Lin Yuhao and Yi Zhengkai were both straightforward, principled men at heart. Being so casually dismissed and humiliated by Yang Kai was something neither could endure.
The Flower-Pinching Finger was a supreme secret technique that Lin Yuhao had spent years perfecting. Its power was immense, killing without drawing blood — a style that suited him perfectly.
A flower of spiritual energy flickered briefly across his fingertip before vanishing, and an invisible, formless wave of energy swept toward Yang Kai.
Yi Zhengkai stood off to the side with no intention of joining forces with Lin Yuhao. Instead, he fixed his gaze intently on Yang Kai's every movement, feeling a premonition that Lin Yuhao's ultimate technique would prove useless against this young man — his strength seemed far too great.
But even if it was useless, he could at least gauge the depth of Yang Kai's power by his reaction. So Yi Zhengkai watched with painstaking care.
The very next instant, however, his expression froze completely. He murmured in disbelief, "How is that possible?"
Yang Kai hadn't even moved his body. He simply exhaled a light breath forward, and Lin Yuhao's Flower-Pinching Finger was dispelled in an instant. Flower petals scattered uselessly through the air, unable to so much as touch Yang Kai's body.
Lin Yuhao's face went blank as well. He exchanged a look with Yi Zhengkai, and both felt their hearts sink halfway into their chests.
For their opponent to neutralize Lin Yuhao's strongest technique so effortlessly — it was clear his cultivation had reached a level beyond their comprehension. If the gap in their strength hadn't been this vast, such a thing simply couldn't have happened.
"A decent technique," Yang Kai remarked with a light chuckle. "Unfortunately, the caster's cultivation is too low to bring out much of its true power."
The words sounded like an insult, but Lin Yuhao actually wore a contemplative expression, without the slightest trace of displeasure.
In the world of martial arts, the strong commanded respect. Although Yang Kai looked young, his overwhelming power gave him every right to pass judgment.
After speaking, Yang Kai's expression darkened once more. "You two have been hiding away here, brewing tea and discussing the Dao, steering clear of worldly affairs. It seems carefree enough — but is it truly carefree? Truly without constraint?"
Lin Yuhao and Yi Zhengkai looked at each other, embarrassment creeping across their faces.
Yang Kai let out a soft, cold laugh. "If you were genuinely unburdened at heart, that would be one thing. But I can see that's not the case. If you want to seclude yourselves, why still concern yourselves with the affairs of the world? You're only torturing yourselves with pointless worry — how absurd. Either you truly withdraw into the mountains and never emerge again, or you throw yourselves into the mortal world and experience every facet of life. The path of martial arts demands clarity of mind and relentless forward momentum. Worrying about gains and losses, looking before and after — with that kind of mindset, you'll never achieve anything in your entire lifetime!"
"Clarity of mind and relentless forward momentum!"
Lin Yuhao and Yi Zhengkai both jolted as though struck by lightning. Epiphany washed across their faces, which shifted rapidly between confusion and exhilaration — they appeared to have stumbled into some profound realization.
Yang Kai glanced at them and chuckled quietly. Then he waved toward the young woman called Ling'er. "Miss, pour me another cup, won't you? Don't be so stingy."
Ling'er glared at Yang Kai through gritted teeth, clutching the teapot to her chest in a posture that said she would defend it with her life.
Yang Kai rubbed the bridge of his nose in mild embarrassment.
Just then, Lin Yuhao and Yi Zhengkai suddenly threw back their heads and released a long, piercing howl. The sound tore through the sky, stirring the winds and clouds into a frenzy. In an instant, above the Holy Land of Nine Peaks, thunder rolled and billowing clouds — dense as quilts — pressed down from the heavens.
"Oh? They're about to break through?" Yang Kai looked up at the sky in surprise. That was unmistakably the heavenly tribulation that greeted a martial artist breaking through to a major new realm.
He hadn't expected these two squatters to shatter their own shackles simply because of something he said. It seemed their aptitude was actually quite remarkable — they had simply been held back by the sparse spiritual energy of the Profound Spirit Continent.
As the howl faded, Lin Yuhao and Yi Zhengkai, faces solemn, shot up into the sky and separated, each preparing to endure the baptism of heavenly energy.
"What did you do to the young masters?" Ling'er cried out, her face pale with alarm as she rushed over to Yang Kai and demanded an answer.
The other girls swarmed forward as well, surrounding Yang Kai so tightly he couldn't have escaped. Every pair of beautiful eyes brimmed with worry and fury — worry for Lin Yuhao and Yi Zhengkai, fury at Yang Kai.
It looked as though the slightest thing to go wrong with the two men, and they would beat Yang Kai to a pulp with their bare fists.
"I didn't do anything to them! You all saw that, didn't you?" Yang Kai's head throbbed. "I just said a few words, that's all…"
"Then why are they like this?" Ling'er was on the verge of tears.
"Relax. They'll be coming back down soon, and when they do, they'll be even stronger than before," Yang Kai explained patiently.
"Nobody's buying that, you villain! Sisters, let's give him a beating first!" a round-faced girl in the crowd shouted indignantly.
The moment those words left her lips, over a dozen girls raised their delicate fists and rain them down on Yang Kai like a storm.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" Ling'er shrieked an instant later. She looked on in horror to discover that Yang Kai — who had been sitting in his chair just a moment ago — had vanished completely. Every last fist had struck nothing but air.
"That man… he wasn't a ghost, was he?" the round-faced girl asked, her face turning green with dread.
At the words, all the girls went pale, their slender bodies trembling at the thought that they had spent all this time in the company of a phantom.
On the summit of one of the nine peaks, Yang Kai let out a long sigh. "Honestly, these young girls these days — completely lawless."