"You've got quite the nerve. Do your parents know about this?" Yang Kai sat cross-legged on the ground, regarding Ye Qinghan with cold eyes.
Ye Qinghan's voice was hoarse as she replied, "I've been an orphan since childhood."
Yang Kai was rendered speechless. He fell silent for a moment before asking in a low voice, "What did you just see?"
"What?" Ye Qinghan looked back at him, bewildered.
"Nothing." Yang Kai let out a quiet breath. Ye Qinghan's tone and expression didn't seem the least bit feigned — she likely hadn't seen anything at all.
"Master Yang..." Ye Qinghan called out hesitantly. "Could you... give me a chance to say a few words?"
"Aren't you already saying them?" Yang Kai was thoroughly drained of strength at the moment. Though he felt Ye Qinghan was unlikely to mean him any harm, one could never be too careful. He'd been concealing his exhaustion this whole time, quietly resting and recovering on the spot, gathering his energy. He answered her casually.
"Thank you, Master Yang!" Ye Qinghan's face lit up with delight at his words. She had thought her sincerity had finally moved him. Growing visibly emotional, she chose her words carefully and said with a solemn expression, "The truth is, the reason I sought out Master Yang was simply to ask for his help."
Yang Kai closed his eyes and focused his mind, ignoring her.
Seeing this, Ye Qinghan continued, "I wanted to ask Master Yang to— Huh? Master, watch out behind you!"
"What!" Yang Kai's expression changed. But in the next instant, he felt a chilling sensation sweeping toward his back — cold as a blade's edge, impossibly sharp, cutting against his skin with a searing pain.
His face drained of colour. He'd been so focused on recovering that he hadn't detected any danger approaching from behind at all. If Ye Qinghan hadn't warned him, he might still not have realized what was happening.
Inwardly, he was profoundly shocked. Whatever this was, it had managed to get right up to him without being sensed — who on earth possessed such ability?
In that split second, Yang Kai surged his Source Power and launched himself into the air, crossing his arms before his chest.
BOOM…
A tremendous force slammed into him head-on, crashing into his crossed arms.
*Crack, crack, crack…* A series of grinding sounds rang out as bones shifted out of place.
Now Yang Kai was genuinely shocked.
His physical body was incomparably tough. Even a direct hit from an Emperor Realm master shouldn't have been enough to dislocate his bones, yet this unknown attacker had managed it.
"Dragon Transformation!" Yang Kai let out a fierce roar. A resonant dragon cry rang out as gleaming dragon scales erupted across his arms, covering them in an instant. Only then did he manage to halt that berserk force.
"This power…" Yang Kai's expression grew taut. He suddenly realized that this force striking him didn't feel quite right — it wasn't the Source Power he was familiar with. It was something else entirely, something he couldn't quite define.
He jerked his head up and flared his Divine Sense outward, wanting to see just who had the audacity to ambush him.
The moment he looked, Yang Kai drew a sharp breath.
Standing not far away was a pitch-black figure. For some reason, the figure exuded not the slightest hint of vitality, and its form wavered and shifted ceaselessly, as if the energy within was too turbulent to maintain a stable shape. Two crimson eyes gleamed from within the darkness, like those of a predator about to devour its prey, sending a chill down the spine of anyone who beheld them.
"!" Yang Kai's expression darkened. "Who are you!"
The figure showed no intention of answering. It merely tilted its head, regarded Yang Kai for a moment, then swung a fist and drove it toward him with brutal force.
Though it was a fist, the attack contained within its wind carried the sharpness of ten thousand blades, slicing through the surrounding space with a hissing crackle. The lethality was extraordinary.
Having already taken one hit, Yang Kai naturally wouldn't be careless again. His fingers danced in rapid succession, and a barrage of tiny spatial rifts slithered outward, transforming into a rain of needles that blanketed the black figure.
The figure seemed to sense the danger. Its form flickered, and it withdrew from the fray in a single motion before standing off to the side, head cocked as it watched Yang Kai.
Its reactions weren't actually all that swift — one might even say they were stiff and halting, giving the impression of something that hadn't moved in a very long time. Yet Yang Kai's instincts screamed that this was a formidable enemy.
*Bzzzz…* A strange hum suddenly emanated from within the black figure, and at the same moment, Yang Kai felt a searing heat erupt in his lower abdomen.
"What—!" Yang Kai's eyes went wide. He tapped his feet against the air repeatedly, drifting rapidly backward.
Even when facing a genuine Emperor Realm master, he wouldn't have retreated in such a panicked fashion. But right now, all he wanted was to put as much distance between himself and this figure as possible.
Because in that brief instant, the ancient demonic consciousness sealed away in his lower abdomen had been stirred by something, and was now writhing restlessly. Fortunately, the dual gold-and-silver sealing power of the Cang Tree was infinitely profound, suppressing it the moment it stirred. Otherwise, Yang Kai would surely have fallen into demonic madness once more.
This black figure… was connected to that ancient great demon? The thought burst into Yang Kai's mind, unbidden and almost too incredible to entertain, and his face turned deathly pale.
Though the surge of demonic consciousness in his abdomen had lasted only a heartbeat, the black figure had clearly noticed it. In an instant, killing intent surged from it like a tidal wave, and an indescribable aura of savagery erupted outward. Visible dark energy rippled outward in all directions.
"Demonic energy!" Yang Kai cried out in alarm.