Others might not have caught the hidden meaning in those words, but as Su Yan's master in the Cloud Mist Sect, how could she not understand? When Su Yan came from the Star Region, she had brought with her a Void King-grade artifact sword, and that sword was called the Xuanfrost Divine Blade—one of its sword techniques was named "Snow Like the Azure Sky."
With that single sentence, Yang Kai's identity was confirmed beyond doubt. To call out all of this so precisely—who could share such an intimate connection with Su Yan if not him? Besides, Ruan Biting had heard of Yang Kai's existence from Su Yan before. After all, they were master and disciple and had shared close conversations. It was only today that she finally met him in the flesh.
"Come with me, boy!" Having confirmed Yang Kai's identity, Ruan Biting reached out to grab him.
She had only just received a discreet transmission from one of her disciples, who told her that Senior Sister Su Yan's husband had come from the Hengluo Star Region to find her, only to be taken to a side hall by Elder Chen to wait and drink tea. Ruan Biting had immediately sensed something was wrong and rushed over in a panic, but she still hadn't managed to prevent the tragedy.
She was also somewhat annoyed inside. She had already warned him to put down that teacup—even reaching out to snatch it from him—but this boy had completely ignored her, and had even drained the tea right in front of her.
Su Yan, oh Su Yan—what kind of fool of a husband did you find? How has someone with this little brain survived until now? Hasn't anyone ever taught him that you can't just eat and drink things offered by strangers?
Her delicate fingers closed around Yang Kai's wrist and pulled hard, but she couldn't budge him. Instead, she staggered forward herself.
Ruan Biting's beautiful eyes narrowed, shock deepening within them. She was at the Dao Source Realm, Second Stage—even without using her full strength, surely she should be able to pull him?
Yang Kai smiled at her. He had already lost every shred of goodwill toward the Cloud Mist Sect. He had been planning to go on a killing spree the moment he confirmed Su Yan's exact whereabouts. But now it seemed that in this place, there was at least one person who genuinely cared about Su Yan.
That was enough, wasn't it? The world wasn't entirely full of treachery after all. There was always a little warmth—like a glimmer of light in the pitch dark, illuminating the surroundings.
He gently patted Ruan Biting's hand, signaling her to let go.
Ruan Biting frowned. "What are you doing?" Her divine sense surged as she transmitted her voice directly to his mind. "This is no place to linger. Leave now!"
Seeing that she was genuinely concerned about him, Yang Kai felt a warmth stir in his heart. He had never met her before; her concern was purely because of Su Yan. She clearly treated Su Yan well.
"Elder Ruan, what exactly are you doing?" The ruddy-faced Elder Chen sneered at Ruan Biting, showing not a shred of the respect a weaker party ought to have toward a stronger one. Although they were both elders of the Cloud Mist Sect, she was merely a idle recluse with no real power or influence within the sect. If not for the old Sect Master's orders from years past, she would never have been allowed to remain in the Cloud Mist Sect for so long, let alone keep the empty title of elder.
Very few people knew the true nature of Ruan Biting's relationship with the Cloud Mist Sect. There were only vague rumors that she had once done the old Sect Master a great favor, which was why she had been allowed to stay. But ever since the old Sect Master passed away and the current Sect Master took power, Ruan Biting had been entirely cast to the margins.
"None of your business!" Ruan Biting glared at Elder Chen.
Elder Chen replied with a pleasant smile that never reached his eyes. "That's not quite right. I am acting under the Sect Master's orders to host this young brother. Elder Ruan's behavior is rude to our guest. I must ask you to leave at once."
Ruan Biting ignored him and looked at Yang Kai. "Are you leaving or not?"
"I haven't settled things yet—how could I leave?" Yang Kai said with a faint smile, then turned to Elder Chen. "Elder Chen seems quite happy. May I ask what you find so amusing?"
"Nothing more than what deserves to be laughed at." Elder Chen's face was full of mockery. "How did you find our Cloud Mist Sect's tea?"
"The tea isn't bad—it's just impure." Only then did Yang Kai set down his teacup, turning it over in his hands. "You put something in it, didn't you?"
"Knowing now is too late!" Elder Chen's expression turned ice-cold in an instant, all pretense of civility stripped away. Once the poison took effect, the victim would quickly become weak and powerless—even a Dao Source Realm Third Stage cultivator wouldn't be able to neutralize it easily. At this moment, Yang Kai was nothing more than a fish on the chopping board in his eyes.
"Elder Chen seems quite confident in that little trick of yours." Yang Kai lowered his head, his hanging hair obscuring his face, lending him an eerie, sinister air.
"You… you knew there was poison in the tea?" Ruan Biting suddenly realized something and cried out in alarm. At the same time, she cursed inwardly—was there something seriously wrong with this guy's head?
*Slurp…*
Amid the taut, blade-drawn atmosphere, an odd sound rang out. The three of them turned to look, only to see Liu Yan holding another teacup, draining it in a single gulp.
Elder Chen and Ruan Biting both stared in open-mouthed disbelief. Was this what they meant by "close to vermilion, one becomes red; close to ink, one becomes black"? If Yang Kai was crazy, this little girl was not far behind.
"I just said the tea was poisoned, and you still drink it." Yang Kai rubbed Liu Yan's head.
"Let me try it," Liu Yan replied casually. "Doesn't taste good. You can have it back!"
Her little mouth opened, and a stream of tea shot toward Elder Chen like a sharp arrow. Before it reached him in midair, the tea suddenly turned a vivid crimson, like a fire serpent.
The temperature inside the great hall surged.
Elder Chen's face changed drastically. An instinctive sense of crisis engulfed his entire body. Without a second thought, he summoned an artifact to guard in front of him. *Clang!* The tea-arrow struck the shield-like artifact dead center, its glow flickering wildly before it dimmed in an instant—its spiritual essence had been destroyed. The blazing red tea-arrow's momentum didn't flag; it burned straight through the artifact, punching a hole clean through it.
"Ah!" Elder Chen let out a miserable scream and staggered backward, crashing to the ground. Looking down, he saw a pitch-black hole in his shoulder, blood gushing out. At the same time, a terrifying fire-attributed energy surged wildly from the wound, incinerating meridians and flesh wherever it passed.