Early in the morning, High Heaven.
The sun had barely stretched its golden fingers across the horizon, and yet a large crowd of High Heaven disciples had already gathered outside a tiny, worn-down hut. Their eyes shone with anticipation, some rubbing their fists eagerly while others chatted excitedly.
That place was the path that lead to the residence of Yang Kai a small little hut.
Yang Kai was essentially the High Heaven equivalent of logging into a gacha game for daily rewards. Win or lose, contribution points were up for grabs, and given Yang Kai's status as the universally acknowledged "Weakest Trial Disciple," it was like farming an NPC that never stopped respawning.
"What's with Yang Kai? Did he oversleep? How come he has yet to come out?"
"I don't know, thinking about it, has anyone has seen him in these past few days?"
"Could it be that he has already left High Heaven?"
"Don't be ridiculous! Even if you killed Yang Kai, he wouldn't leave High Heaven! He's way too stubborn for that. If he wanted to run, he would've done it ages ago when he was first demoted to trial disciple!, Why would he wait such a long time just to leave in the end anyway?"
While this group were making a ruckus, a person had started to walk towards this crowd.
Cue Su Mu.
Following behind this youth, were a large number of High Heaven disciples. Surrounding him, they made him the centre of attention.
This was the same Su Mu who had once tried (and failed spectacularly) to frame Yang Kai back at Black Plum Village. And judging by the smug expression on his face, he was back for Round Two.
In the end, he had found out about the ins and outs about Yang Kai in less than a day. Afterall, he did have his own network of connections and channels.
"Where is he?" Su Mu snapped impatiently, his eyes scanning the area.
One of his bootlickers stepped forward and confidently declared, "I don't know, Master Su! He should've been out sweeping the grounds by now!"
"Then what are you all waiting for? Check his hut!"
Without hesitation, another underling dashed forward and delivered a legendary flying kick to Yang Kai's door, sending it flying off its hinges. Dust exploded from the small hut as the disciple stormed in, only to emerge moments later with a face full of confusion.
"Master Su, he's not inside!"
Silence.
Su Mu twitched.
"...Did that bastard run away?!"
His face turned red with rage. He had gathered an audience, prepared his speech, and was fully expecting to humiliate Yang Kai today. And now this?!
"Yang Kai! I swear, if I ever see you again, I will personally—"
"What's all this noise about?"
A lazy, unbothered voice cut through the commotion.
A lazy, unbothered voice cut through the commotion.
The disciples parted like the Red Sea, revealing the very man Su Mu had been screaming about.
Yang Kai.
Casually strolling into the scene, his posture screamed Main Character Energy. His messy robes, his signature "I'm too tired for this nonsense" look, and the smirk playing at his lips all made for the perfect protagonist entrance.
Su Mu's soul nearly left his body. His body reacted before his brain did, instinctively jumping backward as if he had just seen a ghost.
Yang Kai had hurried back to the Sect. When he drew near, he saw a hoard of people surrounding his home.
Naturally he would go and ask why they were doing this, but he didn't expect it would be Su Mu who came to look for trouble.
Yang Kai grinned. "If it isn't Young Master Su, who oh-so-bravely tried to frame me in Black Plum Village? How are you doing, my dear friend?"
Su Mu immediately switched gears, puffing out his chest. "Hmph! Yang Kai, you lowly insect! Do you know what day it is?"
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "Uh… Tuesday?"
"You dare mock me?!" Su Mu fumed. "I'll give you a choice. Either you kneel before me, kowtow in front of all these disciples, and call me your grandfather, or…
Yang Kai tilted his head. "You didn't actually finish that sentence. 'Or'… what?"
"Or…" Su Mu coughed, regaining his composure. "You'll regret it!"
Oh wow.
Classic Young Master behavior. Arrogant, loves hearing his own voice, and 100% guaranteed to be face-slapped within the next three minutes.
Yang Kai cracked his knuckles. "I see, I see. Well then, why don't we skip the boring part and just get to the 'regretting' section?"
Before Su Mu could react, Zhao Hu, one of his goons, stepped forward.
"Yang Kai, remember my name. I am Zhao Hu, and today, I will be the one to teach you a lesson!"
Yang Kai sighed. "Sure. Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
"Prepare yourself!" Zhao Hu shouted, rushing forward—
—only to eat a fist to the stomach before he could even process what happened.
A dull BANG echoed through the air.
Zhao Hu's expression twisted in pain as he staggered backward, clutching his stomach. But Yang Kai wasn't done.
With a swift kick to the chin, Zhao Hu was sent airborne. His body flipped once before crashing onto the ground with a loud thud.
He won!
Dead silence.
The audience collectively held their breath. What just happened?
Zhao Hu had been knocked out before he even threw a single punch.
Su Mu's mouth fell open. His entourage looked like they had just watched someone summon a divine beast in the middle of an entry-level dungeon.
Yang Kai exhaled, shaking his head.
"You guys really need to stop challenging me like this. It's embarrassing."
A great silence ensued, it was so quiet that you could have even heard a pin drop. One by one, everyone looked at Yang Kai the shock apparent on their faces.
One moment Zhou Hu was smiling arrogantly, and the next he was unconscious.
Practically everybody present believed that Yang Kai would be unable to escape the calamity today. Even Xia Ning Chang who was situated in a nearby tree felt the same way until now.
Originally, she thought today's battle would be another one-sided loss.
But after seeing Yang Kai effortlessly knock out his opponent, she couldn't help but reconsider.
Was it possible that the so-called weakest trial disciple…
Wasn't actually weak at all?