Seeing how sensible Yang Kai was being, a hint of satisfaction crossed Fei Zhitu's face. He had been observing from the shadows earlier and had half-believed this kid was lawless and untamably wild. He hadn't expected him to be such a shrewd individual—at least his efforts hadn't been wasted.
The shops and businesses in the city had indeed suffered considerable damage from the fires, but those were just lifeless things and hardly worth pursuing. They could be rebuilt afterward. As for the dozen or so people who had died, most were disciples of the Xie family—what did that have to do with Fei Zhitu? Even if everyone here perished, he couldn't have cared less.
After a moment's deliberation, Fei Zhitu spoke: "I'll lay out two paths for you, and it's up to you which one you choose."
Yang Kai assumed an expression of attentive listening.
"First, hand over the Sacred Crystals you just obtained as compensation. You killed people and set fires—you can't just up and walk away from that. Those Sacred Crystals should be more than enough to cover the damages. What do you think?"
The moment these words left his mouth, the goateed old man and the others' expressions shifted. They immediately realized their earlier fears had been true—City Lord Fei genuinely intended to let this matter slide! Recalling certain rumors from within the hall, their hearts sank, and none of them dared say a word.
Yang Kai's eyes filled with surprise. He tilted his head in thought, then smiled easily. "The senior's proposal is far from unreasonable, but please forgive this junior's boldness—I must respectfully decline!"
"Oh?" Fei Zhitu's eyes narrowed as he regarded Yang Kai with evident surprise. Truth be told, he had offered this compensation plan precisely because he was the strongest person here and, as the City Lord, figured Ma Xinyuan and the others wouldn't dare object. He had never imagined his good intentions would be rebuffed. A flicker of anger stirred in his chest, and he silently cursed Yang Kai for not knowing his place. With a cold snort, he said, "You won't even hear what the second path is before you refuse?"
Yang Kai replied solemnly, "One of the purposes of my coming here was to reclaim these stolen Sacred Crystals. Now that I have them, there is no question of handing them back. Senior, please—tell me what the second path is."
Fei Zhitu stared at him for a good while before finally speaking. "Since you're so headstrong, then I won't try to persuade you. The second path is simpler: don't dodge, don't evade. Take a single move from me. If you don't die, you're free to leave!"
"Don't dodge, don't evade—take a single move!" Yang Kai's eyelids contracted. Yet Ma Xinyuan and the others, upon hearing these words, were overjoyed.
Fei Zhitu was already at the peak of Void Return Realm, Stage Three. In terms of raw strength, he was nearly on par with Qian Tong. If such a powerhouse attacked personally—even just a single move—that arrogant brat wouldn't escape unscathed. He might very well die from that one strike.
While Ma Xinyuan and the others rejoiced inwardly, they also realized they had misjudged Fei Zhitu's intentions earlier. He had never planned to let the kid leave peacefully at all! The only reason he hadn't acted outright was the gap in status and cultivation—it wouldn't be proper for a superior to bully an inferior. But now that the kid had chosen this path himself, there was nothing left to say. They turned to look at Yang Kai with undisguised schadenfreude, eagerly anticipating the show.
"Too scared?" Fei Zhitu regarded Yang Kai with a mocking look.
"Scared of what!" Yang Kai's eyes blazed with sharp, brilliant light. Peak of Void Return Realm, Stage Three—with his current strength, fighting such an opponent head-on was indeed impossible. But if it was just about taking a single move, there shouldn't be a problem. And even if he was injured, with his recovery capabilities, he'd heal in no time.
This was the perfect opportunity to gauge how far he was from warriors of this level.
On the Dark Star, the peak of Void Return Realm, Stage Three was the absolute pinnacle of strength. If he could truly walk away unscathed from Fei Zhitu's attack, then he would need to reassess his own capabilities.
"You've got guts, kid!" The mild expression on Fei Zhitu's face suddenly twisted into a savage grin. He bellowed, "I hope you don't regret this!"
Yang Kai's expression turned cold and hard. Without a word, he pointed a finger forward. The fire bird circling above his head let out a crisp cry, transforming into a ball of flame that enveloped his entire body. Crimson fire rippled across his form, and the space around him warped and distorted.
Next, Yang Kai brought out his purple shield and channeled Sacred Yuan into it. A sandstorm materialized in an instant—howling wind and sand engulfed his figure entirely.
In the next moment, a series of shields forged from pitch-black flames hovered before him—these were the Haotian Shields, condensed from his own Sacred Yuan!
These three layers of defense had barely completed when a terrifying wave of Sacred Yuan erupted from Fei Zhitu's direction. He took a single step forward, and before anyone could see clearly, he had appeared ten zhang in front of Yang Kai.
Then, a thunderous tiger's roar burst from his body. A massive tiger head materialized above him, floating overhead. When it first appeared, it was merely a translucent projection, but as Fei Zhitu poured his Sacred Yuan into it, it gradually began to solidify into something corporeal.
At the same time, an incomparably savage killing intent radiated from the tiger head.
Ma Xinyuan and the others, watching from the sidelines, changed color and scrambled backward. Although Fei Zhitu hadn't deliberately targeted them, the wisps of killing intent emanating from that tiger head were as tangible as wind blades, slicing across their bodies and chilling them to the bone.
The City Lord is getting serious! They were thrilled.
"Kid, watch yourself!" Fei Zhitu roared. The tiger head hovering above him suddenly opened its massive jaws and lunged toward Yang Kai's position like a great beast descending the mountain, carrying an unstoppable, crushing momentum.
Yang Kai's expression darkened as he frantically drove his Sacred Yuan.