Beneath the lake, Yang Kai held his breath and focused his senses, brows furrowed tightly.
Three auras belonging to the Opening Heaven Realm loomed above him — as conspicuous as lanterns in the dead of night. How could he fail to sense them? Had his whereabouts been exposed?
That shouldn't be the case. He hadn't left any telltale signs. These three were most likely lingering here for some other reason entirely.
Even so, he didn't dare move rashly. He was a stranger in Langya Blessed Land, and finding a place to hide wasn't easy. If he were discovered, he'd have to flee all over again.
Suddenly, a surge of World Force blazed to life above him, its resonance faintly familiar.
Then Yang Kai watched in astonishment as the lake water began to churn violently, every drop surging upward as though lifted by some invisible hand.
In the blink of an eye, the entire lake's worth of water hung suspended in midair, exposing the lakebed below in its entirety.
High above, Senior Brother Zhao's World Force surged and billowed as he held both hands skyward in a heaven-supporting pose. The lake's anomalous behaviour was unmistakably his doing.
Though the lake was vast, for a Sixth-Order Opening Heaven cultivator like him, accomplishing this wasn't difficult at all.
The two junior brothers beside him sang his praises: "Impressive, Senior Brother Zhao!"
"Senior Brother Zhao's power truly runs deep and mighty — your junior brother is in absolute awe!"
Senior Brother Zhao kept his nose pointed at the sky but affected a modest tone: "Not at all, not at all — just a trivial little trick... Hmm?"
Before he could finish, the corner of his eye caught something in the depths below the lake — a somewhat familiar figure standing there, quietly watching him.
The two junior brothers spotted Yang Kai at the same moment, equal parts startled and delighted. "Senior Brother Zhao's foresight is uncanny! That kid really was hiding here!"
Down beneath the lake, Yang Kai wore an expression of utter speechlessness.
He'd hidden himself this deep and you still found me? Are you people determined to never let me have a moment's peace? I only came to Langya Blessed Land for the Ink Clan and the Ink-corrupted — who exactly did I offend?
His glare fixed on the instigator, Senior Brother Zhao, Yang Kai seethed with pent-up resentment.
A vague sense of unease suddenly flickered through Senior Brother Zhao's mind. Before he could react, his peripheral vision caught Yang Kai slowly extending a fist toward him.
"Strike the Bull!"
"Pfft—" His Small World shuddered violently, and blood sprayed from his mouth. Senior Brother Zhao's aura plummeted in an instant.
This encounter felt eerily familiar...
"Senior Brother Zhao!" The two junior brothers cried out in alarm. Before their voices had even faded, the lake water that Senior Brother Zhao had been levitating crashed back down with a thunderous roar — a direct consequence of his Small World being rocked by the Strike the Bull secret art, leaving his World Force unable to circulate properly.
An enormous volume of water hammered down, and the entire Spirit State seemed to shake from the impact.
Yang Kai's figure tore through the descending cascade, enveloped in a chill aura, and lunged toward Senior Brother Zhao and his companions.
Senior Brother Zhao's expression changed drastically: "Watch out!"
He forced what remained of his World Force into motion and threw a punch at Yang Kai. But with his Small World still violently trembling, the force behind the blow was weaker than what even a Fifth-Order cultivator at full power could muster.
Yang Kai deflected it with ease and struck back with a punch of his own, slamming it squarely into Senior Brother Zhao's face. The savage force exploded outward, and Senior Brother Zhao's vision erupted into a shower of golden sparks as his body rocketed downward like a falling meteor.
The two Sixth-Order junior brothers were no slouches in their reactions. The instant Senior Brother Zhao was struck, they attacked from both flanks, each unleashing their own secret arts and divine abilities in a thunderous barrage aimed at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai whipped his head toward the one on the left and bared a savage grin. Then, under the man's disbelieving gaze, he charged straight through the incoming technique and closed the distance in an instant.
The Sixth-Order cultivator was stunned!
There was no mortal enmity between them, so he'd held back when he attacked. But even with restraint, a Sixth-Order Opening Heaven cultivator's strike was not something to be taken lightly.
Yet Yang Kai had endured it head-on, barely changing expression.
He couldn't help but wonder if he'd held back too much, robbing the technique of its potency. Before that thought could fully form, a fist smashed into his abdomen. An indescribable, terrifying force erupted on impact, and the man immediately doubled over like a shrimp, his face drained of all colour.
"Go down!" Yang Kai pivoted and drove a kick into the man, sending him crashing to the ground right next to the still-dazed Senior Brother Zhao.
The last remaining Sixth-Order Opening Heaven cultivant watched both his senior brothers fall and knew full well how powerful Yang Kai was. In his haste, he didn't dare hold anything back. He roared as he unleashed the full force of his Small World, both palms multiplying into a sky-spanning cascade of palm shadows that bore down on Yang Kai, each strike laced with dense World Force.
Yang Kai paid it no mind whatsoever. He launched himself straight at the man, colliding with him face to face, and returned the favour under the other's horrified stare.
The two clashed violently, their World Force colliding in savage waves.
After only a brief exchange, the Sixth-Order cultivant realised something was wrong — the depth of his Small World was vastly inferior to his opponent's. A head-on clash like this would only end with him at a disadvantage.
But now he was in too deep to disengage. Breaking free from Yang Kai was simply not an option.