C6 Advancing by Leaps and Bounds!

Outside the cafeteria, Yang Fann felt a surge of blood rush to his head. He was seething with the desire to tear them apart, yet his reason cautioned him against acting on impulse. Though he had advanced to the Second Layer of Heaven, Luo Cheng was a seasoned expert from Ink Bamboo Peak, having reached the Third Empyrean years ago. With a year of rigorous training, Luo Cheng was on the cusp of the Third Empyrean's peak, making him an adversary beyond Yang Fann's current ability to challenge, especially with a group of followers at his back.

"Bring it to me already! You're on the verge of being expelled from the sect. You don't deserve the Refreshing Soup," Luo Cheng barked, growing impatient. He snatched the soup from Yang Fann's grasp and, still unsatisfied, kicked him to the ground before turning on his heel and walking away.

"Senior Brother Lei, the Refreshing Soup."

In the presence of Yang Fann and Qin Hu, Luo Cheng's arrogance knew no bounds, but it all but vanished in front of Lei Bao. His demeanor shifted so drastically, he was hardly recognizable.

"These two bowls of Refreshing Soup are for you." To someone like Lei Bao, who had long since broken through to the Fourth Empyrean Stage, such a basic tonic as the Refreshing Soup was of little benefit. His motive for having Luo Cheng take it from Yang Fann was simple spite, a petty way to provoke him.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lei."

Luo Cheng and his fellow disciples, who trailed behind Lei Bao, erupted in cheers.

"He doesn't even need it, yet he snatches the Refreshing Soup from Brother Hu and me? It's outright tyranny," Yang Fann muttered, veins throbbing on his forehead as his chest heaved with barely contained fury.

Overwhelmed by rage, Yang Fann was ready to risk it all in a fight to the death, determined to take a piece of Lei Bao with him if it came to that.

"You dare to defy me?" Lei Bao's expression chilled, a malicious grin slicing across his face. "You're asking for death."

But before things could escalate, Qin Hu lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Yang Fann. "Senior Brother Lei, it's all a misunderstanding," he said, bowing apologetically before whispering urgently to Yang Fann, "Don't be rash, or it's over for you."

"You've got some sense, at least."

Lei Bao watched disdainfully as Qin Hu dragged Yang Fann away. "Let's go," he scoffed.

Once Lei Bao and his entourage had departed, the servant disciples outside the cafeteria began murmuring among themselves.

"Lei Bao is truly oppressive. The Refreshing Soup is vital to Yang Fann's cultivation, and he's just severed that lifeline."

"Lei Bao's tyranny isn't new. Yang Fann is sure to be gone in a month."

"Keep it down. If Lei Bao hears us, we're done for."

"Poor Qin Hu, getting dragged down by Yang Fann. He's in for a rough time ahead."

"We've been telling him to steer clear of Yang Fann, but he wouldn't listen. Now that he's gotten dragged down by Yang Fann, he's only got himself to blame."

Bang!

With the door slammed shut, Yang Fann finally began to calm down. He turned to Qin Hu and said, "I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this mess."

"Hey, remember we're brothers," Qin Hu chided with a grin. Despite knowing that tough times lay ahead, he had no regrets. Yang Fann was his brother, and for him, he was willing to sacrifice anything.

Yang Fann's voice caught as he managed, "Brother Hu."

"Being out of Refreshing Soup doesn't really hit me hard. I can just skip cultivation for a few days, but what about you?" Qin Hu said, his brow furrowed with concern. Yang Fann hadn't yet made the breakthrough to the Second Layer of the Pulse Opening Stage. Without the aid of the Refreshing Soup, his cultivation would suffer. There was no way he could advance to the Second Layer within a month.

"Brother Hu, I..." Yang Fann wanted to share his breakthrough to the Second Layer, but he hesitated, realizing that sometimes the truth doesn't win trust. He quickly changed the subject, "Don't worry about it. My parents brought me plenty of good stuff yesterday."

"But wasn't your pack stolen by Lei Bao and the others?" Qin Hu was slow to catch on until he caught the determined look in Yang Fann's eyes. Then it clicked—Yang Fann had kept an ace up his sleeve.

"You're quite the clever one."

That night, as Qin Hu drifted off to sleep, Yang Fann slipped out of the room and made his way to the mountain's rear. The day's humiliation had reignited his sense of powerlessness, a feeling he vowed never to endure again.

He needed to become stronger.

Time flew, and twenty days vanished in the blink of an eye. The Seven Stars Sect's triennial servant disciple examination was just around the corner. Yang Fann hadn't touched a drop of Refreshing Soup during this time, barely even showing his face in the dining hall. To the other servant disciples, it seemed as if Yang Fann had been cowed by Lei Bao, resigning himself to failure and preparing to leave. Little did they know, Yang Fann was undergoing an astonishing transformation within the month.

Hidden within a cave at the back of Ink Bamboo Peak, Yang Fann sat in meditation, his eyes shut tight, a resolute spark flickering within. He had absorbed the essence of numerous Exotic Beasts, converting it into pure blood energy that surged through him, rapidly amplifying his aura.

Toxins expelled from his body, polluting the cave with their foul stench, and soon, a layer of grimy, malodorous sludge coated him.

Then, in a sudden jolt, Yang Fann's aura exploded, and a vortex of energy burst forth, engulfing the cave.

He had reached the Fourth Layer of Heaven.

An eighth-rank bloodline, now at its low end.

Yang Fann burst into laughter. After twenty days of grueling cultivation, his progress had been remarkable. He improved daily, and now, having unlocked forty-eight Heavenly Meridians, he had ascended to the Great Perfection Stage of the Fourth Layer. Crucially, his bloodline had undergone a qualitative change, breaking through to a Ninth-class Bloodline. His strength, speed, physique, and stamina were skyrocketing, and his combat power was multiplying.

The exotic beasts of the back mountain had certainly met with misfortune. Many had fallen to Yang Fann, particularly the formidable Third and Fourth-tier creatures, nearly half of which Yang Fann had eradicated.

"Lei Bao, the time has come to settle our accounts," Yang Fann declared as he emerged from the cave. Gazing down upon the forest of ancient trees, he watched as the mountain wind danced through the branches, stirring a sense of killing intent within him. The various humiliations Lei Bao had inflicted upon him were etched in his memory, never to be forgotten.

To repay malice with kindness is one thing, but how does one repay kindness itself?

Clear in his convictions, Yang Fann believed in reciprocating good deeds and avenging wrongs. This was the essence of his character.