A mere war city had now gathered eleven top-tier experts of the Shenyou Realm or above. The development of the situation had completely slipped out of both sides' control.
At this moment, no one could easily back down. The stage was already set; whichever side retreated would appear cowardly and timid.
Ling Taixu secretly sent a voice transmission to Yang Kai, warning him to be careful.
Yang Kai remained silent, ordering the warriors in his manor to withdraw from the combat zone and gather in one place.
At the same time, Ye Xinrou was making similar deployments.
In just a short while, the lines were drawn sharply.
In the sky, the eleven figures faced off. Below, the warriors of Yang Kai's manor and the allied forces of the Seven Great Families stared at each other from a hundred zhang away. Most people were so tense they held their breath.
"We're really going to fight?" Meng Wuya looked at the eight people opposite him, reading the answer in their eyes.
"Things have already reached this point, so let's just have a friendly spar, shall we?" Among the eight, a plump elder spoke calmly. He was the one who had previously thought well of Yang Kai. His heart didn't wish for this conflict, but things had gone against his hopes, and he was powerless.
After all, he stood on the side of the Eight Great Families. Even if he thought highly of Yang Kai, he couldn't do anything for him.
"Very well." Meng Wuya nodded slightly, smiling faintly as he looked ahead. "Group brawl, one-on-one, or a wheel battle—how would you gentlemen like to play? Lay out the rules, and the three of us will take you on, no matter what."
A few of the eight couldn't help but snort coldly, their expressions displeased.
Meng Wuya's words were too dismissive, naturally making them unhappy.
The plump elder also said with a stern face, "Your tone is quite arrogant."
They were all above the Shenyou Realm, people of status and standing. In their daily lives, they would never fight others, and no one was qualified to fight them. This battle today seemed inevitable. If they truly swarmed in, outnumbering their opponents, the story wouldn't sound good if it spread.
Since a group brawl was out, only one-on-one or wheel battles remained. None of them were particularly confident in one-on-one, which left only one option.
But the eight were no fools, and they naturally wouldn't answer Meng Wuya directly.
Yang Liting suddenly took a step forward and declared in a clear voice, "Sect Leader Ling, speaking of which, you have a deep connection with my Yang Family. Two generations of my family's disciples have cultivated under your care. Today, I, Yang, will test your skills and see how impressive your methods are!"
Ling Taixu smiled faintly and said calmly, "Very well. Since my advancement, I haven't fought anyone of the same level. Brother Yang, please hold back later. We'll stop at the first sign of real danger."
"Please!"
As the words fell, Ling Taixu and Yang Liting suddenly soared into the night sky, vanishing in an instant. Moments later, intense waves of energy erupted from several thousand zhang high above. Looking up, one could even see bursts of explosive light flashing.
That was two experts above the Shenyou Realm clashing, but few had the fortune to witness it.
"Brother Yang is still so impatient." The pluck elder shook his head with a bitter smile. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened as he stared at Meng Wuya. "Brother Meng, shall we go up as well?"
As he spoke, his figure flickered, wrapped in a streak of green light, and vanished into the night sky.
Meng Wuya followed close behind.
"You demon, I'll take you on!" Another person stepped forward, pointing at the Earth Demon and shouting.
The Earth Demon let out a strange cackle. "Ling Taixu and Meng Wuya have both gone up. I don't think I'll bother. If I leave, who will protect the young master?"
The man's face twisted in anger. "What do you mean by that? Are you implying we would take advantage of the three of you being gone to attack a junior?"
"Isn't that your plan?" The Earth Demon looked at him askance, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
The man was furious. "If you think that, you seriously underestimate us! We are not so shameless and despicable as that!"
The Earth Demon laughed eerily. "Who knows what you're thinking?"
He was clearly determined to stay behind, just as he had said, worried about the very issue he had raised.
Since the Earth Demon refused to fight, the man's face turned livid with anger. The remaining top experts also looked grim, glaring at the Earth Demon, their true essence fluctuating.
"Fine. I believe you gentlemen are all honorable people and wouldn't attack the young master while we're gone," the Earth Demon cackled, deliberately speaking loudly.
Though he felt that given their status, these people were unlikely to do such a thing, one could never be too careful. The Earth Demon remained somewhat vigilant.
But if he didn't fight now, the conflict would only escalate further. Left with no choice, he had to step forward.
"Young master, be careful yourself. Do not be careless," the Earth Demon whispered in warning. He transformed into a streak of blood-red light and shot into the sky, his voice echoing from afar: "Come up! I'm waiting for you!"
The man who had spoken to the Earth Demon immediately soared after him.
Six experts above the Shenyou Realm fought several thousand zhang in the sky. Everyone craned their necks and stared intently upward, but despite their decent strength and sharper eyes than ordinary people, there was precious little they could see.
Yang Kai could only sense something profound and wondrous from the sky in his intuition.