At the same time, the other three Blood Blade martial artists shifted their hand seals in rapid succession, their expressions grave.
Hum...
A strange, resonant sound suddenly emanated outward. The four of them surged with Source Power, their halos of light rising and falling in waves.
Yang Kai's expression changed. He realized that the power of these four had produced an enormous resonance at this very moment, their forces tightly linked to one another.
"Immovable... as a mountain!" The martial artist bearing the character for "Mountain," who had not spoken a single word until now, suddenly let out a deafening roar. His face flushed crimson as his palms slammed downward into the void. With a thunderous boom, a colossal phantom of a mountain peak actually materialized behind him, flickering once before vanishing into his body.
An invisible ripple spread outward from him at its center, transforming into a peculiar force that locked down a vast swath of heaven and earth.
He sat cross-legged in midair, closed his eyes, and became utterly still—like an ancient monk deep in meditation, hearing nothing, seeing nothing, moving not at all.
Boom...
Yang Kai's Million Sword descended at that same instant, but the martial artist bearing the character for "Wind," who stood directly in its path, simply curled the corner of his mouth into a mocking smile.
Clang...
The blade struck a mere three inches in front of the Wind martial artist. The razor-sharp sword energy sliced through the black hair on his forehead, even tearing a thin bloody line across his skin—yet it failed to deliver the killing blow Yang Kai had intended.
The Million Sword had been stopped cold by an invisible barrier.
"What the hell?!" Yang Kai's eyes narrowed as he stared in disbelief at the Wind martial artist. He had seen clearly—the other party had made absolutely no defensive move, yet had somehow deflected this lethal strike.
In the brief instant of Yang Kai's astonishment, the Wind martial artist was already thrusting a finger toward his chest. Wind and clouds churned around that fingertip, harboring immense power.
In haste, Yang Kai swung the sword sideways to block.
The finger struck dead center against the Million Sword's blade.
The next moment, Yang Kai's face drained of color. An enormous force surged forward, as though an entire mountain peak had slammed into him. His body hurtled backward involuntarily, his aura scattering into chaos.
Still tumbling through midair, a scarlet figure silently closed in. The martial artist bearing the character for "Fire" gripped his Blood Blade, stirring up a vortex of flames, and smashed it down toward Yang Kai from above.
"Young Master Yang, watch out!" Ye Qinghan's fair face went pale, and she cried out involuntarily.
Whoosh whoosh...
Wind whipped around the fire clouds. Two forces of differing attributes overlapped and merged in perfect harmony, instantly dyeing the entire sky a blazing crimson.
Yang Kai could feel the ferocity of this strike. His face had barely twisted in alarm before he tried to shift away—but with a sharp crack of thunder, the martial artist bearing the character for "Thunder" had appeared behind him as if from nowhere, slamming a palm into his back.
The blow landed flush. There was no dodging it. In an instant, thunderous energy surged and lightning danced wildly, like a horde of demons in frenzy. Yang Kai's body seized under the onslaught of lightning, and in that moment of paralysis, he was swallowed entirely by the fire clouds.
The coordination between these three—Wind, Thunder, and Fire—was nothing short of flawless. Their timing was impeccable, as though a single person had split into multiple bodies to strike simultaneously. In just two or three exchanges, Yang Kai had been driven into a seemingly inescapable predicament.
Ye Qinghan watched with a deathly pale face, her eyes trembling, staring at the place where the fire clouds burned. Over and over she asked herself: Is he dead? Is he dead already?
There was no denying it—Yang Kai was the most powerful Dao Source Realm martial artist she had ever encountered. His commanding presence, his unrestrained bearing, his unpredictable methods—all of it had filled her with admiration and yearning. She had quietly believed that Yang Kai was destined for greatness.
Yet a man like that had been struck down right before her eyes.
And so simply. Ye Qinghan simply could not believe it.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
The Wind, Thunder, and Fire martial artists materialized one after another, hovering side by side in midair, their cold gazes fixed on the scene below.
"Was headquarters really making too big a deal out of this? This kid wasn't all that impressive," the Fire martial artist snorted coldly, a trace of contempt in his voice.
The Wind martial artist's brows furrowed as he focused intently on detecting any movement within the fire clouds. At those words, he snapped angrily: "Your attack was far too heavy. Headquarters told us to capture him alive, not bring back a corpse. If he's really dead, how are we supposed to report back?"
The Fire martial artist's expression shifted slightly, as though he too had realized the severity of the situation—but he still refused to back down. "How was I supposed to know this kid couldn't even take a single hit? ...So what do we do now, then?"
The Wind martial artist gave a cold snort. "You created this mess, so you deal with it yourself. I'll be reporting the truth of what happened when we get back."
The Thunder artist frowned and said: "Enough, stop arguing. We haven't even confirmed whether he's dead or not. Maybe the kid has incredible luck and survived with just serious injuries. Fire Ghost—go down and check."
The Fire martial artist looked displeased at the order, but his figure flickered nonetheless as he plunged into the fire clouds to investigate.