The universe was vast and boundless. Three thousand worlds stood across it, and countless arcane arts and mystical techniques filled every corner. But was there truly any method that could refine another's World Force and turn it to one's own use?
This was absolutely a heretical art that defied the natural order — one that the Heavenly Dao would never tolerate!
That was precisely why, when everyone watched Wu Kuang activate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and begin refining and devouring in full view, the shock that gripped their hearts was beyond description.
It was merely that cultivating such a technique harmed the harmony of heaven and earth, and the repercussions would absolutely be catastrophic sooner or later. A practitioner was bound to meet a violent end.
So while the shock was real enough, there was precious little envy to go with it.
In less than half an hour, Wu Kuang withdrew his power.
Yang Kai felt so wretched he nearly coughed up blood. This battle had cost Zuo Quanhui his life, but the price Yang Kai had paid was hardly insignificant. Over a dozen Sixth Order cultivators had waged war inside his Small Universe, dealing devastating damage to its foundations. On top of that, Wu Kuang had devoured power before and after — the losses were so grievous that words could not do them justice.
Earlier, he had borrowed the power of the Star Boundary's heaven and earth, reaping considerable rewards and bolstering his own foundations enough to save at least five hundred years of bitter cultivation.
Yet after today's ordeal, virtually all of those gains had vanished into thin air. Had he not hastily consumed two World Fruits as a buffer, the situation would have been far worse.
Such losses could only be made up through slow, painstaking cultivation.
Still, one thing he could now confirm: although he couldn't draw fellow Sixth Order Open Heaven cultivators into his Small Universe directly, he faced no such restriction when he spread his Small Universe outward. After all, even Zuo Quanhui, a Seventh Order cultivator, had been caught inside it.
The battle within his Small Universe had already reached its conclusion, ending with Zuo Quanhui's self-destruction. The fight outside was presumably nearing its end as well — after all, Void Land held a two-to-one advantage. How could Yin Xinzhao, Zi Yan, and the rest possibly hold up?
When Yang Kai withdrew his Small Universe and everyone reappeared on Biyun Continent, a single glance confirmed the situation. Several members of the Heavenly Sword Alliance were on the brink of collapse.
Yin Xinzhao and Pei Wenxuan, in particular, were barely holding on. They had only recently advanced to the Sixth Order themselves — a few years ahead of the various Great Emperors, but not by much. Their foundations were not substantially greater.
Even mid-battle, everyone had been keeping a close eye on what was happening on the other side.
Now, seeing Yang Kai appear alongside the full contingent of Void Land's Sixth Order cultivators, the Great Emperors felt an immense weight lift from their shoulders. The Heavenly Sword Alliance fighters, by contrast, looked as though they had seen a ghost.
Zuo Quanhui was nowhere to be seen. His fate was plainly self-evident.
Yin Xinzhao, Pei Wenxuan, and the others needed no further prompting. Each of them unleashed their divine abilities to blast their opponents back and made a run for it. But Yang Kai was not about to give them that chance. With a broad sweep of his hand, more than a dozen figures shot out as streaks of light, splitting off to every battlefield.
Moments later, the five surviving members of the Heavenly Sword Alliance had all been captured. Restriction after restriction was laid upon them, sealing away their cultivation.
Yang Kai sat perched on a rock, one hand resting on the Azure Dragon Spear, coughing lightly from time to time, his aura faintly depleted. Yue He and Mo Mei flanked him on either side, standing guard like two vajra protectors.
Amid some shoving, Zi Yan, Yin Xinzhao, Pei Wenxuan, Huang Mao, and Heavenly Lord Danyang were brought before Yang Kai. Of the five, Zi Yan glared at Yang Kai with open fury. Huang Mao and Danyang darted their gazes away, faces twisted with regret and fear. Yin Xinzhao and Pei Wenxuan, on the other hand, stood ramrod straight, expressions composed, showing not the slightest awareness that they were prisoners.
Pei Wenxuan was even calm enough to study Wu Kuang. He still hadn't figured out why this junior brother of his had suddenly switched sides on the battlefield.
As it happened, Wu Kuang was equally interested in him, his eyes gleaming — rather like a lecher catching sight of a beauty. The look turned Pei Wenxuan's face pale and sent an inexplicable chill through his heart.
"Where is my Master? What have you done to him?" Zi Yan's teeth were clenched, her glare cutting into Yang Kai. Though she had already half-guessed the answer, she still clung to self-deception, refusing to believe it.
Yang Kai raised his head and sneered, "Since I am here, what do you suppose became of your Master?"
"Impossible!" Zi Yan's eyes blazed, but in the very next instant her eyelids contracted sharply as she caught sight of a corpse Yang Kai casually tossed to the ground.
Before his death, Zuo Quanhui had been struck by more than ten divine abilities. Although he had ultimately perished by his own hand, his body was still a mangled ruin — flesh and blood in a near-unrecognizable heap, barely maintaining a human shape.
"Master..." Zi Yan's eyes brimmed with tears. The word escaped her lips in a murmur as she stared at her Master's remains, memories flooding back of her time in the Thousand Crane Blessed Land. Back then, there had been her Master's earnest teachings, her senior brother's affection and care, her junior brother's admiration and reverence.
Carefree days.
But now — her junior brother was dead, her senior brother was dead, and even her Master was dead. All killed by the young man standing before her.
"I'll kill you!" Zi Yan lunged forward, but with her cultivation sealed, her spiritual power locked down, all she managed was to bare her sharp teeth at Yang Kai's flesh.
Yang Kai spun the Azure Dragon Spear in his grip, the butt of the shaft jabbing into her soft stomach.
Zi Yan crumpled to her knees instantly, body doubled over, unable to draw breath for a good long while.
Yang Kai hooked the spear tip beneath her chin and spoke in a cold voice, "Zhao Xing died because he provoked the fight first and tried to kill me after. He brought it on himself — his death was no great loss. As his fellow disciples, if you wanted revenge, I had nothing to say. But if you chose vengeance, you should have been prepared to die by my hand. In the end, it's simply a matter of the victor claiming the throne and the loser becoming a bandit."
Zi Yan gazed up at him through tear-blurred eyes, her expression one of blank despair. Then suddenly her body lurched forward with violent force.