In the warship's engine room, the youth who called himself Shen Tu sat gaping, his face a picture of panic. He clearly hadn't expected Yang Kai to actually frame him like this.
He opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself, but the moment he saw the Holy Crystal clutched in his hand, Shen Tu realized that nothing he said would make a lick of difference.
Right now, he was in a situation where yellow mud had fallen into his trousers — even if it wasn't shit, it sure looked like it.
So he ignored the sharp glare Ke Meng shot his way and paid no mind to Yang Kai's despicable scheming. He decisively shut his eyes, gripped the Holy Crystal with both hands, and frantically circulated his cultivation technique, beginning to devour the energy within.
It was as though a destitute beggar, on the verge of death, was determined to gorge himself on one last meal.
Now it was Yang Kai's turn to be dumbstruck.
"Kid, you've got some nerve causing trouble in my jurisdiction!" Ke Meng snarled with a savage grin, rushing up to Shen Tu and without a moment's hesitation unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks.
He hit extremely hard. Thuds rang out one after another, and he didn't care at all whether Shen Tu lived or died.
But Yang Kai keenly noticed that every blow deliberately avoided Shen Tu's vital areas — only inflicting excruciating pain without any real danger of being fatal.
He didn't want to kill any of the warriors who powered the warship either.
Ke Meng beat Shen Tu while grinning savagely, all the while cursing in the vilest language.
Shen Tu didn't make a sound, enduring it all in silence. His broad, square face contorted by the pain, yet he kept absorbing the Holy Crystal's energy with unrelenting determination, as though he swore he wouldn't stop until every last drop was drained.
Yang Kai's expression turned playful, and his opinion of Shen Tu shifted in a subtle way.
The guy's earlier behavior had disgusted Yang Kai, no question, but he had to admit — this was a man with an iron backbone and incredible endurance.
After a good while, Ke Meng finally stopped. He hurled a few more insults, then turned and left.
He didn't take the Holy Crystal from Shen Tu's hand, seemingly conceding that the crystal belonged to him — though Shen Tu paid a heavy price for it: his face beaten black and blue, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Watching Ke Meng's figure vanish into the darkness, Shen Tu wiped the blood from his lips, and a cold gleam like a blade's edge flickered in his eyes.
He shot Yang Kai a glance and let out a soft, cold laugh.
The Holy Crystal in his hand had lost a great deal of its energy from his earlier unrestrained absorption, its luster now dim.
After he drained it a bit more, it actually crumbled to fine powder and slipped from his palm.
Yang Kai was slightly moved.
Every warrior knew just how vast an amount of energy a Holy Crystal contained. For Shen Tu to absorb it all in such a short time meant his cultivation technique was no simple thing.
Yang Kai casually tossed another Holy Crystal in his direction.
This time Shen Tu didn't catch it, just watching Yang Kai with cold, wary eyes — the look of someone wounded and on guard. He sneered, "You think I'm an idiot? You think I'd fall for the same trick twice?"
Yang Kai paid him no mind and simply closed his eyes to rest.
Shen Tu watched him for a while, found it pointless, and gave up. He didn't bother with the Holy Crystal that had landed beside him, pretending it didn't exist.
Time trickled by.
The next day, Ke Meng distributed two Holy Crystals to each of the restrained warriors. Yang Kai got his share as well.
The moment Shen Tu received his two crystals, he immediately began absorbing them. A full day's depletion had completely drained his body's reserves, and he desperately needed replenishment.
Before long, his two-crystal allotment was consumed.
He licked his lips with lingering regret, his eyes fixed on the crystal Yang Kai had tossed him the day before, sitting right in front of him. A bitter war raged inside him.
He wanted to take it, but feared Yang Kai would summon Ke Meng again. After wrestling with himself for a long time, he painfully gave up, cursing Yang Kai under his breath as a shameless, despicable scoundrel.
He shut his eyes and refused to look at the temptation lying just inches away.
The same pattern continued for several days.
But as time passed, Shen Tu found that the energy inside him could no longer keep up with the drain. The shackles continuously siphoned away his Holy Essence, and without adequate replenishment, he couldn't maintain his condition no matter what he did. Gradually, he grew weak, just like the others.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, presented a stark contrast.
Aside from the dozen-odd Holy Crystals Ke Meng had initially given him, he received his two-crystal daily allotment, and he'd even gone to Ke Meng specifically to ask for more.
Of all the crystals he'd obtained, he used less than half to sustain himself. The rest he secretly stashed inside the Demonic God Secret Tome, for a rainy day.
Ke Meng didn't refuse his requests either, seemingly because of that beautiful woman, Bi Ya. He was not only generous with Yang Kai but practically lavish — not only giving him Holy Crystals but also two or three Holy Pills, to keep his strength and spirits high in case Bi Ya returned to take him away at any moment.
This made Shen Tu seethe with envy. The way he looked at Yang Kai changed completely — as though he were staring at a pretty-boy kept man. His gaze dripped with nothing but contempt and disdain.
A few more days passed, and Shen Tu's condition grew even worse.
He felt that if he didn't get adequate replenishment soon, his current realm was in danger of slipping.