The spear gleam bloomed. Facing the might of this thrust, Li Luoshui cried out sharply: "Insolent!"
She raised her hand and slapped down toward Yang Kai. Within that delicate jade palm, the power of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven spun ceaselessly, rapidly enlarging in Yang Kai's field of vision until it filled his entire sight. Heaven and earth vanished—all he could see was this single palm strike.
Yang Kai's entire body tensed, his flesh and blood writhing as an instinctive sense of crisis arose within him.
This was his first time clashing head-on with an Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivator. Though he had witnessed Upper-Order Open Heaven battles on several occasions before, he had never personally taken part. Whether it was the Hundred Families Alliance's siege of Void Land or the earlier battle outside the entrance to Shadowless Grotto-heaven, where Zhu Jiuyin fought one against four Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivators, he had only ever watched from afar.
Back then, though he could sense the power of Upper-Order Open Heaven, it hadn't felt truly real.
It was only in this moment that he truly grasped the enormous gap between Middle-Order and Upper-Order.
Under that palm, he felt like he had been reduced to an ant, overwhelmed by an inescapable sense of doom. With a fierce shout, he swung his long spear, and the Great Freedom Spear Art blazed with radiance.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Deafening sounds erupted as terrifying waves of power swept outward in every direction.
Yang Kai was sent hurtling backward, his face paling slightly. In contrast, Li Luoshui stood perfectly still, her body merely swaying ever so slightly.
She glanced down at her palm, where a small spot of crimson was spreading from its center. Though it quickly healed, in that instant of clash, the opponent had actually managed to wound her.
This left Li Luoshui somewhat incredulous.
She too had ascended from Sixth-Order Open Heaven, so she knew exactly how much power a Sixth-Order could wield. She had expected to crush him as easily as pinching a snail between her fingers, but things hadn't gone as planned.
Just as Yang Kai had pointed out, she had only just advanced to the Seventh Order, and the power she could draw upon was truly limited. The opposing lineup was far too strong—seven Sixth-Order cultivators and fifteen Fifth-Order cultivators. If they truly joined forces, she might not be able to protect Golden Rainbow Province. She had wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, slaying one of their Sixth-Order cultivators first to strike fear into the rest, but not only had the opponent escaped her grasp, he even had enough strength to counterattack!
Such ability exceeded her understanding, and her expression turned grave.
On the other side, Yang Kai had been flung dozens of li away. A thread of golden blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't bother wiping it away. He merely gazed at Li Luoshui with defiant arrogance and laughed contemptuously: "Seventh-Order Open Heaven? Is that all you've got?"
When the Hundred Families Alliance had invaded Void Land, aside from borrowing the power of the Nine Heavens Grand Formation to forcibly slay Kong Feng, he could only watch. Outside Shadowless Grotto-heaven, Zhu Jiuyin had fought one against four in a fierce battle, and he could still only watch. But now, today, he finally had the qualifications to face an Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivator in battle. Even if it was merely having that qualification, it was still tremendous growth. He would never again be as powerless as before.
At this moment, he felt profoundly relieved that he had not continued charging headlong toward that unattainable Upper-Order Open Heaven. Truly, power held firmly in one's own hands was the only genuine power. An unreachable dream was nothing but a mirage!
He spat out a mouthful of blood. Yang Kai pointed his long spear at Li Luoshui and coldly uttered a single word: "Kill!"
As he activated the Laws of Space, he crossed dozens of li in an instant, appearing directly before Li Luoshui and thrusting his spear forward with savage force.
At the same time, Mao Zhe, Geng Qing, Zhou Ya, the Hua Yong couple, and the proprietress all struck simultaneously, unleashing wave after wave of mystical arts and secret techniques at Li Luoshui.
The seven Sixth-Order