Thanks to Zhuangsheng Xiaomeng Mi Hudiea, the top backer of Martial Peak, for once again gifting fifty thousand red streaks.
A Void King third stage powerhouse standing at the very peak of the Star Domain—the Yan Family's Second Elder—was dead! Killed without explanation at the hands of his own people!
None of them could accept this outcome. If Yan Qing had been cut down by Yang Kai, that would be one thing, but from start to finish, Yang Kai had only been clutching his throat—he hadn't struck a killing blow at all. The one who took Yan Qing's life was Grand Elder Yan An's two sword strikes!
Was it because the Grand Elder's skill was inferior and he'd been used?
Absolutely not. It was because this young man was far too terrifying. With a casual wave of his hand, he had toyed with a Void King third stage cultivator like a puppet, using him to slay another Void King third stage powerhouse. Such ability was simply unmatched under heaven.
A debt of kindness however small must be repaid; a grudge of vengeance however slight must be avenged! Though he felt somewhat embarrassed about it, since the Yan Family had harbored killing intent toward him, he could only set his embarrassment aside.
When a warrior picks up a sword, they'd better be prepared to receive one through the gut.
Yang Kai tossed Yan Qing's corpse to the side like a tattered cloth sack, his cold gaze fixed on Yan An.
Their eyes met, and Yan An snapped back to awareness, a tremor running through his heart. Now was not the time for self-reproach or grief—what mattered was how to handle the crisis before them. He had assumed that with the Yan Family's formidable lineup, this affair would be a simple matter of plucking fruit. But now, before they had even gleaned the depths of this young man's strength, their Second Elder was already dead—a devastating loss. If he himself were to meet with some mishap, the Yan Family's power would plummet.
He scrambled backward in haste, never expecting Yang Kai's hand to reach for him.
The movement appeared leisurely, yet in Yan An's eyes it was an inescapable technique. Every hair on his body bristled as cold sweat drenched him from head to toe. He screamed: "Clan Head, save me!"
Yang Kai's hand grasped empty air. Yan An had vanished without a sound, reappearing over a dozen zhang to the side, still wearing an expression of lingering fear as he gasped for breath.
"Hm?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow but didn't look at Yan An. Instead, he turned his head toward a certain direction.
Someone had appeared there at some unknown point, hovering silently in midair and gazing down at Yan Qing's corpse, his face dark as storm clouds.
Yan An's escape hadn't been of his own doing—it was this person's ability. In that instant, Yang Kai had detected traces of spatial energy fluctuating. Yan An's sudden disappearance and reappearance was remarkably similar to Yang Kai's own Instant Movement, only covering a much shorter distance.
"The Yan Family Head?" Yang Kai asked.
Yan Luo wore a cold expression, paying Yang Kai no mind, as if the man didn't exist in his eyes. He studied Yan Qing's body for a good while before finally speaking: "It's been a long time since anyone dared to run rampant in my Yan Family."
His voice was calm, but inside, his fury raged like a flood.
A moment's inattention, and he had lost an Elder of the family. The loss was anything but small!
"You deserve to die!" Yan Luo whipped his head around, his face twisting into something savage in an instant as he glared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai grinned. "That depends on whether Clan Head Yan has the ability to make that happen." Those who didn't had already been sent to their graves.
"Don't assume that a tempered body makes you invincible. There are many things in this world beyond your wildest imagination. A frog at the bottom of a well—how could it possibly comprehend the majesty of the starry sky!"
Upon hearing this, Yang Kai considered it seriously for a moment, then nodded. "You make a fair point."
Yan Luo raised his hand and pointed at him, speaking flatly: "Kill yourself. That way you'll get a quick end. If I have to do it myself, you won't be so fortunate."
Yang Kai said, "I only came here to ask how to reach the Ancestral Territory, and I was even willing to offer payment. Surely Clan Head Yan needn't be so unreasonable? Why resort to killing at the slightest provocation?"
"You'll only shed tears once you see the coffin!" Yan Luo let out a cold snort, having no interest in further conversation. His raised finger slashed downward.
The world hummed with a deafening resonance, and an indescribable pressure descended from the heavens as though the sky itself had collapsed. Every Void King realm cultivator in the great hall, regardless of strength, was forced to crouch, unable so much as to lift their heads.
He Yunxiang was stricken with horror, terror plain across her beautiful face.
She had believed that her advance to the third stage of the Void King realm was enough to dominate the Star Domain. Even if she encountered opponents she couldn't defeat, she could at least flee. But now, watching Yan Luo take action, she realized how wrong she had been—terribly, gravely wrong.
A single finger carried such terrifying power. If he ever truly set his sights on her, she wouldn't even have the chance to run.
How could he be this powerful? Yan Luo's aura was only at the third stage of the Void King realm as well. Even if he had advanced longer ago, he shouldn't be surpassing her by this much.
The pressure Yan Luo was exerting at this moment was actually more terrifying than Yang Kai's. He stood there as if he were the sky itself, the earth itself—and within this world, whatever he decreed became law. No one could defy his will.
"The power of a Star!" Yang Kai's sharp brows rose in surprise before easing back into understanding.
This Yan Luo was none other than a Star Lord. And from the looks of it, he was the Star Lord of Taiyi Star itself—otherwise it would be impossible for him to command the power of the stars.
Taiyi Star was the Yan Family's home base. As the family's head, it made perfect sense that he had refined Taiyi Star's origin and become its Star Lord. No wonder his arrogance rivaled the heavens—it turned out there was reason behind it.
As a Star Lord, on Taiyi Star, he was the supreme ruler.
Yang Kai had once been a Star Lord himself and naturally knew just how much power a Star Lord could wield on their own cultivation star.
Yan An's escape from his grasp hadn't been some spatial divine ability at all—it was simply the power of Yan Luo's Star Lord status.