Who could withstand the might of a Mysterious Grade Artifact?
Unless they had an equally Mysterious Grade defensive artifact—like the bone shield in Yang Kai's hand!
When those seven or eight lightning dragons, spewing from the beast mouths at the center of the bone shield, came slithering toward them, everyone froze. Their faces flooded with shock and terror in an instant. The call of death rang in their ears, and no one could remain calm.
If there were still experts here, they could rely on those experts' heaven-reaching abilities to block the lightning dragons' assault. But their experts had been tied down or frozen solid, and the rest were simply powerless to resist.
Chaos erupted. Everyone scrambled in panic, darting in every direction, desperately trying to flee and dodge the lightning dragons' killing spree.
Xiang Chu was still somewhat clear-headed, shouting for everyone to join forces and fight back, but the chaos left him utterly helpless. Even Qiu Ziruo had already run—why would anyone else stay behind to die?
Boom, boom, boom…
Crack, crack, crack…
Those lightning dragons were like invincible swords, wrapped in unstoppable power, rampaging through the crowd. Any warrior struck by a lightning dragon seized up, arms and legs convulsing before collapsing to the ground. Some were electrocuted so badly their bodies were charred black.
The surviving Shenyou Realm experts shielded their respective young masters, dodging the lightning dragons' attacks like stray dogs fleeing a flood, utterly wretched.
Screams rose and fell without pause. Before the might of a Mysterious Grade Artifact, human lives were as cheap as grass.
Kang Zhan, who had been circulating his energy to heal his injuries, slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the horrific scene in the distance. His heart went cold.
Only then did he realize that what Yang Kai had said before was true.
Yang Kai had refused to let the Lingxiao Pavilion people enter the battle—and it really was for their own good! Nan Sheng had only wounded a single young disciple of the Lingxiao Pavilion, and that had already brought about this massacre. If the Lingxiao Pavilion members had actually suffered heavy casualties in the melee… would he even make it back to Battle City alive?
Kang Zhan didn't dare think any further. His expression turned ashen, and he closed his eyes again, no longer caring about the battle.
The members of the Lingxiao Pavilion suddenly grew visibly excited. One by one, their faces flushed red and their fists clenched tight.
All the humiliation and restraint they had endured just moments ago seemed to be repaid in full in this instant.
Yang Kai, alone, had single-handedly sent the warriors of seven factions into utter disarray—beating them so badly they could only flee, not even finding time to counterattack.
Streaks of purple light suddenly detonated in midair, sending out circle after circle of visible ripples—as though someone had tossed stones into a still lake. The ripples spread outward, washing over the panicked warriors who were desperately dodging the lightning dragons.
Within those layers of ripples lurked a crazed, destructive, brutal Divine Sense attack.
A Soul Technique! Yang Kai unleashed his Soul Technique almost without restraint, brazenly and without the slightest inhibition.
Wherever his Divine Sense spread, most warriors suddenly went blank, their faces twisted in agony, as if something evil had invaded their minds. They stood there dazed, unaware of life or death.
The lightning dragons that followed swiftly reduced them to charred husks.
Only the Shenyou Realm experts could partially withstand this soul attack, and even they wore expressions of pain.
The nauseating stench of charred flesh filled heaven and earth.
After quite some time, the lightning dragons gradually dissipated into the air. The might of the Mysterious Grade Artifact had finally been fully expended, and Yang Kai ceased releasing his Soul Technique. Across the wasteland, wails of agony covered the ground, and the dead and wounded lay without number.
The seven factions had started with nearly three hundred people in total. Now, fewer than two hundred remained.
Corpses littered the field, all utterly gruesome—blackened like charcoal, thin wisps of pale smoke curling upward from the bodies, drifting skyward like tiny wisps of cooking smoke.
Qiu Ziruo had at some point collapsed into a seated position on the ground. His eyes were vacant, and his two rows of teeth clattered against each other with a sharp clicking sound.
Having narrowly escaped death, his emotions were a tangled mess.
Compared to everyone else, he was essentially unscathed.
He had entered the succession battle feeling entirely secure, never believing he would face any real danger. But today, he no longer dared think that way.
He didn't know whether Yang Kai had shown mercy out of consideration for Qiu Yimeng, or whether he had simply been lucky enough to avoid the lightning dragons' path. But Yang Kai's slaughter today had genuinely shattered his courage.
Deep in his heart, a massive shadow loomed over him, seeming to grin at him constantly, as if ready to take his life at any moment.
"Young Master Qiu, let's go!" A Shenyou Realm expert from one of the factions noticed Qiu Ziruo sitting there in a daze and rushed over to haul him to his feet. Without looking back, the man flew straight toward Battle City.
Facing a man who dared to grievously wound even Kang Zhan, he had lost all desire to fight. All he wanted now was to get as far away as possible.
Most people felt the same. They rose to their feet and fled, no longer caring about anything else.
"Run? What are you running for?" Xiang Chu roared. "His artifact can't be used anymore! After launching that kind of attack, he must be drained. We should press our advantage and take him down! Young Master Qiu—Young Master Qiu! Where is Young Master Qiu?!"
No one paid the slightest attention to his shouting. Setting aside the fact that Xiang Chu had no authority to issue orders, even if he did, these people had no intention of staying in this hell on earth any longer.