Rebel against the Central Capital! Turn against the Eight Great Families!
Yang Kai had never imagined — though he harbored little sense of belonging toward the Yang Family, and had joined the Succession War merely to restore his Sect's reputation — that he would ever be so rebellious as this.
Hearing Yang Zhen's harsh, interrogating tone, he quickly grasped what was happening.
"Is that... how the family sees me?" Yang Kai stared at Yang Zhen before him, his voice low and heavy.
Yang Zhen wore an expression of deep anguish, shaking his head. "Don't blame the family for thinking the worst of you — your recent behavior has left people with no choice but to suspect as much. There's no denying you're a fine talent, but if a fine talent becomes a deviant, the family will not hesitate to purge him in order to preserve its purity!"
After a brief pause, Yang Zhen sighed again. "If it were only the family's own concern, it would be easy enough to discuss. At worst, we could have the clan's senior experts perform their arts to dissolve the demonic energy in your body and eliminate any future worry. But do you realize that it isn't just my Yang Family that's concerned about this?"
Yang Kai's expression turned cold.
"Might as well tell you the truth — after your advancement, all seven of the other families sent envoys to make contact with the Yang Family. They're all deeply worried, worried that you'll become someone like the Evil Lord!" Yang Zhen sighed heavily. "The misfortunes of the past serve as warnings for the future. The Sect you came from is Lingxiao Pavilion. You cultivated a demonic art, your aptitude is heaven-defying, and before all this, Lingxiao Pavilion once produced an Evil Lord — and that Evil Lord still roams free to this day in the Cangyun Evil Lands, his power reaching the heavens, his arts profound and exquisite. Under the entire sky, no one above the Shenyou Realm is his match. And you and that Evil Lord share the same lineage — you're even his martial uncle by relation."
"One Evil Lord was already enough to leave the Eight Great Families at a loss. If a second one were to appear..." Yang Zhen slowly shook his head, a deep wariness surfacing on his face, his gaze toward Yang Kai becoming notably different. "Put all these factors together — how could they not worry?"
"Worried that I'll become the second Evil Lord?" Yang Kai's face was grim.
"Yes. And your aptitude may be even greater than that Evil Lord's. If it truly came to that... heh." Yang Zhen laughed bitterly, his eyes growing distant with confusion.
If it truly came to that — two Evil Lord-level figures descending upon the Central Capital — what could the Eight Great Families possibly use to resist?
The other elders seated nearby were equally filled with dread and horror, as though they had already witnessed the Central Capital laid waste and the earth groaning in agony.
"In the end, this is all just your speculation." Yang Kai had suddenly lost all interest in defending himself, his tone flat and indifferent.
The people of the Eight Great Families — all so pedantic and stubborn. Lifetimes of living above others had made them believe they were always right. Once they had made up their minds, nothing he said could change their views or dispel their suspicions.
Even if he managed to sway one or two of them, it wouldn't affect the bigger picture.
"Prevention is the key to how the Eight Great Families have stood firm in the Central Capital all these years without falling." Yang Zhen appeared to be speaking frankly now, laying his heart bare. "The Eight Great Families must guard against you!"
"My path — I walk it myself." A touch of mocking irony appeared at the corner of Yang Kai's mouth. "Back then, I was born weak and sickly, unable to even tie down a chicken, let alone cultivate. My father wanted to let me enter the Yang Family's Dragon Transformation Pool, hoping its miraculous properties could cleanse my meridians and purge my marrow. But for all his years of effort, all those applications he submitted to the Hall of Elders, none were ever approved — not even with his contributions to the family being more than sufficient. The Hall of Elders had only one reply for my father: a waste has no right to squander the Dragon Transformation Pool's power."
Yang Zhen's expression grew awkward — it was he who had dismissed Lord Fourth Yang's application. Now that Yang Kai was bringing up old grievances, he naturally found it difficult to maintain his composure.
"Now that I've achieved all of this — these accomplishments and this cultivation — the family wants to tell me what to do? Elder Zhen, don't you find that utterly laughable?"
Yang Zhen's face turned ashen, too embarrassed to respond.
Yang Kai continued, "A few days ago, when I advanced to the Shenyou Realm, if not for my friends and elders stepping in to help, I would have been crippled on the spot by the Grand Elder. Even if I hadn't died, I would have been reduced to an ordinary person. The family wants to guard against me — and guarding against me means you have to destroy me? Elder, don't you think the family has gone too far?"
"Insolent!" Yang Zhen erupted, humiliated and furious. "The family comes first! What does it matter if you sacrifice yourself for the family's sake?"
"The Elder is truly righteous and noble — far beyond what this disciple could ever aspire to. This disciple is a rather selfish person." Yang Kai suddenly took a step forward, murderous intent radiating from him, his voice cold and menacing. "Very well then — this disciple will grant the Elders your wish. After killing you several Elders, I will surrender myself to the family and accept whatever punishment they see fit. That way, you'll have sacrificed yourselves for the family."
Everyone's expression shifted dramatically. They all shot to their feet, glaring at Yang Kai with a mixture of wariness and dread, their own strength quietly gathering.
Yang Kai burst into hearty laughter. "It seems the Elders are rather selfish people as well..."
A flush of shame crept across their faces at the realization of their own behavior. It was easy to talk big, but when the moment actually came to act, they found it wasn't nearly so simple as it sounded.
"Let's get down to business, let's get down to business..." The hoarse-voiced woman hastily steered the conversation away.
Yang Zhen gazed at Yang Kai, a bitter smile tugging at his lips as he shook his head. "Dealing with you is exhausting. I'll stop beating around the bush — asking you to apologize to the Xiang and Nan families was only a pretense. No disciple of the Yang family has ever yielded to anyone. Even if you wanted to go through with it, the family would never agree. They would actively stop you."
"Then what does the family actually want from me?"
"Return to the Central Capital. Several Supreme Elders of the clan will work together to purge the demonic qi from your body. From now on, you'll never need to worry about suffering Qi Deviation again, and the family — along with the seven great families — will no longer stand against you."