Xiao Mo is going crazy. Something went wrong with the internet — the telecom people have come by several times these past few days, but they still can't fix it. It was disconnected again this morning, and now for some reason it suddenly came back online, but everything is terribly laggy. I'll have to call someone to take another look later. Hopefully I can get this published. Being tortured by the internet has really put me in a low mood.
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Everyone present, regardless of their strength, sensed that something was different about the demonic flame. They had never encountered such a strange power before — just the aura of devastation rolling out from within it made their hearts tighten with an illusion of being tormented, let alone what would happen if that power struck them head-on.
In an instant, many faces showed expressions of wariness and shock.
Ba Qingyan of the Haike family rolled his eyes and gave a signal to his family's warriors, quietly leading a group far into the background. He had finally realized something was off about Yang Kai — how could a mere Third-Level Entry-to-Saint Realm warrior be so brazenly confrontational toward Xu Zhishen without some kind of trump card?
But regardless of what Yang Kai's hidden strength was, Ba Qingyan had no intention of getting involved in this mess. The Xu family fighting Yang Kai to the death had nothing to do with him, and he was perfectly happy to stand aside and watch the show. What he cared about more was how to handle Wu Yi, that traitor, afterward!
Anyone who dared to leave the family without authorization would meet a terrible end, no matter who they were!
Yang Yan had seen Yang Kai fight before. Although she didn't know if he could escape unscathed against Xu Zhishen, she obediently led Wu Yi and Yu Feng off to the side, keeping them clear of the coming battle's shockwaves.
Seeing them retreat, the Xu family warriors also pulled back in kind.
In the blink of an eye, only Yang Kai and Xu Zhishen remained, facing each other from across the distance.
"Old fossil, my principle has always been — if people don't mess with me, I don't mess with them. But since you've come, don't even think about leaving!" Yang Kai was no easy talker, and the old bastard's repeated jabs of "little beast" had only stoked his fury. He secretly resolved to teach this old man a lesson today.
Neither the Haike family nor the Xu family were worth a second glance from him. Neither family even boasted a Return to Void Realm expert, and Yang Kai was confident they couldn't do anything to him. Besides, even if a Return to Void Realm powerhouse showed up, he could escape unscathed.
So he held nothing back.
"Insolent junior!" Xu Zhishen's face was livid. After his divine soul had been inadvertently damaged earlier, he had been scanning Yang Kai for any powerful divine soul artifact. But after a thorough search he found nothing, which only deepened his alarm. He didn't dare be careless anymore. With a cold shout, he raised his hand and a nearly invisible black thread shot toward Yang Kai at incredible speed.
It was this very thread he had used earlier, hidden within his Holy Yuan, to effortlessly kill that warrior called Qiu Yuan. Aside from Ba Qingyan, who knew its secrets, no one else had noticed — they had all assumed it was his Holy Yuan that was so formidable. But Yang Kai's Divine Sense was powerful, and he had long been on guard against this strange artifact. The moment Xu Zhishen moved, Yang Kai met him with his sword.
The intent contained within the demonic flame was to burn all things under heaven — the very foundation of all his power. He was confident that even if this thread was a Void Grade artifact, it could not withstand the demonic flame's incineration.
A crisp metallic clash rang out as a spark burst from the demonic flame sword in Yang Kai's hand. The thread met the sword, and simultaneously, an extremely yin-cold energy exploded outward from the thread, sweeping toward Yang Kai from all directions.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as his powerful Divine Sense locked onto the black thread. He discovered that things weren't quite as he had predicted — his demonic flame had surprisingly little effect on the invisible thread. Though a violent burning sound erupted from the point of contact, it couldn't sever the thread at all.
The corner of Xu Zhishen's mouth curved upward in a confident smirk. "Surrender your life!" he shouted coldly.
No sooner had he spoken than the thin black thread suddenly split apart, transforming into countless strands that wove together into an impenetrable net, descending upon Yang Kai.
Yang Kai quickly dodged while thrusting his palm forward. The colossal Sky-Covering Hand expanded rapidly, seeming to blot out the entire sky, making every spectator feel as though the heavens had suddenly grown much darker.
A violent wave of energy erupted, and the net woven from black threads instantly shattered. Xu Zhishen's body swayed slightly, and he stared at Yang Kai in disbelief — he had never expected his most concealed killing move to be so thoroughly countered.
It was precisely because of his wariness over Yang Kai's ability to damage his divine soul that Xu Zhishen had shown no mercy from the very first strike, wanting to kill Yang Kai as quickly as possible and salvage the Xu family's face. He never imagined it would have absolutely no effect.
This youth at the Third Level of the Entry-to-Saint Realm not only possessed extraordinarily keen eyes — having long seen through his concealed killing move — but his Holy Yuan was just as vast and destructive as his own. Without that, he never could have broken through the Shadow Soul Thread!
His method of breaking through looked simple on the surface, but in reality it required an incredibly powerful force backing it up.
If it were a warrior of the same level — like Ba Qingyan — doing this, it would make perfect sense. But the other party was clearly only at the Entry-to-Saint Realm!
He actually possessed the ability to fight him head-on? Xu Zhishen was so shocked he nearly cried out. If his earlier soul injury had made him suspect Yang Kai was borrowing the power of an artifact, he no longer dared think that way.
The other party didn't seem to be any weaker than him at all!