Yang Kai laughed it off and said, "Passing through another World Gate would indeed be shorter, but I still have some matters to attend to on my end. Brother Bo Ya, please be patient."
Hearing this, Bo Ya could only give a slight nod. His mission was to bring Yang Kai to the Ao Xue Continent as quickly as possible, so a minor delay and a detour wasn't a big deal.
The contingent of several thousand had only just passed through the World Gate and arrived on the Blue Plains Continent when a massive force suddenly appeared from the distance, bearing down on them. At the head of the group, two figures radiated demonic aura that soared into the sky — both were unmistakably High-Rank Demon Lords. The demonic army trailing behind them was roughly equal in number to Yang Kai's own force, and they charged straight toward them.
The moment the two sides came face to face, the two leaders clasped their hands in unison and called out, "Greetings, Great King!"
Their gazes flicked to Bo Ya, and they quickly straightened their expressions, bowing low. "Greetings, Lord Bo Ya!" Their hearts were riddled with confusion — they had no idea how Yang Kai had ended up together with Bo Ya. They certainly knew who he was: one of the Demi-Saints under Holy Sovereign Bei Li Mo, a man whose relationship with Yue Sang was neither good nor bad. There was no particular closeness between them, just the occasional exchange.
The two who had arrived were both High-Rank Demon Lords of the Blue Plains Continent. One was named Tu Qialuo, the other Baza. Having received the transmission from Cloud Shadow, they had hastily gathered their forces and rushed over to rendezvous with Yang Kai, though they had no idea what he actually intended. Now, seeing Bo Ya here and then glancing at the elite demonic warriors arrayed behind Yang Kai, they couldn't help but jump to conclusions — they half expected him to be marching to wage war on some other continent, and the pressure bore down on them like a mountain.
Bo Ya gave a faint nod and nothing more. High-Rank Demon Lords were nothing to scoff at, but as a Demi-Saint, he had no real need to pay them too much mind.
Yang Kai said nothing elaborate either. He simply waved his hand. "Keep up!" Without breaking stride, he shot forward again.
The army of several thousand swelled to over ten thousand in an instant. There were over a hundred Demon Lords among them, and while the number of High-Rank Demon Lords was fewer, there were still three in total. Under the command of Tu Qialuo and Baza, the demons of the Blue Plains quickly merged their ranks with the Cloud Shadow demons, while the two High-Rank Demon Lords sidled up to Yin and quietly probed him with voice transmission.
When they learned that Yang Kai actually possessed the ability to repair World Gates and had earned the regard of Holy Sovereign Bei Li Mo, who had specifically summoned him to handle the World Gate issues on her territory, Tu Qialuo and Baza couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
They had genuinely thought they were being mustered for war against some other continent. It was just a World Gate repair job — did it really warrant this kind of formation? Was all this truly necessary?
Not only could the two of them not make sense of it, Bo Ya couldn't either. He glanced back at the army of over ten thousand and thought to himself that anyone who didn't know the full picture would assume Yang Kai was about to march an army out of the Ao Xue Continent and move against the Holy Sovereign. So this was what he had meant by "matters to attend to" — Bo Ya couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.
They passed through World Gate after World Gate, hopping from one continent to the next. An army of ten thousand on the march was hardly a massive force, but it was far from insignificant either. Several continents along the route were thrown into a state of alarm.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and when Yang Kai plunged through one final World Gate, a wave of frigid air washed over him.
He looked up and froze.
Before him lay a continent blanketed entirely in ice and snow — a world draped in silver, pure white without a single stain of color. Snowflakes the size of goose feathers drifted ceaselessly from the sky, and the warmth of every breath he exhaled was clearly visible.
In the distance, several mountain ranges rose and fell in succession, their peaks curling like elegant white dragons mid-dance. Mist and clouds churned between the ranges, a breathtaking spectacle. The undulating white landscape stretched on without end, vast and boundless.
Arriving in this world felt as though body and soul alike were being purified.
Without needing Bo Ya to explain further, Yang Kai already knew they had reached the Ao Xue Continent. Bei Li Mo had been born a Snow Demon, and she was most fond of this kind of frigid environment. In that sense, she bore some resemblance to Fu Zhun, the Second Elder of the Dragon Clan — her own Ice and Snow Island had much the same scenery, though a single island could never match the grandeur of an entire continent.
The army of over ten thousand filed through the World Gate one after another, and many who set foot here for the first time were momentarily dazed by the sight.
Xiao Wu was the most vocal in her admiration. "What a beautiful place!"
Li Shiqing nodded vigorously beside her.
Bo Ya offered Yang Kai a slight smile. "What does Brother Yang think of this place?"
"Born of spiritual grace, endlessly beautiful. No wonder Holy Sovereign Bei Li Mo was able to rise to power here."
Bo Ya laughed. "Brother Yang speaks truly. The Ao Xue Continent is deeply tied to the Holy Sovereign, which is why I humbly ask that Brother Yang lend his aid in helping her resolve her troubles!"
"Gladly!" Yang Kai replied without hesitation, though inwardly he felt quite differently. If it weren't for his desire to secretly make a trip to the Zhou Tian Continent, he wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. He would have been more than happy to see this continent destroyed — perhaps it might even shake the foundations of that wretched woman Bei Li Mo.
Still, during the journey he had done some discreet investigating. Although the Zhou Tian Continent wasn't technically under Bei Li Mo's territory — it belonged to another Demon Sovereign's domain — it wasn't impossible to reach. One of the World Gates on the Zhou Tian Continent connected directly to a continent under Bei Li Mo's jurisdiction. If he could use that continent as a springboard, there would absolutely be a chance to infiltrate the Zhou Tian Continent.