Having escaped the clutches of the demoness, Chen Fang finally arrived at the disciple quarters of Cloud Sword Peak. Seeing the scene in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel slightly pressured.
While both of his people suddenly looked far too motivated, there he was, encountering one beauty after another.
Standing there, he first looked at Yang Kai. From the way he was swinging his sword around—with each swing precise and aimed to cut something—he seemed to be practicing the Basic Sword Technique Manual he had given him.
Each precise swing, though it carried not an ounce of spiritual energy, still made Chen Fang feel that a normal sword strike like that could cut down anything that came in its direction.
Chen Fang suddenly decided to test his disciple—to see whether he was merely swinging his sword or also honing his awareness.
Taking out the sword from the storage ring left behind by his father, Chen Fang decided to sneakily attack his disciple, dashing toward him in an instant.
Yang Kai, who was now covered in sweat and whose arms had grown heavy from continuous swings, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Danger, he thought, and immediately turned around, since there was nothing in front of him.
Just as he turned, he noticed the sharp, glistening tip of a sword a few inches from his face.
Clang~
A loud metallic clash echoed as Yang Kai somehow managed to swing his sword forward and avoid the impending doom. However, in doing so, he couldn’t control his footing and was pushed back several meters, ultimately falling to the ground.
“Master?” Yang Kai uttered, his expression full of shock.
“Aren’t you going to stand up?” Chen Fang said without changing his expression in the slightest. “Your enemies are not going to stay idle while you’re down.”
Su Qingxue, who had been busy reading the Basic Sword Technique Manual, heard the commotion, finally looked up from the book, and noticed Yang Kai on the ground while her master attacked him as if he planned to kill him.
What is going on here? she thought, confused, and immediately placed the book down.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai, seeing the incoming attack, immediately used the donkey roll and rolled away, narrowly escaping death.
“Good, very good,” Chen Fang praised him. Unlike those arrogant cultivators, at least he had a decent head on his shoulders—he hadn’t overthought things before using that technique. “But you’re still not on your feet? You have to be quicker.”
Though Chen Fang wanted to test this disciple of his a little more, if he attacked again this instant, Yang Kai would still be rolling on the ground, and things would continue that way.
Putting the sword back into his storage ring, he extended his hand toward Yang Kai. “Alright, the test is over. Stand up now.”
Yang Kai stared at his master’s hand for a moment, then took it and stood up. He couldn’t help but ask, “Test? What kind of test are you talking about, Master?”
Chen Fang looked at his disciple’s expression and could immediately sense the rampant emotions that had briefly appeared on his face.
Though the kid had become his disciple, it would naturally take some time for him to get accustomed to this new life—and to realize that here, no one was his enemy or wanted to make fun of him or bully him.
“It was a test of whether you could survive in this wretched world. Without strength and sharp awareness to back you up, death can come from any direction,” Chen Fang said in simpler terms—something he had seen most often in this world, or in these types of worlds… of course, in novels.
Yang Kai fell into thought upon hearing this.
For a moment, he had thought that his master was just like the others—those who had initially been kind to him, only to start bullying him for no obvious reason once he opened up.
But looking at his master’s serious expression as he spoke, he couldn’t bring himself to say that this master of his was the same as those people.
Yang Kai tried to dust off his clothes but failed, as they were drenched in sweat. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, his gaze still on his master. Then he asked, “Master, did I pass?”
“Well…” Chen Fang trailed off, falling into thought for a moment while resting his hand under his chin. “I can’t say you passed exactly, but you didn’t fail either.”
Hearing this, both Yang Kai and Su Qingxue looked at him with raised brows.
Seeing that, Chen Fang couldn’t help but burst out with a small laugh. “What I mean to say is that Disciple Yang has sharp awareness. Despite me making minimal movements while ambushing him, he still managed to avoid getting hurt on the first strike itself. That is a huge victory in itself.”
Yang Kai’s expression brightened at that; however, Chen Fang was not yet done with his assessment.
“But you disciple Yang did not manage to break the element of surprise. Which means that if this had been a real war, he would have been dead.”
The word “dead” reverberated in Yang Kai’s heart. However, before he could think any further about it, he felt Chen Fang’s hand on his shoulder. “Master?”
“No need to overthink it. With your master here, nobody can lay a finger on you or your senior sister,” Chen Fang said, flashing a white smile.
Of course, I don’t come into that equation, so obviously I can lay my whole hand on you guys. An evil smile appeared on his face, which did not go unnoticed by Yang Kai, who once again felt a chill run down his spine.
Chen Fang took his hand away and walked off into the distance while saying, “But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t train you properly. So from tomorrow on, I’ll give you proper training—whether we are in the sect or outside. The same goes for Disciple Su.”
Saying this, he suddenly realized that he had met the perfect person who could have told him about the herbs he was planning to look for for his disciples… if only she weren’t a demoness who always seems so eager to suck me dry.
However, while Chen Fang suddenly got lost in thought, Yang Kai and Su Qingxue dropped to their knees and shouted, “We thank Master for his guidance!”—not knowing that he was lost somewhere else.