In the darkness, light bloomed as five figures lunged forward.
Yang Kai suddenly raised his head, staring straight ahead, meeting the gaze of a burly, muscular man.
Their eyes locked, and the burly man was startled — Yang Kai's black-and-white eyes were perfectly clear, without any hint of discomfort whatsoever. Before the man could think deeper in that split second, the great hammer in his hands had already come crashing down, stirring up a tempest of wind and cloud.
A hand — not particularly powerful-looking — suddenly caught the descending hammer head, halting that tremendous force mid-strike. The rebounding impact sent numbness through both the burly man's arms and split the webbing between his thumb and forefinger.
The burly man's pupils contracted sharply. Impossible! It was one thing for this fellow to emerge from the Dark Star transmission perfectly lucid, but to catch an Artifact's strike with a single hand — how could such a thing happen?
But before he could dwell on it, the other four had already landed their attacks on the young man. In an instant, energy erupted violently, the mine tunnel groaning as crumbling stone rained down.
The four struck home, then immediately leaped back.
Among them, a revealingly dressed woman shot a mocking glance at the burly man. "Barbarian, did I drain you too hard the other day? Your attacks today have no force at all — you're even more useless than I thought."
A short, frail-looking old man coughed a few times, saying weakly, "Lust sits atop a blade — take it as a warning."
A fair-skinned man laughed aloud. "Lady Can, the Barbarian can't perform anymore. How about trying a different flavor today?"
The beautiful woman called Lady Can glanced at him and curled her lip. "Beat it. I can't stand pretty boys like you."
A bone-jade folding fan suddenly appeared in the fair-skinned man's hand. He opened it with a wave and smiled. "I may be fair-skinned, but I'm no mere pretty decoration. Lady Can, how will you know if you don't give me a try?"
Lady Can's face turned cold. "Even if you were made of diamond, I wouldn't be interested. I only like them big and brawny, like the Barbarian." She suddenly turned her head in surprise. "Hey, Barbarian — what are you doing? Have you lost your mind?"
The burly man known as the Barbarian was now rigid from head to toe, cold sweat sliding down his forehead. He stared fixedly at Yang Kai, eyes brimming with horror and terror, as though he were looking at a ghost.
He's not dead, you idiots! The other four had struck and retreated in an instant, so none of them had paid much attention to Yang Kai's condition. After all, the five of them had launched a combined ambush — who could withstand that? They simply assumed Yang Kai was finished. Only the Barbarian, who was right next to him, could see it clearly — his four companions' devastating strike hadn't so much as scratched the young man. It was as though they'd merely tickled him; he hadn't even furrowed his brow. Those eyes gazed back at him, brimming with amusement.
He tried to pull his Artifact back but found it immovable. The strength from that hand was giving him a sense of absolute powerlessness. When a subtle, cold smile curved the corner of Yang Kai's mouth, every hair on the Barbarian's body stood on end. He immediately released his Artifact and tried to retreat.
A hand reached out unhurriedly and clamped around his throat.
The Barbarian was instantly immobilized. The iron tower of a man was hoisted off the ground, feet dangling, struggling frantically.
Lady Can and the other three cried out in alarm, their faces draining of color, barely able to believe their own eyes. A bone-deep terror surged from within, spreading through their entire bodies, turning their hands and feet to ice.
They knew the Barbarian's cultivation level all too well — he was their equal in strength. And now someone had grabbed him with one hand? Who was this man?
"You all seem to be having such a lovely chat." Yang Kai's chilling voice echoed through the mine shaft. Though the tone was deep and steady, it sent shivers crawling down their spines.
The four exchanged a glance and, without a single word, lunged forward once more. This time they pushed their power to its absolute limit, brilliant light erupting from their bodies and illuminating the entire mine shaft.
"Ha! Come on then!" Yang Kai laughed. If these people tried to run, he'd have to chase them down. He hadn't expected them to come at him of their own accord — that saved him the trouble.
The hand gripping the Barbarian suddenly tightened, and he swung the massive man toward one direction — he was using the Barbarian as a convenient, human-shaped weapon.
There had been nothing in that direction, but as the Barbarian's body came crashing down, the short, frail old man had somehow appeared right in that spot, as though he'd walked into it himself.
A howling gale swept through. In the old man's seemingly clouded eyes, a flash of horrified light bloomed — and then he watched helplessly as the Barbarian's muscular body blotted out the sky above him.
The wet sound of tearing flesh and snapping bones rang out. The Barbarian and the frail old man were both reduced to a pulpy mess, blood spraying in all directions, the stench of gore rising to the heavens.
In Yang Kai's right hand was the hammer Artifact the Barbarian had discarded. Without channeling any energy at all, he simply swung it in a casual, sweeping arc — a crude but devastating Thousand Armies Swept Aside — and a cataclysmic force roared outward.
The fair-skinned man was broken in half on the spot. His defensive Artifact, his protective Sacred Origin, were as fragile as paper before that blow. His two halves burst apart in midair into a cloud of blood mist, dead before they hit the ground.
Lady Can and the remaining one survived, but they were both sent stumbling back in the violent vortex of power, instantly gravely wounded, every protective Artifact on their bodies destroyed.
When they finally steadied themselves, body and soul were shrouded in terror.
Who — who in the world was this?!
It was one thing to emerge from the Dark Star transmission without any ill effects, but to kill three Void King First Stage cultivators with casual ease — as though slaughtering chickens — was this even human? How could such a terrifying existence be on Dark Star?
Lady Can was still frozen in shock, but the other surviving Void King First Stage cultivator had already shifted his footing, transformed into a streak of light, and fled outward without looking back.