The facts bore this out — within the Eight Directions Gate, everyone feared Luo Yuan. Not just the ordinary members; even the Gate Master and Vice Gate Master held him in considerable awe. The Gate Master had once said that Luo Yuan was a once-in-ten-thousand-years prodigy, destined to shake the entire Star Domain and laugh proudly beneath the heavens. As a result, the Eight Directions Gate practically granted Luo Yuan whatever he asked for, pinning all their hopes for the Sect's revival squarely on his shoulders.
Back when he was still within the Sect, Luo Yuan's word was effectively the Sect Master's decree. He occupied the finest cave dwelling and claimed nearly half of the Eight Directions Gate's total cultivation resources. When he was cultivating, no one dared disturb him — doing so meant death.
That was precisely why the Eight Directions Gate members had tried so desperately to smooth things over earlier. They hadn't wanted to alert Luo Yuan.
Yet somehow, against all their hopes, they had ended up alerting him anyway.
A wave of mixed emotions swept through the Eight Directions Gate group — alarm, because Luo Yuan was clearly in a foul mood and they had no idea whether he might punish them; and relief, because a powerful ally had arrived. Perhaps they might yet escape this unscathed.
"Oh… it's you!" The round-faced woman who had been standing behind Luo Yuan finally came back to herself. Her adoring gaze tore away from Luo Yuan as she frowned and looked around the courtyard. The moment she spotted Yang Kai, she let out a surprised cry. "You're that… that…"
She couldn't quite recall Yang Kai's name.
Yang Kai smiled faintly. "Yang Kai!"
"Right, right, right — you're the one who traded a Supreme Mystery Pill with me inside the Four Seasons Land! What are you doing here?" The round-faced woman clearly had some memory of Yang Kai.
"Why shouldn't I be here?" Yang Kai found the question rather amusing.
The round-faced woman tilted her head and thought about it, seeming to realize on her own that the question was somewhat absurd. She gave Yang Kai a small smile and said nothing more.
Luo Yuan's gaze, meanwhile, had locked firmly onto Yang Kai. Within those eyes that had been calm as still water, a fierce fighting spirit suddenly blazed to life.
Yang Kai grinned. "How long have you been here?"
"Just arrived," Luo Yuan said flatly. After a brief pause, he added, "The aura from the Artifact in your hand woke me. Then I found you trying to kill my Eight Directions Gate disciples."
His tone was mild, but anyone could hear the displeasure and chill lurking beneath the words.
Regardless, he was a member of the Eight Directions Gate. Someone was trying to kill the Sect's disciples — he certainly couldn't stand by and watch.
The middle-aged man was overjoyed. He hurriedly shouted, "Junior Brother Luo, this man relies on his petty abilities and doesn't put our Eight Directions Gate in his eyes at all! He not only knocked Senior Brother Lin Yun unconscious but also injured me! Please, Junior Brother Luo, avenge us and wipe away this humiliation!"
His entire demeanor had flipped from the obsequious, trembling coward he'd been around Yang Kai. Now he was arrogance personified, as though he'd latched onto a mighty backer. His sense of security had multiplied tenfold, and he no longer had the slightest fear of Yang Kai.
"Is that so?" Luo Yuan's brow arched as he fixed Yang Kai with a cold stare.
Yang Kai laughed. "That's right. The one lying over there — I knocked him out. And the one speaking — I injured him."
"Good. You own it — I respect that," Luo Yuan said, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "A man should be like this. I admire you!"
"So, Brother Luo intends to stand up for them?" Yang Kai regarded him with a squint.
"A secret technique I've been comprehending has hit a bottleneck. I've been working on it for days without finding the key…" Luo Yuan suddenly veered into a completely unrelated topic. Yet the scorching fighting spirit in his eyes only grew fiercer and more turbulent. With a pulse of Source Power through his body, he gave a low shout: "I've been fretting over not finding a worthy opponent in this backwater. Since Brother Yang is here, do me a favor!"
"You want to use me as a sparring partner to break through your technique's bottleneck?" Yang Kai's expression turned peculiar.
"Precisely!"
"And why should I help you?" Yang Kai grumbled. "That's a losing deal. I'm not doing it."
"You don't have a choice," Luo Yuan snorted coldly, stepping through the air and advancing toward Yang Kai one measured step at a time. With each stride, his aura surged another notch higher.
From the way he was moving, whether Yang Kai agreed or not, he was going to attack regardless.
Yang Kai's brow furrowed.
Luo Yuan was no ordinary Dao Origin Realm cultivator. Setting aside the fact that he was already a third-stage Dao Origin Realm powerhouse, his sheer combat prowess alone was nothing to be taken lightly. Unless absolutely necessary, Yang Kai had no desire to fight someone like this. Moreover, they were currently in the Qin family's home. If a real battle broke out, this place would likely be reduced to rubble, and the aftermath could easily spill over to Qin Yu and the others.
He wasn't like Luo Yuan — he couldn't simply act without regard for consequences.
"Stop!" At that moment, Qin Yu suddenly cried out.
Luo Yuan's body halted. A flash of displeasure crossed his face, and he growled in a sinister voice, "Who are you? What do you want?"
His expression was laced with killing intent, as though the mere interruption from Qin Yu had put him in a murderous mood. If he hadn't been holding himself back, he might well have struck her down on the spot.
"A member of the Qin family," Qin Yu replied.
Luo Yuan's brow furrowed, and the killing intent receded rapidly. He muttered to himself, "The owner of this place, then…"
A flicker of helplessness crossed his face. After a long moment of contemplation, he asked, "Do you have any instructions?"
His entire demeanor had shifted from the bloodthirsty menace he'd shown before to something gentle and courteous. Yang Kai watched the transformation with open astonishment.
"I wouldn't dare give instructions. You're all incredibly powerful, and the Qin family is woefully weak — how could we presume to give orders?" Qin Yu's tone was laced with sarcasm, every word a hidden barb. "However, your Eight Directions Gate disciples killed a servant of the Qin family. Isn't that something you should first give us an explanation for?"
"Killed a Qin family servant?" Luo Yuan's face went cold at this. "Is that true?"
"The body is still right there. Are your eyes blind?" Qin Yu hissed through gritted teeth.
Luo Yuan's gaze shifted to the female corpse lying in the courtyard. He examined it with a furrowed brow, then turned to the middle-aged man. "What happened here?"
The middle-aged man's expression grew flustered. He had no idea how to answer and stammered incoherently, unable to produce a single coherent explanation.