Yang Kai had underestimated the power of Xu Qing's beast transformation, mainly because he didn't recognize the Golden-haired Giant Ape.
Had he known that even in ancient times, this Golden-haired Giant Ape had been a legendary species renowned for its overwhelming strength, he wouldn't have been so careless—and ended up smashed into the ground.
In ancient times, this kind of inexhaustibly powerful creature could uproot mountains with a casual gesture…
Fortunately, his skin was tough and his flesh thick. Though he looked rather bedraggled, he was uninjured.
But Xu Qing's attack had thoroughly enraged him.
His Void King Third Stage domain surged toward Xu Qing, and the space force concealed within destabilized the surrounding area, causing countless tiny, fish-like spatial rifts to flicker in and out of existence.
Yang Kai bared his teeth in a savage grin and swept his hands forward, sending crescent moon blades lashing out in a frantic barrage.
Xu Qing's face changed drastically. Though he couldn't immediately determine what kind of force the moon blades belonged to, the overwhelming power and sheer solidity of Yang Kai's domain made him feel the threat of death.
Ignoring the wound in his lower abdomen, he roared at the sky. Every strand of golden fur on his body stood on end, transforming into needle-like protrusions, and by sheer, unparalleled divine strength, he forcibly broke free of Yang Kai's domain and dodged aside.
A continuous hissing filled the air as every moon blade struck empty ground, sending soil flying.
By the time Yang Kai turned around and locked onto Xu Qing's position, the latter had somehow produced a massive axe in his hands. It spun twice in the air and cleaved straight down.
Yang Kai's eyes blazed with fury as the five-colored radiance around his body intensified. He simultaneously activated his Dragon Transformation Secret Art, layering his right arm in a sheath of dragon scales, and swept his hand upward against the axe.
Their auras collided like two mountains crashing together, and the earth trembled beneath them.
"What?!"
Xu Qing's face twisted in shock as he watched his Artifact axe get launched away, while Yang Kai remained completely unscathed. His body merely paused for an instant before dissipating the force, and he charged back in.
That strike of his—even if it had hit another Void King Third Stage martial artist head-on, it should have inflicted devastating injuries or even killed them outright. Yet Yang Kai appeared completely unharmed.
Just how powerful was his physical defense?
Fury and alarm warred within Xu Qing, but he didn't retreat. Instead, he roared and charged forward to meet Yang Kai.
The two soon tangled in the sky, fighting so fiercely that the heavens seemed to darken. From the very start, Xu Qing had been on the back foot, and Yang Kai grew more ferocious with every exchange, unleashing a relentless torrent of secret arts and martial techniques that left Xu Qing crying out in misery.
"How can this be? I've already activated the Beast Soul Symbiosis of the Golden-haired Giant Ape. Among Void King realm martial artists, even if I can't be called invincible, no one should be able to overpower me like this. Could it be that his Source Power…?"
Fear and doubt flickered through Xu Qing's eyes—he couldn't tell whether what he felt was dread or worry, and his emotions refused to settle.
But though Xu Qing was in a wretched state, suppressed by Yang Kai on every front, no new wounds had been added—all his injuries were internal.
After half a cup of tea's time, Xu Qing could barely hold on. He realized that if he stayed to tangle with Yang Kai any longer, he would likely lose his life here.
The moment that thought struck, the desire to flee took root.
Just then, the sound of something cutting through the air suddenly swept from far to near, accompanied by someone's booming laughter: "Heaven has been generous to me indeed—I've stumbled upon a ready-made prize here! Hahahaha!"
As the laughter faded, a towering ship suddenly blotted out the sunlight above. Aboard it, seven or eight martial artists with deep, unfathomable auras gazed down coldly, and the elderly man at their head stared with gleaming eyes at the Fire Bird confined within its water-blue sphere.
Yang Kai and Xu Qing both startled and hastily retreated.
In the next instant, Yang Kai appeared at Mo Xiaoqi's side, brow furrowed as he looked up above. Simultaneously, his spiritual sense spread outward, probing the surroundings.
Yang Kai's expression immediately darkened.
He sensed countless martial artists rapidly converging on their position, drawn here by the Fire Bird's mournful cries.
That towering ship was merely the first to arrive. And the old man at its head possessed the formidable cultivation of the Dao Source Realm.
No sooner had the old man finished speaking than a figure flickered into view not far away. A middle-aged man dressed like a Confucian scholar appeared before everyone, and he sneered: "Old Jiu, you certainly got here fast."
Hearing this, the old man shot the scholar a look of extreme disgust and said coldly: "Chen Shiqi, you've come to join the fun too?"
Chen Shiqi smiled at this and replied: "What's that? You, Old Jiu, can come, but I, Chen, cannot?"
"That's right—Blazing Fire Hall would like to join the excitement too. Surely you won't be unwelcoming, Old Jiu?" Another voice cut in as three tiger-like war chariots emerged from somewhere. The burly, broad-shouldered man at their head leaped lightly down from the lead chariot.
Built like a bear, his entire body radiated an unmistakable fluctuation of fire-attribute power, and even his hair and beard were a dark crimson hue.
"Hmph!" Upon seeing the Blazing Fire Hall man arrive, both Old Jiu and Chen Shiqi let out cold snorts, expressions of displeasure crossing their faces, as though they regarded this burly man with considerable wariness.
"Three Dao Source Realm experts!" Yang Kai's brow furrowed deeply. With his perception, he could vaguely estimate their strength—the first to arrive, Old Jiu and Chen Shiqi, were roughly at the first level of the Dao Source Realm, while the burly man who came later was a second-level Dao Source Realm powerhouse.