Pressing ever forward, Yang Kai's suspicions were increasingly confirmed—the dragon might radiating from the Azure Dragon Spear truly had a deterrent effect on these exotic beasts. Along the way there was no further obstruction. Occasionally a few massive, fiercely powerful exotic beasts would glance their way, revealing looks of wariness, but none made any move to block them.
After a full incense stick's worth of time, the group of several dozen finally fought their way clear of the beast tide's sphere of influence. Looking back, they could see the herd surging forward, with occasional flashes of artifact light or secret technique brilliance erupting—warriors falling and blood painting the sky was an almost constant sight.
Having survived the ordeal, everyone wore expressions of lingering fear mingled with sheer disbelief that they had escaped such a catastrophe alive.
Just as everyone stood dazed, a sharp burst of force erupted with a thunderous boom, startling them all.
Turning to look, they saw Yang Kai standing with a spear clutched in one hand, his black hair whipping in the wind, his gaze cutting sideways at the elderly man surnamed Kang, his face radiating killing intent.
Elder Kang's face had gone slightly pale. His strength was considerable, and he'd found an opportunity to fight his way out alongside Yang Kai's group. Never had he imagined that the very moment they escaped danger—before things had even settled—Yang Kai would turn on him.
"Young man, what are you doing?" Elder Kang's expression carried a hint of fury as he fixed Yang Kai with a stare.
"What do you think? I'm going to kill you!" Yang Kai bared his teeth in a fierce grin. "Why else do you think I brought you out?"
"You want to kill me?" Elder Kang furrowed his brow, finding Yang Kai utterly unreasonable. Between them there was no deep-seated grudge—why must it come to a fight to the death? All because he'd abandoned everyone at a critical moment? But anyone would have made the same choice under those circumstances.
Every man for himself—it was an eternal truth. To wage war over something like that... was this young man out of his mind?
Though he thought this, Elder Kang still said, "Surely you must give some reason before killing someone."
"I don't like your face! Is that reason enough?" Yang Kai looked utterly defiant.
"Audacious brat!" Elder Kang seethed. "Out of respect for you bringing me out of there, I've been courteous. Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
Though he'd witnessed Yang Kai slay the Thunderous Roar like slaughtering a chicken, that was still just a demon beast—incomplete intelligence, vast power only partially unleashed.
He was a Third-Order Open Heaven cultivator. Though the Taixu Mist had sealed his Internal World, his foundations remained solid. If it truly came to a fight, who would live and who would die was far from certain.
Having fallen on hard times, he had no wish to provoke unnecessary conflict—they'd only just had an unpleasant confrontation with Ding Yi.
"What's with all the chatter? Come and fight!" The moment the words left his lips, Yang Kai surged his power, and the spear thrust forward like a dragon!
A flash of ferocity crossed Elder Kang's face. His body shot backward at tremendous speed, evading the strike, then he pivoted and fled toward the distance with the speed of lightning.
His voice carried from far away: "Brat! Today I'm injured and won't lower myself to your level. Next time we meet, I'll take your head!"
He'd been wounded by the Thunderous Roar earlier—half his body charred by lightning—and had sustained additional light injuries during the breakout. The last thing he wanted now was a pointless battle with Yang Kai. He needed to find somewhere to heal, so even though Yang Kai was pressing aggressively, he simply chose to evade.
"Think you can leave?" Yang Kai scoffed. "Stay right here."
As he spoke, he reached a hand forward. The Laws of Space surged, and the void solidified.
Elder Kang's rapidly fleeing body came to a grinding halt. He felt the space around him turn thick as a swamp. Horror flooding his voice, he cried out: "The power of Space?!"
He'd seen Yang Kai wield spatial abilities before and knew his mastery ran deep, but he'd never felt it firsthand. Only now did he grasp the terrifying extent of this young man's power.
His expression shifting, Elder Kang let out a wild roar: "Break free!"
His gaunt body swelled outward as berserk energy erupted, shattering the spatial restraint and restoring his freedom.
But before he could flee further, a razor-sharp blast of energy was already hurtling toward his back. Elder Kang's hair stood on end. Without a moment's hesitation he summoned a long sword and slashed behind him. A massive arc of sword light cleaved through the void, cutting toward the approaching Yang Kai.
Seeing this, Yang Kai showed no alarm—only delight. He laughed heartily: "My spear has waited in silence far too long! It's been starving!"
Along the way, battles great and small had been countless, and countless times Yang Kai had grown weary. He'd asked himself—was the path of martial cultivation just endless fighting? But since arriving in this Outer World beyond the Kunlun, opportunities to truly cross blades with others had been exceedingly rare. Every Open Heaven cultivator he encountered vastly outstripped him in both realm and cultivation—he hadn't even been qualified to fight them.
Deprived of true combat for so long, Yang Kai had come to realize that the instinct for battle was branded into every fiber of his being. The exhilaration of clashing with a worthy opponent was something nothing else could match.
The only real battle he'd had was back at Seven Stars Workshop, when he'd been ordered to pursue and kill Fang Tai. But even then, two Open Heaven cultivators had stood guard nearby—distracted, Fang Tai couldn't unleash his full strength.
Even in the First Inn, where the proprietress had protected him at every turn—even though his current life was one that ninety-nine percent of Emperors envied—Yang Kai still felt a deep loneliness. His body seemed to rust, and his Dao Heart, that fierce drive to advance ever forward, seemed on the verge of sinking into oblivion.
At last, this moment had come!