Upon hearing Yang Kai's response, the corners of Changtian's mouth curved into a faint arc, and he glanced off to the side.
In the next instant, a sudden sense of alarm erupted in Yang Kai's heart as a torrent of power surged toward him from the flank. Caught completely off guard, Yang Kai had no time to react and could only instinctively activate the Void Secret Art, exiling himself into the void.
A slender palm pierced through the space where Yang Kai had been standing, striking empty air. The attacker raised her delicate brows, a flicker of surprise crossing her features.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai had already seized the opportunity to teleport a hundred zhang away, his expression dark as he looked back.
He hadn't attempted to escape using spatial divine abilities. In front of a powerhouse comparable to a Demon Saint, doing so would only invite humiliation. But the fact that she had launched a sneak attack without so much as a word of warning still stoked his anger.
The one who had struck was the younger of the twin sisters, apparently acting on Changtian's silent cue to use force to compel him into demonstrating his spatial techniques.
"Interesting." Changtian clasped his hands behind his back and turned to look back at Yang Kai's position. With his level of perception, he had naturally seen through every subtlety of the exchange. He smiled faintly. "But spatial divine abilities aren't exclusively defensive, are they? Don't you have some means of attack?"
Both the Void Secret Art and teleportation were purely defensive — clearly insufficient to satisfy Changtian's curiosity.
Yang Kai's expression soured at these words. He was only at the second layer of the Emperor Realm. Being ambushed by a Half-Saint — what else could he do but defend himself? The implication in Changtian's words was unmistakable: if Yang Kai didn't deliver, he would not let the matter rest.
Sure enough, the moment the words left his lips, the younger sister struck again. She raised a slender finger and pointed at Yang Kai from a distance. Despite being over a hundred zhang apart, that single point sent a crushing sensation crashing down upon him, as though an entire mountain had settled on his head. His chest churned with roiling blood, his breathing grew labored, and a humiliating sense of insignificance surged through him — the feeling of being nothing more than an ant.
Judging from her relaxed, effortless demeanor, she hadn't even used her full strength.
Every bone in Yang Kai's body creaked under the pressure. Gritting his teeth, he flicked his fingers repeatedly, sending wave after wave of pitch-black moon blades slicing through the void toward her. They arrived in the blink of an eye, not only shattering her attack to pieces but seizing the initiative entirely. Her beautiful eyes narrowed in surprise.
The arm cannot twist against the thigh. Since Changtian wished to witness the power of spatial divine abilities, Yang Kai had no choice but to oblige.
The elder sister across from him watched with her lips parting into a perfect "O." Those pitch-black moon blades contained truly terrifying power — far beyond what any mid-rank Demon King could produce. It was clear that spatial divine abilities were not merely exceptional in defense and survival, but possessed formidable offensive capability as well — even devastatingly so. Otherwise, they could never have cut through a Half-Saint's attack.
A moment's carelessness allowed several moon blades to close in on her, and the younger sister's expression turned ugly. Her pointed finger shifted into a palm and slapped downward with vicious force.
The moon blades instantly collided with an invisible wall and burst apart. But that wasn't the end of it. She suddenly blurred forward, crossing the hundred-zhang distance in an instant and arriving before Yang Kai. Her arm, boneless and serpentine, slid along one of his and a palm struck toward his chest. The blow looked weightless, carrying no discernible force, but Yang Kai's face drained of color. He felt a lethal threat bearing down on him.
*This woman's lost her mind!* he cursed inwardly. *Changtian only wanted to see spatial divine abilities in action — and I've already shown him. And you're trying to kill me?* Though he knew she couldn't truly intend to end his life, the power condensed in that palm was no illusion. Who knew how much force she would withdraw at the last moment? If he misjudged it, he could end up seriously injured.
Cornered by a Half-Saint at point-blank range — one could say he had been pushed to the brink — Yang Kai's expression was colder and calmer than it had ever been. Spatial Laws surged around his body as he threw a punch straight at her.
The punch was not fast, but it was devastatingly heavy.
Before his fist, a pitch-black vortex materialized out of thin air, like the gaping maw of some invisible beast seeking to devour all things in this world.
*Exile!*
Since he couldn't dodge, the only option was to turn offense into defense. But in doing so, he had now revealed every spatial technique at his disposal.
The younger sister — who had been confident of victory — froze in astonishment. Even as a Half-Saint, she could feel the devouring force emanating from that black hole. She knew with absolute certainty that if she were truly swallowed by it, she would be lost forever in the crevice between dimensions, unable to find a way out, ultimately perishing alone in the endless void.
Without a shred of hesitation, she abandoned her original attack and retreated at full speed. But before pulling back, she sent a bolt of Demon Yuan from her palm directly into Yang Kai's chest.
Her figure drifted back to her original position as though she had never moved at all. The only evidence of the exchange was a bowl-sized tear in the fabric of her skirt near her lower abdomen — where the black hole had grazed her. Pale, snow-white skin was exposed to the cool air, but fortunately she wasn't injured. Otherwise, the embarrassment would have been unbearable.
Even so, what had just occurred was nothing short of astonishing. After all, her opponent was merely equivalent to a mid-rank Demon King. Any other mid-rank Demon King, even if she hadn't used her full strength, wouldn't have been able to so much as touch a hair on her head — let alone damage her clothing.
On the other end, Yang Kai's figure was blasted backward as well — though not by choice. He had been sent flying by the blow. After managing to steady himself, he held it in for a long moment before finally giving up, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He gritted his teeth and glared at the younger sister with a face full of indignation.
That last burst of Demon Yuan she had fired from a distance hadn't truly done him in, but it had left him with minor injuries. The might of a Half-Saint was indeed no small matter.
"Are we done yet?" Yang Kai wiped the corner of his mouth and turned to look at Changtian. He was only at the second layer of the Emperor Realm — achieving what he had was already his absolute limit. If Changtian intended to press him any further, he truly had no idea what he would do.