The Great Desolate Star Domain — now that was a name all too familiar.
Back when he had departed the Hengluo Star Domain with Chi Yue and the others, passing through that Starlight Path, he had clashed with several Void King Realm cultivators from the Great Desolate Star Domain. The fight had caused the Starlight Path to collapse, scattering everyone in different directions. Even Liu Yan and Xiao Xiao had been swept away to who-knew-where, and it had taken Yang Kai years of effort to track them down.
The leader of that group had been named Yin Lesheng, Sect Master of the Yellow Spring Sect in the Great Desolate Star Domain — and the undisputed overlord of the entire Star Domain!
Liu Xianyun, who had weathered hardship alongside Yang Kai, also hailed from the Great Desolate Star Domain. But the two of them had treated Yang Kai very differently, and their fates had diverged as a result.
Yin Lesheng had survived by the skin of his teeth in the Shattered Star Sea, only to be cut down by Yang Kai in the Savage Ancient Lands of the Eastern Region. Liu Xianyun, on the other hand, had received Yang Kai's recommendation and been accepted into Ice Heart Valley. The last time Yang Kai had visited Ice Heart Valley, he had made time to meet her for a brief exchange. He knew she was doing well — she was already preparing to break through to the third layer of the Dao Source Realm. With her talent and Ice Heart Valley's support, breaking through shouldn't be much of a challenge. Given time, she would surely become yet another Emperor Realm powerhouse.
Hearing the words "Great Desolate Star Domain" from Ye Xiyun's lips caught Yang Kai off guard.
But thinking it over, it made sense. Back when he and Yin Lesheng's group had crossed paths on the Starlight Path while entering the Star Boundary, the two Star Domains must have been right next to each other, separated by nothing more than a thin layer of the boundary wall. Now that the wall had weakened and collapsed, connecting the two Star Domains, it was only natural that warriors from the Great Desolate Star Domain could make their way to the Hengluo Star Domain.
"We're both Star Domains — and we can't even match them?" Yang Kai asked.
Ye Xiyun replied, "They have a single sect leading the charge — the Yellow Spring Sect. Their forces are united like a solid wall of iron, while our side is each fighting on their own. We're clearly outmatched. On top of that, as invaders, they enjoy the advantage of mobility and initiative."
The Yellow Spring Sect, sure enough. It seemed that even without Yin Lesheng, the sect's position as overlord remained unshakable — they had managed to rally the entire Star Domain's strength.
"Then those warships outside the Dark Star belong to the Great Desolate Star Domain?"
Ye Xiyun nodded. "That's correct. The Dark Star is one of the most critical battlefields. The Great Desolate Star Domain has committed a significant portion of their forces here, specifically to target our Sect."
"That old fox dared to lie to me!" Yang Kai snorted coldly.
No one knew who had deceived him, and all of them looked rather perplexed.
Ye Xiyun continued, "The debate just now was whether to storm those warships directly and destroy their high-end combat power, or to split up and pick off the enemies scattered across the Dark Star. But now that you're back, I suppose there's no more need for debate."
"Mm." Yang Kai nodded. "Just wait."
He suddenly closed his eyes and slowly raised one hand, his wrist flicking in a motion that looked swift but was in fact deliberate as he slapped and then grasped at the void.
Everyone inside the great hall felt a sudden tighten in their chests, as if Yang Kai's gesture had seized their very hearts, making it hard to breathe.
Yang Kai's splayed fingers snapped shut into a tight fist.
"Done." He opened his eyes and spoke, lowering his raised hand. The terrifying pressure vanished.
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, their faces full of confusion, unable to fathom what he had just done.
But soon, a series of violent, booming explosions echoed from an immense distance away. The crowd instinctively cupped their ears to listen, and several who seemed to grasp what had happened immediately rushed out of the hall and gazed up into the starry sky.
There, in a distant corner of the void, enormous blossoms of flame were blooming one after another. Even in broad daylight, even across thousands of miles, they were perfectly visible. With each fiery flower's appearance, another deafening detonation reached their ears.
The location where those fire blossoms erupted was precisely where the Great Desolate Star Domain's warships had been anchored.
Those who returned to the hall and reported what they had seen left everyone dumbfounded.
They knew that Yang Kai was the Lord of the Dark Star and could exert dominion over everything on it, but those Great Desolate Star Domain warships had been stationed in the void itself — not landed on the Dark Star's surface. Across such an immense distance, he had merely made a casual gesture, and every single one of those warships had been obliterated. What manner of terrifying power was that?
Moreover, there had been any number of Void King Realm experts stationed aboard those ships. Not a single one could have escaped — they had all perished!
In an instant, every person in the hall was seized by rousing excitement.
Ye Xiyun's expression turned grave. "Now that the disagreement is settled, there's no need to wait any longer, is there? If not now, when?"
With a great rustle, everyone rose to their feet and filed out, each departing through different spatial arrays from the Lingxiao Sect to various locations across the Dark Star. They would press the advantage while they had it, determined to hunt down and exterminate every last remnant of the Great Desolate Star Domain's forces on the Dark Star.
Yang Kai said, "I think I'll go stretch my legs as well."
This was his territory — how could he tolerate a pack of jumping clowns running amok here? The Great Desolate Star Domain's invaders were like fleas hopping across his body. He was going to catch every last one of them, pull out their guts, wrap them around their necks, and yank hard — and reclaim his peace and quiet.
He turned his head. "Senior Sister, you should rest up."
Before Su Yan could protest, his figure flickered and vanished without a trace.
Su Yan shook her head helplessly.
A figure suddenly burst into the hall from outside, crying out in an excited whisper: "Where's my son?"
It was Dong Suzhu, who had rushed over the moment she heard that Yang Kai had returned — only to be a step too late.
"Slow down, would you? What if you trip and fall? You're a grown woman — why must you always be so reckless?" Yang Siye's unhurried voice came from behind, though his speed was equally swift, and in the blink of an eye he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Dong Suzhu, revealing that his composure was not quite as effortless as it appeared.