"How dare you say I can't come!" Yang Kai was furious. He strode into the pavilion, glowering down at the old man with undisguised hostility. "Wu Kuang, what do you think you're doing!"
Previously, the Dharma Avatar had transmitted a message, saying it had detected the aura of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, and Yang Kai had already had a bad feeling. Now, seeing the situation with his own eyes, it was indeed Wu Kuang causing trouble — his lungs were about to burst with rage. The last time he had seen Wu Kuang, the man had still been in the Ancestral Domain. He never imagined that the next time they met, Wu Kuang would have come here to devour his own Star Domain. If not for the fact that Duan Hongchen shared his soul with Wu Kuang, Yang Kai wouldn't have bothered with words — he would have settled things with his fists. Wu Kuang was a Great Emperor, but he presumably hadn't fully recovered yet. Yang Kai had grown far stronger since his trip to Dragon Island, and he now had four Demon Clan Half-Saints under his command. If it came to a fight, he genuinely wasn't afraid.
As Yang Kai entered the pavilion, Mei Jiu'er followed close behind, standing at his back. The wariness on her face had not softened in the slightest, and her grip on the divine stone in her hand had only tightened. She could tell that the Star Domain's master and this old man knew each other, but their relationship was clearly not cordial. The Star Domain's master harbored ill feelings toward the old man, so naturally she showed no friendliness either.
Wu Kuang blinked, then smiled. "That Star Domain is yours?" He was an exceptionally perceptive man. Seeing Yang Kai appear here had genuinely surprised him, but he quickly grasped the full picture.
"What do you think?" Yang Kai leaned forward and slapped his palm down on the chessboard. The black and white pieces rattled, instantly scattering into chaos.
Wu Kuang frowned at the board and sighed with languid regret. "I was about to win. What is wrong with you — can't we have a civil conversation? Why resort to violence? Ai…"
Before he could finish, Yang Kai flipped the entire board over. This time the pieces didn't merely scatter — they flew into the air.
Wu Kuang laughed. "Do you realize how many people will die because of what you just did!"
As if Wu Kuang needed to tell him — Yang Kai had realized something was wrong the moment he overturned the board. His face changed dramatically. Demon Qi surged as both hands shot out. In an instant, the pavilion was filled with boundless palm shadows. The shadows collapsed inward, converging into a single form, and Yang Kai stood clutching a huge armful of chess pieces, his expression a mixture of shock and lingering fear.
Wu Kuang's eyes narrowed sharply. He stared at Yang Kai and said, "Demon Qi? You've fallen into darkness?" Before Yang Kai had made his move, Wu Kuang hadn't noticed. But now that Yang Kai's Demon Qi was surging and his presence was overwhelming, anyone with eyes could see the telltale signs.
Yang Kai's face was deathly pale. He looked down at the pieces cradled in his arms, his eyelids twitching incessantly. "What are you doing?"
Wu Kuang ignored the question entirely. "How interesting — you've actually fallen into darkness. And yet your mind hasn't been corrupted? If it's not too much trouble, might I take a look?"
Yang Kai kept his expression cold. "You can look — but not for free."
Wu Kuang smiled and nodded agreeably. "Ask whatever you want. Ask away."
Only then did Yang Kai snort and drop into the chair opposite Wu Kuang. He carefully placed each chess piece back onto the board one by one — not restoring the original positions, merely setting them down. Afterward, he meticulously inspected each piece to confirm they were undamaged. Only then did he finally let out a long breath.
Mei Jiu'er hadn't understood at first why Yang Kai cared so much about those pieces. Driven by curiosity, she glanced at the board — and immediately her expression went blank. Her eyes lost all focus as she stood frozen in place, as though her very soul had been ripped away, transforming her into nothing more than a living corpse.
A gentle force suddenly enveloped her, and Mei Jiu'er jolted back to awareness. Her face was sheet-white as she gasped, "My Lord… that board and those pieces…"
"I know." Yang Kai nodded.
Hearing this, Mei Jiu'er's face turned even paler. If she had still harbored any doubt that she had been mistaken, Yang Kai's confirmation obliterated it. What she had seen was real.
That board — it was no board at all. It was a vast, boundless starry sky. And those pieces were no chess pieces. They were stars!
The old man who stood before them looking so genial and otherworldly — the one with the bearing of an immortal — had been using the starry sky as his board and the stars as his pieces, playing against himself! The moment she had glimpsed that sight, with her Void King Realm cultivation, her mind had been instantly seized. If Yang Kai hadn't intervened in time, she would truly have become a walking corpse.
Now she understood what the old man had meant earlier. Each of those pieces was a real star, and within every star lived billions of living beings. Yang Kai had flipped the board, which was tantamount to overturning that entire stretch of sky. The pieces had gone flying, the planets had shaken — of course people would die.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had reacted quickly and gathered the scattered pieces back. Otherwise, the karmic debt would have been staggering.
Mei Jiu'er stood in a complete daze, unable to determine whether she was witnessing reality or illusion. If it was illusion, it was far too real. And if it was reality… could anyone in the real world actually do such a thing?
While her mind still churned, Yang Kai extended a hand. Wu Kuang made no courtesy of refusal — he pressed two fingers to Yang Kai's wrist and sent a thread of spiritual sense into his body to examine his condition. At the same time, he asked with a smile, "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
Yang Kai snorted coldly. "Senior Hongchen is here. If you can kill me, be my guest!"
Mei Jiu'er had assumed Wu Kuang was playing chess by himself, but Yang Kai knew the truth — Wu Kuang was playing against Duan Hongchen. Since the Hongchen Great Emperor could sit across from Wu Kuang in a game, he could certainly stop him from making a move. Yang Kai had no fear that Wu Kuang would harm him.
Wu Kuang chuckled lightly, a contemptuous expression crossing his face. "That old ghost was refined by this seat long ago. Duan Hongchen no longer exists in this world." No sooner had the words left his mouth than another voice suddenly spoke from within him: "Don't listen to his nonsense. This old man is alive and well."
Yang Kai broke into a grin. "Senior, it's wonderful to see that you're safe and sound! I'm overjoyed!"
Wu Kuang inclined his head, then glanced at Mei Jiu'er standing behind Yang Kai. "The little girl is quite pretty. A recent acquisition?"