Throughout the entire confrontation, the hidden attackers Zhuo Buqun and Yu Huan never revealed themselves, and Yang Kai had no intention of pursuing them to the bitter end. He simply exchanged a single blow across the distance and then stopped.
Between the surging winds and roiling clouds, across the vast expanse of the Star Boundary, two enormous fissures suddenly tore across the sky. No matter where one stood within the Star Boundary, the sight was unmistakably clear.
The fissures slowly parted and spread wider, revealing themselves to be a pair of colossal eyes, as though some heaven-spanning, earth-straddling divine being had descended upon the world.
Those twin eyes gazed down upon all living beings below, filling the countless creatures of the Star Boundary with an irresistible impulse to prostrate in worship. Even the thirty-odd High-Order Open Heaven cultivators currently traversing the Star Boundary furrowed their brows, overwhelmed by a mounting pressure. Without realizing it, they halted in their tracks and looked skyward.
Those enormous eyes seemed to wear a faint smile. Their gaze seemed to say: This is my territory — anyone who dares act recklessly will be dealt with!
Zhuo Buqun and Yu Huan nearly jumped out of their skins. Fleeing side by side, they found that those eyes relentlessly tracked their movements, leaving them nowhere to hide. The killing intent locked onto them was like an iron chain around their throats, tightening until they could barely breathe.
Both men's faces were etched with a mix of grief and fury.
Who could have imagined that a Sixth Order Open Heaven could borrow the power of heaven and earth to instantly surge to the peak of the Seventh Order? And here, in the Star Boundary itself, all the advantages of time and terrain belonged entirely to that young man. Even if they were willing to fight to the death, there was no guarantee they could emerge unscathed.
Those colossal eyes in the sky simply watched them in silence, like a cat observing two mice that had stumbled into its granary — brimming with amusement.
Atop the snow mountain, Yang Kai gently closed his eyes.
The massive eyes in the sky slowly faded away.
Zhuo Buqun and Yu Huan crashed into a cave hidden within a sheer cliff face, sitting cross-legged side by side. They wiped the blood from the corners of their mouths as a cold wind blew past, leaving their backs drenched in sweat.
They exchanged a glance, both still shaken.
After a long moment, Zhuo Buqun spoke in a grim voice: "Unless an Eighth Order master intervenes, I'm afraid no one will be able to do anything about that brat."
Yu Huan gave a muffled grunt. "At least he had the sense not to push things too far."
Had Yang Kai been determined to make things difficult for them, a fight to the death would have been inevitable today. Perhaps Yang Kai's final outcome wouldn't have been great, but at least one of the two of them would surely have died.
But even though Yang Kai had borrowed the power of heaven and earth, he had only issued a mild warning before withdrawing. It was clear he wanted them to recognize when they were outmatched and withdraw on their own — he had no real desire to thoroughly antagonize two great Cave Heavens.
Moreover, with over thirty High-Order Open Heaven cultivators witnessing the entire affair, no one would speak ill of Yang Kai in the future. On the contrary, they would praise his magnanimity and his awareness of the bigger picture.
By contrast, Zhuo Buqun and Yu Huan — who had resorted to underhanded tactics, wielding their superior strength against a junior — were the ones who looked cunning and despicable.
"We've both been forced to swallow this bitter pill." Zhuo Buqun's expression was as dark as storm clouds.
Although they both suspected and firmly believed that their respective disciples, Pei Wenxuan and Yin Xinzhao, had died at Yang Kai's hands, no one had actually witnessed it.
In the past, if two great Cave Heavens wanted to avenge their disciples, they wouldn't have needed much evidence. A mere suspicion was enough grounds to strike, and who would dare say a word against it?
But now the Star Boundary possessed the World Tree and was destined to become the focal point of the entire Three Thousand Worlds. As the Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, Yang Kai had implicitly earned the standing to deal with them as equals — he had the capital to negotiate with the sects behind them on equal terms.
If they recklessly made things difficult for Yang Kai, they would inevitably face censure and obstruction from the other Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands. The cost would far outweigh any benefit.
Otherwise, given their status and position, why would they have resorted to such sneaky tactics today? They could have simply confronted Yang Kai openly and killed him on the spot.
Who would have thought that brat could borrow the power of heaven and earth and instantly surge to the peak of the Seventh Order, leaving both of them nursing a rather unpleasant loss?
That, however, was secondary. In the end, Yang Kai hadn't truly tried to make things difficult for them — he'd simply toyed with them for a moment and then let them go.
But Pei Wenxuan and Yin Xinzhao had probably died for nothing. Without a shred of evidence, and with the fact that Myriad Demon Heaven and Xuanyuan Heaven would certainly want to profit from the Star Boundary in the future, neither side would dare bring this matter up again — doing so would only invite trouble for themselves.
This unspoken understanding to each take a step back was something everyone was well aware of.
They exchanged a glance and sighed deeply. The loss of a core Sixth Order disciple was genuinely painful. In the past, such a loss wouldn't have been crippling, but it was far from insignificant.
If they could find talented prospects in the Star Boundary to make up the numbers, perhaps the loss could be compensated. But the bitterness lodged in their hearts would not be so easily swallowed.
Atop the snow mountain, Yang Kai sat cross-legged as snowflakes swirled around him, forcibly suppressing the killing intent within his heart. If it were possible, how could he have let Zhuo Buqun and Yu Huan off so easily? Just as he had told Lord Xu Ling before — if people from these two factions came, he would treat them with courtesy. If they were sensible, that would be the end of it. If they were not, then he would happily have a proper fight with them.
Letting them participate in the assembly, letting them take a share of the Star Boundary's bounty — that was Yang Kai's courtesy.
But the two of them had still resorted to a hidden attack. If Yang Kai had truly been an ordinary Sixth Order cultivator, and the Star Boundary merely an ordinary World, how could he have survived a sneak attack by two Seventh Order masters?
In that instant, Yang Kai had been seized by the urge to wipe them out completely.
But if an all-out battle truly broke out, the Star Boundary would never be able to withstand it, and the assembled High-Order cultivators would certainly not stand by and watch. If they intervened, the conflict would only fizzle out — and Yang Kai would have played the villain for nothing.