The words had barely left his mouth when Zhu Li spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura plummeting in an instant. He stared at Yang Kai in utter horror: "What kind of fire is this?! What kind of fire?!"
The Soul-Anchor Spike was no low-grade Artifact, yet in the span of a single breath, it had been consumed and destroyed by those flames. Zhu Li couldn't fathom how high the grade of that fire-attribute power must be to accomplish such a feat!
In that brief exchange, two of the three remaining mid-stage Open Heaven realm cultivators from Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had already been wounded. By comparison, Long Tai's injuries were relatively light — he had merely taken a punch from Yang Kai. But it was Zhu Li whose mind had been shaken to its core, unable to regain his composure for the moment.
Freed from the Soul-Anchor Spike's restraint, Yang Kai immediately burst forth like a dragon entering the sea or a tiger leaping into the forest. His figure flickered, leaving behind afterimages so lifelike they could fool the eye, while his true self had already plunged into the enemy crowd.
Pitch-black Golden Crow True Fire devoured the void, burning everything in its path without restraint. Those at the Emperor realm died the instant they touched it and perished the moment it came near — no one could withstand it. Even the low-stage Open Heaven cultivators mixed within the crowd scrambled away in terror, their faces pale with fright.
Bursts of blood mist exploded in midair, and charred corpses tumbled from the sky. Within the Star Market, countless pairs of eyes stared blankly at the spectacle, nearly forgetting to breathe. Every person's mind was shaken to its core.
Before this day, no one had ever imagined that a single person could slaughter several thousand until they screamed for their mothers. Even if Yang Kai ultimately fell in defeat, this series of actions alone would be enough to forever etch him into the memory of everyone present.
In the Great Ruins Boundary, outside Crimson Star's Star Market, there existed a young man with wild black hair and an untamed spirit who did what ordinary people could not — a man of extraordinary boldness who had opened everyone's eyes.
Spatial laws wreathed his body. Wherever the enemy numbers were thickest, he charged. His killing intent surged to a frenzy as Yang Kai fought like a madman, his form flickering unpredictably, leaving afterimage after afterimage. From a distance, it looked as though there were several Yang Kais in the sky.
"Enough of your insolence, junior!" Luo Qingyun snarled through gritted teeth. His long sword quivered, transforming into nine arcs of sword light that slashed toward Yang Kai from above.
He had been searching for Yang Kai's opening all along, chasing his every step, but Yang Kai's movements were simply too fast — his spatial teleportation eerie and unpredictable. After several failed attempts to find an opportunity, he had finally seized this fleeting chance and unleashed his strike without a moment's hesitation.
Nine sword lights manifested, tearing through the void. In an instant they struck before Yang Kai, slashing into his body.
A rapid succession of thudding sounds rang out — they sounded nothing like blades striking flesh, but more like blows landing upon some kind of Artifact. Yang Kai's body shuddered. His robes were shredded, and through the torn gaps, blood had been carved into his fair, jade-like skin, golden blood flowing forth with vital energy surging.
Luo Qingyun's mind reeled. He stared, dumbfounded.
The previous sword strike had failed to kill Yang Kai, and he had realized then that this fellow's body was extraordinary. But now, even this technique of his — and it still hadn't killed him?
He was a sword cultivator, a master of the way of killing and destruction. If even he couldn't slay Yang Kai, then who among all the people present could? Ordinary martial artists wouldn't even be able to scratch him.
Sure enough, behind those nine arcs of sword light, countless attacks rained down upon Yang Kai in a torrential deluge. But Yang Kai simply raised the Dragon Shield secret art, and every strike was deflected away.
When the multicolored lights faded, the Dragon Shield surrounding Yang Kai's body had shattered — yet he himself had sustained barely any harm.
Luo Qingyun felt his heart sink to ashes. He turned his head toward where Zhong Fan stood.
Now, the only one who might have a chance to bring Yang Kai down was Zhong Fan, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven realm cultivator — but from what he could see, Zhong Fan was busy treating Lu Xue's injuries. Whatever method Yang Kai had planted in Lu Xue, it had forced Zhong Fan to devote his full attention to the task, leaving him no way to assist.
Had Yang Kai calculated this as well? Luo Qingyun could hardly believe it. No wonder he had released Lu Xue so readily. He had thought the man was a complete fool, but now it turned out he was this cunning!
With no hope of relying on Zhong Fan, Luo Qingyun's expression turned grim. He roared, "Sword Pavilion Disciples, heed my command! Form the Heaven-Dueling Star Array with me!"
"As you command, sir!" Several hundred Sword Pavilion Disciples answered in a thunderous chorus that shook the heavens, every one of them galvanized with spirit — as though they had been waiting for this very moment.
The Sword Pavilion Disciples present numbered no more than three hundred at most — barely a tenth of the three thousand fighters here. The number of martial artists who had died at Yang Kai's hands since the battle began was not far short of that figure.
However, relatively speaking, the Sword Pavilion's losses were small. From the very start, they had grouped into clusters of several dozen and formed the Star Fall Sword Array to counter Yang Kai's rings of fire and his relentless assaults, supporting each other in attack and defense — far superior to Thunder Light's scattered rabble.
It could be said that ninety-nine percent of the warriors slain by Yang Kai had been Thunder Light Disciples.
Groups of forty to fifty, already arrayed in the Star Fall Sword Array, their sword energy crisscrossing heaven and earth, now received Luo Qingyun's command. The individual sword formations swiftly shifted and converged toward Luo Qingyun.
In the span of just three breaths, the auras of the Star Fall Sword Arrays had fused tightly together, with Luo Qingyun at their center. Towering sword intent converged into one, surging into Luo Qingyun and soaring skyward, piercing a hole through the very heavens.
The Heaven-Dueling Star Array — complete!
Luo Qingyun's aura climbed higher and higher in waves. Even with the peculiar heavenly laws of the Great Ruins Boundary suppressing him, there were unmistakable signs that he was about to break through from the Emperor realm into the Open Heaven realm. He fixed his gaze upon Yang Kai, who was still slaughtering his way through the enemy, and his eyes were utterly cold and detached!
The Heaven-Dueling Star Array was the Sword Pavilion's ultimate trump card. With this sword array at his disposal, Luo Qingyun was confident that even without Zhong Fan's help, he could slay Yang Kai right here.
"That kid's in trouble now." Chen Tianfei sighed and slowly shook his head. "He's still too young in the end — too eager to show his edge, never learning the wisdom of restraint!"