"I don't care what your name is, and you don't need to try getting close to me!" Lan He said coldly.
Her impression of Yang Kai was terrible — he had snatched things from her not once but twice, so it would have been strange if she had any good feelings toward him. She wanted nothing to do with him, for fear that this fellow truly jinxed her and robbed her of treasures at every turn. Moreover, the way he skulked around in disguise, all furtive and suspicious, clearly indicated that he had provoked some powerful enemy and dared not show his face. For him to approach her now — there was no telling whether he might be trying to drag her down into his mess.
With someone like that, Lan He naturally wanted to keep her distance.
Yang Kai grinned: "Meeting is destiny, Miss Lan He. Why so cold?"
"Who has destiny with you? Get lost!" Finding Yang Kai so chattering and persistent, Lan He couldn't help but snap.
"Fine, fine!" Yang Kai, having failed to make any headway, felt too awkward to keep pestering her and stepped aside to quietly observe.
Truthfully, despite Lan He's hot temper, she seemed like a decent person. After all, Yang Kai had competed with her for treasures twice in a row. Although she had lost both times, she hadn't made a scene or resorted to underhanded tactics.
Other warriors might very well have tried to continue snatching after Yang Kai had already gotten his hands on something.
There were only a handful of Star Imprints, but the commotion here had drawn dozens of warriors. Those imprints were claimed in short order.
Yang Kai noticed that Yin Lesheng had indeed seized one of the Star Imprints, landing roughly two hundred zhang from where he stood. Beside Yin Lesheng were three other Yellow Springs Sect Disciples, their auras sinister and cold — they had clearly cultivated that sect's distinctive techniques.
No one else ventured near them, presumably because the chilling aura emanating from the group made everyone uncomfortable.
Just as Yang Kai was silently studying Yin Lesheng, the man seemed to sense something and turned his head, casting a glance in Yang Kai's direction, his gaze sharp and frigid.
Yang Kai subtly averted his eyes, a flicker of surprise passing through his heart.
Back when he had first encountered this man in the Starlight Passage, he had known Yin Lesheng to be the strongest warrior in the Great Desolate Star Field. Not only was he a Star Lord, but his aptitude was extraordinary as well. Seeing him again now, Yin Lesheng had clearly soared to new heights. The speed of his progress in Cultivation was no less impressive than Yang Kai's own.
That fellow had suffered a great loss in the Starlight Passage and bore a deep grudge against Yang Kai. If Little Xiao had truly fallen into his hands, there was no telling what mistreatment she might have endured. He needed to extract information about her whereabouts from Yin Lesheng as soon as possible.
While Yang Kai was deep in thought, hushed whispers spread through the air around him.
The gathered warriors were pointing at the bell-shaped mountain peak ahead, speculating about the origins of this Emperor Treasure. Unfortunately, the Battle of the Shattered Star Sea had occurred tens of thousands of years ago, and how much did today's young prodigies really know about events from that era? None of them could identify what this Artifact was or who had left it behind.
Yang Kai's gaze drifted around the crowd, but unfortunately he couldn't spot a single familiar face. Not one of the Southern Domain's elite was present — he had no idea where they had gone.
The Shattered Star Sea was vast beyond measure, filled with countless opportunities. Roughly ten thousand warriors had entered, but only a fraction had made it to this particular location. It was perfectly normal not to see the Southern Domain's elite here.
"Brother Qi Hai, among everyone present, you are the most learned and well-read, someone who has studied both the ancient and the modern. If you would be so kind, could you tell us something about this Emperor Treasure?" someone's voice suddenly rang out across the open space.
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look.
The speaker wore a pleasant smile and was gazing at a scholarly-looking man not far away.
Following his gaze, the crowd directed their attention to that scholar as well.
The scholar's expression was clearly displeased — he had no desire to draw attention to himself before so many people. Even if he did possess information about this Emperor Treasure, he certainly wouldn't want to share it with this crowd.
But the man who had spoken had deliberately raised his voice, and now every pair of eyes in the vicinity was fixed on the scholar with eager expectation. If he refused to speak, he would be seen as hoarding knowledge, quite possibly offending a great many people. With so many powerful figures staring him down, he had no choice but to talk.
Everyone here was shrewd enough to see that the scholar and the man who had proposed him were not on good terms. If they were truly friends, the latter wouldn't have put the scholar in such an awkward position.
Yet despite everyone being fully aware of this, not a single person criticized the speaker. Instead, they all looked at the scholar with anticipation, eager to hear his insights.
Under the gaze of the entire crowd, the scholar could only cast a resentful glare at the man who had first spoken and said flatly: "Learned and well-read — I wouldn't dare claim such honors. I merely idle away my time reading the occasional text. I'm hardly deserving of such praise."
The man smiled faintly: "Brother Qi Hai, you are too modest. Compared to your knowledge, mine is but a firefly daring to rival the bright moon. Please do share your wisdom with us!"
Before his words had even faded, a fierce-looking, heavyset man suddenly chimed in: "What exactly is this Emperor Treasure? How can it possibly wield such tremendous power!"