Seized in a flash and then flung back, the girl didn't even have time to react as she hurtled straight toward the ground.
The group chasing after her saw this and their spirits soared. As they sprinted, they spread out, and by the time the girl hit the ground they had already surrounded her completely.
"You little wretch! Now let's see where you think you're running!" the large man at the front snarled through gritted teeth, his face twisted with murderous intent.
The rest of them chuckled coldly, and several even looked the girl up and down, their gazes sliding over her delicate, voluptuous figure, a flicker of something lecherous and hidden gleaming in their eyes.
Yang Kai observed their expressions, taking in every nuance, and his face turned cold in an instant.
This bunch… were no good!
The girl's expression was one of furious indignation. She bit down hard on her red lips, staring at the large men surrounding her with deep wariness, not daring to move. Her strength wasn't particularly impressive—only at the peak of the Separation-Union Realm. Now that she was surrounded, escape was out of the question.
Her large, watery eyes darted toward Yang Kai, and she shrieked, "You bastard! You shameless man! I curse you to die a horrible death, soul annihilated, struck down by heavenly lightning…"
If Yang Kai hadn't thrown her back, she would have charged into Medicine King Valley by now and been safe. At the thought of this, she felt both aggrieved and furious.
Yang Kai gave a light snort, turned, and walked away.
He knew full well this group of thugs was up to no good, but what the girl had done moments ago had irked him too, and he'd made up his mind to scare her a little.
Seeing him act so heartlessly, the girl felt ice flood through her entire body.
When the men surrounding her saw Yang Kai about to leave, they exchanged glances. Two of them silently slipped away and crept up behind Yang Kai with swords and blades in hand.
Whether or not these two were cousins, since they'd already been seen, there could be no survivors.
The girl was about to call out a warning when a sharp blade was already pressed against her neck. The cold touch made her swallow the words immediately.
The two men were both around the peak of the Separation-Union Realm, roughly the same level as the girl, and they moved swift as the wind. In moments they were behind Yang Kai, their weapons cutting through the air with a sinister gleam, thrusting straight for his vital points.
The girl couldn't help but cry out, her large eyes squeezing shut. Her long lashes trembled wildly. In that moment, she was filled with regret.
She really shouldn't have dragged this stranger into her mess. She'd only blurted out that cry in the desperation of being chased so closely. She never imagined it would bring this catastrophe upon him.
Yang Kai, who had been walking forward, seemed to have eyes on his back. Just before the weapons could reach him, his body swayed forward by a few feet, deftly evading both strikes.
He turned around and regarded the two men calmly, the corners of his mouth slowly curving upward into a strange smile.
The sudden turn of events made both men break out in cold sweat. They realized at once that this young man was no easy prey. With a roar, they surged their Yuan Qi and unleashed their killing moves at Yang Kai.
Two fist shadows exploded in midair, but before the men could even register what happened, a tremendous force sent them flying backward.
In midair, they both vomited blood without pause. By the time they hit the ground, they were already dead.
"Heh heh heh heh…" The Earth Demon let out a bizarre cackle as it struck. In the foreign land, it hadn't been able to accomplish much, but now that it was finally free, it was eager to show what it could do.
Black energy shot through the air, circled over the two corpses, and flew back out.
The lead thug saw his two subordinates killed in an instant, and his face changed dramatically. He held the sword against the girl's neck and barked, "Attack!"
The rest of the men swallowed hard, then roared in unison and charged ferociously at Yang Kai.
"Heh heh…" The Earth Demon struck again. Several of the men, rattled by this bizarre artifact, sent one person to contend with the Soul-Shattering Cone while the rest pressed on toward Yang Kai without slowing.
Bang bang bang…
Three muffled impacts. The large men who had just rushed up to Yang Kai were all sent flying backward involuntarily. Each one's chest had caved in like a collapsed structure.
Over the past year since entering the foreign land, the people who had fought Yang Kai were all elite disciples from various factions—forces large and small. Every single one of these elites had the ability to fight above their level, each capable of slaying enemies two, three, or even more minor stages above their own realm.
But even those elites had been utterly outmatched by Yang Kai. Even Wu Chengyi, the strongest among them, couldn't escape death.
How could these small fry possibly be his opponents?
One move per person—they didn't even have a chance to fight back. The weaker ones died on the spot, and the slightly stronger ones crumpled to the ground, completely stripped of their ability to fight.
The moment the three bodies hit the ground, the Earth Demon shamelessly abandoned its own opponent and swooped in to devour their souls instead.
That opponent hadn't even had time to flee before Yang Kai grabbed him, seized his head in both hands, and twisted hard.
A crisp crack rang out—the man's neck snapped cleanly, and his body went limp and collapsed.
Yang Kai tossed the corpse aside and strode toward the thug holding the girl, step by step, his true essence radiating outward, his robes billowing without wind. He looked every bit a terrifying god of slaughter.
The girl's mouth formed a perfect circle as she stared at Yang Kai in astonishment, never having imagined that this young man she'd dragged into her predicament was so terrifyingly powerful!