Outside the palace, nearly thirty Origin Realm masters from Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect surrounded Yang Kai in an airtight formation with the leaders of the two great forces assuming personal command of the situation.
Although they had not taken any offensive action yet, various Shi were spread out over the surrounding few thousand metres, locking down the entire region. It was not an exaggeration to say that even trying to move a step inside this range would be difficult.
“Yang Kai, seeing how you are also the master of a Sect, if you are willing to surrender without a fight and waste your cultivation, this Young Master may be inclined to ask his honoured father and Sect Master Fang to give you a chance to survive!” Qu Chang Feng shouted while lightly fanning himself.
“Give me a chance to survive?” Yang Kai snickered without showing the slightest signs of panic, “What is this? Does Young Master Qu think that I’ve been backed into a corner here? That my only option is death? Are you all so confident you can force me to remain here?”
“It’s not confidence,” Qu Chang Feng slowly shook his head. “It’s simply a fact! Do you still believe you can flee from this place safely? Open your eyes and look how many of us there are here.”
“Do you think just having a few more people would help?” Yang Kai curled his lips.
“Hehe, if what you’re relying on is your Space Force, you should understand that you’re not the only one here who understands this power,” Qu Chang Feng sneered, “If you plan on using your Space Force to escape, this Young Master advises you to throw away that idea so as not to waste our time.”
Yang Kai’s expression darkened as he glanced around the crowd, his eyes quickly landing on Mo Xiao Sheng.
He had heard many times that the Great Elder of Heaven Battling Union cultivated Space Force, and although he had not seen it with his own eyes, there was no way so many rumours were all just false. Even now, this old man was watching him vigilantly, his Saint Qi locked onto him, apparently guarding against him using his Space Force to escape.
“What’s wrong? Has this Young Master exposed your plan?” Seeing Yang Kai hesitate, Qu Chang Feng laughed, thinking that he had hit upon Yang Kai’s weakness.
Yang Kai simply ignored him though and instead turned his gaze to Qu Zheng and Fang Peng, taking a light breath before narrowing his eyes and asking, “Do you two really want to do this?”
“Now that things have gotten to this point, is there any point in asking such nonsense? Waste your cultivation and we’ll let you keep your life!” Qu Zheng said indifferently in an unquestionable tone.
The order from Star Emperor Mountain was to capture Yang Kai alive so they could use him to force High Heaven Sect to surrender the Origin King Grade Starship. From the beginning, Qu Zheng and the others had no intention to kill Yang Kai. They had brought so many people simply to ensure they caught him.
“Haha,” Yang Kai grinned, “I had thought our two sides had not reached the point where all-out conflict was the only option, but since you two insist on compelling me, I hope you are able to bear this Yang’s anger!”
“Shameless boasting!” Qu Chang Feng shouted, “I’ll give you ten breaths of time to consider. After ten breaths, this Young Master will personally force you to submit!”
“There’s nothing to consider,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, a sneer appearing on his face, “Young Master Qu, you should stop thinking so highly of yourself, because the truth is, you’re nothing!”
“Impudence!” Qu Chang Feng had never suffered such an insult. His suave posture was replaced by a ferocious visage, like a poisonous snake that had its tail stomped on and was now baring its fangs.
“From the first time I saw you, I felt you weren’t pleasing to the eye, but as long as you didn’t provoke me, I was disinclined to deal with you. Since you want to die, I’ll grant your request!” Yang Kai declared as he shot a sharp, aggressive look towards Qu Chang Feng.
The audience was shocked!
They had seen boldness before, but never like this.
Surrounded by nearly thirty Origin Returning Realm masters, this young man named Yang Kai not only did not flinch, he instead threatened Qu Chang Feng’s life in front of all of them. Was there something wrong with his head?
Didn’t Yang Kai see that he had already lost?
Even Qu Zheng and Fang Peng, who had incredible mental discipline, could not help feeling stunned as they secretly began wondering if Yang Kai had gone mad from the pressure.
But in the next moment, the expressions of these two changed dramatically as Yang Kai’s left eye flashed a golden light. From this golden light, a lotus bud appeared, flickered for an instant, then vanished.
Even Qu Zheng and Fang Peng, under the influence of that golden light, felt their thoughts become slightly confused.
By the time they recovered, cold sweat had appeared on their backs, but before they could collect themselves, a pitiful scream filled their ears. Looking towards the source of the sound, they saw Qu Chang Feng, who was acting arrogant just a moment ago, now holding his head and shouting, as if he was suffering from some kind of unbearable torture, red blood oozing from all seven of his orifices.
“Chang Feng!” Qu Zheng’s complexion changed drastically as he called out in panic and immediately rushed towards his son.
But before he could do anything, a loud bang resounded.
A gorgeous blood-red flower blossomed in that instant as Qu Chang Feng’s entire head burst apart. Blood sprayed out like a fountain from where his head once was before raining down and dying the surrounding earth red.
“Impossible!” Fang Peng could not help exclaiming in shock.
The Other Origin Returning Realm masters also stared at this scene with a mixture of shock and horror.
There was no sign of Yang Kai acting at all, yet Qu Chang Feng had now died inexplicably and in such a miserable manner.
Spiritual Energy! The only way one could kill without showing any physical signs was with Spiritual Energy. A moment ago, no matter who it was, as long as they were staring at Yang Kai they could feel their consciousness being disrupted with the appearance of that golden light.
There was also that indistinct lotus bud.
[How strong was his Spiritual Energy?] To kill a cultivator in the same realm in an instant, such a powerful Soul or strange Secret Technique, neither Qu Zheng nor Fang Peng had ever heard of anything like it.
If that Secret Technique had been targeting them just now… Many of the gathered masters could not help having such thoughts and feeling a chill shoot up their back, their hearts instantly beating fast.
“Father!” Fang Tian Zhong also turned pale as he gritted his teeth and called out to Fang Peng anxiously.
Both he and Qu Chang Feng were famous leaders of Shadowed Star’s younger generation, and although Qu Chang Feng’s daily conduct was somewhat disgraceful in Fang Tian Zhong’s opinion, the former’s skills were real. Fang Tian Zhong and he had fought for many years, each time their battle ending in a draw. In truth, the reason he had come here this time was just as Qu Chang Feng had said, to see whether Yang Kai was actually strong or weak.
But never had Fang Tian Zhong expected to witness such a scene.
Since Yang Kai could kill Qu Chang Feng in an instant, he could certainly do the same to him!
There was no longer any need to verify who was stronger or weaker, with such strength, even if Fang Tian Zhong and Qu Chang Feng joined forces they wouldn’t be able to defeat Yang Kai. Fang Tian Zhong’s heart trembled as his face filled with unwillingness.
He possessed an incredible background and even better aptitude. He had enjoyed the best cultivation resources and environment since he was born. He had already established his fame from a young age, and few among his generation were even worthy of his attention.
He had the capital to support his pride.
He could not even imagine what kind of opportunity Yang Kai had that led to him obtaining such terrifying combat power.
The tragic death of Qu Chang Feng had caused Fang Tian Zhong’s pride to be ground to dust and had left an indelible psychological shadow in his heart.
“Tian Zhong, withdraw. This is not a place you can intervene in!” Fang Peng frowned and ordered in a deep voice.
Qu Chang Feng’s fate was a harsh lesson, one he didn’t want his son to repeat.
“Yes!” Fang Tian Zhong gritted his teeth and shook his figure before retreating a thousand metres.
“Brother Qu!” Fang Peng called out to Qu Zheng.
Qu Zheng remained utterly stunned.
It seemed he had not yet recovered from the scene of his son’s tragic death, merely standing there blankly, his face filled with shock and disbelief.
“Not bad. Not bad at all. No one has decided to run,” Yang Kai smiled lightly. The golden light in his left eye had receded and a carefree expression appeared on his face, as if killing Qu Chang Feng had not required any effort for him, “Worthy of the two giants of Shadowed Star, your mental fortitude is commendable. Don’t worry, there’s no need to rush. None of you will be escaping here today.”
Saying so, Yang Kai pointed towards someone on his left, a cruel sneer appearing on his face, “You’re next!”
“Me?” The person pointed to by Yang Kai was a middle-aged woman whose beauty was only so-so but whose figure was quite alluring. She wore a water-blue dress and possessed a kind of mature charm.
Her strength was also not low, Second-Order Origin Returning Realm.
This middle-aged woman’s tender body could not help shivering when she was pointed at by Yang Kai, as if she had just received a death sentence. Her elegant face quickly wore an ugly, panicked expression as she could not help glancing over at Qu Zheng in fear, as if she wanted to seek protection.
But Qu Zheng still stood there dumbly, not paying any attention to her. Seeing how she could not count on her leader, the middle-aged woman gritted her teeth and shouted, “You want to take my life? Let us see if you have the ability!”
Everyone present suspected that Yang Kai killing Qu Chang Feng so easily was a result of him using a sneak attack, but this middle-aged woman’s strength was not only higher than Qu Chang Feng’s by a Minor Realm, she was also highly vigilant of Yang Kai now.
Saying so, this woman pushed her Saint Qi and quickly condensed a thin blue light curtain around herself, forming a solid barrier that made it look as if she was surrounded by some kind of bubble from a distance.
Not finished yet, this middle-aged woman hurriedly summoned a gauze-like artifact which after pouring her Saint Qi into immediately transformed into a second blue light curtain in front of her.
“Pointless struggling!” Yang Kai sneered as he summoned out a small arrow which fit in the palm of his hand.
Feather Spirit Arrow!
This strange artifact was something Yang Kai had only just obtained.
Yang Kai didn’t know how powerful this artifact was, but he estimated that it wasn’t low, so now was a good chance to experiment.
Facing the middle-aged woman, Yang Kai gently pointed the Feather Spirit Arrow forward, his movements looking calm and relaxed.
A shocking energy fluctuation burst out from the Feather Spirit Arrow in that instant as one of the jades inlaid in its shaft lit up and sent tiny glowing runes flowing across its length. As these runes flashed, they condensed into an illusionary arrow which suddenly shot out towards the middle-aged woman.
This illusionary arrow was pitch black in colour and its entire body seemed to be comprised of burning hot energy.
The Feather Spirit Arrow had been charged by Yang Kai’s own Saint Qi, so now that he was using its power, its characteristics were the same as his Demonic Flame.
The heat radiating from the illusionary arrow was so great it even distorted the surrounding space.
