Half an hour after he broke through, the results of the Tempered Body Record were clearly evident. Although his predecessor's years of grueling foundational training contributed, if not for this supreme technique, he believed he would have needed another three or four months before advancing.
With this, he took a deep breath and forcefully exhaled the impurities from his body.
A plume of pitch-black smoke emerged from his mouth, looking filthy as it tumbled to the ground. After purging this foul smoke, all six of his senses became noticeably more acute and sharpened.
While the original Yang Kai's memories of cultivation mechanics safely guided him, his modern Earth perspective helped him analyze the process objectively. The universal principle remained: purge impurities, strengthen the body, and climb the tiers.
His modern mind raced. Going by the classic tropes he remembered, early breakthroughs were often fragile. It was always better to stabilize the foundation first and rush later.
Body cleansing... a classic trope, he mused.
But the sheer intensity of it surprised him. The original Yang Kai's previous breakthroughs had been incredibly mild, but this... this was like a detox spa gone wildly out of control. He smirked. If only his old gym buddies on Earth could see him now.
However, his mastery of the Tempered Body Record's fist technique still lagged behind.
He had made no real progress in fully comprehending it. His morning practice could only produce about one percent of the total intended result out of the required one hundred and one punches.
Patience, he reminded himself.
Haste breeds plot holes... or in this world's case, Qi deviations.
Later, after eating a meager meal, he continued to sweep the sect grounds. His modern instincts nagged at him. Menial labor in cultivation worlds always hid secrets. He scrutinized the spotless stone path. Maybe there were hidden formations? Or a buried spatial ring?...
...............
Hidden within the trees, Xia Ning Chang was routinely monitoring the disciples and inadvertently saw Yang Kai sweeping away. After his stunning display of resilience yesterday, it would be weird for her not to feel some curiosity toward him.
Today, there was definitely something different about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. For over half an hour, he hadn't left that single spot, sweeping the same tiles until they were shiny and spotless. It was so slick that if a mosquito were to land on it, it would probably sprain its ankle.
This guy... Xia Ning Chang really didn't know what to make of him.
She noted his unusual diligence, her delicate brow furrowing beneath her veil. Is he... scanning the ground for something?
..............
At that moment, Yang Kai was entirely focused on his own thoughts. Yesterday he had obtained a heaven-defying opportunity, so naturally, he was busy considering his future plans.
While he was pondering, rapid footsteps approached quickly from behind. He instinctively moved to dodge, but didn't realize that the other party was making preparations to avoid him in the exact same direction. As a result, they crashed hard into each other.
Though he didn't sustain any major injuries, crashing into the other disciple felt as if he had slammed headfirst into a solid steel wall. With a muffled cry, he fell to the ground, the entire side of his body feeling completely numb.
Yang Kai quickly recovered his bearings and apologetically asked, "Fellow disciple, are you okay?"
The young man was visibly annoyed, but when he looked down and saw that it was merely Yang Kai, his explosive anger quickly dissipated. Holding a grudge against the sect's famous trash held absolutely no meaning, and to be fair, the collision was partially his own fault.
"It's alright, it's alright!" he replied immediately, waving his hands dismissively.
After saying this, he quickly got back up and energetically sprinted away.
Yang Kai called out after him, "Fellow disciple, where are you rushing to so hurriedly?"
The young man faintly shouted back over his shoulder, "The Contribution Hall, where else?"
Startled, Yang Kai couldn't help but frown. It was the beginning of the month. Each month, the amount of Contribution Points the original Yang Kai received was incredibly meager.
As a sweeper, he earned a base salary of ten points. But in the last month alone, he had been challenged six times, and he had lost every single time! With a point deducted after each loss, he was left with a grand total of only four points for an entire month of labor. This... this was truly pitiful.
It was worse than a minimum-wage gig back on Earth.
Thinking of this, Yang Kai sighed. Well, even a small mosquito has meat. Four points were still better than nothing for him.
.............
At noon, Yang Kai finally headed over to the Contribution Hall to collect his pay. Contribution Points... the universal currency of the Pavilion.
As he entered the grand hall, he spotted an old man dozing off behind the main counter.
This old man was the sect's Treasurer. He looked to be in his fifties, with thin white hair and a remarkably kind, harmless face. Looking at him, one would think he wouldn't hurt a fly.
Old man trope: either a peerless hidden master or a comedic lech, Yang Kai thought to himself. His modern sensibilities leaned toward the former. Still, it was worth testing.
Stepping up to the counter, Yang Kai could clearly hear the old man snoring away.
"Treasurer Meng!" he called out, loudly rapping his knuckles against the wooden counter.
The old man's surname was Meng, but his first name wasn't in Yang Kai's inherited memories, so he couldn't call him by it.
After tapping the counter a few more times, the old man finally awoke. He groggily opened his eyes and saw that it was Yang Kai. Instantly, his face twisted in open disdain, as if he had just stepped in something unpleasant.
The old man scowled deeply. "Couldn't you come earlier, brat?"
Yang Kai smiled confidently and replied, "There were too many people here in the morning. Currently, it's nice and peaceful!"
"Interrupting this old man's precious rest... do you even know what respecting your elders means?" Meng grumbled.
Leaning in close, Yang Kai dropped his voice to a whisper. "So, which young lady were you dreaming of just now?"
Suddenly full of energy, Treasurer Meng glared at Yang Kai with eyes full of utter contempt and loudly proclaimed, "Your words just now have severely tarnished this old man's spotless reputation! Too outrageous!"
"Did she have a good figure?" Yang Kai pressed, ignoring the outburst.
"Great!" Treasurer Meng unconsciously blurted out, a dopey smile flashing across his face.
"Supple legs, jade-white skin, and a beautiful, thin waist?"
"En, en, en..." Treasurer Meng nodded his head vigorously, completely forgetting his anger and momentarily treating Yang Kai like a close confidant.
"Heh heh..." Yang Kai sneered, leaning back.
Realizing what he had just admitted, Treasurer Meng stammered, his face blushing as bright red as a monkey's rear end. Full of intense shame, the old man looked like he just wanted to dig a hole and crawl inside to hide.