After probing for a while, Fei Yu's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and she shook her head. "There probably aren't any problems. Your Zhenyuan is remarkably pure and abundant — honestly not inferior to mine at all. But just to be safe, let Cang Yan and the others take a look later."
She sat down gracefully, her beautiful figure settling onto the stone seat, and regarded Yang Kai with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "What have you been doing all these years? You left Floating Cloud City and never came back!"
"I—" Yang Kai had barely opened his mouth before Fei Yu cut in again. "Don't rush to explain. Cang Yan and the others will definitely want to know too. I've already sent word, so they should be here soon. But you'd better prepare yourself mentally — those three old geezers said they were going to teach you a lesson when you got back."
"Oh." Yang Kai scratched his head and fell silent, sitting stiffly on the stone bench like a well-behaved child.
Seeing him look so guilty, Fei Yu couldn't bring herself to keep scolding him. She softened her tone and offered a few comforting words, then brought out some of her treasured spirit fruits and set them on the table.
Before half a cup of tea had passed, hurried footsteps sounded from outside.
"They're here." Fei Yu smiled faintly, settling into a posture that said she was ready to enjoy the show. She propped her chin in one hand, her elbow resting on the stone table, looking languidly elegant, her beautiful eyes sparkling with anticipation.
She seemed to be looking forward to watching Yang Kai get an earful from Cang Yan and the others.
Yang Kai straightened up, sitting ramrod straight, his gaze fixed on the entrance.
Moments later, three figures burst in almost simultaneously — it was Cang Yan, Li Wan, and Fei Jian, the three Martial Uncles.
The moment they entered, Li Wan started shouting, "I heard that little brat is back?"
Cang Yan wore a stern expression, looking like the calm before a storm. Fei Jian rolled his fingers, and faint glimmers of light flickered at his fingertips, radiating a dangerous aura.
Three pairs of eyes locked onto Yang Kai in an instant.
Yang Kai sprang to his feet, laughing and booming, "Congratulations, Martial Uncles! You've all successfully broken through to the Saint Realm — what a great blessing for our Tianxiao Sect! With your brilliance and martial prowess, you're sure to make a name for yourselves across the world. Congratulations, congratulations!"
Fei Yu blinked, then pressed her lips together and giggled. "You little rascal!"
Cang Yan and the other two exchanged glances, unable to suppress wry smiles. They had said they'd teach Yang Kai a lesson, but that was only because they'd been worried about his safety. Now that they could see he was perfectly fine, how could they really be angry with him?
Hearing him carry on like that, they all broke into speechless laughter, shaking their heads.
Moreover, Yang Kai had played a significant role in their breakthroughs to the Saint Realm. If he hadn't refined the Thousand-Year Demon Flower's medicinal liquid, even if Cang Yan and the others could eventually reach this level of cultivation, it would have been many years before they managed it.
"You little brat!" The stern look on Cang Yan's face melted away like snow under a blazing sun. He cursed good-naturedly, stepped forward, and slapped Yang Kai heavily on the shoulder, looking him up and down before finally saying, "Good, good, good! As long as you haven't lost any arms or legs!"
"You look a lot sturdier than before," Li Wan added with a grin.
Fei Jian narrowed his eyes. "Your aura is solid, too."
"Looks like you've grown quite a bit during these years out there — that's good!"
The Martial Uncles chimed in one after another, their words simple but brimming with genuine concern, and Yang Kai felt a warmth spread through his heart.
After the men finished their greetings, Fei Yu gave a light huff and reminded them, "You've all reached the Saint Realm now, but not one of you thought to check our Little Nephew's actual cultivation level?"
"What about his cultivation?" Cang Yan furrowed his brow, released his divine sense, and swept it across Yang Kai.
The next instant, his tiger eyes went wide, his expression one of utter shock, as if he'd seen a ghost.
When Li Wan and Fei Jian saw his reaction, they hurriedly probed Yang Kai themselves, and in the next moment, they too froze on the spot.
Transcendence Stage Three!
This Martial Nephew who had come from a backwater town — his cultivation was now at the third level of the Transcendence Realm! The powerful waves of Zhenyuan radiating from his body made it abundantly clear.
"I remember that when he left the sect for Floating Cloud City, our Little Nephew was only at the peak of the Shenyou Realm. After refining the Thousand-Year Demon Flower's medicinal liquid, he advanced to the Transcendence Realm. In just five or six years, he's already grown to this level. Cang Yan, take a careful look — is there anything wrong with his cultivation?" Fei Yu said gravely.
Cang Yan's expression sobered, and he quickly examined Yang Kai more carefully.
After a moment, he shook his head. "Strange. Extremely strange!"
"What's strange?" Li Wan and Fei Jian looked at him nervously.
"His cultivation is perfectly fine. His foundation is solid, and the Zhenyuan in his body is pure enough. Right now, he's already not far behind where we were at the same stage."
"No way! How did he pull that off?" Li Wan exclaimed. Before they had gone to Floating Cloud City, they had all been at this very level, and now Yang Kai had already caught up to where they had been.
"If it's not because of some extraordinary opportunity, then it means our Martial Nephew here is... a once-in-a-generation genius!" Cang Yan's gaze burned bright as he looked at Yang Kai, breaking into a broad grin. "Martial Nephew, what exactly have you been through out there all these years?"
"Nothing much, really. I just wandered around a bit. As for opportunities... well, I did stumble across a few here and there." Yang Kai gave a sheepish laugh.