Yang Kai gazed with an odd expression at the burly man who had flown up before him, his imposing frame on full display, his expression utterly indifferent.
This burly fellow was naturally the surname Hou martial artist that Yin Sudie had recruited. However, Yang Kai couldn't understand why he had rushed over alone in such a hurry, while Yin Sudie and the other warrior seemed to be chatting and laughing somewhere behind him, making their way over at a leisurely pace.
The Hou-surnamed warrior looked Yang Kai up and down. Once he confirmed that the aura fluctuation emanating from Yang Kai was indeed only at the Divine King Second Stage, his lips curled into a smirk of disdain. When he shifted his gaze to Yang Yan, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.
He hadn't expected that this woman, shrouded head to toe in black robes, would actually be quite striking in appearance. Moreover, after being cut off, neither the man nor the woman in front of him showed any real signs of panic — if anything, each seemed calmer than the last.
The only thing that gave the burly Hou pause was that he couldn't discern Yang Yan's true cultivation. His divine sense swept over her, yet her body seemed to simply not exist — it passed right through, detecting absolutely nothing.
This made the big man's expression turn serious, and he instinctively assumed Yang Yan was a more powerful martial artist than Yang Kai.
The Hou-surnamed warrior had primarily come for Yang Kai, so naturally he had little interest in Yang Yan. After a cursory probe, he withdrew his gaze, his sinister eyes fixed unyieldingly on Yang Kai, his face twisted with hostility.
"Sir!" Yang Kai stepped forward and cupped his fists in a greeting. "You've blocked my senior sister and me — is there something you need?"
"Something I need? Heh heh..." The burly Hou let out a low laugh. "Your surname is Yang?"
"That's right."
"And you just came out of the Taiqing Mountain Range?"
"Correct."
"Then I've got the right man! I'm here for you, kid!" The Hou warrior's face turned cold, and he barked, "You had the audacity to scheme against the Glazed Mountain and even triggered its prohibitions — let's see where you'll run this time!"
Hearing this, Yang Kai was genuinely startled. His first instinct was that his mischief had been exposed. But on second thought, something didn't add up. If he had truly been exposed, the people sent after him wouldn't be limited to just three Divine Kings. At the very least, several upper echelon members of the Glazed Sect would have been mobilized to ensure nothing went wrong.
Since he hadn't been exposed, why was this fellow so confident?
How could Yang Kai know that the burly Hou had simply taken Yin Sudie's words at face value and let his own assumptions run wild?
His thoughts racing, Yang Kai chuckled softly. "You must be joking, friend. I went to the Taiqing Mountain Range simply in response to an invitation from your sect's Miss Dai Yuan, to visit as a guest for a few days. Why would I scheme against the Glazed Mountain?"
"Dai Yuan?" The burly Hou blinked, his expression shifting to one of suspicion. "You know Dai Yuan? She actually invited you to visit?"
His face was a picture of disbelief, as if he had just heard something utterly inconceivable.
"I have no reason to lie about something like this. You can go to Qianhuan Peak in the Taiqing Mountains and ask Miss Dai Yuan yourself — you'll find out soon enough."
"Go ask Dai Yuan..." A flicker of wariness appeared on the burly Hou's face. Then, suddenly, he waved his hand dismissively and blustered, "Kid, stop spouting nonsense! Regardless of what you say, you're not getting away this time. I've been entrusted by someone to capture you first and ask questions later. As for whether you actually did anything — that's none of my concern. I'm only responsible for bringing you in!"
Hearing this, Yang Kai couldn't help but grin. "So you're saying you're deliberately looking for trouble?"
"Hmph!" The big man snorted coldly. "And what if I am?"
The moment his words fell, a blinding burst of light erupted from the burly Hou's hand. A violent wave of energy exploded from within his body as he shot upward into the sky like a hawk diving from above. As his hands swept downward, his right palm shifted to a cold, metallic sheen, and he pressed it directly toward the top of Yang Kai's head.
In that instant, the air within a hundred-zhang radius around Yang Kai seemed to freeze solid. As the palm descended, it was as though the entire sky were collapsing downward. The concentrated field of pressure made it hard to breathe, weighing the body down like a mountain. Standing behind Yang Kai, Yang Yan let out a soft grunt, her delicate frame trembling ever so slightly.
But a flash of radiant light flickered across her body, and she appeared entirely unbothered. Simultaneously, she retreated swiftly, appearing over a hundred zhang away in the blink of an eye, outside the reach of the Hou warrior's strike.
The Hou warrior let out a faint sound of surprise, apparently not expecting Yang Yan to be so capable. He couldn't tell what had produced that flash of light just now, but he was certain it was an artifact of considerable power.
Relying on an artifact's strength was nothing in his eyes, so after only a brief hesitation, he poured even more force into his descending palm, continuing to bear down on Yang Kai as he roared, "Get down!"
He intended to knock Yang Kai down in a single blow, so that the arriving Yin Sudie would witness his might.