Three more chapters done—please, a few monthly tickets if you can!
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Inside the grand hall of the Bamboo Joint Gang, Pang Chi and Mu Nandou stared at the two figures behind Yang Kai with expressions of utter shock.
"You got a problem with that?" One of the men who looked like he was on his deathbed let out a cold snort, and a massive wave of Divine Sense suddenly swept outward.
The moment they felt the power contained within that Divine Sense, Pang Chi and Mu Nandou's faces changed drastically. They finally realized that these two half-dead-looking fellows were anything but ordinary.
That alone—that extraordinary Divine Sense—would have been enough to wipe out every minor faction in the entire Northern District.
They quickly composed themselves and waved their hands in a panic. "No, no! None at all!"
"Go!" Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively.
Neither of the two iron-tower-like men behind him made any visible move, yet Pang Chi and Mu Nandou were suddenly enveloped by a force and vanished from the hall in an instant, leaving nothing behind but a faint trace of blood in the air.
Only after Qu Gaoyi and Ying Jiu had disappeared did Yang Kai allow himself a slight smile.
Five days had passed since they'd sworn to follow him.
Both Blood Servants were gravely wounded and should have been recuperating in bed. But Yang Kai had turned a blind eye to their condition, seeming almost eager for them to die—dragging them along wherever he went.
During those five days, Yang Kai hadn't exchanged a single word with them, nor given them any instructions.
But what gratified him was that he'd sensed not a shred of impatience or resentment in either Qu Gaoyi or Ying Jiu.
At present, the strength they could muster was less than thirty percent of their peak condition. But sweeping up the minor factions in Zhongdu City wouldn't pose much of a problem.
There was no more time. Yang Kai had originally planned to let Pang Chi and Mu Nandou slowly chip away at the smaller factions that could be taken. But the Battle of Succession was about to begin, and he could no longer wait.
Left with no choice, he'd deployed both Blood Servants to help get things done.
Standing up, Yang Kai turned to another Bamboo Joint Gang executive who had been attending nearby. "Take me to your treasury."
"Yes, sir!"
The Bamboo Joint Gang had absorbed two small factions and, at Yang Kai's request, purchased a substantial amount of alchemy and artifact-refining materials, all of which were now stored in the treasury.
Yang Kai went inside, took a brief look around, and walked back out. The Black Book's storage space suddenly contained a great deal more valuable goods.
Combined with the massive batch of materials that Elder Hall had sent over via Yang Zhen five days ago, Yang Kai's stockpile had grown to a respectable size.
The Elder Hall's efficiency was remarkable. Yang Kai had simply requested that all his remaining merit be exchanged for materials, and by that very evening, it was done.
Looking at the two carts brimming with rich materials, both Yang Kai and his parents were genuinely stunned.
Every single material was heaven grade or above. Fully a tenth of them were mysterious grade, split roughly evenly between alchemy and artifact-refining supplies!
Fortunately, the Yang family's foundations were deep enough. Otherwise, they could never have produced so many materials.
Yang Yingfeng had never expected that after Yang Kai used up so much merit to secure two Blood Servants as retainers, there would still be this much left over.
Yang Kai himself hadn't expected it either.
Father and son had stood there blankly for a good while before coming back to their senses. All those materials were now stored inside the Black Book's space.
"Have Pang Chi keep collecting materials. Once he's gathered a sufficient amount, send them to me at War City," Yang Kai instructed, clasping his hands behind his back and striding out.
War City—a fortress built specifically for the Yang family's Battle of Succession, located just a hundred li from Zhongdu.
"Yes!" the Bamboo Joint Gang executive replied in a deep voice.
After Yang Kai left, the man felt a bit dazed. How could the young master have walked into the treasury, looked around, and come back out as if he hadn't taken anything?
He peered inside—and nearly had his soul torn from his body.
Every last material that had been stored in the treasury was gone.
This… what was he supposed to do now!
…………
Three days later—the Yang family's Heaven Worship Platform.
A towering structure stood in imposing grandeur, its surface perfectly leveled and covered with a rich crimson fur carpet. The platform rose high and mighty, two colossal stone pillars stretching straight into the clouds. Carved upon them were magnificent images of dragons soaring through the skies and phoenixes ascending to the heavens, so vivid they seemed alive.
The sky stretched endless and cloudless, a flawless azure expanse. Wind howled in, whipping the Yang family's blood-red banners so that they cracked and snapped with a fierce clangor.
Nearly a thousand Yang family martial artists, all dressed in identical black combat attire, gathered around the enormous Heaven Worship Platform.
A thousand people breathing as one, their energy in perfect unison—with each inhale and exhale, they seemed to stir the very heavens and earth around them.
Directly below the platform, eight young-generation direct descendants of the Yang family, already bathed and changed into ceremonial garments, stood solemnly in order of age, heads bowed, their gazes fixed reverently upon the platform above.
A thunderous call rang out: "Head of the Qiu family, Qiu Shoucheng, has arrived!"
"Head of the Ye family, Ye Kuangren, has arrived!"
"Head of the Meng family, Meng Xiping, has arrived!"
…
The Yang family's Battle of Succession came once in several decades and was virtually the grandest and most spectacular event in all of Zhongdu—and indeed the entire world. Naturally, the other seven great families would not show the slightest discourtesy. Each came personally led by their own family head.