Yao Si was shocked. He hadn't realized he had already fallen into a trap. In his panic and fury, he bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, hoping the pain would jolt him back to his senses.
The pain came, but there wasn't the slightest hint of blood.
Yao Si froze.
No blood meant that he wasn't in his physical body. His current state... was that of a spiritual soul? If not for that bite, he might not even have noticed.
As the Son of Ghost Souls, Yao Si knew better than anyone when someone had been struck by a soul-based secret art. This thought flashed through his mind, and the composure he had been desperately maintaining completely collapsed.
Back when the Warm Divine Lotus had evolved, Yang Kai had gained an insight and obtained a secret art. This art was unfathomable and unpredictable, nearly impossible to guard against. Combined with Yang Kai's powerful soul cultivation, it often caught enemies off guard, seizing the initiative before they could react. It was called Birth Lotus.
Once Birth Lotus was unleashed, a pure white bud on the verge of blooming would rush into the enemy's sea of consciousness, devouring their soul power to bloom into a full flower. However, all these years, aside from the Birth Lotus secret art, Yang Kai had not been able to gain insight into any other soul-based secret arts from the Warm Divine Lotus, nor had he made any effort to cultivate other such arts.
After all, mastery lay in depth rather than breadth, and the Birth Lotus was more than sufficient as a soul-based secret art.
But ever since he had shared an intimate night with Yu Rumeng and his soul cultivation had skyrocketed, he had discovered that his Birth Lotus secret art possessed an additional transformation — Rage Lotus!
Completely different from Birth Lotus, Rage Lotus was a soul-based secret art that was, one might say, the polar opposite.
When Birth Lotus was unleashed, an enemy's field of vision would be flooded by a bud on the verge of blooming. Once the flower blossomed, the enemy's soul power would drain away at a terrifying rate.
When Rage Lotus was unleashed, however, a fully bloomed white lotus would envelope the enemy's soul. The lotus would close, sealing the body and mind within a tiny pocket of space, severing the connection between the enemy's soul and physical body.
For any living being to survive, to walk and speak, the soul and body had to be unified as one. Yet Rage Lotus could strip away that unity — with the connection between soul and flesh severed, the body became nothing more than a mindless corpse. No matter how formidable its strength, it would be unable to exert even a fraction of it.
Just like Yao Si at this very moment…
The world had been plunged into absolute darkness. Not a sliver of light remained, and even perception itself had vanished. Before slipping into slumber, a single thought erupted in Yao Si's mind, filling him with rage: That villain is treacherous — I've fallen for his trick!
It was no wonder he thought so. Moments ago, when he had been about to strike, Yang Kai had worn an air of deference, as though he would simply concede the moment Yao Si lunged forward, yielding the position of Jizi Army Corps Commander without a fight. But the very instant he made his move, that villain Yang Kai had struck first after feinting behind, hitting him with this exact technique.
Despicable! Utterly despicable!
Even before setting out for Lingxiao Palace, Yao Si had paid a visit to the Netherworld Great Emperor to inquire about the Jizi Army Corps Commander position. At the time, he had asked the Great Emperor how he compared to Yang Kai.
The Great Emperor hadn't even spared him a glance. He had simply replied: "Not as good."
Yao Si was not convinced at all. Having brought the Great Emperor's decree to Lingxiao Palace to issue his challenge, he never imagined he would end up like this!
And now, Yao Si was even less convinced! He felt that if they had fought openly and honestly against Yang Kai, the outcome would have been far from certain. But for the other party to be so cunning and underhanded — it was a thoroughly dishonorable victory.
Consumed by deep resentment, Yao Si drifted into a heavy sleep.
This battle may have been fraught with perilous twists and turns for Yao Si, but to outside observers, it was nothing more than a single instant.
When Yao Si had charged forward, Yang Kai had met him head-on. Then the two had passed each other, each standing perfectly still. Since Yao Si was facing the crowd, everyone could clearly see the light in his eyes fade away, his gaze turning hollow as he stood rooted in place.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, slowly turned around, let out a sigh, and patted him on the shoulder.
Only at this moment did the afterimage of where Yang Kai had been standing gradually dissolve.
Everyone stared at him with peculiar expressions. Ling Taixu frowned and asked, "You didn't do anything to him, did you?"
Though Yao Si's behavior earlier had been rather unpleasant, it was simply his personality — he bore no grudge against Lingxiao Palace, and as the son of a Great Emperor, there was truly nothing they could do to him.
"Nothing, he just fell asleep," Yang Kai replied.
Fell asleep...
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, seeing the shock reflected in each other's eyes.
Although the clash between Yang Kai and Yao Si just now had lasted only a moment, the spiritual fluctuations they had unleashed simultaneously were unmistakably clear. Putting the entire sequence of events together, no one could fail to grasp that they had clashed at the level of the soul.
But the final outcome was that one remained completely unharmed, while the other had fallen into a deep sleep.
The one unharmed was Yang Kai, and the one who had fallen asleep was Yao Si.