Returning to Lingxiao Pavilion, Yang Kai didn't rush to leave. Instead, he waited there as agreed.
A few days later, the Dong family's direct lineage arrived.
A few more days, and a group of beauties of all ages from the Palace of Ten Thousand Flowers also reached the area—chattering and laughing, a dazzling sight to behold.
A few more days, and the people from the Precious Artifact Sect came...
Almost every two or three days, another group of cultivators would rush in from a different direction, joining the expedition to the Tongxuan Continent. Yang Kai welcomed all comers. As long as he could confirm they were fellow sect members of his friends, he accepted them warmly.
This earned him their deep gratitude.
The world had fallen into chaos, Zhongdu had fallen, and suddenly Transcendent Realm experts had appeared—this news had spread throughout the entire Han Dynasty as if it had grown wings.
Just when these sects had no idea what to do, Yang Kai had pointed them in the right direction.
So after receiving word from those disciples who had remained in Zhongdu, they didn't hesitate for a moment. They hastily packed their belongings and rushed to Lingxiao Pavilion to join Yang Kai.
The group swelled day by day. From a little over a thousand people, it snowballed into a massive crowd of four to five thousand in just ten days.
While waiting, Yang Kai didn't sit idle. He had Li Rong, Han Fei, and Shi Kun guide the newcomers in cultivation, while he himself casually gathered materials and refined pills. Every pill he produced was carefully distributed, doing everything possible to help boost their strength.
Everyone was ecstatic. Before Li Rong, Han Fei, Shi Kun and the others sat countless warriors day and night, listening like diligent students to their insights and explanations about the Heavenly Dao and the martial Dao, absorbing every word.
The three Transcendent Realm experts who had come with Yang Kai talked themselves hoarse every day, but seeing those earnest, eager gazes, they simply couldn't bring themselves to turn anyone away.
So they gritted their teeth and continued sharing their cultivation experience.
Among all of them, the Yang family Blood Guards and the Hu sisters showed the most dramatic improvement. In just about ten days, their True Yuan and cultivation realms seemed to undergo subtle yet meaningful changes.
Bound by this world's limitations, even after these people had broken through to the Transcendent Realm, they hadn't been able to comprehend much.
But with a few pointers from Li Rong and the others, they immediately saw the light.
Outside the crowd, Qiu Yimeng watched those Transcendent Realm warriors with a touch of envy, then examined her own cultivation and let out a soft sigh.
Over the past few days, she had talked at length with Yang Kai. From his words, she had learned of the Tongxuan Continent's many wonders—that the Transcendent Realm was considered somewhat expert-level over there, that this level of cultivation was already enough to hold one's own in that world.
Yet here she stood at the peak of the Shenyou Realm. Here, that made her a powerhouse. But over there, she'd be nobody.
Shenyou Realm warriors over there were as common as grass.
Her heart grew anxious.
"Envious of their cultivation?" Yang Kai suddenly appeared beside her, asking in a low voice.
"What good does envy do? My aptitude is what it is." Qiu Yimeng pursed her lips in a small smile. "Besides, I'm just a woman. In the future, I'll run the household, raise some kids, and that'll be my life. What do I need such high cultivation for?"
"You're not the kind of woman to be satisfied so easily, are you?" Yang Kai turned his head and glanced at her.
Qiu Yimeng gave a strained smile. "I'm very easily satisfied. It's just that you never satisfy me."
"Stop. Don't keep talking nonsense." Yang Kai found it hard to handle.
Qiu Yimeng gave him a reproachful look, pouting like a petulant young woman. "Fine, I am envious of them. So what? I can't be envious just because I'm not as strong as them? Especially those Hu sisters—you don't know. Their cultivation used to be worse than mine! But ever since you left, they went and lost their minds or something. Their strength kept soaring, and they actually reached the Transcendent Realm all of a sudden. I'm so jealous my eyes have turned red. Look—aren't they red right now?"
As she spoke, she pressed her slender body against his, pinching the flesh at his waist while saying through gritted teeth, "Tell me honestly—did you give them something good and leave me out?"
"Of course not!" Yang Kai felt terribly wronged. "Didn't I give you all the Ten Thousand Medicines Spirit Liquid back then? That spirit liquid was already more than enough to improve your aptitude."
"Then why are they so strong?"
"They had their own opportunities." Yang Kai didn't know how to explain it either.
"Then what about your brother-in-law?" Qiu Yimeng looked at him pitifully. "He's caught up and surpassed everyone too!"
"He had his own opportunities..." Yang Kai said through gritted teeth.
But with Qiu Yimeng's words, Yang Kai suddenly realized something. Among the younger generation, only those who had benefited from the Inheritance Grotto-heaven back in the day had now risen above the rest. Everyone else—even Qiu Yimeng—hadn't reached the Transcendent Realm.
It truly showed just how enormous the benefits of the Inheritance Grotto-heaven had been.
"I'll just trust you!" Seeing Yang Kai's flustered expression, Qiu Yimeng stopped pressing and said smugly, "You've always been fair and even-handed. I know you won't shortchange me."
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, swept a thread of divine sense over her, and suddenly broke into a mysterious smile. "When we get to the Tongxuan Continent, I'll give you a surprise."
"What surprise?" Qiu Yimeng's beautiful eyes lit up.
"You'll know when we get there. Don't ask too many questions now—just focus on your cultivation."