The servant quickly told Yang Kai what had happened after he had left. After hearing about the course of events and adding on his own discoveries, Yang Kai had a fair understanding of what transpired.
Walking over to the dining hall doors and carefully observing the inside with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai found that his parent’s True Qis were both fiercely circulating, the momentum spilling over from their bodies thrashing about wildly.
However, the situations faced by the husband and wife were slightly different.
Dong Su Zhu had already made a breakthrough, but the aura around her had yet to stabilize, obviously the energy within her body had not yet been fully absorbed. If she continued to refine the remaining energy, it wouldn’t be long before her new Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage cultivation would be completely consolidated.
On the other hand, Yang Ying Feng was facing some dangers. The Fourth Master had also broken through a stage, but now he was once again showing signs of breaking through.
A cultivator’s body was like a series of locked doors. Every breakthrough would unlock one of these locks allowing one to open the next door. Any cultivator, through a gradual accumulation, would be able to open these locks. This process could even be sped up by taking some Precious Treasures.
But the huge energy contained within the Myriad Drug Liquid not only allowed the Yang Family Fourth Master to open one lock in a short period of time, it had also shoved open that door and even begun to unlock a second lock.
This was a joyous event, but also a disaster.
Yang Kai too had broken through several Minor Realms before, but at that time his cultivation was very low so the danger of promoting several stages at once was quite small.
Yang Ying Feng’s circumstances were different. Although he had a chronic illness, he was still an Immortal Ascension Boundary Third Stage. Now he had broken through to the Fourth Stage what he should do was consolidate his cultivation before trying to take another step, but under the influence of the Myriad Drug Liquid, he has no leeway to do so.
If his body’s foundations and his understanding of the Martial Dao were insufficient, it was entirely possible that he wouldn’t be able to break through to the Immortal Ascension Fifth Stage, at that time, the huge amount of energy circulating through his meridians would have no outlet and could explode inside his body.
However, if his accumulation over the years was enough, then the Yang Family Fourth Master could transform this disaster into an opportunity.
Everything depended upon Yang Ying Feng’s understanding of the Martial Dao.
These thoughts all flashed across Yang Kai’s mind as he carefully swept his parents with his Divine Sense, his slightly panicked expression calming down after a while as he waved to the nearby servant, “Everything’s alright, I’ll monitor the situation here, you can go back. If anyone visits these days, tell them that father’s injury has relapsed and he is currently closing up to recover.”
“Yes Young Master,” The old servant bowed and drew back, making arrangements according to Yang Kai’s instructions.
Putting out an invisible Divine Sense barrier around the dining hall, Yang Kai isolated the energy fluctuations from any outside nosing.
As a result, no one outside would notice what was happening here.
After doing this, Yang Kai stood quietly and waited outside.
He didn’t show any more worry on his face because he had enough confidence in his father’s Martial Dao foundation.
If it weren’t for that incident all those years ago, the Yang Family Fourth Master’s cultivation wouldn’t be so low. Although the rate at which he broke through was indeed very slow, but the precipitation over time was enough to make his understanding of the Martial Dao not worse than the other members of his generation.
Moreover, the Yang Family Fourth Master’s aptitude was by no means bad, after so many years of accumulation, promoting directly to the Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage wasn’t a big deal!
The only thing that confused Yang Kai was how his parent’s had come across such a violent reaction after taking the Myriad Drug Liquid.
After half a day, Dong Su Zhu’s aura began to stabilized, probably because all the energy from the Myriad Drug Liquid had been absorbed and refined by her.
Yang Ying Feng’s aura on the other hand still continued to surge upwards, seemingly endlessly.
After another half a day, the Yang Family Fourth Master’s aura suddenly stagnated before shooting upwards, as if it had broken though a thick barrier and soared ten thousand kilometers into the sky. An overwhelming force swept forth and the energy between Heaven and Earth became turbulent.
Yang Kai grinned broadly as Dong Su Zhu’s excited exclamation came from inside the hall.
An indescribable happiness and excitement was apparent in her voice.
The momentum which had shot upwards quickly subsided and after a short time, the air became calm once more.
“Come in!” Yang Ying Feng’s firm voice sounded from inside the hall. Yang Kai scratched his nose lightly before stepping inside.
The Fourth Master’s tone was dignified, so Yang Kai knew that he would have to accept some questioning about what had just happened. This wasn’t a surprise as the effect of the Myriad Drug Liquid was simply too amazing, how could his parents not have some doubts?
Inside the hall, Yang Kai simply smiled, his eyes glancing back and forth at the messy surroundings, not taking the initiative to explain.
Dong Su Zhu also stared at Yang Kai questioningly, the look on her face somewhat distressed, biting her lip as she held back the urge to speak.
Yang Ying Feng frowned for a moment before breaking the awkward silence, “Kai’er, tell me honestly, what exactly was that medicinal liquid you gave us?”
Yang Kai hadn’t even opened his mouth yet before the Fourth Master added, “And don’t say that it’s a medicine you concocted, the grades of those materials you asked for are clear to me, it’s absolutely impossible to create such a Heaven defying treasure from those ingredients!”
“Fourth Master is wise!” Yang Kai’s face showed not the slightest sign of remorse, instead quickly speaking some obvious flattering words.
Dong Su Zhu almost couldn’t stop herself from laughing while Yang Ying Feng also suddenly felt the urge to hit his son, but he somehow maintained his questioning expression as he started straight at Yang Kai, the look on his face clearly saying he wouldn’t let the issue drop without a proper explanation.
“It’s called Myriad Drug Liquid, it’s the distilled essence of millions of different medicinal pills that through some special Spirit Arrays had been filtered and concentrated over thousands of years,” Yang Kai sighed and casually said a few shocking words.
The husband and wife couple couldn’t help gasping, staring at Yang Kai in shock.
Millions of pills, thousands of years…
As soon as they heard these words, their first thought was that their son was spinning some kind of fairy tale.
But when they saw Yang Kai’s expression, both of them knew he was telling the truth.
[No wonder it had such a powerful effect.]
The accumulated medicinal efficacies over such a massive amount of time had no doubt created an elixir which by far exceeded the level of this world. Yang Kai obtaining this liquid was obviously an incredible opportunity.
Thinking so, both husband and wife became somewhat distressed. They weren’t distraught about how precious the Myriad Drug Liquid was, but instead distressed about the no doubt difficult and dangerous experience Yang Kai must have had in order to get it.
“This is extremely precious, right?” Yang Ying Feng stared at him deeply, intentionally not asking about where Yang Kai had obtained the Myriad Drug Liquid.
“I have plenty more of it,” Yang Kai comforted his father casually, suddenly unable to hold back his curiosity, “Just how much of it did mother and father drink?”
At this question, the Yang Family Fourth Master’s expression cramped up, Dong Su Zhu face blushed awkwardly as well.
After a long time, Dong Su Zhu eventually confessed, “I drank half a glass while your father… he had a whole cup!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help bursting into laughter; he really hadn’t expected his parents to be so bold.
Although, he also felt he was partly to blame for not explaining the true efficacy of the drug, instead only telling them to take one drop per person per day. As far as his parents knew, the Myriad Drug Liquid was concocted from a variety of Heaven Grade materials, how could they have expected it to have such phenomenal potency?
The end result though was one of them breaking through a Minor Realm, while the other had actually promoted two stages, a matter worth celebrating.
“Next time, you can’t drink it like that again.” Yang Kai said seriously, trying to contain his laughter.
His parents both nodded immediately, their expression completely serious.
This time’s breakthrough could be described as an unexpected pleasant surprise. Dong Su Zhu promoting to the Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage was the equivalent of her bypassing several years of hard work.
The Yang Family Fourth Master had obtained an even greater benefit. Not only had his cultivation risen two Minor Realms, directly breaking through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage, even the Demonic Qi which had stubbornly been attached to his dantian showed signs of dissipating.
Not daring to neglect this chance, Yang Ying Feng immediately chose to close up and use the Myriad Drug Milk to completely drive out the remaining Demonic Qi which had plagued him all these years.
Dong Su Zhu also entered secluded retreat in order to stabilize her current cultivation.
All of a sudden, the Fourth Master’s residence became very peaceful, only Yang Kai and the dozen or so servants bustled about inside.
The Golden Feather Eagle would also drop by once a day to obtain its treat from Yang Kai.
Five days later, Du Cheng Bai visited and eagerly told Yang Kai a piece of good news. His application to receive a Golden Feather Eagle in exchange for a Mysterious Grade Martial Skill had been accepted by the family and he was to go go to the Elder Hall in order to complete the exchange.
This really was great news for Yang Kai.
The only headache Yang Kai faced now was which Mysterious Grade Martial Skill he should use in order to exchange for the Golden Feather Eagle.
Over the years Yang Kai had acquired a large number of Martial Skills, but there were only two that were Mysterious Grade. Apart from Star Mark, there was only the Nine Star Sword Sect’s Strike of Ten Thousand Swords. Most of the time when confronting an enemy Yang Kai preferred relying upon his True Qi’s flexibility and his instinctual reactions.
When a cultivator began cultivating, high grade Martial Skills really could provide a significant boost to their combat strength, but at Yang Kai’s level, unless it was a Mysterious Grade Martial Skill, anything of lower grade fundamentally couldn’t increase the strength he could display, the potency of his Yang Liquid and the Demonic Qi in his Unyielding Golden Skeleton were enough on their own.
Thinking it over, Yang Kai eventually decided to hand over his Star Mark Martial Skill to the family.
Firstly, the drawbacks of this Martial Skill weren’t small; one would need plenty of time in order to display its full potential. Moreover, even if someone were to cultivate it, they would encounter difficulties storing enough True Qi to all Star Mark to have any noticeable effect. Yang Kai didn’t need to worry about someone using it against him some day.
Secondly, the Strike of Ten Thousand Swords was the core inheritance of the Nine Star Sword Sect. If others knew that Yang Kai had learned this Martial Skill, they were bound to associate him with Wu Cheng Yi and Qi Jian Xing’s deaths.
The Nine Star Sword Sect wasn’t weak, if possible, Yang Kai didn’t want to make enemies of them right now.
In the Yang Family, as long as one had enough contributions, they could obtain anything they wanted, unlike in other families where you would need special relationships to receive certain things.
For the Yang Family, everything was based on your own merits.
When Yang Kai arrived at the Elder Hall and handed over the Star Mark Martial Skill, a white-haired Elder immediately gave Yang Kai a jade slip to pass on to Du Cheng Bai. After that, the Golden Feather Eagle which had followed Yang Kai would official change hands.
From now on, it would belong to Yang Kai alone, not the Yang Family.
The same day he received the Golden Feather Eagle, Yang Kai took it with him to the Bamboo Knot Gang to familiarize it with Pang Chi and the other core members of the gang so it could serve as a messenger, saving Yang Kai from having to run back and forth to receive information from them.
Three days later, Yang Wei, the eldest brother of the Yang Family’s younger generation returned to the Central Capital. On the same day, two other Yang Family direct descendants also returned.
Two days after, another returned.
The crisp cries of the Golden Feather Eagles resounded constantly throughout the Central Capital, seemingly announcing the beginning of what would surely be a tumultuous time. The world knew that the Yang Family children had returned home and that the Inheritance War would soon begin.
Upon returning to the Central Capital, the Yang Family Young Lord frequently contacted the Young Lords and Young Ladies of the other seven families, only Yang Kai stood motionless amongst the storm, as if the Inheritance War had nothing to do with him.
The ones most solicited by the Yang Family Young Lords were undoubtedly the Liu Family’s Liu Qing Yao and the Qiu Family’s Qiu Yi Meng. So far, the number of invitations they had received equaled the number of Yang Family Young Lords, minus one of course. But from beginning to end neither of these two took a clear stand about which Yang Family Young Lord they intended to support.
It was rumoured that Liu Qing Yao had only stated that he would only ally himself with someone who could defeat him!
Facing this declaration from an Immortal Ascension Boundary Third Stage master, the Yang Family’s Young Lords all couldn’t help rolling their eyes.
Of the returning Yang Family direct descendants, only Yang Wei had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage, the rest were only True Element Boundary cultivators.
It wasn’t that the Yang Family’s children had worse aptitude than Liu Qing Yao, it was simply that while they were outside for life experience, they couldn’t draw support from the main family, so with a slightly inferior environment, falling behind was only natural.
If he had access to the same resources, Yang Wei’s cultivation wouldn’t necessarily be worse than Liu Qing Yao’s.
But regardless, Liu Qing Yao’s strength and aptitude were unquestionable; on top of that, whoever could win him over would also be able to recruit the Liu Family.
With such a big boost available, all the Yang Family Young Lords were obviously anxious to recruit him, but unfortunately, none of them could meet his condition, the depression they felt was apparent.
As for Qiu Yi Meng, she hadn’t said a word, but the Yang Family Young Lord who contacted her could clearly see she had no interest in partnering with them. They also didn’t dare press her too hard, so all of them could only give up temporarily and try again later.
At night, the sky seemed dark as clouds rolled in, it seemed like a storm was brewing, leaving everyone slightly breathless.
The winds blew strongly, giving the air in the Central Capital a noticeable chill.
Yang Kai closed his eyes and sat in his courtyard, surrounded by an invisible Spiritual Energy which slowly condensed before hammering against the air.
This was Yang Kai’s second retreat since he came home, and with his persistent hard work these days, his True Element Boundary Seventh Stage cultivation had reached its peak, arriving at a bottleneck.
Although he knew he would break through this bottleneck sooner or later, Yang Kai didn’t want to idle about, waiting for that time. Since there was little he could do to enhance his True Qi cultivation, Yang Kai could only focus on cultivating his Divine Sense to see if he could find some inspiration.
Yang Kai had cultivated out his Divine Sense long ago, but strangely, until now, he still had not managed to open his Knowledge Sea.
Without a Knowledge Sea, his Divine Sense was like a rootless tree or a stagnant pool of water, if not for the constant supplement of his Soul Warming Lotus, his Divine Sense would have long ago dissipated.
It was also this reason that Yang Kai’s Soul Skills were somewhat lacking.
There were only three Minor Realms separating him from the Immortal Ascension Boundary, and Yang Kai very much looked forward to what changes his Divine Sense would show once he opened his Knowledge Sea.
Therefore, during this period of time, he had been cultivating more assiduously than ever. As long as he had free time, he would spend it cultivating.
By constantly using his Soul Skills, Yang Kai would consume his Spiritual Energy at a rapid pace, so just over an hour later he felt a sense of dizziness.
Stopping quickly, Yang Kai closed his eyes entered a meditative state.
In the middle of the night, as a light rain fell from the sky, a sudden sound of flapping wings reached Yang Kai’s ears. Raising his brow and opening his eyes, Yang Kai gazed upward.
A golden light stood out against the black night sky, rushing towards him like a bolt of lightning.
After landing atop Yang Kai’s shoulders, the Golden Feather Eagle only let out a few low cries.
Feeling the meaning conveyed from its voice, Yang Kai’s expression darkened as he quickly leapt up and flew northward.
The Golden Feather Eagle had been stationed at the Bamboo Knot Gang alongside Pang Chi for the past few days and had a dedicated caretaker there. It would only return once a day to find Yang Kai to receive its drop of Myriad Drug Liquid, but now it had actually flown back in the middle of the night, obviously the Bamboo Knot Gang had encountered some trouble.
The Bamboo Knot Gang’s forces weren’t large and the strength of their personnel wasn’t that high. There was nothing remarkable or valuable about them so generally no one would pay attention to them.
But something was clearly different tonight.
Remembering the internal quarrel the Bamboo Knot Gang had a few days ago, Yang Kai became concerned.
Ignoring the rapid consumption of his True Qi, Yang Kai managed to arrive in the North City District after only half an hour.
From the Bamboo Knot Gang’s headquarters, the sounds of battle rang out loudly. Pang Chi led a few of the gang’s masters in retreat as they endured the siege of a group of people. In the surroundings, a variety of Martial Skills and artifacts flashed and from time to time someone would fall, never to get up.
As blood flowed, the rain quietly washed it away, staining everything in its path a dark crimson.
The Bamboo Knot Gang didn’t have many members, and at the moment, their enemies numbered more than double their own, the opponent’s masters having not even needed to act. These enemy leaders simply stood by and watched the Bamboo Knot Gang struggle. With countless dead and wounded already, defeat was all but certain, it wouldn’t be long until everyone in the complex died.
Although Pang Chi was also scarred, he bitterly fought on. He had already released the Golden Feather Eagle while he confronted the enemy. Now his only hope was that their new master would bring reinforcements to rescue them.
As a Young Lord of the Yang Family, he should at least have a few masters under his command, right?
The only thing that made Pang Chi nervous was whether Yang Kai would be willing to come to their aid!
“Wu Qian!” Pang Chi roared angrily at a middle-aged man standing amongst the enemy camp, “Your Profound Light Gang and our Bamboo Knot Gang have always been well water not drawing from the river, what are you suddenly attacking us for?”
The man named Wu Qian simply sneered in response, his cold voice replying back sharply, “Pang Chi, why are you feigning ignorance? My family’s Young Lord had already said, if you don’t swear allegiance, you must die!”
“Do you not know who stands behind my Bamboo Knot Gang? Do you dare point your blade towards us?” Pang Chi spat as he continued attacking.
Wu Qian snorted before disdainfully saying, “The Eight Great Families people have never interfered in the disputes between us small forces. The Central Capital’s life is simply too boring, they only keep us around so they can have a bit of fun toying with us. Do you really think that after you die today, someone behind you will be willing to avenge you? In your dreams!”
Pang Chi’s expression was bitter; knowing what Wu Qian said wasn’t a lie.
The members of the Eight Great Families really didn’t intervene in the battles between small forces like them. For those of the Eight Great Families, if one of these little forces of theirs disappeared, it was no big deal. At worst, they could just find another one to support.
Every year, there were a countless number of small forces destroyed, but these small forces were like spring bamboo shoots after the rain, even if some of them were smashed, others would quickly sprout up to take their place.
It was for this very reason that he didn’t dare expect Yang Kai to save them.
As these two talked, on the top of a building adjacent the Clear Sky Tavern, a youth stood lazily staring at the battlefield below, a smile adoring his face as his eyes were filled with interest, seemingly enjoying a good show.
By his side, a number of Profound Light Gang masters quietly accompanied him. These masters generously pushed their True Qis not to assist in the battle below, but actually to keep the raindrops off of this young lord.
Therefore, even if he stood on the roof like this, the shirt he wore wasn’t the slightest bit wet.
As he stared at the scene before him, the young man even smiled and laughed, the masters next to him all wearing dignified expression, none of them daring to complain.
“Young Lord Huo, Bamboo Knot Gang is on the verge of collapse, do you want us to exterminate them… or are planning to collect them?” Mu Nan Dou, the man in charge of the Profound Light Gang, asked softly.
The Young Lord heard this and coldly smiled, not answering directly, instead just saying, “This Young Lord has a habit, the things I want, I must obtain on the first try, if I don’t succeed… then I don’t want it anymore, do you understand?”
Mu Nan Dou looked at him and nodded quickly, “Understood!”
The Profound Light Gang was supported by this Young Lord Huo to alleviate his boredom, how could Mu Nan Dou dare not listen to his orders?
Before, this Young Lord Huo had wanted the Bamboo Knot Gang to submit to him but was ultimately rejected by Pang Chi, which had apparently made him unhappy, so he no longer felt the need for it to exist.
Mu Nan Dou’s body flickered, wrapped up in a blue light as it quickly shot out.
But before he could engage Pang Chi and the remaining members of the Bamboo Knot Gang, a ray of light suddenly burst from sky as a devastating wave of energy descended towards him. Mu Nan Dou’s expression changed radically as he hurriedly turned around and dove towards the side.
At the same time, atop the roof with the remaining Profound Light Gang masters, several people shouted, “Young Lord, be careful!”
When Mu Nan Dou landed and looked back, he couldn’t help rubbing his eyes in doubt. He found that a young man had suddenly appeared at some point and was actually walking towards the Profound Light Gang’s masters, pointing his blade towards Young Lord Huo who stood in the middle of the crowd.
After steadying himself, Mu Nan Dou quickly flew back, at this time, what was most important was Young Lord Huo’s safety.
Before he could get halfway back though, Mu Nan Dou’s eyes are widened, because the young man before him was far too strong. The blood red sword in his hands sent out a raging Sword Qi and countless blood red petals circled around him, no one from the Profound Light Gang could resist a single one of his strikes, all of them either falling under his blade or scrambling to escape. In the blink of an eye, only Young Lord Huo remained standing.
[Did Liu Qing Yao come?]
Mu Nan Dou only had time to have such a thought before he saw the newly arrived young man walk over to Huo Young Lord and take him down with ease. The Young Lord couldn’t even react in time.
It wasn’t until then that two tyrannical Divine Senses suddenly blossomed and immediately, two grand figures appeared, standing mid-air, their eyes extremely cold.
Yang Kai grabbed the wrist of the Young Lord and held his sword across his neck. He didn’t even look at the experts from the Profound Light Gang, instead focusing all his attention on the two floating figures.
These two opponents were Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage masters, their strength not inferior to Blood Warriors!
The Huo Family was one of the Eight Great Families and since this Young Lord Huo was a Huo Family person, he was naturally guarded by a master.
For a battle between small gangs, these two masters wouldn’t appear, their responsibility was simply to monitor the surroundings in order to protect their Young Master. Both of them had actually been standing nearby their Young Lord the whole time but neither had expected Yang Kai to be so fierce, enough so that they didn’t have a chance to respond before their family’s Young Master was captured.
By the time they acted, it was already too late.
The two Divine Senses wandered about Yang Kai, hesitating for a moment before slamming against Yang Kai’s mind.
When the two Divine Senses rushed into his head though, it was like a stone being cast into the sea, not even the slightest ripples appeared.
In response to their actions, Yang Kai just sneered even more!
The two masters expressions darkened, only now realizing that the opposite party was no ordinary young person.
A True Element Boundary cultivator that could withstand the Divine Sense attack of both of them, he must have a very precious Soul artifact. Having such a high grade artifact, the identity of this youth wasn’t low. Fortunately, neither of them had any killing intent in their attack just now, their only objective was to rescue their Young Lord from the other’s hands, so even if he hadn’t resisted their Divine Sense assault, it wouldn’t have caused any permanent harm.
As such, they hadn’t torn all face so there should still be a possibility of resolution.
Looking at Yang Kai again, the eyes of the two masters became dignified, a hint of dread also flashing past.
Finally, the captured Young Lord also covered his wits, boldly stating without the slightest trace of panic, “You dare put your sword across my neck? Interesting, too interesting!”
Yang Kai grinned and said, “Is it?”
“Do you know who I am?” Huo Xing Chen chuckled and glanced back at him playfully.
“Should I?”
“Huo Family, Huo Xing Chen!”
Huo Family’s Huo Xing Chen, the only son of the Huo Family’s Patriach Huo Zheng. Huo Zheng was a tragic figure, as Patriarch of one of the Eight Great Families, he had countless wives and concubines, but after so many years, he had only been given one son, though the number of daughters he had was enough to form an all-female military guard.
In this way, he was quite similar to Blood Battle Gang’s Sect Master Hu Man.
However, he was more fortunate than Hu Man in that he had at least one son who could succeed him.
Because he was the only son of the main family, the blessings Huo Xing Chen received since birth was enormous. No matter what he wanted, the whole Huo Family would go all out to satisfy him, this in turn had cultivated his special personality.
Before the Yang Family Young Lords had returned to the Central Capital, there were three members of the younger generation whose names resounded the loudest.
The first was Liu Qing Yao of the Liu Family, having the strongest aptitude and highest cultivation. The second was the Qiu Family’s Qiu Yi Meng; not only was she a great beauty from a powerful family, but her aptitude was also amongst the best, naturally she was quite eye-catching.
Huo Xing Chen was the third, the Central Capital’s biggest delinquent. Whether it was drinking, gambling, seeking entertainment by bullying others or straight up fighting, no one in the younger generation surpassed him.
All of the Eight Great Families supported a number of underground forces, but they were often not very strict with their management, even disdaining to be involved in the frequent battles which took place between such forces, but this Young Lord Huo was different. Every time he was bored and decided to send out his underling forces to fight, he would definitely come to spectate the battle from a safe place nearby.
Accompanied by two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters not inferior to the Yang Family’s Blood Warriors, Huo Xing Chen had never worried about his safety before, but never had he expected that in a flash, under the surveillance of his two guardians, a sword would reach his neck.
Huo Xing Chen not only didn’t feel upset, but instead looked excited. When he was talking with Yang Kai, he was even secretly condensing his True Qi, waiting for an opportunity to escape from his captor.
It was this kind of life-threatening thrilling sensation that made his blood boil, giving him a rush that made him want to open his mouth and roar.
Feeling his fluctuating emotions, Yang Kai’s expression became slightly weird, gripping the blood red sword in his hand tighter as he pressed it harder against his prisoner’s throat.
“Fuck!” Huo Xing Chen couldn’t help yelling, “I already told you I’m the Huo Family’s Huo Xing Chen yet you still dare do this to me?”
Huo Xing Chen was shocked, quickly dissipating the True Qi he had just condensed for fear that the person behind him would really dare to kill him. He was starved for excitement, but it wasn’t like he didn’t care whether he lived or died.
“Who the hell are you?” Huo Xing Chen also realized that something was wrong, his name resounded throughout the Central Capital like thunder, if the other party didn’t have any status, how would he dare press a blade against his throat?
Over the course of this quick exchange, the two Immortal Ascension Boundary masters finally saw some clues, one of them cupping his fists, and politely asking, “May I ask which Young Master Yang you are?”
The young man in front of him was a stranger, and hadn’t said a word of greetings, but from his various performances, he was no doubt a junior from the Eight Great Families.
Only the Yang Family’s Young Lords who had recently returned would be unfamiliar to him!
“Yang Kai!”
“So it is Young Lord Kai!” The two old men replied before quickly cupping their firsts again.
Yang Kai simply stared back at them indifferent and nodded slightly.
As the masters talked, the battle below had already stopped. With the life of their Young Lord in the hands of an enemy, the members of the Profound Light Gang didn’t dare continue fighting; all of them had withdrawn from the compound and stood waiting for instructions.
Pang Chi and the remaining survivors down below gasped for breath as they gathered together, all of them staring up at the nearby roof in amazement, each of them showing a curious expression on their face.
They hadn’t expected that the Young Lord who had callously killed four people in front of them just a few days ago would really race through the night all alone in order to save them.
What made them even more surprised though was that he had succeeded!
Although Yang Kai’s great strength had long ago been recognized by Pang Chi, he discovered at this moment he had still underestimated his ability.
“Young Lord Kai,” One of the Huo Family masters sighed, “Can you release the Young Master first before we speak? Don’t worry, we won’t make any more moves against.”
The other master nodded as he stoically stared.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed in thought for a moment before taking back his sword.
He wasn’t worried that the other party would renege on their word just now, the Huo Family masters wouldn’t do something so stupid, both sides were well aware of this.
Regaining his, Huo Xing Chen quickly took a few steps forward and turned back to look at Yang Kai. After seeing his face, he couldn’t help but curse, “Fuck, so young! Just how old are you?”
There was a deep sense of frustration hidden in his voice. After all, he had been defeated and restrained in an instant, yet Yang Kai clearly appeared younger than him.
Yang Kai didn’t answer, instead choosing to stare coldly at him.
“Hey hey, this Young Lord is talking to you.” Huo Xing Chen angrily shouted in frustration.
“Young Master,” One of the Huo Family masters helplessly tried to restrain his Young Master. Before knowing what Yang Kai’s bottom line was, the Huo Family masters didn’t want to continue provoking him.
“Let’s talk about the situation here.” Yang Kai grinned menacingly.
“As you wish Young Lord Kai, we old men are listening.”
“Pang Chi!” Yang Kai yelled as he waved to someone below.
Pang Chi’s body trembled before quickly flying up and cupping his fists, “Young Lord.”
“Investigate the casualties.”
“Yes!” Responding solemnly, Pang Chi hurriedly returned to the ground and began assessing the damage.
In the aftermath of the war, the battlefield was a mess. Although the members of Profound Light Gang and Bamboo Knot Gang clearly stared at each other with hostility, but both sides somehow managed to restrain themselves.
Huo Xing Chen looked at Yang Kai with great interest, his face constantly wearing an aggressive grin while on the other hand, Yang Kai simply stood there and waited quietly.
As for the two Huo Family masters, they both couldn’t help nodding in approval of Yang Kai’s calm demeanor.
A while later, Pang Chi flew up again with a trace of grief on his face and replied, “Among our members, sixty eight people died, and one hundred and eighty nine are injured!”
Yang Kai turned his attention to Huo Xing Chen and stared coldly.
The latter shrugging indifferently, “Name your price, I’ll compensate you for it!”
“50,000 for each of the dead, 10,000 for each wounded, you can pay in silvers, medicinal herbs, refining materials, or precious treasures!”
“You want to extort me?” Huo Xing Chen shouted.
Although he was the only heir to the Huo Family, Yang Kai’s price was simply too high for him to afford, if he were to really pay reparations according to how Yang Kai demanded, it would be calculated in the millions.
“Young Lord Kai, isn’t this price too expensive?” One of the Huo Family masters also objected, not having expected Yang Kai’s appetite to be so big.
“No discussions,” Yang Kai shook his head firmly.
“I refuse!” Huo Xing Chen puffed up his chest and said defiantly, after acting recklessly all these years, he really didn’t fear anyone.
Yang Kai suddenly let out a laugh, “You think you have the right to bargain with me?”
As soon as he spoke, a faint floral scent wafted across everyone’s nose.
Suddenly, a red flower blossomed from Huo Xing Chen’s chest, immediately scattering into hundreds of red petals that instantly engulfed him.
*Shua Shua Shua…*
A thousands blood red petals fluttered around Huo Xing Chen’s body, tightly encircling him, each piece giving off a sharp glint, exuding a cold pressure onto Huo Xing Chen, causing his forehead to break out into cold sweat .
The Huo Family’s two masters also changed complexion.
Neither of them had noticed when Yang Kai had planted this trap on Huo Xing Chen. These thousand petals were obviously a powerful slaughtering artifact, yet somehow, right before their eyes, this Yang Family Young Lord had hidden them on their young master.
The two masters didn’t dare underestimate Yang Kai any longer, nor think of him as just another member of the younger generation. Such decisiveness and such ruthless methods were simply too shocking.
“Do you dare to kill me?” Huo Xing Chen is still put up a strong front even at this moment.
“I can let you lie in bed for a half a year or so.” Yang Kai coldly snorted, causing Huo Xing Chen’s expression to cramp.
Perceiving the frigidness and impatience in his eyes, one of the Huo Family masters quickly interjected, “Young Lord Kai, we admit defeat, we will compensate you according to what you said! Please release the young masters first.”
“Don’t try my patience any further,” Yang Kai smiled malevolently, his tone filled with the meaning of warning.
“Absolutely!” The man nodded sternly.
The thousand blood red petals suddenly condensed into a little red light and in a flash, disappeared back into Yang Kai body.
The Huo Family masters couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief while Huo Xing Chen’s face was gloomy, no one able to tell what exactly he was thinking.
Soon after, one of the Huo Family masters looked at Yang Kai thoughtfully and said, “Young Lord Kai seems to have some signs of breaking through.”
Glancing back at this master, Yang Kai nodded calmly.
He had previously reached a bottleneck in his cultivation, but although today’s battle didn’t seem very dangerous, the outcome being decided in only a few breaths of time, but facing two Huo Family high level Immortal Ascension Masters, Yang Kai still felt a fair amount of pressure.
Unexpectedly, under this pressure, it seemed like Yang Kai had loosened this bottleneck.
Seeing him openly admit it, the Huo Family’s two masters both took in a sharp breath. Huo Xing Chen was even more surprised as he stared at Yang Kai, his eyes flashing an envious look.
“It is important for the Young Lord to focus on his breakthrough. You don’t have to worry about things here, this was all a result of my family’s Young Master’s boredom, we two Elders will handle it!”
Listening to these words, both Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou looked at each other and couldn’t help smiling wryly. Both of their forces had suffered multiple injuries and deaths all because one young master’s entertainment seeking. In the eyes of these big family young masters, their lives really were worthless.
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded readily, feeling a breakthrough just around the corner, he really didn’t have any time to waste here, quickly turning around and dashing towards the Bamboo Knot Gang’s main hall.
“Yang Kai!” Huo Xing Chen suddenly shouted from behind him.
Yang Kai paused and glanced back.
“Are you going to participate in the Inheritance War?” Huo Xing Chen asked with a grin.
“Yes!”
“Good, good, good!” Huo Xing Chen laughed darkly, “Just you wait, I’ll remember you, I’ll definitely participate as well!”
Yang Kai all but ignored Huo Xing Chen, turning around and disappearing into the hall.
After Yang Kai’s figure vanished, Huo Xing Chen smiled coldly, “Interesting, too interesting!”
Seeing this look on his Young Master’s face, one of the Huo Family masters quickly said, “You Master, please restrain your angry, as long as he intends to participate in the Inheritance War, he will inevitably appear before you again. At that time, he will know that having offended you today was not a wise move.”
Huo Xing Chen nodded slightly, “You don’t need to say any more, I’m not angry. In fact, I haven’t been this happy in a long time! These kinds of small fights have really become boring, they can’t satisfy this Young Master’s appetite anymore!”
After a pause, he asked, “Right, how much money do you have on you?”
The two Huo Family masters’ faces both cramped up, shaking their heads slowly, no matter who it was, they would never bring millions of silvers with them when they went out like this.
“It’s not a good feeling owing others money,” Huo Xing Chen held his chin and muttered to himself.
Inside the Bamboo Knot Gang’s hall, Yang Kai sat cross legged on the floor, circulating his True Qi rapidly as he impacted his bottleneck.
After an hour of effort, the shackles which weighed Yang Kai down finally broke and his surging True Qi slowly subsided, his cultivation advancing another step forward.
True Element Boundary Eighth Stage!
At the moment he broke through, Yang Kai seemed to see dazzling lotus softly radiating five colours floating before his eyes.
Five Coloured Soul Warming Lotus!
Since he obtained it, Yang Kai had never seen this miraculous treasure again. Although he knew it existed somewhere in his mind and had constantly been moistening his Divine Sense, since he had still not opened his Knowledge Sea, it had always remained an ethereal existence.
Now, facing such a situation, Yang Kai was obviously delighted, even more anticipating the moment when he could open his Knowledge Sea and truly see the Soul Warming Lotus once more.
Yang Kai only had a general understanding of the strength of his Divine Sense.
He knew that it was no worse than an average Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage master’s, which was basically equivalent to having the Divine Sense intensity of an Immortal Ascension Boundary Ninth Stage master while only having a True Element Boundary cultivation. If he could really break through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary, just how much would his Spiritual Energy be enhanced after his Knowledge Sea formed?
Yang Kai impatiently looked forward to breaking through to the next Great Realm.
The Immortal Ascension Boundary had always been the supreme threshold of this world’s cultivators, only a handful of people would ever reach the Immortal Ascension Boundary and fewer still could rise even higher. The rest of the worlds cultivators could only look up at the Immortal Ascension Boundary for the rest of their lives.
Once one stepped into the Immortal Ascension Boundary, it meant that a cultivator had embarked on the road to the world’s apex, and in order to achieve this goal, countless cultivators had destroyed themselves, seeking for it day and night, pursuing it with single minded devotion.
Some people even chose to seclude themselves deep in the mountains all year round solely to understand the true meaning of strength, to spy on the mysteries of this realm.
However, most cultivators would spend their entire lives in such pursuits yet still never cross the final threshold, dying with great regret.
Even if they were lucky enough to break into the Immortal Ascension, the Immortal Ascension Boundary had nine minor realms, so the cultivator’s journey was by no means over, each advancement bringing them closer to the world’s summit.
After breaking through to the True Element Boundary Eighth Stage, Yang Kai didn’t get up right away.
Instead sitting silently in place, slowly exploring the insights this new stage had brought to him.
After he began using the Myriad Drug Liquid to cleanse his body, every breakthrough Yang Kai achieved would produce some obvious changes; at the very least he would feel significantly stronger than before.
This feeling was inexplicable, if forced to describe it, Yang Kai would only be able to say that his present self had absolute confidence in overcoming his pre-breakthrough self.
One day later, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes, remaining silent for a long time before standing up.
Opening the hall doors, he stepped outside.
Outside the hall, more than a dozen people stood, divided into two columns. Looking up and seeing Yang Kai emerge, all of them hastily cupped their fists, “Subordinate greets the Young Lord!”
Yang Kai swept his eyes over the crowd and couldn’t help but pause.
He found that the group of people standing on the left were several high-ranking members of Bamboo Knot Gang headed by Pang Chi, while on the right, several high-level executives of Profound Light Gang headed by Mu Nan Dou stood. Even Wu Qian who had formerly fought Pang Chi in a life or death struggle was saluting him respectfully.
The people on both sides bowed their heads and greeted him, but Mu Nan Dou’s expression was one of helplessness while in contrast, Pang Chi’s was full of vigor, even containing faint traces of worship.
Yang Kai frowned and looked at Mu Nan Dou suspiciously, “Why are your Profound Light Gang people here?”
Mu Nan Dou hurriedly explained, “Respond to Young Lord’s Kai, from now on, the Profound Light Gang belongs to the Young Lord and will obey any order issued to us!”
“What happened?” Yang Kai asked, even more confused.
“Young Lord, it’s like this…” Pang Chi saw the situation and quickly explained things to Yang Kai.
Apparently, after he had secluded himself in the hall to break through last night, Huo Xing Chen and the two Huo Family masters pulled out all the money they had on them, but that only amounted to several hundred thousand silvers.
Pang Chi saw that Huo Xing Chen’s expression was particularly ugly at that time so he suggested that the rest could be taken as debt and paid back later, but the Young Lord of the Huo Family seemed to despise owing others.
Although he had made the suggestion out of good intentions, Pang Chi hadn’t expected Huo Xing Chen to not say a word and instead turn around and punch him.
After thinking about it for some time, Huo Xing Chen decided to offer the Profound Light Gang as compensation!
After giving Mu Nan Dou an order to serve to Yang Kai from now on, Huo Xing Chen led the two Huo Family masters and swaggered away, leaving behind the Profound Light Gang.
The Profound Light Gang had more than a thousand members and was also known as Huo Xing Chen’s personal force. Usually, they could bluster about using his name, but now they had been traded away like loose change, Mu Nan Dou and the others were naturally depressed.
But even though he was unwilling, Mu Nan Dou didn’t dare to complain. He could only lead a group of people to stand here and wait for Yang Kai to come out.
After Pang Chi finished explaining, Mu Nan Dou’s couldn’t help lifting his head secretly to observe Yang Kai’s reaction, wondering how he would handle them.
What he didn’t expect was that Yang Kai would remain silent, his expression indifferent, completely impossible to read.
Mu Nan Dou trembled lightly as he felt some fear, quickly saying, “In fact, Young Lord Huo doing this isn’t a loss for the Young Lord.”
“Oh? How so?” Yang Kai asked flatly as he glanced at him.
Mu Nan Dou was ecstatic, knowing that this Young Lord was at least open to conversation he hurriedly explained, “The Profound Light Gang has accumulated a lot of wealth in recent years, if you were to collect all of it, it would be more than enough to compensate for last night’s damages.”
“How much exactly?”
“A couple million or so. Right, there are also a number of Precious Treasures Young Lord rewarded us with over the years.”
Yang Kai suddenly thought of something, grinning as he asked, “How does your Profound Light Gang compare with the rest of the Central Capital’s small forces?”
“Somewhere around the middle,” Mu Nan Dou laughed, “Not too big yet not too small.”
“What if you were to unite together with the Bamboo Knot Gang?”
“Definitely amongst the top fifteen forces,” Mu Nan Dou replied confidently.
“Good, from now on there will be no more Profound Light Gang!” Yang Kai looked at Pang Chi as he pointed at Mu Nan Dou, “This man will be your deputy in the future!”
“Yes!” Pang Chi was immediately overjoyed while Mu Nan Dou, though his face was bitter, once again, didn’t dare to complain, only able to laugh helplessly.
Seeing how much wealth the Profound Light Gang had accumulated, Yang Kai suddenly realized he had underestimated these small forces. Not all of them were as poor as the Bamboo Knot Gang.
Grinning fiercely, Yang Kai continued, “I want you to get familiarize yourselves with each other as soon as possible, and then… start nibbling away at the other small forces in the region.”
“Ah!” Pang Chi couldn’t help calling out in surprise while Mu Nan Dou wore a temperate expression.
“This… is this appropriate?” Pang Chi was hesitant. For the past many years, the Bamboo Knot Gang had never made aggressive moves towards its neighbours, only focusing on self-defence, yet not they had suddenly been told to become conquerors, Pang Chi was inevitably hesitant.
“What do you think?” Yang Kai glanced at Mu Nan Dou.
The latter hurriedly said, “There’s nothing wrong with following the law of the jungle. Last night, if Young Lord Kai hadn’t carved open a path with his blade, the Bamboo Knot Gang would have disappeared. In the Central Capital, battle between these small forces isn’t uncommon. Pang Chi, your mentality is too rigid.”
Pang Chi blushed in embarrassment for a while, but said nothing in retort.
“It seems like your Profound Light Gang often does this kind of thing.” Yang Kai looked at Mu Nan Dou meaningfully, the latter smiling back, “We mainly accompanied Young Lord Huo to relieve his boredom. So far, we’ve annexed two forces, but I’ve already inquired about which forces can be eaten around here, we were just waiting for a day when Young Lord Huo was bored again before leading him to watch the fun, haha…”
Now that he had a new owner, Mu Nan Dou naturally intended to perform well so he held nothing back from Yang Kai after learning about his future plans.
Pang Chi immediately realized that the situation wasn’t favourable, if he continued to allow Mu Nan Dou to take the initiative, retaining his position as Sect Master wouldn’t be guaranteed, immediately chiming in, “With Brother Mu’s help, I’m certain we can annex the local forces.”
“Very good,” Yang Kai nodded, “As for the wealth you collect, leave a portion for your own development; the rest should be used to purchase Alchemy and Artifact Refining materials of at least Earth Grade Top-Rank quality.”
“Yes!” Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou shouted together, glancing at one another knowingly, understanding that Yang Kai was preparing for the Inheritance War.
Not daring to delay, the two former adversaries led their respective people into the hall to discuss their upcoming campaign.
Standing in place for a moment, Yang Kai was amazed; he hadn’t expected Huo Xing Chen to act so decisively.
However, it was true that this wasn’t a loss for him, the number of people he could deploy as henchmen had increased and in the future, it would only continue to snowball.
……
The Fourth Master’s Residence.
When Yang Kai came back, the head servant immediately greeted him, “Young Master, the Master has instructed you to see him in his study upon your return.”
“En, understood.” Yang Kai nodded, walking over to his father’s study, pondering slightly. He couldn’t think of why the Fourth Master suddenly wanted to discuss something with him.
As he came up to the study door, before he could enter, he heard Dong Su Zhu’s voice, “You shouldn’t worry, Kai’er should be back soon.”
Yang Ying Feng suddenly complained, “You’re his mother, how come you didn’t know your son had left the house?”
Dong Su Zhu shot back immediately, “You didn’t know either! How can you suddenly try to blame others? Don’t speak so unreasonably!”
Yang Ying Feng’s face cramped up before drooping helplessly.
Two other voices let out a soft laughter at this familiar sight.
Yang Kai expression immediately changed upon hearing these voices, a smile appearing on his face, pushing the door open and walking in.
Seeing Yang Kai return, Dong Su Zhu quickly stood up and gnashed her teeth in anger, shouting, “Little brat, where did you run off to last night? Actually staying out all night without saying a word to us, do you know how worried your father and I were?”
As she spoke, Dong Su Zhu walked over to her son and gently sniffed him.
“What are you sniffing for?” The Yang Family Fourth Master asked suspiciously.
“To see whether he was out drinking last night!” Dong Su Zhu said seriously, sniffing for a while longer before wearing a relieved expression, “Fortunately there’s no smell of alcohol, or any perfume…”
“Don’t make trouble!” Yang Kai said helplessly, glancing to the side, “We have guests after all.”
“Oh…”
In the study, the Yang Family Fourth Master was sitting behind his desk while Dong Su Zhu stood nearby, but in addition, there was also a man and a woman sitting nearby. The male was burly while the woman was refined, it was the two Blood Warriors who had escorted Yang Kai back to the Central Capital, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian.
When they saw Yang Kai walk in they quickly got up from their chairs and cupped their fists to him, “Little Lord!”
Yang Kai smiled in response, “Sit down.”
Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian both took a seat once again but when they looked at Yang Kai they couldn’t help feeling amazed. They quickly discovered that Yang Kai had actually broken through again to reach the True Element Boundary Eighth Stage.
[How long has it been since the last time? Wasn’t it less than two months ago that he had his last breakthrough? Isn’t this cultivation speed a bit too unreasonable?]
When Yang Kai had broken through to the True Element Seventh Stage, they were also present. At that time, all of them had just met for the first time. At that point, the two Blood Warriors only thought that the Little Lord’s aptitude wasn’t bad, now it appeared that it was far more than just ‘not bad’.
But if so, why was it rumored that he only managed to last half a day in the Dragon Transformation Pond? Thinking about all of this, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian both secretly shook their heads, more and more feeling like they couldn’t understand the Little Lord.
“Kai’er, you sit too,” The Yang Family Fourth Master quickly said, “There are some things we need to discuss with you.”
“En.” Seeing his father’s serious expression, Yang Kai also realized that something was unusual and promptly sat down with Dong Su Zhu.
Once everyone was seated again, silence filled the room. Yang Ying Feng’s brow furrowed after a while and finally said, “First off, let me tell you that yesterday, the Elder Hall released an edict about the upcoming Inheritance War. It’s good news, for this Inheritance War, the Blood Warrior Hall will be involved!”
Yang Kai’s brow lifted slightly, a light smile appearing on his face.
The Blood Warrior Hall was the headquarters for all the Yang Family Blood Warriors. Each member was an elite amongst elite, all of them basically high-level Immortal Ascension Boundary masters who could even fight against cultivators who exceeded them by a minor realm.
With the participation of the Blood Warriors, it would be a lot easier to win the Inheritance War.
“This is good news!” Yang Kai nodded happily, unable to understand why Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian, even his father and mother all wore frowns.
“It is indeed a good thing,” Yang Ying Feng nodded, “But the Elder Hall has also decreed that although the Blood Warriors will participate in the Inheritance War, their mission will be limited to safeguarding the security of the Young Lords and cannot be used for other matters.”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled and thought for a moment before saying, “What that means is, they can only passively counterattack, and can’t take the initiative to attack, right?”
“En, the Blood Warrior’s strength is too strong, if they were allowed to proactively attack, they could solve most opponents singlehandedly,” Yang Ying Feng nodded, “There is a concern that the Young Lords will rely too heavily on that power, which would run counter to the point of the Inheritance War.”
“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded before smiling at Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian, “What do we need to do in order to recruit help from the Blood Warriors?”
The two Blood Warriors couldn’t help but marvel at Yang Kai’s insight to even be able to guess this. Yang Ying Feng also wore a proud grin, “The condition for obtaining a Blood Warrior is that you must deliver a certain amount of benefits to the family, for example, the Secret Arts and Martial Skills you learned in the Sect these past few years!”
This was a thinly disguised order from the Elder Hall to the current generation of Yang Family children to turn over the secrets they had learned from the various Sects they had joined.
This was something the family would do before every Inheritance War in order to collect various powerful methods and techniques.
After so many years, the Yang Family’s collection of Martial Skills and Secret Arts had become extremely large. Regarding the sheer number of Martial Skills and Secret Arts, the Yang Family was indisputably ranked first, even the other seven families couldn’t compare with the Yang Family on this point.
“The more things you contribute, the stronger and more powerful the Blood Warrior you can receive!”
Although each Blood Warrior was very powerful, there were still differences in strength between them. Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian were relatively powerful amongst the Blood Warrior Hall’s members, but above them there were a number of others who still exceeded them, the strongest of course having reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary Ninth Stage.
“Additionally, everyone may only receive two Blood Warriors!” Yang Ying Feng added.
“Heh heh…” Yang Kai grinned, “Are you worried that I don’t have enough to exchange in order to receive two Blood Warriors?”
Yang Ying Feng nodded lightly.
Last time, Yang Kai had turned over a Mysterious Grade Martial Skill to gain sole possession of a Golden Feather Eagle from the family. In Yang Ying Feng’s mind, his son had only been outside for a few years, how much more besides that Mysterious Grade Martial Skill could he possibly have obtained?
“You don’t have to worry about that, I’m already prepared,” Yang Kai smiled confidently. No one here was an outsider; there was no need to feign incompetence.
Yang Ying Feng suddenly remembered the Myriad Drug Liquid, immediately wrinkling his brow, “Do you want to use that thing?”
The Myriad Drug Liquid was too Heaven defying, if Yang Kai were to offer it, he would definitely be able to exchange it for the help of two Blood Warriors, but such a miraculous treasure wouldn’t be ignored by the family, which would in all likelihood bring Yang Kai a great deal of trouble. As a father, Yang Ying Feng was naturally worried.
However, Yang Kai simply shook his head.
Yang Ying Feng’s expression cramped, it wasn’t until this moment that he realized he had far underestimated his son’s harvest these past few years.
Looking towards Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian, Yang Kai smiled and said, “Tu Feng, Yu Xian, it seems that we’ll be working together once more.”
Naturally he thought that the two Blood Warriors came here this time for this matter. When he returned to the Central Capital, Tu Feng and Yu Xian had already stated that if the family were to allow Blood Warriors to participate in the Inheritance War, they wished to serve Yang Kai.
That day’s agreement still rang in his ears, Tu Feng and Yu Xian wouldn’t forget, Yang Kai obviously wouldn’t forget!
Not it seemed the time had come to fulfil that pledge.
But unexpectedly, after Yang Kai spoke these words, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian didn’t show the slightest joy, instead, their expressions were a mix of sadness and bitterness, both of them lowering their heads slightly, not daring to look at Yang Kai.
The smile on Yang Kai’s face slowly sunk, his eyes gradually turned cold as he muttered under his breath, “Do you want to give me an explanation?”
The looks on the two Blood Warrior’s faces already said a lot.
However, neither Tu Feng nor Tang Yu Xian was the kind of person who would renege on a promise so although Yang Kai wasn’t very happy, he still wanted to hear what they had to say.
Why did they have such bitter expressions? Why wouldn’t they meet his eyes?
“Kai’er…” Yang Ying Feng called out lightly, calmly interjecting, “It’s not what you think, don’t misunderstanding.”
Dong Su Zhu also hurriedly said, “Yes, son, don’t talk like this. In private I have a good friendship with Yu Xian. We often discuss about Martial Skills and cultivation techniques together. When I knew she was one of the pair which had brought you home this time I was very happy.”
Noticing the cold anger on Yang Kai’s face, Dong Su Zhu couldn’t help feeling shocked, she had never see her son have such an expression, before he had been a clever and obedient son, now it seemed he had already matured into a young man.
Seeing this look, Dong Su Zhu felt a little scared, knowing that her son had really grown up, with his own thoughts and opinions, along with times he would show happiness and anger.
With both his parents speaking temperate words, Yang Kai’s sullen look relaxed slightly as he took a deep breath, “If I really had a misunderstanding, I would have sent them out rather than say anything.”
Hesitating for a moment, he followed up, “But, I still want you to give me an explanation.”
Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian both smiled bitterly, exchanging a glance before slowly standing up, half kneeling on the ground before quickly saying, “It is not that I and Yu Xian don’t wish to serve the Young Lord. If it were possible, the two of us wished we could pledge out lives to the Little Lord, to follow you through from this day, till the end of our days!”
These words were spoken with great conviction and resounding force, instantly setting off a violent storm in Yang Ying Feng’s heart!
Tu Feng declared his intent to become his son’s servant!
Tang Yu Xian also didn’t refute!
The Blood Warrior Hall was a very special organization in the Yang Family. Being a Blood Warrior wasn’t just a title, it also was a representation of honour and loyalty, but that loyalty was always, always loyalty to the entire Yang Family, not one individual.
Many years ago, when Yang Ying Feng returned from his outside life experience, the two Blood Warriors who escorted him had lukewarm attitudes towards him at best, the whole way home they had only thought about completing their mission.
Not to mention that year, even until now the Yang Family Fourth Master had never received thoroughly respectful treatment from any Blood Warrior much less have a Blood Warrior show fealty to him.
Something he was incapable of achieving, his son had easily done, how could Yang Ying Feng not be shocked?
On the other hand, Yang Kai remained indifferent, showing neither haughtiness nor shame, as if this display couldn’t be any more normal. For a time, the Yang Family Fourth Master couldn’t help feeling a sense of frustration that the father wasn’t as good as his son.
No wonder Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian had so anxiously arrived at his house when the Elder Hall had made their decree. At the time, Yang Ying Feng had been somewhat confused, but now everything was clear.
“So, what’s the reason? What is preventing you from displaying your loyalty to me?” Yang Kai asked in a cold tone.
“It’s not that we don’t want to.” Tu Feng said embarrassedly.
Tang Yu Xian quickly added, “It’s just that, there’s something we need to ask of Little Lord!”
“Get up,” Yang Kai frowned, suddenly realizing that the reason for Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian’s chagrin was because they wanted to request something of him.
This discovery didn’t put off Yang Kai, rather it made him happy. These two really weren’t ungrateful people, it’s just that their performance was too impetuous.
However, it was also related to his own expectations of them.
Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian both slowly got up, looking a little dazed, Tang Yu Xian’s delicate face also blushed a little.
“We shouldn’t trouble Little Lord with this matter, but there isn’t anyone else we can turn to so we’ve shamelessly come to ask, we only hope that Little Lord won’t take offence.” Tu Feng sighed deeply.
“What exactly do you want to ask?”
“We’ve just finished explaining the matter to the Fourth Master. This servant is a bit sloppy with his words, so I believe it best to let Fourth Master explain.” Tu Feng said, sitting back down in a sullen mood.
Yang Kai turned his attention to his father who was calmly taking a sip from his glass, “Do you know how many of your brothers are back in the Central Capital now?”
Suddenly facing this unexpected question, Yang Kai was quite confused but still nodding lightly, “I have an idea.”
“Then are you aware of your Fourth Brother Yang Xin Wu’s situation?”
Yang Kai thought for a moment before remembering what Yang Zhao had said to him in the restaurant last time, suddenly frowning slightly, “I’ve heard about it.”
Yang Ying Feng was slightly surprised, now having expected Yang Kai to already be informed of this matter. This piece of news was quite well hidden. Seeing how his son was doing such thorough preliminary work, inquiring about various piece of news and intelligence, he suddenly felt a little more relaxed.
Yang Xin Wu, the fourth oldest amongst the current Yang Family younger generation, was ambushed and seriously injured on the way back to the Central Capital!
The two Blood Warriors who had been escorting him had both used activated their Mad Tyrant Blood Skill and fought hard but still failed to protect him.
Barely managing to escape, the two Blood Warriors hastily brought Yang Xin Wu back to the family to heal, but his condition only continued to deteriorate. No matter what precious medicines were used there wasn’t the slightest improvement and then, a few days ago, he finally succumbed to his injuries and died.
So far, of Yang Family direct descendants who had returned to the Central Capital, five of them had suffered ambushes. In addition to Yang Kai, there was also Yang Wei, Yang Kang, and Yang Ying; however, all four of them had come out relatively unharmed, in fact, apart from Yang Kang and Yang Ying who received some minor injuries, Yang Wei and Yang Kai were completely unscathed, unfortunately the same was not true for Yang Xin Wu.
The Inheritance War had yet to begin but already one of the Yang Family’s Young Lords had fallen, this was an unprecedented event, something that had never happened before.
The entire Yang Family was enraged at this development, swearing that they would find culprit and destroy all nine generations of their family.
The reason why Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian came to Yang Kai this time was precisely because of the two Blood Warriors who had been tasked with guarding Yang Xin Wu.
“Does the family want to execute them?” Yang Kai frowned, thinking of a possibility.
However, the Yang Family Fourth Master slowly shook his head, “The family doesn’t have such intentions, after all, both of them gave their all, even ended up severely injured to the point that they still haven’t healed until now. They did not dishonour the Blood Warriors so the family naturally wouldn’t sentence them to death.”
Every Blood Warrior was not easy to cultivate, and their loyalty to the Yang Family was unquestionable. As long as the Elder Hall hadn’t lost their minds, it would be impossible to kill two Blood Warriors over such an incident.
If they were to really do so, it would only serve to demoralize the rest of the Blood Warriors.
“But, punishment for this failure can’t be avoided.” The Yang Family Fourth Master shook his head.
Tu Feng continued, “Our two brothers hadn’t yet recovered from their wounds when they were sentenced to a hundred lashings. This lead to a countless number of their meridians being shattered, in this life their achievements will likely stop here…”
The whip the Yang Family used to punish crimes was no ordinary tool; it was actually a specially refined artifact. A hundred lashes from this whip was something that a Bloody Warrior at their peak state couldn’t handle, not to mention that they were heavily injured.
Some time ago, the Yang Family Fourth Master suffered thirty such lashes as was bed ridden for a few months.
Tang Yu Xian who sat beside Tu Feng also wore a sad expression.
“They failed to protect the Fourth Young Lord which greatly depressed them, now something like this happened, our two brothers… they’ve become disheartened.” Tu Feng licked his dry lips, sadness apparent on his face.
“They can’t even withstand such a blow? What use are Blood Warriors then?” Yang Kai snorted coldly.
“Kai’er!” Yang Ying Feng shouted as he stared at him sternly, “You don’t understand the depths of the Blood Warrior’s loyalty to the family. They haven’t become disheartened because their cultivation cannot improve again, what they are upset about is the death of your Fourth Brother; they feel like they have disappointed the family which so vigorously cultivated them. If your Fourth Brother hadn’t died they may be better, but now… haa…”
Yang Kai looked back at the Fourth Master silently for a long time before nodding, “Perhaps I’ve underestimated the dedication of the Blood Warriors.”
Turning his head and staring at Tu Feng, Yang Kai asked, “What is it that you want to ask of me? Do you want me to heal those two? I don’t have such great skill.”
“No.” Tu Feng shook his head slightly. “Yu Xian and I want to ask the Little Lord to elect our two brothers to fight for you in the upcoming Inheritance War!”
Yang Kai was stunned, quickly asking, “Why?”
Tu Feng quietly followed up, “Although they haven’t said as much, but we can feel that if for this Inheritance War, if no Young Lord chooses them, the two of them will destroy their cultivations as an apology to the family before secluding themselves in the mountains.”
The two Blood Warriors who had failed to protect Yang Xin Wu obviously didn’t have a favourable impression amongst the Yang Family’s younger generation, and now that they were injured and it was unknown just how long it would take for them to heal, for this time’s Inheritance War, it was unlikely anyone would choose to use them.
“Bullshit!” Yang Kai roared, “The family has spent so much money and resources to allow them to reach their present cultivation and now they want to cripple themselves? Since the Blood Warrior’s proclaim absolute loyalty to the Yang Family, their cultivation also belongs to the Yang Family’s, it’s not up to them whether they can waste themselves or not! ”
Although his words were harsh, when Tu Feng heard them he also understood the hidden meaning in them, quickly becoming excited, “Does that mean the Little Lord is willing to use them?”
Tang Yu Xian also hurriedly added, “As long as they feel that they are still useful, they will not be so pessimistic.”
“When did I say that?” Yang Kai couldn’t help rolling his eyes, suddenly discovering that Tu Feng was quicker on the uptake than he imagined.
However, Yang Kai finally understood why Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian had sought him out today. He also understood why they said that if they could, they would like to serve him, but the circumstances made that difficult.
If he were to really agree to Tu Feng’s request, he could only choose those two Blood Warriors, as for Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian, who he was familiar with, they were destined to fall into the hands of others.
“Though we know this is a shameless request, of the Young Lords of this generation, the only one Yu Xian and I are familiar with is the Little Lord. The other Blood Warriors and other Young Lords haven’t exchanged many words, so for such a favour, we can only ask Little Lord.”
“Hmph, who made you Blood Warriors all have eyes on top of your heads, each of you acting aloof and indifferent to everyone else?” Yang Kai spat disdainfully.
Tu Feng laughed at this though and replied, “The other Young Lords simply didn’t have the ability to gain our acknowledgement.”
Yang Ying Feng and Dong Su Zhu both heard these words and unconsciously turned to each other, each of them seeing the shock and joy in the other’s eyes.
In other words, Yang Kai had thoroughly gained Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian’s acknowledgement.
“Little Lord…” Tu Feng rubbed his big hands nervously, his face wearing a complicated expression, Tang Yu Xian also beside him doing the same, her pretty face filled with the meaning of entreaty.
Yang Kai said nothing, his face gloomy, and his fingers tapping on the arm of his chair loudly.
The room was still and silent, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian both felt their hearts stuck in their throat as they stared towards Yang Kai, waiting for his decision.
The Fourth Master picked up his cup again and squinted, his expression meticulous, showing no intention to speak. Dong Su Zhu also lowered her head, twiddling her thumbs round and round, seemingly trying to distract herself.
His parents were clearly indicating that this would be Yang Kai’s decision alone.
After a cup of tea’s worth of time, Yang Kai suddenly stopped tapping his fingers, raising his eyes and staring at Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian, causing both of them to inhale sharply.
“If I say I don’t want to use them?” Yang Kai looked at the pair, asking seriously.
Tu Feng smiled bitterly and replied without hesitation, “Little Lord’s consideration is enough. At least I will know that Little Lord prefers to have Yu Xian and I serve you, this is an honour for both of us!”
Tang Yu Xian also nodded firmly, her face full of gratitude.
Yang Kai’s eyes suddenly became as sharp as an eagle’s as he quietly asked, “Are you willing to become my enemies?”
Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian’s expressions both instantly became solemn as they replied, “We hope such a day will never come!”
“You should pray hard that you aren’t chosen by my brothers,” Yang Kai grinned, his face filled with confidence, “But even if you are chosen by them, I will definitely take you back!”
Hearing Yang Kai’s words, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian were both overjoyed as they hurriedly stood up from their chairs, “Does that mean Little Lord is willing?”
Yang Kai nodded and somewhat reluctantly said, “Actually… I’ve never met these two before and would not have preferred to do this, but since you two have come here in person to ask this of me, I am willing to accept your request.”
“On behalf of the entire Blood Warrior Hall, we thank the Little Lord!” Tu Feng shouted.
“Thank you, Little Lord!” Tang Yu Xian’s pretty face also showed a faint blush and a happy smile.
“Go back. Tomorrow, I will handle things at the Elder Hall.” Yang Kai waved.
“Yes!” Both of them didn’t hide their excitement as they quickly walked to the exit, apparently wanting to convey this good news to the Blood Warrior Hall as soon as possible.
When he reached the door though, Tu Feng suddenly turned back and said, “Little Lord, although our two brothers are now seriously injured and cannot provide you with much help, but… their original aptitudes are both superb.”
“Oh? How are they compared to you?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“Both of them are better than us!” Tu Feng replied respectfully, “Hall Master once said that if they had enough opportunities, it was very likely they could break through to the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary!”
“En, I understand.” Yang Kai nodded slightly, showing no surprise or expectation.
Tu Feng nodded lightly before turning around and leaving together with Tang Yu Xian.
When it was just the three family members left in the house, Yang Ying Feng commented, “I’ve heard the names of those two before, it is said that they have the best aptitude amongst all the Blood Warriors in the Blood Warrior Hall. If they are allowed to quit because of this incident and seclude themselves in the mountains, it would be a great loss to the Yang Family.”
Over the past few years, only one Hall Master from the Blood Warrior Hall had managed to break through to the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary; he was now a Grand Elder of Yang Family with considerable influence.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “Father, your words are a bit much, even if the Yang Family suffered a loss or not, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Yang Ying Feng laughed despite trying not to, “I understand.”
It was precisely because of the family’s strength was too great while feelings of kinship were too light that each generation’s juniors didn’t have much sense of belonging to the family, if it weren’t so, there wouldn’t be a need for the brothers to fight in the Inheritance War when they returned from their outside life experience.
“But Kai’er, this time you’ve made a big profit.” Yang Ying Feng said with a pleased smile.
Yang Kai also nodded repeatedly, “That’s true, but I still hope that Tu Feng and Yu Xian will follow when the time comes, after all we’re already familiar with each other.”
“Profit? What profit? You father and son stop acting mysteriously.” Dong Su Zhu heard their discussion and couldn’t quite understand, immediately asking, “Hasn’t our son just suffered a big loss?”
Accepting two Blood Warriors who were both seriously injured and couldn’t help Yang Kai in the short term, even if they managed to recover, they wouldn’t necessarily provide more help to Yang Kai than Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian.
Yang Kai and the Fourth Master smiled at each other knowingly, the former slowly getting up and saying, “Please explain things to mother, I have to go back and prepare, I’ll visit the Elder Hall tomorrow.”
“Good, go on,” Yang Ying Feng waved his hand as he stared at Yang Kai’s back, a slightly complex feeling welling up inside him.
[He sure has grown. My son really has grown up!] Whether it was his thoughts or his means, they were already much stronger than his own when he was his son’s age. On top of that, he had so many magical things on his body; it was really difficult to imagine just what he had experienced these past few years.
Inside the room, Dong Su Zhu continued pestering her husband, sitting on the Fourth Master’s lap, gently tugging at his beard as she asked, “What exactly did our son gain here?”
The Fourth Master smiled warmly as he began to explain.
Yang Family Elder Hall.
The hall was huge and spacious, the floor covered with thick elegant carpeting, many beautiful landscape paintings adorned the walls and an incense burner in the middle of the hall filled the air with a pure calming fragrance. The roof was made from the finest stone with many inlaid gems which seemed to sparkle like stars.
A few gray-haired old men dressed in simple robes either sat or stood about, studying various scriptures or practicing different Secret Arts, thoroughly engaging in their study of the Martial Dao.
Each of these old men seemed ordinary, their Spiritual Essence completely restrained, almost indistinguishable for common old men one might find out on the streets, but in fact, each of them was a powerful and well known master.
At the head of the hall, Yang Zhen sat upon his chair. Although he was old and his hair was thinning, his eyes still held a youthful and animated light.
As one of the leaders of the Elder Hall, plus as an older man, it wasn’t convenient for him to go out much. Unlike the younger generations he couldn’t run around outside making contributions to the Yang Family so Yang Zhen sat in the Elder Hall all the year round along with a number of other Elders in order to handle various internal affairs.
At this time, Yang Zhen’s eyelids were drooping slightly, looking quite indifferent, his hands tucked into his sleeves folded across his chest as he listened to a young man in front of him talking about various things.
After a while, the young man finished and then looked up at Yang Zhen with nervous eyes, waiting for him to give a reply.
Slowly opening his eyes, the seemingly uninterested eyes of Yang Zhen flashed with light as he stared at the young man coldly, his expression darkening.
“Waste!” Yang Zhen roared, “You spent all these years outside but can only bring back this trash to my Yang Family? You want to trade these pieces of garbage for the services of a Blood Warrior? You must think I’ve become senile with old age!”
The young man who was harshly reprimanded by Yang Zhen blushed red with embarrassment.
“Go back, I’ll take down what you’ve brought back with you, but know that it is not enough to have any one of the Blood Warriors follow you,” Yang Zhen waved, impatiently adding, “When you have enough merits you may return to speak with us again, but with the Inheritance War about to begin, I’m afraid you won’t have time prepare any. For this Inheritance War, you should give up as soon as possible to avoid embarrassing yourself.”
The young man looked blank, letting out an exasperated sigh, his eyes filled with reluctance, opening his mouth to plead, “Elder, if I could use all of this to exchange for at least one…”
But before he could finish his words, he was mercilessly cut off by Yang Zhen, “If I say it’s not enough then it is not enough! Roll out! Don’t waste any more of our time.”
After the angry shout, an invisible force struck the young man and directly shot him out of the Elder Hall.
The entire building creaked under the residual pressure but none of the white haired Elders moved, like they were made of stone, completely oblivious to what had just taken place, instead only focusing on their own pursuits.
Outside the hall, the young man picked himself up, his face filled with shame, his cheeks a deep shade of red, clenching his fists tightly before angrily leaving.
Yang Kai, who had just arrived at the entrance of the hall, witness the entire scene and couldn’t help feeling slightly bitter.
The young man who was ejected from the hall was Yang Tie, Yang Kai’s Third Brother.
After the family announced that Blood Warriors would be allowed to participate in the Inheritance War, the various Young Lords had started moving quickly, exchanging the valuables they had acquired outside for the services of the Blood Warriors.
It seemed like Yang Tie hadn’t gotten anything too valuable over these past few years so he had been berated by the Elders.
“Seems Third Brother didn’t have enough.” Someone suddenly spoke out from beside Yang Kai, a tinge of regret in their voice.
Yang Kai looked over towards where the voice came from and saw Yang Zhao standing there with a sad look on his face, looking Yang Tie’s disappearing back, shaking his head.
“Second Brother!” Yang Kai walked over and greeted him.
“Brother Kai,” Yang Zhao smiled confidently.
Yang Kai then turned his gaze to another person who stood beside Yang Zhao. This young man stood there as straight as a sword, giving off an aura that made it seem like if the Heaven’s collapsed and the Earth split apart he would remain calm and indifferent from beginning to end, forever unchanging. It was only when Yang Zhao shouted out to Yang Kai that this youth turned his eyes shifted.
“Eldest Brother!” Yang Kai knew who he was in an instant.
The Yang Family younger generation’s only Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivator, his Eldest Brother Yang Wei!
“Brother Kai?” Yang Wei’s eyes showed a flash of shock. When Yang Kai greeted him, inexplicably, he felt his own True Qi fluctuate uncontrollably. Only when he felt pressure from an opponent would such a phenomenon appear.
Using his recently cultivated Divine Sense, Yang Wei swept over Yang Kai and found that he had only reached the True Element Eighth Stage. But still, he couldn’t help but frown, a suspicion welling up inside his heart, not quite able to understand why Yang Kai would give him such pressure, even if it only lasted a moment.
“I haven’t seen you for a few years, and yet you’ve grown up to this point.” Yang Wei nodded lightly, showing a touch of approval in his eyes.
As soon as he finished these words though, a feeling of shock surged through him.
Just five or six years ago, the little brother that stood in front of him couldn’t even cultivate, he was no better than an ordinary mortal with no strength to speak of, but now, after so short a time, he had reached the True Element Boundary Eighth Stage!
Although this realm was still lower than his own, the time his youngest brother had cultivated for was eight or more years shorter as well! Never had he expected that after a short separation Yang Kai would undergo such a massive change.
Yang Wei finally realized why his youngest brother would give him a sense of pressure. With such shocking cultivation speed, if he gave him some time, he would certainly surpass him one day!
“Has little brother also come to exchange some merits?” Yang Zhao looked at Yang Kai and chuckled, the latter nodding slightly and smiling bitterly, “There’s no choice, the family said to come, so I have to come.”
“Ha ha!” Yang Zhao laughed and patted Yang Kai’s shoulder intimately, “Why else do you think the family has so much in storage? It’s all things we’ve stolen from outside.”
“Everything belongs to the family, one day you’ll be able to use it for yourself.” Yang Wei seemed to be born with a cold face. In Yang Kai’s memory, he never laughed, nor said many words, he was always stoic, but his actions were always vigorous and resolute.
Listening to him, Yang Zhao and Yang Kai also stopped bantering about this subject.
“Are you going to exchange for the Two Blood Warriors that brought you back? I saw that they treated you quite well,” Yang Zhao asked seemingly offhandedly.
However, Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “I have other candidates in mind.”
Yang Zhao couldn’t help feeling surprised, wondering why Yang Kai wouldn’t choose to have Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian serve him.
But obviously Yang Kai wasn’t about to explain, instead quickly changing the subject, “Fifth Brother? Why isn’t Fifth Brother with you?”
Yang Zhao and Yang Kang were blood related brothers, they had always been inseparable and generally where one appeared the other would too.
To the side thought, Yang Wei scoffed loudly, “With me here, do you think he dares to appear?”
Yang Zhao and Yang Kai’s necks both shrank as they quickly exchanged a knowing glance. It wasn’t just Yang Kang who feared this cold faced big brother of theirs, all the members of the Yang Family younger generation had a sense of trepidation around him.
This wasn’t simply related to Yang Wei being the oldest.
“I’m going ahead,” Yang Wei casually gestured, striding forward confidently into the Elder Hall.
After a short while, he walked out again and without saying a word, strode away.
Yang Zhao shook his head and said with a wry smile, “Eldest Brother still doesn’t like talking much, even though the rest of us brothers want to be closer to him.”
“It’s just his character,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, in fact, he actually appreciated Yang Wei’s personality, no nonsense, no tricks or schemes, what he said was what he meant, what he did was what he wanted to do, living such a life must be liberating.
“Well, Second Brother will be going next, wait here for a bit.”
“En, go ahead.”
A long time later, Yang Zhao walked out with a big smile on his face, apparently very satisfied with his results. After he stepped out of the Elder Hall, Yang Kai stepped forward.
Seeing Yang Kai come in, Yang Zhen stared at him with sharp eyes. After Yang Kai walked up to him and bowed respectfully, Yang Zhen suddenly laughed and said, “Little brat, I remember you, last time you were here you exchanged a Mysterious Grade Martial Skill for ownership of a Golden Feather Eagle.”
“Yes,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, the last time he had visited the Elder Hall was indeed to obtain his Golden Feather Eagle. It was also Yang Zhen who he spoke with at the time and whom he obtained the jade slip which allowed him to redeem the Golden Feather Eagle from Du Cheng Bai, Yang Zhen naturally remembered such a recent event.
Grinning happily, Yang Zhen asked, “Do you regret it? Hahahaha! This old master knows you must regret it! Using a Mysterious Grade Martial Skill to trade for an only slightly useful Monster Beast, you really lost money on that! That skill could have been used to have a Blood Warrior serve you!”
It seemed like being able to see Yang Kai squirm made this old guy very happy.
Unfortunately for him, Yang Kai simply shook his head and smiled incomprehensibly, “I don’t regret it, and even if I did it wouldn’t change anything, it would only add to Elder’s troubles.”
Yang Zhen coldly snorted, muttering under his breath, “Dead duck’s mouth is hard!”
He obviously thought that Yang Kai was pretending to be generous while in reality his guts were turning green with regret.
“Good, then let’s see what you’ve brought to offer, I hope you can surprise me this time as well!” Yang Zhen’s hands still remained tucked into his sleeves, his expression carefree, “Speak, how many Blood Warriors are you here to obtain?”
“Two, since we can only receive two then of course I must obtain two!”
The smile on Yang Zhen’s face slowly converged as he stared at Yang Kai coldly, his eyes becoming serious. Even the other white-haired old men in the room perked up their ears and stopped the movement of their hands, turning their heads to observe.
In an instant, all the eyes in the hall were staring at Yang Kai, all of these old men wearing curious expressions, like they were looking forward to watching a good show.
The Yang Family’s Young Lords had all been sent out to various first-class forces for their life experience. The heritage of a first-class force wasn’t too deep, and what these Young Lord’s could obtain in such a short time was obviously not everything there was.
In order to exchange for the services of a Blood Warrior, the minimum offering would need to be a Mysterious Grade or three sets of Heaven Grade Top-Rank Martial Skills or Secret Arts.
The last time Yang Kai was here he had offered the family a Mysterious Grade Martial Skills, yet now he confidently said he wanted to obtain two Blood Warriors.
Didn’t that mean he had another two Mysterious Grade Martial Skills?
That was simply impossible! Martial Skills and Secret Arts of the Mysterious Grade wouldn’t be so valuable if they could be obtained so easily.
Everyone in the hall didn’t think that Yang Kai was able to offer up so much, so naturally they thought he didn’t understand the rules or overestimated his own chips.
One by one, all of them prepared to watch an entertaining farce.
After a long silence, Yang Zhen grinned and said casually, “Then let’s talk about your chips, this old master will evaluate whether or not what you’ve brought to us can be exchanged for two Blood Warriors.”
Yang Kai nodded confidently before taking out two white jade slips from his sleeve and placing them table in front of Yang Zhen.
Yang Zhen’s brow furrowed, an impatient look appearing on his face as he coldly snorted, pulling his hand out of his sleeve picking up one of the jade slips, reading its content with his Divine Sense.
Using True Qi to create markings inside a jade slip to convey information which was inconvenient to describe in words was a difficult technique, only those with extremely precise control of their True Qi could accomplish it.
So, when Yang Zhen saw Yang Kai take out two pieces of jade, he knew that what was recorded within was certainly of great value.
His Divine Sense swept over the jade slip, examining it carefully.
Suddenly, Yang Zhen’s brow wrinkled as his expression became dignified, and after a while, his eyes became filled with doubt which gradually changed to shock; quickly followed by amazement.
With the rapid changes in Yang Zhen’s eyes, his expression also became excited.
The old men who were going anticipating watching a good show saw Yang Zhen’s expression and couldn’t help becoming interested, wondering what exactly could provoke such a response from him.
A while later, Yang Zhen took a deep breath and slowly withdrew his Divine Sense from the jade. Turned his gaze towards Yang Kai and staring curiously before picking up the other jade slip.
As he examined this jade slip, it was as if the previous event were replaying themselves, the various expression changes on Yang Zhen’s face once again showing themselves in almost the exact same order.
The white haired Elders in the hall finally couldn’t sit still, many of them having gotten up gathered around quietly before anyone had noticed.
In no time at all, Yang Kai was squeezed out from this circle as all these old men gathered around and waited for Yang Zhen to retrieve his Divine Sense.
“What exactly is recorded in these?” An Elder couldn’t help but wonder what Yang Kai had brought back that could actually cause Yang Zhen to pay so much attention to it, as he spoke, reaching out for the other jade slip on the table.
But before he could pick it up, Yang Zhen snatched it back and gave this Elder a sharp glance.
“Little brat, come here!” Yang Zhen waved his hand and calmly pushed the curiously staring Elders aside.
“Disciple obeys,” Yang Kai stepped forward unhesitantly. By generation, Yang Zhen should be a character from Yang Kai’s grandfather’s age so he should refer to himself as Junior, but in the Yang Family, there was generally no familial kinship unless they were on particularly good terms.
Holding the two pieces of jade, Yang Zhen frowned, his old face turning slightly red as he asked aloud, “What are these?”
“You don’t even know what they are yet you’re so interested in them?” One of the white haired Elders blurted out, everyone else in the hall also slowly shaking their heads, all of their expectations suddenly somewhat dampened.
“Two Spirit Arrays.”
“Bloody Hell!” Yang Zhen snorted, “This old master isn’t a fool. Of course I know these are Spirit Arrays, what I’m asking is what these Spirit Arrays are for!”
As he spoke, Yang Zhen’s face grew even redder.
He was a very old man, and his experience was extremely rich, but at this moment, he couldn’t even identify something a junior two generations below him had presented him with, naturally he felt a little shame.
Yang Kai scratched his nose awkwardly before replying, “Spirit Arrays used for Alchemy!”
Yang Zhen was suddenly stunned, “These things are used for Alchemy?”
Shaking his head repeatedly, Yang Zhen continued, “Alchemy indeed uses a lot of Spirit Arrays, this old man has also seen many of them, but none of them come even close to the complexity of these Spirit Arrays. If one wanted to portray this kind of Spirit Array on a pill stove, it would be rather cumbersome and would cost an Alchemist more Spiritual Energy and True Qi than normal. Are you sure these two Spirit Arrays are useful?”
“Definitely!”
“Explain then, what are these used for?” Yang Zhen frowned. He didn’t quite understand Alchemy. Naturally, he couldn’t see through the mysteries of these Spirit Arrays, only able to subconsciously understand that they were extremely complicated and mysterious. Although these were definitely good thing, there were also some obvious drawbacks.
“One of them can improve the success rate of Alchemy refinement,” Yang Kai said flatly, “In other words, if an Alchemist’s chance to successfully refine a pill is only sixty percent, then by employing this Spirit Array, their success rate will improve to ninety percent!”
At these words, Yang Zhen almost jumped out of his seat.
Ninety percent! Even though he didn’t understand the Alchemic Dao, Yang Zhen knew that it was almost impossible for an Alchemist to guarantee a ninety percent pill refinement rate. The average Alchemist would often have a sixty to seventy percent success rate. This meant that for every ten sets of Alchemy materials, they could only refine six or seven pills.
Elite Alchemists could achieve around an eighty percent success rate while disciples from Medicine King’s Valley were mostly around this level. But now, if this Spirit Array really could improve the chances of successfully refining a pill by thirty percent, didn’t that mean that an elite Alchemist who used this Spirit Array could guarantee a one hundred percent chance of success?
Over the months and years, how much material could be saved? How much time and energy could be saved?
In an instant, Yang Zhen realized just how precious this Spirit Array was.
Of course, the premise was that what Yang Kai had said was true.
“What about the other one?” Yang Zhen pressed down the shock in his heart and tried to speak in a calm tone.
“This one gives a certain chance to improve the quality of a pill!” Yang Kai said lightly.
“What do you mean?” Yang Zhen’s brow subconsciously knit as he anxiously asked, his breathing becoming slightly hurried. If his understanding was correct, then the value of this second Spirit Array was even bigger than the previous one!
“If one were to be refining a Heaven Grade Mid-Rank pill, by using this Spirit Array, there is a possibility that the end result will be a Heaven Grade Top-Rank pill,” Yang Kai patiently explained, adding, “This chance isn’t that great, but it is a chance nonetheless!”
All the Elders in the hall sucked in a sharp breath, all of them understood the value of this Spirit Array.
One of them asked nervously, “What if we were to refine a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank pill using this Spirit Array?”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and smiled, “If their luck is good, a Spirit Grade pill will appear.”
Spirit Grade! These two resounded like thunder in everyone’s ears, causing several of the Elders present to stumble, each of them staring fixedly at Yang Kai, wanting to see from his face whether he was cracking a joke.
However, Yang Kai remained completely calm!
These two Spirit Arrays were obtained from the True Alchemic Way, it was obviously impossible for them to be useless.
The entire Elder Hall was deathly silent, the group of old men all stood in place, some of them thinking about the value of these Spirit Arrays, some of them wondering whether Yang Kai’s words were true or false.
Only after a long silence did Yang Zhen suddenly recover, turning his gaze to stare at Yang Kai with a grim expression, “Little brat, do you know what kind of punishment awaits you if you lying to the Elder Hall? Even if you are a direct descendant of the Yang Family, if you dare try to deceive us I’ll make sure you die without burial right here right now!”
“Whether I’m lying or not, all you need to do is find someone who knows how to verify it,” Yang Kai replied, his brow wrinkling slightly.
“Good good!” Yang Zhen sneered, turning to one of the other Elders in the hall and shouting, “Go call Cheng Bai Lian from the Alchemy Hall.”
“En.” A fat Elder replied, his body flickering as he disappeared.
Cheng Bai Lian, the Yang Family’s Chief Alchemist! He was also an Alchemy Grandmaster whose name was famous around the world, but compared with Xiao Fu Sheng, he was still slightly inferior.
Xiao Fu Sheng was a Mysterious Grade Top-Rank Alchemist, the only one in the entire Great Han Dynasty whereas Cheng Bai Lian was just a Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist.
Although there was only a single rank of difference between them, but this single rank actually represented a massive gulf, enough so that Cheng Bai Lian could only look up to Xiao Fu Sheng with the utmost respect.
“Brat, it’s too late to regret now, when Cheng Bai Lian comes here and gives his opinion, this old master won’t spare you,” Yang Zhen sneered as he made a final probe.
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled further, dissatisfaction appearing on his face, “Elder Zhen, I put out these two Spirit Arrays not just because I want two Blood Warriors to follow me, I also whole heartedly wished to give these things to Yang Family so that it can enjoy their benefits. After all, this is the place where I was born. If I had only wanted two Blood Warriors, a single one of these Spirit Arrays would be more than enough, why would I need to bring out two? Whether what I’m saying is true or false, I believe Elder Zhen should understand.”
Yang Zhen stared at him pondered for a moment, quickly thinking that what Yang Kai said made some sense, his expression relaxing slightly as he nodded, “You’re right, maybe this old master is being overly cautious, but in any case, we’ll soon know. If they’re real then your contribution to the family will definitely be recognized, if it is fake… heh heh!”
Finished speaking, Yang Zhen frowned and began looking over the two Spirit Array Jades again, trying to unravel at least some of their mysteries.
An hour or so later, the fat Elder who had rushed out before brought over a roughly fifty years old man.
When this man entered the Elder Hall, he wore a thick gloom on his face.
Once inside, not even waiting for Yang Zhen to speak, Cheng Bai Lian roared angrily, “Yang Zhen! Do you know what you’ve done? This old master was refining a Xuan Qing Pill when you summoned me! This old master was at a critical moment in the refining process when I was disturbed! You better compensate me for that furnace worth of material or this old master swears he won’t give your Yang Family any pills for three months!”
“Fine fine, I’ll compensate you!” Yang Zhen’s face went black, mechanically nodding again and again.
Although he was called by name by someone much younger than himself, and even more so was angrily scolded, Yang Zhen held his temper. After all, this man was the Chief Alchemist of the Yang Family. Many high-quality pills that the family needed were refined by him, so even though the gap in their cultivation and age was huge, Yang Zhen had no choice but to swallow his anger.
One cannot easily offend an Alchemist, especially one of high skill.
Cheng Bai Lian snorted and said, “That was a Heaven Grade Top-Rank pill. Although it wasn’t too expensive, it had cost this old master a lot of thought and effort, but seeing you act appropriately enough, 500,000 will do.”
Yang Zhen’s expression became even darker, doing his best to endure as he quickly changed the subject, “Let’s stop talking about this for now. We need to discuss the reason as to your summon.”
Cheng Bai Lian nodded before glancing at Yang Kai who was standing nearby, “I heard about it on the way. You say these two Spirit Arrays were brought back by this little brat?”
“Good, I want you to see if these things are really useful.” Yang Zhen handed over the two jade slips.
Cheng Bai Lian took the jade slips from him before sneering, “This old master has pursued the Alchemic Way for many years and has studied a great number of Spirit Arrays, but never once have I heard of such a magical Spirit Array. It seems that you’ve grown more confused as the years pass by, actually being so easily deceived. Now that you’ve been tricked you want to drag this old master into the muddy water, if this were to spread out what face would you have left?”
“Enough nonsense, just take a look!” Yang Zhen was enraged by Cheng Bai Lian’s taunting, but he really had nowhere to vent his frustrations, his old face turning purple with anger, secretly deciding that if Yang Kai really was lying to him, he would absolutely not let him off lightly.
Cheng Bai Lian found a place nearby and took a seat, his expression extremely relaxed as he casually released his Divine Sense into the jade examine it.
The entire Elder Hall except Yang Kai stared at him, wondering how he would evaluate these two Spirit Arrays.
But just as Cheng Bai Lian began using his Divine Sense to studying the jade’s content, he suddenly let out a scream, his body which had just sat down jumping up as his face showed an incredible expression.
Everyone who was holding their breath and waiting nervously also jumped in shock at this unexpected display.
“What happened?” Yang Zhen asked as he looked at Cheng Bai Lian with disappointment, “At such an age, getting so excited about something after merely a glance, please have some self-respect!”
However, Cheng Bai Lian completely ignored Yang Zhen, his eyes spinning round and round, a look of pure shock and joy flashing across his face. He turned and stared at Yang Kai for a moment, and in the next moment, his figure flickered and directly appeared in front of him, grabbing his shoulders in a vice grip as if he feared that Yang Kai would run away, asking in a slightly trembling voice, “Little brat, this Spirit Array… you… where did you get it?”
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, faintly becoming aware of something before replying, “Medicine King’s Valley, Hidden Cloud Peak!”
Cheng Bai Lian’s body shook at these words, his face frozen in place as if he’d just been struck by lightning, a moment later nodding over and over again, “I knew it, I knew it…”
Saying so, he re-focused his gaze on Yang Kai again, hastily asking, “What is your relationship with Grandmaster Xiao?”
“Nothing much, I just stayed on Hidden Cloud Peak for about two months,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head and said in a low-key manner.
Cheng Bai Lian’s look suddenly became frigid as he glared at Yang Kai, the coldness in his eyes gradually becoming piercing as he spoke in an icy tone, “So you stole this Spirit Array?”
Yang Kai shook his head lightly in reply, “Grandmaster Xiao taught it to me.”
Cheng Bai Lian couldn’t understand why this young man who claimed to have nothing to do with Grandmaster Xiao would be taught these two precious Spirit Arrays, but he soon smiled again, “Good good good! Alchemy techniques can’t be stolen, definitely not, but since the Grandmaster taught you, then it’s alright.”
He obviously thought that Yang Kai had reservations about admitting his relationship with Xiao Fu Sheng to the public.
Although the conversation between the two was only a few words, it had let the Elders of the Elder Hall recognize something.
These two Spirit Arrays that Yang Zhen couldn’t identify… seemed to have a big background!
“Does Senior recognize this Spirit Array?” Yang Kai asked curiously. If Cheng Bai Lian didn’t recognize this Spirit Array, he wouldn’t have reacted so strongly to it, but this was something Yang Kai had gained from the True Alchemic Way, how could Cheng Bai Lian also know it?
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, Yang Zhen and the other Elders turned their eyes to Cheng Bai Lian, who simply shook his head and smiled, a far-off look of nostalgia surfacing in his eyes.
“Damn it, tell us already!” Yang Zhen had reached his limit, loudly cursing as he demanded an explanation from Cheng Bai Lian.
At any other time, the Yang Family’s Chief Alchemist wouldn’t have remained silent for so long, but right now he seemed to be completely absorbed in his thoughts, only speaking again after an extended silence, “Thirty years ago, at Medicine King’s Valley’s Alchemy Summit, I had the privilege of studying this Spirit Array once, but at the time it was only a half completed product.”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched, suddenly understanding what had happened.
“For that time’s Alchemy Summit, many geniuses came forth competed against one another! This old master passed through many trials and defeated dozens of opponents, advancing all the way to the finals, but in the end, I myself was defeated at the hands of another, that man was Xiao Fu Sheng!” Cheng Bai Lian looked at Yang Kai with a smile, “Grandmaster Xiao is a genius, born for the Alchemic Way, losing to him was not shameful in the slightest!”
Yang Zhen folded his arms and snorted. As a cultivator of the Martial Dao, he naturally didn’t understand the Alchemic Way, nor did he understand about the admiration and mutual understanding between high level Alchemists.
“The best young Alchemists at that summit were given the privilege of visiting Pill Saint’s Peak to pay tribute to the Pill Saint’s Portrait and ponder the Alchemic Way.” Cheng Bai Lian said, immersing himself in his memories, “Xiao Fu Sheng and I mounted Pill Saint’s Peak together and it was there that we both saw the half completed version of this Spirit Array. This old master’s only regret was not being able to see its full form.”
“After that, I came to the Yang Family while Xiao Fu Sheng entered Medicine King’s Valley, heh heh,” Cheng Bai Lian smiled as he spoke, “Over the past thirty years, I have corresponded with Grandmaster Xiao often and whenever I had free time, I would go to Medicine King’s Valley to study that half completed Spirit Array with him, trying complete it, but after three decades I still couldn’t succeed!”
“When the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land attacked Medicine King’s Valley and destroyed the Pill Saint’s Portrait, this old master thought that in this lifetime he would never have a chance to see this complete Spirit Array. Never did I expect… ha… haha… hahaha!” Cheng Bai Lian threw his head back as he stared up at the Heavens, a joyous yet somewhat bitter smile adorning his face, “Xiao Fu Sheng is indeed Xiao Fu Sheng, always one step ahead of this old master! Never did I expect that he had already completed this Spirit Array. This old master truly cannot compare to the world’s greatest Alchemist, his name is truly deserved!”
Yang Kai didn’t expect that the Spirit Array he had brought out actually involved these past events. Even characters like Xiao Fu Sheng were only able to obtain half of it from the Pill Saint’s Portrait, one could only imagine the infinite profoundness of the True Alchemic Way.
The appearance of this Spirit Array here had actually solved the thirty year old puzzle that had plagued two of this world’s best Alchemists.
Although there was some misunderstanding here, Yang Kai was not prepared to say anything, he had intended to push the credit for this Spirit Array onto Grandmaster Xiao from the beginning anyways.
“Yes yes you’ve said enough already, just tell us, are these two Spirit Arrays of any use?” Yang Zhen asked an impatiently.
“Nonsense!” Cheng Bai Lian snorted, “How could they be useless? This is a Spirit Array from the Pill Saint’s Portrait, a treasure left behind by the Pill Saint himself, of course it’s useful!”
“Then its value?” Yang Zhen asked anxiously.
“Immeasurable!” Cheng Bai Lian replied seriously.
All the Elders in the hall couldn’t help looking awkward. Yang Kai offering two of these Spirit Arrays to the Yang Family, the number of merits they were worth was huge, even Yang Zhen didn’t quite know how many he should reward Yang Kai with.
“I’ll take these Spirit Arrays back with them, this old master must study them well.” Cheng Bai Lian normally frowning face bloomed into smiles, holding the two jade slips in his hand as if they were the world’s most precious treasures.
“Good, take them with you, but remember not to let them leak out, you know the Yang Family’s rules.” Yang Zhen said solemnly.
Cheng Bai Lian rolled his eyes, “This old master has been in the Yang Family for thirty years now. How could I not understand the family’s rules?”
Yang Zhen just nodded slightly with a satisfied expression.
Cheng Bai Lian turned to look at Yang Kai, none of his previous disdain or contempt remaining on his face, politely asking, “Boy, what is your name?”
Yang Kai casually gave his name in response.
Cheng Bai Lian then patted his shoulder intimately, “Good good, this old master will remember you, when I have time I will invite you to my home to drink tea!”
After saying so, Cheng Bai waved his sleeves and strode out with great vigor.
Once again, all the Elders in the hall looked at each other in shock, some of them even wondering if they were dreaming.
Cheng Bai Lian had invited a junior to his home to drink tea…
Many of these old men had never been treated politely by the Yang Family’s Chief Alchemist, much less been invited to drink tea.
For the younger generation, even the generation above them, such an invitation was an extraordinary privilege, if it were to leak out it would surely create a stir.
A while after Cheng Bai Lian walked off, the group of old men secretly shook their heads, wondering just what kind of blessing Yang Kai had received. He could actually converse with characters like Xiao Fu Sheng and personally be taught two extraordinary Spirit Arrays by him.
“Elder Zhen,” Yang Kai called out, “The validity of my offering has been proven, can I exchange for two Blood Warriors now?”
Yang Zhen rolled his eyes and muttered, “Good! But this old master must first remind you, depending on the strength of the Blood Warrior, the merits you’ll need to exchange for their services are different.”
“Then… what kind of Blood Warrior can I receive with my current merits?”
“Ah… er…” Yang Zhen lightly coughed, “Among the masters from the Blood Warrior Hall, you can choose any of them, including the Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master!”
“Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master?” Yang Kai asked in amazement.
“Yes, those two both stand at the very apex of the Immortal Ascension Boundary!” Yang Zhen nodded, “If you have the two of them to guard you, no one should be able to get close to you in this Inheritance War.”
It seemed like the number of merits Yang Kai had earned all at once was too great so Yang Zhen wanted him to quickly consume them. Thus Yang Zhen spared no effort to promote the idea of Yang Kai recruiting the Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master.
Unfortunately for him, Yang Kai just slowly shook his head, “I don’t want them.”
“Yang Zhen secretly sighed to himself before nodding, “If you don’t want them, who do you want?”
“Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu!” Yang Kai reported the names of the two Blood Warriors who had been tasked with protecting his Fourth Brother Yang Xin Wu.
The looks on the faces of all the old men in the hall suddenly became weird, some of them staring at Yang Kai strangely, others with amazement.
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu were originally the two best Blood Warriors in the Blood Warrior Hall in terms of aptitude, all the Elders naturally had heard their names and also had great expectations for them, but because of the incident with Yang Xin Wu and the punishment the family had given them as a result, these two Blood Warriors’ status had fallen significantly.
The Elders were quite sorry about the two warrior’s experiences but the rules of Yang Family were absolute, so they had to punish them. They had thought that for this time’s Inheritance War no one would dare to elect them, but they hadn’t expected that the youngest Yang Kai would actually take the initiative to choose them.
Even if Yang Kai had said he wanted the Blood Warrior Hall’s Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master the Elders wouldn’t have shown as much shock as they were currently.
Not pick the two most powerful Blood Warriors when given the choice, but instead choosing two nearly bedridden warriors instead, this Yang Kai was either an idiot, or… he was scheming something!
Yang Zhen looked at Yang Kai, thinking deeply for a moment before quick asking, “Those two have been heavily injured, are you sure you want them?”
“Yes!”
“Interesting!” Yang Zhen grinned, “Your appetite is quite big!”
In that brief moment, Yang Zhen seemed to have seen through all of Yang Kai’s thoughts and intentions, so Yang Kai simply shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
“Since you want, then I will give them to you!” Yang Zhen snorted, “I want to see just what kind of storm you can kick up by using those two for this Inheritance War! I hope you aren’t picking up a stone just to smash your own foot! Haha, don’t regret it later.”
“Of course, Elder Zhen doesn’t need to bother himself with my business.”
Yang Zhen smiled deviously, immediately taking out a parchment and stamping it with the Elder Hall’s seal before throwing it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took the parchment, glanced at it carefully before nodding with satisfaction, cupping his fists politely, “Many thanks Elder Zhen!”
“Good, after choosing those two Blood Warriors, you still have a lot of merits left! What else do you want to exchange for?” Yang Zhen raised his brow and asked, “For the Inheritance War, you can never do too much preparation.”
“How many merits do I have left?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“A lot,” Yang Zhen said offhandedly, not disclosing a specific figures. It was quite possible he also didn’t know just how many merits Yang Kai’s contribution warranted.
“In that case I’ll exchange all of them for Alchemy and Artifact Refining materials, at least Heaven Grade Low-Rank, preferably Mysterious Grade.”
Listening to Yang Kai, Yang Zhen couldn’t help but look at him in surprise, he didn’t expect his request to be so simple, nodding as he replied, “I’ll help you prepare the materials and have someone deliver them to your home.”
“Many thanks for your effort Elder Zhen, disciple will take his leave.” Yang Kai nodded, turned, and walked out.
“Brat, don’t disappoint this old master by losing too early in the Inheritance War.” Yang Zhen’s called out from behind.
“Elder Zhen shouldn’t worry, just sit back and watch!”
When these words were said, the person had already disappeared.
“Cocky brat!” Yang Zhen snorted.
The fat Elder who had just gone to summon Cheng Bai Lian walked over and frowned at that moment, muttering, “Yang Zhen, that kid is gambling too much! If his bet doesn’t pay off, it’ll be his doom.”
“The entire Inheritance War is a gamble! Do you think those other kids didn’t see this opportunity? No! It’s just that none of them dared to make such a decision. Only he dared to!” Yang Zhen’s eyes flashed, nodding lightly, “Although in the short term I can’t see him having any great results, at least he has already made a head start on the Blood Warrior Hall. This little brat from Fourth Brother’s house is bold and decisive. He suits my Yang Family’s style perfectly!”
Yang Kai choosing those two Blood Warriors, the gains and losses of such a decision, how could the cunning Elders not understand? Such a choice, for this Inheritance War, as long he wasn’t defeated too quickly, would only bring him more and more benefits in the future! The only thing to worry about was not being destroyed in the early period while these two Blood Warriors were still recuperating from their injuries.
Blood Warrior Hall.
This was a special place in the Yang Family grounds, the headquarters and residence of all Blood Warriors. Even from a dozen kilometers away, one could clearly feel the fighting intent lingering about the Blood Warrior Hall.
This invisible force seemed almost tangible, like a sharp blade which was capable of splitting the sky apart.
Blood Warriors were natural fighters, their talents specially developed for combat. Their strong fighting spirit was a symbol of the Yang Family. Even if they were not engaged in battle, the killing intent of the Blood Warriors was so potent it had all but solidified, pervading the entire Blood Warrior Hall.
As Yang Kai approached this place, he couldn’t help feeling shocked by this momentum, his expression immediately becoming dignified.
Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian both stood respectfully outside the Blood Warrior Hall, waiting quietly for Yang Kai’s arrival. In front of them stood a burly man with his hands crossed behind his back, a plain black warrior’s outfit that could be seen anywhere cover his toned muscles, only his calm indifferent face showing. His long hair was draped over his shoulders and his eyes were like cold piercing stars.
Blood Warrior Hall’s Hall Master, Feng Sheng, a Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary master. It was said that if he were to use his Mad Tyrant Blood Skill, it was possible for him to fight evenly with an Above Immortal Ascension Boundary master.
This man’s name resounded throughout the Central Capital as one of the strongest cultivators alive.
Since listening to Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian yesterday, after they had reported back, Feng Sheng had some interest in this Little Lord. Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu were his subordinates. As the Blood Warrior Hall’s Hall Master, he naturally cared about them.
He wanted to see for himself what this Little Lord, who was willing to use Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu, looked like.
To this day, a few Yang Family Young Lords had visited, but until now, the Little Lord had still not appeared; however, Feng Sheng showed no signs of urgency, simply stood there quietly.
Tu Feng, on the other hand, was quite anxious. Although Yang Kai had already promised him and Tang Yu Xian yesterday, and he would never doubt the authenticity of Yang Kai’s words, he was worried that Yang Kai wouldn’t have enough merits to exchange for Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu.
If he didn’t have enough merits, then what?
While these thoughts flashed across his mind, a young man with a strong figure appeared at the edge of his vision, walking towards the trio without hesitation.
“Is that him?” Feng Sheng asked.
“It’s him, it’s the Little Lord!” Tu Feng replied affirmatively, feeling like a great stone had been lifted off his chest, immediately relaxing as he shot a glance towards Tang Yu Xian and smiled.
The Little Lord really kept his word! Unfortunately, for this time’s Inheritance War they couldn’t follow him, thinking of this, both of them felt a deep sense of regret.
Walking up to the three Blood Warriors, Yang Kai’s attention immediately focused on Feng Sheng.
Eyes that seemed to radiate sharp light, a dense imposing aura, and a physique that hid an unparalleled explosive power.
[Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary!]
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, a single glance was all he needed to understand the great strength of this man. If he were to fight such a master, a casual brush of the opposite party’s hand would be enough to kill him. This massive gap in the cultivation realm was not something any artifact or even the Demonic Qi hidden inside his Unyielding Golden Skeleton could compensate for.
Yang Kai could clearly feel that although this person was simply standing there, not circulating his Secret Art, but the energy of Heaven and Earth still gently flowed towards him, seeping into his body, constantly enhancing his True Qi, increasing both its purity and density which was undoubtedly already superior to most others.
This was the strongest member of the Blood Warrior Hall!
Yang Kai secretly nodded to himself, the Yang Family being able to stand at the summit of the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families for all these years was not without reason.
While he stared at this Immortal Ascension master, Feng Sheng was also observing him.
Yang Kai was dressed casually, without any expensive robes, even simpler compared to many young kids from average families, such clothing was undoubtedly more suitable for the combat. He was very young, probably no more than eighteen years old, but his cultivation had reached the True Element Boundary Eighth Stage. Most importantly, his look was calm, and although his eyes appeared normal, they occasionally flashed a sharp light.
Feng Sheng couldn’t help squinting his eyes the more he looked, a trace of appreciation apparent in his gaze.
He felt a dense murderous aura coming from Yang Kai’s body, its flavour quite obvious.
Murderous aura. Feng Sheng also had something similar; the only difference being that his aura was much stronger than Yang Kai’s. This kind of aura wasn’t something one could cultivate. It could only be obtained through killing a great deal of people.
The Little Lord was obviously a young man yet he had already killed so many people. It seems that he wasn’t somebody one should make an enemy of. Feng Sheng took a mental note.
What made Feng Sheng even more curious though was that the Little Lord seemed to have another strange force hidden in his body. This force even seemed to affect his own murderous aura, giving him a creepy feeling. It was like it was stimulating the violent tendencies which he had suppressed in his heart.
But even if he looked carefully, this feeling was quite vague. The only thing he could clearly understand was that this kid’s True Qi… was quite pure!
Shaking his head secretly, Feng Sheng’s brow furrowed.
With just a simple look, Feng Sheng understood that this Little Lord was not as simple as he appeared, but he didn’t care too much about this. Instead, he let out a voice asking, “Young Lord Kai?”
Yang Kai nodded slightly before turning his eyes to Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian.
The two quickly stepped forward, Tu Feng saying, “Little Lord, this is our Hall Master, Feng Sheng!”
“So it is Hall Master Feng!” Yang Kai greeted.
“Little Lord, in order to receive Blood Warriors from the hall, please show the documents issued by the Elder Hall!” Feng Sheng said as he reached out, Yang Kai quickly handing over a parchment to him.
After taking a look, Feng Sheng nodded gently, his face which had been as tranquil as an ancient well finally showed some subtle changes, “Young Lord Kai, please come in.”
Yang Kai stepped forward, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian quickly following after him.
Feng Sheng on the other hand didn’t follow, still standing straight as a sword by the entrance.
Once inside the Blood Warrior Hall, Tu Feng laughed heartily, “Little Lord, I have never seen Hall Master so talkative! Several other Young Lords came before you but Hall Master didn’t even glance at them much less speak. It seems that Hall Master has a good impression of you.”
Tang Yu Xian also nodded heavily, as if she had just witnessed something amazing.
“It seems that my personality is a little praiseworthy.” Yang Kai laughed off.
Tu Feng shook his head though, “It is not a little. Little Lord being willing to use our two brothers has earned the entire Blood Warrior Hall’s thanks!”
“Is it really that serious?” Yang Kai chuckled lightly, obviously unconvinced.
But just as he spoke those words, Yang Kai froze in place, staring in front of him blankly.
Before him stood over twenty powerful Blood Warriors lined up in a row, all of them staring towards him, the gratitude in their eyes apparent.
The man who stood closest to him was the Blood Warrior Hall’s deputy Hall Master Zhou Feng, another Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary master.
Looking around at the other Blood Warriors, Yang Kai was secretly surprised.
Each one of these people was a powerful master that radiated an invincible aura. Both the men and women had strong cultivations, the lowest having at least reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage.
But even these Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage Blood Warriors were no worse than a first-class forces’ Immortal Ascension Eighth Stage master.
The depths of the Yang Family Blood Warrior’s heritage were astounding!
Looking at the more than twenty pairs of eyes, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a shocking pressure for an instant. This kind of pressure was not something deliberately released by the Blood Warriors, but simply the aura they had accumulated from all the battles they had fought over their many years of service.
Whenever the weak faced the strong, this kind of pressure would inevitably affect them.
Quietly circulating his True Yang Secret Art, pushing his True Qi slightly, Yang Kai managed to stabilizes his stance.
All of the Blood Warrior’s expression brightened imperceptibly!
Zhou Feng was also secretly surprised, though he didn’t show it, instead wearing his normal dignified expression, cupping his fists and saying, “Zhou Feng, on behalf of the entire Blood Warrior Hall, pays respect to Young Lord Kai!”
Like booming thunder, the other Blood Warriors echoed, “Many thanks, Young Lord Kai!”
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn, only now understanding that Tu Feng was indeed not exaggerating.
Although he had expected to win some support from the Blood Warrior Hall by this action, he never anticipated the result would be so exaggerated.
“I have only done what I need to do, there’s no need for thanks!” Yang Kai nodded lightly, gazing around Zhou Feng and casting his eyes at the two men who stood behind him.
Both these men were probably less than forty years old, but they had both reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage. Both of them wore extremely serious expression, even more so than the rest of the Blood Warriors in the hall, their gazes sharp and unrelenting, as if they were unafraid of death itself.
As they stood there, because they were enduring unbearable pain, their bodies couldn’t help trembling lightly, the clothes they wore stained red with fresh blood which seeped from their wounds like blossoming flowers.
At their feet, this fresh blood had already formed a small pool, filling the air with a faint taste of iron. But the two still stood upright, the other Blood Warriors not paying this blood any mind.
“You two are Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu?” Yang Kai gave them a look.
The two men quickly stepped forward and knelt down.
“Subordinate Qu Gao Yi.”
“Subordinate Ying Jiu, greets the Little Lord!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Get up, since you are my people now, then I will have you prove with your actions that my choice was not wrong!”
The two did not say a word, just getting up silently, but the determination in their eyes was apparent to all, revealing their firm and unyielding wills.
Looking at the expressions of Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu, Yang Kai nodded secretly, thinking to himself that even if they were seriously injured, a Blood Warrior was still a Blood Warrior.
Looking around at everyone else, Yang Kai suddenly chuckled, “If any of you become my enemies in the future, this Young Lord will not show mercy!”
Zhou Feng nodded firmly, “As it should be!”
Yang Kai turned away and calmly walked out with Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu hurriedly cupping their fists to their brothers and sisters before following.
After today, when these Blood Warriors met again, perhaps they would be speaking with their fists and swords, paving the way forward of the Yang Family’s next generation with their own blood.
Everyone silently steeled themselves!
All of them understood.
Outside the hall, Feng Sheng still stood there, and only after Yang Kai walked out a dozen meters or so did he suddenly say, “Young Lord Kai, I will be bothering you with my two subordinates.”
Yang Kai waved his hand and said nothing, Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu both keeping pace a few steps behind.
……
All the Yang Family’s direct descendants had returned to the Central Capital and the family had given them nearly two months of preparation time. After selecting their respective Blood Warrior guardians, the Yang Family’s Inheritance War would soon begin.
As the news was announced, the atmosphere in the Central Capital became tense, the entire Great Han Dynasty abuzz with excitement as many of the world’s large and small forces marched in the direction of the capital in order to gain some benefits in this huge event.
There were even a lot of forces that had already arrived in the Central Capital and were waiting, hesitating about which Young Lord they should stand behind.
The Yang Family’s Young Lords had all been busy contacting the various juniors of the other seven families, trying their best to recruit more allies.
The Central Capital’s Eight Great Families, the Yang Family, Qiu Family, Liu Family, Huo Family, Kang Family, Gao Family, Ye Family and Meng Family.
Among them, the Kang Family, Gao Family, Ye Family, and Meng Family had all formally announced who they would ally with; only the remaining three had yet to express their views.
The Liu Family, needless to say, had acted according to Liu Qing Yao’s declaration; he would ally with any Yang Family Young Lord who bested him in combat. The Yang Family’s Eldest Brother Yang Wei had once gone to challenge him, but the result was unknown.
However, since Liu Qing Yao still had not made a clear statement about who he would form an alliance with, the result of their battle was fairly obvious.
Yang Wei had lost.
As for the Huo Family, the delinquent Huo Xing Chen was having fun all day, drinking and partying, showing absolutely no intention to participate in the Inheritance War, giving his father Huo Zheng a massive headache.
Huo Zheng also wanted his son to participate in the Inheritance War, but his disobedient son refused to take any action, frustrating him to no end. If the older generations had been allowed to participate in the Inheritance War, Huo Zheng would have already made a declaration.
Though, as an aside, the Yang Family’s Young Lords had heard that Huo Xing Chen and Yang Kai had some grievances, so many of them had gone looking for him to see if they could use this to persuade him to join them, but none of them had succeeded, instead, all of them found themselves dragged into the red light district, only to emerge a few days later, dizzy, and hungover, sighing as they shook their heads.
Qiu Family.
In his study, the Qiu Family Patriarch Qiu Shou Cheng sat atop his chair. He looked around thirty years old but in fact was over fifty; however, he was born with fair complexion and a tender face, his skin color was much paler than that of a woman, so he appeared much younger than he actually was.
In front of him were two people, a young man and a young woman.
The young woman was none other than the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady, Qiu Yi Meng, the young man the Qiu Family’s Young Lord Qiu Zi Ruo, the two are were half-blood siblings, each having a different mother.
As the Inheritance War was about to start, the Qiu Family naturally had to choose a team.
But Qiu Shou Cheng, like many others, didn’t know much about the various members of the Yang Family younger generation so although he had been collecting some intelligence about them, there was still too little for him to make a decision.
For the other seven great families, their main purpose in participating in the Inheritance War was to hone their junior’s skills, winning or losing had very little effect on their foundations, but if there was a choice, who didn’t want to win? So this matter still warranted some careful consideration.
Qiu Shou Cheng stroked the goatee on his chin and pondered silently for a long time before finally asking, “Meng’er, what are your thoughts on this Inheritance War?”
When he heard his father ask this, Qiu Zi Ruo’s face cramped slightly.
In the Qiu Family, although he was the first heir, but regardless of his personal strength or methods, neither was comparable to his half-blooded elder sister’s. If anything big happened in the family, his father would always consult with his elder sister while he would have to sit by and listen to learn from it.
For his entire life, it had always been so!
Qiu Yi Meng smiled lightly and replied, “According to the intelligence I’ve gathered, the Yang Family seems to have eight Young Masters who want to participate in the Inheritance War! Besides the fourth eldest Yang Xin Wu who has already died, from oldest to youngest, their names are, Yang Wei, Yang Zhao, Yang Tie, Yang Kang, Yang Shen, Yang Ying, Yang Quan and Yang Kai!
Qiu Shou Cheng nodded lightly, not interrupting, motioning her with his eyes to continue.
“The Second Brother Yang Zhao and Fifth Brother Yang Kang are blood related brothers while the Sixth Brother Yang Shen and Seventh Brother Yang Ying are also blood related. These two pairs probably won’t attack each other until the last possible moment, instead they are likely to support one another due to their blood ties.” Qiu Yi Meng’s thoughts turned rapidly, continuously speaking with as much precision as possible, “Furthermore, there are four people from the remaining seven families who have already declared their support for one of the Young Lords, Meng Family’s Meng Shan Yi has allied with the Eldest Brother Yang Wei, Ye Family’s Ye Xin Rou has chosen to support the Second Brother Yang Zhao, Gao Family’s Gao Rang Feng has allied with the Fifth Brother Yang Kang, and finally Kang Family’s Kang Zhan has declared his support for the Seventh Brother Yang Ying. The power of the seven families cannot be ignored as their support will play a large role in the final result of the Inheritance War.”
“Good, because the Yang Family is based in the Central Capital, they have no choice but to deal with the other seven families.” Qiu Shou Cheng nodded, very satisfied with his daughter’s intelligence gathering and thoughtful analysis, but remembering that she was his daughter at not his son, he couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful.
After glancing towards Qiu Zi Ruo briefly, Qiu Shou Cheng sighed quietly to himself.
“So, from a superficial perspective, Yang Zhao and Yang Kang currently have the edge because both brothers have secured one of the seven families as a support.”
“Hm, superficially?” Qiu Shou Cheng listened to his daughter’s tone and asked with a smile.
“In actual fact, this is not the case. Forget about the fact that they are ultimately still rivals, even if they were one force, I’m afraid that their position in this Inheritance War is far from secure. Over the years, for the Inheritance War, the participants from the seven families have never been too strong. The mainstay of the forces they sent out has been members of their younger generation. This is done to avoid breaking the balance and also to avoid causing too many casualties, a kind of unwritten rule, so in addition to the Yang Family Blood Warriors, the Eight Great Families won’t invest any manpower with cultivations greater than Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage.”
“As a result, the Yang Family Young Lords personal connections from their outside life experience are the more important factor. Those who made many friends and allies and can draw in support from them will have the advantage. Additionally, most of these Young Lord’s mothers are from first-class families. These families will definitely favour the Young Lords who share blood ties with them and will send out a substantial amount of support to try to protect them.”
Qiu Shou Cheng casts a glance at his daughter and couldn’t help smiling happily.
“Father, daughter doesn’t know who will be the ultimate victor in this Inheritance War, but I do know that the Yang Family Third Brother Yang Tie will be the first one eliminated!”
“Oh, why?”
“Because he doesn’t have a single Blood Warrior protecting him! During his outside life experience it seems he didn’t gain much, thus he didn’t have enough merits he could use to exchange with the Yang Family for a Blood Warrior. With no Blood Warriors guarding him and his personal strength not being outstanding… his future prospects are worrying. I am afraid he will be defeated on the first day.” Qiu Yi Meng spoke confidently, her tone never wavering, “The second one will definitely be the Eighth Brother Yang Quan. He doesn’t have the support of one of the seven families and his mother comes from a second-class force so he cannot count on much support from them.”
“Then, the third?” Qiu Shou Cheng grinned as he asked.
“Daughter doesn’t know,” Qiu Yi Meng smiled calmly, “It’s not easy to judge amongst the rest, Fifth Brother Yang Kang, Sixth Brother Yang Shen, Seventh Brother Yang Ying are all possibilities.”
“Hm?” Qiu Shou Cheng couldn’t help but frown, a hint of confusion appearing on his face as he stared at his daughter with some doubt.
Qiu Zi Ruo, who had stayed to the side and didn’t talk, suddenly laughed and said, “Elder Sister, the third person to be eliminated is clear, how come Elder Sister can’t see it?”
Qiu Yi Meng smiled as she glanced towards Qiu Zi Ruo. “Oh? What is little brother’s opinion?”
“It’s not my opinion,” Qiu Zi Ruo smiled faintly, “It’s just that it is obvious.”
“If you think so, talk about it.” Qiu Shou Cheng looked indifferent and nodded to his son.
“Yes!” Qiu Zi Ruo glanced at Elder Sister and said confidently, “The third person to be eliminated must be the youngest, Yang Kai!”
“Why so?” Qiu Yi Meng smiled indifferently, seemingly aware that he would say this.
“Similar to what Elder Sister said just now, this Yang Kai doesn’t have any blood related siblings to help him, nor does he have an ally amongst the seven families. Even if his mother’s family sends some people, at most that is only the help of a single first-class force, nothing to fear. On top of that, he is the youngest among the brothers, almost the same age as me, his personal methods are no doubt lacking, so the third to be eliminated must be him!”
Qiu Zi Ruo spoke with absolute certainty, like he was already witnessing the scene of Yang Kai’s defeat.
Qiu Yi Meng simply continued smiling though, not refuting her younger brother’s argument, instead turning to look at Qiu Shou Cheng and asking, “Does lord father think so as well?”
Qiu Shou Cheng paused for a moment before nodding slightly, “En, I have the same idea as your brother. In addition to the reason your brother has stated, according to the information I’ve gathered, after his return to the Central Capital, he has never been seen communicating with any of the seven families, all of his brothers have at least made some effort to win over their support, the only reason I can think of is that he has no confidence in himself and has simply given up on this times Inheritance War!”
Qiu Yi Meng firmly shook her head though, “Father, I must disagree with father here, on the contrary, I intend to have our Qiu Family support him instead!”
Qiu Zi Ruo gawked for a moment before turning to his sister, “Elder Sister, are you alright? How could you make such a poor decision?”
Qiu Shou Cheng also knit his brow as he said, “Meng’er, I know that you are acquainted with Yang Kai and have even traveled together with him for a time, but I have already received a message from Lu Liang about how he acted in the Lu Family. Because of the details Lu Liang reported, I am not too optimistic about him. If you want the Qiu Family to support him, you’ll have to give me a reason to do so, otherwise, it is impossible for me to promise you. Although winning or losing the Inheritance War will have no effect on my Qiu Family’s foundation, but there will inevitably be some losses along the way.”
“A reason? I can’t say it clearly, but Father, from when I was a child till now, when has my judgement ever disappointed you?”
Qiu Shou Cheng’s expression immediately became awkward, for what Qiu Yi Meng had said was true. His daughter had always excelled at seeing through others and her judgements had always been sound. Over the past few years, there were even sometimes when he would overlook something and she would be the one to remind him of it, even providing insight and advice which had been beneficial to him.
Qiu Yi Meng speaking so seriously forced Qiu Shou Cheng to re-examine his decision, slowly saying, “What does he have that is worth paying attention to?”
However, Qiu Yi Meng just slowly shook her head, “I really can’t say, but he is an amazing individual who can often do things which are seemingly impossible, giving people a sense that there is nothing he cannot accomplish.”
She wanted to tell me her father that the Beguiling Demon Queen from the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land had her heart captured by Yang Kai, but she obviously knew better than that.
The Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land was, after all, the place where demons gathered, and Shan Qing Luo was one of the six Great Evil Kings, a force the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families had always been incompatible with. For this time’s Inheritance War, Shan Qing Luo providing him any assistance was unlikely.
But aside from the Demon Queen, Qiu Yi Meng didn’t know if Yang Kai had any other powerful allies.
“You evaluate him so highly?” Qiu Shou Cheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, his implied meaning obvious.
Qiu Zi Ruo also raised his brow and grinned lightly, “It seems like Elder Sister has finally met a man she favours. I didn’t expect there to be any man in this world who could enter your eyes.”
Both father and son were clearly hinting that Qiu Yi Meng had been taken with Yang Kai.
“I indeed have a good impression of him,” but to their shock, Qiu Yi Meng openly acknowledged their suspicions, “However, emotionally, I still feel no sense of attachment to him. That is because whenever I am around him, he always leads me by the nose. Making me the passive one!”
Qiu Shou Cheng’s brow furrowed as he was secretly shocked, “Is that boy really that good?”
About his daughter, even amongst the Central Capital’s older generation, none could force her into the passive role; she was always the one leading others by the nose, so this evaluation from her was quite remarkable, but her statement also made Qiu Shou Cheng glimpse some even more important information.
“He’s indeed quite strong!” Qiu Yi Meng smiled bitterly, remembering about Yang Kai’s attitude and approach to her, she couldn’t help gnashing her teeth.
“Love really will make a person stupid,” Qiu Zi Ruo shook his head slowly, as if was an old man extolling the lessons of life.
“Father,” Qiu Yi Meng ignored her half-brother’s opinion of herself, neither confirming or denying his charge, simply smiling as he continued, “Let’s not talk about my opinion of him, but rather yours. You’ve judged that he will be the third one eliminated, but isn’t that because of the information you obtained yourself and because of the opinion Lu Liang gave in his letter?”
“Not bad.” Qiu Shou Cheng stroked his goatee calmly as he nodded, “Lu Liang didn’t make too many comments in his letter, instead just explaining about what happened during his stay at the Lu Family, but even so I can clearly feel Lu Liang’s contempt for him from his words.”
“And if all that was simply a disguise?”
Qiu Shou Cheng expression suddenly became serious, “If that’s the case then he hides his depths far too well, even fooling that old fox Lu Liang.”
Qiu Yi Meng smiled and stood up from her chair, after taking a few steps, she turned back and said, “In fact, I was still hesitating about whether to tie our Qiu Family to him, at least until today, but now I’ve made up my mind, and I feel even more so that my judgment is not wrong.”
“And why is that?”
“Precisely because of his inaction! When he visited the Lu Family, he took no action, after returning to the Central Capital he is still sitting back! In the Lu Family, he never tried to win over Lu Liang, and even after returning to the Central Capital he didn’t make any overtures to the other seven families, but I traveled with him for quite some time so one thing I know for certain is that he is not the kind of person who is content with mediocrity. He is a man of great ambitions and he either doesn’t do something, or does it to the very best of his abilities. He will never give an enemy an opportunity to breathe! His inaction now just goes to show that he is already convinced of his victory!”
As Qiu Yi Meng spoke her brow also furrowed slightly as she slowly shook her head, “I really don’t know where his confidence comes from, but he definitely has it!”
“Elder Sister, isn’t all this just your own guesses and feelings? You haven’t told us anything about what kind of help or means he has!”
Qiu Shou Cheng also frowned. “That’s right, Meng’er, you said before that you were hesitating about aligning yourself with him, do you have any other candidate in mind?”
Listening to this, Qiu Yi Meng suddenly realized that all her efforts had been in vain.
Her father was still not optimistic about Yang Kai! Otherwise he wouldn’t have asked her this question.
“Good, in addition to Yang Kai, I have two other candidates, one is the Eldest Brother Yang Wei, and the other is the Second Brother Yang Zhao. Yang Zhao doesn’t require any explanation; he himself is a talented and strong individual who is also the current Yang Family Patriarch’s son. His chance for success is high. As for Yang Wei, as the eldest of his brothers and the only Immortal Ascension Boundary of the Yang Family younger generation, he also has a decent chance at winning.” Speaking till her, Qiu Yi Meng suddenly smiled bitterly, “But now, both of them have already secured an ally amongst the seven families, if my Qiu Family were to support one of them, I’m afraid that wouldn’t do us much good.”
“En, if we did so, even if they were to win, it won’t result in much benefit for our Qiu Family,” Qiu Shou Cheng said sullenly, suddenly turning his head and looked at his son, “Zi Ruo, what do you think?”
Upon hearing this, Qiu Zi Ruo was secretly ecstatic, knowing that his opportunity had finally come.
This was the first time the Qiu Shou Cheng had taken the initiative to ask him for his own opinion and about such an important matter like the Inheritance War at that, the deeper meaning of this was something Qiu Zi Ruo naturally understood.
“Father, according to your son’s point of view, since we must participate in the Inheritance War, then we should find a Yang Family Young Lord who does not already have an ally amongst the seven families, so that after we achieve victory, our Qiu Family can be the only ones to reap the benefits!” Qiu Zi Ruo wasn’t a stupid person, listening to his elder half-sister talk about it for so long, naturally he had formulated some ideas of his own, “My thoughts are that we should ally ourselves with the Sixth Brother Yang Shen, with his brother, the Seventh Brother Yang Ying already allied with the Kang Family, plus our Qiu Family, such a team would at least be comparable to the Yang Zhao and Yang Kang brothers’ alliance.”
Qiu Shou Cheng smiled and nodded.
Knowing this was a sign of approval; Qiu Zi Ruo knew that what he had proposed was also what his father was thinking, allowing him to breathe a little easier, his excitement showing as a faint blush upon his face.
Witnessing this, Qiu Yi Meng shook her head and sighed.
Even if her performance was superior, in the end she was still a woman, incapable of inheriting the Qiu Family in the future. Her fate was only to be a chess piece used for marriage in order to bring more benefits to the Qiu Family.
The room suddenly fell quiet as Qiu Shou Cheng’s fingers tapped on his chair, wrinkling his brow in contemplation as he weighed the various gains and losses of his next decision.
After a while, his expression became firm, opening his mouth once more, “Good, for this Inheritance War…”
“Father!” Qiu Yi Meng quickly interrupted.
“Hmm?” Qiu Shou Cheng’s brow wrinkled, staring at his daughter with a slight look of disappointment.
“Father, for this Inheritance War, your daughter request permission to bring a team to support Yang Kai!” Qiu Yi Meng grits her teeth and spoke her mind. Although she knew this would make her father unhappy, Qiu Yi Meng still felt that her judgment was definitely not wrong.
Hearing what she said, Qiu Zi Ruo couldn’t help but chuckle.
Staring at his treasured daughter for a while, Qiu Shou Cheng faintly asked, “Do you insist on this?”
“Yes! Your daughter has never once asked you for anything, but this time I must insist on doing this; therefore, please grant your permission.”
“Good, I will transfer the family’s Autumn Rain Hall to you,” Qiu Shou Cheng offhandedly said.
“Many thanks…” Qiu Yi Meng smiled bitterly.
The Autumn Rain Hall wasn’t an important division of the Qiu Family, the number of members it had was small and their individual strengths also wasn’t great, so her father transferring control of it to her was obviously in preparation the Autumn Rain Hall to be completely sacrificed. In fact, Qiu Yi Meng felt that if she hadn’t spoken out so determinedly, she wouldn’t have received any help at all.
[If that’s how you feel, then I’ll let time prove who is right and who is wrong, and just who is more suitable to inherit the Qiu Family!]
Qiu Yi Meng’s eyes suddenly became firm, a hint of ruthlessness hidden with them.
“Draw back,” Qiu Shou Cheng waved, making Qiu Yi Meng retire.
As she left the study, a soft conversation between her father and younger brother took place, and though the voices still reached her ear, Qiu Yi Meng didn’t have any interest in listening.
That same night, the back courtyard of the Clear Sky Tavern, the Bamboo Knot Gang headquarters.
Yang Kai looked at a stack of silver coins in front of him dully.
Behind him stood two towering men. The two of them had stood there quietly for a long time, not saying a word since they had arrived, but their faces were both pale as paper as the veins on their foreheads would throb every now and then. Once in a while, a cold sweat would drip down their faces as they apparently endured tremendous pain, their clothes stained a light red in various places, just like a patchwork of embroidered flower buds.
At their feet was a small pool of blood.
The Bamboo Knot Gang Sect Master Pang Chi and deputy Sect Master Mu Nan Dou carefully stood side by side, measuring the two men who seemed to be on their dying breath, trying to determine why Yang Kai would bring such people around with him.
“Over the past few days, with the combined strength of our two factions we have already annexed two small forces, causing the strength of the Bamboo Knot Gang to soar. We have also collected a lot of materials and money. Young Master Kai, this is an inventory of our gains, everything is recorded within!” Pang Chi respectfully took out a book and placed it in front of Yang Kai.
“No need,” Yang Kai shook his head, “Exchange all these silvers for materials, but the quality must be higher now, everything should be Heaven Grade and above, the higher the grade the better, in addition, how many other forces in the North City District can be eaten?”
“If Brother Mu’s intelligence is accurate, there are still five that can be annexed.” Pang Chi replied.
“Good, each of you bring one of them and subdue those five forces as quickly as possible.” Yang Kai pointed to the two men standing behind him.
“Take… take them?” Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou suddenly looked dumbfounded as the stared at the bloody figures behind Yang Kai.
What could these two men do? Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou hadn’t dared speak too loudly before for fear that they may harm these two men, so listening to Yang Kai tell them to bring them out to subdue these small forces obviously perplexed them.
Inside the Bamboo Knot Gang’s main hall, Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou hesitantly looked at the two people behind Yang Kai.
“Do you have a problem?” One of the seemingly dying people suddenly coldly snorted, an overwhelming Divine Sense pressure filling the air.
Feeling the power of this Divine Sense, Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou’s expressions immediately changed, realizing that these two men, even if half-dead, were unfathomable masters.
The extraordinary strength of these two Divine Senses would be enough to sweep away the small forces in the entire North City District.
Quickly collecting themselves, the two gang leaders hastily shook their heads, “Subordinate doesn’t dare!”
“Go!” Yang Kai casually waved his hand.
Before they could see the movement of the two towering figures behind Yang Kai, Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou found themselves wrapped in an irresistible force and disappeared from the hall, leaving behind only a faint bloody smell in the air.
After Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu disappeared, Yang Kai grinned.
It had been five days since these two had begun following him.
The two Blood Warriors were seriously injured and should be spending their time recuperating in bed, but Yang Kai had completely ignored their physical conditions and even seemed eager for them to die as soon as possible, taking them with him wherever he went.
Over the past five days, Yang Kai didn’t talk to them or give them any instructions.
But what made Yang Kai happy was that he didn’t feel any annoyance or unwillingness from either Qu Gao Yi or Ying Jiu.
Right now, the two could exert less than thirty percent of their full strength, but that was already more than enough to sweep up the small forces in the Central Capital’s North City District.
If there was time, Yang Kai had wanted to let Pang Chi and Mu Nan Dou slowly annex these small forces themselves, but the Inheritance War was about to start, therefore, he couldn’t afford to wait so long.
Left with no other choice, he decided to dispatch the two Blood Warriors in order to expedite the process.
Standing up, Yang Kai walked out of the main hall and signaled to one of the Bamboo Knot Gang’s executives, “Take me to your warehouse.”
“Yes!”
The Bamboo Knot Gang had already swallowed up two small forces and purchased a lot of Alchemy and Artifact Refining materials at the request of Yang Kai, all of which was now stored in their warehouse.
Yang Kai entered for a moment before just as casually walking out, his Black Book space now filled with many more good things.
In addition to the large amount of materials sent to him five days ago by Yang Zhen and the Elder Hall, Yang Kai’s current stockpile was already quite significant.
The efficiency of the Elder Hall was quite high, it only took them one day to convert all of Yang Kai’s remaining merits into materials and deliver them to the Yang Family Fourth Master’s residence.
When they saw the two rich piles of delivered goods, both Yang Kai and his father couldn’t help feeling shocked.
Everything that was sent was above Heaven Grade, and one-tenth of them were actually Mysterious Grade, half for Alchemy, half for Artifact Refining!
Fortunately, the Yang Family had a solid foundation; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to produce so much material in such a short time.
Yang Ying Feng didn’t understand how Yang Kai could have so many remaining merits after acquiring two Blood Warriors.
Yang Kai did not expect to receive so much either.
It was quite a while before the father and son due came to their senses. Now, all of these things had been swept away into the Black Book space.
“Inform Pang Chi to continue to collect materials. When there is enough, have them shipped to War City,” Yang Kai said offhandedly before walking off.
War City! A city built by the Yang Family specifically to host the Inheritance War, located only a hundred kilometers or so from the Central Capital.
“Yes!” The Bamboo Knot Gang’s executive responded vigorously.
After Yang Kai left, the man felt a little confused. Why did the Young Lord want to see the warehouse? It seemed like he just walked in and walked out without taking anything.
Curious, he quickly looked inside, but what he saw almost caused his soul to leave his body, a cold sweat immediately dripping down his forehead.
All the materials originally placed in the warehouse had disappeared, like they were never there.
[This… how did… what… but…]
Three days later, the Yang Family presented offerings to Heaven and their ancestors.
A majestic stage with a perfectly smooth floor covered in a majestic red carpet. The Offering Sacrifices To The Heavens Stage had two magnificent stone pillars atop it that seemed to ascend straight into the sky. On the stone pillars were various lifelike carvings of dragons and phoenixes that appeared to swim through the Nine Heavens.
The sky was blue with not a cloud in sight for ten thousand kilometers, the wind blowing through caused the Yang Family’s blood red banners to flutter gently.
Nearly a thousand Yang Family cultivators, dressed in black uniforms, gathered around the huge ceremonial altar.
These thousand cultivators inhaled and exhaled as one, almost as if this stretch of Heaven and Earth was breathing.
Just below the altar stood the eight Yang Family Young Lords, all of them wearing their finest robes, their appearances meticulously put together, arranged in order from oldest to youngest, staring up at the ceremonial stage.
Suddenly from somewhere behind them, a voice called out, “Qiu Family Patriarch, Qiu Shou Cheng!”
“Ye Family Patriarch, Ye Kuang Ren!”
“Meng Family Patriarch, Meng Xiping!”
……
Just like a few decades ago, the Yang Family Inheritance War was the largest and most lively event in the Central Capital. The other seven families would naturally not miss its commencement, all of the various Patriarchs showing up personally.
Yang Family disciples would meet these distinguished guests and bring them to their arranged positions to sit, carefully serving them tea as they waited.
In the short span of half an hour, the seven family’s Patriarchs had all arrived.
With a cyan flash, the Yang Family’s Patriarch, Yang Ying Hao, along with a few Grand Elders who had reached the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary, appeared on the ceremonial stage.
As soon as the host appeared, Qiu Shou Cheng and others rose up and cupped their fists.
Yang Ying Hao returned to the ceremony politely before shouting, “Today is the day my Yang Family presents offerings to the Heavens and worship our ancestors. Many thanks to our honoured guests for joining us this day, please be seated!”
Qiu Shou Cheng, Ye Kuang Ren, Meng Xi Ping, nodded slightly before once again sitting down.
Yang Kai’s eyes fixed on Yang Ying Hao. This person, if one went by generation, should be his uncle, his real age probably only a few years older than his father, the Yang Family Fourth Master.
But now, Yang Ying Hao’s hair had gone completely gray as if he had already entered his late years, even his face had many deep wrinkles adoring it.
Before the battle with the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land, he was not like this. At that time, he also had the appearance of a middle age man, maybe not young, but definitely not so old.
The reason for his rapid aging was because of an injury he had received at the hands of the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land battle by the Profound Yin Ghost King and the Annihilating Poison King. After returning to the family, he had taken advantage of the Yang Family’s life and death technique to steady his injuries at the cost of shortening his life expectancy to thirty years at most.
The Yang Family Patriarch’s role was crucial, so even though a life expectancy of thirty years wasn’t very long for someone of his cultivation realm, Yang Ying Hao didn’t hesitate to use this forbidden technique to stabilize himself.
His current condition wasn’t simply the result of his trauma, but also a result of him directly overdrawing his vitality.
As such, Yang Ying Hao became very old.
It was because he didn’t know how long he could live that the Yang Family had so anxiously recalled all the Yang Family Young Lords in order to launch the Inheritance War.
Yang Zhao and Yang Kang both looked at their aged father and felt deeply saddened in their hearts.
Yang Ying Hao, on the other hand, wore a light expression as he extolled the Inheritance War’s rules.
Essentially, there were no rules. The Yang Family would only provide Blood Warriors to the Young Lords and these Blood Warriors would have many restrictions imposed on them for the duration of the Inheritance War. Besides that, the Yang Family would not provide any Young Lord with any direct help.
No matter what kind of force or treachery was used, the one who survived until the end would be the winner of the Inheritance War.
“Do you understand?” Yang Ying Hao looked at the eight youths standing below and asked, each of them nodding firmly in response.
“Good, then bow to the Heavens, bow to the ancestors!” Yang Ying Hao waved his hand and shouted loudly.
All kinds of offerings had already been prepared in front of the solemn ceremonial platform, an incense burner released a gentle fragrance while a rare Sixth-Order Monster Beast was carried up, which Yang Ying Hao proceeded to kill, scattering its blood all over the stage.
Offering a blood sacrifice to the Heavens to worship the ancestors!
The ceremony was very elaborate, but Yang Family’s younger generation completed their tasks meticulously under the guidance of Yang Ying Hao.
Throughout the whole process, the other seven families elites also watched carefully, observing the performance of these eight youths, doing their best to determine whether the ally of their son or daughter was appropriate while also examining which of their enemies was formidable.
Finally, after paying respects to the Yang Family’s ancestors one last time, the ceremony was finally completed.
“Go now! From this point on, it is either you die or I die, put your all into it to achieve victory!” Yang Ying Hao shouted, “Go!”
At his command, a whistle rang out and eight exquisite Cloud Treading Colts arrived in front of the eight youths, each these Yang Family Young Lords swiftly riding their mounts.
The wind stopped and the air around the ceremonial stage suddenly seemed to stagnate, the breath of over a thousand people suddenly halting.
The eight youths glanced at each other and grinned confidently.
Here they were all brothers, but outside the Central Capital, they were enemies! There would be no mercy.
And so…
“Eldest Brother will take the lead!” Yang Wei quickly said, his Cloud Treading Colt sprinting away the moment his voice fell.
“Let’s go!” Yang Zhao chuckled.
Eight Cloud Treading Colts dashed towards the Yang Family’s dedicated gate, a cloud of dust billowing up in their wake.
“This old master is going to see the excitement!” Kang Family Patriarch Kang Rui snorted and with a wave of his hand, the pure True Qi wrapped him and his entourage up before they shot off like lightning.
“Good, we’ll go together!” Gao Family Patriarch Gao Mo Jin followed after.
“This old man will also come!” Not to be outdone, Huo Family Patriarch Huo Zheng also called out loudly.
In an instant, all the members of the seven families had disappeared.
“Hmph, no manners at all!” Yang Ying Hao coldly snorted, blaming these old men for not coming up to say hello to him at least.
All the way, eight Cloud Treading Colt rushed along the ground while seven groups of people flew through the sky, a moment later all of them arriving at the South city Gate.
Outside the South Gate, it seemed to be even more lively than at the Yang Family’s ancestor worshipping ceremony. Countless small forces stood around watching, all of them understanding that today was the beginning of the Inheritance War. It was only natural for them to arrive here early and wait for the various Yang Family Young Lords they had agreed to follow so they could travel to War City together.
Beyond the South Gate, a dense crowd of people spread out several kilometers, while there were many others secretly observing from afar.
“Which Young Lord is your Great Yang Valley going to follow?” Some people familiar with one another began asking.
“Of course it’s the Sixth Young Lord, Yang Shen!”
“Don’t go, you’ll definitely lose. Come with us Flying Cloud Manor to follow the Second Young Lord, Yang Zhao, the second Young Lord has more potential than the Sixth Young Lord.”
“Is that true?”
“Naturally it’s true, come come, I’ll tell you about it, I know a lot of inside information.” The two men hooked their shoulders and went off to discuss things in secret.
Small third-class forces like Great Yang Valley and Flying Cloud Manor normally had no way to socialize with the likes of the Yang Family, so before the start of Inheritance War, they had no way to see the Young Lords and could only wait here. They were even less clear about the strengths and weaknesses of these Young Lords, so most of them wanted to observe them for themselves or listen to friends who might know more before deciding who to follow.
In front of the South Gate, seven groups of people suddenly appeared, forcing all the cultivators clustered around back as if they were pushed by an invisible force.
After everyone regained their footing and looked forward, not only did they not feel angry, they instead showed signs of excitement.
Seven of the Eight Great Family’s Patriarchs had all appeared at once!
These great figures couldn’t be seen normally, so everyone who bared witness to them felt that the price they had paid to travel to the Central Capital was worth it.
For a time, many cultivators showed expressions of worship and admiration towards these seven men.
As for these seven Patriarchs, they too stared around at the gathered crowds with interest. What happened next outside the Central Capital was also a test of the charm of the Yang Family Young Lords; naturally they wanted to know which forces waiting at this South Gate would follow which Young Lords.
With a burst of noise, eight Cloud Treading Colts appeared one after another.
The Yang Family’s eight Young Lords participating in the Inheritance War appeared on the scene.
Meng Family’s Meng Shan Yi quickly urged his mount forward and greeted Yang Wei, cupping his fists with a smile, “Young Lord Wei.”
“En, I’ve kept you waiting!” Yang Wei replied calmly and nodded, the two had already announced their alliance so it wasn’t surprising to see them acting intimately here.
Ye Family’s Ye Xin Rou also walked forward, a faint blush appearing on her beautiful face. She was around twenty years old, her skin as pure as snow, her figure graceful, and a touch of shyness which adorned her face only added to her charm as she greeted, “Young Lord Zhao.”
Yang Zhao laughed and extended his hand to Ye Xin Rou, smiling warmly as he called out, “Come up!”
Ye Xin Rou nodded slightly, lightly taking Yang Zhao’s hand and in one move, leapt up and floated in front of Yang Zhao, sitting atop his Cloud Treading Colt.
Upon seeing this, the other six Patriarchs took a deep look at Ye Kuang Ren.
In front of so many eyes, a man and a woman not from the same family acting so closely, it appeared they weren’t just simply allies. Obviously there was something more going on.
Ye Kuang Ren remained indifferent, showing no intention of blaming his daughter for acting so boldly, seemingly well aware of this relationship.
At the same time, Gao Rang Feng and Yang Kang greeted each other while Kang Zhan and Yang Ying smiled at one another.
These four families had long ago expressed their stance, allying themselves with these four Young Lords.
This was a stage for young people.
“Old Qiu, hasn’t your Qiu Family chosen yet?” Huo Zheng looked over at Qiu Shou Cheng curiously. Glancing around, he once again confirmed that his delinquent son was nowhere to be seen. Thinking about how he was probably off on some romantic tryst, he suddenly felt a sense of helplessness so seeing Qiu Shou Cheng standing as well, he couldn’t help feeling some sympathy.
“How has my Qiu Family not already chosen?” Qiu Shou Cheng smiled slightly as he glanced to one side.
Huo Zheng directed his sight towards where Qiu Shou Cheng indicated and quickly discovered Qiu Zi Ruo standing together with the Sixth Brother Yang Shen. Yang Shen seemed all too happy to receive Qiu Zi Ruo while the latter responded politely.
Seeing Qiu Shou Cheng’s son here, Huo Zheng couldn’t help being surprised, “Hey, Old Qiu, for this time’s Inheritance War, is your son leading the Qiu Family team? What about Meng’er?”
The other six Patriarchs also looked at Qiu Shou Cheng in confusion, obviously puzzled by this picture.
Qiu Shou Cheng had one son and one daughter, but there was no small difference between the two. Qiu Yi Meng’s name already resounded throughout the Central Capital and even beyond, she was the second most famous member of the Central Capital’s younger generation. All of them felt that Qiu Yi Meng’s participation in this Inheritance War was a given, but to their surprise the one who appeared was Qiu Zi Ruo.
“My son is already old enough, it’s time for him to gain some experience.” Qiu Shou Cheng smiled casually. “The Inheritance War is a rare opportunity for him to grow!”
Huo Zheng spat disdainfully, releasing a half sneer half sigh, “Old Qiu, it’s not that I’m trying to speak badly of him. Heaven knows that compared to my little bastard of a son, your brat is no doubt better, but he’s still nothing special. From how I see it, you should hurry up and pass the Patriarch position to your daughter. If you really hand it over to your son, you Qiu Family will meet its end sooner rather than later!”
Qiu Shou Cheng coldly snorted, “How this old master handles things is none of your business!”
Huo Zheng simply rolled his eyes in response, “Stubborn old fool.”
In the field, five of the Eight Great Families had already expressed their attitudes and the people from the other gathered forces had who had been observing up until now could no longer hold themselves back. The next moment, a young man rushed forward and stood before Yang Wei, cupping his fists respectfully, “Third Sacred Sect’s Chief Disciple Xuan Li is willing to follow the First Young Lord!”
Yang Wei glanced at him and nodded gently, “Good!”
Xuan Li happily thanked Yang Wei before he quickly took up a spot behind him.
Following Third Sacred Sect’s lead, young people from all sizes of Sects came forward in a hurry to express their wish to join the Yang Family Young Lord they had chosen.
For a time, the scene was quite lively. From the gathered audience, the Eldest Brother Yang Wei and Second Brother Yang Zhao received the most help, whenever someone came up to one of them, Yang Wei would simply nod lightly while Yang Zhao would welcome them with a smile.
The two brothers had vastly different personalities so their way of doing things at this moment were also dissimilar.
In addition to the two of them, Fifth Brother Yang Kang, Sixth Brother Yang Shen, and Seventh Brother Yang Ying also gathered a number of supporters in a short period of time.
Only the third Brother Yang Tie, Eighth Brother Yang Quan and the youngest Yang Kai remained alone. They stood in front of the door without anyone bothering to ask about their situation.
The difference between the brothers in terms of their connections and charisma was identifiable at a glance.
Yang Tie and Yang Quan glanced at each other and exchanged a bitter smile, knowing they had no hope of winning this time’s Inheritance War.
“Brother Kai, don’t pay it any mind,” Yang Tie suddenly comforted Yang Kai in a soft voice.
“En,” Yang Quan nodded lightly, “You’re still better off than us; not only do you have two Blood Warriors, you also have support from your mother’s first-class force whereas we… haa!”
There was an indescribable despair and helplessness in their tone, one of them only had one Blood Warrior, the other had none.
“It’s fine,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, seemingly without the slightest care, but his eyes were always fixed on the dozen or so Blood Warriors which stood nearby.
These Blood Warriors were selected by the Yang Family Young Lords to participate in the Inheritance War. Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu were also standing in the middle, pale as paper, anyone with discerning eyes could see that they were still heavily injured. Their vitality wavered as their Blood Force had obviously suffered a great loss. If they didn’t rest and receive treatment soon, it was quite possible that they would die.
But despite all that, the two of them still stood there, resolute and motionless.
It was only when Yang Kai cast his gaze on them did they straighten their backs slightly more.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t looking at them, but rather another man and woman!
Tu Feng, Tang Yu Xian!
Both of them reluctantly smiled towards Yang Kai. They didn’t want to oppose him, but Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian were both selected by one of the Young Lords to participate in this Inheritance War, so they were destined to become enemies with Yang Kai regardless of their wills.
It was just that Yang Kai didn’t know for the time being which of his brothers they served.
When Yang Kai smiled back at them, both Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian trembled lightly, feeling a cold chill run up their spine. Every time the Little Lord smiled like this it meant that he was up to something.
[I really don’t want to be enemies with him!] Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian both thought to themselves, filled with bitterness. Although their strength still greatly surpassed his, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian didn’t know why, but they both couldn’t help feeling pressure from this Little Lord of theirs.
As time passed, the various gathered forces divided themselves between the five Yang Family Young Lords who everyone felt had hopes of winning.
Seeing this, Yang Tie and Yang Quan’s expression became dimmer and dimmer.
The Patriarchs of the seven family were all commenting on the Yang Family’s children, but Qiu Shou Cheng was particularly amazed.
Since listening to his daughter’s evaluation of Yang Kai that night, Qiu Shou Cheng had decided to pay a little attention to him today, but despite the fact that none of the smaller forces rallied to his side, the thick look of confidence which filled his eyes never wavered.
This scene secretly surprised Qiu Shou Chen.
The brief exchange between Yang Kai and Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian also didn’t escape his observation, only confusing Qiu Shou Cheng more.
An unsupported child from the Yang Family was equal to a tiger without fangs. Like this, just what kind of stir could he cause during this Inheritance War? Also, in such an embarrassing situation, he didn’t show the slightest unease. From beginning to end, he seemed like an island of calm in a raging storm, as if he was absolutely assured of himself even now.
Moreover, the two Blood Warriors who were Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage masters, why did it seem like they were afraid of him?
Qiu Shou Cheng couldn’t help marvelling slightly at all this, his evaluation of Yang Kai improving slightly.
Perhaps he really had some skill, but… it definitely wasn’t enough to win this battle.
His results could easily be seen from the current situation, he didn’t have the qualifications to strive for victory in this Inheritance War.
Once all the smaller forces had chosen their respective sides, the Yang Family’s Young Lords prepared to leave for War City.
Just as Yang Wei gripped his reins and was preparing to lead his team off though, a leisurely sound of horse’s hooves rang out from behind him.
Outside the South Gate, the crowd fell silent for a moment as the sound of grew louder and louder.
Turning in the direction of the disturbance, everyone looked over and saw a single Cloud Treading Colt trotting towards them, a young man wearing a big grin on his face sitting atop its back, holding his folded arms before him arrogantly. A strange light filled his eyes as he swept his gaze over the crowd, pausing only when a beautiful woman landed in his sight.
No matter which woman it was, when this young man’s eyes landed on them, they couldn’t help feeling as if their dresses were being torn open, causing them to shiver in fright.
Huo Family Patriarch Huo Zheng old face suddenly became extremely awkward.
Because the youth who had appeared was none other than his no-good son, Huo Xing Chen.
With only a short distance separating them, Yang Kai and Huo Xing Chen glanced at each other, the latter showing a hint of disdain and provocation, the edges of his mouth rising slightly.
That night, Huo Xing Chen had led the Profound Light Gang to attack Bamboo Knot Gang, but when Yang Kai arrived, he had taken Huo Xing Chen hostage and later blackmailed him out of a large sum of money, which had resulted in him handing over the Profound Light Gang. Now that they had met once again, Huo Xing Chen naturally wouldn’t give him any face.
“Did this Young Lord arrive late?” Huo Xing Chen paused in front of everyone, grinning pompously, sweeping his eyes around once more before nodding. “Good good, fortunately it seems I’ve arrived in time!”
Before the Yang Family Young Lords returned home, there were three members of the younger generation whose names resounded the loudest in the Central Capital.
The first and most famous was Liu Qing Yao, the second was Qiu Yi Meng, and the third is Huo Xing Chen.
The first two were famous throughout the Central Capital whereas the last one was notorious. Everyone in Central Capital knew that the Huo Family’s only Young Lord was arrogant and unrestrained. Any beautiful girl, young or old, when she saw him from far away, would immediately rush to avoid his eyes lest she be taken away.
Every family in the Central Capital that had a pretty young daughter had shown her a portrait of Huo Xing Chen’s face so that she would remember his appearance.
In a way, Huo Xing Chen’s name was even better known than Liu Qing Yao and Qiu Yi Meng. He had even earned the nickname ‘Central Capital Wolf’!
Wherever Huo Xing Chen, the Central Capital Wolf, appeared, the winds whirled and the ground shook. Even the Central Capital’s crying children would become silent at the mention of the Central Capital Wolf’s name!
At this moment, the Central Capital Wolf sat on the back of his Cloud Treading Colt as he pompously stared around, hands clasped before his chest, not showing any intention of dismounting to greet any of the many Elders gathered around him, causing many of the other families’ Patriarchs to glance at each other and shake their heads.
“Where did you go last night?” Huo Zheng let out a sigh of frustration as he asked.
“Secluded retreat,” Huo Xing Chen casually replied.
To this response, Huo Zheng was so angry that smoke nearly burst from his ears, “Little bastard! What the hell is that lipstick on your face about then!?”
Outside the South Gate, there was a sudden burst of laughter.
Huo Xing Chen however didn’t mind these chuckles, instead just sneering as he swept his eyes over the crowd, immediately causing the laughter to stop.
Even though the Central Capital Wolf’s reputation couldn’t be worse, he was still the Young Lord of one of the Eight Great Families! He wasn’t someone these people could laugh at.
Not to mention, he was the only successor to the Huo Family, making it even more unwise to provoke him. If one were to laugh at him again now, they would have to worry that this Young Lord Huo would remember their appearance.
Huo Zheng shook his head helplessly, his face filled with barely controlled rage, coldly snorting as he asked, “Since you’re not fooling around in the Red Light district, what are you doing here?”
Huo Xing Chen smiled and said, “Hahaha, didn’t you say that the Yang Family Inheritance War was a rare opportunity to gain experience? Your son has thought about it and came to the conclusion that the Huo Family can’t just sit on the sidelines of such a major event, or else others might start saying my Huo Family has no real men!”
Hearing these words, Huo Zheng couldn’t help smiling, his previous displeasure and anger already thrown to the wind, hurriedly asking, “You mean… you want to participate in the Inheritance War?”
“Your son was indeed thinking so, after all, I should try to live up to your expectations!” Huo Xing Chen replied in a dignified manner.
Huo Zheng was overjoyed, slapping his thigh happily, “Good good good! You finally understand, finally! It’s not too late! Good, come down, come down!”
As he spoke, Huo Zheng rushed forward, diligently helping his son down from the back of his Cloud Treading Colt.
He didn’t feel the slightest embarrassment at his overly doting approach, instead just smiling brightly as he acted.
Of course Huo Zheng would be deliriously happy. No matter how he tried to persuade Huo Xing Chen, his son was never willing to participate in the Inheritance War. Compared with the Inheritance War, he was more willing to go out drinking.
This attitude had caused Huo Zheng to think that the Huo Family would have nothing to do with this times Inheritance War, leaving him quite depressed.
But now, to his great surprise, on the day the Inheritance War truly commenced, his delinquent son had actually taken the initiative to participate all by himself, how could Huo Zheng not be happy?
“Take a look!” Huo Zheng smiled, waving his hand and pointing towards several nearby youths, “These are the eight Yang Family Young Lords! Son, choose one you want to support, after you do, Father promises you he’ll let the Star Hall accompany you!”
“Do you mean it?” Huo Xing Chen’s brow rose, his face suddenly becoming wretched.
“Naturally I mean what I say, in the presence of so many of your Elders, will this old master make jokes with you?” Huo Zheng said seriously.
“Hahaha, good! I like it!” Huo Xing Chen laughed as he licked his lips ominously.
The voices of the father and son were heard by everyone present, even the breathing of many of the Yang Family Young Lords also became slightly rough.
Star Hall! Within the Huo Family, it was their special forces.
It was completely made up of women, and the women inside were not only beautiful, but also quite strong. More importantly, because they were women, the Secret Arts and Martial Skills they practiced were more focused on precision and swiftness, so over the years they had mainly been responsible for assassination.
If such a force were to land in their hands, it would become a big boost. If it became an enemy’s support, it would definitely give them a severe headache.
So when these Yang Family children heard Huo Zheng mention the Star Hall, both they and Huo Xing Chen were full of interest.
Huo Xing Chen’s expression was casual as he glanced around at all the Yang Family’s children. With the exception of Yang Wei who maintained his stoic expression, everyone else smiled and cupped their fists.
Obviously they all wanted to win his favor so he would choose to stand with them.
Huo Zheng however just maintained his smile, not giving anyone any clue as to who he would ultimately choose.
After a moment of silence, Huo Xing Chen’s gaze landed on Yang Kai, his expression immediately becoming wicked as a taunting grin appeared on his face, nodding firmly, “You!”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he looked at Huo Xing Chen, his face filling with confusion.
He had never expected Huo Xing Chen would choose him. This was completely unreasonable, after all, the two of them had some not small grievances between them. As long as he was a normal person, he would choose others and then make every effort to suppress him to achieve the purpose of revenge, but now he had actually chosen to support Yang Kai; simply incomprehensible.
“Who?” Huo Zheng also looked awkward.
“Young Lord Kai!” Huo Xing Chen replied with a smile.
The seven Patriarchs all frowned slightly while Qiu Shou Cheng became even more puzzled.
“Hey, give me control of the Star Hall now,” Huo Xing Chen said excitedly, “The Star Hall and my name match; they should be taken care of by me. You’re already quite old; you shouldn’t hold them back now lest those beauties end up alone when you croak!”
Huo Zheng’s old face cramped as he opened his mouth a few times, seemingly wanting to curse viciously but doing his best to hold back since he was currently in public, after a long time, angrily muttering, “Little bastard! I won’t allow you to do this!”
Huo Xing Chen suddenly wore an amazed expression, “Are your words just farts? You just said that after I make a choice you’d give me the Star Hall yet now you’re refusing to follow through, do you not want face anymore?”
All of the other Patriarchs gathered nearby felt their self-restraint being test as all of them couldn’t help feeling the impulse to laugh at this good show playing out before them, each of them either staring up or down, pretending to be deaf as they wore big grins on their faces.
Huo Zheng roared furiously, “I told you to make a choice and then I’d give you the Star Hall, but you… you… if you had chosen someone good then so be it but you actually choose this…”
Yang Kai expression immediately sank as he stared towards Huo Zheng, smiling ominously.
Huo Zheng quickly collected himself, releasing a dry cough, not pursuing this topic any further, instead just shaking his head and saying, “No, it’s not good. Choose someone else!”
“As a man, how can I not uphold my word? This is a decision about a future ally not a concubine, how can I change my mind now?” Huo Xing Chen spoke righteously, waving his hand in a big motion, “Say no more, I’ve decided!”
“You… you unfilial son!” Huo Zheng shouted indignantly, the veins in his neck throbbing as his face became beet red, even his True Qi fluctuating somewhat unsteadily.
“Hey, dad, you seem angry. Do you want to hit me?” Huo Xing Chen said with an entirely fake naive expression, seemingly doing his best to provoke his father even more, almost as if he wanted him to die from anger.
The other Patriarchs had seen enough by this point, some of them trying to mediate the situation.
Gao Mo Dao spoke first, “Old Huo, forget it, your son has his own thoughts, why try to block him so desperately?”
Meng Xi Ping also added, “That’s right, just let it go, it’s nothing important.”
Huo Zheng coldly snorted in response, “Nothing important? That’s the strength my Huo Family carefully cultivated! Do you all not take the forces your families’ have raised seriously?”
All the other Patriarchs laughed awkwardly at this rebuttal, saying no more.
“Huo Zheng!” Yang Ying Hao, who had arrived at the South Gate at some point and had witnessed at least some of the farce which had taken place just now, finally couldn’t contain himself anymore and shouted, “The Inheritance War is the grand event by which my Yang Family chooses its next Patriarch. It is also the stage for the younger generation to prove themselves, Xing Chen has made his choice, you shouldn’t involve yourself more than necessary.”
At Yang Ying Hao’s words, Huo Zheng couldn’t help but frown.
Huo Xing Chen smiled and said, “It seems the Yang Family’s Patriarch is wise, unlike my confused old man!”
“If you dare act presumptuously again, this Old Man swears he’ll kill you today!” Huo Zheng furiously roared.
“Fine, fine, you’re not as young as you used to be, you should just go home, retire from your position, and leave the Huo Family to me.” Huo Xing Chen waved his hand impatiently.
“Disobedient brat!” Huo Zheng ground his teeth in frustration, “Whatever you choose to do is your freedom, I won’t stop you, but if you think this old man will give you command of the Star Hall, you’re dreaming!”
After making this declaration, Huo Zheng turned around and stormed off.
Huo Xing Chen didn’t pay him any attention, instead turning to Yang Kai and grinning meaningfully, “Young Lord Kai, it seems that we’ll be fighting together as brothers in arms!”
Yang Kai just stared back at him indifferently.
Outside the South Gate, things finally subsided.
The Eight Young Lords rode their Cloud Treading Colts and headed to War City!
Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian looked at Yang Kai awkwardly for a moment before nodding slightly, turning around and following behind Yang Kang as he gradually rode off into the distance.
Yang Kai saw this scene and couldn’t help grinning maliciously, signaling to Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu casually, “Let’s go.”
“Yes!” The two loudly shouted.
Huo Xing Chen rode up to Yang Kai’s side and looked at him curiously, glancing back at Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu a few times before letting out a laugh, “Interesting, interesting! Not a single force willing to support you, two half-dead Blood Warriors, don’t you think you situation isn’t that optimistic?”
“If you speak any more nonsense, I’ll kick you out!” Yang Kai glanced at him coldly.
Huo Xing Chen was startled, apparently not expecting Yang Kai’s attitude towards him to be so bad, but rather than being angry, he instead became even more interested, “Your other brothers were all kind and amiable, yet you dare act this way towards me. You really are interesting! This Young Master wants to see how you make it through the night!”
“You think I’m going to lose?” Yang Kai suddenly looked at him with a smile.
Huo Xing Chen choosing to ally with himself had greatly exceeded Yang Kai’s expectations and Yang Kai didn’t intend to count on him for any help but it wasn’t until now that he understood his true thoughts.
He simply wanted a front row seat!
“Why do you think this Young Master chose you?” Huo Xing Chen smirked, “This Young Master wants to see how a toothless, clawless tiger is defeated in this Inheritance War!”
“If so then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed,” Yang Kai grinned back at him fiercely, his eyes filled with confidence.
Huo Xing Chen snorted disdainfully, “I don’t deny that your personal strength is outstanding, but what can accomplish all alone?”
Turning back, Huo Xing Chen pointed at Gao Gao Yi and Ying Jiu and said, “You think those two can play any role? Maybe you’ve become senile just like my old man.”
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu’s expression sank, both of them firmly declaring, “Even if we subordinates lose our lives, we swear we will not let anyone close to the Little Lord!”
Hearing Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu declare themselves subordinates, coupled with their respectful attitudes, Huo Xing Chen couldn’t help but frown, subconsciously feeling that something was a little wrong.
Were the Yang Family’s Blood Warriors ever so polite to someone who wasn’t yet their master?
“How about we make a bet?” Yang Kai suddenly looked at Huo Xing Chen and smiled deviously.
“What are we gambling on?” Huo Xing Chen suddenly became interested.
“We’ll gamble on whether or not I can survive this evening!”
Staring at Yang Kai, the Central Capital Wolf’s eyes narrowed slightly, his thoughts turning sharply.
“Afraid?” Yang Kai laughed, his expression ice cold, sarcastically muttering, “If you’re afraid there’s no need to follow me, if you’re not careful, you may lose your life tonight! I heard that you’re the only heir to the Huo Family, if you die in War City things probably won’t end peacefully!”
“Afraid?” Huo Xing Chen grinned ominously, “This Young Master doesn’t know the meaning of the word! If you dare gamble with me, I’ll make sure you regret it! Don’t you know this Young Master is most famous for three things? Eating, drinking, and gambling!”
As he spoke, a look of excitement flashed across his eyes.
“What are the stakes?” Huo Xing Chen asked.
Yang Kai glanced over Huo Xing Chen and quipped, “You’re dirt poor right now, what can you possibly offer up?”
Huo Xing Chen’s mouth twitched before scratching his head awkwardly, “Fair enough.”
“Then we’ll go with something small,” Yang Kai laughed deviously. “If you lose, I don’t want anything from you, instead you’ll have to run ten laps around War City naked!”
“Uh… this… doesn’t seem appropriate, Brother Kai…” Huo Xing Chen suddenly frowned, if he really were to streak ten laps around War City, would he have any face left at all?
“What’s wrong, you’re already infamous throughout the Central Capital, running ten laps in the nude shouldn’t be a problem for you, there’s no need to fear being itchy when you’re already covered in lice.” Yang Kai said dismissively, his expression filled with mockery.
Listening to Yang Kai’s persuasion, Huo Xing Chen couldn’t help feeling he was right, eventually nodding, “What you say is true, but in any case I don’t think I’ll lose. If you lose, what can you give me?”
Yang Kai whistled loudly and suddenly a loud eagle cry rang out above them!
Immediately, a golden light swooped down and a Golden Feather Eagle perched steadily atop Yang Kai’s shoulder, its sharp intelligent eyes shimmering as it glanced about.
“If I lose, I’ll give him to you!”
Huo Xing Chen suddenly felt excited; if Yang Kai had said he would give him some artifact or Precious treasure he may not have been interested, as the sole heir to the Huo Family, what treasure could he not acquire?
However, this Golden Feather Eagle was different. This was an exclusive Monster Beast of the Yang Family. Forget about it being a formidable Monster Beast, just its grand appearance was enough to make Huo Xing Chen very tempted.
When he went out in the future, if he could bring along this Golden Feather Eagle with him, wouldn’t that give a big boost to his face?
As a Young Lord who revelled in extravagance, such prospects were quite to his liking.
“Say it and mean it!” Huo Xing Chen was afraid that Yang Kai would back down, so he quickly agreed, staring towards the Golden Feather Eagle with a look of joy, muttering under his breath, “Little Eagle, seems your surname will change tonight!”
Yang Kai smiled and said nothing.
A hundred kilometers from the Central Capital, War City.
This was a city built by Yang Family, and although it wasn’t as prosperous as the Central Capital, it was still quite good. Usually, it was just another ordinary city, but every time the Inheritance War was held, it would transform into a battlefield.
War City had an octagonal shape with a large mansion at each of its corners, naturally these mansions were prepared for the eight Young Lords who would participate in this time’s Inheritance War.
It was possible they would be fighting here for quite some time.
Throughout the ages, it was unusual for one of the Yang Family Young Lords to achieve total victory in a short period of time. Most of the Inheritance Wars were long drawn out conflicts, normally taking anywhere from three to five years to determine the outcome.
According to Yang Family’s records, one of the Yang Family Young Lords a hundred years ago had won the Inheritance war after only half a year.
This kind of achievement was already enough to be arrogant about because the closer one came to victory, the more powerful their enemies would also be.
It was only when one had a considerable advantage that they could easily defeating their opponents.
As the brothers entered the city in turn, the whole of War City instantly boiled. There were quite a few people living here, but most had already left for fear they might be implicated in the Yang Family Inheritance War.
Those who remained were all daring people, many of whom were actually quite looking forward to Inheritance War.
After exchanging some final remarks, the brothers separated from each other and went to their respective compounds.
Yang Kai’s base was in the northwest corner. This location’s scenery wasn’t very good, relatively remote and deserted, but he didn’t care.
A group of only four people arrived at the northwest corner’s compound where two pretty servants stood waiting for them. Each of the eight mansions had some caretakers; these servants were sent by the Yang Family to take care of the daily needs of the Young Lord and their entourage. All of these people were ordinary mortals, so their presence wouldn’t have any effect on the outcome of the Inheritance War.
When Yang Kai arrived, the two elegantly dressed young girls bowed politely and shouted, “Greetings, Young Lord Kai!”
The tone these two spoke in was not enthusiastic but rather matter of fact; whether it was Yang Kai or Huo Xing Chen, both of them subtly found that the expressions of these two maids was faintly dispirited.
The reason was obviously because they were assigned to the base of a Young Lord who had no future, so the two girls unconsciously weren’t looking forward to it.
The servants in these mansions, although not participants in the Inheritance War, certainly hoped to follow one of the better Young Lords, not only so their own safety would be guarantee, but also in hopes that if the one who they served was satisfied with them, once that Young Lord inherited the Patriarch’s position they would also have a chance to rise.
Huo Xing Chen smiled at Yang Kai, seemingly taunting him that even the ordinary people thought he had no chance of success, once more feeling that things were becoming interesting.
Yang Kai remained indifferent, only nodding slightly to the two servants before leading Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu into the compound.
Behind him, Huo Xing Chen smiled and called out to the two young girls, “Young ladies, what are your names?”
Seeing the obscene expression on Huo Xing Chen’s face, the two girls couldn’t help being frightened, retreating a few steps as their faces paled.
Naturally these two had heard the Central Capital Wolf’s name, so both of them were secretly anxious about how they would escape from his poisonous hands, but a moment later, Yang Kai’s voice passed from inside the yard, “Don’t even think of laying hands on anyone in my mansion!”
Huo Xing Chen’s expression cramped as he called out bitterly, “Hey, Yang Kai, aren’t you being a bit too controlling?”
After shouting so, he quickly chased after the trio who went in before him and said with indignation, “There seems to be no other beauties here, what do you want me to do to pass the time?”
Yang Kai gave him a faint look and said, “There should be a brothel in War City, you can head there yourself if you’re not afraid of being captured!”
“Fine, fine,” Huo Xing Chen waved his hand and said reluctantly. He had chosen to support Yang Kai in full view of the public, so despite his motives he had now become enemies with almost everyone else in this city. Even he knew that now wasn’t the time to visit the local Red Light District.
“If you’re looking for a beautiful woman, would I suffice?” From inside the mansion’s front entrance, a woman’s voice suddenly called out.
Hearing this voice, Yang Kai couldn’t help gawking, while Huo Xing Chen almost instinctively shrank his neck and stared ahead miserably.
What he saw was a bright eyed, delicate, jade skinned young woman wearing a lavender dress, a pleasant smile on her face as she walked out from inside, her two arms crossed in front of her, emphasising her rich, snow white peaks. Laughing lightly at the two dumbfounded youths before her.
“Qiu Yi Meng?” Huo Xing Chen exclaimed.
“I was wondering who it was who was seeking for beautiful women! So it turns out it was Brother Huo!” Qiu Yi Meng looked at Huo Xing Chen with a warm friendly smile, the latter staring back at her bitterly. Silently cursing his back luck to actually be meeting her here before suddenly feeling surprised, staring at Qiu Yi Meng in shock as if a strange thought had just crossed his mind.
“How come you’re here?” Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he asked.
Today had been full of surprises, Huo Xing Chen had become his ally for no apparent reason and now even Qiu Yi Meng had come here.
“Hasn’t your Qiu Family decided to side with my Sixth Brother?” Yang Kai frowned.
Qiu Family’s Qiu Zi Ruo had joined up with Yang Shen outside the South City Gate and at the time, the Qiu Family Patriarch Qiu Shou Cheng was also on the scene. That display was clearly telling everyone that the Qiu Family was an ally of Yang Kai’s Sixth Brother.
Yang Kai didn’t understand why Qiu Yi Meng had appeared in his compound, and it looked as if she had actually been waiting for him.
“The Qiu Family is the Qiu Family, and I am I!” Qiu Yi Meng smiled brightly, tilting her head slightly as she turned her eyes upwards slightly towards Yang Kai, “Why, am I not welcome?”
“Beauty, you weren’t disowned by your family were you?” Huo Xing Chen blurted out a guess he had.
“What do you mean, explain it to me simply.” Yang Kai asked curiously, completely ignoring Huo Xing Chen’s outburst.
“I’m here to help you, isn’t this the Inheritance War? What’s so difficult to understand? From now on, we’re allies.” Qiu Yi Meng grinned, seeing Yang Kai in a state of confusion made her quite happy.
Huo Xing Chen’s thoughts spun for a moment before smiling wickedly, “Your old man is quite cunning isn’t he? He actually decided to place two bets instead of one.”
He was was obviously misunderstanding, thinking that the Qiu Family had decided to support both Yang Shen and Yang Kai; however, Huo Xing Chen also had many doubts. He didn’t understand what kind of magic Yang Kai had used to persuade the Qiu Family to take a chance on him. He had only come here to fool around at Yang Kai’s expense because he was looking for excitement, but the Qiu Family was definitely not like this.
“Like I said, the Qiu Family is the Qiu Family, I am I,” Qiu Yi Meng slowly shook her head, “Right now I’m not representing the Qiu Family, only myself.”
Yang Kai’s thoughts turned quickly, soon grasping the general situation, nodding lightly as he asked, “Understood, how many people did you bring with you?”
Qiu Yi Meng smiled wryly, “I was only allowed to bring the Autumn Rain Hall with me.”
Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai instantly understood the strength and condition of all the cultivators inside the mansion, causing his brow to twitch slightly.
Huo Xing Chen beside him also let out a sneer, “The Autumn Rain Hall? The one that specializes in housing disabled cultivators? If I remember correctly it only has about twenty members, right?”
“En, it’s the hall specialized in taking care of our wounded!” Qiu Yi Meng gave Huo Xing Chen an annoyed glare.
Amongst the Qiu Family’s cultivators, anyone who had received a grave injury, suffered a decline in strength, and had no hope of ever recovering in the future was sent to the Autumn Rain Hall. There was only one or two Immortal Ascension Boundary experts in the entire hall, and their realms weren’t high.
Qiu Yi Meng along with these people simply weren’t enough to cope with the crisis that Yang Kai would be facing tonight.
“If they’ve come then so be it, having help is always better than having nothing.” Yang Kai looked at Qiu Yi Meng, smiled and nodded.
Qiu Yi Meng smiled back brilliantly and said, “I hope you don’t let me down!”
“What are you so optimistic about?” Huo Xing Chen shook his head slightly, wondering why these two didn’t seem the least bit concerned about this Inheritance War, crossing his arms and saying, “A helper with no power to use, two severely injured Blood Warriors, and a Young Lady who only brought a bunch of disabled people with her. It’s hopeless, Yang Kai, you might as well give up right now.”
Huo Xing Chen was clearly not optimistic about Yang Kai, “Doesn’t your mother come from the Dong Family? Why didn’t I see them with you at the South Gate? Don’t they care about you?”
Right now, if there was the support of a first-class family, the situation probably wouldn’t be so worrying.
“They’ll come,” Yang Kai grinned deviously, “Just not today!”
“What do you mean?” This time it was Qiu Yi Meng’s turn to be stunned. From Yang Kai’s smile, she smelled a hint of conspiracy, but as intelligent as she was, she still couldn’t figure what kind of snake oil Yang Kai was selling.
“All of you can attend to your own business, today there’ll be nothing for you to worry about. Men will block the enemy and earth will block the water.” Yang Kai casually said, leading Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu into the mansion.
“Why you…” Qiu Yi Meng followed a few steps, but seeing Yang Kai striding away, not even glancing back, she suddenly couldn’t help feeling annoyed, angrily stomping her foot a few times as she ground her teeth.
She was even more certain now that Yang Kai was plotting something, but simply refused to explain anything to her at all, causing Qiu Yi Meng to feel a sense of frustration.
Every time she was facing Yang Kai, she was led around by her nose, always unable to gain the upper hand, she simply couldn’t grasp what he was thinking or what he would do next.
[As sly as a fox!] Qiu Yi Meng silently cursed to herself.
Standing bitterly in the same place for a while, Qiu Yi Meng eventually snorted once before heading off to arrange her Autumn Rain Hall’s defense. Although there were no masters in the Autumn Rain Hall, it was still possible for them to lay down some traps around the perimeter.
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War City. Grand Origin Restaurant.
The restaurant was in full swing, customers coming and going, keeping the waiters constantly busy.
Before the Inheritance War began, a lot of people had already gathered inside War City. This was the battlefield of the Yang Family, naturally there were some who had come here early to await the arrival of the Yang Family Young Lords.
At a table by a window, a young fatty, around twenty six years old sat drinking wine and eating delicious food.
To his left and right there were two old men who say there staring off into the distance, like they had been stunned and were in a daze. The two old men seemed unremarkable, motionless, squinting like they were half asleep, but their seemingly unfocused eyes were actually constantly observing the guests inside the restaurant.
The crowd in the restaurant was constant chatting, many of the patrons who had drunk too much were telling tales of what had happened outside the Central Capital’s South Gate today.
The two old and one young man sat there listening to these words, after a long time, one of the old men said, “Young Master, if what they say is true, then Young Lord Kai’s future is worrying.”
With only Huo Xing Chen, who couldn’t mobilize any power from the Huo Family, supporting him, Yang Kai essentially was on his own.
“En,” The other old man also nodded slightly, “Are we really not going to his compound to help now?”
“I also want to head there.” The young man with a slightly fat body grumbled angrily, his expression quite helpless, “But that little brat sent me a letter two days ago telling me specifically not to intervene today but instead to just sit back and observe the situation.”
“Don’t intervene?” The old man who spoke first asked in confusion, “Does that mean Young Lord Kai thinks that without any additional strength, he can cope with the impending danger? My Dong Family is bound by marriage with the Fourth Master and Young Master and Young Lord Kai are cousins. Now that he is facing difficulties, we should render him assistance, should we not?”
The young man was none other than the Dong Family’s Dong Qing Han, and the two old men were the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards who had been following him all this time.
Dong Qing Han shook his head lightly, “Only the Heavens know what that smelly brat is up to. I also heard that the two Blood Warriors with him are seriously wounded and currently can’t use even half of their full strength. I also wanted to rush over to meet with him, but since he specifically made a request for me to wait, I can only wait.”
The Wind Guard’s brow lightly furrowed, “The Yang Family’s Blood Warrior all posses incredible strength. This old master has also had some dealings with the two Blood Warriors beside Young Lord Kai, and I know for a fact that both of them are among the very best!”
Dong Qing Han suddenly became interested, smiling as he asked, “If you were to engage in a life or death battle with them, what would the result be?”
Wind and Cloud Dual Guards wore solemn expression as they responded, “Both of us old masters have lower cultivations than those two by a single minor realm. If they were at their peak, even if only one of them displayed their Mad Tyrant Blood Skill, killing us would be as easy as flipping their hand, but as of now… I’m confident that in a one on one, we’d be able to beat them easily.”
Dong Qing Han let out a sharp breath, his expression a mix of surprise and awe, nodding lightly, “The Yang Family really lives up to its reputation. With that Mad Tyrant Blood Skill at its disposal, who could possibly beat them?”
The Wind Guard calmly continued, “The Mad Tyrant Blood Skill is indeed a terrifying method, but because it requires the user to overdraw their vitality, most of the Yang Family’s Blood Warrior are generally not long-lived, this is also a sorrowful point for the Yang Family’s Blood Warrior Hall.”
The Cloud Guard also nodded sternly in approval.
“Forget it, let’s not discuss this any further, since that little brat doesn’t want me to intervene, he must have his own arrangements. We’ll wait here for a day and then go to his place tomorrow to ask him what this was all about.” Dong Qing Han spoke casually, seemingly not worried about whether Yang Kai would survive tonight or not.
The Wind and Cloud Dual Guards couldn’t help feeling surprised, not knowing what Young Lord Kai had said in the letter he had sent to their Young Master that had made him so confident about his success.
A different restaurant, third floor.
Another young man sat looking out the window in front of him. This youth was approximately twenty three years old with a handsome appearance. At the moment, like Dong Qing Han, he too was tasting a variety of delicacies, but unlike Dong Qing Han’s helpless expression, this youth was full of smiles, like he was the happiest person alive.
“Young Master, Lord Patriarch had said that we were to deliver these materials and people to that Yang Kai. Now that he has arrived in War City, should we not go see him now?” The youth’s guard quietly whispered.
However, the young man continued smiling as he replied, “Why should we head there? Didn’t you hear the people in the restaurant all saying that Yang Kai will be eliminated tonight? Although the things that I, Lu Song, have brought this time are not priceless, but they are still good things. If we were to send them to him now, wouldn’t that be like trying to beat a dog with a meat bun? What use would that be?”
“Young Master Song, you mean…” Although the guard felt that this was somewhat improper, he could only ask.
Lu Song was the heir to the Lu Family, the oldest son of Lu Liang. This time, on Lu Liang’s order, he had carried a large amount of gifts to the Central Capital in order to placate Yang Kai for the incident where he was attacked soon after leaving the Lu Family home.
Although what had transpired had nothing to do with the Lu Family, and later almost all of the Yang Family Young Lords suffered from similar assassination attempts on their way home, Lu Liang still had no choice but to pinch his nose and swallow this insult. Who let Yang Kai stay at his Lu Family for several days?
The innocent and guilty would both be swept up by disasters! As a big family, how could they not understand this point?
After they received word from Qiu Yi Meng, Lu Liang had immediately let his son leave for the Central Capital in order to plead their innocence.
Lu Song coldly snorted, “That Yang Kai is too despicable! Just because he happened to pass by my Lu Family and was later attacked, he took the opportunity to blackmail our Lu Family’s resources! You tell me, how can my Lu Family’s things be handed over to that bastard so cheaply?”
“What the Young Master said right.” The guard also took the opportunity to vent his anger, “This Yang Family Young Lord really is despicable, he actually made the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady send that letter to make it absolutely clear he wanted our Lu Family to offer him tribute!”
“That’s right, but looking at the current situation, I had no need to give these things to him. Right now he’s just a grasshopper after the autumn, who knows how many hours he has left? Hahaha, tonight we’ll get to watch a good show.” Lu Song smiled proudly, “If he loses, I won’t hand over a single silver to him.”
The guard frowned at that moment though and objected, “But Young Master Song, before we departed, the Patriarch said that no matter how that Yang Kai performed in the Inheritance War, these gifts must be sent to him.”
Lu Liang also knew that his son was somewhat arrogant and short-sighted, so he had given very specific instructions about what they were to do to the masters sent to guard him.
When Lu Song heard these words, he also frowned, showing a conflicted expression.
He naturally didn’t know that when word of Yang Kai being attacked shortly after leaving the Lu Family home, the Lu Family’s Grand Elder Lu Si had also returned from Hidden Cloud Peak.
A few months ago, Lu Si had gone to Hidden Cloud Peak, handed Yang Kai’s letter and jade slip to Xiao Fu Sheng, and Grandmaster Xiao had immediately refined that Mysterious Grade pill for him. After taking that pill and refining its medicinal effects, Lu Si’s meridians were completely healed and he at last truly became an Above Immortal Ascension Boundary powerhouse.
After returning to the Lu Family, Lu Si called Lu Liang and explained some secrets to him.
As for what the Grand Elder said to the Patriarch, no one else knew, but all of the Elders in the family could feel that after Lu Si’s return, Lu Liang’s opinion of Yang Kai had changed greatly. It was also because of this that he had so refreshingly ordered Lu Song to bring such a large amount of gifts to the Central Capital to offer Yang Kai.
Lu Song was unaware that all of these twists and turns had even taken place so to this day he still didn’t understand why his father had given such orders.
“If that Yang Kai is eliminated from the Inheritance War so quickly, what’s the point in giving him these things?” Lu Song said as he shook his head in annoyance, muttering under his breath, “It will be such a waste!”
The guard next to him eventually relented, “Young Master, how about we wait and see how that Yang Kai performs? In any case, Patriarch had only said that we must deliver him these things, he didn’t say when. If he can’t even last one day, then these materials will be useless to him and we’ll act according to Young Master’s plans. If he does manage to survive though, we should follow the Patriarch’s instructions and deliver these things to him.”
“Good, we’ll do that,” Lu Song nodded in approval, “If he were to lose on the first day of the Inheritance War, then he’ll definitely have no future in the Yang Family. Such a person, my Lu Family doesn’t need to fear.”
“It is just as the Young Master says!” The guard also nodded.
War City northwest corner, Yang Kai’s mansion.
In one of the rooms, Yang Kai was sitting lazily, a pretty maidservant serving him tea, after Yang Kai took a sip, he casually waved to dismiss her.
Before the maidservant left, her eyes glanced towards Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu in fear.
The conditions of the two Blood Warriors had gotten worse and worse over the past few days, especially after Yang Kai had sent them out to help subdue the North City district’s small forces. Their vitality drained quickly and their injuries noticeably worsened, even if they took the Yang Family’s special healing pills they would have little effect.
Their foundations had been compromised!
About this, both Yang Kai and they were very clear. So long as their foundations weren’t shaken, with their cultivation realm and inherent blood force, they would still have had a chance to recover.
At this moment, the two Blood Warriors were pale white and their bodies were constantly sweating. They were enduring severe pains all the time. The faces of the two men alternated between stern and fierce, blue veins throbbing on the foreheads like wriggling worms.
If any ordinary person saw this, they would naturally be terrified.
In spite of all this though, the two of them continued to stand there, straight and motionless.
Yang Kai looked up at them, his eyes filled with admiration.
He was also a very strong willed person, his temperament quite determined, but when he thought about himself enduring the same treatment as these two Blood Warriors, he felt that he wouldn’t be able to do better than them.
At the very least, watching a Young Lord who didn’t seem to see them as people but instead just wanted to squeeze whatever final value he could from them before their vitality passed, that alone would be something Yang Kai could never accept.
But the two Blood Warrior’s loyalty to the Yang Family made them feel no complaints. Not only did they not complain, even their expressions didn’t betray any bitterness, only steadfastly fulfilling their oath to serve Yang Kai without the slightest hint of displeasure.
Feeling Yang Kai’s gaze upon them, Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu did their best to straighten themselves up.
After a long time, Yang Kai let out a laugh, “Which of you is Qu Gao Yi?”
To be honest, Yang Kai really didn’t know who was who, because after he came back from the Blood Warrior Hall that day, he hadn’t exchange a single word with either of them.
When the two Blood Warriors heard this question, their expressions didn’t change in the slightest, the taller of the two who also had a broader stature quickly cupped his fists, “Subordinate is Qu Gao Yi!”
“Then you must be Ying Jiu?” Yang Kai looked at the other person.
Ying Jiu nodded lightly. Between the two Blood Warriors, Ying Jiu was more distinct, because although he was a man, his physique was slim and lean, the short mustache adoring his face giving him a particularly shrewd look. His personality was reticent and taciturn, in some ways he resembled Yang Kai’s Eldest Brother Yang Wei.
From the words of the Yang Family Fourth Master and Dong Su Zhu, Yang Kai already knew what fields these two Blood Warriors specialized in.
Qu Gao Yi was best at the rapid outbursts of power. He can completely expend his True Qi and Spiritual Energy in a short stick of incense worth of time. Once he entered a fight, he would unleash a torrent of attacks that wouldn’t give his opponent time to breathe. Within a stick of incense worth of time, he was basically invincible among those in the same realm.
In terms of instantaneous power, he was the strongest in the entire Blood Warrior Hall! Although he was an Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage, but over the years, the number of Peak Immortal Ascension masters he had defeated was a lot.
Even considering the entire Blood Warrior Hall, his strength was relatively high.
Ying Jiu was completely different as his specialties were speed and stealth, able to hide in the shadows and strike when least expected, he could often defeat his opponents before they even realized his presence.
There were rumors that the most difficult person to handle in the Bood Warrior Hall was not the Hall Master Feng Sheng nor the Deputy Hall Master Zhou Feng, but the shadow-like Ying Jiu.
Anyone stared at by him, even if he fled to the ends of the earth, could not escape his pursuit.
When these two worked together they complemented each other’s abilities perfectly, giving them a reputation as slaughterers amongst the Blood Warrior.
Previously, when the two of them were escorting the Yang Family’s Fourth Young Lord Yang Xin Wu they were besieged by a large number of Immortal Ascension Boundary masters. The enemy’s strength was even higher than group encountered by Yang Kai.
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu put up a desperate fight but unfortunately Yang Xin Wu’s own strength wasn’t high so he had not managed to escape.
Yang Kai suddenly speaking to them confused Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu, both of them wondering what instructions he had to give, quickly composing themselves as they awaited their orders.
“Do you have any complaints about me?” To their surprise, Yang Kai didn’t give them new orders but actually asked such a question.
As he spoke, Yang Kai smiled and stared at the pair deeply.
Qu Gao Yi quickly replied, “Subordinate doesn’t dare.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing?” Yang Kai sneered lightly, “I want to hear the truth.”
Qu Gao Yi couldn’t help but look a little embarrassed as he glanced towards Ying Jiu, both of them not sure what to say.
Back at the Blood Warrior Hall, the two had listened to Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian about how outstanding the Little Lord was and how he treated the Blood Warriors benevolently, and how later Yang Kai had agreed to use the two of them as in their moment of desperation.
With Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian’s high praise and Yang Kai’s willingness to support them, Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu naturally felt incredibly grateful to him and secretly decided to assist Yang Kai in making a name for himself, even if they were to lose their lives they wouldn’t hesitate.
After accompanying him these days though, Yang Kai had never met eyes with them, his attitude towards them extremely cold, not even allowing them time to rest and recover.
The Blood Warriors had pledged undying loyalty to the Yang Family, but they were still only human! Them being willing to sacrifice themselves yet receiving such harsh treatment from Yang Kai would obviously make them feel uncomfortable.
“Speak freely,” Yang Kai took another sip from his cup as he stared at them seriously.
Qu Gao Yi eventually licked his cracked lips and said, “Ying Jiu and I had already given up on ourselves when the Little Lord extended his hand to us! It was the Little Lord who gave us a reason and a place to continue to serve, so regardless of how we have been treated we would never dare to complain to the Little Lord, we are just… slightly disappointed!”
The words he spoke were earnest and his expression firm, it was obviously his heartfelt opinion.
Yang Kai calmly incited, “Do you think that I am different from what Tu Feng described?”
Qu Gao Yi and even the unsociable Ying Jiu nodded lightly.
“Of course I treated you differently, because I didn’t want you to begin with!” Yang Kai stood up, “I wanted Tu Feng and Yu Xian. After all, we were already familiar with one another!”
The two Blood Warrior’s expressions dimmed slightly at these words.
“But the two of you have followed me for some time now so I think we are at least somewhat familiar with each other.” Yang Kai looked at the two and smiled, “At the very least, I understand what you really think.”
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu faces brightened once more as they stared forward silently. Yang Kai saying this was equivalent to telling them that he wanted to open a dialogue with them, something the two of them very much hoped for.
“Your loyalty to the Yang Family and your gratitude towards me, are emotions that I no longer doubt!” Yang Kai raised his brow and grinned, “But if there is a day when I find myself in conflict with the Yang Family, what will you do? How would you choose? Would you stand by my side, or would you side with the Yang Family?”
The two men’s faces changed greatly as they looked at Yang Kai with amazement.
“Is the Little Lord making a joke?” Qu Gao Yi asked, frowning.
“I’m serious,” Yang Kai stared at him firmly and sharply.
Qu Gao Yi took a deep breath before replying, “Although I hope such a day never comes, but if it does, I and Ying Jiu will still follow the Little Lord!”
Ying Jiu also took the rare step of expressing himself, “Without the Little Lord, the two of us may have already wasted ourselves and retreated to the mountains, so our lives already belong to the Little Lord, if the Little Lord has need of us we will not hesitate to act.”
Listening to their responses, Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
The reason why they had said this was firstly because Yang Kai was also a member of the Yang Family, so they didn’t believe such a situation would ever arise. Secondly, because saying so now wouldn’t create problems for them, even if such a day came, they could worry about it then.
But in any case, Yang Kai finally got the answer he wanted.
“I once told Yu Xian, those who know my secrets either become my people or become corpses!” Yang Kai’s grinned fiercely, “Now you are qualified to know so of my secrets.”
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu glanced at each other before looking at Yang Kai with some surprise, not knowing what he was trying to say.
“Each of you take one of these pills.” Yang Kai reached into his sleeve and threw two pills out.
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu reached out and thanked Yang Kai, but still felt puzzled.
Like Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian many days ago, when the two Blood Warriors discovered that the pill Yang Kai gave them was only an Earth Grade Top-Rank healing pill they couldn’t help feeling confused. Even if it was a pill specifically for therapy, with such a low grade, what effect could it have?
Although they had their doubts, neither of them showed any signs on the surface.
“Time is tight, take this pill and refine it as quickly as possible, there’ll be a big role for you two to play in tonight’s show,” Yang Kai’s eyes were as deep as a well, his mouth slowly forming into a blade like sneer, “I can’t wait to see which of my brothers is the most impatient for me to exit the stage!”
“Yes!” The two Blood Warriors nodded firmly, both of them knew that tonight would not be peaceful so they didn’t dare to delay, but just as they were about to swallow the healing pills, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became cold as he glanced towards the front of the mansion, grinning fiercely, “It’s not even night time yet but someone can’t wait any longer?”
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu were both startled, immediately responding by releasing their Divine Sense, quickly noticing that a number of people had gathered outside the compound, slightly angry at this development yet at the same time astonished.
Because Yang Kai was aware of this group before they were!
The location where the three people were at the moment was quite deep inside the mansion. The distance to the main entrance around a thousand meters, so not the slightest sound from there could possibly be transmitted here.
Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu couldn’t understand how Yang Kai had discovered this group.
The number of people who had arrived weren’t many, their strength also not too great, but nevertheless there were still several Immortal Ascension masters among them.
“The two of us will send them off first,” Qu Gao Yi took the initiative to say.
“There’s no rush,” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly, “Qiu Yi Meng is coming.”
Not long after he spoke, the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady’s voice rang out outside the room, “Yang Kai, someone’s come to meet with you.”
Yang Kai and the two Blood Warriors looked at each other blankly, all of them confused.
Opening the door, Yang Kai saw Qiu Yi Meng standing outside wearing a light smile. When the two Blood Warriors saw her their eyes brightened as they secretly praised Yang Kai, it seemed the Little Lord’s charm wasn’t small, even in such a desperate situation he had still won the assistance of such a beauty.
“Who is it?” Yang Kai asked suspiciously.
However, Qiu Yi Meng just slowly shook her head, “I don’t know, they’re led by a young man who asked to speak with you, but his attitude is a bit weird, do you want to meet them?”
“You don’t know where their origins?” Yang Kai was slightly surprised.
“He didn’t say, so how could I know?” Qiu Yi Meng stared back at him blankly.
“Is their leader a fatty?” Yang Kai suddenly thought of Dong Qing Han, but two days ago he had clearly told his cousin not to show up today. With his personality, Dong Qing Han would never ignore his request so recklessly.
“No, you’ll have to see for yourself.”
Yang Kai nodded and walked out; as Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu were about to follow, Yang Kai stopped them.
“Right now you have to heal yours wounds, there’s no need to follow me.”
“But…” Qu Gao Yi wanted to object but was quickly interrupted.
“With the strength of these people, there’s no way they can harm me,” Yang Kai said confidently as he walked off, leaving Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu behind looking at each other in confusion.
Yang Kai’s brief statement, if they analysed it carefully, actually contained some extraordinary information.
The Little Lord not only discovered this group of people before them, he also seemed to know what level of strength they possessed!
How did he know? His cultivation was only True Element Boundary Eighth Stage, not even reaching the Immortal Ascension Boundary, so he didn’t have the use of his Divine Sense yet.
With only his own perception, it was impossible for him to grasp such detailed information.
Moreover, even if he really did know what kind of strength this group of newcomers had, why did he say that there was no way they could harm him? This inexplicable confidence he exuded was what really confounded Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu.
The two of them were well aware that there were several Immortal Ascension Boundary masters in this group.
Looking at each other, Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu both saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
As Yang Kai walked, the Qui Family’s First Young Lady continued smiling lightly as she commented, “Looking at you, you don’t seem to be in a hurry.”
“What’s there to hurry for?” Yang Kai glanced over at her.
“You still want to play dumb with me?” Qiu Yi Meng’s smile disappeared as she grit her teeth, grabbing Yang Kai’s sleeve as she paused before saying, “Shouldn’t you make things clear to me?”
“Make what clear? I don’t know what you are talking about.” Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled.
“How many connections you have, what forces will come to your aid, and how are you going to survive the coming storm tonight?” Qiu Yi Meng bluntly asked because she knew that if she didn’t, Yang Kai would only return some casual pleasantries to her. Softening her tone slightly she continued, “Now I’m also your ally, although I can’t represent the Qiu Family and although I didn’t bring you much help, I’ve still come this far! Why do you still insist on shutting me out? Am I still not worthy of sincerely communicating with you?”
“Sincerely communicating?” Yang Kai smiled weirdly, staring up and down Qiu Yi Meng, a lasciviousness light flashing across his eyes, “How do you want to sincerely communicate with me?”
Seeing the aggressive light in his eyes and listening to his implied meaning, Qiu Yi Meng turned red and quickly calmed down, “Can you not confide in me? If you have any troubles, you can tell them to me, I can discuss things with you.”
“No need, I only speak with women about love, chatting about trivial things is too superficial, it’s not suitable to me.” Yang Kai shook his head and replied seriously.
“Why you… you… why is it when you face me you never speak seriously! Do you despise me that much!?” Qiu Yi Meng roared bitterly, her breath slightly ragged, stubbornly yelling, “Although I admit you’re amazing, by far the most outstanding member of our generation, but you don’t have to compare me with that Beguiling Demon Queen, I know I’m not her match!”
“I don’t despise you, it’s just that you’re too shrewd! Whenever I’m around you I have to act carefully,” Yang Kai glanced at her coldly.
Qiu Yi Meng was stunned, her long lashes fluttering a few times before she suddenly wore a big smile, “So I can bring you pressure, I always thought that it was only me who felt tense around you.”
“You think too little of yourself.”
“I don’t know why, but I feel a lot better all of a sudden,” Qiu Yi Meng smiled happily, seemingly thinking that being able to make Yang Kai cautious around her was a wonderful thing.
“I won’t tell you anything else, as for tonight, just wait.” Yang Kai grinned confidently.
“You really have made arrangements,” Qiu Yi Meng muttered, “Seems I worried about you for nothing.”
Knowing that she was just saying as such to poke fun at him, Yang Kai didn’t bother responding, instead turning around to walk off again.
Before Yang Kai had realized, Huo Xing Chen had appeared from somewhere, fanning himself with a folding fan, as he followed the pair he grinned and asked, “How come I heard movement outside?”
“Your hearing is quite sharp!” Qiu Yi Meng stared at him coldly.
Huo Xing Chen just grinned back meaningfully and said, “I always like watching lively scenes, especially the scenes where enemies meet. Tell me, who came looking for trouble with him?”
“They don’t look like they’re looking for trouble,” When the conversation shifted to business, Qiu Yi Meng’s look became serious, “Their leader’s attitude is very strange, it’s like he’s come to join you yet is unwilling to do so. There are also a number of people with him as well as a lot of big boxes.”
“Oh shit!” Huo Xing Chen cursed loudly, his eyes staring towards Yang Kai in disbelief, “In your sorry state there’s still someone who wants to join you? Are they blind or in love with you?”
“You shut up!” Qiu Yi Meng coldly shouted. Huo Xing Chen seemed to be a little afraid of this Young Lady Qiu so he quickly fanned himself and kept silent.
“Watch your back, this may be some kind of trick!” Qiu Yi Meng spoke openly to Yang Kai, “I don’t want to see you lose because of a moments carelessness.”
Qiu Yi Meng had all but defied her family in order to support Yang Kai, so if he were to be eliminated because of some half baked scheme, it would only prove that she was blind.
Outside the main entrance, a sturdy young man dressed in a black gown stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Behind him there were at least twenty more cultivators, four of whom had reached the Immortal Ascension realm, though the strongest was only at the Fourth Stage.
Although an Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage master wasn’t weak for a first-class family, they also weren’t anything outstanding.
What was more remarkable was the set of large scarlet boxes this group of people carried with them.
It was unknown what was inside these boxes, some of them appeared light, some very heavy, some of them even giving off a faint medicinal smell.
There were four such red boxes in total, all of them lined up neatly beside the gate.
The young man who appeared to be the group’s leader had firm determined eyes as well as a tranquil expression. All twenty of these people stood silently as they waited indifferently for Yang Kai to appear.
A short while later, Yang Kai, Huo Xing Chen, and Qiu Yi Meng emerged from the mansion together.
The young man’s eyes swept over the trio but upon seeing Huo Xing Chen and Yang Kai, his expression became slightly confused. He couldn’t tell which one of these youths was Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was also quite confused; he had thought the one who had come was Dong Qing Han, but now, at first glance, he realized it wasn’t his cousin, but what was even more puzzling was that… he didn’t know who this person was!
It was unreasonable for someone who he didn’t know to come seeking an alliance at this moment.
Given the current state of this Inheritance War, as long someone had a little bit of sense, they would see think his hope of winning was almost zero, even his chances of lasting the first night weren’t good.
So this group of people appearing right now was somewhat intriguing.
But if they hadn’t come to join him, why would they have brought four large crates which clearly contained war material with them?
Shaking his head secretly, Yang Kai couldn’t quite understand.
Even without Qiu Yi Meng’s reminder though, how could Yang Kai act carelessly here?
Before he had the chance to speak though, Huo Xing Chen flipped opened his folding fan and waved if gently, smiling as he asked, “Which force’s disciple are you?”
As soon as he spoke, the leading youth immediately fixed his eyes on Huo Xing Chen, but seeing his playboy delinquent style, his brow couldn’t help but wrinkle, some coldness creeping into his expression as he asked, “Are you the Yang Family’s youngest Young Lord, Yang Kai?”
Huo Xing Chen’s appearance had instantly made him very disappointed, so his tone was naturally not too polite.
After hearing this man’s question, Huo Xing Chen’s face turned dark as he let out a dark laugh. “Judging by your cluelessness, you must be a bird-brained grunt that isn’t informed of anything. How about this Young Lord spare some time to give you some advice then?”
Without waiting for the other party to respond though, Huo Xing Cheng continued, “After tonight, this place will definitely change owners so listen up bird-brain. You’re free to go wherever you’d like, but you should first open your eyes and think for a moment, among the eight Yang Family Young Lords, picking this place to join is nothing less than hopeless.”
In front of Yang Kai’s mansion, Huo Xing Chen had taken the lead and made several rude comments. Not only did Yang Kai’s brow wrinkle, but the young man opposite was also unhappy, coldly snorting at this so called advice.
Huo Xing Chen was unaffected by the atmosphere though, grinning as he started to say something again, but before he could speak Yang Kai had already grabbed his clothes and tossed him aside.
Tumbling through the air a few times, Huo Xing Chen face planted on the floor. After standing up, he rubbed his nose awkwardly but not daring to have any complaints, simply glaring back at his attacker bitterly.
Seeing this scene, the young man couldn’t help turning his attention to Yang Kai, the cultivators who stood behind him also whispering amongst themselves.
“I’m the one you are looking for,” Yang Kai said indifferently as he swept his gaze over the crowd.
The lead youth looked a little stunned, his eyes quickly flashing a trace of disdain and insolence, staring towards Yang Kai in a provocative manner. Without bowing or cupping his fists, he flatly spoke, “Greetings Young Lord Kai!”
“Who are you?” Yang Kai also found this situation interesting. No wonder Qiu Yi Meng said that this person’s attitude was strange, there was indeed a problem with how he acted.
By all accounts, it looked like he had come here to form an alliance with him; he had brought a lot of cultivators and four large crates of materials, but his expression was clearly filled with unwillingness, almost like being here was some kind of punishment for him.
On top of all that, Yang Kai simply couldn’t remember where he had met this person.
“Xiang Tian Xiao!” The young man replied curtly.
“Xiang Tian Xiao?” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, suddenly hearing his surname and thinking of something. A grin appearing on his face, he spoke in a dismissive tone, “Who is Xiang Chu to you?”
Xiang Chu, a Young Lord of the first-class Xiang Family, was someone Yang Kai had met at Tai Fang Mountain a few months ago; he was the next in line to inherit the Xiang Family.
At that time, Xiang Chu and Nan Sheng had joined forces to oppress Yang Kai, but at the last moment two Yang Family Blood Warriors had appeared. Yang Kai had secretly plucked two feathers from the Golden Feather Eagle and then pushed responsibility onto Nan Sheng, resulting in two of the Nan Family’s Ascension masters losing an arm as well as Nan Sheng losing two fingers.
The identities of the Xiang Chu and Nan Sheng weren’t low, so Yang Kai couldn’t kill them outright and was forced to let them go; however, he had told them before they left that within three months he expected to see their sincerity in the Central Capital.
Given this series of events, it was obvious that this Xiang Tian Xiao and Xiang Chu were related; as such, then the origins of these cultivators and materials could also be explained.
“He is my elder brother!” Xiang Tian Xiao responded faintly.
Sure enough, Yang Kai nodded slightly and grinned at the cultivators behind Xiang Tian Xiao, “This is the sincerity of your Xiang Family? Good, I’m very satisfied!”
However, Xiang Tian Xiao slowly shook his head and said, “You don’t have such big face yet. The cultivators here are the sincerity of my Xiang Family, and these four boxes of material are the sincerity of the Nan Family!”
“Very well! I don’t mind. Although these people’s strength is a little weak, together with this material they’ll be a little useful.” Yang Kai smiled care freely.
Between these two first-class families, one had sent manpower while the other had sent resources, such an arrangement was still acceptable. Yang Kai estimated that these two families greatly feared that their descendant’s attempt to kill a Yang Family Young Lord would cause the Yang Family to seek trouble with them, so they had choked back their tears and paid a hefty sum to resolve the issue peacefully.
Xiang Tian Xiao’s eyes overflowed with an angry light, his mouth forming into a disdainful sneer as he shot back, “Young Lord Kai’s tone is higher than the Heavens! Whatever your grudge with my big brother is, I have no mood to ask, but if you want my Xiang Family’s help in this Inheritance War, you’ll have to prove to me you have the skills first!”
“Hahah! You want to fight him?” Huo Xing Chen suddenly burst into laughter, staring at Xiang Tian Xiao with a look of pity. His eyes flashed a look of interest before slowly shaking his head, “Even if you’re the second Young Lord of the Xiang Family, I can’t say your chances of success are high, it’s really not a wise decision to play with him.”
To the side, Qiu Yi Meng also giggled and looked at Xiang Tian Xiao with a funny smile.
Both of them had exchanged blows with Yang Kai, but when Qiu Yi Meng and Yang Kai had fought, he was still only a True Element Boundary Third Stage cultivator. At that time, he was able to fight evenly against her while still concealing part of his strength. Now that Yang Kai had reached the True Element Eighth Stage, even though Qiu Yi Meng had successfully broken through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage, she didn’t dare think she could defeat Yang Kai.
As for Huo Xing Chen, the night’s experience still haunted him like a nightmare.
When all was said and done, he was still a direct descendant of one of the Eight Great Families, and the sole heir at that. Although he spent a lot of his time indulging in pleasure seeking, he had still cultivated diligently and taken countless Precious Treasures so his strength was by no means weak, on top of that he carried a number of excellent artifacts on him as well.
But even with this kind of foundation and background, he was still taken hostage by Yang Kai before he even had time to react; this alone was enough to understand Yang Kai’s tyrannical combat strength.
Huo Xing Chen didn’t believe this Second Young Lord had a chance of beating Yang Kai in a fight.
Amongst the younger generation, only the Liu Family’s genius Liu Qing Yao had any hope of fighting evenly with this freak Yang Kai, besides him there was no other who was his match.
Huo Xing Chen and Qiu Yi Meng’s expressions didn’t escape Xiang Tian Xiao observation, causing a faint curiosity in his heart.
With his eyesight, he could naturally see the strength of these two people. Although he didn’t recognize who these two were, but having such cultivation and bearing at such a young age, they were no doubt children of the Eight Great Families, yet these two, even if they didn’t say much, from their attitude and tone had made their opinions clear.
Was this Yang Kai really that powerful?
Staring at Yang Kai carefully, Xiang Tian Xiao secretly shook his head. He couldn’t see Yang Kai’s depths. As this Yang Family Young Lord stood there, he didn’t release the slightest bit of aura, his True Qi as calm as an ancient well, his Spiritual Essence also showed a similar degree of restraint. Such a degree of control either indicated he was extremely powerful, or had used some kind of artifact to conceal his strength.
Xiang Tian Xiao couldn’t tell whether this was his real ability or simply an illusion, if he wanted to understand his true strength, the only way was for him to fight.
But now that things had reached this point, Xiang Tian Xiao had no way to retreat, saying to Yang Kai, “If you really just relied on those two Blood Warriors to make my brother submit, then you’ll never convince me. If you want me to help you sincerely, you’ll have to defeat me yourself.”
Huo Xing Chen couldn’t help but sigh, walking over to Qiu Yi Meng and muttering with a sad face, “This kid can’t be saved!”
Qiu Yi Meng also nodded lightly, expressing her full agreement.
Listening to them, Xiang Tian Xiao suddenly felt irritated, even the four Immortal Ascension Boundary masters behind him looked at Huo Xing Chen with unfriendly eyes, seemingly thinking he should not despise their Second Young Lord.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed a meaningful light as he frowned slightly, “It seems that your big brother didn’t tell you everything about that incident.”
From Xiang Tian Xiao’s words, Yang Kai quickly realized some issues.
“If your big brother didn’t tell you, then so be it, but didn’t your cousin Nan Sheng at least explain what happened?” Yang Kai grinned treacherously, revealing a lot of hidden meanings.
Qiu Yi Meng’s long eyelashes fluttered, quietly remembering some rumors she had heard before turning her gaze towards Xiang Tian Xiao, slowly revealing a sympathetic look.
Xiang Tian Xiao expression became firm, coldly snorting, “Things heard are unreliable, seeing is believing! If you have the confidence, fight with me, if you refuse, then I’ll leave here immediately, regardless, these people and these materials will remain and the accounts between you and my Xiang Family will be considered settled.”
Yang Kai shook his head slowly, “I don’t need a headless snake, I accept your challenge!”
Without this Xiang Family Second Young Lord to lead them, even if these cultivators remained they wouldn’t bring him benefit to Yang Kai. These people, at first glance, were obviously quite loyal to Xiang Tian Xiao.
Saying so, Yang Kai casually strode a few steps forward before calmly signaling to Xiang Tian Xiao to begin.
Such a contemptuous appearance only further angered Xiang Tian Xiao; however, he swiftly took a deep breath and suppressed his surging emotions, firmly pressing down the resentment in his heart.
In an instant, Xiang Tian Xiao’s breath became calm as he seriously stared at Yang Kai.
This rapid change improved Yang Kai’s impression of Xiang Tian Xiao greatly, the greatest mistake when facing an opponent was to become emotional. Therefore, when the cultivators faced enemies they considered strong, they would usually use words to try to stimulate each other and make their opponent take rash or impatient actions, thus increasing the chance that they would make a mistake that could be exploited.
Only by remaining calm could a cultivator exert their full strength, even possibly allowing them to display combat prowess above their usual limit .
Xiang Tian Xiao being able to instantly restrain his emotions showed that his strength and experience weren’t ordinary.
“Second Young Lord, be careful!” The Xiang Family cultivators hurriedly stepped back, the Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage master calling out as he retreated.
“I know!” Xiang Tian Xiao calmly shouted.
As he spoke, his hand turned and a long blue saber suddenly appeared in his hand.
Heaven Grade artifact!
When this saber appeared, Xiang Tian Xiao’s aura immediately changed, suddenly becoming wild and unhindered, overflowing with a strong sense of self-confidence, it was as if no matter who or what stood before him, he could slice it apart.
No words were exchanged or signals given, as soon as Xiang Tian Xiao summoned his artifact, he instantly held it up towards the Heavens, a fierce wind pressure swiftly engulfing the blade as he swung it down towards Yang Kai.
“Isn’t this considered a sneak attack?” Huo Xing Chen asked.
Qiu Yi Meng was too lazy to take respond to him. Yang Kai had already agreed to his challenge, what more needed to be said? Xiang Tian Xiao was obviously a straightforward person, so any further conversation was unnecessary.
Moreover, his strength was not low, a True Element Boundary Ninth Stage elite!
Her eyes quickly turning, Qiu Yi Meng wants to see how Yang Kai would resist this strike. Although she knew Yang Kai was very powerful, it had been a long time since she had fought against him, just how much Yang Kai since then was also of great interest to her.
As this storm like sword strike approached, Yang Kai simply stood in place, his expression completely indifferent, seemingly having no intention to dodge or avoid it, gently lifting a single hand and pushing it towards the falling blade.
A fierce True Qi burst forth as a large palm strike visible to the naked eye met the blade head on.
*Hong!*
A loud bang resounded as waves of energy splashed out.
The blade storm and the palm strike collided together and exploded, both perfectly offsetting one another.
Under the cover of the resulting dust cloud, Xiang Tian Xiao had at some point closed the gap between them, a wild True Qi bursting from his body as a blue radiance pulsed from his saber’s tip. This chilling brilliance was enough the make the heart of any who saw it jump.
This blue ball of light was as large as a plate and gave of a fierce, murderous, aura filled with the power of thunder and lightning.
Channeling this elemental lightning force, Xiang Tian Xiao’s speed seemed to be boosted greatly, only leaving behind a blurry afterimage as he stepped in.
Thunder Flash Saber!
This was Xiang Tian Xiao’s absolute killing strike, it had never failed him before, under this single attack he would often be able to rout his opponents.
The Xiang Family cultivators also showed a faint smile on their faces, full of expectations. All of them wanted to see how Yang Kai would suffer under this blow.
Xiang Tian Xiao had long honed this Xiang Family secret technique, integrating his own understanding of the power of thunder and lightning into it, obtaining the praise of many of the family’s masters.
This was his ultimate killing strike that he only used when facing the most powerful of enemies, it would often determine whether he obtained victory or was defeated.
When they saw their Second Young Lord use this move, the Xiang Family’s cultivators knew that he had truly been angered; otherwise it was impossible for him to have such strong murderous intent.
[Let’s see how you block this!] The Xiang Family’s Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage master silently sneered, thinking that after the Second Young Lord defeated Yang Kai, they would immediately leave this place and not be forced to help this Yang Family Young Lord in this Inheritance War.
After all, given how pitiful Yang Kai’s chances appeared, all of them whole heartedly wished to stay out of this mess.
As for the war material they had brought, that was the Nan Family’s compensation to Yang Kai, leaving it behind had no effect on them.
Qiu Yi Meng was also secretly shocked. She hadn’t expected this Xiang Family Second Young Lord to possess such great combat strength and to have cultivated such a powerful killing strike. She silently estimated that against this move, no one under the Immortal Ascension Boundary would be able to resist. Even she as an Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage felt it would be best to avoid taking this attack head on and instead look for opportunities to dodge then counterattack.
She didn’t know if Yang Kai could block this strike. Although she had witnessed just how powerful Yang Kai was, that was a long time ago so she wasn’t sure just how much he had grown.
But when she remembered about that day a few months ago, when Yang Kai had single handedly fought an Immortal Ascension Boundary Third Stage master to a standstill, Qiu Yi Meng calmed down.
Even if this Xiang Tian Xiao was much stronger than an average True Element Ninth Stage cultivation, could he possibly be as strong as an established Immortal Ascension Boundary Third Stage master?
As light burst and wind howled around Xiang Tian Xiao’s saber, the glowing blue sphere at his blade’s tip suddenly burst open, forming a dense web of lightning that engulfed a ten meter radius.
Thousands of lightning bolts, like tiny spirit snakes, swam through the air, each one containing Xiang Tian Xiao’s sharp and unparalleled killing intent, forming an inescapable torrent of attacks.
Huo Xing Chen’s always aloof expression finally became slightly serious, an astonished light flashing across his eyes
However, Yang Kai still stood in place, like an ancient glacier, cold and motionless, his expression indifferent as he silently observed the numerous bolts of lightning which surrounded him.
Although Xiang Tian Xiao’s eyes remained focused, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help inadvertently curling upwards.
He had won! Xiang Tian Xiao was completely confidant that no one below the Immortal Ascension Boundary could resist his Thunder Flash Saber.
The white light was so dazzling that those watching couldn’t open their eyes, but if they were watching, the instant Xiang Tian Xiao’s attack was about to hit its mark, they would have noticed that Yang Kai’s figure suddenly blurred, disappearing without a trace.
The next moment, from within the lightning storm, the burst of True Qi suddenly exploded outwards.
A great palm print quickly filled Xiang Tian Xiao’s vision, seemingly obscuring the entire sky, creating the illusion that no matter how he tried to block or avoid, it would inevitably smash into his chest.
With a sorrowful cry, Xiang Tian Xiao’s Thunder Flash Saber was torn apart like paper and he was subsequently hurled through the air, spitting out a cloud of blood fog in the process.
“Second Young Lord!” The Immortal Ascension Fourth Stage master who had been expecting to see a good show, immediately noticed that the situation was not right, his expression changing drastically as he darted towards where Xiang Tian Xiao had fallen.
When the dust settled, it looked as though Yang Kai hadn’t moved at all as he still stood in his original spot. His expression was calm and indifferent as ever.
Huo Xing Chen’s brow twitched as he ground his teeth, suddenly realizing that when Yang Kai had dealt with him that night, he had obviously been holding back.
All of the Xiang Family’s cultivators were stunned, staring at the scene before them, unable to believe what their eyes had just seen.
Xiang Tian Xiao coughed up some blood as he staggered to his feet, separating himself from his family’s master who had helped him up, his brows furrowed deeply as his eyes filled with unwillingness.
Staring at Yang Kai, it was only after a long silence that the unwillingness in Xiang Tian Xiao’s eyes slowly faded, a dispirited light slowly taking its place.
He had never dreamt that within the True Element Boundary, there was someone who could beat him so easily! He was the genius of the Xiang Family, his aptitude far superior to his elder brother Xiang Chu, the Xiang Family’s most vigorously trained disciple. At such a young age he was just one step away from breaking through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary, it was not an exaggeration to say that his future was limitless.
It had always been him crushing his enemies in battle; never once had he suffered such a devastating defeat like today.
His strongest blow, filled with killing intent, hadn’t even managed to touch his opponent’s clothes! It was a heavy blow to his pride.
“Second Young Lord…” The strongest of the Xiang Family Immortal Ascension Boundary masters was afraid that Xiang Tian Xiao could not withstand this setback and would become disheartened, losing his way along the Martial Dao, so he quickly comforted, “In battle no one can ever be certain of the outcome, do not let this defeat fester in your heart.”
Xiang Tian Xiao gently nodded, letting out a long sigh, the lost expression on his face gradually fading as he turned his eyes towards Yang Kai, a strong fighting intent smoldering in his gaze.
Yang Kai secretly nodded as he thought to himself. [Xiang Tian Xiao certainly has some skill. If he was given enough time to hone himself, his future achievements would certainly not be worse than any of the Eight Great Families’ successors.]
Qiu Yi Meng’s lips curled up, a happy smile adorning her pretty face while Huo Xing Chen simply shook his head and sighed. “Why is he so strong? Just how the hell does he cultivate?”
“Qiu Yi Meng, arrange some accommodations for them and let some people from the Autumn Rain Hall carry those four boxes into the mansion.” Yang Kai calmly ordered, turned around and walking back inside, not looking at Xiang Tian Xiao again.
But before he left, Yang Kai seemingly inadvertently glanced off towards a certain place.
In that place, two extremely powerful Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage masters stood.
One of them nearly stumbled, suspiciously muttering, “Did that Young Lord Kai notice us?”
The other master also furrowed his brow before shaking his head, “Impossible, we’ve hidden ourselves so deeply and haven’t shown any hostility, simply observing from a distance. How could he have found us?”
“Then why did he look at us?”
“Strange…” The taller of the two whispered under his breath, “Never mind him. Patriarch’s orders were simply for us to observe Young Lord Kai’s performance tonight. If it looks like he’ll be eliminated, then we just need to bring the Young Master back. Who made the Young Master choose such an unpromising Young Lord as an ally?”
“But objectively, this Young Lord Kai’s combat strength is incredible, I don’t think any newly promoted Immortal Ascension cultivator would be his match.”
Outside the main entrance, Qiu Yi Meng smiled lightly at the Xiang Family cultivators as she walked over.
Immediately upon learning her identity, the Immortal Ascension Boundary Fourth Stage master respectfully cupped his fists, “Xiang Family Xiang Fei greets Young Lady Qiu!”
At the same time though, some suspicion flashed across his eyes, the Qiu Family had already publicly declared its support for the Yang Family’s Sixth Young Lord Yang Shen, so naturally they had heard about it. Thus, why was the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady here with Yang Kai? Moreover, Yang Kai’s attitude towards her made it seem as if she was under his command. What was even more shocking was that this world famous Young Lady actually had no complaints about his attitude, and instead just calmly obeyed his orders!
[I don’t understand, what is going on?]
Xiang Tian Xiao also stood up straight and cupped his fists.
Seeing their respectful demeanor, Qiu Yi Meng let out a small laugh and said, “No need to be so polite, all of us will be working together from now on.”
Xiang Fei nodded firmly, “Since Young Lord Kai defeated my family’s Second Young Lord in fair combat, my Xiang Family will also fulfill its promise. As long as Young Lord Kai remains undefeated in the Inheritance War, we will do our utmost to support him.”
Qiu Yi Meng nodded with satisfaction
“Just… Young Lady Qiu, why are you…” Xiang Fei couldn’t help asking.
“I’m also his ally, hehe.” Qiu Yi Meng smiled but didn’t explain any further.
Xiang Tian Xiao and Xiang Fei suddenly noticed that this Young Lord Kai who no one was optimistic about had somehow quietly made allies of two of the Eight Great Families’ Young Masters, among the eight Yang Family Young Lords this was unique.
“Let’s go in first. I’ll arrange a place for you shortly.” Qiu Yi Meng said lightly before shaking her head and smiling wryly, “I didn’t expect that when I came here I’d end up acting as a house manager…”
As the Xiang Family group walked inward, Huo Xing Chen, still waving his folding fan, came up to Xiang Tian Xiao and grabbed his shoulders intimately, “We’re brothers in difficulty now! Let us share a drink!”
Somewhat stunned, Xiang Tian Xiao replied casually, “Good!”
“After drinking, I’ll lead you to the local brothel!”
“There’s no need for that!”
……
Hearing the sound of footsteps outside his door, Yang Kai lifted his eyes and called out, “Come in!”
When the door was pushed open, Qiu Yi Meng’s graceful figure, wrapped in a fragrant wind, walked into the room, and without any thought to courtesy poured herself a cup of tea to moisten her throat. Following her were some Autumn Rain Hall people carrying four large boxes. After placing the boxes to one side of the room, these people quickly excused themselves.
Qiu Yi Meng stayed behind though and took a seat, elegantly smiling at Yang Kai as she asked, “When did you force the Xiang and Nan Families into such a situation?”
“About three months after I separated from you and Luo Xiao Man.”
“Tell me about it, what happened at that time? I asked that Xiang Tian Xiao but even he wasn’t too clear, only saying that his big brother and cousin both hate you to death and that you forced two Nan Family Elders to cut off an arm, while the Nan Family’s Young Master also lost two fingers. You really are ruthless, forcing the successor of a first-class family to suffer such an embarrassment!”
“They brought it upon themselves.” Yang Kai sneered disdainfully as he casually recounted the situation at that time.
As Qiu Yi Meng listened, her eyes sparkled, absolutely no trace of disdain or displeasure apparent on her face. Especially when she heard how he had ruthlessly humiliated the two families while they were unable to resist, her mood seemed even more pleasant.
“If that’s the case, then choking down this insult is understandable. Attempting to kill a Yang Family Young Lord is no small matter after all, especially after the death of your Fourth Brother, if they were suspected of being involved at all, the Xiang and Nan Families would be finished.”
“Tell me about the Xiang Family, especially the relationship between Xiang Tian Xiao and Xiang Chu.” Yang Kai stood up and walked over to the four boxes, checking the materials as he seemingly asked a random question.
“They’re like a fox and a Racoon!” Qiu Yi Meng spat disdainfully
Yang Kai chuckled, “Xiang Chu obviously didn’t tell his brother about what happened back then or Xiang Tian Xiao wouldn’t have rushed to challenge me today. When one brother hides information and plots against the other, the relationship between the two is obviously not good, if I couldn’t even see that wouldn’t I just be blind?”
At that time, Yang Kai had told the Xiang and Nan Families that he wanted to see their sincerity delivered to the Central Capital within three months.
The Nan Family had supplying him with four boxes of materials could be considered a big bleeding; however, the Xiang Family sending a group of cultivators personally led by the Second Young Lord was somewhat incomprehensible to Yang Kai.
But after a brief exchange with Xiang Tian Xiao, he also had some faint idea of what was happening, so he decided to follow up with Qiu Yi Meng about the situation.
This young lady was not the same as him. She had lived in the Central Capital all year round and was well informed about various matters. It was likely that she had heard some rumors about the Xiang Family’s internal situation, given her Qiu Family’s heritage and methods.
Hearing Yang Kai’s comment, Qiu Yi Meng couldn’t help laughing bitterly, the sharpness of this man’s instincts made even her somewhat distraught.
“Xiang Family’s Xiang Chu, you’ve already met. He’s a direct descendant of the Xiang Family’s official wife and also its current successor. The Second Young Lord is reportedly the son of a concubine, so his status is not as high as his big brother in the family, but this person’s aptitude and natural talent are outstanding. He is the greatest genius the Xiang Family has produced in several decades. You just fought with him, so you should have a fair understanding of his strength, but even just the fact that he has reached the True Element Boundary Ninth Stage at such a young age is quite rare.”
“En.” Yang Kai nodded in agreement. Amongst the younger generation of the Yang Family, there weren’t many who had reached the True Element Boundary Ninth Stages, but that was also due to them practicing outside the family where their resources were limited.
Even so, this Xiang Tian Xiao’s aptitude really wasn’t ordinary.
Among the first-class forces, there were also many geniuses; for example, Wu Cheng Yi from the Nine Star Sword Sect who he had met in that isolated world was also a True Element Boundary Eighth Stage. If he was still alive, he likely would have already broken through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary, but Wu Cheng Yi was also older than Xiang Tian Xiao.
“Xiang Chu prefers to use schemes and plots, his thoughts are quite treacherous, while his brother Xiang Tian Xiao is the exact opposite: an up-front, straightforward personality. Coupled with his excellent aptitude, he is actually quite favoured by many of the Xiang Family Elders,” Qiu Yi Meng smiled meaningfully, “And so, you should understand the issue.”
“About which one should be the heir?” Yang Kai frowned slightly.
“En, out of all the big forces, only your Yang Family chooses its next Patriarch through a direct contest like the Inheritance War. Of the other Central Capital’s Eight Great Families, and most of the world’s first-class forces, the heir is almost always the family’s eldest son.” When Qiu Yi Meng mentioned this, she couldn’t help showing a slight look of frustration, but she quickly composed herself, not even pausing for a moment before continuing, “As long as this eldest son isn’t too bad, his position is generally stable, because the one who inherits the Patriarch position doesn’t need to be the strongest, but instead capable of managing the whole family. A good example is the Lu Family’s Lu Liang who you already met; he is only an Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage master, so amongst the Lu Family’s Elders there are a number who are stronger than him, but he is still the Patriarch, firstly because of his administrative ability and secondly because he was the eldest son of the Lu Family at the time, the same is true in my Qiu Family…”
“Ahem, but as for the Xiang Family, Xiang Chu is the current heir, but the excellent performance of Xiang Tian Xiao has put some pressure on him, so I heard… en, just heard, that Xiang Chu often plays some tricks on his younger half-brother to deal with him. Xiang Tian Xiao, on the other hand, doesn’t put up any resistance; it would seem he’s not interested in fighting for power.”
As Yang Kai listened to these words, he became more certain about his own assessment, nodding lightly, “With Xiang Chu’s personality, it is indeed possible he would do such things.”
“En, so given this situation, you can understand why Xiang Tian Xiao would appear at your door, right?” Qiu Yi Meng asked with a smile.
“En, I know.” Yang Kai said blankly.
Xiang Chu dreaded his younger brother’s ability, so when Yang Kai blackmailed him, he had sent his younger brother here to help Yang Kai participate in the Inheritance War.
First off, Yang Kai really did need help in the Inheritance War, so there was nothing wrong with sending him some manpower. Such sincerity was also more useful than the Nan Family’s four boxes of materials.
Secondly, if Xiang Tian Xiao was here with Yang Kai, as long Xiang Chu worked with another of the Yang Family Young Lords to defeat him in the Inheritance War, it would be equivalent to proving he had superior skill to his brother, thus stabilizing his position as the Xiang Family’s heir.
For Xiang Chu, this was equivalent to killing two birds with one stone.
Most likely, he also planned to cut down Xiang Tian Xiao’s followers in this Inheritance War., because this group of people were strong supporters of Xiang Tian Xiao in the family.
“Do you think he’ll be useful?” Yang Kai looked over at Qiu Yi Meng.
Yang Kai asking her so casually suddenly made Qiu Yi Meng smile and feel happy, “I think he is useful! But it’ll be up to you to decide whether to use him or not.”
“Let’s have them stand by for now,” Yang Kai said undecidedly. Whether this Second Young Lord sincerely wanted to help him or not, Yang Kai had always been a cautious person. It was impossible for him to trust a complete stranger simply on their word and a few rumors he had heard.
Seeing through people’s hearts took a long time, only a long road would truly test a horses’ strength.
“En,” Knowing he would say this, Qiu Yi Meng simply grinned and said. “However, I got an interesting piece of information from Xiang Tian Xiao that’s not good news for you, do you want to listen?”
“Oh, what news?”
“His big brother and the Nan Family’s Young Lord are also in War City!” Qiu Yi Meng smiled.
Yang Kai didn’t show any surprised at all, his expression still light and carefree, “Who did they choose?”
“Your Second Brother, Yang Zhao!”
“Good eyes!” Yang Kai sneered, “It looks like there’ll be lots of fun tonight.”
Qiu Yi Meng also smiled lightly, no longer showing any of her former tension. Since Yang Kai wanted her to see a good show tonight, she naturally no longer felt the need to worry about him.
“Is there anything else Young Lord Kai requires? If not, then this humble servant will retire first!” Qiu Yi Meng said in a teasing tone.
Yang Kai glanced at her eccentrically and snorted, “Don’t tease me, I can’t afford it.”
Seeing the twitching brow on Yang Kai’s face, Qiu Yi Meng smiled more gleefully than ever before.
“However, there really is something I’d like you to do.” Yang Kai looked straight at her and said.
“Oh? Like what?”
“A thousand meters outside the house, there are two old men on sitting atop a banyan tree, have someone send them two pots of wine.”
Qiu Yi Meng stared blankly for a moment, “Two old men? Who are they?”
“My guess is that they’re from the Huo Family, probably sent here to secretly protect Huo Xing Chen.”
The Qiu Family’s First Young Lady squinted her eyes as she observed Yang Kai, not understanding why he seemed so sure that there were two people there.
Also, since they were here to protect Huo Xing Chen, they would no doubt be the two masters who always accompanied the Central Capital Wolf, but those two were Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage masters!
With their cultivations, how could Yang Kai possibly have discovered them?
Suddenly feeling confused, Qiu Yi Meng didn’t think Yang Kai was just speculating.
Although Huo Zheng was angered half to death by his delinquent son, Huo Xing Chen was still the Huo Family’s only heir. Him accompanying the ‘doomed’ Yang Kai alone, it was understandable for Huo Zheng to send those two old men to secretly protect him.
Qiu Yi Meng withdrew with a suspicious look upon her face, frowning for a moment before personally fetching two pots of wine and diligently walking out.
A thousand meters outside Yang Kai’s mansion, on the top of a banyan tree.
The dense leaves obscured the figures of the two Huo Family masters. The two of them breathed evenly, converging their auras to the extreme while a faint halo hung over them, further concealing them, the combination of all these techniques, from an outside observers’ perspective, made them both completely fade into thin air.
Even if someone were to be standing directly under the tree, looking up at them, they wouldn’t be able to discover anything, only if one used a powerful Divine Sense to examine the tree would they notice something.
At the moment, the two old men were bored as they sat with their backs against the tree trunk in a meditative state.
Both of their invisible Divine Senses covered the entirety of Yang Kai’s compound, allowing them to perceive every gust of wind and every blade of grass. With such formidable Divine Senses deployed, they would notice any signs of attack in an instant and be able to respond in kind.
So even though they were hidden here, they were not worried that anyone would harm to their Young Master.
The two releasing their Divine Senses so blatantly obviously couldn’t escape the notice of Qu Gao Yi and Ying Jiu, but since there was no malicious intent, the two Blood Warriors simply continued healing themselves, essentially keeping one eye open and one eye closed.
Suddenly, the two old men noticed a set of footsteps coming towards them. At the beginning, the two did not care, there were tens of thousands of people living in War City, so even though the location of Yang Kai’s compound was remote, there would still be the occasional pedestrian passing by.
But as the footsteps got closer and closer, the two masters couldn’t help opening their eyes and glancing at each other slightly strangely.
These footsteps… they seemed to be coming towards the two of them.
Looking down, the two suddenly felt shocked.
What they saw the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady Qiu Yi Meng, actually at the moment acting like a common maidservant, holding a tray in her hand with two pots of old wine atop it, smiling as she elegantly stepped towards their hiding spot.
Waiting until she had reached the base of the tree, Qiu Yi Meng looked up towards the two Huo Family masters.
Seeing this, both old man felt their hearts jump, thinking that the Martial Skill they were using to conceal themselves had somehow failed, but in the blink of an eye dismissing this thought. Their Martial Skill was clearly still functioning, and Qiu Yi Meng’s eyes weren’t directly aimed at them, instead just staring in their general direction.
[She can’t see us.]
“With the weather being so dry, the two Seniors have stayed up in this tree for so long, you’re no doubt thirsty. These two pots of wine are a gift for you to moisten your throats. Please don’t reject.”
When her sweet voice reached their ears, the two Huo Family masters stared at each other in blank dismay, immediately waving their hands and dispelling their concealment skill.
With a slight ripple of light, the two old men’s figures suddenly presented themselves before Qiu Yi Meng’s eyes.
Having already been exposed, the two were too embarrassed to feign ignorance, not to mention, Qiu Yi Meng’s identity wasn’t ordinary.
Seeing these two appear, Qiu Yi Meng’s expression remained calm, but in her heart she was secretly praising Yang Kai.
The two Huo Family masters jumped down from the tree and stood in front of Qiu Yi Meng, “Greetings Young Lady Qiu, thank you for your hard work.”
As they spoke, the two of them picked up the two pots of wine.
“Please enjoy it slowly,” Qiu Yi Meng smiled and bowed before turning back.
“Young Lady Qiu, a moment please!” One of them shouted.
“Hm?” Qiu Yi Meng turned her head and looked at him curiously.
The man frowned, remaining silent for a moment before finally speaking, “May I ask Young Lady Qiu, how did you know we were here? Did the two Yang Family Blood Warriors inform you?”
The two Huo Family masters obviously thought it was the two Blood Warriors who had exposed their hiding place.
However, Qiu Yi Meng slowly shook his head and giggled lightly, “The two Blood Warriors are currently in meditative healing and have no time to meddle in such matters, but it was also not I who discovered Seniors. I don’t have such great skill.”
“Then…”
“Hehe, Junior will take her leave here,” Qiu Yi Meng didn’t say much, just smiling brightly as she turned around.
The Qiu Family’s Eldest Daughter was as sharp as she was charming and excelled at making others dance to her tune, although she was always suppressed in front of Yang Kai, it was quite different with all the others.
At this time, she didn’t reveal anything; leaving the two Huo Family masters with some questions would only lead to greater benefits for Yang Kai right now.
After Qiu Yi Meng left, the two old men looked at the wine pots in their hands and sighed.
They also understood who it was that had sent Qiu Yi Meng, but they simply couldn’t understand how Yang Kai had found them.
“What do we do now?” One of them muttered with a frown.
The other master’s face was also ugly, shaking his head slowly, “Haa… We’ve been duped, now that we’ve accepted these two pots of wine, tonight…”
“This Young Lord Kai is really sinister.”
This was no doubt a case of offering gifts to exploit one’s weakness. Although it was only two pots of wine, it had been personally delivered to them by Young Lady Qiu. The so-called light courtesy, heavy affection. Having accepted such a gift, when crisis befell Yang Kai tonight, could they still just stand by and watch?
If it was someone else who had come to deliver wine to them, even if it was Yang Kai himself, these two masters could have simply rejected, but there was no way for them to refuse Qiu Yi Meng.
“But Patriarch hasn’t let us officially participate in the Inheritance War yet, not to mention that, over the years, although many forces would dispatched Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh or Eighth Stage masters to assist, some even sending out Peak Masters, but the other Seven Great Families would never send anyone who exceeded Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage. If we were to expose ourselves and someone were to recognize us… what face would our Huo Family have left?”
“Should we send this wine back then?” One person proposed.
The other person nodded, “Good, you send it!”
“Go to hell!”
Sending this wine back, wasn’t that like slapping Young Lady Qiu’s face? Who would do something so stupid?
“Haa…” Shaking their heads and sighing, the two masters suddenly felt that these two pots of wine were burning lumps of iron instead.
With no way out, each of them took up their wine and drank it down, but there was no mellowness in their mouths, only a strong bitter aroma accompanied by a long aftertaste of helplessness.
As time slowly passed and sunset approached, a few bright stars began emerging, shimmering like gems in the darkening sky above, painting a beautiful and tranquil picture.
Inside War City, the noise of the day gradually calmed.
Tens of thousands of eyes were all staring at the movements of the Eight Young Lords.
A potent group of Divine Senses spread out over War City. These powerful and tyrannical Divine Sense belonged to a group of masters whose purpose was to observe the Inheritance War’s progress.
The center of War City, Seal Temple.
In this majestic palace, around an octagonal table, sat eight white-haired old men.
Each of these eight people appeared as tranquil as ancient wells as they slowly circulating their Secret Arts. It seems like they had completely removed themselves from all distractions from the outside world, but in fact the Divine Senses of these eight people had penetrated every corner of War City.
These eight people belonged to the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families, each one a top master at the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary!
When the Yang Family Inheritance War launched, War City became the gathering place the world’s young talents, almost all of them the leaders of their respective forces’ younger generation.
So every time the Inheritance War was held, the Eight Great Families would all respectively send an Above Immortal Ascension Boundary master to War City first to oversee the progress of the Inheritance War, and secondly to protect the young geniuses who had come to participate.
Were these masters not present and a strong master from the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land snuck in, the loss to the Great Han Dynasty would be unimaginable.
These eight people were all over a hundred years old, the eldest even reaching the two hundred year mark, essentially half a neck into the grave. For these masters, they would not involve themselves with their families’ affairs, nor would they trouble themselves with worldly matters, instead solely cultivating the Martial Dao.
Although they were here, they would not interfere in the Inheritance War, their only responsibility was to supervise the outcome, and defend War City against external threats.
Whoever won or lost was not their concern.
At their age and with their cultivation realm, their entire focus was unravelling the mysteries of the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary.
At the eight Young Lords’ respective bases, some people were eager to move, some were worried and anxious, some prepared to sit back and watch the show from a distance, while others were waited to reap the fisherman’s benefits.
The differences in strength each one possessed naturally produced different mentalities.
The sun had finally set and the night grew deeper and deeper, but the eight Young Lords still showed no signs of movement, so many people who were looking forward to spectating the various battles held their breath and waited.
Yang Kai, with his hands behind his back, stood straight as a sword before his mansion, staring up at a flag hanging at the building’s highest point.
In the Inheritance War, this flag was also a vital symbol.
There were two ways to eliminate a Young Lord from the Inheritance War.
One was to capture the person directly, so that the Young Lord lost the qualification to continue.
The second however was related to this flag.
Once someone had taken this flag, the corresponding Young Lord would also lose the qualification to participate.
Moreover, this flag had to be hung in the position directly atop the mansion’s highest point and could not be carried on one’s body.
The Yang Family had used these rules for all of its past generations, it was probably designed as a way for the Young Lords to have more than one way to win, and also to increase the level of difficulty, forcing them to display their wisdom and wits to the very limit.
The flag hanging here was a constraint imposed on these Young Lords by the Yang Family!
Someone always had to guard this flag, in case an opponent tried to steal it. If it was lost, it meant elimination.
On the one hand, there was a need to protect your own flag, and on the other hand, it was necessary to think of ways to snatch others’ flags. The Inheritance War was also a battle of wits.
Looking at the big flag fluttering out in the open, Yang Kai’s mouth curled into a smirk.
Behind Yang Kai stood the Qiu Family’s First Young Lady Qiu Yi Meng, the Central Capital Wolf Huo Xing Chen, and the Xiang Family’s Second Young Lord Xiang Tian Xiao.
As of right now, all of Yang Kai’s allies had gathered here.
“Brother Kai, are you ready to hand over your Golden Feather Eagle to me?” Huo Xing Chen smiled dismissively as he swung his folding fan, “Let me tell you now, if anyone comes here looking for a fight, I’ll be the first to surrender. Don’t expect me to help you.”
Qiu Yi Meng glanced over at him coldly, “If you keep spewing nonsense I’ll give you a dozen slaps and then throw you out.”
“Hey hey hey, you’re a woman, aren’t you? Why must you act so violently?” Huo Xing Chen said with a depressed expression.
Xiang Tian Xiao quickly added, “My Xiang Family’s troops will cooperate with you, deploy us as you see fit.”
“Feel free to arrange yourselves,” Yang Kai glanced over at him and replied casually.
Xiang Tian Xiao frowned but didn’t say a word, instead just turning around and walking off, apparently planning to deploy the people he had brought with him. The strength of his group wasn’t very high, although there were four who had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary, in the face of real masters, they wouldn’t last long.
The only good thing was that tonight was the first day of the Inheritance War, so the other Young Lords also shouldn’t have too much available power, so the people he had brought could still play an important role.
“Now that we’ve reached this point, isn’t it time to tell me what you plan to do?” Qiu Yi Meng asked with a smile, “Do you have some hidden allies somewhere? When are they going to show up?”
However, Yang Kai just shook his head, “I don’t have any hidden help, what you see here now is my complete current strength.”
“Seriously?” Qiu Yi Meng’s beautiful face twitched slightly.
“I’m not lying to you this time!” Yang Kai said seriously.
“How are you going to defend this place then?” The Qiu Family’s Eldest Daughter suddenly panicked. Although the two Blood Warriors were incredibly powerful, how much strength could they display right now? Even counting the cultivators from the Xiang Family and her own Autumn Rain Hall, it really wasn’t enough to turn any spray.
As long as any of Yang Kai’s brothers could send out two Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh or Eighth Stage masters, it would be enough for them to conquer this place.
And right now, amongst the Yang Family Young Lords, there were at least three people who could send out these kinds of masters!
“It’s too late for you to regret it now,” Yang Kai said as he stared at Qiu Yi Meng coldly.
Feeling his gaze, Qiu Yi Meng’s brow wrinkled, suddenly realizing something, letting out a light laugh as she shook her head, “No, I believe in you.”
“Hahaha, well I don’t believe in you,” Huo Xing Chen laughed raucously as he walked off. “I’m going to find some bird food, I need to get a gift for my new eagle.”
Saying so, he quickly disappeared.
When there were only two people left in front of the main entrance, Yang Kai suddenly said, “I want to go out!”
Qiu Yi Meng’s face suddenly changed colour as she hesitantly asked, “Go out? What do you want to do?”
“What do you think?”
The Qiu Family’s First Young Lady looked at Yang Kai incredulously, her mouth slightly agape, hoping that he was just joking, but seeing Yang Kai’s calm expression, she knew he was being serious.
“Are you sure?”
“Naturally, in the Inheritance War, if you defeat an opponent you can gain a lot of benefits! Tonight is the first day so someone will surely be eliminated. This is a golden opportunity!”
If there were no benefits to be won from defeating an opponent, none of the participating Young Lords would proactively take the offensive, after all, attacking another’s stronghold was a time and resource consuming endeavor that would draw forces away from protecting one’s own flag.
As long as you could capture a Yang Family Yong Lord, or obtain their flag, you could exchange them with the main family for a lot of supplies.
“Are you crazy?” Qiu Yi Meng looked at Yang Kai with an amazed expression, “You don’t even have enough strength to defend your base yet you want to take the initiative to attack? Who are you planning to take with you? My Autumn Rain Hall, or the people from the Xiang Family? Or perhaps the two Blood Warriors?”
The first two groups wouldn’t have much effect even if they went with Yang Kai while the latter two leaving would be the same as leaving his flag completely undefended.
“I’m going alone!” Yang Kai frowned.
“No!” Qiu Yi Meng yelled, her full chest heaving up and down as she snapped at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai suddenly smiled and stared at her undulating peaks, decisively saying, “I wasn’t asking for your opinion, only informing you about my decision, whatever I decide to do, no one has the right to object!”
Qiu Yi Meng’s expression suddenly became bitter, grinding her teeth in anger.
After a long time, she took a deep breath and let out a sigh, “Good, since you’ve decided so, I’m too lazy to try convincing you otherwise. If you lose tonight, it just means that I, Qiu Yi Meng, was blind to follow such a man!”
“Woman, don’t say these kinds of easily misunderstood words!” Yang Kai sneered, “Besides, who wins or loses tonight hasn’t been decided yet!”
In the middle of the night.
Dong Qing Han was sitting in meditative cultivation while the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards stood watch. Although two old men appeared to simply be sitting to his left and right, their Divine Senses had actually pervaded the entire surrounding, constantly on the lookout for anyone who had ill intentions towards their Young Master.
Tonight was the first night of the Inheritance War, it was destined not to be peaceful; whether the Eight Young Lords were on the attack or defence, there would certainly be action.
The Wind and Cloud Dual Guards were somewhat confused as to why Dong Qing Han didn’t seem to be worried about Yang Kai’s situation at all, but since their Young Master wasn’t willing to say any more, they didn’t bother asking.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
The Wind and Cloud Dual Guards, who had been constantly surveilling the surroundings both turned their heads towards the entrance, their expressions half shocked half horrified.
Because under the two old master’s Divine Senses’ supervision, neither of them had even realized when someone had arrived at their doorstep.
If this unknown person was an enemy…
Able to approach them so closely without being detected, would they or Dong Qing Han have any chance to survive?
With this thought in mind, the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards leaked cold sweat as they hurriedly got up and began circulating their True Qi furiously.
Sensing this disturbance, Dong Qing Han also opened his eyes and frowned, “Who is it?”
“Me!” A familiar voice called out from outside the door.
When the voice reached their ears, not only did Dong Qing Han’s expression become strange, even the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards also gawked awkwardly.
“Young Master, beware of deception!” The Wind Guard whispered as he signaled to the Cloud Guard with his eyes, one of them retreating towards Dong Qing Han’s side, the other cautiously moving to the door and slowly opening it.
As the door opened, a blurry figure flashed and suddenly there was another man present inside the room. The head of this man was covered in a broad hat which covered his face, only allowing the Cloud Guard who had opened the door to see a pair of bright eyes.
“Yang Kai?” Dong Qing Han raised brow and asked hesitantly.
Under the watchful eyes of the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards, the man slowly lifted his hat to reveal his true face before he grinned broadly at Dong Qing Han.
Seeing his appearance, Dong Qing Han couldn’t help cursing out loud, “Fuck! It IS you.”
The Wind and Cloud Dual Guards were both old masters who had seen and weathered countless storms, but at the moment they couldn’t help wanting to pinch themselves, wondering if everything they had just saw was some kind of dream, somehow managing to hold down this uncouth impulse.
“Junior greets two Seniors,” Yang Kai politely nodded at the Wind Guard and Cloud Guard.
“Young Lord Kai is too polite,” The two men hurriedly composed themselves before replying in kind.
“You little brat!” Dong Qing Han quickly got up and shut the window tightly while signaling to the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards to stay on alert before rushing over to Yang Kai, his slightly chubby face showing a dumbfounded look, “How did you know that I was here?”
“I have a small force of henchmen who are responsible for inquiring about intelligence,” Yang Kai explained.
A small part of the Bamboo Knot Gang had been deployed here by Yang Kai a few days ago and they had now penetrated every region of War City, so it was actually quite easy for him to find where Dong Qing Han was staying.
“Fine fine, but do you know what you’re doing right now?” Dong Qing Han slowly shook his head, bringing Yang Kai over to sit down.
This was the Inheritance War, not a game of house, yet this little cousin of his hadn’t sat in his base with the rest of his allies but instead actually ran out to find him…
However, after thinking about it for a moment, Dong Qing Han became a little excited, “Do you want to take the initiative?”
“That was my plan,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Good balls!” Dong Qing Han cheered up, “I knew that you wouldn’t just sit back and watch, let’s talk about it, how many people did you bring with you?”
“Just me.”
The excitement on Dong Qing Han’s face quickly stifled as his brow began to twitch, staring at Yang Kai seriously and muttering, “I’m your cousin, is there a need for you to play tricks on me?”
But Yang Kai simply shook his head in an equally serious manner, “I’m not lying to you, I’m really alone right now.”
Dong Qing Han suddenly sat up straighter, the fat on his face trembling lightly. Even the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards couldn’t hide their shock.
At this sensitive time, he had actually ran out all on his own. Was he an idiot or a fool? Why act so recklessly and arrogant? Did he really think that he was unparalleled in this world?
But what was more, was that he actually arrived here safe and sound, obviously not having been intercepted halfway, this was no doubt the most incredible part.
Yang Kai had a small force in his hands to inquire about intelligence, so how could his brothers who were equally determined to win this Inheritance War not have deployed similar resources?
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the eight Young Lords were all constantly monitoring each other’s movements, even the slightest sign of something suspicious would immediately be reported back.
“How did you get here?” Dong Qing Han still hadn’t recovered from his initial shock, “Did the two Blood Warriors around you dare to let you go?”
“They don’t know,” Yang Kai shook his head. When he left the house, with the exception of Qiu Yi Meng, he hadn’t said anything to anyone, otherwise there was no way he’d have so easily managed to leave.
“Then your base…” Dong Qing Han’s expression filled with worry and anxiety, without Yang Kai, the people at his compound were equal to gang without a leader.
“There are no problems there. Enough about that, I actually came here to borrow some people,” Yang Kai waved his hand and interrupted Dong Qing Han’s unending line of questions.
“Borrow people?” Dong Qing Han asked, immediately understanding, pointing to the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards, “Them?”
“Good, if I go alone, I’m afraid I won’t be able to grab any advantages.”
“But with them you can?” Dong Qing Han’s brow furrowed, even with the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards, there would still only be three of them, they might be able to steal a chicken or two, but if they wanted to stir up the wind and summon the rain it was still a far fetched idea.
“Not necessarily, but there’s always a chance,” Yang Kai didn’t say too much, as even he didn’t know what his final objective would be.
The only thing he was certain of was that tonight, like at his compound, was bound to be a lively mess in a number of places.
“If you want to borrow people, then so be it,” Dong Qing Han nodded, but quickly followed up, “But I’m coming with you too.”
“You can’t, you’re strength is too low, if you come you’ll just be a burden,” Yang Kai immediately refused.
“I…” Dong Qing Han was struck speechless, a bright red blush appearing on his face.
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully and patted Dong Qing Han’s shoulder, “Cousin, I’m not looking down on you, but as you are now, I can beat you as simply as flipping my hand, it’s best if you rest early tonight.”
The Wind and Cloud Dual Guards, although feeling awkward, didn’t raise any objections.
“Tomorrow, when you come to my mansion, I’ll tell you more about it, I’ll be borrowing Two Seniors first,” Yang Kai said to Dong Qing Han before directly standing up.
“Then get lost!” Dong Qing Han roared bitterly, his expression rather ugly.
Yang Kai half sighed half sneered, glanced at the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards, and then casually walked out the door.
“That little bastard, just how much has he grown?”
When Yang Kai and the Wind and Cloud Guards left, Dong Qing Han slowly shook his shoulders to resolve the numbness in his body. Just now when Yang Kai had patted his shoulder, almost half of his meridians had seemingly been imprisoned, obviously when Yang Kai said beating him was as simple as flipping his hand, he was neither lying nor exaggerating.
The last time he saw him at High Heaven Pavilion he had barely managed to eek out a victory against the Bai Family’s Bai Yun Feng. How had his strength reached such a horrifying height in only a few years?
“Freak!” Dong Qing Han muttered to himself, a look of resentment clear in his expression.
Above War City’s rooftops, three dark silhouettes rapidly flew forward, even though the city was brightly lit and there were countless Divine Senses sweeping the area, no one had noticed this trio.
Once outside the inn, the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards felt a powerful Spiritual Energy enshroud them, completely hiding their auras, making it impossible for outsiders to discover their whereabouts.
This Spiritual Energy, even when compared to their own, was a fair amount stronger. It was basically impossible for them to run into anyone with a more potent Spiritual Energy in War City.
As a result, the two of them only needed to follow Yang Kai closely and not make a conscious effort to expose themselves.
Their expression immediately improved as the Wind and Cloud guards finally understood how Yang Kai had safely arrived at Dong Qing Han’s temporary residence.
However, neither of them knew that what was shrouding them was actually Yang Kai’s own Divine Sense, the two of them only thought he had used some kind of high-end Soul type artifact to achieve this effect, but regardless their evaluation of Yang Kai’s chances for success tonight were still bolstered greatly.
With their Young Master’s younger cousin, under the cover of this Spiritual Energy, as long they concealed themselves and didn’t launch any attacks, it was unlikely any outsiders would discover them, giving them a huge tactical advantage.
Soon after, Yang Kai, who was leading, suddenly stopped and ducked into a nearby building, swiftly followed by the Wind and Cloud guards, both of them somewhat confused, not sure why he was suddenly acting so cautious.
Just as they were about to ask though, Yang Kai gestured to them to remain silent.
A moment later, the sound of flapping clothes could be heard, followed soon after by a number of figures flying forward at high speed.
The Wind and Cloud Dual Guards’ expression rapidly change, realizing that Yang Kai wasn’t acting cautious but had already noticed that a group of masters was approaching.
[Such sharp perception!] Both of them were secretly surprised. Although they hadn’t released their Divine Senses to the surroundings out of caution, both of them were still high level Immortal Ascension Boundary masters, yet even with their intuition they hadn’t noticed anyone approaching, so Yang Kai being able to detect them was no doubt an impressive feat.
Gazing up at the shadows flying past, Yang Kai’s mouth bent into a strange arc.
This group didn’t make any attempt to hide themselves or even conceal their identities.
The leader was his Fifth Brother Yang Kang who was accompanied by Tang Yu Xian, obviously there to protect his safety. As for Tu Feng, he was nowhere to be seen.
Probably still back at Yang Kang base to guard his flag.
The protection of one’s flag was crucial, so it was necessary to leave at least one of the powerful Blood Warriors to guard it at all times. It was impossible for Yang Kang to leave his base undefended when he went out on the attack.
Additionally, Yang Kang was accompanied by a number of cultivators, each of them not by any means weak. These people were also rushing towards the northeast corner of War City and should be his allies.
In that direction was also the goal of Yang Kai’s trip, the compound of his Third Brother Yang Tie!
Shortly after Yang Kang’s group left, a fluttering of shadows also flew over the roofs, following behind Yang Kang and his team as they rushed toward the northeast corner.
These people were just tagging along to watch the fun.
Tonight’s battle was being watched by tens of thousands of eyes, naturally there were some bored people who wanted to witness the scene of the Yang Family’s children fighting up close; such a wonderful drama, how could they possibly miss it?
Seeing such a large group of spectators, Yang Kai also felt a bit delighted, winking towards the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards before ascending into the sky, casually mixing in with the crowd.
The crowd bustled, and all of them wore looks of anticipation as they, along with Yang Kang, flew towards the northeast.
Although the size of War City couldn’t match that of the Central Capital, it was still comparable to other large cities. If it weren’t, the Yang Family wouldn’t have used this place to hold the Inheritance War.
If there was no massive space to allow a full range of battlefields, the Inheritance War couldn’t fully test the Young Lords’ abilities.
Yang Kang and the group of spectators flew unhurriedly, looking quite relaxed, many of them even leisurely chatting and laughing amongst themselves.
It took about half an hour to arrive at the northeast corner of War City.
Before the base of his Third Brother Yang Tie, Yang Kang and others calmly landed and the group of onlookers quickly scurried about to find a favorable position to watch the fun from, many of them sitting down or settling in after staking claim to a spot.
Yang Kai and the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards also landed in a position not too far away, waiting for the opening curtain to rise.
“Third Brother, Fifth Brother has come!” Yang Kang stood outside the mansion and shouted with a smile.
“Since you’ve arrived, come on in!” Yang Tie’s voice called out from inside.
Yang Kang’s grin deepened as he didn’t hesitate to lead his troops past the main gate. Yang Tie’s voice wasn’t weak, but anyone who heard it could tell there was much hidden bitterness and despair in his tone.
During all his years gaining experience outside, he hadn’t been able to secure any decent merits for the Yang Family, so he was unable to acquire the services of a Blood Warrior. The lack of such a powerful guard around him had also discouraged other forces from siding with him, so all he could rely on was the help of his mother’s family.
Qiu Yi Meng’s judgment was roughly correct, the Third Young Lord Yang Tie was destined to be the first brother eliminated.
Inside the courtyard, Yang Tie stood as straight as a sword, standing behind him were two strong Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage masters and some other cultivators who didn’t appear weak, all of them were from Yang Tie’s mother’s Duan Mu Family.
The Duan Mu Family was the only support Yang Tie had in the Inheritance War.
Whether Yang Tie could pass this night safely or not was entirely dependent on the power of the Duan Mu Family.
In contrast, Yang Kang was flanked by a powerful Blood Warrior who was proficient in Soul Skills and members of the Gao Family, one of the Eight Great Families. Gao Rang Feng had brought two Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage masters with him tonight.
These two were Immortal Ascension Boundary Fifth Stage masters of the Eight Great Families so they couldn’t be treated as ordinary cultivators, their true strength was enough for them to beat ordinary Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage masters in the outside world.
Other than these elites, there were also five or six Immortal Ascension Boundary masters as well as dozens of True Element Boundary cultivators, which side was stronger was obvious to all.
Yang Kang only needed to send out half of the people he brought to easily suppress Yang Tie, at which point it would be easy for him to capture Yang Tie himself, or to capture his flag. Whether it was the person or the flag, either of them could be exchanged for a great deal of material from the family.
Yang Tie stared at Yang Kang as the latter strode forward calmly with an indifferent expression.
When Yang Kang stopped a dozen meters away, the two looked at each other for a while before Yang Kang grinned and said, “Third Brother, everyone here is family, why not listen to my suggestion so we can resolve this peacefully, how about it?”
He obviously wanted to let Yang Tie take the initiative to surrender, but seeing how he had the absolute advantage, he was naturally qualified to say this.
However, Yang Tie simply shook his head slowly and firmly, “I am also a member of the Yang Family, I will only be defeated, I will never surrender. Even if you are my brother, this truth will not change!”
“Good, I knew you would say that,” Yang Kang nodded gently as the smile on his face slowly converged, “If it was me in your place, I would also do the same. Since that’s the case, then don’t blame your fifth brother for not showing mercy.”
“Do as you will!” Yang Tie’s look suddenly became cold.
Behind him, the cultivators of the Duan Mu Family also pushed their True Qi, raising their guard as they prepared for battle.
At that moment though, Tang Yu Xian, who had not left Yang Kang side the whole time, suddenly wrinkled her brow and whispered something.
Yang Kang’s brow furrowed as he glanced back and sighed, “Seventh Brother, since you’ve already come, why lurk in the shadows instead of showing yourself?”
A burst of laughter rang out and immediately a group of people appeared in the night sky, slowly falling into the courtyard as they stood abreast Yang Kang’s group.
It was the Yang Family’s Seventh Young Lord Yang Ying and his allies.
Yang Kang had the Gao Family’s Gao Rang Feng as an ally while Yang Ying has the Kang Family’s Kang Zhan as an ally, and both of them had one Blood Warrior guarding them at the moment. The strength of both sides was basically equal.
The crowds watching the excitement suddenly cheered up; three of the Yang Family’s Young Lords had now gathered here so it was clear that tonight’s show would be nothing less than dazzling, now all that was uncertain was whether Yang Kang and Yang Ying would eat the piece of fat that was Yang Tie.
“Third Brother, Fifth Brother, Little Seventh has been impolite,” Yang Ying landed, first smiled and said hello, a look of enthusiasm upon his face.
“Seventh Brother, you’re too much. If it wasn’t for Yu Xian, Old Fifth is afraid he wouldn’t have noticed the oriole stalking him from behind,” Yang Kang smiled and shook his head.
“Don’t say this Fifth Brother. In the Inheritance War, one should do everything they can to achieve victory, Little Seventh just quietly concealed himself for a moment, but I’m worried there might still be more of our brothers in this crowd.”
As he said so, both Yang Ying and Yang Kang swept their eyes around the crowd.
Yang Kai wrapped his hat around his head a little tighter, making sure his was covered, doing his best to hold back a grin while the Wind and Cloud Dual Guards also felt like their skin was being pricked.
“No one else should have come,” Yang Kang shook his head slowly, “Big Brother won’t move, as the Eldest Brother, this is his way of showing courtesy to us little brothers, whatever trouble is stirred up, he won’t mix himself into it, all his forces will only stick to defence tonight.”
As for their Eight Brother Yang Quan, although he had a Blood Warrior supporting him, his mother’s family was only a second-class force, so it couldn’t provide him with much help, couple with the fact that he didn’t attract many followers during the day, he naturally wouldn’t dare take the initiative to attack others.
That said, with even just one Blood Warrior supporting him, his mansion wouldn’t be easy to take down, so no one would have ideas about him this first night.
“As for Second Brother and Sixth Brother, they should be at tonight’s other easy target, so right now, only us three brothers should appear here.”
Hearing this last comment, Yang Kai’s brow twitched, a devious smile creeping onto his face.
Second Brother Yang Zhao and Sixth Brother Yang Shen going to another easy-to-attack place tonight. Obviously, they were talking about his own mansion.
He was only a bit curious about what was going on there.
As Yang Kang spoke, Yang Ying laughed and replied, “Fifth Brother is quite well-informed, Little Seventh admires.”
To this little bit of sarcasm, Yang Kang just shook his head and said, “Enough about this, let’s first discuss how we’re going to deal with Third Brother here.”
“Ho… what does Fifth Brother mean?”
“The person and the flag, each of us takes one, what do you think?” Yang Kang smiled and asked, obviously not putting his Third Brother Yang Tie in the eyes, seemingly seeing him as nothing more than a dish to be cared up with Yang Ying.
Yang Tie’s face cramped and the cultivators from the Duan Mu Family also showed angry expressions.
Yang Ying smiled and shook his head, calmly replying, “Fifth Brother, don’t blame Little Seventh, my appetite is quite big, I want Third Brother, as for his flag, I want that too!”
Yang Kang was stunned for a moment before suddenly sneering, “Seventh Brother’s appetite is truly big, but you’ll have to have the ability to eat this meal from the tiger’s mouth!”
Yang Ying’s smile also slowly converged, his expression becoming cold.
The two brothers glared at each other and the surroundings became silent, the air seemingly stagnating.
A storm gathered, threatening everything in its path.
*Xiu Xiu Xiu!*
More than ten not weak burst of Spiritual Energy suddenly burst forth. Almost as if they had coordinating with each other, the Immortal Ascension Boundary masters brought by Yang Kang and Yang Ying all simultaneously unleashed their Soul Skills.
As these invisible forces collided, some people screamed and stumbled backwards a few steps while others took the chance to step forward, launching another fierce wave of attacks.
Dazzling flashes of light erupted as a variety of Martial Skills and artifacts surged into action, blinding both the combatants and their audience.
Tang Yu Xian quickly brought Yang Kang out of the ensuing whirlpool of battle while another Yang Family Blood Warrior responsible for Yang Ying’s safety did the same.
The two Yang Family direct descendants continued glaring at each other across the several hundred meter gap between them, flashes of cold light seemingly colliding mid air.
As key figures in the Inheritance War, neither Yang Kang nor Yang Ying would personally go to battle unless they had no other choice. When they came out from their compounds, taking the bigger picture into consideration, their first priority would always be their own safety as their strength wasn’t high.
The Blood Warriors who were responsible for guarding them were forbidden from initiating any offensive actions under the rules of the Yang Family.
Their only responsibility was to counterattack, so if no one attacked them or their Young Lord, even if the situation was in crisis, they had to stand by.
The strengths of the cultivators brought by Yang Kang and Yang Ying were roughly the same, so when they engaged, the situation quickly developed into a stalemate.
As the host to this show, Yang Tie and the cultivators from the Duan Mu Family had actually degenerated into part of the audience as no one came towards them at this moment.
After staring at this scene for a while, Yang Tie coldly snorted, “If you really think that your Third Brother hasn’t made any preparations, you’re in for a surprise, ready the arrows!”
*Shua Shua Shua*, on top of the walls surrounding the front yard, a number of figures appeared, each of them holding a sleek longbow in their hands.
Each of these bows was identical, their craftsmanship exquisite, at first glance they were obviously artifacts of not low grade.
The cultivators who held these bows had at least reached the True Element Boundary Eighth Stage, one or two of them had even arrived at the Immortal Ascension Boundary.
Pushing their True Qi madly, each of these cultivators lifted their respective bow and in just a few moments, each of them turned pale, seemingly having exhausted all their strength.
When these arrows were drawn, everyone who had been targeted immediately felt danger, their expressions changing greatly.
The violent energy each of these arrows contained could even be felt by the spectating crowd who were all quite some distance away from the battle. As for Yang Kang and Yang Ying’s allies, their foreheads began to leak cold sweat as a chill ran up their spines, it was as if a fearsome group of beasts had suddenly appeared around them and were staring at them covetously.
*Shua…*
*Shua Shua…*
Seven twangs rang out as these cultivators released their bowstrings and sent their sharp arrows flying. Like falling stars, these arrows glowed a brilliant white light as they swiftly descended upon the entangled cultivators below.
As the arrows fell, they instantly formed an inescapable net, engulfing Yang Kang and Yang Ying’s allies.
With a resounding bang, the earth shook and the sky cracked, broken limbs and clouds of blood flew in all directions.
Everyone’s eardrums were shaken, causing all who were nearby to lose their hearing temporarily.
Yang Kang and Yang Ying both stared in shock at the explosion of energy before them.
Tang Yu Xian and another Blood Warrior quickly pushed their True Qi in response, guarding Yang Kang and Yang Ying from the complementary waves.