It was the "True Yang Secret Art". Something he was supposed to get much before but better late than never.
...
'The Yang Kai of right now can truly appreciate the importance of this art after reading through the exaggerated words I added as an introduction. Getting it when he is desperate, after the revelation of the big villain of his life, from me, his one and only savior—as opposed to his rock pillow turning into a magic book out of nowhere, his luck getting all the credit.'
This was one of the ways Liu Zheng had thought of when dealing with Yang Kai: to plunder all natural and hidden opportunities, becoming the one and only source of quality resources and knowledge for Yang Kai.
The other was to make the people around him more powerful, rather than forcing him to grow. Liu Zheng was a prime example of someone younger but also stronger than Yang Kai, which could be attributed to his "cheats." But other people from the sect, like Su Yan, Xia Ning Chang, and especially his sister, were also stronger than Yang Kai.
He did not have any evil plans towards her; no, he would never do any harm to Yang Kai's sister as he had one himself, whom he cherished and loved a lot. But he did want to use her in a way that would benefit her too — first curing her and then keeping her stronger than her brother most, if not all, of the time—to drive his competitive spirit, with the only path to salvation being Liu Zheng himself.
Yang Kai was currently flabbergasted after reading through the whole scripture, but being somewhat smart, he became skeptical of Liu Zheng's generosity pretty quickly.
He put it on the table after closing it and said, "I am sorry, Senior Brother, but I don't think I can afford the price, not right now."
Liu Zheng put his fingers together on the table and asked, "And what do you think is the price?"
"My loyalty, and you already know that there are things I need to do before making the decision to serve you, even if you are worthy of it," Yang Kai answered.
'Good, his thought process has gradually shifted, which means this method does have some effect on him. As for the things that he cares about right now, it's his family and killing the guy who is the cause of all his suffering, which is a piece of cake for me right now.'
"What if I can guarantee you that I can solve all your problems? Will that change your mind?"
Yang Kai would have scoffed it off if it were someone else, but coming from his savior, he did think for a moment before asking, "I am not trying to be rude, but Senior Brother, you don't even know my sister's condition. How are you so sure of curing her?"
"I am asking for something so important from you. If I didn't have even this level of confidence, that would be rude of me, right? "
Yang Kai wanted to refute since it was a question of his sister's life, but he knew Liu Zheng would never lie to him, and he looked like he really could do it. Watching Yang Kai's expression, Liu Zheng could guess his thoughts, so he reassured him.
"No need to be so stressed about it. We will discuss it properly after I have proven my words. And even then, if you decide not to follow me, you can just think of it as a favor."
Yang Kai, instead of feeling reassured, grew even more skeptical of him, as this level of generosity is usually not without a nefarious purpose. But at the same time, he could not understand what someone so strong would want from him.
His confused expression did not go unnoticed, as Liu Zheng asked, "Do you have any questions?"
Yang Kai nodded. "Yeah. I don't understand. What could you possibly achieve from gaining my loyalty? If anything, with my strength, I would be nothing more than a liability. Or do you want to get to the Yang Family through me? But you are simply too strong to use such a roundabout way."
When the sect was attacked, Yang Kai, like always, had miraculously survived the fight between the demon lord and sect master. Both being transcendent-level masters caused shockwaves each time they clashed, which nearly destroyed the sect, killing hundreds of people in the sect.
Yang Kai, being one of the survivors and having a somewhat righteous spirit, decided to help a guy under the rubble before running away. He witnessed how dire the situation of the sect master and the elders was, and how with the appearance of Liu Zheng, everything changed in an instant. At that moment, in Yang Kai's eyes, Liu Zheng looked like a superman without a cape, or the cultivation world equivalent of it.
Since that day, the sect has only ever grown from what it was before, and if this goes on, High Heaven Pavilion will become a true powerhouse of the Han Dynasty.
Coming back to the question, Liu Zheng thought for a second and replied, "No offense, but I don't really put the Yang Family in my eyes. They are fine for this world, but that's really it."
Yang Kai smiled awkwardly, as it was the first time he saw someone talk like that about the Yang Family. But the words "this world" were something he didn't quite understand.
Liu Zheng continued, "Talking about eyes, you see, my eyes are quite special. You wanna see?"
Yang Kai nodded, and he looked as Liu Zheng's eyes gained a deeper shade of red before his pupils transformed into strange straight lines connected to each other in a circular form.
He was about to say something when the eyes returned to normal after doing their job, which seemed pretty interesting to him. He asked, "What do they do exactly?"
"Well, these are eyes, so... they are used to see. But with them, I can see much better. You have 4 Earth-grade healing pills and a blood clotting cream in your small pouch on your waist."
Yang Kai was surprised, but not so much, because one could easily know it if they asked at the contribution hall. So Liu Zheng added, "You have already used 2/3 of it, and there is a scratch on the surface because you dropped it once before, like this."
He created a 3D model of it using qi, which had the scratch and letters in exactly the right place, which did impress Yang Kai.
"This is just one ability—to see through things with my superior vision, the rest of which we can talk about later. But basically, it allows me to see through almost anything I want. So, I am also able to judge someone's talent based on their physique with maximum accuracy."
"So you mean to say that I have some hidden talent that I don't know of?" Yang Kai asked eagerly.
"Yes, and it's a very rare talent." This revelation put a smile on Yang Kai's face.
"So, what is it?"
"I... don't know."
"Huh? What do you mean you don't know?"
"That is why it is very rare—because I don't know. And a hidden talent, because it's very well hidden." The smile went away as quickly as it came.
"I have a way to help you realize it, but it comes at a cost for me too. If not, I would have helped you long ago."
Yang Kai understood the reason behind Liu Zheng's actions, and it all made sense to him since he knew that in this world, nobody is a saint. Even if it seemed that it was out of ambition from Liu Zheng's side, even if it cost him his freedom, if it saves his family, he will do it without a second thought.
"I see. I understand now, Senior Brother. If you keep your end of the deal, I will do whatever you say," he said with determination.
This brought great satisfaction to Liu Zheng, as he had thought of influencing him over the long run until it was time to leave for the Star Boundary. But now he didn't have to worry about such a huge possible threat.
Liu Zheng only showed a slight smile as he extended his left hand beside him and summoned a huge piece of Flaming Yang Stone on the ground beside the table with a loud thud.
"If you want to cultivate that art, you will need a lot of Yang Qi resources, which are rare to find except for during the sunrise, but that won't help you for long either. So, use this until you reach the Peak of the True Element Stage. As for body cultivation, this should do."
He snapped his fingers, and another scroll appeared in Yang Kai's hand. It was the "Proud Golden Body," returning to the one it was previously destined for.
Liu Zheng stood up from his seat, followed by Yang Kai, after which the table and chairs slowly vanished from their spot. It was now time to leave.
"Senior Brother, there is one thing I don't understand."
"Oh, What is it?"
"What did you mean by 'this world' when you mentioned the Yang Family?" He was confused since there is only one world that is where we live, according to him.
Liu Zheng smirked and made a Qi Sword, cutting through the fabric of space and creating a large spatial crack into the void. The surrounding air was getting pulled into the crack as if being sucked into a vacuum. Yang Kai took hold of the Flaming Yang Stone before it got sucked in too.
"Di-Did you break the world?" Yang Kai asked loudly with a bewildered expression, as he could not believe what was happening. His senior brother just cut through reality, and it formed a crack in the world.
Liu Zheng chuckled and infused qi into his voice to reply, "This is your answer. Our world is just one small pocket dimension, and there exists a higher world with a higher level of Dao."
"A higher... world." Yang Kai's worldview came crashing down with just a single sentence, and Liu Zheng, wanting to act mysterious, just went inside the space crack and vanished, leaving him stunned at midnight.
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Sorry guys for the late chapter again. I am actually going to college soon so I have some stuff to do that is why I am busy but don't worry It will never dropped no matter what.
Also, make sure to check out the New Hybrid Spirit Race Page in the Auxiliary Chapters. There are a ton of changes.