Attempting to activate his Space Laws and teleport away under these circumstances was nothing short of a pipe dream—even Yang Kai would have found it nearly impossible.
Fortunately, he had not come entirely unprepared. While channeling his power to fend off attacks from every direction, he simultaneously tried to establish a mental link with one of the Empty Spirit Pearls he had planted elsewhere.
Over the years, Yang Kai had placed numerous Empty Spirit Pearls throughout the Ink Battlefield. Using them as anchors for his Space Techniques was far more convenient and required less effort.
Before long, he sensed the nearest Empty Spirit Pearl's location. Space Laws surged, and his figure began to blur, as though dissolving into the Void.
But before he could fully vanish, the dense barrage of attacks hammered into him. His body shook violently, the spatial fluctuations disrupted, and his hazy form solidified once more.
Just as he had suspected—using an Empty Spirit Pearl to escape with this many enemies bearing down on him was simply not viable.
He did not hesitate. The Azure Dragon Spear flickered in his hand, and he charged headlong toward the weakest point in the Ink Clan's defensive formation. Since he could not simply teleport away, he would carve his way out through brute force—a contingency he had already planned for.
His body moved as one with the spear. Under the Great Freedom Spear Art, man and weapon became virtually inseparable. Braving several incoming attacks head-on, he crashed violently into the small group of Territory Lords before him.
The Territory Lords facing him were startled, instinctively trying to pull back, but Mo Naye's furious roar carried from afar: "Block him!"
After a moment's hesitation, the Territory Lords surged with power simultaneously, meeting Yang Kai's assault head-on.
The moment the four Territory Lords' formation was shattered, the attacks from Yang Kai's flanks and rear sent him staggering. Yet he threw his head back and roared with laughter: "If I want to leave, who can stop me?"
He wasted no time trying to kill the four Territory Lords whose formation had been broken. With a flash, he burst through the encirclement—but before he could activate his Space Laws, a tremendous sense of crisis engulfed him.
From a distance, Mo Naye had already pressed a palm strike toward Yang Kai's position, coldly snorting: "Yang Kai, you're far too arrogant!"
In the brief moments Yang Kai had been entangled, Mo Naye had already closed the distance!
The palm strike sent Yang Kai's body dipping downward, forcibly interrupting the teleportation technique he had been about to activate. Inside his body, he heard the crisp sound of bones fracturing, and a mouthful of golden blood sprayed from his lips.
A Pseudo King Master was still a powerhouse at the King Master level. The power he commanded was nearly indistinguishable from a true King Master's—the only difference being that he could typically unleash only seventy to eighty percent of a true King Master's full strength.
Mo Naye was undoubtedly stronger than Di Wu had been. If Di Wu could only bring seventy percent of a King Master's power to bear, then Mo Naye could manage eighty.
Though the difference was merely ten percent, that ten percent represented a massive gap.
Especially given Yang Kai's current state—gravely injured and mentally exhausted, even this single palm strike delivered across the distance had nearly knocked him unconscious.
He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, deliberately activating the Warm Spirit Lotus's power to force a sliver of clarity into his mind. Not daring to linger, he vaulted forward and fled.
But a strand of killing intent from behind latched onto him like a parasite clinging to bone, refusing to let go.
"Yang Kai, surrender now, and I'll spare your life!" Mo Naye's low voice grew steadily closer, echoing in his ears.
Yang Kai didn't even glance back, coughing up blood as he fled. "You're getting ahead of yourself, Mo Naye. Don't even call me Brother Yang anymore?"
Mo Naye chuckled softly. "That would require you to be worthy of it." His tone carried the air of someone who had already secured his prey—a truly infuriating display.
But Yang Kai had to admit that in his current condition, shaking off Mo Naye's pursuit was genuinely difficult.
He felt a flicker of relief that it was Mo Naye, this Pseudo King Master, who had given chase. If it had been the Mo Yu King Master instead, things would have been far worse.
He activated the Sun Moon Record. Blue and yellow energies fused together, transforming into pure white light that enveloped his body—and in that instant, severed the thread of intent Mo Naye had locked onto him.
He hurriedly channeled his Space Laws, preparing to flee.
Mo Naye gave a cold snort. The severed thread of intent lashed out again, hammering against the Void around Yang Kai like invisible fists. Having sparred against Yang Kai for so many years, Mo Naye already had a well-practiced answer for this sort of situation.
Had Yang Kai been in peak condition, this approach would never have worked. But after his prolonged battle against numerous Territory Lords, he was physically and mentally depleted—no longer at his last gasp, perhaps, but close enough that Mo Naye's interference left him struggling to respond.
Yang Kai's figure blurred, vanished, and teleported away.
But he did not get far. Mo Naye simply swept his divine sense outward and immediately pinpointed his location. His powerful killing intent latched on once more, clinging to Yang Kai like a leech.
Sacrificing that many Innate Territory Lords had not been without effect. When Mo Naye had orchestrated this battle, he had calculated every possible outcome—and everything was going according to plan.
What came next was the moment for him to pursue Yang Kai with everything he had, hunting him to the bitter end. As long as he could eliminate Yang Kai as a threat, the deaths of all those Innate Territory Lords would have been worth it.