Over the years, Yang Kai had returned to Biluo Pass from Outpost Camp on various occasions for all sorts of missions, though he had essentially always traveled alone. The Dawn Squad had remained stationed at the front lines the entire time. He might be their captain, but Dawn was a formidable unit — even without him, they could carry out any task with ease.
This time, Dawn hadn't accompanied him back either, so Yang Kai couldn't figure out why Feng Ying and Bai Yi were here.
After a moment's thought, Yang Kai walked over to the left wing room, raised his hand, and gently touched the restriction. Before long, Feng Ying appeared before him.
"Captain, you're back?" Feng Ying greeted him.
Yang Kai nodded. "Why are you back too?"
Feng Ying said, "A recall order was sent from inside the pass, so we came back."
"A recall order?" Yang Kai was somewhat surprised. He had assumed Feng Ying and Bai Yi had returned for some particular reason, but learning it was a recall from the pass meant there wasn't much to ask.
Feng Ying hesitated briefly, then finally said, "It wasn't just Dawn that was recalled. Junior Brother Chai's squad was brought back too, along with several other squads."
"Senior Brother Chai is back too?" Yang Kai's eye twitched. "Senior Brother Chai" was none other than Chai Fang, captain of the Boar Squad.
Feng Ying pressed her lips together in a smile. "Junior Brother Chai came looking for you earlier."
"What does he want with me?" Yang Kai's expression turned wary.
Feng Ying said, "Junior Brother Yang was very generous with Senior Brother Chai on the battlefield, so naturally he wishes to express his gratitude with proper hospitality. Mm, those were Junior Brother Chai's exact words."
This was an obvious threat! Because of their warship's poor performance, the Boar Squad moved slowly on the battlefield and was easily outpaced for battle credits — Dawn being the worst offender. Chai Fang had stored every last instance in memory.
The nickname "Gadfly" wasn't earned for nothing.
That said, it wasn't as though Dawn enjoyed stealing other squads' kills. On the battlefield, when you saw another squad locked in combat with the Ink Clan, you just dealt with them if you could. In those moments, nobody was thinking about whether they were poaching — naturally, killing Ink Clan members came first.
But Chai Fang clearly didn't see it that way. While they had been fighting at the front, it had been hard to cause a fuss over it, but now that they'd all been recalled to the pass, he was ready to settle accounts.
Of course, it wasn't as though he truly intended to do anything to Yang Kai or Dawn. He knew that many times Dawn had been helping when they snatched kills, but all of these were elite squads, and there was always a degree of competitiveness. If you couldn't kill more than Dawn, you had to find some other way to save face.
Yang Kai immediately spat, "Tell him to go to hell!"
Feng Ying curled her lip. "You can tell him that yourself."
"Forget it, forget it. I'm going into seclusion to cultivate. You should rest too, Senior Sister."
With that, Yang Kai turned and entered his own wing room.
But Chai Fang was never going to let Yang Kai have his way. Somehow he got word, and the very next day after Yang Kai returned, he showed up.
The small courtyard had restrictions, but they couldn't withstand Chai Fang's relentless harassment. He knew Yang Kai and the others wouldn't be in deep seclusion, so he had no scruples about making a scene.
Wave after wave of disturbance rippled through the restrictions. Neither Yang Kai, nor Feng Ying, nor Bai Yi could concentrate on their cultivation.
Left with no choice, Yang Kai walked out and dropped the restriction, regarding Chai Fang with undisguised disgust as the man continued to make a racket outside. "Senior Brother Chai, you have perfectly good time to cultivate — what are you doing here?"
Chai Fang cracked a savage grin, one hand rubbing against a clenched fist. "Didn't Senior Sister Feng pass along my message? Why play dumb, brother?"
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead. "So you want to have a go at me?"
Chai Fang said flatly, "Absolutely not! We may not hail from the same sect, but we've fought side by side on this battlefield for years. We're brothers in arms — how could I raise my hand against you? Old Chai doesn't know his own strength. What if I broke you?"
Stubborn through and through! The real reason was that Chai Fang was certain he was no match for Yang Kai. This guy had killed Domain Lords — sure, there was an element of opportunism involved, but among all the human Seventh-Order cultivators, not a single one had killed a domain lord before.
Chai Fang had witnessed Yang Kai's power firsthand. Lords and the like were nothing but chickens before him. That terrifying strength had long since surpassed what a Seventh-Order cultivator should possess. In terms of actual combat ability, Chai Fang knew he fell short of Yang Kai, so why would he ever agree to a direct fight? That would be asking for a beating.
"Then what do you want, Senior Brother?" Yang Kai asked.
Chai Fang let out a sly laugh and pulled a large wine jug from his spatial ring. "Since I want to thank you for looking after me, I naturally wouldn't make it empty words. See — I've even brought the goods."
Yang Kai understood instantly. On the battlefield, the old turtle squad had come up short against Dawn, and now they wanted to reclaim their pride at the drinking table.
Staring at the wine jug in Chai Fang's hand, Yang Kai's heart sank.
It was simple. Back at Outpost Camp, Chai Fang had challenged him to a drinking contest before, and Yang Kai had been utterly demolished — completely plastered, earning vicious mockery from the captains of several other squads.
Men were peculiar creatures. In nearly every man's mind, drinking capacity was one of the measures of a man's mettle. Drink like the sea, and you were a true hero. Pass out after three cups, and you were practically no man at all.
Yang Kai was now a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator with a vast reservoir of power. Never mind a single jug of wine — even a hundred or a thousand couldn't hope to get him drunk. One circulation of the power of heaven and earth, and all the alcohol would dissolve into nothing.
But a drinking contest was a drinking contest. You couldn't use any powers. If you resorted to channeling the power of heaven and earth, there was no point in competing at all.
During a drinking contest, everyone sealed away their strength, and what was compared was purely their natural tolerance.
In this regard, Chai Fang far surpassed Yang Kai.