This battle had been won far too suspiciously.
He had clearly felt his attacks being deflected by the Rakshasa to some extent, and the remaining force was nowhere near enough to kill her. Besides, while there were fragments of torn clothing scattered across the stage, there wasn't a single drop of blood.
Even if she had really been blasted to pieces by him, there should at least be some blood and traces of bone and flesh, right?
But in truth, nothing remained.
That girl isn't dead! Gu Shan was certain of it.
But if she wasn't dead, where was she? Could it really be as those people in the stands were saying—she was hiding somewhere, preparing to ambush him? At that thought, Gu Shan's expression changed. He hurriedly scanned his surroundings but found not the slightest trace of the Rakshasa hiding nearby.
It was only after a long while, when the Rakshasa still hadn't reappeared, that Gu Shan accepted the cheers of his victory with a bewildered look on his face.
...
Over ten thousand li beyond Ziyue City, on a wooden flying boat, Yang Kai raced through the sky with Zhang Ruoxi, moving swift as lightning.
After exchanging that final blow with Gu Shan, Yang Kai had slipped into the arena and spirited Zhang Ruoxi away.
The outcome was already decided—there was no need to continue fighting. Gu Shan was at the end of his rope, while Zhang Ruoxi was largely unharmed. All it would take was for Zhang Ruoxi to close in on Gu Shan, and she could easily toss him off the stage.
As an Emperor Sovereign Realm cultivator, combined with his spatial techniques, the martial artists of Ziyue City lacked both the strength and the insight to detect any of his movements. This created the illusion that Zhang Ruoxi had been blown to smithereens.
After Yang Kai pulled her out, the fierce and violent aura that had been radiating from Zhang Ruoxi instantly withdrew, and she became docile once more. She stood quietly on the wooden boat, casting timid glances at Yang Kai's back, afraid that he might be angry over her reckless behavior these past days.
She didn't understand what had come over her. Never having fought anyone before, once she set foot on the stage, her blood had begun to boil. Every twinge of pain, every drop of blood she shed brought her an inexplicable sense of satisfaction. It was as though fighting someone to the death was the thing she enjoyed most.
Every time she returned from the arena, she would be overcome with remorse, telling herself she shouldn't be like this—wasn't it perfectly fine to simply follow behind the Master? Why did she have to go around fighting people? She admonished herself, swearing she would never go to the Ascending Dragon Platform again.
But come the next day, that restless stirring in her heart would drive her forward of its own accord, and she would make her way to the arena under the guise of the Rakshasa. She would accept challenge after challenge, sending every opponent crashing off the stage, savoring the thrill of combat. Winning or losing was never what she cared about—she loved only the process itself.
She was a little frightened of herself, as if some devil were sealed within her body.
"Do you like using swords?" Yang Kai suddenly asked without turning his head.
"Huh?" Zhang Ruoxi flinched, startled by the question, but quickly recovered. "I... I'm not sure."
Yang Kai said, "I noticed that when you were fighting Gu Shan, you really enjoyed using finger-sword techniques. And there's an extremely strong sword intent about you." He paused for a moment. "Have you used a sword-shaped artifact before?"
"No." Zhang Ruoxi shook her head slowly, her voice quiet. "I've never used an artifact."
"That's strange." A look of suspicion crossed Yang Kai's face. Though Zhang Ruoxi's finger-sword technique was still unrefined, its power was immense, and the sword intent that enveloped her was no illusion. Only a martial artist who had immersed themselves in the way of the sword for many years could project such presence.
Among all the powerful cultivators Yang Kai had encountered, the one with the strongest sword intent was Chen Wenhao of the Tianwu Sacred Land. He possessed an Emperor Treasure called the Water Flow Sword. Those Three Thousand Sword Paths still brought a lingering sense of awe whenever Yang Kai recalled them.
Yang Kai occasionally used a sword himself—Million Swords was a broad-bladed sword—but this was not his area of expertise. The techniques he deployed were all secret arts that belonged to Million Swords itself, not even a fraction as refined as Chen Wenhao's mastery.
Yet Zhang Ruoxi's sword intent was entirely natural, fierce and lethal to the extreme. She was like an uncut piece of jade—if he could unlock the full extent of her potential, the brilliance she would shine would be truly staggering.
Suddenly, Yang Kai recalled something.
When Zhang Ruoxi had broken through to her major realm, a colossal woman's silhouette had appeared behind her more than once. He didn't know who or what that woman was, but every time she opened her mouth, she would swallow the heavenly phenomena of Zhang Ruoxi's breakthrough whole, making the advancement effortless.
And when that woman appeared, she stood with both hands resting on the hilt of an enormous broadsword—a sight that was truly awe-inspiring.
Perhaps the reason Zhang Ruoxi possessed such strong sword intent and unconsciously used finger-sword techniques in combat was connected to that phantom?
It was merely a guess, but Yang Kai felt it was quite possible.
Since Zhang Ruoxi liked using swords, Yang Kai thought he could give her Million Swords to refine and wield.
The phantom of that colossal woman had held a broad-bladed sword, and Million Swords was of the same type—Zhang Ruoxi would likely take to it.
However... Million Swords wasn't truly Yang Kai's possession. It was an heirloom of the Qin Family of Fenglin City. When Old Master Qin had entrusted it to Yang Kai, he had been very clear—he was to look after it until the day Qin Yu advanced to the Emperor Sovereign Realm, at which point Yang Kai was to return the sword.
So after much deliberation, Yang Kai dismissed the thought. Taking something that belonged to someone else and giving it to yet another person was never a good look.
It seemed he would need to seek out a broad-bladed Emperor Treasure of his own. The companions who followed him—Liu Yan had obtained the Extinction Thunder Pearl, Hua Qingsi had received the Five-Colored Spear, and even his Dharma Body wielded the Demon Weapon War Hammer. Every one of them was an Emperor Treasure.
Yang Kai certainly couldn't show favoritism.