"Forget it, no point stirring up more trouble. He doesn't look like he's lying." The demon race man called Diki suddenly shook his head. For some reason, he seemed hesitant, showing no intention of making a move against Yang Kai. Instead, he called out, "Kid, be smart about it. Our group has been out here running around for ages, just trying to track down a few people, but we haven't found anything. We've burned through a ton of Sacred Crystals and don't have many left. Hand over some of your Sacred Crystals and recovery pills, and I won't give you any trouble."
Yang Kai furrowed his brow slightly. He had fully expected this group to attack him, but hadn't anticipated this turn of events.
He gave a small nod and said agreeably, "Sure!"
As he spoke, his space ring flashed with light, and over a thousand high-grade Sacred Crystals soared through the air in a massive wave toward them.
The group's eyes lit up the moment they saw the crystals coming. They scrambled and snatched at them wildly, each person stuffing their pockets to bursting, grins plastered across their faces.
They really must have been drifting through the star domain for a long time. Otherwise, given their strength, there was no way they'd be this happy over getting a handful of Sacred Crystals.
Yang Kai couldn't help but recall the He siblings, He Zao and He Miao, from the Sword Alliance. In that chaotic abyss, the two sisters had also burned through all their Sacred Crystals and recovery pills, forcing them to hole up in a cave to escape the ravages of the starry forces. If Yang Kai hadn't helped them out, the pair would likely have died long ago.
Spend enough time drifting through the stars, and Sacred Crystals and recovery pills become as precious as life itself.
Seeing Yang Kai toss out a thousand high-grade Sacred Crystals without so much as blinking, Diki couldn't hide his surprise. He hadn't expected this young man to be so wealthy.
If he could casually hand out a thousand high-grade Sacred Crystals, it meant there were far more in his space ring. Diki's heart stirred with greed.
He wasn't the only one. The warriors holding Yang Kai's crystals were all eyeing his ring with naked avarice, itching to rush forward and snatch it.
Several of them had already begun subtly shifting their positions, their power coiled and ready to strike. One word from Diki, and they would end Yang Kai's life.
The woman who had spoken earlier was also watching Diki, her beautiful eyes glinting as she looked to him for a decision.
A flash of internal struggle crossed Diki's eyes. Then suddenly, he broke into a wide grin and called out to Yang Kai, "You're a smart kid. I'll spare your life this time. Let's go!"
The group followed reluctantly behind Diki, many of them baffled by his decision to let such a fat sheep go. Weak strength, young age, tons of Sacred Crystals — there was no reason to let him walk away.
But Diki had spoken, and no one dared argue. They could only sigh and grumble as they trailed after him.
The group gradually moved off into the distance. Once Yang Kai was well out of sight, the woman finally spoke up. "Diki, that's not like you at all. What are you worried about?"
Diki snorted and looked back. Finding the entire group staring at him, clearly expecting an explanation, he couldn't help but bark, "I've seen plenty of bold ones, but that kid isn't just bold. You're all blind — didn't you notice he wasn't the slightest bit afraid of us? He's only Third-Stage Entering Saint Realm, so why wasn't he afraid? Out here in this vast star domain, alone with no one else around, we could have killed him and no one would ever know. So why wasn't he afraid?"
One of them looked thoughtful and muttered, "Could there be someone powerful hiding nearby, ready to ambush us?"
"You absolute fool — if stupidity were lethal, you'd have been dead long ago!" Diki flew into a rage. "I can't believe you've survived this long."
The man who'd been scolded flushed crimson. He didn't dare talk back, only muttering something under his breath that no one could make out.
The woman, however, seemed to understand. "You're saying he must be confident he has nothing to fear — that he genuinely doesn't think we can touch him?"
Diki nodded. "That's most likely it."
"How is that possible? He's only Third-Stage Entering Saint Realm. With this many of us, even if things got ugly, how could he possibly wipe us all out?" The woman refused to believe it.
"Maybe he can't kill us. But I doubt we could kill him either. There's definitely someone powerful backing that kid — he almost certainly has an Artifact passed down from an elder in his family. The moment we make a move, he'll use the Artifact's power to escape. And then what? We get nothing, we've made an enemy of whoever's protecting him, and when their elder shows up at our doorstep looking for payback, who's going to handle that?"
When Diki put it that way, the woman and the others all wore expressions of deep contemplation. The more they thought about it, the more sense he made. Without some trump card up his sleeve, how could a young man at Third-Stage Entering Saint Realm remain so calm facing so many warriors far stronger than himself?
"Then why did you still dare to ask him for Sacred Crystals?" The woman broke into a cold sweat once she'd figured it out. "Doesn't that mean we've made an enemy of him?"
"It's not that serious." Diki waved it off. "Just a handful of Sacred Crystals. He's got an elder looking after him — he's not going to care about that. And he probably figured I was just looking for a graceful way out. Can you imagine? A whole group of us posturing in front of him for ages and then slinking away with nothing to show for it? That would look ridiculous. Did you see how he tossed those crystals over without a moment's hesitation? That kid is sharp as a razor — he knows exactly how the world works. Damn it, why are the young ones these days so impossible to deal with? Are they going to leave us any room to breathe or what?"
The woman let out a delicate laugh and examined the Sacred Crystals in her hand. Finding them all to be high-grade, she realized Diki's assessment had been spot on.
A young man at Third-Stage Entering Saint Realm, possessing such immense wealth — he had to have received them from an elder.
"Forget about that kid. The people we're looking for are definitely hiding somewhere nearby. Take half the group and split up — search separately. If you find anything, send word right away. The sooner we wrap this up, the sooner we can head back. I've been drifting through here for over half a year, and I've had enough!"
"Fine." The woman agreed and picked out half the group's members before splitting off with Diki to begin their search.