Before the crude wooden hut, Yang Kai's right arm was drenched in blood, and the crimson trickling from the corners of his mouth made his expression all the more savage and terrifying. His right hand had plunged into Zhou Yi's chest, gripping the violently pounding heart within.
Zhou Yi lay slumped on the ground, his body entangled in a golden net woven from Gold Blood Threads, his trembling eyes fixed on Yang Kai before him.
Madman! This guy is an absolute madman! Zhou Yi screamed silently in his mind.
The two remained locked in this stalemate, perfectly still.
The murderous tension in the air was so oppressive it was nearly impossible to breathe.
Not far away, Liu Xianyun had both small hands pressed over her mouth, her beautiful eyes trembling violently. Chu Fei and the other two Void King Realm cultivators could do nothing but swallow hard, the sound of their dry gulps the only noise they made.
"Heh heh, Senior Brother, you're finished!" Yang Kai suddenly bared his teeth in a vicious grin.
Zhou Yi's face twitched slightly. Despite being filled with unwillingness, the situation before him forced him to admit that his life was now held in someone else's grasp, his fate completely beyond his own control.
If Yang Kai applied just a little more force, he could take his life.
"Kill me and you won't leave alive either!" Zhou Yi stared coldly at Yang Kai, showing no intention of begging for mercy. On the contrary, he put on a show of defiance.
"Want to give it a try? Let's see whether I can leave this wretched place after killing you! Junior may not have many strengths, but my ability to flee is second to none!" Yang Kai chuckled in a low, sinister voice, his smile so wicked that Zhou Yi dared not respond, fearing the other might actually crush his heart on the spot.
If that happened, regardless of whether Yang Kai survived, he himself would certainly die. He had only one life — how could he not treasure it?
"Make one move, and I'll kill him!" Yang Kai suddenly turned his head, his gaze icy as he looked toward Chu Fei, who had been tiptoeing away in an attempt to flee.
Only then did Liu Xianyun snap back to reality. Her slender figure flickered as she appeared beside Chu Fei, watching him with wary eyes to prevent him from seizing the chance to escape.
Chu Fei's face was a mask of misery, and he truly dared not move, wearing an expression of utter despair.
"It seems you're a reasonable man, Senior Brother. Surely you don't want this to end with both the fish dying and the net breaking? Name your terms, and I'll hear them out," Zhou Yi said, his eyes flickering as he looked at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai gave a light chuckle. "I naturally don't want a lose-lose outcome, but today's business has escalated to this point, and it really isn't easy to wrap up neatly. Senior Brother, should I kill you and run, or kill you and wait for the Sect's punishment? Don't give me some nonsense about how you'll leave me alone if I spare you — I won't believe such childish words."
Zhou Yi's face darkened. He had no idea how to respond.
"Forget it." Yang Kai suddenly broke into a cheerful laugh. "Let me vent my frustration first."
With that, he turned to look at Chu Fei, his gaze gradually turning glacial. "Come to think of it, this whole mess was caused by the lot of you. I was locked up in solitary confinement for three months because of it. Since that's the case, let's start with you. All of you — kneel on the ground and slap your own faces, and as you do, scream that you're pigs!"
The moment these words left his mouth, Chu Fei and the other two men's expressions changed drastically.
"You — you're going too far!" Chu Fei snarled. Though this place was remote and few people passed through, if he actually did such a thing, how could he ever hold his head up in the Sect again? The story would surely spread at once, making him the laughingstock of every disciple.
"A true warrior can be killed but not humiliated!" the Void King Realm Stage Two cultivator shouted as well, his face contorted with rage.
"Oh really?" Yang Kai smiled faintly. He paid Chu Fei and the others no further attention, instead turning back to Zhou Yi. He gradually tightened his grip, his voice cold and menacing. "Senior Brother, Senior Brother Chu and his friends aren't being very cooperative. What do you suggest I do about it? I'm rather preoccupied at the moment and can't very well force them myself. It's making me agitated, and if I'm not careful with my strength..."
Beads of sweat the size of beans immediately sprang from Zhou Yi's forehead. He could feel the pressure on his heart growing stronger by the second, and his breathing was becoming labored. In a panic, he whipped his head toward Chu Fei and the others, roaring, "Every grievance has its source, every debt its creditor. You lot caused this mess! If you want to stand there and watch me die, then do nothing — but if I, Zhou Yi, survive this, you know full well what kind of wrath you'll face!"
The moment Zhou Yi spoke, Chu Fei and the others couldn't help but go pale. One by one, they looked at Yang Kai with a mixture of hatred and desperate pleading, as if hoping he might suddenly show mercy and let them off this once.
Yang Kai ignored them entirely, his hand continuing to tighten.
"Kneel down, now!" Zhou Yi suddenly bellowed.
Chu Fei and the others dared not hesitate a moment longer. Thud, thud, thud — they all dropped to their knees, their expressions as wretched as if they had just lost their parents.
The ultimate humiliation!
They were all Void King Realm cultivators — getting injured and shedding blood was nothing new. But when had any of them ever been forced to kneel? In their hearts, they cursed Yang Kai with every foul name imaginable, secretly vowing that one day they would find a chance to wash away this shame and repay today's humiliation a hundredfold. Only then could the hatred in their hearts be assuaged.
"Why don't I hear the sound of anyone slapping their own faces?" Yang Kai cupped a hand to his ear, wearing a look of puzzlement.
Zhou Yi's fierce gaze immediately darted toward Chu Fei and the others.
Slap, slap, slap…
Chu Fei and his companions raised their hands and brought them down again and again against their own cheeks, mechanically, as if their bodies no longer belonged to them.