Chapter 23: An Incredible Thing

This incident sent shockwaves among the ordinary disciples who were watching the battle. Had they not been wary of Su Mu’s status, they probably would have rushed to spread the news. But because the matter involved Su Mu, the crowd knew better than to gossip blindly. They simply kept today’s events bottled up inside.

The area in front of the small cabin finally grew quiet.

Glancing at the sky, Yangx Kai felt a bit frustrated. Being delayed by Su Mu today had made him miss the hour for cultivating the Body Tempering Chapter. It was, undeniably, a pity. Returning to his cabin, he took out his last remaining set of clothes. He ran to the small pond nearby and stripped off his tattered garments, preparing to take a bath. He had been wandering in the mountains for the past few days and had just fought a Flower-Backed Spider; his body indeed carried a strange odor.

Xia Ningshang stealthily approached the cabin. She wanted to see exactly what Realm this junior brother was currently in, as she had been too far away to sense it clearly earlier. However, the cabin was empty. Rounding to the back of the house, Xia Ningshang swept her bright eyes over the area, only to be met with the sight of two stark-white buttocks. Shifting her gaze upward, she saw that Yangx Kai had already stripped completely bare, not a stitch of clothing left on him, and was currently posing in a diving Momentum.

Xia Ningshang’s small face instantly flushed bright red. Although her strength was formidable, she was still an innocent young girl. Let alone a man’s bare bottom, she hadn’t even seen a man’s thigh before. How could she handle suddenly stumbling upon such a scene? It was too stimulating! Her Fangxin went THUMP THUMP as she hurriedly hid herself. She wondered, "Why am I so destined to see... that place today?" The poor girl was on the verge of tears. Completely forgetting about spying on Yangx Kai’s secrets, she stomped her foot, and with a flash of her figure, vanished from the spot. She thought, "This stinky junior brother! How can he be so indecent in an important area of the sect? Being Chi and naked in broad daylight... He’s too shameless, too brazen!"

In the pond, Yangx Kai examined his body while washing up. He noticed that since cultivating the Body Tempering Chapter, his muscles were noticeably much leaner and more solid than before. Although he was still skinny, he was skinny in an appealing way. Furthermore, the scars left on his abdomen from yesterday’s fierce battle with the Flower-Backed Spider had already scabbed over. Only the puncture wound on his arm, pierced by the Flower-Backed Spider, still throbbed with a faint pain. Since it was a clean-through wound, it couldn’t possibly heal that quickly, but it wasn’t as severe as he had imagined either. Looking at its condition, it would basically heal completely in just a few more days of rest.

Recalling yesterday’s life-and-death battle, Yangx Kai grew a bit excited again. He didn’t know why, but it seemed that the more dangerous the situation he faced now, the more driven he became. He had never been this type of person before. He wondered, "Could it be that I’ve had a subconscious masochistic tendency all along, and it’s only suddenly awakened after living for over ten years?" At this thought, he hastily sank into the pond, holding a huge breath of air, and only popped his head back up after a long while.

Although there were many urgent matters to attend to, Yangx Kai still picked up his broom to sweep the grounds after finishing his bath and getting dressed. After all, this was his job in the Lingxiao Pavilion. Since he had taken on the task, he had to take it seriously. While sweeping, he distinctly noticed that the looks many of his fellow disciples gave him today were somewhat off, filled with suspicion. He figured these were the people who had watched the spectacle in the morning and couldn’t understand how he managed to knock Zhao Hu unconscious. He remained calm and unfazed, honestly doing his work.

After sweeping, Yangx Kai returned to the wooden cabin and opened his bundle. He took out the Three-Leaf Soul Flower and Desolate Dried Wood Grass he needed, then put the rest back. Keeping the remaining herbs was useless to him; instead, he could sell them to the Contribution Hall in exchange for some Contribution Points. Grabbing the bundle, he was about to head out, but after a moment of thought, he turned back and changed into that tattered, blood-stained outfit. He then smeared dirt all over his face before rushing out.

At the Contribution Hall, Elder Mengg was holding a teapot and sitting behind the counter. With his legs crossed, he was sipping the fragrant tea in a Yu and leisurely manner while humming a bawdy little tune. Suddenly, a figure flashed at the doorway. Elder Mengg weakly raised his eyes, just about to curse whichever blind brat was disturbing his peace so early in the morning. However, he saw Yangx Kai walking in, looking absolutely wretched. His tattered clothes completely failed to cover his modesty; his two thighs were faintly visible, with every single hair on his legs on full display. Two female Lingxiao Pavilion disciples passing by the doorway saw this scene and gasped in shock, crying out, "Pervert!" They covered their faces and retreated in shame.

What kind of composure did Shopkeeper Mengg have? He had been through hell and high water, remaining unfazed even in the face of mass slaughter, and keeping a breezy demeanor even after wiping out entire cities. Yet at this moment, he spat out a mouthful of tea, completely losing his image. "Little Yangx Kai, what exactly are you doing?" he asked, nearly thrown into chaos as he hurriedly stood up, staring at Yangx Kai dumbfoundedly.

Yangx Kai rushed to the counter and took a deep breath. "I’m back!"

"You must have suffered a lot, huh?" Shopkeeper Mengg felt quite pity for him. A few days ago, when Yangx Kai left this place, he was perfectly fine. To think that just one trip to Black Wind Mountain would reduce him to this state. Looking like a ghastly mess, it was simply too tragic.

"Yeah, it was a bit perilous." Yangx Kai nodded and, without further ado, quickly opened the bundle. Pointing to the pile of herbs inside, he asked, "But the harvest wasn’t bad. Shopkeeper Mengg, the Contribution Hall will accept these herbs, right?"

Shopkeeper Mengg took a closer look, and his brows knitted together. They were merely Mortal-Level Lower Grade herbs, completely devoid of much value. The Contribution Hall already had plenty of this kind of herb; even if he accepted them, there would be nowhere to store them. Just as he was about to refuse, he saw Yangx Kai looking at him with a face full of anticipation. Looking again at his outfit, his heart instantly softened. He nodded and said, "Mhm, we’ll take them, we’ll take them. Every two herbs will be exchanged for one Contribution Point."

"Then count them." Yangx Kai didn’t bargain, pushing the bundle forward.

Shopkeeper Mengg counted them up. There were thirty-two herbs in total, amounting to sixteen Contribution Points, which he immediately recorded on Yangx Kai’s account.

"You ran around Black Wind Mountain for three days and only managed to get these?" Shopkeeper Mengg asked casually.

"Managing to get these is already pretty good," Yangx Kai said while glancing around shiftily.

"COUGH COUGH, they are not bad." Elder Mengg really didn’t have the heart to deal a blow to Yangx Kai; after all, he knew of his difficult situation. This kid didn’t have good aptitude, but he was willing to work hard. Nowadays, there weren’t many young people who could endure such hardships. What a pity—his aptitude was his fatal flaw, destining him to not achieve much in this life. While sighing with emotion in his heart, Shopkeeper Mengg saw Yangx Kai’s shifty eyes glancing around wildly and couldn’t help but ask suspiciously, "What are you looking at?"

Yangx Kai leaned forward mysteriously and lowered his voice, "Shopkeeper Mengg, during my trip to the mountains this time, I think I found something incredible."

Seeing Yangx Kai acting so cautious and careful, Shopkeeper Mengg knew that this incredible thing was probably out of the ordinary. He immediately straightened his expression and inquired in an equally low voice, "What is it?"

"I don’t know. Aren’t I bringing it back for you to take a look? You are an elder who is experienced and Guang; you can definitely recognize it," Yangx Kai said, reaching behind his back. He pulled out another bundle and gently placed it on the counter.