"If you really think so, then go ahead and try." Yang Wei's expression turned calm.
Meng Shanyi was taken aback.
He hadn't expected Yang Wei to let him overstep his bounds like this. For a moment, he was stunned. Then, overjoyed, he said, "Thank you for your understanding, Young Master!"
Yang Wei said nothing, merely glancing at him with a hint of pity.
"My apologies, Ninth Young Master!" Meng Shanyi's face darkened as he waved his hand.
In an instant, over a dozen experts at the Shenyou Realm, sixth level or above, closed in on Yang Kai from every direction.
This was the side hall of Yang Wei's residence. Though the space wasn't small, it wasn't large either. Meng Shanyi couldn't bring in too many people. But over a dozen Shenyou Realm experts above the sixth level, including five at the eighth level — in his mind, this lineup was more than enough to bring Yang Kai down effortlessly.
At the same time he issued the command, Meng Shanyi narrowed his eyes, searching for Shadow Nine's position.
Shadow Nine didn't appear. Instead, when the dozen-odd Shenyou Realm warriors closed to within three zhang of Yang Kai, the corner of Yang Kai's mouth curved upward ever so slightly.
A cold, eerie glow suddenly bloomed from within his body. A dark and obscure wave of energy pulsed outward, and with it came the startled cries of the Shenyou Realm experts. Their martial techniques sank like stones into the ocean, vanishing without so much as a ripple.
Startled, the group retreated in unison.
Looking more carefully, every one of them stiffened.
In Yang Kai's hands, at some unknown moment, he had produced a bone shield. It was grotesque in design, roughly the size of a millstone, its edges lined with razor-sharp bone spikes. At its very center gaped a beast's maw, its bloody maw wide open and fangs bared — ferocious and terrifying enough to make one's blood run cold.
Now, a faint light flowed across the surface of the bone shield. Yang Kai simply held it before him and stood there quietly, yet to everyone present it gave the impression of an impregnable fortress.
Yang Wei's expression turned strange. Meng Shanyi, too, could hardly believe what he was seeing.
This bone shield was clearly the same one that Liu Qingyao had seized days ago before tossing it to Yang Kai — a mysterious-grade artifact.
A mere seven days had passed. How had Yang Kai already refined it?
A defensive artifact of the mysterious grade was not easy to break through, but that didn't mean it was unbreakable. The group's earlier attacks hadn't been at full power. If over a dozen Shenyou Realm experts at the sixth level or above struck with everything they had, they would surely be able to shatter the shield's defense.
There was no time for deeper thought. Meng Shanyi roared again, "Attack!"
The dozen fighters' faces went cold. Holding nothing back, they unleashed their martial techniques and the radiance of their artifacts, their earth-shattering attacks descending upon Yang Kai and engulfing him completely.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunderous sounds erupted. The side hall shook violently, countless fine cracks spreading across the walls.
Yang Kai stumbled back again and again, his face flushed red. His true yuan churned wildly — it was clear he was under enormous pressure. But the bone shield in his hands still stood firm before him, and every ounce of energy from the martial techniques and artifacts that struck it was swallowed by the gaping beast's maw at its center, vanishing without a trace.
Even more bizarre was that as it devoured energy, the bone shield — no larger than a millstone before — began rapidly expanding in size.
After one round of attacks, the shield's surface had grown to more than three times its previous size, completely shielding Yang Kai behind it.
Meng Shanyi's eyes trembled. He hadn't imagined that a mere low-grade mysterious defensive artifact could withstand such a furious assault from so many Shenyou Realm experts!
A mysterious-grade artifact. He had them on his person too, but none were as extraordinary as this bone shield.
What was going on?
In his shock, he suddenly noticed that Yang Kai's gaze had turned dangerous. The bone shield, which had seemed weightless, was slammed into the ground by Yang Kai, cratering the floor.
The next instant, every bone spike jutting from the shield's edge shot outward.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
These bone spikes were impossibly sharp, carrying tremendous killing force as they screamed through the air.
In the blink of an eye, the faces of the dozen Shenyou Realm experts at the sixth level and above changed drastically. Each scrambled to defend themselves.
Boom!
From the gaping beast's maw at the shield's center, a terrifying beam of energy suddenly erupted — as though the energy it had devoured moments ago was being returned tenfold.
That beam of destructive energy was as thick as a thigh, and it lanced straight toward Meng Shanyi.
A crushing pressure descended without warning. Facing the call of death, Meng Shanyi's entire body went cold with terror, and there was no time to dodge.
"Ji Li!" Yang Wei bellowed.
A figure materialized in front of Meng Shanyi. This man had a square, stern face, his eyes blazing with divine light, commanding and imposing without the need for anger.
One of the two Blood Servants at Yang Wei's side!
The moment Ji Li appeared, he let out a deep shout. A dazzling golden light erupted across his powerful frame, making him appear as though he were cast from solid gold, his exposed skin gleaming with radiant brilliance.
His twin fists punched forward to meet the beam of energy head-on.