In the span of a heartbeat, the Bone Demon had already lost sight of Yang Kai. The two pinpoints of ghostly light in its eye sockets flared considerably brighter as its divine sense surged outward like a tidal wave, searching desperately for Yang Kai's figure.
There was nothing to the left or right, and nothing behind either.
The Bone Demon stared fixedly at the shield-bearing skeletal demon hurtling toward it, its gaze seeming to pierce right through the skeleton to the space beyond. With a single-handed seal, the shield-bearing skeletal demon exploded apart in a thunderous detonation, its shattered bones scattering outward in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree arc like an umbrella of bone, leaving no blind spot whatsoever.
No figure appeared as expected. Behind the shield-bearing skeletal demon, the space remained utterly empty.
A heavy feeling sank through the Bone Demon's mind. It jerked its head upward, and in the next instant, the ghostly light in its eyes flickered as it finally caught the enemy's trail.
From high above, Yang Kai hurtled straight down headfirst like a diving figure, one large hand spreading open as it descended. He arrived in the blink of an eye.
A furious surge of Emperor Yuan churned within him, bearing down like an entire mountain. The pressure forced the Bone Demon's bones—refined through a thousand temperings—to crack and groan. It desperately channeled its own demonic energy, trying to flee the spot, but the terrifying pressure bore down so completely that it couldn't budge an inch.
This guy really was that powerful!
Though it had long known that Yang Kai had killed numerous Demon Kings on his way here, including several Mid-Grade ones, it wasn't until it faced him directly that the Bone Demon truly understood the depth of this man's strength.
This was power far beyond what a cultivator of his level should possess. There was nothing it could do to resist!
BOOM—
A thunderous detonation ripped outward. The ground shook, the mountain trembled. Even with powerful formations isolating the arena from the outside, the tens of thousands of demons in the spectator stands still felt it to their very core, sensing the terror of that single palm strike. One by one, astonishment spread across their faces, the same thought arising unbidden in every mind: Where the hell did this guy come from? How has no one ever heard of him before?
Moments later, all returned to calm. Yang Kai hovered in the air, barely three feet above the ground, his expression placid as he gazed down at what lay below.
Not far in front of him, the Bone Demon had been hammered entirely into the earth, with only its skull remaining above the surface. The ghostly light in its eye sockets flickered erratically—it had clearly been stunned senseless by Yang Kai's strike.
Its wobbling spiritual consciousness affected the skeletal demons it controlled as well, causing them to stagger about like drunks, dancing drunkenly to one side.
Just as the Bone Demon managed to recover somewhat, it felt the light above its head blotted out by a shadow. Looking up, it saw that Yang Kai had already crouched down before it, reaching out to pat its skull. The gesture looked almost like someone admiring an exquisite work of art, stroking and caressing it appreciatively—but in truth, a torrent of Emperor Yuan had already breached the Bone Demon's defenses, surging into its body and sealing away its cultivation, robbing it of any power to resist.
Their gazes met. The Bone Demon saw the playful glint in Yang Kai's eyes, and the ghostly light in its sockets couldn't help but flicker. A wave of foreboding swept through its entire being.
"If you tell me who sent you to deal with me, I'll grant you a quick death." Yang Kai lowered his voice, speaking softly before it.
To assemble over a dozen Demon Kings specifically to target him within this Blood Arena—this was no small operation. Yang Kai didn't believe it was a coincidence. There had to be someone pulling strings behind the scenes. He had only been in the Demon Domain for a few days and hadn't offended anyone of note. Running through the possibilities in his mind, there was really only one explanation…
The Bone Demon remained silent. Knowing full well that Yang Kai intended to kill it, it naturally wouldn't give him the satisfaction. At a time like this, silence was its only weapon.
Yang Kai bared his teeth in a grin and said lightly, "Even without you telling me, I've already guessed. Yue Sang, isn't it?"
Only that man had shown such obvious hostility and killing intent during their first encounter. And as a Half-Saint, Yue Sang certainly had the ability and means to pull strings within the Blood Arena.
No response from the Bone Demon was needed. The moment Yang Kai spoke that name, he distinctly felt its spiritual consciousness waver—and that only strengthened his conviction.
"Let me ask you one more question," Yang Kai said, smiling as he looked down at it. "There's a female Demon King named Bo Ya—are she and you working together?"
Though Bo Ya had shown nothing suspicious previously, Yang Kai wasn't about to take her entirely at face value. If he could glean something from this Bone Demon, all the better. If not, it was no loss—just a casual question, costing him nothing.
"Kill me if you're going to kill me," the Bone Demon rattled, its jaw opening and closing with the sound of grinding metal. "Why the endless chatter? Do you really think I'd tell you?"
It didn't know what Yang Kai was after with that question, but at this point, words were meaningless. All it could do was curse its own carelessness and overconfidence, hoping the other dozen or so fighters would learn from its mistake and exact vengeance on its behalf.
Yang Kai nodded. The Emperor Yuan in his hand surged violently, pouring without reservation into the Bone Demon's body.
A series of cracking sounds rang out as every bone in the creature's body shattered to fragments. The two pinpoints of ghostly light in its eye sockets dimmed rapidly, then went out entirely. It died without a sound.
Having dealt with the Bone Demon, Yang Kai raised his head sharply and, without a moment's pause, shot off toward the mountain peak like a bolt of lightning.
He had barely reached the mountainside when a barrage of ferocious attacks suddenly rained down from the summit. Fireballs the size of washbasins blazed with raging heat, lightning bolts thick as a child's arm wove into an interlocking net, and ice spikes and wind blades flew in concert, shredding the tall trees to splinters.
Yang Kai danced upon the very edge of death itself, his figure flickering and swerving, swaying left and right, narrowly avoiding each lethal strike at the last possible moment. By the time he climbed all the way to the summit, he hadn't suffered so much as a scratch.