"You killed my junior brother, Yang Kai—did you ever think you'd end up like this today!" The man standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Vajra Heavenly Lord and Scarlet Flame Heavenly Lord snarled through gritted teeth.
From his words, he was clearly Zhao Xing's senior brother.
Lu Jing had mentioned earlier that Zuo Quan Hui's faction had defected from Thousand Crane Blessed Ground. Since an entire faction had broken away, it obviously wasn't just Zuo Quan Hui alone—he had taken all the usable forces under his command with him. This man was one of them, as were those unfamiliar faces from earlier, including the Sixth-Order woman.
"You're dead for sure today, you little thief!" The woman's voice rang out from behind.
Yang Kai lowered his eyelids slightly and let out a cold laugh. "You want to kill me? Then let's see if you've got the ability!"
In the void, a massive tower ship shaped like a lotus blossom was rapidly approaching their position. Before it drew near, streaks of light shot out from within the ship one after another, packed tightly together.
The woman's startled cry suddenly echoed through the void: "Senior Brother Zhou Ti, watch out!"
Zhou Ti, who was blocking Yang Kai's path, along with Vajra and Scarlet Flame, all sensed the disturbance behind them. They whipped their heads around just as their vision was flooded by a dazzling radiance—wave after wave of terrifying attacks came crashing toward them.
All three turned pale with shock. Before they could even consider how so many powerful fighters had suddenly appeared in this place, they scattered in all directions like startled birds.
The instant they moved, Yang Kai leveled his spear and thrust it toward Zhou Ti. The strike tore through the spatial barrier without resistance—before the spear had even been fully extended, it was already at Zhou Ti's face. A dragon's roar emanated from the Azure Dragon Spear, as if it had truly transformed into a titanic dragon with bared fangs and unsheathed claws, threatening to devour Zhou Ti in a single bite.
Zhou Ti's soul nearly fled his body. He frantically poured the power of his own small universe into his hands, forming seals and slamming them forward.
With a wet tear, blood sprayed into the air. Yang Kai brushed past Zhou Ti, their eyes meeting for a brief instant. In Zhou Ti's eyes was sheer terror; in Yang Kai's was pure mockery. The Azure Dragon Spear flipped and, with ghostlike unpredictability, drove straight toward Zhou Ti's heart.
The aura of death descended upon him. Zhou Ti's face turned the color of earth. At the threshold between life and death, Yang Kai suddenly furrowed his brow and yanked the spear back, thrusting it in the opposite direction.
Clang! A long sword intercepted the Azure Dragon Spear. World-shaking powers collided, and Yang Kai couldn't help but grunt as blood trickled from his nose and mouth. Behind the sword stood Zuo Quan Hui, his expression cold and sinister. His blade trembled in his grip, transforming into a curtain of sword light that descended upon Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was driven back step after step. Blood sprayed uncontrollably from wounds all over his body—countless cuts large and small, the flesh curling back from each one, a ghastly sight.
"Young Master!" Yue He cried out in alarm, flashing forward in a streak of light.
The three former Mountain Masters of Xuan Yang Mountain charged alongside her—Mao Zhe, Geng Qing, and Zhou Ya.
In terms of loyalty, these three couldn't compare to the others. As three Sixth-Order Open Heaven powerhouses, they had been forced to inscribe their names on the Scroll of Loyalty and Devotion back in the Shadowless Cave Heaven, submitting to Yang Kai under duress.
But names inscribed on the Scroll of Loyalty and Devotion meant that whether their submission was genuine or coerced, watching Yang Kai hover at the brink of death sent their hearts hammering with anxiety. If Yang Kai died, they would be buried alongside him. The moment they saw his situation turn dire, they launched themselves into the fray without hesitation.
Combining the strength of all five, they finally managed to hold Zuo Quan Hui at bay.
Seeing that he couldn't cut Yang Kai down quickly, Zuo Quan Hui wisely withdrew. His earlier aggressive assault had been primarily to rescue Zhou Ti, and now that his objective was achieved, there was no need to press further. At the very least, he needed to assess the situation before him.
The two factions faced each other across several hundred li in the void. The earth-shaking battle came to an abrupt halt, but everyone knew this calm was nothing but a facade—the eerie silence before a storm.
"Young Master, are you all right?" Yue He stared at Yang Kai with anxious concern, her heart aching for him.
Yang Kai looked wretched at the moment. His clothes were shredded beyond recognition, and the wounds covering his body—large and small—were beyond counting. He rarely looked this battered.
"I'm fine!" Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of blood, his expression defiant as he gazed several hundred li away. He let out a cold laugh: "Zuo Quan Hui, you wanted to lure a snake from its hole—were you not afraid of luring out a dragon instead?"
Several hundred li away, Zuo Quan Hui's expression remained as dark as ever. His gaze swept over every person standing around Yang Kai as he remarked flatly, "I underestimated your Void Land."
He had known that Void Land possessed considerable backing, with two Grand Holy Spirits standing guard—even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven powerhouse like himself couldn't act rashly there. That was why he had devised a plan to lure Yang Kai out.
He had assumed that once Yang Kai was away from home, killing him would be easy. He hadn't expected Yang Kai's own strength to be significantly greater than he'd imagined—he hadn't been able to finish him off in the opening exchange, and Void Land's reserves were far beyond expectations!
A full nine Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators! Nearly twenty at the Fifth-Order!
This lineup was wildly inconsistent with his intelligence. According to the information he'd gathered, Void Land had at most two or three Sixth-Order fighters.
Compared to Void Land, their own side had only five Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators—Zhou Ti, the Yellow Spring Heavenly Lord, Vajra Heavenly Lord, Scarlet Flame Heavenly Lord, and the woman. Just five, though Zuo Quan Hui himself was a Seventh-Order, which compensated for quite a bit.
Even so, Void Land's growth made Zuo Quan Hui's blood run cold. When the Heavenly Sword Alliance had contacted the Hundred Clans Alliance to attack Void Land, what level had Void Land been at? And now, in such a short time, they had amassed so many powerful fighters. If this continued unchecked, Void Land would become a formidable threat!
"Though, did you really think these people could stop me?" Zuo Quan Hui gave his sword a casual flick. "Boy, today I will kill you—no matter what!"