"How is that dirty girl being sick any of my business? My time is far too valuable to waste — not for a few days, not even for a single moment. I'm asking you one last time: are you going to lead the way or not?" The red-clad girl snorted coldly, utterly unmoved.
Old Bantou begged desperately, "Just two days — this old man only needs two days! After that, I will absolutely escort the young lady safely into the ancient ruins!"
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit — you old fool is courting death!" The red-clad girl shrieked, her mood clearly sour to the breaking point. With a flick of her wrist, the soft whip screamed through the air toward Old Bantou.
The red-clad girl's cultivation was no trifling matter — like Zhang Ruoxi, she stood at the Dao Source Realm, Third Level. A lash thrown in such fury carried a shocking aura, threaded with the faint rumble of wind and thunder; no one knew what secret technique she had employed.
If that whip connected, with Old Bantou's mere Dao Source Realm, First Level cultivation, he would have no power to resist at all. He would likely be beaten half to death in a single blow.
But the whip had only reached the midpoint of its arc when a hand seized it. The grip did not appear to use much strength, yet it held the whip so firmly she could not budge it an inch.
The red-clad girl flew into a rage and whirled around to see a girl roughly her own age standing behind her, having appeared at some unknown moment, glaring at her with righteous fury.
The one who had caught the whip was naturally Zhang Ruoxi. Despite the brutal aura and vicious methods the Zhang family girl displayed in combat, she was in truth a gentle, naive young girl with a kind heart. Seeing such an outrage unfold before her eyes, she simply could not stand by. Without waiting for Yang Kai to speak, she had stepped forward and intervened.
"If you have something to say, say it — how can you just hit people!" Zhang Ruoxi cried out indignantly.
The red-clad girl's brow furrowed, and fury blazed in her eyes. "Who are you, little girl? How dare you meddle in my affairs!"
Zhang Ruoxi snorted coldly. "Calling someone else a little girl when you're one yourself — no matter what, hitting people is wrong. Didn't this elder just ask you for two days' grace? Can't you see that this little girl is sick?"
"You dare talk back to me?!" The red-clad girl erupted like a volcano, flames of rage seeming to engulf her entire body. She shrieked, "Believe it or not, I'll kill you!"
As she spoke, she yanked hard on the whip, trying to wrench her weapon free. But no matter how much strength she poured into the effort, the soft whip remained locked in Zhang Ruoxi's grasp.
Zhang Ruoxi's small hand looked as though it were carved from jade and sculpted from porcelain, seemingly applying no great force at all. Yet it clamped onto the whip with an iron grip that refused to yield.
The red-clad girl's expression shifted slightly. She was beginning to realize that Zhang Ruoxi was not someone to be trifled with. Although both she and Zhang Ruoxi were at the Dao Source Realm, Third Level, the red-clad girl clearly possessed little more than raw cultivation — she had almost no real combat experience.
After several fruitless attempts to reclaim her whip, her small face flushed crimson. She stamped her foot in frustration and screamed, "Elder Fu, why haven't you moved yet? Your young lady is being bullied! If you don't act now, when I get back and report this to my father, he'll break both your legs! And those two useless guards — how did they let someone waltz in without even stopping them? When I get to them, I'll rip out their souls and refine them into soul slaves!"
She gnashed her teeth and shouted for a good while, but Elder Fu still did not make a move.
It was not that Elder Fu did not want to act — he simply could not.
He had noticed Yang Kai and Zhang Ruoxi the moment they burst in, but had not paid them much mind. After all, both of them looked quite young; even if they had some skill, it could not amount to much.
When Zhang Ruoxi had lunged to grab his young lady's whip, he had been about to intervene. But the instant his eyes met Yang Kai's, his heart lurched violently. His mind went blank for a split second, and he was unable to act in time.
And after that, he and Yang Kai simply stood there, staring each other down for what felt like an eternity.
A storm of shock was raging inside Elder Fu, because he had just realized that the young man before him was a genuine Emperor Realm cultivator!
At such an age, already at the Emperor Realm — was this some prodigy from one of the great powers? Or had he obtained an extraordinary fortune within the Shattered Star Sea?
In recent times, a great many rising stars across the Star Realm had broken through to the Emperor Realm in rapid succession, like bamboo shoots after rain. It was hardly a secret. In Elder Fu's estimation, Yang Kai was simply one more member of that new wave.
Even so, despite his shock, he did not take Yang Kai all that seriously. After all, in all the world, there were very few people who dared to provoke his young lady, and Yang Kai was certainly not among them.
So after the red-clad girl had urged him again and again, he finally made his move.
A sharp gleam erupted from his eyes, transforming into an invisible force that lanced toward Yang Kai's mind like a keen blade.
"Soul attack!" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
He and this Elder Fu were both at the Emperor Realm, First Level — their cultivation was evenly matched. For the other party to open with a soul attack unless he possessed tremendous confidence in his spiritual sense was simply too reckless. If Yang Kai's soul happened to be stronger, the backlash could be devastating.
Judging from the force of the attack, Elder Fu's soul was indeed formidable — surpassing the typical Emperor Realm, First Level cultivator and barely comparable to a Second Level Emperor. That was likely the source of his confidence.