Tang Sheng nodded slightly, his face full of reverence. "Yes, that is Lord Li."
The title of "the strongest beneath a Great Emperor" carried tremendous weight. In the Star Boundary, anyone whose cultivation had reached a certain level would know of Li Wuyi — few among them had not.
Yet those who had actually seen him in person were far fewer. Spirit Beast Island drifted without trace, and Li Wuyi himself was a master of the Space Laws, appearing and vanishing without shadow or sound — not just anyone could meet him. Tang Sheng had been fortunate enough to encounter him once, long ago, before he had even reached the Emperor Realm, back when he was still a youth.
Now, several hundred years — approaching a thousand — had passed in a blink. Tang Sheng had grown into middle age, but time seemed to have left no mark on Li Wuyi at all. He looked exactly as he had a millennium ago — just as spirited, just as impossible to gaze upon directly.
Tang Sheng sighed inwardly. In this lifetime, he would probably never reach that level. He would be hard-pressed even to attain the third stage of the Emperor Realm. He glanced over at Lan He, whose eyes shimmered with wonder, and Chi Gui, whose gaze blazed with radiance, wondering whether they might ever have such an opportunity.
"If that man is Li Wuyi, then the woman beside him... could she be the legendary Nine Phoenixes?" Qian Xiuying's expression shifted as she looked toward the beautiful young woman dressed in red.
The two great powers of Spirit Beast Island — Li Wuyi and Nine Phoenixes — both carried extraordinary reputations. The former was renowned for his mastery of the Space Laws; the latter, for her status as a Sacred Spirit — a member of the Phoenix Clan, even rarer in number than the Dragon Clan.
Tang Sheng nodded. "It should be. But what are they doing here? Could they have been drawn by the commotion from the battle?"
Though Spirit Beast Island was also situated in the Eastern Domain, the distance from this place was simply too great. Even with the battle that had raged here earlier, Spirit Beast Island could not possibly have sensed it. The only explanation was that they had already been nearby — which was how they had been able to tear through the void and arrive so quickly.
"How lively," came a voice from the sky. The rift in the void slowly healed as Nine Phoenixes' beautiful eyes swept over the surroundings. She let out a soft laugh, then her gaze fixed on Yang Kai. Her phoenix eyes narrowed slightly before blazing with brightness. "It's you, little brat?"
Though Yang Kai's physique had undergone a dramatic transformation, she recognized him at a glance. After all, this was not her first time dealing with him — she had seen his dragon-transformed body back on Dragon Island, so she was hardly unfamiliar with his appearance.
"Greetings, Senior Nine Phoenixes! Greetings, Senior Li!" Yang Kai cupped his fists toward the two of them and broke into a grin. This was rather interesting. He had originally been planning to find time to visit Spirit Beast Island to discuss the Space Laws with Li Wuyi, but it seemed the man had come to him instead — saving him no small amount of trouble.
"Senior, senior — what senior? Am I that old?" Nine Phoenixes' face darkened.
Yang Kai grinned. "Senior Sister Nine Phoenixes is in the very prime of her beauty — how could she possibly be old? It was my loose tongue that spoke out of turn. Please don't hold it against me, Senior Sister Nine Phoenixes."
Nine Phoenixes' expression melted into a beam of satisfaction, and she nodded repeatedly. "A teachable child!" She looked positively delighted.
Li Wuyi reached up and rubbed his forehead. "Could you maybe have a shred of shame?"
Nine Phoenixes shot him a sidelong glare. "You're calling me shameless? You dare call me shameless?"
Li Wuyi pointed at Yang Kai. "I'm talking about this brat here. His ability to read the wind and steer the sails is truly something. If the Dragon Clan ever found out about the way you curry favor, I wonder if they'd clean house."
Yang Kai laughed heartily. "The Dragon Clan doesn't have authority over me. But Big Brother Li, Senior Sister Nine Phoenixes — what brings you two here?"
Li Wuyi was completely stunned into silence by being called "Big Brother Li." The last time they had met, Yang Kai had been addressing him with nothing but "Senior" and deference at every turn. In the span of a single breath, the man had somehow promoted him to big brother.
Still, if Nine Phoenixes had become "Senior Sister," then he supposed he could tolerate being called "Big Brother" — otherwise, wouldn't that make him her senior? And if this particular lady threw a fit, he really wasn't sure he could handle it.
"It's a long story. What's going on over here?" Li Wuyi didn't elaborate, but his gaze drifted, seemingly casual, toward the flamboyant old man standing at Yang Kai's side with a look that practically screamed "please protect me."
So it really is connected to this old fellow, Yang Kai realized with crystal clarity. When that spatial rift had opened earlier and the old man had immediately scurried to his side, Yang Kai had suspected as much. Now, seeing Li Wuyi's expression, he knew his guess had been correct.
But still — for both of Spirit Beast Island's great powers to take action, was it really just to deal with this old man? What kind of Sacred Spirit incarnation was he, to have provoked both Li Wuyi and Nine Phoenixes into chasing him here together?
And if you're being chased, wouldn't it make more sense to flee for your life instead of running over here and clinging to a young master for protection? Do you really think I can shield you from this?
A hundred thoughts raced through his mind, but Yang Kai simply smiled faintly. "Nothing much. Someone just happens to covet some valuable things I have, so they've gone to great lengths to kill me and seize the treasure." As he spoke, he cast a cold, sidelong glance toward Cang Mo in the distance and let out a chilling laugh.
"Kill and seize the treasure!" Nine Phoenixes' delicate brows furrowed, and displeasure flickered across her face.
Though Yang Kai appeared to have no connection to Spirit Beast Island on the surface, in truth he shared deep ties with them.
First, Spirit Beast Island's little princess, Mo Xiaoqi, was on very close terms with Yang Kai. Over the years, that girl had mentioned Yang Kai countless times on the island and desperately wanted to leave Spirit Beast Island to visit him. Unfortunately, the Beast Martial Great Emperor had placed her under house arrest, leaving the poor girl wracked with anguish. How could Nine Phoenixes fail to see that the girl harbored some budding, tender feelings for Yang Kai? If anything happened to him, the girl would tear the heavens apart.
Second, the mistress of Spirit Beast Island was none other than the Third Elder of Dragon Island. And Yang Kai himself had already become intimate with the Fifth Elder of Dragon Island — last time on Dragon Island, the two had fought side by side and caused quite the upheaval, even earning praise from a Great Emperor. Through these layers of indirect connection, they were practically kin.