Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
They were 30,000 metres below ground, and because this was a Yuan Magnetic Mountain, the ground was extremely hard. In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where Open Heaven Realm Masters couldnât display their true strength, it was near to impossible to forcefully create an exit.
Even if Yang Kai were to try it himself, he wouldnât have a chance unless he used the Azure Dragon Spear.
It was only because the Earth Dragon was innately proficient in burrowing through the earth that it could drill a tunnel this deep into the Yuan Magnetic Mountain.
Time slowly trickled by as more and more people flew over from all directions, hoping to leave through the passage, but all of them were stopped by Guo Zi Yan.
More and more people continued to gather at the tunnel entrance. In less than half a day, there were already several hundred people gathered.
Yang Kai was sitting atop the stone pillar, completely calm and composed. The hundreds of people below him were all clamouring in rage, many of them glaring hatefully at him, but none dared to act openly aggressive, only cursing in their hearts.
As time passed, more people arrived, but none of them understood what was happening after seeing so many gathered. After asking around, they learned that Scarlet Starâs Sixth Manager actually wanted to collect a toll before they could pass. Furthermore, what was even more shameless and presumptuous was that he asked to check the Space Rings of cultivators who tried to go before.
No one would agree to such a rude request; after all, what if Yang Kai snatched it away after they had handed over their Space Ring? There was no way they could defeat him, nor could they snatch it back, so although there were many people gathered here, none of them could leave.
Hu Yi was also here. Besides him, there were also several other Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The crowdâs eyes turned towards them, hoping that they could uphold justice.
Naturally, Hu Yi didnât want to be the first one to stand out. He couldnât wait to hide in the crowd, but with everyone watching, even if he didnât want to stand out, he had no choice. After all, if an Open Heaven Realm Master didnât stand up, how could he expect the Emperor Realm cultivators to speak up?
Raising his hand to calm everyone down, Hu Yi stated, âEveryone, please calm down. This Hu will go and inquire about Manager Yangâs intentions.â
The surrounding crowd cupped their fists, âMany thanks for your efforts, Manager Hu.â
Hu Yi sighed in his heart and raised his head to look in Yang Kaiâs direction. Afterwards, he turned his attention to the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon, who were lying on the ground not too far away, pretending to be asleep. Hu Yiâs scalp went numb as he secretly gulped before waving his sleeve and flying up the stone pillar.
Guo Zi Yan and the others looked over coldly but didnât stop him.
Hu Yi mounted the stone pillar, cupped his fists towards Guo Zi Yan, then cupped his fists towards Yang Kai, âManager Yang!â
Yang Kai opened his eyes and looked at him, âManager Hu, it seems youâve thought things through. Please hand over your Space Ring.â
Hu Yiâs mouth twitched as he forced a smile, âManager Yang, you must be joking, this Hu only came here to ask Manager Yang what the meaning of this is?â
Yang Kai asked indifferently, âWhat do you think?â
Hu Yi said, âIt should be for the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones!â
âSince you know, why ask?â
Hu Yiâs face went stiff as he frowned, âAlthough I know, Iâm afraid Manager Yangâs actions are not appropriate. Everyone spent a lot of time and effort searching for these Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, so who would be willing to hand them over so easily? Moreover, Manager Yang canât stop everyone from passing through without any justification.â
Yang Kai raised his thumb and pointed upwards, âThis tunnel was made by me! Isnât that reason enough?â
Hu Yi was stunned for a moment before a wry smile appeared on his face. This tunnel really was created by Yang Kai; there was no way to refute this point.
Yang Kai snorted, âWithout this Kingâs permission, all of you used the passage created by this Kingâs beast to search for Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones underground. Itâs one thing if this King doesnât pursue this matter, but now that I want to ask to share some of the benefits, youâre making excuses? What? Do you really think this King is easy to bully?â
âI wouldnât dare, I wouldnât dare!â Hu Yi quickly waved his hand, thinking that if this guy was a soft persimmon, no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary wasnât. After a moment of silence, he added, âManager Yang, what you say is also right. How about this, you give us a number, ten percent, twenty percent, or even thirty percent. If no one has any objections, weâll hand over the portion that belongs to Manager Yang and you let us go.â
âA percentage? How would I know what youâve found? What if you want to deceive me?â
âAbsolutely not,â Hu Yi waved his hand.
âDo you dare guarantee it?â
Hu Yiâs expression became stiff. How could he guarantee such a thing? What if someone really was unwilling to pay up and simply took out some low-grade Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones?
âDonât waste your breath. If you want to leave this place, take out your Space Ring and let this King examine it. After the inspection, I will naturally let you leave.â
Hu Yi stated, âManager Yangâs actions are likely to provoke public anger.â
Yang Kai sneered, âItâs not the first time!â
Hu Yi shook his head and advised, âTimes have changed. Before, everyoneâs hearts were not united, but now everyone wants to leave. If Manager Yang insists on stopping us, will Manager Yang be able to stop these hundreds of people? Not to mention, there are even more who have yet to arrive.â
Yang Kai raised his hand and took out the Fated Paths Bag, grinning as he stated, âDoes this King need to block the way? If anyone dares to try to force their way through, they will get a taste of this Kingâs Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!â
Hu Yiâs face paled as he suddenly remembered that this guy had collected a lot of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. All he had to do was block the entrance and release the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light if they provoked him. No matter how many people there were, they wouldnât be enough, and everyone would be killed.
Cupping his fists, he stepped back from the stone pillar.
The two of them didnât try to suppress their voices, so the hundreds of people down below heard them loud and clear. Many people were instantly filled with righteous indignation, thinking that Yang Kai had gone too far. It was true that his beast had created this passage, but there were so many treasures down below, so everyone who saw it would want to have a share. Now, he was even trying to block their way and rob them. How shameless!
However, not everyone thought so. Some cultivators were considering whether they should agree to Yang Kaiâs request. In any case, they didnât have any treasures in their Space Rings, so he might not be interested in them. The amount of Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones they had obtained this time wasnât much, so although it was quite painful to give up some of them, it was better than being stuck here forever.
At that moment, swishing sounds rang as everyone immediately turned their heads. The next moment, they saw a dozen or so people covered in blood rushing towards the tunnel.
Guo Zi Yan took out a long stick and flew to the tunnel entrance, âStop!â
The dozen or so people obviously recognized Guo Zi Yan and quickly stopped. The leader cupped his fists and asked, âWhat advice does Sir have?â
Guo Zi Yan repeated the words he had repeated countless times, âIf you want to leave here, first hand over your Space Rings and let Sixth Manager examine them!â
Unsurprisingly, the dozen or so people who heard this couldnât help becoming angry.
Just as they were hesitating, Yang Kai calmly said, âIn ten breathsâ time, the people who are chasing you will arrive. Either hand over your Space Rings, and this King will let you go, or you can continue fleeing!â
The man in the leadâs expression changed as he turned his head to look back. Sure enough, he saw a streak of light rapidly flying towards them. He quickly thought about all kinds of things before asking, âSir, could it be that everyone who wants to leave this place must hand over their Space Rings?â
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and pointed down, âThose who havenât handed over their rings are all over there!â
The man looked down and saw nearly a thousand people gathered below.
In this moment of life and death, this man was quite decisive and nodded, âGood, since thatâs the case, Sir, please have a look!â As he spoke, he took out his Space Ring and tossed it to Yang Kai.
Seeing their leader act in such a manner, the dozen or so people behind him also took out their Space Rings.
Yang Kai was extremely fast, and in front of everyoneâs eyes, his Divine Sense swept over the dozen or so Space Rings before raising his hand and returning all of them, âYou can go!â
The lead cultivator was stunned for a moment, but he didnât have time to think about it. He simply cupped his fists towards Yang Kai and shouted, âMany thanks, Sir!â
Saying so, he led the dozen or so people behind him out of the tunnel and disappeared.
Three breaths after they left, a group of several dozen people came chasing after them. Seeing the group of people passing through the tunnel, they didnât hesitate to chase after them, shouting, âWhere do you think youâre going?!â
However, before they could approach the entrance, the Scarlet Flood Dragon, which had been sleeping on the ground, suddenly flew up. Its massive body completely blocked the entrance and it breathed out a mouthful of raging flames, scaring the several dozen or so people to the point of staggering back. Their faces immediately turned pale.
Everyone below was also shocked.
From the looks of it, if Yang Kai really didnât want to let them pass, he wouldnât even need to use his Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. Just the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon alone would be enough to seal the passage. Everyone immediately became frustrated.
The leader of the pursuers glanced at the Scarlet Flood Dragon and couldnât help gulping before turning to Yang Kai and stating, âSir Yang, we are members of Emperor Heaven.â
Yang Kai didnât even look at him, âCall Ding Yi over to talk to me.â
The manâs expression froze. He couldnât figure out what Yang Kai had to do with the people who had escaped and why he was protecting them, but he didnât dare act rashly and quickly took out his communication artifact and sent a message to Ding Yi.
While he was busy, the Divine Senses of everyone below suddenly began communicating.
Just now, when Yang Kai was examining the Space Rings of the first dozen or so people, they had clearly seen him only inspect them for a moment before returning them untouched and letting them pass.
It was impossible for that group to have found nothing down here. There were so many Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones here that even if one or two of them had not found anything, the others must have found something. At the very least, they would have collected some Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones at the Third Order.
However, Yang Kai really hadnât taken anything.
What was going on?
If that was the case, they might be able to accept Yang Kaiâs conditions. In any case, they wouldnât suffer any real losses. At most, they would lose some face.
Therefore, after a brief hesitation, someone immediately flew up to the stone pillar and cupped his fists, âSir Yang!â
Saying so, he handed over his Space Ring.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and grabbed the ring, sweeping it with his Divine Sense before tossing it back.
The man was overjoyed, âFarewell!â
As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed up, and the Scarlet Flood Dragon made way for him.
This scene caused quite a number of people to burst into an uproar. If they had been mistaken before, this time, everyone was staring at Yang Kai carefully, not daring to be distracted. They didnât dare to use their Divine Sense, and just relied on their eyes. From what they could tell, Yang Kai had indeed not taken anything from that manâs ring.