After sitting quietly for a while, Yang Kai waved his hand. "Have it your way — take them all!"
Wu Kuang laughed heartily and gave Yang Kai a thumbs up. "Kid, you've got guts!"
Saying this, Wu Kuang channeled his power, enveloping Yin Xinzhao and the other four in a mass of demonic clouds, and shot up into the sky.
Yang Kai raised his eyes and called out, "Keep it clean — don't leave any loose ends!"
Wu Kuang's voice drifted back from afar. "Rest assured!"
"This old ghost actually reached Sixth-Order ages ago!" The Red Dust Great Emperor watched Wu Kuang's departing figure, his gaze complicated.
Back in the Shattered Star Sea, he had failed to kill Wu Kuang and instead nearly had his body seized by the man. The two had ended up sharing a single body for quite a few years, which had dissipated much of their enmity and given them a grudging experience of facing hardship together.
After the Great Demon God Mo Sheng was slain, Wu Kuang departed on his own, vanishing without a trace.
Yet here he was, running into him again today.
Even though Wu Kuang had changed his appearance entirely, how could the Red Dust Great Emperor fail to recognize him? All these years, the Great Emperors had been secluding themselves in Void Land, honing their cultivation. With Void Land as their backing, they lacked nothing in resources, yet it had still taken them until recently to finally advance to Sixth-Order. But Wu Kuang — it seemed he had broken through even earlier than they had.
Considering that Wu Kuang had been out there fighting on his own all this time and still achieved such astounding results — in this regard, Duan Hongchen could only admit he was outclassed.
The greatest Great Emperor in the history of the Star Boundary — the reputation was well deserved.
"That was Wu Kuang?" The Iron Blood Great Emperor, Zhan Wuhen, suddenly exclaimed, somewhat belatedly catching on.
Duan Hongchen gave a slight nod.
Zhan Wuhen's eye twitched involuntarily. "No wonder I found this guy inexplicably annoying!"
"Junior Brother Yang!" Qing Kui hurried over to Yang Kai. "Yin Xinzhao and Pei Wenxuan cannot be allowed to die!"
Having just witnessed Wu Kuang unleash the Heaven Devouring Battle Law with his own eyes, and now seeing him carry Yin Xinzhao and the others away, how could he not know what awaited them?
Inwardly horrified, he thought — Yang Kai's audacity was simply too much.
Yang Kai gave a light cough, looked up at Qing Kui, and smiled faintly. "I know what Senior Brother Qing is worried about."
"You don't understand!" Qing Kui's expression turned grave. "When you killed Zhao Xing, only Zuo Quanhui's faction stepped up for revenge — and that was only because Yin Yang Heaven mediated and intervened, shielding you from the brunt of the pressure. Now that those nominal traitors under Zuo Quanhui are dead, the Thousand Crane Blessed Land may harbor a grudge, but they won't act against you openly, otherwise they'd be going against our Yin Yang Heaven. But Yin Xinzhao and Pei Wenxuan are a different matter entirely. If you really have them killed, will Myriad Demon Heaven and Xuanyuan Grotto-heaven let it go? When they come knocking, it won't be just one Seventh-Order cultivator at your door!"
Yang Kai blinked, the picture of innocence. "Nobody in my Void Land killed them. Did anyone see anything?"
Wu Kuang was not a member of Void Land — strictly speaking, he was nothing more than a traitor from Myriad Demon Heaven.
Yang Kai had originally planned to bring those people back to the great domain where the Star Boundary was located and execute them there, to provide some nourishment for the World Tree. However, whether it was Yin Xinzhao or Pei Wenxuan, if they were to die over there, there might be some undetectable traces left behind.
Besides, the World Tree had already received quite a generous amount of nourishment from the recent great battle — there was no need to gild the lily, so he had given up on the idea.
Qing Kui stared at him, speechless. "Pei Wenxuan and Yin Xinzhao helped the Heavenly Sword Alliance against your Void Land — that's hardly a secret. The Heavenly Sword Alliance is destroyed, Zuo Quanhui is killed, and now Pei Wenxuan and Yin Xinzhao die too? Even a fool would know it has something to do with your Void Land. Who needs to have seen anything? Do you think those two great Grotto-heavens will sit down and reason things out with you nicely? They usually do their reasoning with fists!"
Yang Kai chuckled. "Senior Brother Qing speaks the plain truth. But Pei Wenxuan and Yin Xinzhao have made things difficult for me time and again. Last time on the Sin Star, I intended to use the Sin Alliance's hand to eliminate them for good, but who knew those fellows like the Heavenly Lord of the Yellow Springs would be so unreliable, letting them escape by a stroke of luck. Now this rare opportunity has come — if I let them go again, am I supposed to wait for them to come back and disgust me in the future?"
Qing Kui stomped his foot in frustration. "Junior Brother Yang, why won't you understand? Those two cannot be killed! Void Land is indeed formidable these days..."
Yang Kai raised a hand to cut him off. "Senior Brother Qing, even if I were willing to let those two go, there's someone who won't let them live. Rather than talking to me, you'd be better off thinking about whether you can persuade that person!"
"That person..." Qing Kui froze, finally understanding that the person Yang Kai was referring to must be Wu Kuang.
Of course — Wu Kuang was a disciple of Myriad Demon Heaven who had ambushed Zuo Quanhui from behind and cultivated such an evil technique. If these things were ever exposed, across the vast expanse of the Three Thousand Worlds, where would there be a place for Wu Kuang to hide?
Standing in Wu Kuang's shoes, he would absolutely have to uproot the problem entirely.
So even if he could persuade Yang Kai, it would be pointless!
After a long pause, Qing Kui let out a lengthy sigh. "Now you've truly stabbed through the heavens!"
Yang Kai struggled to his feet and patted Qing Kui's shoulder with a grin. "As long as the cleanup is neat and no traces are left, Myriad Demon Heaven and Xuanyuan Heaven can only guess that their disciples died at my hands. Without concrete evidence, what can they do to me?"
Qing Kui could only smile bitterly, thinking Yang Kai was being far too naive. When two great Grotto-heavens wanted to avenge their respective disciples, what need was there for concrete evidence? A mere suspicion was more than enough to justify their hand.