"You think you can leave?!" A voice seething with humiliated fury echoed from the distant rear. The void all around seemed to freeze solid in that instant. Yang Kai, who had been leaping toward the darkness, jerked to a halt, pinned in place mere feet from the shadowy abyss—escape was right within reach, yet just beyond his grasp.
He glanced back and saw the middle-aged man he had blasted away flickering through space, hurtling toward him with terrifying speed.
It was always he who used spatial divine abilities to lock others down. He never imagined that one day, the tables would be turned.
The middle-aged man hadn't mastered spatial arts, but as the lord of this Star Domain, he could naturally command the myriad Laws and all manner of power. Fighting him here, in his own domain, was an enormous disadvantage—just as Yang Kai had feared.
Having suffered one humiliating setback, the middle-aged man's expression was ugly beyond description, yet his eyes burned with manic excitement. It seemed he intended to end this once and for all, keeping Yang Kai trapped here permanently—and in truth, this was a heaven-sent opportunity. If he let it slip, he would probably never get another chance to devour the Heng Luo Star Domain.
"Go!" Yang Kai hurled Li Jiao and Lü Sanniang into the darkness with a burst of savage strength. Every ounce of his physical power and his mastery of the Laws of Space were pushed to their absolute limits.
*Crack, crack, crack…*
Fine fractures appeared in the surrounding space, darting about like fish. His immobilized body finally regained a sliver of freedom.
He clenched his one intact fist, something already hidden in his palm. Silently he prayed that his guess was correct—if it wasn't, this would be the end of him.
"Truly selfless and bold to the point of recklessness—but what you're doing is plain stupid." The middle-aged man could no longer contain his elation. In two great strides he closed the distance to Yang Kai. That previous punch, though powerful, had caused him no real damage whatsoever.
As the lord of this Star Domain, standing on his own ground, he had countless ways to dissipate the force of such a blow. All he'd felt was a slight churning of his blood. And now Yang Kai had thrown away one arm—and offered up the other.
The middle-aged man raised his fist, ready to shatter this arm too.
Their fists collided again. The smile on the middle-aged man's face froze instantaneously. His entire body transformed into a streaking comet and was sent hurtling backward once more. His eyes were blank with incomprehension, a single question churning in his mind.
How?! How is this possible?!
He could explain away the first punch—perhaps he'd been careless and underestimated his opponent, and Yang Kai had just crossed from his own domain so he could still draw on a fraction of its power for a brief moment.
But this second punch absolutely should not have had the same effect. He had already frozen the space around Yang Kai, severing all connection to the Heng Luo Star Domain! There was no way Yang Kai could channel that domain's power anymore.
And yet from that fist, the middle-aged man had clearly felt the force of an entire world crashing into him—different from the first punch, yet strikingly similar.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Yang Kai let loose a wild, triumphant laugh that rang in the middle-aged man's ears and nearly made his lungs burst with rage.
It was like a grown man wrestling a child and getting thrown to the ground again and again—the sheer humiliation of it was unbearable. Of course Yang Kai was no child, but within this Star Domain, the difference was negligible.
Even more enraging was the voice that transmitted directly into his mind: "Just you wait. Sooner or later I'll beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you."
With that parting threat, Yang Kai turned and stepped into the darkness.
By the time the middle-aged man lunged after him a second time, there was no trace of Yang Kai to be found. He clenched his fists, gnashing his teeth as he hissed: "Yang Kai!"
There had never been any personal enmity between him and Yang Kai. It was merely a dispute born from his plan to devour a Star Domain. When he had conceived this scheme, the Heng Luo Star Domain had no lord whatsoever—he intended to swallow nothing more than an unclaimed territory.
In the end, Yang Kai had ruined everything. In other words, it was Yang Kai who had destroyed his plans.
And now, after being toyed with two or three times and made to look like a fool, his fury surged beyond containment. He had already classified Yang Kai as an enemy—and if the chance arose, he would settle this in a fight to the death.
Inside the Heng Luo Star Domain, Yang Kai stepped out of the void and reverted to his human form.
Li Jiao and Lü Sanniang both stood in the emptiness, anxiously watching the darkness.
Seeing him emerge, they rushed forward with elation, their faces full of concern. Then they noticed that both of Yang Kai's arms hung limp at his sides, dangling like wet noodles, and they understood at once that he had paid a terrible price.
"Brother Yang…" Li Jiao's eyes glistened with moisture.
After he had been captured by the middle-aged man, he had never truly expected Yang Kai to come rescue him. He knew that no matter what weight he might carry in Yang Kai's heart, he could never compare to an entire Star Domain—a domain filled with Yang Kai's friends, his relatives, his sect. How could Yang Kai possibly abandon a whole Star Domain for his sake?
Li Jiao had already steeled himself for the worst. He never dreamed that Yang Kai would braving extraordinary risk, plunge into a domain controlled by their enemy to save him—and actually succeed! Such a debt of gratitude could not be repaid even by plucking grass and hanging it from one's doorpost for a lifetime of service.
Yang Kai looked at him with an expression of distaste. "My arms hurt right now. Watching you snivel like that makes my head hurt too."
Li Jiao's weathered face flushed red.
Yang Kai added, "I was only testing the waters. If I hadn't managed to pull you out this time, that would have been your fate. Of course, I would have avenged you."
Li Jiao said, "I understand. Either way, I am eternally grateful."