"You little brat, you're skilled in the power of space — I truly have no confidence in keeping you here." Qiu Ze's face was grim as he stared at Yang Kai. Their earlier exchange had made it clear that Yang Kai's strength was in no way inferior to his own, perhaps even marginally superior. Factor in the boy's mastery of spatial power, and Qiu Ze genuinely had no assurance he could make Yang Kai stay.
In other words, Yang Kai could leave whenever he pleased, and Qiu Ze, no matter how much he seethed, could only glare helplessly.
But the truth was, Yang Kai hadn't left. He had far too many friends here and couldn't very well flee alone. This was precisely why Qiu Ze wasn't panicking. He merely let out a cold laugh. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you. But these people… heh heh…"
He didn't elaborate, but the threat was unmistakable.
"Old dog Qiu Ze, you truly have no shame!" Ye Hen roared.
Qiu Ze remained unmoved, simply fixing his gaze on Yang Kai. "Think it through carefully, boy. Will you flee on your own, or will you stay and share their fate?"
Though he posed the question this way, he was actually terrified that Yang Kai might disregard everyone else's lives and slip away alone. If that happened, he'd spend the rest of his days living on edge. Yang Kai was already this powerful at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm — if he ever ascended to the Emperor Realm, how could Tianzhao Palace possibly withstand him?
An enemy like this either had to be left entirely alone or rooted out completely. Half-measures would only breed endless trouble down the line.
Qiu Ze was gambling — gambling that Yang Kai wouldn't abandon these people, and he was fairly confident the boy wouldn't cut and run. As long as Yang Kai stayed put, everything would be manageable. He had so many powerful subordinates gathered here — what was there to fear? Even if it cost him something today, Yang Kai had to die here and now.
Ruan Hongbo and the others had clearly reached the same conclusion as Qiu Ze, so despite their grim expressions, none of them retreated. Killing intent surged as they all fixed their eyes on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai stood atop the formation base platform and slowly swept his gaze around, as though committing to memory every person who had come to make things difficult for him. Every warrior caught beneath his stare saw their complexion change dramatically, quickly averting their eyes in sheer terror.
"Very well. You brought this on yourselves — I hope you won't regret it!" Yang Kai bared his teeth in a fierce grin. A bracelet-shaped artifact suddenly appeared in his hand, radiating waves of dense, overwhelming energy. That alone would have been alarming enough, but what truly froze every heart was the faint yet unmistakable imperial aura and intent that permeated the air the instant the bracelet materialized.
"An Emperor Artifact!" Qiu Ze's pupils contracted, his eyes blazing with greed.
Everyone else wore expressions of utter disbelief, their eyes going wide.
The Million Swords in Yang Kai's possession were undoubtedly an Emperor Artifact — they had all learned that lesson the hard way. For a Dao Source Realm cultivator to possess a single Emperor Artifact was already staggering, yet here he was producing a second one.
What in the world was this kid's background? How could he possibly have so many Emperor Artifacts on hand?
Qiu Ze was simultaneously terrified and so jealous it made his eyes redden. He had scraped his way into the Emperor Realm only to find himself without a single Emperor Artifact to wield, while Yang Kai, merely at the Dao Source Realm, flaunted two of them. How could he not feel a searing mix of envy, resentment, and hatred?
In that moment, Qiu Ze couldn't even be bothered to speculate about what powerful force might stand behind Yang Kai. All he could think about was killing Yang Kai as quickly as possible and seizing both Emperor Artifacts. With his current cultivation, if he could harness those two artifacts, his strength would skyrocket.
"Attack!" Qiu Ze bellowed, being the first to charge at Yang Kai.
The others saw this and dared not hesitate any longer, surging forward in a wave.
Ye Hen's group felt their faces go deathly pale, certain they were doomed this time. Even Hua Qingsi's delicate features were taut with gravity. But Yang Kai hadn't told them to retreat into the Secret Realm. Hua Qingsi knew he must have his own plans, so she fixed her beautiful eyes on him, wanting to see what trump card he could possibly play to withstand the onslaught of so many powerful foes.
They watched as Yang Kai slapped his hand against the bracelet. The next instant, a massive swarm of black objects shot out from within, accompanied by a ceaseless droning hum — as though the bracelet had opened some invisible rift and released countless dark creatures into the world. In the blink of an eye, the formation base platform was completely shrouded in black, not a gap left unsealed.
"…Insects?" Hua Qingsi gasped, finally making out what these black things actually were.
They were tiny black bugs, each roughly the size of a grain of rice, so numerous they were beyond counting. They had coalesced into a living cloud, forming a barrier that encircled the group. From these insects, Hua Qingsi could clearly sense a faint aura that made her deeply uncomfortable.
It bore a striking resemblance to the aura of that ancient demon they had encountered outside of Maple Leaf City.
The discovery sent a jolt of alarm through Hua Qingsi. She immediately understood that these insects were far from ordinary. Whatever they actually were, the fact that they carried the aura of ancient demonic energy meant they were not to be trifled with.
The insect cloud appeared in a flash, buzzing in unison, forming an impenetrable wall of copper and iron around the platform. Qiu Ze and the others launched their attacks simultaneously — a barrage of secret techniques and artifact strikes hammered into the cloud, sending countless black bugs tumbling to the ground, spinning wildly.
Qiu Ze's tense expression eased at once. He had been on guard, wary of Yang Kai deploying some terrifying trump card, but seeing that these peculiar insects were so easily knocked about, his heart immediately settled. It seemed Yang Kai was running out of tricks.
Qiu Ze's spirits soared, and he was about to unleash his ultimate technique to shatter the insect cloud's defense when a primal sense of unease stirred within him.
He hurriedly looked down at the bugs on the ground. Every single black insect that had been swept aside was completely unscathed — they simply gave their wings a gentle flutter and sprang back to life, good as new. Not only that, but as though provoked by the attack, every last one of them had begun radiating an aura of violent, savage fury, lunging at the nearby warriors to bite and claw.