"He stopped." Mo Yu suddenly spoke.
Mo Na Ye looked up and saw that Yang Kai had indeed halted at the very edge of their vision. He said nothing, but the silence itself was a provocation — an open invitation, daring them to come after him if they had the guts…
Mo Na Ye's vision darkened. He nearly choked on his fury.
The Space-Time River was trembling, its waves churning violently — the Pseudo-King Lord trapped within was clearly struggling to break free. But with Yang Kai's current capabilities, confining a single Pseudo-King Lord was child's play. There was no way he would succeed.
"You're not chasing anymore?" Yang Kai gazed toward the Ink Race's powerhouses, his eyes glinting. These fellows were awfully cautious — it seemed they were afraid he might charge back in again.
If that was the case…
With a thought, Yang Kai's figure blurred as he plunged into the Space-Time River. The next instant, the already turbulent river erupted into a roaring frenzy.
Watching from afar, Mo Na Ye's expression shifted and he nearly rushed forward. But before he could act, the violently rolling river settled back into calm, and from somewhere within its depths, Yang Kai's figure shot back out.
Clutched in his hand was a Pseudo-King Lord on the verge of death, his breath shallow and his life force flickering weakly.
This Pseudo-King Lord had already suffered severe injuries fighting an Eighth Order human on the front lines, which was why he had returned to the Gate of No Return to recuperate within an Ink Nest. His injuries were still unhealed, his strength drastically reduced — and now, having fallen into the Space-Time River, subduing him had posed absolutely no difficulty for Yang Kai.
Holding the Pseudo-King Lord aloft, Yang Kai stared coldly at the Ink Race powerhouses across the divide, his grip slowly tightening.
The Pseudo-King Lord clearly sensed what was coming. He summoned the last of his strength to struggle, but it was futile. All he could do was lift his gaze toward Mo Na Ye and the others, opening his mouth to cry out: "Save—"
The word was never finished. His body detonated with a thunderous blast, dissolving into a cloud of blood mist as dense Ink Force erupted outward, instantly expanding into a massive ink-black cloud.
Yang Kai snorted softly and flicked his hand clean.
On the other side, a crowd of Pseudo-King Lords watched with eyes nearly splitting from rage. Even Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu wore expressions of fury. Yang Kai's repeated provocations were enough to make anyone's composure shatter — yet there was nothing they could do about it.
Their last engagement had already proven Yang Kai's overwhelming strength. Even with two King Lords and dozens of Pseudo-King Lords assembled, the Ink Race had failed to kill this man — they had only managed to drive him away. Even if they fought again now, they would likely gain little from it.
It could be said that with his advancement to the Ninth Order and his Sacred Dragon body, Yang Kai now held absolute freedom of movement against the Ink Race — he could come and go as he pleased.
And after killing the Pseudo-King Lord, Yang Kai did not leave immediately. Instead, he studied Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu with an air of amusement and spoke: "So, between the two of you — which one is in charge these days?"
Neither Mo Na Ye nor Mo Yu responded. Their gazes were dark and cold, wearing the unmistakable expression of someone refusing to dignify his words with a reply.
Yang Kai let out a derisive laugh. "The blood feud between the humans and the Ink Race runs as deep as an ocean. We cannot share the same sky — it's simply a matter of you killing us and us killing you. How many humans have died at the hands of your Ink Race elites over the years? And here I've killed just one Pseudo-King Lord. Why the long faces? What's the matter — can't handle the stakes?"
Just one? Eight Pseudo-King Lords in the Wu-Fifth Domain alone had died at his hands! The moment Mo Na Ye thought of it, his heart bled. If the remaining Pseudo-King Lords hadn't fled when they saw how things were going, he'd have swept them all up eventually.
Taking a deep breath to quell the fury surging within him, Mo Na Ye spoke through gritted teeth: "What exactly do you want? You might as well lay your cards on the table."
He had figured it out. Yang Kai neither advancing nor retreating clearly meant he had some scheme in mind. Rather than wasting time here glaring at each other, it was better to get everything out in the open.
Yang Kai regarded him with an expression of exaggerated surprise. "So you're the one holding power now? Mo Yu's rule has been overthrown?" He turned to Mo Yu. "You're a veteran King Lord — even if Mo Na Ye has advanced to King Lord, he's still a junior. How can you let a junior sit on your head and lord it over you? That simply won't do."
Mo Yu remained utterly unmoved, treating Yang Kai's words as though they were nothing more than hot air.
Mo Na Ye said icily: "Yang Kai, spare us these clumsy attempts at division. The Ink Race doesn't have all the backstabbing and scheming that your human race does!"
Yang Kai curled his lip. He had only tried on a whim — if he could actually sow discord between the two Ink Race King Lords, that would be ideal. It cost him nothing to try, after all. But it seemed to have done little good.
Composing himself, Yang Kai said: "Since you're the one in charge, then fine. We're old acquaintances — we know each other inside and out, and neither side has been especially lenient with the other. I've come today because I'd like to strike a deal with your Ink Race."
The corner of Mo Na Ye's eye twitched. The mere word "deal" gave him a headache, instantly dredging up memories of the times Yang Kai had extorted them in the past.
So the moment he heard Yang Kai's words, a sense of foreboding washed over him — he almost wished he could seal Yang Kai's mouth shut…
When Mo Na Ye didn't respond, Yang Kai was unfazed and continued on his own: "I want to take something away from the Gate of No Return. I hope the Ink Race will be sensible about it."
Mo Na Ye's eye twitched even harder. "What thing?"
Yang Kai extended a hand and pointed.
Mo Na Ye turned to look in the direction he indicated, and immediately laid eyes on several Ink Nests standing in the distance. Most were Domain Lord-level Ink Nests, but among them was one that was King Lord-level.