While chatting with Qian Yue earlier, he had learned that the Void Returning Realm expert who had rescued her and brought her back to the Pavilion—the one who had taught her dual cultivation techniques—was none other than the Manager Lian standing before him now. She possessed the formidable cultivation of the second level of the Void Returning Realm and ranked first among the Pavilion's three Void Returning managers.
Below her were two managers at the first level of the Void Returning Realm.
If one of those two first-level managers had moved to intercept them, Yang Kai would have been confident in breaking through with Qian Yue in tow. But with Manager Lian taking action, his confidence was far less certain. After all, their cultivation levels were separated by an entire major tier. If they got entangled for even a moment, the other two Void Returning experts would inevitably rush over at the first sign of trouble. Facing three Void Returning experts alone while needing to protect Qian Yue—the consequences were easy enough to imagine.
After the mishap with the Corpse Cave last time, Yang Kai no longer dared to carelessly tear through space while carrying someone with him.
Various thoughts flickered through his mind. Meanwhile, Manager Lian cast a cold glance at Qian Yue and gave a soft snort. "Yue'er, you've grown quite bold—actually conspiring with an outsider to flee from here. It seems your previous punishments weren't enough to teach you any discipline!"
As she spoke, her divine sense rippled subtly. Qian Yue, who had been sheltered behind Yang Kai, suddenly let out a wretched scream. Her delicate body went limp and she crumpled to the ground, drenched in cold sweat, her face deathly pale.
Yang Kai's expression turned sharp, but he refrained from rashly attacking. He could tell that Manager Lian had merely activated the restriction implanted in Qian Yue's body—she had no intention of killing her.
After a good while, Qian Yue's screams gradually faded, and Manager Lian finally shifted her gaze from Qian Yue to Yang Kai. A cold smile of contempt curled at the corner of her lips as she said flatly, "And who might this be, who's grown a bear's heart and a leopard's gall—daring to smuggle someone from my Pavilion? Turns out he's nothing more than a brat at the Sovereign King Realm. Who gave you such audacity? Do you have any idea what the consequences of this will be?"
Yang Kai's face was cold. He helped Qian Yue to her feet, swept his divine sense over her to confirm she hadn't suffered serious damage, and only then let his expression soften. He turned his gaze to the beautiful middle-aged woman and said evenly, "Manager Lian, is it? I wasn't smuggling her away. I've already reached an agreement with your establishment and redeemed her. The deal is done—can I not take the woman I've chosen and leave? Does your establishment, besides selling flesh, also dabble in robbery and murder?"
"How dare you!" The middle-aged woman's face went cold. With a sharp cry, she raised her slender hand, and a beam of radiant light hurtled toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai let out a soft whistle, standing his ground without flinching. A mass of pitch-black flame suddenly surged onto his fist, and under the violent circulation of his Sacred Yuan, he threw a punch forward.
Fist shadows, visible to the naked eye, shot out in rapid succession, carrying scorching power, and collided head-on with Manager Lian's attack.
Thunderous booms erupted as light blazed in every direction and countless fist shadows shattered to pieces. But Manager Lian's attack also dissipated midway, completely neutralized.
Yang Kai remained standing in place, his body unmoved. Manager Lian, witnessing this, let a flash of surprise cross her beautiful eyes as she regarded him with unexpected interest. That strike hadn't been her full power, but she'd used a solid thirty percent of her strength. Moreover, the opponent was still enveloped within the sphere of her aura—yet he had blocked it effortlessly. This greatly surprised Manager Lian.
Forget a boy at the second level of the Sovereign King Realm—even one at the absolute peak couldn't have pulled that off. She had expected to at least give Yang Kai a small lesson for his insolent words.
Her strike having failed, and conscious of her own standing, she didn't attack again. Instead, she stared at Yang Kai with wary curiosity, her beautiful eyes thoughtful.
She could see that Yang Kai was no ordinary martial artist—likely among the elite of the elite. To possess such strength at the second level of the Sovereign King Realm meant he absolutely had to come from a distinguished background. Until she'd probed his origins, it would be unwise to strike again, lest she bring some powerful enemy crashing down upon the Pavilion.
The commotion had naturally alarmed the entire establishment.
Moments later, the other two first-level Void Returning experts rushed over. Upon seeing the scene before them, they were visibly shocked and gathered around Manager Lian to ask what had happened.
Meanwhile, a figure charged toward them at speed and skidded to a halt beside Yang Kai. "Brother Yang! What happened?" he blurted out.
It was Shen Fanlei. His clothes were still neat and proper, his yang essence clearly untouched—he evidently hadn't yet had his rendezvous. Having heard the commotion, he had rushed over at the first opportunity.
Yang Kai shot him a rueful glance and said in a low voice, "Not convenient to explain right now. I'll fill you in later."
"Oh." Shen Fanlei didn't press further, but discreetly sized up the opposition. One look, and his heart sank. He never imagined that his very first visit to a brothel would cause such an uproar.
All three of the Pavilion's Void Returning managers had assembled in one place, pointing at Yang Kai and murmuring amongst themselves. And from every direction, countless Pavilion guards had encircled the area, watching like tigers eyeing prey.
Shen Fanlei felt like dying. Regret washed over him in waves—he never should have come to this wretched place today, only to land himself in this mess.
A moment later, the three Void Returning experts seemed to reach some conclusion. Manager Lian, her face grim, barked at Yang Kai, "You said you redeemed Yue'er. With whom did you make this transaction?"
"Reporting to Manager Lian—it was this humble servant!" A voice rang out. It was the young woman who had spoken with Yang Kai earlier.