Chapter 1: The Yang Family's Trash

  However, no matter what, all of this ultimately requires making a choice. At least, in Yang Wei's view, his mother must be vindicated. This is something that he, as a son, must do. Even if his soul isn't, this body is real and tangible, left behind by his mother's bloodline.

  After Yang You's carriage disappeared into the streets, Yang Lei finally walked towards Master Zhang Yi's shop.

  "Master." As soon as he entered the door, he saw Zhang Yi leisurely drinking tea.

  "Not bad, not bad, it has actually reached the realm of Wu Wang Da Yuan Man." As soon as Zhang Yi came in, he saw through Yang Lei's cultivation, which made him extremely surprised. He didn't expect that Yang Lei would break through again in such a short period of time and reach the realm of Wu Wang, and even Wu Wang Da Yuan Man. This made him astonished, but his face did not show any fluctuations."

  "Master, I'm sorry to say that your disciple is a member of the Yang family. This time, I couldn't come here to receive your teachings because I participated in the family trial." Yang Lei said, looking at Zhang Yi.

  "Yang family's child, participating in the family trial, it turns out to be like this." Zhang Yi heard that Yang Wei was a Yang family child and had participated in the family trial, so he understood why Yang Wei's cultivation had progressed so quickly. He still had some understanding of the Yang family's Empty Fantasy Cave, such a secret realm for cultivation was not uncommon in the Xuanji Gate, among which the largest and most powerful one was the Xuanji Secret Realm. One day of cultivation inside the Xuanji Secret Realm was equivalent to one year in the real world, if one had high qualifications, cultivating for several years and breaking through several realms was just a small matter.

  However, Yang Wei was able to directly break through a major boundary, from a martial artist entering the realm of a Martial King. In the Yang family, this is already considered exceptional. The same goes for the Qianyuan country, where it's estimated that there are hardly a few people with better qualifications than him. As for others, they're still young, 16 years old, and a 16-year-old Martial King at the peak of his power, which is also considered an extremely promising disciple in the Xuanji Gate. The key point is that this guy has an extraordinary talent for carving, which is precisely what Zhang Yi values most.

  As the elder of the Mystic Door, finding a talented disciple shouldn't be difficult, but the key is that they must also have an extraordinary talent in carving, which is why Zhang Yi has never had a closed-door disciple.

  "You've been practicing carving for a while now, try making one for me." Zhang Yi said to Yang Lei.

  "Yes, Master."

  Yang Lei took out his own carving knife, picked up a piece of wood, and various magical beasts' original forms flashed through his mind, finally choosing a third-level magical beast, the spotted deer.

  A fleeting glimpse of a spotted deer's every move, its form, its actions, and the spirit of its run.

  Sculpture.

  The sword rose, and in an instant, it was like a dragon flying and a phoenix dancing. Each move was swift and unparalleled, leaving onlookers dazzled and unable to keep up.

  When carving, Yang Lei was completely absorbed in it, forgetting everything else in his mind, leaving only the fleeing flower-spotted deer.

  One knife, one slash.

  Ten minutes passed and Yang Lei was still carving.

  Half an hour passed and the spotted deer had already finished most of it.

  At last, after an hour, the carving of the spotted deer was completed, and with one final stroke, the finishing touch was added.

  "Ding! Congratulations, player, on carving a perfect wooden Flower-spotted Deer. Experience +10,000, points +100, Qi +100, proficiency increased."

  The sound of the system made Yang Lei's eyes widen in surprise. The perfect level of carving was simply astonishing. No wonder it was a third-level magical beast, and the experience points had reached 10,000.

  At the sight of the carving in his hand, it was vivid and lifelike, especially the running posture, that kind of fleeing flavor, was fully revealed, perfect, indeed perfect, even Yang Wei himself couldn't believe it, he had actually completed such a work. This piece of work is considered to be the most perfect one since he learned carving.

  "Master, this is my work." Yang Lei respectfully handed the carving in his hand over to Zhang Yi.

  Watching Yang Lei carve, Zhang Yi knew that this disciple had made progress, not only in his cultivation, but also in his control over spiritual power and his understanding of things. The wooden carving in front of him, Zhang Yi believed, was something he himself could not have carved at this level.

  "Not bad, not bad, this carving is indeed very good, can be called perfect, but you can't be self-satisfied, you have to know that the level of this demon beast you carved is only third-level, if you can carve a sacred beast to perfection, then you can really graduate." Zhang Yi was quite satisfied in his heart, but he wouldn't praise so much with his mouth.

  "Understood, Master." Yang Lei knew in his heart that he was able to carve the third-level magic beast to this extent purely due to luck, and it wasn't certain that he could carve it out again next time.

  "It's good that you know, but you still need to continue working hard. The master can only lead you into the door, and the rest is up to your own cultivation. You'll have to walk the path yourself and explore it on your own. As a master, I won't be able to teach you much." Zhang Yi stood up at this time and walked towards the counter not far away.

  "Master, you can't say that. Disciples still have a lot to learn and there are many things they don't understand that need to be asked of you." Yang Lei hastily said upon hearing him say this.

  Joking, with a martial arts god-level backer like this, it's not good to grasp tightly, isn't that foolish? With such a backer, in the future, even wiping one's butt is okay, using the master's name as a cover, being a big bully, robbing and plundering, blocking roads and looting. What a refreshing thing! When there are benefits, take them yourself, when there are troubles, let Master bear them, this is the most wonderful thing.

  Besides, I'm just a monster-leveling-up myself. If I had accidentally killed those people with powerful backgrounds that time, wouldn't Master have come out to resolve it?

  If Zhang Yi knew that Yang Lei had such thoughts in his heart, he would probably turn against him immediately and directly kill this unfilial disciple.

  Zhang Yi turned around, holding a box in his hand, and shook his head when he heard Yang Lei say that.

  "If everything has to be taught by a master, then you will ultimately have no achievements of your own. In the end, you won't even be able to surpass me, and you might not even be able to graduate."

  Setting out, carving a perfect-level Holy Beast is just a joke. My current strength is still far from it. A single Holy Beast can wipe me out hundreds of times. Last time I encountered the Long-Armed Demon Monkey Emperor, if I didn't have my dual wings, and if Yang Wudi and Yang Wuhen hadn't arrived in time, I would've been done for a long time ago.

  If you want to carve out a sacred beast, your cultivation must reach the level of Martial Saint. To carve out a perfect-level sacred beast, your own cultivation must be at least in the middle stage of Martial Saint, that is, above the fourth stage of Martial Saint. Otherwise, it's simply impossible. So all this was as clear to Yang Lei as a mirror.

  "Master and apprentice don't mean this."

  "Not what you mean, what do you mean?" Zhang Yi smiled and looked at him.

  Old but not dead is a thief, Zhang Yi is what kind of person, lived for hundreds of years of existence, how can't see the small tricks in Yang Lei's heart.

  "Master, look at my poor cultivation, I'm only at the Martial King realm. If I were to encounter a powerful demon beast or a strong opponent, I might lose my life. So, for now, I still need to rely on you, and bask in your glory. What if I were to go out and get killed easily? Wouldn't that be a loss of face for you as well?" Previously, when he heard Zhang Yi's words, he had the intention of leaving, so he thought to himself: "If I don't come up with something soon, won't I be suffering a great loss?"

  "You little scoundrel, after all, you're trying to wheedle something out of me, aren't you?" Zhang Yi interrupted him before he could continue.

  "Uh...this..." Yang Lei scratched his head in embarrassment.

  "Alright, you little brat, I didn't know what kind of character you were at first glance." Zhang Yi laughed and scolded, "Here, this is for you." He said, tossing the box in his hand to Yang Lei.

  "Master, what is this?"

  "Why don't you open it and see for yourself?" Zhang Yi didn't explain further, instead taking out a jade token.

  At this time, Yang Lei happened to open the box and found that there was a white vest inside. He reached out to touch it, feeling very cool and comfortable. Suddenly he was surprised, picked it up and put it in his hand.

  "This is..."

  "Not bad, that's a vest made of heavenly silk, impervious to knives and guns, water and fire, with extremely strong defensive power." Zhang Yi explained.

  "Good stuff." Yang Lei immediately picked it up.

  Then Zhang Yi handed over the jade plate in his hand as well.

  "Master, what is this jade plaque?" Yang Wei took it in his hand and examined it. The jade plaque was carved with a bamboo forest, the green jade was lush and vibrant, and the spiritual energy was overwhelming. Clearly, this jade plaque was also a good thing, wearing it on one's body could calm the mind and quiet the spirit, bringing great benefits to cultivators.

  But compared to the jade pendant Xiao Xiao gave herself at the beginning, it's slightly inferior.

  "If you have anything in the future, bring this jade pendant to Xuanji Gate and find me," Zhang Yi said. "This jade token is my token of faith, and wearing it on your body will benefit your cultivation."

  "Master, are you from the Mystic Gate?" Yang Lei heard that Zhang Yi had finally revealed his origin, and although he had long known that Zhang Yi was an elder of the Mystic Gate, he still pretended to be shocked on the surface.

  "Your master is an elder of the Xuanji Gate, and this time he came to Qianyuan Country on business. Unexpectedly, after staying here for several months, I took you as a disciple. However, you didn't disappoint me, and you worked hard in carving, showing great talent. I'm very pleased." Zhang Yi looked at Yang Lue and said, "As a member of the Yang family, you will definitely participate in this Xuanji Gate's Wind Cloud Selection. With your current strength, you should be able to pass the selection, but accidents may happen. There are several exceptional talents participating in this selection, so if you don't get selected, it doesn't matter. Just bring this jade token to find me at Xuanji Gate. Of course, I still hope you won't need to use this jade token."

  Yang Lei heard this and secretly rejoiced in his heart. His master was still quite concerned about himself, giving himself a back door, worrying that he wouldn't pass the Wind Cloud Selection. However, for Yang Lei, passing the Wind Cloud Selection was a certainty, and he was full of confidence. Even if he encountered someone at the Martial Emperor level, he wasn't worried. His cultivation had already reached the Great Perfection of the Martial King realm. If he used the fifth kill of the Wind Blade Seven Kills, he might even have a chance to win against a late-stage Martial Emperor. And if he could obtain the third volume of the Iron Cloth Shirt before then, as long as it wasn't someone at the Martial Emperor level or above, there would be no problem at all.

  "Master, you're not confident in your disciple, are you? However, Master, do you have any miraculous medicine that can help me break through to the Martial Emperor realm? If I become a 16-year-old Martial Emperor, even if I don't participate in the selection, I'll be specially recruited. What do you think?" Yang Lei said with a smile.