Outside the palace, nearly thirty Return to Void Realm powerhouses from the Battle Heaven Alliance and Leitai Sect stared down with predatory eyes, surrounding Yang Kai so tightly that not even water could seep through. Two major faction leaders had come personally to lead the charge, and experts continued to arrive in waves.
Though no blows had been exchanged yet, a variety of different auras had already blanketed an area of several hundred zhang in every direction, making the defenses impenetrably tight. Within that radius, saying it was nearly impossible to take a single step would not have been an exaggeration.
"Yang Kai, considering you're at least a Sect Master in your own right, if you're willing to surrender and cripple your own cultivation, I might just put in a good word for you—ask my father and Sect Master Fang to spare your life!" Qu Changfeng said coldly while lazily waving his folding fan.
"Spare my life?" Yang Kai chuckled darkly, not showing the slightest trace of panic. "What, Young Master Qu thinks I have no way to fly out of here this time? Thinks I'm a dead man for certain? You're that confident you can keep me here?"
"It's not a matter of confidence." Qu Changfeng slowly shook his head. "It's a fact! At this point, you still think you can leave this place safely? Open your eyes wide and count how many people are standing here."
"So having more people makes a difference?" Yang Kai scoffed.
"Heh heh, you're merely relying on whatever scraps of Space Force you understand. But what of it? You're not the only one who wields that power here." Qu Changfeng smiled thinly as he delivered the barb. "If you're thinking of using Space Force to escape, then I'd advise you to kill that notion right now—save yourself the trouble of bringing suffering upon yourself."
Yang Kai's expression darkened slightly. He swept his gaze through the crowd, and his eyes locked onto Mo Xiaosheng.
He had heard many times that the Battle Heaven Alliance's Grand Elder had cultivated Space Force. He had never personally witnessed him use it, but where there was smoke there was almost certainly fire. Moreover, the old man was currently staring at him with an expression of sharp vigilance, his Sacred Yuan concealed but ready—all the telltale signs of someone on guard against his use of Space Force for escape.
"What? Did I hit a nerve?" Seeing the displeasure on Yang Kai's face, Qu Changfeng laughed heartily, thinking he had struck a weak point.
Yang Kai paid him no further attention. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Qu Zheng and Fang Peng. He took a light breath and narrowed his eyes as he asked, "Are you two truly set on this?"
"At this point, what more is there to say? Cripple your cultivation, and we won't take your life!" Qu Zheng said flatly. His tone carried an unmistakable note of finality.
The orders from Star Emperor Mountain were to capture Yang Kai alive—to use him as leverage and force the Lingxiao Sect to hand over that Void King-grade warship. So from the very beginning, Qu Zheng and the others had never intended to kill Yang Kai. Mobilizing so many people was simply to ensure he was taken alive.
"Very well." Yang Kai bared his teeth in a grin. "I didn't think I had reached the point of drawing swords against the forces you two belong to. But since you insist on pushing me this far, then I hope you can withstand my fury!"
"Brazen talk!" Qu Changfeng snapped. "I'll give you ten breaths to think it over. After ten breaths, I'll take you down myself!"
"There's nothing to think about." Yang Kai slowly shook his head, a mocking smile curling at the corner of his lips. "Young Master Qu, don't take yourself too seriously—because you're nothing!"
"How dare you!" Qu Changfeng had never suffered such an insult. His dashing composure twisted into something vicious, like a venomous serpent whose tail had been stepped on, its fangs bared and dripping with poison as he snarled through gritted teeth.
"Then let's start with you. The first time I laid eyes on you, I already found you disagreeable. Had you not provoked me, I couldn't have been bothered dealing with you. But since you're so eager to die, I'll oblige!" Yang Kai's expression turned sharp, and he fixed Qu Changfeng with a piercing stare.
The entire crowd was stunned!
They had seen bold people before, but never anyone this audacious.
Nearly thirty Return to Void Realm experts had them surrounded, and this young man named Yang Kai showed not a shred of retreat or fear. Instead, he was openly threatening to take Qu Changfeng's life in front of everyone. Had the fellow lost his mind?
Could he not see what kind of situation he was in?
Even Qu Zheng and Fang Peng, both known for their unshakable composure, wore expressions of bewilderment, secretly wondering if Yang Kai had been driven half-mad by terror.
But in the very next instant, their faces went rigid. From Yang Kai's left eye, a burst of brilliant golden light erupted. Within that radiance, a lotus bud, poised on the verge of blooming, materialized serenely. It trembled once—and vanished.
Even powerhouses as formidable as Qu Zheng and Fang Peng felt their minds waver momentarily under the influence of that golden light.
By the time they snapped back to awareness, cold sweat had already broken out across their backs. And at that precise moment, a scream pierced their ears. They turned toward the sound and saw Qu Changfeng—the same Qu Changfeng who had been issuing orders with such arrogance moments ago—clutching his head and shrieking, as though enduring some unbearable torture. Blood soon began seeping from his ears, nose, and mouth.
"Changfeng!" Qu Zheng's face changed drastically. He cried out and lunged toward his son in a flash.
But before he could make a move, a dull thud came from that direction.
A vivid, blood-red flower burst into bloom. Qu Changfeng's entire head exploded. At the severed neck, blood geysered upward to a height of ten feet, raining down in crimson showers and staining the earth red.
"Impossible!" Fang Peng exclaimed, his face drained of all color.
The other Return to Void Realm experts were equally frozen in place, their expressions locked in abject horror.
Yang Kai had shown no sign of making a move at all, yet Qu Changfeng had died just like that—as though he had been struck down by some inexplicable force. And his death had been this grotesque.
Divine Sense! The only explanation for killing someone without lifting a finger was Divine Sense. In that fleeting instant, every powerhouse who had been looking at Yang Kai had felt a brief moment of mental lapse—lost within that field of golden light.
They had caught a vague glimpse of a lotus bud.
Just how powerful was his Divine Sense? To be able to instantly kill a warrior of the same realm with a single attack—that level of Divine Sense cultivation, that eerie and unnatural secret technique, was something that even Qu Zheng and Fang Peng did not possess.