Deep within the mountain's interior, Wei Wu glowered at Yang Kai. Under the glow of that strange stone, his face looked increasingly sinister.
Yang Kai returned his gaze with an indifferent expression, unmoved.
Wei Wu's face twitched a few times. He clearly hadn't expected Yang Kai to show absolutely no fear, and he immediately felt rather put out. He curled his lips. "I can convince my master to help you lift the restriction. However, in exchange, you hand over your soul imprint — and from now on, you do whatever I tell you."
He paused, then added, "In here, you can't use any power, and dangers lurk everywhere. But as long as you hand over your soul imprint, I'll naturally protect your safety. It's not a bad deal — if you're lucky, you might even get to join the Sword Alliance someday!"
"Are you done?" Yang Kai interrupted impatiently.
Wei Wu was taken aback and stopped talking.
"If you're done, then please leave." Yang Kai gestured toward the exit.
Wei Wu's expression darkened in an instant. He rose slowly, a cold, vicious grin spreading across his face. "Kid, don't be stupid enough to refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. You'd better think this through before you answer, or you'll regret it."
Yang Kai shook his head slowly. "I don't know what you want my soul imprint for, but I will absolutely not allow my life to be controlled by someone else. You don't have the right."
"Kid, you've got some nerve!" Wei Wu burst into laughter, as if he'd heard something hilarious. He lowered his voice to a threatening murmur. "What if I killed you right here? Who would ever know?"
Yang Kai's expression darkened, and he narrowed his eyes at Wei Wu.
Though that mysterious old man had forbidden anyone from causing trouble here, who knew whether he could actually protect everyone's safety? And what reason would he have to do so?
"I did your two junior sisters a great service. The fact that you misunderstood me is one thing — but you actually want to kill me?" Yang Kai's voice was cold, and a murderous intent quietly surged within him.
"Exactly because you did them a service, that's why you deserve to die! If not for your meddling, they would have died long ago—" Wei Wu snarled, his face twisted with savagery, but halfway through his words he suddenly caught himself. He quickly stopped.
In the darkness, the two locked eyes, both wearing strange expressions.
Yang Kai had assumed this fellow hated him so much because he was jealous — that he feared Yang Kai was trying to steal his love, that he had feelings for He Zao and He Miao. But it turned out that wasn't the case at all.
It seemed he actually wished He Zao and He Miao were dead.
What sort of secret lay behind all this, Yang Kai wasn't entirely sure. It probably had something to do with internal conflicts within the Sword Alliance, and he couldn't be bothered to think about it.
But because of Wei Wu's unguarded words, the temperature inside the cave had noticeably dropped.
"Kid, if you want to live, you'd better forget what just happened. Otherwise, I'll tear you to pieces!" After a moment of silence, Wei Wu let out a cold snort, delivered his threat, and turned to leave.
The instant he turned, a streak of cold light shot from his sleeve. It moved like a silent spirit snake through the darkness, finding Yang Kai's position with absolute precision and coiling once around his neck.
"Hmph. Only the dead can keep secrets!" Wei Wu chuckled, and with a flick of his hand the cold light whipped back into his grasp.
It was a flexible sword, impossibly sharp.
He then turned back, ready to dispose of Yang Kai's body and leave no trace behind.
The very moment he turned, a figure came hurtling toward him head-on. Under the strange stone's soft glow, Wei Wu clearly saw Yang Kai's face, contorted with rage. A gruesome wound adorned the young man's neck, flesh curling back, and from it flowed golden blood.
Wei Wu cried out in shock. He couldn't fathom how Yang Kai was still alive!
This young man had all his power sealed, and Wei Wu had launched his ambush at the cultivation of the Third Stage of the Saint Realm — there was simply no way the attack should have failed.
Wei Wu's face was filled with terror, as though he'd seen a ghost in broad daylight.
His reaction was extraordinarily swift. The instant he sensed something wrong, he gathered his power once more. The flexible sword in his hand erupted with dazzling streaks of cold light, enveloping Yang Kai.
Yang Kai's entire being radiated yin-cold sinister energy — a berserk, bloodthirsty aura billowing outward. His entire bearing was utterly different from before. Now he was like a primordial beast that had lain dormant for ages and suddenly awakened. He let the streaks of divine light strike his body, producing a rapid succession of pinging sounds, as he charged straight through and closed the distance to Wei Wu, throwing a punch.
BOOM...
The fist struck Wei Wu squarely in the face. He heard the sound of bones shattering as his entire nose collapsed in an instant. The taste of blood flooded his mouth. His vision went white as he was sent flying backward.
When the fist connected, Wei Wu was horrified to discover that his Saint Yuan had provided absolutely no protection whatsoever. It was as if it didn't exist — the sheer force of the punch had bypassed the Saint Yuan's shield entirely and struck directly against his bones, shattering them.
He was dazed by that single blow.
His body bounced several times inside the cave, sending stone chips flying, before he finally crashed to the ground, barely able to catch his breath.
Not daring to waste a moment, he scrambled to his feet. Before he could even determine which direction he was facing, a tremendous force bore down on him. A large hand clamped around his throat and slammed him face-first into the ground.