But he also knew that some things, once missed, were simply missed, and regretting them served no purpose. He had already told Yang Kai that the Spirit Beast Island token was something he'd fabricated, so if he offered a different explanation now, wouldn't he be slapping his own face?
Tang Sheng wasn't quite thick-skinned enough for that.
Still, he truly admired Chi Gui's eye for talent. When it came to cultivation, Chi Gui was at the first level while he himself was at the second — a clear edge on that front. As for age and experience, there was simply no comparison between himself and this up-and-coming junior.
Yet before the battle even began, Chi Gui had already predicted that Yang Kai would survive. What did that tell you? It meant Chi Gui's instincts were far sharper than his own.
Perhaps… this was the biggest gap between himself and these rising stars? With that kind of foresight, they were destined to surpass him someday.
Chi Gui said flatly, "Saying all this now is premature." There was no hint of smug satisfaction on his face at having been proven right. If anything, his expression had grown more solemn, his gaze darting through the void as though searching for something.
Tang Sheng frowned, unsure what he meant. Looking at the current state of the battle, even a blind person could tell Yang Kai was going to win without question. Fu Bo and Xu Changfeng would be lucky to escape with their lives — was there really room for any more surprises? Tang Sheng glanced at the seven or eight surviving Emperor Realm cultivators from the two great forces and slowly shook his head. These people had watched their Sect Master and Holy Lord fall into desperate struggle without summoning the courage to lend even a hand. Their faces were all masks of terror — clearly they had been thoroughly cowed by Yang Kai earlier. There was no way they could pose any threat.
Once Yang Kai finished off Fu Bo, or Shi Huo took care of Xu Changfeng, these people would scatter like birds and beasts.
What the devil was Chi Gui getting at? Tang Sheng was thoroughly confused.
In the brief time it took to exchange those few words, the battlefield shifted once more. Yang Kai's killing intent surged as he pointed a finger, and the Mountain and River Bell, which had been spinning lazily overhead, transformed into a streak of light that descended straight toward Fu Bo.
The crushing pressure of heaven and earth exploded outward.
Yang Kai regarded him with cold indifference. "Fu Bo, since you chose to stick your neck out, I'll grant you your wish today. Die."
Fu Bo's face drained of color. His Ghost King form flickered and shifted frantically as he tried to dodge the Mountain and River Bell's suppression, but no matter how he moved or what techniques he deployed to block it, he could not so much as slow the artifact for a single breath. This primordial treasure clung to him like a parasite burrowing into bone, its aura of absolute subjugation locking onto him with unerring precision — as though no matter how far he fled, he could never escape.
He would die. He would absolutely die.
At full strength, Fu Bo might still have found a way to survive, but after his prolonged battle with Yang Kai, he was riddled with injuries and had no strength left to resist the Mountain and River Bell's suppression. As that irresistible force closed in, he could even hear his own bones creaking and cracking under the strain.
"Brother Wu, save me!" Fu Bo could no longer bear it and screamed aloud.
The cry came out of nowhere. Apart from Yang Kai, who had been expecting it, Tang Sheng and the others all looked startled.
But the moment those words left Fu Bo's mouth, an unfamiliar figure burst from the void and threw a fist at Yang Kai from afar. In an instant the heavens and earth trembled, and the laws of the world rippled and churned. A colossal fist shadow, carrying an aura of world-ending destruction, hurtled toward Yang Kai.
This sudden turn of events left Tang Sheng and the others stunned.
"There really was an ambush!" Chi Gui hissed through clenched teeth. When he had been moving alongside the two great forces earlier, he had sensed that they hadn't committed all their strength — that they seemed to be holding something in reserve. But his cultivation had been insufficient to perceive exactly what, leaving him with only a vague feeling.
Now, seeing this, he understood perfectly. His instincts had been right. The manpower the two great forces had displayed was not their full complement. Another powerful fighter had been hidden in the shadows all along.
Judging by the strike itself, this person was unmistakably a third-level Emperor Realm expert — and one whose strength arguably surpassed both Fu Bo and Xu Changfeng. Otherwise, he would never have been kept as their hidden trump card.
The fist came at the worst possible moment — Yang Kai was fully focused on directing the Mountain and River Bell against Fu Bo, caught completely off guard. The outcome was almost predictable.
The color drained from Lan He's face in an instant. Even Chi Gui looked away, unable to watch.
A half-dragon body was indeed formidable — more resilient even than Fu Bo's Ghost King form — but a third-level Emperor Realm expert lying in ambush, observing for so long and building up to a single devastating strike, would naturally have every confidence in his attack.
Chi Gui wore an expression of pure contempt. He loved battle and was addicted to bloodshed, but even he had his principles. The opponents he challenged were always those whose cultivation exceeded his own, using them to temper his martial heart.
The two great forces had already been suspect for throwing so many fighters against Yang Kai, a mere second-level Emperor Realm — a clear case of ganging up on the weak. And now, to have yet another third-level Emperor Realm expert lurking in ambush as well… the word "despicable" hardly did it justice.
Before the eyes of all, the enormous fist shadow slammed directly into Yang Kai's body. Yang Kai, consumed with targeting Fu Bo, had no time to react.
The shockwave detonated, the void where Yang Kai stood shuddered violently, and his entire figure seemed to dissolve into nothingness — as though he had been reduced to dust by that single blow.
Lan He's body trembled, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Dead? How could he be dead? She hadn't even repaid his life-saving grace, and just like that — gone?