Yang Kai instinctively sensed danger behind him. Without hesitation, he shifted his weight and sidestepped, narrowly evading a sudden strike aid at his back. His movents were fluid and precise—he lost neither montum nor control.
But just as he regained footing, another blade swung toward his front, gleaming with hostile intent. Forced to halt abruptly, Yang Kai found himself surrounded.
In a glance, he counted five opponents. All of them were in the Qi Transformation Stage, and judging by their presence, each one was stronger than Nie Yong.
The encirclent was tight. The five cultivators stared at Yang Kai with a mixture of disdain and confidence. Nie Yong, standing at the forefront, sneered with theatrical righteousness.
"Yang Fellow Apprentice!" he called mockingly. "You've committed a grievous cri, and I am here to enact justice on behalf of the sect!"
Yang Kai's lips curled in scorn. "Is peeping on won while they bathe not considered a cri too?" he shot back.
Nie Yong's expression twisted as a flush of embarrassnt spread across his face. The jab had struck true. The other four disciples exchanged glances, puzzled and slightly amused, which only deepened Nie Yong's humiliation.
Trying to shift the mood, one of the disciples on Yang Kai's left stepped forward. "Yang Kai, we don't want to kill you," he said in a self-righteous tone. "If you surrender the Earth High Grade Martial Skill you obtained, we'll let you go. We might even put in a good word with Xie Fellow Apprentice for your forgiveness."
Yang Kai snorted, unshaken. "Fellow Apprentices, I appreciate the generous offer—but I respectfully decline."
Straightening his back, he puffed out his chest with confidence and let his gaze sweep across them. "If you want the Martial Skill, you'll have to take it by force. Let's see if your strength can back up your arrogance."
A disciple on the far side growled in anger. "We offered you a way out, and you spat on it! Don't think we won't kill just because we're from the sa sect. You've already offended Xie Fellow Apprentice. Even if you die here, no one will know—and no one will care!"
Of the five, Nie Yong was clearly the most agitated. His eyes burned with hatred. He had nursed a grudge ever since Yang Kai took that peculiar stone baby during the division. Though he didn't know exactly what Yang Kai had received, he could tell from the smug expression that it was sothing valuable—too valuable for a weakling like him to hold.
"Enough talk!" Nie Yong barked, stepping forward. "We don't need his cooperation—only his broken body. We'll just torture him until he spits it out!"
With a fierce cry, Nie Yong lunged forward. His fist surged through the air, trailing a chilling wind that cut through the oppressive atmosphere like a blade of ice.
A cold, dangerous aura swept toward Yang Kai like a sudden storm.
Nie Yong had chosen to open with his strongest move—Cold Breeze Palm.
The other disciples didn't move. They didn't need to. As far as they were concerned, Nie Yong alone was enough to finish this. His cultivation was higher, and his Martial Skill was among the best available in High Heaven Pavilion for disciples at their level.
"Nie Fellow Apprentice's Cold Breeze Palm really has reached another level," one comnted with admiration.
The others nodded.
That particular skill was no ordinary technique. As an Earth Low Grade Martial Skill, it required five hundred contribution points just to acquire. For Nie Yong to not only obtain it but also wield it proficiently spoke volus about his dedication.
He must have spent countless days refining it, perfecting the frigid chi flow and its destructive impact. In their minds, that dedication alone justified the overwhelming confidence he carried. For a cultivator at his stage, using such a powerful technique against soone like Yang Kai was more than enough.
There was no suspense.
At least, not for them.
But Yang Kai had no intention of retreating.
As Nie Yong's frosty palm sliced through the air, Yang Kai's eyes sharpened. His body surged with Qi, and instead of dodging, he t the oncoming blow with one of his own.
"Co then," he murmured. "Let's see whose technique stands stronger!"
As the palm surged toward him, Yang Kai felt the Yuan Qi in his left arm turn cold and sluggish, as if ice had crept through his veins.
Nie Yong sneered with malice. "I'll take that arm today, Yang Kai! Burn this mont into your bones!"
Yang Kai's face turned grim. Without hesitation, he forcefully stimulated his Yuan Qi, pushing it against the invasive cold. His ridians scread in protest, but he endured it. The Burning Sun's Blast surged within him.
Nie Yong's smirk faltered. He could feel the counterforce—this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.
"You dare resist ?!" Nie Yong growled, masking his shaken confidence. "You're a candle flickering in the wind! My palm will snuff you out!"
The Cold Breeze Palm edged closer, its chill slicing through the air. In that instant, Yang Kai ignited his full strength, channeling energy through all 30 ridians. The heat of the Burning Sun's Blast condensed into his fist.
Nie Yong snorted. "Still struggling? You'll regret this!"
The mont their palms t, the world exploded.
A searing blast erupted from Yang Kai's fist, like the sun igniting in a sudden blaze. A crimson light burst outward, blinding everyone nearby. The ground trembled, trees snapped, and a thunderclap echoed across the forest.
Nie Yong's eyes widened in disbelief—that wasn't weak Qi!
"ARGH!" he scread as the impact flung him backward like a rag doll, crashing into a tree with a sickening crack. Blood sprayed from his mouth. His arm dangled limply, completely numb.
Though victorious in the exchange, Yang Kai staggered backward, his body groaning from the backlash. He was still far from matching Nie Yong in cultivation. If not for his precision and ruthlessness, he'd be the one coughing blood.
But Yang Kai didn't stop. He never stopped.
Using the lingering light and smoke as cover, he darted away like a shadow, igniting his Yang Yuan Qi to retreat into the forest depths. He couldn't afford to waste ti—he could fight, but not win if the others joined.
The four watching disciples stood frozen, shocked to their cores. Nie Yong, a Peak Qi Transformation cultivator, had not crushed Yang Kai. The outco had defied logic.
By the ti they recovered, Yang Kai's figure had vanished into the trees.
From the distance, his voice rang cold and clear."Nie Yong! Consider yourself lucky. Next ti, I'll take your life."
His words struck them like a blade—sharp and rciless.
One of the disciples rushed to Nie Yong, who sat slumped, pale as death, blood still leaking from his lips.
"Senior Brother Nie, are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" Nie Yong snarled, forcing himself to his feet with trembling limbs. "Yang Kai's injured too! We chase now, or we lose him!"
The others hesitated. They had no real grudge with Yang Kai. They followed only to gain favor with Xie Hongchen, not to risk their lives.
Sensing their doubt, Nie Yong snapped, "Did you see that Martial Skill? He's just learned it and it's already that powerful! Imagine what it could do if you learned it!"
Tempted, the others nodded slightly, but one of them still said, "We're not here to kill him. We only want that skill. This grudge is yours, Nie Yong. We won't take the fall for murder."
"Fine!" Nie Yong spat blood and fury. "I'll kill him with my own hands. That brat dared threaten ... I'll bury him!"
They all understood now—Yang Kai hadn't just resisted. He had challenged. And Nie Yong wouldn't rest until he saw him dead.
-----------------------------------------------
anwhile, by the lakeside where Du Yishuang and Lan Chudie had bathed earlier, Yang Kai staggered to a stop. His face was pale, blood dripping from the corner of his lips, and his limbs trembled with apparent exhaustion.
He sank to his knees, breathing heavily, playing the part of a man on the brink. But inside, his mind was sharp, his senses fully alert.
Too risky, he thought calmly. If Nie Yong alone forced to this extent, the other four would definitely overwhelm .
It wasn't fear of death that gripped him—it was the fear of exposure.
If anyone saw the speed at which his wounds healed... if they noticed his blood boiling with vitality monts after coughing it up... it would raise questions. Questions he couldn't afford to answer.
This wasn't Nine Yin Mountain Valley anymore. Back then, everyone had been restricted, strength equalized by the environnt. But here? Strength reigned unchecked.
If not for his Burning Sun's Blast catching Nie Yong off guard, he might have had to reveal more than he was willing.
The cold from Nie Yong's strike still lingered in his veins, frost attempting to creep into his ridians. He grit his teeth, calmly circulating his Yang Yuan Qi—not with desperation, but with precision. His body rapidly burned away the chill, vitality roaring to life beneath the surface.
But the facade had to be maintained.
Suddenly, a subtle shift in the air—movent. Soone was approaching.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai dove into the lake. His body cut through the water in silence, every motion fluid and deliberate. Though he appeared like a wounded animal fleeing in panic, in truth, he was a shadow—controlled, watching, waiting.
He held his breath and sank deeper. The lake wasn't wide, but its depth was shocking. The water grew colder with every stroke, biting into his skin like icy needles.
Good, he thought. The deeper, the better. Let them think I'm desperate, cornered.
Eventually, he stopped his descent, hovering in the cold, pitch-black depths. His senses stretched outward, alert like a predator's.
Above, muffled voices rippled through the water.
Nie Yong had followed him.
A mont later—splash!
Sothing entered the lake.
Yang Kai didn't panic. He rely shifted slightly, slipping deeper into the dark, unseen. He was confident none of them could match him in this environnt. If they dared co close enough... he would strike like lightning.
Though the lake wasn't vast, its depth was startling. Even after swimming downward for a while, he hadn't touched the bottom. The cold down here wasn't just unpleasant—it was unnatural, almost spiritual, like the lake hid ancient secrets in its icy silence.
Fortunately for Yang Kai, his cultivation of the True Yang Secret Art provided him with an advantage. As his True Yang Yuan Qi circulated through his body, the icy cold of the lake could not hinder him. His Qi burned like a furnace, pushing the chill out of his limbs. With this newfound strength, he was able to dive deeper than Nie Yong and the others could ever hope to follow.
A while later, the person who had jumped into the lake surfaced and climbed out, no longer pursuing Yang Kai. The group, unable to find any trace of him, soon gave up their search and moved on to other places.
For Yang Kai, though, the strain of holding his breath underwater for so long had its consequences. Even though his cultivation had reached the Peak of the Initial Elent Stage and he was far stronger than a normal mortal, there were still limits to his physical endurance. The pressure of being subrged, his lungs screaming for air, made him dizzy. His head spun slightly, and his body felt heavier as the seconds ticked by.
But just as he thought the worst had passed, a sense of relief washed over him. The group had moved on, leaving him alone in the murky depths. He could finally take a breath, and though it ca with a sharp sting in his chest, it was a relief.
Just as he was about to settle and relax, he heard sothing—a strange whistling sound that cut through the silence of the lake.
His eyes darted around, scanning the dark water around him. Oddly enough, he couldn't pinpoint the source of the sound. It was as if the noise ca from all directions at once, soft at first, but growing louder by the mont. The sound shifted into sothing more familiar—the breeze.
Is it coming from the bottom?
He narrowed his focus, his senses stretching into the depths. The surrounding water grew colder as he swam deeper, his eyes locked onto the growing sound. As he focused even harder, he noticed a faint glimr in the darkness—sothing reflecting even the dimst light.
He swam closer, his curiosity piqued. The shimring grew more distinct, revealing a shiny, black cave entrance tucked into the lake's bed.
Yang Kai's heart skipped a beat.
The sight of the cave triggered a deep, unsettling sensation in Yang Kai's heart. A mory stirred—a mory of how, in another life, many protagonists like him encountered their fateful turning point when they stumbled upon an inheritance hidden in a cave, often leading to the discovery of unimaginable power and destiny.
The images of those stories, the countless tis the hero would find himself on the brink of change, flooded his mind. The cave, in those tales, always symbolized the gateway to strength, fortune, and sotis an unexpected new "father figure," soone who would guide the protagonist to unimaginable heights.
Yang Kai had always found those stories intriguing, almost as though they were written just for him. And now, standing before this cave, he felt the sa pull—the sa irresistible thread calling him forward. It wasn't just an entrance; it was the mont of his own turning point.
Without fully understanding why, he knew this was no ordinary cave. Sothing within it was destined for him. Sothing that could alter his fate forever.
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