"Cooperation? What kind of cooperation?" Yang Kai asked.
Yin Xinzhao glanced at the golden ring on his wrist, his expression turning somewhat sinister. "You've collected quite a few stars!"
When Yang Kai had emerged from the treehouse deep within the forest with Grey Bone, the golden ring on his wrist had lit up with nearly sixty stars. Over the recent period, he had struck three more times, killing over thirty members of the Sin Alliance, naturally earning additional gains. Now the number of stars on his ring was close to seventy.
A single glance revealed a dense, glittering cluster of stars.
By contrast, Yin Xinzhao's golden ring didn't have a single star on it.
Yang Kai hadn't noticed this at first, and seeing it now he couldn't help but be surprised. He looked at Pei Wenxuan — same situation, not a star in sight.
This was clearly abnormal. Both of these fellows were Sixth-Order. They had been on the Sin Star for a considerable time — there was no way they would have zero gains.
His gaze shifted to the two Fifth-Order Open Heavens nearby, and Yang Kai immediately understood.
The Fifth-Order from the Myriad Demon Heaven was nothing special — only a handful of stars on his ring. But the Fifth-Order Open Heaven from the Xuanyuan Cave Heaven, standing behind Yin Xinzhao, had nearly thirty stars on his wrist!
In that case, the enemies this group of four had defeated were likely all finished off by this Xuanyuan Fifth-Order, who harvested the results each time. That way, perhaps they could push him into the top position, ultimately seizing first place in the Dao Discussion Assembly.
When killing sinners, as long as one was at least thirty zhang away, others wouldn't share in the merit. Presumably, Yin Xinzhao and Pei Wenxuan had been striking repeatedly to capture and restrain the sinners they encountered, then letting the Xuanyuan Disciple deal the killing blow to accumulate so many stars.
As for whatever private agreement the two of them had reached — whereby the Myriad Demon Heaven represented by Pei Wenxuan would forfeit the competition in this Dao Discussion Assembly — that was beyond what Yang Kai could guess.
In this manner, even if the Xuanyuan Cave Heaven's Fifth-Order did seize the top spot, he could later marry into Yin-Yang Heaven without worry. The Xuanyuan Cave Heaven would only be giving up a single Fifth-Order Open Heaven, which was in line with their original plan.
They had initially believed such a record would be enough to outshine everyone else. But upon seeing Yang Kai, they realized the gap between them was enormous — nearly double.
After all, the four of them had been acting together, while Yang Kai had been alone.
Recalling the scene he had witnessed earlier, Yin Xinzhao couldn't help but marvel at Yang Kai's resourcefulness. Having an insider in the Sin Alliance certainly made things convenient. He didn't know why that Sixth-Order Open Heaven was colluding with Yang Kai, but since he had caught wind of it, it would be a waste not to take advantage — what a shame that would be for such a fortunate opportunity.
"You're not doing badly yourselves," Yang Kai remarked, glancing at the Xuanyuan Cave Heaven's Fifth-Order Open Heaven. His tone was indifferent.
"Enough talk. You have two paths before you." Yin Xinzhao wore the expression of a man who had Yang Kai completely cornered. He raised a finger coldly. "Brother Pei and I join forces and kill you right here."
Yang Kai's face darkened. "You're that confident?"
Yin Xinzhao chuckled softly. "We all advanced to the Open Heaven realm not long ago. None of us is significantly more powerful than the others. If Brother Pei and I team up, how long do you think you could hold out? Kill you, and the stars on your wrist become ours."
Of course, if it truly came to blows, while they were confident they could kill Yang Kai here, they would certainly pay a price. One of them might even be seriously wounded — that was a risk too great to take.
Moreover, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven fighting to the death was no trivial matter. They couldn't guarantee that the Xuanyuan Fifth-Order would be able to harvest Yang Kai's accumulated results on his own.
The most likely outcome was that he and Pei Wenxuan would have no choice but to kill Yang Kai themselves and split his results equally. If that happened, it wouldn't benefit their larger plan at all.
Their mission this time absolutely required the Xuanyuan Cave Heaven's Fifth-Order to take the undisputed lead.
Yang Kai's expression turned grave, his eyes brimming with indignation. Sharp killing intent swirled around his body, giving every appearance that he was on the verge of launching an all-out attack at the slightest provocation.
Pei Wenxuan and Yin Xinzhao simultaneously stepped forward. One wore a mocking sneer, the other had killing intent surging in his eyes, their combined aura locking firmly onto Yang Kai.
Invisible waves of World Force collided, compressing the surrounding void into instability as ripples abruptly rippled outward.
After a long moment, Yang Kai suddenly went pale. He clutched his chest and stumbled back a step, snorting coldly, "And the second path?"
Yin Xinzhao slowly shook his head. "Why refuse the wine only to drink the poison? How unnecessary. The second path, of course, is that you cooperate with us — use your insider in the Sin Alliance and go on a killing spree!"
Yang Kai's expression was ugly. "Looks like I don't have much of a choice."
Yin Xinzhao smiled and nodded. "A wise man knows which way the wind blows!"
"I can cooperate, but I want compensation," Yang Kai said.
"Compensation? You actually want compensation?" Yin Xinzhao's brows knitted tight, and he stared at Yang Kai with a strange expression.
"You want to use my insider, replace me — is it really so unreasonable for me to ask for something in return?" Yang Kai snorted. "If you won't agree, then we might as well fight it out right here and see who ends up benefiting."
Yin Xinzhao's face soured. "What kind of compensation do you want?" He secretly decided that if Yang Kai's demands were too excessive, he would strike and kill him immediately. After all, with their current results, it was unlikely anyone could surpass them. As long as Yang Kai was dead, seizing the top spot wouldn't be a problem.
"Anything!" Yang Kai snorted.