"Space Force!" Pang Guang's eyes narrowed as he stared at Yang Kai in horror.
That burst of peculiar energy was definitely the fluctuation of space power — and it was an incredibly profound level of space force at that.
This kid actually understood space force? He could even teleport others away directly? How could a Dao Source Realm cultivator possibly attain such mastery?
Before Pang Guang could fully process this, Yang Kai had already unleashed a torrent of sword light from his Million Sword toward him. This strike carried the full weight of Yang Kai's lifelong cultivation. Even someone at the Emperor Sovereign Realm like Pang Guang couldn't help but have his expression change drastically. He raised a hand, and a jade butterfly-shaped defensive Artifact materialized before him.
BOOM...
A tremendous roar erupted. The already tottering cave dwelling's restrictions finally crumbled entirely under this blow. Without the protective formation arrays to contain it, violent energy surged outward in every direction, and Yang Kai's cave dwelling was reduced to flat ground in an instant.
Whoosh whoosh...
Two figures shot out from the wreckage of the cave dwelling one after another, facing each other across the open air.
Pang Guang's eyes were bloodshot with rage as he snarled, "You dare play me, brat!"
Yang Kai had chosen to swallow the Heaven-Mending Lotus whole like a cow chewing on peonies rather than hand it over, and this realization cut Pang Guang to the core.
Yang Kai scoffed dismissively. "So what if I played you? Come fight me if you've got the guts!"
"I'll tear you apart!" Pang Guang bellowed.
Yang Kai flicked his hair back, standing motionless in midair, completely unconcerned by the threat. With a carefree air, he said, "City Lord Pang, I'd worry about your own situation first, if I were you."
At those words, Pang Guang's face changed dramatically. He whipped his head around to scan the surroundings, and his heart immediately sank.
Previously, while hiding inside Yang Kai's cave dwelling, no one had been able to find him. But after this clash with Yang Kai, the massive disturbance had already alerted every cultivator in all of Heaven Spire City.
Cultivators from the surrounding cave dwellings had all come out to investigate, and countless more were converging from every direction in the distance.
Among them, two auras in particular filled Pang Guang with deep wariness. These were the very two who had teamed up to injure him before, forcing him to flee into Yang Kai's cave dwelling to recover. Now sensing that they were approaching as well, Pang Guang had no intention of lingering. He shot Yang Kai one vicious glare, spun around, and fled toward the outskirts of the city.
Not long after Pang Guang left, Yang Kai's cave dwelling was surrounded three layers deep by cultivators, all pointing and murmuring, having no idea what had happened here to cause such an uproar.
Two soft sounds rang out as a pair of figures descended from the sky. Both wore expressions of stern authority that made it difficult to meet their gaze. The powerful fluctuations of their auras revealed that both were at the first level of the Emperor Sovereign Realm.
Yang Kai grew inwardly cautious, sweeping his gaze over the pair.
From the whispers of those nearby, he learned that one was the Master of Mysterious Cloud Pavilion and the other the head of the Ease Society. These two organizations wielded considerable influence on the island, primarily because they had Emperor Sovereign cultivators backing them.
These two had evidently sensed Pang Guang's aura and rushed over in a hurry. Observing their expressions, Yang Kai noticed faint signs of hidden injuries on both — likely the result of their earlier battle against Pang Guang, which had clearly not ended without cost.
"Where is he?" The Master of Mysterious Cloud Pavilion swept his gaze around and immediately locked onto Yang Kai, asking in a deep voice.
Yang Kai quickly pointed in the direction Pang Guang had fled. "He ran that way, my lords! You have to seek justice for me! That thief was hiding in my dwelling, and when I wasn't looking..."
Before Yang Kai could even finish, the two Emperor Sovereign Realm cultivators had already departed at breakneck speed. Seeking justice for Yang Kai held absolutely no interest for them. What they cared about were the cultivation resources Pang Guang carried on him. If not for that reason, even together they would have preferred not to provoke a confrontation with an Emperor Sovereign Realm cultivator.
Only after the two had vanished did Yang Kai turn, descend to the ground, grab Liu Qianyun, and hiss, "We need to go — now!"
Such a massive disturbance — and his cave dwelling destroyed at that — the City Lord's Manor would certainly send people to investigate. If he were questioned, there were too many things he couldn't explain.
Why would an Emperor Sovereign Realm cultivator be hiding in your dwelling? How had you survived an ambush from an Emperor Sovereign? Yang Kai had no desire to explain these matters, nor could he.
All he could do now was leave this trouble spot as quickly as possible.
Sure enough, less than thirty breaths after Yang Kai departed, powerful experts from the City Lord's Manor arrived at the scene in a rush. After questioning everyone around, they couldn't determine who owned the destroyed dwelling and had no choice but to leave.
Ice Heart Pavilion — Yang Kai brought Liu Qianyun here as quickly as possible and walked straight in.
"Oh, Alchemist Yang!" Fan Xin spotted Yang Kai and came over with a delighted expression, smiling. "You've finished your business?"
"Mm, thank you for your concern." Yang Kai nodded with a smile.
Fan Xin was about to say something else when her expression suddenly changed. "Alchemist Yang, you're injured!"
Earlier, when Pang Guang had ambushed him, Yang Kai had managed to escape by a narrow margin, but he'd still taken a considerable hit. He looked quite disheveled now.