Even now, he still didn't know whether the Earth Dragon was alive or dead.
Guo Ziyan said, "The Earth Dragon is fine. It burrowed underground beneath the Yuan Magnetic Mountain."
The creature was slippery — the moment things looked bad, it had bolted immediately. It was skilled in earth escape arts, and even though the
"That's good." Yang Kai felt somewhat relieved. At least he'd finally heard some good news.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon was released soon after as well. By comparison, its injuries were the most severe — countless scales had been torn from its body, blood oozed from wounds across its flesh, and a massive gash stretched across its neck bone, a horrifying sight to behold.
It flew to Yang Kai's side and lowered its head, radiating fury and helplessness. Its eyes locked onto
This made Lu Xue tense up.
Fortunately, Yang Kai did no such thing. He simply patted the flood dragon's head. "Go back." Then he turned to Guo Ziyan and the others. "You should all head back too."
Guo Ziyan started. "My lord, what about you?"
"Don't worry. This bunch of trash can't do anything to me."
Guo Ziyan looked deeply worried and wanted to press the matter further, but seeing the resolute expression on Yang Kai's face, he knew persuasion was futile. A surge of admiration welled up in his heart — to remain so composed facing such overwhelming numbers, this lord was truly something else.
"Then please be extremely careful, my lord!" Guo Ziyan said. He led the thirty-odd people and the Scarlet Flood Dragon back toward the Star Market.
The Star Market's protective grand array was still sealed. Yang Kai turned his head and stared unblinkingly toward where Chen Tianfei and the others were hidden, saying nothing, yet projecting a silent, crushing pressure.
It took a full dozen breaths before Chen Tianfei's eyelid twitched, and he secretly issued an order.
A seam opened in the grand array. Guo Ziyan and the others, along with the Scarlet Flood Dragon, filed through one by one and rushed into the Star Market. Chen Tianfei and his lot had no desire to offend the Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light, but in everyone else's eyes, Guo Ziyan and his people were still Crimson Star's folk — locking their own people outside was simply too unconscionable. They had no choice but to let them pass. As for the Scarlet Flood Dragon, it was just a bonus.
Once Guo Ziyan and the rest had entered the Star Market, it was clear that this hostage exchange had been won by Yang Kai's sheer force of will. And now, in terms of the overall situation, Yang Kai held complete initiative — with Lu Xue in hand, fight or retreat, a single thought would decide it. The Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light might have superior numbers, but they couldn't touch him.
Many onlookers wore expressions of respect. If they were in his shoes, they could never have pulled this off. But then again, upon reflection, the Sword Pavilion's hands were tied — as long as they couldn't bring themselves to abandon Lu Xue, compromise was inevitable.
A fierce gale arose, whipping garments into the snap of banners.
Streams of divine sense spread outward, locking onto Yang Kai. Threads of killing intent coiled through the air. Three hundred Sword Pavilion Disciples quietly shifted into formation, sealing off every direction. In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai's position was encircled so tightly there was no path to the heavens, no door to the earth!
"This kid's in trouble," Chen Tianfei murmured. In this situation, unless Yang Kai could keep Lu Xue hostage and find a way to survive, there was no chance of breaking through this inescapable net.
"He brought it on himself,"
"If you were him, what would you do right now?" Madam Qin asked.
Chen Tianfei shook his head. "Lu Xue is his only lifeline. If he wants to survive, he absolutely must not let her go."
Just then, Zhong Fan called out in a deep voice, "Release her."
Yang Kai grinned. "Relax — my word has always been my bond. Catch!"
With that, under the shocked gaze of everyone present, he shoved Lu Xue straight out.
Chen Tianfei's eyes, normally narrowed to mere slits, suddenly went wide enough to nearly bulge out of his skull. He blurted, "This kid's gone mad!"
He had just finished saying that Yang Kai absolutely must not release Lu Xue if he wanted to live, and the words had barely left his mouth before Yang Kai did exactly that.
With Lu Xue in hand, Yang Kai could still dictate the terms — but now that she was free, how could he possibly survive? Was he looking for death?
Not only had Chen Tianfei not expected it, even the person involved hadn't. When Lu Xue was pushed out, her face went blank with disbelief, as if she hadn't actually expected to be freed from Yang Kai's control so easily.
Zhong Fan's eyes lit up. He roared, "Fine lad! Just for this alone, I respect you as a hero — I'll make sure you get a quick death!" As he spoke, he swept Lu Xue to his side with one hand, then raised his massive broadsword, ready to charge in.
But then Lu Xue coughed up a mouthful of blood. The spray of crimson mist was scalding hot, as though it were boiling. More than that, every inch of Lu Xue's exposed skin had turned a deep, angry red, and steam rose from the top of her head.
"Hmm?" Zhong Fan's eyes contracted, instinct telling him something was wrong.