Sensing that distinctive trace of the Law's power, Yang Kai's eyebrows lifted slightly, and his expression grew more solemn.
The old woman hadn't been lying when she said the Silver Moon Purple Frost Blade was a byproduct of a failed attempt to refine a Dao Source-grade Artifact—otherwise, a Void King-grade Artifact would never produce such an effect.
Of course, the fact that Lu Baichuan could draw out even that sliver of the Law's power was largely thanks to his own profound cultivation. The Origin Power within his body must have already undergone complete transformation, and he may have even touched the threshold of the Dao Source Realm, glimpsing some of the mysteries of the Laws.
If any other Void King Third Stage cultivator had been in his place, even with the Silver Moon Purple Frost Blade, they would never have been able to unleash such might.
That was the Law of Ice—an extremely subtle, almost intangible force, yet one that required the Dao Source Realm to even perceive. With this Artifact in hand, Lu Baichuan's combat strength had been elevated by an entire tier!
Crack, crack, crack…
The surrounding space showed faint signs of freezing. Centered on Lu Baichuan's position, layers of frost rapidly spread across the ground beneath his feet.
The Lu family patriarch suddenly let out a roar, stomped his foot in midair, and vanished from his spot. The next instant, he inexplicably appeared right in front of Yang Kai and brought the blade slashing down.
The blade's radiance flickered with terrifying force, giving rise to an inescapable feeling. Moreover, the frigid intent radiating from the blade sealed off an entire section of space, and Yang Kai took the strike head-on.
"Hahahaha!" Lu Baichuan threw his head back and laughed, his face brimming with satisfaction. "Truly a mantis trying to stop a chariot—you know nothing of your own limitations!"
He was supremely confident in this full-power strike of his. After all, several Void King Third Stage cultivators had already fallen to this very move. He was certain Yang Kai would be no exception.
But at that very moment, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he stared forward in horror.
Before him, Yang Kai—who should have been cleaved in half and utterly powerless—stood completely unscathed, without a single wound on his body. In his hands he held a dull-edged, leafless emerald-green longsword. Within the blade, something resembling a spirit serpent seemed to writhe and coil. It was braced in front of him, having blocked the Silver Moon Purple Frost Blade's devastating blow.
The ice Law's power that left even Void King powerhouses utterly helpless had failed to affect Yang Kai in the slightest. Instead, with a casual flick of his finger against the green longsword, a strange force radiated outward and instantly disintegrated the ice Law completely.
"You…" Lu Baichuan's face drained of color in shock, and he blurted out in disbelief, "You can also wield the power of Laws?!"
Laws were an incredibly profound power—the very power of Heaven and Earth. In this world, only Dao Source Realm cultivators could touch upon them. Void King cultivators were fundamentally incapable of using them. He himself had only managed to glimpse their mystery through a special Artifact like the Silver Moon Purple Frost Blade. Yet Yang Kai had done it far more effortlessly than he had.
The way Yang Kai had so casually neutralized what should have been a killing blow made it abundantly clear—his comprehension of the Laws had already surpassed ninety-nine percent of all Void King cultivators, possibly even reaching the level of the Dao Source Realm.
And without the amplification of the Laws, an attack from a high-grade Void King Artifact was something Yang Kai could easily handle.
"You little rat—you were playing the pig to eat the tiger! Damn you!" Lu Baichuan roared with fury.
Yang Kai laughed aloud. "No, you're the one who looked down on people with dog's eyes."
As he spoke, he pressed the Dragon Bone Sword downward, and Lu Baichuan plummeted like a meteor crashing from the sky, smashing straight into the ground.
The moment he landed, Lu Baichuan immediately began forming a series of hand seals. The earth erupted with a deafening rumble, and then—bang, bang, bang—three earthen dragons burst from underground, roaring with open maws, shaking their heads and lashing their tails as they charged at Yang Kai. The scene erupted into a maelstrom of flying sand and scattering stone.
"Earth Dragon Fury Dance!"
Lu Baichuan shouted the technique's name, and the moment the words left his mouth, he twisted his body and—without a moment's concern for the other members of the Lu family—turned and fled toward the way he had come at full speed.
"Mr. Yang, he's running away!" Zhang Ruoxi suddenly called out in alarm.
During the battle between the Lu and Zhang family cultivators, this young girl at the initial stage of the Sacred King Realm had no ability to intervene and could only watch from afar. Seeing Lu Baichuan flee with such cowardice, she couldn't help but call out a warning.
"He won't get away!" Yang Kai snorted coldly. The Dragon Bone Sword swept sideways, its emerald sword light slicing all three earthen dragons to dust in an instant. His figure flickered, and he vanished from the spot.
Though he bore no particular grudge against the Lu family, he had an agreement with Zhang Gaoxuan, and he found Lu Baichuan's character utterly contemptible. There was no psychological burden in opposing the Lu family whatsoever.
Lu Baichuan's release of those three earth dragons had apparently been nothing more than a ploy to buy time for his escape—but it had proved entirely ineffective.
By the time Yang Kai reappeared, he was already not far behind the fleeing patriarch. The Dragon Bone Sword trailed arcs of sword light as Yang Kai prepared to deliver the killing blow—when suddenly, the escaping Lu family patriarch spun around, and a cunning, triumphant smile crept across his lips.
With a swift motion of his hands forming a seal, he flicked his finger toward Yang Kai.
A strange wave of force rippled through the air.
Yang Kai's eyes narrowed sharply, and his expression turned oddly peculiar.
Then he twisted his body and, with a snap of his fingers, pinched something out of the air in front of him.