The cold-faced man intended to monopolize a three-zhang radius at the center, his tone utterly domineering.
But nobody thought there was anything wrong with that — even Qu Changfeng looked slightly startled after witnessing the man's imposing aura.
Yang Kai's body trembled slightly. Not from fear, but from a surge of inexplicable excitement welling up inside him.
He had encountered plenty of geniuses on the Dark Star these past few days, but none of them had ever stirred in him such a fierce desire to cross swords with someone. Yang Kai had no idea whether his current abilities would be enough to beat this man, and that very uncertainty made him itch to put it to the test.
Now was not the time for a showdown, however. The Soul-Cleansing Divine Water was the top priority.
He would be staying on the Dark Star for a while yet, and sooner or later there would be an opportunity to spar with this man. With that thought, Yang Kai's expression quickly returned to normal. He also quietly thanked his luck — it was a good thing he hadn't been rash enough to start fighting the moment he entered.
When he had first stepped into the stone chamber, there had even been a fleeting moment when Yang Kai considered driving everyone out and enjoying the Soul-Cleansing Divine Water's benefits all to himself. Had he actually acted on that impulse back then, he might not even have been able to defeat this man alone. Fighting him would have not only exposed Yang Kai's true strength, but also allowed Qu Changfeng and the others to reap the rewards without lifting a finger.
The world was vast, and there really was no shortage of extraordinary geniuses! This cold man was the most formidable Saint King Realm expert Yang Kai had ever encountered — even Xueyue of the Heng Luo Commerce Association might not be his match. This realization put Yang Kai on high alert and reminded him never to underestimate cultivators of his own realm so casually again.
Inside the stone chamber, apart from the Battle Sky Alliance members who remained standing in place, everyone else had found their own spots, sat cross-legged, and begun absorbing the Soul-Cleansing Divine Water's medicinal effects. One by one, they started cleansing their spirits and purifying their souls, expressions of indescribable joy spreading across their faces. Some even moaned aloud, as though the sensation was the peak of ecstasy.
"Enter!" Qu Changfeng wasted no more time either. With a dark expression, he swept his hand forward.
The Battle Sky Alliance disciples who had been waiting for his decision filed into the pool one after another, settling into the available spaces and sitting cross-legged.
Qu Changfeng's face was grim. The fury inside him refused to subside, yet even with all the courage he could muster, he wouldn't dare provoke that cold man. Setting aside whether he could win, the sheer power backing that man was something even the Battle Sky Alliance dreaded deeply.
Unable to vent his anger, Qu Changfeng grew increasingly foul-tempered. For reasons known only to himself, he suddenly dashed over to Yang Kai and barked coldly: "Get lost! I'm taking this spot!"
Yang Kai's position wasn't the best, but it wasn't bad either — decent enough.
He had simply followed the crowd in and picked a spot at random without being too particular. Who would have thought Qu Changfeng would fixate on it?
Yang Kai understood perfectly well that Qu Changfeng was merely venting his frustration, not genuinely wanting this particular spot — there were better positions available. This was deliberate troublemaking.
With Yang Kai being the weakest and alone, who else would Qu Changfeng pick on? The fact that he hadn't simply driven Yang Kai away outright was obviously out of consideration for that cold man.
Yang Kai's expression turned icy. But after a moment's thought, he held his temper in check, stood up obediently, and moved to an empty spot nearby.
Qu Changfeng gave a cold snort, clearly satisfied with Yang Kai's compliance. It seemed to restore a bit of his bruised dignity, and his expression gradually eased. Once he sat down and began absorbing the Soul-Cleansing Divine Water's effects, a look of delight immediately appeared on his face — all previous displeasure forgotten as if it had never existed.
"Young brother, your luck really is something else." The beautiful woman who had earlier urged Yang Kai not to waste time happened to be sitting not far from him now. Seeing him get chased off by Qu Changfeng, she smiled and offered comfort: "Looks like you were right to stay after all — you really can get something out of it. Compared to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, don't worry about the other things. I've only been sitting here for a little while, and I can already feel the bottleneck in my divine sense cultivation loosening. You should start absorbing quickly too — you might just gain some insight."
"Mm." Yang Kai didn't want to say much to her, so he gave a brief acknowledgment and began absorbing the medicinal effects from the Soul-Cleansing Divine Water.
The reason the Soul-Cleansing Divine Water possessed such miraculous properties was entirely due to the formidable divine sense of a Void King Realm powerhouse. When a Void King Realm expert died here, the energy of their divine sense fused perfectly with the spiritual liquid of this place. After countless years of transformation, the Soul-Cleansing Divine Water was formed.
Yang Kai didn't know why the Soul-Cleansing Divine Water here happened to be golden, but after his brief absorption just now, he had confirmed that this was indeed the genuine article.
There was no reason to waste any more time.
The beautiful woman was absolutely right. Cultivating here could not only strengthen one's divine sense and cleanse the soul, making one's spiritual power more refined and solid — if one was fortunate enough, one might even grasp some of the deceased Void King Realm expert's divine soul techniques.
How could the methods of a Void King Realm powerhouse be anything but extraordinary? Even comprehending the tiniest fraction of that person's abilities from when they were alive would be enough to benefit one for a lifetime.