Xiao Baiyi suddenly snorted coldly. "Flirting with a junior sister of our sect right in front of me — do you think I'm deaf... or blind?"
Yang Kai turned his head with a smile. "Xiao Bai, long time no see."
Xiao Baiyi's face darkened. "I told you, my name is Xiao Baiyi. Xiao! Bai! Yi! Not Xiao Bai!" Veins bulged at his temples, making it obvious that the nickname was a sore spot for him.
After a pause, he said with a grim expression, "I hear you've become a Disciple of the Divine Palace as well. You joined later than us, but on the Martial Dao, seniority is determined by attainment. If you don't want to call me by my full name, you can at least call me Brother Xiao Baiyi. Don't ever let me hear 'Xiao Bai' again!"
"Got it, Junior Brother Xiao Bai!" Yang Kai grinned broadly.
Xiao Baiyi's face instantly turned white with fury.
Murong Xiaoxiao covered her mouth and chuckled softly from the side. "Senior Brother Yang, did you come here because you received our transmission?"
"Transmission?" Yang Kai frowned, looking at her in confusion.
Murong Xiaoxiao asked, puzzled, "Senior Brother Yang didn't see it?"
Yang Kai replied, "I don't have your communication beads or communication compass. How would I be able to see—"
Halfway through, he suddenly remembered something and quickly retrieved an object from his spatial ring.
It was a golden token — the Green Sun Gold Token that Gao Xueting had given him back in Maple Forest City. Possessing such a token marked one as an elite Disciple of the Green Sun Divine Palace. Among the entire Green Sun Divine Palace, only a scant handful of Disciples held tokens like this one.
The thing was, Yang Kai had never used the token after receiving it, nor had he ever had the opportunity.
He sent a wisp of spiritual sense into it, and only then did he understand what Murong Xiaoxiao meant.
The Green Sun Gold Token could actually serve the same function as a communication compass, allowing Disciples to exchange messages with one another. At this moment, there was a residual message inside the token — Murong Xiaoxiao's plea for help, sent not long ago.
Murong Xiaoxiao could tell from his expression that this was the first time he'd learned about this. She smiled. "Senior Brother Yang should check the messages inside the Gold Token more often from now on. You never know when you might find a message left by a fellow sect member."
"Understood." Yang Kai nodded and put the Green Sun Gold Token away.
He hadn't caught Murong Xiaoxiao's message in time, but he'd stumbled here by a twist of fate and ended up saving her and Xiao Baiyi.
"Where's Xia Sheng? I don't see him anywhere." Yang Kai glanced around, confused.
If Xiao Baiyi and Murong Xiaoxiao had found their way together, there was no reason Xia Sheng wouldn't be here too. Yet there was no trace of him, and no telling where he'd gone.
Xiao Baiyi said, "Eldest Senior Brother separated from us two months ago. He said he needed to find a place to prepare for his breakthrough."
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Xia Sheng is going to advance to the Emperor Realm?"
Murong Xiaoxiao looked worried. "Yes. His cultivation has long since reached the peak of the Dao Source Realm. He's just been stuck without the right opportunity. This time, coming to the Shattered Star Sea finally triggered his potential, so he hurried off to prepare."
"Then why didn't you go with him?" Yang Kai frowned.
If Xia Sheng was attempting to break through to the Emperor Realm, someone should be standing guard nearby. If he were ambushed, he'd have no way to fight back.
Xiao Baiyi sighed. "He wouldn't allow it. We tried following him in secret for a few days, but he gave us the slip with a little trick."
"Gave you the slip..." Yang Kai could only deadpan at that. But knowing Xia Sheng's personality, he could absolutely see him pulling something like that.
It seemed Xia Sheng wasn't all that confident in his breakthrough. If he truly had strong odds, he wouldn't have snuck off alone to prepare. And he definitely wouldn't have shaken off his junior brother and sister.
The reason was precisely that he lacked confidence. He was afraid he might perish under the baptism of heavenly energy, and he didn't want Xiao Baiyi and Murong Xiaoxiao to witness it and develop a psychological block.
Both Xiao Baiyi and Murong Xiaoxiao were at the third level of the Dao Source Realm. If they were traumatized by watching Xia Sheng fail, they might never be able to break through in the future.
Yang Kai realized this, and Xiao Baiyi and Murong Xiaoxiao had clearly reached the same conclusion. Both of them wore anxious expressions, their hearts heavy with unease.
Seeing this, Yang Kai quickly offered some comfort. "Xia Sheng has a solid foundation. His advancement shouldn't be a problem. I've already encountered others who succeeded on my way here. If they can do it, Xia Sheng certainly can. You two shouldn't worry too much."
"Let's hope so." Xiao Baiyi knew there was nothing he could do at this point. All he could do was pray that Xia Sheng would be spared by fortune.
"Senior Brother Yang, you came here looking for a place to refine an Origin, didn't you?" Murong Xiaoxiao asked.
"That's right. I happened to pass through and noticed something unusual here, so I came to take a look."
Murong Xiaoxiao smiled. "This is the legendary Origin Sea. Having found this place, there's no need to look anywhere else for Origins. Senior Brother Yang, why don't you stay here and absorb Origins alongside Senior Brother Xiao? There's just enough room here for two people."