After watching for a while, Yang Kai turned his gaze toward the Flying Saint Palace's flying ship artifact.
At this moment, Ning Yuancheng stood on the deck with a leisurely expression on his face, seemingly unconcerned about whether Liu Yizhi would be defeated. He fanned his folding fan idly, occasionally pointing ahead to the people beside him.
The Flying Saint Palace disciples nearby nodded along eagerly at everything he said.
Surrounding the flying ship was a layer of green fluorescent light, wrapping the entire vessel within its glow.
This was clearly the ship's protective barrier.
Yang Kai's brows furrowed slightly.
With two Dao Source Realm second-layer powerhouses battling in the distance, it was naturally the perfect time for him to make his move. But that ship's barrier looked incredibly sturdy—Yang Kai wasn't even confident he could break through it in a single strike. Sneaking in undetected was completely out of the question. He estimated that the moment he approached the ship even slightly, his presence would be exposed.
After deliberating for a long time, he ultimately decided to hold his position and continue waiting for the right opportunity.
With that thought, he turned his gaze back to the battlefield where the two Dao Source Realm cultivators clashed.
After such a long time, Flying Saint Palace's Liu Yizhi and the surnamed Han were still fighting evenly, neither gaining the upper hand. But Yang Kai vaguely sensed something was off.
If the surnamed Han had attacked Flying Saint Palace's people without any confidence, that would be far too reckless. Not only would he accomplish nothing in the end, but he would also make a powerful enemy out of Flying Saint Palace for no reason. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't do such a thing.
Since the surnamed Han had chosen to strike here, he must have something backing him up.
At this thought, Yang Kai's heart lurched. He was rather glad now that he hadn't acted rashly earlier.
"Who exactly are you? Why not reveal your name? Skulking around like this—is it really amusing?" High above, Liu Yizhi wielded a Dao Source Grade long saber artifact, its blade shimmering with flowing light. After exchanging a forceful blow with the surnamed Han, he leaped back and bellowed the question.
Not far opposite him, the surnamed Han drifted backward under the tremendous impact, a long sword spinning lazily in his hand as he pointed it at Liu Yizhi from afar. He sneered, "If you can't recognize who I am, that only shows how ignorant you are. And now you blame others? Truly pathetic."
Liu Yizhi's brow furrowed. He shouted in a deep voice, "I know your surname is Han, but how many people in this world bear that name? I don't care where you come from. If you withdraw now, I, Liu, will pretend this day never happened. But if you continue to persist, then you are an enemy of my Flying Saint Palace—and I will show no more mercy!"
"Flying Saint Palace!" The surnamed Han laughed upon hearing this, his tone dripping with mockery. "How terrifying. What, you think a mere Flying Saint Palace is enough to make me, Han, think twice? Forget Flying Saint Palace—what about the Star God Palace? The Star God Palace has been wanting my life for years, and I'm still alive and well."
"What?" Liu Yizhi was stunned. His face went slack with shock as he stared at the surnamed Han, startled by those words.
In the entire Southern Domain, the Star God Palace was the undisputed overlord. Across the Southern Domain, the Star God Palace's commands were obeyed by all. But judging by this man's words, it seemed he had some grudge against the Star God Palace—and had been living freely and comfortably all this time.
"You… you're…" Deep within Liu Yizhi's mind, a rumor he had heard over a decade ago suddenly surfaced. His expression changed, and he pointed at the surnamed Han. "I know who you are now! You're that Han Leng who was expelled from the Star God Palace!"
More than ten years ago, a disciple under a Sovereign Realm elder-level figure within the Star God Palace had committed a grave offense. According to the Star God Palace's rules, he was to be executed. But somehow, he had obtained advance intelligence, killed several senior and junior brothers guarding him, and escaped from the Star God Palace, vanishing without a trace ever since.
The incident had caused a massive stir at the time. Many Star God Palace disciples were dispatched to hunt down the traitor's whereabouts, hoping to capture him and bring him back to face justice. But not a single one succeeded—instead, the traitor found opportunities to kill quite a few of them.
The matter had always been a stain on the Star God Palace's reputation. People from other sects dared not mention it openly, only discussing it in private.
Over those ten-plus years, the Star God Palace had never relaxed its pursuit of the traitor, yet had still failed to apprehend him.
Later, rumors even spread that the traitor was the illegitimate son of that Sovereign Realm elder, and that it was the elder himself who had arranged his escape. Of course, no one knew whether such news was true or false.
As a high-ranking member of Flying Saint Palace, Liu Yizhi had naturally been privy to such confidential matters and knew the traitor's name was Han Leng.
He hadn't initially connected the surnamed Han to the traitor's true identity, but after hearing those words, the realization struck him immediately.
"You really are that Star God Palace traitor—Han Leng!"
"And what if I am?" Opposite him, Han Leng admitted without the slightest hesitation, a grin of successful scheming plastered across his face. He chuckled darkly. "Recognizing me now—far too late!"
Hearing this, Liu Yizhi's heart lurched. He instinctively cried out, "Not good!"
The moment the words left his mouth, he spun around and shot toward the flying ship, his expression turning panicked, as though he was about to face something truly terrifying.
But at that very moment, Han Leng's expression turned solemn. He formed a series of spiritual hand seals, and as the seals shifted, the brilliant moon hanging in the sky suddenly blazed with overwhelming radiance, blinding everyone and rendering the world before them nearly invisible.
A pillar of pure white light shot down from the luminous moon, plunging straight into Han Leng's body.