Ahhhhhhh…… echoes, tremolo~~~~~~ (Dear readers, please ignore this; I'm just screaming meaninglessly.)
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In front of Yang Kai's residence, Huo Xingchen was making himself at home, his attitude both atrocious and full of hot air. Not only did this make Yang Kai frown, but even the young man standing opposite wore an unpleasant expression and let out a cold snort.
Huo Xingchen chuckled, about to say something more, but Yang Kai grabbed him by the collar and simply hurled him away.
In midair, Huo Xingchen executed a graceful somersault and landed smoothly. He rubbed his nose, not daring to complain, his expression somewhat sheepish.
Seeing this, the young man couldn't help but turn his gaze toward Yang Kai. The warriors standing behind him also began to whisper among themselves.
"I'm the one you're looking for," Yang Kai said, his expression cold and detached as he regarded the visitor.
The young man's expression softened slightly, but a flash of arrogance and wildness still lingered in his eyes. He stared at Yang Kai in a provocative manner, making no move, and said in a flat tone: "Greetings, Young Master Kai!"
"Who are you?" Yang Kai found this rather amusing. No wonder Qiu Yimeng had said this person's attitude was peculiar — there really was something off about him.
His entourage looked like he'd come to form an alliance — he'd brought quite a few warriors and four crates of supplies — but his expression clearly showed reluctance, as though someone had forced him into this.
Yang Kai couldn't recall where he'd seen this person before.
"Xiang Tianxiao!" the young man answered in a deep voice.
"Xiang Tianxiao?" Yang Kai furrowed his brow, suddenly catching the surname. He recalled a few things, raised an eyebrow, and smiled faintly. "What is Xiang Chu to you?"
Xiang Chu — the one Yang Kai had encountered months ago in Taifang Mountain. The eldest young master of the Xiang family, one of the Great First-Rank families, and the future successor of the clan.
Back then, Xiang Chu and Nan Sheng had joined forces to pressure Yang Kai, only for the Yang family's Blood Guardians to show up at the critical moment. Yang Kai had pulled two golden feathers from the Golden Plumed Eagle and framed them for it. In the end, the four Shenyou Realm experts from the Xiang and Nan families each lost an arm, and Nan Sheng severed two of his own fingers.
Both of them had high status, so Yang Kai couldn't simply kill them off. He could only let them go. But before they left, Yang Kai had told them he expected to see their sincerity in the Zhongdu within three months.
And now it seemed this Xiang Tianxiao was indeed connected to Xiang Chu. The origin of these warriors and supplies was now explained.
"My elder brother!" Xiang Tianxiao replied coolly.
Just as expected. Yang Kai nodded slightly and swept his gaze over the warriors with a beaming smile. "So this is the sincerity of your Xiang family? Not bad — I'm quite satisfied!"
Xiang Tianxiao slowly shook his head. "You're not that important. All the people here represent my Xiang family's sincerity. These four crates — that's the Nan family's sincerity!"
"Fine by me! I don't mind. The people are a bit lacking, but the supplies are still useful." Yang Kai chuckled.
Two Great First-Rank families — one providing people, the other providing goods. It was acceptable enough. They were probably terrified that word would spread of their attempted murder of a direct-line Yang family disciple, so they swallowed their pride and paid the price to smooth things over.
A look of contempt crept into Xiang Tianxiao's eyes, and a cold smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Big words! Your grudge with my brother — I have no interest in getting involved. But if you want me to help you in the battle for succession, you'd better show me what you're capable of first!"
"Oh? You want to fight him?" Huo Xingchen burst out laughing, eyeing Xiang Tianxiao with a mischievous glint. He shook his head. "Young Master Xiang the Second, I don't mean to doubt you, but fighting him really isn't a wise choice."
Qiu Yimeng also smiled faintly nearby, watching Xiang Tianxiao with amusement.
Both of them had fought Yang Kai before. When Qiu Yimeng had sparred with him, he'd only been at the third layer of the Zhenyuan Realm, and even then he'd fought her to a standstill — possibly even edging ahead. Now Yang Kai had reached the eighth layer of the Zhenyuan Realm. Even though Qiu Yimeng had successfully advanced to the first level of the Shenyou Realm, she wouldn't dare rashly claim she could defeat him.
As for Huo Xingchen, that night had been nothing short of a nightmare.
He was a scion of one of the Eight Great Families — the sole heir at that. Despite years of indulging in pleasures and neglecting his cultivation, he'd consumed countless rare treasures and medicines, and his strength was far from weak. He also carried several high-quality Artifacts.
Even with such resources, Yang Kai had taken him down in a single move, without giving him even a moment to react. That spoke volumes about Yang Kai's prowess.
Huo Xingchen didn't believe this Young Master Xiang could beat Yang Kai in a fight.
Among their generation, the only person who might have a slim chance of defeating Yang Kai was Liu Qingyao of the Liu family. Apart from him, no one else came to mind.
Xiang Tianxiao read the expressions on Huo Xingchen's and Qiu Yimeng's faces, and a chill passed through his heart.
With his sharp eyes, he could naturally tell these two were formidable. He didn't recognize who they were, but to be so powerful at such a young age, they had to be from one of the Eight Great Families. Though these two hadn't said much, their expressions and tone already spoke volumes.
This Yang Kai was powerful?
Xiang Tianxiao studied Yang Kai more carefully and silently shook his head. He couldn't gauge Yang Kai's depths at all. This young master of the Yang family stood there with his Zhenyuan as still as an ancient well, seemingly refined to the utmost degree. Not a trace of his vital energy leaked outward. Such extreme restraint either meant his true strength was very high, or he was using an Artifact to conceal himself.
Xiang Tianxiao couldn't tell whether the man truly had the skills or was just putting on an act. The only way to learn the truth was to fight him.
With no way to back down now, Xiang Tianxiao raised his voice. "If you only relied on two Blood Guardians to make my brother suffer so miserably, that's nothing impressive. If you want my wholehearted support, you'll have to defeat me first."