The entire arena fell silent!
Everyone stared blankly upward at the projected light screen in the sky, an absurd sensation of being trapped in a dream overtaking them involuntarily.
The Jade Rakshasa had been blown apart!
The Earth Ranking's number one — a woman who, a single step away from advancing to Sixth-Order Open Heaven, had been considered virtually invincible beneath the Open Heaven Realm for the past three years — had been blown apart in a single exchange!
And the one who had done it was an unknown nobody named Yang Kai!
How was this possible?
How could such a preposterous thing exist in this world?
Countless people rubbed their eyes furiously, pinched their own thighs, desperately hoping that everything before them was merely an illusion. But the scene imprinted upon their vision was unmistakably clear — more real than anything.
The Jade Rakshasa had truly been blown apart by this Yang Kai. Amid his savage onslaught, she had seemed utterly powerless to fight back, and from the moment the battle began to this very instant, only a mere ten breaths had elapsed.
In one of the private boxes, the black-robed, blue-robed, and white-robed young lords who had exchanged a few words with Yang Kai earlier sat with eyes bulging, staring rigidly at the Asura Arena below, their mouths agape wide enough to swallow their own fists.
After a long moment, the black-robed young lord suddenly let out a shout and whipped his head around. "Why are you pinching me?!"
The white-robed young lord replied in a hollow, dazed voice, "I wanted to check if I was dreaming!"
The blue-robed young lord wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "This... Senior Brother actually has such terrifying power?"
Recalling the various words of encouragement they had offered Yang Kai just moments ago — urging him to hold on a little longer — the three of them couldn't help but shudder.
In another private box, Pei Buwan collapsed into his chair as though every ounce of strength had been drained from his body. His face turned deathly pale, and he muttered, "It's over, it's over, it's all over — my ten million Open Heaven Pills!" By the final words, he had clutched his chest with one hand, his expression one of heartbreak so severe he could barely breathe.
Yue Heng let out a cold snort. "You had it coming!"
Naturally, she harbored not the slightest shred of goodwill toward this Hundred Refinements Hall shopkeeper who had bet ten million on Yang Kai's defeat.
Inside the Asura Arena, Yang Kai rose slowly to his feet. He reached up and swept his hair back, then lowered his gaze to study the unconscious Jade Rakshasa on the ground. A satisfied smile crossed his face. "Her pretty little face isn't bruised. I really am a gentleman who cherishes beauty."
His words, broadcast through the formation's amplification, reached every ear in the arena with perfect clarity. Though his tone was mild enough, it sent a chill down the spines of countless onlookers.
Before this battle, the entire Star City had considered the Jade Rakshasa the strongest being beneath the Open Heaven Realm. With no Open Heaven cultivators present, no one could stand against her.
Yet Yang Kai had knocked this rising star of the Asura Heavens unconscious in just ten breaths.
If the Jade Rakshasa was the strongest beneath the Open Heaven Realm, then what did that make Yang Kai?
And more importantly, that savage, ferocious onslaught — an attack that looked as though he intended to tear her apart from the moment he struck — could hardly be described as "cherishing beauty." To say something like that, how thick did one's skin have to be?
"A sneak attack — you actually launched a sneak attack! How shameless!" A furious roar erupted from within the Asura Arena, piercing the silence with startling abruptness!
In the next instant, voices of agreement rose like a tide. Many began shouting that Yang Kai was despicable and vile, having resorted to a venomous sneak attack — otherwise the Jade Rakshasa could never have fallen so easily.
Yang Kai swept his cold gaze across them. "Bunch of trash. You bet and you lost — accept it gracefully. You've probably lost everything down to your trousers by now, haven't you? Ha ha ha ha!"
He burst into a bout of unhinged laughter that sent the spectators into a frenzy, each one itching to rush down and tear him limb from limb.
But as Yang Kai had said, this single battle had caused countless people to lose their fortunes. After all, before the fight had begun, virtually no one had backed Yang Kai — nearly ninety-nine percent of the bets had been placed on the Jade Rakshasa.
Though the odds had been slim, as that black-robed young lord had noted, the larger the wager, the larger the payout.
Yet in a mere ten breaths, Yang Kai had used overwhelming power to plunge their sweet dreams into an abyss. No wonder some were crying foul about sneak attacks and the like.
Strictly speaking, Yang Kai hadn't launched a sneak attack at all. He had struck only after hearing the words declaring the match had begun — there was nothing remotely underhanded about it.
But some people simply couldn't stomach losing, so they slapped that label on him anyway.
Only at this point did the voice that had explained the rules earlier finally speak up again, sounding thoroughly parched: "This match is won by Yang Kai!"
In the next instant, a man darted into the arena and swept to the Jade Rakshasa's side. He reached out to check her breathing, and only after confirming that she had merely fainted and was in no serious danger did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Scooping the Jade Rakshasa up in his arms, the man lifted his head and shot Yang Kai a vicious glare before quickly departing.
Yang Kai rubbed his nose, knowing he had probably drawn far too much attention to himself this time. The man who had carried the Jade Rakshasa away was most likely a disciple of the Asura Heavens. The Jade Rakshasa served as one of the Asura Arena's premier calling cards, and now that he had shattered that card to pieces, it would be stranger if no one bore a grudge against him.
He hadn't wanted to attract any limelight, but the Jade Rakshasa was simply too stubborn. If he hadn't given her a taste of true despair, she would have hounded him relentlessly in the future.
Still, the Asura Heavens were one of the Thirty-Six Great Heavens, and the Asura Arena was one of their most important enterprises. Even if the people of the Asura Heavens took a dislike to him, they probably wouldn't resort to any underhanded schemes.