In that vast white world, the temptations before them and the ready-made conditions drew out the darkness lurking in the hearts of the strong from the Seven-Family Alliance. Without a word, they began a slaughter, and in an instant, over a dozen people were dead.
Having tasted the benefits for themselves, these people grew even more eager.
The foreign warriors remained silent for a moment before finally reacting. One of them roared, "I knew from the start you lot had bad intentions! Brothers, fight them!"
In the blink of an eye, the hundred-odd divine soul spirits split into two great factions — the Seven-Family Alliance on one side, and the foreign warriors on the other — and within this Court of Divine Battle, a desperate struggle erupted.
There were no artifacts, no martial techniques, and certainly no physical bodies. The only thing anyone could rely on was the strength of their own divine soul and the soul arts they had cultivated.
The warriors of the two factions crashed into each other, and divine soul spirits were continually shattered, dissipating into streams of energy that were absorbed and claimed by nearby warriors. Having devoured the soul energy of others, these warriors grew emotionally frenzied and murderous, as if each one wanted to monopolize every benefit here and slaughter everyone else down to the last.
The warriors of the Seven-Family Alliance were, after all, more powerful — each family had at least one or two Transcendent-realm cultivators among them. When they struck, a single blow was nearly enough to end a foreign warrior's life.
Yet among the outsiders, there were also several Transcendent-realm existences. These individuals rallied their allies and managed to hold out for a time, dealing considerable damage to the Seven-Family Alliance in the process.
Everyone had gone bloodshot-eyed with killing, and screams of the dying rang out constantly.
That cruel and maddening scene was nearly too much for the Holy Maiden of the Nine Heavens Holy Land to bear. Her delicate frame trembled as she watched the chaotic battle, so engrossed that she didn't even notice someone approaching her.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow. Curious to see what this woman was truly capable of, he didn't intervene — instead choosing to watch coldly from the side.
It was only when danger finally loomed that the Holy Maiden snapped back to awareness. From within that seemingly frail soul spirit, a devastating force erupted with a thunderous boom, obliterating the approaching warrior — soul and all.
Seeing the residual soul energy of the fallen warrior lingering around her, the Holy Maiden's delicate brows furrowed slightly. Unlike the others, she didn't absorb or devour it. Instead, she deliberately moved away from it, a look of disgust painted across her beautiful face.
Yang Kai nodded to himself. He felt the woman had some ability after all, and her judgment wasn't bad either — she understood that such unearned benefits came with terrible consequences.
As if sensing Yang Kai's gaze on her, the Holy Maiden stole a quick glance at him, her lovely eyes filled with vigilance.
She didn't know whether Yang Kai might suddenly turn on those around him, just like the others. If he did, she felt certain she wouldn't have the power to resist.
From Yang Kai, she sensed a faint yet pervasive pressure, and especially that scorching aura — it filled her with deep wariness.
But Yang Kai had already lost interest in her and turned his attention back to the chaotic battle with calm, detached curiosity.
The battle had by now become entirely one-sided. The foreign warriors had been nothing more than a scattered mob to begin with, forced into a reluctant alliance under the onslaught of the Seven-Family Alliance's forces. Though they had achieved some initial success, they quickly crumbled before the overwhelming gap in strength.
After those few Transcendent-realm cultivators were killed, the remaining Shenyou-realm warriors couldn't muster any meaningful resistance. No matter how pitifully they screamed and begged for mercy, the strong of the Seven-Family Alliance turned a deaf ear, grinning savagely as they shattered their soul spirits and reaped the benefits.
Gradually, the hundred-odd participants dwindled to fewer than a dozen, and every one of them was a Transcendent-realm powerhouse from the Seven-Family Alliance.
Perhaps because they had absorbed too much soul energy from others, the drawbacks finally manifested. Each of them appeared agitated and manic, and from their soul spirits radiated an aura that was both chaotic and sinister.
After staring at each other blankly for a moment, these dozen or so warriors erupted into battle once again.
"What do we do? What do we do?" While Yang Kai was observing the scene, the Holy Maiden of the Nine Heavens Holy Land came to him for the third time, her face a mask of anxious helplessness that Yang Kai found rather amusing.
"What do you mean, what do we do?" Yang Kai asked, playing dumb.
"What if they come after us next?" The Holy Maiden's heart quivered with fear. Although she possessed a first-level Transcendent cultivation, the Seven-Family Alliance still had so many people left. If they surged over in this direction, she'd have no way to hold them off. So despite her wariness of Yang Kai, she had no choice but to try to tie herself to him.
"You are you, and I am me." Yang Kai raised a single finger and wagged it slowly, having keenly detected her intentions.
"Aren't you afraid you'll die here?"
"Good fortune can't be avoided, and calamity can't be dodged — what good does fear do?" Yang Kai chuckled lightly, his composed expression filling the Holy Maiden with astonishment. As he spoke, he looked her up and down.
"What are you doing?" The Holy Maiden immediately grew alarmed. The look of ill intent in Yang Kai's eyes gave her goosebumps, and she hastily said, "Don't forget — I saved you before. You should repay kindness with gratitude."
Yang Kai shrugged. "Relax, I'm not planning to do anything to you. Stop being so tense."
The Holy Maiden clearly didn't trust him. Her beautiful eyes widened as she stared fixedly into Yang Kai's, as though trying to peer directly into his heart. After a moment, her expression relaxed.
She could sense that Yang Kai truly bore her no malice — but the man was definitely scheming something, and that left her feeling deeply uneasy.
She cursed herself inwardly. If she had known how dangerous this venture would be, she never would have come to the seabed in the first place. She had even used a little trick to shake off two of the Holy Land's powerful protectors. It had been practically digging her own grave!