With seven Shenyou Realm experts serving as rearguard, Yang Kai, no matter how formidable, couldn't possibly press the pursuit any further.
Moreover, Battle City was already visible on the horizon — less than a hundred li away now. Though Xiang Chu had little choice, this was the best stratagem he could come up with to slow Yang Kai down.
The seven of them exchanged grim looks when they heard Xiang Chu's words, but their expressions quickly hardened with resolve. One of them nodded: "Young Master, rest easy. Even if we have to sacrifice our lives, we will hold him back."
Xiang Chu nodded firmly: "Good. Be careful, all of you. Don't let your guard down!"
"Understood!"
With that, the seven Shenyou Realm experts from the Xiang and Nan families abruptly halted in unison, wheeled around, and planted themselves in place, staring back toward the pursuing figure.
Xiang Chu and Nan Sheng led the remaining group onward without so much as a glance behind them, continuing their desperate flight.
The moment Yang Kai saw the seven stop, his expression turned cold. His Divine Sense swept forward in a broad arc, instantly gauging their cultivation and strength. A flicker of impatience crossed his face.
"Ninth Young Master — if you want to chase our young master, you'll have to get past us first!" one of them bellowed. The seven of them simultaneously circulated their True Yuan, and the brilliant glow of martial techniques and Artifacts blazed to life as they surged toward Yang Kai in a ferocious onslaught.
They had no intention of exchanging pleasantries. Things had gone too far for words — only fists would settle this now.
"You think that'll stop me?" Yang Kai laughed, a wild and brazen sound. The mysterious-grade, low-tier bone shield materialized in his hands in a flash, and he held it before him like a wall, charging straight into the storm of attacks.
Boom, boom, boom…
A succession of thunderous impacts erupted, violent energy raging in every direction. Each collision forced Yang Kai's advance to stutter, but the beast maw gaped open at the center of the bone shield, devouring every stream of energy cleanly. As it fed, the shield's surface area expanded visibly before their eyes.
After one full round of attacks, Yang Kai was completely unharmed — but his speed had been stalled.
"Scatter!" The seven, well aware of the bone shield's secrets, had no intention of remaining grouped together. With a furious shout, they broke in every direction.
A sliver of light burst from the beast maw and embedded itself at the shield's edge. The row of razor-sharp bone spines lining the perimeter began to hum and vibrate.
Whoosh — in a single breath, all the energy the shield had just absorbed was returned.
Shew, shew, shew…
Every last bone spine launched from the shield's rim, trailing brilliant arcs of light as they streaked toward the seven.
The seven had been prepared. Each summoned a defensive Artifact to guard their body, scrambling to dodge in the chaos.
The exchange was brief. The seven evaded the bone shield's reflected attack, and each of them deflected the incoming spines with their own techniques — bruised and battered, but unharmed.
The bone shield was undeniably powerful. Without at least the eighth level of the Shenyou Realm, no one could hope to breach its defense. But if you knew how to target its specific weaknesses, it became far less effective.
Artifacts, after all, were only objects. Living people could adapt.
Moreover, the seven had no intention of fighting Yang Kai to the death. They were simply buying time with every exchange. If they could delay him for the span of a single cup of tea, Nan Sheng and Xiang Chu would have enough time to reach Battle City safely and return to Yang Zhao's manor.
Seeing their strategy succeed, all seven looked visibly encouraged. They began to feel that Yang Kai wasn't nearly as terrifying as they'd imagined.
Perhaps he was truly unrivaled among warriors of the same level, and could even contend with Shenyou Realm experts. But he'd only been able to slaughter over a hundred men in one fell swoop by borrowing external power. Without that kind of support, no matter how skilled he was, his strength had its limits.
Perhaps this time they could do more than just delay him — perhaps they could even capture him while he had no powerful allies to shield him! The thought sent a surge of excitement through all seven. Their earlier lack of confidence was instantly replaced by fierce determination.
Without a moment's hesitation, a barrage of soul techniques hurtled toward Yang Kai from every direction — converging streams of Divine Sense weaving together like a spider's web, wrapping around him from all sides.
Standing at the very center where all that soul energy converged, Yang Kai slowly shook his head, his face a mask of contempt.
Ever since he had refined the essence of that Soul Evil Spirit inside the Evil Fiend Cave, soul attacks were the one thing he feared least. The Divine Sense of these seven was like comparing a vast ocean to a trickling brook when measured against his own — it simply could not shake his spirit.
In fact, the sudden explosion of Yang Kai's own Divine Sense sent a chill through their Sea of Consciousness, nearly freezing them in place.
Terror gripped them instantly. What kind of soul Artifact did this man carry to be capable of something like this?
"Xiang Chu only left you behind to serve as cannon fodder. Why bother fighting so hard?" Yang Kai shook his head, weary of this pointless entanglement. "Even if he makes it back to Battle City, I'll still take his life. And you'll just die for nothing!"
The seven's faces darkened. One of them spoke: "Ninth Young Master, there's no point trying to drive a wedge between us. Living, we belong to the Xiang and Nan families. Dead, we belong to them still. Protecting our young master is our duty. If you're so confident, why not show us this legendary ability of yours?"
"Then I'll grant your wish." Yang Kai nodded lightly, his expression suddenly settling into an eerie calm. The bone shield vanished from his hands, and his right hand rose slowly into the air.
As that hand lifted, a terrible sensation washed over all seven — as though everything in heaven and earth had suddenly frozen in place. Seven pairs of eyes widened involuntarily, brimming with shock and dread, fixed on Yang Kai. They wanted to attack, but found they couldn't so much as move a muscle.
In all of heaven and earth, the only thing still capable of movement was Yang Kai.