Ai Ou might have been criticizing in his heart but none of that could be seen on his face. With his current strength and status, Ai Ou could keep a straight face even if a mountain collapsed before him.
“Haha, Sir President, Honoured Teacher has finished refining already. What about this friend?” Zhan Yuan walked out from the crowd and asked, pointing at Yang Kai.
In the past, he wouldn’t dare to address Yang Kai as ‘friend,’ no matter what. Although he was an Origin Grade Alchemist, Yang Kai was an out and out Second-Order Origin King master.
He wasn’t qualified at all.
But now that the die had been cast, Zhan Yuan didn’t need to be polite to someone who would be his teacher’s slave for the next two thousand years.
Addressing Yang Kai as a friend was a matter of course.
“It doesn’t seem to be finished yet,” Ai Ou’s expression remained dull even when he laid the truth.
Zhan Yuan smiled, “Sir President, you are mistaken. I think he has failed, he won’t be finished ever. It has been two days already, there should be some pill fragrance coming out of the furnace.”
Just as he said this, the few hundred Alchemists present were momentarily taken aback. They realized that Zhan Yuan was indeed right.
No matter how slow Yang Kai’s progress was, it’d been two days. Grandmaster Zuo De had already finished refining his Soul Source Restoration Pill. Even if Yang Kai was a little slower, there should be some fragrance wafting out of his furnace.
But they couldn’t smell even a whiff. Obviously, there was something wrong here.
“He is right!” The nearby Zong Ao, who had been absorbed in his enlightenment, nodded lightly.
Ai Ou couldn’t help but glance at Zong Ao. [Which side are you on exactly?]
“I’m just stating the fact.” Zong Ao added again.
Ai Ou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He knew that these Alchemists had one-track minds. They were extremely conscientious towards the Alchemic Way and would not desecrate the Alchemic Dao just because of some close relationships.
“Indeed…” Ai Ou didn’t know how he should respond. He didn’t know anything about Alchemy; he dared not make any comments.
“Even if there is no pill fragrance, there is no burnt smell either. Which means that the herbs in Yang Kai’s pill furnace are still alright.” Suddenly, Xue Yue took the stand. “This means that he hasn’t failed in refining, right!?”
Zhan Yuan was dumbstruck, mouth agape. He was rendered speechless.
Indeed, although no pill fragrance was coming from Yang Kai’s furnace, the smell of burning wasn’t coming either. Everyone was a little confused. They couldn’t tell what exactly was going on.
“Furthermore, Grandmaster has already agreed that there was no time limit for Yang Kai. It has only been two days. Everyone might as well wait a little while,” clarified Xue Yue.
“Honoured Teacher has indeed said that there was no time limit.” Zhan Yuan furrowed his brow before quickly adding, “But if this guy keeps refining like this, then wouldn’t be waiting here for like forever? We would never be able to tell who is the winner!”
As he said this, he suddenly appeared to have been struck with a realization. He clapped and said, “I understand! Now I understand what he is up to! He must have thrown all the herbs into the pill furnace and stopped paying attention thereafter just to waste time. He is waiting for us to grow impatient. At that time, no one will pursue this matter.”
Although Zhan Yuan was just making conjectures, it made sense to everyone when everyone gave it a thought.
[Grandmaster Zuo De has indeed given Yang Kai no time limit because of his identity. If Yang Kai proceeded with this in mind, it would definitely resolve the impending crisis.]
[After all, it’s impossible to wait for him for one or two years, or even five or ten years…]
[He’s a Second-Order Origin King master. It’s normal for him to enter a retreat for a few decades. And in case he’s trying to comprehend some profound Secret Technique…]
[He isn’t wasting time but that‘s not the case for others.]
Zhan Yuan’s words immediately made all the Alchemists understand Yang Kai’s intention. They started looking at Yang Kai with a displeased and disgusted look in their eyes.
[He has already committed blasphemy by competing with Grandmaster Zuo De in Alchemy. And now, he is trying to delay using this. This is simply outrageous!]
Immediately, a High-Rank Origin Grade Alchemist stepped out. He cupped his fist to Ai Ou and said, keeping a straight face, “Sir President, please give us an explanation. If this guy is really as contemptible as Grandmaster Zhan says, Sir President must uphold justice for Grandmaster Zuo De.”
“Yeah! Alchemic Dao is sacred. It can’t be desecrated. What this guy is doing is an insult to Alchemic Dao we pursue. It’s an insult to all the Alchemists of the Star Field. We can’t tolerate this!”
“We beg Sir President to uphold justice!”
“If you don’t give us a satisfactory answer, we will immediately leave the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce!”
“Count me in. This man is utterly disgusting!”
Most of the Alchemists spoke up, asking Ai Ou for an explanation. These Alchemists weren’t afraid even if they were facing the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce President. They were looking straight into Ai Ou’s eyes.
Ai Ou was in a predicament.
He never expected things to turn out like this. Just because of a competition, two to three hundred Alchemists had become furious!
He knew that if he didn’t handle this properly, then the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s foundation would be severely damaged.
He had paid a great deal of money to hire all these Alchemists; none of them were trained by the Chamber of Commerce itself. They were free to leave the Chamber of Commerce for other forces. And presumably, other forces would more than welcome them.
An anxious Ai Ou was secretly vexed by the ignorance of these people; they had no appreciation for the things and were making a fuss blindly.
On the other hand, Zhan Yuan could not help but grin. He himself hadn’t expected that just a casual comment from his would cause the things to take such a turn.
Both Zuo De and he were delighted by this. He furtively glanced at Zuo De and found that the other party was looking at him approvingly, like he was praising his boundless prospects.
Zhan Yuan hurriedly straightened his waist!
He stood straight like a javelin.
“Sir President, it’s already obvious. Please give us an explanation!”
Getting no reaction from Ai Ou even after so long, those Alchemists couldn’t help but urge.
Ai Ou immediately furrowed his brow. He pondered for a moment before speaking in a deep voice, “Does everyone believe that Yang Kai is deliberately trying to delay time? Isn’t everyone quick to jump to conclusions? This King thinks that we should observe for a while longer.”
“What’s there to watch?” Someone voiced their dissatisfaction.
Right then, Zuo De interceded, “Everyone, please stay calm. President Ai Ou is right. Furthermore, this old man has indeed not given him a time limit. Let’s wait, it was negligence on this old man’s part!”
Those Alchemists couldn’t take it even more so after Zuo De said this. In their opinion, Yang Kai was a rascal who had forced the honourable Grandmaster to compete in Alchemy. And he deserved to die!
“Grandmaster, you are just too kind!” An Alchemist shook his head and sighed. “Grandmaster, if you say so, others will only treat your tolerance as weakness. This matter cannot be tolerated and delayed anymore.”
“Indeed!” The Alchemist, who spoke at the very beginning, let out a cold snort. He was an old man. His face was filled with wrinkles; he appeared to have one foot in his grave already. But at this moment, he looked straight at Ai Ou and said aggressively, “President, just look at him. Have you seen any Alchemist so relaxed and at ease when refining pills? Even someone like Grandmaster Zuo De seemed to be on the verge of collapsing after refining for two days straight. But just look at this guy. He looks so calm and relaxed. His eyes are closed like he is meditating. You can’t sense a bit of Saint Qi fluctuation from him. And neither is he drawing the Earth Fire. He might have the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, but I can’t sense any signs of him stimulating his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea! If he isn’t delaying time then what is he doing? President, if you happened to be taking his side, then that would be too disappointing!”
A gloomy look appeared on Ai Ou’s face. This had given him a big headache!
He raised his eyes, glancing at the void. He was hoping for an answer on how to deal with this from Long Tian Shang, who was hiding in the void.
But Long Tian Shang had no intentions of interfering.
Just as Ai Ou was in a dilemma, wondering how to calm the furious crowd, a sneer suddenly rang in everyone’s ears.
Everyone was taken aback by this sneer. They immediately turned their heads to find its source.
Everyone was immediately surprised to find Yang Kai, who had been sitting with his eyes closed all the while, watching with his head leaning on one side, listening to everyone with interest.
He gave the impression that he had nothing to do with this.
“Friend, it seems you are done with your cheap tricks!?” Zhan Yuan sneered without reservation. He believed that there were just herbs lying in Yang Kai’s Alchemy furnace. He might not have even refined them into medicinal liquid. Thus, his words were filled with provocation.
“Do I even need to play any tricks?” Yang Kai glanced at him.
“Hmph, you yourself are clear about it,” Zhan Yuan sneered.
“Kid, what are you laughing at?” Zuo De narrowed his eyes as he asked indifferently, flaunting his old age.
“Naturally, I’m laughing at your own ignorance!”
“What did you say?” Everyone flew into a rage, immediately glaring at Yang Kai. Everyone was an Alchemist. They had never been despised like this.
“Aren’t you guys ignorant?” A sardonic smile slowly appeared on Yang Kai’s lips. “Who told you that an Alchemist needs to be tired and exhausted while refining pills? Who told you that an Alchemist can’t close his eyes and meditate while refining pills? Who told you that there should be pill fragrance while a pill is being refined?”
“What are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything.” Yang Kai curled his lips as asked, looking at Zuo De, “Grandmaster, will you break a sweat and gasp for breaths if you are asked to refine a Yuan Restoring Pill?”
“Hmph, of course not!” Zuo De snorted coldly.
“That’s right! The reason why you won’t is because the Yuan Restoring Pill is too low for you. You can refine it with your eyes closed. You don’t need to go all out. Your Saint Qi could easily meet the demand for refining the pill. So naturally, you won’t be exhausted.”
“You mean to say that the Soul Source Restoration Pill to you is like the Yuan Restoring Pill is to this old man!?” Zuo De’s eyelids twitched.
“Of course!” Yang Kai nodded with a smile.
“Outrageous!”
“Shut up!” Yang Kai turned his head and shouted at the speaker, “This King is a Second-Order Origin King. I’m not exhausted while refining the pill because I don’t need to expend all my Saint Qi. I can close my eyes and meditate because I don’t need to worry about it too much. You can’t sense me stimulating my Conflagrated Knowledge Sea because you are not strong enough! You don’t know anything but started making a fuss. Don’t you think that you guys are too ridiculous?”
The crowd of Alchemists were rendered speechless by Yang Kai.
[Damn it, this guy makes sense!]
All of them were Alchemists. They had never tackled the problems as cultivators. But now, when it was pointed out by Yang Kai, they didn’t know what to say.
“You are distorting the truth!” Zhan Yuan shouted in anger, “How can the Yuan Restoring Pill be compared with the Soul Source Restoration Pill!”
“Exactly! One is a Saint Grade pill and the other is an Origin King Grade pill. There is no comparison between the two,” an Alchemist stated.
“Just as you said, Grandmaster Zuo De is an Origin Returning Realm master, while this King is in Origin King Realm. We are worlds apart,” Yang Kai responded with a smile hanging on his lips.
“Smarty-pants!” Some Alchemists sighed, shaking their head as if it was an insult to argue with someone like Yang Kai. Alchemists relied on their abilities to feed themselves, not their mouths.
Zuo De said with a smile, “Words alone are no proof. Seeing is believing. No matter what you say, it’s useless. If you want to win people’s trust, it’s better to show all your means. I think everyone will believe it after they see it.”
“You want to see?” Yang Kai tilted his head as a scheming smile appeared on his lips.
“You are just afraid of being found out!” Zhan Yun sneered.
Yang Kai ignored him altogether and said, looking at President Ai Ou, “President, do you remember everyone who wanted to leave the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce just now? When they leave, do give them their severance pay, lest they criticized you in the future, saying that your Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is stingy!”
Ai Ou’s face turned as black as pot. [Can’t you take the cue!?]
Yang Kai broke into laughter as he stood up and shouted, “Since you question the Alchemy level of this King, then this King will let you see what is called Alchemy!”
As he spoke, he turned serious all of a sudden. He formed a mysterious seal with his hand before stretching out that hand a bit. Immediately, an image of a complex Spirit Array appeared in the air before flying into the Purple Origin Furnace.
In the next moment, another image of Spirit Array appeared and flew toward the Purple Origin Furnace again.
A third, a forth…
More and more images of Spirit Arrays appeared in the air as Yang Kai’s movements changed, dancing like butterflies as they flew into the pill furnace.
“This…”
“Pill Condensing Technique!”
“Impossible!? I didn’t see him refine. Then why can he use the Pill Condensing Technique!? Has he already finished refining!?”
“Impossible! Even if his pill furnace is completely sealed, medicinal fragrance should be wafting out of his pill furnace. If there is no pill fragrance, it means that the medicinal liquid has not fused. How can he condense the pill then!?”
“But this is obviously a Pill Condensing Technique.”
“Has anyone seen this technique before?”
Everyone was dazzled by the sight before them. At first, they kept discussing with each other, trying to figure out the origins of this set of Pill Condensing Technique. But finally, they concluded that no one had seen this set of Pill Condensing Technique. This technique was completely different from the several sets of techniques circulating in the entire Star Field.
Including the Red Lotus Divine Hands Methods created by Zuo De!
Be that as it may, all the Alchemists present here were individuals with insight. Naturally, they could tell that this set of techniques were extremely mysterious. Each and every seal and the image of Spirit Array gave off an ancient and desolate aura. It seemed as if this technique didn’t belong to this era but should have existed in the ancient era.
All Alchemists seemed to be immersed in their thoughts, staring at the scene before their eyes. They no longer said anything.
Even Zhan Yuan, who had been opposing Yang Kai at every step and corner, was fascinated by it. After having observed and emulated it for a while, he was actually struck with enlightenment.
He couldn’t help but be shocked. After all, he hadn’t had this effect when he was observing the Red Lotus Divine Hands used by Zuo De. A sliver of shame appeared on his face when he returned to his senses.
[This bastard’s technique actually gave me enlightenment. If I let anyone know this, it would be a disgrace.]
He might be thinking as such, but he couldn’t move his eyes away from Yang Kai, lest he miss some seal or didn’t see the image of Spirit Array clearly. He was feeling extremely conflicted.
But there were just too many images of the Spirit Arrays. At first, they were flying one after another but in the end, Yang Kai’s hands started dancing like butterflies, leaving after images. Everyone couldn’t see them clearly. The flying Spirit Arrays were also connected to each other, filling the air.
Zong Ao was shocked, Zuo De too was shocked, and so were the many Alchemists!
Even the laymen Xue Yue and Ai Ou were bedazzled by this sight. They didn’t wish to close their eyes.
But strangely, there was still not any pill fragrance.
In the huge open space, Yang Kai stood with a serious look on his face. He might seem calm and relaxed but he was already pouring out all his skills.
Everything he had learned from the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture had been brought into full play at this moment.
In his eyes, there was only the Alchemy furnace and everything inside it. Everything else had been cast aside, nothing occupied his vision or thoughts.
“Ang…” Suddenly, a strange ring reverberated from the Purple Origin Furnace. At the same time, the Purple Origin Furnace started glowing with purple radiance.
This ring wasn’t that loud but it rang in everyone’s ears like the resonating chimes of a clock tower, shocking the hell out of everyone. Someone seemed to be whispering in the depths of their ears, sharing the mystery and the wisdom of the Alchemic Dao of this world. Everyone tried to listen carefully but they couldn’t hear it properly. Only one or two people had a sudden change in their expression. A tight-knit frown appeared on the brow as they sat cross-legged in their place right away.
All the Alchemists were shocked.
“This is…”
“The Grand Alchemic Dao Tone!”
“It’s actually the legendary Grand Alchemic Dao Tone!”
All those Alchemists who failed to grasp the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone looked at their counterparts sitting cross-legged with envy and jealousy because they had caught a glimpse of the mystery of the Alchemic Dao from the ring just now.
“Ang…”
Another ring reverberated in everyone’s ears.
The expression of the shocked Alchemists became even more complicated. Because after this Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, several other Alchemists had sat down cross-legged and closed their eyes.
The entire ninth floor of the Alchemist Pavilion was seething with excitement. Every Alchemist’s blood was boiling and everyone was extremely excited. Their eyes were filled with desire and eagerness, staring at Yang Kai’s movements.
They all hoped to hear the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone again, hoping to get a glimpse of the secrets of Alchemic Dao just like a few of their colleagues.
No one wanted to miss this heaven-sent opportunity.
Zuo De, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded by this.
When he heard the bizarre ring echoing in his ears, he was still a little sceptical about it, but after seeing Alchemists sit cross-legged, one after another, he was indeed sure that it was the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone!
[The Alchemic Dao Tone is the dream of every Alchemist.]
[How is this possible!? How can it appear here!? I am an Origin King Grade Alchemist! I have been studying the Alchemic Dao for my entire life. I have devoted my everything to Alchemy!]
[So far, I have rarely refined pills with Pill Veins, not to mention give rise to the legendary Grand Alchemic Dao Tone.]
[Yet this young man, a Second-Order Origin King cultivator, has caused such an event even when he is refining in such a lackadaisical manner.]
These melodious chimes ringing in his ears sounded even more unbearable to Zuo De. His face distorted and he could not wait to drive these rings out of his ears.
“Father, what’s going on?” Xue Yue was completely confused by this scene.
She too was hearing the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, but she found it a little weird because someone seemed to be whispering in her ears. And when she tried to listen to it closely, she couldn’t hear anything.
Yet when she saw the fanatical look on those Alchemists’ faces and heard their cries of surprise, she knew that something big must have happened.
“Grand Alchemic Dao Tone!” Ai Ou looked shocked as well, “It’s actually the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone.”
“What is Grand Alchemic Dao Tone?” asked Xue Yue.
“It’s one of the many voices of the Heavenly Ways!” Ai Ou took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before explaining in a low voice, “Martial Dao, Alchemic Dao, Dao of Artifact Refining, Dao of Array… there are many branches of Heavenly way. A cultivator uses the martial arts to enter the Dao, similarly, an Alchemist enters the Dao using pills, an Artifact Refiner enters the Dao using artifacts, and so on. Everyone is pursuing the supreme Heavenly Way but the path they choose is different. Grand Alchemic Dao Tone is the voice of Heavenly Way. Rumour had it that an Alchemist with some luck and sufficient comprehension could trigger this kind of Heavenly Manifestation in Alchemy. This voice is useless to you and me, but if they could just hear even a little, they would reap endless benefits.”
While speaking, Ai Ou lowered his head and glanced at Zong Ao who was sitting next to him.
Zong Ao was the first one to sit. In other words, he had the highest understanding of the Alchemic Dao among all the people here, except Yang Kai.
“No one has triggered the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone in tens of thousands of years. It has nothing to do with the level of the Alchemist. It’s imperceptible and preordained. This Heavenly Way voice contains the mystery of the Alchemic Dao. The end of Alchemic Dao is the mysteries bred by Heaven and Earth itself!”
Xue Yue paled ever so slightly. She immediately realized how important was this Grand Alchemic Dao Tone for the Alchemists
Ai Ou suddenly pursed his lips into a grin. “The Heavens have blessed my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. God knows how many Alchemy apprentices will be born in my Water Sky City after today!”
“Father, you mean…” Xue Yue seemed to be absorbed in her thoughts.
“You still don’t understand!? This Grand Alchemic Dao Tone is not only useful to the Alchemists here but also to the people with some aptitude in Alchemy. It could provide rudimentary knowledge to beginners. This ring is spreading throughout Water Sky City. It would make our Water Sky City give birth to tens of thousands of Alchemists. Moreover, their future prospects would be absolutely limitless. A few dozen Origin King Grade Alchemists might even appear!”
Xue Yue looked overjoyed when she heard this.
There were only three to four Origin King Grade Alchemists in the entire Star Field, and Heng Luo Chamber of Chamber only had Zuo De, as a Foreign Elder at that.
If a few or several dozen Origin King Grade Alchemists really appeared in the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce someday, no one could stop the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce from rising. No one dared to underestimate the power and means of an Origin King Grade Alchemist.
“Xue Yue, go out and pass my order. Ask everyone in the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce to start looking for people with aptitude for Alchemy. Offer them generous terms to make them join the Chamber of Commerce, especially the children under ten. We must draw them to our Chamber of Commerce at all costs!” Ai Ou suddenly shouted in a deep voice.
“But what about here…” Xue Yue looked at Yang Kai. She was a bit reluctant to leave.
“Don’t worry, aren’t I here?” Ai Ou waved his hand.
“Yes!” Xue Yue had no choice but to leave quickly to relay Ai Ou’s orders.
After Xue Yue left, Ai Ou couldn’t help but murmur in dissatisfaction, “Sigh, why isn’t it the Martial Dao Heavenly Tone!”
If it was the Martial Dao Heavenly Tone, he might have gotten a chance to break through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm.
He couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated.
Today, the entire Water Sky City was seething. The Grand Alchemic Dao Tone was ringing throughout the city. After hearing this sound, countless playing children stood still in their place. A thoughtful look appeared on their immature faces. They perked their ears, trying to listen to the whispers clearly. Even when their parents were dragging them, they remained still as if a powerful spell had been cast on them.
Many were confused. They couldn’t understand why there was a voice ringing in their ears. They thought that there was something wrong with their ears. Even when they covered their ears, it didn’t help.
Only when many cultivators of the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce and the guards of Water Sky City were dispatched together, the residents of Water Sky City finally realized that something big must have happened.
Third Young Master Xue Yue had announced that all those who had listened to the Heavenly Tone could join the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce regardless of age or sex, enjoying extremely generous treatment, especially the children under ten years. Many Origin Returning Realm masters grew envious when they heard the terms.
Five hundred thousand Saint Crystals every year. An entire palace for themselves. Twenty servants to serve them. And most important of all, they would have the same status as the Chamber of Commerce’s Deacon…
By now, everyone knew that the mysterious voice whispering in their ears was a heaven-sent opportunity.
These sudden benefits immediately made those childrens’ parents dizzy. With Third Young Master Xue Yue’s character and Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s credibility, countless men and women could be seen dragging their children to the centre of Water Sky City.
No one wanted to give up the benefits sent right to their doorsteps.
The Grand Alchemic Dao Tone rang again and again, ringing a total of nine times!
This lasted for an entire day.
After a day, over a hundred Alchemists could be found sitting cross-legged on the ninth-level of the Alchemist Pavilion with Yang Kai at the centre, like the stars surrounding the moon.
Many of the standing Alchemists also had a pondering look on their faces. Their expressions kept on changing, sometimes they seemed to be worrying about gains and losses, sometimes they seemed anxious, and sometimes they started laughing ecstatically.
Obviously, all of them had reaped some benefits!
After nine rings, there were no more movements inside the Purple Origin Furnace. The wandering purple mist had also dissipated.
Yang Kai had stopped condensing the pill. About half a day ago, he sat back in a cross-legged position and closed his eyes, letting the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone spread out from the Purple Origin Furnace.
He had gained more than any Alchemist present here. After all, the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone was triggered by him. The sound that was vague and ethereal to others sounded very clear to Yang Kai.
Some ancient and desolate voice was whispering in his ears, telling him the profundities of Alchemic Dao. The voice wasn’t that loud but its words were very clear.
Every sentence and word was etched in Yang Kai’s mind like a brand, so that he could master it without thinking.
He had gained more than he would have even after studying the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture tens of thousands of times.
The Alchemy knowledge poured into his mind was the ultimate mystery bred by Heaven and Earth itself. One could only glimpse at it when the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone was triggered.
Of the five hundred or so Alchemists, over a hundred were sitting cross-legged, while another half was immersed in thoughts. The rest could only sigh indignantly. They weren’t lucky enough and their aptitude was insufficient. As such, they couldn’t hear anything from these nine Alchemic rings.
Be that as it may, their expression and attitude towards Yang Kai had changed. They were no longer looking at him with dissatisfaction and disdain as before, but with dignity and respect instead.
How could someone who could trigger the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone nine consecutive times not be an Alchemist? No one would believe that!
Yang Kai might not have opened the furnace and taken out the pill yet, but they were sure that a Soul Source Restoration pill was lying in the pill furnace.
[This guy is not just a Second-Order Origin King cultivator but a veritable Alchemy Grandmaster as well!] When everyone recalled how short-sighted they were before, many Alchemists felt extremely ashamed.
“Why not me!?” An untimely voice suddenly reverberated on the ninth floor. All those Alchemists who were still awake couldn’t help but frown as they looked at the source. They found that the speaker was none other than Zhan Yuan, who had been opposing Yang Kai at every step.
At this moment, Zhan Yuan appeared to have lost his wits. He kept muttering, constantly looking at the Alchemists sitting cross-legged, “Why not me? I heard it too but why can’t I hear it clearly!? I, Zhan Yuan, am an Alchemy prodigy born once in ten thousand years. No one taught me since I was a child. Everything I’ve learned, I learned it myself. Where is my share of Alchemic Dao mystery?”
Many Alchemists looked disgusted when they heard him boast so shamelessly.
Whether one could hear the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone depended on one’s luck and aptitude. It could not be forced at all. This was the choice of Heavenly Way. Men had no say in it. Naturally, Zhan Yuan’s crazy rants displeased everyone.
“I should have heard it!” Suddenly, Zhan Yuan’s face turned hideous as he shouted. He then turned to Yang Kai and said, grinding his teeth, “I understand, you must have done something. The Grand Alchemic Dao Tone was triggered by you, you must have blocked the Alchemic Tone. It must be your work!”
While speaking, he charged straight at Yang Kai.
There were over five hundred Alchemists here, of which over a hundred were sitting cross-legged and over a hundred seemed to be comprehending something. It was almost a fifty percent split, but Zhan Yuan wasn’t in it. He had fallen apart.
[Why can others have such a great opportunity, but not me?]
If he had gotten this opportunity, he might have become an Origin King Grade Alchemist someday.
So he couldn’t restrain his anger at all.
“Impudent!” A loud shout exploded in Zhan Yuan’s ears directly. Ai Ou stretched his hand at Zhan Yuan and waved his hand as Zhan Yuan flew out like a rag sack.
Because there were so many Alchemists immersed in their enlightenment, Ai Ou didn’t want to go overboard. He tried his best to suppress himself. Even when he shouted at Zhan Yuan, his shout was transmitted straight into Zhan Yuan’s ears.
Zhan Yuan flew a long way before he fell to the ground.
“If you dare to cause any more commotion and be rude again, I will take your life right then and there!” Ai Ou coldly glared at Zhan Yuan. He had no scruples for his identity as Grandmaster Zuo De’s disciple.
In his opinion, the Alchemists of the Alchemist Pavilion were all precious treasures. How could they be disturbed by Zhan Yuan?
More importantly, he wanted to disturb Yang Kai, the person who had triggered the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. If it wasn’t the wrong place and wrong time, Ai Ou would have killed him; he was already brimming with murderous intent.
After this, Zhan Yuan had finally returned to his senses and a cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He couldn’t believe that he had done something like this. When he noticed the cold look in Ai Ou’s eyes, a chill ran down his spine. He knew that President Ai Ou no longer valued him due to his recent performance.
[But I’m now Honoured Teacher’s disciple, I don’t need to worry about President Ai Ou.]
Having thought of this, Zhan Yuan had calmed down a little. He then turned to look at Zuo De.
But the next moment, he was taken aback. He asked in a low voice, “Teacher, what happened to you?”
He noticed that Zuo De was unsteady and pale. He looked even more exhausted than when he had finished refining the Soul Source Restoration Pill as if all his energy was exhausted.
“Father, are you okay?” Zuo Ling finally noticed that something was wrong with Zuo De. She couldn’t help but be panic-stricken.
“Grandmaster…” Ai Ou came forward, looking at Zuo De in surprise. He had no idea what was wrong with Zuo De. After all, he was an Origin King Grade Alchemist and should have benefited from the nine Alchemic rings. Even if he didn’t, he wouldn’t look as if he had suffered an attack, but not only was he grimacing in pain, blood was also flowing out of his ears.
Zuo De didn’t move, nor did he say anything. Only the sound of his breathing proved that he was still alive.
“Grandmaster, I advise you not to question the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. If you question it, you are questioning the Heavenly Way and the road you have travelled so far. By doing this, you are rejecting the Alchemic Dao. Its consequences will be very serious.” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly rang.
Just as Yang Kai finished speaking, Zuo De suddenly spat on the ground, spitting a mouthful of black blood. His face suddenly lost all colour. He looked at Yang Kai with an unwilling look.
“What’s wrong with Grandmaster?” Ai Ou asked, furrowing his brow.
“Still not convinced, are you?” Yang Kai smiled. “Grandmaster probably thinks that I’m not qualified to trigger the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. He was a little unconvinced, but was taught a lesson by Grand Alchemic Dao Tone.”
“Taught a lesson…” Ai Ou was jaw slacked and his face turned pale. “Don’t tell me that the Alchemic Tone is alive.”
“The Heavenly Way is ever-changing. I can never say for sure.” Yang Kai grinned.
Ai Ou looked depressed.
“You dare to harm my Grandpa!?” Zuo Ling suddenly glared at Yang Kai. She appeared to be secretly circulating her Saint Qi.
Yang Kai’s face turned cold. “Little Girl, you can eat indiscriminately but you cannot stick labels indiscriminately on others. Grandmaster Zuo De wasn’t hurt by me.”
“Then why did Grandpa… spit blood!” Zuo Ling pestered Yang Kai for an answer.
“Hmph!” Yang Kai sneered. “You have to ask him. Grand Alchemic Dao Tone was ringing in your ears, and it didn’t matter if you didn’t try to comprehend it, but you still dare to question its authenticity. You are lucky to be alive. Do you still think I am responsible?”
Zuo Ling looked as if she had something to say but Zuo De stopped her, raising his hand. He looked at Yang Kai with a dim look in his eyes and said, “You are good!”
“Grandmaster, you flatter me!” Yang Kai smiled.
“But… you haven’t forgotten that there is still a bet between you and me? You might have inspired the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone but so what? Have you refined the Soul Source Restoration Pill?”
“Grandmaster, you still want to check?” Yang Kai looked at Zuo De, narrowing his eyes.
“Open the furnace!” Zuo De took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “The fact that you can trigger the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone only means that your aptitude for Alchemy is heaven-defying, it doesn’t mean that you can refine the Soul Source Restoration Pill, an Origin King Grade pill! There are countless geniuses in the world but how many can really grow up?”
“Grandmaster, so you won’t shed tears unless you see your coffin.” Yang Kai sneered.
“Grandmaster, how about we call it a day?” Some Alchemists tried to persuade.
Yang Kai was the one behind the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. All of them owed him a favour, while Zuo De was a noble character with high prestige. He was a role model in the Alchemy world, so no matter who won or lost this bet, it was something they didn’t want to see. The best choice would be to stop here and try to make big things small and small things nothing.
Since one of them tried to persuade Zuo De, another one tried as well. After a while, many Alchemists joined the persuasion team.
Yang Kai looked indifferently and said, “I don’t have any problem. It depends on Grandmaster.”
“There is no need to say anything anymore! Just open the furnace!” Zuo De, ignoring everyone’s advice, stared straight at Yang Kai with determination.
Ai Ou opened his mouth. He looked like he had something to say but when he saw the look in Zuo De’s eyes, he could only sigh in resignation.
Yang Kai gently nodded and said indifferently, “As you wish then!”
While speaking, he reached out and smacked on the Purple Origin Furnace. In a flash, the furnace lid flew up as a streak of light shot out of the furnace. At the same time, a rich pill fragrance permeated into the surroundings.
“This…” Someone cried in surprise, eyes glued on the thing that flew out of the furnace. He had no inkling of an idea that Yang Kai had already finished refining.
And the reason why there was no pill fragrance from the start was entirely because the medicinal efficacy was concentrated beyond everyone’s imagination. Only when the furnace lid was opened that the pill fragrance spread out.
Lost!
Zuo De lost!
Regardless of whether the grade of the Soul Source Restoration Pill refined by Yang Kai was good or bad, Zuo De had lost already. After all, he himself had said that as long as Yang Kai could refine it, he would have lost.
Just the fact that Yang Kai could refine the Soul Source Restoration Pill was evident that Yang Kai was really an Origin King Grade Alchemist!
Everyone’s breath couldn’t help but quicken. Their eyes were filled with enthusiasm and respect, looking at Yang Kai.
This kind of gaze should have only been enjoyed by Zuo De or any other Origin King Grade Alchemist.
The moment the pill flew out of the pill furnace, Zuo De couldn’t help but stagger, looking at the glowing thing that flew out in disbelief. He suddenly seemed to have grown a lot older.
But soon, he bit the bullet and shouted, “It’s not over yet. Whether it’s the Soul Source Restoration Pill or not has yet not been verified!”
“Yes, it’s not over yet!” Yang Kai burst into laughter as he flicked his finger at the Purple Origin Furnace for the second time.
Everyone was confused why he wanted to do this but the next moment, something unbelievable happened. Right after the first streak of light flew out of the furnace, another streak of light flew out of the Purple Origin Furnace. And the pill fragrance was even richer than before, filling everyone’s nose.
“Two…”
“How is this possible?”
“Can two Soul Source Restoration Pills be refined at once?”
“Am I dreaming?”
“Did President Ai Ou give him two sets of ingredients? No, that’s not right! Even if he had two sets of ingredients, it’s impossible to refine both sets at once. What’s going on!?”
All the Alchemists felt the common sense that had been etched in their minds for many years subverted. Every pair of eyes was staring at the two glowing pills that flew out of the furnace, dumbstruck.
Yang Kai took out the jade bottle that he had prepared long ago. Then he stretched his hand out before the two flying pills fell into the jade bottle as if they were bound by some power. Clear and crisp rings rang from the jade bottle as the two pills fell inside.
“Am I seeing this correctly? Did two pills just fly out of the furnace?”
“I also thought I was seeing things. What does this mean?”
For a long while, many Alchemists could be seen whispering to one another. But no one dared to step up and ask to check the pill for the fear that what they see next would subvert their own cognition.
“Grandmaster, do you want to check the pill?” Yang Kai asked Zuo De, holding the jade bottle.
Zuo De’s expression withered immediately. He didn’t say anything but looked at Yang Kai with a complicated look in his eyes.
The other Alchemists didn’t speak either.
“Let me,” Ai Ou said in a heavy voice as he stepped forward and took the jade bottle from Yang Kai’s hand.
“Then I shall trouble you, President Ai Ou.” Yang Kai smiled indifferently.
Ai Ou nodded and opened the jade bottle, taking a pill out in front of everyone’s eyes.
The pill was perfectly round and transparent. The fragrance wafting from the pill cleared everyone’s minds of all stray thoughts; they felt refreshed. If it wasn’t the Soul Source Restoration Pill, then what was it?
However, the Soul Source Restoration Pill refined by Yang Kai was slightly different from the one refined by Zuo De. It was even different from the one recorded in the pill recipe. The pill had a faint golden glow. The Soul Source Restoration Pill looked expensive and strong under this glow. Furthermore, everyone could feel the surging vitality from it.
Even someone who had no idea about Alchemic Dao could clearly tell that it definitely was a pill to save lives and heal wounds!
All the Alchemists were dumbfounded. They really couldn’t understand why the pill refined by Yang Kai using the same material was different from the one recorded in the pill recipe.
None of them had noticed that Yang Kai had dropped a drop of his pure Golden Blood into the pill furnace during the refining!
It was only when a pill had a spirit that it could be called a Spirit Pill. This was the last sentence recorded in the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture.
From it, Yang Kai came to realize that if he wanted to refine Spirit Pill, Pill Spirit was necessary!
Monster Beast’s Monster Core could be used as Pill Spirit. But his pure Golden Blood could also be used as Pill Spirit. And it was even better than Monster Beast’s Monster Core. After all, his pure Golden Blood contained unimaginable power and vitality.
Under normal circumstances, Yang Kai would not waste his own Golden Blood to refine a Spirit Pill. The Golden Blood was extremely precious. It was more valuable than a Spirit Pill.
But since he was treating Xue Yue’s mother this time, Yang Kai could not act stingy.
It was precisely because of the Golden Blood acting as the Pill Spirit that a faint golden glow had appeared on this Spirit Pill.
“Everyone can check if this is a Soul Source Restoration Pill or not!” Ai Ou passed the pill to the Alchemists as he spoke.
The Alchemists didn’t reject either. One of the Alchemists took it as the others gathered around to analyze it. Finally, they came to a unanimous conclusion that this was indeed the Soul Source Restoration Pill, and the medicinal efficacies seemed to be two parts stronger than recorded.
After this, everyone’s gaze towards Yang Kai became more solemn and respectful.
Subconsciously, they felt that Yang Kai had changed the Soul Source Restoration Pill’s recipe. In their opinion, that could be the only reason it could reach such a level!
One needed to be an Origin King Grade Alchemist to refine the Soul Source Restoration Pill, but if one wanted to modify the pill recipe of this level of pill, he or she needed to be a Mid-Rank or High-Rank Origin King Grade Alchemist!
Every pill recipe had been handed down through tens of thousands of years. It had been perfected by countless geniuses over countless epochs. Just by this fact, it could be reckoned how difficult it was to modify a pill recipe.
But today, they saw it.
They immediately understood that Yang Kai should be a Mid-Rank or a High-Rank Origin King Grade Alchemist!
All the Alchemists were shocked by this fact because they came to realize that not only he was a powerful Second-Order Origin King but also had unimaginable attainments in Alchemic Dao.
[Is he some old monster, who had been living for tens of thousands of years, in disguise? Otherwise, how could he do this at his young age?]
“Grandmaster, do you want to check it?” Ai Ou asked, looking at the pale and despondent Zuo De.
Zuo De’s previous approach and attitude had displeased Ai Ou very much, but seeing the Alchemy Grandmaster revered by the entire Star Field acting like this, Ai Ou couldn’t take it. After all, no matter what, Zuo De was still an Origin King Grade Alchemist. If he didn’t recover from this, it would be a loss to the entire Star Field.
Zuo De shook his head.
“Since that’s the case, then the winner of this competition…” Ai Ou was just about to announce the result of this competition, the Alchemists suddenly grew anxious.
Someone immediately shouted, “President, there is another pill. Can you take it out? Let’s have a look.”
“Yes! What about the second pill? Let’s take a look!”
Everyone had seen two pills fly out of the pill furnace and was confused by this. Alchemists had a strong thirst for knowledge, so how could they let Ai Ou ignore its existence?
Ai Ou couldn’t help but sigh. He glanced at Yang Kai with a complicated look in his eyes.
When he had opened the jade bottle, he had secretly taken a look at the second pill. When he saw it, he almost threw the jade bottle in fright. Thus, the requests of these many Alchemists had put him in a difficult position.
“Are you sure… you want to look?” Ai Ou asked after seeing Yang Kai show no objection.
“But of course. President, don’t hide it.”
“Sigh! Forget it, you can look at it yourself.” Ai Ou threw the jade bottle in his hand as he said this.
A middle-aged Alchemist in Alchemist’s robes with sharp eyes and quick hands immediately caught the jade bottle. As he focused his gaze inside, he stood stiff in his place as if he was struck by lightning. His eyes looked like they were ready to pop out, as if he had seen something incredible.
“Brother Zhao, Brother Zhao, what’s wrong? Say something quickly!” Seeing that he looked like he had seen a ghost, someone couldn’t help but urge the middle-aged man.
Nonetheless, the middle-aged man didn’t respond.
“Damn it, let me see!” A nearby Alchemist cursed out loud as he snatched the jade bottle from his hand. Then, his throat made some intangible noises. Just like the middle-aged man before, he stood in a daze with bulging eyes.
The jade bottle was snatched around by the Alchemists, one after another, but every Alchemist who saw the pill lying in the jade bottle was shocked.
If somebody who was not aware of the facts saw this, he might think that the jade bottle was filled with a poisonous pill, and a strong poison was leaking from the bottle, poisoning all these Alchemists.
Zuo De’s expression immediately changed. At the sight of this, he had guessed something. But when the thought crossed his mind, he found it unbelievable.
He staggeringly made his way without the slightest demeanour of a powerful master before snatching the jade bottle from a dazed Alchemist’s hands. Next, he poured out the pill straight on his palm.
The pill was surrounded by the very same pale golden glow and was still very round and transparent, but this pill had one big difference from the previous pill: Clear and distinct lines. They were distributed over the surface of the pill just like the meridians in a cultivator.
If these veins were spread on a sheet of paper, they would form a complex pattern that carried the truth of heaven and earth.
“Pill Veins!” Zuo De cried in shock. His old body started shaking like a willow swaying in the wind.
It wasn’t that he had not refined a pill with Pill Veins. Good or bad, he was still an Origin King Grade Alchemist and had been refining pills for a few thousand years. Countless pills had been refined in his hand, so he was lucky enough to refine pills with Pill Veins.
Some of the low-level pills even gave birth to Pill Clouds.
The pills with Pill Veins and Pill Clouds were the pride of Zuo De’s life, his honour as an Alchemist.
But it was his first time seeing an Origin King Grade pill with Pill Veins.
Lost, Zuo De was utterly defeated.
The moment the Pill Veins appeared before his eyes, Zuo De knew that he didn’t lose due to bad luck.
Not only could Yang Kai refine two pills at once but one of the pills even gave birth to Pill Veins. It was just impossible for him to compete with that.
Only now did the headstrong look on Zuo De’s face slowly vanish, replaced with a bit of frustration. He then took a deep breath and put the pill with the Pill Veins back in the jade bottle before cupping his fist at Yang Kai, conceding in a heavy voice, “Grandmaster Yang is indeed legendary, please accept this Zuo De’s bow!”
Yang Kai looked at Zuo De with surprise. He hadn’t expected these kinds of words to come out of his mouth at all. Judging by his unwilling look and character, Yang Kai believed that this old guy would not accept his defeat that easily. How could he have known for the things to end up like this?
Nodding gently, Yang Kai calmly said, “You flatter me.”
Watching Zuo De bowing to Yang Kai in respect, how could the other Alchemists be neglectful. They immediately cupped their fists and apologized, “Greetings Grandmaster Yang, we had eyes but failed to see. If we had offended Grandmaster Yang somehow, we ask Grandmaster to be magnanimous to forgive us.”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “Ignorance can be forgiven.”
Yang Kai’s generous bearing immediately attracted everyone’s heart.
Either way, Yang Kai himself was a Second-Order Origin King master. Just by his strength alone, he stood at the top of the entire Star Field. Coupled with his identity as the Origin King Grade Alchemist, it could even be said that he was the most valuable and noble person in the entire Star Field; a fact no one could refute.
What was rare was that he was broad-minded and paid no heed to everyone’s past rudeness. This was definitely in-line with how a Grandmaster would act.
Compared to Zuo De’s way of seeking publicity, it was a whole lot better.
“Ling’er, apologize to Grandmaster.” After having accepted his defeat, Grandmaster seemed to have turned over a new leaf. Not only did he correct his attitude, he even asked his granddaughter to apologize to Yang Kai.
A reluctant look instantly appeared on Zuo Ling’s face. She immediately slipped behind Zuo De to hide.
Just as Zuo De was about to reprimand her, Yang Kai smiled and said, “Kids are innocent about things. Grandmaster doesn’t need to make things difficult for her. I didn’t take it seriously either.”
A complicated look flashed in Zuo De’s eyes. He nodded and continued, “After seeing Grandmaster Yang today, this Zuo De has come to know many of my shortcomings. I have learned from my mistakes.”
After pausing, he turned to Ai Ou and continued, “President Ai Ou, this old man wants to retreat for a year and a half. After my retreat is over, this old man will abide by the bet with Grandmaster Yang every year. This old man will take his leave first!”
While speaking, he handed over the pills refined by Yang Kai and started leaving with Zuo Ling without receiving Ai Ou’s consent.
Ai Ou didn’t stop him either. He only said, “Goodbye, Grandmaster.”
He knew that Zuo De had no face to stay here. It was already hard for him to sincerely apologize to Yang Kai in such a calm and upright manner, to remain would be incredibly uncomfortable. Long-time famous people like Zuo De would always try to save their faces.
“Honoured Teacher, wait for me,” After watching Zuo De leave, how could Zhan Yuan continue to stay here? He shouted and hurriedly chased after Zuo De with intestines blue with regret for opposing Yang Kai at every step and corner, mocking him again and again.
(Ash: Intestines turned blue with regret means regretting his ass off.)
Had he known that Yang Kai was this capable, how could he have been so ignorant? And it was not too late to please Yang Kai.
Yang Kai, watching Zuo De’s depressed and old back, heaved a slight sigh.
Ai Ou’s brow twitched, noticing Yang Kai’s sigh. He promptly walked over and asked, “Grandmaster Yang, why are you sighing?”
After seeing Yang Kai’s Alchemy skills, Ai Ou immediately changed how he addressed Yang Kai. Brother was intimate while addressing Yang Kai as Grandmaster was respectful. It showed that Yang Kai’s status in Ai Ou’s mind had undergone a huge change.
[In the entire Star Field, Yang Kai is the only one who can refine a Mid-Rank Origin King Grade pill with Pill Veins, and I heard that he has a pretty good relationship with Xue Yue. He has even come to Water Moon Star for Xue Yue.] Ai Ou was already thinking of ways to keep Yang Kai in the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
[He is absolutely far more valuable than a Foreign Elder like Zuo De.]
“I’m feeling sorry for Grandmaster Zuo De,” Yang Kai calmly said.
“Hmm!?” Ai Ou was perplexed. “What do you mean?”
“Grandmaster Zuo De’s Alchemic Dao will not progress even an inch further in the future.” Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
Ai Ou’s face changed slightly. After he gave it a thought, he suddenly seemed to have realized something. He promptly asked, “Is it because of Grand Alchemic Dao Tone?”
“Mhmm, Grandmaster has questioned the voice of the Heavenly Way and is lucky to have woken up in time. Otherwise, I’m afraid he would not have been able to keep his Alchemy skills. He would have been excluded from the Alchemic Dao and would have never been able to refine pills again.”
Ai Ou was taken aback. “The Grand Alchemic Dao Tone actually has such an effect!?”
Yang Kai looked at Ai Ou with a smile. “President Ai Ou, if you were rejected by Martial Dao, your foundation would be ruined as well.”
Ai Ou turned earnest and said, “If the Martial Dao Heavenly Tone was the one ringing today, this King would not have missed the opportunity. I sure would have done my best to comprehend it.”
“Martial Dao Heavenly Tone… it’s too far away.” Yang Kai shook his head.
Even he was caught by surprise when he had triggered the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. He really hadn’t expected this to happen. Because Yang Kai was competing with an Origin King Grade Alchemist and also refining a Mid-Rank Origin Grade Spirit Pill, Yang Kai was just thinking of going all out. He had no other thoughts in his mind.
When he made use of all his knowledge in the True Alchemic Way, he had triggered that Heavenly Manifestation, unearthing the ultimate mystery bred by Heaven and Earth itself.
Now that he gave it a thought, Yang Kai found it to be incredible. If he was asked to do it again, he would not be able to trigger the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone.
“Sir President, aren’t you busy?” An Alchemist suddenly glared at Ai Ou.
He was a Mid-Rank Origin Grade Alchemist, just like Zhan Yuan. Generally, he would be extremely respectful to Ai Ou, but seeing this man take such a rude stance today, like he wasn’t afraid of him, had caught Ai Ou by surprise.
“Not that much.” Ai Ou had no idea when he had offended the other party, and why the other party was asking as such.
“Sir President deals with all the affairs of the entire Chamber of Commerce. How can you not be busy? President, you are needed upstairs.”
“That’s right, indeed! President, many things are waiting for you to deal with. What are you still doing here?”
“We respectfully send off Sir President!” All Alchemists said in unison.
Ai Ou looked at the hundreds of Alchemists with mouth agape. Suddenly, he was struck with a realization. Surprised, he burst into laughter before speaking, “So that’s what you mean… why didn’t you say so earlier?”
He kept shaking his head while speaking. He then scolded everyone with a smile hung on his lips, “I guess this King is unwelcome here.”
“President, you are really so wordy.” Some Alchemists were dissatisfied. They had been waiting to ask Yang Kai, Grandmaster Yang, about Alchemy, but President Ai Ou had been going on and on here, occupying Grandmaster’s time. They found it really loathsome, and if they could beat him up, they would have already started beating him to the point that even his mother couldn’t recognize him.
Ai Ou turned serious, letting out a cold snort. “This King just remembered. Who was it that said they wanted to leave my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce? Come on up and let this King take a look.”
As soon as Ai Ou’s said this, many Alchemists couldn’t help but shrink their necks, hurriedly hiding in the crowd, lest Ai Ou targeted them.
Everyone had said that out of their respect for Grandmaster Zuo De, but Ai Ou had brought it up now to take revenge.
No one dared to meet Ai Ou’s gaze, wherever it went past.
Suddenly, Ai Ou looked proud like a cock that had won the battle!
When had he ever had the chance to be so domineering before so many Alchemists and yet no one dared to look straight at him? Alchemists had very strange temperaments, whether one was an Origin King Realm master or not, one couldn’t delay them in Alchemy or hinder their study of Alchemy.
Therefore, Ai Ou had to speak every word carefully when he was before these Alchemists.
Today, he finally tasted a sense of superiority.
He couldn’t help but break into laughter. He felt extremely proud. “Good! Great! Excellent! It seems that my Chamber of Commerce hasn’t raised you in vain. You all know how to solve this King’s worries. You are all very good.”
“President… is everything okay with Mrs. Gu? Isn’t she waiting for the Soul Source Restoration Pill…”
Just as someone mentioned Mrs. Gu, Ai Ou left in a hurry, like he was injected with adrenaline. He disappeared in the blink of an eye.
[Damn it! I actually forgot that my wife is still suffering and unconscious in my pride!] Ai Ou was feeling extremely guilty at this moment.
“That pain in the neck has finally left,” The crowd of Alchemists couldn’t help but heaved a sigh in relief. In the next moment, everyone surrounded Yang Kai, staring at him with bright eyes as if they would eat him. All of them were extremely excited.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel jittery. Before anyone could say anything, he raised his hand and said, “Everyone, I know what you want to do. Hmm, this King has some time now, let’s find a place to talk. I’m afraid this place won’t work as it’s best not to disturb everyone’s enlightenment.”
There were about two hundred or so Alchemists who still had their eyes closed, immersed in their enlightenment because of the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. Obviously, they had reaped a lot of benefits.
The rest had failed to reap any benefit from the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, so they had put all their attention on Yang Kai. Consulting him once would be more beneficial to them than refining pills for ten years straight. How could they miss this opportunity?
It was just that they didn’t know how to bring it up. But no one had expected Yang Kai to be so amiable. Yang Kai brought it up himself first.
Many Alchemists were wild with joy. They immediately knew that Yang Kai and Zuo De were two different people.
They had asked Zuo De for advice before, but Grandmaster Zuo De’s temper was really bad. He would either reprimand them or talk about other matters, which rendered their request mute.
But judging by Yang Kai’s demeanour, Yang Kai was obviously going to be talking about Alchemic Dao. This made everyone happy.
Someone immediately suggested the next moment, “Let’s head to the eighth floor, it should be empty now.”
“That’s right!”
“Alright,” Yang Kai nodded his agreement.
“Grandmaster Yang, please!” The crowd of Alchemists stretched out their hands and gestured in unison and in an extremely respectful manner. If anyone saw their current demeanour, no one would think that these people were the very same Alchemists with eyes high up their heads.
Yang Kai was also not overly modest. He was a master of both Martial Dao and Alchemic Dao. He might not be that old, but he held seniority over almost everyone. Whether it was Martial Dao or Alchemic Dao, he was far ahead of everyone.
Too much humility was just hypocrisy.
Therefore, he assumed the deserved authority and took the lead, heading to the eighth floor, whereas the crowd of Alchemists followed Yang Kai in an orderly manner.
The environment of the eighth floor of the Alchemist Pavilion was similar to that of the ninth floor, but the Earth Fire wasn’t as strong as it was on the ninth floor. Be that as it may, no one paid that much attention to it. They just sat cross-legged in the hall, facing Yang Kai, listening to him explain the mystery of the Alchemic Dao.
If Yang Kai was asked to explain the Alchemic Dao to so many Alchemists before this, he might not have been up to it, even if his Alchemy skills were better than the others.
It was one thing to know Alchemy and another thing to explain it to others. One needed to have a very high level of understanding to do the latter.
Fortunately, it was different now. The Grand Alchemic Dao Tone had rung in Yang Kai’s ears for an entire day, and the mystery of the Alchemic Dao was etched into his mind like a brand. His understanding of Alchemic Dao had reached a whole new level, an unprecedented level.
Explaining Alchemy to these Saint King Grade and Origin Grade Alchemists was a piece of cake for him.
Yang Kai preached about Alchemic Dao for three days, covering all kinds of topics; from how to choose the herbs, distinguish between good and bad pill recipes, refine the medicinal liquid, controlling heat, engraving the Spirit Arrays, and then finally Pill Condensing Technique.
All the Alchemists were so into it that they didn’t even notice the passage of time.
From time to time, someone would look pleasantly surprised. Clearly, he had suddenly understood the problem that had been plaguing them for many years under Yang Kai’s guidance.
Yang Kai benefited a lot from this himself. By teaching these Alchemists about the Alchemic Dao, he had a better understanding of everything that had been etched into his mind by the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone.
At first, he would sometimes stop, immersed in his own thoughts, pondering. But by the time he reached the end, he never stopped in-between; he kept going. Everything he mentioned was an Alchemy secret that average Alchemists would be unable to glimpse even if he spent his entire life.
Sometime in between, an Alchemist on the ninth floor would wake up and make his way to the eighth floor and sit down cross-legged quietly, listening to Yang Kai with rapt attention.
After having experienced the lucky chance of the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, they had gotten huge benefits from Yang Kai again.
After three days, all the five or so hundred Alchemists were sitting on the eighth floor, not one less. Everyone was sitting before Yang Kai, looking at him with solemn and earnest looks on their faces. Even Zong Ao was no exception.
Yang Kai had noticed him walk in long ago, he just nodded to him slightly but didn’t stop teaching the Alchemic Dao.
Suddenly, Yang Kai stopped speaking.
The eighth floor of the Alchemist Pavilion was so silent that even the drop of a pin could be heard. Everyone had even suppressed the sound of their breathing to the bare minimum. When Yang Kai stopped speaking, everyone knew that the sharing was over.
Everyone looked eager for more.
But Yang Kai smiled and stood up. He cupped his fists to everyone and said, “That’s all for today. Thank you, everyone.”
All five hundred or so Alchemists stood up together and thanked Yang Kai with an earnest look on their faces and cupping their fists in return, “Disciples thank Grandmaster Yang for going through the trouble of teaching us!”
Yang Kai was stunned. However, he was back at ease very soon.
Zhan Yuan had always referred to himself as a disciple just because of a few unintentional pointers from Zuo De many years ago. He also addressed Zuo De as Honoured Teacher.
This time, Yang Kai had preached Alchemic Dao for three days to over five hundred Alchemists and could be regarded as their Honored Teacher. Unfortunately, they couldn’t address Yang Kai as teacher because he hadn’t given his consent, but they sure could call themselves disciples.
Alchemists paid great importance to heritage.
Yang Kai had imparted Alchemy experience and understanding to others generously. Although it could not help them achieve success overnight, it was a great kindness nonetheless.
Especially the magical Pill Condensing Technique. If these Alchemists could completely comprehend the technique, it would definitely bring a huge change to the Alchemy world of the entire Star Field.
After all, in every Alchemist’s mind, they could only refine one pill from one set of ingredients, but by resorting to that special Pill Condensing Technique, one could refine two, three, even four or five pills from one set of ingredients. This was tantamount to greatly reducing the cost of refining pills and increasing the output of the pills.
If this technique became known to all the Alchemists, the cultivators of the Star Field would no longer have to be afraid of the lack of pills.
In any case, these five hundred or so Saint King and above Grade Alchemists could be considered as Yang Kai’s disciples from today, including Zong Ao.
This was definitely a force that shook the entire Star Field.
No one could say how many of these five hundred or so Alchemists would advance to Origin King Grade in the future.
Yang Kai didn’t assume airs either. He cupped his fists in return and said, “You are welcome.”
“Grandmaster Yang, this disciple can’t get something you said before out of his mind and is confused about it. I wonder if I can ask it or not?” a middle-aged beautiful female Alchemist asked Yang Kai, giggling.
“If you have any questions, just ask. If this King can answer it, this King will not hide it,” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
“I believe everyone here believes and knows Grandmaster Yang’s character. However… Grandmaster, didn’t you say that there was an Alchemist better than Grandmaster Zuo De, and even you, before you started competing with Grandmaster Zuo De? It’s not true… is it?”
Just as she mentioned this, someone immediately agreed, “That’s right! I heard this too! But how is this possible? Grandmaster Yang’s Alchemy skills have already reached perfection. How can anyone surpass him in Alchemy?”
“Grandmaster said it just for the sake of it. You believed it?”
“I wasn’t speaking just for the sake of it.” Yang Kai smiled and shook his head. “There is indeed one person in this world who is far better than me in Alchemy!”
“Impossible!?”
“There is actually such a person!?”
“Grandmaster Yang, you are being too humble.”
The other Alchemists raised a clamour. They didn’t want to believe Yang Kai. They all thought that Yang Kai was just being humble. After all, everyone had a great understanding of Yang Kai’s temperament by now, he was friendly and unpretentious.
“I’m not being humble, I am just stating the fact,” Yang Kai turned serious and said. “It’s hard to say now, I might be a bit better than that person, but she was definitely better than me before. And in the future… she will be better than me.”
“Who is this person?” All the Alchemists were taken aback. Judging by Yang Kai’s expression, everyone knew that he wasn’t exaggerating. They all wanted to know what made that person so different.
“As far as I know, Grandmaster Zuo De’s Alchemy skills are the best in the entire Star Field. Even if someone could stand shoulders to shoulder with him, he or she could not surpass Grandmaster Zuo De for sure. So, the person mentioned by Grandmaster Yang must be…”
“You don’t need to guess. You don’t know her name. She is my Senior Sister. She is just like me, unknown to everyone!” Yang Kai explained.
“Grandmaster Yang’s Senior Sister!?
“No wonder!”
“Is Grandmaster Yang from the Alchemy Sect? Both Senior Sister and Junior Brother have already reached the level of the Origin King Grade…”
“Grandmaster Yang, where is your Sect? Can this disciple go and join your sect?”
Just as someone asked this, many Alchemists looked eagerly at Yang Kai. If a Sect could foster two Origin King Grade Alchemists, it was absolutely a Holy Land in the eyes of many Alchemists. If they could join that Sect, their future might be absolutely wonderful!
There was only one thought lingering in everyone’s mind: They wanted to ask where Yang Kai’s sect was. Even if they couldn’t join the Sect, they could still go to observe and emulate; they might gain something.
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter. “If you let President Ai Ou know of this, would he let this matter rest at that!?”
If Ai Ou came to know that all these five hundred or so Alchemists were thinking of joining the High Heaven Sect, he would surely fight it out with Yang Kai.
All these Alchemists were the elite force of the entire Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. All the pills produced by the Chamber of Commerce depended on these people. If they left, the Chamber of Commerce’s business would collapse.
“Don’t mention this anymore. If there is a chance, this King might welcome you to visit. But today, it is better for you to enter a retreat and finish your enlightenment.” Yang Kai was afraid that he really would not be able to escape if continued speaking.
Having heard this, nobody made things difficult for Yang Kai. Besides, they did have to enter a retreat to finish their enlightenment and digest everything they had gained over these days. The next moment, the crowd of Alchemists scattered as everyone hurriedly returned to their respective residences for retreating.
Zong Ao, on the other hand, didn’t leave. Only when Yang Kai and he were left in the entire Alchemist Pavilion did he ask Yang Kai with a strange look on his face, “Should I also address you as Honored Teacher or as Grandmaster Yang?”
“I will be embarrassed if you address me like this.” Yang Kai forced a wry smile.
“Come on, I will have to find myself a hole to crawl into if you address me as Grandmaster.” Zong Ao rolled his eyes at Yang Kai. “Who would dare to call himself Grandmaster before you?”
“Then how about we let things remain the same as before? No one would feel embarrassed then,” Yang Kai patted Zong Ao’s shoulder with a smile. He then quickly changed the topic, asking in a low voice with a solemn look on his face, “It seems that you are now an Origin King Grade Alchemist.”
A fierce gleam flashed past Zong Ao’s eyes. He glanced at Yang Kai in surprise. “It seems I can’t hide it from you…”
“When the Grand Alchemist Dao Tone rang, you were the first one to sit down. And when I was sharing about Alchemic Dao, you seemed to have gained a lot. Obviously, you have made progress.”
“Yes, I have comprehended a lot. Although the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone was elusive, I had the chance to hear many of the mysteries, and with your explanation, I have mastered most of it. However… an Alchemist’s promotion isn’t the same as a cultivator’s. It’s not a matter of accumulating enough foundation; I need to enter a retreat for a while. If I could refine an Origin King Grade pill after exiting, I would be an Origin King Grade Alchemist!”
“Then, I await the good news.” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“Thank you, Yang Kai,” Zong Ao said with an earnest look on his face.
Yang Kai was taken aback for a moment but quickly replied, “This was your own chance, you don’t need to thank me. You should probably enter the retreat as soon as possible. I hope that when you come out, another Origin King Grade Alchemist is born in this Star Field.”
“I sure hope so!” Zong Ao nodded. “I will take my leave then.”
Yang Kai nodded, sending Zong Ao off.
After Zong Ao’s figure disappeared from Yang Kai’s sight, Yang Kai immediately spread his Divine Sense out to probe around a bit. He immediately noticed that Long Tian Shang’s aura had already disappeared from the void.
Yang Kai didn’t pay that much attention to it. Next, Yang Kai’s figure flickered before he disappeared from this place.
By the time he reappeared, he was already outside the Alchemist Pavilion.
A familiar figure happened to be waiting for him outside. The figure could not help but jump back in fright at the sight of Yang Kai’s sudden appearance, but he looked relieved the next moment. After all, it was a matter of course for Yang Kai to do this with his strength.
He hurriedly cupped his fists and greeted Yang Kai. “Brother Yang.”
“Why are you here?” Yang Kai gazed at Shen Tu in amazement.
The person waiting for Yang Kai outside the Alchemist Pavilion was none other than Shen Tu.
Shen Tu hurriedly replied to Yang Kai’s question, “My father asked me to wait for you here.”
“What does President Ai Ou want to ask me?” Yang Kai asked.
“Nothing. It’s just that… Little Mother is awake. I just came to thank you personally after finding out that you refined the pill for her. Brother Yang, if you are free, can you come with me?” Shen Tu asked earnestly.
“Sure.” Yang Kai nodded his agreement.
The duo started walking side by side the next moment.
Gu Bi Hu’s awakening didn’t come as a surprise to Yang Kai. After all, Ai Ou had given a drop of Immortal Source Liquid to Gu Bi Hu before, healing all her physical wounds. The reason why she was in a coma was that her Soul was injured.
And a Soul Source Restoration Pill was the perfect remedy for this.
What’s more, the Soul Source Restoration Pill refined by Yang Kai had Pill Veins. Its medicinal efficacy was several times stronger than a normal Soul Source Restoration Pill. After having her Soul nourished by this pill, it would be strange if Gu Bi Hu didn’t wake up. Her Soul might even gain some extra benefits with the help of that pill.
All along the way, Shen Tu kept peeking glances at Yang Kai from time to time. There was a strange look on his face, like he had something to say.
Yang Kai smiled and asked, “Brother Shen Tu, is something the matter? If you want to ask something, just ask. You and I aren’t outsiders.”
The corners of Shen Tu’s mouth twitched. He immediately asked, looking serious, “I just want to know, are you really an Origin King Grade Alchemist? Did you really refine that pill?”
He had known Yang Kai for a long time. They might not have had much interaction with each other, but he had never thought that Yang Kai would make great progress in Martial Dao while also taking such incredible strides in Alchemic Dao.
[Compared to him, my Origin Returning Realm cultivation is simply nothing!]
He used to boast about his talents, but now, Shen Tu was completely ripped to pieces.
“I am indeed an Origin King Grade Alchemist and that pill was also refined by me.” Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement.
Shen Tu slapped his thigh in annoyance and said, “So it’s true that you competed with Grandmaster Zuo De in Alchemy?”
“Well, has word already gotten around?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“It has already become the talk of the entire city. There is no one in Water Sky City who doesn’t know about this, everyone has heard of it.” Shen Tu continued with a saddened look, “Had I known, I would have come to Water Sky City with you. I really missed a good show. This Young Master has been unhappy with Zuo De for a long time. His face when he was beaten would have been an incredible sight. I would have surely enjoyed it.”
Yang Kai smiled but didn’t say anything.
“But Brother Yang, do you know my Little Mother?”
“No. Why?”
“If you hadn’t met her, why were you willing to use two thousand years of your freedom to compete with Zuo De in Alchemy? When my Little Mother came to know of this, she scolded my father for not stopping you.”
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “Because I knew that I wouldn’t lose. So it didn’t matter how big the ante was.”
Shen Tu couldn’t help but raise his thumb up to Yang Kai when he heard this. He immediately said, “Anyway, you have left a good impression on my Little Mother. You will know when you meet her.”
While talking, the two soon arrived before a manor.
They were still inside Water Sky City but the surrounding environment here was extremely beautiful and quiet. Obviously, this was the place where Gu Bi Hu was recuperating. The entire manor was surrounded by all sorts of powerful Spirit Arrays, and when Yang Kai scanned with his Divine Sense, he was secretly shocked by how strong these barriers were.
When they entered the manor, a small bridge over a stream entered their sights while melodious chimes of musical instruments rang in their ears, which made them feel relaxed and happy.
Shen Tu brought Yang Kai all the way inside and no one stopped them.
A short while later, they arrived at the deepest part of the manor, a simple-looking house within a purple bamboo forest.
Yang Kai could sense three people inside the bamboo house. One was President Ai Ou, another was Xue Yue, and the last was unfamiliar to him. Obviously, it was Gu Bi Hu.
Shen Tu stood still outside the bamboo house and reported aloud, “Father, I have brought Brother Yang.”
“Come in!” Ai Ou’s voice immediately came from inside the house.
Shen Tu smiled at Yang Kai, inviting him in. “Brother Yang, please.”
Yang Kai nodded and walked straight in.
Just as he entered the bamboo house, Yang Kai immediately felt three pairs of eyes gazing at him.
Before Yang Kai could look around the room, President Ai Ou rushed over and patted Yang Kai’s shoulder hard, laughing. “Brother Yang, this Ai can’t thank you enough. If it weren’t for you, it would be impossible for my wife to wake up this easily.”
He patted very hard, maybe even using Saint Qi as when the thick and robust palm fell on his shoulders, a resounding clap was heard inside the house.
Xue Yue stood gawking with a strange look on her face.
The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. He immediately cupped his fest and said, “President Ai Ou, you are too polite. Xue Yue and I are friends. It’s nothing worth mentioning.”
“It might be nothing to you, but it was a life-saving grace for my wife and me. This Ai can never forget it.” Ai Ou’s face turned solemn.
Yang Kai smiled but didn’t say anything, rather, he gazed to the other side.
Ever since he had entered the room, a pair of bright eyes had been constantly looking at him with scrutiny.
The owner of these eyes was naturally Gu Bi Hu.
When Yang Kai looked back at her, Gu Bi Hu just smiled at Yang Kai.
She didn’t seem to be very old, appearing to be in her twenties or thirties while her Martial Dao cultivation had reached the peak of the Origin Returning Realm. Perhaps because she had just woken up, her face was a little pale, but this gave her the appearance of a sick beauty.
Sure enough, she was a woman that could topple a nation with her beauty. Yang Kai had guessed it already, otherwise, Ai Ou would not have attached such great importance to her.
“Are you Grandmaster Yang? You are truly a dragon among men, really extraordinary,” Gu Bi Hu’s gentle voice resounded in the house as her lips parted. Her voice might be very light but it sounded very clear.
Yang Kai’s expression changed. He subconsciously felt that there was something wrong when he heard Gu Bi Hu praised him like this, because she was just an Origin Returning Realm master and he was a Second-Order Origin King. She was speaking to him like an elder treating her junior, which was a bit rude, emotionally and reasonably.
However, Yang Kai didn’t give it that much thought. He cupped his fists and greeted, “Greetings, Mrs. Gu!”
Gu Bi Hu coughed a few times before replying with a smile, “Grandmaster Yang, you are too polite. You have saved my life, and I should have been the one to come to you and thank you personally. It’s just that I’m not in a state to walk around, so I can only ask Shen Tu to invite you over. I hope Grandmaster Yang won’t blame me?”
“How could I dare! Mrs. Gu is Xue Yue’s elder, and Xue Yue and I are friends. I should be the one to come and visit.”
Gu Bi Hu nodded gently as if she was satisfied with Yang Kai’s attitude, which confused the nearby Ai Ou.
He hurriedly said, “My wife and I were still discussing how to thank you. But I still can’t think of a good way to thank you. Let’s do it like this: Brother Yang, how about you tell us what you want? As long as this Ai can do it, I’ll definitely fulfil it.”
Yang Kai’s eyes immediately lit up. He couldn’t help but look at Xue Yue.
Xue Yue immediately averted her eye feeling his gaze. She was pretending to be calm.
A smile suddenly bloomed over Gu Bi Hu’s face, who was silently watching all this. She then said in a gentle voice, “I have an idea.”
“Oh? Dear, if you have thought of something, you might as well tell them.” Ai Ou was overjoyed, hurriedly looking at her.
Gu Bi Hu smiled but didn’t say anything. She just beckoned Xue Yue and Yang Kai to come over.
The couple glanced at each other. They had no idea what Gu Bi Hu wanted to do. But they had no choice but to approach her bedside.
Gu Bi Hu reached out and grabbed Xue Yue and Yang Kai’s hands with each hand before joining them in the middle. She then looked at Yang Kai with a smile before asking, “Grandmaster Yang, what do you think? Are you satisfied with this gift?”
Yang Kai was in a daze momentarily. But very soon, he broke into laughter and replied with admiration, “Mrs. Gu sure is beautiful and intelligent. This Yang is very satisfied with this gift.”
Xue Yue too was dumbstruck for a while. After she came to understand what Gu Bi Hu actually meant, her pretty face flushed red all over. She stomped her feet in shame and said, “Little Mother…”
Ai Ou’s eyes widened as he kept watching from the sidelines for a while. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong. He asked in astonishment, “Dear, what’s the meaning of this?”
“Don’t you understand?” Gu Bi Hu shot a glance at Ai Ou as she explained in a leisure manner, “Grandmaster Yang has been aware of Xue Yue’s secret all the while. The two might even be in love too!”
“What!?” Ai Ou was quite taken aback by this revelation and his previous amiable attitude could not be found anywhere. Rather, he was glaring at Yang Kai with hostility.
Yang Kai paid no heed to his hostility and smiled slightly. “Mrs. Gu is indeed right. I already knew that Xue Yue was a woman a long time ago. But… How did Mrs. Gu know? I don’t think I have revealed anything to make it that obvious! And I believe Xue Yue won’t have told you about it.”
Gu Bi Hu smiled gently as she explained, “It’s very simple. You and I don’t know each other, but you still staked two thousand years of your freedom to bet with Grandmaster Zuo De for me. Why? Since I don’t have anything to make you do that, and neither does my husband, there can only be one reason, and that’s Xue Yue. A man will only pay such a price for his woman.”
Yang Kai looked stunned. “So to say, Mrs. Gu guessed it after waking up?”
“Mhmm, but it was just a guess, I wasn’t sure. That’s why I asked you to come over. And through my observations… I was sure.”
“Mrs. Gu is truly brilliant!” Yang Kai exclaimed in wonder. If she could conclude that Xue Yue and he are deeply in love with such little information, she was not an ordinary woman by any means.
Apparently, Gu Bi Hu was a beauty with brains.
“Xue Yue, is this true?” Ai Ou’s old face was almost covered in a layer of frost as he asked this.
Xue Yue nibbled her red lips before nodding her head slightly.
“You… you are really driving me mad!” Ai Ou looked angered and disappointed as if Xue Yue hadn’t lived up to his expectation. He had been training Xue Yue as the successor of the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, but how could he have expected that Xue Yue would be in love with someone.
And when he recalled how he addressed Yang Kai as Brother Yang many times, Ai Ou couldn’t wait to look for a hole to crawl into. [No wonder this kid had such a strange expression at that time. So this was the reason!]
Considering all this, Ai Ou suddenly felt that he had suffered a big loss.
“Xue Yue is no longer young and you have raised her as a boy since her birth. Are you going to make her pretend to be a man forever?” Gu Bi Hu glared at Ai Ou and asked seriously, “Every woman has the right to pursue her own happiness, and Grandmaster Yang is the best choice. Be it by his character or appearance, he is worthy of Xue Yue. What’s more, both have feelings for each other, so just leave them alone.”
“No!” Ai Ou denied flatly with a sullen face. “I can agree to everything else but not this!”
Xue Yue’s face immediately darkened.
“Dear, you should also think about Xue Yue. She has such high standards. How many people do you think can make her fancy them? Would you like to see her live alone for the rest of her life?” Gu Bi Hu persuaded with a gentle tone.
“In the heart of a cultivator, the Martial Dao takes precedence over everything. When she has reached the grand accomplishment stage in Martial Dao, it won’t be too late for her to focus on love!” Ai Ou kept a straight face; he didn’t budge the slightest.
But suddenly, a smile appeared on Gu Bi Hu’s face as she said, “It looks like… I won’t get through you with words alone.”
Hearing this, Ai Ou’s face changed. He cried in shock, “Hey, Dear, what do you want to do!”
“Nothing.” Gu Bi Hu coldly smiled, “President Ai Ou is an outstanding hero, he only has the Chamber of Commerce power and Martial Dao in his heart. I’m afraid there is no place for this little girl… you are now just a step away from the grand accomplishment stage of Martial Dao. Since you said that it won’t be too late to focus on love after reaching the grand accomplishment stage, this little girl can only leave you. I don’t want to hinder your Martial Dao…”
While speaking, Gu Bi Hu looked like she would break into tears at any moment. She looked frustrated and wanted to leave. Coupled with her sickly pale face, it really made everyone feel sorry for her.
Ai Ou really panicked. He hurriedly approached, pushing Yang Kai and Xue Yue away, and grabbed Gu Bi Hu’s hands as he justified himself anxiously, “Dear, I didn’t mean that. I was just teaching Xue Yue. I didn’t mean…”
“I understand what you mean,” Gu Bi Hu wiped the crystal-clear tear from the corner of her eyes. “Sir President, don’t worry, this little girl will only stay here for a few days. I will leave when I can get out of bed and definitely will not hinder your Martial Dao. When you have reached the peak of the Martial Dao, this little girl will come back and accompany you again. I will then remain by your side forever.”
She bit her thin lips, tilted her head as if she was heartbroken. Tears kept rolling down as she spoke.
“Dear…” Ai Ou was completely confused. He didn’t know what to say. He was so anxious that he felt like a cat was scratching his heart. He couldn’t wait to kowtow to apologize to Gu Bi Hu, but when he thought of Yang Kai and Xue Yue still watching from the sidelines, how could he throw his face?
He immediately looked back, shooting a glare at Yang Kai and Xue Yue.
“Um, Father, your daughter will take her leave then.” Xue Yue understood that the next scene was not suitable for children and quickly dragged Yang Kai away.
Yang Kai hurriedly cupped his fist before following Xue Yue out.
Before leaving, Yang Kai noticed Gu Bi Hu wink, assuring him.
A grin immediately appeared on Yang Kai’s face. He realized that Ai Ou might look big and tall but he was a big softy; he paid great importance to love and justice. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have regarded Gu Bi Hu with so much importance.
[But then again, if Su Yan, or Xia Ning Chang, or Shan Qing Luo used the same trick on me, I’m afraid even I couldn’t resist.]
The warmth of a beauty is the downfall of a hero. It’s the eternal truth.
When the couple came outside the bamboo house, Shen Tu was nowhere to be found, God knows where he went. The barriers of the bamboo house were instantly activated; no sound could be heard coming from the inside. Even when Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to check it out, he was unable to probe.
He could only give up in the light of this.
“Mrs. Gu…” Yang Kai thought for a while; he had no idea what would be the appropriate way to address her. After all, Gu Bi Hu was now his elder. Eventually, he gave up and could only continue, “Seems to value you very much.”
“Mhmm, Little Mother is very nice and friendly to us. That’s why all of us respect her,” Xue Yue smiled. “Only she can control Father. Don’t just judge my father by his obedience before Little Mother, he is different in front of others.”
“I can imagine,” Yang Kai nodded. After all, he had been managing the Chamber of Commerce for so long. How could he do so without a bit of majesty and prestige?
Xue Yue suddenly poked Yang Kai and bluntly asked, “When are you going to marry me?”
“Hmm!?” Yang Kai looked at Xue Yue in amazement. He asked with a shadow of a smile lingering on his face, “Are you so sure that Mrs. Gu will handle President Ai Ou?”
“Since Little Mother has taken the matter herself, how can my father not compromise? Besides, even without Little Mother, my father will have to give it thought due to your identity and cultivation, so there is no other possibility.”
“I guess you can’t wait to marry me?” Yang Kai stared into Xue Yue’s beautiful eyes.
Xue Yue’s face immediately flushed red. She stamped her foot and rebuked, “So what!? If I don’t take the initiative, how can I establish my position in the heart of someone as good as you?”
Yang Kai was stunned speechless.
Xue Yue let out a cold snort before approaching Yang Kai. She reached out and poked Yang Kai’s heart as she asked, grinding her teeth, “So, how many girls do you have apart from the enchantress Shan Qing Luo I saw in the Emperor Garden? What are their names?”
When poking Yang Kai, Xue Yue secretly fired a burst of Saint Qi with her slender jade fingers.
After Xue Yue had poked a few dozen times, Yang Kai couldn’t help but cough a few times. He replied with some guilt, “Just a few.”
“A few, how many exactly?” Xue Yue squinted her eyes.
Yang Kai raised his two fingers.
“Who are they? Are they worthy of you?”
“They are my two Senior Sisters,” Yang Kai forced a chuckle.
“Childhood sweethearts,” Xue Yue was surprised. She immediately asked, a little annoyed, “I have no hope in this big house. The second and third bedroom are already occupied. I can only take the fourth bedroom!”
She suddenly became unhappy. She nibbled her lips and asked, “How many more are you going to find in the future?”
“There won’t be any!” Yang Kai replied, looking earnest.
Xue Yue broke into giggling. She said with a foxy smile, “Is it really okay to say this? Be careful not to be caught by me in the future. At that time, I will inform the three Elder Sisters. Will you be able to take it?”
“There really won’t be any!” Yang Kai pledged in all sincerity and seriousness, like taking an oath. He then sincerely looked at Xue Yue with clear and frank eyes and took Xue Yue’s soft hand as he said in a warm voice, “All of you are enough for me.”
Xue Yue’s face flushed red all over, feeling butterflies in her stomach. She lowered her head and said, “How corny!”
Badump!
Yang Kai couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat off his forehead!
While the two were talking to each other, the door of the bamboo house suddenly opened as the big and tall Ai Ou walked out.
Xue Yue suddenly pulled her hand out of Yang Kai’s grasp and stepped back like a frightened rabbit.
Ai Ou immediately shot a glare at their location; obviously, nothing was hidden from him. However, he didn’t say anything. He just let out a cold snort and beckoned to Yang Kai, maintaining a straight face. At the same time, he ordered Yang Kai with no trace of politeness, “Kid, follow this King.”
After having said this, he just started walking in a certain direction slowly.
From Brother Yang, to Grandmaster Yang, and then to kid… It was quite evident that President Ai Ou’s impression of Yang Kai had already changed.
Yang Kai slightly smiled. He then turned to Xue Yue and said, “I will go and have a talk with Senior. You go back, I will come and find you later.”
Xue Yue opened her mouth, wanting to join them. However, she also knew that it would be really inappropriate if she disturbs the talk between men. All she could say was, “Be careful! If my father makes things difficult for you, please bear with it. When you return, I… will make up for it.”
Having said this, she quickly fled with a flushed face like there was wind blowing under her feet.
A dreamy look immediately appeared on Yang Kai’s face.
“Kid, are you still not coming!?” A dissatisfied Ai Ou, who was standing not too far away, urged Yang Kai.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” Yang Kai knew that he had fallen into an absolute disadvantage in the confrontation with Ai Ou, who just so happened to be in a bad mood. Therefore, Yang Kai didn’t care at all.
Yang Kai trotted his way to Ai Ou, smiled and greeted, cupping his fists, “Yang Kai greets future… Father-in-law!”
“Kid, what did you call me?” Ai Ou jumped back in fright like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Haha,” Yang Kai forced a laugh.
“You can eat rice indiscriminately but you can’t wag your tongue indiscriminately. Let me tell you, Kid. You can forget about marrying my daughter, Xue Yue. That’s not up for discussion!” Ai Ou glared at Yang Kai. He looked quite unhappy.
“No discussion!?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“No means no!” Au Ou squinted his eyes. He looked as if he would rather be struck by lightning than agree.
“In that case…” Yang Kai pondered a little. “I guess, there is nothing left to discuss between Senior and this junior. Let’s do it like this, I will leave Water Sky City tomorrow.”
“Hmm!?” Now, it was Ai Ou’s turn to be terrified. He hadn’t expected that Yang Kai would be so easy to talk to. He thought that Yang Kai would hang on without any sense of shame, but he really hadn’t expected Yang Kai to retreat in the face of difficulties.
He was immediately wild with joy. In this case, he now had an explanation that he could give to Gu Bi Hu. [Anyway, I’m not forcing him to leave, he is leaving on his own. It has nothing to do with this King.]
Just as he was about to say something, he heard Yang Kai heave a heavy sigh. “Sigh, but if I leave. I’m afraid those five hundred or so Alchemists will also leave with me.”
“What do you mean?” Ai Ou suddenly became nervous.
“Hehe, I forgot to tell President Ai Ou. After you left, I preached Alchemy for a few days. I can now be considered as a half-teacher to those Alchemists. Originally, they wanted to stay by my side to learn Alchemy. But I thought that since we’re all one family, there wasn’t any difference between staying by my side and staying in the Alchemist Pavilion, so I didn’t agree. Since I don’t have any fate with Xue Yue, then I won’t force it, but if I leave, I’m afraid they would want to follow me.”
“Half-teacher!?” Ai Ou was shocked. He immediately lashed at Yang Kai, “Kid, are you threatening me!?”
He knew that Yang Kai was definitely not kidding. Alchemists attached great importance to heritage. It was quite clear from how Zhan Yuan left with Zuo De. And now, Yang Kai was a half-teacher to five hundred or so Alchemists. He had the grace of enlightening them, so as long as he raised his arm and called for action, nothing would be left in the Alchemist Pavilion. Not the grass, or the tile, or anyone for him.
That was the elite force of the entire Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce!
Ai Ou’s heart was gripped with a chill. He realized that he had underestimated Yang Kai’s ability.
“How could I dare?” Yang Kai looked at Ai Ou, smiling.
“You sure have guts!” Ai Ou said, grinding his teeth.
Yang Kai, ignoring him, suddenly took a stone tablet-like thing from the Space Ring. He then heaved a sigh and said, “Originally, this junior was planning on gifting this to Senior. Alas… forget it! I can keep it for myself!”
“What’s that!” Ai Ou asked curiously.
“A Secret Art!” Yang Kai smiled brightly.
Originally, Ai Ou was very curious about what Yang Kai had taken out. After all, with Yang Kai’s extraordinary strength and high status, anything taken out by him should be extraordinary.
But when he heard Yang Kai say a Secret Art, Ai Ou immediately lost interest. He curled his lips and said, “I was wondering what it was, so it was a Secret Art. Although my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is focused on business, we do regard Martial Dao as important. Whatever that Secret Art is… Kid, you can keep it to yourself. My Chamber of Commerce doesn’t lack these kinds of things.”
Yang Kai smiled slightly as he threw out a few words in an extremely calm manner, “This Secret Art is known as… The Star Refining Art!”
Just as he said this, Ai Ou’s eyes bloomed with white brilliance. He snatched the stone tablet from Yang Kai’s hands as swiftly as a lightning bolt, reading it carefully with widened eyes.
Three ancient words were engraved on the stone tablet. They looked extremely mysterious and were completely different from the existing characters.
But if one looked at them closely, he or she would find that they were somewhat similar to today’s three words of Star Refining Art.
Ai Ou’s hands couldn’t help but shake.
“Senior, isn’t this a bit out of character for someone with your status?” Yang Kai teased Ai Ou.
“Shut your trap!” Ai Ou shouted angrily. Without any vigilance against Yang Kai, he immersed his consciousness straight into the stone tablet, trying to figure it out.
This stone tablet was something Yang Kai had obtained from the deepest part of the Emperor Garden. It was due to this Star Refining Art that Xia Ning Chang could refine the Star Source of Tong Xuan Realm. It might be useless to him, who had refined the Source of Shadowed Star, but this was absolutely the ultimate art to refine the Star Source.
Later, when the Avatar refined the Source of the Floating Continent had also confirmed this point.
Today, Ai Ou was a peak Second-Order Origin King. If he could get the Star Refining Art and refine the Source of a Cultivation Star, not only would it provide him limitless future prospects, but his advance to the Third-Order Origin King Realm was a done deal. That’s why he had forgotten his manners.
Last time, Ai Ou had asked Xue Yue to take a large number of masters to the Emperor Garden for this Star Refining Art, but unfortunately, it ended up in Yang Kai’s hands.
Xue Yue hadn’t told the truth to Ai Ou after she came back, so Ai Ou had no idea that the Star Refining Art was actually in Yang Kai’s hands.
When it was suddenly presented before him, he was naturally ecstatic.
Yang Kai smiled and stood on one side, waiting for Ai Ou.
With time, Ai Ou’s expression changed in a flash. Excited, nervous, eager, happy… all kinds of expressions had appeared on his face.
After a long time, he suddenly broke into hearty laughter.
“Senior, did you get some gains?” Yang Kai asked with a smile.
Ai Ou looked at Yang Kai. His face finally softened as he nodded and said, “Kid, you are really good, you sure know how to please others. What is rare is that your status is not the slightest bit inferior to this King with your strength, but you still know how to respect elders. This King is very satisfied with this!”
“If Senior is satisfied, then nothing could be better.”
“I have accepted this thing. I will give the matter between Xue Yue and you a careful thought!”
Yang Kai smiled. He didn’t coerce him at all. Because since Ai Ou had said this, it meant that he had agreed to it. However, he was just trying to maintain a bit of face, that’s all.
“Come, walk with me. I want to ask you something.” Ai Ou’s past domineering attitude was nowhere to be seen. He had become a lot kinder.
Yang Kai nodded and said, “How can I disobey from Senior’s orders!”
Ai Ou looked extremely satisfied with Yang Kai’s attitude. He then started walking forward carrying his hands behind his back as he asked, “This King wants to know: How old are you this year?”
“This… I’m not too clear about this.” Yang Kai smiled with embarrassment. Since he left Tong Xuan Realm and entered the Star Field, he had been wandering from place to place. How could he have the time to calculate his own age. “I’m almost fifty to sixty years old.”
“Fifty to sixty years old?” Ai Ou’s face changed slightly. “Are you sure you are only this old?”
To an ordinary mortal, fifty to sixty years of age was old, but to cultivators, it was just the beginning.
Most of the Saint Grade cultivators and Saint King Grade cultivators had almost the same age.
Even some Transcendent Realm and Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators with poor aptitude were much older than this.
And Yang Kai was the Second-Order Origin King!
In the entire Star Field, every Origin King Realm cultivator was an old monster who had lived for hundreds or thousands of years. Without a solid foundation and accumulation over these many years, it was impossible to advance to the Origin King Realm!
Thus, after Ai Ou came to know that Yang Kai was just fifty-sixty years old, Ai Ou was shocked.
“I want to check your bone age. You won’t mind, right?” Ai Ou suspiciously looked at Yang Kai.
“Of course not!” Yang Kai smiled and proactively stretched his hand out.
Ai Ou reached out and put his fingers on his wrist, pouring his Divine Sense into Yang Kai’s hand. After having probed for a while, he let go of Yang Kai’s hand in shock.
Under his investigation, he discovered that Yang Kai was only a few decades old, there was no doubt about it. After all, even though a cultivator’s appearance will change because of an increase in strength, only the bones reflected the true age of the cultivator.
[How did this guy even cultivate?] Suddenly, Ai Ou felt that he had lived all these years in vain. What shocked him even more was the fact that, when he checked Yang Kai’s bone age, he discovered that Yang Kai’s vitality was simply shocking.
But right then, he was struck with the realization that it should be because Yang Kai had refined the Immortal Divine Tree!
President Ai Ou really believed that Yang Kai had refined the Immortal Divine Tree, and due to this very reason, Yang Kai had become a Second-Order Origin King in such a short period of time.
He took a deep breath and said sincerely, “With your talent, I believe that no girl is worthy of you in this Star Field. It’s Xue Yue’s blessing that you have taken a liking to her. This King can rest assured now.”
He finally agreed to the relationship between Yang Kai and Xue Yue.
After all, a genius like Yang Kai was born once a blue moon. And he was more than worthy of Xue Yue.
“However, this King needs to remind you of one thing,” Ai Ou suddenly said as if he had thought of something.
“Senior, please say.”
“Do you know about Xue Yue’s physique?” asked Ai Ou.
“Dragon Marrow Phoenix Body.” Yang Kai smiled. “If not for this Special Constitution, Xue Yue might not have been able to hoodwink the eyes of the entire Star Field. Her disguise would have been already seen through.”
“That’s right! Since you know about the Dragon Marrow Phoenix Body, you must be aware of the greatest effect of this physique.”
Yang Kai nodded with a weird look on his face.
Ai Ou forced a cough and said, looking a little embarrassed, “As an elder, it might not be appropriate for me to talk about this but I have to remind you, for your own good and Xue Yue, don’t do it too early… Hmm, you understand what I mean, right!? It won’t be too late when Xue Yue had made success in Martial Dao. I believe that a man of your temperament would show enough patience.”
“I understand.” Yang Kai couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat off his forehead. It was embarrassing to talk about this matter with his future father-in-law.
“Hehe, as long as you understand it,” Ai Ou affectionately patted Yang Kai’s shoulder before sighing. “Don’t blame this King for being cold and unreasonable. You will understand why I did everything when you become a father.”
Yang Kai earnestly assured, “This Junior understands that Senior does everything out of his love for your daughter.”
“Great!” Ai Ou nodded, “Hmm, I was thinking of inviting you to join the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce as a Foreign Elder. What do you think?”
“There’s no harm in it. I understand that Senior just wants to use my fame. I’m okay with that.”
“I knew it! I knew that you would notice this. Furthermore, you have just won an Alchemy competition with Zuo De. More importantly, I’ve already spread the word about you triggering the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone. I believe that this news will spread to the vast Star Field very soon. And with you as my Chamber of Commerce Foreign Elder, the Alchemists in the Star Field will come swarming! This time, I will make them beg to join the Chamber of Commerce, I don’t need to give them a face anymore. Hahaha!” Ai Ou broke into a hearty laugh as if he was finally going to have his revenge.
Yang Kai forced a smile. He realized that Ai Ou was quite angry with those temperamental Alchemists.
“Also, what about your bet with Zuo De? What should I do with the several dozen Origin King Grade pills each year? Where do you live? Where do you need this King to send them to you?” Ai Ou asked.
“No need. You can think of those pills as this junior’s betrothal gift!” Yang Kai said with a smile.
Ai Ou’s pupils immediately shrank. “Don’t you want them? It’s several dozen pills every year, a couple hundred pills every decade, a couple thousand pills every millennium. Those are Origin King Grade pills, not some ordinary pills!”
“Senior, you are forgetting something. I too am an Alchemist! I can refine those pills myself.”
Ai Ou couldn’t suppress his laughter. “So, you don’t think that this betrothal gift is enough, right!?”
Yang Kai pursued his lips into a smile. “Plus the Star Refining Art, and my Alchemist disciples…”
“Mhmm, it’s almost there!” Ai Ou cheerfully said.
“What if I add dozens of Inter-Star Space Arrays?” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
Ai Ou was dumbstruck for a second. He immediately asked in a low voice, “I just wanted to ask you about this. Can you really lay out this kind of Space Array, an Array that could transmit from one star to another?”
“Senior, since you know about this, then you should have come to know about it from Shen Tu. Didn’t Shen Tu tell you that he had tested it himself!?”
“Shen Tu informed me, but… this King found it hard to believe,” Ai Ou’s face turned serious. “My Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is in control of Cultivation Stars, Ore Stars, and Medicine Stars, a total of eighteen stars! It costs me a fortune to transport material to and from these stars, so if you can really have a Space Array to connect them with each other, then you will be the benefactor of my entire Chamber of Commerce. Let alone marrying Xue Yue, this King can let you marry all of my daughters if you want!”
“Senior, you must be joking! Xue Yue is enough for me! And it has nothing to do with it.”
“Excellent! Sure enough, Xue Yue didn’t find the wrong person. Her vision is pretty good!” Having said this, Ai Ou suddenly added, “Come with me!”
Just as he said this, he started rushing ahead.
Yang Kai had no idea what Ai Ou wanted to do, but he still followed after him without asking any question.
Not long after, the two arrived before a heavily guarded palace. The palace front was guarded by cultivators in golden armour. What’s more, all these cultivators were surprisingly Second-Order Origin Returning Realm masters.
The palace was also surrounded by dense barriers.
It was quite evident that this place was the most important part of Water Sky City.
“Greetings, President,” many guards hastily greeted after noticing Ai Ou’s arrival.
Ai Ou nodded his acknowledgement as he led Yang Kai inside.
Just after entering the palace, Yang Kai felt a faint Space Force blowing on his face.
He immediately focused his eyes, and sure enough, there was a Space Array at the centre of the main hall, which happened to be glowing slightly. This place was guarded by many cultivators, overtly and covertly.
[This should be the Space Array hub of Water Moon Star.] Yang Kai realized it immediately. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so heavily guarded.
Sure enough, Ai Ou then introduced, “This is a Space Array, connecting my Water Moon Star cities and many important strongholds. It’s an extremely important part of Water Moon Star.”
Yang Kai nodded. As he swept through it with his Divine Sense, he immediately knew the internal structure of the Array. He didn’t care about it too much. After all, it wasn’t that hard for him to arrange this kind of Space Array.
“Senior, why do you want to show me this?” Yang Kai asked.
“This is not the thing I want to show you.” Ai Ou smiled mysteriously as he beckoned Yang Kai to follow him. Then, he walked to the side and entered through a side door. There happened to be a staircase spiralling down the palace.
Fist-sized night pearls dotted the walls around the stairs, emitting a soft and warm light, lightening the staircase a little.
Ai Ou led the way for about fifteen minutes before the two came to some place underground.
As they were walking, the front became wider all of a sudden. To Yang Kai’s surprise, there wasn’t an underground cave here but an extremely spacious secret room. There was nothing in this secret room other than something at the very centre of the room that was exuding an ancient desolate aura.
“This…” Yang Kai raised his eyes as he hurried forward. With the help of the light of the night pearls embedded in the walls all around, he circled around an area of about five feet as if he was wandering around an Array.
“This is a Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array?” Yang Kai looked at Ai Ou in amazement.
“Indeed!” Ai Ou earnestly nodded. “As you can see, this is indeed a Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array. It can transmit anyone or anything from Water Moon Star to another star!”
“You can’t use it?” Yang Kai asked again.
“Mhmm! I don’t know what went wrong, but according to records in ancient books, no one has been able to activate it for over ten thousand years already. Over the years, every Chamber of Commerce President had asked someone to repair it. Unfortunately, no one could. Yang Kai, it’s not that this King doesn’t trust you, but this is a very important matter. This King can only believe what he sees. If you can repair this Array, this King will believe you!” Ai Ou said with a solemn look on his face.
“What’s so difficult about it!?” Yang Kai pursed his lips into a smile. He looked extremely relaxed.
“Can you really fix it!?” Ai Ou cheered up right away.
“I can,” Yang Kai nodded his affirmation. “But Senior, where is this Array connected to?”
Ai Ou furrowed his brow slightly as if it was hard to disclose. However, he pondered for a moment before answering, “Since you didn’t hide anything from me, treating me with sincerity, and Xue Yue is deeply in love with you, you aren’t an outsider. There is no harm in telling you. Have you heard of the existences of the Dark Stars in the Star Field?”
“Dark Stars!?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow. He asked in surprise, “Are they the stars that can’t be reached by conventional means and are hiding in the depths of the Star Field? The ones that could not be found with naked eyes?”
“So you do know about them!” Ai Ou nodded. “Yep, those are Dark Stars. The vast Star Field is hiding many secrets. It might seem that there aren’t many Dark Stars in the entire Star Field but it couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are many Dark Stars, it’s just that they couldn’t be found with conventional methods. All the stars with some or a little value had been divvied up by various great forces already. Take my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, for example, we have as many as eighteen stars in our control. If any force wants to grow stronger, they could either resort to invasion and aggression or start searching for a Dark Star. There are many unknown factors to invasion and aggression, so the safest and the most convenient way was to find a Dark Star. Unfortunately, the Dark Stars were very hard to find. Even if someone brushed past it, he or she might fail to notice it.”
Yang Kai nodded and agreed, “I’ve heard about them. It’s said that there are many Natural Arrays in the Star Field hiding some stars. The mystery of these Natural Arrays can even hoodwink the eyes of a Third-Order Origin King master.”
While speaking, Yang Kai brow twitched as he cried in surprise, “Senior, you mean to say that this Space Array is connected to a Dark Star?”
Ai Ou looked a little excited as he nodded and replied, “Yeah, it’s connected to a Dark Star. You may not know, but my Chamber of Commerce’s ancestor used to have some friendship with the Starry Sky Great Emperor. That Dark Star was discovered by the Great Emperor. Finally, he told the Chamber of Commerce’s ancestors. This Array was laid by the Great Emperor himself.”
[It’s actually Yang Yan!?]
Yang Kai was a little surprised. He finally realized why the Array before him was almost the same as the Array arranged by him.
It came from Yang Yan, and his Space Array layouts were all taught by her as well. It would be a wonder instead if they were different.
Originally, Ai Ou thought that Yang Kai would look shocked after hearing about the friendship between the Great Emperor and Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, but he noticed that Yang Kai remained indifferent. Ai Ou was surprised and raised his evaluation of Yang Kai in his heart.
Only someone with a calm temperament could be so indifferent. How could he have known that Yang Kai and Yang Yan had spent a lot of time together? No one in the entire Star Field had a better understanding of the Great Emperors than him.
Ai Ou continued, “That Dark Star is an Ore Star of great value. But unfortunately, my Chamber of Commerce has been sitting on this treasure for over ten thousand years but could never get their hands on it. We really aren’t befitting of the Great Emperor’s trust. Yang Kai, if you can restore this Array, you will be the true benefactor of my Chamber of Commerce. This King…”
After having spoken to this point, Ai Ou discovered that he couldn’t go on.
He originally wanted to thank Yang Kai, but just as he was about to speak, he discovered that he couldn’t thank Yang Kai enough. Yang Kai’s appearance had provided benefits to the Chamber of Commerce beyond his estimate. [What should I use to thank him for all this!]
[Even if I sold the entire Chamber of Commerce to thank him, it would still be lacking.]
“Senior can rest assured, leave it to me.” Yang Kai nodded like it was his responsibility, and he couldn’t shrink from it.
“Alright! Then this King will be waiting. How long will it take?” Ai Ou asked excitedly.
“It will just take a minute!” As Yang Kai spoke, he had already arrived at the foundation of the Space Array that had not been repaired for ten thousand years. Next, he released his Divine Sense to investigate for a moment before an expression that says that he already has a plan appeared on his face.
Then, he took out various materials from the Space Ring, including the pure Space Spirit Crystal he had obtained from the Severed World.
Immediately after, scorching-hot heat broke out from Yang Kai, changing the shapes of all those materials as they were merged into the Array Foundation. At the same time, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense shuttled through the Array Foundation back and forth, repairing and perfecting the interior structure of the Spirit Array with his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
From the beginning to the end, it just took a stick of incense worth of time. Finally, Yang Kai raised his hand as the pure Space Spirit Crystals were inlaid in their position in the Array.
The entire Array suddenly hummed, emitting distinct Space Force fluctuations. The dismal, grey Array started glowing faintly at this moment.
“This…” Ai Ou was simply dumbstruck, his jaw slacked so far that one could almost squeeze a fist into it.
As Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce President and a Second-Order Origin King master who had lived most of his life, he had seen almost all kinds of strange things. He would remain unfazed even if a mountain collapsed before his eyes.
But at this moment, he was shocked.
He thought that it wouldn’t be an easy thing for Yang Kai to repair the Space Array.
He thought that it would take him a month or two, or even a year or two.
He thought that it would take a huge toll on Yang Kai, both physically and mentally.
He thought…
But he only took the time it takes to burn an incense! Much to his surprise, Yang Kai had solved the problem that had been plaguing the entire Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce for tens of thousands of years and untold elites just like that.
[Is this kid Human?]
Ai Ou felt something in his mind break as he looked at the sight before him in disbelief. But the humming of the Array, fluctuating Space Force, and the faint glow were proof in itself that this Space Array had been repaired.
While he was still reeling from the shock, Yang Kai took out some more material and refined them in his hands. After a short while, a token-like thing took shape in his hands.
Immediately after, Yang Kai beckoned Ai Ou and proposed, smiling, “Senior, do you want to take a look at what’s on the other side?”
“Is… is this possible?” Ai Ou sceptically asked. It wasn’t that he was questioning Yang Kai’s ability but everything that he saw had exceeded his scope of understanding.
“Mhmm, this array is the same as what I have learned. The problem was that there was something wrong with the internal structure of the Spirit Array. It was nothing big, I have fixed it already. I have also strengthened the Array Foundation and added some Space Spirit Crystals. It would be enough for this Array to operate for ten thousand years without any problem!”
Ai Ou gulped a mouthful of saliva, but when he remembered that there was a rich Ore Star on the other side of this Array that none of the Chamber of Commerce Presidents had been able to get their hands on, he couldn’t help restrain his excitement. He jumped straight into the Array.
“Senior, take this and stabilize your Soul.” Yang Kai handed Ai Ou the token refined by him and exhorted.
“Is this your especially refined Transmission Token, without which the Space Array can’t be used?” Ai Ou asked, pondering. Obviously, Shen Tu had reported everything to him. So, he knew about the Transmission Token.
“Yeah! However, it’s not that you can’t use it, if you use it rashly, you will be exiled into the endless void.” Yang Kai pursed his lips.
“Great! Since it’s your handiwork, this King doesn’t have to be worried.” Ai Ou broke into laughter. He then raised his hand and proposed, “Let’s head off! This King wants to see how rich that Ore Star is.”
Without further ado, Yang Kai placed many Saint Crystals into the Array and formed a few hand seals, activating the Spirit Array.
A dazzling light suddenly swallowed Yang Kai and Ai Ou before the two disappeared.
Somewhere tens of thousands of kilometres away, on a lonely and desolate star, a light started flickering in a quaint palace. It lasted for ten or so breaths before it slowly dimmed out.
After the light disappeared, Yang Kai and Ai Ou’s figures appeared in the palace.
Unlike Shen Tu, who was dizzy for a long time, Ai Ou quickly came to his senses even after experiencing an inter-star transmission. As expected of Second-Order Origin King, a master with endless Spiritual Energy.
He hurriedly looked around and rapidly spread his Divine Sense. Apparently, he was checking the surrounding environment for danger.