Internal fighting among the disciples of High Heaven Pavilion claimed quite a few lives every year.
But as Zhou Dingjun looked at the Senior Brother before him, charging forward without the slightest intention of retreating, even he could not help feeling somewhat shaken.
If their positions were reversed, Zhou Dingjun knew he would not be able to go this far.
The moment he realized he could not win, he would probably admit defeat.
As long as the green mountains remain, there will always be firewood to burn.
That was the way of surviving in this world.
Refusing to turn back until one crashed into the southern wall—
that was persistence!
Seeing Yang Kai in such a miserable condition while the fighting spirit in his eyes only grew stronger and stronger, Zhou Dingjun understood that unless he knocked him unconscious, today’s matter would never end.
With that thought in mind, Zhou Dingjun swung his hand like a blade and chopped down on Yang Kai’s neck as he charged forward.
Yang Kai’s fierce momentum instantly scattered.
His eyes lost focus, and his entire body went limp as he collapsed to the ground.
Upon seeing this scene, a person standing atop the crown of a large tree more than a dozen yards away took out a small booklet.
Casually flipping to a page, the person wrote:
Trial Disciple Yang Kai versus Ordinary Disciple Zhou Dingjun.
Zhou Dingjun wins.
The figure standing in the tree had a graceful and slender build, clearly indicating that she was a woman.
However, a black veil covered her face, making it impossible to see her true appearance.
Still, her delicate eyebrows and eyes revealed that she was quite young.
And the leaf-shaped insignia worn on her arm revealed her identity—
a disciple of High Heaven Pavilion’s Dark Hall!
High Heaven Pavilion’s Dark Hall was a special organization under the direct supervision of the sect’s Third Elder.
The disciples of the Dark Hall were responsible for recording all major and minor affairs within the sect, including the results of duels between disciples.
Therefore, when issuing a challenge inside High Heaven Pavilion, there was no need to worry that a victory would go unrewarded.
Dark Hall disciples hidden in the shadows would certainly record the results, and all records would be gathered and calculated at the end of each month.
After recording the result of this battle, the Dark Hall woman took out another, even smaller booklet from her waist.
Opening it, she glanced at the page.
Written there were the words:
Seventh day of the fifth month, Fourteenth Year of Ji He.
Yang Kai’s one hundred and forty-seventh battle—
Defeat!
Aside from this newly added line, the pages were densely packed with records of every single one of Yang Kai’s battles.
Each entry listed the date, the number of the battle, and the result.
And the result was always the same single word:
Defeat!
One hundred and forty-seven consecutive defeats without a single victory.
It could truly be said that such a record had never existed since the founding of High Heaven Pavilion.
This record was enough to shock the heavens and make ghosts and gods weep.
There had been no one like him before, and perhaps there would be no one like him again.
And the creator of this astonishing record was currently lying quietly on the ground, his life or death unknown.
Yang Kai had never challenged anyone himself.
All one hundred and forty-seven of these battles had come from other people challenging him.
In other words, he had been challenged once every five days.
This kind of life had already continued for more than two years.
Looking down at Yang Kai below, Xia Ningchang’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.
She could not understand why Yang Kai insisted on enduring to this extent.
He had already been demoted to a Trial Disciple of High Heaven Pavilion.
Even obtaining enough food to survive was a problem for him.
So why did he still remain in High Heaven Pavilion?
If he left this place, his life would certainly become much easier.
Just what kind of stubborn determination existed in the heart of this thin and frail young man?
What allowed him to suffer one hundred and forty-seven consecutive defeats and still remain completely undiscouraged?
Perhaps…
this was the foolishness of men?
Xia Ningchang had first noticed Yang Kai entirely by coincidence.
As a disciple of the Dark Hall, she had been assigned to monitor this particular area.
Every time Yang Kai was challenged, and every time he was beaten unconscious, she witnessed it personally.
Once or twice would not have meant much.
But after it happened again and again, Xia Ningchang gradually began paying attention to this young man who was only at the Third Stage of Body Tempering.
She wanted to know just how long someone with his perseverance would continue before finally leaving High Heaven Pavilion.
With talent like his and a cultivation speed like this, he simply was not suited to remain in the martial world.
The world of ordinary people was where he truly belonged.
Below, the crowd had already dispersed.
Only Yang Kai remained unconscious on the ground.
People came and went.
Time continued to pass.
Xia Ningchang’s figure flickered.
In the next instant, she disappeared from the crown of the tree.
When Yang Kai woke again, the sun was already high in the sky.
There was not a single part of his body that did not hurt.
He struggled unsteadily to his feet and glanced around.
To his surprise, he discovered that he was no longer lying where he had originally fallen unconscious.
Instead, he was now beneath the shade of a nearby tree.
This really was strange.
Could one of his fellow disciples have suddenly developed a conscience today and carried him over here?
Something like that had never happened before.
Yang Kai frowned and scratched his head.
He vaguely remembered that while his consciousness had been fading, a blurry figure had seemed to move back and forth in front of him.
But the memory was far too vague.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not remember clearly.
However, between the place where he now stood and the place where he had fallen unconscious, there was an extremely obvious trail across the ground.
And that trail had clearly been created by dragging a person across the dirt.
Yang Kai then felt his back.
Immediately, a burning pain spread across it.
Yang Kai froze for a moment.
Then he became furious!
The tiny bit of goodwill he had felt toward this anonymous benefactor who had done a good deed without leaving a name vanished instantly.
That person must have simply grabbed him and dragged him all the way over here.
Otherwise, how could the skin on his back have been scraped raw and bloody?
They might as well have just left me lying there!
Yang Kai thought bitterly.
While he was still feeling depressed, Yang Kai suddenly noticed that his right hand seemed to be clutching something.
Puzzled, he lowered his head and looked.
A finely crafted little porcelain bottle was clenched in his hand.
What was this?
This porcelain bottle definitely did not belong to him.
Yang Kai owned practically nothing.
Apart from the clothes on his body, all he had was the broom he used for sweeping.
How could he possibly own something like this?
There was a label attached to the small porcelain bottle.
Words were written on it.
Yang Kai focused his eyes and read them aloud under his breath.
“Blood-Coagulating, Bruise-Dispelling Ointment!”
Yang Kai had heard of Blood-Coagulating, Bruise-Dispelling Ointment.
It was a medicinal ointment used by High Heaven Pavilion to treat external injuries.
Although it could not be considered some peerless miracle medicine, it was extremely effective against external wounds.
Ordinary disciples usually carried a bottle with them in case of emergencies.
Yet even a single bottle of this ointment was quite expensive at High Heaven Pavilion’s logistics department.
Ten Sect Contribution Points per bottle!
How many contribution points could Yang Kai earn from sweeping for an entire month?
Exactly ten points.
In other words, the bottle of ointment in his hand was worth the same amount as an entire month of Yang Kai’s sweeping work!
Who was it?
At that moment, an intense wave of emotion suddenly surged through Yang Kai’s heart.
Even the pain in his back seemed to lessen considerably.
He had already been in High Heaven Pavilion for three years.
During those three years, Yang Kai had grown accustomed to the coldness and lack of loyalty among the sect’s disciples.
He had seen enough of how fickle and heartless people could be.
Yet today, after he had been injured, someone had actually left behind a bottle of Blood-Coagulating, Bruise-Dispelling Ointment for him.
This simple action deeply moved Yang Kai.
So it turned out that not every disciple in this sect was coldhearted.
Perhaps a bottle of external-injury ointment meant very little to that person.
But to Yang Kai, it was exactly what he needed most right now.
There was a saying:
A favor as small as a drop of water should never be forgotten even after one’s teeth fall out.
And when one prospers in the future, that favor should be repaid with a gushing spring!
Feeling deeply moved, Yang Kai desperately tried to remember that blurry figure.
But the harder he tried, the more indistinct the memory became.
Instead, faint traces of a delicate fragrance lingered around the tip of his nose, refusing to disappear for a long time.
“So this medicine is fragrant?”
Yang Kai suddenly felt as though he had learned something new.
After calming himself, he straightened his clothes and carefully tucked the bottle of Blood-Coagulating, Bruise-Dispelling Ointment into his robe.
Then Yang Kai picked up the broom in his hand and continued his sweeping work.
He swept both inside and outside.
He remained busy until noon before finally finishing the day’s work.
Dragging his exhausted and hungry body behind him, Yang Kai returned to his small hut.
The injuries from the fight that morning had not yet been treated.
Although Yang Kai was hungry, he could only endure it for now.
Treating his injuries came first.
He removed his blue-green robe and brought over a basin of clean water to wash himself.
If anyone had been standing nearby and seen the condition of Yang Kai’s body, they would certainly have been shocked.
Yang Kai’s body was extremely weak.
He was painfully thin, and the ribs across his abdomen were clearly visible.
There seemed to be almost no flesh anywhere on his body.
Yet this malnourished body was covered everywhere with bruises and wounds.
There was practically no part of him that could be considered completely unharmed.
Once every five days, someone challenged him.
Every challenge ended in defeat.
Every challenge ended with him being beaten unconscious.
Before his old injuries could heal, new injuries were added.
If it were anyone else, they probably would not have been able to endure this kind of pain.
But Yang Kai endured it.
Not only did he endure it, he continued cultivating and sweeping every single day.
These injuries never stopped him.
…………