"Big Cousin, don't leave! You're already here — what's the rush?" Yang Kai suddenly called out toward Wu Mengchuan's location with booming enthusiasm.
Wu Mengchuan stumbled, nearly tumbling out of midair.
He hastily wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and snarled, "Who's your big cousin?"
Yang Kai said solemnly, "Big Cousin, that's really not cool — running into your cousin here and pretending you don't know me? I'll tell your mother when I get the chance, and you'd better watch yourself, or she'll give you a beating."
Wu Mengchuan seethed. "Boy, shut your mouth!"
"He's your big cousin?" The armored youth stared at Yang Kai with a peculiar expression. "He doesn't look like one to me."
Yang Kai said, "That's just how he is!" Even as he spoke, he looked up at Wu Mengchuan and called out, "Big Cousin, some people here are trying to bully your cousin. Aren't you going to stand up for me or something?"
Wu Mengchuan's face darkened. "Boy, if you keep spouting garbage, don't blame me for getting rough!"
Yang Kai flew into a rage. "Everyone wants to get rough with me — do I look like someone you can push around? Believe it or not, I'll fly up there right now and beat you so hard your own mother won't recognize you!"
Hearing Yang Kai mouth off about his mother over and over, Wu Mengchuan was so furious he was practically steaming. But with five Emperor Realm cultivators gathered below, he didn't dare make a rash move. He simply sneered, "Come on up if you've got the guts! We'll see who beats who!"
"Just you wait!" After tossing out those words, Yang Kai immediately shot into the air. Mid-flight, he unleashed a sky full of fist shadows hurtling toward Wu Mengchuan.
"You've got some nerve, boy!" Wu Mengchuan roared in fury. He might have been wary of the five Emperor Realm cultivators below, but that didn't mean he was afraid of Yang Kai. Seeing Yang Kai attack without hesitation the moment he took to the air, he counterattacked immediately.
However, he couldn't be sure of Yang Kai's relationship with the five below, so he didn't dare go all out — mixing offense into a mostly defensive approach, using only half his strength.
In an instant, thunderous booms echoed through the sky as the two exchanged fists and feet, putting on a spectacular show. The scene looked impressive enough, but in reality, neither was using their true strength.
Suddenly, Yang Kai gave Wu Mengchuan a subtle wink.
Wu Mengchuan had no idea what Yang Kai meant, but after all his years of living, he'd grown old and crafty enough to catch on. While continuing to trade blows with Yang Kai, he cooperated in gradually shifting the battlefield outward.
Before long, the two had moved well beyond the sight of the five Emperor Realm cultivators. A short while after that, even their spiritual senses could no longer detect them.
"Hmph!" Yao Si gave a cold snort, his expression indifferent, and turned to fly back to where he had been.
Though Yang Kai had annoyed him earlier, with Yang Kai currently engaged in a fight, it wouldn't be appropriate to pursue and attack him. He could only leave it be.
Chi Gui gazed in the direction Yang Kai had vanished and chuckled softly. "That kid — he found himself a good excuse to leave."
The armored youth nodded. "The other man was probably someone he called for help. They put on that little performance so he could get away from here."
Wu Chang said nothing, but he clearly thought the same. No matter how tough Yang Kai had acted or how fiercely he'd shouted earlier — making it seem like he didn't care about anyone — the truth was he was merely at the Dao Source Realm. If he had actually clashed with Yao Si, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
This was a better outcome. Fighting that so-called big cousin while gradually retreating — even Yao Si, for the sake of his own dignity, couldn't do anything about it.
Still... such scheming. It was a little hard to respect.
Before long, the five Emperor Realm cultivators who had gathered here dispersed. And strangely enough, in the days that followed, they no longer encountered any dramatic drops in their Origin Power.
This only confirmed their suspicion that the earlier anomaly had been Yang Kai's doing.
...
Millions of miles from the Origin Sea. Upon a shattered star, two figures hovered in the void, facing each other across the distance.
One was tall and powerfully built, his gaze burning like a hungry wolf that had spotted its prey.
The other stood tall amid the wind, his robes billowing, his eyes bright and dazzling as stars.
These two were Wu Mengchuan and Yang Kai. They had retreated from the Origin Sea together, tacitly understanding each other while each harboring their own schemes, and had arrived at this uninhabited star.
"I never expected that in such a short time, you'd be able to cultivate to the third level of the Dao Source Realm!" Wu Mengchuan stared at Yang Kai in amazement, a hint of excitement in his voice. "The technique I taught you — it's not bad, is it?"
He assumed Yang Kai had achieved such cultivation in so little time thanks to the Heavengnawing Art. After all, the art was far too heaven-defying — as long as you could withstand the backlash, increasing your cultivation was almost easy.
"I'm naturally gifted, bright and brilliant — what does any of that have to do with your crummy technique?" Yang Kai curled his lip.
Wu Mengchuan chuckled. "I was once your Sect Master, and I saved your life. Is this how you talk to me?"
Yang Kai's face darkened. "If I recall correctly, I'm the one who saved your life."