Speculation on Yuen Long

The three men found it impossible to accept the reality before them.

Lying on the ground was a master of the Separation and Reunion Realm—a master of the Separation and Reunion Realm! How could he be killed by a mere warrior of the Initial Element Realm?

The difference between their realms was vast—two entire levels. It was an utterly absurd situation.

Though Senior Brother Cai had been heavily restricted by that woman, expending energy and focus to resist the valley's yin aura, he should still have been able to exert the strength of the Moving Qi Realm, shouldn't he? How could he have been killed?

Their faces flushed with alternating shades of blue and red, tinged with fear and regret.

Each of them couldn't help but wonder—if Yang Kai had chosen them as his target instead of Senior Brother Cai, what would have happened? Undoubtedly, they would have met the same fate here.

Only now did Yuan Lang grasp the wisdom and vigilance of Senior Brother Cai. If not for his warning, Yuan Lang would have been the first to die at Yang Kai's hands.

"How exactly did Senior Brother die?" the weakest of the three finally broke the silence, shattering the tense and awkward stillness.

As soon as the question was asked, the three exchanged glances. The scenes from the previous battle replayed in their minds, and they finally traced Yang Kai's lethal move.

It was that one palm strike, trading injury for injury—Yang Kai's only offensive move in the fight!

"Is he really that powerful?" one of them asked, trembling with fear.

"It's not his strength!" Yuan Lang glanced at him, his mind gradually calming as he analyzed, "He must have been hiding some immensely powerful secret treasure; otherwise, he couldn't have broken through Senior Brother's energy defense and delivered a fatal blow!"

Another person nodded in agreement.

Without the aid of a secret treasure, there was no way Yang Kai could have achieved such a feat. Even if Yang Kai himself admitted to it, they wouldn't believe it.

"Activating that secret treasure must consume an enormous amount of energy, and given his strength at the Initial Element Realm, he only had one chance to strike. Whether he succeeded or failed, he would have immediately fled!" Yuan Lang's face darkened as his thoughts became clearer, his mind more agile. He felt as though he held the upper hand in the situation, his analysis fitting perfectly with Yang Kai's suspicious actions.

Yuan Lang's tone was firm: "So now, even if he still has some energy left, he's no more than a spent arrow. That secret treasure must be beyond his ability to use again, and given his severe injuries, he's no longer a threat!"

The other two also found his analysis reasonable, and their previously tense hearts relaxed.

So it was the secret treasure that allowed him to accomplish this—what a fright! If Yang Kai's strength truly was monstrous enough to easily kill Senior Brother Cai, they might as well prepare their own necks for the slaughter. Why continue to struggle?

The weakest disciple of the Blood Battle Gang asked, "Senior Brother was killed; shouldn't we report this?"

Yuan Lang turned to look at him and lightly rebuked, "Report for what?"

"It doesn't seem right not to report it," the man hesitated.

Another man glanced at the young disciple thoughtfully, then suddenly chuckled and said to him, "Junior Brother Wu, you don't understand Senior Brother Yuan's intentions."

Junior Brother Wu looked puzzled, turning his head to glance at the man, then at Yuan Lang, still confused.

Yuan Lang chuckled, "Junior Brother Ye is indeed sharp; nothing escapes you."

Junior Brother Ye also laughed heartily, "Great minds think alike."

Junior Brother Wu watched them exchange riddles, unable to grasp the key point, and finally asked in frustration, "Senior Brothers, could you explain it more clearly?"

Yuan Lang glanced at him before speaking, "Junior Brother Wu, what do you think of the quality of the secret treasure Yang Kai relied on?"

Junior Brother Wu thought for a moment, then slowly replied, "For him to kill Senior Brother Cai in the midst of our encirclement, the secret treasure must be of high quality—at least mid-tier Earth grade, if not high-tier Earth grade."

They had seen Xia Ning Chang use a Heaven-grade defensive treasure before, so another Earth-grade treasure in Yang Kai's possession didn't seem too far-fetched. Junior Brother Wu's evaluation was quite reasonable.

Yuan Lang nodded slightly, "If we report this to Hall Master Wen, what do you think will happen?"

Junior Brother Wu instinctively replied, "Yang Kai will die, and the secret treasure will be taken by Hall Master Wen..."

He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing everything.

If Hall Master Wen knew about Yang Kai's Earth-grade treasure, would there be anything left for them? The Heaven-grade treasure from that woman had already been claimed by Young Master Long Hui, so even if Hall Master Wen couldn't take the main prize, he would certainly want a taste. As for them, they might not even get the scraps.

At most, they would be rewarded with some gold and silver after returning. But after facing such danger, losing several brothers, would that meager reward be enough? 

They had just danced on the edge of life and death, their hearts still pounding with fear—how could a bit of gold or silver make up for that?

Moreover, Hall Master Wen was notoriously stingy; even if he rewarded them, it wouldn't be much.

"What do you two mean...?" Junior Brother Wu asked tentatively.

Yuan Lang and Junior Brother Ye exchanged a glance. Junior Brother Ye nodded slightly, "Whatever Senior Brother Yuan says, we'll follow."

Yuan Lang smiled, "Good. Since there are no objections, we won't report this!"

"Agreed!" The two nodded.

"As for Yang Kai's secret treasure..." Yuan Lang's face showed a sly smile as he looked at his two junior brothers, "Whoever kills him to avenge Senior Brother Cai can have it. How does that sound?"

Junior Brother Ye nodded, "Let's do as Senior Brother Yuan suggests."

"Shall we split up?" Junior Brother Wu, the weakest among them, was naturally a bit anxious. Having witnessed Senior Brother Cai's death firsthand, he was afraid of confronting Yang Kai alone.

Junior Brother Ye said, "What are you afraid of? Yang Kai has already used his secret treasure once; how much energy could he have left? Besides, he was already exhausted from his earlier battle with the Stormy Wind Tower members and was severely injured by us. Given this treacherous environment, where he has to expend energy to resist the yin aura, he's probably lost seven or eight-tenths of his strength. If you encounter him, you can easily kill him."

Junior Brother Wu thought that made sense. Before their arrival, Yang Kai had already fought a fierce battle with Nu Lang, consuming a lot of energy. His injuries were also visible to them, and with the harsh environment sapping his strength, he was likely weakened by seventy to eighty percent. If he encountered Yang Kai now, he could surely kill him.

At this point, Junior Brother Wu's breathing grew heavier.