When Manager Meng had carried the Sect Leader's Jade Pendant to the Elder Council to relay the decree promoting Yang Kai to ordinary disciple, Wei Xitong insisted on tampering with things behind the scenes. His original intent was to probe, but he never expected matters to unfold entirely contrary to his plans. Yang Kai's refusal directly stripped him of the initiative and put him squarely on the defensive — he was truly caught completely off guard.
Thinking about this, Su Xuanwu felt a wave of satisfaction.
"Second Elder, don't we need to act? Yang Kai's refusal is sure to bring him a world of trouble," the disciple spoke up again.
"No." Su Xuanwu slowly shook his head. "Let this be. We need only sit back and watch the show."
"Understood!" Though the disciple didn't quite understand, he didn't dare argue.
"Wei Xitong, oh Wei Xitong — I wonder how you plan to explain this to the Sect Leader this time!"
A confident look on his face, Su Xuanwu placed his white stone on the board.
The lifeless endgame suddenly showed signs of revival — the besieged white stones rose like a dragon lifting its head, on the verge of breaking free from encirclement.
Yang Kai, of course, had no idea that his offhand refusal had set so many wheels in motion. Right now, he was sitting cross-legged at the mouth of a cave, his mind calm and still.
A day later, Yang Kai rose to his feet and called out to the Earth Demon in his mind.
Moments later, a wisp of black energy shot up from the depths of Kunlong Gorge, coiled around Yang Kai's finger, and vanished.
"Find anything down there?" Yang Kai asked.
"This old servant didn't dare venture too deep — only absorbed some demonic energy at about a thousand zhang below. Nothing significant. But rest assured, Young Master, once I've recovered more of my strength, I'll definitely be able to go deeper and investigate." The Earth Demon's voice drifted back to him.
"Mm." Yang Kai nodded, crouching down to touch the Yin-Yang Demon Ginseng. He fed it a drop of Yang Liquid and said: "You stay here and absorb Yang energy. Remember — if the two women I mentioned before don't show up, you must run. Got it?"
The Yin-Yang Demon Ginseng's facial features shifted into an expression of understanding.
"Young Master, are you leaving on a journey?" the Earth Demon asked.
"Mm. Going out for a while. You're coming with me."
"Naturally!" There was a note of excitement in the Earth Demon's voice. "Young Master, if you run into anyone worth killing on this trip, don't let them slip by. My Soul-Breaking Pick has lost its spiritual nature and needs human souls to mend it. The more souls it devours, the more powerful it becomes. If I can fully restore it — heh heh — Young Master, with that artifact in hand, you could dominate a region and command the world!"
Yang Kai smiled faintly, clearly not taken in by the Earth Demon's words.
He had his own reasons for wanting to leave.
First, he had just refused the promotion order. Staying any longer would only invite more trouble.
Second, he was thinking of Su Yan. The dual cultivation of the Hehuan Technique made it impossible for her to control her desires. If he remained here, once her urges surged, she would have a terrible time holding them back. The Ice Heart Art she cultivated demanded that her heart remain steady and unmoved. His departure would leave her no escape — she would have no choice but to resist with everything she had, which would be enormously beneficial to her cultivation.
Third, there was the matter of his own progress. Cultivating in the Qi Movement Realm wasn't something you could achieve merely by sitting in meditation. Only through the trials of life and death could one grow quickly.
Thinking of the gap between his strength and Su Yan's, Yang Kai knew he could no longer remain within the sect, living this relatively comfortable life.
Leaving a letter in the cave, Yang Kai packed light and set out. Under cover of night, he departed Lingxiao Pavilion alone.
From a treetop branch beyond Yang Kai's sight, a figure in green stood silently, making no attempt to call out or step forward to say goodbye. She simply watched him go.
A night breeze stirred, lifting the veil thin as cicada wings and revealing a face of breathtaking beauty.
After a long while, a somewhat aged voice sounded from behind her: "Disciple, the night is deep and the dew is heavy. You should rest."
The tone was filled with helpless tenderness.
"Mm." Xia Ningshang hugged her arms tighter. She was cold.
Having left Lingxiao Pavilion, Yang Kai had no particular destination in mind. He simply picked a direction, and with flashes of firelight beneath his feet, shot off at breakneck speed.
In a single night, he covered two to three hundred li from Lingxiao Pavilion.
That night's relentless journey somehow plunged Yang Kai's mind into a state of deep perception. He felt the shifts of Yuan Qi in his legs — the inexplicable surge that came every time his speed increased — and sought to find some rational pattern in it.
Since leaving Nine Yin Valley, Yang Kai had gained a rough understanding of how to use Yuan Qi to boost his speed. After testing it out several times in the Inheritance Grotto-heaven, the results had been decent enough.
But this was still only a crude use of Yuan Qi, without any fixed method to it.