Outside, Zhang Ding heard the Madam's words but remained unmoved. He let out a soft chuckle and said, "Madam and Miss, please exit the carriage first, then we'll talk."
"Are you truly determined to be so heartless?" The Madam's face was ashen. Zhang Ding's refusal to heed her request made it clear he intended to eliminate them completely.
"Madam." Zhang Ding's voice turned cold and sinister. "If you cooperate obediently, I can leave your bodies intact. But if you refuse... hehe, I must confess, I have admired you for a long time, Madam. It's a pity I couldn't get close to your beauty before. But before you die, I think I can finally satisfy that wish!"
Inside the carriage, the Madam's delicate body trembled, her fists clenched so tight her knuckles turned white.
She could imagine what would happen if Zhang Ding decided to do as he pleased with her.
"You heartless beast!" Cui'er couldn't help but curse angrily.
Zhang Ding sneered, "Cui'er, I hope you can still curse when you're stripped naked later."
One of the surviving warriors laughed boorishly, his voice lewd. "Cui'er, wait a bit, brother will take good care of you."
Cui'er's face went pale, and she shrank back behind Yang Kai.
Inside the carriage, the three women were all trembling, causing the entire carriage to shake with them.
"Madam, I'll give you ten breaths. Get out yourself, and I'll make it quick. I'll even see to it you're buried properly," Zhang Ding delivered his final ultimatum.
The Madam closed her eyes, two lines of clear tears escaping down her cheeks. She clasped hands with her daughter, their faces masks of despair.
A moment later, she seemed to reach a decision. Opening her eyes, she gave her daughter a sorrowful smile, her gaze filled with resolution.
Rather than be humiliated, a quick end was preferable.
She was about to stand when Yang Kai pressed her back down. He slowly shook his head at her.
The ten breaths passed in an instant.
Zhang Ding's impatient voice rang out, "It seems, Madam, you're giving me this opportunity. In that case, Zhang won't be polite!"
With that, he reached out, pushed aside the carriage curtain, and stepped forward to enter.
But before his foot landed, a face—grimy, black with filth, and smearing dirt everywhere—came into view. The figure flashed him a grin, revealing two rows of stark white teeth.
The little beggar! This face was unmistakably that of the street urchin he'd brought along just days ago.
Zhang Ding was stunned with shock. His entire focus had been on the Madam; he hadn't sensed anyone else in the carriage. Shock quickly turned to fury. For a powerful Zhenyuan Realm expert like himself to be startled by a beggar—it was utterly humiliating.
Without overthinking, Zhang Ding reached out to grab Yang Kai, intending to hurl him out.
Yang Kai neither dodged nor yielded. His seemingly light and powerless fists struck with surprising speed. In the blink of an eye, he landed four or five punches squarely on Zhang Ding's chest.
So fast! Zhang Ding was startled again, but quickly scoffed, "You're courting death!"
He hadn't felt any significant destructive force from the little beggar's punches, assuming it was just a wild flurry. He grabbed Yang Kai by the collar and tossed him out, shouting angrily, "Kill him!"
Zhang Ding's subordinates moved instantly, blades flashing as they descended upon Yang Kai.
"Little beggar!" Cui'er cried out in alarm. She never imagined the composed Yang Kai was all bluff; he'd been taken down by Zhang Ding in just one exchange.
Before her cry had even faded, Zhang Ding's expression became an awful sight. His upper body, still leaning into the carriage, froze in place. His face flushed crimson, his eyes bulged grotesquely. The sight was truly horrifying.
The next instant, accompanied by a muffled boom, a spray of blood erupted from Zhang Ding's chest. A violent, scorching yuan qi suddenly rampaged through his body.
Zhang Ding was terrified out of his wits, his guts turned to water. Only then did he realize those punches from the little beggar earlier had been no ordinary strikes.
Hurriedly circulating the true yuan within his body, he struggled to suppress the turmoil in his chest.
Boom, boom, boom... A series of muffled sounds echoed out. Zhang Ding's entire chest was reduced to a bloody mess. Screaming in agony, he retreated from the carriage.
As a true Zhenyuan Realm expert, the dense defensive power of the true yuan within his body was something ordinary people couldn't compare to. Yang Kai had unleashed four or five Blazing Sun Bursts in rapid succession, with no discernible gap between them, and with a newfound insight to boot. The attack was executed without a trace, yet it still only grievously wounded him, failing to take his life.
The blood and shredded flesh spurting from Zhang Ding's chest drenched the three women's faces and hair. As Zhang Ding pulled back, they all shrieked in terror.
At the same time, Zhang Ding's subordinates brought their swords and blades down upon Yang Kai. But the onlookers only saw Yang Kai's figure shimmer and become ethereal before vanishing completely, causing all their attacks to hit empty air.
The footwork he had spent over a month comprehending finally proved its worth at this critical moment.
The Earth Demon, wrapped around the Soul-Shattering Awl, let out a series of eerie, cackling laughs. It transformed into a swirl of black mist, disturbing minds and spreading terror as it danced around the warriors, throwing them into panicked disarray.
"What the hell is that thing?" someone shouted, his face draining of color. The words had barely left his mouth when Yang Kai flickered into existence behind him, delivering a powerful punch straight between his shoulder blades.
This man's strength wasn't high. The concealed force from the Blazing Sun Burst invaded his body, and unlike Zhang Ding, he had no way to neutralize or withstand it. Scorching yuan qi surged within him, his face flushing instantly red.
The Earth Demon seized the opportunity, plunging the Soul-Shattering Awl into his body. When it emerged again, the man's body exploded with a loud bang, bursting into a cloud of bloody mist.
The eerie, cackling laughter grew even more chilling. The Earth Demon was an ancient devil of ten thousand years. Though its soul force had drastically dwindled, its laughter still contained a power that sent chills down the spine and inspired panic.
Working together with Yang Kai, they were virtually unstoppable.