Yue He clenched her teeth in secret, wishing she could slap Ding Yi dead with a single palm. But she knew full well that in this Taixu Realm, she had no such ability. Judging from how Ding Yi had clashed with that Elder Kang earlier, his strength among the Emperor Realm was genuinely formidable. With the level of power she could currently bring to bear, taking him down was completely unrealistic.
Ding Yi leveled his long saber at her, pressing aggressively: "Leave or fight — make your choice, madam!"
Yue He shot him a hateful glare, then turned to look at Yang Kai. A hint of pleading flickered through her beautiful eyes.
Yang Kai merely watched her with a smile, unmoved. To him, Yue He was foe, not friend. He had already shown extraordinary mercy by not kicking her while she was down — how could he possibly care whether she lived or died?
"You'd better watch yourself!" A flash of disappointment crossed Yue He's eyes. Her figure blurred as she shot toward the Star Market's outskirts at full speed.
Ding Yi watched coldly, making no move to pursue. A Third-Order Open Heaven Elder Kang had managed to escape from the group's encirclement, so a Fifth-Order Open Heaven like Yue He naturally had the same ability. There was no point in wasting effort on a futile chase.
He turned and fixed Yang Kai with a long, penetrating stare.
Yang Kai shrugged: "I've got a grudge against her."
"Good — see that it stays that way!" Ding Yi snorted, then spun around to face the assembled warriors and roared: "Today, right here, I, Ding Yi, wish to establish the Detian — the Emperor Sky! In the Emperor Realm, the Emperor is heaven! This ruined Star Market shall serve as our Detian's headquarters in the Taixu Realm! Any who wish to join may remain, sharing life and death with my brothers, sharing blessings and hardships alike! Those who wish to leave — depart swiftly! If any lingering stragglers remain past tomorrow, don't blame Ding's saber for showing no mercy!"
As he spoke, he brought his blade down in a single cleave, splitting a great fissure across the earth.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow slightly. Ding Yi actually seemed like someone of substance — seizing this opportunity to raise his banner and rally forces. It was undeniably a clever move. This opening of the Taixu Realm was fundamentally different from all previous ones; far too many people had entered. Going it alone was no longer viable. Gathering a numbers advantage would make everything easier.
But from his words, it sounded like Ding Yi intended to claim this ruined Star Market outright. That would certainly earn the resentment of quite a few people — especially those Open Heaven cultivators still hiding within the Market. Then again, if this Detian could truly be established and weather a few more trials without being destroyed, then the hearts of its people would become usable.
"Detian! Detian!"
"Sharing blessings and hardships!"
To Yang Kai's surprise, the moment Ding Yi finished speaking, dozens of voices erupted in cheering — and the number only swelled as the shouts grew louder.
Yang Kai was genuinely taken aback.
He had not been in the Outer Universe for long. Aside from that rather unpleasant stint as a menial laborer at the Seven Stars Workshop, his time at the First Inn had been relatively comfortable. As a result, he had difficulty truly grasping what status the Emperor Realm held among the three thousand worlds.
But then he thought of Luo Haiyi, and realized that had she been present, she too would likely have been drawn to the ideals of the Detian. With that thought, Yang Kai felt a measure of understanding settle over him.
This was a rare chance to rise from the bottom and seize control. How could these Emperor Realm cultivators not grasp it with both hands?
The shouts rose in waves — dozens becoming over a hundred, then several hundred…
Ding Yi's flushed face shone with fervor under the eyes of the crowd. He raised his long saber high, radiant with vitality, gazing down at those familiar and unfamiliar faces below, his heart swelling with ambition.
Truly, it was in the raging tides of a chaotic sea that a hero's mettle is revealed — and in troubled times, titans emerge!
Just then, two figures suddenly hurtled toward them from the distance.
Yang Kai turned to look and realized with a start that the pair were none other than Elder Kang and Yue He — the very ones who had departed earlier. He couldn't fathom what had gone through their minds, but they had not only returned, the expressions on both their faces were grimly serious, as though something momentous had occurred.
"You old dog — you dare come back!" Ding Yi spotted Elder Kang and let out a hearty laugh. "How perfect — I'll take your head to consecrate the Detian's banner!"
But Elder Kang paid him not the slightest attention, streaking past in the distance and continuing to flee without pause, leaving Ding Yi staring in bewilderment.
Yue He, however, rushed straight to Yang Kai, seized him by the arm, and cried urgently: "Run! Now!"
Yang Kai frowned slightly and was about to speak when he felt the earth tremble beneath his feet. At first the tremor was mild, but within moments a thunderous rumble reached his ears, like the roll of muffled thunder sweeping across the land.
Yang Kai's expression shifted — he sensed it instinctively and raised his eyes. Across his field of vision, a vast, dark mass was hurtling toward them at a speed not one bit slower than Elder Kang or Yue He.
That wall of darkness stretched on endlessly, a boundless expanse blanketing the sky and earth. It was a horde of aberrant beasts — each one different in size, each different in shape.
He couldn't tell whether the beasts had chased Yue He and Elder Kang back here, or whether the pair had deliberately lured them.
And the beasts leading the charge were enormous beyond belief, their savage auras terrifying enough that even Yang Kai's face paled at the sight.
There was no time for hesitation. He followed Yue He as she flickered away, both of them streaking toward the horizon.
The Star Market erupted into chaos in an instant.
Ding Yi's eyes went wide, his heart turning to ice. He had thought this was a golden opportunity to build something great — and now, barely had his banner been raised before catastrophe struck. He didn't even know if he could escape this place alive.
But his will was iron. In the span of a single breath he made his decision, raising his arm high and bellowing: "The beast tide is upon us! Our only chance of survival is to band together! Anyone who doesn't want to die — follow me!" With that rallying cry, he surged with power, his body blazing with light, and charged headlong in the opposite direction from the tide.
The moment he moved, a great number of people swept along in his wake. A rough count put the number at no fewer than a thousand.