Yang Kai's brazen demeanor actually gave the Snow Demon pause, as if she hadn't expected him to dismiss even Yu Rumeng. Her beautiful eyes scrutinized him carefully, and a look of sudden understanding dawned on her face. With some shock, she said, "She really is generous, willing to invest such a heavy stake in you."
This remark left Yang Kai completely baffled. Before he could dwell on it, Xiao Wu stumbled through the doorway, followed closely by Li Shiqing from the neighboring room, clearly having heard the commotion and come to investigate.
But upon seeing Yang Kai's nearly naked body, Li Shiqing immediately clapped her hands over her eyes and turned away.
Clatter, clatter...
Two columns of demon soldiers also charged in from outside, led by Lao Ke. They instantly packed the room. Although Yang Kai's clash with the Snow Demon had been brief, the disturbance it created was significant. If even this hadn't alerted Lao Ke, he would be severely remiss in his duties as the commander of the City Palace.
"Your Majesty, what happened?!" Lao Ke cried out in alarm.
Yang Kai immediately launched into a furious tirade: "A bunch of useless trash! Someone snuck in and you didn't even notice! What use are you to me?" Even if this Snow Demon was a Half-Saint and Lao Ke wasn't a match for her, allowing someone to infiltrate his room was an unforgivable lapse. At the very least, there should have been some detection.
Lao Ke now saw the room held an additional figure: a woman with silver hair and an alluring figure. Beads of fine sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He bowed with clasped fists, "Please calm your anger, Your Majesty!" When he raised his head again and stared at the Snow Demon's retreating back, his eyes burned with towering rage.
Yang Kai waved his hand impatiently. "What are you waiting for? Seize her!"
Having failed to gauge this woman's true strength earlier, he could now use Lao Ke to test her limits.
Lao Ke immediately accepted the order. Containing his fury, his demonic energy surged. With one hand, he thrust a palm strike toward the Snow Demon's shoulder, but midway changed the palm into a claw, clearly intending to capture her first.
This claw, born of fury, carried considerable force. Though Lao Ke was old, he was still an Upper Demon King after all.
Yet the Snow Demon seemed utterly oblivious. She remained standing there, calm and composed. Then she leisurely shifted half her body aside, her beautiful eyes glancing sideways at Lao Ke. A faint smile played at the corner of her lips as she simply watched him, silent and still.
As their gazes met, Lao Ke's pupils contracted sharply, shrinking to the size of needle points. The imposing aura of his Upper Demon King realm vanished in an instant, like snowflakes under a blazing sun. His hand halted abruptly less than three inches from the Snow Demon's slender palm. The gale it generated whipped her silvery hair, sending those snow-white strands flying.
Time seemed to freeze.
The sweat on Lao Ke's forehead grew even more profuse, coalescing into large, bean-sized droplets that slid down his cheeks. His body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Xiao Wu also found herself covering her mouth with both hands, staring in shock at the Snow Demon's profile.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai frowned. He glanced at Xiao Wu, then at Lao Ke, and suddenly felt that things had become rather complicated. He had clearly seen fear in Lao Ke's eyes...
Lao Ke knew this woman? What was her background, that she could make even an Upper Demon King feel fear? Was she indeed a Half-Saint as he had guessed?
Just as his doubts swirled, Lao Ke hastily retracted his large hand and, like a collapsing mountain or a toppling jade pillar, dropped to one knee. His head bowed low, he said in a trembling voice, "Lao Ke greets the Holy Sovereign!"
In a rush, the demon soldiers who had been standing in formation, glaring at the Snow Demon, also dropped to their knees in a scattered heap.
Yang Kai nearly bulged his eyes out of his head, staring at the Snow Demon before him with utter disbelief.
Holy Sovereign? He had heard Lao Ke's address to the woman with perfect clarity. In the entire Demon Domain, the title of "Holy Sovereign" could only be possessed by the twelve beings at the absolute pinnacle. Even the Half-Saints under them were not worthy of such an honorific.
This woman was actually a Demon Saint?
In that instant, cold sweat drenched Yang Kai. Things had just gone very, very wrong!
He had assumed the intruder was, at most, a Half-Saint. With his current strength combined with the Dharma Body, and leveraging the advantage of the Cloud Shadow, he didn't need to fear a Half-Saint too much. But if the other party was a Demon Saint, then the situation was entirely different.
Even with the advantage of the Cloud Shadow, even with the Dharma Body as its master, the two of them together probably wouldn't be enough for her to crush casually.
He cursed inwardly. If she was a Demon Saint, why not reveal her identity from the start? Why sneak in disguised as a servant? No wonder Lao Ke and the others hadn't detected a thing. A Demon Saint entering this place could easily evade their notice.
But regardless, this incident would be difficult to resolve. Yang Kai didn't know what this Demon Saint was doing in the Cloud Shadow, but she had clearly come for him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have approached him so stealthily. Thank the Warm Divine Lotus, or he would have fallen victim just now.
The situation looked grim. The moment Lao Ke uttered the words "Holy Sovereign," Yang Kai's eyes began darting left and right, searching desperately for a route of escape.