What truly set
Wu Ming's body froze in place. Even the Emperor Yuan within his meridians ceased to flow properly.
*Crack—*
A crisp sound rang out. Wu Ming's head snapped to one side, his cheek blazing with pain, his mouth filling with the coppery taste of blood.
Every Emperor Realm cultivator who had come to attend the auction stared wide-eyed in shock at the spectacle.
Wu Ming was a second-level Emperor Realm cultivator—yet he had just been slapped across the face in full view of the crowd. How impossibly arrogant was this young man called Yang Kai? Did he truly believe that having a Demon King at his back meant he could do whatever he pleased?
"You dare—" Wu Ming clenched his fists, jaw grinding as he snarled at Yang Kai, resembling a beast driven to a frenzy.
Before he could finish, a palm filled his vision, swelling larger at terrifying speed. It cracked across his opposite cheek with a resounding slap, and several teeth went flying.
Wu Ming's head spun, his thoughts muddled—from fury and from the beating alike. He was, after all, a second-level Emperor Realm powerhouse and a Steward of the Star God Palace. He had always stood above others. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined suffering such humiliation in this piddling city of Liuying.
Blinded by rage, he frantically drove his Emperor Yuan, managing to partially break free of
"You still dare shout? Get over here!" Yang Kai's expression turned cold. He opened his hand, and with the laws of space rippling outward, Wu Ming was horrified to find his body moving against his will, stumbling forward of its own accord toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai swung his fist and slammed it into Wu Ming's face, smashing it into a bloody mess. That wasn't the end—Yang Kai leapt high into the air, bent one elbow, and drove it savagely into Wu Ming's back.
Violent force poured through the impact. Wu Ming coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed face-first onto the ground.
What followed was a rainstorm of fists and kicks.
The warriors standing around had all gone dumbstruck. They watched in stunned silence.
They could only see this young man named Yang Kai pummeling Wu Ming into the ground like some street brawler, hammering away with his fists while cursing nonstop, his arrogance reaching a truly staggering peak. Wu Ming, for his part, tried to fight back several times, but every time he gathered his strength it was beaten apart before it could take shape. After a few attempts, he seemed to realize he was simply a fish on the chopping board. Without a shred of dignity, he covered his head with his arms and curled up, letting Yang Kai have his way with him.
Never before had anyone witnessed an Emperor Realm cultivator brawl like this. The crowd clicked their tongues in amazement, their hearts still trembling with unease.
Before long, Wu Ming had been beaten beyond recognition—his face a swollen, bloody ruin, barely even human anymore. It was only thanks to his considerable cultivation that he had survived Yang Kai's outburst at all. Any lesser cultivator would have been dead long ago.
Yang Kai panted for breath, then kicked him a few more times before finally stopping. He turned to look at
Ye Hen smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Young Master Yang need only do as he sees fit."
He knew Yang Kai was venting anger on behalf of the Thousand Leaf Sect. With Wu Ming beaten into the ground and utterly powerless, Ye Hen could certainly step forward to collect a few blows of his own. But piggybacking on someone else's strength to bully a helpless opponent—what kind of behavior was that?
Yang Kai gave a slight nod and didn't press the matter. He bent down, seized Wu Ming by the hair, and hauled him upright. Leaning in until their faces were nearly touching, he spoke in a cold, low voice: "This young master knows there are people behind you. Tell whoever is pulling your strings that if even a single hair on my friends is touched, I'll pull his bones out one by one and brew them into wine."
Wu Ming let out a rattling laugh. His face was a ghastly sight as he replied, "That depends on whether you have the sense to cooperate."
Yang Kai stared at him evenly. "You're looking to die."
A violent shudder ran through Wu Ming's body. A chill surged from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head, turning his hands and feet ice-cold and setting every hair on end. He had believed himself to hold leverage, enough to make Yang Kai hesitate. He had never imagined this man would act with such brazen, unbridled recklessness.
He wanted to kill him—he genuinely wanted to kill him. The killing intent was concealed, but it still pierced into Wu Ming's heart like a blade, leaving him as silent and fearful as a cicada in winter.
He had not the slightest doubt that if he provoked Yang Kai one more time, the very next moment he would become a corpse.
"I can grant you that, you know." Yang Kai bared his teeth in a grin. "I've always been a soft-hearted person. Beg me, and I'll give you a quick end right away."
Wu Ming clamped his mouth shut, not daring to speak.
Yang Kai snorted coldly and tossed him aside like a piece of garbage.
When Wu Ming hit the ground, he saw that Yang Kai had already led his companions through the auction hall's entrance in great strides.
*You little bastard—just you wait. You think you can treat me this way just because you have a Demon King guarding your back? Today's humiliation will be repaid a hundredfold, a thousandfold!*
As though he could already envision Yang Kai kneeling and begging for mercy, Wu Ming felt a surge of pleasure and couldn't stop sneering. The Emperor Realm cultivators who had come to attend the auction kept casting sidelong glances at him, wondering whether Wu Ming had been beaten senseless.
The auction hall was designed in a terraced well formation, each tier spiraling upward, spacious enough to seat over a thousand without feeling crowded. Looking up, one could see fierce and fearsome beasts carved into the oval canopy above, giving the entire hall the appearance of a monstrous creature with its maw agape, swallowing every warrior who entered.
Yang Kai's group was led by an attractive maidservant into a private box near the very top of the hall. Standing inside and looking down, one was struck by the lofty feeling of surveying lesser peaks from the summit—everything within the entire venue was clearly visible below.
The maidservant had witnessed Yang Kai's display of overwhelming force at the entrance, and she was now visibly shaken, barely daring to draw a full breath. After leading Yang Kai and his companions inside, she said with a pale face, "Please wait here, esteemed guests. The auction will begin momentarily."
Though she was only a lowly maidservant, even she sensed that these people had come with the intention of causing trouble. The moment she finished speaking, she fled the box as though her life depended on it.
One by one, Emperor Realm cultivators were escorted by their respective maidservants into different boxes, and the main hall below gradually filled to capacity.