"Fifth Grade?" the Landlady asked again.
Yang Kai forced out an obsequious grin.
"Are you trying to kill me with anger?" the Landlady stamped her foot.
"Fifth-Grade Open Heaven is still Open Heaven," Yang Kai said, scratching his nose.
The Landlady glared at him with reddened eyes, her silver teeth clenched so hard they creaked, looking as though she might eat him alive.
The moment she'd heard Yang Kai's voice, she'd known he had definitely ascended to the Open Heaven Realm — otherwise, he could never have entered this Shadowless Heaven, since only Open Heaven cultivators could set foot in this godforsaken place.
But given Yang Kai's previous situation, how difficult would it have been to find a superior-grade yin material? So she'd still clung to a sliver of hope — that Yang Kai had arrived here as a superior-grade Open Heaven cultivator.
Yet the moment she laid eyes on him, the Landlady understood. Yang Kai had not achieved superior-grade Open Heaven.
Not superior-grade — even Sixth-Grade would have been fine! But he wasn't even Sixth-Grade, only Fifth-Grade!
The Landlady knew full well what kind of foundation Yang Kai had possessed. It was precisely because she knew that this hurt so much. With the base for superior-grade Open Heaven, he had ended up achieving only Fifth-Grade — one could say his martial path was utterly ruined, his prospects bleak.
To one side, the Accountant and the Chef stood in silence, watching Yang Kai with a mixture of pity and admiration, a new flicker of genuine respect in their eyes.
Yang Kai had appeared here without question because of the Landlady. Although they didn't know exactly what had happened to him out there that resulted in his Fifth-Grade Open Heaven ascension, the two of them could more or less guess — he must have been unable to find those superior-grade resources, and worried sick about the Landlady's safety, so he'd rushed to achieve mid-grade Open Heaven and come to this place.
With a silent sigh — the Landlady had gotten herself trapped in this Shadowless Heaven while trying to find superior-grade resources for this kid, and now this kid had gone and destroyed his own future to come rescue her, achieving only Fifth-Grade. What a mess.
But for him to go this far for the Landlady — it showed the kid was at least a man of loyalty and feeling.
"Don't cry, Landlady," Yang Kai said suddenly, staring in a daze at the two tear tracks sliding down the corners of her eyes. He raised his hand to wipe them away, but the Landlady turned her head aside, spun around, and plunged into the magma below, vanishing from sight.
Yang Kai smacked his lips, then scratched his head.
His impression of the Landlady had always been of a sharp, capable woman who acted with decisive speed — as though even if the sky itself were falling, she could hold it up with those slender shoulders. He had never imagined that the Landlady could shed tears.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Yang Kai panicked, turning to the Chef and the Accountant for help. "I made the Landlady cry! What do I do?"
The Chef heaved a heavy sigh and stepped forward to clap him on the shoulder. "The Landlady isn't angry."
"Not angry?" Yang Kai was stunned. "Then what's wrong?"
"Self-blame!" the Accountant said coolly from the side. "The Landlady feels that if she hadn't been trapped in this Shadowless Heaven, you would never have ascended to Open Heaven to come find her. She believes your current situation is her fault — someone who could have achieved Seventh-Grade has been reduced to Fifth-Grade. Self-blame, heartache, tears flowing freely…"
Yang Kai furrowed his brow slightly. "Ascending to Open Heaven was my own choice. It has nothing to do with the Landlady."
The Chef shot him a sidelong glance. "Do you even believe that yourself?"
Yang Kai froze, rendered speechless.
The Chef continued, "Regardless, it is what it is. Let's go inside first. The fact that you came here to find us means you're my good brother from now on. I only ever had two good brothers before — Old Bai and the Accountant. Now there's you."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and helped the bruised and battered Yang Kai to his feet.
The Accountant nodded solemnly. "Good brother!" He flashed over and, together with the Chef, supported Yang Kai from the other side.
Yang Kai said, "Chef, you just hit me thirty-eight times and kicked me thirteen times. Accountant, you hit me twenty-seven times and kicked me sixteen times!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the Chef and the Accountant simultaneously let go. Yang Kai plopped onto his backside on the ground, staring in disbelief as the two figures transformed into streaks of light, plunged into the magma below, and vanished in the blink of an eye. He immediately gritted his teeth. "Truly great brothers!"
He stood up, rubbed his rear, and dove in after them.
Beneath the magma lay a limestone cavern, sealed off from the outside by a formation. The environment wasn't exactly pleasant, but it wasn't too harsh either. The cavern was small — only the size of a few rooms — and its wards were wide open. Yang Kai strode right in.
The Landlady sat with her back to the entrance, motionless on a stone chair.
The Chef and the Accountant, who had arrived earlier, stood quietly behind her. The Chef turned his head for a glance and whispered, "Landlady, Yang Kai's here. Should we throw him out, or let him stay?"
The Landlady acted as though she hadn't heard.
The Accountant said, "Why even ask? The Landlady's obviously furious with him. Throw him out and let him live or die on his own!"
The Chef called out heartily, "You got it!"