Chapter 1: Sweeping Servant

At the crack of dawn, Yangx Kai woke up. After washing up a bit, he picked up the broom in the corner and walked out of his solitary cabin.

Standing at the door, he stretched his back and glanced at the pale dawn light appearing on the horizon. Closing his eyes, he focused his mind and enjoyed a moment of peace. Then, he opened his eyes, swung the broom in his hand, and buried his head in clearing the dust and fallen leaves on the ground.

Clad in plain, clean Qing-colored azure clothes, the mature shade made the young man look a few years older than he was. Yangx Kai’s back was as straight as a javelin. Even while doing the lowliest of chores, the expression on his face maintained a Pang-like stoicism, remaining absolutely meticulous. His movements were steady. His hands gripping the broom didn’t use much force, and his body barely swayed. Relying solely on the rotation of his wrists, he wielded the broom as if it were an extension of his own arm, darting back and forth with Yao-like swiftness. As he stepped forward, the accumulated dust and debris on the ground magically moved along with him, as if they had grown legs of their own.

Yangx Kai was a Trial Disciple of Lingxiao Pavilion. He had entered the Sect three years ago to begin Cultivation, but until now, he had only cultivated to the Third-Layer Realm of Body Tempering. The fellow disciples who had entered the Sect with him had long surpassed this stage. Each had found their own opportunities, becoming Seat Disciples under the Sect’s experts and soaring to greatness, while he could only look on in despair.

Reaching the Third Level of Body Tempering in three years—such aptitude could no longer be described as ordinary. It was simply mediocre to the extreme.

Left with no other choice, Yangx Kai could only take up a sweeping job within the Sect, making a living while bitterly continuing his Cultivation.

Lingxiao Pavilion was a rather unique Sect, its uniqueness lying in the brutal competition among its disciples. In this Sect, the capable rose to the top while the incompetent were eliminated. The iron law of the jungle was displayed to the fullest within Lingxiao Pavilion.

Other Sects might still have some camaraderie and brotherly affection among fellow disciples, but in Lingxiao Pavilion, there was none! To climb higher, one could only step on the shoulders of their so-called fellow disciples and trudge through their blood. Only then would they be qualified.

Lingxiao Pavilion had strict rules and was renowned throughout the Great Han Dynasty. Although it wasn’t a super Sect, the cruelty of the struggles among its disciples was second to none! Because of this, every Disciple possessed a fierce and valiant martial spirit, and rarely did anyone dare to provoke them when they traveled the martial world of the Great Han.

Lingxiao Pavilion had a rule: for any Disciple under the age of fourteen, regardless of who they were, their first three years after entering the Sect were considered the Trial Stage. During these three years, the Sect took care of their food, clothing, housing, and transportation; the Disciple only needed to focus on Cultivation. If they could break through the Body Tempering Stage within three years, they would earn the right to become apprentices to the Sect’s experts and receive guidance in their Cultivation. Of course, they could also choose not to take a master and cultivate independently. However, on the path of Cultivation, having a good master was entirely different from groping around in the dark by oneself. In a way, this rule of Lingxiao Pavilion offered some degree of freedom.

As for those who failed to break through the Body Tempering Stage within three years, they either had to leave the Sect or be demoted to Trial Disciples.

Trial Disciple—this was Yangx Kai’s current status! It was also a badge of shame within Lingxiao Pavilion!

Unlike ordinary disciples, the living conditions for Trial Disciples were much harsher. Once they reached this point, they had to take care of their own basic needs. The Sect would no longer waste any Cultivation Resources on them. Moreover, once demoted to a Trial Disciple, one basically had no chance of making a name for themselves for the rest of their life, unless their strength surged drastically in a short period, making the Sect feel they were worth investing in again.

Out of the three thousand disciples in the entire Lingxiao Pavilion, how many were Trial Disciples? No more than the fingers on two hands! Yangx Kai had the "honor" of being one of them!

For a Trial Disciple to survive in Lingxiao Pavilion was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Take Yangx Kai’s current cabin for instance; he had built it himself, log by log. There were several holes in the roof that he didn’t have time to fix, so whenever it rained those heavy Yur showers, water would pool inside and be hard to drain. He bought his own clothes, prepared his own food, and was entirely responsible for himself.

Even the location of his cabin was in the most remote and forgotten corner of Lingxiao Pavilion.

Such terrible treatment was hard for ordinary people to endure, which was why there were so few Trial Disciples in Lingxiao Pavilion. Generally, any Disciple who failed to break through the Body Tempering Realm after the Trial Stage would choose to leave Lingxiao Pavilion. But Yangx Kai stayed.

He had already been swept out of the door once before; how could he let it happen again this time?

After being demoted to a Trial Disciple a few months ago, Yangx Kai took up a sweeping job within the Sect to make a living.

It could be said that Yangx Kai was now both a Trial Disciple of Lingxiao Pavilion and a sweeping Servant of the Sect. But sometimes, this sweeping job wasn’t even enough to keep him fed and clothed. He often went hungry, and no one cared when he caught a cold. He lived a bitter and lonely life. Even so, Yangx Kai never thought of backing out. A person only lived for a few decades; since he had chosen this path, he would walk it to the very end. Giving up halfway was not something a real man would do.

Yangx Kai had a certain tenacity, the kind of stubborn tenacity that wouldn’t turn back until he hit a brick wall!

The sky gradually brightened. After Yangx Kai swept for a while, everywhere he passed was spotlessly clean, with all the dust and debris completely cleared away.

Although sweeping didn’t require much effort, moving around for so long early in the morning without food or water left Yangx Kai breaking out in a cold sweat. This had nothing to do with his strength; it was entirely because his physique was too weak.

Starving for two out of three meals a day, anyone living in Yangx Kai’s conditions would have a poor physique.

Some disciples of Lingxiao Pavilion gradually gathered around him. Every one of them had woken up early, yet instead of cultivating, they surrounded Yangx Kai. Many of them sized him up with great interest, while the gazes of others were downright greedy, as if Yangx Kai were a stark-naked beauty or a mouth-watering delicacy.

Among these disciples gathered around Yangx Kai, a tense, competitive atmosphere began to spread. They warily sized up their fellow disciples, each sporting an unfriendly expression.

Someone in the crowd looked sympathetic, their face revealing a Luu-like expression of pity, and whispered, "So many people... this is a bit too much."

Immediately, someone retorted, "If you think there are too many people, you can leave. No one is forcing you to stay."

That single sentence silenced the sympathetic person, making them look sheepish. Everyone knew why they were gathered here and why they were staring at Yangx Kai. They were all waiting for that moment to arrive. The time limit was almost up; wouldn’t it be a pity to leave now? If they could snatch the first opportunity, they would reap another harvest today.

Yangx Kai was naturally aware of the commotion from Zhou Pang and the rest of the crowd, but his expression never changed. He had to experience this kind of spectacle once every five days—six times a month. It was really nothing to fuss about. Besides, looking at the number of people present, it was slightly fewer than usual; likely because not everyone had arrived yet.

So, he kept sweeping, completely ignoring the people around Zhou Pang as he swept along the path.

As time passed, more and more people gathered around Yangx Kai. At a rough estimate, there were at least thirty or forty of them.

Yangx Kai suddenly stopped and sat right in the middle of the road. He slowly took a breath, recovering the stamina he had expended early in the morning.

Seeing this, everyone gathered around Yangx Kai immediately spread out, forming a tight circle with him at the center. The tense, competitive atmosphere suddenly spiked to a whole new Realm, as if even the air had stopped flowing.

None of them found the others pleasing to the eye, yet they all stared at Yangx Kai with boundless anticipation.

If someone unaware of the truth saw this scene, they might think the person surrounded in the center was a peerless expert. Otherwise, why would they mobilize so many people to deal with him? But in reality, Yangx Kai was merely a Trial Disciple at the Third Level of the Body Tempering Realm. Anyone present was stronger than him.

"Yangx Kai, don’t waste your energy. Later, just obediently let us beat you to the ground. It’ll save everyone some time, won’t it?" Seeing Yangx Kai like this, someone immediately scoffed in disdain.

What was the point of a mere Third Level of Body Tempering trying to recover? Since he was bound to lose anyway, he might as well be straightforward about it. Why prolong his dying breath like this?

"Yeah, yeah. Yangx Kai, you should at least show some consideration for the feelings of your fellow disciples. We are different from you. After this fight, we still have to go cultivate."

The way they spoke, it was as if Yangx Kai was obligated to be swiftly defeated by them, making it seem like his attempt to recover his stamina was a sign of disrespect towards them.

Yangx Kai turned a deaf ear, sitting completely still like an old monk deep in Meditation.

Time continued to pass. Suddenly, a melodious, Yu-style hollow bell toll echoed out—it was Lingxiao Pavilion’s morning bell. As the chime reached everyone’s ears, the disciples gathered around Yangx Kai all jolted with vigor.

The bell chimed nine times, and the morning sun rose in the east. It was a new day!

Everyone’s breathing suddenly quieted down as they stared eagerly at Yangx Kai in the center. Yangx Kai slowly stood up, gripping the broom in his hand, and calmly swept his gaze over the circle of people around him.

"Pick me, Senior Brother Yangx! We could even call you Master Yangx if you pick me!" someone shouted at the top of their lungs. "I’ll go easy on you, I promise I won’t hit you where it hurts!"

"Bullshit! Pick me, I’ll give you a quick end! One punch and it’s over, absolutely no time wasted for anyone!"

"Pick me..."

"Pick me..."

The scene was a chaotic clamor, much like vegetable vendors in a market peddling the produce from their fields, competing over whose was fresher.

"Yangx Kai, don’t you dare break the rules you set yourself!" someone reminded him loudly.

Yangx Kai chuckled softly and casually tossed the broom in his hand into the air. Dozens of pairs of eyes simultaneously looked up toward the Qir Zhao heavens, waiting with boundless expectations for the moment the broom landed, praying incessantly in their hearts, "Pick me, pick me!"

Time seemed to slow down. The broom spun a few times in mid-air, then fell down, bounced slightly on the ground, and came to a dead stop.

The front of the broom pointed straight at a burly young man in the crowd.

A chorus of sighs rang out, full of resentment and unwillingness. On the contrary, the burly young man laughed heartily as he stepped out of the crowd. Cupping his fists, he smiled at everyone, "Fellow disciples, I’ll be taking today’s battle. I hope none of you will hold it against me."

"Fuck, what dumb luck!" someone grumbled in intense jealousy.

"Why can’t I ever get picked? I’ve come here once every five days for a solid month now. Yangx Kai, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"

"Don’t even mention it. I’ve been coming here for three months, and I haven’t been picked a single time!"

"Senior Brother, you’ve got it worse than me."

"Not at all. Let’s just enjoy a good show." The two fellow disciples exchanged a glance and shared a knowing smile.

In the center of the ring, the others had already dispersed, leaving only Yangx Kai and the burly young man staring at each other.

"Trial Disciple Yangx Kai, Third Level of Body Tempering!" Yangx Kai said as he looked at his opponent.

"Ordinary Disciple Zhou Dingjun, Fifth Level of Body Tempering!" The burly young man announced his own status.

The disciples of Lingxiao Pavilion were also divided into hierarchical Levels. From bottom to top, there were five major Levels: Trial Disciple, Ordinary Disciple, Seat Disciple, Elite Disciple, and Core Disciple. By calling himself an Ordinary Disciple, Zhou Dingjun meant he had not yet been apprenticed to the Sect’s experts or received guidance from a good master. If one broke through the Body Tempering Stage and became apprenticed to an expert in the Sect, they would become a higher-ranking Seat Disciple. The next rank up was the Elite Disciple, every one of whom was Outstanding, selected from among the Seat Disciples.

As for Core Disciples, they were the hope of Lingxiao Pavilion’s next generation. The Sect cultivated these individuals as its future successors.

This strict disciple hierarchy seemed unreasonable, but it perfectly stimulated the hot blood and competitive spirit of the youth. This was also the foundation of Lingxiao Pavilion’s brutal system.

And the fundamental reason why countless people were fighting over Yangx Kai was due to another rule of Lingxiao Pavilion—the rule of challenges.

PS: How will the protagonist of this book, Yangx Kai, make his comeback from a sweeping Servant? What does he actually look like, being a master at acting cool and picking up girls?