The Origin Force here was so thin that Yang Kai didn't think much of it. After all, he already possessed the complete Origin Force of the Dark Star. But these two had come blustering and acting supremely arrogant from the very first moment, which inevitably rubbed him the wrong way.
After a moment's thought, he held back his irritation and cupped his fists. "Friends, I have a few questions I'd like to ask. Would you be willing to answer?"
The one who had spoken first glanced at Yang Kai sideways and snorted coldly. "What about it?"
Yang Kai said, "You two were drawn here because the Star Mark on your bodies resonated with the Origin Force of this place, correct?"
The man gave Yang Kai a surprised look, then sneered, "And weren't you?"
Yang Kai grinned. "Of course I was."
So the Star Mark really could sense the Origin Force of stars. He had speculated about this before, but since no one had confirmed it, he hadn't dared be too certain. Now, having heard this man's words, Yang Kai understood immediately — the Star Mark on the back of his hand wasn't merely a token for entering the Shattered Star Sea. It seemed to have other uses as well.
The man grew irritated. "If you already knew, why ask? What's the point of pretending you don't know? Truly baffling!"
Yang Kai chuckled. "Just asking out of curiosity. No need to get so worked up, friend. Anger is bad for your health. By the way, do you know how long the Shattered Star Sea stays open once it activates?"
The moment these words left his mouth, both men exchanged a strange look, as though they had noticed something odd. One of them said, "It seems you know absolutely nothing about this place."
Yang Kai straightened his expression and cupped his fists. "Please enlighten me!"
He truly knew nothing about the Shattered Star Sea, and there was no point hiding that. Sure, he could figure things out on his own eventually, but intelligence gathered from others would always be faster.
These two didn't look like particularly friendly people, but that didn't stop Yang Kai from trying to extract information from them.
The other one burst into laughter. "Senior Brother, can you believe someone actually came to the Shattered Star Sea without knowing anything? Doesn't this fellow have any sect elders to teach him?"
He looked thoroughly amused, as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
Yang Kai's face turned cold. "So what if I don't have sect elders? Is that really that funny?"
The man's laughter faded. "Well, it's not exactly funny — it's just surprising that someone without sect backing could make it here."
"You still haven't answered my question," Yang Kai pressed.
"And what's in it for me if I do?" the man snorted.
Yang Kai said, "How about I hand over the Origin Force here to the two of you?" He paused, then added, "I was the first one here. If you answer my questions, I'll leave immediately. You can take all the Origin Force you want — I won't interfere."
The junior brother fumed. "The Origin Force that my senior brother and I have set our eyes on — who would dare try to snatch it? We hardly need you to do us any favors!"
But the senior brother waved his hand. "If you're being so generous, friend, then we'd be rude to refuse!"
The junior brother pursed his lips, his expression clearly displeased.
The senior brother continued, "Once the Shattered Star Sea opens, no one knows exactly when it will close. The duration isn't fixed. According to the records, every time the Shattered Star Sea opens, it stays open for a minimum of two years and a maximum of ten. And when it closes, there's no warning whatsoever. The moment this secret realm shuts down, every cultivator inside will be expelled — no matter where you are. Are you satisfied with that answer?"
"Not a fixed duration?" Yang Kai found this somewhat surprising, but it wasn't the first time he'd encountered such a situation, so he quickly accepted it.
Still, based on what this man had said, the Shattered Star Sea stayed open for at least two years each time it opened. In other words, he had at least a year left to train here. That wasn't bad at all.
After a brief silence, Yang Kai cupped his fists. "Thank you! I'll be on my way!"
He still had plenty of questions he wanted to ask, but these two weren't the type you could push too far. If he kept pressing, they might not give him truthful answers — and being deliberately misled would be worse than figuring things out on his own or waiting to run into someone he knew.
With that, Yang Kai turned and flew up into the air.
But in the very instant he turned his back, the senior brother who had been answering his questions suddenly flashed a sharp gleam in his eyes. His wrist twitched almost imperceptibly, and a beam of pitch-black light shot forth with a faint whistle, streaking toward Yang Kai's back in the blink of an eye.
Just as the dark beam was about to pierce through Yang Kai's chest, at the critical moment, he abruptly twisted his body, dodging the sneak attack by a hair's breadth.
The next instant, Yang Kai hovered in midair, his icy gaze sweeping down from above as he spoke flatly. "And what, exactly, is the meaning of this?"