But his cultivation had never been limited to just a single sword. Even with his Artifact seized, he had a hundred different ways to kill the brat in front of him.
Yang Kai stuck his pinky finger into his ear and dug around nonchalantly. "Man, I'm so sick of hearing that line my ears are practically calloused. If you've really got the guts, kill me right now!"
"So be it!" The fury on the crowned man's face abruptly vanished, replaced by a sudden calm. He took a few steps forward and appeared before Yang Kai like a ghost, his fist clenched with the thumb pressed upward, driving it straight toward the massive dragon's forehead.
The speed of this strike was not fast — quite the opposite. It was painfully slow, practically crawling at a snail's pace.
When powerhouses clashed, even a fraction of a breath could decide the outcome. Yet this man seemed to do the exact opposite. His posture was relaxed and almost elegant, as though he were simply crushing a bug beneath his thumb.
Yang Kai felt as though he were facing a mortal enemy. As that thumb crept toward his forehead, he experienced the strange sensation of being frozen in place by some kind of immobilization spell — his entire body locked up, unable to move. And with each inch the thumb drew closer, Yang Kai could clearly see the void around it collapsing.
If that thumb made contact with his forehead, his head would explode.
Yang Kai opened his mouth with a thunderous dragon roar that shook the stars. A violent torrent of energy erupted outward, whipping the crowned man's robes into a frenzy and sending his hair flying. Within the man's consciousness sea, it was as if a great dragon soared and stirred, sending waves crashing and roiling, pulling his attention away.
"Dragon Breath!" The crowned man's eyebrows shot up, his disbelief deepening.
Though the Dragon Clan was exceedingly rare and had not appeared in the world for ages, he had crossed paths with a member of the Dragon Clan in earlier years and knew a thing or two about them. Dragons were famous for their Dragon Breath — it was no secret art but rather an innate divine ability. Its power was formidable, comparable to the most elite secret arts, and because it was an innate ability, it could be deployed with extraordinary speed and ease. This was the advantage of being a Sacred Spirit — something no other living creature could ever hope to match.
The moment Yang Kai opened his mouth, the crowned man could feel the might of the Dragon Breath. Moreover… this Dragon Breath was remarkably pure, as if it had come from a true-born member of the Dragon Clan.
The Dragon Clan member he had encountered in his youth had only just reached adulthood, possessing a ninth-grade Dragon Vein, and the power of that Dragon Breath had seemed inferior to this brat's.
How was this possible? Even if he had cultivated some secret art that allowed him to take on a half-dragon form, there was no way he could produce this kind of Dragon Breath. Secret arts related to the Dragon Clan numbered in the tens of thousands across the Star Boundary, but not a single one could achieve this level of authenticity.
The extended thumb halted three inches from Yang Kai's forehead and could not press down any further.
Yang Kai's eyes lit up. He broke into a wide grin. "So even you're not immune to the suppression!"
He had finally figured it out. This fellow might be some Star Envoy of the Star Court, overseeing countless Star Domains, but once he descended to a lower-plane Star Domain, he couldn't do as he pleased either. Perhaps losing that sword to Yang Kai also played a role.
In short, the crowned man was unable to unleash his full power right now!
Yang Kai's confidence surged. His connection to the Hengluo Star Domain had been severed by a single sword stroke, robbing him of the many advantages of being a Star Domain Master. However, there was one thing where he held the edge over his enemy — within this Star Domain, he faced no suppression whatsoever. Not even the Laws of Heaven and Earth rejected his existence anymore. He could unleash his power freely, the only caveat being the collateral damage.
Fighting at full strength against a suppressed opponent — even if that opponent happened to be a Great Emperor — there was nothing to fear.
"Then what the hell are you posturing for?!" An object suddenly materialized in Yang Kai's right hand — a small bell. The moment it appeared, it began spinning and rapidly expanding until it stood several zhang tall. Yang Kai gripped the bell's handle as if it were a brick and smashed it straight into the crowned man's forehead.
The crowned man's expression shifted. He felt an indescribable suppressing force engulf him, so powerful that it seemed impossible to shake free. Retreating at this point was already too late. Just as Yang Kai had said, without that sword, he was hampered and constrained within this Star Domain, unable to deploy the full measure of his strength — otherwise things wouldn't have looked this pathetic.
Gritting his teeth, he gathered every shred of power he could muster and drove his frozen thumb downward with savage force against Yang Kai's forehead.
He had hoped Yang Kai would back off to avoid a mutually destructive outcome. What he didn't expect was that Yang Kai had no intention of stopping at all. The great bell screamed through the air and crashed down upon his skull with a deafening CLANG. The crowned man's vision went blank, his head ringing, and once again he was sent hurtling through space. The treasure robe he wore flashed wildly with light — had it not been for that protective garment, the consequences would have been dire.
Yang Kai's dragon head snapped backward as well. His entire neck seemed to snap, bending at an unnatural ninety-degree angle. His mountain-sized body went rigid on the spot and stood motionless for a long while.
Whoosh…
The crowned man returned, his face still pale with lingering shock. Though his treasure robe had absorbed most of the damage, the raw physical force was something no amount of defense could fully negate. His internal organs were still churning, and the taste of blood rose in his throat. He stared at the twenty-zhang dragon body before him, his expression conflicted.
If someone had told him before that a person in this lower-plane Star Domain could wound him, he would never have believed it. Yet now, someone had actually done it.
His gaze drifted to the enormous bell clutched in Yang Kai's right hand. On its surface, mountains and rivers, flowers, birds, fish, and beasts were rendered in vivid, lifelike detail, flowing and shifting ceaselessly, radiating an aura of immense antiquity and desolation — as though it had crossed the span of time from the primordial era itself.
"The Mountains and Rivers Bell!" The crowned man's pupils contracted, and the next instant, wild joy overtook his features.
It was the Mountains and Rivers Bell!
This was one of the most famous Primordial Treasure artifacts in existence. Emperor Yuan Ding had relied upon the Mountains and Rivers Bell to achieve his Great Emperor throne — its value was beyond measure. However, following the conclusion of the War of Emperors and the death of Emperor Yuan Ding, the bell's whereabouts had become unknown.
He had heard rumors that years ago, someone had obtained the Mountains and Rivers Bell in the Shattered Star Sea, but the specifics had been vague.
Now, seeing it with his own eyes, he finally knew that this brat before him was the lucky fellow who had claimed it.
No wonder that single blow had been something even he struggled to withstand. This was the Mountains and Rivers Bell — not an ordinary Emperor Treasure. Even a Great Emperor would benefit greatly from possessing it. In other words, it wasn't Yang Kai who had wounded him — it was the might of the Mountains and Rivers Bell.
The bell's toll shook mountains and rivers. An Emperor's rhythm turned heaven and earth. Its illustrious renown — who had not heard of it, who did not know its name?