Yang Kai had no idea whose divine sense that was. After all, the four people standing before him were all Sixth-Order Open Heaven masters — the gap in strength between them was enormous. He vaguely suspected it belonged to that Chu Liushan. The old fellow had bad blood with the Landlady, and Yang Kai himself had a grudge against his disciple Yin Xinzhao, so it wasn't surprising to be scrutinized by him.
Just as he was making this guess, another Sixth-Order Open Heaven master — one he didn't recognize at all — suddenly spoke up. "Landlady, I hear you have a young man named Yang Kai at the First Inn. I wonder which one he is?"
The Landlady immediately shot a wary glance over. "You have business with him?"
The man chuckled. "Indeed, I do have a matter I'd like to ask him about." His gaze shifted to Yang Kai. "If I'm not mistaken, that would be you, wouldn't it?"
He genuinely didn't seem to know Yang Kai. But although there were many Emperor Realm cultivators present, Yang Kai's aura was distinctly different from the rest, so it wasn't odd for him to be singled out.
Since he'd been identified, Yang Kai saw no point in hiding. Plenty of people already knew him, and skulking about would accomplish nothing. He spoke in a deep, steady voice: "That's right. And you are? What guidance would you offer?"
The man smiled and nodded. "You may not know me, so allow me to introduce myself. I am Kong Feng, Alliance Master of the Heavenly Sword Alliance."
The Heavenly Sword Alliance? This man wasn't from one of the Cave Heavens or Blessed Lands? When Yang Kai had seen him standing with Guo Nu, Chu Liushan, and that Senior Brother Mao from the Great War Sect, he'd assumed he hailed from some Cave Heaven or Blessed Land. Now he learned the man was the Alliance Master of the Heavenly Sword Alliance.
Still, the Heavenly Sword Alliance was a top-tier second-class power, and its Alliance Master certainly had standing to be present here. After all, neither Guo Nu, Chu Liushan, nor that Senior Brother Mao were particularly prominent figures within their respective Sects — they were mid-ranking at best.
But knowing the man was from the Heavenly Sword Alliance, Yang Kai immediately recalled the several Alliance disciples he had killed. Had this man come to seek justice for his people? That didn't make sense. The only witnesses to the killings besides Qu Huashang and Zhang Ruoxi were a single disciple from the Profound Sky Blessed Land named Du Xu.
Those Heavenly Sword Alliance cultivators had been relentlessly chasing Zhang Ruoxi and Du Xu, which was what had drawn their deaths.
Qu Huashang and Zhang Ruoxi would never have leaked the matter. Could it have been Du Xu?
Sure enough, the smile on Kong Feng's face suddenly vanished. "I hear that while inside the Blood Demon Cave Heaven, you killed several outstanding disciples of my Alliance?"
Yang Kai's fury surged. So it was Du Xu who had spilled the news — otherwise Kong Feng would have had no way of knowing. That man truly deserved death. When danger had loomed, Du Xu had abandoned his fellow disciple without a shred of concern for her safety. That alone was despicable enough. Yang Kai had saved his life, yet in the end the man had betrayed him. If Yang Kai had known Du Xu was such a despicable coward, he would never have spared him — he would have run him through with a single spear thrust.
Before Yang Kai could respond, the Landlady gave a cold snort. "Alliance Master Kong, you can eat whatever food you like, but there are words one ought not to speak so carelessly. You claim Yang Kai killed several of your Heavenly Sword Alliance disciples — where is your evidence?" She was certain Kong Feng couldn't possibly have any evidence, which was why she countered so directly.
To her surprise, Kong Feng replied calmly, "Evidence, naturally, I have. Someone informed me of this matter, and I trust that person was not speaking nonsense. I've merely come to confirm."
Yang Kai snorted coldly. "Those disciples of yours saw profit and tried to overwhelm a lone opponent with numbers. I killed them — so what?"
Kong Feng hadn't expected Yang Kai to be so defiant. He gave him another look, then nodded slightly. "Good — your admission saves me from having to waste more words. Since ancient times, debts must be repaid in coin, and taking a life demands a life in return. You killed several Core Disciples of my Heavenly Sword Alliance, causing our Alliance tremendous losses and robbing us of pillars of talent. Tell me — shouldn't I avenge them?"
The Landlady didn't move a muscle, but the peak Sixth-Order aura radiating from her body swept outward in full force. Her phoenix eyes narrowed. "Try it and see!"
Kong Feng glanced at her and said evenly, "The Landlady's reputation precedes her. I know I'm no match for you and have no wish to clash with you. If this boy had no connection to you, I would simply take his life and deliver justice to my Alliance disciples. But since you wish to protect him, I'll give you face. All that's needed is for this boy to offer a modest compensation, and the matter can be laid to rest. What does the Landlady think?"
The Landlady's delicate brows furrowed deeply. She had a vague sense that Kong Feng was up to no good — otherwise, why bring up the matter of his slain disciples at a time like this? Still, she couldn't see what he was really after. Warily, she asked, "What kind of compensation could you possibly want? Yang Kai is merely an Emperor Realm cultivator — what could he possibly offer you?"
Kong Feng laughed. "You needn't worry about that, Landlady. I'll discuss the details with him directly." He turned to Yang Kai. "You don't have any objections, do you?"
Yang Kai's rage churned within him. If his strength were sufficient, he wouldn't stand here exchanging words with this man. Those Heavenly Sword Alliance disciples had been chased to their deaths by their own pursuit of Zhang Ruoxi, and now Kong Feng was here talking about justice — it was enough to make one laugh their teeth loose.
But the only reason he could stand here at all was thanks to the Landlady's protection. If things deteriorated, she would be the one dragged into trouble.
Suppressing his fury, Yang Kai said in a cold voice, "What do you want?"
Kong Feng replied with an air of serene composure. "Rest assured, what I want is something you certainly carry on your person — and it won't cost you the slightest harm." He abruptly cut off his spoken words and switched to a voice transmission: "I want the Seventh-Order Gold-attribute demon beast inner core!"
Yang Kai's eyes contracted sharply. His first reaction was: how does this man know I have a Seventh-Order demon beast inner core — and that it's Gold-attribute at that?
But he quickly figured it out. Kong Feng already knew he had killed several Heavenly Sword Alliance disciples because Du Xu had tipped him off. And when Yang Kai had obtained the Seventh-Order Gold-attribute inner core, that Hong Lao of the Heavenly Abyss Division had witnessed it. Naturally, he could have passed along word as well.
So that was his true goal!
Yang Kai had never even considered it. He said flatly, "I have no idea what you're talking about." If the man wanted something else, there might have been room to negotiate — Yang Kai might have been willing to spend some wealth to resolve the trouble. But the Seventh-Order Gold-attribute inner core was something he would never surrender. This concerned his future advancement. If he lost that inner core here, who knew when he would ever find another opportunity to obtain one.