This time, the five Domain Lords had set an ambush for Yang Kai. As long as he dared to show himself, Mana was confident they could keep him here.
Just as they were speaking, a fluctuation of soul power suddenly rippled outward from somewhere on the battlefield, flashing in an instant before vanishing.
In such a chaotic battle, with energy surging and crashing everywhere, such a fluctuation would have been nearly impossible to detect without deliberately searching for it. But Mana had been monitoring the surroundings the entire time — how could he miss it?
A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes. Yang Kai had made his move!
That soul power fluctuation was achingly familiar. In the Longing Domain, every time Yang Kai launched a sneak attack, this exact kind of ripple would emanate outward.
He immediately turned his gaze toward the source of the fluctuation, and in a single glance he spotted Yang Kai's figure bursting savagely out from within a mass of Ink Cloud!
Sure enough — the guy had been hiding inside that Ink Cloud. Mana had noticed it before but had no idea when the fellow had slipped inside. He could only silently marvel at how remarkably elusive this man truly was.
The other four Domain Lords clearly saw it too and were about to charge over, but Mana raised a hand to stop them. "Wait!"
The Domain Lords looked puzzled. They had been lying in ambush here specifically to wait for Yang Kai, and now the target had finally appeared — what were they waiting for?
Mana had not originally intended to explain much, but he forced himself to be patient. "That technique of his... it can be used three times!"
He didn't say more, but You Hong and the other Domain Lords understood immediately. Mana was being ruthlessly cunning — he clearly intended to have the other Domain Lords exhaust Yang Kai's killing move first. Once Yang Kai had burned through his trump card, he would be nothing more than an ordinary human Eighth-Order cultivator. At that point, with five Domain Lords joining forces, what was there to fear?
One Domain Lord still hesitated. "If we don't act now, how will we explain things to Lord Six Arms?" If a Domain Lord actually died because of this, Six Arms would definitely hold them accountable.
Mana replied coolly, "Killing Yang Kai is the best explanation there is."
The Domain Lords exchanged glances, a chill settling in their hearts. It seemed that the defeat in the Longing Domain had driven Mana somewhat unhinged — to kill Yang Kai, he was willing to sacrifice a few Domain Lords without batting an eye.
Though it was a rather underhanded tactic, it greatly ensured their own safety. After all, none of them were eager to face a Yang Kai who still had a killing move in reserve. In the end, no one raised any further objections.
They looked back toward the battlefield, where the clash of life and death had already reached its conclusion — the tremor of a Domain Lord's fall echoed outward.
That Domain Lord's opponent was none other than Chen Yuan. The moment he had detected that subtle soul power fluctuation, Chen Yuan had known — Yang Kai had struck.
With the experience from two years ago, Chen Yuan had no reason to hesitate. He immediately unleashed his killing move, his sword light splitting into three thousand streams as they descended upon the Domain Lord like a net.
Two years ago, when Yang Kai had struck from the shadows, Chen Yuan had cut down a Domain Lord in a single sword stroke — the kill had gone off without a hitch.
But this time, the Domain Lord had clearly been on guard. Chen Yuan's strike failed to finish the enemy off, only dealing a devastating wound. Fortunately, Yang Kai arrived in time — his spear thrust forward like a roaring dragon, punching clean through the Domain Lord's chest.
Chen Yuan swung his sword once more and sliced off the Domain Lord's massive head!
The Domain Lord appeared to be cursing something in his final moments, eyes wide with undying resentment. Chen Yuan couldn't be bothered to dwell on it. He raised his eyes to look — Yang Kai had already vanished, who knew where.
He gripped his sword and turned, streaking toward another battle between Eighth-Order cultivators and a Domain Lord to lend his aid. Over there, an Eighth-Order was being besieged by two Domain Lords and was in dire straits, even with the Evil-Breaking Divine Spear at his disposal.
What Chen Yuan did not know was that the Domain Lord had been cursing Mana with his dying breath. According to the instructions he had received from Six Arms, the moment Yang Kai appeared, Mana was supposed to come to his aid immediately.
He had known he was bait placed by Six Arms to draw Yang Kai out, so he had maintained constant vigilance and kept his soul well-defended. The Soul-Severing Thorn strike had not completely stripped him of his fighting ability, which was why Chen Yuan had been unable to cut him down as cleanly as two years ago. If Mana had arrived in time to help, he might not have died — but Mana had never shown his face at all. How could he not curse the man?
The fall of a single Domain Lord shifted the momentum of the entire battlefield.
The Ink Clan Domain Lords had already been wariness of Yang Kai's sneak attacks, and none of them dared go all-out against their human Eighth-Order opponents, terrified that Yang Kai might suddenly appear and land a devastating blow. But no matter how guarded they were, a Domain Lord had still fallen.
Now everyone was gripped by self-preservation, especially those Domain Lords whom Six Arms had positioned as bait. They wanted nothing more than to turn and flee.
Inside the Ink Cloud, Mana was stunned.
He had believed that once Yang Kai revealed his position, it would be impossible for him to conceal himself again — which was why he had held his ground, waiting for Yang Kai to exhaust his killing move before moving in to finish him.
The logic had seemed sound enough, but what Mana could never have predicted was that after Yang Kai appeared and struck, he vanished once more in the blink of an eye.
It was as though he had simply ceased to exist.
The problem was that Yang Kai had struck far too quickly. Barely three breaths after revealing himself, he had coordinated with another human Eighth-Order to devour the bait, and Mana had been utterly powerless to track his movements.
His expression turned ugly in an instant, and he suddenly realized that his earlier thinking may have been naive. The situation was not unfolding the way he had envisioned at all. If the opponent's movements were truly this ghostlike and unpredictable, how could he possibly track him?
At that very moment, another soul power fluctuation rippled outward. Mana immediately looked in that direction and saw Yang Kai reappear at a great distance.
This time, Mana could not stay put. He barked out a sharp command, "Move!"
With that, he flashed forward toward the spot. You Hong and the other three Domain Lords hesitated for only a heartbeat before scrambling to follow.