The two Great Moon Province disciples slowly shook their heads, looking worried.
There was no way they wouldn’t be worried. Meng Hong was absorbing a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire, and if he made even the slightest mistake, he would be consigned to a fiery damnation. Due to this, their hatred for Chen Yue only grew deeper. Their Eldest Senior Brother wouldn’t have suffered such a blow if it weren’t for her.
“He won’t finish so quickly,” the nearby Yue He interjected, “It’s only been a few days, how can there be any results? The speed at which one condenses their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements has a lot to do with their aptitude. It could take from ten days to half a month, or up to a year or more. You’ve also condensed a few Elements, so you should have… some experience…”
Saying so, Yue He’s beautiful eyes suddenly shrank as if she recalled something. Furthermore, she was staring at Yang Kai with a look of shock on her face.
Yang Kai had only spent about twenty days condensing what she imagined to be a Seventh-Order Earth Element Power back on Hidden Dragon Mountain. This speed was simply terrifying. When she was condensing her Fifth-Order Elements, the shortest amount of time she had taken was half a month, while the longest she spent was just over three months.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had condensed a Seventh-Order Element in just twenty days. Just how terrifying was his aptitude and foundation?
Yang Kai, on the other hand, didn’t notice her thoughts. He was thinking about the time when he was gathering his Elements and felt she had a point.
He then ordered the two Great Moon Province disciples, “Keep an eye on him at all times. If anything happens, inform me immediately.”
“Yes, Senior Brother Yang!” The two Great Moon Province disciples cupped their fists and gave a nod.
Yang Kai then returned to his room while Yue He followed closely behind him.
Yang Kai had also slowly gotten used to her presence and wasn’t worried too much about her. He then took out his gains from his trip to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain and started taking inventory.
Yang Kai’s harvest from the underground cavern of the Yuan Magnetic Mountain wasn’t small. He had not collected any Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones below the Third-Order, but had obtained more than 100 Fourth-Order, 30 Fifth-Order, and 4 Sixth-Order Divine Stones. Just this alone was worth more than 100 million Open Heaven Pills.
Yue He, Guo Zi Yan, and the others’ harvests were even greater. After all, they had more people with them.
Furthermore, Yang Kai also blocked the tunnel entrance and robbed everyone, collecting a total of 18 more Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones. This was a terrifying amount, enough to even arouse the jealousy of the Cave Heavens and Paradises!
Only in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could one obtain such a terrifying harvest. In the 3,000 Worlds, one would never have such an opportunity.
Putting aside the Third-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, Yang Kai had obtained a total of 245 Fourth-Order, 73 Fifth-Order, and a whopping 26 Sixth-Order Divine Stones!
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones before Yang Kai were worth nearly 600 million Open Heaven Pills even at base market price!
But if Yang Kai really sold them, he would definitely gain far more than that.
He had suddenly become rich overnight!
Moreover, these kinds of precious treasures were highly coveted, so everyone would be interested in them no matter where he sold them. Moreover, it would attract a lot of attention.
“Young Master, you’ve struck it rich!” Yue He also smiled until her eyes curved into crescents. She was as happy with Yang Kai’s gains as if it was her own harvest.
Yang Kai was also in a good mood and all the depression from not being able to find a Seventh-Order Divine Stone was swept away as he burst into laughter, “It’s not bad.”
Yue He covered her mouth and giggled cutely, “If Young Master succeeds in the future, don’t forget those who led and saddled your horse.”
Yang Kai waved his hand generously, “Don’t worry, in the future, as long as I have something to eat, I won’t let you starve.”
Yue He’s beautiful eyes sparkled, “Then I’ll thank Young Master in advance.”
Yang Kai put away all the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones and took out the Fated Paths Bag. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones’ price could be calculated, but the value of this bag of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light could not be estimated so easily.
Its power was immense and unpredictable and few people in this world could resist it. At the very least, no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could!
However, although he had collected a lot of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light in the Six Fated Paths Bag, Yang Kai was still somewhat worried about how to use it.
Normally, a cultivator could use this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to refine their Metal Element, and if they succeeded, its Order would definitely be Sixth-Order. However, there was probably no cultivator in this world who had the ability to absorb this kind of condensed Yuan Magnetic Divine Light into their Dao Seal. If they really tried to do so, it wouldn’t be long before their Dao shattered, crippling or killing them in the process.
“Do you have any good suggestions?” Yang Kai turned to look at Yue He. Although she was somewhat crazy, she was still a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. In terms of experience, Yang Kai couldn’t compare to her.
Yue He frowned and pondered for a long time before slowly shaking her head, “I can’t think of anything.”
Although she had previously advised Yang Kai first to collect the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light and think of a way to use it in the future, she didn’t have any good ideas in the end. Instead, she wanted Yang Kai to absorb this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. With how freely Yang Kai was able to move in the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light before, she felt he should be able to do so.
However, saying these words would only invite ridicule, so there was no need to verbalize them.
Yang Kai was also at a loss as to what to do. Obtaining good things but not being able to use them really made him feel helpless. Moreover, if he didn’t quickly find a way to transfer the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light from the Fated Paths Bag to another storage vessel, he wouldn’t be able to use the Fated Paths Bag for himself.
He couldn’t possibly open the Fated Paths Bag and release the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light whenever he ran into an enemy, could he?
It wasn’t like it was impossible to do this, but if he really did so, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light would only last a few times before it was completely used up. It would simply be too wasteful.
The two of them looked at each other helplessly.
After a long time, Yang Kai finally gave up thinking about it. In the future, he could only release the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light when facing powerful enemies. If it was a waste, so be it. He couldn’t be too worried about it.
After telling Yue He to withdraw, Yang Kai entered retreat to comprehend the mysteries of his Wood and Fire Elements.
As the days passed, the news from the Yuan Magnetic Mountain gradually became more widespread.
The news of Yang Kai killing a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master while only being an Emperor Realm cultivator spread like wildfire, and many people were unwilling to believe it; after all, such a thing was simply too bizarre. Even in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Open Heaven Realm Masters had the foundation of the Open Heaven Realm, so how could they be so easy to kill? Not to mention killing one in a single blow. Unless it was a sneak attack, such a feat should be impossible.
But at that time, many people had witnessed it with their own eyes, so everyone became a little suspicious and a little convinced.
Coupled with the fact that Yang Kai had later robbed so many cultivators below the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, relying on the power of his two Ominous Beasts and the power of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, forcing thousands of people to lower their heads and accept humiliation before being plundered by him. Yang Kai’s name quickly spread throughout the entire Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and completely caught the eye of the various forces, making him famous!
With some people fanning the flames, almost half of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary cultivators knew that the best Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain had basically all fallen into Yang Kai’s pocket, especially the Sixth-Order ones.
Rumour had it that in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, Yang Kai had obtained more than a hundred Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, and countless Fourth or Fifth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones.
Many people had never heard of Yang Kai’s name before, but after asking around, they easily found out that he was the new Sixth Manager of Scarlet Star.
For a time, countless eyes were focused on the Star City controlled by Scarlet Star. Every day, cultivators would rush over from all directions and in a flash, the Star City was raging like a storm as it was filled with people.
In the teahouses and restaurants around Yang Kai’s mansion, many eyes were paying close attention to even the slightest of movements.
People would even visit the mansion and report their names one after another.
The servants guarding the door had never seen such a scene before, so they quickly went to report, but since they couldn’t find Yang Kai, they could only look for Yue He. After receiving a few waves of cultivators, Yue He became quite annoyed.
These people had all heard that Yang Kai had obtained so many good things, so they had all rushed over to try to establish a good relationship with him. Each of them claimed to be extremely powerful and wanted to join Yang Kai’s forces. Those who knew their own limits only wanted a single Fifth-Order Divine Stone, while some braggarts demanded a Sixth-Order Divine Stone in exchange for their loyalty.
One or two was one thing, but every day there would be droves of people who came over to tout their own invincibility.
In a fit of anger, Yue He broke a man’s leg and threw him out the door, making the mansion much quieter.
..…
Inside a large hall, several figures were sitting quietly, each of them exuding a profound aura.
Other than the mysterious Head Manager, who was like a hidden dragon who showed his tail but never his face, the four remaining original Managers of Scarlet Star were gathered here.
Strictly speaking, Chen Tian Fei, Lady Qin, Bei Yu Shan, and the Ou Yang Brothers were five people, but as the Ou Yang Brothers always worked and voted together, they could be regarded as one Manager.
Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong had been killed by Yang Kai and had died in this very hall. Although it had been several days since that incident, the hall still had a lingering scent of blood to it.
On a special chair, Chen Tian Fei sat like a mountain of meat. There was so much fat on his face that even his eyes were barely visible.
Lady Qin gently plucked the strings of the ancient zither in front of her. The chime of the zither slowly rang in everyone’s ears. Everyone felt like an invisible hand had stroked their hearts, causing them to relax unconsciously.
Chen Tian Fei coughed dryly and asked, “I’m sure everyone has experienced the recent changes in the Star City?”
Bei Yu Shan muttered, “It’s bustling with activity.”
“That’s right, many people have entered the Star City,” Chen Tian Fei grinned meaningfully, “They’re all here for our Sixth Manager. I just don’t understand, does that brat not understand the principle of not revealing his wealth to the world?”
Ou Yang Bing added, “I didn’t believe the rumours at first, but recently I have had no choice but to believe them. If I had known earlier, I would have gone to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain to take a look.”
Chen Tian Fei stated, “It’s too late to regret now, everything has already entered his pocket.”
Ou Yang Lie demanded, “He is Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager. Since he has obtained such a rich harvest, he should at least hand over a portion of it, so why hasn’t there been any movement since he returned?”
Chen Tian Fei turned his head and glanced at him, “How about Manager Ou Yang go and ask him for his treasures then?”
Ou Yang Lie’s expression froze. How could he dare to make such a demand? He had personally witnessed Yang Kai killing Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong that day. Those two had not even lasted ten breaths in front of Yang Kai, so even if the two brothers joined forces, they would not be Yang Kai’s match.
Chen Tian Fei looked at him for a moment before clearing his throat and speaking, “Let’s not talk about how much Sixth Manager has gained, the important point is that he has offended many people at the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. Thunder Light’s Manager Zhu personally came to me and told me that he killed some two hundred of their Thunder Light disciples. Even Bie Jian tragically lost his life at Sixth Manager’s hands. Manager Zhu demanded Scarlet Star give them an explanation.”
“Thunder Light wants my Scarlet Star to give them an explanation?” Ou Yang Bing raised his brow.
“Give an explanation my ass!” Bei Yu Shan shouted angrily, “In the past, Scarlet Star and Thunder Light clashed many times, and thousands of our Scarlet Star’s members died at their hands, so why haven’t they come to give us an explanation for that? If you ask me, the Sixth Manager did a good job this time. This Old Master found that brat Bie Jian to be extremely annoying, but I just couldn’t find an opportunity to kill him! I’ll go and offer the Sixth Manager a toast later!”
Chen Tian Fei’s brow twitched.
On the other side, Lady Qin pressed down on the strings of her zither and asked, “What did the Head Manager say?”
Chen Tian Fei slowly shook his head, “Head Manager didn’t say anything.”
“He doesn’t care?” Ou Yang Lie asked.
Chen Tian Fei added, “We can ignore Thunder Light, but we need to be wary of Sword Pavilion.”
Bei Yu Shan was stunned and asked, “What does this have to do with Sword Pavilion?” Bei Yu Shan was quite tall and muscular, and his personality was quite straightforward too. He had been cultivating in seclusion for the past few days, so he didn’t know much about the outside world. If it weren’t for Chen Tian Fei summoning him, he wouldn’t have come out either.
Lady Qin softly replied, “I heard that Sword Pavilion lost several dozen disciples on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain because of our Sixth Manager, and that even their Sword Formation was broken. Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun, and Lu Xue escaped with heavy injuries and nearly lost their lives there!”
Bei Yu Shan’s eyes bulged as he asked wind incredulity, “Even that old bastard Zhong Fan was seriously injured? Was this also the handiwork of our Sixth Manager?”
As a Manager of Scarlet Star, how could Bei Yu Shan not know how terrifying Sword Pavilion was? Luo Qing Yun and Lu Xue were both Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but Zhong Fan was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
Chen Tian Fei waved it off in denial and replied, “He didn’t take action personally, but this matter is directly related to him. It can even be said that the deaths of those Sword Pavilion disciples were all caused by Sixth Manager.”
“Did Sword Pavilion also send someone over to talk to us?” Lady Qin furrowed her brow. Just as Chen Tian Fei had said, Scarlet Star was not afraid of Thunder Light, but if they could avoid provoking Sword Pavilion, it was best to do so. After spending so many years together in the Star City, even they weren’t clear about the true extent of Sword Pavilion’s foundation.
“If Sword Pavilion had sent someone over, it would’ve been far better!” Chen Tian Fei sighed heavily, “Unfortunately, they didn’t.”
When Lady Qin and the others heard this, they couldn’t help but frown as a worried look blanketed everyone’s face.
“You also know how crazy those Sword Cultivators can be,” Chen Tian Fei added with a frown, “Sixth Manager used Scarlet Star’s name to provoke so many people on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain that now they are mortal enemies of our Scarlet Star. There’s no way this matter can be resolved peacefully. These past few days, my eyelids have been twitching violently, like a storm is brewing.”
“Sword Pavilion will never let this matter rest,” Lady Qin slowly shook her head.
Ou Yang Lie added, “This matter is difficult to handle. If it was just an injury, it would have been fine, but the key is that many people have died. Moreover, the Starfall Sword Formation is the foundation of Sword Pavilion. If this Sword Formation was broken, it would be equivalent to slapping Sword Pavilion’s face. Sword Pavilion will definitely not let this go.”
Ou Yang Bing continued, “Pass down the order, tell everyone to be extra cautious, especially of Sword Pavilion disciples. Stay as far away from them as possible. It’s best not to have any contact with them.”
Chen Tian Fei heaved a sigh, “I think so too. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have let that Yang bastard become the Sixth Manager. In just a few days, he has caused my Scarlet Star’s enemies to multiply several-fold! How can my Scarlet Star maintain its position in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in the future? Hateful!”
“What’s the point of regretting after the fact? When he killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong, who would dare say no?”
These words made sense. If they hadn’t agreed to Yang Kai joining Scarlet Star, Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong would not have been the only ones to die that day.
However, thinking about the current situation, Chen Tian Fei’s mouth was filled with bitterness as if he swallowed a mouthful of bitter gourd! In his heart, he decided that he would pay a visit to Yang Kai later and ask him to restrain himself a little in the future. Scarlet Star could not afford to make more enemies. If he were to incur public anger again, it would be difficult for him to continue living in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
After dispersing, Chen Tian Fei immediately rushed to Yang Kai’s mansion. Even all the fat on his body failed to stop him from moving quickly.
Soon, he arrived in front of Yang Kai’s mansion and couldn’t help frowning. With his Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation, he could naturally perceive everything within a few thousand metres. Everyone’s eyes were glued on Yang Kai’s mansion, knowing that beyond the walls there were dozens of Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones. Since Yang Kai had taken all the most precious treasures in the entire Yuan Magnetic Mountain, who wouldn’t be jealous?
Even Chen Tian Fei felt jealous.
Some people were standing in front of the mansion. It was a group of people led by a Young Lord, who looked pretty arrogant. His nose was pointed straight towards the sky, giving the impression that he was second to only the Heavens themselves.
A guard-like cultivator shouted, “Call your Master out!”
Inside the main entrance, Chen Yue’s pretty face turned pale as she weakly asked, looking at this group of fierce-looking people, “Is there something I can help you with?”
Over the past few days, many people had come to visit Yang Kai. Each of them was scheming something, but after Yue He broke the legs of one of them and tossed him out in a fit of rage, it had become much quieter.
Surprisingly though, someone was here today, and the person who had come was far more aggressive than anyone before. What’s more, the person who had spoken just now clearly exuded the aura of an Open Heaven Realm Master.
Chen Yue had never seen someone like him and was momentarily at a loss.
The guard replied, “Whether we want something or not is of no relevance to a mere servant. Now call your Master out.”
Although Chen Yue was somewhat scheming to climb up the social ladder and had some strength of her own, her worldly experience was lacking. At this moment, she couldn’t tell this group’s origins, so after informing him to wait a moment, she hurriedly went in to find Yue He.
She didn’t know that Yang Kai was in a retreat or that she couldn’t meet him face to face. After what had happened with Zhao Xing Chen, she was already thankful that she was still here, so how could she have the courage to see Yang Kai?
Yue He was currently doing her makeup in front of her mirror when she heard about the commotion. Her pretty face immediately turned gloomy as she snarled, “How annoying!”
Throwing down her tools, she angrily stated, “Let’s go see what kind of cat or dog it is!” She then lifted her long dress and walked out.
When they arrived at the door, Yue He frowned slightly.
Yue He’s eyesight wasn’t good enough to tell the opposite party’s details exactly, but as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she could tell at a glance that this person’s identity was quite extraordinary. After all, how could someone who could use an Open Heaven Realm Master as a guard be just an ordinary person?
Although she was facing two Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the opposite side, Yue He’s own strength was extraordinary, so she wasn’t too afraid of them.
“Who are you?” Yue He looked at the leading guard and asked, glancing towards the Young Lord behind.
Previously, when Chen Yue was speaking, this Young Lord’s nose was pointed up in the air. He didn’t even spare Chen Yue a glance, but when Yue He walked out, this Young Lord’s eyes actually lit up as he swept Yue He from head to toe, even clicking his tongue in delight. He looked extremely happy.
Yue He coldly snorted in her heart, but her expression remained unchanged.
Before the guard could speak, the Young Lord asked, “Are you the Master of this place? Wasn’t it a man?”
Yue He pursed her lips and smiled, “My Young Master is currently in seclusion, so he can’t come out to receive guests!”
“Young Master?” The Young Lord was shocked and looked at Yue He suspiciously, “Then you are…”
“Of course, I am the Young Master’s maid!”
When the Young Lord heard this, he immediately showed a pained look and shook his head, “What a waste, what a waste of a great beauty!”
This beautiful woman in front of him was actually someone else’s maid. He was afraid she had been defiled countless times, causing him a great deal of pain; however, after thinking about it, even if that was the case, what did it matter? He was just looking for some fun, not a wife. If he was unhappy in the future, he could just throw her away. He immediately smiled and made an offer, “Young Lady, do you want to abandon your Young Master and follow me? If you are willing to follow this Young Master, this Young Master can guarantee that you will leave this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary safely and have a bright future!”
As soon as these words came out, Yue He was still smiling, but the guard who had spoken earlier had a change in expression. They immediately approached the Young Lord and whispered, “Young Master, it’s best to not provoke her.”
“Why?” The Young Lord was puzzled.
The guard replied, “This humble subordinate observed her aura and found that she is a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master!” He couldn’t see Yue He’s exact cultivation, but he could not be mistaken.
“How is that possible?” The Young Lord was also shocked. No matter how indolent he was, he knew what being a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master meant. He couldn’t believe it because Yue He had just claimed that she was a maid!
Who could possibly use a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master as a maid? Even he only had two Second-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators as servants. How could the owner of this mansion be more powerful and prestigious than him?
The guard slowly shook his head, his expression solemn.
The Young Lord sneered, “So what if she’s a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master? Does she dare to hit me?” Although he said so, he no longer dared to look at Yue He so wantonly.
The guard turned his head and cupped his fist, adding, “Young Lady, please forgive us. We come from Azure Nether Paradise. I believe Young Lady has heard of it.”
“Azure Nether Paradise!” Yue He’s expression became serious. She had naturally heard of it. The 3,000 Worlds were ruled by 36 Cave-Heavens and 72 Paradises. Anyone who dared to attach ‘Paradise’ to their name must be one of the 72. Ordinary people could not afford to provoke them.
She had long seen that this group of people had some kind of background, but she hadn’t expected them to be from Azure Nether Paradise. Moreover, with two Open Heaven Realm Masters as guards, this young man’s status in the Azure Nether Paradise surely wasn’t too bad.
“So everyone is from Azure Nether Paradise. What brings you here?”
The Second-Order Open Heaven Realm guard replied, “It’s like this, my Young Lord is a great appreciator of talents. After hearing that the Master of this place is quite strong, he wanted to take him under his wing.”
“That’s right!” The Young Lord nodded and stated, “In this world, it’s easy to obtain a thousand gold coins, but it’s hard to find a true talent. This Young Master has taken a fancy to your Young Master. Please ask him to come out to see me. As long as he follows this Young Master in the future, once he leaves the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it won’t be a problem to bring him into Azure Nether Paradise.”
He wore a proud expression, believing that no one would refuse such a condition.
On the other hand, Yue He’s expression was extremely strange. Yang Kai was a Heaven-gifted genius, but now someone wanted to take him under their wing? Yue He had never seen such a shameless person in her life.
If it were anyone else, she would have broken their legs and driven them away right then and there, but these people in front of her were from Azure Nether Paradise, so Yue He couldn’t do anything to them. If she caused trouble for Yang Kai, it would be a disaster once they left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
“My Young Master is currently in retreat, why don’t you all go back for now and come when he exits?” Yue He suggested.
The young man, however, simply demanded, “Just call him out.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Yue He slowly shook her head.
The young man lashed out angrily, “Why is it not possible? It is his honour that this Young Master personally came to see him, he should appreciate it and give me face!”
Yue He sneered lightly as she gradually lost her patience. She was afraid of Azure Nether Paradise, not this pompous Young Master in front of her, so how could she take his threats seriously? This boy had repeatedly spoken rudely. If he really angered her, she wasn’t afraid of beating him up either.
The guard who had just spoken leaned forward and whispered something into the young man’s ear. The young man’s brow wrinkled, and his expression became gloomy for a moment before he spoke with a look of displeasure, “Fine, this Young Master will stay in the largest inn here. When your Young Master comes out of seclusion, call him over to see me immediately.”
Yue He nodded lightly, “Of course.”
The young man glanced at Yue He again, slowly shaking his head and sighing as he finally left.
Yue He turned her head and looked towards the distance, greeting with a smile, “Manager Chen, you’re here too!”
Chen Tian Fei was standing not far away and had not concealed his whereabouts. Naturally, Yue He would not fail to spot him.
Chen Tian Fei squinted as all his fat stacked up on his face squeezed together, leaving just two slight gaps where his eyes should be. His extremely stout body moved as he made his way to the entrance of the mansion before he cupped his fist and greeted in return, “Seventh Manager.”
He turned his head towards the young man, and asked, “Who was that?”
Yue He replied, “They claim to be from Azure Nether Paradise, but who knows whether it’s true or false?”
Chen Tian Fei added with a nod, “For a mere Emperor Realm Junior to be able to obtain two Open Heaven Realm Masters as guards, even if he isn’t from Azure Nether Paradise, his background must be quite astounding. What were they here for?”
Yue He covered her mouth, giggling, “He said he fancied my Young Master and wanted to take him under his wing. Don’t you think it’s funny?”
Chen Tian Fei chuckled and agreed, “He’s really overestimating himself.”
How could a freak like Yang Kai submit to someone else, especially in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? Having personally witnessed Yang Kai’s might, Chen Tian Fei felt that there was probably no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary who could match him unless they fought with numbers or arranged powerful Arrays beforehand.
Chen Tian Fei thus changed the subject, asking, “Where is Sixth Manager?”
“Manager Chen is also here for Young Master?” Yue He wore a regretful expression, “Unfortunately, Young Master happens to be in retreat.”
Chen Tian Fei was stunned for a moment, thinking that Yang Kai had just returned from the Yuan Magnetic Mountain not long ago, so how could he have gone into retreat. Still, he nodded in understanding before saying, “Then I’ll say what I was going to tell him to you, Seventh Manager.”
Yue He invited, “Come in, let’s talk inside.”
At the end of the day, they were both members of Scarlet Star, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to keep him outside. Furthermore, Yue He also wanted to know what Chen Tian Fei’s intentions were.
After inviting him into the guest hall, Chen Yue served tea. Chen Tian Fei didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
Yang Kai’s actions on Yuan Magnetic Mountain brought a lot of pressure to Scarlet Star. Thunder Light had already sent people to condemn him, demanding an explanation, otherwise they would take matters into their own hands. Chen Tian Fei also informed Yue He about how terrifying Sword Pavilion was in detail.
He spoke for a very long time, but in summary, he wanted Yang Kai to exercise some caution and restraint when he went out in the future. Yang Kai shouldn’t show off too much. Since he was the Sixth Manager of Scarlet Star, he should always consider things from Scarlet Star’s perspective.
Yue He naturally played along and said that she would pass on the message when Yang Kai came out.
Since he couldn’t meet Yang Kai, Chen Tian Fei had no choice but to leave.
After sending off Chen Tian Fei, Yue He turned around and warned Chen Yue that if anyone came knocking again, no matter who it was, they should not be entertained! Chen Yue repeatedly nodded.
Inside his cultivation room, Yang Kai’s consciousness was immersed in his Dao Seal, comprehending the mysteries of his Wood and Fire Element Powers.
The vitality of Wood and the oppressive might of Fire gave him a vague sense of enlightenment, but something was still lacking. It was as if there was a thin membrane in front of him, blocking his vision of the deeper secrets before him.
This feeling made his heart itch. Although he understood that as long as he pierced through this thin membrane, he would be able to see another layer of the world, there was nothing he could do at the moment.
Yang Kai also knew that opportunities couldn’t be forced, so he could only allow nature to take its course, repeatedly telling himself to calm his mind and clear his thoughts.
Days slowly passed away…
One day, Yue He, who was idly chatting with Chen Yue, suddenly frowned and turned her head to look outside.
Chen Yue asked, “What’s wrong?”
Her strength was still a bit low, so she didn’t notice anything unusual, but from Yue He’s expression, it was obvious something had transpired.
Yue He sneered, “A little rat broke in.”
Chen Yue was stunned for a moment before quickly realizing what was going on and couldn’t help feeling surprised. What kind of person was so bold as to dare trespass into someone else’s mansion? One had to know that this mansion had a Spirit Array barrier protecting it, so if an ordinary person wanted to enter, they would have to break through it forcefully.
However, she didn’t sense any unusual energy fluctuations; in other words, this person must be extremely proficient in Spirit Arrays. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to be so stealthy.
“Stay here, I’ll go take a look,” Yue He advised before disappearing.
A moment later, Chen Yue felt a faint energy fluctuation erupt from somewhere in the mansion before it quickly calmed down.
After a dozen breaths, Yue He walked in with a person in her hand and casually threw him to the ground.
Chen Yue looked over in surprise and saw that this person’s face was pale, and he still had some baby fat on his face. He was dressed neat and tidy, but still couldn’t be anything but a little fatty.
Judging from his appearance alone, he should be a very amiable person. Chen Yue couldn’t understand why such a person would trespass into someone else’s mansion.
“Great Aunt, let me tell you, just because I surrendered doesn’t mean I can’t fight back. I just don’t want to raise my fist against a woman.” The little fatty got up and straightened his clothes. Although he had been captured, he didn’t panic at all.
“Great Aunt?” Hearing this, Yue He’s brow jumped, and a cold light flashed across her eyes as she ground her teeth.
The little fatty shrank his neck and suddenly remembered something, quickly coughing and correcting himself, “Elder Sister!”
Yue He coldly snorted, “At least you know your place!”
The little fatty sighed in his heart, thinking that his Master was right. No matter what kind of woman it was, they would always care about their age and how others addressed them. His Master had advised him to always be careful when talking to women as it was quite normal for them to become angry for even a slight offence.
After understanding this, the little fatty cupped his fist and asked, “Elder Sister, may I ask where the Master of this place is?”
“Why are you looking for him?” Yue He glanced over. Regardless of whether this little fatty was trespassing or not, his appearance was so friendly and amiable that it made it impossible for others to feel any disgust.
The little fatty smiled faintly, assuming an air of mystery, “I’m here to give him an opportunity and ask for some benefits in return.”
“Opportunity?” Yue He’s expression became strange as she looked him up and down, “Are you trying to say that you come from some kind of Cave Heaven or Paradise, and want to recruit the Master of this place?”
The little fatty was stunned for a moment before shaking his head and denying, “That’s not gonna happen. Even if he wants to enter my Master Sect, it will depend on his aptitude and ability. If he doesn’t have the ability, he will never be able to enter.”
Yue He asked curiously, “Is your Master Sect very strict with its requirements?”
The little fatty nodded solemnly, indicating that this was no ordinary level of strictness.
“What’s the name of your Master Sect?” Yue He asked with a smile.
“Divine Cauldron Heaven!” Little fatty replied calmly.
Chen Yue’s beautiful eyes instantly went wide while Yue He’s laughter also came to an abrupt halt as she stared at the little fatty, thinking that she might have heard wrong.
Divine Cauldron Heaven was one of the 36 Cave Heavens and was one of the top forces in the 3,000 Worlds. Previously, a silk pants Young Master from Azure Nether Paradise had come to this place and Yue He had thought that his background was big enough, but who would have thought that the little fatty standing in front of her now would have an even bigger background?
Yue He was casually teasing him just now, not having expected him to really come from a Cave Heaven; as such, she couldn’t help asking solemnly, “Can you prove it?”
The little fatty fumbled around his pockets for a moment before taking out a black token and showing it to Yue He. On the token was a name: Xu Zhen!
Obviously, it was this little fatty’s name.
Xu Zhen flipped over the token, pointing the back of the token towards Yue He. Engraved on it was the image of a Divine Cauldron that was exuding an ancient and profound aura.
Yue He was thoroughly shocked. This was a genuine Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple Token. Although she had never seen one before, when she used her Divine Sense just now, she could clearly sense that there was an extremely powerful Divine Ability sealed inside this token.
Ordinarily, elite disciples of Cave Heavens and Paradises would have this kind of identity token on them. This token was not only a symbol of status, but also contained a life-saving Divine Ability bestowed upon them by their Master. It was impossible to fake such an item.
Even if Yue He were outside, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her would still lose her life if she were to face the Divine Ability inside this token!
The person who had left a Divine Ability in this token was definitely a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master!
With such a background, regardless of whether Xu Zhen was really from Divine Cauldron Heaven or not, his identity would definitely not be too far off, so there was no need for him to pretend to be a disciple of another Sect.
Chen Yue and Yue He looked at each other and saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
“So you are a Core Disciple of Divine Cauldron Heaven! I apologize for my previous rudeness.” Yue He’s attitude became a bit more polite. It was one thing to attack when she didn’t know the other party’s identity, but now that she did, she had to maintain proper etiquette.
“Elder Sister doesn’t need to worry about it, I came uninvited and offended the dignity of this place’s Master,” Xu Zhen laughed it off, not putting on any airs of a Cave Heaven disciple.
Yue He clicked her tongue in wonder. In the past, she had seen many cultivators who came from Cave Heavens and Paradises, but all of them had their eyes on the top of their heads, similar to that silk pants Young Master from Azure Nether Paradise who had come before. This was the first time she had seen someone like Xu Zhen, so she couldn’t help but feel curious.
Pondering for a moment, Yue He asked, “Did you just say that you wanted to give my Young Master an opportunity in exchange for some benefits?”
“Correct.”
“Can you elaborate?” Yue He asked.
The little fatty suddenly became somewhat embarrassed and rubbed his two fat hands together, with a flattering look on his face as he replied, “It’s like this, Elder Sister. I heard that the owner of this place obtained a lot of Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, and all of the high Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones from the entire Yuan Magnetic Mountain were taken away by him, so I wanted to ask him for a piece!” Saying so, the little fatty lightly squeezed his fingers, indicating that he was only asking for just a little, and definitely not much!
Yue He asked, “Are you cracking a joke?”
Even if he was a Cave Heaven’s Disciple, this kind of request was a bit too impolite. A Sixth-Order material was extremely precious, yet this little fatty had come to ask for one without any prior relationship with Yang Kai. Wasn’t he thinking too highly of himself?
“I’m not kidding, I’m really not kidding.” Xu Zhen quickly waved his hand and added, sweating, “I also know how precious a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone is. As the saying goes, if you don’t deserve it, you won’t receive it, so I definitely won’t ask for it for free. If he can give me a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, I’ll give him an opportunity that will definitely be worth it.”
“What kind of opportunity?” Yue He asked. If anyone else said this, Yue He might not believe them, but Xu Zhen’s background was not small, so listening to him could prove useful.
Unexpectedly, the little fatty smiled and waved off his hand, “I can’t say it. It depends on whether this deal goes through or not, I will know it after meeting the Master of this place.”
“Young Master is currently in retreat and won’t be seeing anyone for the time being!”
Xu Zhen blinked and asked helplessly, “When will he come out?”
“It’s hard to say,” Yue He slowly shook her head. She didn’t even know why Yang Kai was in retreat, so how could she know when he would come out?
Xu Zhen couldn’t help but scratch his head. He had expected to see Yang Kai here and tell him about his intentions, but now that he couldn’t even see Yang Kai, he couldn’t help but worry.
“Elder Sister, can I wait for him here?” Xu Zhen turned to Yue He and asked seriously.
Yue He pondered for a moment before agreeing with a nod, “Alright.”
Apart from Yang Kai, who was in retreat, there was only her, Chen Yue, and a few people from Great Moon Province left in this mansion. The rest were weak maidservants, so it didn’t really matter if Xu Zhen stayed here or not.
Not to mention, Yue He also wanted to know if this little fatty was really from Divine Cauldron Heaven.
Hearing this, Xu Zhen was overjoyed and cupped his hands, thanking, “Many thanks, Elder Sister!”
Yue He covered her mouth and giggled, “You’ve got quite a glib tongue!”
She then turned her head, motioning to Chen Yue, “Find him a guest room.”
Chen Yue nodded and called out to Xu Zhen, “Please follow me.”
The next day, a scorching energy suddenly erupted from a certain spot in the mansion. Yue He was startled and immediately rushed over when she realized it was coming from where Meng Hong was in retreat.
However, when she arrived, she found Yang Kai already present. Obviously, the disturbance here had caught his attention, so he quickly came to investigate.
It had taken Meng Hong nearly a month to refine the Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire, and it was only today that he was finally able to successfully absorb it. The Fire Element Power in his Dao Seal rumbled violently and he seemed unable to control it for the time being. Previously, he had only refined Third-Order materials, but now the Order had risen by two all of a sudden. Meng Hong was having a hard time getting used to it.
The eruption of that energy just now was due to him wanting to test his own strength, but in the end, he had been careless and almost burned down the mansion.
“Congratulations, Brother Meng,” Yang Kai congratulated with a smile.
Meng Hong stood up as the Fire Element Power surged from him. He was unable to control it properly still, but nonetheless, he respectfully cupped his fists and bowed to Yang Kai, “Meng Hong thanks Brother Yang for his great kindness. This favour is akin to giving me a new life and I will never forget it for the rest of my life!”
Yang Kai waved his hand casually and stated, “Breaking and rebuilding your foundation was your own decision. I only provided you with some materials, Brother Meng need not be so polite about it.”
Meng Hong slowly shook his head, “If I hadn’t witnessed Brother Yang’s divine might, how could this Meng know how vast the Martial Dao truly is? I wouldn’t have become brave after experiencing shame. If I can reach the Open Heaven Realm in the future, it will be all thanks to Brother Yang!”
Yue He pursued her lips into a smile as she intervened, “Alright, you two. Meng Hong, you’ve just condensed your Fire Element, so you should stabilize it first.”
Meng Hong nodded and agreed, “That was my intention.”
As they were talking, an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted, “Oh, a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire, not bad, not bad.”
Yang Kai and Meng Hong both turned their heads and looked towards the source of the voice. The next moment, they saw a fair-faced little fatty slowly walking over, looking at Meng Hong with interest.
“Your Excellency, who are you…” Meng Hong was puzzled.
Yang Kai was also at a loss as he wondered, [Who is this little fatty? Why haven’t I seen him before?]
Yue He introduced, “Young Master, I forgot to tell you, this is….”
“I’ll do it myself,” Xu Zhen interrupted Yue He with a smile and walked over to Yang Kai. He looked up at him before cupping his fist and greeting, “Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple Xu Zhen greets Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai’s eyes constricted, “Divine Cauldron Heaven?”
Meng Hong also cried out in shock, “Divine Cauldron Heaven!?”
As his emotions fluctuated, a scorching heat wave of energy burst forth from his body. Fortunately, none of the people surrounding him were ordinary. Although this Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire was quite powerful, it could not harm them. Be that as it may, it was enough to make Meng Hong panic. He quickly took a breath and reigned in his Fire Element Power, secretly smiling wryly as he thought to himself that he really should hurry up and go into retreat. At the very least, he needed to be able to take out and withdraw his Fire Element Power freely; otherwise, he would accidentally injure the people around him.
“En!” The little fatty smiled and nodded.
Yang Kai turned to look at Yue He, his eyes clearly asking if it was true.
Yue He replied with an eye signal, ‘most likely!’ After all, she had seen the token before and verified Xu Zhen’s identity.
“So Brother Xu is a Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple, my apologies for being rude!” Yang Kai cupped his fist.
“I came uninvited, Brother Yang. Please forgive me!” Xu Zhen’s amiable performance had left a good impression on everyone.
“May I ask why Brother Xu is here?” Yang Kai looked at him curiously.
Xu Zhen replied with a smile, “Previously, I informed this Elder Sister that I came here to give Brother Yang a fortuitous opportunity and also to ask for some benefits from Brother Yang! However, this Elder Sister said that Brother Yang was in seclusion and couldn’t be disturbed, so I waited here. Today, I finally have the chance to meet Brother Yang.”
“Opportunity? Benefits?” Yang Kai raised his brow slightly.
Xu Zhen asked, “Can we talk somewhere else?”
During this time, the other two Great Moon Province disciples also noticed the commotion and came over. Even Chen Yue was watching from afar. With so many people around, it really wasn’t a good place to hold a conversation.
Yang Kai nodded his agreement, “This way then!”
He turned to Yue He and ordered, “Find another cultivation room for Brother Meng.”
“En!” Yue He agreed.
Yang Kai then led Xu Zhen towards the guest hall.
Yue He was curious about what Xu Zhen was up to, so she quickly arranged for Meng Hong and rushed over, but she couldn’t find him when she arrived at the guest hall. She swept the mansion with her Divine Sense, and immediately discovered Yang Kai’s location. She then quickly arrived in front of a seclusion room.
Yang Kai stood outside with a look of anticipation, while Xu Zhen was nowhere to be found.
“What about that little fatty?” Yue He asked.
Yang Kai pointed to the room and simply said, “He’s inside.”
“What is he doing inside?” Yue He was puzzled, “Have you finished your discussion?”
“En!” Yang Kai nodded.
“What? Your discussion ended so quickly?!” Yue He was somewhat speechless. She had even rushed over to hear about it, “He said he wanted to ask for a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone…”
“That’s right. I gave him one,” Yang Kai nodded, “This guy is quite strong. If he wants the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, he should be trying to condense his Metal Element with it!”
To be able to condense Yin, Yang, and Five Elements with Sixth-Order materials, one’s aptitude had to be quite exceptional. It could even be said to be extraordinary. If not, it would be impossible for one’s Dao Seal to withstand the raw power of a Sixth-Order material. Meng Hong was Great Moon Province’s Eldest Senior Brother, and although Great Moon Province was not a particularly powerful force, Meng Hong was definitely its top talent, yet his limit was only Fifth Order, and even that carried a risk of failure.
However, Xu Zhen’s goal was to refine a Sixth-Order material, which showed the gap between them. In other words, Xu Zhen wanted to reach the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm when he initially broke through.
As for the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, all of the ones at Sixth Order had been taken by Yang Kai, so Xu Zhen had no choice but to come and find him.
Yang Kai was glad that he had taken away all the Sixth-Order Divine Stones that day; otherwise, he would have missed this opportunity. Xu Zhen had come uninvited, but he had solved a huge problem for him. If this matter was resolved successfully, Yang Kai would have another powerful card in his hands in the future!
“Are all Cave Heaven and Paradise disciples so amazing?” Yang Kai turned his head and asked. [If that’s true, wouldn’t there be plenty of Mid-Rank and High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Cave Heavens and Paradises?]
Yue He shook her head and replied, “How could that be possible? This Xu Zhen is able to refine Sixth-Order materials, so he must be a top figure amongst his generation. However, although those Cave Heavens and Paradises aren’t as exaggerated as you think, I’ve heard that an official disciple must at least be able to refine Third-Order Open Heaven materials. Those unable to refine at least Third-Order materials will be expelled or be reduced to ordinary servants or guards.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… that’s quite terrifying.” Yang Kai shook his head repeatedly. Their requirements were truly high if the Open Heaven Realm below the Third Order were completely discarded. Perhaps only they knew how deep their foundations had reached over the years.
“What did he offer you in return for you to actually give him a Sixth-Order Divine Stone!” Yue He was quite surprised by this. Previously, she had asked Xu Zhen what kind of opportunity he could give Yang Kai, but that little fatty refused to say anything, causing her to feel quite helpless, arousing the urge to kick him to death.
“Well, it’s worth it!” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “If you don’t have anything else to do, keep an eye on him. If there’s any movement, call me immediately!”
“En…”
Yang Kai then entered seclusion once more. This time, he had only come out because of the disturbance caused by Meng Hong. Since he had confirmed that Meng Hong was fine and had settled a matter with Xu Zhen, Yang Kai naturally wanted to go back to focus on cultivating.
As for Xu Zhen, Yue He would be able to keep an eye on him. Although being a Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple was quite extraordinary, Yue He was still a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator, so watching over Xu Zhen was not a problem for her.
With these words from Yang Kai, Yue He obediently stood guard in front of the cultivation room without any complaints or regrets.
Although she was very curious about what Xu Zhen was doing inside and what kind of deal he made with Yang Kai, she didn’t dare disturb him because an Array protected and isolated the room.
Ten days passed just like that, uneventfully.
Chen Tian Fei had been living quite comfortably these past few days. Scarlet Star originally had seven Managers, until Yang Kai killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong. Although Yang Kai and Yue He had been immediately added in to make up the numbers, these two didn’t seem to care much about Scarlet Star’s affairs and only cared about their own business.
Of the remaining Managers, Bei Yu Shan had brute force but no brains, Lady Qin didn’t care about worldly affairs and only cared about music, while the Ou Yang Brothers were wise and capable, but unfortunately, they often went into seclusion to cultivate. Now that the Head Manager was in retreat, the entire Scarlet Star could be said to be under Chen Tian Fei’s control.
Although he wasn’t the Head Manager, he had a lot more power in his hands than what his post would suggest; so he felt great.
Chen Tian Fei was lying on a chair with two maids behind him inside his own mansion, gently fanning him. A soft and supple hand was holding a grape-like spirit fruit in its slender fingers beside him, carefully removing its peel, and feeding it straight into Chen Tian Fei’s mouth, “Dear Husband, can you do something about Xing Chen?”
Ever since Zhao Xing Chen had offended Yang Kai and was stripped of his position as a Junior Commander, he had been unable to recover from this setback and had been spending his days in bars and brothels.
Zhao Xing Chen’s older sister couldn’t bear the sight of this and felt sorry for him, so she wanted to use this opportunity to make Chen Tian Fei promote Zhao Xing Chen back to Junior Commander.
Chen Tian Fei replied with a sigh, “As long as Yang Kai is alive, I’m unable to help him. It’s Xing Chen’s fault for having eyes but failing to see. He got off easy even after offending such a man. He should be glad that he only lost his position as a Junior Commander.”
The woman continued, “Right now, in the whole of Scarlet Star, you have the final say…”
“Shut up!” Chen Tian Fei’s tightly shut eyes suddenly opened as he glared at Zhao Xing Chen’s older sister, “You… Don’t you know that your irresponsible words can bring trouble to us? Don’t speak nonsense!”
Although he had great authority now, the Head Manager was still above him. If the Head Manager heard this, he might be accused of disloyalty. At that time, who knows what the Head Manager would think of him?
This scolding caused the woman to tear up.
Chen Tian Fei doted on this concubine the most and couldn’t bear to see her like this, so he quickly consoled her, “Let’s wait a little longer, let’s talk about it after the limelight has passed.”
The woman gently wiped her eyes, “How long do we have to wait? This Mistress can wait, but I’m afraid Xing Chen won’t be able to. You’ve already seen what he looks like now.”
“Even the finest diamond must be cut multiple times for it to become beautiful! This might not necessarily be bad for Xing Chen!” Chen Tian Fei’s eyes narrowed into slits as a sharp light flashed across them, “What’s more, we don’t need to wait long. At most, we can wait until we leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. That Yang Kai can dominate inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but at the end of the day, he’s still just an Emperor Realm brat. Once we leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, what can he do?”
When the woman heard this, she sighed in her heart, knowing that there was nothing she could say to dissuade Chen Tian Fei. She ground her teeth in hatred, cursing, “This damned Yang Kai, he could have gone anywhere. Why did he have to come to Scarlet Star?”
Chen Tian Fei also smiled bitterly, but just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly became serious as he looked towards a certain spot in the sky.
At first, his expression was a bit puzzled, but soon after, his narrowed eyes slowly widened. After three breaths, his face was filled with shock as his fat body stood up.
“What’s wrong, Husband?” The woman didn’t understand; after all, her strength wasn’t high, only slightly stronger than her little brother Zhao Xing Chen. So, although she followed Chen Tian Fei’s line of sight, she didn’t see anything.
“Huge trouble is heading towards us!” Chen Tian Fei shouted and quickly took out his communication artifact. While contacting the other Managers of Scarlet Star, he strode out and warned, “Stay inside and don’t run around, activate all the Spirit Arrays!”
The woman was startled, knowing that something big must have happened; otherwise, Chen Tian Fei would not have warned her so sternly. She quickly contacted her little brother, Zhao Xing Chen, and asked him to come here to seek refuge.
However, she couldn’t understand what had happened to make Chen Tian Fei act like he was facing a great enemy.
Inside the Star City, some Open Heaven Realm cultivators passing through the streets seemed to have sensed something and looked into the distance as their expressions quickly changed.
At this moment, with a loud rumbling sound, a transparent Spirit Array barrier appeared around the entire Star City, instantly enveloping it. This seemingly solid barrier had at least seven or eight layers.
The others who hadn’t noticed the change in the Star City up until now immediately stopped and looked up, not understanding why Scarlet Star’s defensive Array had suddenly been activated.
Once this kind of protective Spirit Array was activated, it would definitely consume a lot of resources to maintain. It would normally not be activated unless it was absolutely necessary.
The streets were bustling with a crowd that was raising a clamour.
“What is Scarlet Star doing? Why did they activate the Grand Array?” Someone asked in confusion.
“Since they have activated the Grand Array, a powerful enemy must be attacking. If not for that, why would they activate it?”
“Enemy? What kind of enemy does Scarlet Star have in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?”
“Could it be that there’s another Beast Tide approaching?” The person who spoke turned pale.
It had been a long time since the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary had opened and many people had encountered Beast Tides during this time. There were many Ominous Beasts in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and all of them were extremely violent and powerful. Many places where cultivators gathered had been flattened by Beast Tides, resulting in countless casualties.
Every time the words ‘Beast Tide’ were mentioned, the cultivators in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary would turn pale.
“It’s not a Beast Tide, look over there!” Someone’s voice trembled as he pointed in a certain direction.
Everyone’s eyes narrowed when they looked along the man’s finger.
In that direction, dense streaks of light were shooting towards them at an astonishing speed and in an aggressive manner. They were surrounded by a violent and sharp Sword Qi!
“Sword Pavilion! They’re from Sword Pavilion!” Someone recognized the ones who were approaching and shouted.
“How could there be so many people from Sword Pavilion? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?”
Sword Pavilion didn’t have many members, this was something everyone in the Star City knew, but at this moment, two or three thousand streaks of light were rushing over. Sword Pavilion couldn’t have so many disciples.
“The one in the lead is definitely Sword Pavilion, but it’s hard to say who is following behind them!”
“Is Sword Pavilion coming here for the Sixth Manager? I heard that several dozen Sword Pavilion disciples lost their lives because of him on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain!”
“Didn’t they say that they died at the hands of Emperor Heaven?”
“It was Emperor Heaven’s people and Ding Yi who killed them, but if it wasn’t for Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager releasing the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light at the crucial moment, Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation wouldn’t have been broken and their disciples wouldn’t have died so miserably. I was there at that time and saw clearly that Sixth Manager was laughing maniacally as he said he was going to give Sword Pavilion a big gift!”
“I see!”
“If the ones leading the charge are from Sword Pavilion, then the remaining people must be from Thunder Light?”
“Probably. Thunder Light has a deep grudge against Manager Yang. I heard that even Bie Jian had died at his hands.”
“Then, Scarlet Star is finished!”
Star City’s three great forces had coexisted for thousands of years, and although there had been some friction and conflicts between them, they had all been small skirmishes that had not harmed their foundation. But today, in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, because of a single person, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had joined forces and had come for him, so how could Scarlet Star resist?
Was the status quo that had remained the same for millennia really going to change in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?
Seeing that a storm was heading their way, some cultivators had already decided to leave this place and hide temporarily. Unfortunately, none of them were able to leave with the defensive Grand Array activated. For the moment, all of them gathered in front of the city gate shouting, creating a ruckus.
“Damn it, our new Sixth Manager has caused trouble for Scarlet Star,” a Scarlet Star disciple stated bitterly.
“What about Manager Chen and the others?”
“The defensive Grand Array has already been activated, Manager Chen and the others must already know the situation and are probably discussing countermeasures.”
While everyone was raising a hue and cry, the dense streaks of light had already arrived in front of the Star City.
When the light dissipated, nearly three thousand figures appeared in front of everyone’s eyes. These three thousand people didn’t say a word, but a boundless pressure descended from the sky, causing the entire Star City to fall silent!
Five figures stood quietly in front of the three thousand people, each of them exuding a powerful aura. They were giving off tremendous pressure to everyone.
Someone recognized that these five people were leaders from Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light.
Three of them were from the Sword Pavilion, Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun, and Lu Xue. The other two were from Thunder Light, Zhu Li and Long Tai, all of whom except Zhong Fan were Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Only Zhong Fan was a Fifth-Order!
As everyone had guessed, it was Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light.
This time, Sword Pavilion had sent out more than three hundred people, which was roughly twenty to thirty percent of Sword Pavilion’s total strength. The entire Sword Pavilion only had a little over a thousand people. As for Thunder Light, it was likely that some of the disciples had stayed behind to guard their base, while the rest had come here.
With such a force, it was obvious they weren’t just here to take a stroll. Even if Thunder Light’s group was set aside, the three hundred Sword Pavilion disciples were more than enough to cause trouble. On the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, several dozen Sword Pavilion disciples were able to wantonly wreak havoc against Emperor Heaven’s thousand members, throwing them into chaos. If these three hundred people were to form a Sword Formation, no one could imagine how terrifying their might would be.
It was likely that they could easily wipe out the entire Star City.
Yue He happened to be hovering above the mansion with a tight frown on her brow.
She had also realized that Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light were here to seek revenge on Yang Kai, but she hadn’t expected them to be so bold as to mobilize so many people just for him.
[Is this really necessary?]
Yang Kai was currently in seclusion, so he probably didn’t know anything about the outside world. Yue He was struggling with whether or not she should inform Yang Kai, but after giving it another thought, she recalled that Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space. His Space Secret Techniques were strange and unpredictable, allowing him to move tens of thousands of kilometres in an instant. Although there were many people from Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light here, he wouldn’t be in any danger if he wanted to escape.
Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light were likely to return in low spirits.
With this thought in mind, Yue He landed in the courtyard, no longer worrying about anything.
On the other hand, the two Great Moon Province disciples and Chen Yue, who had received the news, hurried over and looked at her nervously.
“It’s fine, go back to whatever you were doing,” Yue He casually dismissed them.
The three of them were speechless.
Inside Chen Tian Fei’s mansion, Zhao Xing Chen had already arrived. He looked drunk and his face was a little pale. He grabbed the woman’s arm in panic and shouted, “Elder Sister, where did Brother-in-law go? Tell him to take us away.”
“Take us away, why?” The woman shook off Zhao Xing Chen’s hand and threw him to the ground, gritting her teeth, “Why should we run? And just look at how drunk you are!”
Zhao Xing Chen shouted in panic, “Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s people are already here, if we don’t escape now, we won’t have a chance.”
The woman coldly snorted, “Are they here for you?”
Zhao Xing Chen shook his head dumbly.
The woman asked again, “Then who do you think they’re looking for?”
Zhao Xing Chen was stunned for a moment before his eyes lit up, “Sister, you mean…”
The woman sneered, “Every grievance has its perpetrator, every debt has its debtor. They naturally came to find the man who killed their people! Scarlet Star isn’t some weakling after all. As long as Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light can achieve their objectives, why would they suddenly start a war with Scarlet Star?”
“Elder Sister, you’re right,” Zhao Xing Chen nodded repeatedly. He quickly sobered up and asked as his eyes lit up, “Then what’s Brother-in-law’s plan?”
The woman shook her head, “I have no idea what’s on your Brother-in-law’s mind. He didn’t say anything before he left. What’s more, I’m just a woman, why would I care about all these things? All I know is that Scarlet Star wouldn’t abandon its foundation for one man.”
Zhao Xingchen clapped his hands, “I understand!”
He looked in the direction of Yang Kai’s mansion as a big grin appeared on his face, “Yang Kai, let’s see how you’ll escape this time!” His face lit up with joy at the thought of watching Yang Kai being cut to pieces by Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion.
At this moment, the Star City was once again thrown into chaos after an uncomfortable pause. Although Scarlet Star disciples were maintaining order, how could they control so many people? Everyone was clamouring for Scarlet Star to deactivate the defensive Grand Array and let them leave the city.
Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s 3,000-strong force had surrounded the Star City. If they really launched an attack, the entire Star City would be affected. At that time, all of them would most likely become collateral damage.
However, how could Scarlet Star’s side deactivate the Grand Array so easily? Before they could get a complete read on Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s intentions, rashly opening the Grand Array was no different from courting death.
This Grand Array was Scarlet Star’s final line of defence!
Inside the meeting hall, Chen Tian Fei and the other Managers were all in a terrible fix. The normally calm Lady Qin was no longer interested in playing her zither as her black brows happened to be knit tightly as she sat there like a bitter older woman abandoned by her husband of many years.
The entire hall was filled with a gloomy atmosphere.
“What should we do now? Everyone, let’s hear what you have to say.” Chen Tian Fei turned to the others.
Bei Yu Shan’s face was brimming with anger, “Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light aren’t taking my Scarlet Star seriously at all. They actually led so many people to attack us. I suggest that we gather all our disciples and fight them to the death! We should let them know that our Scarlet Star isn’t that easy to bully!”
“Are you being serious?” Chen Tian Fei couldn’t help cursing. Sometimes he really wanted to smash this guy’s head open and see what he was thinking.
Ou Yang Lie frowned, “What did Head Manager say?”
Chen Tian Fei slowly shook his head, “I’ve already sent a message to Head Manager, but I don’t know if it is because he is in a critical state of retreat but he still hasn’t replied.”
Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but furrow his brow. At this time, if the Head Manager didn’t step in, it would be difficult for them to handle the situation.
Ou Yang Bing added, “It’s also possible Head Manager feels that this matter has not reached the point where Scarlet Star’s survival is at stake. After all, the one who provoked Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light was not my Scarlet Star, but that guy!”
Chen Tian Fei corrected, “Although that’s the case, he is still Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager. His every word and action represents Scarlet Star. Whatever he does outside has been imprinted with Scarlet Star’s mark.”
Ou Yang Bing suggested, “No matter what, we must first figure out what Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light wants.”
As soon as these words were spoken, a vigorous voice rang out from outside, “Sword Pavilion’s Zhong Fan has come to pay his respects. I ask the Managers of Scarlet Star to show themselves!”
The sound was like the roar of a dragon. Although it was not loud, everyone in the Star City heard it clearly.
It seemed he was trying to use peaceful means before resorting to force.
Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had joined forces and had amassed around 3,000 people. Even if Scarlet Star had a defensive Grand Array, it would still be useless if so many were to attack this Star City. However, the fact that the other party had asked Scarlet Star Managers to meet undoubtedly confirmed many people’s previous speculations.
Scarlet Star wasn’t some weakling, so if Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light did rashly start a war, both sides would suffer heavy losses.
Inside the main hall, Chen Tian Fei and the others looked at each other, not knowing how to respond. Suddenly, Chen Tian Fei’s expression changed as he took out a communication artifact and a look of joy on his face, “It’s Head Manager!”
Lady Qin, the Ou Yang Brothers, and Bei Yu Shan instantly looked over.
Chen Tian Fei used his Divine Sense and quickly sent a message back.
Lady Qin’s red lips parted slightly as she softly asked, “What did Head Manager say?”
Chen Tian Fei put away his communication bead and said, “Head Manager has given us the full authority to handle this matter, he won’t interfere.”
[What’s the meaning of this?] The Managers were confused.
At this moment, Zhong Fan repeated his previous invitation, but this time he sounded a little impatient.
Lady Qin sighed and suggested, “No matter what, let’s go meet him first.”
“That damn Brat, he caused trouble outside and actually wants my Scarlet Star to clean up his mess,” Ou Yang Lie cursed. Compared to Ou Yang Bing, his temper was more volatile.
When Zhong Fan shouted for the third time, five figures rose from the Star City’s center and rushed over.
“It’s the Managers of Scarlet Star!” Someone shouted.
“They finally came out. If they didn’t come out now, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would surely have attacked us.” Another person secretly wiped away his cold sweat. If the situation really developed to such a point, they would not have been able to escape from this predicament either.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Chen Tian Fei and the others flew a thousand meters away from Zhong Fan and stood just behind the eight layers of the defensive Grand Array.
Chen Tian Fei smiled and cupped his fist, “So it is the Managers of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light, please forgive this Chen for not coming out to greet you sooner.”
Zhong Fan remained calm while Luo Qing Yun’s cold eyes swept over the group, seemingly searching for something, but in the end, he couldn’t help snorting coldly after being unable to find it.
Chen Tian Fei didn’t feel embarrassed when the other party gave him the cold shoulder even when he had shown respect. He knew that the other party had come here in anger, so why should he show respect when they couldn’t even see their enemy?
Still smiling, Chen Tian Fei asked, “May I ask why everyone has come?”
Luo Qing Yun sneered, “Don’t you know why we’ve come? Why ask even though you already know?”
Chen Tian Fei forced a laugh and looked below. He saw a crowd of tens of thousands of people staring in their direction with all kinds of emotions flashing across their eyes. He heaved a sigh secretly before sending a Divine Sense transmission to Zhong Fan.
No one knew what he was talking about, but Zhong Fan simply nodded lightly and just spoke a single word in response, “Good!”
Afterwards, he turned to Luo Qing Yun and the others, ordering, “Wait here for now.”
Chen Tian Fei cupped his fists and thanked, “Many thanks, Brother Zhong!” Saying so, he turned around and shouted towards a certain place, “Open the Array!”
A moment later, a crack appeared in the defensive Grand Array as Zhong Fan stepped into the Star City. After he entered, the crack closed again, isolating Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light from the city once again.
The crowd below immediately became restless.
“Manager Zhong actually went to the meeting alone? As expected, skilful Masters are always bold!”
“A Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master isn’t something to joke about. If the Head Manager of Scarlet Star doesn’t make an appearance, who can suppress him?”
“That’s true.”
After Zhong Fan entered, Chen Tian Fei asked Luo Qing Yun and the others to be excused before extending his hand and leading Zhong Fan towards the meeting hall; obviously, he was going to discuss the matter with Zhong Fan.
Inside Yang Kai’s mansion, when Yue He saw this, her eyes darted around before she turned to the two Great Moon Province disciples and Chen Yue, exhorting them, “Pack up your things and prepare to run.”
With Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s army bearing down on them, Scarlet Star would not be able to bear such pressure no matter what. Abandoning Yang Kai would be the wisest course of action. Yue He’s quick mind instantly saw through this, so naturally she ordered Chen Yue and the others to make preparations.
“I’ll go call Eldest Senior Brother!” One of Great Moon Province’s disciples hurriedly rushed over to where Meng Hong was cultivating.
“I have nothing to pack,” Chen Yue shook her head.
The Managers of Scarlet Star and Zhong Fan entered the meeting hall. Although many people were curious about what they would be discussing, they had no way of finding it out. Perhaps apart from the Managers, no one would ever know.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Zhong Fan soared into the sky and stood in the air, coldly glancing towards Yang Kai’s mansion. His gaze just happened to meet with Yue He’s eyes.
Yue He smiled sweetly at him with a charming expression.
“Bitch!” Zhong Fan coldly snorted before transforming into a streak of sword light and rushing out. If not for his fear of Yue He, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he would have already rushed into the mansion and captured Yang Kai.
Although he was also a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator, he didn’t have any confidence in defeating Yue He. Not to mention, this was the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where he couldn’t display his full strength. Once someone else helped her, he would definitely be defeated and would be forced to flee.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, he could only temporarily retreat.
The Grand Array opened a crack and allowed Zhong Fan to leave.
“So, what did they choose?” Zhu Li asked.
Zhong Fan indifferently replied, “What else can they do? As I expected, they sacrificed the rook to save the king. Scarlet Star has abandoned that Yang fellow.”
Luo Qing Yun asked, “If that’s the case, why haven’t they deactivated this damned Spirit Array and let us kill that bastard?”
Zhong Fan said, “Naturally, they’re afraid we’ll take advantage of this opportunity to destroy them.” He waved his hand and added, “It’s only natural for them to have such concerns. Since our groups have joined forces, how could Scarlet Star not take precautions?”
Luo Qing Yun frowned deeply, “But if that bastard keeps hiding inside and doesn’t come out, are we just going to wait?”
“Of course not, Chen Tian Fei said he would find a way to force that brat out. All he asked is for us to leave immediately after achieving our goal.”
“Retreat?” Luo Qing Yun sneered, “He’s dreaming! So many people have been mobilized this time, so how can killing just one man appease the hatred in my heart? Since that bastard is a member of Scarlet Star, they should pay the price as well. Also, there is Emperor Heaven and Ding Yi too, since they dare to offend Sword Pavilion’s prestige, they must all die!”
Lu Xue whispered, “How will Scarlet Star force him out? What if he refuses to come out?”
Zhong Fan glanced at her, “He’ll come out, it’s not like we don’t have any bargaining chips.”
Lu Xue suddenly understood and nodded silently.
Sometimes, silence is another kind of pressure. Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s 3,000 forces had surrounded the Star City, and although they didn’t make any moves or say a word, it still caused everyone inside to feel uneasy.
In the midst of this turbulence, a piece of news quickly spread throughout the Star City.
Yang Kai’s position as Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager was not official. He had not received the approval of the Head Manager and instead had used underhanded means to usurp the position. He had killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong using a sneak attack, then used despicable means to coerce Chen Tian Fei and the others, and finally took the position of Sixth Manager for himself. The Head Manager, who had been in secluded cultivation, did not know about this matter, nor did he ever acknowledge Yang Kai’s identity as the Sixth Manager. His words and actions simply did not represent Scarlet Star.
In other words, this so-called Scarlet Star Sixth Manager was nothing more than Yang Kai blowing his own trumpet. He had never received Scarlet Star’s official approval.
At first, this news was spread among a few people but soon it spread like wildfire and everyone in the Star City had heard of it in just half an hour. Such proliferation was simply impossible unless someone was fanning the flames behind the scene.
In a flash, many people looked towards Yang Kai’s mansion with pity, knowing that Scarlet Star had abandoned its Sixth Manager.
Not many people believed this rumour of course. Why hadn’t Scarlet Star denied it before if it was true? Obviously, they didn’t want to be implicated with Yang Kai when Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light Army came knocking at their door.
There was nothing wrong with this though. It was a wise decision to sacrifice the rook to save the king. What’s more, not many days had passed since Yang Kai became the Sixth Manager. He had no foundation in Scarlet Star, so who would want to protect his interests and safety at this time?
Although they understood this, no one was willing to stand up for an irrelevant person at this moment and instead voiced their complaints about Yang Kai. If it weren’t for him causing trouble outside, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light wouldn’t have made such a big move. Even the outsiders in the Star City were feeling anxious. They had no idea if Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would take over the city by force, and if they did, what kind of fate awaited them.
The complaints in their hearts were only normal, and there were even some people who had gathered in front of Yang Kai’s mansion and were shouting for him to get out of the Star City.
At first, there weren’t many people, but as time passed, more and more people started to gather in front of Yang Kai’s mansion. In less than an incense stick worth of time, hundreds of people had gathered with more arriving all the time.
All of them were glaring at Yang Kai’s mansion angrily, maliciously even. All of them were demanding he leave this place as soon as possible. Whatever grievances he had with Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light should be resolved by him alone, they didn’t want him to drag them along with him.
The waves of voices became louder!
Inside the mansion, the two Great Moon Province disciples and Chen Yue’s faces turned pale, as they started trembling. In the current situation, they still had a chance of survival if they hid here, but how could they survive if they left?
Yue He’s tender body also trembled slightly, but from anger instead of fear. She hadn’t expected Scarlet Star to be so despicable and shameless. In order to force Yang Kai to leave the Star City, they had actually used such an underhanded method.
With her Divine Sense, she could naturally sense that many Scarlet Star disciples in the crowd were adding fuel to the fire. These people must have received instructions from Chen Tian Fei and the other Managers; otherwise, how could they dare to act like this?
Outside the Star City, the gazes of Zhong Fan and the other Open Heaven Realm Master were focused on Yang Kai’s mansion.
Long Tai sneered and scoffed, “So this is Scarlet Star’s plan? Fatty Chen wants to use these people to force that Yang bastard out? Scarlet Star truly has fallen.”
Zhu Li pondered for a moment before commenting, “It may not be completely ineffective; after all, it’s unwise to arouse public anger.”
Luo Qing Yun gritted his teeth and stated, “It’s not like that bastard hasn’t done something that incites public anger before!”
Thinking back to what Yang Kai had done on Yuan Magnetic Mountain, he felt that this method was useless. Even though he was one of the leaders of Sword Pavilion, he didn’t dare to commit such heinous crimes against everyone’s interests, but Yang Kai had done just that! Not only did he do it, he even managed to survive.
As such, he didn’t think that this kind of method would be effective as he had personally experienced how crazy that guy was.
“Let’s wait a moment. Since Chen Tian Fei has already given this King his word, let’s see what other tricks he has up his sleeve. If it really doesn’t work, it won’t be too late for us to act. In any case, he won’t be able to escape from us today,” Zhong Fan suggested indifferently.
Luo Qing Yun’s eyes flashed for a moment before a malicious grin spread across his lips, “En, it’s not a bad idea to watch him slowly fall into despair.”
Somewhere in the Star City, Chen Tian Fei and the other Managers concealed themselves, paying attention to Yang Kai’s movements. Orders were passed down silently, and the crowd gathered in front of Yang Kai’s mansion became more excited.
“Yang Kai, get out of the Star City, you’re not welcome here!”
“Yang Kai, are you deaf or dead? Since you caused this trouble, you should be the one to solve it! What kind of a man cowers inside his house?”
“That’s right, that’s right! Since you’re so strong, why are you afraid of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light? Just go out and fight them to the death yourself!”
“Don’t implicate us innocent and pitiful people!”
…..
Demeaning shouts rang out to no end while inside the mansion, Yue He’s expression was extremely ugly. Although she knew that many of these people had been used by Scarlet Star, the coldness of human nature was obvious, and it was truly infuriating.
“Yang Kai, you coward, you have the guts to stir up trouble, but you don’t have the guts to bear it!?”
“What should we do if he doesn’t come out? From the looks of it, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light won’t wait long. If we really anger them, they’ll immediately attack the Star City. At that time, if the city gates catch fire, it’s we who will be caught in the crossfire.”
“If he doesn’t come out, we’ll attack and drag him out!”
“That’s right, let’s attack together!”
As soon as they finished speaking, a sword light slashed towards Yang Kai’s mansion, followed by countless attacks.
Although there was a defensive Array around the mansion, it was not a very powerful one, so how could it withstand the attacks of so many people? In just three breaths of time, the Array was broken.
“The Array is broken, everyone follow me! Capture Yang Kai!”
Someone shouted and rushed forward.
Hundreds of people followed closely behind and rushed into the mansion.
Yue He was stunned. Just now, she had been hesitating about whether she should call Yang Kai to inform him about the situation outside, but before she could make up her mind, the defensive Array of this mansion had been broken.
Looking up, she saw a group of fierce-looking people rushing in with artifacts in their hands, all of them wearing hostile expressions.
“She is with Yang Kai! Let’s capture her first, then we won’t have to worry about Yang Kai not showing himself!” The leader pointed at Yue He and shouted.
Yue He’s mood sank. No matter what, she was still a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, a famous figure in the outside world, yet a mere Emperor Realm cultivator dared to act so presumptuously in front of her today, pointing at her nose and screaming about capturing her.
In front of Yang Kai, she was very obedient, always acting as a subservient maid, listening to everything he said, but that was just a disguise. Yang Kai had never seen her true face.
Suddenly, killing intent rose in her heart as she stared at the person who had just shouted at her. Her soft and slender finger slowly rose as she pointed towards the man.
At this moment, a majestic roar resounded throughout the sky, “So noisy!”
As soon as these words reverberated in everyone’s ears, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Yue He. The figure was emanating a cold aura that could penetrate one’s heart and freeze it solid.
“Young Master!” Yue He quickly put down her finger as the murderous intent on her face instantly disappeared into thin air. Her beautiful eyes flickered with fear as if she was a child who had been bullied at home.
Although Yang Kai was in seclusion, studying the mysteries of his Wood and Fire Elements, he hadn’t completely activated the room’s isolation Arrays because of the presence of Xu Zhen. He had left a wisp of his consciousness to pay attention to the outside; after all, this was his first-time meeting Xu Zhen, so it was naturally impossible for him to trust him completely.
Yang Kai was aware of the arrival of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light and the unrest in the Star City. He was also aware of the clamour outside the mansion, but he just couldn’t be bothered with it.
But now that even the mansion’s Spirit Array had been broken, he could no longer continue his retreat.
Having no other choice but to show up, Yang Kai was quite annoyed. He had just entered a critical period in his closed-door cultivation and since he was interrupted at this critical juncture, he wasn’t in a good mood.
Yang Kai coldly looked around and when he saw hundreds of people crowded around his mansion to the point that more couldn’t even come inside, he couldn’t help but let out a cold snort.
“Is he Yang Kai?” Someone asked in a low voice. Many of the people who had rushed in were people who had never even met Yang Kai before. They were just being used by others.
“I think so.”
“I’ve finally met the real Master. I thought he would keep hiding.”
Many people whispered to each other while some secretly observed Yang Kai. They realized that there was nothing special about him. They really didn’t know how such a person had prompted Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light to team up to oppose him.
On the other hand, the people who had been clamouring to drag Yang Kai out of the Star City were now silent, their expressions tense as they quietly retreated to the back of the crowd. These were all Scarlet Star disciples who had followed Chen Tian Fei’s orders and were acting in secret. Now that they had forced Yang Kai out and achieved their goal, they naturally wanted to retreat.
“You want to run?” Yang Kai coldly snorted as he raised his hand and grabbed the person in front of him, lifting him up into the air while simultaneously manipulating Space Principles. In the blink of an eye, the space within a thousand metres radius became incredibly viscous.
Countless muffled groans rang out as the weaker cultivators froze in place. They felt as if tremendous pressure was pressing down on them, threatening to crush them into dust. Even the slightly stronger ones were still struggling to move.
“Are you the one causing trouble?” Yang Kai stared coldly at the man he was holding in the air and asked lightly.
“No, it’s not me,” the man replied in panic, the fear in his heart indescribable.
He was also in the Emperor Realm and had condensed several Open Heaven Elements. If he were outside, he would have been a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm cultivator, only needing two more Elements to reach the Open Heaven Realm, but now that Yang Kai had imprisoned him, he couldn’t even struggle free!
A violent and pure energy poured into his body, causing him to become extremely weak and unable to resist.
He couldn’t help thinking about the rumours he had heard in the Star City, about Yang Kai killing Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong with only his Emperor Realm strength. At that time, he had scoffed at such rumours; after all, Open Heaven Realm Masters were still Open Heaven Realm Masters, even if the environment here sealed their Small Universes, how could Yang Kai kill them so easily?
In private, everyone said that Yang Kai had launched a sneak attack, and that’s how he killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong. The same thing had spread from Scarlet Star just now, which had undoubtedly confirmed this point.
But now, it seemed that the rumours were wrong!
With such strength, it was likely he really had the ability to kill Open Heaven Realm Masters!
At this moment of life and death, this man wept bitterly, “Sixth Manager, please spare my life, this humble subordinate is just following orders, please spare my life, Sixth Manager.”
“Sixth Manager?” Yang Kai chuckled as he looked towards a certain direction, his eyes seemingly able to pierce through space as a mocking look appeared on his face.
Chen Tian Fei and the others, who were hiding, all wore tense expressions. Bei Yu Shan even nervously gulped. Although he wasn’t very sharp, his instincts towards danger were like that of a wild beast. When Yang Kai looked at them just now, Bei Yu Shan felt as if he had encountered an overwhelming opponent and was about to die.
The fat on Chen Tian Fei’s face twitched as he muttered, “Is it a coincidence, or has he already discovered us?”
The Ou Yang Brothers’ faces sank, not daring to make a sound for fear of leaking their presence.
Fortunately, Yang Kai only glanced over briefly before turning his attention back to the unfamiliar faces and the one he was holding as he quipped, “Isn’t it a bit too late to call me Sixth Manager now?”
With a shake of his hand, the man let out a blood-curdling scream before exploding into a cloud of blood mist. The cultivators who were rushing into the mansion just now all instantly wore looks of horror.
No one had expected Yang Kai to be so ruthless and kill without hesitation. It had to be known that there were many of them, so Yang Kai’s actions would undoubtedly lead to great unrest.
But looking at Yang Kai’s contemptuous expression, it seemed he didn’t care at all.
For a time, many people’s hearts were in turmoil. Under the imprisonment of Space Principles, they could feel Yang Kai’s terrifying strength. One of Scarlet Star’s disciples shouted in horror, “This humble subordinate deserves death! Sixth Manager, please spare my life!”
“Since you deserve to die, then just die!” Yang Kai shouted in a low voice before he waved his arm in a wide arc. As he did, a giant Moon Blade appeared and flew out.
The Moon Blade silently cut through everything in its path as blood and severed limbs flew everywhere. In an instant, the mansion was transformed into a bloody purgatory.
The cultivators rushing into the mansion fell like wheat in a field. None of them were able to resist the Moon Blade’s terrifying power and were cut down without exception.
Those with tenacious vitality didn’t die instantly. Dragging their mutilated bodies and crawling out of the place while struggling for their last breath and howling in pain, they left behind a long trail of blood wherever they went. It was a shocking sight.
With just one strike, more than a hundred people had been killed!
In the void, the eyes of Chen Tian Fei and the others who had concealed themselves twitched violently as their scalps went numb.
Even Yue He, who was standing behind Yang Kai, couldn’t help but cover her red lips as she stared at the figure she thought she was familiar with but now understood was still a stranger.
This person was indeed very different from that person. That man was always as warm as jade, gentle as the wind, but this person in front of her could kill without batting an eye.
“How dare this brat act like this!” An old cultivator pointed at Yang Kai angrily.
They had only rushed into Yang Kai’s mansion in order to force him out of Star City so that the outsiders wouldn’t get dragged into his grievances with Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light. They hadn’t harmed a single blade of grass or tree here, but Yang Kai had directly killed over a hundred people. Such methods were simply too brutal!
Yang Kai looked over coldly, “What right do you have to judge this King? Scram!”
With a wave of his sleeve, he sent the older man flying, causing him to explode into a bloody mist.
Since these people dared to break through his mansion’s protective Array and trespass into his home, they had to pay the price for their actions.
“Madman, this guy is a madman! Run!”
Someone shouted loudly and turned around to flee, while the rest of the group also gathered their strength and fled in all directions.
Yang Kai came out of seclusion in a fit of anger and killed more than a hundred people in one blow. His anger had mostly subsided now, so when he saw these people fleeing in all directions, he didn’t make any more trouble and simply let them escape.
Turning his head, he looked towards Zhong Fan and the others with a disdainful smile.
Zhong Fan shouted, “Yang Kai, dozens of my Sword Pavilion’s disciples have died because of you. Today, this King will definitely kill you and avenge my Sword Pavilion’s disciples. Quickly come out and accept your death!”
Zhu Li also took a step forward and added, grinding his teeth, “If you come out and accept your death right this instant, we can make it quick and painless; refuse, and we’ll make you taste the cruelest torture the world has to offer until you beg us to kill you!”
Facing their provocations, Yang Kai just turned a deaf ear and indifferently smiled, “If you have the ability, then fight your way in!”
With these words, the entire Star City went into an uproar!
This was something that all the cultivators present were worried about. If it weren’t for the fear of being implicated, why would those people from before have attacked Yang Kai’s mansion and tried to capture him?
But now, what they were afraid of had come to pass. Yang Kai was acting openly belligerent, so how could his enemies endure? Many people were worried that Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would really attack the Star City in anger. At that time, they would definitely suffer and complain to Scarlet Star ‘why didn’t they deactivate the Grand Array so Zhong Fan and the others could rush in and kill Yang Kai?’
“That Yang guy must be scared, he’s really despicable and shameless.”
“I’m afraid that’s only natural. With so many people from Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light here, no matter how strong he is, he won’t be able to defeat them.”
“What’s the point of being afraid now? Why didn’t he think about the consequences when he provoked Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light on Yuan Magnetic Mountain?”
“That bastard is dead for sure. Even if the Star City has a Grand Array, it won’t be able to protect him.”
“Can’t Manager Chen and the others just throw him out?”
…..
In the Star City, it quickly became quite noisy.
Listening to these whispers, Chen Tian Fei and the others all wore bitter looks on their faces. If they could throw Yang Kai out, why would they have waited until now? They would have attacked long ago, but on that day, Yang Kai killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong in the main hall crisply and cleanly. They knew they weren’t Yang Kai’s match in a one-on-one fight, and even if they attacked together, Yang Kai still had Yue He by his side. So why would they go and pull the tiger’s whiskers unless they had to?
Luo Qing Yun sneered and mocked, “Yang Kai, I’ve misjudged you. I thought you were a responsible man, but now it seems you’re nothing more than this!”
Yang Kai sneered and countered, “What right do you have to comment on whether this King is responsible or not?”
Saying so, he couldn’t be bothered with these people and turned around to walk towards his cultivation room.
Since Chen Tian Fei and the others had chosen to give up on him, there was no need for Yang Kai to be considerate of Scarlet Star. With his mastery over the Dao of Space, he could leave if he wanted to. No one could stop him.
“Junior, there’s no need to hurry. Take a look at this before you go,” Zhong Fan suddenly shouted.
Yang Kai stopped and looked over.
Zhong Fan waved his hand, “Bring it!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the formation of several thousand people split to the sides, revealing a passage in the middle. Immediately after, several dozen people flew over from behind, carrying some kind of giant creature with them.
After seeing what they were carrying, Yue He couldn’t help but cover her red lips with her hand, her beautiful eyes filled with surprise as she quickly turned her head towards Yang Kai.
When he saw what they brought, Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly as his face sank and a faint murderous intent swirled around him.
The creature being carried was none other than the Scarlet Flood Dragon Yang Kai had left on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain!
The Scarlet Flood Dragon must have experienced a difficult battle. Its entire body was covered in wounds, and blood was constantly dripping from its wounds. Countless scales had fallen off its body, revealing large chunks of flesh and blood. It looked extremely miserable, and its aura was extremely weak, as if it could die at any moment.
The most serious injury was the one just below its head, where a massive wound that had Sword Qi lingering around it sat. Obviously, it had been injured by the Sword Qi and had almost been beheaded.
Although the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s strength wasn’t ordinary, it was still just an Ominous Beast, and its intelligence wasn’t too high. If many people were to coordinate and attack it together, it might not be able to defeat them.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon had been captured and its entire body was covered in restrictions, completely trapping it in place. It was unable to even struggle.
This was an Ominous Beast that Yang Kai had left behind in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. When he left the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, he hadn’t found what he was looking for, so he didn’t want to just give up and tasked Guo Zi Yan and the others to stay there and message him right away if a High-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone appeared. He even left behind the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon to assist them.
During this time, as Yang Kai hadn’t received any messages from Guo Zi Yan and he had been in seclusion, comprehending his Elements, he had simply let matters drift. Yang Kai had never thought the situation would develop into this mess now.
With the Scarlet Flood Dragon there, the Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light members must have gone to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain first, thinking that Yang Kai was still there.
[What about the Earth Dragon? What about Guo Zi Yan?]
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense spread out like a tide, and in the next moment, the killing intent on his body became even stronger.
He didn’t sense the aura of the Earth Dragon, making it unclear if it had died or fled, but he did sense Guo Zi Yan’s aura.
Immediately after the Scarlet Flood Dragon was brought forth, another group of people was escorted up, led by Guo Zi Yan and several dozen Scarlet Star disciples.
However, only half of the Scarlet Star disciples that had remained on Yuan Magnetic Mountain were here. Presumably, the rest of them had been killed.
Guo Zi Yan and the others weren’t restricted by chains created from a Secret Technique, but it was obvious that they were all under some kind of seal. All of their auras were weak, as if they had never cultivated before, and couldn’t use any of their strength.
“Boy, are these your subordinates and beast?” Zhong Fan looked at Yang Kai indifferently, “Don’t you care about their lives?”
Yang Kai’s eyes swept over Guo Zi Yan and the others one by one, making sure they weren’t in mortal danger. Fortunately, only the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s injuries were slightly worse. After checking everyone, he asked in a cold voice, “What are you going to do? I’m no longer a member of Scarlet Star, they’re Scarlet Star disciples. Do you want to use them to threaten me? You’re too naive.”
Zhong Fan replied, “If it comes down to a choice, you can abandon your subordinates and beast, so this Old Master naturally won’t use their lives to threaten you. This Old Master simply wants you to watch a good show!”
“What show?”
“A killing show!” As Zhong Fan spoke, he waved his hand, and a captured disciple was caught in his palm. Sword Qi burst out from his palm, instantly reducing that person to a bloody mist, and causing blood to rain down. Zhong Fan shouted angrily, “Sword Pavilion must not be humiliated, those who insult my Sword Pavilion must be killed without mercy!”
These words seemed to be a declaration, causing the entire Star City to tremble. Even Chen Tian Fei and the others who had concealed themselves wore solemn expressions.
Once Zhong Fan spoke, he reached out and grabbed another Scarlet Star disciple.
Just as he was about to use the same trick again, his eyes suddenly narrowed because, in that instant, he had lost sight of Yang Kai!
Even with Zhong Fan’s ability, he was unable to discover how he had disappeared.
Little did they know, a small gap in the Grand Array had been split open at that moment.
Zhong Fan’s original plan was to kill Yang Kai’s subordinates one by one in front of him and the Star City. Afterwards, he would kill the Scarlet Flood Dragon. All his actions were planned. First, to pay for the death of Sword Pavilion’s disciples on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, and second, to put pressure on Yang Kai.
Otherwise, why would he bring these people and the Scarlet Flood Dragon here? He would’ve just killed them on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain.
Although Yang Kai kept saying that he was no longer a member of Scarlet Star, many of the captured people had fought a life-or-death battle for him. If Yang Kai really ignored their plight, who would dare trust him in the future?
If this could provoke Yang Kai, it would be for the best, and even if it failed, Sword Pavilion would not lose anything. Rather, it would let the world know the fate of those who provoked Sword Pavilion. It was killing two birds with one stone.
He thought Yang Kai would care more about his life and ignore these irrelevant characters, or he would lose his mind in anger for his subordinates, but he had never expected things to go so far beyond his expectations!
When Yang Kai’s figure disappeared from his field of vision, a sense of crisis gripped Zhong Fan’s heart and he instinctively had a bad premonition, shouting out loud, “Be careful!”
Just as his words fell, he caught sight of Yang Kai again, but at this moment, Yang Kai had appeared beside Guo Zi Yan like a ghost. The space around him, distorting.
As soon as he appeared, he stretched his hand towards the side and grabbed the air.
Lu Xue, who was hovering a hundred metres away from Guo Zi Yan, was still paying attention to the spot Yang Kai had been standing in the Star City, but in the blink of an eye, Yang Kai had disappeared from her sight.
By the time she realized something had gone wrong, Yang Kai had already reached out his hand towards her, seemingly covering the sky with it. Lu Xue couldn’t help but feel like she couldn’t escape.
She was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master though, so the moment she noticed something wrong, she let out a shout as a purple sword light shot out from the centre of her brow, flying straight ahead. At the same time, she hastily retreated.
The might of this attack was extraordinary, it was a sure-fire blow that she trained for centuries. She would never use it unless she were facing a life or death crisis or to kill an Open Heaven Realm Master.
The same time Lu Xue’s sword shot out, the nearby Luo Qing Yun also made a move. A long sword appeared in his hand out of thin air. The next moment, a dazzling sword light surrounded him and the long sword as he became one with it. Immediately after, he slashed towards Yang Kai with a ferocious look on his face.
Zhu Li, on the other hand, retreated a thousand metres with a terrified look on his face. He had been traumatized by Yang Kai back on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, as had he watched Bie Jian tragically die in just one move. Even after so many days, that memory was still vivid in his mind. When he saw Yang Kai appear near him, the first thought that crossed his mind was to run away quickly and then decide what to do next.
In the time it takes for a spark to fly off a flint, the purple sword light that flew out from the centre of Lu Xue’s brow was pinched by Yang Ka’s hand as a deafening sword cry reverberated across the sky.
Lu Xue’s pretty eyes bulged, looking completely shocked because Yang Kai was unscathed even after taking her certain death blow. Not only that, Yang Kai had actually sandwiched a tiny purple sword light between his fingers. That little sword light seemed to be sentient as it kept struggling in Yang Kai’s hand, but it couldn’t break free of his grip no matter what.
“Die!” At that moment, an angry Luo Qing Yun slashed straight towards Yang Kai’s waist.
A smile couldn’t help but appear on Luo Qing Yun’s face as if he saw Yang Kai being cut into two by his attack. He believed that Yang Kai, with his cultivation only being in the Emperor Realm, would be unable to withstand the all-out strike of a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
However, the force of the counter-shock from his hand made Luo Qing Yun’s smile instantly turn stiff. The next moment, he saw a layer of light brown aura around Yang Kai. A prismatic Earth Element Power protected Yang Kai, blocking the blow.
That sword had struck the Earth Element Shield.
As expected of the full power attack of a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, even the firm Earth Element Shield was unable to block it and shattered into pieces. The sharp sword slashed into Yang Kai’s waist, cutting through his clothes.
As the two passed by each other, Yang Kai indifferently glanced at Luo Qing Yun. The sword light dissipated as Luo Qing Yun appeared, his face distorted in shock and fear.
It was because of Yang Kai’s glance. There was nothing but contempt in his eyes, as if he was looking at an ant.
Suddenly, a cry came from behind as Luo Qing Yun promptly turned around. The next moment, he couldn’t help but have his eyes crack wide open as he roared, “Let her go!”
In the middle of thousands of enemies, Yang Kai was holding Lu Xue by her slender neck, hiding behind her and looking out with a mocking expression.
Right then, a cold gleam came to a stop just before Lu Xue’s throat. Who knows when Zhong Fan had arrived with his long sword? He was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, stronger than any other Open Heaven Realm Master present, so as soon as he saw Yang Kai attack Lu Xue, he realized what his plan was and immediately flew to rescue her. Be that as it may, even if Luo Qing Yun made his move to stop Yang Kai, Zhong Fan was still a little too slow. When he arrived, Yang Kai had already grasped Lu Xue by her neck and was using her as his shield.
With Lu Xue as Yang Kai’s hostage, Zhong Fan couldn’t do anything.
As their gazes met, Zhong Fan flew into a rage and scowled in anger. The long sword in his hand was pointed at Yang Kai, but he couldn’t thrust it forward.
Lu Qing Yun looked worried, whereas Zhu Li was horrified and Long Tai, who had somehow recovered from his dazed state, was shocked.
At this moment, the world had gone completely silent as countless eyes were glued in their direction.
Everything happened too fast, so except for a few people, no one knew what happened. By the time everyone reacted, everything was already over.
Countless people asked in their hearts, [How is this possible? What gave Yang Kai the courage to rush out? How come he is fine after taking Luo Qing Yun’s attack? How did Lu Xue get caught in his hands, and why didn’t she resist?]
So many questions came up in their hearts, but no one could give them any answers.
Not only were the onlookers puzzled, but even Luo Qing Yun and Zhong Fan looked at Lu Xue in confusion. Although she was a woman, she was still a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master! How could she get captured by Yang Kai so easily? What’s more, why wasn’t she trying to escape? As long as Lu Xue could free herself from Yang Kai’s grip, they would be able to immediately attack him.
Only Lu Xue knew in her heart that when Yang Kai captured her, a scorching and terrifying Power immediately invaded her body. That Power wantonly burned her meridians, blood, and her flesh. She was trembling and in a Hell of pain. Her clothes became drenched in cold sweat in an instant.
That was definitely the Fire Element Power refined by Yang Kai, but Lu Xue had never seen such a pure and High-Order Fire Element Power before. Her own strength was unable to compete with this Fire Element Power, simply turning into fuel to be burned upon contact.
All she could do was urge her strength with all her might to resist the scorching heat, unable to divert her attention from the process at all. So, how could she fight off Yang Kai? If she did that, she would be reduced to ashes immediately!
[Just what Order Fire Element is this?] Lu Xue had a faint guess in her heart, but she couldn’t believe it.
Back in the mansion, Yue He looked at Yang Kai with a complicated expression on her face. [This guy and that man are indeed very different, but in some respects, they are similarly crazy. They will ignore life and death. A kind of madness that makes them captivating!]
Her mind seemed to have travelled thousands of years into the past, returning to a time when she was young, and a sense of desolation immediately surged from the depths of her heart.
Chen Tian Fei, who was hiding in the void, trembled violently, his face full of horror. Although he had experienced Yang Kai’s fearsome strength first-hand, he couldn’t help but feel shocked when he witnessed it once again.
[That guy is a monster. In this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where Open Heaven Ream Masters can’t display their true strength, who can go against him?]
Bei Yu Shan, who was beside him, couldn’t help but gulp nervously. His loud gulp was clearly showcasing the fear he was feeling.
Under everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai grinned and gently pushed Lu Xue forward. Seeing the tip of the sword getting closer and closer to her throat, Lu Xue couldn’t help but look at Zhong Fan with a pleading look in her beautiful eyes.
Zhong Fan’s facial muscles twitched as he pulled the long sword back.
“Shameless!” Zhong Fan gritted his teeth and cursed.
Yang Kai sneered, “I learned from you.”
Zhong Fan was rendered speechless.
He used the lives of Guo Zi Yan and others to threaten Yang Kai before, and in the blink of an eye, Yang Kai was now using Lu Xue to threaten him. The tables had turned so quickly
Yang Kai ignored him and looked at Guo Zi Yan with a solemn expression, stating, “This King has implicated you.”
Guo Zi Yan was moved and apologised, “Sixth Manager, please don’t say that. It is we humble subordinates who have brought you disgrace.”
He hated his lack of strength. Yang Kai even left the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon to protect them, but he couldn’t even send a message at the critical moment; otherwise, Yang Kai would not have been forced into such a passive situation.
However, he couldn’t be blamed for this either. The main reason was that Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had too many people, and they attacked in a rapid manner. When they reached the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, they captured them right away and then split up to encircle and suppress the Earth Dragon and Scarlet Flood Dragon. Guo Zi Yan simply didn’t have the time to send a message.
Yang Kai shook his head and stated, “I’m no longer the Sixth Manager of Scarlet Star, don’t call me Sixth Manager again.”
Guo Zi Yan was startled, but he was also a wise worldly man. He just glanced at the Star City, and then after thinking about what he had heard and seen before, he immediately understood Yang Kai’s predicament. A look of shame appeared on his face. One that he could not hide even when he tried to. He was a Scarlet Star Great Commander but he definitely could not come to terms with what the Managers of Scarlet Star had done; however, he was unable to change anything now.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stared at Zhong Fan and asked, “Old dog, now you have my people in your hands, and I also have your people in my hands, what are you going to do?”
Zhong Fan looked at Yang Kai coldly and snorted coldly, “If you let her go, I won’t kill you!”
Yang Kai grinned at him before shouting, “Guo Zi Yan!”
Guo Zi Yan was dishevelled, but although he was captured and his cultivation was sealed, he replied in a deep voice, “The humble subordinate is here!”
“How many people did they kill on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain!”
A trace of grief flashed in Guo Zi Yan’s eyes, and he cupped his fist and replied, “My lord, this humble subordinate had seventy-two men under his command, but now only thirty-nine are left. We lost thirty-three brothers in that battle!”
Yang Kai gave a nod before his momentum surged, giving the impression as if a god of war had descended. The next moment, he declared aloud, “This King will now take revenge for our thirty-three men, open your eyes and watch.”
The moment he declared this, Zhong Fan’s face changed drastically and he roared “You dare!?”
Nonetheless, Yang Kai smacked his palm as the wind and cloud surged. An enormous palm descended from the sky, pressing down towards a group of Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion members.
A giant palm seal slammed down from the sky, shattering space, and causing a series of explosions.
No one had expected Yang Kai to act so crazily. He was all alone in the middle of countless enemies, but not only did he not restrain himself, he even took the initiative to attack!
Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation hadn’t been formed yet, and Thunder Light’s disciples were still shaken from what happened, so the best these people could do was hurriedly gather their strength and launch hasty Secret Techniques and Artifact attacks.
The giant palm seal was riddled with holes from the countless attacks, but it still continued to press down.
A series of miserable cries rang out as bloody mists exploded in the air one by one, like the most beautiful red roses in the world. Under the eyes of everyone present, blood-red flowers blossomed mid-air.
When this attack was done, thirty-three blood flowers bloomed, no more, no less.
A series of gasps rang out from all over the Star City as everyone stared incredulously at the figure hovering in the sky. Zhong Fan and the other’s eyes were practically spitting fire as they stared at this figure.
Thirty-three of Guo Zi Yan’s subordinates had died in battle, so Yang Kai had killed thirty-three Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light disciples in front of everyone just to avenge those who had died.
This arrogant act was undoubtedly a slap in the face of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light, causing Zhong Fan and the others to feel their faces burn. Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would not be able to survive in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary if they couldn’t kill Yang Kai today.
The long sword in Zhong Fan’s hand trembled slightly as his Sword Qi fluctuated wildly. He wanted nothing more than to rush up to Yang Kai and tear him to pieces right now, but with Lu Xue in Yang Kai’s hands, he didn’t dare act rashly.
Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and glared at Zhong Fan, shouting, “This King forgot, it’s not thirty-three! You’ve killed one more!”
As soon as these words were spoken, all of Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion disciples’ expressions changed drastically as they quickly retreated, putting some distance between them and Yang Kai. Although they had a lot of people, none of them wanted to haunt this world due to an unjust death!
In an instant, there was no one else within a kilometre of Yang Kai, apart from Zhong Fan and a few other Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The might of this one person was terrifying!
“What are you going to do?” Zhong Fan looked over coldly.
“Since you’ve invited me to watch a show, this King will also invite you to watch a show!” Saying so, the purple sword light that belonged to Lu Xue between his fingers turned and directly stabbed into Lu Xue’s chest, then with a palm strike, he plunged the purple sword straight into Lu Xue’s body!
Lu Xue let out a muffled groan as she used all her strength to resist the burning might of the Golden Crow True Fire. At this moment, she was injured by Yang Kai, causing her to sweat profusely. Her white clothes immediately became stained with blood. Her skin became redder as steam rose from her and she let out a painful cry.
“You court death!” Luo Qing Yun’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot as he shouted, grinding his teeth.
Zhong Fan’s expression instantly became dark and gloomy.
Although Yang Kai’s killing of thirty-three people with a single palm strike had made him angry, they were just a few disciples under him while most belonged to Thunder Light. He could replace them if they died, but Lu Xue was different. She was one of the Sword Pavilion’s leaders, and now that she had been tortured by Yang Kai like this, he had no choice but to re-examine Yang Kai’s madness.
Guo Zi Yan and the thirty or so Scarlet Star disciples who had been captured all were looking dispirited at first, but after witnessing Yang Kai’s series of unexpected actions with their own eyes, their morale was greatly lifted!
Their Sixth Manager was truly cold and cruel. He could even be so merciless towards a beauty like Lu Xue. If it was them, they might not be able to bear it, but they had to admit that seeing this scene really made them feel happy and their blood boil, making them feel warmth deep in their hearts. They couldn’t help feeling an impulse to follow this Sixth Manager into the gates of Hell! Even if they died here, they would have no regrets!
“If you dare say another word, I’ll rip off her head!” Yang Kai turned to Luo Qing Yun and shouted.
Luo Qing Yun’s Sword Intent surged as he watched Lu Xue suffer. How could he not want to save her? In fact, he had been looking for an opportunity to save her the entire time, but unfortunately, Yang Kai had spread his Divine Sense to the surroundings and was monitoring everyone’s actions. Luo Qing Yun was unable to find any gap to strike, so he could not do anything. At this moment, when he looked into Yang Kai’s cold eyes, he was shocked and realized that Yang Kai wasn’t joking and would really do what he said.
The anger in his heart was like a volcano that could erupt at any moment, but he didn’t dare to say anything, lest Yang Kai really rip Lu Xue’s head off.
“Hmph!” Yang Kai smiled disdainfully and shouted, “Guo Zi Yan!”
Guo Zi Yan’s expression became solemn, “Your humble subordinate is here!”
“Are you afraid of death?” Yang Kai turned to look at him.
Guo Zi Yan’s mouth twitched. He really wanted to say that he wasn’t afraid of death looking at Yang Kai’s display of prestige, but who wouldn’t be afraid of death? Saying such words would seem hypocritical, so he immediately smiled and said, “I’m afraid!” But he immediately added, “But your humble subordinate believes that if we die here today, Sir will definitely take revenge for us!”
He had no doubt about this. Yang Kai just confirmed this by avenging the lives of the thirty-three people.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Very good!”
Guo Zi Yan added in a heavy voice, “Sir, you don’t need to worry about us, you can act as you please. Even if we die here, we won’t hold you back. Fellow Brothers, don’t you all agree?”
“We will obey Sir’s orders!” The more than thirty people shouted in unison as their voice reverberated through the sky, their faces filled with determination.
The onlookers were moved and a look of admiration blanketed their faces. Whether these words were sincere or forced by the circumstances, Yang Kai being able to obtain such support from Guo Zi Yan and the others at this time showed his charisma.
Chen Tian Fei and the others, on the other hand, had complicated looks on their faces. They had commanded Scarlet Star for many years, and although they had many capable subordinates, they had never seen such a display of loyalty!
It hadn’t been that long since Guo Zi Yan was assigned to Yang Kai, just a month or two, but he had already been subdued to such an extent? They couldn’t believe that a Scarlet Star disciple could act like this.
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn as he swept his gaze over them, seemingly trying to memorize their faces. He noticed Guo Zi Yan’s calmness, fear of death and desire for life in some people’s eyes, and also many expectations from him.
He nodded his acknowledgement before claiming, “Don’t worry, if you die, I’ll bury these three thousand people with you!”
As soon as he said this, the entire crowd went into an uproar!
Yang Kai might have shown extraordinary combat strength. After all, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Lu Xue was not able to resist him. Likewise, the other Open Heaven Realm Masters might not be a match for Yang Kai in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary; however, what he said was still too arrogant.
There were three thousand people here, not three thousand rocks on the side of the road! Even if they stood there and let him kill them, it would still take him a long time to accomplish. Not to mention there were a number of Open Heaven Realm Masters still overseeing them. Furthermore, the Sword Pavilion disciples could even form their Starfall Sword Formation to boost their strength.
Even if Scarlet Star went all out, it would not be their opponent, let alone a lone person called Yang Kai!
Someone secretly shook his head., “Isn’t this Yang fellow too arrogant? Does he really think he’s invincible?”
Someone even sneered, “Who doesn’t know how to boast? If it was me, I would boast a lot better than him.”
“Ah, this Brat, I thought he was intelligent and talented, but who would have thought that he would be so stupid as to say such things?”
Even Yue He, who had been paying close attention to Yang Kai in the mansion, frowned. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in Yang Kai’s strength as she had also witnessed Yang Kai defeat hundreds of Thunder Light disciples with the Scarlet Flood Dragon, but the three thousand people before her eyes were different. Thunder Light had brought its full strength out, and Sword Pavilion also had three hundred disciples here. Once they used their Sword Formation, they would be invincible.
If Yang Kai relied on his Space Secret Techniques to deal with them, he might be able to defeat them, but killing three thousand people was a bit unrealistic.
“Junior, your arrogance is quite big for your age!” Zhong Fan coldly snorted.
“Whether my arrogance is big or small, you’ll know soon enough.” Yang Kai looked at him disdainfully, “Old dog, I’ll give you two choices. The first is to release my men and I’ll trade this woman with you, and the second is to kill my men and I’ll have this woman accompany them to the underworld. Which one do you choose?”
Zhong Fan’s face turned dark and gloomy. Yang Kai’s intention was obviously to exchange hostages, but when he proposed the exchange, he spoke in a threatening manner, making everyone feel angry.
What made Zhong Fan even more helpless was that he couldn’t ignore Lu Xue’s life and death! To any force, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was a critical pillar that could not be lost!
“How do you expect this Old Master to believe you?” After pondering for a moment, Zhong Fan rolled his eyes at Yang Kai, “If this Old Master lets them go, what if you go back on your word?”
“Do you have a choice?” Yang Kai sneered.
Zhong Fan suggested, “This Old Master will release half of them first. Once you let her go, this Old Master will definitely release the other half!”
However, Yang Kai acted as if he didn’t hear her and raised Lu Xue high up in the air. A murderous look flashed on his face as he stated indifferently, “I’ll count to three. If I don’t see what I want, you can just wait to collect this woman’s corpse. One!”
“Junior, don’t push things too far!” Zhong Fan was furious. Yang Kai’s unyielding attitude was extremely infuriating. He had already taken a step back and agreed to let half of them go, but who would have thought that Yang Kai wouldn’t accept it at all. There were so many eyes here, so how could he take being so openly disdained?
“Two!” Yang Kai remained unmoved, his expression indifferent.
Luo Qing Yun nervously looked at Zhong Fan. The long sword in his hand was already tightly clenched. As long as Yang Kai shouted ‘three’, he would promptly attack him.
Zhong Fan’s aura also quickly rose to its peak as he stared fixedly at Yang Kai. He could tell that although Yang Kai had mentally prepared Guo Zi Yan and the others in advance and told them he would avenge them, he didn’t want to see Guo Zi Yan and the others die here; otherwise, he wouldn’t have wanted to exchange hostages.
At this critical moment, whoever buckled to the pressure first would suffer a crushing defeat!
As such, Zhong Fan’s face was filled with determination.
Yang Kai’s mouth opened slightly as a grin appeared on his face. The word ‘three’ had already formed in his mouth as a powerful energy fluctuation pulsated from his hand.
Zhong Fan immediately shouted, “Release them!”
His imposing aura instantly fell to the bottom!
In the end, he didn’t dare to take the risk. Yang Kai could ignore the life and death of Guo Zi Yan and the others, and at worst, he would just avenge them, but the Sword Pavilion couldn’t afford to lose Lu Xue.
Luo Qing Yun also let out a sigh of relief, his hand gripping his sword, sweating profusely.
After Zhong Fan’s command, Guo Zi Yan and the others who had been captured also broke free from their shackles and flew towards Yang Kai. When they got close, Guo Zi Yan cupped his fists with a face filled with gratitude and shame, “Sir!”
Yang Kai nodded and whispered, “Where’s the Earth Dragon?”
He still had no idea if the Earth Dragon was alive or dead.
Guo Zi Yan said, “The Earth Dragon is unharmed and has escaped under the Yuan Magnetic Mountain.”
It was quite sly, so when it saw that the situation wasn’t looking good, it immediately fled. It was proficient in the Earth Escape Technique, so even if Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had a lot of people, they couldn’t do anything to it. It was also impossible for them to continue searching for its traces in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, so they simply left it alone. After all, their main target was, at the end of the day, Yang Kai.
“Good.” Yang Kai felt relieved. He finally heard some good news.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon was also quickly released. Comparatively speaking, the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s injuries were the most severe; many of its scales had fallen off, it was bleeding from everywhere, and there was a huge gaping wound on its neck. It looked extremely pitiful.
It flew over to Yang Kai and lowered its head. It expressed its anger and helplessness via Divine Sense as it stared at Lu Xue in Yang Kai’s hand. It bared its teeth as if it wanted to swallow her whole. The enormous wound on its neck was the handiwork of Lu Xue.
Lu Xue got really nervous at the sight of this. Zhong Fan and Luo Qing Yun also couldn’t help but have their hearts jump to their throats. They were afraid that Yang Kai would go back on his word.
Fortunately, Yang Kai didn’t let the Scarlet Flood Dragon bite and simply patted its head, “Go back.” He then ordered Guo Zi Yan and the others too, “All of you go back first.”
Guo Zi Yan was momentarily taken aback, “Sir, what about you?”
“Don’t worry, these scum can’t do anything to me.”
Guo Zi Yan was deeply worried and wanted to persuade him otherwise; still, when he noticed Yang Kai’s determined expression, he knew he wouldn’t be able to persuade him otherwise and couldn’t help but admire him. [He is still able to remain so calm and collected even in the face of so many enemies, Sir is really something else.]
“Then Sir, you must be careful!” Guo Zi Yan exhorted before leading more than thirty people and Scarlet Flood Dragon towards the Star City.
The Star City’s defensive Grand Array appeared to still be closed, so Yang Kai turned his head in the direction of Chen Tian Fei and the others, where they were hiding, and stared at them silently, giving off an invisible pressure.
After a dozen breaths of time, Chen Tian Fei’s brow twitched as he secretly issued an order.
A crack appeared in the Grand Array as Guo Zi Yan and the Scarlet Flood Dragon rushed into the Star City. Although Chen Tian Fei and the others didn’t want to offend Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light, in the eyes of outsiders, Guo Zi Yan and the others were still members of Scarlet Star, so locking their own people outside wasn’t very appropriate; they had no choice but to let them pass. As for the Scarlet Flood Dragon, it was just tagging along.
After Guo Zi Yan and the others had entered the Star City, this hostage exchange had undoubtedly been won by Yang Kai. Now, Yang Kai had gained complete control of the situation. With Lu Xue in his hands, whether he wanted to fight or flee was up to him. Although Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had many people, it was highly unlikely that they could do anything to him.
Many people had looks of admiration on their faces. If they were in Yang Kai’s shoes, they wouldn’t have been able to do such a thing, but after thinking about it carefully, Sword Pavilion was also helpless. As long as they couldn’t bear to give up on Lu Xue, they would definitely choose to compromise.
A gust of wind blew over, causing Yang Kai’s clothes to flap.
The next moment, Divine Senses spread out and locked onto Yang Kai one after another as a thick murderous intent filled the air. The three hundred Sword Pavilion disciples quietly changed their formation and sealed off the surrounding area. In an instant, Yang Kai was completely surrounded and had no way out!
“That brat is in trouble now.” Chen Tian Fei stated softly. In this situation, unless he could suppress Lu Xue and find a way to survive, it would be impossible for him to escape this inescapable net.
“He asked for it.” Ou Yang Lie coldly snorted, “Does he really think he can do whatever he wants just because he is slightly capable?”
“If you were him, what would you do now?” Lady Qin asked.
Chen Tian Fei shook his head, “Lu Xue is his only chance of survival. If he wants to live, he must not let her go.”
At this moment, Zhong Fan shouted, “Release her.”
Yang Kai pursed his lips into a smile, “Don’t worry, this King always keeps his word!”
Saying so, under everyone’s stunned gazes, he directly pushed Lu Xue away.
Chen Tian Fei’s eyes, which had been narrowed into slits, suddenly bulged, as if they were about to pop out at any moment, and he couldn’t help but cry out, “That brat is crazy!”
He had just said that if Yang Kai wanted to live, he couldn’t let Lu Xue go, but Yang Kai did just that as soon as he said this.
With Lu Xue in his hands, Yang Kai still held the initiative, but how could he survive now that he had released her? Was he tired of living and courting death?
Not only did Chen Tian Fei not expect this, but even the person in question did not expect it. When Lu Xue was pushed out, her face was filled with perplexity, as if she had not expected to escape from Yang Kai’s control.
However, Zhong Fan’s eyes lit up as he roared, “Damn brat, because of this, I respect you as a hero and will definitely give you a quick and painless death!”
Once he spoke, he pulled Lu Xue to his side as the long sword in his hand shook as he prepared to attack.
But right then, Lu Xue spurted a mouthful of blood. The blood mist she spat out was extremely hot, as if it was boiling. Not only that, but Lu Xue turned red all over as steam rose from her head.
“Huh?” Zhong Fan’s pupils constricted as he instinctively felt that something was wrong.
Previously, Lu Xue had also acted strangely, but at that time, she had been suppressed by Yang Kai. Zhong Fan had thought that Yang Kai had used some underhanded trick against her, but now that she had been released, she shouldn’t have acted like this. Even if Yang Kai had planted some kind of trick in her body, with her Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation, she should have been able to deal with it easily.
“Uncle Zhong, save me!” Lu Xue cried out hoarsely, her beautiful eyes filled with fear and panic.
Zhong Fan couldn’t be bothered to find trouble with Yang Kai anymore and directly reached out and grabbed Lu Xue’s wrist, sending his pure energy into her body. But the next moment, he withdrew his hand as if it had been stung by a snake or scorpion and exclaimed in shock, “How is this possible?”
In that instant, he discovered that Lu Xue’s body was filled with a violent and oppressive scorching energy that was wantonly burning her meridians and flesh. This scorching energy was extremely pure, so pure that he found it unbelievable. Lu Xue was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, yet she was actually unable to suppress it.
In this situation, even if Lu Xue went all out, she would still be burned to death in less than an hour!
Zhong Fan turned his head, and saw Yang Kai staring at him with a playful look on his face. It was no wonder Yang Kai had let Lu Xue go so easily. It was not out of chivalry, but because he had other plans in mind.
If he wanted Lu Xue to live, Zhong Fan would need to help her suppress the scorching energy; otherwise, she would die without a doubt. Furthermore, apart from him, no one else could help her. This way, the only Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be completely pinned down and would not be able to make a move.
Zhong Fan ground his teeth. He thought that this little brat was a straightforward and heroic character, but who would have thought he was this despicable and shameless? He secretly hated himself for misjudging Yang Kai and now wanted nothing more than to dig out his eyes.
“Kill him!” After a moment’s thought, Zhong Fan shouted and at the same time swung his sleeve, covering Lu Xue with his energy as the two flew down, landing on a nearby hill. As he put down Lu Xue, Zhong Fan shouted, “Concentrate and suppress it with all your strength, I’ll help you!”
Saying so, he turned around and walked to Lu Xue’s back and put his palm behind her, sending a burst of pure energy into her body to help her suppress the scorching energy.
Lu Xue didn’t dare to be negligent. She promptly sat down cross-legged and formed a set of hand seals while silently circulating her Secret Art.
Seeing this, how could the countless cultivators inside and outside the Star City not know that Yang Kai had used some underhanded trick on Lu Xue? Otherwise, why would Zhong Fan bring Lu Xue to a relatively safe place and help her heal her injuries?
“That boy surnamed Yang’s schemes run deep. With one move, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light lost two Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators.”
“Even if that’s the case, so what? They still have three Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, not to mention they also have at least twenty or thirty Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.”
“He’s too smart for his own good. He managed to tie down Zhong Fan by himself, but that doesn’t affect the overall situation. Does he really think he can take on three thousand people by himself?”
“Haa… in the face of absolute power, any kind of scheme is useless.”
The crowd broke into a discussion. None of them was optimistic about Yang Kai’s chances and all of them thought that he had made the wrong decision. If he really wanted to live, he shouldn’t have let Lu Xue go so easily.
At this moment, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light no longer had any worries, so why would they show him any mercy?
Just as everyone was raring to go, a powerful voice suddenly rang out from the Star City, “Brat, as long as you submit to this Young Master and become this Young Master’s slave, this Young Master will guarantee your safety!”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned their heads and saw a young man in luxurious robes standing mid-air, smiling as he stared at Yang Kai. There were seven or eight servants standing behind him.
Judging from this young man’s aura, he was just an Emperor Realm cultivator, but his clothes looked quite expensive. By the looks of it, he seemed to have an extraordinary background.
But this was the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so what if he had an extraordinary background?
Many people were discussing this matter for a time, trying to guess which force this young man belonged to as he was acting way too arrogant. His declaration took everyone by surprise; after all, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s three thousand disciples were all ready to go, and yet, he arrogantly claimed that he could protect Yang Kai.
Although everyone didn’t discuss loudly, they were clearly heard by the young man. It immediately caused him to feel annoyed so he couldn’t help but coldly snort as an arrogant look appeared on his face.
A guard behind him stepped out and condescendingly gazed over the crowd before coldly introducing, “My Young Master is the descendant of the Third Elder of Azure Nether Paradise. Who dares insult him?”
As soon as his voice fell, everyone was stunned silent.
Azure Nether Paradise was one of the seventy-two Paradises and was considered a top force in the 3,000 Worlds. Being able to become an Elder in a Paradise and even be ranked third meant that he was at least a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
This boy was from the Azure Nether Paradise, and had a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Ancestor. His backing really wasn’t small.
If he insisted on protecting Yang Kai, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would have to consider the consequences of offending him. He might not be able to do anything to Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but what about outside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? With just a word, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would be removed from the face of this world.
His request was indeed a bit excessive; he wanted Yang Kai to submit to him and become his slave. Be that as it may, it was pretty good that he had a choice in the face of death, so who would care so much about it?
What’s more, the other party had an extraordinary background. Being a slave to such a person wasn’t necessarily a bad deal.
Even Luo Qing Yun and the others, who were preparing to act, froze in place, not knowing whether they should act or not. All of them stared nervously at Yang Kai, afraid that he would agree.
Observing Yang Kai’s expression, the young man’s expression became even more arrogant as he pointed his chin towards Yang Kai and stated, “Brat, if you miss this opportunity, you won’t be able to find another chance. Think carefully before answering this Young Master.”
“You want me to submit to you and become your slave?” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at the young man. When he was cultivating in seclusion, he had noticed the arrival of these people from Azure Nether Paradise, but he hardly cared about them. [By the looks of it, it should be this guy.]
The young man smiled, “That will be your greatest honour!”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai muttered noncommittally.
Luo Qing Yun hurriedly interjected, “Yang Kai, when a man walks the world, he must have an unyielding character. He should prefer death while standing than kneeling in order to live. Think carefully, don’t let a single misstep lead to eternal regret!”
He was really afraid that Yang Kai would agree. If that was the case, then what was the point of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light joining forces today? How would he avenge Lu Xue?
“This Young Master is speaking, how dare you interrupt!?” The young man from Azure Nether Paradise suddenly glared at Luo Qing Yun with an angry look on his face, “What’s your name? If you have the guts, announce it here!”
Luo Qing Yun’s expression immediately became extremely ugly. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, if he didn’t reply, he would appear weak, but if he did, he would be afraid of being punished later. Although he was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was still nothing in front of a colossus like a Paradise. Even if this young man couldn’t really represent Azure Nether Paradise, just the strength behind him was not something Luo Qing Yun could contend with. For the moment, he found himself riding a tiger, unable to get off mid-way.
At the same time, his heart was filled with incomparable fury. If it weren’t for this young man’s backing, how could a mere Emperor Realm brat dare act so presumptuously in front of him?
Fortunately, the young man didn’t make things too difficult for him. At this moment, it was the perfect opportunity to subdue Yang Kai, so he was completely focused on just that and couldn’t care about anything else. As long as he could subdue Yang Kai, all of Yang Kai’s harvests on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain would be his. That was a lot of Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones. Even in the Cave Heavens and Paradises, it would still be a considerable amount of resources. The Old Ancestor would look at him in a new light when he returned to Azure Nether Paradise with this kind of harvest.
What’s more, Yang Kai had a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm maidservant with him, so perhaps he could use this opportunity to obtain her.
Ever since he met Yue He that day, he had been unable to forget her.
Seeing Luo Qing Yun not respond, he snorted lightly and turned to Yang Kai, asking, “This Young Master’s patience is limited, have you thought it through?”
Yang Kai replied indifferently, “You don’t have the qualifications to make me your slave!”
As soon as he finished speaking, his body shook, and a powerful flame burst out from his figure, enveloping him like a raging inferno, causing the space around him to visibly distort and the world to tremble.
Amidst the raging flames, Yang Kai opened his eyes like two small suns, burning with scorching fire. A cold murderous intent filled the air as he shouted in a dignified voice, “You dare interrupt my seclusion and disturb my mind? All of you deserve death! Today, I will use your dog lives to cultivate my Divine Ability!”
With a loud bang, the Fire Element Power in his Dao Seal began to surge. With Yang Kai at the centre, halos of flame spread out in all directions, one after another, emerging to no end.
The next moment, miserable screams echoed through the sky. The cultivators closest to Yang Kai didn’t even have time to react before the wall of flames passed over them, igniting them into balls of fire that flew around like headless flies, crashing into their neighbours. However, in just two or three breaths of time, the screams came to an abrupt halt, and the burning fireballs were reduced to ash as they fell from the sky like dumplings.
In an instant, dozens of people had fallen!
Everyone’s eyes were filled with shock as they watched this scene. Much to their surprise, Yang Kai, who was alone, was the first to make a move even when he was surrounded by three thousand people including dozens of Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Furthermore, dozens of cultivators had fallen with just one strike!
“What kind of fire is that?” Chen Tian Fei’s eyes narrowed as he stared fixedly at the pitch-black flames burning around Yang Kai. He had never felt a shock greater than this.
Just the raging halo of flame alone was already so fierce, undoubtedly indicating that this Fire Element was of a very high Order. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for these cultivators to be unable to resist it.
[A Fifth-Order Fire Element power would never be able to accomplish such a feat. Could it be Sixth-Order?!]
Chen Tian Fei’s heart shook as he realized he had been underestimating Yang Kai all this time. Condensing a Sixth-Order Fire Element meant that Yang Kai’s aptitude was extraordinary, and his ambitions were immense. If this kind of person weren’t born in a Cave Heaven or Paradise, it would be impossible to cultivate to such an extent. Once he grows up, he would have a place in the 3,000 Worlds.
[This boy’s origins were always vague, could it be that he is from a Cave Heaven or Paradise? If that’s not the case, why would he speak to the young man from Azure Nether Paradise like that?]
Thinking so, a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on Chen Tian Fei’s forehead as he secretly prayed that this was not the case; otherwise, Scarlet Star’s good days had come to an end.
The raging burst of flames continued to spread outwards as bright flashes of light erupted. Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light disciples all activated their Secret Techniques and artifacts to protect themselves. The Sword Pavilion disciples even formed their own Sword Formations to block the raging flames.
The Starfall Sword Formation’s power was extraordinary, able to link together the strength of several dozen people once it was formed, boosting the power of all those who formed it, especially the one who held the core position.
Even though the raging flames were quite powerful, they were still blocked by the sword curtain of this Formation. On the other hand, although the number of Thunder Light cultivators was much larger, they were more akin to scattered sand than a cohesive unit. When they saw dozens of their companions die right before their eyes, all of them were terrified and hurriedly retreated.
After Yang Kai’s initial attack, he instantly disappeared from his original position. There was a calm and indifferent look on his face as he rushed straight into the crowd and threw a punch. The punch was surrounded by raging Golden Crow True Fire. The pitch-black flames caused even space to burn.
Tens of Thunder Light disciples in the punch’s path were reduced to ashes instantly.
Long Tai’s eyes bulged as he roared in fury, “Kill him!”
As he spoke, he took the lead and charged straight at Yang Kai. On the other side, Luo Qing Yun and Zhu Li, the other two Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, used various methods to lock onto Yang Kai’s figure with their Divine Senses. The former became one with his sword and slashed towards Yang Kai, while the latter slapped his waist and sent out a nail-shaped artifact. Under Zhu Li’s control, the artifact flew towards Yang Kai in a silent but deadly manner.
Seeing this, Yue He shouted from below, “Young Master, be careful!”
Although she knew that Yang Kai was strong, such a situation was still quite worrying; after all, two palms could not block four fists. A single careless mistake would result in death.
Moreover, she had been paying close attention to Yang Kai’s expression and was shocked to discover that there was something wrong with him at the moment, as if he wasn’t actually focused on the battle he was engaged in.
As expected, facing the attacks of the three Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and countless others, Yang Kai didn’t even try to dodge. All he did was summon a series of Dragon Shields around his body and unleash a flurry of punches and kicks. The ordinary disciples of Thunder Light who were struck by Yang Kai’s attacks couldn’t resist at all, and even Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had no choice but to dodge.
*Hong hong hong…*
Attacks landed on Yang Kai’s body one after another, and no matter how strong his defensive Secret Technique was, it was unable to withstand such a flurry of fierce attacks. The Dragon Shields shattered, and before he re-formed them, the remaining attacks were already upon him.
Yang Kai’s figure staggered, his clothes instantly becoming ragged as he instinctively manipulated Space Principles in an attempt to dodge. Unfortunately, Zhu Li’s nail-like artifact actually had the effect of locking him in place and pinning him to the spot, making him unable to move.
The next moment, a sword light swished over as Luo Qing Yun roared, “Die!”
The moment he brushed past Yang Kai, a splash of golden blood spurted out from Yang Kau’s chest. Nonetheless, Luo Qing Yun’s eyes suddenly shrank because this sword strike had failed to kill Yang Kai. It was simply inconceivable!
One had to know that he was using a Secret Technique to control his sword, so even if this attack struck a cultivator in the same Realm, he or she would end up dying for sure; however, Yang Kai had only suffered some minor injuries, that’s all.
[How tough is this guy’s physical body? Is he even human?]
Luo Qing Yun didn’t know that although Yang Kai was human, he could take the form of an over 2,000 metres tall Half-Dragon using his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique. Yang Kai had been consuming Dragon Blood Pills all the while as well, so his physique had risen to a new level. Therefore, how could he be so easily killed? Rather, the fact that Luo Qing Yun could injure his physical body was already quite a feat.
Golden Blood was flowing out of his chest, but Yang Kai didn’t seem to notice it at all. From the moment the battle began, the light in his eyes had become calm and cold, like a pool of still water. His entire body had turned into a mindless battle machine, only knowing how to fight.
Long Tai flew over at that moment. He clenched his fists and raised them high before smashing them towards Yang Kai’s head.
Yang Kai suddenly raised his head and stared at him indifferently, causing Long Tai’s heart to clench. He subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but it was too late for him to withdraw now, so all he could do was let out a furious roar and attack with all his strength, hoping for the best.
Yang Kai sent out a punch of his own, and in front of everyone’s astonished eyes, Long Tai was sent flying backwards at a speed faster than he had arrived, spurting a bloody mist as he tumbled through the air.
The whole Star City went into an uproar!
Long Tai was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master while Yang Kai was just a mere Emperor Realm cultivator, yet in this frontal clash of punches, it was actually Long Tai who was sent flying and injured! Even if they were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, this was still inconceivable.
Chen Tian Fei smiled bitterly. If Long Tai had seen Yang Kai kill Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong like slaughtering chickens in Scarlet Star’s Main Hall, he wouldn’t have acted so rashly.
[In front of this monster, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is nothing.] He still vividly remembered the terrifying scene of Yang Kai killing Du Niang Zi and would shudder every time he thought about it.
The moment he repelled Long Tai, Yang Kai suddenly turned around and grabbed toward a certain spot in the sky.
A few hundred metres away, Zhu Li’s expression changed as he quickly changed his hand seals, but it was still too late. When Yang Kai withdrew his hand, a nail-shaped artifact appeared in his palm. It was Zhu Li’s.
The pitch-black flames in Yang Kai’s palm burned fiercely.
“Stop!” Zhu Li cried out in horror. This Spirit Fixing Nail was something he had obtained by chance while out for life experience, and its power was extraordinary. Once it was used, it would be like a maggot clinging to rotting bones. As long as he was given enough time, he would be able to use his Secret Technique to launch a fatal blow towards Yang Kai’s Soul through the nail, but before he could prepare himself, Yang Kai had seized the initiative.
[How is this possible?] Looking at the rolling flames, Yang Kai obviously wanted to use his Fire Element Power to destroy this artifact so as to avoid disturbing his Space Technique.
Zhu Li had used his Soul to refine the Spirit Fixing Nail, so if it was really destroyed, his Soul would definitely be damaged, which was why he was panicking.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Li spurted a mouthful of blood and his aura instantly weakened as he stared at Yang Kai in shock, “What the Hell is this? What the hell kind of fire is this!?”
The Spirit Fixing Nail’s grade wasn’t low, but in just a breath’s worth of time, it had been reduced to ashes by the raging flames. Zhu Li couldn’t imagine how high the Order of this Fire Element was to be able to achieve this!
In the blink of an eye, two of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s remaining three Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had been injured. In comparison, Long Tai’s injuries were relatively light. He was just punched by Yang Kai, that’s all. On the other hand, Zhu Li’s Soul had taken damage
Without the Spirit Fixing Nail’s restraint, Yang Kai immediately rushed out like a Flood Dragon going out to sea, leaving behind a series of afterimages as he charged into the crowd.
The pitch-black Golden Crow’s True Fire devoured everything in its path, recklessly burning everything it touched. The Emperor Realm cultivators who were struck by it were all killed, none of them able to resist. Even some of the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who were mixed in with the crowd quickly retreated in fear.
Clouds of blood mist exploded in the air as charred corpses fell from the sky. In the Star City, countless pairs of eyes stared blankly at this scene, almost forgetting to breathe as everyone felt a great shock.
Before today, no one had ever thought that a single man of supposedly equal or lesser strength could kill thousands of enemies by himself while making them cry for their mothers and fathers. Even if Yang Kai lost in the end, the achievements he had made today would be enough to make everyone remember him.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, outside Scarlet Star’s Star City, an impulsive and reckless young man with black hair fluttering in the wind was acting in a way that ordinary people couldn’t. His courage was truly eye-opening.
Fluctuations of Space Principles lingered around Yang Kai’s body. He would instantly move to wherever there were more people, his killing intent shrouding the entire sky. He was fighting like a madman, his figure intangible as he never stopped moving, leaving afterimages as he flew through the air. It almost looked like there were several of him fighting.
“Junior, don’t you dare act so presumptuous!” Luo Qing Yun gritted his teeth and shouted. His sword transformed into nine sword lights that slashed towards Yang Kai with a wave of his arm.
He had been searching for an opening in Yang Kai’s defence while chasing after his footsteps, but Yang Kai’s movements were simply too fast, and his Instantaneous Movement technique made him too unpredictable. Luo Qing Yun had tried several times but had failed to find an opportunity to strike, so now when he had finally found an opening, he didn’t hesitate to use his strongest Divine Ability.
Nine flashes of sword light swished through the sky, instantly arriving in front of Yang Kai and striking his body.
*Duo duo duo…*
It didn’t sound like it had hit flesh and blood, but rather an artifact of some kind. Yang Kai’s figure shook and his clothes tore, drawing Golden Blood that radiated a shocking vitality from his wounds.
Luo Qing Yun’s heart trembled as he stared at this scene in a daze.
Previously, when he had failed to kill Yang Kai with his sword strike, he had already noticed that this guy’s physical body was extraordinary, but now, even his strongest Ability had failed to kill him?
He was a sword cultivator who specialized in killing. If even he couldn’t kill Yang Kai, then even with so many people present, who could kill him? Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t even be able to injure him.
As expected, after the nine sword lights, countless attacks flew towards Yang Kai, but Yang Kai only used his Dragon Shield Secret Technique to ward off those attacks.
When the dazzling flashes of various colours finally disappeared, the Dragon Shield that surrounded Yang Kai’s body shattered, but he did not suffer much damage.
Luo Qing Yun’s heart sank as he turned to look towards Zhong Fan.
Right now, only a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Zhong Fan had a chance to cut Yang Kai down, but as far as he could tell, Zhong Fan was currently healing Lu Xue’s injuries. He couldn’t fathom what kind of method Yang Kai had used to force Zhong Fan into a corner.
[Is this also part of his plan?] Luo Qing Yun couldn’t believe it. [No wonder he released Lu Xue so easily. I thought that he was a fool, but now, it seems that he is actually quite shrewd!]
Unable to count on Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun’s expression suddenly became solemn as he shouted, “Disciples of Sword Pavilion, obey my command! Form the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation!”
“Yes Sir!” The hundreds of Sword Pavilion disciples’ voices shook the sky. Each of them was greatly excited as if they had been waiting for this moment.
There weren’t many Sword Pavilion disciples present here, only about three hundred. Among the crowd of three thousand people, Sword Pavilion disciples only made up 10% of the forces. Furthermore, not many of their people had lost their lives at Yang Kai’s hands since the start of the battle.
Comparatively speaking, Sword Pavilion’s losses were relatively small since they had formed the Starfall Sword Formation from the beginning to resist Yang Kai’s initial flames attack.
With both sides attacking and defending, it was undoubtedly much better than the scattered sand-like Thunder Light disciples.
It could be said that ninety-nine percent of the cultivators who died at Yang Kai’s hands were Thunder Light Disciples.
Sword Pavilion disciples had already assumed the Starfall Sword Formation in groups of forty to fifty, filling the world with Sword Qi. Now that Luo Qing Yun had given the order, the Sword Formations rapidly moved towards Luo Qing Yun.
In less than three breaths of time, the auras of the Starfall Sword Formations had been tightly linked together, with Luo Qing Yun at the centre. Sword Intents soared into the sky and gathered on Luo Qing Yun’s body, piercing a hole in space.
Defying Heavens Star Net Formation, complete!
Luo Qing Yun’s aura rose steadily, and even though he was being suppressed by the World Principles of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he still showed signs of breaking through the Emperor Realm and striding into the Open Heaven Realm. He stared at Yang Kai, who was still slaughtering his enemies, eyes filled with indifference!
The Defying Heavens Star Net Formation was the Sword Pavilion’s most powerful Formation. With this Sword Formation, Luo Qing Yun was confident he could kill Yang Kai even without Zhong Fan.
“That brat is in trouble now.” Chen Tian Fei sighed and slowly shook his head, “In the end, he’s still too young, showing off too much of his strength and not knowing how to restrain himself!”
Lady Qin also carried a solemn expression, “I heard that the leader of Sword Pavilion came from a very large force, but for some unknown reason, he had wandered outside and established Sword Pavilion. This Starfall Sword Formation and Defying Heavens Star Net Formation are both the formations of that force.”
Ou Yang Lie added with a nod, “I’ve also heard of this before and seen the power of the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation once. It was… truly extraordinary. With this Formation, Scarlet Star and Thunder Light will never be a match for Sword Pavilion.”
At the same time, Yang Kai, who was rushing through the crowd, also instinctively felt a sense of crisis. He felt as if needles were stabbing all over him. He promptly surged his Earth Element Power from his Dao Seal, forming Dragon Shields again, one after another.
“Junior, it is your honour to die under my Sword Pavilion’s Formation!” Luo Qing Yun’s indifferent voice rang as he pointed his sword towards Yang Kai before slashing it towards Yang Kai as swiftly as wind.
Under the influence of his aura, the hundreds of Sword Pavilion disciples in the grand Formation also began moving.
From a distance, Yang Kai could no longer see anyone inside the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation. There was only the Sword Intent lingering in the air. The next moment, a massive sword wave tore through the sky and struck Yang Kai.
The sounds of something breaking rang immediately after.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the layered Dragon Shields around Yang Kai shattered one after another. Even though he was frantically using his Dao Seal to repair them, Yang Kai was still unable to keep up with the speed at which they were breaking.
In just seven or eight breaths of time, the Dragon Shields had completely disappeared.
“Die!” Luo Qing Yun’s happy voice rang from within the sword wave.
A pitch-black flame engulfed Yang Kai’s body with a loud bang as the raging Golden Crow’s True Fire swept towards the sword wave like it had a mind of its own. Wherever the black flame passed, the sword light would instantly dim, as if it had been burnt to ashes.
In the eyes of the cultivators in the Star City, it was as if the black fire had devoured the sword wave, causing the enormous sword wave to shrink rapidly.
Yang Kai’s figure also continued to retreat. Although the Golden Crow’s True Fire’s power was extraordinary, the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation was still formed by hundreds of people, and with Luo Qing Yun, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, controlling it, its power was truly immense.
“Cease your futile resistance!” Luo Qing Yun shouted, “You will be buried here today for insulting my Sword Pavilion!”
With Luo Qing Yun’s angry roar, the sword wave which had been partially destroyed suddenly expanded and pierced through the void, showing faint signs of tearing through the pitch-black flames as it shot towards Yang Kai.
Once the Golden Crow’s True Fire was pierced through, it would not end well for him, even if Yang Kai used his Dragon Transformation to bolster his physique.
In this life-and-death struggle, even those from Thunder Light were unable to intervene. They could only watch from afar, not even daring to approach to within a thousand meters, lest they be affected by the sword wave or the black flames.
In the sky, the Golden Crow’s True Fire that had been pushed to its limit was now evenly matched with the terrifying Sword Light.
In the Star City, however, Chen Tian Fei suddenly frowned and muttered, “Something’s wrong!”
“What’s wrong?” Bei Yu Shan asked curiously.
“In such a situation, why hasn’t that brat used his full strength yet?” Chen Tian Fei asked in confusion.
“He hasn’t used his full strength?” Bei Yu Shan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Chen Tian Fei said solemnly, “Did you forget that this boy has a long spear in his hand? Although I don’t know where that spear came from, there’s no doubt it’s an extremely powerful artifact. Why hasn’t he used it yet?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the Managers of Scarlet Star fell into deep thought. How could they not know about the existence of the Azure Dragon Spear? That day, Gan Hong had died under that stunning spear.
The might of this spear was something that even a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master couldn’t resist, so if he were to use it now, even if it couldn’t resolve the current crisis, it wouldn’t be so bad!
In a life-or-death crisis, who would hide their strength?
Bei Yu Shan scratched his head and said, “Manager Chen, after hearing what you said, it seems like his condition has always been a bit off.” In this life-and-death struggle, Yang Kai’s reactions seemed more instinctual than calculated, as if his mind wasn’t on this battlefield, but that was simply inconceivable. Facing so many enemies by himself and not paying attention to the battlefield, how could he not care about his own life?
Lady Qin’s eyes suddenly narrowed as she seemed to recall something and covered her red lips, “Do you remember what he said before the battle commenced?”
Ou Yang Bing lowered his head in contemplation before slowly reciting, “You dare interrupt my seclusion and disturb my mind? All of you deserve death! Today, I will use your dog lives to cultivate my Divine Ability!”
Chen Tian Fei’s face was filled with shock as he cried out, “Is that brat trying to stimulate his hidden potential using this life-and-death battle to cultivate some kind of Divine Ability?”
The moment Chen Tian Fei said this, the Managers of Scarlet Star were all shocked!
[Is he for real? How could anyone be so crazy? Does he want to die?]
However, from Yang Kai’s previous performance and his current response, it was clear that he was cultivating some kind of Divine Ability!
In the danger between life and death, there was great terror and great fear, but also great opportunities!
Lingering near the gates of death would often give one a flash of inspiration or insight, allowing them to comprehend some grand mystery or truth. Chen Tian Fei and the others were all Open Heaven Realm Masters, and after living for so many years, every one of them had experienced something similar at least once. However, all of their experiences were forced upon them, they never wanted to put themselves in a position where they would be trapped between life and death like Yang Kai.
“Crazy, this little brat is really crazy,” Chen Tian Fei muttered, shocked by his own thoughts.
“Look behind him!” Lady Qin suddenly exclaimed.
The Scarlet Star Managers quickly turned to look behind Yang Kai, and what they saw immediately caused their eyes to narrow. The pitch-black flames around Yang Kai suddenly started surging. Although the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation was suppressing him, his aura was still rising at a terrifying rate. Soon, he had reached his limit, and the raging black flames were beating like a heart, like it was giving birth to a new life.
This scene was witnessed by the Managers of Scarlet Star City and by everyone in the Star City. Even though they were far away from Yang Kai, everyone couldn’t help but feel a sense of horrific pressure, as if some unparalleled monster was trying to break out of his body.
Yue He had been paying close attention to Yang Kai all the while, ready to step in when she saw that he was at a disadvantage. With her Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, the strength she could display in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was truly limited. If she really went up, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock in the face of the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch Yang Kai die. As long as she could wake Yang Kai up from his trance-like state, with his attainments in the Dao of Space, he would definitely be able to escape with his life.
However, after seeing the surging black flames, she forced herself to endure. Her heart jumped to her throat and her beautiful eyes were glued on Yang Kai. Her fists were clenched tightly, to the point that her knuckles had turned white.
“If it wasn’t for the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, would a mere Emperor Realm ant dare act so presumptuously in front of my Sword Pavilion? Break!” Luo Qing Yun’s shout came from the sword wave.
The Defying Heavens Star Net Formation, which had already gained the upper hand, suddenly bloomed with a dazzling flash, tearing apart the black flames around Yang Kai and striking him.
Luo Qing Yun couldn’t help but have a look of joy on his face, as if he just saw Yang Kai being killed. Although this battle had been difficult, he had still won and restored the lost face of Sword Pavilion, letting the world know that Sword Pavilion could not be humiliated!
However, right at that moment, Luo Qing Yun’s heart suddenly clenched, and for some reason, an extreme sense of crisis flooded him.
When he looked up, Yang Kai, who had been completely calm and unresponsive until now, suddenly grinned as his indifferent eyes shone brilliantly as if he had finally come back to his senses, “Open!”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a thunderclap rolling across the skies, causing the world to tremble.
In the blink of an eye, a huge orb of fire appeared behind Yang Kai. It looked as if a sun was hanging behind him, shining with a golden light that illuminated the world, making it difficult for anyone to open their eyes.
“What is that?” Countless cultivators who saw this scene were shocked. No one had ever seen such a strange phenomenon. Could it be that this Yang Kai really has a small sun hidden inside his body?
Not only were the Emperor Realm cultivators puzzled, but many Open Heaven Realm Masters were also lost.
Only a few people were stunned for a moment. Immediately after, they seemed to have realized something and their bodies trembled as a look of shock and disbelief took over their faces. After all, although they knew something ordinary people didn’t know, none of them had ever seen it with their own eyes.
Lady Qin covered her red lips and muttered, “Could this be…”
“Manifestation!” Chen Tian Fei spat out the word with great difficulty, his fat body trembling from the shock.
The Ou Yang Brothers couldn’t help but gulp nervously, whereas Bei Yu Shan stared at Yang Kai in admiration and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Astonishing!”
Back then, Bei Yu Shan had been sent flying by Yang Kai’s punch in the Main Hall and, in truth, he had been having a hard time accepting it. He believed that he had underestimated his opponent too much; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been beaten so badly. But now that he saw the Manifestation of a huge sun appear before him, the dissatisfaction in his heart instantly disappeared.
For Yang Kai to be able to cause a Manifestation when he was only an Emperor Realm cultivator, Bei Yu Shan could finally accept that his loss that day was not undeserved, nor were the deaths of Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong!
In the courtyard of Yang Kai’s mansion, Yue He closed her eyes in pain.
[After managing to keep the secret for so long, has he finally exposed all his cards today?] She secretly hated herself for not being strong enough to assist him, causing him to be unable to conceal himself well. However, she had never expected Yang Kai to be able to create a Manifestation at such a moment.
From today onwards, Yang Kai’s secret would no longer be a secret. Under the eyes of so many people, how could he conceal it? It was not a big deal in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and with such a technique no one would be his opponent, but once he left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? Once this shocking news spread, Yang Kai would be doomed.
[Is the tragedy from a thousand years ago going to repeat itself?]
Thinking of the man who had died so young, Yue He’s heart was filled with sorrow! That man and this man in front of her were both astonishing geniuses, but this man in front of her now seemed to be even more dazzling than the man from her past. At the very least, that man had not formed a Manifestation in the Emperor Realm!
“Manifestation, it’s actually a Divine Manifestation, how dare this brat act like this? Does he want to die?”
In the Star City, an elderly man called out in shock. His cultivation wasn’t very high, just Second-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he had lived for a long time and had seen more than others. Ordinary Open Heaven Realm Masters might not know of the existence of Manifestations, but he had seen one before and thus knew about it.
“Master, what is a Manifestation?” Beside him, a cute little girl asked curiously.
Suppressing the shock in his heart, the old man explained in a gentle voice, “When one of the Yin, Yang, or Five Elements one has refined is pushed to the extreme, it will concentrate and transform into a world-shaking Divine Ability, which is known as a Divine Manifestation, just like what you are seeing right now.”
The young girl nodded thoughtfully, “Is that little sun his Manifestation?”
“Yes!”
“Does Master have a Manifestation?”
“Me?” The old man smiled wryly and shook his head, “Master will never have a Manifestation in his life.”
“Why?” The young girl was puzzled.
The old man said sadly, “Not to mention a mere Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivator like me, even those Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters will never be able to possess a Manifestation in their life. Manifestations can only be created by those who have condensed Seventh-Order or above Elements, but that is only a hope. If one’s comprehension is lacking, even if they have the qualifications to form a Manifestation, they wouldn’t be able to do so. Your Master has only refined Second-Order Elements, so how could I have the qualifications to form a Manifestation?”
The young girl couldn’t help but curl her pink lips and ask in surprise, “Master, are you saying that Brother Yang refined a Seventh-Order Element?”
The old man nodded, “It can’t be wrong, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to form a Manifestation. Since ancient times, those who could form Manifestations were all disciples from top forces like the Cave Heavens or Paradises, and all of them were already in the Open Heaven Realm. To form a Manifestation while still in the Emperor Realm like him… it is simply unheard of!”
“Does that mean he’s very powerful?”
The old man replied solemnly, “Not only is he powerful, but he’s a complete monster!”
The young girl waved her fist and shouted towards the sky, “Big Brother, you can do it, beat them all up!”
Seeing Yang Kai being bullied by so many people, she had long ago felt indignant. She was a young girl and didn’t know the dangers or complexities of the world, so when she heard her Master say that Yang Kai was powerful and a monster, she felt happy for him from the bottom of her heart and also looked forward to seeing Yang Kai rise up and turn the tables on the shameless people using numbers to bully him!
The older man’s expression couldn’t help but change drastically as he quickly covered the young girl’s mouth and nervously looked around. When he discovered that everyone’s attention was focused on the movement in the sky as if they hadn’t heard the young girl’s shout, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, but he didn’t dare to remain where he was. He quickly grabbed his foolish Disciple and changed locations.
Although it was just a child’s words, Sword Pavilion was not to be trifled with. If anyone from Sword Pavilion heard this, the two of them would not be able to leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary alive.
On the other side, a figure flashed over as a middle-aged man wearing a golden crown and a long robe suddenly appeared in front of Chen Tian Fei and the others. He was staring towards the distant sky, carrying his hands behind his back.
“Head Manager!” Chen Tian Fei and the others quickly greeted.
This middle-aged man was none other than Scarlet Star’s mysterious Head Manager.
The Head Manager didn’t say anything, as if he hadn’t heard their voices, but now that he had come out of seclusion, it was obvious that he had been disturbed by the commotion outside. The Divine Manifestation was truly too shocking; even he couldn’t sit still.
“A Fire Element Manifestation!” After observing for a while, the Head Manager suddenly spoke.
“It should be,” Chen Tian Fei replied respectfully.
This was also quite obvious. Yang Kai’s body had previously been shrouded in black flames, and he had used a life-and-death battle to stimulate his potential to form his Divine Manifestation. Now that he had succeeded, it was definitely his Fire Element Manifestation.
Lady Qin added, “Looking at the sun, this Yang Kai seems to have condensed a Sun’s True Gold.”
The Divine Manifestation was closely related to the materials used to condense a cultivator’s strength. Since a miniature sun had appeared, it was only natural that Lady Qin would associate it with Sun’s True Gold.
Chen Tian Fei stated thoughtfully, “I heard that there was a region where the Sun Star went out and a number of Sun’s True Gold and Sun’s True Fire was found. Could it be that this little brat was also there? If that’s the case, then his luck must be quite good.”
They secretly guessed that Yang Kai must have found a Seventh-Order Sun’s True Gold there; otherwise, how could he have such achievements?
“It’s not Sun’s True Gold!” The Head Manager slowly shook his head as a profound light flashed across his eyes, “There is something more inside that Great Sun.”
“Something else?” The Managers of Scarlet Star were all stunned. When the great sun appeared, it was shining so brightly that it dazzled their eyes and they couldn’t see through it clearly. The Head Manager’s strength was greater than theirs though, so he had seen more than they could with just a single glance.
With their Head Manager’s input, Chen Tian Fei and the others quickly focused their eyes towards the sun, and as expected, there really was something inside.
A blurry figure was jumping about in the sun like a living creature. It would occasionally stop to adjust its wings and was exuding a faint ominous aura, giving off an indescribable sense of pressure.
“It looks like a bird of some sort…” Lady Qin furrowed her dark, curvy brows. The sun’s light was too dazzling, so even if she carefully observed it, she couldn’t see what it was.
“There’s something wrong with it though, why does it have three legs?” Chen Tian Fei also had a puzzled look on his face, but as soon as he spoke, his expression suddenly changed.
The Head Manager’s solemn voice rang out from the front, “A three-legged exotic bird, one that is related to the sun. Junior, you are really something, I’ve got to hand it to you. Indeed, each generation gives rise to greater geniuses, hahaha!”
Lady Qin covered her red lips with her hand, causing Bei Yu Shan to be dumbfounded. Even someone as stupid as him had realised what that exotic bird was, let alone the others.
“Three-Legged Golden Crow!” The Ou Yang Brothers shouted in unison.
The Fire Element Yang Kai had refined was not Sun’s True Gold or Sun’s True Fire, but a Golden Crow’s True Fire. When everyone recalled the pitch-black flames surrounding his body and the characteristics of his Manifestation, it undoubtedly proved their speculations.
[It’s the Golden Crow’s True Fire!] This thought caused everyone to jump in fright.
Chen Tian Fei’s body was covered in sweat as he asked in a trembling voice, “Head Manager, what Order is this Golden Crow’s True Fire?”
When they saw Yang Kai condense his Divine Manifestation, they all thought he possessed a Seventh-Order Fire Element Power, but now it seemed it wasn’t just Seventh-Order. The fact that he could refine the Golden Crow’s True Fire meant that Yang Kai had once encountered a Golden Crow, a terrifying existence on par with a True Dragon. Only a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master stood a chance to resist such a terrifying creature. Since this boy had encountered a Golden Crow, why was he not dead? What kind of Heaven-defying opportunity was this?
The Head Manager answered, “That depends on whether the Golden Crow carcass he encountered was a child or fully mature. If it’s the former, it should be a Seventh-Order Golden Crow, if it’s the latter… it should be an Eighth-Order!”
Chen Tian Fei’s body trembled, “I heard that when the Sun Star went out, there was an adult Golden Crow that was on the verge of death that was eventually obtained by First Inn’s Owner. Could it be that this brat refined that adult Golden Crow’s True Fire?”
“Is this news accurate?” The Head Manager turned his head and asked. In recent years, he had constantly been in retreat, cultivating, attempting to break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so he didn’t know much about current events.
“The news is absolutely accurate,” Chen Tian Fei replied in a serious voice.
The Head Manager gently nodded, “The Golden Crow’s True Fire is hard to come by in ten thousand years. This boy only has an Emperor Realm cultivation, so it shouldn’t be long since he refined his Fire Element. If that’s the case, his Golden Crow’s True Fire might really have come from that Great Golden Crow.”
“Eighth-Order!” Chen Tian Fei’s face was pale as he asked, “Then what does he have to do with First Inn’s Owner?”
The news he received was that First Inn’s Owner had obtained the Golden Crow’s carcass. At that time, many people from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had come to compete for it, and more than one High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master had appeared. First Inn’s branch had been completely destroyed, and in the end, First Inn’s Owner came out on top and had been the one to take away the Golden Crow’s carcass safely.
If Yang Kai had nothing to do with that person, how could he have obtained this Golden Crow’s True Fire?
On this point, the Head Manager was also extremely puzzled. He had never heard of that person having any descendants.
“I don’t think so!” The Head Manager slowly shook his head, “The Eighth-Order Golden Crow’s True Fire is not something that an Emperor Realm Master can withstand. Even if that person obtained the Golden Crow’s carcass, if he were to give it to a junior disciple, the Order of the Golden Crow’s True Fire would definitely be lower, otherwise, it would cause more harm than good.”
“Head Manager is right!” Chen Tian Fei nodded repeatedly. Even so, it was still too frightening.
However, Lady Qin thought of another possibility and muttered, “Since he can refine a Fire Element material of at least Seventh-Order, doesn’t that mean he at least has a Wood Element of Sixth or Seventh-Order?”
If it were just an ordinary Fire Element, it would have been fine. For someone like Meng Hong, who had broken and reconstructed his foundation, he could directly refine a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire. There would be no problem as long as his aptitude was good enough and his Dao Seal was firm enough.
However, how terrifying was the Golden Crow’s True Fire? If one didn’t have a strong enough Dao Seal and Wood Element Power to suppress it, their Dao Seal would be instantly incinerated and destroyed. Such a Wood Element Power would have to at least be Sixth-Order, but it was far more likely it was Seventh-Order; otherwise, it would be impossible for Yang Kai to condense the True Fire successfully.
Seventh-Order Wood Element Power and Seventh-Order Fire Element Power, Yang Kai’s intentions were clear. He wanted to become a High-Rank Open Heaven Master in one fell swoop!
“His ambitions are too high, we are truly inferior!” The Head Manager slowly shook his head as his straight figure suddenly became a bit hunched, as if he become dispirited.
As they spoke, the newly formed sun behind Yang Kai completely stabilized, radiating a dazzling light. As the Great Sun Manifestation appeared, the figure that was being forced back by the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation also slowly came to a stop.
A hundred metres away, Luo Qing Yun stared at him in shock.
Yang Kai grinned at him and formed a hand seal, “On this day, the Golden Crow casts the sun. Below the Heavens, above the Earth, only I am supreme!”
The Golden Crow’s cry resounded through the sky, piercing through the world as it flapped its wings in the sun joyfully. Yang Kai’s figure next seemed to merge with the sun before smashing towards the huge sword beam oppressing him in the next moment.
With the might of his newly found Great Sun Manifestation, Yang Kai attacked the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation without fear!
Luo Qing Yun’s face twitched violently as he forcefully recovered from his shock and roared, “So what if you have a Manifestation? Even if the real Golden Crow was before me, I would still kill it for you to see, let alone a mere Manifestation!”
These words were undoubtedly merely meant to bolster his courage. The Defying Heavens Star Net Formation was formed by three hundred people, but even if it was three thousand or thirty thousand people, if they really encountered a Golden Crow, it wouldn’t be enough for them to resist a single breath.
However, when two powerful opponents clash, the braver one held the advantage. Now that things had reached this point, only by advancing courageously would they have a chance of survival.
Sword Qi surged, and the Grand Formation started running at full force as the auras of the three hundred disciples became closely linked. Their strength overlapped as their sword wave surged and collided with the Great Sun.
Two flashes of dazzling light tore through the world, shaking the world.
The strange thing was that when they clashed, it didn’t cause any sound, not even a single clang.
However, in the next moment, the clouds within a radius of ten thousand kilometres vanished and the world trembled violently as an unimaginable shockwave spread out from the point of impact.
The Thunder Light disciples were all sent tumbling while the weaker ones spat out mouthfuls of blood as they fell to the ground, instantly suffering heavy casualties. Zhu Li and Long Tai’s hearts bled as they watched this scene. This was truly a disaster. After this battle, Thunder Light’s foundation would be severely damaged, who knows how many years it would take for them to recover?
Outside the Star City, the defensive Grand Array suddenly flickered, undoubtedly a result of the fallout of Yang Kai and the Sword Pavilion’s battle.
“An Emperor Realm Junior forming a Manifestation!” The Head Manager’s eyes flickered with fear, and his tone carried a sense of disbelief, “With this Manifestation, this child can directly confront a First-Order or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even a Third-Order Open Realm Master won’t be able to kill him easily!”
No one had ever been able to form a Manifestation in the Emperor Realm before. Since ancient times, even the elite Core Disciples raised in the Cave Heavens and Paradises had to slowly explore and comprehend silently in retreat for years after reaching the Open Heaven Realm before they could produce a Manifestation.
If that weren’t the case, it wouldn’t have been so difficult to produce a Manifestation, but one’s strength would increase dramatically once it was formed. There was a huge difference between a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with a Manifestation and one without one. It could be said that in a life-or-death battle, a Master with a Manifestation could easily crush one without.
Chen Tian Fei and the others all wore solemn expressions. The Head Manager had always been known for his sharp eye, so since he had said so, it couldn’t be wrong. In other words, the current Yang Kai was equivalent to a First or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
Such an existence could only be described as invincible in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
If Sword Pavilion didn’t have their Sword Formation, these three hundred people wouldn’t even be enough to fill the gaps between Yang Kai’s teeth.
Even so, the Sword Formation was still being pushed back by the sun’s pressure, and the huge sword beam was shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its light was gradually dimming.
The Star City was in an uproar.
Whenever Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation appeared, it had always been invincible, but at this moment, it was not Yang Kai’s opponent!
A single person’s strength was actually this powerful?
“Impossible, how can you be this strong!?” Luo Qing Yun roared as his facial features distorted.
Inside the great sun, Yang Kai’s mocking voice rang out, “It’s just that you’re too weak!”
To be honest, Yang Kai didn’t expect to be able to achieve such a feat. He had been in retreat all the while, trying to comprehend at least one Divine Ability from his refined Elements. Although he had gained some insights, he had felt that he lacked something. Having encountered such a situation today, he had an idea. He wanted to use this life-and-death struggle to stimulate his potential and see if he could break through this shackle and comprehend a Divine Ability.
If that wasn’t the case, how could he be so foolish as to charge into the camp of thousands of people by himself? With Lu Xue in his hands, he could easily have chosen another method to resolve this crisis.
Who would have known that he would stumble upon such a fortune? Not only did Yang Kai comprehend a Divine Ability, but he had also created a Manifestation. Yang Kai still had no idea that he had formed a Manifestation of course, he only thought that this Golden Crow Casts the Sun was a pure Divine Ability.
After all, no one had told him about this before. He hadn’t been in the Outer Universe for long, and although the Proprietress had treated him well, she probably hadn’t expected him to grow so quickly.
At this moment, Yang Kai could clearly feel his strength rising sharply, carrying the power of a true Great Sun. Even if there was a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master in front of him, Yang Kai could still dare to fight.
“I refuse to accept this!” Luo Qing Yun was enraged and a bloody mist burst out from his body as his aura once again surged. He was the core of the Sword Formation, so his increase in strength bolstered the entire Sword Formation.
Judging from his state, it was obvious that he had used some kind of powerful Secret Technique to temporarily stimulate his potential. Although this Secret Technique was extremely powerful, it was not something that should be casually used. Nonetheless, once it was used, it would bring about endless trouble to the caster.
However, in order to deal with Yang Kai and protect the face of Sword Pavilion, Luo Qing Yun could care less about what came after.
As he did so, the hundreds of disciples in the Sword Formation all let out a muffled groan and suddenly felt an immense pressure weighing down on them. However, the might of the Sword Formation increased dramatically, and in the blink of an eye, it rose to match the Great Sun’s momentum.
The Divine Manifestation and Sword Formation’s sword wave were locked in a stalemate.
Shockwaves spread outwards one after another. Luo Qing Yun’s eyes turned bloodshot and cracked wide open as he pushed his strength to the limit.
“Let’s see how long you can last!” Yang Kai coldly snorted. He pushed his Great Sun Divine Manifestation against the Sword Formation, not caring about anything else.
A miserable scream rang out from somewhere in the Sword Formation at that moment; one of the Sword Pavilion disciples couldn’t hold on any longer as the boundless Sword Intent tore his body into pieces before he exploded into a blood mist.
One, then two, then three… In just ten breaths of time, more than thirty people had died, and as time passed, more and more were unable to hold on.
Luo Qing Yun’s heart instantly sank into the abyss. Although the loss of a few dozen people wasn’t fatal to the Sword Formation, it was still somewhat impactful. It was enough to reduce the power of the formation, making it even more difficult to resist Yang Kai’s Divine Manifestation.
What’s more, he had also used a Forbidden Secret Technique to overdraw his strength, so he couldn’t maintain his current state for too long either. Once the backlash from the Secret Technique hit him, if he hadn’t killed Yang Kai by then, Sword Pavilion would definitely suffer a crushing defeat!
Luo Qing Yun was burning with anxiety, but there was nothing he could do.
Zhong Fan and Lu Xue’s eyes trembled as they stared blankly atop the hill outside the Star City. When the Great Sun Manifestation appeared, both of them immediately understood something.
No wonder the scorching energy that had invaded Lu Xue’s body was so violent and difficult to deal with, to the point that Lu Xue wasn’t able to expel it and even a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Zhong Fan was unable to help her.
It was Golden Crow’s True Fire!
Everything made sense now.
Golden Crow’s True Fire was at least a Seventh-Order Fire Element Power. Not to mention in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary where Open Heaven Realm Masters’ strength was suppressed, even if they were outside, once this Golden Crow’s True Fire invaded their bodies, they would have to pay a huge price to neutralize it.
Lu Xue’s beautiful eyes filled with despair.
Because she knew that since it was Golden Crow’s True Fire ravaging her body, no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could help her resolve it, not even the Sword Pavilion Master himself!
In a short period of time, the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation had been suppressed, and the Sword Pavilion disciples had suffered several dozen casualties. Luo Qing Yun was on the verge of defeat.
Zhong Fan’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as a trace of struggle and hesitation flashed across his face. In the end though, he made up his mind and turned to look at Lu Xue.
Coincidentally, Lu Xue also looked at him at that moment, allowing their eyes to meet. Lu Xue instantly understood what Zhong Fan wanted to do and couldn’t help smiling bitterly.
“Hold on for a moment, I’ll be right back!” Zhong Fan gritted his teeth and shouted, withdrawing his hands. The next moment, he transformed into a streak of sword light and rushed towards the battlefield.
Lu Xue slowly closed her eyes as her head dropped down. Her beautiful hair cascaded down her slender shoulders as she sat alone atop the hill. Her frail figure appeared especially desolate and helpless.
Although Sword Pavilion couldn’t afford to lose her, they also couldn’t afford to lose Luo Qing Yun and hundreds of disciples. Luo Qing Yun and the remaining disciples would be in danger if Zhong Fan didn’t help.
Since it had come to this, Zhong Fan had no choice but chose one of the two!
Lu Xue knew in her heart that she was the one who had been abandoned, but she didn’t blame him because even if Zhong Fan stayed by her side, it would be useless; after all, the Golden Crow’s True Fire was not something Zhong Fan could resolve.
However, she had never imagined that she, a dignified Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, would be forced to such an extent in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Since the Golden Crow’s True Fire had invaded her body, she was unable to dispel it and all that awaited her was a slow death!
This kind of feeling was terrifying, and those who didn’t experience it could never even imagine it.
Explosions rang out as one figure after another exploded into blood mist within the Sword Formation. Not a single disciple who died had left a corpse behind. Nearly a hundred Sword Pavilion disciples had been unable to withstand the backlash of the Sword Formation and died on the spot. They amounted to more than thirty percent of the Sword Pavilion disciples present. A terrified look appeared on the faces of the remaining disciples as they desperately pushed their strength, fearing that the next one to suffer would be them.
They couldn’t stop screaming in the depths of their heart, [Just what kind of monster has Sword Pavilion provoked this time? How could he be so powerful?]
A sword light flashed, accompanied by Zhong Fan’s dignified shout, “Junior, don’t be so presumptuous!”
By the time he finished speaking, Zhong Fan had already merged into the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation. Sword Pavilion had fought countless enemies and cooperated intimately with each other using their Sword Formations, so as soon as Zhong Fan arrived, Luo Qing Yun relinquished his core position to him.
With a loud bang, Sword Intent swept across the sky and the shocking sword wave that was being pushed back by the Great Sun Manifestation instantly received Zhong Fan’s support, re-invigorating its momentum and glowing brighter than ever before.
The might of Zhong Fan alone was stronger than the over one hundred Sword Pavilion disciples who had died. This was the power of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Seeing this scene, the Sword Pavilion disciples, who were originally in a state of panic as if the end was approaching, suddenly had their spirits uplifted. They silently activated their Secret Techniques as Sword Qi lingered around their bodies, enhancing the power of the Sword Formations, causing the entire Sword Formation to transform into a giant millstone grinder. The Sword Qi on the millstone swept across the world, cutting through space, and pressing towards the Great Sun Manifestation.
Yang Kai also felt a trace of pressure. Although he was currently able to display the strength of a First or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was still a little lacking compared to a true Open Heaven Realm Master without World Force. The Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation’s power was indeed extraordinary, worthy of being Sword Pavilion’s trump card.
However, since Yang Kai had formed a Manifestation today, what did he have to fear? Even facing a strong enemy, and even if he were to die, he still would have to fight. Only then would he deserve to have a place in this world.
The Great Sun Manifestation flashed brightly, and the three-legged Golden Crow inside also flapped its wings and let out a cry as it crashed into the Sword Formation.
A thrumming sound reverberated across the sky. In this instant, everyone both inside and outside the Star City, regardless of their cultivation, was blinded by a white light, making it impossible to see what was happening on the battlefield.
However, as the shockwaves from the battle subsided, everyone’s face paled.
In this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where Open Heaven Realm Masters had their strength suppressed, one side formed a Manifestation while the other used a Sword Formation, both displaying strength comparable to Open Heaven Realm Masters. It was truly shocking.
“Head Manager, who do you think… will win?” Chen Tian Fei licked his dry lips and asked.
Yang Kai’s performance today had truly frightened him, making him a little restless. He didn’t know if abandoning Yang Kai at this critical moment was the right thing to do. Although accepting Yang Kai as Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager was nothing more than a forced action, both sides had maintained cordiality to keep the peace. However, Scarlet Star’s actions towards Yang Kai today had undoubtedly created a rift and pushed the two sides apart.
If Yang Kai won, what would Scarlet Star’s fate be? Once Yang Kai used his Great Sun Divine Manifestation, even their Head Manager would have no choice but to yield.
However, the situation from before was not something Scarlet Star had a choice in. Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s three thousand people had arrived at the city, and if they didn’t abandon Yang Kai, it would be equivalent to placing Scarlet Star as a target.
As a Manager of Scarlet Star, Chen Tian Fei had to consider his family’s interests first; after all, Yang Kai was an outsider. Why would he care about him?
“Even if that boy can win, I’m afraid it will be a pyrrhic victory,” The Head Manager’s indifferent voice rang out.
Chen Tian Fei was shocked, “Head Manager, you think he can win?”
“There’s no need to worry, if he wins, he will have definitely damaged his foundation. How could Zhu Li and Long Tai let go of this opportunity to beat a drowning dog? Naturally, they know what to do.”
Hearing this, Chen Tian Fei’s eyes lit up. [That’s right. Yang Kai has been preoccupied with Sword Pavilion all the while. Although Thunder Light has suffered heavy casualties, their forces are mostly still intact. With Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Zhu Li and Long Tai still alive, why would Thunder Light let Yang Kai off when he is exhausted after the battle?]
Thinking so, Chen Tian Fei finally felt relieved.
At this moment, a violent energy fluctuation came from the centre of the battlefield. This fluctuation was several dozen times stronger than before. Even the defensive Array outside the Star City began to fluctuate violently due to the fallout. Its light dimmed and it almost broke.
“It’s here!” The Head Manager shouted as he directed his eyes forward.
Chen Tian Fei and the others also wore serious expressions as they paid close attention.
No one had expected that the conclusion would arrive so quickly. After Zhong Fan had joined the battlefield, in less than half a cup of tea’s time, the two opposing sides were about to fight to the death, and the final result was about to be decided.
The violent shockwave from the battlefield undoubtedly indicated that both Yang Kai and Sword Pavilion were going all out!
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the two beams of light collided in mid-air and suddenly burst into an even more dazzling light!
Boundless killing intent swept across the world.
A series of muffled groans rang out as blood flowers blossomed one after another.
The sun behind Yang Kai rocked a few times before fading away, whereas the shocking sword wave shattered as multiple figures fell from the sky.
The Star City fell into an uproar!
They saw Yang Kai hovering in mid-air with his clothes tattered and blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. There were countless fine wounds all over his body, obviously caused by the rampaging Sword Qi. The most serious wounds were so deep that one could see his golden bones. The wounds were filled with Sword Qi, and blood kept pouring out of them.
However, although he looked miserable, he still stood proudly, his figure as straight as a spear.
On the other side, the Sword Formation of Sword Pavilion had already been broken, and Luo Qing Yun was coughing up blood uncontrollably. It was obvious that his Forbidden Technique had begun its backlash and he was unable to suppress his injuries. The sword in Zhong Fan’s hand had dimmed and lost a great deal of its spirituality. When he looked at it, his eyes were filled with pain. Although he was not seriously injured, his complexion was pale, and his expression was dispirited.
If the two Sword Pavilion leaders were like this, there was no need to mention the other Sword Pavilion disciples.
Of the remaining two hundred disciples, only a few dozen had survived. The rest had all died in that instant of collision. Even these several dozen still alive were suffering from varying degrees of injuries, some of them gasping for breath while others were vomiting blood.
After the battle, Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation was broken, and the three hundred Sword Pavilion disciples were nearly wiped out.
Humiliation!
This had never happened since the founding of Sword Pavilion. Moreover, they had been beaten to such a sorry state by a mere Emperor Realm cultivator. Zhong Fan simply couldn’t accept this. Furious, he roared, “Junior, I must kill you!”
“What a coincidence, that was my intention too!” Yang Kai gasped as he threw a handful of pills into his mouth, chewing them like beans, his eyes radiating a scary glow.
Zhong Fan turned around angrily and shouted, “Are you here to watch a show? If you don’t act now, when will you?!”
To the side, Zhu Li and Long Tai, who were watching from afar, suddenly came to their senses!
Zhu Li and Long Tai couldn’t be blamed for their slow reaction; what they had seen today was simply too shocking. Even Open Heaven Realm Masters like them had fallen into a dazed state, their thoughts a complete mess.
An Emperor Realm cultivator forming a Divine Manifestation was an unprecedented feat, and the existence of the suspected Seventh-Order Golden Crow’s True Fire had greatly frightened them. Seeing Lu Xue’s fate, they were also scared that the next one to suffer would be them.
Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation had been broken, causing them to be even more frightened and regretful that they had come here, but with Sword Pavilion’s invitation and the fact that many Thunder Light disciples had died at Yang Kai’s hands previously, they had no choice but to act.
It wasn’t until Zhong Fan let out a furious roar that they came back to their senses. Looking at each other, they knew that if they didn’t take this opportunity to kill Yang Kai today, Thunder Light would only leave behind a pool of blood and bones.
With the strength Yang Kai had just displayed, Thunder Light would not be able to resist if he continued to live.
Without any hesitation, the two of them shouted in unison, “Thunder Light disciples, obey my command! Follow this King to kill the enemy!”
With this order, the scattered Thunder Light disciples finally found their backbone. When Yang Kai and Sword Pavilion fought, they had been unable to intervene at all and had instead been reduced to spectators on the sidelines. It was truly quite embarrassing. Finally, they’re able to display their strength in this battle.
One by one, they rushed towards Zhu Li and Long Tai, following behind the two leaders, and attacking Yang Kai.
Inside the mansion, Yue He, Meng Hong, and others felt their hearts jump to their throats. Yang Kai’s performance before was extraordinary and he had single-handedly broken through Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation, nearly wiping out all of Sword Pavilion’s people. However, he had only just experienced a great battle. At this time, he couldn’t even maintain his Great Sun Manifestation, so he was clearly an arrow at the end of its flight. On the other hand, Thunder Light had retained the majority of its strength with nearly two thousand men remaining, enough to drown Yang Kai in their spits.
How could Yang Kai deal with such a crisis?
On the other hand, Yang Kai, who was in the centre of the encirclement, was calm and composed, throwing pills into his mouth. A sinister grin spread across his lips as the figures rushed towards him. It was as if he was an unparalleled monster waiting for its prey to pounce, eager to swallow them whole.
Yang Kai really wasn’t afraid of anything. Although there were many Thunder Light disciples alive, he was proficient in the Dao of Space, so as long as they didn’t seal off the surrounding space or restrict his movements, Zhu Li and Long Tai could forget about doing anything to him.
The Golden Crow Casts the Sun Divine Manifestation had been completed, so there was no need to hide anything anymore. Just as he was considering whether to use his Dragon Transformation and assume his giant Half-Dragon Form to continue fighting, he suddenly heard an excited voice from afar, “Brother Yang, Brother Yang, it’s done! Hahahaha!”
As soon as this voice rang out, a figure suddenly rushed out from the Star City towards Yang Kai.
At this moment, when the battle was about to begin, this burst of laughter was particularly disruptive.
Everyone couldn’t help but turn their heads towards the source of the voice, only to see a fair and tender little fatty fly out from the Star City with his hands held high above his head. There was a simple gourd in his hands, and a look of excitement on his face.
Head Manager’s brow couldn’t help but twitch as he stared at the little fatty and asked, “How did he get out?”
Chen Tian Fei couldn’t react for a moment, but after thinking it through, his expression also changed greatly as he couldn’t help but ask himself, [How did this guy slip out?]
It had to be known that at this moment, the Star City’s defensive Grand Array had been fully activated, making it all but impossible for anyone to exit or enter. If anyone wanted to leave, Chen Tian Fei would have to give the order to open a hole in the Grand Array, just like when Zhong Fan and the others had entered.
However, even with the Spirit Array still in operation, this little fatty had somehow managed to leave the Star City without even the slightest trouble.
Could the fallout from the battle between Yang Kai and Sword Pavilion have caused a problem with the Grand Array? Thinking so, Chen Tian Fei quickly ordered his men to investigate the status of the city’s protective shield.
Yue He was also shocked as she stared at the little fatty’s figure. Only after a moment of hesitation did she release her Divine Sense to investigate. The cultivation room had indeed been opened, and the person who should have been in seclusion had disappeared.
She couldn’t help but sigh in her heart. As expected of a Core Disciple from a Cave Heaven, she didn’t even notice when he left the mansion and went outside. Although most of her attention was focused on Yang Kai, for an Emperor Realm Junior to be able to accomplish such a feat was still quite impressive.
[But… Why did this guy run out at this time? What’s that gourd?]
Yue He looked over and found that the gourd was only one palm tall and seemed extremely ordinary, if not quite old. She didn’t know where it came from, but at this moment, it was being held high by little fatty, Xu Zhen. It was an extremely funny scene.
At this moment, Yang Kai was surrounded by more than two thousand Thunder Light disciples, so if Xu Zhen wanted to rush to Yang Kai’s side, he would definitely have to clash with them.
Xu Zhen also seemed to be slow to react and only after rushing into the crowd of Thunder Light members did he suddenly jump in fright and shout, “Em, why are there so many people here? What’s going on?”
He asked innocently, but the Thunder Light disciple responded fiercely.
All of them were already vexed and angry, their killing intent boiling. Now that such a strange person suddenly walked into their ranks so brazenly, how could they show any goodwill? One after another, their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques flew towards Xu Zhen without mercy.
However, although this guy’s movements seemed awkward and clumsy, his luck was surprisingly good. With every step he took, he dodged all the attacks and he even had time to shout, “What are you doing!? Are you trying to kill me? Don’t hit me, I’m innocent!”
The more he shouted though, the more powerful the Thunder Light disciples’ attacks became. He was drowned in Secret Techniques, but none were able to harm him in the slightest. This guy seemed fat, but his figure was incredibly agile.
After several such attempts, even a fool could tell that something was wrong.
It was impossible for a single person’s luck to be so good. So many people attacked him, yet none of them could hit him. This little fatty was obviously pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger. Moreover, he was able to fight with so many people with such ease, so his strength was obviously extraordinary.
Zhu Li’s face was filled with anger as he roared, “Who goes there? State your name!”
There was Yang Kai, who didn’t put Thunder Light in his eyes, but now, another one had appeared, making him livid.
Xu Zhen still held the gourd high and solemnly replied, “Divine Cauldron Heaven, Xu Zhen!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Li staggered and almost lost his balance, falling headfirst to the ground. Long Tai’s eyes also widened, and even Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun, and the others who had been circulating their Qi to heal their injuries were thrown into chaos, almost causing their injuries to worsen.
The Managers of Scarlet Star all gasped.
Before this great battle, a Young Master who claimed to be the descendant of the Azure Nether Paradise’s Third Elder had come out, causing Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light to be wary. Now, a Cave Heaven Disciple has appeared? Moreover, it was the famous Divine Cauldron Heaven!
Before today, they had never known that there were disciples of Cave Heavens and Paradises in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Since these two were here, who knows how many were still hidden? How could such a small Star City have so many hidden Dragons?
When Xu Zhen announced his name, the faces of the Thunder Light disciples who had attacked him before all went pale. Let alone them, even the Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master would die if he were to attack a Divine Cauldron Heaven disciple in public like this.
The noisy sky suddenly became quiet.
Xu Zhen effortlessly squeezed to Yang Kai’s side and grinned at him.
“Success?” Yang Kai looked at him and asked.
“Fortunately, I didn’t fail!” Xu Zhen pushed the bottle gourd in his hand towards Yang Kai.
“Divine Cauldron Heaven’s disciples live up to their reputation! Many thanks!” Yang Kai swept his Divine Sense over the crowd and nodded slightly.
Xu Zhen chuckled, “We’re just taking what we each need, there’s no need to thank me. En, this place is a bit noisy, so I’ll take my leave first.” Saying so, he cupped his fists towards Yang Kai and turned to leave.
However, after taking only two steps, he suddenly turned around and said, “Brother Yang, this thing’s murderous nature is too strong, so try not to use it too often. If it is possible to forgive others, one should be forgiving.”
Yang Kai grinned, “If we don’t pull out weeds by the roots, they will only grow again!”
Xu Zhen was speechless. He turned his head to look around and suddenly sighed, no longer trying to persuade him. With his hands behind his back, he leisurely walked away and soon disappeared.
Everyone stared blankly, not knowing what was happening.
When they saw Xu Zhen rush over to Yang Kai’s side and hand him a gourd, they thought that the two of them had a deep friendship. Zhu Li, Long Tai, and the others had been wondering if he would shelter Yang Kai, but who would have thought that this little fatty would leave just like that.
[What’s going on?]
[Also, what did he mean when he said they were each taking what they needed?]
Unable to determine the relationship between Yang Kai and Xu Zhen, Zhu Li and Long Tai didn’t dare act rashly.
On the other hand, Yang Kai wore a playful smile on his face as he fiddled with the gourd in his hand and said lightly, “Brother Xu and I are neither friends nor relatives, and we’ve never met before, we just made a deal.”
“What do you mean?” Zhu Li asked solemnly.
At this moment, the calmer Yang Kai appeared, the more uncertain he became.
“What I mean is, if you want to fight, fight. If you don’t, I’ll kill you,” Yang Kai grinned maliciously.
“Junior, don’t act so arrogantly!” Long Tai shouted angrily.
“Enough nonsense, all of you come and accept your deaths!” Yang Kai roared.
“Junior, you think my Thunder Light is so easily bullied? Since that’s the case, this King will grant you your wish and kill you!” Zhu Li ordered in a low voice, having no choice left. Yang Kai’s unwillingness to let him off obviously meant that Thunder Light couldn’t resolve the grudge between them. If he didn’t act now, Thunder Light would have an even harder time dealing with him once he recovered and summoned his Divine Manifestation.
The numerous Thunder Light disciples no longer hesitated. They circulated their strength as dazzling flashes of all colours blossomed, rumbling towards Yang Kai.
Luo Qing Yun watched this scene with cold eyes, a trace of joy flashing across their depths. With so many attacks fired at once, Yang Kai couldn’t remain unscathed. No matter how arrogant he was, he would definitely fall here.
It was worth it. Nearly three hundred Sword Pavilion disciples had died, and their Sword Formations was broken, but if they could remove Yang Kai from the face of this world, it could still be counted as a win.
On the other hand, Zhong Fan stared at the gourd in Yang Kai’s hand with a solemn expression, faintly feeling that this thing was somewhat unusual and was likely a terrifying artifact.
Dazzling flashes and violent energy erupted as thousands of Thunder Light members attacked together, creating a magnificent scene!
At the centre of the countless attacks, Yang Kai stood alone, his figure lonely but his aura soaring to the sky, like he alone was equal to millions!
A low voice suddenly rang out, “Now that I have obtained a new treasure, I will offer your dog lives as a sacrifice to christen my Divine Bottle Gourd!”
As soon as Yang Kai spoke those words, he stretched out his hand and slapped the gourd. The mouth of the gourd opened up, and a multi-coloured light burst out from it. This light illuminated the entire sky in an instant as it shot out.
As soon as the light appeared, a murderous aura instantly filled the air. Countless artifacts within a radius of several kilometres began to cry and rush towards the light uncontrollably, especially the swords of the Sword Pavilion disciples who had fallen earlier. It was as if they had been grabbed by an invisible hand and thrown into the light.
Regardless of their grade, whether it was intact or not, all the artifacts that poured into the light rapidly dimmed and lost their spirituality.
The artifacts in the hands of these Thunder Light disciples were also like this. All of the artifacts refined from metal were pulled away by this light, causing many Thunder Light disciples to be dumbfounded.
*Pu pu pu pu…*
A series of groans sounded as Thunder Light disciples spat out mouthfuls of blood. Their faces turned pale as they fell from the sky like dumplings. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Thunder Light disciples had been injured by the backlash due the damage to their artifacts.
“Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!” Zhong Fan shouted, his eyes filled with shock.
The light that shot out from the gourd was none other than the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light he had seen on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. Back then, Sword Pavilion had suffered many casualties because of this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been killed by Emperor Heaven’s ragtag mob. At that time, the culprit was none other than Yang Kai.
Before coming here today, they had also been wary of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, but Yang Kai hadn’t used it from beginning to end; instead, he had used his Divine Manifestation to confront the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation head-on.
He had thought that Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to use the Divine Light so easily, but now he was actually using it.
While Zhong Fan was shocked, he was also a little confused. He had personally seen Yang Kai use a bag-like artifact to collect a lot of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, so why only now did he release it from this gourd?
Recalling the conversation between Yang Kai and Xu Zhen when the latter appeared, Zhong Fan suddenly realized what was happening and cried out bitterly, “I’ve underestimated those Cave Heaven disciples!”
The Divine Cauldron Heaven was one of the thirty-six Cave Heavens. This Cave Heaven Disciples’ other strengths aside, there was only one Dao that made all 3,000 Worlds look up to them.
Artifact Refining!
It was precisely because they were skilled in Artifact Refining that the Divine Cauldron Heaven was called the Divine Cauldron Heaven! In the 3,000 Worlds, apart from the innately formed artifacts, eighty to ninety percent of all renowned artifacts were forged by Divine Cauldron Heaven. Divine Cauldron Heaven’s disciples were all famous for their accomplishments in the Dao of Artifact Refining.
If he were to encounter a Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple fighting outside, it would definitely be a completely different scene from normal, allowing him to witness the power of all kinds of strange artifacts.
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd was obviously refined by that Divine Cauldron Heaven disciple, Xu Zhen, for Yang Kai. Only a Divine Cauldron Heaven disciple could have such ability!
But if that was the case, Yang Kai shouldn’t have been able to activate the power of this artifact right away. He should have needed to spend a long time refining it first, so how could he possibly activate the power of this Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd as soon as he obtained it?
Only if this Divine Bottle Gourd was his artifact from the start and he didn’t need to refine it would this be possible.
Could it be that Xu Zhen had perfectly combined the Divine Bottle Gourd and Yuan Magnetic Divine Light? That might explain everything if it was the case.
It had to be said that Zhong Fan’s quick guesses were completely correct.
The Divine Bottle Gourd was indeed Yang Kai’s artifact. Back in the Star Boundary, in the depths of Orthodoxy Temple, Yang Kai had entered a Void Crack and found a Wind Gourd there.
When the Wind Gourd was opened, an endless amount of Astral Wind rushed out from it to meet the enemy, but Yang Kai had only used it a few times and had never used it in the Outer Universe.
Xu Zhen had come to ask him for a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone and said that he could refine an Artifact for him as payment. Yang Kai naturally thought of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that he had collected in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain and stored in his Six Fated Paths Bag. Not only did it occupy a large chunk of space in his Fated Paths Bag, but it also couldn’t be used casually; after all, if he used it too often, it would be depleted.
If he could use the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to refine an artifact, there would be no need for such concerns.
With a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light in front of him, Xu Zhen’s hands were simply itching. He had originally planned to refine a Yuan Magnetic Banner for Yang Kai, but the materials required were too numerous, and Yang Kai didn’t know where to find them.
On the other hand, the existence of the Wind Gourd was a great gift. Compared to the original Wind Gourd, the current Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd’s might had increased significantly. Better yet, Yang Kai didn’t need to spend any more time refining it.
“Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, it’s the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!”
In the Star City, countless people cried out in alarm.
Scarlet Star’s Head Manager also showed a look of dread. Although he was only watching from afar, he could still feel the terrifying power of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. Although he was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he would instantly lose a layer of skin if this thing hit him.
If even he would end up in such a state after a brief exposure, there was no need to mention Thunder Light’s disciples.
Dazzling light filled the sky, sweeping across the world, and anyone who was hit by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light had their flesh and bones torn apart.
Wherever the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light passed, not a single complete corpse could be found.
The Emperor Realm cultivators were like this, as were the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters of Thunder Light.
A Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light could only be defended against using another Sixth-Order Element Power, so how could they possibly resist it?
In the blink of an eye, more than half of Thunder Light’s people had died.
Everyone’s heart was gripped by a chill as their bodies went completely cold. Such a terrifying artifact was simply a world-devastating killing tool. With this artifact in hand, the number of enemies he was facing became meaningless to Yang Kai. He alone could flatten a city if he wanted to!
Thunder Light disciples, with slightly better luck, managed to avoid the initial calamity, so at this moment, how could they dare to remain where they were? Screaming in fear, they all tried to flee.
But how could Yang Kai let them go? Just as he had said to Xu Zhen before, if he didn’t pull out weeds by the roots, they would grow again in the spring. Since Thunder Light dared to seek trouble with him, he couldn’t be blamed for being ruthless!
From another perspective, if Yang Kai were to fall into a disadvantageous position, would Thunder Light spare him?
Under Yang Kai’s control, the rays of light spread out and engulfed the fleeing Thunder Light disciples one after another, it looked as if an invisible beast was reaping their lives.
Thunder Light was finished!
After this battle, it would be impossible for them to make a comeback. When the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light once again appeared in this world, their fate had been sealed.
Scarlet Star’s Head Manager’s expression became solemn, his eyes filled with dread.
Previously, he had told Chen Tian Fei and the others that Yang Kai was an arrow at the end of its flight and that Zhu Li and Long Tai would not hesitate to beat him while he was down, so his fate would definitely not be good. Who could have thought that the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd would completely reverse the situation?
The Golden Crow Casts the Sun that broke Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd that had slaughtered Thunder Light. A Divine Manifestation and an artifact, all these things Yang Kai had displayed shocked everyone present.
Looking at the peerless figure standing in the sky, no one dared to have any thoughts of becoming enemies with him.
The fat on Chen Tian Fei’s body trembled violently. Although he was fat, his thoughts were quite agile. When others only focused on Yang Kai’s display of power, he thought of something else.
Previously, the Head Manager had said that Yang Kai’s Great Sun Divine Manifestation was comparable to a First or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s strength even if he was an Emperor Realm cultivator, but what about now when he had this Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd?
It was likely that no one could compete with him in the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Only a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master stood a chance against him by relying on the potent World Force of their Small Universe.
Chen Tian Fei even thought to himself that if he encountered Yang Kai outside, he would have to go all out if he wanted to kill him.
There were less than ten Thunder Light Disciples in the sky now, and two figures were also fleeing at high speed. Zhu Li and Long Tai saw that the situation was not looking good, so how could they dare to remain? Naturally, they ran as fast as they could.
However, the two rays of light seemed to have a mind of their own as they chased after them like maggots on rotting bones.
“Junior, don’t go too far! It’s better to leave a lifeline to your enemies, just in case you might need them in the future!” Zhu Li shouted madly. Even though he was fleeing at full speed, he could still feel the terrifying killing intent behind him catching up.
“This King will never need trash like you, so what if I kill you?” Yang Kai shouted coldly, “Solidify!”
Under the control of his Space Principles, the surrounding world became viscous!
Zhu Li, who was already struggling to escape, suddenly froze, the surrounding space becoming extremely thick, as if he had fallen into a swamp. He was unable to escape no matter how hard he tried.
He turned his head in horror, just in time to see the multi-coloured light shooting straight towards him before engulfing him.
Zhu Li desperately pushed his body’s strength to resist the impact of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. If the Small Universe in his body hadn’t been sealed, he would still have been able to fight, but without World Force, how could his physical strength compare to this Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light?
In the blink of an eye, the defensive energy circulating around his body was eroded completely as his flesh and blood were shredded layer by layer, as if he was being skinned alive.
Miserable screams rang out to no end. He sounded as if he was enduring the cruellest torture in the world, causing everyone who heard him to shiver.
Simultaneously, Long Tai also cried out in pain. Like Zhu Li, he too was enveloped by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.
However, after just a few breaths of time, the screams came to an abrupt halt, and the brilliant light returned to the Divine Bottle Gourd in Yang Kai’s hand. Once it was all over, Zhu Li and Long Tai were nowhere to be seen.
The two Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had completely disappeared.
Thunder Light, which had stood tall in the Star City for thousands of years, had been completely wiped out, leaving no survivors. It was even more miserable than Sword Pavilion.
But this wasn’t the end. Yang Kai slapped the Divine Bottle Gourd again, sending out another burst of light towards the remaining Sword Pavilion disciples and Luo Qing Yun.
Luo Qing Yun shouted in horror, “Mercy!”
Previously, he had suffered a backlash from using his Secret Technique; thus, he didn’t even have the strength to escape and could only stand there and wait for death. If it weren’t for this, would he still dare to remain?
Seeing that Yang Kai was about to kill him, he could only beg for mercy.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to this and completely ignored his pleas! By the time the light disappeared, the Sword Pavilion disciples had also disappeared.
Taking a step forward, Yang Kai arrived in front of Zhong Fan and looked down at him, lightly saying, “What last words do you have? If you are going to beg for mercy, don’t waste my time.”
As a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Zhong Fan had a deep foundation. When the Sword Formation broke, he had also suffered heavy backlash, but his injuries weren’t as severe as Luo Qing Yun’s. If he had escaped in advance, he might have had a chance to survive, but for some reason, he had stayed here and watched as Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion’s disciples were destroyed one after another.
When Yang Kai arrived in front of him and looked down at him, Zhong Fan coldly snorted, “Junior, don’t act so arrogantly. You’ve committed a heinous crime. Once you leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, you’ll die!”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he faintly felt that his words were hinting at something, but he couldn’t be bothered to ask, coldly snorting, “This King likes stubborn people like you, it’s more interesting to pinch them to death!”
Saying so, he sent a palm strike towards Zhong Fan.
He showed no mercy and was completely ruthless!
Zhong Fan’s expression remained indifferent. When the giant hand was almost upon him, his eyes suddenly flashed and a crack appeared between his eyebrows. From that crack, a stream of sword Qi shot out.
In this moment of life and death, he suddenly used his last trump card to defend himself, sending out a strike powered by his Dao foundation and Blood Essence itself.
Unless it were absolutely necessary, no one would do such a thing as this was in essence a sacrificial technique, damaging one’s own foundation in exchange for a burst of power. If things went wrong, one would become crippled after releasing such a strike.
Zhong Fan had no other choice though. Yang Kai had managed to obtain his Golden Crow Casts the Sun Divine Manifestation and possessed the terrifying Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd, a terrifying killing weapon. Other than resorting to this move, he had no other hope.
In this desperate struggle, success or failure depended on the will of the Heavens!
A lifetime of cultivating the sword focused on attacking and killing allowed Zhong Fan to condense all his remaining strength into a small forearm-length sword. It was extremely sharp and seemed capable of cutting through anything.
“I knew you would do this!” Yang Kai coldly snorted as he stretched out his hand and actually grabbed at the approaching sword.
However, he soon furrowed his brow and looked down. The next moment, he saw a dazzling sword light shoot out from his palm, heading straight towards his forehead.
In the end, he still underestimated the power of a desperate Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even with his powerful Half-Dragon physique, Yang Kai was unable to resist the power of this small sword-shaped attack and it pierced straight through his palm. Furthermore, Sword Qi was lingering around the wound, making it impossible to heal.
Taking a deep breath as Yang Kai’s entire body doubled in size. His chest swelled up and he became taller. Immediately after, Yang Kai breathed out, spewing the Golden Crow’s True Fire at the approaching sword.
The raging flames distorted the world itself.
Looking from afar, the small sword flew against the Golden Crow’s True Fire like a small fish swimming against the current. Nonetheless, it was still being eroded by the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
Zhong Fan’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he roared and pushed his strike to its limit, determined to kill Yang Kai here and now!
Bit by bit, the small sword pushed forward, inching closer to Yang Kai’s forehead. Its speed was extremely slow despite its sharp threat.
Yang Kai, however, remained still and continued to breathe out the fearsome Golden Crow’s True Fire.
The small sword glowed brighter as it shook violently.
Ten breaths later, when the small sword arrived in front of him but could no longer hold on and collapsed.
Zhong Fan spat out a mouthful of hot blood as his aura suddenly plummeted. At this moment, it was as if all of his blood and essence had been sucked out of his body, leaving only skin and bones.
As the wind blew, his hair fluttered in the wind.
With his Dao foundation destroyed, Zhong Fan’s cultivation was crippled!
In the Star City, countless people were shocked. Many couldn’t help but feel a sense of grief. Although they had heard that once one’s Dao foundation was destroyed, a cultivator would die, this was the first time 99% of them were witnessing it. The change in Zhong Fan’s appearance from before and after was astonishing.
Yang Kai stepped forward and flew past Zhong Fan, showing no interest in taking action against someone who was destined to die.
In a few steps, he arrived in front of Lu Xue and grabbed her by the collar, staring down at her indifferently as he demanded, “Where is the Headquarters of Sword Pavilion?”
When Zhong Fan heard these words, his head drooped down as his aura rapidly dissipated.
Lu Xue happened to be coughing fresh blood to no end. It was boiling and mixed in with fragments of her internal organs. Her entire body was abnormally red, like a cooked crab.
Before the battle began, Yang Kai had planted the Golden Crow’s True Fire in her, preventing her from participating. At first, Zhong Fan had helped her suppress the scorching energy running amok in her body, but after he left, she was unable to resist the burning Golden Crow’s True Fire on her own and could only wait for death.
Fortunately, the foundation of a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wasn’t bad, and the battle between Yang Kai, Sword Pavilion, and Thunder Light hadn’t lasted long, so even now, she was still alive, though half-dead.
If left alone, it wouldn’t even take an incense stick of time before she ended up dying.
Seeing Yang Kai standing before her, Lu Xue’s tender body trembled violently. She had never thought that one day she would be so afraid of an Emperor Realm Junior!
Outside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, she would not even bother to raise her head to take a glance at an Emperor Realm cultivator.
But today, Yang Kai’s actions had deeply shocked her. One man had destroyed Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation and then eradicated Thunder Light. Nobody could match what he had done.
At this moment, Yang Kai was holding her in his hand like a little chick. She couldn’t help but tremble in fear. A shadow had appeared in the depths of her heart.
The person in front of her had become her heart demon.
Even if she could leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary alive, if she were to encounter Yang Kai outside in the future, she probably wouldn’t have any thoughts of opposing him unless she could break through this heart demon.
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, how could Lu Xue not know what he wanted to do? He wanted to sweep Sword Pavilion’s headquarters clean.
[Can he do it?] As soon as she asked this question, her heart gave an affirmative answer. Sword Pavilion had only sent three hundred people this time, which was less than a third of their forces. There were nearly a thousand disciples, two Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters back at their Headquarters, including their Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Pavilion Master.
However, based on the methods Yang Kai had displayed today, the Sword Pavilion simply could not resist.
Putting everything else aside, just the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd alone was enough to suppress Sword Pavilion completely.
Sword Pavilion was able to surpass Thunder Light and Scarlet Star because of its Sword Formations; however, once the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light appeared, how could the disciples form a Sword Formation? At that time, they would be completely scattered, and without the power of the Sword Formation or even their swords, they would be no match for Yang Kai.
Apart from the Pavilion Master, who could barely resist him, no one else would be able to survive.
To her, Yang Kai was like a Demon straight from Hell. When she looked at him, Lu Xue was so frightened that she couldn’t speak.
“Lead me there and I’ll spare your life!” Yang Kai claimed as he reached out and patted Lu Xue’s abdomen with his other hand. With a thought, the Golden Crow’s True Fire that had invaded Lu Xue’s body and made her suffer a fate worse than death, which no one could forcefully expel, was immediately withdrawn.
Lu Xue coughed lightly. Although her foundation had been greatly damaged, without the Golden Crow’s True Fire in her body, at least her life was no longer in danger. As long as she rested well, there would be a day she would recover.
“If you dare say no, I’ll send you to see your companions in the next world right now!” When Lu Xue didn’t reply after a long time, Yang Kai became slightly impatient.
“I’ll take you there,” Lu Xue lightly nodded.
Yang Kai nodded, grabbed Lu Xue, and soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing from everyone’s sight.
He deliberately didn’t suppress his voice when he was talking with Lu Xue just now. That small hill wasn’t too far from the Star City, so anyone with a bit of strength inside could hear him loud and clear.
Seeing Yang Kai leave just like that, everyone was shocked.
[Does he want to kill to the last?]
This time, Sword Pavilion had lost three hundred disciples, and even two of their Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had died. This was already a great loss to them, yet Yang Kai still wanted to attack their headquarters directly. Just how cruel and merciless was he?
On top of that, he had just experienced a great battle. Even his Divine Manifestation had been broken. Could it be that he did not need to rest and recover first?
Yue He couldn’t help showing a look of worry, but it was already too late to chase after him. Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so it was impossible for her to catch up to him with her strength.
The entire world went silent. All that remained was a nauseating smell of blood lingering in the air. Outside Scarlet Star’s city, rivers of blood flowed and corpses littered the ground like a purgatory.
In the distant void, a little fatty stared at the scene and sighed lightly, “How sinful!”
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd had come from him after all, so he was half responsible for the people who had died.
After a sigh, the figure disappeared.
Inside Yang Kai’s mansion, Meng Hong and the others stared with their mouths agape.
As Great Moon Province’s Chief Disciple, Meng Hong’s aptitude was extraordinary. Previously, he had been forced to refine Third-Order Elements due to the lack of resources, hoping to achieve the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future.
After suffering a great change in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Meng Hong decided to start over and refine a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire. Originally, he had thought that his future would be bright and his heart was filled with pride and ambition. Still, after seeing what Yang Kai had done today, he realized that even if he could really achieve the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he would still be inferior to Yang Kai.
This was quite a blow to him, but after thinking about it for a moment, he realized that the other party had his own opportunities and abilities. As long as he believed in himself, there was no need for him to compare himself with others. [In this world, there are always some people who defy the Heavens. A Great Peng spreads its wings and soars into the sky, but the Cloud Soaring Tree from where it starts is already pretty high.]
Thinking of this, his thoughts became clear, and his spirits lifted.
“Since we have nothing better to do, let’s go clean up the battlefield,” Yue He’s voice came from beside him, “With so many people dead, there must be some good stuff left behind.”
“En!” Meng Hong quickly replied, leading his two Junior Brothers outside. Even Chen Yue followed closely behind, staring at Meng Hong’s back with a complicated expression.
Meanwhile, from inside the Star City, several dozen people, led by Guo Zi Yan, also rushed forward to help. Although they looked miserable, at this moment, all of them couldn’t be in higher spirits.
Guo Zi Yan and the others were still Scarlet Star members, but at this moment, no one treated them as ordinary Scarlet Star disciples.
Yang Kai’s anger for them just now had been clearly seen by everyone present. After this battle, it could be said that Yang Kai’s infamy had been branded onto Guo Zi Yan and the others. They were now known as that cruel and ruthless young man’s subordinates. Underlings of the man who had single-handedly exterminated Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion.
Thinking back, before the great battle began, Yang Kai had told Guo Zi Yan that if they died, these three thousand people would be buried with them.
However, no one took it seriously at that time. Everyone thought that Yang Kai was just boasting and comforting his subordinates. But now that they thought about it, he was stating it with confidence.
[Three thousand people have been wiped out without a trace. He said he would kill them all, and he did!]
[Just where did such a freak come from?]
Chen Tian Fei carefully looked at the Head Manager in front of him. Seeing that he had no intention of stopping them, he quickly ordered people to open the Star City’s defensive Spirit Array and let Guo Zi Yan and the others rush to the battlefield.
Many pairs of eyes stared enviously at the dozens of people sweeping through the battlefield. Space Rings were scattered all over the place. Three thousand men had participated in the battle. Even if some of their Space Rings got destroyed, at least half of them would remain.
This was a fortune that would make anyone’s eyes turn red, not to mention the rings left behind by Open Heaven Realm Masters. How could the things left behind by Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun, and other Mid Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters be bad? Each of them had lorded over the Star City for thousands of years, so the wealth they had accumulated would simply be unimaginable.
However, even if they were jealous, no one dared to vie for these treasures; after all, who wouldn’t cherish their own life after witnessing such a tragedy?
“Is that woman called Yue He?” The Head Manager suddenly asked.
Chen Tian Fei was stunned for a moment before quickly replying, “Yes!”
The Head Manager nodded and ordered, “Follow me to pay her a visit.”
With a wave of his sleeve, he walked towards Yang Kai’s mansion with his hands behind his back. Chen Tian Fei and the others looked at each other before quickly following behind him.
He knew that even the Head Manager was shocked by Yang Kai’s methods. Scarlet Star had abandoned him in a moment of crisis and cut off all ties with him. If they didn’t quickly appease Yang Kai now, Scarlet Star wouldn’t be able to bear his retaliation that would surely come in the future.
On the other hand, this was a great opportunity for Scarlet Star.
If they could restore their relationship with Yang Kai, it would only be beneficial to Scarlet Star’s future. They were not planning on accepting him into Scarlet Star again. With his strength, if they really did so, it would be equivalent to surrendering Scarlet Star to him. The Head Manager, Chen Tian Fei and the others wouldn’t dare do such a thing.
But as long as Yang Kai’s requests weren’t too excessive, they could agree to it.
The Star City originally had three great forces coexisting together, but now Thunder Light had been destroyed and Sword Pavilion’s foundation had been greatly damaged. Furthermore, Yang Kai had gone straight to Sword Pavilion’s Headquarters, so they probably wouldn’t exist for much longer.
Two of the three great forces had suddenly been eliminated, leaving behind only Scarlet Star. This was a Heaven-sent opportunity!
Under the leadership of the Head Manager, Chen Tian Fei and the others respectfully arrived in front of Yang Kai’s mansion. There were no servants in the mansion, so they couldn’t even find a way to pay their respects.
Chen Tian Fei had no choice but to step forward and knock on the door, knowing that Yue He would ridicule and make things difficult for him now.
Previously, Scarlet Star’s actions in Yang Kai’s time of crisis had truly angered Yue He. Although Scarlet Star had no other choice, the matter still concerned Yang Kai’s life and death. Fortunately, Yang Kai was strong; otherwise, they would have to run for their lives.
She also knew why these people from Scarlet Star had come, so she didn’t kick them out. However, that did not mean that she did not take any jabs at them, which for Yue He, was her exercising extreme forbearance.
The Head Manager was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and she too was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Their strengths and statuses were equal, but the Head Manager clearly maintained a respectful attitude as they conversed.
It couldn’t be helped. Yue He was with Yang Kai, so if Scarlet Star wanted to survive in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in the future, it would have to rely on Yang Kai. At this time, how could they put on airs?
However, he didn’t say much and simply asked Yue He when Yang Kai would return, and requested her to inform him when he did. Even asking her to put in some good words for them. Explaining Scarlet Star’s difficulties to Yang Kai and making him sympathize with them was of utmost importance.
Yue He naturally did not give an answer so easily. She just gave a relatively polite but insincere response.
Before leaving, Scarlet Star Managers left behind a small gift. Although it was called a small gift, it was actually quite generous. It was three Fifth-Order materials.
Each of the materials was worth millions of Open Heaven Pills, which showed Scarlet Star’s sincerity.
If it were in the past, this amount of wealth would have been quite good for Yang Kai, but Yang Kai had made a fortune during his trip to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. He had obtained more than seventy Fifth-Order and twenty Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, so these three Fifth-Order materials might not even catch his eyes.
After the shocking battle, the unrest in the Star City did not subside for a long time. For several days, everyone was talking about the various scenes of the previous battle and Yang Kai’s incredible performance.
Many were even waiting for the next good show. Yang Kai had directly taken Lu Xue to Sword Pavilion’s Headquarters in order to exterminate them. When he returned, no one knew how he would deal with Scarlet Star.
Countless Scarlet Star disciples were in a state of panic, afraid of being dragged into this mess. Over the past few days, the number of Scarlet Star disciples had greatly decreased. Scarlet Star had occupied this region and was flourishing, but now, almost thirty percent of them had secretly left.
This angered Chen Tian Fei and the others so much that they had no choice but to re-activate the defensive Grand Array. Anyone who wanted to leave had to verify their identity before they could pass.
While the Star City was in chaos, Yang Kai brought Lu Xue along as they rushed forward. Under Lu Xue’s guidance, they flew for more than a day before finally seeing a mountain range in the distance.
This mountain range was majestic and ancient, giving off a primordial aura that blew on their faces. It made them feel as if they had travelled through time and returned to the far past.
“The entire Star City has been devoured into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and has been divided into many pieces. There is a fragment over there. Sword Pavilion has been stationed there ever since,” Lu Xue explained while coughing lightly.
It had been just a day, so she wasn’t able to recover much. Although she had taken many pills along the way, they had only slowed down her injuries. It would take her at least a year to recover completely.
“En,” Yang Kai acknowledged before tossing her aside and turning into a streak of light.
Lu Xue didn’t expect Yang Kai to abandon her just like that, so she couldn’t react in time and quickly fell to the ground. Panicked, she quickly used her strength to stabilize her body, causing her internal organs to shake violently as she staggered. Her heart pounded with lingering fear, looking at Yang Kai’s departing back.
[He really spared me!] Lu Xue was still in disbelief. Although Yang Kai had said that he would spare her life if she brought him to Sword Pavilion’s Headquarters, how could Lu Xue believe him? She only thought he was lying to get what he wanted.
However, although she thought so at the time, she had no choice but to agree. The feeling of being burned alive by the Golden Crow’s True Fire and waiting for the imminent death was too terrifying, so she might as well beg for a quick death.
But by the looks of it, Yang Kai wasn’t lying to her and actually kept his word.
However, after being burned by the Golden Crow’s True Fire, the situation inside her body had become so terrible that she couldn’t even display ten percent of her usual strength. If Yang Kai abandoned her here, how would she survive? She might encounter some Ominous Beast and be killed on the spot.
She steeled her heart as she started walking forward, staggering.
In the Sword Pavilion Star City, Yang Kai fell from the sky, creating an enormous pit on the ground.
The reason he had come so aggressively was to cut weeds and pull out roots. Now that the grudge between him and Sword Pavilion was about to be settled, there was no need for him to be polite.
Yang Kai had thought that this would be another difficult battle, so he had tried his best to adjust his condition to its peak. Be that as it may, he felt something was wrong before he even arrived.
When he scanned with his Divine Sense, he couldn’t sense any vitality in this city. Not a single living person could be found.
Not only that but the air was also filled with a thick, nauseating scent of blood. Yang Kai was extremely familiar with this aura as he had seen a scene just like it after his battle outside Scarlet Star City.
When he turned around to look, Yang Kai couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
The buildings in this city had all collapsed. The ground was stained in blood, and had severed limbs and mutilated pieces of flesh lying here and there. Moreover, the wounds on these ripped limbs were all very strange. When Yang Kai picked up one of these severed limbs and lowered his head to examine it, a frown appeared on his brow.
At this moment, the entire Star City was completely empty. Birds were flying across the sky, and the wind howled.
Yang Kai walked ahead to investigate with his hands behind his back, soon seeing a number of mutilated and incomplete corpses along the way, but strangely enough, no one had taken their Space Rings. All the possessions were simply lying on the ground.
Yang Kai picked up a Space Ring and examined it carefully. He didn’t find traces of things being taken out from the Space Rings either.
Immediately after, Yang Kai’s expression gradually became solemn.
Along the way, he collected the Space Rings. This Star City was even bigger than Scarlet Star’s Star City, with at least tens of thousands of people living here before. Yang Kai regretted not bringing Guo Zi Yan and the others with him at this moment.
Who knows how long it would take to collect so many Space Rings. After having spent a day, he had collected thousands of them, but that was just ten or so percent of the total number here.
Knowingly or unknowingly, Yang Kai arrived in front of a large hall.
The main hall was located at the centre of the Star City and was likely where the upper echelons of Sword Pavilion gathered. It was similar to Scarlet Star’s Main Hall.
The door happened to be broken, and seeing that, Yang Kai walked right in.
The main hall was also stained in blood and had corpses lying everywhere. Amidst all the bodies, a single figure was standing there with a solemn look on her face. It was none other than Lu Xue.
Earlier, when Yang Kai had abandoned her in the wilderness, she had forced herself to walk all the way to Star City. When she saw the corpses and rivers of blood in the Star City, she had thought it was Yang Kai’s doing, but now it seemed that it was not. It had clearly happened before they arrived.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Lu Xue turned around, her eyes completely dull and hollow as she asked, “What happened here?”
“A Beast Tide!” Yang Kai came to her side and stared at the corpse of a middle-aged man in front of him. Although this middle-aged man had died, his bearing was still extraordinary. When he was alive, he was definitely someone of great importance. As there were no wounds visible on his body, it appeared that he himself had no idea when he died.
From his previous observations, Yang Kai was fairly certain that Sword Pavilion had encountered a terrifying Beast Tide. Many of the mutilated limbs and pieces of flesh had traces of bite marks, which could only belong to Ominous Beasts.
“Impossible!” Lu Xue gasped. If one were to tell her that this place turned into a wreckage because of Yang Kai, then she could still believe it. After all, she had seen the terrifying things Yang Kai could do, but how could a mere Beast Tide cause this much damage?
It wasn’t that she’d never encountered a Beast Tide before while still in Sword Pavilion, but no matter the size of tide, they could be easily defeated. Sword Pavilion’s own heritage was not bad and with the help of the Sword Formations and the protective Spirit Arrays, Beast Tides generally couldn’t shake Sword Pavilion’s foundation like this.
Yang Kai said bluntly, “Nothing’s impossible.”
He had been collecting Space Rings all day and had been observing the situation. It was almost certain that Sword Pavilion encountered a Beast Tide as there were footprints of many Ominous Beasts all over the city grounds as well as some Ominous Beast carcasses left in the streets.
Adding on the fact that the Space Rings remained intact, it just about proved his guess.
“Who is this?” Yang Kai said as he gazed at a middle-aged man’s corpse.
“Sir Pavilion Master!” Lu Xue said, shocked.
“This is Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes. He had known this man was of great fame and must have a strong background, but he didn’t expect him to be Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master, “What was his cultivation?”
Lu Xue answered in a trembling voice, “Sir Pavilion Master was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. How could someone like him just… die like that, here?”
“Sixth-Order!” Even Yang Kai was shocked.
He wasn’t afraid of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Master inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary as there would still be limits to the strength a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could display. If Yang Kai were to have met this man in battle, then with his current strength, it was still hard to tell who the victor of their fight would be.
What was shocking was that a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would actually lay dead here.
A Master of that level definitely had a solid foundation and outstanding heritage. Even if this man were defeated by a Beast Tide, he should have been able to put up a good fight while making a retreat, but from the way Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died, it seemed he didn’t even have a chance to fight back as there were barely any signs of combat left in the hall. In other words, the strength of his foe must have far surpassed him.
A chill surged up in Yang Kai’s heart.
Could there truly be such a powerful presence in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?
There were no scars on the Pavilion Master’s body at all, so Yang Kai couldn’t even tell how he died. It didn’t seem like he’d been killed by an Ominous Beast at all and instead just fell dead all of a sudden.
“They’re dead, they’re all dead!” Lu Xue turned her head around, only to see that all of the senior members of Sword Pavilion were gathered here alongside the Pavilion Master’s body. Practically no one was left behind. The entire Sect was wiped out here. Adding those that Yang Kai killed outside of Scarlet Star City, it would now seem Lu Xue was the only surviving member of Sword Pavilion!
With a rip, Yang Kai had torn open the Pavilion Master’s clothes, and he couldn’t help but be stunned at what he saw.
He’d planned to investigate how Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died, but he didn’t expect to find the truth so quickly.
On the man’s broad chest was a spider-shaped imprint. The spider was silver in colour with a crescent moon mark on its back. As if it were a living thing, its eight legs were spread apart and a silvery thread of spider silk spread out, covering the man’s body.
“This is…” Yang Kai suddenly felt that this mark looked familiar.
Before he could remember where he’d seen this pattern before though, the spider suddenly jumped off from the Pavilion Master’s chest and lunged at Yang Kai.
Lu Xue screamed and recoiled in fear.
In a flash, Yang Kai threw his head back to avoid the spider’s attack, but he couldn’t help the shaking feeling in his Soul. His vision suddenly grew disoriented. Then, a huge eight-legged spider with its teeth and claws brandished at him filled his vision and occupied his entire mind. The spider was clearly the seal on Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master’s chest magnified countless times over.
Its huge mouth opened up and it launched its fangs towards Yang Kai, seemingly intending to devour him whole.
But this scene was not real. In Lu Xue’s vision, after the spider seal on her Pavilion Master’s chest jumped out at Yang Kai, the young man’s eyes suddenly lost focus. At the same time, extremely pure Spiritual Energy rippled out.
Amazingly, the spider was a Soul Divine Ability, and the giant spider that Yang Kai saw was nothing more than an illusion.
But despite it being an illusion though, things wouldn’t end well if he were truly devoured by the spider.
At a critical life-or-death moment, a Dragon Roar burst out as a Golden Dragon Head suddenly emerged behind Yang Kai’s back, roaring at the giant spider.
Dragon Pressure spilled out and extended to the Heavens.
With a rumble, Yang Kai’s Soul was shaken again, and by the time he regained his senses, the spider was nowhere to be seen. The Divine Ability hidden in the Pavilion Master’s body had been shattered by the Dragon Pressure.
“Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!” Yang Kai’s face turned grim.
He finally remembered why the crescent moon pattern was so familiar to him. He had seen it before.
On Shan Qing Luo’s body!
Shan Qing Luo carried the bloodline and Source of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider. On a certain part of her body not known to anyone else was a mark just like the one Yang Kai just witnessed.
The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider was one of the Ancient Divine Spirits, and while its ranking amongst Divine Spirits wasn’t too high, it definitely wasn’t low either.
[This Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary actually has a Divine Spirit?]
Thinking back to the Dragon Bead he had obtained from Crouching Dragon Mountain, Yang Kai’s disbelief was quickly dispelled. This Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was a mysterious place. There had been a True Dragon here, so what was so strange about there being a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider as well?
With that, it seemed that Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master must have been killed by the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s attack. No wonder this man couldn’t put up any resistance. Even under the restrictions of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the might of a Divine Spirit was still not something an ordinary Master could dream of confronting.
If taken out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and into the Outer Universe, this Heavenly Moon Demon Spider would definitely become an existence at least on par with Mie Meng.
Yang Kai’s heart burned. It was a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider! If he could kill it and take its Monster Core, then give it to Luo’er once he returned, wouldn’t Luo’er be able to reach Open Heaven Realm in a single bound? Who knows how happy that girl would be then! She would definitely try all kinds of tricks to please him then!
But very soon, Yang Kai dismissed that idea. The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider wasn’t something that one should just provoke on a whim, lest he tried to steal a chicken but lose his rice. Turning Luo’er and the others into widows wouldn’t be a worthwhile risk.
“You…” Lu Xue’s shocked voice came from next to him. Looking at Yang Kai, her eyes were shaking violently.
She seemed to have seen something astonishing in that one instant that scared her so much that she fell on her bottom, so shocked that she’d forgotten to stand back up.
Yang Kai shot her a light glance but promptly ignored her; instead, he leaned down to swipe the Pavilion Master’s Space Ring. Checking its contents with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai discovered that this old man was truly wealthy.
There were more than a billion Open Heaven Pills inside the Space Ring, piled up into several small mountains. There were also countless other cultivation materials and also a number of good artifacts.
This man had been Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master for so many years that he was bound to have accumulated some level of wealth during his hegemonic reign over the Star City.
A certain jade slip caught Yang Kai’s attention, and taking it out, he swept his Divine Sense over it and instantly raised his brow.
The jade slip actually turned out to be the cultivation method for the Starfall Sword Formation and Defying Heavens Star Net Formation.
These were extreme treasures. Even though forming this Formation had strict requirements for those involved, chief among them cultivating the Sword Dao, it was still quite possible for Yang Kai to make use of it in the future.
Just as he was about to put the jade slip away, Yang Kai’s instincts suddenly tugged at him, causing him to jerk his head in a certain direction.
There seemed to be a pair of invisible eyes there, observing him from across the void. It gave him goosebumps, as if something bad had its eyes set on him.
In the direction Yang Kai was staring, across a vast stretch of mountains and wastelands, a massive herd of Ominous Beasts of all different shapes and sizes was marching. There were giant beasts as majestic as mountains, rising over a thousand metres tall, shaking the earth with each step they took. There were also skeletal humanoid figures with two heads, baring their fangs with arms like scythes, running as fast as the wind. Though they were humanoid in shape, they were still more beast than man, with heads like that of a praying mantis or other insects and animals. They were all densely gathered in one place, but at the moment, they were just like a well-trained army marching forward, racing towards the depths of the wilderness.
The most conspicuous part was the centre of the Beast Tide where an incomparably huge spider strode using its eight legs. It seemed to move slowly and clumsily, but its speed was actually as fast as lightning.
From time to time, spider silk was spat out from its jaws and pierced through the bodies of random beasts before they were pulled into its mouth and swallowed.
On the huge spider’s back was a building resembling a pavilion, and inside the pavilion lounged a woman lazily on a bamboo sofa, dressed in highly revealing clothes. The woman was the epitome of charm, even being comparable to the likes of Shan Qing Luo. It was the kind of beauty that made a man’s blood boil as soon as they set their eyes upon it.
When Yang Kai shattered the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s illusion with his Dragon Pressure, the enchanting woman on the bamboo sofa suddenly opened her eyes and let out a soft giggle. Looking in the direction of the ruined Star City, she licked her lips with her scarlet tongue after a moment and smiled.
It was a smile that caused the world to lose its colour, leaving only the seduction of her face behind.
With a light clap, a green figure appeared instantaneously and knelt down in front of her.
It was a creature with a humanoid body, yet with large scythes for arms and topped off by a mantis head.
“There’s an interesting little fellow back in the direction we just came from. Bring him to me alive.”
The mantis head nodded before it transformed into a green light, speeding away to carry out her order.
Back inside the Star City, Yang Kai was frowning. He focused his senses, but he couldn’t catch that feeling again. He couldn’t help but wonder whether he had used up too much of his energy in yesterday’s fight and was now sensing things wrong because of it.
He thought of leaving immediately, but he’d barely searched half of Star City, so it would be too much of a pity to leave just like that. Sighing, Yang Kai gathered all the Space Rings in the hall and headed out into the Star City, sweeping up all the valuables he could along the way.
In any case, this was no place to be staying for an extended amount of time, so he had to hurry out of here after he was done scavenging.
Lu Xue who had been left to daydream in the hall had only come back to her senses after a long time. Over the past few days, too much had happened to her. First, she was tossed about by Yang Kai, then she came back to Sword Pavilion just to find that she was now alone. Sadness filled her heart and she didn’t even know where to go in the future.
Taking out a Spirit Pill, she stuffed it into her mouth and sat down cross-legged, adjusting her breathing and meditating. No matter what she did in the future, she had to recover her strength before she could make any other plans…
Yang Kai moved quickly around the Star City. His Divine Sense was spread out like a tidal wave. Pushing it outwards with all his might, it extended out like countless large hands that plucked the Space Rings off each dead body and tossed them into the Sealed World Bead.
Yang Kai didn’t have the time to probe into them to see what was inside since there were too many, so he could only wait until later before slowly taking inventory.
Half a day later, he had basically swept through the entire destroyed Star City. Just as he was about to return though, he suddenly heard a faint but shrill scream from a certain direction and quickly turned towards it.
That was the direction of the Main Hall where Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died, and it was undoubtedly Lu Xue’s voice he just heard. There were no living beings in the Star City other than him and Lu Xue, so it had to be her.
But an extra life aura had clearly appeared in that direction. Only, the aura gave off a strange feeling and seemed to be radiating Monster Qi.
[A Monster Beast?] Yang Kai frowned. Curious, he used Instantaneous Movement and disappeared from where he stood.
When he reappeared, he was already in the hall. Looking around, he frowned.
There, he saw Lu Xue raised into the air with a figure that was just slightly taller than an average human man in front of her. It was a humanoid monster wearing a short-sleeved animal skin shirt, and its entire body was turquoise in colour. Even though he had a humanoid form, it was definitely not Human.
Its two arms were like sharp scythes and a flat-looking head topped its body that looked just like that of a mantis’.
[What in the world is that?]
Yang Kai had been travelling the world for many years, but he had never seen such a strange being before.
Generally speaking, Monster Beasts were able to take human form after cultivating to a certain extent, and only when their cultivation was lacking would there be Monster Beast traces remaining after they assumed human form.
But the aura of this mantis head was very strong, even greater than that of the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon. So, how could it still appear to look half Monster, half Human?
Yang Kai assumed that it was due to the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon’s low sentience that they did not assume human form. Without high enough sentience, it was naturally impossible for them to assume human form. Could it be that this mantis head has not fully gained sentience yet?
When he heard the noise, the mantis head turned to look at Yang Kai. His compound eyes revealed a lost look while he scratched his head with his raised scythe arms, appearing slightly puzzled.
His Mistress told him that there was an interesting fellow over here, and asked him to capture him. As soon as he came here and saw Lu Xue, he thought that she was the one, but now another one had appeared. Which one was it?
After carefully distinguishing the aura between Lu Xue and Yang Kai, he was still confused. From what he could sense, Lu Xue was clearly much stronger than Yang Kai, but his instincts told him that Yang Kai was a greater threat to his life than this girl.
After pondering for a while, he suddenly grinned and spoke in a voice similar to metal scraping against metal, “Forget it, I’ll just bring them both back.”
[This mantis head can speak!?] Lu Xue was taken aback before she turned a pleading gaze towards Yang Kai. Her life was hanging by a thread at this moment and she could very easily be dismembered with just a quick movement from the mantis head, so the only one she could rely on now was Yang Kai. If Yang Kai was willing to save her, then she had hope to live.
But to her disappointment, Yang Kai didn’t even look at her. She couldn’t help but feel dejected at this, but it did make sense. Yang Kai had just been on a killing spree, aiming to annihilate all of Sword Pavilion. He even ran all the way here to slaughter everyone. Given she was also a member of Sword Pavilion, why would he care whether she lived or died?
“Did you do this?” Yang Kai looked at the mantis head and asked, but he quickly shook his head, “No. You don’t have the ability.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” With a shake of the mantis head’s arm, Lu Xue who was lifted into the air screamed as she was tossed to the side. While walking towards Yang Kai, he lightly rubbed his scythe arms together, producing a hair-raising screech, “Little thing, Mistress told me to capture you alive, so you’d better not resist or you’ll regret it.”
“Mistress?” Yang Kai raised a brow. He was interested in prying out of this mantis head’s mouth who this ‘Mistress’ was, but with a green flash in front of his eyes, the mantis head had already swiftly made his way over in front of him. A sharp glint entered Yang Kai’s eyes as a scythe arm swung down towards his head.
[Fast!]
Yang Kai’s pupils shrank. At once, he manipulated Space Principles and teleported 30 metres back.
Even so, the slash ripped open Yang Kai’s shirt.
When Yang Kai looked down, he discovered that a slit had been drawn over the new set of clothes he had changed into on the road. Fortunately, he reacted fast enough; otherwise, he would have eaten a loss on the very first move.
“Oh?” The mantis head looked at Yang Kai with his head cocked to the side, his compound eyes turning, seemingly puzzled as he commented, “You’re quick!”
“You’re not so bad either!” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
“Then let’s see who’s faster!” The mantis head grinned, revealing two rows of jagged teeth in his mouth. As soon as he finished speaking, his body transformed into a green light that approached Yang Kai as fast as lightning.
Yang Kai took him on seriously. He had his Divine Sense locked onto the mantis head’s aura while he circulated his Space Principles, ready to react to his movements.
Suddenly, the hall was filled with gusts of wind and afterimages flickering about.
Lu Xue, who had been thrown to the side, raised her head to see the hall filled with figures of Yang Kai and the mantis head. For a moment, she couldn’t tell which were real and which were remnant images.
She couldn’t help but feel stunned. It was normally rare to encounter existences as fast as this, and now there were two who seemed evenly matched with each other.
She didn’t dare to remain. Neither the mantis head nor Yang Kai paid her any heed, but if she were caught in their fight, then there was no way she could withstand it in her current state.
Forcing her body to move, she stumbled her way to the entrance and ran out.
After running less than a thousand metres, she heard a violent noise from behind her. Turning around, she could see the hall crumble as two figures rose into the air. The violent aftershock threw her several tens of metres away. When she landed on the ground, she even spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Once outside the hall, both Yang Kai and the mantis head seemed to have been freed from some sort of shackle. Like a Dragon into the sea or a Tiger in the mountains, they pushed their speed to its limits at once. In the sky above the crumbling ruins, the two figures flickered back and forth, up and down, chasing each other from one end of the Star City to the other. They occasionally exchanged blows, causing the sky to shake and the earth to crack.
Strictly speaking, Yang Kai was no match for the mantis head in terms of speed. This guy was truly as fast as the wind and lightning. The only way Yang Kai could keep up was by relying on his Space Principles.
Even more terrifyingly, not only was this mantis head extremely fast, but his sword techniques were also incredibly masterful.
The two scythe-like arms were just like natural-born armaments. Wielded by the mantis head, they became peerless blades. At a glance, Yang Kai could tell that this enemy’s techniques needed no thought to execute. Each strike was honed and refined to the point of perfection, smoothly flowing while not the slightest bit wasteful.
Yang Kai was actually feeling overwhelmed!
He came feeling invincible after destroying the Sword Pavilion Sword Formation and slaughtering thousands of Thunder Light members. Yang Kai felt that no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was his opponent any longer, but this mantis head actually made him feel pressured, so it was easy to see how terrifying this guy was.
Which cultivator in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could possibly compete with an existence such as this? Yang Kai estimated that even if Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master came back to life, he still wouldn’t be able to do anything to this guy.
Worse, this mantis head was just a henchman, so how terrifying could his Mistress possibly be?
Yang Kai had a faint suspicion that the Mistress this mantis head talked about was the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider! Thinking back to his thoughts of wanting to get his hands on that Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s Monster Core, Yang Kai realized just how ignorant and arrogant he had been.
“Enough!” Yang Kai bellowed and threw his palm out with a violent power that knocked the mantis head away.
In terms of speed, Yang Kai with his Space Principles could barely match his opponents, but nothing good would come from dragging this fight out. It really wasn’t a good idea to stay here for long. If the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider decided to come back, then he had no idea whether he would be able to resist or even escape.
This battle had to be decided quickly.
The moment he pushed back the mantis head, Yang Kai had already summoned his Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd. With his Divine Sense, he opened the gourd and light poured out of it in an instant, filling the world and enveloping the mantis head.
A bunch of clinks sounded alongside a bunch of sparks. Yang Kai’s widened his eyes and he looked ahead in astonishment.
Charging through the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, the mantis head’s speed instantly decreased; however, his momentum was still continuously increasing.
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, which devastated both Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion was barely useful against this mantis head. Even though he was instantly covered in injuries, they were very minor and almost negligible.
[This guy… his skin is on par with a Sixth-Order Monster Beast!]
The Monster Beasts of the Outer Universe were also divided into different Orders. Just like the Open Heaven Realm, the Monster Beasts that were below this realm were not included within those divisions.
In other words, there had to be a Sixth-Order Monster Core in this mantis head’s body; otherwise, it would be impossible for him to resist the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light with just his physical body.
Yang Kai’s eyes instantly lit up. Even though he had no idea what properties this mantis head’s Monster Core had, anything at the Sixth Order was still going to be a treasure.
The mantis head was not injured much, but he was apparently greatly angered by Yang Kai’s move. He felt that this Human was both despicable and shameless. Even though they were obviously competing with speed, he suddenly came up with another technique, which made him feel deeply insulted. He began to shout, “You little thing, you made this Senior Mantis very angry! This Senior Mantis has decided to eat one of your arms and legs!”
Losing an arm and a leg wouldn’t kill this Human, and his Mistress told him to capture him alive but didn’t say anything about bringing him back whole. In other words, ripping off a couple limbs wouldn’t be going against his Mistress’ orders.
As the mantis head shouted, his scythes danced around and cut off the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that was gushing his way before he pounced to within 30 metres of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai wore a grim expression. He knew that the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was not going to be of any use against this guy.
Even though the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd was a powerful weapon, it could be resisted by anyone in the Sixth Order or above, where its effects would be limited.
This artifact was suitable for large-scale battles where its might could be shown fully, such as the previous battle with Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion.
Currently, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light wasn’t working and Yang Kai could not use his Golden Crow Casts the Sun Manifestation for some time. When he broke Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation, Yang Kai’s Dao Seal was shaken and needed time to stabilize, so unless it was a life or death situation, it was better not to use his Divine Manifestation for the time being.
And, when facing an opponent like this mantis head, the only way to win was to face him head-on.
With that in mind, Yang Kai immediately put away the Wind Gourd and reached out his hand. As Dragon Pressure spread out, the Azure Dragon Spear was summoned. Casually brandishing the spear, he thrust it out.
The mantis head was speeding over in fury, and didn’t expect Yang Kai to play another trick so quickly. When the tip of the Azure Dragon Spear was rapidly magnifying in front of his eyes, he quickly lifted his two scythes in front of himself to block.
With a clink, the mantis head paled slightly as both of his compound eyes shook violently. The figure that was lunging forward suddenly flew backwards as if possessed by a ghost.
After being blasted back more than a thousand metres, the mantis head looked down to see the dent in his right arm. His extremely sturdy scythe arm was almost pierced through by his opponent’s spear.
Shocked, he stared at the Azure Dragon Spear in Yang Kai’s hand and asked hoarsely, “What is that spear you’re wielding?”
He knew his body best, and though it wasn’t as solid as metal, the things that could hurt him were still few. But just a single hit from this opponent in front of him carried terrifying power, so much so that it felt like a deadly threat to him.
“Of course, it’s… the spear that will end your life!” Yang Kai had already arrived in front of the mantis head in a flash while speaking and stabbed his spear out like a Flood Dragon going to sea.
At the same time, Yang Kai felt a little frustrated. He had prepared to take the mantis head’s life with that strike just now. The Azure Dragon Spear was crafted from the bones of a True Dragon. Even considering the entire 3,000 Worlds, it was considered a top artifact. The mantis head’s defence was certainly strong, but it was impossible for it to block the Azure Dragon Spear’s might.
Unfortunately, his efforts were for naught.
After eating a loss once, the mantis head didn’t dare to take him head-on anymore. He quickly flashed aside to avoid the spear thrust, turning into a green shadow that was constantly circling around Yang Kai while he waved his scythe arms, throwing attacks at him from every direction, making it hard to pin him down.
Yang Kai pushed the power of the Azure Dragon Spear to the limit, enveloping himself in a towering spear shadow.
Compared to the mantis head’s masterful sword techniques, Yang Kai’s spear technique could practically be called amateurish; after all, he had never properly cultivated the Spear Dao before, only using the Azure Dragon Spear instinctually since he obtained it. The two could hardly be compared in terms of skill.
It wasn’t that Yang Kai didn’t value skill and technique, but compared to that, he felt that ultimately, strength was the deciding factor in a life-or-death battle. No matter how impressive one’s techniques were, absolute strength would still be able to smash through them.
But now, he realized that his thinking was too shallow.
No matter how powerful the Azure Dragon Spear was, it was useless if he couldn’t hit his opponent, and the mantis head was fast enough and skilful enough to dodge or parry any attack Yang Kai tried. It had already reached a terrifying level where skill could surpass power. From time to time, the mantis head would even take advantage of openings in Yang Kai’s sloppy spearmanship to cut him, drawing fresh blood from his wounds.
Even Yang Kai’s solid Half-Dragon physique could not resist the cuts of these sharp scythe arms.
If the fight dragged on like this, then the one who would suffer a loss would be Yang Kai in the end.
Yang Kai was astonished, but he was also helpless to do anything about it. If he wanted to leave, he could leave at any time. The mantis head was quick, but he could not stop him catch him if he used Instantaneous Movement and leapt across space. But if he left just like that, this enemy would probably bother him later and might even become a hindrance on his Martial Dao.
“Your blood… is delicious!” In the midst of the fierce battle, the mantis head still had the leisure to pay attention to other details. Quite apparently, it was in a comfortable position. Even while he was speaking, his voice sounded breathy, as if it had discovered a delicious delicacy that whetted his appetite.
Yang Kai’s body was filled with Dragon Blood, so while an ordinary cultivator may not be able to sense anything, this mantis head was a Monster Beast with a keen sense of smell, so naturally, he could tell the difference.
“No wonder Mistress asked me to capture you alive. Hahaha, this Senior Mantis will be basking in glory today!” The mantis head laughed. As his body circled around Yang Kai, his voice could be heard from all directions.
Yang Kai grit his teeth, not saying a word. He was concentrating on dealing with the mantis head’s flurry of attacks, and whenever the two clashed, flashes of light from the scythe and spear would appear, breaking down the already destroyed Star City into even smaller pieces.
But an opening was sure to appear after a long defence. One man and one beast fought for an entire hour before the mantis head finally found a good opportunity. Deflecting Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear with his right scythe arm, he rushed before Yang Kai and stabbed his left arm towards his enemy’s chest as a fierce light flashed across his two compound eyes. With a piercing sound, half of his scythe arm impaled Yang Kai’s abdomen, coming right out of his back.
Fresh blood splashed out and Yang Kai’s face paled slightly, but instead of panicking he sneered and quipped, “Finally caught you!”
At those words, ignoring the sharpness of the scythe arm, Yang Kai grabbed onto the mantis head’s blade, which instantly cut his fingers and caused blood to spill wildly.
The mantis head thought that the victor was already decided and was just about to laugh, but he had a sudden start at those words and he could instinctively tell that things were not good. When he looked up, the Azure Dragon Spear was coming right down onto his head.
He sneered hoarsely, “You think you can catch this Senior Mantis? You’re still too naive!”
The scythe that was in Yang Kai’s abdomen suddenly stirred inside of him, and while Yang Kai was in great pain, the mantis head swiftly retracted his arm and drew back.
“Solidify!” Yang Kai shouted as his spear thrust out. Space Principles were pushed to their limit and the surrounding space froze.
The mantis head’s smile froze. The only thing he could feel was space squeezing down on him madly, greatly reducing his speed of retreat. As he watched the Azure Dragon Spear quickly fill his vision, he cried out in fear, “You little thing, you’re too deceitful!”
No matter how hard he tried, he still could not surpass the speed that the Azure Dragon Spear was approaching.
*Pu…*
The mantis head’s head burst open in mid-air, and his headless body fell back to the ground while twitching and shaking.
Yang Kai withdrew his spear and coughed up a large mouthful of fresh blood. He could not stop his body from falling heavily to the ground.
He truly suffered a big loss this time.
In order to land a killing blow with his final spear, Yang Kai had been trying his best to conceal the full extent of his abilities. He limited his usage of Space Principles, only using them enough to keep pace with mantis head’s speed. This was all so he could force his opponent to reveal an opening.
Finally, Yang Kai risked his own body to draw in his opponent. Only when that was combined with a burst of Space Principles to limit his opponent’s movements was he lucky enough to succeed.
Otherwise, Yang Kai had no idea how long this battle would have dragged on for.
But it was still worth it. Even though he sustained a severe injury, being able to eliminate such a strong foe was still considered a great harvest for his growth and honing of his skills.
Looking down at the hole in his abdomen, with blood pouring out of it, as well as the countless cuts all over his body, Yang Kai realized just how much he had been on the receiving end of this fight this whole time while the mantis head merely sustained two direct spear strikes from him. One spear, to probe, while the second, the killing blow.
Yang Kai tried to get up, but his guts were churning and it hurt so much that it was unbearable. He eventually had no choice but to sit down and take out some pills, stuffing them into his mouth to help him recover.
As he did that, he also put the mantis head’s body into his Space Ring. Only then did he begin circulating his strength and adjusting his breathing to heal his wounds.
Time passed slowly and an incense stick of time later, he heard the small sound of footsteps approaching.
Yang Kai looked over and saw a pale-faced Lu Xue walking over, looking stunned at him.
When their eyes met, panic surfaced in Lu Xue’s eyes.
She wasn’t affected too much by the fallout of Yang Kai and the mantis head’s battle as she was able to escape far enough away, but as a result, she had no idea how their fight was going. Since everything turned quiet, she decided to go back and check on the situation.
But she didn’t expect Yang Kai to be the one who won in the end, with the seemingly unbeatable mantis head falling to the side. Even his head was broken apart.
Even though she did not see the whole process of the fight, she knew how dire that battle must have been. From Yang Kai’s current unstable aura and pale face, it was clear that his injuries were not small.
Pursing her lips, she approached Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked at her with cold eyes, not knowing what this woman intended to do. Wasn’t this the perfect time to take advantage of his heavy injuries to get revenge? But she herself was an arrow at the end of its flight, hardly able to exert any strength. If she really acted, he would definitely give her a big surprise to show her that a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.
One step, two steps. Merely several thousand metres apart, it still took Lu Xue half an incense stick of time to reach Yang Kai. Slightly panting, she extended a hand towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai sneered in his heart and gathered some of his strength, ready to fight back. But something confused him. Why didn’t this woman have any murderous intent at all?
In the next moment, Yang Kai was stunned. That was because even though Lu Xue grabbed him, she had no intention of doing anything to him. Instead, she turned her back to him and crouched down, revealing her slender back to him while holding both his wrists, pulling him onto her back and saying, “This place is dangerous, we can’t stay for long!”
Gathering her strength, she got up and made her way, step by step out of the Star City.
[This woman… Actually plans on carrying me out on her back!?]
Yang Kai was dumbfounded by this. He wouldn’t think it strange at all if Lu Xue were to take advantage of this situation to get revenge; after all, he killed so many people from Sword Pavilion and made life miserable for her, so she should have a deep grudge against him, but what did she hope to achieve by helping him?
Yang Kai couldn’t understand it. They were definitely enemies, not friends.
Even so, Yang Kai truly felt that she was a woman as her body was very soft. It was the first time she was carrying a man on her back like this, though Yang Kai didn’t know that. With Yang Kai breathing right next to her ear, Lu Xue gradually blushed red.
The difference in their body size was not much, but as a man, Yang Kai was bound to be a little taller than her, so Lu Xue could only hunch over while she walked, which looked rather funny.
It was a first for Yang Kai to be carried on the back of a woman like this too, giving rise to an extremely strange feeling inside of him.
But no matter what the situation, this kind of thing was still hard to get used to. He patted Lu Xue’s shoulder and cleared his throat, “Why don’t you lend me your shoulder instead?”
Lu Xue stopped and thought about it for a moment. In the end, she put Yang Kai down and put his arm over her shoulder, supporting him as they walked forward.
After a few steps though, she stumbled and almost fell to the ground, this time having Yang Kai catch her.
Eyes meeting, Yang Kai had a speechless face, while Lu Xue blushed.
“Let’s go,” Yang Kai said. Then, side by side, the two left the destroyed Star City together, feeling like they were helping and supporting each other.
Before coming here, Yang Kai was spirited and his murderous intent was strong, but he never would have expected to leave in such a pitiful state.
From time to time, he would turn to look at Lu Xue. He could already be sure that this woman meant him no harm; after all, just now was the best time to make a move on him. Still, it confused him to no end.
In a cave near a cliff, two figures sat down cross-legged more than 30 metres apart. The cave was not large, but it was very clean and well-hidden.
Lu Xue had brought Yang Kai to this place after the two left Sword Pavilion’s Star City. This cave was hundreds of kilometres away, which wasn’t considered too far. This was a cave she had encountered before, so she didn’t have any trouble locating it and travelling here.
Both of them were recuperating in silence, both remaining silent.
Strictly speaking, neither of them said much to each other while they helped each other out of the Star City, and Yang Kai also did not ask Lu Xue why she would help him rather than take the opportunity to try to kill him for revenge.
A woman’s mind was the most difficult mystery to unravel. Trying to guess would only make his head hurt, so why make life hard for himself?
In less than three days, Yang Kai opened his eyes. His aura had completely recovered, and the large wound through his abdomen had also basically healed.
With Dragon Blood flowing through his veins, he could recover at a terrifying rate. He had also refined the Immortal Tree’s Wood Element into his Dao Seal, which increased his healing abilities greatly. So long as the injury was not fatal, he could recover from it with a little time.
Slowly getting up, his body crackled, and after stretching out his muscles, he felt better than ever.
The battle with the mantis head was certainly difficult, but it also allowed Yang Kai to realize some of his shortcomings, so it could be considered a rewarding experience.
Looking over to the side, Lu Xue was still in the midst of her recovery, and her aura was still unstable. Her injuries weren’t going to heal as easily. The drawbacks of being burned by Golden Crow’s True Fire could not be erased in such a short time.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, no longer having any intention of killing this woman.
Half a day later, Yang Kai walked out of the cave, and after checking the direction, he rushed into the sky.
Three days later, Lu Xue woke up from her meditation, and when she looked over to her side, she found that she was the only one left in the cave. Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen.
Even though Yang Kai left, she could feel that a simple Spirit Array was arranged at the entrance to the cave with the ability to conceal one’s aura, sheltering her slightly. This crude Spirit Array was undoubtedly left by Yang Kai for her before he left.
After being surprised for a moment, Lu Xue shut her eyes again and continued adjusting her breathing, focusing on her recuperation.
Outside of Scarlet Star’s Star City, a stream of light pierced the sky and swooped down. The disciples in charge of monitoring any movement in all directions and guarding the Star City’s Grand Array were all shocked to see this. Just as they were about to activate the defensive Grand Array, they suddenly realized that the one rushing over was Yang Kai, and all their hands and feet went cold. They were frozen stiff in place.
The Killing Star… was back!
Previously, Yang Kai broke Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation all by himself outside the Star City, and brought destruction upon Thunder Light. Countless people bore witness to this scene, so how could they not recognize this figure?
Scarlet Star’s Managers were blinded by the lust for their own gains and abandoned Yang Kai during a moment of crisis, sweeping him out from their doors, which greatly offended him, so the disciples of Scarlet Star were all trembling in fear every day. Who knows how many of them left quietly in fear of Yang Kai returning to settle debts, escaping out of Scarlet Star for dear life.
If Chen Tian Fei hadn’t given the order to activate the Grand Array, forcing anyone who wanted to leave to be identified before they would be allowed out, it would be hard to say how many would dare still remain.
Even so, the disciples still remaining in Scarlet Star were very uneasy.
Yang Kai had previously captured Lu Xue and brought her to Sword Pavilion’s headquarters. Now, with him returning in great vigour and the situation at Sword Pavilion being unknown, anyone could guess that things were likely disastrous for the other party.
Now that the Yang Kai has returned, where should Scarlet Star go?
Contrary to what they expected though, Yang Kai didn’t rush straight into the Star City. When he was about to arrive, he suddenly turned around and looked to the side. With a note of surprise, he smiled and turned around, landing over that side.
Very soon, he reached a mountain valley and landed atop a giant head.
Having something land on top of it startled the owner of this head. It raised its eyes and was about to fume at the person, but it immediately settled down with one tap from Yang Kai’s foot.
The huge creature was the Scarlet Flood Dragon.
Then, Yang Kai looked at a hole not far in the distance and shouted, “Come out of there!”
There was a large rumble as if thunder was moving through the ground and following that, the Earth Dragon emerged from the hole. Its large snout wriggled restlessly, spraying fluids everywhere, and the sound of corrosion could be heard from the ground.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon was clearly disgusted at this sight, snorting disdainfully at it.
“Why are you here?” Yang Kai looked at the two with a grin, “Did someone… drive you out?”
The Earth Dragon’s whereabouts were unknown when he left, but from what Guo Zi Yan said, the Earth Dragon had seen that it was at a disadvantage on Yuan Magnetic Mountain and decided to flee. The disciples of Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion couldn’t do anything about it either, so they let it go. On the other hand, the Scarlet Flood Dragon was captured and later brought to the Star City.
After Yang Kai’s words, two Divine Senses were transmitted directly to him.
The sentience of both the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon was not high, so they were unable to speak properly nor assume human form, but they could still transmit some information through their Divine Senses. Moreover, during their time with Yang Kai, he could clearly sense that their sentience had improved by a lot. Before, communicating with them was quite difficult, but things were much easier now.
It must have something to do with the Dragon Blood Pills.
The Dragon Blood Pills that Yang Kai refined in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were all of Peak-Grade or higher, mainly because of how high the Grade the Dragon Blood Flowers were. Even he himself would benefit greatly by taking the pills, much less the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon, both exotic beasts with Dragon Veins. They had also grown considerably in size and strength during this time.
Through their descriptions, Yang Kai learned that it wasn’t someone who drove them out of the Star City, but rather they themselves felt uneasy staying there and chose to leave on their own accord.
It did make sense. They were huge creatures that were both over three hundred metres long while the Star City was crowded with buildings, so how could they stretch out and relax in such a cramped space?
Yang Kai nodded lightly. Under careful observation, he could see that the Scarlet Flood Dragon had yet to recover from its injuries. It was beaten badly by the cultivators from Sword Pavilion previously on Yuan Magnetic Mountain, and nearly had its head cut off by them. Even now, there was still a huge cut remaining on its neck that had yet to seal up. The Earth Dragon on the other hand did not have any big problems. This guy was a slippery one, literally, and if Yang Kai hadn’t suppressed him with his Dragon Vein, then he might not have been able to subdue him.
At this moment, several figures emerged from the Star City and moved quickly in Yang Kai’s direction.
They were all in the Open Heaven Realm, but none of them flew. Instead, they ran on the ground. The one at the front had a fat body like a mountain of meat that jiggled as he sprinted. Who else could it be but Chen Tian Fei? Right behind him were Scarlet Star’s other Managers.
Even though he had a plump shape, Chen Tian Fei’s movements were indescribably agile. In quick steps, it didn’t take long for him to reach this place. With a flattering smile on his face, he cupped his fist in greeting, “Congratulations to the mighty Brother Yang for this triumphant return!”
It was extremely awkward for him, as an Open Heaven Realm Master, to be calling an Emperor Realm Junior, Brother, but there was no helping it. They were currently weaker than Yang Kai, so Chen Tian Fei had no choice but to lower himself. As for the title of Sixth Manager, he naturally did not have the face to call Yang Kai that again.
Behind him, the Ou Yang Brothers, Lady Qin, and Bei Yu Shan all gave their congratulations in unison with complicated expressions on their faces.
Who would have thought that this young man who forced his way into Scarlet Star would possess such terrifying abilities? If they had known this was the case in the beginning, they would have treated him with far more respect. As long as they could bring this man to their side, in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, who did Scarlet Star have to fear?
Unfortunately, they had missed the opportunity and even added insult to injury. Right now, it was useless to regret anything.
But what embarrassed and annoyed them even more was the fact that they had personally gone out to greet him, but Yang Kai completely ignored them, only showing his back to them, treating them like air. Instead, he was very friendly and amiable with these two exotic beasts.
A moment later, Yang Kai raised a hand, and two red and round Spirit Pills flew out, landing into the mouths of the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon.
Chen Tian Fei’s heart jumped at this sight. Though he had no idea what those Spirit Pills were, he could tell from the smell alone that they were extraordinary goods, yet this guy actually tossed them out to two beasts. It was simply a waste!
“How was the result of Brother Yang’s trip?” Chen Tian Fei asked with a cautious face.
Yang Kai finally turned around and swept his eyes across the faces of these people. He had a straight face that showed neither joy nor anger, but Chen Tian Fei and the others could feel their skin turning taut from his gaze, as if they were being stared at by some terrifying beast that could kill them at any moment.
*Dong dong dong…* The sound of his hearts beating rapidly could be heard as Chen Tian Fei’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. Even the smile on his face had become stiff.
After a long time, Yang Kai finally smiled and asked, “How was Manager Chen hoping my trip would go?”
This was probably the biggest thing that Scarlet Star was worried about. If Yang Kai really could defeat Sword Pavilion alone, that meant that no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could rival him. If Sword Pavilion could still hold out against him, then that meant he could still be brought under control.
But never in their wildest dreams would they have guessed that Yang Kai did not have any confrontation with Sword Pavilion at all and instead had a great battle with a strange mantis head.
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, Chen Tian Fei smiled awkwardly, “Naturally, this Chen hopes Brother Yang remains undefeated, emerging victorious in every battle.”
“Heh!” Yang Kai did not confirm nor deny anything. It would be madness for anyone to believe this fatty. Not bothering to say anything more to him, Yang Kai simply left. With one step, he had already arrived in the Star City, and with another, he was in his residence.
He left Scarlet Star’s Managers to shiver in the cold winds alone, feeling a chill run down their backs.
Chen Tian Fei suddenly came back to his senses and gave chase, shouting loudly, “Brother Yang, Brother Yang!”
He was both shocked and pleasantly surprised. Shocked that Yang Kai actually returned. Though he had no idea how his battle went with Sword Pavilion, his return must mean that Sword Pavilion must be in a bad situation.
He was pleasantly surprised because Yang Kai did not kill them on the spot, which went to show that Yang Kai had no intention of slaughtering them. Otherwise, how could he possibly let them go after what they had done?
But even though Yang Kai did not kill them did not mean that he was willing to let go of his grievances. Scarlet Star had to satisfy him if they wanted to be let off.
How could Chen Tian Fei dare to be slow? The Head Manager had placed the burden of Scarlet Star’s survival on him, and if he did poorly, Scarlet Star could very well be destroyed at the snap of a finger.
Inside his residence, Yang Kai was instantly met with several dozen gazes as soon as he entered, each one of them excited beyond compare.
“Young Master has returned!” Yue He smiled and bowed down elegantly like a real maidservant. It was hard to fathom that this woman was a powerful Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai had also grown used to her presence and nodded lightly.
“Senior Brother Yang!” Meng Hong and the others cupped their fists, looking as if a weight had been lifted off their chests.
“Subordinate greets Sir!” Guo Zi Yan said resoundingly while more than thirty people behind her cupped their fists in unison, “Greetings Sir, congratulations on your return!” Each one of them spoke with great vigour, their voices filled with respect and admiration!
It was hard not to admire him though as just several days ago, none of them expected that a mere Emperor Realm cultivator could actually achieve such unimaginable feats. Other than Guo Zi Yan, who was in the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm, the rest of them were all Emperor Realm cultivators. What they had witnessed made this young man a totem of worship in their hearts.
“No need for formalities, get up.” Yang Kai raised his hand.
Only then did Guo Zi Yan and the others stand up.
Yue He pursed her lips into a smile as she commented, “Young Master should know that Commander Guo has withdrawn from Scarlet Star. Now, he is no longer one of Scarlet Star’s men.”
“Resigned as a Great Commander?” Yang Kai glanced at Guo Zi Yan and the people behind him, nodding, “That’s not a bad idea. What do you plan to do in the future?”
Guo Zi Yan cupped his fist and quickly said, “This subordinate is willing to follow Sir in the future and be at Sir’s service!”
“We are willing to follow and serve Sir!” The rest spoke in unison.
Yang Kai knew that these men must have been stamped with his seal after the fight that day. No matter who, these men were all his people now, so Scarlet Star probably didn’t dare to keep them either, allowing them to easily leave.
Guo Zi Yan was a man of good disposition. Back then on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, he did not retreat even half a step under Thunder Light’s intimidation, willing to share life and death with Yang Kai. It was clear he was a trustworthy man. Only, his cultivation was slightly low at the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even if his strength could be elevated later, he would only be able to reach the Fourth Order at best.
But a man’s heart was more important. His low cultivation was no issue. What’s more, Yang Kai really needed some subordinates to deal with miscellaneous matters right now, so he nodded and said, “Very well. In that case, you will follow me in the future. I can’t guarantee anything else, but I will not let you suffer any injustice as long as you are sincere and loyal!”
Everyone felt their spirits lift as they shouted, “Many thanks, Sir!”
Each of them was overwhelmed with joy. With an unparalleled star such as Yang Kai watching over them, then their status would surely rise in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Who would they have to fear in the future?
“Congratulations, Commander Guo! You’ve finally achieved your dream,” Yue He congratulated him joyously from the side.
Guo Zi Yan’s face blushed and he responded embarrassedly, “Please don’t make fun of this lowly one, Lady Yue He. This one will be seeking Lady’s guidance in the future.”
Yue He smiled even more brilliantly.
After that, Yue He took out a Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai, “These are the things from the enemies you killed before. I’ve collected them all and sorted them into different categories.”
Yang Kai casually accepted it, glanced at it, and then put it away without a change in his expression.
Yue He was surprised at this sight. There were quite a lot of things in that ring; after all, it was the combined wealth of 3,000 people. The Space Rings of those Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were especially heavy with wealth. She thought that Yang Kai would be happy to receive such a fortune, but unexpectedly, he didn’t react at all.
[Could it possibly be that he is already satisfied from the last harvest from the Yuan Magnetic Mountain?]
While she was still feeling surprised, she heard Yang Kai say, “It’s good that you have this experience. I’ll have to trouble you to work a little more in the future then.”
With those words, Yang Kai suddenly waved his hand.
In the next moment, there was an endless clanking sound. Then, a large pile of Space Rings instantly appeared in the courtyard before everyone’s eyes, piled high like a small mountain.
Everyone was shocked speechless, and they all stared at the pile in a daze with indescribable astonishment in their hearts.
The Space Rings in front of them must have numbered in the tens of thousands!
Yue He’s face paled and her voice was trembling as she asked, “Young Master, how many people have you killed?”
She was about to cry. Wasn’t this Young Master’s murderous intent a little too strong? He had only made one trip to Sword Pavilion’s headquarters, so how did he end up killing so many?
No wonder Yang Kai didn’t even blink at the Space Ring when she handed it over. That was only an accumulation of 3,000 people, whereas Yang Kai had tens of thousands of people’s wealth here. The two couldn’t even be compared, so how could such a small amount even faze him?
Guo Zi Yan and the others were also dumbfounded.
Just as Yue He thought, each Space Ring represented a life, and several tens of thousands of Space Rings meant several tens of thousands of people had died. Yang Kai left for just three or four days, so how could so many people have died at his hand in such a short time?
What’s more, where in Sword Pavilion did he find this many people to kill?
Yue He’s heart clenched. Her Young Master couldn’t have had a spike in his bloodlust and wiped out the entire Star City, right? If that was truly the case, then this was no small matter.
“The situation is complicated. I’ll explain it to you later,” Then, Yang Kai beckoned, “Guo Zi Yan.”
“Subordinate is present,” Guo Zi Yan responded solemnly, his heart beating intensely.
“Have your men sort through these Space Rings, the same as before.”
“Yes!” Guo Zi Yan gulped. Even with several dozen people, sorting the contents of tens of thousands of Space Rings was still going to be a lot of work that would take them at least ten days to half a month.
Meng Hong said, “Let me help, too.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I’ll be troubling you then, Brother Meng.”
Meng Hong laughed, “Nothing of the sort, Brother Yang. This Meng cannot be more grateful for your bestowment of the Sun’s True Fire. Such a trivial matter isn’t even worth mentioning.”
After leaving Guo Zi Yan, Meng Hong, and the others in the courtyard to deal with the Space Rings, Yang Kai summoned Yue He into the hall. Yue He poured him a cup of tea and looked at him nervously before asking, “Young Master, what happened? You couldn’t have really slaughtered everyone in the Star City, right?”
Killing some people was no big deal, but if Yang Kai really did raze Sword Pavilion’s Star City to the ground, it would be highly improper. She was worried that a heart demon would be bred in the future from such a wanton slaughter, leading Yang Kai to fall to the demonic path.
How could she not be nervous?
“How can that be the case?” Picking up the cup of tea, Yang Kai sat down boldly on a chair. He had gone to pick a fight with Sword Pavilion, but even if he had fought it out with them, he wouldn’t have involved innocents, let alone slaughtered an entirety Star City, “I already told you, things are complicated.”
“Then what happened?” Moving her round hips over, Yue He sat down on the chair next to him.
Yang Kai frowned, “Before I could arrive, Sword Pavilion’s Star City had already been razed. Everyone was dead. I just picked up their Space Rings.”
“Picked them up…” Yue He was speechless. This kind of luck was simply too good. He had merely run over there and was able to pick up tens of thousands of Space Rings. It was a massive fortune, but soon, Yue He realized the severity of the situation and asked, “Sword Pavilion’s Star City was already razed? Who would be strong enough to do such a thing?”
Though the Star City was not too strong among the 3,000 Worlds, Sword Pavilion was considered a fairly powerful force. Who could wipe them out?
“A Beast Tide!” Yang Kai sighed, “But it was no simple Beast Tide. It’s not the same as the ones we’ve encountered before. I did not see the details, but even Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died there. Not a single person was left alive.”
“Even Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died?” Yue He was well and truly shocked. She knew that this Pavilion Master was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, an Order above her. Such a character would even have a place in the Cave-Heavens and Paradises, but he actually died in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? Shaken, she asked, “How do you know that it was Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master?”
“Lu Xue told me; otherwise, how would I have known?” Yang Kai put down his tea and grinned meaningfully, “You probably can’t imagine whose hands Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died at.”
Yue He had a curious look on her face, and Yang Kai didn’t keep her hanging, “A Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!”
Yue He’s face suddenly paled. Clearly, she knew what the existence of a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider represented. That was an Ancient Divine Spirit! It was an existence that stood at the peak of the world. Only High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would be able to face it.
“While I was collecting the Space Rings in the Star City, I also bumped into a strange guy with a mantis head.” While speaking, Yang Kai brought out the mantis head’s corpse.
Yue He looked over at it, but saw no head on the corpse. Its body was covered in turquoise skin, and the two scythe-like arms were extremely sharp. There were reversed spikes on its leg bones. Even though the body was humanoid, it remained largely similar to a Monster Beast.
“This guy was not simple. I was heavily injured by him and was only able to recover after three days.” Yang Kai flicked a finger at the corpse.
“He managed to injure you?” Yue He was surprised. But then, she had a suspicious look on her face, “That’s strange… If he could hurt you, then his strength must not have been bad, so how did he end up like this? He should have assumed Human Form long ago.”
“That puzzled me, too. That’s why I brought him back so you can have a look at him. How much do you know about the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?”
Yue He shook her head gravely, “I don’t know much, either. I’ve only heard some rumours before now. Only those who came in the past and left safely would know what the situation inside is like.”
After pondering for a moment, she guessed, “This Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary’s World Principles are extremely strange. For example, exotic beasts like the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon have quite good strength and, logically, they should have assumed human form long ago, but their sentience still remains low. Perhaps it’s because of the strange World Principles here that this… Uh, this mantis head would remain in a half-Human half-Beast form. At least, I think that’s why.”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s the only possibility, it seems. But Divine Spirits also exist in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary… This place is not as simple as we thought it was.”
Yue He felt the same. Even an existence such as Sword Pavilion could be destroyed by a Beast Tide, so clearly it wasn’t too safe here for Scarlet Star either. Not to mention the existence of a terrifying Ancient Divine Spirit… If there were more of these mantis heads, then Scarlet Star may not be able to survive. This was a creature that was able to injure Yang Kai, so ordinary people would not be able to resist in the slightest. Yue He even doubted that she would be able to last more than an incense stick of time in a fight with this guy.
“No matter what, let’s be careful from now on.” Yang Kai was already thinking of a way out. If one day, the exit of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was barred by a Divine Spirit, then he needed to find a chance to get away.
As the two were talking, Chen Yue walked in from outside and cautiously observed Yang Kai’s face for a moment before announcing, “Sir, Scarlet Star’s Managers are seeking an audience outside.”