The first power outage of 2013 arrived a bit late — - -
What a long time no see feeling.
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Yang Kai's expression flickered with surprise, then his gaze sharpened like a sword. His incomparable Divine Sense coalesced into a single point, searching around the Artifact.
In the next instant, the long sword in his hand slashed toward a direction, its momentum magnificent as a rainbow.
In that direction, another hazy figure appeared, grabbed the Artifact, and transformed into a streak of rainbow light, covering a thousand zhang in the blink of an eye.
The speed was absurdly fast — Yang Kai didn't even have time to launch another attack.
The whole thing happened fast and ended fast. By the time that mysterious expert snatched the Artifact and vanished from everyone's sight, the other five members of the Yang family were still hesitating over whether to rush forward.
Above Mirror-Breaking Lake, crimson water rained down in scattered drops, and the rainbow light had already disappeared.
Yang Kai hovered in midair, the Shura Sword in hand, his expression shifting.
This was the second time — twice in a single day, this person had slipped right under his nose, and done so brazenly at that!
A bizarre and mysterious person!
He reached out and caught something drifting down from the air. When he saw what it was clearly, his expression turned to one of shock.
He tucked the item into his pocket and immediately returned to his own camp.
No one knew what he had grabbed from the rain of lake water overhead, but everyone had seen the motion, and speculation ran wild — their curiosity was killing them!
The six Yang family members were still sizing each other up, but no matter how they looked, not a single face betrayed any hint of joy. Everyone suspected the others, wondering whether that mysterious expert was someone else's recruited fighter.
The battle for the treasures was drawing to a close. Eight mysterious-grade Artifacts had already found their owners, with only a handful of heaven-grade Artifacts still being contested.
Half a cup of tea later, everything calmed down. The warriors of the six factions fought as they retreated, each returning to their own side.
Just as at the beginning, they stood in six positions along the shore of Mirror-Breaking Lake, but each faction had lost at least a quarter of their number. Among the fallen were not a few experts of the Shenyou Realm!
Yang Kang, Yang Shen, and Yang Ying's factions suffered the heaviest losses. When the third batch of Artifacts appeared, these three groups had been caught off guard and ambushed. As time went on, that slight disadvantage gradually threatened to snowball. Fortunately, the battle hadn't lasted long — otherwise, whether these forces would have been completely wiped out was anyone's guess.
Every faction's warriors had fought with genuine fury, glaring at each other with open hostility. Making enemies during the Succession War was par for the course. During the war, private grudges couldn't be settled, but once it ended, a life-and-death reckoning between these feuding powers was all but inevitable.
So even though the treasure hunt had ended, the air still reeked of gunpowder.
Yang Kai's side had taken some losses too, but their gains far outweighed them. Compared to everyone else, his faction had claimed noticeably more Artifacts.
Most notably, Yang Kai had personally secured two mysterious-grade Artifacts, which carried more weight than any other treasures.
Yang Wei clasped his hands behind his back, gave everyone a slight nod, and led his people and their plundered treasures home in triumph. Yang Zhao and Yang Kang departed together, and Yang Shen and Yang Ying withdrew as well, albeit grudgingly.
After such a massive battle, no one had the spirit to stir up more trouble.
"Ying Jiu, how are you?" Yang Kai glanced at Ying Jiu, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground ever since being struck by the Yuan-Sealing Curse.
Ying Jiu slowly shook his head. "I can't circulate my True Yuan. My meridians are sealed — it will take at least two months to break through."
When someone of the Shenyou Realm or above had tampered with you, even a Blood Guard powerhouse couldn't easily undo it.
Yang Kai's brow furrowed slightly. Having Ying Jiu's True Yuan sealed was a significant loss. A shadow-like existence, he was a deterrent against any opponent.
Now that deterrent was gone, and Yang Kai could only rely on Qu Gaoyi and Xiao Shun. Though both were powerful, in terms of stealth and assassination, Ying Jiu was still the superior one.
He'd have to wait until they got back and see if Meng Wuya had a way to lift the seal. If even Manager Meng couldn't do it, then Ying Jiu would truly be sidelined for two months.
"Let's go back," Yang Kai said flatly.
"This is for you!" Dong Qinghan walked over and handed Yang Kai a small sword about the length of his palm — the very soul Artifact that Yang Kai had had his eye on.
"You got it?" Yang Kai smiled faintly, not standing on ceremony. He took it and felt bone-chilling cold the instant it touched his hand. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he confirmed it was indeed a perfect match for his soul power. Once refined, it would be immensely useful.
"When your cousin steps in, how could I possibly fail?" Fatty Dong slapped his ample chest. "That Lu Song thought he could go up against me? Hmph — he should have looked in a mirror first to see what kind of person he really is."
He paused, then added, "But speaking of getting this Artifact, I really have a woman to thank."
"A woman?" Yang Kai turned the small sword over in his hand, confused.
"Yeah." A look of recollection crossed Dong Qinghan's face. "I feel like I've seen her somewhere before, but I can't quite place it. She was the one who tossed this thing to me."
"Which faction?" Yang Kai's eyes widened in surprise.