Deciding to give him a hand, Xia Ningshang naturally dared not show any signs of weakness. Only by forcing Yang Kai to go all out could she help him break through.
So, with her first palm strike, Xia Ningshang went for the kill.
Yang Kai's strength was at the ninth level of the Body Tempering stage, and Xia Ningshang only used the strength of the second or third level of the Essence Opening stage.
Just as Yang Kai was in a critical moment, he suddenly felt a sense of danger, a chill spreading through his body, and a feeling of life and death.
While he was puzzled, a gust of palm wind came from the side.
Someone was attacking him from behind! Yang Kai immediately realized this, and instead of being alarmed, he was delighted. He quickly jumped up from his spot, turned his head sharply, and punched back.
His fighting spirit was intense, and he was just worried about how to vent it. He never expected someone to come to him! He no longer cared who wanted to attack him; all he wanted was a good fight!
With a thud, primordial energy surged, and Yang Kai stepped back a few steps. Xia Ningshang used the force to do a backflip and landed steadily, her beautiful eyes flashing with surprise.
Although she only used the strength of the third level of the Essence Opening stage, she shouldn't have been evenly matched with him. She should have had the upper hand.
After the first exchange, Yang Kai, under the moonlight, saw the figure of the attacker, a woman, but her face was covered with a black veil, so he couldn't see her features.
"How can it be a woman!" Yang Kai frowned, muttering in dissatisfaction.
Hearing this, Xia Ningshang was instantly furious! She gritted her teeth and lightly flew over, her palm filled with surging primordial energy, forming a myriad of palm shadows that descended upon Yang Kai.
That sentence had really angered her!
Yang Kai growled, unleashing his full strength. The hot primordial energy flowed through his fists, and he immediately engaged Xia Ningshang. Although the opponent was a woman, Yang Kai didn't hold back. Her strength was clearly a level higher than his, and every move was a killing technique. He couldn't afford to be careless.
In the lightning-fast exchange, Yang Kai and Xia Ningshang fought fiercely, but the situation was clearly unfavorable for Yang Kai. His moves were powerful and lethal, but far less agile and versatile than Xia Ningshang's. For every two moves he made, she could make three. Her light and nimble body made her seem to be toying with him like a monkey.
Yang Kai was frustrated and angry! He could sense that the opponent was slightly stronger than him, but he didn't realize that she was actually suppressing her true strength. It was strange that he could even hit her.
Under the black veil, Xia Ningshang's puffed-up little mouth slowly formed a smile. She thought, "Serves you right for talking nonsense!"
In just a moment, Yang Kai was beaten all over, and as the familiar pain spread, the blood in his body surged again, flowing like a mighty river. Listening carefully, one could even hear the sound of the waves. The warmth inside him spread, and his strength steadily increased.
Xia Ningshang's eyes showed a serious expression. She noticed that the primordial energy in this junior brother was becoming more and more powerful, and his strength was gradually breaking through the Body Tempering stage, reaching the Essence Opening stage, and still growing steadily.
The fists with the hot primordial energy became faster and heavier, and Xia Ningshang was starting to feel the strain. She wanted to increase her strength but was reluctant, so she gritted her teeth and continued to hold on.
"Who sent you to kill me?" In the midst of the fierce battle, Yang Kai suddenly asked with a dark expression, his voice low.
Xia Ningshang didn't answer, focusing on countering Yang Kai's moves.
By now, Yang Kai's strength was almost on par with hers, and she couldn't gain any advantage. Once his fist hit her, she had to divert some of her attention to neutralize the pure yang energy that invaded her body.
Xia Ningshang was deeply alarmed. She realized she had underestimated the purity of this true yang energy. This level of purity was not something ordinary martial techniques could cultivate.
In another direct confrontation, Yang Kai and Xia Ningshang's palms met, and neither of them stepped back.
Narrowing his eyes, Yang Kai looked at the woman opposite him. His gaze fell on her forehead, where there was a faint mark. He was slightly surprised and said, "I find you... you look like one of my senior sisters!"
Xia Ningshang, who was resisting Yang Kai's yang energy, was momentarily distracted. She wondered when she had exposed herself. She didn't know that it was the faint mark on her forehead that made Yang Kai suspicious.
Yang Kai remembered that Senior Sister Xia had a sapphire pendant on her forehead, right where the mark was.
Xia Ningshang's eyes blinked nervously, her long eyelashes trembling. Yang Kai laughed and suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her into his arms and reaching for her veil.
Only at this moment did Xia Ningshang come to her senses. She didn't want to reveal her true face, partly to put pressure on Yang Kai and partly because she was a bit embarrassed. After all, what happened last time was too awkward, and she didn't want him to remove her veil.
In a panic, she couldn't suppress her strength any longer, and a fierce surge of primordial energy erupted. Yang Kai let out a strange cry and was pushed far away, rolling on the ground several times.
When he got up again, the woman was nowhere to be seen. She had long disappeared.
"Could it really be her?" Yang Kai pondered. He had just said it casually, but he didn't expect such a strong reaction. Moreover, the last surge of primordial energy made him realize that the opponent's strength was much greater than his. If she really wanted to kill him, it would have been a simple matter, not a prolonged battle.
Whether it was her or not didn't matter much. Yang Kai felt that the constraints on his body had been broken with that battle. He quickly sat down cross-legged and carefully sensed the energy of heaven and earth.
In the next moment, the energy of heaven and earth surged, rushing into Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took a deep breath, his pores opening wide, like a whale drinking water, absorbing all the energy of heaven and earth into his body, guiding this vast power to flow through his body, cleansing his meridians and bones.
This was the opportunity every martial artist had when breaking through a major realm. How much benefit they gained depended on their own efforts.
A hundred feet away, Xia Ningshang, her face panicked, clutched her chest. She hadn't expected Yang Kai to see through her identity, but at least she had helped him break through, so it wasn't a waste of effort.
Just as she was in a panic, a figure appeared beside her. An old man in simple clothing suddenly appeared. His hair and beard were white, and his appearance was kind.
Recognizing the old man, Xia Ningshang quickly said respectfully, "Greetings, Uncle Master."
The old man smiled kindly, "You are not a disciple of our Lingxiao Pavilion, so there's no need for such formalities."
Xia Ningshang said softly, "But Master and my teacher are good friends, so you are naturally my uncle."