Inside Bugui Pass, Monaye exchanged voice transmissions with the Mo Race's King Lord for a while. It was impossible to tell what they were discussing. Yang Kai could only see the King Lord's expression shift from what looked like reluctance to occasional glances in his direction, but in the end, the King Lord gave a slight nod.
Having received the King Lord's approval, Monaye turned and walked out of Bugui Pass.
He wanted to have a proper talk with Yang Kai…
Although the Mo Race now had two King Lords presiding, their losses at the Innate Domain Lord level had been considerable. Their overall strength hadn't increased—if anything, it was on a downward trend.
Under these circumstances, having a powerhouse like Yang Kai from the human race targeting their great stronghold of Bugui Pass was anything but fortunate.
After leaving Bugui Pass, Yang Kai hadn't immediately fled into the distance. He had given the Mo Race a chance to negotiate with him, and Monaye, being the shrewd one he was, certainly wouldn't let such an opportunity slip.
In the void, Yang Kai stood there with perfect composure. Even though he'd been injured in the earlier battle, there was no trace of any intention to flee.
It was because he now had every reason to stand his ground.
Three thousand years ago, if a King Lord had been walking toward him, he would have fled long before.
Monaye didn't venture far. He simply walked to the outer perimeter of Bugui Pass and stopped. This was partly to signal his good faith—that he wouldn't strike without provocation—and partly to guard against a surprise attack on Bugui Pass by Yang Kai, though the likelihood was slim.
Their eyes met. Monaye was the first to cup his fists in greeting. "Lord Yang Kai, we meet again."
"Monaye!" Yang Kai narrowed his eyes. The moment this fellow had revealed his aura earlier, something had felt familiar, and after exchanging blows, he had immediately recognized the identity.
He'd had several run-ins with this Mo Race powerhouse before.
Moreover, among the intelligence held by the human race, Monaye was one of the few Mo Race figures given special attention by human leadership. It wasn't merely because his personal strength ranked at the very top among Innate Domain Lords—it was more because this fellow seemed smarter than most other Mo Race powerhouses.
During the years he had commanded the great battlefield, his troop deployments and battlefield formations had been formidable, causing the human side to suffer several crushing defeats.
Going even further back, he had played an active role in the peace negotiations between the two races.
Yang Kai hadn't expected to encounter him inside Bugui Pass, let alone learn that the fellow had already ascended to the status of King Lord.
From that brief exchange alone, Yang Kai could sense how troublesome this opponent was. It wasn't just the strength he'd displayed personally—it was the covert coordination of every Domain Lord in all of Bugui Pass. If Yang Kai hadn't been willing to硬受 the attacks of the Mo Race powerhouses at the very end, his counterattack would have failed to destroy even a single Mo Nest.
This was absolutely a Mo Race powerhouse of extreme cunning and meticulous planning, Yang Kai assessed.
Across from him, Monaye wore a smile that was somewhat restrained. "To have Lord Yang Kai remember my name is truly my honor!"
A far cry from the ferocious figure who had been hunting Yang Kai down moments ago, as if everything before had never happened—as though this were merely old friends catching up.
A man whose tongue dripped honey while his heart harbored a sword! Yang Kai noted inwardly.
Yang Kai let out a soft hum. "I hope that one day, when I cut you down, you'll feel honored too!"
Monaye burst into hearty laughter. "Lord Yang Kai jests. It's well known that you'll never reach the Ninth Rank in this lifetime. And I, Monaye, have already become a King Lord. How exactly do you plan to cut me down, Lord Yang Kai?"
This was the plain truth. He certainly couldn't do anything to Yang Kai, but Yang Kai was equally powerless against him. When he'd still been an Innate Domain Lord, he'd been extremely wary of Yang Kai. But now, he had no reason to fear Yang Kai in terms of raw strength. In their earlier exchange, it had been Yang Kai scrambling to escape his pursuit.
This was precisely why he'd exhausted every effort to become a Pseudo King Lord. If he were still merely an Innate Domain Lord, he'd have no standing or confidence to stand here and speak with Yang Kai—let alone face this harbinger of death openly, with the constant risk of being killed at any moment.
"That fellow called Di Wu seems to be a King Lord too," Yang Kai remarked flatly.
Monaye's words caught in his throat. He'd completely forgotten about that, and inwardly cursed the idiot Di Wu for bringing shame to the Mo Race.
Having failed to gain any ground in the war of words, Monaye silently berated himself for trying to spar verbally with Yang Kai—that had never been the Mo Race's strong suit; it was always the humans who prevailed in such exchanges. He shifted the topic directly to the matter at hand, his voice dropping to a stern command: "Lord Yang Kai, you came to Bugui Pass, injured my Domain Lords, and destroyed my Mo Nests. The agreement between our two races still stands, affecting the balance of the entire Grand Void. For you to so flagrantly disregard the terms of that peace negotiation—is that not going too far?"
Yang Kai blinked, nearly laughing out loud with indignation.
He hadn't expected that before he could even bring his own accusations, this fellow would dare turn the tables on him.
He decided to play along. "Yes, and what about it?" He raised his chin with a look of pure defiance. "If none of you can stop me today, I'll march straight into every great battlefield and hunt down your Mo Race Domain Lords one by one. I'll kill every last one of them!"
"You wouldn't dare!" From within Bugui Pass behind him, the Mo Race's true King Lord roared in fury.