As the palm approaches Yang Kai, he could feel the Yun Qi within his Meridians in his left arm become weaker and colder.
Nie Yong grins. “Yang Kai, I will make sure you lose an arm today and carve it into your head as a lesson taught by me!”
Yang Kai’s face darkened as he forcibly stimulates the Yuan Qi within his body to counter Nie Yong. Nie Yong realised instantly that his Martial Skill was not working out as planned.
“You think you can oppose me?” Nie Yong clenched his teeth. He cannot humiliate himself now. “Your Yuan Qi may be fierce, but you are still too weak to resist me!”
The cool breeze palm was inching closer to Yang Kai by the second. With no choice, he stimulated his 30 Meridians and demonstrated his proficiency in Burning Sun’s Blast.
“I said that you are too weak!” Nie Yong sneered after feeling a weak Qi condense into Yang Kai’s fist. With such weak Qi, Yang Kai will lose his arm!
As their palms collided, the Qi within Yang Kai’s fist erupted with a thunderous bang as a red, vibrant fiery ray of light was produced. It was so strong it was like staring at the sun, temporarily blinding all that were nearby.
“What?!” Nie Yong cried out. He did not expect Yang Kai’s Martial Skill to hide such lethality under the guise of weakness. Unexpectedly, their powers were evenly matched as the explosion pushed the two boys to retreat a few steps.
Nie Yong was forced back into a tree, as he vomited and spat fresh blood. He had retained severe injuries that he could not predict.
Likewise, Yang Kai did not feel any better than Nie Yong. With such a large difference in cultivation level, it was impossible to escape unharmed even with his higher level Martial Skill.
Using the blinding flash as cover, Yang Kai wasted no time in continuing his elude. He stimulated his Yang Yuan Qi and continued to run. Since the other four were of higher cultivation level than Nie Yong, Yang Kai stood no chance should he have stayed. The only option was to flee.
Meanwhile, the four were paralysed by shock. To think Nie Yong was unable to defeat Yang Kai! When they regained their composure, Yang Kai was long gone.
From far away, Yang Kai shouted, “Nie Yong, we shall say goodbye for now. The next time we meet, I will take your life.”
Yang Kai’s voice echoes, leaving the group in disarray.
“Nie Fellow Apprentice!” One of the Disciples rushed to Nie Yong’s aid. He had blood flowing from the corner of his mouth as his eyes were dull with unwillingness and dread. His entire complexion pale as a ghost after the costly exchange.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m alright!” Nie Yong supported his own body to stand. “Yang Kai has been injured as well. We must quickly pursue him! We can’t let him escape!”
“We are still to pursue?” Some members challenged as they looked at each other with hesitation. They did not have any enmity with Yang Kai. They only planned to cheer for Nie Yong and look good in front of Xie Hongchen. Now that Yang Kai has run off in an unknown direction, it would prove to be dangerous to resume the chase, with potential for traps and the Monster Beast.
Nie Yong understood their thoughts and hurriedly stressed. “Did you not see the power of his Martial Skill? He had only got the chance to practice it for a few days and its power is immense! Don’t you want such a Martial Skill for yourself?”
The other disciples nodded in unassertive agreement.
However, the group found the need to add, “Even if we are to pursue him, we are only here for his Martial Skill. If you want to deal with him, do not count on us. This is your own grudge and we will not involve ourselves in it. If you are to kill him, you must be the only one to suffer the consequences.”
“That is only natural!” Nie Yong fiercely scowled at them. “He dares to threaten me! What is he to have the gall to take my life? When I get my hands on him, we’ll see who will the last one laughing!”
The four disciples thought Yang Kai worthy only of punishment, not death. However, now that he had completely enraged Nie Yong, they all knew that his capture would mean his death.
Meanwhile, over by the small lake where Lan Chudie and Du Yishuang bathed, Yang Kai expulsed blood from his mouth. Now that he knows his current level of strength, he knew extending the fight would only result in him dying.
The highest in the group is probably a Qi Transformation Stage Level 7 or 8! If he was only able to barely manage to hold Nie Yong off, he would have no chance against the rest.
This fight cannot be compared to the one at Nine Yin Mountain Valley. After all, all the cultivators who were present there were of almost the same level as himself.
If not for Burning Sun’s Blast, Yang Kai would most likely be dead.
The cold effects from Nie Yong’s Cold Breeze Palm are now lingering and setting in within his body. Yang Kai had to remove the effects posthaste to prevent further and more severe injuries.
Sensing that someone was closing the distance between them, Yang Kai bent his waist and held his breath and dove into the pond to hide.
Yang Kai does not have the means to cope with any kind of dangers right now. Thus, he could only follow the safest and most familiar route to escape. To end up at the small lake; which provided a good hiding spot. If the group were to dive into the lake to check, Yang Kai could deliver a surprise attack to send the attackers into confusion once more. Were they willing to risk taking on such an attack after watching Nie Yong suffer his blow?
Yang Kai continued diving deeper into the shroud of darkness.
Though the lake was not that big, Yang Kai was surprised at its deepness. After diving for some time, he had not reached the lake bottom. What’s more, the lake was so cold at the deeper levels it pierced his skin to the bone.
Yang Kai stopped and swum towards the surface instead. He listened to sounds around him, trying to locate the others.
As he had suspected, Nie Yong and the others caught up to him. Although he tried to hide his tracks, Nie Yong, who spent a few days following Yang Kai before, could get a vague sense as to where he would choose to go.
After hearing their faint voices, Yang Kai heard a large splash from above him. Panic started plaguing his mind as he thought he had completely underestimated Nie Yong’s contempt. He had never thought that Nie Yong would track him down so vigorously, going so far as to search deep in the lake.
Without any other choice, Yang Kai could only choose to continue diving, in hopes of not getting caught.
Fortunately, Yang Kai thinks and cultivates True Yang Secret Art. With True Yang Yuan Qi circulating, the icy cold water would not be as much a hindrance to him. Thus, he could dive even deeper than Nie Yong and the others.
After a while, the person who jumped in arose and left the water.
Unable to find a lead on Yang Kai, the group did not tarry and walked to search in other places.
Being in the water for so long holding his breath, caused Yang kai to feel dizzy. Even if he had cultivated to Initial Element Stage 7 and was stronger than a mortal man, he still has limits.
Thankfully, Yang Kai was able to get a breather without the group of Disciples around. Suddenly, he heard a whistling sound as he continued to surface. He looked around and scanned his surroundings, but strangely he could not find the source of the sound.
As Yang Kai continued to search, the sound became louder. From a soft whistle, it turned to a breeze.
Is it coming from the bottom?
Since there was nowhere else the sound could come from, Yang Kai refocused his attention to the darkness below him. He swam down. As he carefully looked around the area, the sound grew even louder. When he focused harder, a faint glimmer could be seen. He drew closer to the source and found a shiny but black cave entrance.
Yang Kai’s eyes glimmered with joy. To be able to produce such a sound meant that the cave would have to contain air. Seeing it as a chance to find a safe haven away from Nie Yong to recuperate, Yang Kai swam in.
Nie Yong would definitely still be searching for Yang Kai outside. Even if the group had gone somewhere else, resurfacing was still a risk.
The cave was considerably deep, probably more than a hundred meters. Initially, the cave tunnelled downwards, then horizontally and later, vertically. When Yang Kai was nearly out of breath, he managed to arrive at a pocket of air.
Yang Kai used his hands to wipe droplets off his face. He looked around to find that the pocket of air was not just a pocket, but a large, empty space.
This should still be part of the cave, Yang Kai thought. The small lake was on top of a mountain peak, allowing it to have sufficient space for a connection. Since Yang Kai could hear a breeze from the cave entrance, he knew that there must have been a hollowed out area that contained air.
The cave was surprisingly dry. Yang Kai quickly got out of the water and inspected the dark area for signs of life. He realised that there was him and only him, and he sighed loudly with relief.
Sitting cross-legged, Yang Kai quickly revolved True Yang Secret Arts to dry his clothes and started to drive out the cold effect that was still in him.
Since Nie Yong was a few cultivation levels higher than himself, Yang Kai was not confident he could drive out the coldness completely within his body. Thankfully, Yang Kai noticed that his Yuan Qi was vigorous enough. If it was other Cultivators at his level, they could only helplessly wait for the coldness to spread and corrode their Meridians.
In such situations, a Cultivator’s strength is essential, determing life and death!
A hefty amount of time passed and Yang Kai vomited a puddle of black blood, which indicated that he has successfully dispelled the coldness from his body.
Although his face was pale, he was smiling. He no longer had to worry about his Meridians.
Cool Breeze Palm! Yang Kai noted. This Martial Skill’s might is strong. Especially with the effects of the injecting coldness into the opponent’s body, similarly to the Burning Sun’s Blast, with the only difference being heat instead of cold. It was only fortunate that this Martial Skill was not as strong as Burning Sun’s Blast.