Four Transcendent Realm powerhouses had died in an instant. This wasn't just a blow to Zhongdu's fighting strength—it was a devastating blow to morale.
What truly threw the Eight Great Family heads into disarray was that they had absolutely no idea where Yang Kai stood anymore.
"Seventeen above the Shenyou Realm!" Meng Xiping's lips trembled as he stared blankly at the formidable lineup surrounding Yang Kai, his eyes glazed over.
Thirteen Blood Guards, plus the Earth Demon, Ling Taixu, Li Yunchun, and Lü Si—seventeen above the Shenyou Realm in total.
That staggering number made the Eight Great Families want to vanish in shame. Their families had spent generations painstakingly building up their forces, and each only had four or five top-tier experts at best. Compared to Yang Kai's Manor, it was like comparing heaven to earth.
How had their strength suddenly increased so dramatically? Nobody could figure it out.
"Shadow Nine sticks with me. The rest, act on your own," Yang Kai ordered, then immediately led Shadow Nine into a swift advance through the chaotic, blood-soaked battlefield.
The remaining sixteen Transcendent Realm powerhouses charged silently toward the Cangyun Evil Lands' forces.
After a moment of horrified hesitation, the Eight Great Families' warriors followed Yang Kai's Manor's experts and launched an assault on the Cangyun Evil Lands.
"Pull everyone back," Yang Bo suddenly appeared and spoke softly to the Five Great Evil Kings.
The Five Great Evil Kings wore expressions no better than the Eight Great Family heads. After witnessing the sheer number and caliber of Yang Kai Manor's warriors, they too sensed things were going badly.
For so long, they had been locked in a stalemate with the Eight Great Families. Now with Yang Kai Manor thrown into the mix as a massive wild card, that standoff was about to crumble.
Whichever side Yang Kai Manor backed, the other was guaranteed to lose.
What slightly eased the Five Great Evil Kings' minds was that Yang Kai had shown no mercy to either side—killing members of the Cangyun Evil Lands just as ruthlessly as those from Zhongdu. It seemed he didn't care about either faction; provoke him, and he'd kill you.
Hearing Yang Bo's command, the Five Evil Kings didn't dare hesitate.
A deep, resonant sound rang out, like the blast of a war horn.
At that signal, the Cangyun Evil Lands' forces fought as they retreated, gradually vanishing from sight.
Yang Kai Manor's warriors and the Eight Great Families gave chase for a while but didn't dare press too deep into enemy territory. One by one, they turned back.
From the moment Yang Kai arrived, the entire battle had lasted no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea. Both sides had suffered casualties—heavy ones at that. Ironically, the warriors from Yang Kai Manor, who had joined last, hadn't lost a single person. At worst, a few had taken minor injuries.
They all returned with broad smiles, their bearing calm and composed.
Yang Kai took a few laps around the battlefield, absorbing the divine sense energy from every fallen Shenyou Realm expert he could find, then headed back to his manor with Shadow Nine.
He went straight into seclusion to purify and absorb what he'd gathered, without so much as a word of greeting to the Eight Great Families.
That brazen, dismissive attitude left everyone with a bitter taste in their mouths.
"Brother Yang, isn that brat of your Yang family getting a bit too arrogant for his own good?" Kang Rui stared angrily at Yang Yinghao after the troops had withdrawn.
"He has every right to be," Yang Yinghao said quietly.
"But at the end of the day, he's still a member of your Yang family. Can't you rein him in as the family head?"
"Ridiculous. At this point, you think he still answers to the Yang family?" Yang Yinghao let out a cold snort.
"We probably made a mistake," Meng Xiping sighed. "We shouldn't have targeted him so aggressively back then, trying to squeeze that secret out of him. If we had just..."
"What's the point of saying that now?" Ye Kuangren shot Meng Xiping a cold look. "The situation's plain as day. If we could win Yang Kai's support, we'd drive back the Cangyun Evil Lands in less than half a month. On the other hand, if the Evil Lands get Yang Kai on their side, then Zhongdu is..."
Done for!
"But he just killed four people from the Nan, Xiang, and Huang families, as well as the Guangming Manor," Gao Mo said with furrowed brows. "How are we supposed to handle that? This isn't some small matter. They came here in response to our Eight Great Families' conscription order to reinforce Zhongdu. If we deal with this poorly, it'll turn the whole world against us."
Everyone fell silent, suddenly realizing just how thorny the situation was.
By all rights, Yang Kai had killed four people who answered the Eight Great Families' call. The families couldn't simply let it slide—they at least had to put on a show of accountability for the sake of the world's factions. But if they turned against Yang Kai, the consequences would be equally unbearable.
"What kind of person is this kid, really?" Elder Huo Zheng's face was a mask of bewilderment. "How is he capable of this?"
When he spoke, all seven pairs of eyes turned to Yang Yinghao.
Yang Yinghao replied flatly, "Don't look at me. I don't know him well. All I know is that his temper is iron. Even back when he was at the Yang family, he was incredibly domineering and absolutely refused to be shortchanged."
"Why not call his parents over for a word? They'd know more than we do," Kang Rui suddenly suggested.
"Not a bad idea. No matter how ruthless that brat is, no matter how much he clashes with the Eight Great Families, he still has to care about his own parents, right?"
Yang Yinghao considered for a moment, then nodded. "You can call them here, but remember—under no circumstances are you to cause them any harm."
"Of course, Brother Yang, you worry too much," they all nodded in unison.
At a time like this, who would dare provoke Yang Kai any further?