A new day begins, and Yang Kai woke up. He cleaned up and took the broom lying in the corner of the small room and walked out. Standing at the front door, he stretched a little. He looked up at the touch of grey in the dawn sky and closed his eyes while breathing in deeply. He was enjoying this moment of peace, before reopening his eyes to start sweeping the ground, cleaning away the dirt and leaves.
Dressed in black clothes that were simple and clean. The aged clothing colour for no reason, highlighted the youth's loneliness and years of isolation here. Yang Kai's spine was as straight as a javelin, and with his face had a meticulous expression. Even though he was completing the lowest ranked job. His actions were very calm, he didn't exert much force on the broom, his body didn't even move that much. With only the rotation of his wrist, the broom moved effortlessly. When his body moved, the dust and trash on the ground seemed to magically accumulate in one place around him, just like they had grown a pair feet.
Yang Kai was the High Heaven's experimental disciple. For three he had trained in the school, but he had only reached the tempered body third stage. Yet the other disciples that had entered at the same time as him had long surpassed him and reached higher stages. They were all able to enter into the main building, pay their respects and make advances towards their futures. While he can only lament about his inadequacy in the outer courts.
The tempered body third stage in three years cannot be called bad or good, but really, really mediocre.
Helplessly, Yang Kai could only continue to sweep out here in the outer court. Working hard to support himself and working hard in training.
High Heaven Pavilion is a very unique school. This uniqueness is seen through the ruthless competition between disciples. In the school, the strong are like kings, while the weak are eliminated. The strong eat the weak; the law of the jungle, in the High Heaven Pavilion is actively followed by all.
In other schools you may be able to school friendly competition, brotherly bonds and people working together to achieve the same goal. But in the High Heaven Pavilion , you will only be able to false bonds, in order to use each other and rise in power. Stepping over each other's bodies is the only way.
Under High Heaven's strict system, it's well-known throughout the entire Han Dynasty. Although the grounds were not that large, but due to the brutal nature of their disciples, their might is second to none! This is also because, each disciples' skill is like a tiger and walking out, no one in all the rivers and lakes dares to provoke them.
Though the High Heaven Pavilion has one rule. That's to fourteen year old disciples, the first three years of their acceptance is considered the testing phase. In these three years, all of the disciples food, clothing, shelter are provided by the outer court. Disciples only need to focus on cultivating. If in these three years you can breakthrough the tempered body, then you are able to enter the inner court to pay respects to your elders and become their students. Of course you don't need to have a teacher and practise on your own, but the difference in learning by yourself and having a teacher is very large. In a way, the High Heaven rules do have some flexibility and freedom.
In those three years if you don't break through, then you can either leave the school or be demoted to an experimental disciple.
Experimental disciple is Yang Kai's current status! He is also High Heaven Pavilion 's shame!
Compared to normal disciples, their treatment is very different. Experimental disciples must provide for their food, shelter, clothing, for the outer court will no longer waste cultivating resources on these trashes. Once demoted to experimental disciples, you basically can never advance. Unless you manage to increase your cultivation level quickly. Only then will the school let you attempt to become a true disciple.
The entire High Heaven consists of three thousand disciples, while the experimental disciples? You can count them on your ten fingers!
Yang Kai has faith that he can become a true disciple!
Yet fate had different plans for him today.
The sky gradually began to light up as he swept. Cleaning the trails, sweeping dust from the space.
Even though sweeping itself didn't use a lot of energy, but without food or drink since the morning and constantly moving, Yang Kai was covered in sweat. This had nothing to do with strength, by his physique was very poor. Two out of three meals he was hungry. For anybody living like him, how could their physique be good.
He is already starving .
Gradually High Heaven disciples surrounded him. These disciples had woke up early, not to cultivate but to look at him. They had great interest in Yang Kai looking at him with avid gazes like they were staring at a naked beauty. A sweet fragrance like juicy meat bins wafted.
Among those Tower disciples gathered around Yang Kai there was also a tense competitive atmosphere in the air. Looking at each other warily, all held an unfriendly look.
It was that time again.
Every five days, these disciples came. Not to cultivate. Not to train. But to use him as their personal punching bag.
At this movement, the people gathered around him all spread out and surrounded him, with Yang Kai as the centre. A tense atmosphere filled the air, it was as if the air no longer flowed.
A burly teenager stepped forward. Zhou Ding Jun, tempered body fifth stage. His grin was full of malice.
"Yang Kai no need to resist. Just lie down and let me get this over with."
Chuckles rippled through the crowd. Someone added mockingly, "Yeah, don't waste our time, trash. We've got real training to do after this."
Yang Kai remained silent. He had heard these words too many times before. He picked up his broom and casually tossed it into the air. Dozens of pairs of eyes followed it, praying that luck would favor them. The broom spun before crashing onto the ground—pointing at Zhou Ding Jun.
Cheers erupted. The burly teen laughed heartily.
"Looks like today's my lucky day!"
The others groaned in disappointment.
"Damn it, I've been waiting three months for my turn."
"Shut up, at least we get a good show."
Yang Kai exhaled slowly, preparing himself. He could already feel the pain coming. He was weak. He knew it. He had no right to fight back.
And yet…
Something was different.
A dizzy spell hit him like a crashing tide. His vision blurred, and his knees buckled. The world around him distorted. The courtyard. The mocking voices. The morning breeze—all fading into silence.
Then, everything turned dark.
..................
The young man—or at least, what remained of him—floated something pulled at him. A force—powerful and unrelenting. He felt it dragging him down, forcing him into a new vessel. His very being was compressed, reshaped, bound to something… someone else.
Then—pain.
A flood of memories not his own crashed into him.
The High Heaven Pavilion . The years of suffering. The countless beatings. The despair. The endless struggle.
It was like living another life in an instant.
The name surfaced in his mind like a ghost from the past.
Yang Kai.
And with that name, young man—now Yang Kai—opened his eyes.
A sharp breath tore through his lungs. Yang Kai's body shuddered as he jerked awake, gasping for air. His fingers clawed at the dirt beneath him, his chest rising and falling erratically.
Pain. So much pain. His muscles screamed. His bones ached. Every inch of his body felt broken, bruised, and battered.
For a moment, he was disoriented. This wasn't his world.
Then the memories settled.
The High Heaven Pavilion . The brutal hierarchy. The constant beatings. The experimental disciple—his status.
He had died. But he had been given a new body. A new chance.
A roar of laughter shook the air.
Yang Kai's—his—eyes lifted to see the crowd of disciples mocking him. The fight hadn't even started, yet he had already collapsed.
"Oi, Yang Kai you giving up already?" Zhou Ding Jun's voice rang out.
Yang Kai exhaled slowly. Something was different.
The old Yang Kai had lived in despair, in suffering. He had endured—but never losed hope.
Time continued to pass by, suddenly the melodious Tower bells sounded. It reached the ears of all the disciples surrounding Yang Kai and himself, startling the disciples. The bells tolled nine times, and from the east the sun rose. It was a new day! Everyone's breathing calmed down, helplessly looking at Yang Kai as he slowly got up. He glanced at the people encircling him.
In the courtyard, the others had already dispersed, leaving only Yang Kai and the burly teenager looking at each other.
"Experimental disciple Yang Kai tempered body third stage!" Yang Kai introduced to his opponent.
"Ordinary disciple Zhou Ding Jun, tempered body fifth stage!" The burly teenager introduced.
High Heaven disciples were also ranked. From bottom to top are the ordinary disciples, lower base disciples, elite disciples, and core disciple; the five ranks. Zhou Ding Jun said that he was an ordinary disciple, that means he has yet to pay his respects and doesn't have a mentor. If the breakthrough of the tempered body disciple had a mentor, then their status would be higher than those ordinary lower base disciples. And those elite disciple were selected from the best lower base disciples.
As for the core disciples, they were treated as the hope of the next generation of the High Heaven Pavilion and thus cultivated accordingly.
The awe-inspiring disciple hierarchy, though it seems unreasonable it can stimulate the younger generation into the fierce sense of competition, which is the foundation of the brutal Tower regime. This is the main reason why Yang Kai fought countless people, another rule of High Heaven, the Challenge Rule.