The violent energy fluctuations persisted for quite some time before gradually subsiding.
The dazzling starlight vanished without a trace, and Yang Kai snorted coldly. He plummeted roughly thirty feet before barely managing to stabilize himself.
Going head-to-head against Liu Qingyao's Mysterious-grade mid-tier martial skill, even Star Trace could barely hold its own. What's more, the gap between their cultivation realms already spanned several minor stages, with the Shenyou Realm serving as a watershed in between.
Yang Kai was having a rough time of it, but Liu Qingyao's body swayed ever so slightly as well. The massive figure visible to everyone's eyes shattered and collapsed in an instant. He looked as though he'd been pierced by a sharp sword, his entire aura draining away like water through a broken dam.
The terrifying pressure dissipated, and a sense of clearing skies and bright moonlight washed over everyone's hearts.
Looking carefully, the two of them stood exactly as before, facing each other from a distance of sixty feet apart, as though they had never exchanged blows.
Several members of the Yang family were utterly dumbfounded.
They had never known that Yang Kai was this strong!
Everyone knew his strength was no joke, but no matter how generously they'd estimated him before, they'd still underestimated this ninth brother. In a true one-on-one fight, no one in the Yang family could match him!
He was only at the eighth level of the Zhenyuan Realm — how could he fight Liu Qingyao of the third level of the Shenyou Realm to a standstill?
Yang Zhao and the others wore grim expressions. Though in the succession war, individual strength wasn't the most important factor, at the end of the day, as martial artists, they all aspired to reach the pinnacle of the martial path, to ascend above the Shenyou Realm and be admired by thousands.
That aspiration didn't conflict with the succession war or the fight for the position of family heir.
Only Yang Wei shook his head with a wry smile, secretly relieved in his heart.
"One more move!" Yang Kai smoothed the turbulent qi in his chest and smiled lightly at Liu Qingyao.
The latter's expression was grave, and he no longer dared to underestimate Yang Kai in the slightest. To everyone's surprise, he slowly shook his head. "No need. Right now, you are not my match. But I acknowledge that you are worthy of fighting me."
As he spoke, he casually tossed the Mysterious-grade Artifact he had previously snatched directly to Yang Kai, his eyes blazing. "I'll be waiting. Once you enter the Shenyou Realm, let's have a real fight!"
Yang Kai caught the Artifact without hesitation, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He held the object and said nothing more.
He knew that in the previous two exchanges, Liu Qingyao hadn't used his full power.
But what Liu Qingyao didn't know was that neither had Yang Kai! The only reason Yang Kai had stepped forward as the first to challenge was that rare Mysterious-grade Artifact. Without that temptation, he couldn't be bothered to exchange blows with Liu Qingyao.
But now it seemed this person was somewhat self-important, though not the arrogant, insufferable type.
Now that the Artifact was in hand, there was naturally no need to keep pestering.
Watching Liu Qingyao hand over the Artifact — the very one he'd only obtained because the Water-Moon Azure Wave Armor had been sacrificed — without the slightest hint of reluctance, everyone's eyes reddened with envy and their breathing grew hot.
In the blink of an eye, the ninth brother had struck it rich once more, snatching two Mysterious-grade Artifacts first!
Liu Qingyao glanced back at Yang Wei and gave a light nod. "Eldest Young Master, I now know the limits of your Yang family. The ninth young master truly has more potential than you. But I, Liu Qingyao, haven't reached my limit either. We have plenty of time ahead. When the time comes, we'll see who among this generation is stronger!"
With that, he turned and departed.
The expressions of those present were complicated. When they looked at Yang Kai again, their eyes held a great deal more wariness, as if they felt it was necessary to reassess this ninth brother.
Yang Kai's expression remained impassive. Once Liu Qingyao had left, he immediately flew downward.
"Damn it — there's still one more!" Yang Kang snapped back to reality and hurried after him. Of the eight Mysterious-grade Artifacts, six of the brothers had each claimed one, Liu Qingyao had taken one, and the last had fallen into Mirror-Shattering Lake. After witnessing the restrictions and Origin-Sealing Curses within the Mysterious-grade Artifacts, no one dared rashly dive into the lake to retrieve it. So until now, that Artifact had remained unclaimed.
At Yang Kang's shout, the others also came to their senses and scrambled after him, each afraid that someone else would get the advantage.
But no matter who it was, none dared get too close to Yang Kai.
Now that all their Blood Servants had their True Yuan sealed, without Blood Servants guarding them, given Yang Kai's performance just now, capturing them would be child's play.
If they lost the succession war for that reason, it would be the ultimate waste.
Yang Kai also noticed they were warily guarding against him and naturally wouldn't waste his effort on futile gestures.
Before long, all six had returned to their respective camps.
The ninth batch of Heaven-grade Artifacts were still being fought over. More than half had already found owners, with only a small portion remaining unclaimed, constantly changing hands. The scene was even more intense and chaotic than before.
Martial artists across the six factions suffered casualties one after another.
Huo Xingchen had already returned. The Huo family hadn't lost many — the two Shenyou Realm fifth-level cultivators were both wounded, but not seriously. A couple of Zhenyuan Realm martial artists, however, had been killed.
"Young Master Kai!" Huo Xingchen's face was dark with gloom. "Want me to have Dad wipe out the Xiang and Nan families?"
Yang Kai glanced at him, somewhat puzzled by the suggestion.
"Those Xiang Chu and Nan Sheng led two groups of people and did nothing but target ours the entire time. Dammit — they don't even put me in their eyes anymore. Just say the word, Young Master Kai, and I'll have Dad take people to exterminate both the Xiang and Nan families tomorrow."
Yang Kai scoffed. "Can't handle losing? If you can't handle losing, then don't join the succession war!"