Yang Kai laughed in exasperation. "My Void Spirit Sword Sect has no enmity with Tianwu City. The City Lord overthinks things." It seemed like this fellow had quite a few enemies—otherwise, why would he ask right upon meeting whether someone had come to kill him?
He paused briefly before continuing, "To be honest, I'm an alchemist. I heard the City Lord was unwell, so I tried refining some pills and sent my subordinate to deliver them as a token of goodwill. I never expected the City Lord's Manor would claim the pills I refined were poisonous and detain my subordinate."
"You're an alchemist?" Miao Hong looked at Yang Kai with some surprise.
Yang Kai was young, his face still youthful—he looked only seventeen or eighteen. Such an age with that level of cultivation was already startling enough, and he was actually an alchemist too?
In the Divine Weapon World, every alchemist held an exalted status, and the lineage was strictly controlled. It wasn't something just anyone could become.
"What rank of alchemist are you?" Miao Hong asked curiously.
"Earth Rank!" Yang Kai didn't dare say too much. Given his alchemical skill, the ranking system of this Divine Weapon World didn't really apply to him. With sufficient materials and enough power backing him up, refining Spirit Pills wouldn't be much trouble at all.
Miao Hong had seemed somewhat interested, but after hearing Yang Kai's words, his expression cooled considerably, a flash of displeasure crossing his eyes. Having such cultivation at a young age was one thing—it could be attributed to extraordinary talent. But an Earth Rank alchemist... how could a mere boy achieve that? His Tianwu City was considered a decent power, yet at enormous cost, over a hundred years had been spent, and they had only produced two Earth Rank alchemists in total. Becoming an Earth Rank alchemist required at least several decades of effort and accumulation.
"Young man, I don't know what you're after coming here, and I don't have the energy to ask or bother investigating. Just go back where you came from." With that, he closed his eyes wearily.
Yang Kai was taken aback. "The City Lord doesn't believe me?"
Miao Hong said flatly, "Toying with a dying man—that's no fun at all!"
Yang Kai gave a slight nod, studied Miao Hong carefully, and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the City Lord's current condition isn't simply old age and declining vigor—it's a relapse of old injuries, isn't it?"
Miao Hong's tightly shut eyes opened slightly, and he said approvingly, "Young man, you have a sharp eye. How did you see through it?" The outside world all believed he was merely declining with age—no one knew it was truly a relapse of old injuries.
Yang Kai said, "The City Lord doesn't look very old. Of course, for a powerhouse of your caliber, with cultivation sustaining you, appearance alone can't reveal your true age. However, the City Lord's vital essence and blood haven't yet reached the point of exhaustion—yet strangely, they're remarkably weak. Moreover, there seems to be another force surging within the City Lord's body..."
Only then did Miao Hong finally show a look of astonishment. "You can even see that?"
Yang Kai said, "If the City Lord trusts me, may I examine you?"
Miao Hong studied him seriously for a moment, then said lightly, "A dying man has nothing to lose. If you want to look, go ahead."
Yang Kai apologized for the intrusion, took hold of his hand, pressed two fingers to his wrist, and channeled his own spiritual power to probe within.
The moment that spiritual power entered his body, Miao Hong immediately sensed Yang Kai's true cultivation. Peak of the Earth Rank!
Though he had already sensed from Yang Kai's silent infiltration that he was at least an Earth Rank cultivator, only now was it fully confirmed—not merely Earth Rank, but the peak of the Earth Rank, just one step away from the Heaven Rank.
"Young man, how old are you this year?" Miao Hong asked curiously.
"Seventeen, maybe eighteen!" Yang Kai replied offhandedly. In his memories, this body in the Divine Weapon World was indeed only that old.
Miao Hong smacked his lips. "A heaven-blessed genius!"
To possess such cultivation at this age was unprecedented across the entire Divine Weapon World. If only he had a Ten-Turn Wuxin Pill right now, Miao Hong was certain that Yang Kai could break through to the Heaven Rank in one fell swoop. A seventeen-or-eighteen-year-old Heaven Rank! How absolutely unheard of!
He hadn't paid much attention to this Void Spirit Sword Sect before, but Miao Hong vaguely felt that the sect's rise was just around the corner.
A moment later, Yang Kai withdrew his fingers. "There is indeed an extremely sinister force inside the City Lord's body, devouring your vitality."
Miao Hong said, "I was wounded in a battle years ago, and that force has been lurking within my body ever since. No amount of effort has been able to drive it out. Since you've detected it, young man, do you have any good solution?"
Yang Kai thought for a moment. "There's one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which would the City Lord like to hear first?"
"Tell me the bad news first!" Miao Hong said.
"The City Lord's remaining vitality is nearly gone, and your essence and blood are in severe decline. If left untreated, within three days, you will certainly die!"
Miao Hong couldn't help but snort softly. "That sounds just wonderful."
Yang Kai said, "I'm quite curious that the City Lord can still maintain such clarity of mind!" Logically speaking, in Miao Hong's condition, his consciousness should have become muddled and chaotic long ago. Yet this man spoke to him with perfectly coherent logic—his willpower must be extraordinarily strong.
"And the good news?" Miao Hong asked again.
"The good news is that I can extend the City Lord's lifespan somewhat, so you won't die so quickly. However, to eradicate the force within your body..." Yang Kai shook his head slightly. "My strength is too low—I'm afraid I can't help with that."
Miao Hong's eyes lit up. "That's fine—as long as you can keep me alive, just seven or eight more days will do!"