Liu Yizhi furrowed his brow slightly. Although his instincts told him that Mo Xiaoqi's expression didn't seem to be an act — and she didn't look like some old monster hiding her true cultivation to prey on the unsuspecting — he still didn't dare let his guard down.
After a moment's thought, he asked in a low voice, "May I ask the young lady's honorable name?"
Mo Xiaoqi glared at him through gritted teeth, refusing to answer.
Liu Yizhi's frown deepened. Her silence put him in a difficult position, so he could only press further. "Then might I ask which sect the young lady hails from? You seem somewhat familiar to me — vaguely reminiscent of someone I know. Perhaps our respective factions share some connection. If that's truly the case, I'd appreciate it if the young lady could clarify, so we don't end up like the Dragon King fighting his own kin — family not recognizing family."
His intent to defuse the situation was plain as day. After all, Mo Xiaoqi's strangeness left Liu Yizhi unable to read her at all, and it was best not to provoke such a person lightly — doing so could very well bring catastrophic disaster upon his Sect.
Especially now, with Maple Forest City teeming with people from every major power under the heavens, Liu Yizhi was increasingly convinced that Mo Xiaoqi had to be a direct-line disciple of some supreme super-sect.
Anyone with even a shred of experience would have known how to respond to such words.
But Mo Xiaoqi understood none of this, and it never occurred to her to give Liu Yizhi and the Flying Saint Palace people a graceful way out. "What connection? I've never even heard of your Flying Saint Palace. How could it possibly have anything to do with my Spi— with us?"
Liu Yizhi's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. He silently cursed Mo Xiaoqi for being hopelessly dense — though he couldn't tell whether she was genuinely clueless or deliberately obtuse.
Still, the careless slip Mo Xiaoqi had just made sent a chill through his heart.
She had clearly been about to say "Spi—" something. But in this Star Boundary, there were quite a few organizations whose names began with that character, and several of them were powers the Flying Saint Palace absolutely could not afford to provoke. For the moment, Liu Yizhi couldn't determine her true background.
Just as he was feeling trapped between a rock and a hard place, a strange laugh suddenly rang out from the crowd.
"Who's there?" Liu Yizhi, already in a foul mood, shot a sharp glare toward the source of the voice.
A figure emerged from the crowd, shrouded entirely in a black robe, their features hidden. Judging by the voice, it was a man. His aura fluctuated at the Void King Third Stage — roughly on par with Mo Xiaoqi.
The black-robed man who stepped forward was none other than Yang Kai.
He simply couldn't watch any longer.
Others might not know what kind of person Mo Xiaoqi truly was, but he understood perfectly. If this situation weren't handled carefully, the Flying Saint Palace people would be forced — if only for the sake of face and their Sect's reputation — to take action against Mo Xiaoqi no matter their reservations.
When that time came, Yang Kai had no idea whether she could hold her own. She certainly had many remarkable abilities, but the opposing side included a Dao Source Second Stage cultivator capable of wielding the power of heavenly law itself. Whether the Artifacts she carried could even function properly was anyone's question.
Rather than answering Liu Yizhi's inquiry, Yang Kai walked directly toward Mo Xiaoqi, calling out, "There you are, Miss! I've been searching high and low for you."
"M-Miss?" Mo Xiaoqi's heart lurched instinctively. She assumed her cover had been blown and that her father had sent someone to drag her back. Her hand darted to her spatial ring, ready to pull out an item and flee on the spot.
But something quickly felt off.
The man's voice sounded oddly familiar.
Right at that moment, Yang Kai let just a hint of his features show.
Mo Xiaoqi froze, her eyes lighting up with a burst of joy. "Ah, it's you! You're actually alive!"
Yang Kai concealed his face once more and chuckled. "Miss, next time try not to hit so hard. I may be tough, but I still can't survive your killing blow outright. Took me quite a few days of recovery just to get back on my feet."
As he spoke, Yang Kai quietly shot Mo Xiaoqi a meaningful glance. Fearing the girl might not catch on, he quickly sent her a discreet divine-sense transmission, instructing her to stay silent.
Mo Xiaoqi nodded so vigorously she looked like a little chick pecking at rice.
The onlooking cultivators watched with dark expressions, all regarding Yang Kai with something like sympathy — as though beholding some wretched subordinate tasked with protecting his young mistress, forced not only to endure her whims without complaint but also to watch out for the occasional attempt on his life…
"Hm? Miss, what happened here?" Yang Kai pretended to have just noticed the unusual scene, glancing around with a start before his face twisted into a thunderous scowl. He growled, "How dare anyone attack my young lady — tired of living, are they?"
A mere Void King Third Stage cultivator, standing before a Dao Source Second Stage powerhouse, he waved the borrowed authority of his supposed mistress with not the slightest hint of fear — instead wearing an expression of pure menace, his killing intent nearly condensing into something visible as it radiated outward, causing the faces of many onlookers to drain of color.
"Good, good, good — there really are people this audacious in this world. Heh heh heh, I'm afraid even if the Star Envoy himself showed up, he couldn't save your life now." Yang Kai let out a series of sinister laughs, his fierce gaze sweeping the crowd. The crimson light flickering within his eyes, hidden beneath the black robe, was like that of a maddened beast.
The terrifying appearance alone would have been enough, but the information embedded in his words caused Liu Yizhi's face to collapse entirely.
Even the Star Envoy would be powerless? What kind of background did these two people actually have? Could they be the offspring of some high-ranking figure from the Southern Domain's overlord, the Star God Palace?
If Liu Yizhi was this alarmed, Ningyuan City's people were even more so.