Chi Huo laughed with unrestrained glee, his crimson hair billowing without wind as a tremendous aura radiated from his body. Riding high on his triumph, he pointed at Su Yan and called out to Wei Feng behind him: "Little beast, this girl is yours from now on! Kill her, torture her—do as you please!"
He wasn't satisfied with the victory at hand; he wanted to provoke Ice Heart Valley's higher-ups into making the first move.
But the people of Ice Heart Valley didn't take the bait. They simply stared at him with expressions of utter grief and indignation. Even Luo Li paid him no mind.
This left Chi Huo both disappointed and contemptuous. Ice Heart Valley's stance might look like loyalty to the sect's greater good, but in truth they had already abandoned the bare duty of being human. He was certain that after this, Ice Heart Valley would never again be a threat worth worrying about!
Wei Feng chuckled coldly, the injuries on both cheeks making his laughter leak through the gaps in his teeth, slurring his words: "How could this disciple possibly bring himself to kill or torture her? He couldn't possibly pamper her enough! This disciple thanks the Supreme Elder—the Supreme Elder's might is truly magnificent. This disciple is endlessly grateful!"
Though Wei Feng was cowardly and spineless, his talent for flattery was anything but. In just a few sentences he had Chi Huo beaming with delight, and suddenly this good-for-nothing didn't look half bad.
"Well said!" Luo Hai clapped lightly, a faint smile on his face. "This seat offers his congratulations. I hope this can ease the relationship between your two sects and lead to harmonious coexistence. After all, you're both major sects on Chilan Star—constant fighting and killing benefits no one."
"Brother Luo Hai, if you've nothing else, why not come back to the Fire Radiance Sect for a wedding toast?" Chi Huo looked at him and extended the invitation.
Luo Hai slowly shook his head. "No. This seat has been away long enough. It's time to return to Cuiwei Star."
The faces of Ice Heart Valley's members were ashen as they watched Chi Huo strut about like the biggest winner in the world, utterly brazen in his arrogance. Not one of them dared utter a word. Even Luo Li kept her eyes tightly shut, choosing not to see rather than see at all.
"Yang Kai, you're coming with me." Luo Hai turned his gaze to Yang Kai, his tone brooking no refusal.
Yang Kai let out a quiet, cold laugh without so much as glancing at him. Instead, his eyes swept across the faces of every Ice Heart Valley member present.
Every person his gaze landed on guiltily averted their eyes, their faces filled with shame.
Even Ran Yunting was no exception—though after a moment she seemed to recover, hardening her expression: "You brought this upon yourselves. No one else is to blame!"
Yang Kai's cold smile deepened.
He gently patted the back of Su Yan's hand. "Senior Sister, go and bow to your so-called elders one last time. From this moment on, you owe them nothing."
"Alright. I'll do as you say." Su Yan nodded obediently and walked gracefully toward the Ice Heart Valley group. She bowed deeply, then raised her head to look at Ran Yunting. "This disciple will call you Master one last time. She thanks Master for years of generous instruction. Please take care of yourself, Master."
Ran Yunting's lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she simply looked away.
Su Yan returned lightly to Yang Kai's side, as though shedding some invisible chain.
"Boy, don't bother putting up a last stand. Go quietly with Brother Luo Hai. As for this little girl beside you—she belongs to my Fire Radiance Sect from now on." Chi Huo snorted coldly.
Yang Kai and Su Yan exchanged a glance, and in the same instant, they both smiled. Their smiles blazed like the midday sun, dispelling the gloomy, suffocating atmosphere inside the ice palace.
"You want to take Senior Sister? Ask me first!" Yang Kai suddenly bellowed.
At the same time, Su Yan's clear voice rang out: "I live and die with my Junior Brother!"
Their auras surged violently, and their saint power erupted.
One stream of saint power was vast and yang-hot. The other was piercingly cold and icy.
An unexpected change occurred—Yang Kai's and Su Yan's saint power seemed to resonate with each other, vibrating in unison. As they vibrated, the two streams merged.
An even more turbulent wave of energy surged outward.
Every person's expression shifted. They stared in stunned disbelief at the young man and woman standing shoulder to shoulder.
A sharp light flashed in Luo Hai's eyes, surprise plain on his face, as though he had just witnessed something extraordinary. Luo Li, who had kept her eyes shut all this time, snapped them open on the spot. A deep, vivid glint of something unusual passed through the depths of her gaze.
Chi Huo let out a faint "Hm?" All three Void King realm powerhouses wore looks of astonishment.
Looking closer, Yang Kai and Su Yan seemed to have become a single entity. Their cultivation bases—Transcendent Realm second stage and Transcendent Realm first stage—stacked together in a bizarre yet seamless fusion, with no conflict whatsoever, propelling them straight to the very peak of the Transcendent Realm third stage.
"Interesting. A dual cultivation technique, is it?" Luo Hai furrowed his brow. With his vast knowledge, he could tell at a glance that Yang Kai and Su Yan had long since achieved a state of perfect spiritual harmony. Otherwise, their saint power attributes—utterly opposed to each other—could never have merged so flawlessly. There would have been violent conflict.
"Insolent!" Chi Huo roared.
After all, in his eyes, Su Yan was already Wei Feng's woman. Yet this girl had somehow already conducted dual cultivation with Yang Kai! This was nothing short of a disgrace to the Fire Radiance Sect.
Weren't those who practiced the Ice Jade Art supposed to be pure and untouched? Then how did one explain what he was seeing before him?
The moment Chi Huo's shout faded, an ear-splitting roar suddenly echoed through the ice palace. The roar was unlike anything mortal—it seemed to bore straight into the soul. The instant it sounded, every person present, including the three Void King realm experts, felt their hearts clench with dread.
The Elders of Ice Heart Valley changed color dramatically.
"What is that—" Luo Hai shot to his feet, his trembling gaze locked on Yang Kai, fixed intently on the transformation taking place.
A golden radiance suddenly burst from Yang Kai's body, spiraling once above his head before instantly coalescing into a colossal golden phantom.