His majestic figure was like a mountain peak, like a harbor, capable of shielding against all manner of violent storms. In this chaotic land where demon beasts stampeded wildly, he somehow brought an indescribable sense of security.
Yue He, cradled in Chen Yue's arms, had her mouth slightly agape as she stared in a daze at the broad back standing before them. Slowly, that silhouette merged with the figure in her memory — the person who had once stood before her just like this, shielding her from all dangers that came her way. The memories buried deep in her mind surged to the surface, making her body tremble.
Chen Yue was also stunned, murmuring, "Senior Brother Yang is that powerful?"
The Thunder Roar's single strike had forced Lord Kang to dodge its fury and had left Yue He gravely injured, yet the same strike was effortlessly blocked by Yang Kai. The contrast was too staggering, almost impossible to believe.
Meng Hong slowly shook his head, his face blank with confusion. He didn't know whether Yang Kai was truly powerful — he only knew that Yang Kai had nerve. Otherwise, he wouldn't have snatched the Golden Crow's corpse right in front of a crowd of Open Heaven Realm cultivators inside the Golden Crow Divine Palace, and then somehow managed to escape back to the First Inn.
That was right. Without some measure of skill, how could anyone survive the pursuit of so many Open Heaven Realm cultivators? He'd heard from Uncle-Master Wei Que before that Yang Kai was incredibly good at running — absurdly so. But now it seemed he wasn't just good at running; his actual strength was nothing to scoff at either.
As his thoughts drifted, a heaven-shaking roar erupted across the skies. The Thunder Roar, seeing Yang Kai standing in its path and blocking its strike, was thoroughly enraged.
At the horn on its forehead, lightning flickered once more. Amid crackling detonations, terrifying arcs of electricity took shape, seconds away from being unleashed.
"Brother Yang, be careful!" Meng Hong called out.
Before the words had fully left his lips, a shadow flickered before his eyes, and Yang Kai had already appeared in front of the Thunder Roar like a specter. His diminutive frame formed a stark contrast against the Thunder Roar's colossal body, yet in terms of sheer presence, the two were perfectly matched.
Before the eyes of all, Yang Kai threw another punch. The Space Laws surged and churned as his fist smashed downward.
A punch — Collapse!
A massive black hole took shape, engulfing the Thunder Roar's enormous head. The Space Laws ravaged and contracted violently.
The Thunder Roar shook its head and let out a pained howl. Inside the black hole, lightning raged wildly, like dragons of electricity writhing and struggling against the void's power that annihilated all things.
The black hole collapsed in an instant. The Thunder Roar stumbled backward, its already fierce eyes now burning crimson. But when the onlookers took a closer look, they all drew sharp breaths of cold air — the horn on the Thunder Roar's forehead had completely vanished without a trace. Not only that, its massive head was covered in slashing wounds, dripping with blood.
Demon beasts tempered their physical bodies into living Artifacts, and the strength a powerful physique could produce was not much inferior to that of an actual Artifact. That horn had been the most resilient part of the Thunder Roar, and now it had disappeared entirely. Everyone present thoroughly understood just how terrifying that single strike from Yang Kai had been.
A punch like that — no one below the Open Heaven Realm could possibly withstand it.
Yue He stared in a daze. Only now did she truly comprehend just how terrifying this young man's strength was.
Chen Yue's beautiful eyes lit up as well, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on Yang Kai's movements.
Meanwhile, Lord Kang was simultaneously slaying the demon beasts that closed in on him while keeping an eye on the commotion on the other side. His expression was complex as he thought to himself: was this the depth of power that came from belonging to a major force? Someone like him, who had scraped and struggled his entire life only to achieve Third-Order Open Heaven, simply could not imagine where such power came from.
Huff... huff...
The Thunder Roar staggered backward, its breathing like war drums. The destruction of its horn had not made it retreat — if anything, it only further stoked its ferocity.
"Hm?" Yang Kai was also surprised. His Collapse punch had actually failed to kill this Thunder Roar. It seemed the demon beasts of the Taixu Realm truly could not be judged by conventional standards.
The earth began to tremble as the Thunder Roar charged forward, hurtling straight toward Yang Kai. Lightning crackled across its enormous body, and as it galloped, tiny arcs of electricity blanketed an area of a hundred zhang in every direction. Bolts of thunder struck down from the sky, making the scene look utterly perilous.
Yang Kai grinned ferociously, cracking his neck as his fists clenched with a series of sharp pops. Then, without warning, he dropped into a defensive stance right where he stood.
"What is he doing?" Chen Yue stared, dumbfounded.
Meng Hong's expression changed drastically. "He— he's going to wrestle the Thunder Roar head-on?!"
"He's lost his mind!" The elderly surnamed Kang, who had been watching the entire time, shook his head ceaselessly. He thought there must be something wrong with Yang Kai's head — how could anyone want to go toe-to-toe with a beast of such monstrous size in a contest of brute strength? Even if Yang Kai had performed spectacularly up to now, blocking a bolt of lightning with one punch and wounding the Thunder Roar with another, wasn't this kind of self-aggrandizement just courting death? No matter how powerful a martial artist's physical body might be, how could it possibly rival a demon beast? Beasts were unmatched in that domain by nature, to say nothing of the fact that the Thunder Roar was a relic of ancient times.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the Thunder Roar closed the distance in two or three bounds and slammed its lowered forehead toward Yang Kai like an entire mountain crashing down. Had a planet been placed in its path, this blow would likely have shattered it to pieces.
Chene Yue turned her head away, unable to watch. Meng Hong shut his eyes as well.
Only Yue He kept her beautiful eyes fixed on the scene without blinking, though they were filled with worry and unease.
BOOM.
A muffled impact rang out, accompanied by a low growl from the Thunder Roar.
Gasps erupted, carrying unmistakable disbelief.
"What?!" Yue He cried out, her slender hand flying to her crimson lips as her eyes trembled. The elderly surnamed Kang, who had been keeping close watch on Yang Kai, flinched so hard that his concentration faltered at the worst possible moment — a beast seized the opening and slashed his waist and abdomen, nearly costing him his life. He scrambled to refocus on the fight before him, but the corner of his eye never strayed from Yang Kai's direction.