she had as a Demon King.
“She has to die!” Fei Li’s voice became chillier by the moment. Sha Ya’s defeat seemed to have embarrassed him a lot.
No one spoke for Sha Ya this time. Even Bao Qi dared not open his mouth, lest he draw suspicion.
Sha Ya was still held high in the air, and feeling the strength of Fei Li’s grip tighten, she couldn’t help laughing, “I indeed deserve to die. But I want to tell you that my soldiers didn’t die in vain. They fought an army of ten thousand foreigners to death, and no one retreated or fled. They made the foreign race pay a huge price before they died!”
Of course, Bao Qi knew that she was talking nonsense.
But the other Demon Kings looked flabbergasted, as if they could see the three thousand people struggling to resist relentlessly under the siege of an enemy far outnumbering them, ultimately ending in mutual destruction. The cold faces of the Demon Kings warmed up a little hearing this.
“Then why didn’t you die with them?” Fei Li seemed unmoved by her story as the ghost fire in his eyes flickered menacingly.
Sha Ya opened her mouth, but instead of justifying herself, she just said, “Kill me then. I’ve lost my territory and clansmen. I really don’t have the qualification to be a Demon King anymore.”
She stopped struggling and resigned herself to being slaughtered.
The ghost fire in Fei Li’s eyes suddenly became dark, and he nodded gently, “You still have a little shame. Good, don’t worry, I’ll give you a quick death.”
When he was about to give Sha Ya a fatal blow, Bao Qi, who had been silent, suddenly blurted, “Wait!”
Fei Li turned to him. Although Sha Ya secretly felt relieved, she maintained the same indifferent expression on her face, like she had accepted death and had no fear.
Fei Li said nothing and just stared at Bao Qi, waiting for him to express his opinion. Of course, pleading would be of no use, since he was determined to kill Sha Ya, no intercession would work unless it was an order from the Demon Saints.
“Sha Ya deserves to die, but she shouldn’t die by our hands,” Bao Qi remarked calmly. He pointed at the disguised entrance and continued, “Why don’t we let her be the first to go in and see what’s inside. I believe no one wants to take the lead, right?”
The Demon Kings were immediately moved by his idea. Exchanging looks, some of them bowed their heads, whispered to each other, and nodded one after another. They obviously thought it was a good idea.
The Demon Kings were indeed interested in the tomb of the fallen Ancient Saint, but none of them could help feeling hesitant about what might lay inside. Given that even an Ancient Saint had died here, there were undoubtedly risks in this place.
Although they did not discuss this before, everyone had the same thought in their mind, [Who will go in first?]
It was undeniable that it was dreadfully dangerous to take the lead. The first person to enter may encounter great opportunities, but would be more likely to face unpredictable dangers! All Demon Kings cherished their lives, so no one was stupid enough to volunteer themselves to explore the way for others.
But now, there was a good candidate for the job.
Fei Li remained still, the ghost fires in his eye sockets slowly dimming, as if he was deep in thought.
Bao Qi struck while the iron was hot, “Fei Li, I won’t stop you if you want to kill her, but you’ll have to take her place and enter first then.”
According to Bao Qi’s initial plan, he was supposed to volunteer himself to enter the entrance first to eliminate everyone’s doubts. He knew where the portal in front of him led to anyway, and knew that there was no danger inside, but such a move still might not convince the others too much, because this ‘land of the fallen Ancient Saint’ was actually discovered by him.
But it would be a different case if Sha Ya went first.
As long as she went in and came back again, all suspicions would disappear.
Fei Li snorted coldly, swung his hand, and threw Sha Ya to the ground. His dark pitch-black mouth opened and closed, “Sha Ya, you heard him. I won’t kill you this time, but you have to prove that your life still has value!”
Sha Ya coughed softly and stroked her neck for a long time until she could breathe normally again. She looked up at the Demon Kings with a bitter and pleading look, seemingly unwilling to be the first to enter this strange portal, but who would care about her?
In the end, Sha Ya could only sigh and push her Demon Qi to protect herself before walking towards the place where the vortex was located.
The Demon Kings held their breath and watched. Sha Ya suddenly stopped and announced, “If I don’t come back in an hour, it means there is fatal danger inside.”
After saying so, Sha Ya leapt into the vortex and was swallowed up by a mass of chaos and emptiness, vanishing from sight
The Demon Kings waited quietly in front of the vortex, but every pair of eyes was fixed in the direction of the entrance with longing and expectation.
Sha Ya mentioned that if she did not come back in an hour, it meant that there was fatal danger inside, but if she really did not return in an hour, the other Demon Kings would not give up so easily and would begin searching for a safer method to enter for investigation.
At the same time, in the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai looked indifferently at Sha Ya who came in, and praised, “Both of you did a good job!”
Sha Ya was dumbfounded as she realized that even if Yang Kai hid inside this place, he was perfectly aware of the situation outside. Fortunately, she did not have any treacherous thoughts earlier, otherwise she would be in deep trouble.
“It was Bao Qi who saved the situation with his quick wit. I almost screwed up.” Sha Ya dared not to take credit for it.
Yang Kai shook his head, “There will always be some small accidents in life, but it doesn’t matter. It turned out to be better than the initial plan.”
Sha Ya smiled lightly, “Shall I wait here for an hour, then go out and tell them there’s no danger then?”
Yang Kai replied, “There is no evidence to prove your words, so that alone will not be enough to make them lose their reason and rush in recklessly.”
Sha Ya wondered, “What should I do then?”
“You’ll know later,” Yang Kai’s lips curled into a mysterious smile.
He did not explain it clearly, and Sha Ya did not dare to ask further. She could only stand there quietly and wait for time to pass.
More than an hour later, in the wilderness, the Demon Kings who were quietly paying attention to the entrance of the vortex suddenly froze. They looked closely at the vortex with their eyes lit up, as if they had discovered something amazing.
A faint ripple pulsated in the vortex, followed by the emergence of a graceful figure with a small, short tail.
“She came out!” The Flame Demon shouted as he saw her.
Sha Ya came out safely. In other words, even if the land of the fallen Ancient Saint was dangerous, it was not enough to cause troubles to the Demon Kings. This was excellent news to them.
The other Demon Kings were also excited, but they also had some doubts at the same time.
Because Sha Ya emerged out of the vortex with her back facing them. Not only that, she was moving incredibly slowly, as if there was a force pulling her back in from the other side of the portal.
“What’s going on?” Someone asked.
“Sha Ya, what are you doing? If you want to come out, just come out quickly. Why are you just showing us your ass?”
“Is she trying to seduce us? Hahaha, I have to say, this ass is quite perky. It must feel good to the touch.”
The group of people launched into vulgar children mode at Sha Ya.
“She encountered trouble.” Fei Li suddenly bellowed.
At this time, Sha Ya abruptly pushed her Demon Qi, and lurched her body towards the outside, with only her arms remaining in the vortex, as if she was firmly grasping something and was trying to drag it out of the vortex.
“Come… Help me!” Sha Ya turned her head and shouted at the Demon Kings.
No one moved, as no one knew what kind of trouble Sha Ya was in. It was not worth getting involved just to help her.
“What are you doing?” Bao Qi was even more anxious than the other Demon Kings. The plan somehow went smoothly until now, and as long as Sha Ya stepped out and told everyone that there was no danger inside, he believed that everyone would be willing to enter to investigate, and his task would be complete.
But now, Sha Ya was causing trouble again. This made him anxious and angry as he had no idea whether it was the plan of Sir Shaman Niu or Sha Ya’s own idea.
“Saint Artifact!” Sha Ya blurted out shocking news, “I found a Saint Artifact!”
“What?”
Hearing this, the faces of the Demon Kings all changed drastically.
Saint Artifacts, the weapons that had the ability to shake the Heavens and shatter the Earth. These were rare treasures throughout the entire Demon Realm, and only Demon Saints were qualified to wield them.
As Demon Kings, they had seen a few Saint Artifacts before, and also felt the destructive power which radiated from such treasures, and therefore had some understanding of them.
At this moment, they were confused and in disbelief when Sha Ya claimed that she had found a Saint Artifact.
However, Sha Ya’s did not appear to be lying, and she did seem to be holding onto something.
So after a moment of hesitation, several Demon Kings rushed up, stood beside Sha Ya, and plunged their hands into the vortex, only to seemingly grasp nothing but chaotic emptiness.
A few of them turned their heads at Sha Ya suspiciously.
Sha Ya asserted anxiously, “Grab my arms!”
Only then did the Demon Kings recover their senses and grab Sha Ya’s arms, their expressions turning to shock one after another as they felt a huge force in front of them that was contending with Sha Ya.
With a low roar, Demon Qi surged, and as if she had received divine assistance, Sha Ya suddenly took a step back, and immediately pulled out her arms that had been hidden in the portal.
In the next moment, dozens of shocked eyes gazed at the object Sha Ya was holding onto with all her might. Strictly speaking, the object had not even been completely withdrawn from the portal and only a section of it was exposed.
It was clearly the handle of a weapon, but no one knew what kind of weapon it was; however, it exuded an extremely pure and rich Demon Qi.
This Demon Qi was even purer than that of a Demon King.
“It really is… a Saint Artifact!” A Demon King whispered to himself, his eyes turning red in an instant. The other Demon Kings grew equally excited.
Although it was only just a glimpse of the object, and it was not completely extracted from the vortex, none of the Demon Kings present had any doubts anymore.
This was definitely a Saint Artifact, a Saint Artifact that only a Demon Saint could control!
In this shocking and stunning moment, an even more powerful force suddenly came out from the vortex. The force was so strong that it began to overwhelm the several Demon Kings. Caught off guard, they all exclaimed and pushed their Demon Qi madly.
Sha Ya let out a scream as blood spurted from her fair hands before she lurched back and fell flat to the ground. Even the Demon Kings who had just helped her staggered a few steps back.
The partially revealed unknown Saint Artifact disappeared without a trace, and the portal before them became calm again, leaving all the Demon Kings staring into the depths of the vortex in search of its traces.
Sha Ya’s gasps brought them back to their senses and immediately the surrounding Demon Kings turned to her to question her.
The bones of her palms were exposed, and in addition to her blood-stained hands, it was obvious that she suffered some injuries from the Saint Artifact just now. These injuries looked miserable, but it was not a big deal for a Demon King. What was worth paying attention to was the distinctive Demon Qi lingering in Sha Ya’s wound.
Every Demon King watched intently, with excitement etched on each of their faces. They knew that the trace of Demon Qi being left behind by the Saint Artifact was proof that what happened just now was not some shared illusion.
Sha Ya really did find a Saint Artifact inside, but unfortunately, they failed to see the entire Artifact in the end, which was a bit regrettable.
“Sha Ya, what Saint Artifact was that?” The Shadow Demon started. Even he, who had always been able to keep his calm, could not control the excitement in his voice at this moment.
Sha Ya’s eyes flashed as she recalled, “A War Hammer!”
“A War Hammer!” The Demon Kings drew a sharp breath.
Bao Qi quickly questioned, “What did you see? Was it dangerous inside?”
Sha Ya shook her head, “It wasn’t. It actually seemed like a quiet and picturesque world. After some exploration, I saw the Saint Artifact, and… the body of the Ancient Saint!”
Eyes lit up and all turned eagerly to the vortex.
Although the information that Sha Ya provided was not much, it was sufficient, and that glimpse of a Saint Artifact brought a fatal appeal to the many Demon Kings.
Bao Qi took a deep breath and continued loudly, “Since we know that there are no dangers inside…”
Before he could finish his words though, the Shadow Demon suddenly let out a peal of strange laughter. However, the Demon Kings were even more bewildered that his voice came from a different direction. When they looked towards the direction of the voice, they found that the Shadow Demon had already dived into the vortex in a flash, while the black shadow that remained outside was obviously a diversion that immediately vanished as soon as he entered the portal.
“Mo Ke Tuo!” The Bone Demon Fei Li shouted sharply, unwilling to be outdone, and chased after him instantly.
Seeing this, the other Demon Kings wasted no time listening to Bao Qi’s nonsense. Afraid that they would miss out on this opportunity, they immediately rushed into the vortex, disappearing one after another.
Standing in place, Bao Qi watched his former companions with a strange look on his face, losing all interest in trying to say anything. Only after everyone else had gone in did he turn to Sha Ya and ask, “What the hell was that?”
He did not believe that it really was a Saint Artifact, but he could not come up with another reasonable explanation for what he saw.
Sha Ya stood up, her bloody hands healing at a visible speed, very quickly becoming a delicate jade white shade again, giggling as she replied, “Didn’t you see it clearly by yourself?”
Bao Qi frowned, “But…”
But where did Sir Shaman Niu get a Saint Artifact from? There were only a few Demon Saints present during this invasion, and although they had a great battle with the foreign race’s Shaman Saints not long ago, no one had died, and no Saint Artifacts had been lost.
“Go in and take a look and you will know.” Sha Ya giggled and stepped into the vortex, entering the Sealed World Bead without any hesitation.
Bao Qi was reluctant to follow after her; after all, he was the one who led so many Demon Kings into this trap. Although it was by Yang Kai’s orders and not his own intentions, he really could not bring himself to face them. However, he still could not restrain his own curiosity, and after a moment of hesitation, he grit his teeth and walked into the portal.
In the Sealed World Bead, the group of Demon Kings were already raising a riot. They each treated everyone else present as if they were their mortal enemies. The fighting was fierce as Demon Qi surged, and powerful Divine Abilities bloomed one by one, each one more ruthless and malicious than the last.
Bao Qi, who had just entered, was startled by the situation in front of him. He could not help but feel a little dazed and instinctively thought that he was hallucinating, but when he took a closer look, he found that he was not. The Demon Kings, who were united earlier, were really mercilessly fighting amongst themselves now.
Just when Bao Qi was in a daze, his gaze was attracted to a War Hammer hovering mid-air. The handle of the War Hammer looked familiar as it was clearly the one they all saw earlier, but now the entire body of this weapon was visible. There was also confirmation of its identity as a Saint Artifact now.
Because the pure Demon Qi that pulsed from this War Hammer could not be faked.
The Saint Artifact War Hammer kept changing hands throughout the battle. Whoever got hold of the War Hammer would be attacked by the other Demon Kings, so it is impossible for someone to keep it for long. It was impossible for even the Shadow Demon, Mo Ke Tuo, or the Bone Demon, Fei Li, whose powers were at the peak of this group.
“What a bunch of fools!” Sha Ya’s sneers sounded nearby.
Bao Qi turned his head to look around, and saw Sir Shaman Niu and Sha Ya, not knowing when they appeared beside him. Sha Ya watched the battle in front of her with mockery, while Sir Shaman Niu looked indifferent as if he was watching a children’s fight.
“Sir… That Saint Artifact…” Bao Qi could not help asking the question in his heart.
“It’s real,” Yang Kai replied shortly.
Bao Qi was shocked and immediately wanted to ask more, but did not dare to open his mouth.
The Demonic War Hammer was indeed real. This was a trophy Yang Kai obtained outside Maplewood City. It was the weapon of the ancient One-Eyed Great Demon and was handed over to the Embodiment after Yang Kai refined it.
However, the Embodiment had been fusing with Divine Spirit Shi Huo’s Source and was still unconscious, so the Demonic War Hammer had not been put to use recently.
Today though, Yang Kai had turned it into the perfect bait, one that even Demon Kings could not resist, causing them all to step into this trap.
“Sir, is it okay for you to show up like this?” Sha Ya asked curiously. It was still acceptable for Bao Qi and Sha Ya to be standing by and watching. Even if doubts surfaced in the other Demon Kings, they didn’t have the time and energy to spare on them right now.
Strangely though, Yang Kai’s presence did not attract any of the Demon King’s attention at all, with none of them even glancing in his direction.
Yang Kai smiled and explained, “Since I control everything here, I naturally have a way to prevent them from sensing me.”
Sha Ya let out a sound, expressing understanding.
Yang Kai continued, “It’s time for you to do your job!”
Sha Ya responded, “Sir, please protect me carefully!”
Immediately, she drew a deep breath, and screamed, “I’m the one who found the Saint Artifact, it’s mine!” Her tender body flickered as she joined in the chaotic melee, attempting to snatch the Demonic War Hammer. But her strength was at the bottom of the many Demon Kings present, so even though she put in her best effort, she still could not make her way into the inner circle, causing ‘anxiety and helplessness’ to cover her face.
The battle of the Demon Kings was bloody and brutal, each of them stopping at nothing in order to obtain the Demonic War Hammer. It did not take long for someone to be injured, but the injury did not extinguish their fighting spirit and instead roused their ferocity. As a result, as time passed, the battle became increasingly intense.
The Demonic War Hammer was constantly changing owners, and after an initial round of confrontation, the relatively weak Demon Kings no longer dared to approach the centre of the battlefield and could only constantly wander around the edges, looking for opportunities to intervene. In this way, Sha Ya finally had a few companions, and she no longer looked out of place.
This battle of Demon Kings lasted for more than an hour before a roar echoed loudly, “Stop!”
The Demon Kings stopped their actions instinctively, and drew a distance from each other, looking towards the place where the sound came from.
Over there stood Fei Li, the Bone Demon, whose bones had become loosely attached. Every movement made was accompanied by a worn clicking sound, and the ghost fire that had been dancing wildly in his eye sockets earlier had dimmed noticeably.
The other Demon Kings were in similar states, their originally strong auras having grown significantly weaker, causing them each to pant heavily for breath.
Shadow Demon Mo Ke Tuo was the current owner of the Demonic War Hammer. Wrapping black Qi around the War Hammer, he drew away from everyone else.
Fei Li did not look at the other Demon Kings, but cast his gaze into the air, the ghost fire in his eyes gazing at Bao Qi.
Although Fei Li had not said anything yet, at that moment, the Demon Kings all felt something odd and looked up into the sky together. Previously, no one was in the mood to pay attention to it even when they noticed Bao Qi’s unusual behaviour, because they were in the heat of the battle, competing for the Saint Artifact.
But now that they had stopped, the difference between Bao Qi’s calmness and the gaffe of the Demon Kings was of notable contrast.
“Bao Qi, you should give us an explanation!” Fei Li sounded angry and bitter, “Why did you incite us to fight one another? What do you stand to gain from this?”
Although the appearance of the Saint Artifact was somewhat amazing, Fei Li instinctively realized that all this was a trap, a scheme to provoke the Demon Kings here to fight one another.
He just could not figure out why Bao Qi would do this. What benefits could he gain from it?
The other Demon Kings frowned slightly and gradually returned to their senses. Even though they were still tempted to snatch the Saint Artifact, they forcibly suppressed their desires and turned to Bao Qi, who had been watching coldly from the side the whole time. They all looked like they were prepared to teach Bao Qi a lesson if he could not give them a reasonable explanation.
“Ha!” Bao Qi could not help sneering, revealing a look of mockery on his face, as if he had stripped off his mask and revealed his true colours. He looked down at the Demon Kings below, and sneered, “I thought all of you would fight until only one bloodied and bruised survivor remained. Too bad there’s someone smart among you.”
As soon as he declared this, the faces of the Demon Kings changed one after another.
These words were a confirmation from Bao Qi of their suspicions.
This really was a trap! They had no idea what the hell Bao Qi was planning to do, even using a Saint Artifact he somehow found as bait to cause internecine conflict among them.
The mere thought infuriated the Demon Kings.
Fei Li replied coldly, “Bao Qi, you court death!”
Bao Qi chuckled, “Are you sure you have the ability to do that?”
“You’ll know soon enough!” As Fei Li spoke, his bones suddenly ignited in green flames. It was unknown how he moved, but he instantly appeared in front of Bao Qi with just a step, and stretched out his hand to grab him.
Although Bao Qi was stronger than Sha Ya, he was still a Minor Realm inferior to Fei Li. According to the division Shamans, Sha Ya was considered a Low-Rank Shaman King, Bao Qi a Mid-Rank, and Fei Li a High-Rank Shaman King.
With such an absolute gap in strength, Fei Li believed that he couldn’t lose.
His movement was light and facile, as if he was catching a fly.
But Bao Qi just smiled, remaining perfectly calm while facing the incoming ruthless blow from the peak-level Demon King, the ridicule in his eyes growing ever stronger.
Fei Li instinctively felt something was wrong, but he could not tell what it was. However, the arrow had already left the string, so he could not afford to hesitate and pushed even more strength into his strike, attempting to take Bao Qi’s life and show him the outcome of his terrible mistake.
The next moment, the ghost fire in Fei Li’s eyes flashed violently.
Because his hand involuntarily stopped just a palm’s length from Bao Qi, and he could not move further no matter how hard he tried.
Then, a figure appeared in front of him like a ghost. It was a young man covered in rich Demon Qi, but it was apparent this young man had not lost his mind as his eyes were shining brilliantly.
He looked indifferent, and the aura released from his whole body was nothing worthy of note, but Fei Li still felt dreadfully uneasy in his heart when he saw him. He had not felt this way for countless years. The last time Fei Li experienced such uneasiness was nearly a thousand years ago, when he was still just a weakling that could barely keep his own bones from falling apart.
At that time, he encountered a Bone-Crushing Beast, which was the nemesis of the Bone Demon Clan. Fei Li carefully hid in the tall grass and did not dare to make a move for fear that the Bone-Crushing Beast would find and swallow him as a meal.
Just reliving the memory from that experience a thousand years ago gave him an unpleasant feeling. Although he did not have flesh and blood, Fei Li could still feel the horrifying chill from the depths of his Soul from that time.
He had no idea how this strange young man appeared before his eyes. Rather, it was as if he had been standing there the whole time.
The expressions of the other Demon Kings also fluctuated wildly. More than a dozen pairs of eyes focused on Yang Kai, with the Demon Kings who had just been fighting all out with one another now banding together. Even the Shadow Demon Mo Ke Tuo, who snatched the Saint Artifact, was no exception, drawing closer to the other Demon Kings without anyone noticing.
“Sir!” Bao Qi bowed and saluted, displaying his submission to Yang Kai with his actions.
“Sir?” The ghost fire in Fei Li’s eyes jumped again, surprised by the way Bao Qi addressed this young man.
As a Demon King, they could only address the Demon Saints by such a title, but the young man in front of them obviously did not possess the slightest hint of the aura of a Demon Saint. Instead, he looked just like a demonised Barbarian, so how could he be addressed as Sir by Bao Qi?
The demonised Barbarians had the lowest status in the Demon Race. They were even inferior to Demon Beasts. Many times, after they had outlived their other uses, these demonised Barbarians would become feed for Demon Beasts.
“Who are you?” Fei Li questioned in a deep voice.
Yang Kai smiled faintly at him, which bewildered Fei Li, but he did not have time to have a second thought because a terrifying force abruptly approached his face in the next instant. Even as a peak level Demon King, Fei Li couldn’t muster any resistance or response when facing this invisible attack. Launched out by the impact, Fei Li’s bones cracked and almost shattered apart.
Fei Li let out a screech as he fell back next to the other Demon Kings.
The other Demon Kings were stunned and all of them looked at Fei Li in shock before turning to Yang Kai in bewilderment. None of them could believe their eyes.
“Something is not right with this guy!” Fei Li quickly alerted everyone.
It was indeed strange. The aura of this guy was obviously not strong, but he could actually send one of them flying so easily. If this young man had wanted Fei Li’s life just now, would he have been able to resist?
“Bao Qi, what is the meaning of this?” Sha Ya jumped out and shouted with a look of righteous indignation, “What are you doing?”
Indeed, Charm Demons had an unparalleled talent in acting. Her expression and tone were full of anger, and none of the Demon Kings suspected her. Furthermore, the question that she asked was the exact doubt the Demon Kings had.
Bao Qi smiled lightly, “Sha Ya, Sha Ya… you’re asking the wrong person. It’s not what I want to do, but what my Sir wants to do.”
Sha Ya sneered, “Your Sir? How dare a waste only as strong as a Demon Great General call himself Sir in front of us?”
Bao Qi’s face darkened, “With your limited intelligence, none of you are capable of imagining what my Sir’s capabilities are.”
These words were almost identical to the ones Sha Ya spoke to him a few months ago. At that moment, Bao Qi had a strange feeling, as if he had become Sha Ya, and the group of Demon Kings below had become him from that time.
It seemed that Yang Kai intended to give a demonstration of his power and authority here, so he lightly lifted his hand, causing Shadow Demon Mo Ke Tuo to let out a scream laced with panic and surprise as he involuntarily flew up. Mid-air, the black Qi which wrapped around ‘his’ body suddenly dispersed, a delicate figure taking its place.
This Shadow Demon, who was famous throughout the Demon Realm, a figure who struck terror into many hearts, and whose true face had never been seen by anyone else before, actually turned out to be a woman! Moreover, she was extremely petite, which was a marked contrast from the typical tall and powerful Demons.
The group of Demon Kings were all dumbstruck.
Mo Ke Tuo was ranked highly among all Demon Kings and there was not a single Demon King who would dare to fight with ‘her’ alone. All this time, Mo Ke Tuo covered herself in black Qi, so no one knew her true appearance except the Demon Saints.
Up until now!
Therefore, everyone was flabbergasted. They never thought that the true identity of this enigmatic Shadow Demon would be this. Apart from the mysterious black Qi, she looked just like an ordinary Demon. There was nothing special about her, and even her appearance was just ordinary.
Mo Ke Tuo was even more shocked than her peers.
It was not her intention to disperse her concealment technique, so this was obviously the result of something this young man did. What truly terrified her though was that she could not resist at all.
How was this possible? With her proficiency in concealment and assassination, she would not be this helpless even when facing the Demon Saints, but at this moment, she could not help having the impression that she no was longer in control of her own fate.
Before that, she was always the one who controlled the fate of others!
Mo Ke Tuo was dragged towards Yang Kai under the puzzled gaze of all the Demon Kings. She definitely did not want to just wait for death, so she went all out to resist, but no matter how she tried, she could not squeeze out even the slightest strength from her body.
Her face turned pale in an instant as she stared at the young man in front of her fearfully.
The young man smiled lightly at her, which horrified her, like she was facing a giant beast that could devour her whole.
“This is mine.” Yang Kai stretched out his hand and tapped her head.
As if she was struck by lightning, following a grunt, Mo Ke Tuo plummeted like a meteor and spewed a mouthful of blood. She was obviously seriously wounded. This scene horrified the other Demon Kings even more.
It was only a few breaths of time since the young man appeared, but his ability had been recognized by all the Demon Kings. He was like a God of this world, and had the power of life and death over everyone present.
The Saint Artifact that Mo Ke Tuo was holding onto earlier was now quietly hovering in mid-air. Yang Kai reached out his hand to grab it and swung it to his back. Then, the Demonic War Hammer immediately turned into a flash of brilliance and vanished.
No one knew where the young man sent the Saint Artifact to, and at this moment, no one cared. Everyone was wondering if they could compete with this young man even if they worked together. They knew that there was no chance of winning alone, for even Fei Li and Mo Ke Tuo collapsed at the first blow. Since even they were helpless, what could the others do?
Needless to say, the Demon Kings immediately reached a consensus as their eyes met.
“My name is Shaman Niu!” Yang Kai stood mid-air and looked down at the Demon Kings, his figure seeming much larger and more imposing than it should, “As you can see, Bao Qi is my subordinate!”
The Demon Kings kept silent as they were aware of this.
“What do you want?” Sha Ya asked half angrily, half anxiously.
Yang Kai smiled lightly, “I want all of you to be my subordinates like Bao Qi!”
“What a joke!”
“In your dreams!”
“Are you messed up in the head, boy?”
The group of Demon Kings clamoured. Although this guy named Shaman Niu seemed invincible, it was impossible for them to surrender voluntarily, with all of them having no intention of backing down, aside from Sha Ya that is.
Bao Qi stood beside Yang Kai, looking at them coldly and mocking them quietly.
Back then, he was like these Demon Kings. He did not want to submit to Sir Shaman Niu either, but what happened in the end? Sir Shaman Niu did not require his compliance, he simply tore open his Knowledge Sea defences and branded him with his Soul Imprint.
Having learnt the lessons of the past, Bao Qi knew the fate that awaited these guys would probably be the same. No one could resist Sir Shaman Niu in this world. Ever since these former colleagues of his stepped into this world, their fate was sealed.
“You want us to be your slaves just like Bao Qi?” Fei Li’s jaw moved, snickering as he grinned, “Your dreams are quite grand!”
“If you have the ability, just kill us all!” Another Demon King shouted and was soon echoed by all of the Demon King present. Besides Sha Ya, who had other plans, all the other Demon Kings showed an unyielding spirit.
Yang Kai swept his eyes around at the Demon King below as they stared back at him fearlessly.
Nodding gently, he declared, “Since you want to die, I’ll help you.”
As his words fell, he suddenly raised his hand and the face of the Demon King who spoke earlier changed, his body involuntarily levitating up to the sky, as if he was lifted by an invisible hand. No matter how much he struggled, he could not resist it at all.
The other Demon Kings certainly would not sit back and watch, so after exchanging looks, they pushed their Demon Qi and rushed up together.
But before they could do anything, Yang Kai suddenly pressed down with his other hand and a powerful force which seemed to come from all around descended on the Demon Kings. This was the force of an entire World, so restraining the fifteen other Demon Kings on the spot was as easy as snapping one’s fingers, making it so none of them could even move a muscle.
The faces of the Demon Kings changed drastically. Although this Shaman Niu showed his unimaginable powers before, they thought that they might still stand a chance if they all united against him. With so many Demon Kings fighting side-by-side, perhaps even a Demon Saint would be given trouble.
Nevertheless, reality overwhelmed them with terror!
The fifteen Demon Kings were suppressed with just a wave of the enemy’s hand. Moreover, he did not seem to have exerted any strength. Was he really a God? What other explanation could there be?
All of the Demon King’s eyes quivered violently as they turned their eyes to the sky with extreme difficulty.
“Ku Ke!” Fei Li gritted his teeth as he bellowed, “Don’t lower your head!”
The panic in the eyes of the Demon King, Ku Ke, dispersed after hearing Fei Li’s encouragement. He stood firm as he declared in a muffled voice, “I will never bow!”
He raised his head with great effort and looked straight into Yang Kai’s eyes.
Yang Kai tightened the grip of his hand, and a soft noise of a crushed object could be heard. Ku Ke, who had been suspended in mid-air, collapsed, his physique turning into scattered dust as it fell.
Ku Ke was a Stone Demon, so his physique was as tough as the hardest rock in the world. Stone Demons had the greatest defensive ability in the Hundred Clans, and even Shadow Demon Mo Ke Tuo was not sure if she could break through Ku Ke’s defence in one blow.
But such a Demon King was crushed to dust by this Shaman Niu in an instant.
The dust, which was formerly Ku Ke’s flesh and blood, rained down on the ground along with three hearts.
Those were Ku Ke’s Demon Hearts!
As long as the Demon Heart remained, the Demon Clan would never die! Therefore, as long as any of the three Demon Hearts remained, Ku Ke would have a chance to resurrect.
*Pu pu pu…*
In the process of falling, the three Demon Hearts exploded one after another, and the pure Demon Qi spilled out, darkening the surrounding world.
The other Demon Kings’ hearts sank, as chills ran up their spines.
Ku Ke was dead! He died without being able to resist! All three of his Demon Hearts were destroyed as well, so not even the Great Demon God would have the ability to revive him now.
Every Demon King understood that Shaman Niu was giving them a demonstration of authority by making an example of one of them, but that knowledge did not reduce the shock they felt about it. He really killed Ku Ke. They thought that since he wanted them to be his slaves, there would be some room for negotiation; after all, dead people could not be slaves.
Nevertheless, he killed Ku Ke without hesitation, as if it did not matter to him and killing them all meant nothing to him.
“Oh right, I forgot to tell you,” Yang Kai crossed his hands behind his back, swept his eyes across the Demon Kings, and continued calmly, “My ability is limited, and I can only accept ten slaves. After all, your cultivations are higher than mine, so ten is my limit, and I can’t accept any more than that. But you still have fifteen people here, so…” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “Some of you must die!”
This smile was imprinted into the Demon Kings’ eyes, and it was more terrifying to them than the anger of the Demon Saints.
Bao Qi stood beside Yang Kai without saying anything, having no idea whether what Yang Kai said was true or not, but as far as he knew, it should be accurate. After all, the cost of implanting a Soul Imprint into another’s mind wasn’t small, and maintaining these imprints required a certain amount of strength as well. One would not be able to expend their Spiritual Energy and Soul without limit.
The true Realm of Sir Shaman Niu was not too high, so being able to enslave ten Demon Kings was already shocking enough.
Including Sha Ya and himself, that meant there were only eight places left, but there were still fourteen Demon Kings present, excluding Sha Ya. In other words, he had to kill six more.
If Bao Qi could figure out such a simple thing, the other Demon Kings could figure it out too, and for a moment, they became gloomy.
Killing Ku Ke was not only to set an example, but it was also necessary because there were too many people, so it was useless to keep them all! Aware of this, the mentality of some Demon Kings began to change.
Before Yang Kai’s announcement, they were fine with working together, and it was an honour to live and die together, but now that some of them had to die while others could live, self-interest began to creep into these Demon Kings’ mentality and a faint hostility suddenly broke out into the atmosphere.
Yang Kai pressed on, “Let me tell you, even if you don’t want to surrender to me, I can still turn you into my slaves; however, I prefer someone who takes the initiative. After all, forcefully picked melons are not sweet!”
Fei Li bellowed, “Don’t listen to his nonsense! He’s lying! As long as we insist, he will have no way but to kill us! As a Demon King, I’d rather die than surrender!”
After his shout, many of the Demon Kings had their courage renewed.
It was a great shame to be a slave to the foreign race, and it was even worse given that this foreigner had lower cultivation than them.
Yang Kai smiled and did not stop Fei Li from befogging others’ minds. He just waited for him to finish, then looked down at a red-eyed Demon King, “I’ll give you ten breaths of time to consider whether you want to live or die.”
The Demon King showed a defiant expression on his face and sneered at Yang Kai’s request. His strength was restrained in his body and could not put up any real resistance, so he just spat at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai continued, “Don’t play the victim here. You all set foot onto this land for no reason, burned, looted, and killed my Barbarian Race. You are the invaders!”
The Demon King snorted, “Then kill me. This King has killed many foreigners anyway. It is not shameful to die here!”
“As you wish!” Yang Kai stretched out his hand and tapped on this Demon King’s forehead. With a soft pop, a hole was pierced into the Demon King’s head, followed by a few explosions in his body. His Demon Hearts were shattered, and his body fell down limply, the brilliance in his eyes disappearing in an instant.
“I will continue to ask and I will kill until I have enough, then it’s congratulations to the rest. Some of you will be lucky to be my slaves!” Yang Kai remarked with an indifferent tone. Compared with the helpless Demon Kings, it seemed like he was the real Demon King, and those who stood in front of him were the weak lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
“You’d best pray that all the people I ask refuse me. In that case, the remaining will have a way to live.”
He walked step by step and soon came to Sha Ya, and asked faintly, “Live or die?”
Sha Ya’s face was pale, as if the death of the previous two Demon Kings had given her a great impact. She looked so panicked that she failed to answer Yang Kai’s questions in the first place.
Fei Li saw this and bellowed, “Sha Ya, we will accompany you soon. Death is just a return to the Great Demon God’s embrace. There is nothing to be scared of here!”
Sha Ya stammered, “Fei Li, it’s easy for you to talk! The person being asked is me, not you. Death is indeed nothing, but dying in such an ugly way would bring shame to our Demon Clan…”
“You…” Fei Li was taken aback and looked at Sha Ya coldly, “Don’t tell me you really want to…”
“You have three breaths of time to decide!” Yang Kai slowly raised a finger and pointed at Sha Ya.
Sha Ya immediately half-knelt on the ground, and bowed her head, “Sha Ya is willing to submit her loyalty to Sir Shaman Niu.”
The faces of all the Demon Kings changed, the majority of them were glaring at Sha Ya with contempt and anger. They were ashamed to call her a Demon King like them! However, a few secretly felt some empathy with Sha Ya.
There were always those who embraced death courageously, but there were still others who were cowards and feared death. Although these Demon Kings were strong, they still belonged to this reality.
“Very good!” Yang Kai revealed a smile and put his hand on Sha Ya’s head, continuing their act. Sha Ya looked up again, and replied with pleasant surprise, “Many thanks, Sir!”
As she spoke, she stood up and walked a few steps over to Bao Qi.
Bao Qi glanced at her and gave her a look of approval.
To be honest, if he had not known Sha Ya’s true status, he too would have been cheated by her.
“I should have killed you earlier!” Fei Li ground his teeth and bellowed. He would have rather had Sha Ya die by his hand than become a slave to this foreigner. This was truly a disgrace to the Demon Clan.
Yang Kai turned around with a solemn look, and shouted loudly, “I’ll ask you one last time. Do you want to live… or die!?”
“For the last time, do you want to live, or do you want to die? If no one is willing to submit to me, I don’t mind killing you all. You’re not the only Demon Kings out there so I have plenty of choices. Besides, you don’t have to feel ashamed. Those of you who don’t submit to me will die, and if you submit to me, you will survive. No one will know your choice today except yourselves! These are your last three breaths.” Yang Kai suddenly seemed to be a little impatient when he issued the ultimatum and immediately raised three fingers, calling out with a cold expression as he bent the first finger, “Three!”
After a pause, he continued, “Two!”
All the Demon Kings’ faces turned solemn, realizing the outcome at the end of Shaman Niu’s countdown.
Before he called out the last number, a Demon King with scars on his face stood up and stammered in a low voice, “I am willing to… be loyal to Sir!”
He gritted his teeth as he blurted these words. His expression was difficult to read, but it was obvious that he was struggling violently deep in his heart.
The ghost fire in the Bone Demon Fei Li’s eyes was stagnant. When Sha Ya first surrendered to this foreign race, he already expected such a scene, so he did not blame the others at this moment.
Die on their feet or live on their knees, these were their own choices. Some were willing to abandon their dignity and pride to this foreign race, and he could not stop them from doing that.
But he knew that most of the Demon Kings here were not such cowards.
They were Demon Kings!
The facts had indeed proved Fei Li right. He and the majority of Demon Kings watched the few Demon Kings submit to Yang Kai with shame and anxiety, like a group of children who have done something wrong, waiting for Yang Kai’s judgment.
“Five is it…” Yang Kai wore a small smile as he watched the Demon Kings who were kneeling down in a row, and also at the eight people in the back, smiling as he commented, “It looks like you have all made your own choices.”
Fei Li snorted coldly, his eyes turning contemptuously to the five Demon Kings in front of him before meeting Yang Kai’s eyes, the dancing ghost fire in his sockets full of sarcasm.
“En, the number of people is just right.” Yang Kai grinned.
His words confused the Demon Kings.
Yang Kai slowly lifted his hand, his expression indifferent, “Then you may die now!”
“The Demon Race shall never die!” Fei Li shouted.
The other Demon Kings also began chanting one after another, a look of death-defying determination on their faces.
Popping sounds were then heard as the bodies of each Demon King exploded into a blood mist. There were no bones, and even the Demon Hearts hidden in their bodies vaporized.
Sha Ya’s grin froze on her face and Bao Qi’s eyes twitched violently while the shock in Fei Li’s heart was evident as the two bundles of ghost fire flickered wildly in his eye sockets.
The other Demon Kings were also dumbfounded.
The slaughtered Demon Kings were not the Demon Kings who refused to surrender, but the five cowards who bowed their heads to Yang Kai!
[Did he mistakenly kill the wrong group?]
This thought involuntarily emerged in every Demon King’s mind, but how was that possible? If it was not a mistake, then there was only one explanation left.
This foreigner had done this intentionally. The ones he really wanted to keep with him were not those cowards, but the remaining Demon Kings who refused to surrender. No wonder he said that the number of people was just right. Besides Bao Qi and Sha Ya who had already surrendered to him, the remaining eight people were indeed just the right number!
“What are your intentions here?” Fei Li glared coldly at Yang Kai and asked.
“Don’t you understand what my intentions are?” Yang Kai chuckled slightly.
Fei Li answered, “We will never surrender. You should just kill us.”
Yang Kai nodded in agreement, “I have no doubt about that. You have proved it with actual actions, but I said before that even if you don’t want to submit, I have a way to turn you into my slaves. I need the true Masters among you, while those who actively bow their heads are useless!”
Sha Ya blushed slightly as she surrendered easily without going through much torture. Thinking about that now, she was silently grateful that she was the first to submit to Yang Kai. If she was placed in that position just now, she would most probably be dead.
“Did you humiliate them, shame them, and then kill them just for this reason?” Fei Li’s emotions were beginning to boil. The several dead Demon Kings were cowardly, but Yang Kai’s treacherous behaviour still infuriated him.
“Yes, just because of this.” Yang Kai looked just as indifferent and emotionless as ever, “This was the only way I could clean out the trash.”
Fei Li opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but Yang Kai waved his hand, not giving him a chance to speak, and continued impatiently, “Good, now it’s your turn.”
He stretched out his hand as he spoke, and drew a Demon King over in front of him. His left eye suddenly flashed a golden light as he gazed at the Demon King authoritatively.
The Demon King struggled violently but without any success. With the World’s suppression and Yang Kai’s powerful Divine Sense influx, the Demon King flashed a look of pain on his face, but it was very soon replaced by a resigned expression.
By the time Yang Kai put him down, the Demon King shook his head uncomfortably, and when he raised his head to look at Yang Kai, his eyes were a bit complicated, but there was no longer any hostility. He bowed respectfully and went to stand silently next to Bao Qi and Sha Ya.
“Welcome, Strength Demon You La!” Bao Qi smiled.
The Strength Demon, whose name was You La, glanced at him but still said nothing, causing Bao Qi to feel snubbed.
“Hey, what is this? This doesn’t look good!” Shadow Demon Mo Ke Tuo gulped nervously and lost interest in trying to use her Secret Technique to conceal herself. Watching a stubborn and unwilling Demon King get subdued by the foreign race in such a short time left Mo Ke Tuo shocked and anxious.
The other Demon Kings who witnessed the incident felt the same way.
They were not afraid of death. If they were really afraid of death, they would not have stood so firmly in place and refused to bend their backs. What they really feared was being enslaved and becoming slaves to another!
Even the Demon Saints had not enslaved them.
Without the suppression of this strange World, they would rather use their Demon Qi to self-destruct instead of living an ignoble life. The sad thing was that they could not even kill themselves now.
One Demon King after another was brought in front of the foreign race boy, and knowing what was going to happen next left the rest of the Demon Kings feeling devastated.
“Sir, didn’t you say forcefully picked melons are not sweet? Just let us die, why do you have to put in so much effort?” Mo Ke Tuo opened her mouth and shouted at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai raised his eyes at her, grinning, “Indeed, a forcefully picked melon is not sweet, but… it can still quench one’s thirst!”
Mo Ke Tuo’s expression froze, her face twitching violently.
While she was fuming, Yang Kai pulled her body towards him.
Sighing slightly, and knowing that she would not be able to escape anyway, Mo Ke Tuo just stood before him with a helpless expression.
One by one, the Demon Kings were branded with Yang Kai’s Soul Imprint, and finally, it was Fei Li’s turn.
As the unofficial leader of the many Demon Kings present, Fei Li deserved to be proud as even when Yang Kai branded his Soul Imprint on him, he did not give up resisting. Unfortunately, his resistance was completely useless in the Sealed World Bead.
In just a stick worth of incense, the eight Demon Kings with Fei Li as their leader were all subdued.
Everyone stood together, exchanging awkward glances.
Sha Ya enthusiastically circulated around the many Demon Kings, boasting of Yang Kai’s abilities in an attempt to dispel their dissatisfaction somewhat.
Yang Kai also consumed a huge amount of Spiritual Energy in order to complete this act, but with the support of the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, it was still bearable, and it would only take a while for him to recuperate.
In the Sealed World Bead, the ten Demon Kings looked at Yang Kai solemnly.
Looking around, Yang Kai ordered, “I need you to do a few things for me.”
“Sir, please speak!” Fei Li replied jerkily.
“First, bring me all the demonised Barbarians under your command! I know that each of you more or less has some demonised Barbarians. I need those people.”
Fei Li nodded and obeyed, “Yes.”
The demonised Barbarians were placed in the lowest position among the Demon Race, and no one really cared for them.
“Second, I want your Demon Beasts!” Yang Kai pressed on.
Compared to the previous request, this one was more difficult to fulfil, but it was not impossible. Now that the Demon Saints were busy recuperating, almost no one else could have any control over the Demon Kings in their own territory. None of the Demon subordinates could have a say if they were forced to give up their Demon Beasts.
“Third, gather the subordinates of the Demon Kings that I killed today, and be careful not to let the news of their deaths spread out.”
The Demon Kings nodded and obeyed.
“Sir, shall we join you after finishing this?” Fei Li asked.
“No need!” Yang Kai shook his head, “After finishing, you can do whatever you should do. I will summon you when and if I need you.”
Mo Ke Tuo asked, “Then what if a forei… if Sir’s people attack us? Sir, you do know that your clansmen are also fighting back everywhere.”
Yang Kai looked at her as he answered, “It shouldn’t be difficult for you to send your subordinates to their deaths.”
As soon as this statement came out, the expressions of the eight Demon Kings changed slightly. Indeed, they were marked by Yang Kai’s Soul Imprint and became his slaves, but it was still a bit difficult to order their subordinates to die, even though this was Yang Kai’s order.
Regardless of what they thought, Yang Kai sent them all out of the Sealed World Bead after giving them orders.
In the wilderness, the eight Demon Kings flew off in different directions.
After watching the Demon Kings leave, Sha Ya smiled slightly and commented, “I thought Sir would use them and then take in their subordinates just like before.”
“It’s not a good thing to be too strong. Besides… I still need some time.”
The Shaman Niu Clan originally only had three thousand people but it had already defeated the armies of two Demon Kings. If he continued on in such a fashion, the Shaman Niu Clan would definitely become incredibly powerful in short order, but it would also attract the attention of the Demon Race.
Time passed in a blink of an eye and it was already one month later.
In this one month, some changes had taken place in the Shaman Niu Clan’s base.
The most obvious change was the surge in the number of people.
After the initial three months of war, the group of three thousand people had expanded to five thousand, and after capturing the city, the number increased to seven thousand.
Now, the seven thousand people were more than tripled, and the number was close to the twenty thousand mark.
This was an extremely terrifying number, not an amount a mere Shaman Grandmaster could control. Only a Shaman King was qualified to lead so many people.
Naturally, the additional clansmen were sent by the Demon Kings, with Fei Li as their leader. With the efforts of the Shaman Masters such as Yue, Lu, and the others, many clansmen had recovered their senses.
The Shaman Warriors had no idea where the new demonised clansmen came from, but they just followed Yang Kai’s order and accepted them outside from time to time. Bao Qi and Sha Ya also made a lot of contributions, and it was thanks to these two Demon Kings that the handovers went so smoothly.
Every Shaman Master was so busy that they did not have time to take a break, but they were joyous nonetheless.
There were some Shamans among the clansmen that were sent, so it was something that was worth celebrating.
Originally, there were only a dozen Shamans in the Shaman Niu Clan, but after this last month, the number had expanded to about fifty. Most of them were Shaman Apprentices and Shaman Warriors, while only a few were Shaman Masters, and none were Shaman Grandmasters.
It was reasonable though, as Shaman Grandmasters possessed Shamanic Spells to protect themselves, so in general, they could not be demonised and were instead killed in an encounter with the Masters of the Demon Race. How could there be any left over for Yang Kai?
In addition, the Demon Beasts under the command of the various Demon Kings were also sent over one after another.
Originally, the cavalry of the Shaman Niu Clan only had a few dozen people in it, but now that number had increased to a thousand. A cavalry of a thousand people charging together should not be underestimated, and they would certainly play a great role in the future war.
As the number of people expanded, each army unit naturally needed to be reorganized, but Yang Kai did not intervene in this matter and simply allowed Yue and Lu to take charge of it because he believed in their abilities.
The Aerial Cavalry went out to investigate frequently, and the scope of investigation got farther and farther with each passing day.
According to the information received, the counterattack of the Barbarian Race in the surrounding region had been very effective, and they had recovered a large area of lost land. They had more victories than defeats wherever their armies went, and this forced the Demon Clan to withdraw north step by step.
The boundary of their vast territory had shrunk, and the forces of the Demon Clan gradually began to gather together in larger groups. The resistance encountered by the Barbarian Race was also growing stronger and stronger, and each battle became increasingly intense. Several huge Clans had used their full strength to fight with the Demon Race, but still ended up evenly matched in battle.
Anyone with a little foresight knew that scattered wars would not be happening in the coming days while large-scale engagements between the two races were now inevitable.
Sure enough, one day a month later, a sharp horn suddenly blared in the city. This was a call to assemble.
At the same time, there was a knock on the door at Yang Kai’s room, and Yue’s voice came from outside.
Yang Kai got up, opened the door, and saw that the twins were standing outside with a serious look. Yue immediately reported as he appeared, “Sir, the Shaman Kings have summoned all the clansmen of the Southern Barbarian Clan to gather at the Twin River Boundary!”
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn, “When is the deadline?”
“Within ten days.”
“Is there going to be a confrontation there?” Yang Kai frowned.
Yue replied, “The message says that there are more than a dozen Demon Kings gathered together, so we need to bring all the power of the Southern Barbarian Clan to bear.”
“More than a dozen Demon Kings…” Yang Kai raised his brow. The first thought that came to mind was whether there were any of his own people among these dozen Demon Kings. If so, the matter would be easy to handle.
The horns inside the city continued blaring loudly. Since it was an order given by the Shaman Kings, Yang Kai naturally could not go against it, so he quickly announced, “Let the clansmen be prepared to depart within two hours.”
“Yes!” The twins nodded and left.
Two hours later, nearly twenty thousand people assembled outside the city. Instead of riding on a Giant Eagle, Yang Kai mounted on the back of a huge Demon Beast as he looked around at his army without saying too much, simply waving his hand as he roared, “Move out!”
The coordinated marching started, and the rhythm of stomps was like a beating war drum. Twenty thousand people divided into more than twenty units and marched towards the Twin River Boundary.
A moment later, Yang Kai turned to Bao Qi and said in a low voice, “Get in touch with Fei Li and get a report on the situation with the Demon Race.”
Bao Qi gave a small nod and soon a black crow flew out of his body, flapping its wings and disappearing from everyone’s vision. At this point, the Barbarians were not surprised by such a sight anymore.
The marching of twenty thousand people was not a simple thing. The coordination, cooperation and vigilance among various groups required active communication and precise orders. Although it was the first time Yang Kai was commanding so many people, he still had the experiences and temperament of an Emperor Realm Master while his Divine Sense was incredibly powerful. Therefore, although he was not very well adapted in the first few days, he very soon got the hang of it and could issue all kinds of commands in an orderly manner, like a real commander who was thoroughly experienced in the art of war.
Although the size of the troops was massive, their progression was not slow at all.
Along the way, they came across some scattered soldiers of the Demon Race, who were all slaughtered effortlessly, which greatly raised the morale of the Shaman Niu Clan.
But Yang Kai felt a slight unease in his heart.
Because Fei Li did not return any reply, which made him feel that something was wrong. Fei Li was marked by his Soul Imprint and became his slave. Although he could not scan the former’s thoughts because of the distance between them, Yang Kai knew that Fei Li couldn’t betray him.
But after another few more days, there was still no message from him, yet Yang Kai could perceive that Fei Li was not dead.
It was not until the seventh day that a small black spot appeared in the sky. Yang Kai looked up and confirmed that it was a black crow that was formed from the Demon Qi, which was the most common way of long-distance communication between Demon Kings.
The black crow flew straight towards them, circled over the army for a while, and then landed on Bao Qi’s shoulder.
Bao Qi caught the black crow, and the lifelike animal immediately turned into a wisp of black Qi which was then inhaled into his body.
Followed by a tremble, Bao Qi put on a horrified face, and turned to Yang Kai, “Mo Duo… has come!”
“What?” Sha Ya’s beautiful face turned pale too, and looked at Bao Qi in shock, “How is that possible?”
Yang Kai frowned and questioned, “Who’s that?”
He could guess from the expressions of the two Demon Kings that this Mo Duo was definitely an incredible figure, otherwise his mere presence would not frighten Bao Qi and Sha Ya so much, and given that the name itself could have such a terrifying effect, it must be…
“Mo Duo is a Demon Saint!”
Yang Kai was puzzled, “Aren’t all the Demon Saints recovering from their injuries? What is going on with this Mo Duo then?” He turned to Sha Ya and asked. All the information he had regarding the situation of the Demon Race was provided by Sha Ya. Earlier, Sha Ya did say that the Demon Saints were recuperating, and the information obtained by the Barbarian Race also proved her statement.
If the Demon Saints were all injured, they couldn’t be fully recovered in just a few months.
Sha Ya replied with a pale face, “Senior Mo Duo, he… is probably new here.”
“New here?”
Bao Qi explained, “Just arrived recently.”
Yang Kai was taken aback, “Can this be done? Can you send a Demon Saint over here from your Demon Realm at any time?”
If so, the Barbarian Race would have no hope at all. The Demon Saints had a hard time in the last War of Saints, and it was the same for the Shaman Saints. Both sides were racing against time to heal their wounds, so the Saints of both Races were not active in recent months.
But if the Demon Realm could casually send other Demon Saints here, the Barbarian Race definitely could withstand the pressure.
Bao Qi shook his head, “It’s impossible under normal circumstances. The opening in the World Barrier created by Great Demon God last time has reached the limit for allowing Demons to pass through. If more Demons pass through, the opening will certainly become unstable, meaning we won’t be able to return. Regarding Senior Mo Duo… perhaps he paid some kind of heavy price to arrive in this land.”
Sha Ya continued, “The abilities of Demon Saints are unimaginable. Maybe there is something that we don’t comprehend or understand.”
Bao Qi took in a breath softly, “In any case, Demon Saint Mo Duo is here now, and his goal is the Southern Barbarian Clan.”
Yang Kai’s face changed.
“Sir, we can’t proceed. The reason why Fei Li replied so late is that he didn’t dare to simply spread the news when Demon Saint Mo Duo was around, but according to the information he obtained, Demon Saint Mo Duo is going to destroy one of your Clans this time and show your Barbarian Race the consequences of defying the Demon Race. The reason why he hasn’t acted yet is simply that he is waiting for all of you to gather together. Once the time is right, he will personally exterminate your whole army.”
Sha Ya tried to convince Yang Kai too, “Yes, Sir, we need to withdraw.”
Yang Kai glanced at them and responded in a deep voice, “If it were you, would you go forward bravely or retreat in fear?”
They did not answer. Not to mention what Sha Ya would do, but Bao Qi definitely would move forward bravely. Twenty thousand people was not a small number, and once they joined together with the rest of the South Barbarian Clan, it may have unexpected effects. It may or may not turn defeat into victory, but it would definitely increase the strength of the South Barbarian Clan.
Both of them already knew Yang Kai’s choice.
“Speed up!” Yang Kai bellowed, urging his Demon Beast mount, causing it to immediately accelerate.
The Shaman Masters started to chant their incantations, and one radiance after another of the Light Body Spell shrouded the army, allowing their marching speed to dramatically increase.
They used a day to achieve a two-day journey as their destination was not far away now.
But at this time, a notably uneasy aura suddenly enveloped everyone from all directions. It seemed as if the whole world was aware of something abnormal and was giving out warnings to all beings who existed in his region.
The Demon Beasts of the cavalry obviously felt uncomfortable, and roared uncontrollably. Several dozen Demon Beasts even ran wild and tried to escape, causing the orderly march to turn chaotic.
Yang Kai frowned and looked up to the front as if he felt something. He narrowed his eyes slightly and raised his hand to stop the advance of the army.
The Demon Beasts were getting more and more restless and while the cavalry tried to suppress them, it was to no avail.
The clansmen did not understand why they had to come to a stop and all turned to Yang Kai before looking in the direction of his gaze.
More and more clansmen turned their eyes to the sky in the distance and somehow felt their hearts begin to palpitate.
Suddenly, a black dot appeared over the horizon. Although the black dot was small, it was particularly conspicuous.
In the beginning, the small black dot was only quietly hovering in the sky, emitting a frightening aura, but after only three breaths of time, the small black dot suddenly plummeted.
As it fell, the small black dot expanded rapidly, just like a black hole that devoured all things, turning everything inside of it into nothingness.
“Black Brilliance!” Bao Qi’s eyes widened as he exclaimed while Sha Ya’s face turned bloodless as she stared at the rapidly expanding black hole with fear and panic. She could not even utter a word, and if not for Yang Kai being right beside her, perhaps she would have just turned around and run away immediately.
Yang Kai’s heart sank.
Although he did not know what the so-called Black Brilliance Bao Qi mentioned was, he could still feel the world-destroying aura it gave off even from so far away. The location of the Black Brilliance was obviously Twin River Boundary, which was the assembly point for the South Barbarian Clan!
This was a conspiracy, a conspiracy to destroy the forces of the South Barbarian Clan!
The Shaman Kings of South Barbarian Clan had no idea, nor did the Shaman Grandmasters of the South Barbarian Clan. Yang Kai knew now, but it was too late.
“How is that possible? How is that possible…” Bao Qi kept muttering in shock, as if everything he saw before him was incomprehensible.
“What is it?” Yang Kai turned to him.
Bao Qi took a deep breath and explained, “It’s a natural disaster in the Demon Realm, which consists of a strong corrosive force that can even disintegrate the land itself. Once it appears, ordinary Demons stand no chance of resisting it, and even the Demon Kings are forced to retreat. But… how is it possible for Black Brilliance to appear here?”
The Demon Realm was a defiled land. Compared to this world, the environment of the Demon Realm was dreadfully bad, and natural disasters occurred frequently.
Black Brilliance was one of the many natural disasters of the Demon Realm. No one knew what it was or why it occurred, but it would take away a huge number of Demons’ lives every time it appeared along with destroying a vast area of land in the Demon Realm.
That was why the Demon Race needed to fight endlessly to explore and conquer new Great Worlds. Of course, fighting was their inherent nature, but they were also doing it for their own survival.
Nevertheless, every Great World conquered by them would become fragmented within tens of thousands of years, and then they would have to turn to another new Great World, causing the cycle to repeat again and again.
Bao Qi did not understand why Black Brilliance, a natural disaster of the Demon Realm, appeared on this land, but that didn’t change the reality in front of him. He was afraid that no one would survive in the land covered by the Black Brilliance.
While talking, the Black Brilliance had expanded and covered almost half of the sky, looking like a giant meteor crashing heavily to the earth from the Heavens above.
There was no unusual noise, but the land was wrapped in darkness in an instant. The darkness gradually spread to its surroundings and the Demon Beasts in the Shaman Niu Clan became more and more restless, shaking their hooves irritably. They refused to go forward regardless of how the warriors on their backs urged them.
“Tiea!” Yang Kai shouted.
Tiea looked at him.
Yang Kai instructed calmly, “If I’m not back in an hour, lead everyone away from here.”
Tiea nodded gently.
“What do you want to do, Sir?” Bao Qi looked at Yang Kai in wonder but did not get any response.
The next moment, with a flash, Yang Kai who was sitting on the back of his Demon Beast, disappeared.
“He…” Sha Ya turned to the area enveloped by the Black Brilliance with an uneasy feeling, and vaguely saw a trace of a figure advancing towards that direction at a high speed, vanishing from her sight in the blink of an eye.
Bao Qi’s face turned ugly, “What is he doing!?”
The Barbarians gathered under the exploded Black Brilliance were dead without a doubt. Now the best plan was to retreat immediately, yet as the commander of this army, Sir Shaman Niu actually put himself in danger, which left Bao Qi confused.
“It’s over, it’s all over.” Sha Ya seemed to have lost her soul as her eyes went completely dull.
If she had not been marked by Yang Kai’s Soul Imprint, she would be cheering for Yang Kai to die as soon as possible, but now that she shared a Soul connection with him, she could not help worrying about Yang Kai’s safety.
This was obviously not a wise move. Yang Kai was clueless about the horror of Black Brilliance, but the Demon Race knew it better than anyone.
If even Demon Kings had to retreat under this circumstance, how could Sir Shaman Niu, who was supposedly only as strong as a Demon Great General, end well by going there?
The two Demon Kings exchanged helpless looks as they could only pray that when Yang Kai arrived there, the Black Brilliance would stop.
It was uncertain if their prayers really worked, but the darkness in the distance only lasted for less than a stick of incense worth of time before gradually dissipating. This surprised both Bao Qi and Sha Ya, because in the Demon Realm, once the Black Brilliance erupted, it took at least a few days to several months for it to end. During this period, a vast area of land would vanish and turn into nothingness and even the local World Principles would be destroyed. It could be said that the dilapidation of the Demon Realm had a great relationship with the existence of Black Brilliance.
It was the first time they have seen such a short-lived Black Brilliance that only lasted for a stick of incense worth of time. In fact, they had never even heard of such a phenomenon before.
However, it was strange for Black Brilliance to appear in this world in the first place so the two speculated that either it was due to the Demon Saint Mo Duo, or some ability of Great Demon God which transferred an existing Black Brilliance in the Demon Realm to this place. Of course, no matter how amazing such abilities were, there would always be various restrictions, which was probably the biggest reason why the duration of the Black Brilliance was so short.
At the same time, Yang Kai also noticed this and advanced towards his destination fearlessly, despite knowing that a Demon Saint was present. He did not even know why he wanted to rush over as there were likely no survivors, but there was an impulse in him that compelled him to move forward.
To his surprise, he suddenly wondered if he had fully adapted to his current identity as a member of the Ancient Barbarian Race and his role as a Shaman Grandmaster.
After shaking his thoughts aside, Yang Kai put all his focus into his eyes as he scanned the area in front of him, especially the giant pit up ahead which seemed surrounded by vague figures.
It was too far away, so even with Yang Kai’s eyesight, he could not see the situation there clearly.
But he knew that the clansmen of the South Barbarian Clans were not all dead, and there must still be some survivors. The Demons obviously had long anticipated this though, so they were surrounding the huge pit and were waiting to finish off those Barbarians that had not died in the initial blast!
With a fluctuation of Space Principles, Yang Kai leapt forward again and again.
The Demons surrounding the huge pit began to charge down once the Black Brilliance faded and with the advantage of descending from the high-ground, they were like wild beasts that attempted to devour all the Barbarians.
The Barbarian survivors gathered together under their respective leaders and fought back with all their might.
Unyielding roars began to reverberate and the noises of fighting and killing filled the air.
The huge pit corroded by the Black Brilliance suddenly turned into a bloody battle. The Demons approached the Barbarians from all directions, and the survivors of the South Barbarian Clan shrank their line of defense little by little without showing any signs of surrendering.
However, the huge disparity in numbers and the initial damage caused by the Black Brilliance to the South Barbarian Clan left the Demon Race at an absolute advantage.
It was only a matter of time before the South Barbarian Clan perished.
At this time, Yang Kai arrived on the battlefield.
He rushed down all the way from the periphery of the huge pit, waving the broad Myriads Swords wildly. Wherever the sword light flashed, blood and flesh would splash out. Yang Kai was like an invincible conqueror, plowing his way through the abyss of death, terrifying countless Demons in his way.
Many Demons noticed his existence, and the Masters of various Clans rushed at him fearlessly, but all failed to stop his pace and ended up slaughtered by the sword. Even those powerful Demon Great Generals were unable to resist a single blow from Yang Kai, with the residual power of the Myriad Swords turning many into clouds of blood-mist.
Thirty kilometres away, a pair of elusive eyes observed this scene. The owner of the eyes was a fair-skinned young man with a long figure. Yang Kai’s appearance seemed to add a ripple in the stagnant water of the war, and aroused some of this man’s interest.
Several Demon Kings gathered around him respectfully, and occasionally checked his expression in awe.
A young man who could humble the Demon Kings must be…
Demon Saint Mo Duo!
Before seeing his true face, perhaps no one would have thought that the murderer who brought the Black Brilliance to this World and killed two to three hundred thousand members of the South Barbarian Clan with one strike was actually a fair-skinned, harmless-looking young man.
There was no trace of Demon Qi on him, as if he were just an extremely ordinary Human.
But the Demon Kings who were familiar with him all knew the horrifying truth of this Demon Saint. The warmth on his face was just a meaningless disguise.
One of the Demon Kings noticed Mo Duo’s change of expression, and asked carefully, “Sir, do you need me to teach him a lesson?”
This was the battle to rebuild the prestige of the Demon Race, and most of the foreign race already lay dead at their feet. This battle was used to strike at the morale of the foreign race, to show them the consequences of resisting the Demon Race; therefore, they could not allow those foreigners to be even a little presumptuous. The foreign young man who made a clean sweep in the battlefield obviously went too far, which also made the Demon King want to kill him.
Mo Duo shook his head, and replied with a faint smile, “Everything is as it should be.”
The Demon King immediately stopped speaking, and stared coldly at the battlefield, as if looking forward to seeing how Yang Kai was going to die.
The pit was extremely huge, occupying a radius of at least a hundred kilometres.
And this whole area of a hundred kilometres was one battlefield!
Almost the entirety of the South Barbarian Clan had gathered here under the order of the Shaman Kings. When the Black Brilliance exploded, more than two-thirds of their number had instantly succumbed to death’s embrace, while none who survived was unscathed.
The forces of the Demon Race were also quite impressive, representing the combined troops of more than a dozen Demon Kings, which totalled some hundred thousand strong.
At present, about two hundred thousand people were gathered here, which was almost the largest battle since the outbreak of the war between the two races, but the situation was extremely unfavourable to the Barbarian Race.
Sword light swept through everything as several self-confident Demon Great Generals were cleaved in half by Yang Kai, flesh and blood spewing wildly, and the residual force of the Sword Qi clearing out a wide area, crushing all the Demons around into paste.
In the middle of this carnage, only one tall, strong Barbarian remained standing.
He was shimmering with the light of the Shield Spell, but it could not hide the horrifying state of one side of his body, which had seemingly been liquified. Before Yang Kai’s arrival, this Barbarian had already killed dozens of Demon Generals and Demon Great Generals with his Shamanic Spells. Only the last flames of this man’s burning vitality were supporting his mutilated body.
Their eyes met, and the man grinned as he called out, “Heh heh, Shaman Niu…”
“Shaman Tu…” Yang Kai looked at the Shaman Grandmaster in front of him with an unreadable expression.
Just a few months ago, the two had some conflicts in the South Barbarian Clan’s King City. Shaman Tu was provocative and dissatisfied with Yang Kai; and even after a few months, the expression on this Shaman Grandmaster was still ever so unkind, even a faint trace of competition in his gaze.
“I thought you wouldn’t come, but you’re here.” Shaman Tu chuckled lowly, and did not mind the half of his body that had liquified at all, which was obviously caused by the Black Brilliance from earlier. His bones were exposed, and even his internal organs were clearly visible, which continued to dissolve into liquid and dripped onto the ground.
“I just arrived,” Yang Kai gave a small nod.
“Very good!” A smile crept onto Shaman Tu’s face. The pain did not make him lose his mind and instead seemed to be keeping him more sober than ever, “In the past few months, more than seven thousand Demons have died at my, Shaman Tu, hands and the hands of my subordinates’. How about you?” He asked with a solemn face.
“Not as many as you.” Yang Kai replied.
Shaman Tu guffawed, “Then I win! Hahahaha!”
He remembered the bet he had with Yang Kai before departing King City.
Yang Kai agreed, “You are right, you’ve won.”
Only after a short silence did he ask, “Can you still hold on?”
Shaking his head, Shaman Tu replied, “No, as you can clearly see. My clansmen are all dead anyway, I am the only one left in the Shaman Tu Clan. I should go look for them now.”
“Farewell!” Yang Kai nodded and placed his fist across his chest in respect.
Shaman Tu crossed his skeletal hand over his chest in return, and stated sternly, “Find Sir Shaman King! The South Barbarian Clan must not perish here today!”
After that, he turned around and took large strides towards the dense group of Demons. He slurred an incantation jerkily, and a dazzling light that resembled a ball of flame burst out of his body, enveloping him.
Life Sacrifice!
This was the most forbidden Shamanic Spell among all Shamanic Spells; however, at this moment, Shaman Tu used it to illuminate the last brilliance of his life.
In this Ancient Era, the Barbarian Race believed that they would return to the embrace of the Barbarian God after death, and their souls would travel to the Shaman Divine Temple to be reincarnated. Death was not the end for them, only a new beginning.
The only kind of people who did not qualify would be the Shaman Masters who used the forbidden spell, Life Sacrifice. Therefore, under normal circumstances, even if a Shaman Grandmaster was at the brink of death, they would not use this spell. Once it was cast, one would lose their qualifications to return to the embrace of the Barbarian God and have their soul rest in Shaman Divine Temple. It was an intolerable fate.
But in the face of the Demon Race, who invaded their homeland, Shaman Tu did not hesitate to make such a choice. Even if he would become a lonely ghost, even if he was abandoned by the Barbarian Gods, he had to contribute his last bit of strength to his clansmen.
The clueless Demons surrounded him while Shaman Tu cackled loudly, allowing the sharp weapons to slash him freely, but his body only burned more and more vigorously.
The Demons gathered around him finally realized something was wrong, but it was too late when they wanted to turn around to escape.
With a loud explosion, as if someone had lit a brilliant firework, Shaman Tu’s whole body exploded into a cloud of flaming blood, and the Demons surrounding him also vanished in an instant.
All Demons within a radius of one thousand metres were wiped out!
By now though, Yang Kai was already making his way to the centre of the battlefield.
He could sense a familiar aura over there. It was a Shaman King’s aura, but the aura was clearly weak and fluctuating. It seemed like Shaman Dang was in extremely poor condition.
There were only tens of thousands of people left of the South Barbarian Clan after the outbreak of the Black Brilliance, and that number was rapidly declining under the attack of the Demon Race. Barbarian Warriors were dropping one by one, and the Shamans could hardly execute their roles effectively after losing the protection. Their relatively weak bodies were clearly incapable of turning back the tides with such a huge gap in numbers, even if they cast their most potent Shamanic Spells without rest.
Under such desperate circumstances, Shaman Tu was not the only one who executed the Life Sacrifice. In fact, many other Shaman Grandmasters chose to make this final stand, igniting the last of their vitality in hopes of dragging as many Demons down with them as possible.
The scattered Barbarians were slaughtered, while the only Barbarians left were the ten thousand or so gathered at the centre that still maintained an orderly defence. Various Shamanic Spells dyed the Barbarians in vibrant colours while fearless and dauntless looks covered their faces as they fought the Demon Race to the death.
The line of defence was pushed back step by step, and the ten thousand warriors were steadily dwindling in number.
In the midst of this chaos, everyone was stunned at Yang Kai’s sudden appearance, including the Demons, who stared at him in a daze, watching him carve a bloody path to join the encircled Barbarians.
As he reached the centre of the group, Yang Kai quickly saw Shaman Dang.
“Sir!”
Shaman Dang looked terrible. He was blind in one eye, from which thick liquid flowed out, and his body was mangled and misshapen as a result of the terrible erosion of the Black Brilliance, just like Shaman Tu. Meanwhile, the other Shaman Grandmasters’ conditions were even worse than Shaman Dang’s.
Shaman Dang raised his remaining eye and found that it was Yang Kai who called him, and he could not help but flash a wry smile and ask, “Why are you here?”
Yang Kai knew what he was worried about, and quickly explained, “The Shaman Niu Clan didn’t come, I came by myself.”
Shaman Dang was immediately relieved, nodding repeatedly, “Good, good, very good!” While speaking, he took out an object that resembled a piece of carved wood. It was made of unknown material, and there was nothing special about it either, but Shaman Dang regarded it as a treasure, and solemnly stuffed it into Yang Kai’s hand, “This is the Sacred Treasure of our South Barbarian Clan! Take it and leave, the South Barbarian Clan cannot perish!”
In the Barbarian Race, each Clan has its own Sacred Treasure. These Sacred Treasures were a kind of spiritual pillar, but were themselves not rare or powerful items. However, the Sacred Treasure symbolized supreme authority and power, while the one who held the Sacred Treasure could command the entire Clan.
In general, the Sacred Treasure was always in the possession of the most powerful Shaman King of the Clan.
Shaman Dang was the sixth Shaman King, so the Sacred Treasure wouldn’t fall into his hands under normal circumstances. In this situation, there was only one explanation for this, the other Shaman Kings were dead!
Shaman Dang was the last Shaman King of the South Barbarian Clan, but he knew he was not going to live long.
On the field, Yang Kai was the only Shaman Grandmaster who remained uninjured, so Shaman Dang had no choice but hand over the South Barbarian Clan’s Sacred Treasure to him.
“Can you do it?” Shaman Dang grabbed Yang Kai’s shoulder and gazed at him solemnly.
Yang Kai nodded and promised, “The South Barbarian Clan will never die!”
Shaman Dang gave a small smile, “That’s all you need to say.” He immediately regained the mighty aura he had when Yang Kai first met him and the power of a Shaman King instantly awakened in his body as he declared in a deep voice, “We will create an opportunity for you to escape here. After you leave, take your Shaman Niu Clan to find other great Clans and tell them of what happened to the South Barbarian Clan today, so that they can learn from it.”
Yang Kai opened his mouth and wanted to tell him that there was another Demon Saint here. Shaman Dang probably was not aware that this was the work of a Demon Saint and expressed confidence in creating the opportunity for Yang Kai to escape.
If he knew it, he would not be that assured.
But Yang Kai closed his mouth. If it was possible, he would use the Sealed World Bead to take away all the survivors here.
However, he could not do that even if he wanted to, because all the Barbarians in sight were just like Shaman Tu, dissolving slowly under the aftereffects of the Black Brilliance, including the most powerful Shaman King.
Yang Kai would only be taking away puddles of liquified bodies if he brought them into the Sealed World Bead.
The Life Chains blessing on them could not save their lives, only postpone their deaths.
Clenching the Sacred Treasure tightly in his hand, Yang Kai vowed with a seriousness that he had never had before, “The South Barbarian Clan will one day rise from the ashes, stronger than ever before, I promise!”
Shaman Dang gave a boisterous laugh, then suddenly asked, “Yue and Lu…”
“They’re both fine.” Yang Kai replied, “The war has allowed them to grow a lot. It should not be long before they become Shaman Grandmasters themselves. Sir, is there any message you need me to pass on to them?”
“There’s no need!” Shaman Dang waved his hand, “They know their responsibilities, I don’t need to worry about them.” He took a deep breath and continued, “Are you ready?”
Yang Kai nodded.
Shaman Dang immediately waved his hand, and a bolt of lightning flashed at his fingers. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a vivid lightning python, which blasted into the mass of Demons ahead.
There were sounds of stabs and slashes, followed by the Demons falling on their backs.
The lightning python swam through the swarm of enemies, guiding the way forward for the remaining South Barbarian Clansmen. The incantations of Shamans and the roars of Barbarian Warriors were intertwined into a tragic requiem. All the remaining clansmen converged to form a rope of Barbarians with Shaman Dang as the centre, and advanced forward fiercely, as if to dig out an escape route.
Even facing an enemy ten, or twenty times greater than themselves in number, the South Barbarian clan cut open a path and pushed forward with unstoppable force.
Unfortunately, this momentum could not be maintained for long. When several Demon Kings arrived, their progress was blocked.
Shaman Dang flew into the air, his Shaman Strength fluctuating madly, facing the menacing Demon Kings single-handedly, and at the same time, he shouted to Yang Kai, “Find your way out of here!”
He was unable to provide Yang Kai with any more protection, so everything completely depended on Yang Kai’s own abilities to whether he could escape or not. Although hope was still, Shaman Dang could only pray for the best.
Yang Kai nodded at him, not intending to expose any more of himself at this place.
He had felt a pair of eyes watching him silently ever since he set foot on this battlefield.
Undoubtedly, the owner of that gaze was Demon Saint Mo Duo.
Therefore, he had been hiding his true strength the whole time. He had never experienced the power of a Demon Saint before, but he knew that he was definitely not a match for such a Master. If he managed to provoke the Demon Saint, he may not be able to escape from here.
Teleportation did not work here, because the World Principles were severely damaged and warped by the Black Brilliance, so space itself was extremely unstable. As long as Yang Kai could find a way to leave this pit, he could use his most proficient skills at will.
This huge pit with a radius of one hundred kilometres was the greatest obstacle in his path.
Yang Kai tried to rush out of the battlefield without anyone noticing at first.
But he was still quickly spotted.
One of the Demon Kings with a pair of wings did not seem to be interested in besieging Shaman Dang and instead stood mid-air with his arms crossed, watching the situation coldly.
Yang Kai’s unusual behaviour soon attracted this man’s attention. At first, he watched Yang Kai trying to escape out of this place with great interest, but soon he began to feel a little agitated. Because he found that this foreigner was quite capable, and no one could stop his pace. Hundreds of people died at his hands along his path of escape.
Seeing that the foreigner was about to kill again, the winged Demon King could not stand it anymore. With a flap of his wings, he rushed down and blocked Yang Kai’s way with a spear in his hand. A fist-sized dark energy ball gathered rapidly at the tip of the spear as he thrusted it at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai leaned sideways slightly and hurriedly lifted up the Myriads Swords, looking very flustered.
His panic made the Demon King laugh, his face full of glee. It seemed that he had foreseen the scene where Yang Kai was pierced to death.
But the result surprised him. Not only did the foreigner not die from his stab, he actually made use of the force of the attack to rebound away lightly from him, and escape outwards at once.
The Demon King frowned and muttered, “So lucky!”
He attributed all this to Yang Kai’s good luck, never once suspecting that this was all planned by the other party.
As the words fell, he began to chase after Yang Kai. Although he failed to kill the foreigner in one strike, he could not let the prey escape under his watch, for he was a Demon King. Senior Mo Duo was overseeing this massacre personally, so all the Demon clansmen were performing at their best. If he could not even take down a little brat, he was afraid that he would be punished.
No longer holding back, the Demon flapped his wings strongly and arrived above Yang Kai in the blink of an eye. He swung the spear again and plunged down fiercely, but this time the dark energy ball on the spear tip was no longer the size of a fist, but the size of a washbasin.
The aura of the energy ball had also become extremely terrifying, which was not a blow that even a Demon King could survive easily.
The foreigner who was busy breaking through the lines, seemed to be completely unaware of the approaching danger, simply focusing all his attention on the Demons around and ignoring the Demon King above him. But before the strike landed, the foreigner finally seemed to have sensed danger and lifted his sword to parry the tip of the spear directly.
The energy ball exploded with a loud bang.
The Demon King was caught off guard and immediately took a few steps back. When he stabilized his body and took a look again, the foreigner had escaped another thousand metres. He was running faster and faster while none of the Demons could hinder him for even a moment. The long, broad sword in his hand was like a death scythe, and whoever touched it would suffer severe wounds or die directly.
This foreign brat had inexplicably countered his two attacks and escaped further with the help of the rebound force, which could no longer be explained by just luck.
The Demon King’s face changed as he shouted angrily, “Damn it, I’ll rip you to pieces!”
He felt that he was being taunted and teased by a foreigner whose strength was lower than his own, and he could not help becoming embarrassed about it. With a furious pounce, his speed shot up dramatically and he instantly caught up with Yang Kai.
He made his third move, but this time he went all out. Without any reservation, his Demon Qi surged and the power of the spear thrust he made was truly frightening.
Yang Kai had to turn around to face him this time, swinging the Myriads Sword with one hand while performing various hand seals with the other, in coordination with the incantations uttered from his mouth, resulting in the dazzling brilliance of powerful Shamanic Spells.
The two clashed.
This fight was extremely tough for Yang Kai, but not because the opponent was strong, for he was now a peak-level Shaman Grandmaster. Although he was still one step away from Shaman King, he had the experience and foundation of an Emperor Realm Master and possessed many Divine Abilities and skills that were not supposed to be possessed by a Shaman Grandmaster.
He even had the ability to kill the winged Demon King who had been chasing him all the time like a shadow.
But killing this Demon King would undoubtedly attract the attention of the Demon Saint.
Therefore, Yang Kai had to use just the right amount of strength and feign a look of going all out while ‘luckily’ managing to survive under the attack of his opponent while constantly being at risk of death. Nevertheless, doing this in the midst of a chaotic battlefield under such great pressure was no easy task.
Fortunately, Yang Kai was no ordinary individual and managed to pull off this little show effectively. The Demon Saint was still paying attention to him, but he did not pique too much of his interest. He kept retreating while fighting with his opponent and purposely retreated towards the edge of the huge pit.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s opponent was getting more and more annoyed, while a strange sense of discord arose in his heart.
This foreign brat was like an undying roach that was always somehow able to survive his furious attacks. Although he fought embarrassingly and seemed to be in constant danger, he could always slip away in a moment of crisis.
The winged Demon King launched more and more fierce attacks on Yang Kai, but he was unable to kill him as he wished. On the contrary, the aftermath of their clashes ended up killing many Demons instead.
He could feel that his colleagues were pointing at him beside the Demon Saint in the distance, as if they were mocking his incompetence.
He finally reached the limit of his tolerance.
A vicious look flashed in his eyes, and he stabbed Yang Kai with the spear again. With difficulty, Yang Kai resolved the attack, but the Demon King revealed a cold smile and shouted ferociously, “Go to hell!”
At the same time, a number of feathers on his right wing suddenly turned red and shot out, hitting Yang Kai’s chest like in an instant like an invincible spear.
This was the Demon King’s Innate Divine Ability. Compared to the unlimited use of Sha Ya’s Light of Enchantment, his Innate Divine Ability relied on his own feathers, which were carefully refined, and would vanish after use. His feathers were the consumables needed for his Innate Divine Ability.
Nevertheless, this ability had great lethality.
The Demon King would not use this ability in normal circumstances, but this foreign brat had humiliated him beyond his tolerance, so he urgently wanted to kill him to save his face.
Yang Kai’s hair stood on end as he was shrouded by an unprecedented sense of crisis, the alarm in his heart ringing wildly.
He had not encountered such a crisis in a very long time and there was a chance he could not resolve this attack easily even if he had his full strength.
He instinctively stretched out his hand, but this time he did not use a Shamanic Spell…
“Exile!”
A black hole that seemed to be able to devour everything in the world appeared in front of him.
Seeing this scene, the face of the winged Demon King changed drastically as he gawked at the black hole and almost turned around to run away.
Because the black hole looked notably similar to the Black Brilliance that burst out before. When Demon Saint Mo Duo used his awe-inspiring ability to transfer the Black Brilliance to this land earlier, he witnessed the instant destruction to the foreign race with his eyes. He was just a Demon King himself, so it was natural for him to fear the Black Brilliance.
But soon he realized that he was wrong.
This was not a Black Brilliance, because his feathers actually managed to shatter this black sphere directly. Although the force of the feathers was greatly reduced, they were still shooting straight at the foreign brat.
Everything happened in a flash, and when the feathers broke through Yang Kai’s Space Technique, he had no choice but to roar, “Dragon Transformation!”
Behind him, an illusory phantom of a huge golden dragon appeared and roared loudly into the sky, drowning out all other noises of the battlefield, shaking the world itself.
Demon Saint Mo Duo, who had been paying attention to the battlefield far away, finally had a change of expression. A pair of sharp eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate through the barrier of space instantly fixed on Yang Kai at that moment.
The illusory phantom of the Golden Divine Dragon disappeared into Yang Kai’s body after a flash.
*Kacha…*
His somewhat scrawny looking body suddenly enlarged to twice its normal size as his exposed skin became covered with scales. Both Yang Kai’s hands turned into sharp dragon claws that could crush metal and stone, while two short Dragon Horns emerged from his forehead.
The Myriads Sword, which was quite large for a sword, now seemed like a child’s toy in Yang Kai’s hand.
The red feathers struck Yang Kai squarely in the chest with a sharp noise, but they did not take his life as the Demon King imagined they would.
After executing his Dragon Transformation, Yang Kai’s physique was greatly enhanced, and his skin became covered with tough Dragon Scales. Although the Innate Divine Ability of the winged Demon King was extremely lethal, his feathers only managed to penetrate a finger’s length into Yang Kai’s flesh before losing all their power, having almost no effect on the latter.
The winged Demon King was stunned by this transformation as he did not expect the foreigner to possess such an ability. At the same time, the aura of the foreigner made him feel dreadfully uneasy.
He instinctively felt that he was no match for this strange-looking youth in front of him. Followed by a strange cry, he thrust forward with his long spear again while preparing to escape after using a feint.
However, Yang Kai actually grasped the long spear tightly with his dragon claw and yanked on it fiercely.
The winged Demon King was pulled towards him involuntarily.
Yang Kai took a step forward, tossed up his Myriads Swords, then clawed the Demon King in the chest with his free hand.
With a puff, the dragon claw pierced into the winged Demon King’s chest like it was made of paper. Yang Kai withdrew that claw a moment later, bringing with it a beating pitch-black Demon Heart.
When their eyes met in close proximity, the Demon King wore a horrified look while Yang Kai’s face was ice cold.
With a clench of his fist, Yang Kai crushed the Demon Heart in his grasp and the winged Demon King let out a shrill scream. At the same time, he was blasted into a blood mist by the terrifying Dragon Aura. Another of the three Demon Hearts in his body was crushed in an instant, leaving only the last one, which fled away as if it had a spirit. Within the Demon Heart was a black Qi that contained a consciousness. It was clearly the winged Demon King’s Soul that had been shrunk down countless times in size, hiding within his last Demon Heart.
Yang Kai did not pursue this heart, however, not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t have time to.
Even if this winged Demon King had two of his Demon Hearts destroyed, he could still revive with the aid of his last Demon Heart, though his strength would definitely be greatly reduced. Therefore, he would not be a concern in the near future.
Yang Kai hurriedly turned around and rushed out of the huge pit.
He was already close to the edge, and after just ten breaths of time, Yang Kai reached the top of the crater, only to find himself blocked by a figure that was neither tall nor burly; however, the shadow cast by this man seemed to cover the whole sky.
Mo Duo had reached this World not long ago, but he already knew the means of the foreign race like the back of his hand, so seeing someone using a completely different power, and one that was actually capable of easily killing a powerful Demon King, Mo Duo was naturally interested in it.
Therefore, he acted personally, wanting to catch this foreigner and study his unique powers.
When he suddenly emerged in front of Yang Kai, Mo Duo examined the former from above without restraint, recklessly enveloping him with his powerful Divine Sense, as if trying to dissect him thoroughly.
But the result surprised Mo Duo, because even he could not penetrate into the depths of this youth’s Knowledge Sea. The Knowledge Sea of this foreigner seemed to have an invisible layer of powerful protection, and that protection was so firm that even a Demon Saint could do nothing about it.
[What a strange guy.] Mo Duo’s interest piqued even more and he asked, “What’s your name?”
Yang Kai maintained his Dragon Transformation and stared warily at the young looking man in front of him. Although it was their first-time meeting, Yang Kai knew his identity, because this pair of eyes gave him a notably familiar feeling. This was the pair of eyes that had been watching him the whole time.
Yang Kai quickly jumped out of the huge pit, stood ten metres away from Mo Duo, clapped his hands, and grinned, “Your Father!”
When the words fell, Yang Kai immediately made his move. With a swing of his hands, a massive Moon Blade was formed and shot towards Mo Duo.
“Oh…” Mo Duo frowned in surprise, but it was more of a pleasant surprise than shock. Instead of dodging, he stretched out his hand to grab the pitch-black Moon Blade, as if he wanted to feel it personally.
The Moon Blade cut through his hand and banished half of his arm into the Void, causing blood to spurt out of the clean cut.
Mo Duo’s expression turned more excited, as if he had found something new and interesting, and rather than flinching from the pain, he took a step forward.
Yang Kai did not back down either, charging recklessly towards Mo Duo who was approaching him.
He raised his arms, and two giant phantom Dragon Claws overcast Mo Duo in an instant.
Mo Duo’s blood spurted from all over his body with hissing sounds, and his body seemed on the verge of fragmenting.
After just three breaths of time, Demon Saint Mo Duo turned into a pool of rotten meat and died just like that.
The Demon Kings who were watching from far away were all dumbstruck, staring at the scene in a daze. They wished that they could gouge out their eyes and throw them there to have a clear look.
[Senior Mo Duo… died?]
[How is that possible? That foreigner who killed him is neither a Shaman King nor a Shaman Saint, he’s just some nobody!]
Yang Kai was a little lost too. When Mo Duo appeared in front of his eyes, he sensed his outstanding strength and knew he was definitely an existence comparable to a Great Emperor! Because that kind of aura could only be exuded by a Great Emperor level powerhouse.
So how could such a Master be killed by him in just a few moves?
Instead of pleasant surprise, Yang Kai only felt uneasy.
He soon realized where the uneasiness came from, because Mo Duo, who should have died, somehow appeared behind him, as if what he had just experienced was all an illusion.
But Yang Kai knew that it was not an illusion, because the sensation of hot spurting blood on his hands was simply too real.
Mo Duo, who was standing behind Yang Kai, spread his arms and Demon Qi flew out from his fingertips, gathering rapidly and condensing into a cage, attempting to capture Yang Kai alive.
Yang Kai naturally did not stand there waiting to die. Facing a strong enemy comparable to a Great Emperor, he decided to use his trump card.
*Ding…*
With a soft ring, a small and ancient-looking bell appeared in Yang Kai’s palm. The surface of the bell was engraved with various patterns of mountains, rivers, birds, and beasts, while it gave off a Primordial Aura.
Mountains and Rivers Bell!
With Yang Kai’s current strength, it was still a little difficult to drive such an Emperor Artifact, but this was the strongest means he could use at the moment.
When the bell tolled, Mo Duo frowned and the dark Demon Qi released from his fingers shrank back. A gap was suddenly revealed in the almost completed encirclement, and Yang Kai reacted by quickly leaping out, tossing out the Mountains and Rivers Bell just as he turned around.
The little bell enlarged rapidly and directly moved to cover Mo Duo.
Mo Duo looked up and attempted to withdraw, but to his surprise, he found that everything within the coverage of the small bell was sealed off, and it would cost him quite a price to escape even with his great strength.
*Hong…*
Before he could use any abilities, the Mountains and Rivers Bell engulfed him.
Yang Kai rushed forward with a solemn face and slapped the Mountains and Rivers Bell furiously.
*Guang…*
As the bell chimed loudly, a visible sound wave spread out from the Mountains and Rivers Bell. The Demon Kings, who had come to complete the encirclement, were all propelled out by this shockwave and fell to the ground like birds who had their wings snapped, overwhelming consternation and confusion filling their faces. Those Demon Kings who were slightly weaker even coughed up a mouthful of blood, as if they were struck by lightning.
As for those Demons who were still besieging and suppressing the South Barbarian Clan nearby, they could not bear the terrifying power of the Mountain and Rivers Bell at all. All of the Demons, including the Demon Great Generals and the Demon Generals, turned into dust as the sound wave swept across them one after another.
A single chime of this bell wiped out tens of thousands of enemies.
Yang Kai was not delighted at all though, because Mo Duo, who was confined in the Mountain and Rivers Bell, burst into a blood mist right after he was suppressed, and the uneasy feeling in his heart became stronger and stronger.
“Interesting, who are you? You’re not a Barbarian!”
Mo Duo’s voice appeared strangely from behind, his tone firm, and his body seemingly uninjured. He seemed to have an immortal physique that could reconstitute completely after exploding into a blood mist.
“I told you, call me Father!” Yang Kai retrieved the Mountain and River Bell, turned around and examined Mo Duo with his eyes.
Mo Duo either did not care about his disrespect or was just too lazy to argue with him, instead choosing to examine Yang Kai closely again. After a while, a realization dawned on Mo Duo and he asked with interest, “Which Great World are you from?”
The abilities and treasures that Yang Kai displayed were obviously not compatible with the Ancient Barbarian Race. Therefore, Mo Duo assumed Yang Kai was just like the Demon Race, a foreigner who came from a different Great World.
Yang Kai ignored the question and simply returned a grin as he quipped, “So you just look strong but actually aren’t.”
After two exchanges, Yang Kai finally found a clue about the Demon Saint in front of him. He was truly an existence on par with a Great Emperor, but he could not fully unleash his power right now. If that wasn’t the case, Yang Kai would not be able to cause a ripple in front of him even if regained his full strength.
Bao Qi was right. Mo Duo must have paid a heavy price when he came here from the Demon Realm and was weakened somewhat. On top of that, the world-destroying Black Brilliance that he unleashed earlier definitely consumed a lot of his strength.
Therefore, the person who Yang Kai was facing right now was just a guy who had the attributes of the Great Emperor but could not fully exert the power of one.
This was somewhat similar to his own situation.
“You answer my question first,” Mo Duo looked at Yang Kai seriously, as if he was just chatting with him, not facing an enemy.
Yang Kai answered, “I am Shaman Niu of the South Barbarian Clan!”
Mo Duo shook his head and stretched out a hand to Yang Kai, “Come to my side, I can give you what the Barbarian Race can give you, and I can also take you to visit more Great Worlds, which is something the Barbarian Race can’t provide.”
Yang Kai sneered, and pointed his dragon claw at him, “Get out of this land with your people, or all of you will perish!”
Mo Duo sighed, withdrew his hand, looked at the huge pit, and remarked faintly, “Those who are still struggling are your clansmen, and they are about to perish. Your threat is meaningless.”
Yang Kai replied viciously, “I will avenge them. Today, three hundred thousand warriors of the South Barbarian Clan were killed in battle, so the Demon Race must pay at least the same price in the future!”
Mo Duo smiled lightly, “Perhaps, but not at your hand. You can’t escape while I’m here.”
“If I want to leave, you can’t stop me!” Yang Kai grinned, revealing his pristine fangs.
Mo Duo began to lose patience and no longer wanted to waste time on talk, directly pushing the Demon Qi in his body instead. For him, Yang Kai’s appearance was just a novelty, and inviting him to join the Demon Clan was also just an excuse to study his power. Since this boy did not agree, he could only be destroyed.
Mo Duo raised his finger casually and a dark energy ball suddenly emerged at his fingertip and began to rotate. With the injection of Mo Duo’s Demon Qi, the energy ball rotated faster and faster. Although the size remained the same, its power grew greater and greater, and an astonishing aura began radiating from it.
As he gently pointed in Yang Kai’s direction, the energy ball at his fingertip immediately shot towards him.
Yang Kai kept smiling without showing any intention of dodging.
Mo Duo frowned slightly at this sight.
Just as the energy ball was about to hit Yang Kai, a subtle force fluctuated, and Yang Kai’s figure suddenly disappeared.
“Teleportation!” Mo Duo’s face changed slightly as he immediately looked over in a certain direction before sending out a palm strike seemingly towards the empty air there. This attack looked ordinary, but in reality was able to shatter space.
Vaguely, Mo Duo heard a dull grunt, followed by the resounding voice of Shaman Niu that reverberated throughout the whole world.
“The Demon Race will pay the price for today’s scheme! All Demons will live in fear and anxiety from now on!”
When this voice faded, Mo Duo could no longer find any trace of Shaman Niu, leaving only his words echoing through the air like a curse.
Mo Duo’s face sank a little and snorted softly after a while.
If he was at his peak, even if his opponent executed teleportation like just now, he could still pull him back from the Void, but the truth was just as Yang Kai guessed. Even though he was a Demon Saint, Mo Duo could not unleash the strength a Demon Saint should have now and there was nothing he could do about facing an enemy who had such exquisite Space Techniques.
Everyone heard Yang Kai’s declaration before he left, including the hundred thousand or so remaining Demons, and the few hundred Barbarians who were still alive and fighting back.
Shaman Dang was among these survivors, but he was bleeding all over his body while fighting several Demon Kings. No part of his body was intact, while one of his arms and one of his legs was already missing.
Beside him, only a few barbarians remained standing, but it was just a matter of time before they were slain.
Hearing Yang Kai’s voice, Shaman Dang grinned victoriously as he ignited his remaining vitality, casting the Life Sacrifice as he faced his death.
The city that once belonged to a huge Clan of the Barbarian Race was now filled and surrounded by Demon Qi since it was long ago occupied by the Demon Race. However, at this moment, the huge city appeared to be quiet and silent. Not even a single person could be seen on the streets, as if it had become a dead city.
Clouds of black mist floated from a distance at an extremely fast speed, and stopped in the sky above the city in the blink of an eye, revealing the figures of several Demon Kings.
There were quite a few of them, as many as five, and the leader among them did not have any flesh and blood but was just a dark and tall skeleton with two constantly flickering ghost fires in his eye sockets.
Bone Demon Fei Li.
“We were too late!” A Demon King standing behind Fei Li swept his Divine Sense across the city as his complexion sank. The other Demon Kings did not look pleased either, except for Fei Li, who could not show any expressions without a physique; however, the ghost fire in his sockets danced even more animated as if reflecting the anger in his heart.
“This is the nineteenth place! Damn that foreign race bastard!” The Demon King who was speaking gritted his teeth as if he held deep grudges against someone.
Another Demon King stood forward and frowned, “I remember that before that foreign race escaped from Senior Mo Duo, he once said, three hundred thousand of the South Barbarian Clan were annihilated, and we Demons would have to pay the same price. Is he really planning to kill three hundred thousand clansmen before he gives up? Where does he get the energy?”
That was three hundred thousand Demons, not three hundred thousand insects. In fact, even three hundred thousand insects would take a lot of effort to kill.
But facts showed that this foreign race had infiltrated deep into Demon occupied territory since the day he fled, and wherever he went, all Demons stationed there would be wiped out, including Demon Kings.
Within a month, just one month, that foreign race boy had already raided nineteen places, turning the nineteen Demon Race bases into ghost towns with no survivors.
Mo Duo was infuriated about this and even personally went to track down the whereabouts of the foreign race. What frustrated the Demon Saint though was that this boy was extremely cunning and managed to avoid him every time, even managing to escape when they came within a hundred kilometres of one another.
He never confronted the Demon Saint and only targeted weaker subordinates.
Moreover, the way he killed the Demons was extremely strange. Ninety-nine percent of the Demons who died had no obvious wounds, only a look of terror on each of their dead faces. It was as if they had encountered something that petrified them, and then they died of fear.
That foreign race’s savage harassment exhausted a large part of the Demons’ energy. In one month, more than a hundred thousand Demons, including five Demon Kings, had died at his hands. Such a loss could not be regarded as a small one for the Demon Race, and although there were as many as two hundred Demon Kings who participated in this invasion, even that number could not withstand such intense consumption.
Most of the Demon Saints were recuperating from their injuries at this time, and although Mo Duo rushed here to provide reinforcements, for certain reasons he could not exert his full strength. The Demon Kings were the mainstay force of the Demon Race, the firm rock in the stream that was their war against the foreign race. It would be extremely detrimental to the future of the Demons if too many of them were killed.
The Demons’ front line shrank rapidly, and the Demon Kings no longer dared to act alone, instead gathering in groups of three to five, partly to resist the attack of the foreign race army, and also to track the whereabouts of that foreign Shaman Grandmaster.
Looking at the city below, Fei Li stated, “I remember this is Ba Han’s territory, but I can’t detect his aura. Someone go take a look and find out what happened to him.”
“I’ll go and investigate,” The Demon King who spoke first hesitated for a moment before taking the initiative to volunteer, turning and descending into the largest building in the city.
The remaining four Demon Kings released their Divine Sense in vigilance. Although they had not encountered that foreign race during this period of time, every place they went was a cemetery, and no one could guarantee that the foreign Shaman Grandmaster would not try to ambush them here.
Every Demon King was terrified of that foreign Shaman Grandmaster because he had the ability to kill Demon Kings!
The surroundings were quiet, but the air was inexplicably cold. Except for Bone Demon Fei Li, the remaining three Demon Kings felt slightly nervous.
Right at this moment, a wave of Demon Qi fluctuated and disappeared in a flash, followed by a building below suddenly collapsing into dust.
The expressions of several Demon Kings changed as their Divine Senses surged over that area like a tide; however, they were baffled by their findings because there was nothing there, not even the companion who offered to investigate the situation, his aura vanishing entirely.
Someone started calling the name of the Demon King, but there was no response.
The hair-raising situation made them faintly realize that their companions had probably encountered tragedy.
“He’s here!” Fei Li shouted in a low voice, his skull twisting left and right, the ghost fire in his eye sockets flashing wildly, as if he was searching for the enemy’s trail.
The remaining three Demon Kings, perceiving danger from the hidden enemy, each took out their Demonic Artifact, pushed their Demon Qi, and prepared for battle.
The air seemed to have frozen, and the tense atmosphere sent every hair on the Demon Kings’ bodies upright. They searched desperately, but still could not detect a trace of the foreign Shaman, leaving them feeling helpless and frustrated.
This was how it always was, with this strange enemy appearing and disappearing mysteriously, leaving them constantly on edge.
But every Demon King knew that the enemy had not left, but was still hiding in the dark, ready to deliver a fatal blow to any Demon King who let their guard down.
Many wished that Mo Ke Tuo was here! She was a master at concealment and assassination, and with her ability, she could definitely track down the foreign Shaman Grandmaster.
“Behind!” Fei Li suddenly shouted, causing the three anxious Demon Kings to react instinctively. Fei Li already raised his hand, and a wildfire-like attack shot towards that direction.
The other three Demon Kings also released their attacks together towards the empty space.
They could not sense the aura of the foreign Shaman Grandmaster, but Fei Li was the strongest and most senior among them, so they all believed his judgment.
All the attacks converged at one place, but did not produce the desired effect, and just when the three Demon Kings were still in befuddlement, a muffled grunt echoed.
One of the Demon Kings looked down at his chest with wide eyes, and saw a skeleton hand passing through it, holding onto his two Demon Hearts.
This skeleton hand was very familiar, and this Demon King simply could not believe what he was seeing.
“Fei Li?”
The other two Demon Kings were scared out of their wits by the sudden change. Unable to fathom why Fei Li, who had been fighting side by side with them, would suddenly move against his own people, their minds froze up for a moment.
A ghostly figure appeared at that moment and rushed at them like lightning, sweeping past a Demon King and stopping ten steps away.
*Pu…*
There was a sound of blood gushing out, and the Demon King fixed his eyes on a figure about seven metres tall covered in scales with short horns on his head; that could only be the foreign Shaman Grandmaster!
However, at this moment, the foreign Shaman Grandmaster was holding half of a corpse in each of his hands. Blood and viscera spilled wildly from the Demon King that was completely torn apart by him.
“Shaman Niu!” The remaining Demon King shrieked, feeling his blood freeze in his veins.
There were five of them originally. No one knew what happened to the one who went to investigate the empty city, but his end was likely disastrous. One was attacked and had his Demon Hearts taken out by Fei Li, condemning him to death in the near future, while another Demon King was torn apart by Shaman Niu.
Only one remained now!
This survivor’s expression changed rapidly at that thought and eyes moving from Yang Kai to Fei Li, he asked with heartache, “Why?”
Fei Li had obviously betrayed the Demon Race, otherwise he would not have attacked his companions, and even more misled and attracted others’ attention to himself. If it weren’t for him interfering, no matter how powerful this foreign Shaman Grandmaster was, the several Demon Kings would have the power to fight him, but now?
It’s just that he couldn’t understand why Fei Li betrayed the demons. He was a Demon King, and he was the best among those in the same Realm. What could the Human Race possibly give him to make him throw away his dignity as a Demon?
“Since you have already guessed it, why do you need to ask?” Fei Li replied coldly. As soon as the skeleton hand exerted some force, the demon heart in the palm of his hand burst open, and the light in the eyes of the Demon King who’s his chest had been punched through quickly dimmed and went out.
Fei Li shook his hand, as if he had to clean off something dirty, and the Demon King’s body plunged straight down.
“You are a disgrace to the Demon Race!” The eyes of the Demon King who was still alive blazed with unprecedented anger, as if to burn Fei Li.
Between enemies and traitors, the latter has always been more abhorrent.
The ghost fire in Fei Li’s eyes jumped for a moment, and rushed towards him without saying a word.
The two Demon Kings immediately started fighting each other, and when the Demonic Qi surged, they were inseparable.
But Fei Li was much stronger than them. Judging by what Yang Kai could see, Fei Li was a High-Rank Demon King. Even among the High-Rank Demon Kings, he may be ranked high, but his opponent was only a Mid-Rank Demon King.
The difference might just be a small realm, but this was a chasm that cannot be bridged.
It’s like the gap between a Second-Order Emperor and a Third-Order Emperor.
This battle didn’t last long. Under Yang Kai’s cold eyes, Fei Li only spent a stick of incense before smashing the opponent’s body, shattering his Demon Heart, and making it so he could not be resurrected.
Five Demon Kings came here together, and in the end, only Fei Li survived.
“Sir!” In that huge battle, Fei Li did not show any signs of fatigue, and bowed his head to salute Yang Kai.
Yang Kai lifted the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique and restored his original appearance. In order to kill him with one blow he had to use it. After all, the Demon Kings were not that easy to kill.
Glancing at him coldly, Yang Kai said, “Why did not tell me earlier about Mo Duo’s arrival?”
A month ago, if Yang Kai had got the news of Mo Duo a day or two earlier, then the Southern Barbarians might not have perished. At least they would not have suffered so many losses. But it was just one or two days of delay, and 300,000 of the Southern Barbarian Tribe were lost.
Facing Yang Kai’s question, Fei Li answered bitterly, “None of us had thought that Mo Duo would come so suddenly. He began this deployment after his arrival, and I always had to follow him, so I did not have the opportunity to deliver any messages.”
Yang Kai was silent, which made Fei Li a little nervous. He wondered if Yang Kai would be mad with him because of the demise of his Clan. Fortunately, after a while, Yang Kai asked another question, “How much strength can Mo Duo use now?”
Fei Li let out a sigh of relief as he replied, “He was wounded when passing through the passage of the World Barrier. Right now, he should only be able to use sixty to seventy percent of his true strength, but if he is given enough time to heal, he will become stronger and stronger and eventually recover to his peak.”
“Sixty to seventy percent…” Yang Kai mumbled. It seemed that his guess was right. Although Mo Duo was comparable to a Great Emperor, he could not exert his full strength at the moment. However, even a Great Emperor with sixty to seventy percent of their strength was by no means someone he could compete with.
“Sir, I’ve been exposed. I’m afraid I can’t go back now.” Fei Li remarked.
He left with four Demon Kings on this mission, and now he was the only one alive. If there was no Demon Saint, many of the Demon Kings would not have much of a say for his strength was superior to theirs, but if he had to face Mo Duo when he went back, he would definitely be suspected.
“En.” Yang nodded, obviously anticipating this, “I want you to take me to Fort Torrent.”
“Fort Torrent!” Fei Li was surprised, and immediately understood Yang Kai’s plan, “Sir, do you really want to kill three hundred thousand Demons?”
“Did you think I was joking?” Yang Kai glanced at him faintly.
Fei Li shivered, and replied anxiously, “But there are more than a hundred thousand Demons at Fort Torrent!”
Over the past month, close to two hundred thousand Demons had died at Yang Kai’s hands, and adding those Demons in Fort Torrent, it would be almost three hundred thousand.
However, the largest base that was recently destroyed by Yang Kai was only garrisoned by ten thousand Demons. Moreover, because of his hunting everywhere, the defensive line of the Demons shrank more and more, and the scattered Demons were all summoned to one place, which turned Fort Torrent into one of the biggest strongholds. As far as Fei Li knew, there were as many as eight Demon Kings there, along with more than a hundred thousand clansmen. Why was Sir Shaman Niu so daring to target such a place?
Yang Kai glanced at him, “I’m not alone!”
Fei Li was stunned but soon realized what Yang Kai meant.
It seemed that it was time for the chess pieces placed by Sir Shaman Niu in the Demon Clan to shine.
Fort Torrent was originally the capital of a huge Barbarian Clan, but it was destroyed by the invasion of the Demon Race, so the territory was occupied.
Hundreds of thousands of Demons gathered here, and their Demon Qi almost turned the entire place black. Eight Demon Kings were in charge here, with countless Demon Great Generals and Demon Generals under their command, securing this place.
Because they were still in the rear, the Demons here had not fought with the foreign race for the time being; however, these bloodthirsty and aggressive Demons yearned for a fight every day. They could not wait to slaughter those weak foreign races and capture this vast land.
Fei Li’s uninvited arrival surprised the eight Demon Kings who were guarding here. However, with Fei Li’s strength and reputation, even if everyone was surprised, they did not show much vigilance. Instead, they warmly welcomed him while subtly probing his purpose for coming here.
Fei Li kept silent and maintained a mysterious look, which made everyone not dare ask more, wondering whether he was here on some mission for Senior Mo Duo.
Strength Demon You La was among the Demon Kings in Fort Torrent and was able to learn a lot of information through Fei Li’s eye signal, which made him nervous.
Soon, more Demon Kings arrived at Fort Torrent.
Shadow Demon Mo Ke Tuo, Flame Demon Lai Wen, Snow Demon Ah Shi Na…
In just three days, including Fei Li, a total of seven additional Demon Kings gathered here from all directions, which suddenly increased the number of Demon Kings in Fort Torrent to fifteen.
This situation was extremely rare.
After Mo Duo arrived, each Demon King had been given his or her own responsibilities and territory to protect, and they would not leave their duties easily. Nevertheless, the arrival of Fei Li and the others had broken this norm.
Even the most foolish Demon King would know that something was up.
Everyone continued to probe the newly arrived Demon Kings before finally coming to a conclusion, they were indeed sent here by Senior Mo Duo. However, no one knew the purpose of their coming here. Only Fei Li knew everything.
Unfortunately, Fei Li had secluded himself in his room all this time, which made it impossible for them to approach him.
This suspicion ended five days after Fei Li’s arrival. In the largest building of Fort Torrent, a total of fifteen Demon Kings assembled together. Fei Li sat at the head of the hall, despite being a guest, and the ghost fire in his eyes was as calm as a spring lake.
The other fourteen Demon Kings were sitting on either side of the table, and no one was making any noise, every pair of eyes locked on Fei Li.
Fei Li looked up suddenly, and announced, “There are traitors among us!”
The hall suddenly fell silent, and only after a long time did one Demon King mutter, “Fei Li, are you kidding?”
“Yes, how can there be traitors among us? What can the inferior foreign race use to bribe us Demon Kings?”
“Fei Li, if this is a joke, it’s not funny.”
Several Demon Kings could not help clamouring.
Fei Li remarked, “This is Senior Mo Duo’s judgment!”
The clamorous crowd instantly shut up and became serious, all of them starting to look around and examine their companions carefully.
They could laugh it off and choose not to believe it if it was Fei Li who suspected there were traitors among them, but if it was Senior Mo Duo’s judgment, it must be serious.
Senior Mo Duo must have had enough evidence or even found out who the traitor was before he sent Fei Li here. In other words, there were indeed traitors among them.
“Who?” Mo Ke Tuo, who was sitting on Fei Li’s left, questioned with a neutral voice. She had wrapped herself in a black aura, and no one could see her true face.
She asked the question in everyone’s heart, and all of them turned to Fei Li together. As long as Fei Li spat out the name, that Demon King would be immediately lynched by the others.
“He knows himself very well.” Fei Li put on a mysterious look.
“Didn’t Senior Mo Duo give clear instructions?” One of the Demon Kings frowned and asked.
Fei Li got up and continued, “Senior Mo Duo naturally has a solution.”
While speaking, he stretched out his hand, and a visible vortex formed in front of him. The vortex looked deep and dark, and even the Demon Kings could not pry any information about what was inside of it.
“What is this?” Another Demon King questioned curiously, for it was his first time seeing such a strange sight.
Fei Li answered, “This is something Senior Mo Duo gave me. There is a Saint Artifact inside that can illuminate one’s true thoughts. Everyone will just need to stand in front of the Saint Artifact, and the traitors will be revealed.”
Everyone turned solemn and were awed by Senior Mo Duo’s means.
“Please enter!” Fei Li invited faintly.
The remaining fourteen Demon Kings hesitated, exchanging looks with each other, none of them willing to take the lead.
At this critical moment, Shadow Demon Mo Ke Tu snorted coldly and stepped into the vortex with her body wrapped in Demon Qi, vanishing from sight.
Fei Li pressed on, “Only those who are guilty would hesitate!”
The remaining Demon Kings immediately turned solemn at the impact of that remark. Furthermore, Mo Ke Tuo had taken the lead, so no one dared to hesitate anymore, all of them walking into the vortex one after another.
The Demon Kings disappeared one by one, and soon, all had entered the strange portal.
Fei Li followed behind them and stepped into the vortex too.
It was the same world as before, with no Sun, Moon, or Stars, but with a picturesque environment.
When they saw Fei Li enter, one of the Demon Kings immediately shouted, “Fei Li, where is the Saint Artifact that can reflect our hearts? Why don’t I see it?”
He desperately wanted to prove that he was not a traitor, so he got a little impatient and had absolutely no idea this was all a trap, a trap that was set up by their fellow Demon Kings.
Fei Li did not answer him and instead turned to Mo Ke Tuo and the other Demon Kings, “Sir instructed each of you to take one and prove yourselves.”
The Demon Kings who garrisoned in Fort Torrent were confused, but the rest of the Demon Kings like Mo Ke Tuo, Lai Wen, and the others turned solemn. They clearly understood the meaning behind Fei Li’s words.
The next moment, Mo Ke Tuo let out a peal of sinister laughter, turned into a black fog, and wrapped up a Demon King nearest to her. A shrill scream rang out immediately, and everyone’s face changed drastically.
Before they could react, Flame Demon Lai Wen, Strength Demon You La, Snow Demon Ah Shi Na, and the others made their move, each looking for a Demon King with a look of absolute hatred as they unleashed their lethal skills.
Except for Fei Li, the fourteen Demon Kings were divided into seven groups, with two people fighting each other in each group. Demon Qi permeated the battlefield, and various Innate Divine Abilities shone one after another.
The Demon Kings of Fort Torrent could not react to such an unexpected incident, but they still fought hard when facing this crisis.
However, none of them understood why it seemed like there was a power that suppressed and hindered them from unleashing their full potential.
Under such circumstances, how could they match Mo Ke Tuo and the rest who were as fierce as tigers?
The Demon Kings collapsed one by one, their Demon Hearts crushed, all of them dying tragic deaths.
Before the last Demon King was about to die, a sudden realization dawned on him and he gasped in shock, “Are you all the traitors?”
Lai Wen’s whole body was scorching in flame, as if he could burn all things in existence. He surrounded the Demon King with a raging fire and stated coldly, “It’s too late to know now.”
Under the burning flames, the Demon King only lasted for three breaths before he was burned to ashes, even his Demon Hearts melting under the intense heat.
After each of them killed a Demon King with their own hands, Mo Ke Tuo and the rest knew that they had reached the point of no return. Previously, although they were branded by Yang Kai’s Soul Imprint and were enslaved to him, they could still claim that their actions were all made under duress. Even if they were caught by Senior Mo Duo, they still had an excuse to explain themselves. If Senior Mo Duo was in a good mood, perhaps they could still be pardoned from punishment.
But now that they had killed their own companions, they could no longer return to the Demon Race. From now on, they could only move forward in this path until they met their end.
Yang Kai’s figure suddenly appeared, as if he had been hiding nearby all the time.
The eight Demon Kings with Fei Li as their leader all turned solemn and bowed together, “Sir!”
Yang Kai nodded, and instead of praising or greeting, he declared, “I want Fort Torrent to writhe in torment!”
After the words fell, he waved his hand, and the eight Demon Kings were thrown out of the Sealed World Bead, returning them to the hall.
Fei Li, Mo Ke Tuo, and the others looked at each other, each of them feeling a chill from the bottom of their hearts so cold that it threatened to freeze their blood. The eight Demon Kings knew that this was Sir Shaman Niu’s revenge toward their clansmen. The curse that he declared a month ago was no idle threat, but rather an oath he was determined to fulfil, and now, they were the most powerful tools in Sir Shaman Niu’s hands.
“Let’s discuss it.” Fei Li had a slight headache. Although he had only a skeleton frame instead of flesh and blood, he still felt a throbbing pain in his neck he was unfamiliar with. Sir Shaman Niu truly gave them a difficult task.
Their strength was indeed outstanding, but given that there were about a hundred thousand Demons in Fort Torrent, they couldn’t kill all of them with their own strength. If they were to complete this task, they needed to employ other means.
The only advantage they had now was that the Demon Kings who originally garrisoned in Fort Torrent were gone. There were no leaders in Fort Torrent, so if the eight of them operated properly, they may be able to control Fort Torrent and find a way to complete the task.
The eight Demon Kings gathered in the hall and began to discuss seriously. The content of their meeting was not about dealing with the foreign race, but rather how to kill the Demons in Fort Torrent.
Brainstorming, they soon came out with a set of plans and dispersed.
A day later, rumours came up in Fort Torrent and began to spread wildly amongst the Demon soldiers. Some rumours claimed that an army of the foreign race was coming, while some said that the Demon Kings had joined the enemy; still others said that the Demon Race was about to lose tragically.
No one knew where the rumours came from, but they seemed to only grow wilder by the day.
The Demons garrisoned in Fort Torrent had nothing to do while they all yearned to rush out to battle, so with natural tension and the lack of an outlet, their emotions became quite unstable. Therefore, the emergence of these rumours only amplified their anxiety, causing Fort Torrent to be shrouded in a strange atmosphere.
In the beginning, the effect of these rumours was not so obvious, but with the passage of time and without any clarification from the Demon Kings, many Demons started to believe them.
After three days, the anxiety which was aroused by the various rumours finally exploded. Every Demon was affected, whether it was directly or indirectly. Their thoughts were clouded and they could no longer behave rationally.
Fei Li and the other Demon Kings acted at that moment, each of them gathering a group of Demons under them, carving up the hundred thousand soldiers in the city into individual camps.
Soon, a civil war broke out.
In Fort Torrent, various groups of Demons fought each other for no reason in every corner of the city. Many Demons fell, and Fort Torrent almost overflowed with blood. These clansmen who were friends just a few days ago had now turned into sworn enemies.
No one knew what this was about, only that it was the orders of the Demon Kings, and they only had to obey.
No one would have thought that the honourable Demon Kings would betray them, and no one would have thought that these Demon Kings would point their swords at their own people.
Some Demon Great Generals and smart Demon Generals began to suspect something was amiss, but they were unable to live long because Fei Li and the other Demon Kings had been keeping an eye on them. Once someone started doubting, they would execute them for some made-up reason or excuse.
Fort Torrent seemed to have turned into a huge meat grinder, trapping more than a hundred thousand Demons in it, crushing and dismembering them.
The civil war raged without end, and at the late stage of the war, every Demon had already lost their mind, their eyes turned bloody red. They simply raised their weapons like drones and slaughtered all seemingly suspicious enemies.
The war lasted for three days and three nights, with the more than one hundred thousand Demons divided into eight camps slaughtering each other. Countless bodies were stacked in the streets and alleys of Fort Torrent, where flies and maggots invaded, and a foul stench penetrated the air.
Three days later, less than ten thousand people had survived, but all of them were injured. All of them were mutilated to various degrees, groaning in pain.
The eight Demon Kings looked down silently from the air at the purgatory before them.
Then, they took action together and sent the remaining ten thousand disabled Demons, together with the entire Fort Torrent, to Hell, leaving nothing left of that base.
With a flash, Yang Kai appeared like a ghost.
The eight Demon Kings bowed.
“You’ll follow me from now on,” Yang Kai announced. After this incident at Fort Torrent, Fei Li and the others could never return to the Demon Race again.
The eight Demon Kings nodded in acknowledgement with mixed feelings.
Yang Kai opened the gate of the Sealed World Bead, and the Demon Kings filed in one by one before he turned and flew off in a certain direction.
Ten days later, Yang Kai arrived atop a certain jungle and searched below him with concentration. A moment later, he seemed to have found something and rushed down to a certain place.
After landing, he looked in a certain direction and shouted, “Come out!”
A graceful figure appeared leisurely from behind a big tree, and after seeing Yang Kai, she immediately revealed a look of pleasant surprise and called out, “Sir, it’s really you. I thought I heard wrongly.”
While talking, she rushed towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked at her coldly.
Sha Ya immediately stopped about ten metres away from Yang Kai, as if she had noticed something. Her beautiful face turned a little bloodless and she hurriedly explained, “Sir, I didn’t betray you, really. Please believe me.”
Yang Kai replied coldly, “You would already be a dead woman if you had even thought of betrayal.”
Sha Ya’s face turned even more pale as she looked at Yang Kai fearfully, the joy from reuniting with him disappearing entirely.
“Tell me, what happened? Why are you here alone? Where’s Bao Qi? What about the Shaman Niu Clan?” Yang Kai asked several questions in one go.
He could sense that Sha Ya and Bao Qi were not together, which bewildered him, so he came here straight away. At first, he thought that one of the two Demon Kings, either Bao Qi or Sha Ya, had betrayed him and escaped from the Shaman Niu Clan, but he now found that he was wrong after seeing Sha Ya.
Sha Ya did not betray him, but she was indeed a little frightened, like a lost rabbit.
“Bao Qi is with all of them,” Sha Ya hurriedly replied, “They were all captured.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “Captured? Who captured them?”
There were twenty thousand people in the Shaman Niu Clan, including several dozens of Shamans, a thousand in cavalry, and several dozen Aerial Cavalry. It was a great force in this war, and although it was incomparable to the Demon Race in Fort Torrent before, it was extremely outstanding for a Barbarian Race army.
Who had the ability to capture twenty thousand warriors?
“It was your own Barbarian Race, it seems to be a Clan called… The Bone Devouring Clan!” Sha Ya recalled.
Yang Kai’s face changed, “Are you sure it’s the Bone Devouring Clan?”
“I don’t know what the Bone Devouring Clan looks like, but that’s what Tiea said. She said those guys were from the Bone Devouring Clan.”
“Why did the people from the Bone Devouring Clan pick on my Shaman Niu Clan, did they…” Before he finished, Yang Kai suddenly realized the problem.
Sha Ya continued, “Bao Qi and I were discovered by them. They seemed to think that the Shaman Niu Clan was controlled by us, so they started a fight. The twins tried to persuade them, but it was to no avail. Instead, they were hurt by those Shaman Kings. Bao Qi and I couldn’t beat them, then Bao Qi ended up being captured while I found an opportunity to escape and hid here all this time.”
Sha Ya really wanted to cry. A few months ago, she was still a Demon King who was in charge of an army of thousands of Demons, but now, she had fallen into this situation like a lost dog, chased down by everyone.
The Barbarian Race did not accept her identity and would definitely attack her whenever they saw her, while on the Demon Race side, she did not dare to go back because she was afraid of being caught by Mo Duo. As a Demon King, she actually had to live like a mouse, hiding everywhere to avoid being found.
“Were there any casualties in the Shaman Niu Clan?” Yang Kai asked.
Sha Ya shook her head, “Everyone else was fine, only Yue and Lu were slightly injured. Tiea ordered everyone not to resist.”
“It was the right choice not to fight them.” Yang Kai nodded. If the Shaman Niu Clan really fought back, they would never be able to convince them of their innocence. It was reasonable for the Bone Devouring Clan to suspect them because it did not make sense for the Barbarian Race to work with two Demon Kings. Everything still could be solved if they did not start a fight, otherwise, the two Clans would certainly start a war.
On top of that, given that the Bone Devouring Clan managed to capture Bao Qi and force Sha Ya to retreat, they must have sent out many Masters, and the Shaman Niu Clan definitely stood no chance of winning.
“They were all taken to the Bone Devouring Clan’s camp, and I don’t know what their situation is now.” Sha Ya finished worriedly and quietly observed Yang Kai’s reaction, “Sir, are we going to save them?”
Yang Kai answered, “Of course, it is my Shaman Niu Clan that we’re talking about.”
“But I…” Sha Ya muttered.
“You don’t need to show up. Just stay still.” While speaking, Yang Kai reached out his hand and grabbed her. Sha Ya did not resist and was directly thrown into the Sealed World Bead.
Yang Kai turned around and looked in the other direction.
He did not require Sha Ya for guidance, because he could feel Bao Qi’s presence thanks to the Soul Imprint in the latter’s mind, which resulted in a connection that could not be easily cut off.
Without delay, Yang Kai rushed off at full speed.
He was not sure whether or not it was fate that the twenty thousand people of his Shaman Niu Clan fell into the hands of the Bone Devouring Clan, but regardless he was quite worried. The Bone Devouring Clan was originally different from other Ancient Barbarian Clans, and if not for it being protected by a Shaman Saint, it would have been wiped out by the other Ancient Barbarians long ago. Furthermore, Yang Kai had some conflict with the Bone Devouring Clan, so this alone was enough for Yang Kai to worry about the safety of his twenty thousand subordinates.
The Bone Devouring Clan never forgave and always sought revenge for the slightest grievance. Back then, a Shaman Chi escaped after being injured by Yang Kai, so a grudge had already been formed between them. If it were not due to the invasion of the Demon Clan, the Bone Devouring Clan would certainly have tried to take revenge against Yang Kai already.
The Bone Devouring Clan was one of the four strongest Ancient Barbarian Clans and even had a Shaman Saint assuming command. The Bone Devouring Clan was also the cruelest and most violent of all the Clans.
Before the invasion of the Demon Race, no Barbarian Clan was willing to start a conflict with the Bone Devouring Clan, even though everyone hated this Clan and did not want to recognize them as a part of the Barbarian Race.
But it was undeniable that the Bone Devouring Clan played a great role in this war to resist the invasion of the Demon Race. The entire eastern front line was braced by the Bone Devouring Clan who marched forward step by step, slowly reclaiming most of the lost lands while slaying countless Demons.
The Bone Devouring Clansmen had proved the unyielding spirit and bravery of the Barbarian Race, and their ferocity and penchant for violence became an excellent weapon at this time. Many Masters of the Demon Race learned of their existence and always paid close attention to their movements.
Cang Er Mountain Valley was one of the fortresses of the Bone Devouring Clan, and there were more than a hundred thousand clansmen here, including five Shaman Kings. It was one of the most important locations to the Bone Devouring Clan, as well as to the whole Barbarian Race, because it was near the frontlines of the warzone.
Since the Bone Devouring Clan garrisoned more than a hundred thousand troops here, it had fought with an army of Demons hundreds of kilometres away more than six times. The Bone Devouring Clan won more times than it lost, achieving a remarkable record and results in the war.
However, for some unknown reason, the Demon Race seemed to be a lot quieter these past few months, resulting in some idleness in the Bone Devouring Clan.
But today, the whole Cang Er Valley became lively. Almost all of the hundred thousand Barbarians had gathered at the centre of the valley to look at the newly built stage with scorching excitement.
The clansmen of the Bone Devouring Clan would only show such an expression when they saw the most delicious and novel food.
On the high stage was a thick wooden stake to which a tall figure was bound using various Shamanic Spells. There were complex and strange patterns engraved on the stake and from time to time, lightning would burst from those patterns like a torrent and flow through the bound figure. The tall figure would twitch from the electrocution, looking miserable, as if he was suffering tremendous pain.
All the clansmen in the Bone Devouring Clan looked at the tall figure with exhilarated faces, and some even licked the corners of their lips occasionally. If not for knowing the true identity of this person, perhaps someone would have already rushed up and torn a piece of flesh out of this man to taste it.
It was a Demon King! A powerful Demon King!
It was captured by several of the Shaman Kings of the Clan, and although the Bone Devouring Clan had no taboo on cannibalism and in fact had practised it frequently for many years, no one dared to have the same thought for a Demon King.
No one knew whether they would be corrupted by the Demon Qi and turn into a Demon if they took a bite of the Demon King’s flesh, but this ‘worry’ still could not suppress their inner curiosity and desire.
The more they thought about it, the more they wanted to taste the Demon King’s flesh and wondered what would happen to them after eating him.
But it was pointless for those ordinary clansmen to fantasize because a Shaman King was standing beside the Demon King.
That person was Yang Kai’s ‘old acquaintance’, Shaman Chi!
Shaman Chi held a dagger made of unknown material in his hand, his face filled with a ferocious and crazy expression. He took the dagger and sliced the Demon King’s flesh again and again, his bulky hands moving with extreme precision. With each slice, only a thin piece of flesh was cut, no more, no less.
Many clansmen in the Bone Devouring Clan were quite particular about eating people alive because, for these people, fresh meat was more delicious than dead, rotten meat. If they could enjoy the struggling and crying of their prey in the process of their feast, it would undoubtedly be the most enjoyable meal.
As one of the strongest among them, Shaman Chi was particularly fond of this practice.
Bao Qi remained indifferent when the first piece of his flesh was sliced off, simply standing there glaring at Shaman Chi coldly, as if the slice of meat did not belong to him. As a Demon King, he naturally possessed strong willpower and sufficient determination. Back then, he also only submitted to Yang Kai because he was forcefully branded by a Soul Imprint and had no way to resist it.
He was not afraid of this Shaman King’s tricks.
But Bao Qi knew too little about the Bone Devouring Clan.
When Shaman Chi excitedly put the piece of meat into his mouth, revealing an ecstatic look after devouring it, Bao Qi’s face finally changed.
It was nothing to cut his bones and flesh off, but Shaman Chi’s practice of eating his flesh raw was obviously beyond Bao Qi’s expectation. He watched as his own flesh was munched noisily in the mouth of the Shaman King. Even in the Demon Race, this was not a common practice.
More than a hundred thousand clansmen of the Bone Devouring Clan stared eagerly at Shaman Chi, gulping down their own saliva. They were yearning to know whether the flesh of a Demon King was delicious, or how it was different from those they had eaten before.
The euphoric look on Shaman Chi’s face did not fade as it seemed that he was enjoying the best food in the world with his eyes closed.
After a while, he gulped down the chewed meat, and shouted, “Delicious!”
The clansmen jumped in excitement, and cheered crazily, as if hot chicken blood was flooding their veins.
Shaman Chi turned to Bao Qi with a grim smile, “Don’t die so easily. A Demon King is such a rare catch, you have to let all our clansmen taste your flesh before you perish!”
Bao Qi’s face twitched slightly.
Although he did not make a precise head count, he knew that there were at least a hundred thousand Bone Devouring Clansmen standing here. In other words, this Shaman King would need to cut more than a hundred thousand slices of his flesh before he would be allowed to die.
A Demon King’s resilience was incomparably strong, so even if he did have a hundred thousand pieces of flesh sliced from his body, Bao Qi would not die; however, it was obvious that such torture would bring him long and unbearable pain.
Shaman Chi grinned and cut off another piece of Bao Qi’s flesh before throwing it out and shouting, “This is the punishment for your Demon Race. Our Bone Devouring Clan will devour all your clansmen, so that you will never dare to set foot in our territory again!”
That thin piece of flesh was thrown into the crowd, which immediately led to chaos. Many of the Bone Devouring Clansmen fought for the piece of flesh, and finally it landed in the hands of a particular female clansmen. She stuffed it into her mouth without hesitation before crouching down while holding her head down, enduring the beating of the other clansmen, shouting excitedly the whole time, “It’s tasty. So tasty!”
“See? These are the clansmen of our Bone Devouring Clan. Your Demon Race is nothing!” Not only did Shaman Chi not mind about the riots below, but instead he grinned proudly.
Bao Qi was silent. If he stood in the position of the Demon Race, he would refute Shaman Chi with a few words, but he had long been subdued by Yang Kai, so although he was a Demon King, he had been working for the Barbarian Race.
Sadly, he was caught by these other Barbarians and had to die by a hundred thousand cuts. It was not that he did not try to explain, but no one in the Bone Devouring Clan believed him.
“Endure, you must live on!” Shaman Chi raised his dagger again, “You cannot die too easily. You are a Demon King after all; don’t disgrace your Demon Race!”
Another piece of flesh was sliced off and thrown into the crowd by Shaman Chi, causing another riot.
After that, Shaman Chi sped up his actions. He did have good technique and the rate at which his dagger flashed, slicing off pieces of flesh, was almost faster than the eye could see. With each new morsal, the crowd would be stirred up into a frenzy as the Bone Devouring Clansmen competed for the prize.
In less than half a stick worth of incense, half of Bao Qi’s arm was gone, exposing his white bones. During this period, he suffered at least three thousand cuts.
Even if he was a powerful Demon King, he could not help shaking as cold sweat dripped from his forehead and he clenched his teeth tightly to endure the severe pain.
Several tens of metres away, from where more than one hundred thousand clansmen of the Bone Devouring Clan gathered, twenty thousand people were watching quietly. These people were obviously different from the Bone Devouring Clan, because they appeared to be detained. They were surrounded by some Masters of the Bone Devouring Clan, and any unusual movement would lead to a beating.
These people were the clansmen of the Shaman Niu Clan, led by the twins, Yue and Lu. They looked at the wooden stage, and many had an unbearable look on their faces.
They all knew that Bao Qi had submitted to Yang Kai, and the former had contributed a lot in many previous victories. Although the clansmen were unable to recognize him as their companion due to his identity as a Demon, they had still once fought side by side.
At the moment, many of them could not bear to see Bao Qi suffer such torture. It was just the blink of an eye to kill a person, but the practice of the Bone Devouring Clan Shaman King was too cruel.
Yue walked towards a Bone Devouring Clan Shaman Grandmaster, stood behind him and gritted her teeth as she shouted, “I want to speak to a Shaman King!”
The Shaman Grandmaster turned around, looked at her, and sneered without answering.
“I must speak to your Shaman King!” Yue bellowed again.
The Shaman Grandmaster looked at her coldly, “Go back!”
Yue did not move and continued, “Bao Qi is a subordinate subdued by Sir Shaman Niu. He is now working for our Barbarian Race. You can’t kill him!”
The Shaman Grandmaster sneered, “He is a Demon King. A Demon king can’t be subdued by Shaman Niu. You’ve all been deceived by him.”
“Sir Shaman Niu will explain everything. Please release him first. When Sir Shaman Niu comes, you will understand.”
“Shaman Niu?” The Shaman Grandmaster smiled with disdain, “Who is that? I have never heard of him.”
“Sir Shaman Niu is the Shaman Grandmaster of our South Barbarian Clan. He…”
“South Barbarian Clan?” The Shaman Grandmaster pretended to take her seriously for a moment and showed a sudden realization, “But the South Barbarian Clan perished!”
“South Barbarian Clan has not perished. We are still here!” Yue gritted his teeth as she bellowed.
“The South Barbarian Clan has not perished!” A group of people shouted from behind, all looking outraged. They stood behind Yue one after another and glared at the Shaman Grandmaster.
It had been a month since the appearance of the Black Brilliance and word of the destruction of hundreds of thousands of people from the South Barbarian Clan had spread widely. Everyone in the Shaman Niu Clan naturally knew about this, and although they may be the only group left in the South Barbarian Clan, as long as they lived, the South Barbarian Clan would never die.
The Shaman Grandmaster looked at the crowd with a deep meaningful smile, “The South Barbarian Clan will soon perish.”
Yue frowned as her heart sank. She understood the meaning of his words and it caused her skin to crawl. Lu seemed to want to say something more, but immediately stopped when her sister tugged at her.
Yue went back directly to Tiea and whispered, “Can’t you escape?”
Among all the people here, Tiea, who was a Shaman Grandmaster, was the strongest. If anyone could escape from this place, it would be Tiea, but ever since they were caught, Tiea had simply been staying quietly here without any intention to escape.
Tiea shook her head.
“Aren’t you from the Nomad Clan? Your concealment skills are without equal.”
Tiea replied, “But I’m just a Shaman Grandmaster, and there are five Shaman Kings here.”
Yue had nothing more to say. The huge gap in strength really made it impossible for Tiea to escape from here.
Yue continued, “We will be eaten by them. Someone must escape to find Sir Shaman Niu!”
Tiea whispered, “He will come, and we won’t be eaten.”
“But…” Yue looked anxious. The words from the previous Shaman Grandmaster caught her attention. More than twenty thousand people in the Shaman Niu Clan were detained here, not just because they had an ambiguous relationship with a Demon King, but because the Bone Devouring Clan regarded them as rations.
The one hundred thousand Bone Devouring Clan clansmen gathered here had to eat and drink, but how could there be so much food for them in this chaotic battlefield? The twenty thousand people of the Shaman Niu Clan were like a delicious feast that delivered itself to them.
That was why the Shaman Grandmaster insisted that the South Barbarian Clan would perish.
“Isn’t he already here?” Tiea suddenly grinned as she turned to the front, as if she had already foreseen what was about to happen.
Yue, Lu, and all the others quickly turned around and looked up, their eyes shining brightly.
They saw Sir Shaman Niu’s figure appear on the stage out of nowhere. He came in between Bao Qi and Shaman Chi, and grabbed Shaman Chi’s right hand that held the dagger.
The hundred thousand clansmen of the Bone Devouring Clan were stunned by the sudden emergence of a person, and even Shaman Chi’s face changed drastically. He instinctively pushed his Shaman Strength to resist, but found that he could not free his hand from the grip of this interloper.
When he looked up, the face that had given him sleepless nights appeared before his eyes.
“It’s you!” Shaman Chi gnashed his teeth as he bellowed, his face immediately turning ferocious.
“Shaman Chi, you’ve grown old.” Yang Kai looked at him indifferently.
Hearing this, Shaman Chi’s face spasmed as he shouted angrily, “What Shamanic Spell did you use on me?”
Shaman Chi looked much older than half a year ago. When Yang Kai first met him, Shaman Chi looked only about forty years-old, but now he looked at least ten or twenty years older.
This was very unusual for a Shaman King.
But not for a Shaman King who was hit by the Time Flies Seal.
Time Flies Seal was the signature Divine Ability of Flowing Time Great Emperor and had the power to accelerate the passage of an object or individual’s time. When Yang Kai was still a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster, he used the Time Flies Seal on Shaman Chi outside Blue South Village, and although he wasn’t strong enough back then to make this a fatal blow, it still had some effect on Shaman Chi, aging him rapidly.
Shaman Chi had no idea what kind of Shamanic Spell he was hit with, and every time he recalled it, he would feel frightened and uneasy, but the hatred in his heart would also grow stronger.
“You wouldn’t understand, and there’s no need for you to understand!” Yang Kai responded faintly. How could the Shaman Kings of this world possibly comprehend the Divine Ability of a Great Emperor who would not even be born for at least another hundred thousand years? Yang Kai tightened his grip, and Shaman Chi could not help retreating a few steps back.
“Bao Qi is my subordinate!” Yang Kai stared straight at Shaman Chi, “He shouldn’t receive such torture!”
“Sir!” Bao Qi shouted softly, holding back his trembling body. He thought that he would die here for sure, but Yang Kai’s appearance brought him hope to live.
Although there were five Shaman Kings here, he still believed that Sir Shaman Niu could save him. It was his instinct, an intuition, and Bao Qi trusted it with all his heart.
Yang Kai nodded and a light flashed in his hand. Then as he tapped on Bao Qi’s body, the Shamanic Spell that bound Bao Qi immediately collapsed, allowing him to regain his freedom.
“How dare you release him!” Shaman Chi reprimanded angrily. In order to capture this Demon King, the Bone Devouring Clan had put in a lot of effort, but now, Shaman Niu let him go as soon as he came. He simply did not put the Bone Devouring Clan in his eyes.
“Open your mouth!” Yang Kai ignored him and ordered Bao Qi.
Bao Qi opened his mouth as he was instructed. The next moment, something was thrown from Yang Kai’s hand into his throat.
“Refine it.”
Bao Qi immediately sat cross-legged on the floor and circulated his strength to refine whatever it was that entered his stomach. He instantly felt a cool sensation spreading all over his body, which greatly reduced his pain, and especially his arm that only had white bones remaining, even causing a tingling sensation to spread out from it
Shaman Chi was so angry at this scene that he glared at Yang Kai with a darkened face; however, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to make a move and instead just sneered, “Shaman Niu, I have to thank you.”
“Thank me for what?” Yang Kai looked up at him.
As soon as Shaman Chi pushed his Shaman Strength, an extremely strong aura spread out.
Yang Kai raised his brow, “Oh? You’re already a Mid-Rank Shaman King. Congratulations.”
Shaman Chi continued, “Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to become a Mid-Rank Shaman King so soon.”
He suffered a great loss in his encounter with Yang Kai last time, but although he was injured, Shaman Chi recognized his shortcomings and strived hard to improve. During his recuperation, he had a breakthrough in comprehension and after countless battles with the Demon Race, he finally broke through from the Low-Rank Shaman King realm to the Mid-Rank Shaman King Realm.
“No need to feel grateful, it was all your own effort.” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Shaman Chi grimaced a little. Such a response was not what he hoped to see. Then he shouted, “Shaman Niu, the South Barbarian Clan has perished. If you want to live, you’d best understand what you must do!”
“The South Barbarian Clan has not perished!” Yang Kai corrected him with a solemn look, “I and my subordinates are still here, so the South Barbarian Clan has not died.”
Shaman Chi laughed, “With only a Shaman Grandmaster like you? All the Shaman Kings of the South Barbarian Clan are dead. Without a Shaman King, your Clan has no qualification to exist. Don’t you know that?”
The Barbarians Clans often annexed each other. Just like Blue South Village, if Yang Kai had not been born there, the village without a Shaman’s protection would soon be annexed by other villages after the death of the old Village Chief.
The same was true in all Clans.
Having a Shaman King was the most important criteria for the existence of a Great Clan. A Great Clan without a Shaman King would lose its standing.
“We just need a Shaman King, right?” Yang Kai closed his eyes as he spoke, “If that’s what you want.”
When he opened his eyes again, they radiated intensely, and an exceedingly powerful aura suddenly exploded from his body.
Shaman Chi’s face changed drastically as he thought that Yang Kai was going to attack him. In fact, he could not wait for him to do so, so that he could fight back without hesitation and obtain his revenge.
To his great surprise though, he found that Yang Kai did not have any intention to fight. Rather, the aura from his body grew stronger and more ferocious and in the blink of an eye, it exceeded the Realm of a Shaman Grandmaster and touched the Shaman King Realm.
“This is…” Shaman Chi was dumbfounded.
Before he could finish his sentence, Yang Kai’s aura suddenly soared, as if the shackles restraining it had been broken through, allowing Yang Kai’s Realm to climb to a new height.
Shaman Chi’s eyes quivered violently as he could hardly believe what he just witnessed.
“If it’s just a Shaman King, there’s one here now…” Yang Kai grinned at him.
The twenty thousand Shaman Niu Clansmen who were detained not far away burst out in cheers after a moment of stunned silence. All of them were excited beyond measure, especially Yue and Lu. Shaman King! There was a new Shaman King in the South Barbarian Clan! That meant that in this war of two races, the South Barbarian Clan still had the right to act independently, and did not have to seek refuge under another Great Clan or became a vassal to one.
The cheers were soon suppressed, however, as several figures suddenly appeared, and spread out into four corners to surround the stage. All of them possessed profound cultivation, revealing the aura of a Shaman King. They were the other Bone Devouring Clan Shaman Kings assuming command in Cang Er Mountain Valley. They chose not to appear earlier because they did not think it was necessary. Shaman Chi should be able to deal with Yang Kai, who was just a Shaman Grandmaster, easily.
But when Yang Kai suddenly and inexplicably became a Shaman King, they had to show up.
Among them, a bald Shaman King had the most powerful aura and seemed to be a little stronger than the others. He looked at Yang Kai with his authoritative eyes, and remarked, “I’ve never seen such an effortless breakthrough to the Shaman King Realm.”
“That simply means your knowledge is not broad enough.” Even facing a High-Rank Shaman King whose cultivation was two Minor Realms above his own, Yang Kai remained calm and composed.
“Rumour has it that you received the favour of the Barbarian Gods. I didn’t believe it at first, but it seems that it might be true.” The bald Shaman King looked Yang Kai up and down as if he wanted to examine him thoroughly.
“Sir has heard of me before?” Yang Kai was surprised.
The bald Shaman King glanced at Shaman Chi, and continued, “I definitely would pay a little attention to those who could defeat stronger enemies and hurt Shaman Chi.”
Shaman Chi’s face turned ugly, glaring at Yang Kai angrily, as if his unhealed wound had been sprinkled with salt.
“But…” The bald Shaman King pressed on, “It’s meaningless even if you break through to the Shaman King Realm. Your South Barbarian Clan has perished. This is a fact, and no one can change it.”
“I’m still alive, and twenty thousand of my subordinates are still alive. We can rebuild the South Barbarian Clan!” Yang Kai continued with a deep voice, “Sir, don’t make a judgement too early.”
The bald Shaman King shook his head, “The Sacred Treasure of the South Barbarian Clan is already lost so… where did you get that?”
His eyes suddenly darted to an object that looked like a wood-carving that Yang Kai was casually playing with in his hand. There was also a similar wood-carving in the Bone Devouring Clan, but it was in the hands of their Shaman Saint. Even a High-Rank Shaman King like him was not qualified to touch it.
The Sacred Treasure was a symbol of authority over their Clan, and most people thought of it as just a token, but a few Shaman Kings knew that the Sacred Treasure had many other wonderful functions.
Being able to obtain a Sacred Treasure would be a great help to a Shaman King’s cultivation.
The bald Shaman King could not understand how the Sacred Treasure of the South Barbarian Clan appeared in the hands of this man named Shaman Niu.
The descent of the Black Brilliance destroyed several hundred thousand South Barbarian Clansmen, including all the South Barbarian Clan Shaman Kings who were alive at the time. It only made sense that the Sacred Treasure was lost or destroyed together with the death of those Shaman Kings, yet now it appeared right in front of his eyes.
[Could it be that this Shaman Niu had been on that battlefield?]
This idea was extinguished as soon as it appeared though because as far as the bald Shaman King knew, a highly authoritative and mighty Demon Saint, which was equivalent to the existence of a Shaman Saint, was present that day. If this Shaman Niu really took part in the battlefield, how could it be possible for him to come back alive?
It was somewhat different from the Bone Devouring Clan’s expectations that the South Barbarian Clan still had a Shaman King, and the Sacred Treasure still existed.
Led by the bald Shaman King, several Shaman Kings of the Bone Devouring Clan exchanged eye contact silently to communicate with each other and reached a consensus shortly after.
The bald Shaman King then spoke, “Shaman Niu, hand over the Sacred Treasure. Since you have taken refuge with the Demon Race, you are no longer a son of the Barbarian Gods.”
Yang Kai snorted, “Which eye of yours saw that we have taken refuge under the Demon Race?”
Shaman Chi barked sternly, “Do you still deny it? If you didn’t take refuge under the Demon Race, why are you still saving this Demon King?”
Yang Kai replied, “I told you, he is my subordinate, of course I had to save him!”
Shaman Chi smiled contemptuously, “Based on your words, do you mean that this Demon King was subdued by you?”
“Exactly!”
Shaman Chi burst out laughing, obviously not believing it. The other Shaman Kings also shook their heads slightly, thinking that Yang Kai was too shameless to make such an exaggerated boast! Before this, Yang Kai was just a Shaman Grandmaster, so how could he force a Demon King to submit? A Demon King was an existence that was equivalent to them, the Shaman Kings. They had the same arrogance and pride, so if they were in the same position, they would never succumb to the tyranny of a Demon Great General and would rather die honourably than live in shame.
“You have been demonised, and you are also transformed into a Demon!” The bald Shaman King sighed, “Fortunately, you are not deeply affected by the demonisation. If you hand over Sacred Treasure, the South Barbarian Clan may still be pardoned.”
“I would know if I had transformed into a Demon. Sir doesn’t need to worry, I am here today to take away the people from my Shaman Niu Clan. I hope Sirs can grant my request!”
Shaman Chi boomed sternly, “Spare the nonsense, this guy is delirious. He just wants to rescue this Demon King. Let me kill him and take back the Sacred Treasure!”
Shaman Chi lost his temper and took action in a flash. His Shaman Strength was already activated when he spoke and a huge skull suddenly appeared and quickly expanded to the size of a house, opening its mouth to bite at Yang Kai, attempting to swallow him.
The bald Shaman King and the others watched indifferently, none of them attempting to stop Shaman Chi or help him, all of them apparently silently approving of his actions.
Yang Kai had seen this skull before. Shaman Chi summoned the same Shaman Artifact when the two of them fought last time. It was extremely vicious and sinister, and its power now seemed to be much greater than previously.
Yang Kai welcomed the sinister aura that rushed right towards his face with squinted eyes.
The skull descended and swallowed him whole.
Shaman Chi was stunned, as he did not expect it to be so easy. Joy crept up his face but quickly turned into shock because in the next moment, an Earth-shaking sword light escaped through the seven orifices of the skull. The entire skull flew out and began wobbling about like a headless fly through the air, regardless of how Shaman Chi tried to control it.
Shaman Chi’s face changed drastically as he quickly changed his hand seal.
The skull opened its mouth wide, and Yang Kai and his sword were expelled in the form of a sword light. Whatever remained of the skull shrank rapidly at that point, greatly losing its spirituality.
Shaman Chi’s eyes were about to pop from their sockets in fury as his heart ached terribly. How could the strength of this Shaman Niu be so terrifying? He suffered a small loss the last time they clashed when he was a Low-Rank Shaman King and Yang Kai was a Low-Rank Shaman Grandmaster, but Shaman Chi thought he would be able to regain some of his dignity this time and never expected his opponent’s growth to be even greater than his own.
He was not Yang Kai’s opponent at all. Even though it was only a short confrontation, Shaman Chi was sure of it.
[Luckily I’m not alone…] Shaman Chi thought silently as he looked up.
On the other side, in front of Yang Kai stood the bald Shaman King, who seemed to have foreseen this coming, and intercepted him ahead of time. He raised his hand and a pitch-black lance blasted towards Yang Kai. The power of the lance was amazing and seemed to flip the Heavens and Earth upside down.
A mighty blow without reservations from a High-Rank Shaman King was naturally extremely terrifying.
As he struck, he bellowed, “Shaman Niu, you are the matchless prodigy of our Barbarian Race. By right you would have great achievements in the future, but it’s a pity that you had no self-respect and succumbed to the Demon Race. The Barbarian Race cannot forgive you, you must die here today.”
Yang Kai laughed heartily, “Many have wanted my life, and none of them have had good ends. Sir, you will be no exception!”
Saying so, he pointed the Myriads Sword forward, and a cold light flashed before the sword swung with the ferocity of a dragon.
The pitch-black energy lance was shattered by the sword strike and its remnants melted like snowflakes under the scorching sun.
The bald Shaman King remained calm and quickly reacted. With a single thought, his hand seal changed, and the shattered black energy suddenly shrank, immediately transforming into a cage that attempted to capture Yang Kai inside of it.
At the same time, apart from Shaman Chi, the other three Shaman Kings had also arrived, all of them looking ruthless, holding no reservations.
They were determined to finish off Yang Kai here, not only because Yang Kai and the Bone Devouring Clan had old grudges, but also because he possessed the South Barbarian Clan’s Sacred Treasure.
On top of that, the Shaman Niu Clan mingled with the Demon Race, so his death would not be worth pitying. Even if the entire Clan was slaughtered, the other Clans would not disapprove.
More than twenty thousand people from the Shaman Niu Clan gasped loudly. Yue and Lu, and the other Shamans were even more nervous and desperately wanted to assist Yang Kai, but unfortunately, they knew that they would not be much of a help with such a drastic difference in strength. They made up their minds that if anything happened to Sir Shaman Niu, they would immediately revolt and fight back, preferring to be killed by the people of Bone Devouring Clan than ending up as their food.
On the stage, in the face of the joint attack of the four Shaman Kings, Yang Kai remained calm. He swung the Myriads Sword in every direction in a seemingly chaotic, unorganized manner, but somehow the few swings completely shattered the Shamanic Spells of the other Shaman Kings, leaving only the cage of the bald Shaman King, in which he remained firmly bound.
Yang Kai’s body tensed at that moment as a majestic power erupted from within him. The formless black cage suddenly inflated several times its original size and began emitting a vague cracking sound, as if it might shatter at any time.
The bald Shaman King’s face changed slightly at this sight and no longer dared to hesitate, chanting an obscure incantation between his lips.
The other four Shaman Kings looked solemn and joined in the chanting together.
The voices of the five Shaman Kings quickly merged together into one voice, where none of its components could be distinguished from the others. Followed by the change of incantation, a gigantic unmatched skeletal hand appeared out of thin air. The skeletal hand was almost a hundred metres in size and grabbed downwards at a seemingly slow but actually fast speed towards Yang Kai.
The grip of this skeletal hand was so powerful that even the surrounding World Principles were trapped by it.
Yang Kai inexplicably felt himself being choked as his body bent as if a giant mountain was pressing down on his neck, making it impossible for him to stand straight.
He was amazed by what he saw. Although he did not know what Shamanic Spell this was, since it required five Shaman Kings working together to cast, it could not be ignored. Kicking Bao Qi, who was next to him, out of the stage, Yang Kai flickered to the side.
There was a loud bang, and the skeletal hand clutched the newly built stage, crushing it into powder.
Before Yang Kai could stand firm though, the huge skeletal hand already made a second attempt to capture him. Yang Kai’s face darkened, but just as he was considering testing the abilities of this skeletal hand by facing it head-on, he suddenly saw a visible scorching light radiating from its palm. The scorching light leapt across space in an instant and shot directly towards his chest.
Yang Kai hurriedly dodged again.
This repeated for the following consecutive attacks.
Yang Kai soon grew infuriated and shouted furiously, “Enough!”
Shaman Chi guffawed, “Flee, just continue to flee, let’s see how long more you can flee!”
“Shaman Chi, you court death!” Yang Kai glared at him coldly.
“You are having trouble fending for yourself, and you still have the time to threaten me?” Shaman Chi curled his lips disdainfully, “You’d best care for your own life first.”
“You already know why I must remain passive!” Yang Kai retorted coldly while evading the attacks of the chasing skeleton hand.
Shaman Chi chuckled, “Only someone incompetent would run. Everyone has the innate instinct to preserve his own life.”
“You’re wrong.” Yang Kai shook his head slightly, and said plainly, “I just don’t want Sir Shaman Saint to chase me down.”
“Why would Sir Shaman Saint chase you down?” Shaman Chi frowned.
Yang Kai grinned cunningly, showing his fangs, “If I killed all of you, do you think Sir Shaman Saint wouldn’t hunt me down?”
Shaman Chi froze for a moment, and then burst into laughter as if he heard some funny joke, “Just you alone? Do you want to kill all of us with only your pitiful strength? Shaman Niu, are you still dreaming?”
Yang Kai stopped talking to him and turned to the bald Shaman King, “All of you shouldn’t die at my hands. The Demon Race is still raging across this land, so your strength should be used to deal with those Demon Kings!”
“You don’t need to worry about the Demon Kings, we will take care of them. You, on the other hand, should surrender without a fight.” The bald Shaman King replied coldly.
Yang Kai sighed, and finally remarked with difficulty, “It’s not too late to stop now, otherwise… you will bear all the consequences!”
The bald Shaman King seemed to become maddened too and shouted, “This is the first time I have seen a person blurt out such preposterous words. I hope you are more capable than your words!” With a snort, he pushed his Shaman Strength even more fiercely, causing the giant skeletal hand’s might to increase again.
“Then have a look for yourself if I am capable or not!” Yang Kai suddenly stopped fleeing and stood his ground, his Myriads Sword lifted slightly.
The five Shaman Kings of Bone Devouring Clan were horrified at the sight of it, knowing that Yang Kai was really going to take this seriously, and immediately urged the giant skeletal hand to grab him.
The tiny figure and the huge skeletal hand created a very sharp visual contrast to every Barbarian who watched this scene, whether it was the clansmen of Bone Devouring Clan or the clansmen of the Shaman Niu Clan. At this moment, none of them were aware that they were holding their breaths, as they witnessed something exciting enough to be recorded in the annals of history.
Yang Kai did not evade the grasp of the gigantic skeletal hand this time.
As the huge hand closed its grip, Yang Kai’s figure disappeared, and more than a hundred thousand Bone Devouring Clansmen cheered and worshiped their five Shaman Kings.
The faces of Yue and Lu turned pale, and they seemed to be unable to accept the scene in front of them; however, Tiea’s voice immediately came from the side, “He’s fine!”
Tiea was a notably special existence in the Shaman Niu Clan. She was just a Shaman Grandmaster, but she seemed to have insight that even a Shaman King could not possess, her words never once being false.
She stated before that Yang Kai would come for them.
Then Yang Kai came.
Therefore, everyone in the Shaman Niu Clan seemed to be affected by her words and felt reassured.
On the contrary, the five Shaman Kings of the Bone Devouring Clan wore stern looks on their faces and did not seem to rejoice in their success.
A grunt suddenly came out of the gigantic skeletal hand. No one could make out the mutter clearly; however, after the grunt, a loud Dragon Roar suddenly burst out, followed by an incomparably huge Golden Dragon manifesting inside the palm of the gigantic skeletal hand.
A terrifying aura filled the air.
The five Bone Devouring Clan Shaman Kings who joined hands suddenly felt a sense of insignificance.
*Kacha…*
The gigantic skeletal hand was forced open by a golden light as a huge figure could be seen through its fingers, standing on its palm.
Followed by a swing of sword light, the skeletal hand trembled and its fingers were severed, falling from the sky like five small hills, frightening the Bone Devouring Clansmen below and forcing them to flee the mess.
Yang Kai, who used his Dragon Transformation, jumped onto the skeletal palm, dragging the Myriads Sword along with him as he ran up the arm, creating a series of screeches and sparks.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai reached the elbow of the skeletal arm, standing towering like a glorious king as he gazed down at everything below him.
The five Bone Devouring Shaman Kings looked up together, and saw a scene that they would never forget in their life.
The skeletal hand, which was jointly condensed by five of them, was cleaved by a newly promoted Shaman King with sheer brute force. A huge crack split from the wrist of the skeletal hand all the way to the elbow, like a ravine that represented a testimony of the passage of years and the changes of eras.
Yang Kai tapped his foot lightly, and the entire skeletal arm was split into two. The Shamanic Spell of the five Shaman Kings was broken, and the gigantic skeletal hand immediately turned into a million points of light before vanishing.
With his Myriads Swords pointing downwards, Yang Kai declared with a cold face, “I didn’t want to fight with you, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t. Since you started this, I will give all of you an unforgettable lesson.”
His eyes darted at Shaman Chi!
Shaman Chi was in a panic and stepped back involuntarily upon sensing the strong murderous intent in Yang Kai’s eyes.
“Save me!” Shaman Chi bellowed, and moved to get close to the other Shaman Kings. The bald Shaman King was the first to react and attempted to fly towards him.
But Yang Kai released a sword light from the sky to block his path, and when the sword light dissipated, the bald Shaman King was stunned in place as he stared at the scene before him. There, Shaman Niu had already rushed to Shaman Chi, his sword pointed at the neck of the Shaman Chi.
“Hundreds of villagers in Blue South Village died because of your Bone Devouring Clan. Killing one of your Shaman Kings today should be sufficient revenge for my people.”
Appalled, Shaman Chi bellowed, “How dare you! Sir Shaman Saint will not forgive this! If you really kill me, the Shaman Saint will chase you till the ends of the world!”
Yang Kai sneered, “I’ve been chased by a Demon Saint for a month already, do you really think I’d fear your Shaman Saint? Besides, he seems to be recuperating, right? So, you’d best just die in peace!”
“Stop!” The bald Shaman King suddenly shouted.
Yang Kai asked steadily as he turned to him, “You have something to say, Sir?”
“Let Shaman Chi go and I’ll let all of you go!” The bald Shaman King proposed in a deep voice.
Yang Kai smiled, and shook his head, “When I asked you to stop, you kept forcing me. Now that something has gone wrong, you want to make peace with me? Life is not so kind. I’m sorry, the decision is in my hands now.”
The bald Shaman King pressed on, “Killing Shaman Chi won’t do you any good. It will only forge a deep enmity between you and our Bone Devouring Clan!”
Yang Kai curled his lip, “And your Clan won’t hate me if I don’t kill him? You are a Clan that will seek revenge for the slightest grievance. If it weren’t for the invasion of the Demon Race, you would have already attacked my Blue South Village again. Since we already have an old grievance, I don’t mind adding a new one.”
“A Shaman King is an indispensable force in the war of two races right now. You can’t kill him.”
“Funny!” Yang Kai snapped back, “I’m also a Shaman King, yet did you five not join hands to kill me just now?”
“That’s because we thought you were transformed into a Demon.”
“If I were transformed into a Demon, all of you would have to die today, not just one.” As Yang Kai’s words fell, the chilling light of the Myriad Sword in his hand flashed and Shaman Chi’s head flew into the sky as a fountain of blood burst from his neck.
The remaining four Bone Devouring Shaman Kings all stared in horror.
They thought Yang Kai was just bluffing, and would not really kill Shaman Chi, but they did not expect him to really do it. Shaman Chi’s body was still standing in place, while the expression on his severed head was one of utter shock. Obviously, he did not think his life would end just like this.
Instead of dying at the hands of the Demon Race, he died at the hands of a fellow Barbarian.
After killing Shaman Chi, Yang Kai teleported in front of the bald Shaman King and stabbed the Myriads Swords a hand length into his chest.
The bald Shaman King was instantly stiffened, and dared not to move a muscle.
“Don’t underestimate me. I can kill all of you if I wish.” Yang Kai stared at the bald Shaman King coldly as a drop of cold sweat rolled down the latter’s cheek.
“But all of you still have some use. You can fight and kill Demons, so I will spare your lives today!” Yang Kai withdrew his Myriads Swords before staring down from above at the bald Shaman King and declaring in a fierce voice, “All of you better remember, don’t provoke my South Barbarian Clan. Whoever dares will pay the price.”
The bald Shaman King remained silent, obviously somewhat traumatized.
Stowing away the Myriads Swords, Yang Kai walked past the bald Shaman King and went straight to the place where the twenty thousand people of the Shaman Niu Clan were being detained.
The Bone Devouring Clansmen who stood in the way looked at Yang Kai in fear, as if they were looking at a fierce beast, and soon they split apart, opening a path for him.
When he reached the front of the Shaman Niu Clan, the Shaman Grandmaster of the Bone Devouring Clan who had been guarding them looked as if he had still not come to his senses. Yang Kai raised his eyes, and the Shaman Grandmaster immediately stepped aside, a breeze blowing by as he felt a chill shoot up his back.
“Sir!” Yue, Lu, and all the others came forward to salute him, their eyes were filled with awe.
“Let’s go.” Yang Kai called.
Ah Hu came forward and reported, “They took our mounts.”
Yang Kai looked back at the bald Shaman King.
It was obvious that the bald Shaman King was struggling, and Yang Kai began to reveal a meaningful grin.
A moment later, the bald Shaman King seemed to have made the hardest decision of his life and shouted, “Return to them those things!”
The clansmen of the Bone Devouring Clan immediately rushed out, and a moment later, a thousand Demon Beasts and several dozen Giant Eagles were released from their cages and returned straight back to their masters.
The cavalry mounted their Demon Beasts, while the Aerial Cavalry rode their Giant Eagles into the air. More than twenty thousand people marched out of Cang Er Mountain Valley in an orderly fashion, each member of the Shaman Niu Clan holding their heads high, their backs as straight as javelins.
Behind them were the eyes of more than a hundred thousand Bone Devouring Clansmen, all of them filled with complicated feelings.
When the people of the Shaman Niu Clan finally left their sight, only then did the people of the Bone Devouring Clan let out a sigh of relief. The remaining four Shaman Kings all looked tired, as if they had exhausted all their energy.
Outside the mountain valley, the army was no longer able to contain their excitement and the silence was finally broken. People began to chatter amongst themselves about what had just happened, and the more they discussed, the more exhilarated they became.
No one stopped them.
Everyone had been detained by the Bone Devouring Clan and suffered mental torment for the past few days. Now that they had finally been rescued, not to mention in an extremely astonishing way, by Sir Shaman Niu, they naturally needed to vent their pent-up emotions.
“What do you want to say?” Yang Kai turned to Yue and asked. Since earlier, she had clearly been hesitant to say something. Even before she spoke though, Yang Kai already guessed what she wanted to discuss and asked, “Do you think I shouldn’t have killed Shaman Chi?”
Yue nodded, “He is a Shaman King of the Bone Devouring Clan after all, but now he died at your hands. If word of this spreads, other Clans may reject us. Our South Barbarian Clan is now in decline, so we should avoid drawing too much unwanted attention.”
Yang Kai smiled lightly and shook his head, “It is exactly because we are on the wane that we cannot restrain ourselves. We must let all the other Clans know that even if there is only one Shaman King and twenty thousand people left in the South Barbarian Clan, the South Barbarian Clan will not die. We will control our own destiny, not submit to others!” His eyes gradually narrowed, “The defence line of the Demon Race is narrowing and the war will become more and more intense. If we don’t become stronger and more ruthless, we will be used as sacrifices by other Clans sooner or later.”
After pondering for a while, Yue found his words reasonable and could only nod her head, “Perhaps you are right.”
Yang Kai pressed on, “Furthermore, it’s their fault this time. It’s wrong for me to kill a Shaman King, but I don’t think anyone will be in a hurry to stand up for Shaman Chi. The Bone Devouring Clan will continue to hate us and want to fight us, but that will only happen after the war between the two races ends. I just hope that they can survive until the end.”
“What about us?” Yue looked up at Yang Kai, like a child who had yet to mature.
“We will survive, drive away the Demon Race, and rebuild our homes!”
Yue’s eyes were filled with fascination as she visualized this beautiful future.
“Sir Shaman Dang died in battle!” Yang Kai suddenly declared.
The longing on Yue’s face was retracted, and her eyes drooped without a word, overwhelmed by sadness. Lu reached out to hold her arm, and the two sisters leaned closely together.
The World wept as countless lives were extinguished.
It had been two years since the invasion of the Demon Race, and during this time, the two races fought thousands of battles. More and more Barbarian Clans were destroyed, and one Demon Race army after another had been slaughtered. War raged across the north of this world with warriors dying every moment of every day.
About a month ago, the Shaman Saints and Demon Saints had finally fully recovered and left their seclusion one after another. The two sides fought with each other again; however, everyone held back their strength this time and mostly probed the enemy this time.
Compared to two years ago, the Barbarian Race was at a disadvantage due to the addition of Demon Saint Mo Duo to the Demon Race side. The extra Demon Saint had broken the balance between the two sides.
Everyone who survived through the two years of grim war had grown a lot.
The only remaining army of the South Barbarian Clan grew stronger and stronger in the war, and it had now expanded to as many as a hundred thousand people. The reputation of Shaman Niu also spread throughout the two races. It was no longer a secret that he enslaved ten Demon Kings, and it was precisely due to these ten Demon Kings that the Shaman Niu Clan could remain ever triumphant in this long war.
Two years was enough to bring about a lot of changes.
The greatest change was the endless reinforcements of the Demon Race from the hole in the World Barrier. Although this opening wasn’t completely stable, and powerful Masters could not pass through it freely, weaker troops could come and go as they pleased.
But this did not deter the Barbarian Race’s desire to recover their lost land.
Almost every Clan of the Demon Race Hundred Clans had their own Innate Divine Ability, and without the ten Demon Kings who Yang Kai had subdued, the Barbarian Race would have suffered a great invisible loss. The Demon Kings knew the details of the Demon Race like the back of their hand, which Yang Kai had already summarized and passed onto the leaders of the other Great Clans. With this information, the Barbarian Race was able to drastically reduce their losses, otherwise, the war would not have been so smooth for them.
Although the Demons kept flooding in from the passage between the two worlds, compared to two years prior, the defence line of the Demon Race had shrunk to just a two thousand kilometre radius from the passage.
All the Demons gathered here, while various Great Clans of the Barbarian Race stationed themselves at the perimeter of this two thousand kilometre region. Millions of warriors from both sides now confronted each other in this place.
An incomparable huge rift stood in the sky, the large gap unable to close up due to the constant infusion of vigorous Demon Qi. The sight was truly terrifying, and it could be seen clearly by all even from very far away.
It was like a never-healing scar in the sky.
This was the channel torn open by the Great Demon God of the Demon Realm with his terrifying means. The Barbarians called it the Two Worlds Passage.
As long as this passage was not closed, this war would never end.
All the leaders in the Barbarian Race were aware of this; therefore, over the past two years, all the Barbarians had been working hard towards this goal, besieging the Demon Race everywhere, forcing them back so they could seal the Two Worlds Passage.
As long as Two Worlds Passage was sealed, the source of the reinforcements for the Demon Race would be cut off. No more Demons would be able to come from the Demon Realm, and the Demons remaining in this land would also be weakened, making them fish on the chopping block.
Several large-scale attacks by the Barbarian Race were resisted by the Demon Race, with many demonised Barbarians being used as sacrifices to hold back the enemy. Both sides suffered injuries, but there was no way for the Barbarian Race to break through to the Two Worlds Passage.
Yang Kai had gone out to check the Two Worlds Passage several times personally and confirmed that it was really connected to another Great World and even allowed the World Principles of that world to interfere with the native World Principles. Even if he was proficient in the Space Principles, he could not repair this gash with his current strength.
Only if he became a Great Emperor would that be possible.
He was just a High-Rank Shaman King now, and while he seemed to be very close to becoming a Great Emperor, he was still far away.
Over the last year or so, he had broken through from the Low-Rank Shaman King Realm to the High-Rank Shaman King Realm. It was a miracle without a doubt. No one had ever advanced so quickly in the history of the Barbarian Race, but Yang Kai did. Of course, part of the reason was that he had the attributes of an Emperor Realm Master to begin with, but the biggest help was the Sacred Treasure that was given to him by Shaman Dang before he died.
When he first obtained the Sacred Treasure, Yang Kai did not notice anything special about it.
Only after becoming a Shaman King did he become aware of the secrets of the Sacred Treasure.
Every time he cultivated in retreat, the Sacred Treasure seemed to turn into a medium that connected him to the Shaman Divine Temple.
The Shaman Divine Temple was the most sacred place to all Barbarians. Historical records and precious Shamanic Spells of all the Barbarian Masters over countless years were accumulated there, and Yang Kai was able to roam the Shaman Divine Temple with his Soul while he possessed the Sacred Treasure, allowing him to see the wonderful abilities of countless mighty experts and all of their legendary legacies.
This knowledge was much more extensive than what was passed down to him by the Evergreen Divine Tree.
After discovering this, Yang Kai understood why the Shaman Kings of the Bone Devouring Clan attempted to rob the Sacred Treasure from him. Obviously, they knew the value of the Sacred Treasure for cultivation and wanted to obtain it for themselves.
A Clan with a High-Rank Shaman King definitely could not be underestimated, not to mention one that had ten Demon King subordinates.
As the last remnants of the South Barbarian Clan, the Shaman Niu Clan had been recognized and approved by various Great Clans of the Barbarian Race. The twins, Yue and Lu had also successfully become Shaman Grandmasters and ranked only second to Yang Kai in the Shaman Niu Clan. Other Shamans had more or less improved too, with those who had followed Yang Kai since the beginning becoming the backbone of the Shaman Niu Clan.
Tiea remained the same, however. It seemed that the two years of war did not bring any changes to her, nor did her cultivation improve in any noticeable way.
She did not seem to care about the war at all and simply followed Yang Kai all the time. She never appeared when Yang Kai did not need her, but as long as Yang Kai looked for her, she would always be there.
It was as if she could read Yang Kai’s thoughts.
Even after two years together, Yang Kai could not see through this woman’s thoughts.
The closed door was knocked on, and Yang Kai sighed softly, ending his wandering in the Shaman Divine Temple. He put away the Sacred Treasures as he looked up, “Come in.”
The twins, Yue and Lu, pushed the door in with overly serious looks.
“What are the new orders from the Shaman Saints?” Yang Kai looked up at them. The sisters were just summoned by the Shaman Saints to discuss the matter together with the Shaman Kings of the other Clans. They actually did not have the qualifications to attend such a meeting, for they were just Shaman Grandmasters, but the situation of the Shaman Niu Clan was somewhat special, so no one fussed about Yang Kai not showing up personally.
During this time, Yang Kai had been cultivating, so he handed over the administrative matters of the Shaman Niu Clan to Yue and Lu.
Looking at their faces after coming back from the meeting, Yang Kai realized that something serious had been decided.
“The time for the final battle has come!” Yue replied, her voice trembling.
Yang Kai raised his brow, “Have they found a way to seal the Two Worlds Passage?”
This was the difficult problem the Barbarian Race urgently needed to solve. As long as the Two Worlds Passage was sealed, the Demons who invaded this land would be cut off from support, and the Barbarian Race would be able to eliminate them sooner or later.
However, this was also an unsolvable problem. Even the four Shaman Saints were incapable of shutting the Two Worlds Passage, which was the reason for this unending war between the two races. Both sides knew that the war would not end easily unless the Two Worlds Passage was closed.
But right now, the Shaman Saints suddenly declared a final assault. The thought that naturally came into Yang Kai’s mind was that they had found a way to seal the Two Worlds Passage.
This was great news, but Yang Kai did not think that the Shaman Saints possessed such ability. It was not him underestimating them, but simply a fact.
“They seem to have found a method.”
“Seem to?” Yang Kai frowned, “Is that how the Shaman Saints answered you?”
Anything uncertainty was intolerable in war, for a single accident would be enough to doom hundreds of thousands of people.
Yue continued, “By the looks of the Sirs, they seem quite confident, but they did not explain much about it.”
Lu pressed on, “The Sirs want you to meet with them immediately.”
Yang Kai touched his chin, “It seems like they really are confident.”
If they were not confident, they would not specifically ask him to meet them again. The reason that they did not explain it clearly was because they were afraid that those Shaman Kings could not keep the secret.
Without delay, Yang Kai left the Shaman Niu Clan’s station and rushed to the location of the Shaman Saints.
He had been here several times before, so he was familiar with the way. However, later on, when he had to cultivate, he did not want to waste time and just ordered Yue and Lu to represent him in meetings. Ever since then, he did not show up when the Shaman Saints called.
However, the situation now was obviously somewhat unusual.
In a simple and crude hall, Yang Kai saw Shaman Saint Xu.
Saint Xu was a special existence among the four Shaman Saints. He was an extraordinary character by any measure in any time, be it the past, present, or even future, because although he was a Shaman Saint, he did not know much about Shamanic Spells and instead relied completely on his physical prowess to reach his current height.
He was a Master who achieved Sainthood through Body Tempering.
The Warriors of the Barbarian Race focused on Body Tempering too, but in the past hundred thousand years, only Saint Xu had achieved Sainthood this way.
In the battle of the Saints two years ago, almost all the Shaman Saints and Demon Saints were injured while Saint Xu was the only one who escaped unscathed and returned with the other three Shaman Saints. His strength was unquestionable.
Although Xu was a Shaman Saint, he did not put on airs and Yang Kai had dealt with him several times, having a good impression of him. No matter what happened, this Shaman Saint was always smiling and seemed exceptionally amiable.
The other three Shaman Saints were absent, which Yang Kai felt slightly relieved about.
It was not because he was afraid, but he wanted to avoid the troubles of meeting the Shaman Saint of the Bone Devouring Clan; after all, there was a deep resentment between the Shaman Niu Clan and the Bone Devouring Clan. Back then, Yang Kai killed a Shaman King of the Bone Devouring Clan, and the Shaman Saint of the Bone Devouring Clan had been deeply upset with him ever since. If the Shaman Niu Clan had not been performing remarkably well in the war between the two races, killing numerous Demons and making great contributions, the Bone Devouring Clan would have attacked the Shaman Niu Clan long ago. This was also one of the reasons why Yang Kai did not respond to the summons of the Shaman Saints previously.
Xu looked young, barely forty years old. He had a wide mouth and nose, a square head and big ears. His dark red complexion, burly body, unusually long arms that almost hung down to his knees and extremely wide palms that appeared as if they could lift a huge mountain or block a river gave him a somewhat comical appearance.
Every time Yang Kai saw him, he was amazed by the fierce and surging vitality coming from his body, and this was after Xu restrained his aura to the maximum possible extent. If he had been unleashing his aura, his vitality alone would be a shocking sight to see.
Yang Kai believed that if a giant dragon appeared in front of Saint Xu, he could tear it apart with his bare hands.
If Yang Kai’s body was like the rising Sun, Shaman Xu’s body would be the scorching noon Sun. One would feel burnt just by standing before him.
“Sir!” Yang Kai stood in the hall, crossing his fist across his chest.
Saint Xu turned around, but the smile that had always been on his face was absent this time, while his eyes were dignified and solemn. He asked quickly, “You should know why I called you over, right?”
Yang Kai replied, “I heard that there is going to be a final battle!”
“Indeed!” Xu gave a slight nod, “It’s the final battle, and our victory depends on this one move!”
Yang Kai frowned and asked, “Forgive me for asking, but how are we going to seal the Two Worlds Passage? Have you found a way?”
Xu finally smiled, “Yes! I can’t reveal the specific method to you yet, but I can guarantee that this is a feasible method.”
He was a Shaman Saint, so there was no need to promise a Shaman King anything, but since he said so, he obviously had great confidence in this method.
Yang Kai nodded to express his understanding, “Then what did Sir summon me for?”
Xu grew somber again and declared, “I need you to put this method into effect!”
“Me?” Yang Kai was stunned, “There are Shaman Saints here, why me?”
Xu explained, “This method needs to be carried out by surprise, so it’s too conspicuous for me or the other three Shaman Saints to do it. Only the Shaman Kings stand a chance to succeed, and among all Shaman Kings, you are the strongest, and the Shaman Niu Clan is also the most elite force, so we chose you, and your Shaman Niu Clan, to take up this task!”
Yang Kai fell silent for a while. He did not decline, but opened his mouth, “What are we supposed to do specifically?”
“You don’t need to know now. Someone will inform you before the final battle begins. You just need to tell me, can you take up this responsibility?” For the first time, there was a majesty in Xu’s gaze, and it felt as if a burning flame made manifest was staring at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai grinned, “I don’t think Sir would specifically summon me if I couldn’t.”
Xu laughed heartily, patted Yang Kai’s shoulder, and said warmly, “Rest assured, on the day of the final battle, all Barbarians will strive to create an opportunity for you. You only need to execute the plan.”
“When will the final battle be?” Yang Kai raised his head to ask.
“In five days!”
After returning from his meeting with Xu, Yang Kai did not cultivate in retreat.
Five days was not enough to improve his strength, so he walked slowly around the Shaman Niu Clan’s base, studying the familiar and unfamiliar faces of his clansmen.
Every Ancient Barbarian who saw him saluted with utmost respectfully.
The news of the final battle seemed to have spread out, and the hundred thousand clansmen of the Shaman Niu Clan had already begun preparing. The warriors sharpened their weapons, and the cavalry fed their mounts, all of them preparing to perform their best in the upcoming fight.
The archers crafted arrows, and the Shaman Masters adjusted their breathing in retreat to maintain their most perfect condition, so they could display their best in five days.
Yang Kai bumped into many familiar faces, all of whom had followed him since the beginning of the war.
Less than half of the two hundred villagers from Blue South Village were left after this brutal struggle. Most of the villagers died in the war, but those who survived became far stronger.
There were more unfamiliar faces than familiar ones though. These people were recruited by the Shaman Niu Clan over the past year or so. They came from different backgrounds, but now were all part of the Shaman Niu Clan.
Yang Kai found Ah Hu, who was feeding his mount somewhere in the middle of the camp.
Ah Hu was exhilarated by Yang Kai’s arrival, left his mount, and ran over.
“What are you doing here?” Ah Hu asked.
“I came to see you guys,” Yang Kai laughed lightly, his eyes sweeping over the several dozen scars that marked Ah Hu’s body. These were all proof of his bravery in battle. The war made people grow rapidly, and the Ah Hu today was no longer a small villager of Blue South Village, but the Captain of thousands of cavalry. Based on his own strength alone, he could fight on par with a Shaman Master.
“Come here, look at my mount.” Ah Hu pulled Yang Kai to a Demon Beast. Just like his owner, this Demon Beast was covered with badges of courage, but it still brought its huge head closer to rub against Ah Hu affectionately.
Ah Hu grinned, “Not too shabby, right?”
Yang Kai reached out to pat the Demon Beast, and asked, “Have you named it?”
Ah Hu scratched his head shyly, and replied, “It’s also called Ah Niu!”
Yang Kai guffawed loudly, “It’s just like me.”
“No. It was disobedient before, so I told it that I will ask Ah Niu to give it a lesson, then it quickly became quiet. Probably because it heard that name too often, it assumed that it was its own name. Now whenever I say the name Ah Niu, it will become obedient. Tsk, this one is the kind that bullies the weak and fears the strong,” Ah Hu grinned good naturedly. Although he had grown tremendously, his smile was still the same from when he was a mere villager two years ago.
Demon Beast Ah Niu whinnied lowly, but no one knew what it meant.
“Go and see Ah Hua and the others,” Ah Hu chuckled. “They’ve been working hard since we received the news that the final battle is about to begin.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly again before he stared deeply at Ah Hu and said, “Live!”
Ah Hu responded in a laugh, “You too!”
Yang Kai turned and left.
Ah Hu shouted from behind, “Ah Niu, is this really the last battle?”
Yang Kai stopped in his tracks, and replied, “It will be the last battle, I promise!”
Ah Hu’s smile was even brighter before turning to the rest of the cavalry group next to him and shouting, “Did you hear that? Sir said this is our last battle. Give everything you have and wipe out all those Demon bastards, then all of us can go home!”
*Hou Hou Hou…*
The cavalry group roared in excitement, as if they were not going to war but coming home after victory.
Five days was neither long nor short.
Yang Kai went through the entire station with a smile on his face, nodded at every Barbarian that met his eyes, and briefly chatted with some of them.
Everyone asked him if this was the last battle.
Although the two-year war was not long, it caused an enormous amount of pain and death. The Barbarians were tired and sick of it. Knowing that this was the last battle gave them hope, and they pursued affirmation persistently.
Yang Kai gave them the hope they wanted.
However, how many of them would really live to see the end of this war? Fifty thousand? Twenty thousand? Ten thousand? Less?
Although they did not know what the Shaman Saints expected from their Shaman Niu Clan to do, it was definitely a difficult task, and to complete such a task, one must be prepared to pay the price.
Most of the Shaman Niu Clan was going to die. This battle was different, and it would not allow any retreat and timidity. In this battle, either the Barbarian Race or the Demon Race would perish, there would be no backing down.
Early in the morning five days later, the Shaman Niu Clan was ready to depart.
The hundred thousand people divided into nearly a hundred army units and lined up neatly and orderly. Although there were many people, it was completely silent save for the pounding of hearts. Everyone’s determined-filled eyes were cast on the scar in the distant sky.
Surrounding them were all allies consisting of the groups from the other Great Clans. Like the Shaman Niu Clan, everyone was silent. Nervousness and excitement bubbled within each of them, and they could not help but tighten their grip on their weapons, in hopes to get a little divine comfort.
At this moment, millions of Barbarians were all set to charge.
Without the slightest sign, a dull horn sounded.
The Shaman Kings of the Great Clans shook before they gave the signal to move out. The same went for the Shaman Niu Clan.
Yang Kai stayed at the forefront of his army, maintaining the same line with the surrounding allies. He looked around, and did not see the person Shaman Saint Xu mentioned, but he just shook off the doubts in his heart and thought about it no more.
The sound of the horn was steady and dull, just like the pace of the millions of Barbarians, the ground trembling beneath their feet.
In the distance, the Demon Race army also began to advance. During the last five days, the Barbarian Race was not the only one preparing for war, the Demon Race had been making their own preparations as well, getting ready to respond as soon as they saw any action on the Barbarian Race side.
The armies of the two Races slowly approached each other, and the breathing of the warriors became heavy. The air was slowly drenched in murderous intent, which gradually turned into an invincible momentum.
The drums of war pounded, their rhythm gradually speeding up, and the Barbarian Race army increased their pace to a brisk walk. When the beating of the drums became even closer together, the brisk walk became a jog.
The distance between the two Races quickly narrowed.
When the distance between each other shrank to just fifty kilometres, the tempo of the drums suddenly rose again!
There was a roar, and one cavalry group after another rushed out from their respective Clans. The warriors that rode their mounts under them charged forward fiercely.
Demon Qi rolled and gathered on the side of the Demon Race, engulfing the many millions of them. Although the number of the Barbarian Race was not as great, they were superior in terms of grandeur, because all the cavalries were blessed by various Shamanic Spells, and every Barbarians cavalry flashed in colourful rays of light, especially the colour green, which was the most conspicuous. It appeared as though a green ribbon was closely connecting each of the members of the cavalry group.
It was one giant Life Chain, a powerful Shamanic Spell that helped many Barbarians survive this brutal war.
Before the cavalries reached the enemy, arrows were released.
The archers of the two Races each shot deadly sharp arrows at each other’s force. The arrows flying through the sky were like locusts crossing the border. The dense arrows covered the sky and shrouded the ground.
The arrows fell from the sky, dropping one cavalry after another to the ground, but it did not stop the charge following behind from advancing, many trampling directly over the fallen. Even the strongest warrior would have been smashed into a pile of mashed meat if he was stomped on with such force.
Ah Hu turned around and looked over the crowd towards Yang Kai, while the Demon Beast under Ah Niu’s hips growled lowly, as if it was unable to suppress its urge to join the war.
It was the same for the rest of the Shaman Niu Clan’s cavalry.
But they did not move, because Yang Kai did not signal them to!
The Shaman Niu Clan was the only group that had not sent out its cavalry.
Yang Kai ignored Ah Hu’s inquiring gaze and continued to look into the distance.
Seeing this, Ah Hu retracted his gaze in disappointment and suppressed the restlessness of his mount.
The whooshing noise filled the air as a few rounds of arrows were fired. The cavalries of both races suffered some injuries and the several-dozen-kilometre distance between them slowly narrowed, allowing the cavalries of the two races to clash with one another. Blood spurted everywhere in an instant, as flesh was cleaved from bone.
The cavalries of both races were knocked to the ground one after another. The ones who lost their mounts often died where they landed within ten breaths of time. It was the same for both the Barbarian Race and the Demon Race.
The arrows were still being fired, but their targets were no longer their opponent’s cavalry but the archers of both sides. This was an archery competition; whoever had better marksmanship and agility would have the upper hand.
The Barbarian Race suffered a small disadvantage. The Barbarian Spirit Archers were riding on flying Barbarian Beasts, so all their evasion relied on the mounts. On the other hand, all the archers from the Demon Race flew under their own power, which undoubtedly gave them better mobility.
The dull war drum echoed endlessly, as if it were a call from Ancient Times, arousing the excitement in the hearts of all Barbarians.
Just after a stick of incense worth of time, the clashes of the cavalries of both sides resulted in mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.
The initial confrontation was followed closely by the collision of ordinary Warriors. Millions of Barbarians and Demons tore into each other as if they had agreed upon it in advance. Everyone had only one thought in their mind, kill all the enemies and win the final victory.
The world had turned into a furnace, with flesh and blood as the coals, and the flames of war burning more and more furiously.
The Shaman Niu Clan remained unmoved, however, its members all standing quietly just outside their camp, watching the battle in front of them. The hundred thousand clansmen were almost unable to contain the impulse to charge in their hearts.
“Take this to the bottom of the Two Worlds Passage!”
Tiea suddenly came to Yang Kai and handed him a mass of Seven-Coloured Mud.
Yang Kai took it and turned to her in surprise.
“This is the key to victory!” Tiea remarked solemnly.
“Why is it you?” Yang Kai asked.
Tiea shook her head and did not answer, but urged, “Go!”
Yang Kai threw all distracting thoughts out of his mind as he did not have time to ask too much. He clenched the Seven-Coloured Mud in one hand, raised the Myriads Sword in the other, and bellowed in a deep voice, “Kill!”
As the command fell, the hundred thousand warriors of the Shaman Niu Clan roared, their exhilaration apparent on their faces.
They had waited for too long and watched many of their clansmen get slaughtered by the Demon Race, so their hearts had long been eager to charge forward. Even death was better than standing in place as mere observers.
Yang Kai’s order came just in time, or it could be said that Tiea’s message came at the opportune moment. Right now, the morale of the hundred thousand warriors of the Shaman Niu Clan had reached its peak.
Yang Kai charged at the head of his army on his Demon Beast, while thousands of troops in the cavalry led by Ah Hu followed closely behind. Amidst the army, hundreds of Shamans of various Realms chanted their incantations. They started with blessing the army with Light Body Spell so that everyone could keep up with Yang Kai and the cavalry, and then began casting all kinds of auxiliary Shamanic Spells.
All of a sudden, colourful lights flickered.
The Myriads Sword was still lifted high, and the dazzling sword light surged forth, as if Yang Kai was waving a grand banner, guiding the direction of the Shaman Niu Clan.
As he charged, Yang Kai was thinking about the Seven-Coloured Mud in his hand, wondering what it was.
Tiea was undoubtedly the messenger mentioned by Shaman Saint Xu, but Yang Kai had no idea why it was her. However, it was meaningless to think about this at the moment. Right now, he needed to understand how this lump of mud was the key to the war.
Yang Kai could not understand what this Seven-Coloured Mud was, only that it was a high-grade material. If it existed in the future, it would definitely be an extremely rare precious treasure, something that would cause a reign of terror with its emergence.
This was not the important point though.
The important point was that Yang Kai felt a vitality in this Seven-Coloured Mud. This vitality was familiar to him, but he could not recall where he had felt it before. This Seven-Coloured Mud undoubtedly had the special effect of blocking out Divine Senses, so even if Yang Kai held it in his hand, he could not probe its interior to examine this life aura.
[The Shaman Saints expect the thing in the mud to seal the Two Worlds Passage?] Yang Kai was having doubts. He could not help thinking this was a joke, but Shaman Saint Xu’s expression a few days ago did not seem to be one made in jest.
The arrow was already fitted to the string, and it had to be released. The Shaman Niu Clan bore an important responsibility right now, and it was not the time for second-guessing. Yang Kai put aside his doubts and led the army to charge forward.
The world suddenly trembled and rumbled as a Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering aura rippled.
The aura was so powerful and frightening that it sent chills down everyone’s spines.
The two races that were in the middle of battle were stunned for a moment as they looked around, only to see a seven-coloured giant dragon as long as a thousand metres, swaying and flying out from the rear of the Barbarian Race and rushing towards the rear of the Demon Race.
Another terrifying aura emerged behind the Demon Race as a pitch-black light soared up into the sky and towards the seven-coloured dragon at an extremely fast speed, almost reaching it in the blink of an eye.
The Shaman Saints and the Demon Saints had begun their fight.
The attacks from both sides collided in the sky over the battlefield, resulting in a startling bang. The seven-coloured and black lights began to wrestle, neither side giving way to the other.
The sky cracked like another terrifying Two Worlds Passage was about to open.
Everyone felt like they lost their balance, as if the ground they stood on had turned into a stormy sea, one with deadly waves that could swallow them whole at any moment.
Everyone suddenly felt a sense of insignificance at this moment and panicked.
The first exchange between the Saints of the two races ended in a draw. The gigantic seven-coloured dragon and the black beam vanished together and nine figures with profound auras suddenly appeared in mid-air.
The five Demon Saints and the four Shaman Saints stared at each other, and while the Demon Saints were grinning, the Shaman Saints looked indifferent.
After staring at each other for a short moment, the nine Saints clashed once more. The fight was not as fierce as in the beginning, because they all cared about their people below; however, as they rose higher into the sky, they started to unleash their world-destroying abilities.
The nine Saints soon disappeared, carrying out their final battle high above the clouds. No one could see the situation of that battle and could only hear bursts of rumbling noises from the sky while the occasional, dazzling radiance would make it seem as if a second Sun had risen.
The bloody war between the two races started again in heated spirits.
A hundred thousand clansmen of the Shaman Niu Clan threw themselves into the battlefield that was covered in millions of people. It was like a stone tossed into a lake, causing a small ripple which was quickly dispersed.
All their allies seemed to have been given clear instructions.
Wherever the Shaman Niu Clan passed, fellow Ancient Barbarians would surround them from all directions, charging out in front of them, and open a path for the hundred thousand Shaman Niu Clansmen with their own flesh and blood, slaughtering all Demons who blocked their way.
Overlooking from a high altitude, the Shaman Niu Clan mercilessly charged all the way into the battlefield of the two races like an awl. They were unstoppable, and their allies continued to support them from all sides to eliminate the Demons who tried to stop them, allowing the Shaman Niu Clan to pass through quickly and safely.
An hour later, besides a few hundred Demons who died under Yang Kai’s sword, the Shaman Niu Clan did not encounter any real battles. This was unimaginable on such a violent and chaotic battlefield.
All the credit for this feat, however, belonged to the rapid response of their allies.
But even this support was reaching its limit after an hour.
Due to the allies’ support, the Shaman Niu Clan successfully broke through a hundred kilometres, but because of such a rapid breakthrough, the line of the armies was stretched too thin. The Shaman Niu Clan now had to fight on their own, with fewer and fewer allies around to support them.
The Shaman Niu Clan almost fell into a situation where they were isolated and had to fight alone.
Yang Kai had expected this to happen, though, and came prepared.
He had assigned the ten Demon Kings to guard the two flanks of the Shaman Niu Clan. Fei Li and Mo Ke Tuo, who were the most powerful Demon Kings under his command, were arranged in the rear position. Therefore, even without the support of their allies, the pace of advancement of the Shaman Niu Clan was still unstoppable. In fact, the Shaman Niu Clan was getting faster.
There were Demons in all directions, and the hundred thousand clansmen of the Shaman Niu Clan finally saw the scene they were waiting for. They swung their weapons excitedly while following behind Yang Kai, killing all Demons who dared block their way.
“Mo Ke Tuo, Fei Li! How dare you betray our Demon Race? You are all disgraces to our proud Demon Race. Die here now!”
A roar came from the front as more than twenty Demon Kings gathered in one place, each of them releasing a powerful aura. Their Demon Qi converged like an insurmountable high wall, blocking the Shaman Niu Clan’s path.
Yang Kai took out his sword and swung it horizontally, releasing a long, brilliant sword light at the twenty Demon Kings. All the faces of the Demon Kings changed as they felt the terrifying power of this blow and quickly scattered away without hesitation.
The wall of the Demon King that was blocking the way immediately fell apart.
And before they could stand firm, an overwhelming Shamanic Spell struck them.
The Demon Kings were infuriated and immediately launched counter-attacks one after another.
Followed by a flicker, Yang Kai disappeared from the back of the mount. When he reappeared, he was behind a Demon King, slashing down his Myriads Sword. The Demon King, who was on par with a Mid-Rank Shaman King, did not even have time to react before he was split in half by the sword, and his internal organs spilled all over the ground.
Yang Kai did not even spare a second glance at this victim before teleporting behind another Demon King, chopping off his head with his sword, then sending a palm towards another nearby Demon King.
Yang Kai launched three attacks and killed three Demon Kings like he was swatting flies.
This horrified the remaining Demon Kings. Demon Kings were all superior Masters; since when were they killed so easily? No one really knew what happened to allow this foreigner to possess such incredible power.
The morale of the Demon Kings immediately reached the bottom, and if it weren’t for the orders of the Demon Saints, perhaps they would have turned around and fled.
Fortunately, the foreigner seemed to have consumed a lot of his energy killing three Demon Kings and showed no intention of slaughtering the rest, instead returning to his mount.
Exchanging looks, the remaining Demon Kings suppressed their fear and surrounded him again.
“Stop them!” Yang Kai bellowed.
The faces of Bao Qi and Sha Ya, who guarded beside Yang Kai, turned ugly at his command, and they hesitated for a moment.
Yang Kai glared at them furiously.
Only then did Bao Qi and Sha Ya grit their teeth as they flew towards their past companions.
Bao Qi and Sha Ya couldn’t stop more than ten Demon Kings, everyone knew that. The Demon Kings knew it, and Yang Kai knew it.
Although they were the first two Demon Kings who took refuge under Yang Kai, their refuge was not of their own free will, so their so-called loyalty was greatly reduced. Yang Kai had never expected them to submit to him sincerely and willingly obey his orders. He only needed to be able to control the lives of these Demon Kings.
They were outnumbered, and their situation was disastrous, but if they violated Yang Kai’s order, they would definitely die on the spot.
Therefore, Bao Qi and Sha Ya only hesitated for a moment before they flew out to intercept the Demon Kings.
Fortunately, these Demon Kings seemed to be extremely afraid of Yang Kai’s strength and intended to let him pass. They did not attack Bao Qi and Sha Ya but chased and fought with them to stall for time.
Bao Qi and Sha Ya were overjoyed and played their strongest cards, flickering left and right to the Demon Kings who were surrounding them.
The one hundred thousand Shaman Niu Clan members continued their push forward.
This was an extremely difficult advance, and the further they went, the greater the resistance they encountered. Although the Demon Kings did not dare to get too close, attacking from afar to disrupt the Shaman Niu Clan’s pace was easy enough.
The clansmen were constantly falling behind like snowflakes falling to the ground that quickly melted away.
Even with the support of Demon Kings like Mo Ke Tuo and Fei Li, this situation could not be avoided.
Looking up at the Two Worlds Passage that was still far away, Yang Kai raised his hand to summon the Insect Enslavement Bracelet and released the Soul Devouring Insects living inside. The Soul Devouring Insects had grown greatly during the two years of war and the Shaman Niu Clan had relied on these Exotic Insects to win a number of brilliant victories.
The Soul Devouring Insects were not very effective in dealing with powerful Masters, but they had a great effect on those below the Demon King realm.
Large swarms of insects flew out with a loud buzz, and wherever the swarm of insects passed, Demons would scream and collapse to the ground. These Ancient Exotic Insects could consume almost anything, including Demon Qi and Souls, for food.
The seemingly weak insects were in fact extremely tenacious. Even if the swarm was hit by the sharpest weapon, it would only leave a scratch.
As soon as the swarm of insects emerged, the Demons all around retreated, which greatly reduced the pressure on the Shaman Niu Clan.
The Shaman Niu Clan continued to forge ahead, paying a heavy price for almost every step forward.
The one hundred thousand people gradually reduced to ninety thousand, eighty thousand, fifty thousand…
After an hour, when the Shaman Niu Clan finally rushed to the bottom of the Two Worlds Passage, Yang Kai turned his head and looked back, only to find just thirty thousand of his clansmen remaining from the original hundred thousand who followed him here.
This was the core of the Demon Race’s territory, with not a single ally in sight. The Shaman Niu Clan was truly in a situation where they were completely isolated and surrounded.
Out of the ten Demon Kings, only Mo Ke Tuo and Fei Li remained. The other eight were sent out by Yang Kai on the way, and based on Yang Kai’s perception, half of those eight Demon Kings were dead, while the condition of the remaining half did not look good.
“Form up!” Yang Kai raised his sword and shouted.
The thirty thousand clansmen immediately created a defensive circle with Yang Kai at its centre, establishing a firm guard.
The swarm of insects gathered around the perimeter of this formation. These tiny insects had shown their terrifying lethality before, so they served as a strong deterrent towards the Demon Race.
The reduction in numbers in the Shaman Niu Clan had made the formation more compact, and in turn, made the defence sturdier.
Yang Kai flipped his hand and took out the Seven-Coloured Mud. Looking up at the sky, right above him was where the Two Worlds Passage was located. Yang Kai could even feel the Demon Qi flowing in from the rift in the sky that had not remained for several years. The surging Demon Qi emitted a spine-chilling and violent aura that left everyone feeling extremely uncomfortable.
“I hope this works!” Yang Kai muttered softly before throwing the lump of Seven-Coloured Mud in his hand on the ground and staring at it.
His action undoubtedly attracted the attention of the surrounding Demon Kings. Although they did not know what he was doing, these Masters instinctively felt anxious. The Shaman Niu Clan obviously had a clear goal, and that goal had something to do with the Two Worlds Passage seeing how they recklessly rushed to it without even worrying about their losses.
How could the Demon Kings just sit back and watch?
After a series of orders were issued, the Demons that surrounded the Shaman Niu Clan finally launched an attack.
The swarm of insects surged forward and engulfed a large number of Demons, but it was not enough to stop the mighty current of incoming attacks.
The thirty thousand clansmen of Shaman Niu Clan stood their ground, with the Shamans singing incantations, blessing all of the clansmen with Shamanic Spells again.
A bloody fight was instantly set off.
Mo Ke Tuo suddenly disappeared. Except for Yang Kai, even the strongest Demon Kings present would not be able to trace her position. She flashed through the Demon lines, killing everyone wherever she appeared.
She was an elite assassin of the Demon Race, a Demon King grade assassin. Besides those who stood on equal footing with her, no one could survive her sneak attack.
The Demon Kings commanding the army outside died one by one under her assassination, leaving the remaining Demons in a state of disarray.
Fei Li also took action at that moment. The ghost fire that erupted from his skeletal hands was not something ordinary Demon Kings could handle, and wherever the ghost fire passed, swaths of demons were burned to death.
Yang Kai’s gaze remained on the pile of Seven-Coloured Mud for a moment before he suddenly turned to shout at Tiea, “Why isn’t it working? Does it need to be buried in the ground?”
Tiea said that this was the key to victory and was the only chance to seal the Two Worlds Passage, but Yang Kai realized that the Seven-Coloured Mud was not responding at all.
Tiea remained perfectly calm and reassured, “It will work.”
“When?” Yang Kai pressed on.
He led his one hundred thousand Shaman Niu Clansmen to the very heart of the Demon Race army, sacrificing seventy percent of them just to get here, so if this Seven-Coloured Mud turned out to be a dud, or if this was all just a plan the Shaman Saints’ thought up to attract the Demon Race’s attention, the price paid was simply too great.
Without receiving a response from Tiea, Yang Kai suppressed the anxiety in his heart and lifted his arms, releasing several enormous Moon Blades that instantly cut deep gashes into the Demon Race army.
For now, Yang Kai withdrew his attention from the Seven-Coloured Mud. He just wanted to slaughter to his heart’s content regardless of whether this could actually seal the Two Worlds Passage or not.
He was the leader of the Shaman Niu Clan; his target was not the common Demon soldiers but rather the Demon Kings hidden in the surroundings.
Yang Kai began to flicker across the battlefield, and whenever the Myriads Sword was swung, Demons would fall, and no Demon King he had his eyes on managed to escape the wrath of his sword.
It was as if he was a reaper of death, and the Myriads Sword was a scythe with which he harvested the Souls of his victims.
The death of the Demon Kings escalated the turmoil of the already chaotic Demon Race army, and the pressure on the Shaman Niu Clan reduced sharply. The defence circle even expanded for a while, but only in appearance.
Countless Demons gathered from all directions. The thirty thousand Shaman Niu Clansmen couldn’t win in this situation. Even if Yang Kai could escape from here with his life, all thirty thousand of his clansmen would undoubtedly die before the end of the war.
Right at that moment, a strange sound resonated suddenly. Just like the resurrection of a heart from Ancient Times, a vigorous pounding reverberated straight into the chests of anyone who heard it, causing involuntary tightness and a roiling of blood.
Countless eyes turned towards the source of the sound.
Yang Kai did the same and immediately revealed a look of pleasant surprise.
Because the lump Seven-Coloured Mud that he had thrown on the ground earlier finally responded. A seven-coloured radiance burst out with a vague trace of vitality surging within it.
This strange scene surprised the clansmen from both races.
The brilliance of the seven-coloured ray slowly dissipated and was replaced by a soft green light.
A small young shoot suddenly sprouted from the ground, one that looked so frail it would break with just a light touch. Yang Kai flickered to the side of the young shoot, feeling a sense of familiarity from the aura it was exuding.
“It’s working,” Tiea spoke softly, staring at the green bud with an unreadable expression.
“Are we relying on this?” Yang Kai questioned doubtfully.
What could this young shoot do? How was it going to seal the Two Worlds Passage that stretched all the way up to the sky?
Before Yang Kai could even finish his thought though, the young shoot began to grow rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it had become a small sapling.
Things had not ended yet as the sapling’s rate of growth soared. In another breath, it had grown into a three-metre-tall tree with a tousled canopy, dense branches and leaves, and it showed no signs of slowing down at all.
*Kacha…*
The ground began to crack and was split open with fissures where the tree roots expanded underground. Yang Kai could not help but retreat, his gaze moving higher and higher as he withdrew further and further.
Three metres, ten metres, thirty metres, sixty metres, one hundred and fifty metres…
In less than a stick of incense worth of time, the tiny green shoot had grown into a towering tree that reached up to the sky, its lush canopy forming a sharp contrast against the dark Demon Qi around it.
Emerald light radiated from this giant tree, forming a layer of protection, shielding the surviving Shaman Niu Clan clansmen from the surrounding enemies.
The overwhelming Demon Qi was purified by the emerald radiance and dispersed into the sky.
The Demons were dumbfounded and their minds went blank.
“Senior Qing!” Yang Kai gasped involuntarily.
He finally understood that the giant tree in front of him did not grow out of thin air.
It was the Evergreen Divine Tree! It was the guardian of the Frost and Snow Clan.
Yang Kai felt that the vitality wrapped within the Seven-Coloured Mud was familiar right from the start, but he never thought to associate it with Senior Qing due to their huge differences.
But when the kilometre-tall tree stood before him, Yang Kai instantly recognized it.
Senior Qing was the Ancient Barbarian’s measure to seal the Two Worlds Passage.
Senior Qing’s growth did not stop there as he continued to grow taller and larger, the green protective curtain continuing to widen. By the looks of it, it seemed that Senior Qing was going to use his own body to directly plug and seal the Two Worlds Passage.
Perhaps having heard Yang Kai’s shout, an old face surfaced on its trunk before him and smiled faintly, “Shaman Niu, we meet again.”
“Yes, we meet again, but I didn’t expect us to meet in this way.” Yang Kai wiped the blood off his face.
The old face replied kindly, “Looks like I was right. You truly grew up quickly, and the future seems to rest in your hands.”
Yang Kai shook his head. Instead of commenting on it, he asked curiously, “Senior, weren’t you in Frost and Snow City? Is this your Soul Clone?”
“Soul Clone? No, no, no, this is not a Soul Clone, this is my true body.”
Yang Kai turned solemn, immediately realized something and asked, “Senior, are you planning to sacrifice your life?”
Senior Qing burst out in laughter, “The Two Worlds Passage is too mysterious, and this is the only way to seal it. I have lived long enough to have witnessed two invasions of the Demon Race. I was incapable of providing any assistance last time, but this time, I want to contribute my strength, for the Barbarian Race has taken good care of me over all these years.”
“Perhaps there is another way.” Yang Kai frowned.
The face on the trunk shook, as if shaking his head, “I have left Frost and Snow City already, there is no turning back.”
At this moment, Yang Kai understood what he meant. The Evergreen Divine Tree guarded Frost and Snow City for tens of thousands of years, never once leaving its original place. It was not that he did not want to, but he could not, because Senior Qing had an innate connection to that piece of land.
But this time, in order to seal the Two Worlds Passage, he left the land that nurtured him for tens of thousands of years, condensed all his essence into the Seven-Coloured Mud, and was led by Yang Kai to this place.
This was an irreversible process, and the second growth that he performed today was equivalent to him burning all his vitality before his death.
Yang Kai stood in awe, and saluted while holding his chest, “The Barbarian Race will witness Senior’s sacrifice, and future generations will remember your contribution.”
Senior Qing laughed, “There’s no need to comfort me, I am prepared for this.” After a pause, Senior Qing became serious, “Before that, I need your help.”
“Don’t worry, Senior. Our Shaman Niu Clan will protect this place to the last.”
“Good,” The old face nodded and disappeared.
Yang Kai turned his head and looked at Tiea, “Why don’t you say anything?”
Tiea, “What do you want me to say?”
“Did you know this already?”
Tiea answered, “Yes.”
Yang Kai looked at her puzzled and tried to read her face, but Tiea remained indifferent, as if she and Senior Qing were strangers. Tiea was very different from the little girl he first met two years ago, her character having changed greatly. Yang Kai even doubted whether she was the same Tiea as before.
But he quickly shook off such thoughts and re-focused on the battle.
Senior Qing continued to grow rapidly. During his conversation with Yang Kai, the gigantic Evergreen Divine Tree had grown from a kilometre to two kilometres. Looking up, the canopy was now barely visible as it stretched into the sky.
Everyone in the battle noticed this unusual situation.
The Barbarians cheered as many recognized the guardian deity of Frost and Snow City, all of them crying out in excitement. As more Ancient Barbarians learnt what was happening, their morale was greatly boosted, and all of them seemed to have their fighting spirits rekindled.
Although Senior Qing was only the guardian deity of Frost and Snow Clan, his reputation resounded throughout all Clans of the Barbarian Race. Although no one had ever seen Senior Qing display his strength, everyone knew that he was a Master comparable to a Shaman Saint.
But he was not a Barbarian. Therefore, the Barbarian Race only had four Shaman Saints. Senior Qing could be considered another Saint besides the Shaman Saints.
At this moment, such a powerful ally in this chaotic battle diving into the very depths of the Demon Race army was naturally something worth all the Barbarian clansmen feeling exhilarated about.
Everyone seemed to be picturing the scene where the Demon Race was thoroughly defeated. The emergence of Senior Qing had caused a surge of momentum in favour of the Barbarian Race, giving them the upper hand in the battle.
On the contrary, the Demons were horror-stricken. They had no idea what this giant tree was, but not knowing only caused more fear, especially when this unforeseen accident appeared in such a massive and majestic form. Furthermore, this tree continued to grow taller by the moment, as if it was trying to pierce the Heavens. The emerald light enveloping the periphery of the giant tree also seemed to carry a mysterious purification effect that completely dissolved all the Demon Qi within its range.
Many ignorant Demons wanted to rush over to stop the growth of the giant tree, but wound up being killed by the Shaman Grandmasters of the Shaman Niu Clan who were standing guard nearby.
The sudden appearance of the Evergreen Divine Tree threw the Demon Race into a panic for a while.
However, the situation soon stabilized. It seemed that they had been given orders and the Demons began to form rank to quickly siege the Evergreen Divine Tree in an orderly manner.
The focus of the battle suddenly shifted to the bottom of the Two Worlds Passage.
The Shaman Niu Clan immediately came under unimaginable pressure as the Demons rushed at them like a surging tidal wave from all directions. These Demons seemed to have abandoned all concept of fear and even the deadly Soul Devouring Insects could not deter their advance.
Under the leadership of Ah Hu, the cavalry of the Shaman Niu Clan circled the giant tree like a fine steel whip. Wherever the cavalry passed, the Demons were trampled like dead leaves and swept away. Their weapons started to lose their sharpness, and everyone was covered with thick blood.
The four living Demon Kings came back from breaking through the encirclement, all of them looking exhausted and pale.
Sha Ya hadn’t died, but she had lost an arm. Bao Qi was gone, his life aura extinguished in Yang Kai’s perception. It was obvious that he was killed by his former companions.
Less than thirty thousand clansmen, one Shaman King, six Demon Kings and three Shaman Grandmasters were left in the Shaman Niu Clan. They were basically a remnant force now, but they still had to face over ten million Demons in battle, along with more than thirty Demon Kings.
The two sides were completely uneven, and the results of this battle would determine the outcome of the war.
All the Warriors of the Shaman Niu Clan knew their responsibility, and there was no need for Yang Kai to command them. They fought the enemy bravely, putting their lives on the line to kill as many enemies as possible.
More than twenty thousand Demons died at Yang Kai’s hands alone, including six Demon Kings. However, in the face of such a large-scale war, no matter how strong an individual was, it all seemed insignificant, unless one had reached the level of a Saint.
Gradually, the Shaman Niu Clan was beginning to buckle under the siege and suppression of the Demon Race, their line of defense shrinking again and again.
Thirty thousand people reduced to twenty thousand, then to fifteen thousand.
Ah Hu’s cavalry that originally consisted of several thousand troops now numbered less than a thousand, each of them covered with the blood of their enemies and themselves, and the weapons in their hands having been changed several times after breaking.
Yang Kai constantly took out Spirit Pills and gave them to the Shamans of the Shaman Niu Clan. Even the six Demon Kings had gotten many from him.
They could only persist until now by relying on these pills.
The crown of the Evergreen Divine Tree already passed through the clouds and could no longer be seen, and as long as Senior Qing was given enough time, he would surely completely fill the Two Worlds Passage.
Time, the key to this battle now was time.
The Demon Race obviously would not give the Shaman Niu Clan this opportunity.
More and more furious attacks were launched, and although the Shaman Niu Clan fought hard, it was still not enough to resist the relentless assault. There was nothing the Shaman Niu Clan could do with such a disparity in numbers.
A loud noise suddenly erupted and as Yang Kai looked around, he saw that the Shaman Niu Clansmen at a certain section of the front had taken serious casualties. A gap was finally opened in the precarious defence line by the Demon Race, allowing the enemy to flood in from that gap and slaughter wildly.
Yang Kai teleported over and unleashed the light of his Myriads Sword, sealing the gap with his strength, creating a chance for the surrounding clansmen to rally and re-form the line.
But the next moment, another gap was broken through at a different point.
Yang Kai shouted, and Fei Li rushed over at once, blocking the advance of the Demon Race with his pitch-black skeleton that burned in a green flame.
A third gap appeared…
The defense line of the Shaman Niu Clan was like a dilapidated boat in a rough sea, leaking everywhere on a stormy night. Countless Demons broke through the lines, some of them launching attacks at the Shaman Niu Clan, while others rushed towards the Evergreen Divine Tree.
Some of these Demons gathered under the root of the tree, and swung their weapons furiously at it, as if they were attempting to chop down Senior Qing. However, the majority jumped onto the tree and began using their fists to try to destroy him.
Yang Kai glared at them angrily and wished that he could split himself into a million clones.
At this critical moment, a riot rose outside the periphery. The ground trembled and the clashes of the weapons could be heard mixed with miserable screams.
A group of dishevelled Barbarians suddenly appeared in Yang Kai’s vision. The leader was a Shaman King who looked familiar to Yang Kai. He seemed to be a Shaman King of the Frost and Snow Clan.
Over the past two years, Yang Kai had many dealings with other Shaman Kings, and even though he had no deep relationships with them, he had at least met these top figures several times.
He could not be wrong. This Shaman King was definitely from the Frost and Snow Clan.
With an Ice Dragon Tattoo on his hand, the Shaman King charged into the battlefield, greatly relieving the pressure on the Shaman Niu Clan as he roared, “Kill!”
The clansmen of the Frost and Snow Clan shouted in response and the morale of the Shaman Niu Clan was boosted once again. Cooperating with these reinforcements from the inside, allies were soon welcomed into the circle of defence.
Not many from the Frost and Snow Clan had arrived, only five thousand in total. They had certainly paid a heavy price to reach this place.
The Shaman Niu Clan could rush all the way here due to the strong combat power of the ten Demon Kings and Yang Kai, while the Frost and Snow Clan obviously did not have the support of so many Masters. Perhaps there may have been one to two hundred thousand of them when they set out, but only five thousand clansmen remained when they arrived here.
This Clan had paid an unimaginable price just to arrive in front of the Evergreen Divine Tree.
The Shaman King greeted Yang Kai with a nod, and remarked, “Now it is our turn to protect the Divine Tree.”
The Evergreen Divine Tree had protected the Frost and Snow Clan for tens of thousands of years, shielding Frost and Snow City from both natural and Human-caused disasters, allowing the Frost and Snow Clan to grow and survive in peace. On this day, which was tens of thousands of years after it was founded, the Frost and Snow Clan was going to repay its debt of gratitude, using their own bodies as a wall to guard the Evergreen Divine Tree against any harm and damage.
“You’re just in time!” Yang Kai grinned.
The Shaman King nodded lightly before he waved his hand, and the five thousand people behind him immediately spread out. The strong warriors joined the defensive formation, while a thousand people remained behind.
Yang Kai swept his eyes across these thousand people and was dumbstruck, showing a look of disbelief.
Because he found that the thousand people were all Shamans!
A thousand Shamans from the Frost and Snow Clan spread out, one-third of them circling around the roots of the Evergreen Divine Tree, sitting cross-legged while the other two-thirds jumped onto his trunk and disappeared into the Tree Caves.
The only remaining Frost and Snow Clan Shaman King nodded at Yang Kai, “Buy us some time!”
When the words fell, he flew up and rushed into a Tree Cave.
The Evergreen Divine Tree had guarded the Frost and Snow Clan for tens of thousands of years. They had supported each other and helped each other for millennia, so in this world, the ones who were most intimate with the Evergreen Divine Tree and were most able to mobilize Senior Qing’s strength were undoubtedly the Frost and Snow Clan.
At this moment, all of Senior Qing’s energy was being channeled into growth. If he wanted to reach the sky and seal the Two Worlds Passage as quickly as possible, he could spare no attention to deal with the surrounding Demons.
But no matter what, he was a Master comparable to a Shaman Saint, so the Shamans of the Frost and Snow Clan could inspire some of his innate power to defend against the attacking Demons. However, this was the Frost and Snow Clan’s Forbidden Technique, and the cost of using it was extremely high.
Yang Kai had acquired Senior Qing’s inheritance and completely understood the details of this Forbidden Technique.
Therefore, he instantly knew their plan when he saw what the Frost and Snow Clan Shamans did. Turning around with a solemn expression, he roared to inspire the remaining Shaman Niu Clan and the Frost and Snow Clan Warriors to fight on.
The attacks of the Demon Race were getting increasingly aggressive, but with the help of the mysterious Soul Devouring Insects, the Shaman Niu Clan somehow managed to hold out, resisting wave after wave of impact, paying a great price for every breath of time they stood their ground.
All of the Shamans’ faces were extremely pale, their legs close to buckling. This was a clear sign of overexertion of Shaman Strength, but they still grit their teeth and sang their incantations, exerting what little Shaman Strength remained in their bodies, casting Shamanic Spells of various strengths at the dense mass of Demons.
Yang Kai held nothing back either, sending streams of Moon Blades in all directions, killing hundreds of Demons with every move he made.
The gigantic Evergreen Divine Tree suddenly swayed, and then the swaying became fierce. Green leaves fell from the sky as a number of branches and leaves withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Shaman Niu, underground!” The Frost and Snow Clan Shaman King’s voice came from somewhere in the trunk.
Sand Demons were destroying the roots of the Evergreen Divine Tree from below in an attempt to destroy Senior Qing.
Yang Kai turned around, his gaze fixing on a figure among the crowd and growled in a low voice, “Ah Zha Ke!”
The figure who was resisting the Demons together with the Shaman Niu Clansmen heard Yang Kai’s summon and immediately left the group. With a twist, he turned into a mass of scattered sand and melted into the ground.
Ah Zha Ke was also one of the ten Demon Kings subdued by Yang Kai, and while he was not the strongest, nor the weakest, he was the most proficient in Earth Escape because he was a Sand Demon. His Innate Divine Ability allowed him to swim through the earth like it was air, and he was one of the six Demon Kings still alive.
Currently, the Sand Demons who were wreaking havoc underground were his kin, so it was best to let him deal with them.
As predicted, as soon as Ah Zha Ke went underground, muffled grunts sounded out. It seemed like the Sand Demons were suffering heavy casualties Ah Zha Ke’s counterattack, averting the crisis of the Evergreen Divine Tree to a great extent.
But Yang Kai soon noticed that Ah Zha Ke had met his match, another Demon King from the Sand Demon Clan. Two Demon Kings fought underground, and Ah Zha Ke quickly fell into a disadvantage.
After realizing this, Yang Kai immediately took a step back, calmed his breathing, and concentrated his powerful Divine Sense onto a single point, condensing an incomparably sharp blade of Spiritual Energy that he then shot into the ground fiercely.
Hindered by the thick earth, the power of this Soul Technique was greatly reduced, but it still created a chance for Ah Zha Ke to kill the enemy.
Yang Kai could sense that Ah Zha Ke had successfully dealt with his opponent with his help.
When Yang Kai looked up again, his face changed, because the Shaman Niu Clan’s defence line had been broken again, and this time it was worse than before. If before the situation could be compared to a leaking boat, it was now to the point where the ship was breaking apart, at risk of collapse at any moment.
The Demons howled as they rushed in from all directions like a flood. No matter how hard the clansmen of Shaman Niu Clan tried, they could not stop their pace. Only Yang Kai stood firm, unaffected by the waves crashing upon him.
But it was pointless because he could not defend the entire circle even if he wanted to.
“Will you help me?” Yang Kai shouted as he held up the Mountains and Rivers Bell. If he could not get an affirmative answer, he would have no choice but to make an indiscriminate attack. The power of Mountains and Rivers Bell was too strong, and he had yet to fully subdue it. Once the power of this Ancient Exotic Artifact was unleashed without reservation, the surviving Shaman Niu Clansmen would inevitably be affected, possibly even be killed.
Yang Kai did not want to stain his hands with the blood of his clansmen, so even if the situation had been critical, he never thought of using the Mountains and Rivers Bell. But this was not a luxury he could afford now.
There was no response, and some of the faster Demons had almost reached the roots of the Evergreen Divine Tree, lifting their weapons and slashing at the Frost and Snow Clan Shamans who were waiting there.
The light of Mountains and Rivers Bell flashed, and the mysterious patterns on its surface glowed while exuding an ancient and desolate Aura.
Right at that moment, the Evergreen Divine Tree swayed abruptly, and suddenly a branch flew down from the canopy. The length of the branch was unknown, but it was as thick as a person’s torso, shaking its head and flicking its tail like a dragon that had just awoken from a deep sleep.
The branch swept out and every Demon in its path was sent flying without even a chance to resist. Some of them exploded into clouds of blood-mist while still mid-air while others were critically injured. The huge impact force broke bones and left huge depressions on their chests, forcing mouthfuls of blood from their mouths as they fell to the ground with feeble auras. Clearly, these Demons would not live long.
Thousands of Demons were injured or killed in just a single blow.
The Demons who broke through the defensive circle were shocked and instinctually retreated a few steps together. Each Demon’s eyes were fixed on that sweeping branch, their gazes filled with fear and panic.
*Shua Shua Shua…*
More branches descended from the tree crown like long whips controlled by the Evergreen Divine Tree. The whips that danced in a seemingly chaotic way, but in fact were actually making an organized sweep of the surroundings. No whip collided with another and instead complimented one another as they mowed down the enemy.
The whips swept around the Evergreen Divine Tree, sending any enemy within a kilometre radius flying.
All of the Demons that rushed over were swatted away while the guarding clansmen of Shaman Niu Clan and Frost and Snow Clan remained unscathed.
All of the Barbarians were shocked by what they saw, and Yang Kai also immediately put away the Mountains and Rivers Bell. He knew that the Shamans of Frost and Snow Clan had begun to control the power of the Evergreen Divine Tree.
With such overbearing power, the Demons could no longer approach the tree. The Evergreen Divine Tree was a being equivalent to a Saint after all, so his power was not something an ordinary Demon or even a Demon King could resist.
Unless…
Suddenly, a huge palm appeared in the sky, one so massive that it was able to cover the Heavens, darkening the field of vision of everyone below. The emergence of the palm caused a drastic change in the situation. The world shook as this palm slammed straight towards the crown of the Evergreen Divine Tree, as though it was trying to bring it down in one blow.
The whips that were attacking the Demons were obviously aware of the approaching danger and swiftly directed their attention to the palm in the sky.
Yang Kai too, raised his head sharply to observe and flickered away from his position in the next moment.
There was a loud bang, and the huge palm slammed down, smashing dozens of long whips that were speeding at it. The sound of muffled grunts rang out from the trunk and branches of the Evergreen Divine Tree, evidence the Shamans of the Frost and Snow Clan had been hit hard.
Blocked by several dozen long whips, the speed of the palm was hindered, but it did not break.
At the critical moment, Yang Kai’s figure suddenly appeared between the palm and the tree crown, a small bell spinning before him which rapidly expanded into a giant object that shrouded the tree crown.
*Guang Dang…*
An ear-splitting sound rang out as the illusory phantom of the Mountains and Rivers Bell collapsed. Yang Kai could not help but spurt out a mouthful of blood as he plummeted to the ground like a meteor.
However, the gigantic palm was rebounded by the power of the Mountains and Rivers Bell and finally dispersed.
“Oh?” A somewhat surprised voice sounded and was immediately followed by a person abruptly appearing in the air. Looking down at Yang Kai, then looking up at the Evergreen Divine Tree, a cynical smile appeared on the corner of the man’s face.
Yang Kai steadied himself in the air and looked up at this man coldly as he bellowed with gritted teeth, “Mo Duo!”
His voice was not loud, but it was enough for everyone on the deathly still battlefield to hear. Mo Duo’s name brought fear to all the Ancient Barbarians, while on the contrary, the Demons who had been hit miserably, yelled animated, their confidence greatly boosted.
“What was… your name again?” With his hands crossed behind his back, Mo Duo cocked his head to the side as he observed Yang Kai, appearing to be deep in thought before he suddenly exclaimed, “Yes, your name is Shaman Niu!”
Yang Kai grinned, his blood-filled mouth making him look quite terrifying, “It’s an honour that a Demon Saint actually remembers my name.”
Mo Duo chuckled, “I always have deep impressions of people who are special.”
Yang Kai turned his head and glanced at the battlefield farther away, curling his lips as he asked, “Aren’t the Demon Saints supposed to be fighting up there? Why are you so free to be here? Don’t you care about the lives of your companions?”
“I don’t need to worry about their lives. You on the other hand should worry about yours.”
Yang Kai cursed silently, berating Saint Xu for allowing a Demon Saint to come here. As long as the four Shaman Saints of the Barbarian Race could delay the five Demon Saints of the Demon Race, there would still be hope for the battle here. The Shaman Niu Clan successfully escorted the Evergreen Divine Tree to take root at the base of the Two Worlds Passage, and the thousand Shamans of the Frost and Snow Clan also came to support them. As long as there was enough time, the plan could be fully implemented.
But Mo Duo’s sudden appearance was akin to the arrival of a disaster that could wipe out everyone present, a full-grown adult suddenly interfering in a match between children.
Below the Two Worlds Passage, Demon Saint Mo Duo’s sudden appearance next to the Evergreen Divine Tree instantly extinguished any glimmer of hope that the Barbarian Race had. No one could stand against the Demon Saint unless the Evergreen Divine Tree fought him personally, not even Yang Kai.
But how could Senior Qing spare any attention or energy to fight against a Demon Saint now? All his concentration was being used to seal the Two Worlds Passage, shutting out all other distractions from the external environment. Senior Qing was now burning his life essence and had no way to stop and focus on other tasks.
“I’m just a Shaman King. Does Sir Mo Duo have to bully the weak?”
“Haha…”
Mo Duo laughed softly, revealing a harmless smile. If one did not know his identity, they would think he was an amiable man, completely different from the other vicious Demons, “You’re not weak at all.”
Yang Kai pursed his lip, “But I’m still weaker than you. You have your battle and I have mine. Let’s mind our own business and not interfere with each other, shall we?”
Mo Duo replied with a helpless look, “I’m afraid I can’t. This big tree of yours is a little strange. If we let it continue to grow, I’m afraid our connection to the Demon Realm will be completely cut off, so I have to destroy it. Sorry.”
Yang Kai remained calm while listening to his words, but was secretly overjoyed.
Because Mo Duo inadvertently disclosed information, confirming that Senior Qing truly had the ability to seal the Two Worlds Passage. Now what he needed to do was to buy enough time for Senior Qing to finish his work.
Yang Kai sighed and continued helplessly, “I understand what Sir means.”
Mo Duo remained smiling, and asked as he nodded, “Are you ready to die?” After a pause, he pressed on, “Actually, you can take refuge under me, then we wouldn’t have to fight each other.”
Yang Kai answered solemnly, “Many thanks, Sir, this Shaman Niu truly appreciates it, but… this Shaman Niu was born a Barbarian and will die a Barbarian. I can’t take refuge under the Demon Race.”
His proud declaration was heard by the people of the Shaman Niu Clan below, and everyone looked at Yang Kai in awe.
Mo Duo shrugged, “I have no choice then. Alright, enough nonsense, you can die now.”
He spoke with a calm and relaxed tone, as if a butcher were facing a chicken.
When the words fell, he reached out to grab Yang Kai.
This move may have seemed casual, but the World Principles trembled as Mo Duo extended his hand. Yang Kai inexplicably felt that the surrounding space became viscous, like he had fallen into a quagmire. The more he struggled, the deeper he sank.
Demon Saints and Shaman Saints were comparable to the Great Emperors of modern times. These Masters had reached the point where they could communicate with the World itself and had touched upon the threshold of the Grand Dao. Therefore, even the most ordinary of attacks they used contained a profound and overwhelming power.
Space Principles around Yang Kai fluctuated, and after a short pause, he suddenly disappeared.
A soft thud on the ground where he stood before was heard, as if something was broken open. After the sound, everyone could clearly see signs of collapse in the local space.
Mo Duo tilted his head and looked over, his eyes twinkling with interest as he mused, “Space Techniques are indeed amazing. I’m more and more reluctant to kill you. If you could assist the Great Demon God, it would be far easier for us Demons to establish connections to other Great Worlds. Perhaps the Great Demon God would even be able to personally descend to these Great Worlds.”
“If you’re reluctant to kill me, then don’t,” Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and forced a smile, “Why don’t we just stop all this violence and have a nice civilized discussion instead; let the others worry about the war.”
Mo Duo shook his head, “My task is to kill you or capture you, so I’m afraid that I can’t continue to chit chat with you.”
He flicked his fingers as he finished his sentence, and a pitch-black beam of energy suddenly launched towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai countered with a Moon Blade. The two attacks collided in mid-air and vanished in an instant.
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “Sir, this is not your full strength. Are you holding back on me?”
“Haha…” Mo Duo smiled lightly without stopping his hands, his Demon Qi surging as a huge black blade flew at Yang Kai without warning. At the same time, he declared, “This is my full strength now. I’m not holding back.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly and instinctively did not want to believe it, but he could sense that Mo Duo was not lying. Although the power that he unleashed was quite strong, it did not seem to be strong to a degree that Yang Kai could not handle.
Right now, it seemed as if he had the same strength as when he first arrived in this world.
When Mo Duo arrived into this world two years ago, he had paid a steep price in order to cross the Two Worlds Passage. As a result, his strength was greatly reduced, and that was why Yang Kai could escape from him with his teleportation technique.
Mo Duo’s strength should have been restored to its peak after these past two years, but now his performance was not much different from what it was two years ago. The only difference was that he did not have the same frail feeling as before.
The power of a Demon Saint should not be like this. Therefore, Yang Kai couldn’t help being on guard.
He teleported again to dodge Mo Duo’s attack.
But just then, Mo Duo’s eyes suddenly flashed, gazing into the endless Void.
He immediately caught a trace of Yang Kai. Space Techniques were not all-powerful. Although Yang Kai could enter and exit the Void freely in order to move great distances in an instant, he would still reveal some traces of his movements to peak-level Masters.
Mo Duo was exactly this kind of Master, and with a wave of his hand, he sent an impact into the Void.
With a bang, space tore apart and Yang Kai’s figure appeared with a stagger.
At the same time, a large pitch-black net emerged to enclose this region, seemingly wanting to capture Yang Kai inside it.
Yang Kai’s face changed as he raised his hands and used his Time Flies Seal with all his strength.
Following an explosion, the large pitch-black net halted for a moment, allowing Yang Kai to slip away, avoiding capture. When he straightened up again, his back was already drenched in a cold sweat.
Mo Duo had launched two strikes but failed to produce the desired effect, so he could only sigh helplessly, “Looks like fifty percent of my strength is really not enough.”
“Fifty percent?” Yang Kai glared at him angrily, “Didn’t you just say that you were using all your strength. Now you say it’s just fifty percent? Which statement is true?”
Mo Duo answered indifferently, “Both.”
He raised his hand and waved in a certain direction.
Yang Kai stiffened in vigilance as he thought that Mo Duo was going to use another Divine Ability or Secret Technique, but after Mo Duo waved, he did not notice any sign of attack. Instead, a pitch-black light shot out from that direction and rushed into Mo Duo’s body before disappearing.
Mo Duo’s aura, which was already strong enough to give Yang Kai a headache, suddenly soared. A trace of ferocity was added to Mo Duo’s usual warm smile as if the surge of power seemed to affect his mentality, drawing a grin from his lips as he commented, “This is seventy percent!”
Yang Kai gritted his teeth, “You’re a Soul Clone?”
Mo Duo responded, “I am who I am. There is no clone or original. I am also over there!”
His ‘over there’ obviously referred to the battlefield of the Saints.
Only now did Yang Kai realize that the Shaman Saints did not allow Mo Duo to inadvertently escape because Mo Duo was still fighting against the Shaman Saints on that side while this figure was just a clone of sorts.
This Soul Clone was obviously an emergency means of the Demon Race, and it had proved to be useful. Without Mo Duo’s intervention, the Evergreen Divine Tree could not be disturbed, but Yang Kai had to be as careful as walking on thin ice because of Mo Duo’s sudden emergence.
What made it more difficult for Yang Kai was that Mo Duo’s strength seemed to be able to freely transfer between his primary body and his Soul Clone.
He could not stop Yang Kai’s teleportation ability with just fifty percent of his strength, so Mo Duo had boosted his Soul Clone’s power to seventy percent. If his strength on one side was increased, his strength on the other side would naturally be reduced.
“I know what you’re plotting,” Mo Duo spoke with a casual tone, “It’s nothing more than delaying time with me so that you can seal the passage that connects the two Great Worlds. However, you won’t have this chance now, because you’re no longer… a match for me!”
When he finished his sentence, Mo Duo suddenly appeared in front of Yang Kai, raised his hand, and stabbed at his chest.
Yang Kai’s face changed drastically. The residual figure of Mo Duo was still present in his vision, but his attack was already close at hand.
In panic, Yang Kai instinctively tried to teleport away, but he found that the surrounding space was completely confined, and he could not move at all.
The corner of Mo Duo’s mouth curved into a cruel smile, and his hand, which was covered in rich Demon Qi, penetrated through Yang Kai’s chest.
Unexpectedly though, no blood spurted. There wasn’t even a tactile feeling that he was supposed to feel, so Mo Duo frowned. Only then did he realize that Yang Kai’s body had turned into a dim illusory phantom, and that his hand had directly passed through this phantom without any resistance.
Yang Kai revealed a terrified look, as if he was enduring great pain. He leapt back with his faint-looking body, almost vanishing into thin air, and broke free from Mo Duo’s control.
When his body solidified again, Yang Kai spewed a mouthful of blood; he was badly hurt.
He took out a handful of pills and stuffed them directly into his mouth to chew, cold sweat dripping from his head like a waterfall.
“Is this also a Space Technique?” Mo Duo frowned slightly. The fatal blow he had delivered was actually resolved by this Shaman Niu in a way he could not understand, and although the latter still looked injured, it was a far cry from Mo Duo’s expected result.
This was not what Mo Duo wanted to see.
“Space Techniques aren’t limited to just instantaneous movement,” Yang Kai swallowed the pills in his mouth and once again struck up a conversation with Mo Duo in order to give himself some time to recover, “I call the skill Nihility.”
“Merging with the Void in order to avoid powerful attacks,” Mo Duo praised him with his eyes lit up. “A good ability.”
Yang Kai responded, “But you’re too strong. Although most of your strength simply passed through me, some of it still shook the Void and was transmitted to me, almost killing me.”
“I see!” Mo Duo was enlightened, then put on a thoughtful look as he continued, “It seems like killing you will not be so easy.”
Yang Kai snickered, “Would you like to focus all your power into your Soul Clone? I wouldn’t be able to fight against a full-strength Saint.”
“No need!” Mo Duo snorted coldly. Using seventy percent of his strength was his bottom line in dealing with an existence that was only equivalent to a Demon King. It would be a disgrace if he was forced to use all of his strength. He had his own dignity and pride to maintain.
As he spoke, a dark iron hook suddenly materialized in his hand. The iron hook was filled with a rich and pure Demon Qi that could awaken the evil deep inside one’s heart, and gave off an eerie feeling at first glance.
Yang Kai’s eyes fixed on the iron hook and his heart clenched slightly.
This iron hook was somewhat similar to the Demonic War Hammer currently owned by the Embodiment. Although its form was completely different, it had a similar aura about it.
It was a Saint Artifact! This should be the Saint Artifact mentioned by Bao Qi and the others. In the Demon Realm, only Demon Saints could possess and control such treasures. In other words, this iron hook and the Demonic War Hammer were of the same grade.
Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn as he became alert.
Mo Duo’s sudden summoning of such a Demonic Saint Artifact obviously meant that he was planning to make a big move, and Yang Kai had to deal with it with great vigilance.
To Yang Kai’s surprise though, Mo Duo did not immediately attack him with the Saint Artifact. Instead, he lifted the iron hook and grazed the void in a disorderly way; once on his left, once on his right, above him, then below him.
His actions were extremely casual, but also quite aloof and arrogant at the same time.
However, this extremely random movement made Yang Kai’s face sink, because he suddenly sensed that the surrounding space inexplicably became isolated and sealed, as if this region of the world had been ripped out of the Great World by Mo Duo’s actions, becoming isolated from the outside.
Yang Kai could still see all the scenery outside, but he could no longer teleport at will from this isolated world.
Teleportation was an extremely tricky ability to deal with, even for a Demon Saint, so Mo Duo first had to disable its use, and the measure just now was his way to handicap this ability.
After that, Mo Duo turned around. Looking at Yang Kai indifferently, he lifted the iron hook in his hand slightly and pulled space towards himself.
The shadow of a huge hook resembling a sharp soul-reaping weapon suddenly appeared and swung down towards where Yang Kai was.
Heaven and Earth were contorted by the movement of the hook, and an extremely sinister aura permeated the air with a loud crash.
Yang Kai backed away in a hurry, his face showing unprecedented solemnity. Without dropping his guard, he waved his arms widely and condensed the local Space Principles into an enormous Moon Blade that slashed towards the hook shadow immediately.
Yang Kai wasn’t done yet though as his lips began to murmur and Time Principles began to flow, his hands quickly intertwined to form the Time Flies Seal which he then shot out right behind his Moon Blade.
Profound and esoteric Space and Time Principles mixed together in an inexplicable and even more unpredictable manner.
A look of surprise appeared on Mo Duo’s face as he had an inkling that this situation had undergone a kind of strange, one beyond his comprehension. He had never heard of anyone who cultivated both Space and Time Principles.
Since Ancient Times, there had been three thousand Grand Daos of Heaven and Earth, and there were countless Principles that evolved from them. However, whether it was Space Principles or Time Principles, both were Daos that very few lucky people could ever fathom, and those who could comprehend both essentially did not exist. This was not something one could claim as just luck, and was only attainable with the full blessings of the Heavens’ grace. Throughout history, such people were true Masters of their times.
*Hong…*
There was a loud crash as the Moon Blade and Time Flies Seal collided with the huge hook shadow, which directly dispersed. Violent energy from the collision swept out, and the isolated segment of the world shook as if the apocalypse had come.
The aftermath of the impact spread hundreds of kilometres away and both the Barbarian Race and the Demon Race were swayed by the impact, many being thrown out or even directly killed. Even Yang Kai was sent tumbling from the force of this recoil. When he finally stood firm, he looked pale and dishevelled, but still shouted, “Mo Duo, I am afraid that seventy percent of your strength is not enough! Let me see your full strength, don’t cower anymore!”
He swallowed pills wildly while he spoke, having truthfully been pushed into a tight corner.
Mo Duo’s usual grace and casualness had long since disappeared. After being mocked by Yang Kai, he finally revealed his anger and turned to glance at the Evergreen Divine Tree. In the short time while he was messing around with Yang Kai, this strange tree had grown another kilometre and showed no signs of stopping.
“Let’s see how many times you can block it!” Mo Duo shouted angrily, and once again threw the hook towards the place where Yang Kai stood.
The huge hook shadow reappeared.
Yang Kai’s face twitched as a stream of curses burst from his lips; however, his movements did not slow down at all.
This battle made him deeply aware of the gap between himself and Mo Duo. Even though Mo Duo only used seventy percent of his strength, he was already an opponent Yang Kai could not hope to defeat.
Blocking the first attack was just a fluke, but it would be impossible for Yang Kai to block a second attack or third.
“Do you only know this trick? Don’t you have something new?” Yang Kai asked sarcastically.
Mo Duo sneered, “It does not matter how many tricks I have as long as one works!”
He could clearly see the advantage he had and was prepared to use his Saint Artifact to crush Yang Kai.
As the hook flew, space collapsed, and even the Sun, Moon, and Stars seemed to dim.
Yang Kai grunted, and the high-pitched roar of a dragon ripped through him. A golden ray was released, and a huge golden dragon head emerged behind him, its majestic eyes looking down on the world as if everything and everyone was beneath it.
The Golden Divine Dragon phantom only appeared for a moment before it shot into Yang Kai’s body again and disappeared.
Yang Kai’s initially sluggish aura suddenly soared to a new high, seemingly much stronger than when he was at his peak earlier.
“This is…”
Mo Duo was flabbergasted, his gaze frozen behind Yang Kai as if he wanted to get a clearer view, but the illusory phantom had long since disappeared. In a look of disbelief, he exclaimed, “Divine Spirit? Why do you have a Divine Spirit Source?”
Even in this ancient period, Divine Spirits were synonymous with power, especially the Dragon Clan, which was an existence that even Demon Saints could not ignore. There was a Dragon Clan in the Demon Realm, which consisted of Demon Dragons, and their Masters were comparable to Demon Saints, each of them possessing Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power.
“You’re too nosy.” When the golden light converged, Yang Kai’s figure reappeared.
At this moment, he was no longer the seemingly weak Human, but instead a six-metre tall monster covered in scale armour with short horns growing out of his head and sharp claws for hands. Traces of his features could only vaguely be seen on his scaled face.
The hook shadow attacked again, but this time, Yang Kai simply raised his Myriads Sword high to meet it head-on.
After the Dragon Transformation, Yang Kai’s strength had been significantly improved. The seemingly unmatched hook shadow came to a sudden when it met the sword’s swing, as if it was hindered by an unbreakable barrier.
Yang Kai slumped back, using his utmost to push the sword light of the Myriads Sword to clash with the hook shadow, resulting in a series of explosive rumblings.
Mo Duo sneered, silently stroking the iron hook in his hand, and aimed it directly at the place where Yang Kai was.
In the next moment, Yang Kai’s eyes widened and looked as if he had lost his soul as even his resistance against the hook shadow became weak, causing the hook shadow to pounce at him recklessly again.
After a breath, Yang Kai suppressed the dissonance in his head and shouted angrily, “A Soul Attack? Mo Duo, you are indeed a bully. You would stoop this low and still dare call yourself a Demon Saint?”
Mo Duo gritted his teeth and became somewhat angry out of shame, “What thing are you to accuse me?!”
He indeed used a Soul Attack just now. The iron hook in his hand not only had powerful offensive abilities, but it could also directly pull at the enemy’s Soul. This silent hook had turned into a chain in the dark, sinking into Yang Kai’s Soul and tearing into it.
That was why Yang Kai fell into a daze for a moment, almost losing consciousness.
As long as Mo Duo could reap his Soul from his body, Yang Kai would definitely become a walking corpse.
The second attack of the huge hook shadow was just a diversion to attract Yang Kai’s attention; however, Mo Duo did not expect that this trick he planned out diligently would not produce the desired effect.
An existence equivalent to a mere Demon King being able to resist seventy percent of his strength in a head-on confrontation was unbelievable enough. Even though Mo Duo had not made use of all his strength, from the perspective of all bystanders, Yang Kai was already impressive enough.
What was so unacceptable to Mo Duo was that his silent Soul Attack failed to achieve anything more than a minor wound. The young man in front of him was definitely not just an existence comparable to Demon Kings. Even as a Demon Saint, Mo Duo had never encountered such a monster before.
Yang Kai snorted coldly and ignored him, but was actually still struggling from the aftershock of the Soul Attack.
Although the scene just now was short, it was by far the most dangerous moment in his fight against Mo Duo. If it were not for the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, a Supreme Soul Treasure, his Soul would have been pulled out cleanly by Mo Duo, or more likely just torn apart.
Although Yang Kai’s Soul was far more powerful than average, it was not to the extent that it could directly withstand Mo Duo’s Soul Attack. It was the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus that pulled his Soul back at the critical moment, allowing Yang Kai to react in time to the follow-up strike.
His blood boiling at his own weakness, the towering sword-light of Yang Kai’s Myriads Sword increased in intensity sharply, suppressing Mo Duo’s hook shadow in one fell swoop and directly shattering it while its owner was momentarily distracted.
Everything else in the world lost its lustre in the dazzling sword light.
Mo Duo still seemed to be in a daze, a very unusual condition for a Demon Saint, mainly because Yang Kai’s performance was just too shocking.
At that moment, Yang Kai had already rushed in front of him with a ferocious look on his face.
A Dragon’s claw was clenched into a fist and slammed out at Mo Duo.
Space collapsed wherever this fist rolled.
However, Mo Duo simply raised his head, stared at Yang Kai with a pair of emotionless eyes, and said indifferently, “You have to pay for your recklessness!”
When the words fell, he raised his fist to meet Yang Kai’s.
Both the Demon Race and the Barbarian Race paid close attention to Body Tempering, especially a Demon Saint like Mo Duo. Even if his body was not immortal and indestructible, he must have already cultivated his body to its limit.
If Yang Kai fought him with Secret Techniques or long-range Divine Abilities, perhaps Mo Duo would need to spend more effort dealing with him, but now that Yang Kai just charged at him and was about to engage in hand to hand combat, Mo Duo could not help feeling ridiculous and also maddened at the same time.
He felt ridiculous because of the stupidity of his opponent, while feeling enraged because he felt like he was being underestimated.
Mo Duo used all his strength in his attack.
When the two fists collided, Mo Duo’s body shook, while Yang Kai staggered back a few steps.
Yang Kai, who used his Dragon Transformation, still lost to the Demon Saint with only seventy percent of his strength in the competition of pure physical strength! The strength of this Devil Saint was obvious from this alone.
The huge recoil rushed into Yang Kai’s meridians and physique like a rampaging current, causing him unprecedented pain.
Before he could stand firm, Mo Duo already approached him with a counterattack. A fist wrapped with the aura of destruction hit Yang Kai’s abdomen heavily, causing the latter’s eyes to nearly pop out of their sockets as the surge of Demon Qi almost took away his ability to breathe.
It was not over yet though as Mo Duo sent another punch at Yang Kai’s face, sending him spinning in the air and spewing tremendous amounts of blood.
If it were not for his Dragon Transformation that dramatically strengthened his physique, these two punches alone would have been enough to kill Yang Kai. Even so, he still suffered dreadfully from it. Yang Kai felt as though his insides were thrown into a stormy sea, and the Demon Qi which invaded his body through the attacks made him feel lightheaded as destruction swept through his meridians and physique.
Yang Kai fell to the ground helplessly and struggled to get up, but before he could stand firm again, Mo Duo had appeared in front of him and welcomed him with another heavy punch.
Yang Kai’s seemingly confused face suddenly showed a trace of malevolence, his eyes flashing as the Mountains and Rivers Bell was summoned, directly covering the place where he stood.
Mo Duo widened his eyes and wanted to withdraw his fist but it was too late. Yang Kai’s timing in summoning the Mountains and Rivers Bell perfectly matched when Mo Duo had fully exerted his strength.
*Guang Dang…*
The destructive punch hit the Mountains and Rivers Bell, and the ancient bell let out a visible ripple infused with its desolate aura.
The fist that Mo Duo punched the Mountains and Rivers Bell with was instantly mutilated. It was very difficult for him to bear the recoil of his own full blow despite being a Demon Saint, but that was not what was most important in this situation. What mattered the most was the ringing of the Mountain and Rivers Bell. As soon as this sound entered Mo Duo’s ears, he had the impression that he was being suppressed.
As if countless mountains had been piled onto his back, he found himself unable to stand straight under the pressure.
‘Its chime was sufficient to suppress mountains and rivers, its Emperor Aura was sufficient to upturn the universe’. Such was the evaluation of the Mountains and Rivers Bell by various Masters throughout history. The greatest Divine Ability of this Ancient Exotic Artifact was to suppress all things in the world.
Mo Duo’s aura dropped sharply.
The Mountains and Rivers Bell suddenly vanished at that moment and Yang Kai pounced at Mo Duo ferociously, going straight for his chest with his Dragon Claws that were sharper than the finest blade in the world.
In a moment of desperation, Mo Duo roared angrily and tried his best to dispel all kinds of discomfort caused by the Mountains and Rivers Bell through pure Demonic Qi. He then grabbed at Yang Kai’s Dragon Claw with one hand at lightning speed, obviously attempting to stop his attack.
Suddenly, the Mountains and Rivers Bell reappeared again, but instead of covering Yang Kai this time, it turned into the size of a handbell, resting in Yang Kai’s other claw.
With a flick of his fingers, the strange sound of the Mountains and Rivers Bell reverberated again, and the sound wave condensed into an invisible attack, hitting Mo Duo.
Mo Duo’s back bent again and his newly recovered state was instantly ruined.
*Chi… *
Yang Kai’s sharp claw pierced directly through Mo Duo’s chest and out his back, capturing a bloody Demon Heart that was still beating violently.
“You…” Mo Duo stared at Yang Kai, who was close at hand and flew into a rage as he roared madly.
An unimaginable impact gathered into a visible force that shot from Mo Duo’s mouth towards Yang Kai’s chest, resulting in the clear crack of bones. Struck by this impact, Yang Kai was sent flying into the sky like a paper kite.
Mo Duo staggered to straighten his back as blood spurted wildly out of his chest. A huge hole went straight through his body, exposing his organs and viscera.
He looked down with a look of disbelief.
Yang Kai got up in the distance, spat the blood out from his mouth, held the Demon Heart in his palm and grinned at Mo Duo, “I heard that a Master like you has more than one Demon Heart, and as long as the Demon Heart remains, the Demon Race will not die. So, how many Demon Hearts do you have?”
Mo Duo narrowed his eyes and an unfathomably cold light flashed across them. As he surged his Demon Qi, the flesh of his chest wriggled and was soon healed, as if he hadn’t been wounded at all.
“Return it to me!” He demanded in a low voice.
Although he had more than one Demon Heart, and losing one did not threaten his life, the destruction of a Demon Heart would have some impact on his strength. Yang Kai had already shown he had the ability to compete against him in his current state, so losing a Demon Heart would put Mo Duo at a greater disadvantage.
Yang Kai grinned, “What did you say? Did I hear it wrongly, or did you say it wrongly? Did you just ask me to return this thing to you?”
“You heard me right, give it back!” Mo Duo replied coldly.
“Haha!” Yang Kai cackled, “You’re too funny! You and I are locked in a fight to the death, using all our skills and strength to kill one another, but now that I snatched your Demon Heart, you’re actually asking me to give it back to you? I just want to know… Are you an idiot?”
“Give it back to me, and I can grant you a painless end. Otherwise, I will make you suffer a fate worse than death.”
Yang Kai’s face suddenly became serious and continued in a deep voice, “Your Demon Heart is in my hand now, yet instead of asking politely, you’re threatening me?” Yang Kai’s face turned into a mocking grin, “You’re really an idiot!”
Mo Duo stopped talking and fixed his eyes on the Demon Heart.
In the next moment, Yang Kai’s heart jumped as he suddenly felt something was wrong. His face changed drastically and he quickly clenched his hand.
With a loud bang, the Demon Heart exploded, but there was no blood or residual flesh. The Demon Qi contained in it surged out and turned into black fog, shrouding Yang Kai. This black fog was like a living creature, and without any hesitation, it entered straight into Yang Kai’s body by seeping into his pores and the seven orifices on his face.
Yang Kai’s expression turned ugly. Although he wanted to stop it, there was nothing he could do. No matter how he surged his power, he could not stop the invasion of the Demon Qi.
Moreover, the explosion of the Demon Heart earlier was not caused by him but was instead a self-destruct Mo Duo inexplicably used.
Mo Duo groaned at the same time when the Demon Heart exploded and his aura weakened noticeably, as if he had suffered a serious injury, but he still pressed on, “I know you have a way to resist the corruption of ordinary Demon Qi, but you won’t be able to resist my Demon Qi. You will lose yourself and become my slave. I will fulfil my promise and let you taste all the torment this world has to offer other than death. Shaman Niu, kneel down and beg me. Perhaps, I will have mercy.”
As if to confirm his words, Yang Kai showed a dreadfully pained expression, his eyes bulging as if they were going to explode and his entire physique becoming tinted with an abnormal shade of black.
Mo Duo stood to the side and observed coldly. From time to time, he would toss a glance at the Evergreen Divine Tree in the distance, as if he was considering when to destroy this annoying tree.
The Demon Qi all disappeared into Yang Kai’s body quickly and seemingly melted into his physique.
Mo Duo soon lost his patience though and raised his hand to tap on Yang Kai’s head. Although it was hard for him to accept that his heart was destroyed by such a weak enemy and he wanted nothing more than to torture him to vent his anger, he still had more important things to do at this moment.
The giant tree had already reached the sky, and was not far from sealing the entire Two Worlds Passage. If Mo Duo continued to delay, he was afraid that there would be trouble.
Mo Duo decided to kill Yang Kai first, then deal with the giant tree.
But just as he was about to act, a shocking scene appeared before his eyes.
Yang Kai, who looked like he was in incredible pain, suddenly let out a low roar and spat out a stream of rich, pitch-black Demon Qi from his mouth.
Mo Duo was dumbstruck.
This Demon Qi was clearly the Demon Qi that was contained in his Demon Heart. It should have invaded this Shaman Niu’s body and merged with his flesh and blood, so how did he manage to spit it out again?
More and more Demon Qi was spat out and the seemingly living Demon Qi rushed about in a flustered motion, as if there was something in Yang Kai’s body that frightened it greatly.
Mo Duo could hardly believe his eyes and was stunned in place for a moment.
After a while, Yang Kai finally finished spitting out all the Demon Qi, patted his stomach, and remarked with a disgusted look, “What the hell is this? It’s not delicious at all.”
“How… how did you…” Mo Duo wanted to ask clearly, but as soon as he spoke, he knew that his opponent would not answer him. This Shaman Niu definitely kept many secrets, so Mo Duo stopped halfway.
Sure enough, Yang Kai did not want to answer him. After spitting out all the Demon Qi, he raised his hand, and the Mountains and Rivers Bell flew towards Mo Duo, rapidly enlarged, and plunged down, as if intending to suppress him in one fell swoop.
How could Mo Duo just stand idly by though? He learnt the power of this little bell previously, so he immediately flickered aside as soon as he saw Yang Kai’s action.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai took another action after observing Mo Duo’s move, quickly catching up with the Mountains and Rivers Bell and slapping it.
*Guang Dang…*
A visible sound wave converged into an attack and, driven by Yang Kai, cut through the air like a sharp blade towards Mo Duo.
Mo Duo could not avoid this sudden attack and was struck by the condensed sound wave, stunning him for a moment and causing his face to contort in pain.
Given that the Mountains and Rivers Bell could influence and suppress his actions before, it would be harder for Mo Duo, who had just lost a Demon Heart, to resist its power now.
While Mo Duo was dazed, Yang Kai leapt over with a ferocious grin on his face.
Mo Duo jumped back instinctively, but Yang Kai grabbed his arm with his Dragon Claw like an iron hoop, and with a surge of power, broke all the bones in this arm.
Mo Duo gawked at Yang Kai who was in front of him with wide eyes and gritted teeth as a heavy blow was incoming.
The huge force smashed on his face, contorted his facial features, and sent him rolling in the air. The feeling of being suppressed finally disappeared, and Mo Duo hurriedly stabilized his body, but just when he regained his stability, the ring of the strange bell reached his ear again.
The suppressive power that had just disappeared shrouded him again, disrupting the circulation of his strength. The slight interference resulted in him taking a direct punch in the chest again. The crisp crack of bones fracturing was heard as Mo Duo’s chest caved in and he was immediately thrown out.
The noble Demon Saint was now no better than a sandbag, being beaten flying, powerless to fight back against a mere Shaman King. This was a great humiliation, and the anger in Mo Duo’s chest boiled like lava in a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.
Although his opponent’s attacks were not fatal, it was intolerable for Mo Duo to be humiliated like this in front of millions of Demons.
All of this was happening because of the damned bell. Mo Duo was not afraid of this Shaman Niu’s own strength, but the power of the strange bell was even able to suppress the power of a Demon Saint, which made him lose the upper hand. One mistake had led to all future failures, and there was no chance for him to regain the initiative in his current situation.
Every time the bell rang, Mo Duo’s newly gathered aura and power would be suppressed, and then Yang Kai would launch a storm of attacks at him.
In just a stick of incense worth of time, Yang Kai had attacked Mo Duo more than a thousand times, using enough force each time to kill an ordinary Demon King.
But such continuous attacks on Mo Duo could only make him stagger back, not deal any kind of serious injury. No matter how badly his chest was sunken or how many broken bones he had, Mo Duo seemed to be able to recover after just a short time.
Demon Saint Mo Duo’s vitality was incomparably tenacious!
Yang Kai was panting, as he was physically and mentally exhausted. Although his strength increased greatly after using his Dragon Transformation, his energy consumption increased proportionally. Moreover, he had to use the Mountains and Rivers Bell in advance every time he attacked, which took a great toll on him. If it were not for his strong foundation, he would have succumbed to death due to exhaustion already.
However, he was still being patient, waiting for his chance, a chance to win everything in a single blow.
The opportunity soon arrived.
Mo Duo went into a rage from this torture and his face twisted ferociously. Gnashing his teeth, his eyes scarlet, he looked as if he had lost his mind.
The Mountains and Rivers Bell tolled again, and the visible sound wave struck towards Mo Duo.
But this time, Yang Kai did not seem to grasp the timing properly, and by the time the sound wave was unleashed, Mo Duo had already managed to dodge aside. Without the suppression of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, he could finally go all out to deal with Yang Kai. Grinning wildly, he pushed his Demon Qi madly and pounced at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai seemed a little flustered and hurriedly retreated, but still failed to keep distance with Mo Duo.
Mo Duo flew over Yang Kai’s head and sent out a vicious palm strike filled with destructive power.
At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly lifted his hand and summoned the Sealed World Bead. Under his control, the Sealed World Bead instantly disappeared into the Void and a vortex-like channel appeared between him and Mo Duo at the same time.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense spread out like a tide, turning into an invisible net that ensnared Mo Duo like catching a giant fish.
Yang Kai let out a grunt, his feet nailed firmly in place, and surged his Spiritual Energy to reel in this fish.
As long as he could send Mo Duo into the Sealed World Bead, his life would no longer be his to control. Even though Mo Duo was a genuine Demon Saint, he would not be Yang Kai’s opponent in the Sealed World Bead given that he could only use seventy percent of his power currently.
The key now was to draw Mo Duo into the Small Sealed World.
Mo Duo’s face changed slightly as the vortex appeared. He obviously sensed something was wrong and immediately became alarmed. Quickly stopping his actions, he wanted to retreat, but the surrounding space became extremely viscous, as if he had fallen into a quagmire and was unable to break free.
This resistance was caused by the overlapping action of Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy and his manipulation of Space Principles.
Mo Duo responded rapidly to the situation though, pouring out his Demon Saint Realm Spiritual Energy that turned into many sharp awls and began stabbing and slashing about madly.
The large net formed by the Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy became full of holes in an instant. Not only that, his Soul also suffered heavy damage. Blood flowed out of his seven orifices, giving him a ghastly look.
“It’s foolish to compete with me with your Spiritual Energy.” Mo Duo looked like he had the victory in his hand, and revealed a mocking expression on his face. He was not in a hurry to escape this place now because he found that this Shaman Niu was trying to trap him with his Spiritual Energy but ended up getting caught in his own means.
The invisible confrontation continued, while the injuries to Yang Kai’s Soul grew more and more severe, the invisible net having long ago broken. Still, Yang Kai refused to let go.
Mo Duo’s mocking expression soon turned to one of shock because Yang Kai’s endurance far exceeded his imagination.
The Soul was the source of one’s sentience and will, so if the Soul took too much damage, one would turn into a brain-dead walking corpse.
Mo Duo’s attacks were violent and intense, so by now, this Shaman Niu in front of him should have degenerated into a mental invalid. However, Mo Duo found that it was not what he had expected. Shaman Niu looked terrible and he was obviously suffering from unbearable pain in his Soul, but he had still not lost his mind.
Something was protecting his Soul!
Mo Duo was a genuine Demon Saint, so although he did not know about the existence of Soul Warming Lotus specifically, he could still guess the reason behind Yang Kai’s resistance after just a short confrontation.
It was exactly because of the existence of Soul Warming Lotus that Yang Kai dared to fight with Mo Duo in this way.
Mo Duo was also excited by his guess. He strongly surged his Spiritual Energy and peered directly into Yang Kai’s eyes, penetrating through all the barriers around his Knowledge Sea to pry into his secrets.
A treasure that could protect one’s Soul from destruction was a treasure worth seeing.
At that moment, a strange smile appeared on Yang Kai’s pained face.
His left eye suddenly shone with golden light, revealing a majestic vertical pupil. Instantaneously, a budding lotus flashed into Mo Duo’s Knowledge Sea.
Mo Duo groaned angrily. To his surprise, when he was about to resist the Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique, the Spiritual Energy net that had been destroyed by him suddenly contracted. He almost lost his ability to resist due to this sudden change and was quickly being pulled towards the vortex.
Mo Duo was appalled that his body was dragged involuntarily towards the entrance of the Sealed World Bead, while the Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique unfurled in his mind, causing him a splitting headache.
It would be an unforgivable humiliation if he let his opponent succeed in this plot. Although Mo Duo did not know where the vortex led to, he knew that since Yang Kai was sparing no effort to send him there, it would certainly not be a favorable place to him. Perhaps, he would not be able to come out again after he entered.
Enduring the pain in his mind, Mo Duo shouted, “Enough!”
His roar caused the world itself to tremble.
The pulling force paused for a moment as a pitch-black light flew towards them from the sky where the Saints’ battlefield was, straight into Mo Duo’s body, and disappeared.
The initial terrifying aura of Mo Duo soared to a whole new height at that moment.
Yang Kai’s face changed drastically to one of complete bitterness.
He had used all the means at his disposal to drag Mo Duo into the Sealed World Bead where he would have a decisive advantage, but he did not expect that Mo Duo would summon his Soul Clone power back to himself at the last moment, causing him to fall short. At this moment, Mo Duo was a complete Demon Saint, a Demon Saint at his peak.
The stalemate was broken in an instant.
Mo Duo, who restored his full strength, did not even need to exert any effort as the mere vibration of his soaring aura alone already scattered Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy and Space Principles.
Millions of Demons and Barbarians who were still locked in combat turned to look over to witness an unforgettable scene.
A dark shadow manifested in the air, one that began to grow like an inflating balloon.
Ten metres, fifteen metres, thirty metres, sixty metres…
The dark shadow did not stop growing until it reached three hundred metres tall.
Mo Duo had transformed into a giant monster, one with two slightly curved horns on his head that were so sharp they seemed able to pierce through the sky. His feet turned into two huge hooves that stamped on the ground, making everything in the world look tiny before him. His body was like a copper cast building, emitting a metallic luster, and a visible tornado appeared when he gently breathed out from his nostrils.
After restoring his full strength, Demon Saint Mo Duo turned into a monster like a centaur. Rich Demon Qi surrounded his hill-like body surged like a living being.
At the same time, Yang Kai disappeared together with the Sealed World Bead.
The moment Mo Duo restored his strength, Yang Kai hid.
Mo Duo quickly swept his house-sized eyes across his surroundings, his gaze penetrating the Void to find traces of Yang Kai’s escape.
Lifting his hand, Mo Duo pulled a hair from his body and held it between his fingers, like he was holding an embroidery needle.
Then, he threw the hair forward, his action looking extremely random.
With a whoosh, the hair pierced the Void and disappeared.
A dull groan rang out from ten kilometres away in the next instant as Yang Kai’s figure stumbled and fell to the ground. His abdomen was pierced by a dark energy that nailed him in place. The dark energy was obviously transformed from Mo Duo’s hair, which possessed an exceptionally mysterious force. Not only could Yang Kai not move his body from where he had been fixed, but it was even difficult for him to focus his mind to think.
*Dong Dong Dong…*
Mo Duo strode forward, seemingly walking very slowly, but was in fact moving with incredible speed.
The distance of ten kilometres took him only three breaths of time to cross, and standing in front of Yang Kai, Mo Duo looked down on him from above like he was looking at an ant and sneered, “You should be proud of yourself for forcing me like this.”
When he first appeared, he only used fifty percent of his strength to deal with Yang Kai, thinking that was more than enough. In that state, the two fought almost on par, forcing Mo Duo to increase his strength to seventy percent. Unexpectedly though, he was outmatched by Yang Kai even in that state. Nevertheless, after restoring himself to his peak, he was finally able to trample over his foe.
“Heh heh,” Yang Kai smiled, looking positively miserable. Staring up at the mountain-like Mo Duo in front of him, he taunted, “You won, what are you going to do now? Kill me? Then do it quickly, otherwise, I’ll be giving you a surprise later.”
Mo Duo’s expression was cold as he lifted a foot and prepared to stomp on Yang Kai.
For an enemy who had caused him so much trouble, this method of death was too easy, but Mo Duo had already wasted too much time on Yang Kai and no longer had the luxury of concocting a torture plan for him. A quick death was the best option here.
The big hoof crashed into the ground, forming a spider web of cracks and ravines.
Mo Duo frowned slightly at that moment and lifted his foot. A huge hoof-print was left on the ground, but there were no traces of blood or mangled flesh.
He also noticed a trace of Space Principles. Clearly, Shaman Niu had escaped again, and this time even more secretively. Mo Duo glanced around and could not detect any trace of him immediately.
Shaking his huge head, Mo Duo stepped forward towards the direction of the Evergreen Divine Tree.
He no longer wanted to waste his attention on that ant-like existence. In addition to the previous heavy injuries, that ant could no longer stop him after being struck by his Divine Ability. At present, the most important thing was to destroy this giant tree.
The huge body as tall as three hundred metres walked towards his target rampantly, and all the creatures that stood in his way became paste under his feet. Whether it was the Barbarians or the Demons, it was all the same for Mo Duo.
He did not walk fast at first, but his momentum built as he moved, and his casual stroll soon became a charge as swift as the wind.
*Dong Dong Dong Dong…*
Just like a war drum, a stomping sound resounded across the battlefield, and everyone’s hearts began beating violently.
Barbarians and Demons retreated promptly wherever Mo Duo passed, none of them daring to block his path as those who died under his feet were good examples of what would happen if they did.
The Shaman Niu Clan had less than eight thousand people left at this point, and at this moment, all of them had gathered around the Evergreen Divine Tree, taking advantage of its strength to resist the attacks of the Demons. On the other side, more than eight hundred thousand Demons were attacking. Without the shelter of the Evergreen Divine Tree, the remainder of the Shaman Niu Clan would have been destroyed with such a huge difference in numbers.
When they saw Mo Duo rushing towards the Evergreen Divine Tree, desperation crept onto the faces of every Barbarian.
The six Demon Kings who were still struggling hard to protect the tree were the first to desert their posts. Although Yang Kai had given strict orders to them to protect this place, they still lacked the courage to confront a Demon Saint, especially an infuriated one.
The Demon Kings fled, but the Barbarians could not escape. The Evergreen Divine Tree was their only hope to seal the Two Worlds Passage, and it was not easy to persist until now, so how could they be willing to just give up halfway like this?
The Shaman Niu Clan’s circle of defence shrank again, and all of them retreated to the roots of the tree.
From every part of the tree trunk, a low cadence was chanted as the Shamans of the Frost and Snow Clan began to display their strength. They had to use the power of Evergreen Divine Tree to withstand Demon Saint Mo Duo’s impending attack.
A layer of emerald green light in the form of a thick light curtain suddenly appeared, shrouding a radius of a thousand metres. All the Demons were impeded by the extremely durable barrier, and even the Secret Techniques of the Demon Generals, Demon Great Generals, and Demon Kings could only produce ripples on it, unable to break through at all.
This gave the Ancient Barbarians a little hope.
But this hope quickly turned into panic.
In the next moment, Mo Duo’s three-hundred-metre-tall body slammed hard against the emerald green light curtain.
With a loud bang, the light curtain shook violently, and the hearts of every Barbarian leapt into their throats. They looked up at the place where Mo Duo had crashed into the light curtain, forgetting to breathe as worries were etched on their faces.
They were afraid that this light curtain would be broken, and once that happened, no one would be able to stop the Demon Saint’s destructive rampage. Once that happened, the Evergreen Divine Tree would be destroyed here and the last glimmer of hope for the Barbarian Race would be extinguished.
The light curtain held in the end, but its vibrancy obviously dimmed by a substantial amount.
The Ancient Barbarians all breathed a sigh of relief at first, but worry soon returned.
The light curtain could withstand Mo Duo once, but could it withstand his attack twice? Or thrice… or even countless times? There would eventually be a moment when Mo Duo broke through the barrier and reached the Divine Tree.
Right under their worried and anxious gazes, Mo Duo took a few steps back, then tilted his head to look at the emerald green light curtain. Pulling back his fist slightly, he released the mighty punch.
*Hong…*
The light curtain oscillated once more, and its glow dimmed again.
Without waiting for the light curtain to stabilize, Mo Duo’s second punch flew out.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
Every time a house-sized fist hit the light curtain, it produced an unparalleled impact that set every Barbarian’s blood rolling, causing a tightness that made it difficult to breathe, as if Mo Duo was not hitting the light curtain, but their own chests.
*Kacha…*
Finally, a crisp sound reached everyone’s ears, and all the Barbarian’s faces changed. A crack could be clearly seen on the light curtain.
Mo Duo grinned silently, as if proud of his masterpiece, and threw a final punch directly at the place where the crack appeared.
Like the shattering of a mirror, the light curtain provided by the Evergreen Divine Tree was destroyed by the Demon Saint’s unrelenting assault and finally collapsed.
Without the protection of the light curtain, all of the Ancient Barbarians were exposed to the Demon Saint’s wrath. No one could stop him. Mo Duo could wipe out all of them with just a breath.
Mo Duo did not pay attention to these ants though. He was a Demon Saint and had no need to care about the life or death of these weaklings. His goal was only the Evergreen Divine Tree. Taking a big step forward, Mo Duo slammed himself directly into the tree.
Amidst all the horrified screams of the Barbarians, a loud crash echoed from the collision of the three-hundred-metre-tall body of the Demon Saint onto the Divine Tree. The Evergreen Divine Tree shook violently, and countless green leaves fell from its canopy, wilting before they even touched the ground.
At the same time, as if struck by lightning, the Frost and Snow Clan Shamans hiding everywhere inside the Evergreen Divine Tree grunted, and more than ten were killed directly.
They had been hiding in the tree trunk, and although they could utilize the power of the Evergreen Divine Tree and also take shelter inside of it, their lives were also closely bound to the life of the Evergreen Divine Tree.
This was the Secret Technique developed by the Frost and Snow Clan after coexisting with Evergreen Divine Tree for tens of thousands of years.
The impact of Mo Duo’s slam was distributed to all parts of the tree, so the Shamans who could not bear the impact naturally died.
Mo Duo was extremely dissatisfied with this attack though as anger crept onto his face. It seemed that he was expecting the results of his attack to do more than just knocking down some leaves.
Before he could attack a second time though, the Frost and Snow Clan counterattacked.
From the top of the tree crown, numerous soft branches that turned into long whips flew out in a volley towards Mo Duo.
Previously, the Shaman Masters of the Frost and Snow Clan relied on this method to help the Shaman Niu Clan hold out against the siege of several hundred thousand Demons, killing and wounding countless enemies in the process.
But such an attack was obviously too weak to work against a Demon Saint. The long whips that seemed to have Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power did not have any effect on him other than to rouse Mo Duo’s ferocity.
Mo Duo extended his hands and grabbed a bunch of the branch whips, yanked on them fiercely, and broke them all cleanly in half. After breaking several dozen of these assaulting branches, Mo Duo grew a little irritated and decided to ignore these attacks and focus on the tree trunk itself.
There was an endless rumbling with every collision as the Evergreen Divine Tree shook more and more wildly. A rain of leaves fell, and more Frost and Snow Clan Shamans perished.
But no matter how hard Mo Duo tried, the Evergreen Divine Tree remained standing, like a grand pillar holding up the Heavens.
Mo Duo was finally furious and stopped slamming himself against the tree, instead choosing to climb up its trunk with his hands and feet while tearing down branches from the trunk as he ascended.
The Shaman Masters of the Frost and Snow Clan were unable to stop his destructive pace, and wherever Mo Duo passed, the Evergreen Divine Tree would be left scarred, with its branches and bark stripped clean.
The Demons nearby watched Mo Duo’s movements before they quickly followed suit, rushing towards the Evergreen Divine Tree. The ones that could fly directly flew, destroying everything that could be destroyed, while those that could not fly climbed the trunk, wreaking havoc on everything in their path.
The guardian deity of the Frost and Snow Clan, the Evergreen Divine Tree, which had lived for tens of thousands of years, was instantly invaded by the Demons, just like countless ants invading a sugar gourd that stood spectacularly and majestically on the ground.
There were many limitations to what the Shamans of the Frost and Snow Clan could do now. Even if they used the power of the Evergreen Divine Tree, they could only sweep away some ordinary Demons, providing some assistance to the remainder of the struggling Shaman Niu Clan below.
To some extent, they had done well enough. Without them, the Shaman Niu Clan would have been annihilated, and the Evergreen Divine Tree would not have been able to grow steadily all this while.
But this was their limit.
Failure was close at hand, and every Ancient Barbarian was devastated.
Yue and Lu, the twins, scanned the battlefield in search of a particular figure. Although they did not think that person was not strong enough to turn the tides of this situation before them, he was still their only hope.
But they could not find the one they sought. That figure never appeared after receiving the last heavy blow and was either dead or hiding somewhere.
The twins would rather believe that he was indeed dead though, as the thought of him deserting them was simply unbearable.
*Guang…*
A loud noise echoed from above at that moment, and with a rustle, as though it was raining bodies, countless upwardly climbing Demons fell down from the Evergreen Divine Tree, its huge trunk suddenly became much cleaner.
Yue and Lu looked up at the familiar sound in shock. Although their vision was obscured by the giant tree crown, they knew that the figure they were looking for had returned.
Yang Kai showed himself in the sky again. His face was as pale as a paper, and he looked like he had almost reached his limits. The Mountains and Rivers Bell had expanded itself into a giant object floating in front of him, constantly sending out an ancient and desolate rhythm. The visible sound waves propagated forth, shaking off countless Demons who were clinging to the Evergreen Divine Tree. The weaker Demons exploded into blood mist before they could reach the ground, while only the stronger Demons had the power to somewhat resist.
But even the Demon Great Generals took serious damage, having blood leak from their seven orifices and becoming dazed and confused. Only the Demon Kings could withstand this assault with great difficulty, but they still had to retreat to the ground to keep a distance from the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
The bell rang more than ten times, clearing all the Demons from the Evergreen Divine Tree.
Only Mo Duo remained, his huge body still ascending rapidly. The sound waves from the Mountains and River Bell hit his flesh, but it could not stop his pace despite causing some visible ripples.
“Bastard, did you come out just to die?” Mo Duo roared, accelerating his pace as his huge eyes stared straight in Yang Kai’s direction through the layers of leaves.
Finally, he overcame all the obstacles and arrived just below the small Barbarian. Mo Duo grinned, and he reached out his hand to grab Yang Kai. Yang Kai did not evade though, or rather could not evade. Every attack of the Demon Saint harmonized with the Heavens and Earth. Although this attack did not seem quick, it was infused with the essence of Mo Duo’s lifetime of cultivation and comprehension of the Grand Dao, making it all but impossible to avoid.
Grasping Yang Kai in his big hand was like catching an insignificant bug, Mo Duo pulled him towards himself and slightly tightened his grip.
The clear sound of cracking reverberated, the sound of bones breaking. Even Yang Kai’s body with his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique failed to resist the brute force of the Demon Saint, especially one in his peak condition.
However, instead of showing a pained expression, Yang Kai looked calm. Mo Duo noticed his abnormal calmness and felt extremely annoyed by it.
“If you still have any other moves, make them now. I’d like to see if you can still stop me!” Mo Duo snorted coldly, each breath forming a gust of wind from his nostrils.
“It’s true that I still have one more move…” Yang Kai smiled faintly at him.
Mo Duo was struck speechless. He did not really expect that this little Barbarian was still hiding a card up his sleeve even now; but soon, he became indifferent. No matter what move his opponent had yet to reveal, it was impossible to have an effect on him, a Demon Saint who had restored his peak strength. Only if Yang Kai could obtain strength on par with his own would it make a difference now.
Mo Duo said no more, and the force of his grip increased sharply, preparing to crush this insolent Barbarian to death.
The sounds of bones breaking grew more intense, but Yang Kai seemed to feel no pain. Suddenly, he stretched out his hand and wiped his thumb across his forehead, whispering with an incredibly solemn expression, “Demon Transformation!”
*Ka Cha…*
A crisp sound was heard, as if something had just been broken.
Mo Duo instinctively felt a sense of dread, which made him very uncomfortable, like something beyond his imagination was about to happen. Demon Saints were particularly sensitive to danger, so he firmly believed in his bout of intuition.
He rapidly increased the force of his hand, but this time, Mo Duo’s face changed greatly. His already huge eyes suddenly widened even more as if he saw something unbelievable.
Inexplicably, there was an unparalleled resistance to his grip. This resistance made Mo Duo feel that it came from the same source as his Demon Qi, but it seemed to be much more ancient, leaving him flabbergasted.
Dark energy suddenly burst from his fingers like paste before gradually condensing back in and exuding a shocking aura.
The right eye of the little Barbarian in his hand suddenly turned pitch-black, like a bottomless abyss that could devour everything in the world.
Mo Duo fell into a trance for a moment as he stared into the pitch-black eye, his very Soul trembling from restlessness.
In the next moment, his face changed drastically and he shouted, “How can you have the aura of the Ancient Demons!?”
He finally understood what this aura pulsing from this small Barbarian was. It was clearly the exceedingly pure Ancient Demon Aura. The Ancient Demons were existences far older than him, the ancestors of the Demon Race and the progenitors of the entire Demon Realm. It was these Ancient Demons who founded the Demon Realm and opened up a space for the survival of all Demons. After thousands of years of reproduction, only then did the current Demon Race come into existence.
The Ancient Demons had not perished though, and even now, there were some Ancient Demons still living in the Demon Realm. Each of the Ancient Demons was an extremely powerful existence, Masters that even the Demon Saints would have to show deference to.
However, although the Ancient Demons were powerful, they had incredibly low sentience. They were like a group of uncivilized beasts that could only depend on natural instincts. Even the Great Demon God could not get them to heed.
In the Demon Realm, the number of surviving Ancient Demons could be counted on one hand, so not to mention the ordinary Demons, even the Demon Saints may not see a living Ancient Demon in their entire lifetime. They all lived in the harshest, most secluded environments, rarely showing their faces.
Mo Duo was lucky to have seen an Ancient Demon once before. At that time, he accidentally broke into the place an Ancient Demon lived, and as a result, he was treated as an invader and was chased for several hundred thousand kilometres. He almost did not survive that experience; therefore, he still remembered the aura of the Ancient Demons clearly.
How could he not be shocked to suddenly see the Demon Qi of an Ancient Demon in this foreign world?
Nevertheless, he finally understood why the Demon Qi from his Demon Heart did not work on this Barbarian, because he had Ancient Demon Qi in his body that could naturally resist the erosion of his Demon Qi.
But… the question was how? How could the Ancient Demon Qi be found in a foreigner?
Yang Kai did not answer, and it was unknown whether he did not want to answer or he did not hear the question. At this moment, he only felt that his Soul was in turmoil. After releasing the gold and silver seal in his Dantian, he immediately felt a power that exceeded his imagination flooding his body vigorously. Thanks to the blessing of this power, Yang Kai could not help feeling a sense of omnipotence, as if he could grasp the Moon and pluck the Stars from the sky just by raising his hand.
While gaining great power, all kinds of evils hidden in his heart were also awakened and magnified, causing Yang Kai to gradually lose his consciousness and sense of reason. His intact left eye quivered violently, rolling rapidly up and down, left and right as if it was out of control, all while his dark right eye remained like an unmoving void, a sharp contrast to his active left eye. It was an especially strange and unnerving sight.
An inexplicably dark aura rose in his Knowledge Sea, one that seemed to have a strong corrosive aura. Everything it passed by turned dim, and the clouds which held Yang Kai’s memories were dyed black, losing their once colourful light.
Yang Kai swiftly hid his Soul Avatar inside the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus Island, trying his best to maintain his last trace of consciousness with the help of this Supreme Treasure.
This was not his first time undergoing the Demon Transformation, but this time was a little different than before. He found that the power he gained was stronger, as if he had gradually adapted to the unsealing of Demon Qi in his body and could unleash its power to a greater extent, but correspondingly, he had to pay a bigger price for it.
This was his last resort, one he did not dare to use without first exhausting all other options, because every time he used the Demon Transformation, he would risk losing his mind and becoming a Demon who would no longer recognize friend or family.
But in the face of the overwhelming force of a Demon Saint, Yang Kai had no choice.
It turned out that his six-metre tall body had grown taller again after the Demon Transformation. The growth forced open Mo Duo’s palm, and Yang Kai continued growing until he was ten metres tall, the short horns on his head also growing longer.
Then, a certain phenomenon left Yang Kai pleasantly surprised.
It seemed that the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique had some slight restraining effect on his Demon Transformation. Although his Knowledge Sea was in chaos now, he could still maintain his consciousness. This was not only the credit of the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, but rather a joint effect of it and his Dragon Transformation.
Yang Kai did not understand how this happened, but he guessed that it was related to his Golden Divine Dragon Source.
His Dragon Transformation was a Secret Technique that drew out the latent power of his Golden Divine Dragon Source, and so far, Yang Kai had probably only managed to tap less than a single percent of this Source Strength. If he could fully utilize the Golden Divine Dragon Source, perhaps he could really transform into a True Dragon and swim through the universe freely as an overlord, instead of only becoming a ten metre tall Half-Dragon hybrid like his current situation.
The Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength was incredibly overbearing and tyrannical, while the Ancient Demon Qi was extremely corrosive. The two were clearly opposites in nature, but now that they coexisted in Yang Kai’s body and were unleashed at the same time, they actually ended up mutually reinforcing and restraining one another.
Yang Kai thirsted for power, and the Ancient Demon Qi could provide what he wanted, which manifested through his Demon Transformation, but he did not want to lose his mind in the process, so his Dragon Transformation and Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus protected his last trace of sentience in his Knowledge Sea.
Excruciating pain filled every inch of Yang Kai’s body, as if he was broken into a million pieces and then was smashed back together. This was not only the reformation of his flesh and bones, but also his organs and viscera.
Such pain would be unbearable to anyone.
But Yang Kai, who actually remained sober and conscious the whole time, felt pain that was ten to twenty times stronger than usual, far exceeding his tolerance limit.
He screamed to the sky, his body trembling violently, as his left eye flickered even more wildly.
Mo Duo’s face changed even more drastically as he found that no matter how hard he tried, he could not close the grip of his hand again to crush this previously insignificant bug.
This foreigner suddenly gained enough strength to compete with him.
Mo Duo could not accept such an outcome.
He nailed his feet firmly in place to stabilize himself, then stretched out his other hand to crush Yang Kai’s head with a maddened face.
Yang Kai’s screams suddenly stopped at that moment, while the cracking sounds from his body came to a stop.
At this moment, he had been completely wrapped in a mass of black Qi and his figure could no longer be seen clearly, but the strangest thing was that the darkness in his right eye was still clear and prominent, an almost incomprehensible phenomenon.
“The Ancient Demon’s eye!” Mo Duo finally identified the particularity of this eye with utter shock.
The Ancient Demons in the Demon Realm came in different forms and sizes, but all of them possessed unrivalled strength.
Mo Duo was aware of a certain one-eyed Ancient Demon, who was as huge as a mountain and could unleash an incredible Divine Ability.
He could not help recalling all kinds of memories about the Ancient Demons when he saw the abnormality in Yang Kai’s right eye.
His heart jumped and he secretly prayed that his guess was wrong, because if it was true, this foreigner might really be able to compete with him.
“Black Eye Purgatory, Infinite Darkness!”
Mo Duo’s heart sank at the words that came from the foreigner’s mouth. At the same time, the whole world instantly turned black. The clouds above his head disappeared, the surrounding colourful scenery vanished in darkness.
A huge eye hovered high in the dark sky, and it was the only thing that could be seen clearly in this void. But rather than being seen, this Black Eye was felt. In this extremely dark environment, every living being could clearly feel the presence of the huge eye, like a dark moon hanging high in the sky, overlooking all things in the world.
All the Demons involuntarily stopped their actions and looked up in the direction of the eye. Panic, followed by awe and worship filled their faces, including the faces of the Demon Kings. They suddenly became stupefied, forgetting what they were doing, and displaying pious looks at the huge eye like any other ordinary Demon.
The huge eye hanging in the sky seemed to have turned the world into a cage, and all the Demons imprisoned in it had lost themselves.
Mo Duo was appalled because the thing that he dreaded the most was really happening.
The eye indeed belonged to the Ancient Demon he knew, and this so-called Black Eye Purgatory was the Innate Divine Ability of that one-eyed Ancient Demon.
[Did this foreigner obtain the one Black Eye of the Ancient Demon? How did he get it? How could he integrate it into his body? Since they merged, why was he not assimilated by it?]
All kinds of questions spun in Mo Duo’s mind, but he could not find a reasonable explanation.
Just then, Yang Kai’s attack arrived.
The huge eye hanging in the sky suddenly blinked, and a dark light was fired from above, striking Mo Duo’s head directly, catching him off guard.
Mo Duo’s expression was blank. Even though he was a Demon Saint, he could not help having hallucinations after being hit by such an attack. It was as if he had returned to his bedroom in the Demon Realm, enjoying a comfortable life, away from all the disputes and killings. Such a life calmed his bloodlust and dulled his fighting spirit.
The grip of his big hand loosened a little, and Yang Kai took the opportunity to jump out of it.
However, Mo Duo was a Demon Saint in the end. Although he was affected by the Black Eye, it only took a moment for him to dispel this illusion and without hesitation, he sent a deadly palm at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai reached out his hand to the emptiness and summoned a War Hammer into his grasp.
He ignored the attack from Mo Duo, raised the War Hammer, and swung it down hard on his enemy’s head.
With a loud bang, the two landed their attacks on each other at the same time. Yang Kai’s ten-metre-tall body was slapped away by Mo Duo like a rag sack, while Mo Duo’s forehead bled from the heavy slam of the Demonic War Hammer. The huge force penetrated into his head and through his body, crumbling his climbing posture. Mo Duo’s gigantic body fell downwards like a meteorite towards the ground.
The Demons on the ground who had lost themselves in blind worship to the Black Eye in the sky were crushed beneath Mo Duo’s body, resulting in large casualties.
Mo Duo stood up, shaking his head. The blood on his forehead blurred his vision, but his expression became ferocious. He closed his eyes to resist the coercive power of the Black Eye in the sky and searched for Yang Kai in the dark.
Yang Kai did not even try to hide though. His nature had changed drastically after the Demon Transformation, and even though his Dragon Transformation and Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus were protecting his Soul, the release of the Ancient Demon Qi and the use of this Innate Divine Ability still caused a great impact on him.
His desire to kill was magnified many times over and he now only had one goal, to slaughter the three-hundred-metre-tall Demon Saint! To achieve this goal, he was willing to pay any price.
After being slapped away by Mo Duo, Yang Kai quickly stabilized his body and rushed towards his foe with the Demonic War Hammer held up high. He subconsciously used his Space Principles and appeared directly in front of Mo Duo.
Mo Duo was naturally able to react to such an obvious attack and raised his fist to punch forward.
The Demonic War Hammer collided with the gigantic fist and a violent explosion spread out, shattering the local space and instantly killing all the nearby Demons.
Mo Duo’s fist bones cracked, while Yang Kai rebounded backwards, spewing blood, looking utterly helpless.
However, he did not seem to have any perception of pain, and after stabilizing his stance, he pounced at Mo Duo again.
For a moment, the two clashed violently with each other, exchanging head-on attacks in the intense battle.
Mo Duo’s gigantic body had the upper hand at this moment, and although Yang Kai could cause him some injuries each time, these injuries did not have much impact on him for he had the excellent physical qualities of a Demon Saint. On the contrary, Yang Kai was exposed to Mo Duo’s storm of counterattacks each time they clashed, sending him flying out again and again.
But at this moment, Yang Kai was like an immortal cockroach. Even if he fell into a great disadvantage, he fought on against Mo Duo, refusing to give in as he maintained the Black Eye Purgatory.
The fallout of their battle brought bad luck to the Demons.
Up to a million Demons had gathered below the Evergreen Divine Tree, and Yang Kai had enveloped all of them when he used his Black Eye Purgatory. In the face of the Ancient Demon’s Black Eye, all other Demons fell into trances and kept worshipping without knowing to retreat or dodge all the incoming disasters.
Many collapsed from the aftermath of the battle, and in just a stick worth of incense, half of the million Demons were either critically injured or killed. The ground flooded with blood and corpses piled up like mountains, making for a gruesome scene.
Mo Duo was already maddened as he watched the giant tree grow continuously but was unable to stop it. He had never been this furious before.
If possible, he did not want to bother with Yang Kai as he had only one goal, which was to destroy the Evergreen Divine Tree and stop it from sealing the Two Worlds Passage. Before Yang Kai used his Demon Transformation, Mo Duo never thought that this task would give him any difficulty. The giant tree had barely any offensive power and could only grow, so Mo Duo assumed he could destroy it easily; however, after Yang Kai’s Demon Transformation, he found that this was now almost an impossible task.
Only if Mo Duo could kill this foreigner named Shaman Niu first would he be free to destroy the strange tree, but if he could do that, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until now?
Exchanging another ten moves, Mo Duo gained various sized wounds on his body before managing to swat Yang Kai away and take an opportunity to look up, his face darkening in the next instant.
Because he found that after such a long delay, the giant tree was just about to reach the top of the Two Worlds Passage, blocking it completely. According to the growth rate of the giant tree, it would probably be able to successfully seal the passage as long as it was given another half a stick worth of incense.
Mo Duo roared, ignored Yang Kai’s interference, and took a big step towards the Evergreen Divine Tree, leaping over a thousand metres through the air as he crashed towards it.
Mo Duo’s giant body was unimaginably agile and flexible, so with this one leap, he managed to firmly grasp the trunk and scramble up it again.
Before he could advance much though, Yang Kai appeared on top of him like a ghost.
He furiously smashed Mo Duo’s head with the Demonic War Hammer that was enveloped in rich Ancient Demon Qi and permeated a world-destroying aura.
Mo Duo’s face changed slightly as he raised his hand to block this blow.
The hammer struck and broke bone, causing Mo Duo’s gigantic body to stagger for a moment and almost fall, but he refused to let go as he put his all into maintaining his own stability.
Yang Kai was relentless though as he smashed down with the hammer for the second time, followed by a third time, then a fourth time…
*Hong hong hong hong…*
Mo Duo was beaten like a sandbag, completely losing all dignity as a Demon Saint. The arm blocking his head had long been deformed, the bones inside shattered, leaving only a limp mass of bloodied flesh.
He finally could not endure any more and was smashed down from the tree by Yang Kai.
During the fall, however, Mo Duo grinned.
Because in the sky, another Mo Duo appeared out of nowhere. Although he was not three hundred metres tall, he was still several dozens of metres tall. It was obviously his Soul Clone.
No one knew when Mo Duo separated a Soul Clone, and even Yang Kai was unaware of it until now. After using his Demon Transformation, Yang Kai’s senses and awareness were greatly dulled, because he had only one goal in his mind, making his response to other things extremely weak.
Mo Duo took advantage of this and easily sent his Soul Clone out.
At this moment, the Soul Clone stood in front of the Black Eye that was hanging in the sky, his hands intertwining into various Seals while he chanted incoherent words, his body releasing an exceptionally profound and mysterious aura.
By the looks of it, it was obvious that the Soul Clone had maintained this state for some time and was just about to finish whatever it was trying to do.
Mo Duo’s Soul Clone suddenly stopped and raised his arms to palm at the Black Eye.
A spark of radiance suddenly appeared on the Black Eye, and as if it had a strong infectious power, rapidly spread, soon occupying half of the Black Eye in a flash. Furthermore, this radiance showed no signs of slowing its advance.
Yang Kai finally noticed something was amiss and stopped in mid-air to turn and look at the Black Eye.
Then, he roared and rushed upwards, seemingly wanting to stop the spread of the repugnant radiance.
But it was too late. When the radiance covered the Black Eye, the whole world regained its light again, and the darkness was broken. At that moment, Yang Kai, who had been soaring upwards, let out a shrill scream, as if he was struck by lightning. Copious amounts of blood seeped from his right eye as his whole body fell straight to the ground, smashing a giant pit where it landed.