In a flash, the brute had been captured and brought to Yang Kai’s side, his eyes wide in an expression of horror.
As a Third-Order Saint King, it was terrifying how powerless he was in front of this youth who was at the same cultivation level as him. Only now did he remember to try and resist, but just as he was gathering up his Saint Qi, Yang Kai tapped lightly on his shoulder, causing the brute to turn pale and let out a grunt, the energy he was trying to summon dispersing all over again.
Following that, Yang Kai sent him flying in front of Yu Feng and the rest with a single kick. He grabbed the whip from him and threw it over to Yu Feng, speaking coldly, “Take revenge for your grudges!”
Yu Feng caught the thick whip, looking stunned for a moment before regaining his bearings. He exchanged a glance with the fellow detainees who had been beaten and surrounded the brute while grinning maliciously.
The next moment, the brute’s pitiful cries of pain rang out amidst the sounds of kicks and punches and the cracks of the whip.
Xie Quan’s face was dark with anger while eyes shining with a fierce glow, as if looking for prey to release his anger upon. He looked at Yang Kai, “Youths are reckless indeed. Good, I shall see how long you can maintain that arrogance!”
As he said that, he waved his hand. All of a sudden, numerous figures started appearing from all around the place. There were at least several dozen of them, and they surrounded the now decimated Gathering Source Hall, glaring at Yang Kai’s group with animosity. Although there were no Origin Returning Realm cultivators amidst the group, the large number was enough to cause Chang Qi and Hao An to feel uneasy.
Not only that, but many people from all around Heavenly Fate City were starting to fly towards them, and there was no lack of Origin Returning cultivators amongst those.
In a mere moment, the situation had flipped. Where Yang Kai’s side originally had a slight advantage, it was now completely lost in terms of both numbers and cultivation.
Chang Qi scanned his surroundings, his expression growing sombre as he did. There were seven to eight Origin Returning cultivators here, and they were all reinforcements Xie Quan had called. Reinforcements were within expectations. After all, they were heading deep into the enemy camp with this trip, and it would be impossible to expect there to be no backup. However, the scale of it was completely unexpected.
He stole a glance at Yang Kai, only to find him looking calm and composed as always. This surprised Chang Qi a little but also gave him a bit of confidence. Surely, Yang Kai had some kind of trump card hidden away.
“Brother Xie, is this the brat who destroyed the Gathering Source Hall?” one of the newcomers was an old man sporting a goatee, and he asked this question coldly while staring at Yang Kai after exchanging quick greetings with Xie Quan.
Xie Quan made a fist palm salute, saying, “Regretfully so. I didn’t expect there to be two Origin Returning cultivators with him, and I alone was no match and could not protect this place. I will apologize to Shadow Moon Hall after this.”
The goateed old man laughed and waved his hand in dismissal, “Don’t take this too seriously, brother Xie. With such a grand scale of the enterprise, our Shadow Moon Hall wouldn’t care so much about the destruction of a mere Gathering Source Hall. More importantly, your junior looks to be in quite the predicament.”
He shifted his gaze towards the group who was still beating up the brute. Speaking sharply and coldly, he said, “Are you not being too contemptuous by continuing with your acts of violence even after we have arrived? This old master is asking you to stop!”
With that, a spark of light flashed across his eyes, and an imposing gust of spiritual energy descended from the heavens towards Yu Feng’s group.
At the same time, Chang Qi smirked and channelled out his own spiritual energy, causing the two gusts to clash midair and disperse silently. As a fellow First-Order Origin Returning cultivator, he would obviously have no fear of meeting the attack, and this particular clash hence ended in a draw.
Yu Feng and the rest couldn’t help but stop, and they collectively looked towards Yang Kai. This was the first time they had been surrounded by so many Origin Returning cultivators, and it was making them anxious.
“Go on. Don’t stop until you feel like the grudge has been completely settled!” Yang Kai glanced nonchalantly at the numerous Origin Returning cultivators, the condescending look in his eyes eliciting widespread displeasure from them.
The goateed old man was about to say something, but Yang Kai interrupted him, “You’re from the Shadow Moon Hall?”
“That’s right!” the old man stroked his beard, “This old master, Ma Xin Yuan, is a Lower Manager of Shadow Moon Hall.”
“Lower Manager…” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, the edges of his mouth rising in mockery, “May I ask where Elder Qian Tong is right now?”
“Elder Qian…” Ma Xin Yuan’s expression changed slightly, as if he were slightly apprehensive. This reaction was shared by most of the Origin Returning cultivators gathered around. Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately realized that this group of cultivators were not under Qian Tong. They were probably on opposing sides within Shadow Moon Hall, otherwise, they would not have shown such expressions.
Looks like his prior deductions regarding the situation have been quite accurate.
“Elder Qian is naturally standing guard within Shadow Moon Hall. Listen up, brat! Not only did you destroy the Gathering Source Hall, you also injured our men. Don’t think that you can get away with this just by saying that you know Elder Qian. You’re not getting away today no matter what!” A middle-aged man towards the right exclaimed.
Yang Kai glanced at him and laughed lightly, “Of course I will not leave until the matter is settled. I came here today for two reasons.”
He pointed towards Yu Feng and the rest as he spoke, “To bring them back, and collect the resources you owe us while I’m at it.”
The numerous Origin Returning cultivators looked at one another, seeing the amusement in each other’s eyes. A few of them couldn’t help but laugh out loud, mocking Yang Kai’s inability to understand the extent of his own powers.
Xie Quan smirked at Yang Kai, “Such arrogance. Did you say you were going to bring them back? Have you asked whether this master agrees to that?”
“If you dare disagree, I will beat you until you change your mind!” Yang Kai exclaimed as he pointed his hand out. An artifact resembling an Artifact Refining Furnace appeared out of thin air, causing the temperature within a thousand-metre radius to rise rapidly. It caused everyone to feel as if they had suddenly fallen into a sea of fire, and even the air was being distorted due to the heat.
The next moment, a sharp shriek sounded out from within the furnace, and a ten-metre long Firebird of bright scarlet flew out. As it spread its wings, all the Fire Attribute World Energy in the Heavenly Fate City seemed to be pulled towards it, gathering within its body.
No one could have expected Yang Kai to be so daring as to make the first move even under such a clearly disadvantageous situation.
It was only after the Firebird absorbed the World Energy, growing to a massive size of over thirty metres, and starting to cover up the sky that the group of Origin Returning cultivators began to regain their senses. Xie Quan, in particular, was staring at the firebird with shaking eyes, exclaiming in shock, “Artifact Spirit! It’s an Artifact Spirit!”
No sooner had he finished speaking, that the Firebird spit a fireball the size of a washbasin at him.
The Artifact Spirit Firebird had awoken a month ago, which was one of the better pieces of news during the period of Yang Kai’s seclusion. After absorbing a strand of Sun’s True Fire, not only did it become more sapient, its strength increased drastically as well.
At the very least, the power of its flames was thirty percent stronger than when Yang Kai first obtained it.
Xie Quan’s face drained of all colour as he stared at the fireball approaching with an earth-crushing force. Completely tense against the imminent threat of death, he hurriedly took out his Defensive Artifact in hopes of mitigating the impact, at the same time turning and running away as quickly as possible.
Boom…
With a loud explosion, the fireball crashed down. The Defensive Artifact was not even able to hold for a single second before becoming badly damaged, losing all its lustre. A large pit appeared on the ground, the edges of which still showed signs of melting.
“This Artifact Spirit is fierce! Everyone, attack it together!” Xie Quan knew immediately that he would be no match for the Artifact Spirit.
Hearing this, the other Origin Returning cultivators all took out their artifacts, preparing to gang up on the Firebird. Everyone had a glint of excitement in their eyes, and no one bothered to direct any more attention towards Yang Kai.
In their eyes, the only reason why Yang Kai would so fearlessly go on the offensive was due to this Artifact Spirit. As long as they subdue it, what was a single Third-Order Saint King to them?
Furthermore, subduing this Artifact Spirit would benefit them greatly. In front of such a precious treasure, who had the time to care about Yang Kai?
Seeing that, Yang Kai laughed coldly and, with a wave of both hands, sent blasts of black fireballs shooting in all directions, causing the rest of the cultivators to fall all over the place. Where the Demonic Flames passed, everything ignited spontaneously. The ones with quicker reactions were able to scatter, while the ones who were too slow were swallowed whole by the flames, not a single bone remaining of them.
In an instant, this region of Heavenly Fate City had turned into a sea of fire, the intensity of the blaze threatening to burn a hole in the very heavens.
“Run!” Yang Kai shouted towards Chang Qi and Hao An.
The two of them took out their Star Shuttles, immediately dragging Yu Feng and the rest onto them. Mobilizing their Saint Qi, they headed straight out of Heavenly Fate City with the ex-detainees in tow.
“Stop them!” How could that goateed old man called Ma Xin Yuan allow them to escape from right under his eyes? With a single flash of the long sword held in his hand, he sent several bursts of Sword Waves towards Chang Qi and Hao Ao.
Yang Kai laughed coldly, immediately bringing out his purple shield and injecting Saint Qi into it. A gust of sandstorm immediately encased Chang Qi and the rest within it, protecting them. At the same time, Yang Kai sent out a hasty message to Chang Qi.
Chang Qi stared back for a moment before flying forward again at full speed, disappearing together with Hao An, Yu Feng, and the rest of the disciples.
The only one left on the ground was the brute who whipped them earlier, now howling in pain. He was mutilated beyond recognition and looked wretched to the extreme.
Yang Kai flicked a single burst of Demonic Flame at him with a single finger, causing him to burn away without a trace from the world. Yang Kai was not going to be merciful to someone from the Xie Family.
