Chapter Seventy-Seven: A New Arrival in the Celestial Court

The moment the words “trafficking girls” were uttered, the lecherous man and the burly middle-aged man both grew grim. They were no fools; it was clear to them that the young man before them was definitely not their expected contact.

The lecherous man’s expression turned icy as he threatened, “Kid, if you know what’s good for you, get lost. Otherwise, if you die out here in the wilderness, no one will even bother to collect your body.”

“Murder! You actually dare to kill?” Yang Wenhao feigned terror. “Aren’t you afraid of the police, of the law?”

Seeing Yang Wenhao’s reaction, the lecherous man thought his threat had worked and laughed loudly. “Police? In our eyes, those useless fools are nothing. Out here, we are the law.”

“Oh?” The corners of Yang Wenhao’s mouth curled slightly. “In that case, I’ll just enact justice myself.”

“You brat!” the lecherous man roared in fury.

“Monkey, look out!” shouted the burly middle-aged man from behind.

But the lecherous man paid no heed. By the time he heard his companion’s warning, a slap was already flying toward his face.

In the blink of an eye, the lecherous man who had just been clamoring to kill Yang Wenhao was now being toyed with like a puppet in his hands.

“You’re asking for it!” The burly man’s temper flared. He raised his fist, as big as a sandbag, and swung at Yang Wenhao.

“Mmm! Mmm!” Li Xuan and Sun Wenjia, witnessing the scene, whimpered through their gags, as if trying to say something.

With one hand clutching the lecherous man’s throat, Yang Wenhao reached out with his other hand to catch the burly man’s fist.

“How is this possible!” the burly man cried out in disbelief.

But then a powerful force twisted his arm.

“Ah!” the burly man screamed as his arm was abruptly broken.

Staring at this handsome young man before him, the burly man gritted his teeth and spoke with caution, “We didn’t recognize your status, sir. Please, spare our worthless lives.”

Yang Wenhao’s face remained indifferent. “Now you know to beg for mercy? Weren’t you just threatening to leave me dead in the wild?”

The burly man tensed and pleaded, “Please, sir, spare us!”

With a casual flick, Yang Wenhao tossed the lecherous man aside.

The lecherous man landed heavily on top of the burly man, but fortunately the latter’s large frame was able to catch him.

Casting a glance at the two, Yang Wenhao strode over to Li Xuan and Sun Wenjia, untying their ropes and peeling the tape from their mouths.

The moment they were freed, both girls, only sixteen years old, broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.

After all, at such a tender age, how could they not weep after enduring such an ordeal?

As the two girls wept, Yang Wenhao’s expression sharpened and he said coldly, “Did I say you could leave?”

The two men, who had just been about to sneak away from the temple, froze in terror. They turned and knelt before Yang Wenhao. “Please, sir, have mercy! We were forced into this!”

Yang Wenhao took out a handkerchief and handed it to the girls, then turned back to the two men. “Tell me exactly how you were forced.”

“We…” The two exchanged glances. There was no ‘being forced’—it was simply a lie. The real reason was money.

“Then tell me, why did you kidnap them?” Yang Wenhao demanded.

“We don’t know,” the lecherous man and the burly man replied, shaking their heads. “We were just told to bring them here for a meeting. Who knew we’d run into you, sir?”

Without another word, Yang Wenhao turned to Li Xuan and Sun Wenjia. “You two go outside and wait for me. I’ll be right out.”

“Okay.” Still shaken, the two girls hurried outside as instructed.

Once they had gone, only Yang Wenhao and the two men remained in the temple.

He regarded them with a cold gaze. After too many killings in other worlds, he’d grown somewhat indifferent to human life. But Yang Wenhao knew this was the real world—here, killing was a crime, and he wasn’t foolish enough to forget that.

“I can spare your lives,” Yang Wenhao said calmly.

At those words, the two men immediately cried, “Please, sir, have mercy! We’re willing to do anything!”

Yang Wenhao asked, “Which sect in the martial world do you belong to? Speak.”

“Martial world?” They exchanged another confused glance, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

“Don’t tell me you’re wanderers,” Yang Wenhao said.

Anyone with a bit of common sense knew what a wandering cultivator was.

The two nodded. “You could say we’re wanderers.”

Yang Wenhao frowned. “What do you mean ‘could say’? I want a straight answer.”

His frown frightened the two men—after all, he had disabled one of them with a single move. They dared not anger him.

The lecherous man hurried to explain, and after their explanation, Yang Wenhao finally understood.

It turned out he’d misjudged them. These two weren’t martial artists at all—or at least, not worthy of being called that. They’d simply stumbled upon a few basic techniques and scraped by in society. Their trafficking was simply a result of desperation for money, spurred by a tipoff.

Their skills were meager, barely enough to qualify them as second-rate fighters. Still, even at that level, the lecherous man alone could have taken on over a dozen regular men.

Yang Wenhao hesitated for a moment, then said, “I’ll give you an opportunity.”

“Please, sir, tell us.”

Their lives now hung in the balance; whether they lived or died was entirely up to him.

Yang Wenhao said, “I’m short of people. Serve me, and I can make you true masters—even help you reach the innate stage.”

“Innate? What does that mean?” The two men looked at each other, completely baffled.

Yang Wenhao was speechless. No wonder they were wanderers—they didn’t even know basic terms. After some explanation, they finally understood the difference between the acquired and innate realms.

Learning that they were just second-rate, while Yang Wenhao was innate, explained why he had toyed with them so easily.

They were wanderers with no backing; otherwise, they wouldn’t have resorted to such crimes. Hearing Yang Wenhao’s offer, they accepted eagerly.

“Zhang Dawei (Li Qiuming) greets our lord!” they chorused, quick to recognize their situation and address him as lord.

“Ding! The host has recruited new members for Heavenly Court, increasing mission completion by 0.1%. Current completion: 111%.”

A buzzing sound rang in their ears, and suddenly new information appeared in their minds.

“Heavenly Court!” Zhang Dawei and Li Qiuming exchanged a glance, their eyes wide with undisguised shock.

(End of chapter)