That alone would have been one thing—it could simply be said that he had indeed earned the Holy Maiden's approval.
What was even more remarkable was that his cultivation was by no means low; he was a full two levels into the Transcendent Realm!
On the way here, Xu Hui had been speculating about what kind of cultivation this future Holy Master might possess. If he were at the Shenyou Realm level, that would have been passable—with the Holy Land's resources and secret techniques, it wouldn't take more than a few decades for him to stand at the pinnacle of martial arts. Yet reality had taken him completely by surprise.
A two-level Transcendent at such a young age was an existence as rare as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn across the entire continent.
Thinking back to the message that Qian Ning had left behind before his death, Xu Hui couldn't help but let a smile cross his face. The more he looked at Yang Kai, the more pleased he became.
"Oh, Holy Maiden, how did you manage to escape from that overseas archipelago? From what I heard, those islands had already been destroyed by Nan Sheng Gu. Living things perished in droves—hardly anyone survived!" During their flight, Xu Hui asked with curiosity.
An Ling'er glanced at Yang Kai. He gave a slight nod, and only then did she recount the matter of the ancient ruins beneath the sea.
"A Void Corridor?" Xu Hui raised an eyebrow in surprise, then said with relief, "Truly, the heavens favor our Holy Land! So that means after you emerged from the Void Corridor, you arrived in the Demon Territory?"
"Mm." Yang Kai nodded hastily, afraid that An Ling'er might accidentally let slip the matter of the Small Mystic World as well. "Once we reached the Demon Territory, we unfortunately fell into Shirley's hands. We only managed to escape a few days ago!"
"General Shirley?" Xu Hui's expression changed drastically. The other three wore equally shocked looks, as if they couldn't believe Yang Kai and An Ling'er had actually managed to flee from someone of that caliber. A wave of genuine admiration washed over them.
Honestly assessing their own abilities, they knew that if they had ended up in Shirley's clutches, they would likely have faced a fate of certain death.
Once they realized this, the Nine Heavens Holy Land's powerhouses grew even more respectful toward Yang Kai, this future Holy Master.
They flew over famous mountains and great rivers along the way. Xu Hui and the others maintained their breakneck speed—covering tens of thousands of li per day—having long since shaken off Nan Sheng Gu's pursuit.
Along the way, Xu Hui had also probed, casually and deliberately, into Yang Kai's background. Learning that he came from the Heavenly Sword Sect, he couldn't help but show some surprise.
The Heavenly Sword Sect was a respectable force in its own right. It was simply far removed from the Nine Heavens Holy Land, and the two had never had any dealings.
"The Heavenly Sword Sect has seen a massive surge in strength recently. It seems like four Saint Realm experts appeared out of nowhere." As he spoke of the Heavenly Sword Sect, a pale-faced elder in the group sighed. "With that, their overall power actually surpasses our Holy Land's."
"Four new ones?" Yang Kai's face lit up with joy. He immediately thought of Cang Yan, Fei Yu, and the others. It seemed the Thousand-Year Demon Flower's essence they'd obtained from Floating Cloud City had indeed been a tremendous help to them.
"I've heard something about it too. Apparently, the four of them took an alchemist to the Neutral Territory's Floating Cloud City nearly two years ago to compete for that Thousand-Year Demon Flower… If I'm not mistaken, that alchemist was also a young man—hmm, about the same age as our future Holy Master!" As he said this, Xu Hui swept Yang Kai with a meaningful glance.
Yang Kai kept his expression indifferent, pretending not to have heard. At a time like this, saying anything would only be a case of "no silver buried here"—a dead giveaway. Xu Hui was a crafty old fox who had surely already pieced something together.
But the old man bore him no ill will, so Yang Kai wasn't particularly worried.
Seeing that Yang Kai offered no response, Xu Hui chuckled. "There's no need to envy others. Now that our Holy Land has a new Holy Master, it won't be long before we recover our vitality. We might even rise to greater heights."
"Indeed, indeed!" The others hurriedly nodded in agreement, all directing great expectations toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow and spoke up: "Gentlemen, I have no intention of seizing your Holy Master's throne. Once we reach a suitable place, let's part ways."
"What?" Xu Hui's face registered open astonishment. "You don't want to be the Holy Master?"
Yang Kai nodded. "I've told An Ling'er this many times. I learned those three moves of the Nine Heavens Divine Art without even understanding what I was doing—at most, that's all it is. I simply won't use those three techniques going forward."
"That…" The group was momentarily struck speechless.
An Ling'er pressed her red lips together and added, "I bear a great deal of responsibility in this matter. He didn't set out to learn our Holy Land's divine art. If anyone is to blame, it should be me."
Xu Hui furrowed his brow, looking between Yang Kai and An Ling'er, his thoughts unclear. Then suddenly he let out a hearty laugh. "Let's not discuss this just yet. Since our young friend here hails from the Heavenly Sword Sect, we won't make things difficult for you. Tell you what—if it's convenient, come back to the Holy Land with us as our guest for a while. See the Holy Land with your own eyes. And if you still insist on declining afterward, we certainly won't force you!"
A flicker of consideration passed over Yang Kai's expression. He knew that before these four Saint Realm experts, he had no real ability to refuse.
If he did, they would almost certainly use force. They wouldn't harm him, of course, but they would absolutely drag him back to the Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Xu Hui had already shown considerable accommodation. Given his status and strength, if he had truly decided to act by force, Yang Kai knew he wouldn't be able to resist. The fact that he spoke this way only demonstrated his sincerity.
"Very well!" Yang Kai gave a slight nod, not wanting to provoke any further confrontation with them.
Seeing him agree, An Ling'er couldn't help but reveal a look of delight.
The group continued onward.
Unlike the harmonious atmosphere before, once it became clear that Yang Kai had no interest in becoming the Holy Master, Xu Hui and the other three exchanged frequent glances and communicated through divine sense, as though discussing something among themselves.