Yang Kai woke up at the break of dawn. He quickly washed up, picked up the broom propped in the corner, and walked out of his small, solitary hut.
Standing in the doorway, he stretched his limbs and glanced at the pale line of light emerging on the horizon. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed a moment of tranquility. Then, opening them, he began to swing his broom, diligently sweeping away the dust and fallen leaves on the ground.
He was dressed in simple, clean blue robes. The mature color of the outfit made the young man seem a few years older than he actually was. Yang Kai's back was straight as a spear. Even while performing the most menial of tasks, the expression on his face was serious and meticulous. His movements were steady; he didn't grip the broom tightly, nor did his body sway much. Relying solely on the rotation of his wrist, the broom moved as if it were an extension of his own arm. As his steps carried him forward, the dust and debris on the ground miraculously followed him, as if they had grown legs.
Yang Kai was a Trial Disciple of the Lingxiao Pavilion. He had entered the sect three years ago to begin his cultivation, but to this day he had only managed to reach the Body Tempering Stage Three realm. The fellow seniors who had joined with him had long since surpassed this stage, each finding their own opportunities and rising to prominence under the tutelage of the sect's masters. He could only look on and sigh.
Three years to reach the Body Tempering Stage Three—this kind of talent could no longer be described by the word 'ordinary.' It was nothing short of utterly mediocre.
Having no other choice, Yang Kai took on a sweeping job within the sect to support himself while he continued his bitter cultivation.
The Lingxiao Pavilion was a rather unique sect. This uniqueness was reflected in the brutal competition among its disciples. In this sect, the capable rose to the top, and the incompetent were weeded out. The iron law of survival of the fittest was played out to its fullest within the Lingxiao Pavilion.
Other sects might have some camaraderie or brotherly friendship among their peers, but not the Lingxiao Pavilion! If you wanted to climb up, you had to step on the shoulders of your so-called fellow disciples and tread through their blood. Only then could you be qualified.
The Lingxiao Pavilion's strict rules were famous throughout the entire Han Dynasty. Although it wasn't considered a super-grade sect, the ferocity of the competition among its disciples was second to none! Precisely because of this, the disciples were fierce in their martial arts, and few dared to provoke them when they traveled the world.
The Lingxiao Pavilion had a rule: for all disciples under the age of fourteen, the first three years from the moment they entered the sect counted as a trial period. During these three years, the sect was responsible for their food, lodging, clothing, and transportation. The disciples only had to focus on their cultivation. If they could break through the Body Tempering Realm within three years, they would be qualified to become disciples of the sect's masters and receive their guidance. Of course, they could also choose not to take a master and cultivate on their own. However, on the path of cultivation, having a good teacher and groping around in the dark were two completely different things. To a certain extent, this rule of the Lingxiao Pavilion allowed for some freedom.
Those who failed to break through the Body Tempering Realm within three years had to either leave the sect or be demoted to the rank of Trial Disciple.
A Trial Disciple—this was Yang Kai's current status! It was also the shame of the Lingxiao Pavilion!
Unlike ordinary disciples, the living environment of a Trial Disciple was much harsher. Once they reached this point, they had to take care of everything themselves—food, clothing, and housing. The sect would no longer waste any cultivation resources on them. Once demoted to a Trial Disciple, basically, there was no hope of ever rising up again, unless they could greatly increase their strength in a short period of time, making the sect deem them worthy of investment.
There were three thousand disciples in the entire Lingxiao Pavilion, but how many were Trial Disciples? No more than the fingers of two hands! Yang Kai was fortunate enough to be one of them!
For a Trial Disciple to survive in the Lingxiao Pavilion was as hard as reaching the heavens. Take the small hut Yang Kai was currently living in, for example. He had built it himself, plank by plank, log by log. There were several holes in the roof that he didn't have time to repair, so whenever it rained, the interior would flood. His clothes were bought by himself, his food was prepared by himself—he was responsible for everything.
Even the location of his hut was in the most remote, most obscure corner of the Lingxiao Pavilion.
Such terrible treatment was difficult for an ordinary person to endure. This was precisely why the number of Trial Disciples in the Lingxiao Pavilion was so low. Basically, disciples who failed to break through the Body Tempering Realm after the trial period would choose to leave the Lingxiao Pavilion. But Yang Kai stayed.
He had already been kicked out once, so how could he let it happen again?
A few months ago, after being demoted to Trial Disciple, Yang Kai took on a sweeping job within the sect to support himself.
It could be said that Yang Kai was now both a Trial Disciple of the Lingxiao Pavilion and the sweeping boy of the Lingxiao Pavilion. But this sweeping job sometimes couldn't even keep him fed. He often went hungry, and no one came to check on him when he caught a cold. His days were bitter and lonely. Even so, Yang Kai never thought of backing down. A man's life is but a few decades. Since he chose this path himself, he must walk it to the end. Giving up halfway was not something a real man would do.
Yang Kai had a tenacity to him, a tenacity that refused to turn back until he had hit a dead end.
As the day gradually brightened, Yang Kai swept for a while. Everywhere he passed became clean and spotless.
Sweeping didn't take much strength, but having worked so long on an empty stomach early in the morning, Yang Kai was covered in a cold sweat. This had nothing to do with his cultivation level; it was entirely because his physical constitution was too weak.
Out of three meals a day, two were skipped. No one could have a healthy body while living in Yang Kai's circumstances.
Gradually, some Lingxiao Pavilion disciples began to gather around him. They had all woken up early, but instead of cultivating, they surrounded Yang Kai. Many looked at him with great interest, while others had gazes that were purely greedy, as if Yang Kai was a naked beauty or a fragrant, tempting treat.
A tense atmosphere of competition began to spread among the Lingxiao Pavilion disciples gathered around Yang Kai. They stared warily at their fellow apprentices, their expressions ugly.
Someone in the crowd couldn't bear it and softly said, "So many people, isn't this going a bit too far?"
Someone immediately replied, "If you think it's too many, you can leave. No one's making you stay."
That one sentence shut the man up in embarrassment. Everyone knew why they were gathered here, knew why they were staring at Yang Kai. They were all waiting for that moment to come. The time limit was almost up. Wouldn't it be a shame to leave now? If they could grab the first pick, today would be another big gain.
Yang Kai was naturally aware of this activity around him, but his expression never changed. He had to go through this spectacle once every five days, six times a month. There was nothing to be surprised about. Besides, looking at the number of people present, it was actually less than usual. They probably hadn't all arrived yet.
So he continued sweeping, completely ignoring the people around him, sweeping as he walked.
As time passed, the number of people gathered around Yang Kai grew, reaching at least thirty or forty people by a rough estimate.
Yang Kai suddenly stopped. He sat down right in the middle of the path and slowly took a deep breath, recovering the stamina he had expended early that morning.
Seeing this, everyone gathered around Yang Kai immediately scattered and surrounded him in a tight circle. The tense atmosphere of competition sharply rose to a new level, as if even the air had stopped flowing.