The red-clad girl was clearly the pampered young miss of some powerful force. Although her strength was considerable, her combat experience was pitifully lacking. In her fury, her attacks were completely unstructured—she merely thrashed her soft whip about wildly, failing to unleash even a fraction of her true power.
Zhang Ruoxi hadn't exactly been through countless battles either, but during those twenty-odd days in Purple Moon City, she had fought life-and-death duels on the arena stage every single day. Her experience naturally far surpassed that of the red-clad girl.
As a result, the moment the two clashed, the fight turned into a one-sided affair. The red-clad girl was thoroughly suppressed.
Bang, bang, bang…
Explosive impacts rang out in rapid succession. Zhang Ruoxi's two hands blurred into afterimages as they hammered toward the red-clad girl in a relentless barrage. Every strike forced her staggering backward, while her own attacks were effortlessly dodged.
Yet despite taking dozens of palm strikes in the span of a heartbeat, the red-clad girl wasn't injured in the slightest. The vicious aura around her body remained undiminished. It was simply that being beaten like this made her absolutely furious—she let out wild shrieks, her pretty face twisted in rage, looking as though she wanted to devour someone whole.
"A defensive Emperor Treasure!" Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, finally understanding why the red-clad girl remained unharmed.
Every time Zhang Ruoxi's palm connected, a faint glimmer of light would flash across the girl's body, neutralizing the attack completely without leaving a scratch.
Such extraordinary defensive power could only come from a defensive Emperor Treasure.
This red-clad girl was definitely wearing a treasure armor beneath her clothes!
Emperor Treasures were rare, and defensive Emperor Treasures were rarer still. To possess one for personal protection spoke volumes about this girl's background.
"Kill you, kill you, kill you…" Though unharmed, the red-clad girl was being pummeled into a wretched state, constantly retreating while screaming vicious threats.
But after trading blows for a while, she realized she was completely outmatched. She shrieked, "Elder Fu, why haven't you struck yet? Kill her!"
Elder Fu was suffering in silence. He had just been counterattacked by Yang Kai's spiritual force, and while the injury wasn't severe, he didn't dare make any rash moves under Yang Kai's watchful gaze. Hearing his young miss call out, he gritted his teeth and lunged toward Zhang Ruoxi.
But the moment his body began to move, Yang Kai flickered before him like a phantom. A light, almost casual palm drifted toward him, and Yang Kai said evenly, "Old man, the young girls are having their little scuffle—why don't you stay out of it? Bullying the young isn't exactly an admirable look."
"Hssss…" Elder Fu sucked in a sharp breath and retreated rapidly. Yang Kai's palm looked utterly ordinary, nothing special about it at all, yet he sensed a mortal danger radiating from it.
If that palm actually landed, he estimated he'd lose half his life on the spot.
Who the hell is this kid! How can he possess such terrifying strength? His eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. Even if he wanted to rescue his mistress, he was utterly powerless to do so.
Over by the wall, the old coachman was shielding the little girl called Xiao Ling'er, having long since retreated to the corner of the house. He held her tightly against his chest, his face white with terror as he watched the battle unfolding inside.
He had lived his entire life in the desolate city, but he was nothing more than a first-level Dao Source Realm martial artist. With little Ling'er to protect as well, the last thing he wanted was to attract trouble to himself.
Yet now, inside his own home, two young women were locked in a furious brawl while two Emperor Realm masters faced off against each other. The spectacle left him feeling dizzy and lightheaded.
Both parties seemed to come from enormously powerful backgrounds—not a single one was someone he could afford to offend. Though he was grateful to Yang Kai and Zhang Ruoxi for stepping in to help, he didn't dare make a sound. He could only pray inwardly that no one would end up dead.
Bang, bang, bang…
With both palms swinging, Zhang Ruoxi had driven the red-clad girl into the corner of the room. There was nowhere left to retreat. Every attack she launched was easily evaded, and she had become nothing more than a punching bag, forced to passively endure Zhang Ruoxi's barrage.
Fortunately, her defensive Emperor Treasure was extraordinarily powerful, and Zhang Ruoxi harbored no killing intent, so despite looking utterly wretched, there was no real danger to her life.
But being beaten like this—her face was completely lost. The red-clad girl's eyes were rimmed red with humiliation, unsure whether she was more angry or on the verge of tears.
"Junior! Tell your girl to stop immediately and apologize to my young miss, or you will all die for certain!" Elder Fu, restrained by Yang Kai and unable to rescue his mistress, could only clench his teeth and roar his threat.
"You dare threaten me?" Yang Kai snorted coldly, his gaze turning frigid as he fixed it on Elder Fu. The old man's heart shuddered, and he couldn't help swallowing hard.
Elder Fu forced himself to steady his nerves and bellowed, "Do you even know who my young miss is? She's—"
Before he could finish the sentence, Yang Kai turned his head and said, "Ruoxi, she's wearing a defensive Emperor Treasure. The way you're hitting her isn't going to do anything."
He must have employed some unknown power, because Elder Fu felt his mind buzz, and the words stuck in his throat—unable to come out.
"A defensive Emperor Treasure?" Zhang Ruoxi's eyes widened with sudden realization. No wonder her strikes had felt so strange, as if hitting a bundle of cotton. It turned out the girl had an Emperor Treasure protecting her, just like she did.
"Then what should I do?" Zhang Ruoxi took a step back and stood with her hands lowered.
The red-clad girl had been subjected to a furious assault. Though her heart burned with rage, her face had gone pale. Anyone who endured such a relentless pummeling would be shaken to their core, even with an Emperor Treasure for protection.