Yang Kai was still immersed in his study of the star map when Xin Rui's voice rang out.
He caught the panic in that frantic scream and immediately withdrew his Divine Sense. The next instant, violent energy fluctuations crashed toward him from every direction—so powerful that for a split second he had the illusion he was about to die.
The compass trembled, and Xue Tong's urgent transmission came through: "Young Master Yang, hurry—"
Before she could finish, the signal cut out.
The room suddenly collapsed. The materials disintegrated into nothing and vanished, and Yang Kai's body was exposed directly to the void of the star field.
He looked around and saw clouds of bloody mist erupting, saw warrior after warrior from the Heng Luo Merchant Guild struggling to flee—unable to escape the devouring ripples.
Ring after ring of ripples washed over their bodies like the sharpest of blades, slicing them to dust.
Yang Kai realized the danger. He gathered every ounce of power and clawed desperately at the void, attempting to tear through space and escape.
But to his despair, his once-unfailing ability to rip through space failed him this time. A spatial rift wouldn't form—the ripples had already disrupted the spatial field across this vast area, throwing everything into chaos.
Yang Kai couldn't tear through space!
Black-hole-like rifts sprouted around the ship, opening and closing like fish mouths, swallowing everything nearby.
Yang Kai's face changed drastically. In an instant he activated the Demonic God Transformation, pushing his power to its absolute limit, and without a second thought fled in the opposite direction from the advancing ripples.
The aura of death behind him clung like maggots to bone, impossible to shake. The collapsing space sliced at every inch of his skin like the most devastating spatial weapons, shredding him into a bloodied mess in the span of a heartbeat, golden light radiating from his entire body.
Gritting his teeth against the agony, he circulated his Saint Yuan and condensed shield after shield of Haotian Guards around himself. The Silver Leaf Artifact he hadn't used in ages was finally brought forth as well, transforming into a river of silver light that enveloped him completely, leaving no gap.
Ssssss…
The spatial force continued cutting. The silver glow dimmed rapidly. The Silver Leaf Artifact—saint-grade, no less—lost its spiritual energy in mere moments before shattering entirely.
A single artifact, destroyed just like that.
The crisp sound of cracking rang without cease. The Haotian Shields Yang Kai had condensed couldn't withstand that world-ending power either. Each shield shattered the moment it formed, buying him not even a breath's respite.
Every inch of his body screamed with pain. Yang Kai almost believed he was about to die.
His speed had reached its absolute limit. He roared, hurtling himself toward the distance—anything to break through, to carve out a path to survival.
At that moment, a furious shout came from his side.
"Young Master, go! I'll hold them off!"
Yang Kai, seizing a split second, glanced over and saw an old man plant his feet, spread his arms wide as though embracing something. His expression was grave as he watched the ripples closing in from behind. A bizarre, unfathomable energy radiated from his body, and the aura of the Return to Void Realm expanded outward. He released his full power, using himself as a pillar to wrench open a spatial rift that was about to seal, tearing it wider.
The ripples reached him. He stood like a man ready to die, unmoved. The devastating force crashed into him—blood pouring, clothes disintegrating, flesh tearing from bone.
But because of his sacrifice, a tremendous amount of the destructive force was channeled into the spatial rift.
Yang Kai suddenly felt the pressure lighten. His heart surged with joy.
Not far from the old man, a young man with long hair draped over his shoulders—so beautiful he bordered on the inhuman—watched with eyes about to split from rage. He saw the old man who had given his life for him and wanted desperately to help, but was powerless to do so. Clenching his teeth, he summoned a suit of armor. It blazed in fiery red, dazzling to behold. Piece by piece it formed over his body, wrapping him entirely, making him look every bit the valiant warrior.
He locked eyes with Yang Kai, and both fled in the same direction.
Xue Yue!
Yang Kai cursed inwardly, wishing he could stop right now and strangle this man!
The other's grief-stricken gaze burned bright with recognition—he had clearly figured out Yang Kai's identity. But in the midst of fleeing for his life, he had no time to address it. His fists clenched tight, betraying his helplessness and fury. He cast one last lingering look behind him, searing the sight of the old man's obliteration into his mind, burying the hatred deep in his heart, and then fled without looking back.
The old man with his Return to Void cultivation had delayed things for less than three breaths. The spatial rift he'd forced open was destroyed, and the ripples surged outward with undiminished force.
They reached Yang Kai and Xue Yue's position in no time.
Yang Kai felt a violent shudder—as though a million fists had struck every inch of his body simultaneously. His skin cracked apart, his sea of consciousness convulsed wildly, and then the world spun before everything went black.
In the last moment before consciousness slipped away, he saw Xue Yue's armor being stripped away piece by piece, his clothes shredding apart to reveal a snow-white, perfect, flawless body.
Yang Kai's pupils dilated in that instant. He felt as though he had just witnessed something truly extraordinary…
Those two pectoral muscles of his were looking a bit more than ordinary…
Yang Kai's thoughts drifted into strangeness, and then he lost consciousness.
……
In the cold, dark expanse of the star field, all was barren and deathly silent.