The seven swordsmen in formation clearly hadn't expected their target to be so feeble—they cut him down with a single strike.
In their field of vision, the body split in two bore no blood. Instead, it rapidly faded and dissipated.
An afterimage!
All seven were stunned. They were about to raise their swords again when a voice suddenly drifted to their ears from nearby: "That sword strike wasn't bad, but it still lacked a certain flavor."
Spear shadows flooded the air. Blood-red light erupted. In the span of a single breath, the sword formation was shattered—those who had formed it were either dead or gravely wounded.
Zuo Wuyou hastily dashed over, unleashing wave after wave of secret sword techniques to dispatch the survivors. He turned to look at Yang Kai: "Holy Son!"
His eyes were filled with sheer disbelief. In that brief instant, he had thought the Holy Son had been slain—yet it turned out to be nothing more than an afterimage.
He hadn't even seen how the Holy Son had shifted his position. This had to be an extraordinarily profound movement technique, one that had already exceeded his comprehension.
"Let's move—fast!" Zuo Wuyou growled, a persistent unease coiling in his gut, as though some colossal crisis were closing in.
But before he could act, a strange voice rang out: "You killed so many of my people and you think you can just leave?"
"He's here!" Zuo Wuyou's face drained of color. He had clearly realized who was approaching.
Yang Kai's expression turned solemn as well. Within his senses, a powerful aura was rapidly bearing down on their position. He looked in that direction and saw a figure hurtling toward them from the distance, closing the gap with the speed of thunder.
He thrust out a hand and shoved Zuo Wuyou aside, then his spear shot forth like a dragon!
The figure arrived in the blink of an eye—a burly man built like an iron tower, with a fierce, savage face covered in thick slabs of flesh.
His appearance was terrifying, but his aura was unmistakably that of the Shenyou Realm.
The Earth Division Commander of the Ink Cult!
Among the Eight Division Commanders, his strength ranked among the very highest.
Facing Yang Kai's incoming spear, he neither dodged nor retreated. A contemptuous smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he met it head-on with a single punch.
The spear shattered. Fist force tore through the void. Yang Kai grunted and skidded back over a dozen zhang before he could steady himself. The clothing on his back suddenly burst apart—the punch force had penetrated straight through his body!
The spear had been reduced to powder. After all, it was nothing more than an ordinary mortal-grade spear—it could never withstand the full-power strike of a Shenyou Realm martial artist.
"Oh?" The Earth Division Commander threw only the one punch and did not press the attack. Seeing Yang Kai's condition, a flicker of surprise crossed his face. "You're still alive?"
He could sense that the youth before him was only at the Zhenyuan Realm, yet he had actually survived a direct hit from one of his punches. That was more than a little strange.
"Fine. Surviving that punch was your misfortune—just take another." The Earth Division Commander spoke casually as he strode toward Yang Kai. When he was close enough, he brought his fist down once more.
BOOM!
A violent shockwave swept outward, cracking fissures across the earth.
The Earth Division Commander's eyelids narrowed slightly, his eyes brimming with astonishment.
His surefire punch had actually been blocked—and blocked by the other man's bare fist.
Meanwhile, Zuo Wuyou had only just regained his footing when he witnessed a scene he would never forget for as long as he lived.
The Holy Son stood with his body slightly hunched, fist raised to meet the Earth Division Commander's blow. Under the violent impact, the image froze in place.
Yang Kai lifted his head and looked at the Earth Division Commander, who was so close their faces nearly touched. "This limp little punch—who exactly were you trying to kill with it?"
Both Zuo Wuyou and the Earth Division Commander twitched at the words!
The Eight Division Commanders of the Ink Cult each possessed their own extraordinary talents. The Earth Division Commander alone knew no secret arts and wielded no weapons, yet he still comfortably held a position among the top three in strength among all eight commanders.
The reason was simple—he had devoted himself to tempering his physical body to an extreme degree, refining it until it was as indestructible as an Artifact. With his pair of iron fists, he could crush all techniques under heaven.
In terms of raw physical quality and strength alone, across the entire Primordial World, the Earth Division Commander was the undisputed number one.
His fists were enough to overpower fellow Shenyou Realm martial artists. A Shenyou Realm expert from the Cult had once fought him, relying on a defensive Artifact to engage him in close combat—only to be punched to death, the defensive Artifact shattered to pieces along with him.
Such a terrifying powerhouse, such terrifying fists—Zuo Wuyou could not imagine anyone in this world who could take one head-on.
Until this very moment, when he saw it with his own eyes!
The Holy Son's frame was not particularly imposing—roughly half the size of the Earth Division Commander at best. Yet in this moment, the disparity in their builds only served to underscore how unbelievable the frozen tableau truly was.
The Earth Division Commander had clearly been provoked by Yang Kai's words. He let out a deep growl: "It's been a long time since I've seen someone this arrogant. I hope your fists can stay as tough as your mouth in a moment!"
He threw another punch.
Yang Kai met it with a fist of his own, responding with a careless drawl: "I was about to say the same thing!"
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM...
Violent fist forces collided and detonated again and again, the thunderous impacts deafening. Ring after ring of visible shockwaves rippled outward from the point where their fists met.
The contempt on the Earth Division Commander's face gradually faded, replaced by gravity and bewilderment.
No matter how he tried, he couldn't understand how such a frail-looking body could contain such terrifying power. And he even had a vague suspicion that the other man hadn't been using his full strength yet!
The moment that thought surfaced, it startled him so badly he didn't dare dwell on it any further.