Just as countless eyes watched and the crowd erupted in cheers and shouts,
Jade Rakshasa's beautiful eyes narrowed. "Are you insulting me?" Fury filled her lovely face, her slender fists clenched tight.
She had waited more than ten years, biding her time until Yang Kai finally appeared at the Star Market, all so she could fight him fair and square. How could she possibly accept such an outcome?
"So it really won't work?" Yang Kai let out a leisurely sigh. "Originally, my plan was to simply forfeit. But then I thought—someone as persistent as you, Junior Sister Yu, if I really did forfeit, you certainly wouldn't let it go. You'd keep pestering me endlessly in the future. In that case, I might as well fight you, then find an opportunity to let you win a move or two, and be done with this trouble for good."
"Find an opportunity to let me win a move or two?" Jade Rakshasa ground out the words through clenched teeth, one syllable at a time, as though she had suffered the gravest of insults, her chest heaving.
"That's right!" Yang Kai replied with an air of serene composure.
"So you're saying you believe I'm definitely no match for you?" Jade Rakshasa asked coldly.
"Below the Kai Tian Realm, no one should be my match!" Yang Kai replied with a calm glance.
Even someone as composed and unflappable as Jade Rakshasa couldn't help but be enraged by this declaration. "Senior Brother makes such bold claims—aren't you afraid of being proven wrong? Over ten years ago, I was indeed no match for you, but times have changed. If Senior Brother still thinks he can defeat me as easily as before, I'm afraid that won't be so simple."
Yang Kai nodded. "I know Junior Sister Yu has grown tremendously over the years, but Senior Brother hasn't been idle either. However, Senior Brother has always been one to cherish beautiful things. A pretty face like yours—wouldn't it be a shame if it got battered in a fight? So why don't you just forfeit, Junior Sister Yu?"
Although their conversation took place within the Shura Arena, the surrounding restriction arrays broadcast every word to all the martial artists in the spectator stands, crystal clear.
The previously raucous stands fell abruptly silent as everyone stared at Yang Kai in dumbfounded shock. The next instant, an even louder uproar erupted than before, with countless people mocking Yang Kai's outrageous boasting. Some even shouted for Jade Rakshasa to beat Yang Kai until he couldn't even piss or shit straight.
The scene was explosively heated, at one point drowning out the voice explaining the rules.
Yang Kai turned his head toward the stands and bellowed, "A bunch of trash—all of you shut your mouths! When this is over, I'll make you lose every last coin you've bet!"
Jade Rakshasa tilted her head to look at Yang Kai and said flatly, "If it comes to the sharpness of one's tongue, Senior Brother indeed surpasses me. I concede that comparison without it needing to be fought."
Yang Kai chuckled. "Looks like we'll have to fight after all. Sigh, I never meant for things to develop this way. But since you're so determined to pursue the pinnacle of the martial path, Junior Sister Yu, as your opponent, the only way I can show you proper respect is to show no mercy and give it my all!"
With these words, Yang Kai's expression shifted dramatically. His previously unremarkable aura erupted like a raging flood or a tsunami, the transformation so sudden and extreme that even Jade Rakshasa's eyes widened in alarm.
She instinctively channeled her own power, and a crimson blood mist suddenly billowed from her body.
At the same time, the voice that had been explaining the rules inside the Shura Arena finally finished reciting them all and shouted, "No holds barred—let the battle begin!"
BOOM—
The high platform beneath Yang Kai's feet shattered explosively, sending chunks of stone flying in every direction. Yang Kai himself transformed into a streak of brilliant light, charging straight toward Jade Rakshasa and closing to within three zhang of her in an instant.
Jade Rakshasa's face changed drastically. A wave of icy dread surged from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head. In her field of vision, the figure charging toward her didn't seem like a mere Emperor Sovereign who hadn't even reached half-step Kai Tian—it seemed like a primordial beast that had traversed time itself, emerging from the ancient chaos to devour its prey.
The savage, violent aura engulfed her, robbing her of breath. She felt as though an enormous mountain had been slammed down upon her, not even giving her the strength to move a single finger.
The beast lunged forward and extended a claw, reaching straight for her face, tearing through space and turning heaven and earth upside down.
Jade Rakshasa was struck with absolute terror!
She had made her name in the Shura Arena. Since advancing to the Emperor Sovereign stage, she had fought continuously within the arena—over the decades, she had participated in no fewer than a thousand battles, facing opponents of varying strength. The hardest battle she had ever fought was the one in which she climbed to the top of the Earth Ranking.
To claim the number-one position on the Earth Ranking, she had to defeat the previous number one.
That opponent had been roughly equal to her in strength—both at the half-step Kai Tian level, one step away from advancing—and had even refined six types of sixth-grade power. He was a Core Disciple of another Grotto-heaven.
That battle had lasted a full half-day before a victor was decided.
But even that former Earth Ranking champion had been extremely cautious when facing her challenge, first countering move by move to gradually probe each other's capabilities before launching a sudden assault.
There had been nothing like this—charging in wildly and violently from the very first moment!
What alarmed Jade Rakshasa even more was the crushing pressure Yang Kai exuded. Countless people underestimated Yang Kai, convinced he was no match for her—but she herself never had.
Someone who had defeated her over ten years ago couldn't possibly be weak. Just as he had said, she had grown immensely over these years, but there was no reason to believe he had been wasting his time either!
And so Jade Rakshasa had never once underestimated Yang Kai. She had always regarded him as a worthy opponent—one worth fighting with everything she had.