How had he done that? How was it even possible?
Shentu stood clutching the key Yang Kai had tossed him, staring blankly at the blood mist that filled the air, a tidal wave of shock surging through the depths of his heart.
Even he himself—if he'd fought Kemong, the outcome would have been anyone's guess. But Yang Kai, a mere first-stage Entering Saint Realm cultivator, had just one-shotted Kemong?
No matter how careless Kemong might have been, he wouldn't have been completely helpless. His realm and strength were plainly evident.
Everything had happened so suddenly that Shentu was caught completely off guard.
He just stood there, frozen in shock, forgetting his own situation, forgetting to unlock his shackles.
It was in that moment that he suddenly realized—this Yang Kai was an extremely dangerous individual. The fact that he could one-shot Kemong in the blink of an eye meant that if Shentu himself let his guard down, he too could be dispatched just as quickly.
Shentu was so stunned he nearly cried out.
"How long are you going to stand there spacing out?" Yang Kai's low voice cut through.
Only then did Shentu snap back to his senses. He hurriedly used the key to unlock the shackles binding him. The next instant, a dense web of lightning suddenly surged outward from within his body—each bolt crystal clear, each one a serpent baring its fangs, making him look as though he were wrapped in coils of electric snakes. It was a terrifying sight.
Those lifelike lightning serpents slithered across his skin, then suddenly shot off in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the entire engine room flickered with arcs of electric light.
Shentu let out a ferocious laugh. "Brother, that was some nice work! I'm thoroughly impressed!"
Even as he laughed, his figure vanished from where he stood. The next instant, he reappeared beside a Purple Star warrior at the first stage of the Entering Saint Realm—a warrior who'd been wearing a vicious expression, intent on ambushing Yang Kai. Shentu seized him by the neck.
Violent lightning began to surge. The warrior trembled violently as that tremendous energy—powerful enough to paralyze even the soul—poured into his body, robbing him of all control in an instant.
An acrid, charred smell wafted through the air. Smoke curled from the top of the warrior's head, and when Shentu finally released him, he had already become a charred corpse. He crumpled to the ground, utterly devoid of life.
The engine room was the most critical part of the warship—the heart of the vessel. Normally, its defenses were extremely tight, and Saint King Realm experts would be stationed here to handle any emergencies.
But this time, it seemed the Purple Star had been far too focused on the Sword Alliance. Eight out of ten of the experts stationed here had been dispatched to reinforce the front lines. The only one of any real strength left behind was Kemong.
With Kemong dead first, the others stood no chance against Yang Kai—who had already activated his Demonic God Transformation—and the freed Shentu fighting side by side.
Relying on his formidable physical body and the element of surprise, Yang Kai quickly cut down five Saint Realm warriors. After circling the engine room once, he found that only he and Shentu remained alive. The last warrior, sensing the tide had turned, tried to flee—but Shentu lashed out with a bolt of lightning that sent him crashing to the ground, where he was beaten to death.
"Finally free! Hahaha!" Shentu roared, like a beast escaping its cage.
"How do we get out of here? You know this place better—lead the way." Yang Kai regarded him coldly.
"No rush. Before we leave, let's send Purple Star a grand gift!" A sinister smile spread across Shentu's face, a look of madness flickering in his eyes.
He ducked into the center of the engine room's central grand array and sat down cross-legged.
He released his divine sense, channeling the power within his body to merge himself with the central array as one.
Yang Kai watched him with a peculiar expression but made no move to stop him, simply waiting.
During his days trapped in the engine room, he had gained some understanding of these massive warship-grade artifacts. He knew that the array Shentu had positioned himself in was the command hub—the formation that controlled the entire warship.
Shentu clearly intended to use this Saint King Realm superior-grade warship for something.
The array's patterns lit up one by one. The warship, which had been anchored somewhere in the void of space, slowly rotated its heading. A moment later, it stopped again.
"Heh heh, today I'll show you all that Lord Shentu is not someone to be trifled with!" Shentu's eyes snapped open, a wild frenzy burning within them. The power within his body erupted, pouring into the array beneath him.
The next instant, the entire hull shuddered.
A massive beam of divine light suddenly shot from within the warship, trailing an aura of destruction as it streaked directly toward the chaotic battlefield.
At the same time, Yang Kai keenly sensed that the Saint Crystals arranged within the engine room's array had instantly drained a huge portion of their stored energy. Their originally radiant glow dimmed sharply.
The divine light streaked across the void. Warriors from both the Sword Alliance and Purple Star on the battlefield froze mid-action. Staring in horror at the beam of light growing larger with each passing heartbeat, they cried out and scrambled to activate their flying artifacts, fleeing in panic.
But it was too late. The divine light was blindingly fast—merely a blink, and it had already descended upon the warriors.
The world went silent.
The clamor of battle and the clash of combat ceased in that instant. The survivors stared blankly at the apocalyptic scene before them, as though they had all been struck dumb—mouths agape, throats exposed to the open air.
The divine light pierced clean through the battlefield, shooting off toward some distant corner of the vast cosmos.