"Sect Master, something's happened at the Star City!" Bian Yuqing blurted out the moment Yang Kai opened the door, her expression flustered.
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "What is it? Don't panic—take your time."
He ushered her inside. Bian Yuqing took a deep breath, steadied herself, and began her report.
Something had indeed happened at the Star City, and it was no small matter.
Over the past while, the Void Star City had been developing rapidly. The availability of complete Fifth-Order Yin-Yang Five Elements cultivation resources for exchange had drawn a flood of visitors, boosting the city's popularity and driving transaction volumes higher with each passing day.
However, starting over a year ago, foreign faction warships traveling to and from the Star City had been increasingly attacked and plundered. The perpetrators were ruthless and merciless—showing no quarter, slaughtering everyone aboard.
The incidents were occurring in the Void Domain, right around the Star City itself. News naturally reached the city quickly. When Yun Xinghua heard about it, he hadn't paid it much mind. After all, in the Three Thousand Worlds, such occurrences were hardly uncommon. He was currently managing the Void Star City and was in the prime of his career—why would he bother himself with petty banditry?
But as time went on, whispers began to spread—rumors claiming that the attackers and killers were somehow connected to the Void Land. Otherwise, why would the Void Land sit idle and let outsiders run amuck on their doorstep?
One after another, seven or eight factions that had been traveling to and from the Void Star City met with disaster en route. Not a single survivor. The scenes of carnage were utterly horrific—every soul slaughtered, every scrap of wealth stripped away.
As a result, factions that had been planning to visit the Void Star City to exchange for resources lost their nerve. The most immediate sign was a sharp decline in the Star City's foot traffic and a dramatic drop in the number of visiting cultivators. And the original rumors, after simmering for a time, spread with astonishing speed until they became common knowledge across several neighboring great domains.
Now Yun Xinghua could no longer sit still. He was managing the Star City, and the revenue it generated was directly tied to his standing in Yang Kai's eyes. If he couldn't even handle something like this, what right would he have to keep such a lucrative post? He would likely face punishment the next time he saw Yang Kai.
So he immediately sent word back to the Void Land, reporting to Second Steward Bian Yuqing.
Bian Yuqing also sensed that something was off. This was clearly someone who resented the Void Land and the Star City's rapid growth, deliberately sabotaging them and tarnishing the Void Land's reputation. Regardless of the truth, the incidents were occurring within the Void Domain, and the Void Land owed everyone a proper explanation.
Bian Yuqing promptly dispatched Lu Xue with a team to investigate the areas surrounding the Star City.
Lu Xue was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, and this time she brought along more than a dozen Fourth-Order and Third-Order Open Heaven cultivators from Dingfeng City. Such a lineup was formidable—short of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven appearing, no one could possibly pose a threat to them. Bian Yuqing was therefore at ease, and her instructions to Lu Xue were straightforward: determine as thoroughly as possible which faction was causing trouble in the Void Domain, and report back immediately once identified.
Lu Xue departed, and a month passed without a single word of contact.
Bian Yuqing tried sending messages to the Void Star City as well, but received no response whatsoever.
She immediately realized something was seriously wrong. Regardless of Yang Kai still being in seclusion, she hurried over to report.
After listening, Yang Kai's expression darkened. He was silent for a moment before saying, "It seems Lu Xue and the Star City have almost certainly been taken under control by someone—otherwise there wouldn't be complete silence. Yun Xinghua aside—fourth-Order Open Heaven with a solid team from Blood Hong Prefecture—Lu Xue brought more than a dozen Fourth-Order and Third-Order cultivators on top of her Fifth-Order strength, and they all vanished without a trace. Whoever made this move is powerful—at minimum, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven!"
Bian Yuqing said, "Sixth-Order Open Heaven… that would mean a top-tier Second-Class faction is involved?" Only Second-Class factions at the pinnacle could field Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators. A chill ran through her. "Could Elder Lu and the others be in danger?"
Though she was the Void Land's Second Steward, second only to Yang Kai himself, she had not been with the Void Land for long and still didn't fully understand the Three Thousand Worlds. She had no idea why anyone would target the Void Land, and what worried her most was the safety of Lu Xue and the others.
Yang Kai tapped a finger lightly on the table, his eyes narrowing to slits. A cold smile flickered in his heart—so they couldn't wait any longer?
He was nearly certain this was aimed squarely at him.
The path to advancing to the Supreme Open Heaven realm was fraught with peril at every step. The Madam had told him before that those Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands would never sit idle and allow him to advance peacefully. Qu Huachang had also shared with him certain secrets from ancient times.
Though he had already drawn the attention of the great Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, he hadn't yet posed enough of a threat for them to act. Their mighty experts had no real justification for bullying someone at a lower level—they had their reputations to maintain. If they stooped so low, they would only attract criticism and tarnish their own factions' names.
They couldn't act directly, but their junior disciples had no such qualms. If fellow-generation cultivators sparred and one happened to die, that was simply a failure of skill—no one else could be blamed.
That was why, within the Blood Demon Cave Heaven, people had tried to kill him, tried to recruit him, and Qu Huachang had even tried to bring him into her fold as a son-in-law—but the price was that Yang Kai could never advance to the Seventh-Order; he would have to settle for Sixth-Order at best.
In short, the great Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands did not wish to see anyone whose abilities exceeded their control, someone who might one day challenge their authority and supremacy.