Out in the wilds, Yang Kai offered his greetings, and four pairs of unfamiliar eyes immediately fixed on him, carrying the weight of scrutiny.
Four people — three men and one woman. Two at the first-level Emperor Realm, two at the second-level Emperor Realm, each pair standing together, clearly delineated. Before Yang Kai's arrival, only Hua Yulu had been standing alone.
Though the face-disguising Artifact could conceal the pallor on Yang Kai's face, the weakness of his aura was impossible to hide entirely. Moreover, the crowd here consisted entirely of Emperor Realm cultivators, so it took only a brief probing glance for them to gauge his level of cultivation.
First-level Emperor Realm! All four of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
A stocky, short-statured man snorted coldly, his expression displeased. "Palace Master Hua, this is your friend? What a grand entrance — making us wait like this."
He made no effort to conceal his true feelings, clearly irritated by the length of time he'd been made to wait, and openly voiced his complaint. Yang Kai had indeed failed to arrive at the agreed-upon time, having been delayed several days on the road. If he had been a second-level Emperor Realm cultivator, the man might have held his tongue, but for a mere first-level, he felt no qualms about speaking up.
Hua Yulu offered an apologetic smile in the face of the man's accusation. "Brother Wu, please temper your anger. My Senior Brother Yang had matters to attend to these past few days, which caused some delay on the road. This humble one offers her apologies on his behalf."
Though she didn't know the specifics of what had held Yang Kai up for days, causing him to miss their appointed meeting, she was fairly certain he wasn't the type to stand people up deliberately — otherwise Xia Sheng wouldn't have asked for his help in the first place. As the one who had extended the invitation, it was only natural for Hua Yulu to speak up on Yang Kai's behalf.
The man snorted again. "Your Hundred Flowers Palace is an entire palace of women — since when does it have any 'Senior Brother Yang'? I've never heard of men existing in the Hundred Flowers Palace. And this Brother Yang hides his face, too cowardly to show his true appearance? Or perhaps this Brother Yang has some ulterior motive?"
He seemed to take an immediate dislike to Yang Kai, and upon discovering the face-disguising Artifact, had promptly gone on the offensive.
By rights, this was an ad hoc treasure-hunting party assembled on the fly. There was no need to dig too deeply into each other's backgrounds and origins — everyone had their own hidden agenda. During the hunt, cooperate if possible, go your separate ways if not, and if treasure was actually found, blows might well be exchanged. Everyone understood this unwritten rule. Hua Yulu hadn't asked who exactly the other two had brought as helpers or where they came from, and the same discretion was maintained in return.
Now this short, stocky man was clearly targeting Yang Kai deliberately, and his last remark carried the unmistakable taint of false accusations.
The Star Boundary was vast, home to hundreds of millions of martial artists, each with their own temperament and disposition. Wearing a face-disguising Artifact while traveling the Star Boundary was hardly unusual, but this man named Wu seemed intent on blowing the matter out of proportion, as though Yang Kai absolutely had to remove the Artifact and reveal his true face.
Hua Yulu's brow furrowed slightly, clearly growing somewhat displeased herself. She was the Palace Master of the Hundred Flowers Palace — already having lowered herself to offer a sincere apology showed great goodwill, and the man's continued nagging was grating on her nerves. But circumstances were not on their side. Both she and Yang Kai were first-level Emperor Realm cultivators, while the other four comprised one first-level and three second-level cultivators. If a conflict actually erupted, things would be difficult to contain.
She had, in fact, witnessed Yang Kai's abilities firsthand. At the inauguration ceremony of the Azure Sun Temple, Yang Kai had exchanged blows with a third-level Emperor Realm powerhouse — the fact that he could withstand such an attack proved he was far from ordinary. But Hua Yulu sensed that Yang Kai's aura was somewhat weak at the moment, and she secretly suspected he might have sustained some kind of injury, which was why he was concealing his appearance.
She was not eager to provoke a confrontation with the others.
Just as she was considering what to say next, Yang Kai spoke up. "How shall I address this friend?"
The stocky man named Wu snorted. "Wu Kuangyi!"
"Brother Wu, then!" Yang Kai nodded gently, a slight smile on his face. "There's no hidden meaning behind the disguise. It's just that... my appearance is somewhat unusual. If I showed my true face, I'm afraid I might frighten... that young lady over there!"
As he spoke, Yang Kai glanced toward the woman other than Hua Yulu who was present.
She was not part of Wu Kuangyi's group, but stood alongside an elderly man, possessing a second-level Emperor Realm cultivation — clearly a helper the old man had invited. She was not what one would call a stunning beauty, but her temperament was extraordinarily refined. Her figure was graceful and lithe, clad in a goose-yellow palace-style gown that traced the elegant lines of her form in exquisite detail.
From the moment Yang Kai had appeared, this woman had been quietly observing him just like the others. Now, with the conversation suddenly turned toward her, she blinked in brief surprise before offering a smile. "My courage isn't quite so fragile as all that."
Her smile possessed a peculiar charm — it seemed capable of stirring others' emotions, yet bore no trace of any charm technique. It was entirely natural, an innate gift. This prompted Yang Kai to take another look at her while quietly raising his guard.
"And what shall I call you, young sir?" the woman asked.
"Yang Jiu," Yang Kai replied.
He had indeed been ranked ninth among the Yang family's younger generation, so the name had a basis in reality — he hadn't simply made it up.
Seeing the woman and Yang Kai strike up a conversation so easily, Wu Kuangyi's frown deepened further. He opened his mouth to say something more, but the elderly man standing with the woman stepped forward with a genial smile. "Alright, alright, it's only a matter of a few days. At our level of cultivation, a few days pass in the blink of an eye. Brother Wu, there's no need to make too much of it — just treat it as time spent in meditation and rest."