"Farewell, Lady Lu."
The warship hovered in the void roughly half a day's travel from Taiyi Star. The hatch opened, and Yang Kai cupped his fists toward Lu Huaishuang in a parting salute.
"May you have a safe journey, My Lord. I bid you farewell!" Lu Huaishuang bowed gracefully. Behind her, the elite members of the Lu family all cupped their fists in unison to see him off. No one tried to keep him, and no one spoke of meeting again, because Lu Huaishuang understood that Yang Kai had chosen to part ways with her here specifically to avoid dragging the Lu family into trouble.
Taiyi Star was the Yan family's stronghold. Their influence ran deep and tangled across the entire planet, with eyes and ears everywhere. Where Yang Kai was headed, conflict with the Yan family was inevitable. If anyone investigated afterward, they would certainly discover he had traveled here with the Lu family, which would put them in danger.
Yang Kai knew this, and so did Lu Huaishuang. She sighed inwardly. If not for her obligations to the family, she would have been happy to escort him a little further — it would have cost nothing more than a free ride on the warship.
But with an entire clan behind her, Lu Huaishuang had no choice but to consider the broader picture. She felt a quiet gratitude. This lord was perceptive and thoughtful, always mindful of others. If he had insisted on traveling together with the Lu family, she would have had no way to refuse.
Instead, he had disembarked while still a considerable distance from Taiyi Star, cleanly severing any connection to the Lu family.
After this parting, who knew if they would ever meet again?
She hoped they would. And when that day came, she would stand before him with far greater cultivation, at a far higher realm.
Yang Kai turned and gave He Yunxiang a nod.
He Yunxiang immediately produced her Star Shuttle, and the two of them stood side by side upon it as it shot toward the starfield in a streak of brilliant light.
The Star Shuttle was a common travel artifact in the starfields. Yang Kai had owned one back in the Hengluo Star Domain, though he had long since retired it after entering the Star Boundary.
He Yunxiang's Star Shuttle was a Void King-grade artifact — not particularly fast by elite standards, but it still took nearly seven full hours before they finally reached the outer perimeter of Taiyi Star.
A colossal sapphire sphere, like the eye of the Boundless Star Domain itself, radiated a captivating glow. Enveloping the entire globe was a faint, hazy aura, as though the planet were shrouded in a layer of mist.
Yang Kai recognized it as the ambient spiritual energy of Taiyi Star.
Truly worthy of being the Yan family's stronghold. Among all the cultivation planets Yang Kai had ever seen, Taiyi Star ranked at the very top. Across the entire Hengluo Star Domain, perhaps only Shuiyue Star — the main world of the Hengluo Commerce Union — could rival it.
"My Lord, shall we head straight for the Yan family?" He Yunxiang asked, piloting the Star Shuttle.
Yang Kai stood behind her. He had not exerted the slightest effort, yet his body was as steady as a mountain. No matter how fast He Yunxiang flew, he did not waver in the least, as though his feet were rooted to the ground.
"Strike straight at the heart of the enemy!"
"Understood." He Yunxiang nodded, his bold confidence infecting her as well.
A Void King cultivator and above — more than enough to dominate an entire star domain. Why would he fear some mere Yan family? If the Yan family cooperated willingly and handed over the method to enter the Ancestral Domain, that would be the end of it. But if they refused, He Yunxiang could already imagine what fate awaited the overlord of the Boundless Star Domain.
Though they had not spent much time together, and she did not yet know the details of Yang Kai's temperament, He Yunxiang could tell that the lord she had pledged herself to was, by and large, reasonable to deal with. He was not the type to bully others with his strength or oppress the weak simply because he could.
That was the bearing a true powerhouse ought to have. Those who delighted in crushing others through raw force and compelling submission were, more often than not, simply insecure about their own strength.
When dealing with someone like My Lord, the best approach was to be upfront and honest. There might even be rewards for it.
She could only hope the Yan family... would be wise enough to see reason.
He Yunxiang had visited Taiyi Star several times before. It was, after all, the finest cultivation planet in the entire star domain. Despite being the infamous leader of the Wild Gale — reviled and hunted by all — no one actually knew her true face. By simply reverting to her original appearance, she could enter Taiyi Star without any trouble whatsoever.
So this return trip was nothing new to her.
She circled around Taiyi Star in a wide arc before angling downward.
They pierced through the cloud layer, and the landscape below immediately came into view.
"We seem to be a bit off course." He Yunxiang glanced at their surroundings and looked slightly embarrassed.
"No matter."
They flew on at high altitude for another two hours before a massive city finally came into sight.
"That is the foundation of the Yan family."
They landed before the city gates and continued on foot.
No city of any significant size allowed martial artists to fly inside — it made management far too difficult. Only a few individuals of special standing were granted that privilege.
Yang Kai was thoroughly accustomed to this and did not think twice about it.
The city walls towered over them, reaching a height of more than thirty zhang. Below, the main gates stood wide open. Above the entrance hung a grotesque, terrifying face — like a vengeful spirit frozen in stone — its eyes blazing with crimson light. Its gaping maw served as the gateway into the city, and every martial artist who passed through appeared to be swallowed whole by the ghastly visage, vanishing without a trace.
And each time someone walked beneath the gate, the spirit's scarlet eyes would flash briefly, as though scanning for something.