The group had clearly learned about the Wuhua Hall incident on the way here. Their brows were knotted with gravity as they arrived. A whistling sound cut through the air, and everyone turned to look. Wen Zishan said, "Yang Kai is here."
Lei Hong and Xue Zhengmao had met Yang Kai before — the last time he had gone to the Star God Palace to train in the Five Colored Pagoda, they had all crossed paths and were naturally no strangers. At the moment, both of them were clicking their tongues in wonder. Had Xiao Yuyang not informed them ahead of time, they would never have dared to believe that the Wuhua Hall affair had been resolved single-handedly by Yang Kai.
To think he could rally so many powerful allies in just a single day, and apparently even deploy an inter-domain spatial formation — such talent was nothing short of extraordinary. Looking back to when Yang Kai had first gone to the Star God Palace to train in the Five Colored Pagoda, Lei Hong and Xue Zhengmao had barely given him a second thought. Now, however, they both regarded him as an equal in their hearts.
"Palace Master, Holy Lord Ma, Envoy Xiao…" Yang Kai descended and clasped his fists in greeting to each of them in turn, then exchanged courtesies with Lei Hong and Xue Zhengmao as well.
Lei Hong and Xue Zhengmao exchanged a glance, then simultaneously bowed deeply to the waist. "Elder Yang turned the tide and saved many of our fellow cultivators in the Southern Domain from disaster. On behalf of the Star God Palace, we are profoundly grateful." Protecting the Southern Domain was supposed to be the Star God Palace's responsibility, yet the Palace had been completely in the dark about Wuhua Hall's conspiracy, resulting in heavy casualties this time — a severe blow to the Star God Palace's prestige and reputation. If Wuhua Hall's plot had truly succeeded, the Palace would have lost far more than face; the very foundations of the entire Southern Domain would have been shaken.
Their gratitude at this moment was entirely genuine.
Yang Kai raised a hand. "You're too kind. It was simply my duty." He sighed. "Unfortunately, events unfolded too suddenly, and I wasn't able to see things through to the end. The Southern Domain has suffered grievous losses. I'm ashamed."
Xue Zhengmao shook his head. "Had it not been for Elder Yang this time, the Southern Domain would be in far greater trouble. Preserving so many lives — that is Elder Yang's accomplishment alone."
Yang Kai smiled modestly. "I was fortunate enough to have some friends willing to help. I dare not claim credit."
Xue Zhengmao and Lei Hong fell silent. The two of them had previously looked down on Yang Kai to some degree. Even the last time Yang Kai had visited the Star God Palace, they hadn't taken him particularly seriously. The main reason was that another Star God Palace Elder, Tan Junhao, had once died at Yang Kai's hands. Regardless of whether Tan Junhao had truly been in the wrong, he had still been a Star God Palace Elder with whom both of them had long been on friendly terms. Yang Kai killing Tan Junhao was tantamount to slapping the Star God Palace in the face. The Great Emperor had been magnanimous and let the matter go, but Xue Zhengmao and Lei Hong could not simply let it be. For a long time, they had harbored quiet resentment toward Yang Kai for his actions.
It was only today that their opinion of him had begun to change. Neither arrogant nor impetuous, with a temperament far beyond his years — no wonder he was able to walk faster and farther than any of his peers.
"Everyone from the Star God Palace has come?" Yang Kai glanced at the group nearby. Among them, those at the Emperor Realm were too numerous to count — there were at least a hundred. Such a large number of Emperor Realm cultivators could not have come from the Star God Palace alone; there had to be others from various Sects as well.
Xue Zhengmao said with a note of shame, "Upon hearing the news, we traveled day and night to reach this place. Along the way, we also called upon people from several other Sects to join us, yet we still arrived a step too late." The main issue was that the Star God Palace was quite far from here, and the messenger who had gone to relay the news had been delayed by several days on the road as well, which was why they had only just arrived now.
When they finally got here, they found the matter already resolved — they had made the trip for nothing. But they couldn't simply turn around and leave. The Wuhua Hall conspiracy had been crushed, yes, but this entire affair still needed to be thoroughly investigated.
"Where is the Great Emperor?" Yang Kai asked, puzzled.
He hadn't caught sight of the Great Emperor anywhere. Logically speaking, for something of this magnitude, the Great Emperor could not have simply stayed away. Yang Kai had sent word to the Star God Palace precisely because he had been counting on the Great Emperor to come in person. If the Great Emperor Ming Yue had shown his face, someone like Lei Gu would have been nothing to worry about.
The moment he asked, Wen Zishan and Ma Qing both showed puzzled expressions as well. Ma Qing said, "Indeed — why hasn't the Great Emperor appeared?"
Xue Zhengmao replied, "The Great Emperor heard that the situation here had already been resolved, so he returned to the Star God Palace."
Everyone was somewhat speechless at this. Since he had already come all the way here, why not stop by and see for himself? After all, this matter was no small thing — he should have at least inspected the scene personally. But the Great Emperor had apparently turned back midway, and since it involved the Great Emperor, nobody dared say much about it.
Yang Kai casually asked, "Has Princess Lan Xun not come either?"
Lei Hong answered, "Her Highness is currently in closed-door cultivation today. We appreciate Elder Yang's concern."
Yang Kai gave an "oh" of acknowledgment.
Xue Zhengmao said, "Although the Great Emperor didn't come, Elder Grand Elder and I can handle the aftermath of this matter. There are, however, a few things I'd like to ask Brother Yang." Without missing a beat, he had shifted his form of address to "Brother Yang," which sounded considerably warmer.
Yang Kai clasped his fists. "Please ask whatever you will, Elder Xue. I will answer everything to the best of my knowledge."
Xue Zhengmao said, "I've already heard the general outline from Elder Xiao, but I know nothing about what happened on your end. If Brother Yang wouldn't mind…"
Yang Kai smiled faintly. "There's nothing to hide. It was like this — on the final day of the Martial Arts Gathering, during the banquet, I suddenly received a voice transmission from Elder Luo Chen of our Hall, asking me to step outside…"
He gave a brief account of how Luo Chen had lured him outside, concealing nothing — including the ambush and assassination attempt.
"There's actually one thing I'd like to ask all of you about." Yang Kai's brow furrowed deeply as he recalled the events of that night. Even now, the memory sent a chill through him.