Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
A light breeze blew over the serene wilderness and brought with it an austere air.
Ye Jing Han had noticed that something was amiss, but couldnât pinpoint what it was. She just wrapped her outer clothing around herself and stood there with a nervous look on her face.
âFriends, will you show yourselves obediently⊠Or will I have to make a move and pull you out?â Yang Kai sneered suddenly and shouted at the void.
âWhat? There is someone here?â Ye Jing Han was alarmed by what she had just heard and she suddenly understood why she felt nervous for no reason. She asked in surprise, âWhatâs going on?â
âSomeone is staring at us,â Yang Kai said with a casual tone without even an ounce of nervousness.
Yang Kai waited for a long while, yet no one responded, so he could only sneer, âIt looks like youâre quite confident in your Concealment Technique and you think that Iâm just playing tricks with you.â
As his last word echoed out, Yang Kaiâs figure suddenly turned fuzzy and he appeared in the next moment a hundred metres ahead of where he stood earlier, palming towards empty space.
*HongâŠ*
An explosion echoed out, closely followed by an alarmed cry. A silhouette suddenly jumped out of the void and moved back thirty metres before it could regain its balance.
After this one move, Yang Kai returned to the wooden boat and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, calmly stating, âThe rest of you should also come out. Donât waste my time. I donât want to expose you one by one. Youâre not little children, so donât play such games with me.â
Less than three breaths had elapsed since his voice fell when two more figures revealed themselves. If the one Yang Kai attacked was added to their number, it would make them a group of three.
Ye Jing Han observed in shock. If she didnât get a warning from Yang Kai, then she wouldnât have noticed that someone was hiding here. She already knew that Yang Kai was far stronger than her, yet she still didnât expect that the disparity between them was this great.
After all, she was still a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, yet she did not manage to detect any danger lurking around them. If those three people had targeted her, then she would have beenâŠ
As she thought of this, Ye Jing Hanâs whole body got drenched in a cold sweat.
âHeheâŠâ Yang Kai suddenly laughed and didnât bother with observing the three that showed themselves, instead turning his head toward an empty region and asking, âFriend, you think your concealment skill is that good? Donât you know that youâre standing opposite of where the wind is blowing and I can clearly sniff out your scent even though youâre standing that far away from me?â
After Yang Kai said so, another person showed up.
âIs there anyone else?â Ye Jing Hanâs pretty face turned pale. After she released her Divine Sense, she realized that the auras of these four were hidden but it was obvious they were all powerful. They were most likely Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators. Anyone among them could easily kill her, yet, they had to face four of them at the same time.
Even though she had a good understanding of Yang Kaiâs power, she still got worried for him and she wondered whether he could contend against four of them.
Those four were strange. They did not utter a single word after showing themselves and they all wore hideous ghost masks that hid their facial features.
It still wasnât limited to just this, the masks were obviously some kind of special artifacts that obstructed the probing of Divine Sense. When Yang Kai had released his Divine Sense to try and see their true faces, he was obstructed by the masks.
Other than the masks, the four wore the same clothing. They all looked capable and experienced and they wore the same black attire with the sole difference between them being the character embroidered on their chests. They were respectively Wind, Thunder, Fire, and Mountain.
The aura emanating from these four was also somewhat unusual. It looked like they had some kind of subtle connection and resonance between them.
Upon noticing this, Yang Kaiâs face fell. He had realized that those four people werenât pushovers and they likely cultivated some sort of Formation Technique.
âWind, Thunder, Fire, and Mountain?â Ye Jing Han furrowed her brows and a pensive look appeared on her face, as if she had just recalled something.
âFriends, why were you waiting for us here? What do you want with us?â Yang Kai asked with a smile.
Upon hearing this, they still stood there motionless for a long while, before the Ghost Masked Man with the âWindâ character depicted on his clothes suddenly spoke, âCome with us!â
Yang Kai raised his brows and asked, âWho are you? And where do you plan to take us?â
The Thunder-titled cultivator said in a deep voice, âDonât waste time questioning, youâll know once you get there.â
Yang Kai chuckled, âSorry, but Iâm quite afraid of strangers. I have never met you and I wonât go with you. Hope to see you again.â
As he spoke, he pushed his boat to try to escape, but a sizzling noise rang out at that moment and an arc of lightning flashed from the Thunder-titled cultivator, barring the path forward as he snorted coldly, âThis isnât up to you.â
Yang Kaiâs pupils contracted. He was quite amazed by this personâs speed. His short distance movement speed wasnât any weaker than his own teleportation technique, and from the looks of the Source Qi emitted from this manâs body, he obviously cultivated some sort of Thunder Attribute Secret Art.
Thunder was strong and swift, so it wasnât strange for this person to possess such high speed.
Yang Kaiâs face sank. Those people had obviously hidden here for a long while, and from their attitude and what they had said so far, it was obvious they were here for him.
But, Yang Kai had no idea about the origins of these four, nor their objectives.
The factions he offended lately were only the Flying Saint Palace and the Evil Moon Valley, but those two Sects didnât have such powerful cultivators and they wouldnât dare make a move against him.
Yang Kai couldnât help but wonder if it was the Myriad Swords that had brought trouble to him. But upon giving it more thought, he realized that it was quite unlikely. If they were simply after his sword, they wouldnât have asked him to accompany them, they could just kill him and steal his treasures.
As Yang Kai mulled this over, he said with a smile, âFriend, youâre quite swift. May I ask what Iâll have to do for you after accompanying you?â
âWe have nothing to tell you,â The Thunder-titled cultivator replied coldly.
âYouâre all so haughty! I see that there is no more room for discussion between us.â Yang Kaiâs mouth twitched.
âDonât waste your breath with him, just take him down.â The Fire-titled cultivator had a hot temper, probably because he cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art.
Upon hearing Yang Kaiâs blubbering, he let out a shout and a blood-red dagger appeared in his hand. Pushing his Source Qi, the Fire-titled cultivator sent a cloud of flames towards Yang Kai.
In an instant, the temperature of the area rose drastically and the sky had been dyed by a blazing scarlet colour.
âBlood Dagger!â Ye Jing Han covered her mouth with her little hand and cried in alarm while her pretty eyes flashed in fright!
Yang Kai furrowed his brow and moved away along with Ye Jing Han. He dodged that terrifying strike and appeared again dozens of metres from his former position, staring coldly at the four people around him as he asked, âDo you know the origins of these people?â
âThe Blood Dagger, they are from Blood Dagger!â Ye Jing Han replied in alarm.
âLook, Iâm asking what this âBlood Daggerâ is.â Yang Kai shouted impatiently.
Ye Jing Han took a deep breath, trying to calm down, âBlood Dagger isnât a Sect per se, but rather an organization, yet itâs more powerful than most top Sects. It isnât known where its headquarters is located, but its activities span all four Territories of the Star Boundary. They would frequently sell their services and help people resolve their troubles for a fee. As long as you can afford to pay them, they will assassinate anyone for you, and once they make a move, they wonât stop until they eliminate their target.â
As she spoke up to here, Ye Jing Han said in a shivering voice, âYoung Master Yang, why is Blood Dagger targeting you?â
Yang Kaiâs brow twitched as he replied, âIâm as confused as you.â He really didnât even know an organization like Blood Dagger existed prior to this.
Saying so, he shouted at the four, âFriends from Blood Dagger, may I ask you who is after my life?â
âNo one!â
Surprisingly enough, the Wind-titled cultivator replied to this question, âWe have just received an order from our superiors to bring you to our headquarters. So, please cooperate with us.â
Yang Kai chuckled and said, âIt looks like getting into the limelight is not such a good thing after all.â
âYoung Master Yang, youâre still in the mood to joke around?â Ye Jing Han stamped her feet.
âJust take a look at me,â Yang Kai stared at Ye Jing Han earnestly and said in a deep voice, âDoes it look like Iâm joking around? Am I not in the limelight?â
âYou⊠You⊠You drive me crazy!â Ye Jing Han was choking back so much rage that her face got flushed.
*Xiu xiu xiuâŠ*
The sound of something flying through the air suddenly rang out as the Wind-titled cultivator took the opportunity when Yang Kai was talking to Ye Jing Han to suddenly take out his dagger and make a move. He summoned several red blades of wind, which contained a sickening smell of iron, as if they had been formed by fresh blood.
Who knew how many people these cultivators had killed! Their attacks were all bloody and ruthless and had the same vicious aura.
Yang Kaiâs body flickered again and he easily dodged the attack. He looked in mockery at the members of Blood Dagger, âIf your powers are limited to just this, then go back home. It isnât that easy to make a living in this world and you may lose your life at any moment.â
Upon hearing Yang Kaiâs mockery, those four cultivators remained unmoved with the sole exception being the Fire-titled cultivator, who obviously showed anger in his eyes.
The Wind-titled cultivator nodded, âAs expected, heâs proficient in the Dao of Space as the rumours say. It wonât be easy to deal with him.â
The Thunder-titled cultivator added, âThatâs the reason why heâs so valuable. We have to take him back with us.â
âLetâs begin!â The Fire-titled cultivation shouted impatiently.
âGo!â As the Wind-titled cultivator shouted, his body shook and his wind surged. As the sound of the air being cut rang out again, a whirlwind started enveloping his body. The man was weaving hand seals with a heavy expression on his face as if he was using a powerful Secret Technique.
Meanwhile, the other three acted similarly, but the force surging out of their bodies was naturally different.
Yang Kaiâs expression turned grave and he shouted at Ye Jing Han, âProtect yourself!â
As his voice fell, he flew toward his opponents with the Myriads Sword in his hand. An Emperor Pressure emanated from it while abundant Sword Qi and Sword Intent pervaded the region, as if it would shortly slice off a piece of the world. Yang Kai focused his strike towards the Wind-titled cultivator.
The opponents knew that he was proficient in Space Force, yet they still dared to obstruct him, so obviously they had a trump card up their sleeves and it was likely some Formation Technique.
Yang Kai had no idea about their power and skills, so how could he allow them to cast such a Secret Technique?
As he thrust out his sword, the world shook, like space itself was about to collapse.
The sword light had yet to reach the Wind character cultivator, but its bone-chilling murderous intent had already assaulted him. The manâs pupils contracted as he felt like death was looming over him, but he still didnât dodge the strike and instead a resolute look flashed across his eyes and he started weaving hand seals at an even higher speed.