Near the domain gate connecting Returnless Pass to the Void Domain, more than a dozen Pseudo Lord-Ranks led by Di Ya Luo stood in tight formation, guarding the passage with utmost vigilance.
The moment they caught a faint glimpse of Yang Kai's figure through the gate, they knew the wretch truly couldn't sit still — he was about to cause trouble.
This had been anticipated. Without hesitation, the Ink Clan powerhouses silently channeled their strength, poised to strike at an instant's notice.
Ripples spread across the domain gate, and a head suddenly poked through from the other side, revealing a face that every member of the Ink Clan loathed beyond measure.
"Kill!" Di Ya Luo barked. In the next instant, he led the charge as over a dozen Pseudo Lord-Ranks unleashed their secret arts simultaneously, blasting them toward the domain gate.
Yang Kai had clearly anticipated this exact scenario. He had only extended his head for a brief moment before yanking it straight back.
This sort of thing would be impossible for anyone else. An ordinary warrior — even a Ninth-Order Open Heaven cultivator — would pass through the gate the instant they stepped in, arriving on the other side without pause.
Only someone who had mastered the Laws of Space could voluntarily interrupt the transit process and then retreat of their own volition.
Thus, when the Ink Clan powerhouses' attacks reached the gate, Yang Kai had already vanished without a trace. The barrage of strikes plunged into the domain gate and traversed into the Void Domain, but after being folded and compressed through the gate's spatial distortions, what had been ferocious attacks were reduced to feeble wisps. Yang Kai swatted them away with a few casual flicks of his hand.
Then he poked his head back through the gate, flashing a grin at Di Ya Luo not far away. "Such a warm welcome!"
The response was the same as before — merciless attacks from every Ink Clan powerhouse. Yang Kai hastily ducked back.
Over the next dozen breaths or so, this ridiculous yet maddening scene played out seven or eight times in succession, driving Di Ya Luo and the other Ink Clan warriors to the brink of a mental breakdown.
Veins were practically bulging from Di Ya Luo's forehead. Though he had known when accepting the mission to "prevent Yang Kai from setting foot in Returnless Pass" that failure was the more likely outcome — since Yang Kai only needed to endure a single volley, and with his strength he could force his way through the gate at will, something the Ink Clan simply could not prevent — he hadn't expected things to unfold quite like this.
Yang Kai indeed had the capital to do as he pleased. With his Sacred Dragon body — tough and resilient to an absurd degree — the attacks that would ordinarily grievously wound or even kill a human Ninth-Order cultivator couldn't so much as deal him a fatal blow. At most, he'd walk away with some moderate injuries.
If Yang Kai broke into Returnless Pass, the Ink Clan's current resources and energy would be wholly insufficient to meaningfully restrain him.
Di Ya Luo's goal was to inflict as much damage as possible before Yang Kai entered Returnless Pass. If he could manage that, he would at least have something to report to Mo Na Ye.
As the defending side, achieving this shouldn't have been particularly difficult.
But he never imagined Yang Kai would pull such a shameless stunt.
Every time Yang Kai poked his head out, the Ink Clan powerhouses were forced to go all out — because if they didn't, who could say whether he might actually jump through for real this time?
But the moment they committed to their attacks, Yang Kai could withdraw into the Void Domain in an instant, effortlessly neutralizing everything they threw at him.
Di Ya Luo was utterly disgusted. By all rights, the Ink Clan should have held absolute initiative in this kind of confrontation. Yet with Yang Kai playing these games, it was the Ink Clan powerhouses who had become puppets on strings — Yang Kai wanted them to attack, they attacked; he wanted them to stop, they stopped.
They couldn't hold him back! Di Ya Luo sighed inwardly.
He and those Pseudo Lord-Ranks could keep forcing Yang Kai back this way, but they couldn't sustain it indefinitely. Every attack cost them energy. In truth, those few all-out volleys had already drained them considerably. Though only moments of confrontation had passed, it felt as though they had been battling other Human Race powerhouses for days — body and mind alike were spent.
And facing a killing machine like Yang Kai, if they didn't reserve enough strength to protect themselves, he might spot an opening and strike before they could react.
At that thought, Di Ya Luo subtly raised his hand and made a signal. The dozen-plus Pseudo Lord-Ranks saw it immediately and began converging toward his position.
Soon, Yang Kai's head emerged from the domain gate once more. This time, no attacks came flying at him, so he didn't bother retreating. He glanced at Di Ya Luo and his forces standing in ready formation nearby and flashed a wide grin. "Not fighting anymore?"
Di Ya Luo said nothing, his gaze locked unwaveringly on Yang Kai as he quietly circulated his power.
"If you're not fighting, then I'm coming out," Yang Kai declared, already stepping one leg through the domain gate.
"I'm really coming out now!" he announced again, as though he were playing some amusing game, a teasing smirk plastered across his face.
Di Ya Luo still made no move. The Pseudo Lord-Ranks remained silent and still.
"Fine." Yang Kai wasted no more time. He strode fully out of the domain gate and drew in a deep breath. Despite being in the void with nothing physical to inhale, he wore an expression of pure bliss, as though he had arrived at a place he had long yearned for.