In Tong Xuan Realm, there was a cultivation paradise that had given birth to many talents. It was the world-famous Nine Heavens Holy Land, which was surrounded by nine peaks. Strength was revered here. It had untold masters and was the ruler of the entire Tong Xuan Realm.
But many years ago, the people in the Nine Heavens Holy Land had disappeared all of a sudden. No one knew where they left.
Some rumours had it that they were taken to the vast Star Field by the Nine Heavens Holy Lord, but others said that they had provoked some extremely powerful character and were completely annihilated. There were all kinds of tales, but no one had a clear idea.
Be that as it may, Nine Heavens Holy Land no longer had any owner.
Many Sects and families were eyeing this paradise. After the disappearance of the Nine Heavens Holy Land disciples, everyone was locked in a fierce struggle to grab it, leading to many fights and friction in which countless people lost their lives.
Afterwards, this paradise fell into the hands of two cultivators: Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai.
Both of them were lone wolves with no fixed abode and they had no reputation, for they had never participated in worldly affairs. They only cared about wine and roses, and their goal in life was to tour the entire continent, taste all the best dishes and see all the famous scenic spots.
But when they were passing by the Nine Heavens Holy Land, saw its rich World Energy and beautiful scenery, they occupied it impolitely.
Both of them were Third-Order Saints, so how could any run-of-the-mill Sect or family stop them? All they could do was retreat unwillingly.
This status quo remained for several years, and the two of them slowly got accustomed to this place, so they never left.
At this moment, the two were sitting in a pavilion located on one of the nine peaks facing each other, boiling tea and discussing the Dao. All in all, they were enjoying themselves.
They were surrounded by a dozen or so beautiful young girls who served the duo, their beautiful eyes were glimmering with a strange glow. All these girls were either rescued by the duo during their travels or brought back when their family was destroyed. All of them had either lost their homes or were bullied by villains, unable to defend themselves.
These two were free and easy-going. They neither competed with others nor with the world, and were handsome and suave. Despite being Third-Order Saints, the strongest cultivators in Tong Xuan Realm, they were very amiable and therefore loved and admired by these girls.
At this moment, a Go board filled with criss-cross black and white pieces was lying on a stone table between the two. The way they played was also in line with their temperament; there was no sense of killing on the chessboard. Amazingly, they had surrounded many of each others’ pieces but had not taken them out.
“Brother Yi, I heard that the Money Sect that had 3,000 members was destroyed by a group of people with unknown origins a few days ago. Apart from the people who died or fled, the rest were enslaved by them. These outsiders are really abominable.” Lin Yu Hao gracefully placed a piece but a faint worry was quite visible on his face.
Yi Zheng Kai fiddled with the piece but didn’t place it. He then raised his head and glanced at Lin Yu Hao before speaking indifferently, “Is Brother Lin planning on leaving and doing something about it?”
Lin Yu Hao chuckled as he opened the folding fan in his hand and fanned himself. He then said, “Back then, when you and I became sworn brothers, we swore that we will only seek freedom and will not kill anyone in this life, and if we do, we should be struck by lightning and split asunder. It’s tragic, many people have lost their families, but what’s that got to do with me?”
“Does Brother Lin actually think so?” Yi Zheng Kai looked at Lin Yu Hao with a shadow of a smile on his lips as he went straight to the heart of the matter, “I’m afraid that’s not the case! Brother Lin has been upset these days, even your playing style has changed.”
The latter lowered his head and pulled the Go board before him before laughing in embarrassment. “Haha, that’s really the case. My last move was really wrong.”
“Brother Lin didn’t make a wrong move but… Brother Lin’s heart is filled with murderous intent!” Having said this, Yi Zheng Kai placed his pieces with a solemn look on his face. At that moment, the entire atmosphere of the board changed. Its original calm atmosphere immediately turned fierce and murderous. That cold murderous intent seemed as if it would flow out of the board and soar straight to the sky.
Lin Yu Hao’s expression changed ever so slightly as he remarked calmly, “Brother Yin, it might not be a bad idea!”
Yi Zheng Kai burst into laughter. “You and I are indeed sword brothers. We even think alike.”
Lin Yu Hao heaved a sigh. “All these years, you and I only cared about living freely. We never really cared about the life and death of others on this continent. Even these girls…”
He glanced at the girls around him as a trace of guilt appeared on his face. “I really couldn’t ignore them, so I brought them back. I have been living freely for most of my life. But sometimes I think, is that kind of living really good?”
“In the past, when the Bone Race revived, we completely ignored it. But the masters of three races, the Human, Monster, and Demon Race, under the leadership of Nine Heavens Holy Lord defeated them and protected this land. If not for the Nine Heavens Holy Land Lord and the masters of three races, you and I wouldn’t have been able to live freely all these years! I’m afraid our bones would have been swallowed by the Bone Race already, sow could we make tea and discuss Dao today?”
“You are right!” Yi Zheng Kai nodded his agreement and said, “So Brother Lin is thinking what this Yi is thinking. In the past… we should have fought with the masters of three races. Even if we might have ended up dead, we would have died with a clear conscience.”
“Whenever I think about what happened back then, this Lin feels uneasy. The peace of this continent was bought with their lives, but we have been enjoying and squandering it wantonly…. We don’t deserve this.” Lin Yu Hao had a guilty smile on his face.
Yi Zheng Kai narrowed his eyes. “But now, we have a chance to rectify it. Would Brother Lin join this Yi to follow the footsteps of Nine Heavens Holy Land Lord and make up for the regrets in my heart!?”
“It’s only right and proper!” Lin Yu Hao stood up at once and proclaimed with heroic ardour, “This continent birthed and raised me, how can I watch those outsiders act recklessly? You and I are the strongest cultivators in this world. If even we don’t do anything, then who would raise this banner?”
“Well said!” Yi Zheng Kai clapped and stood up, “Since Brother Lin has made up his mind, then this Yi will bet his life and join you in this fight!”
“Depending on you two!?” A disdainful voice suddenly rang.
The righteous and passionate flame in Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai’s hearts was suddenly doused with cold water. Their expressions immediately changed as they looked around and shouted, “Who’s there?”
Just as their words fell, a young man appeared out of nowhere and approached them step by step, treading the air with a scornful smile hanging on his lips.
He appeared without warning, as if he had come out of the Void.
Yi Zheng Kai and Lin Yu Hao immediately focused their gaze straight at him before releasing their Divine Sense towards the young man, but the two brothers turned pale as they noticed that their Divine Sense went right through him. Like a rock sinking into the sea, they didn’t get any reaction.
More importantly, they couldn’t sense any energy fluctuation coming from the young man. He gave the impression of an ordinary person.
However, the two knew that this young man was far from ordinary and it was all because his cultivation far superseded theirs.
“Are you an outsider who is wreaking havoc on the continent?” Yi Zheng Kai appeared to have been struck with a realization and he asked aloud, at the same time winking at Lin Yu Hao. The duo secretly started circulating their Saint Qi, preparing to fight to their deaths if something went wrong.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, didn’t even pay any attention to them. He just walked right by them and sat down by the stone table. He then beckoned to a dazed girl and said with a smile, “Miss, can you pour me a cup of tea? I just had a fight with someone, so I’m really thirsty.”
But that girl didn’t move an inch as if she was still reeling from a big shock.
In these girls’ opinion, Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai were almost omnipotent. They were the strongest people in the world, but when Yang Kai appeared, the two men they admired looked as if they had encountered the God of Plague; their foreheads were drenched in sweat.
The girl immediately wondered what made Yang Kai so tyrannical? He looked very ordinary!
But after having heard Yi Zheng Kai, she gritted her teeth and said, “Bad Guy, I will not pour you the tea prepared for the Young Lords.”
“Bad Guy!?” Yang Kai was taken aback. He pointed to his nose and asked, “Me!? How do I look like a bad guy to you?”
“You are one of the outsiders who had been killing and enslaving us! If you aren’t a bad guy, what are you? A good guy?” The girl was young and ignorant. She spoke rudely. She didn’t give even a bit of face to Yang Kai.
Not just her, the dozen or so girls standing nearby were all glaring at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai felt extremely uncomfortable under their murderous gazes. He touched his nose and said, feeling ill at ease, “When did I say I was an outsider? Just because your Young Lord said so? Do you trust him so much?”
“Young Lord is always right!” The girl straightened her chest, which just emphasized her developing chest. It was quite an interesting sight.
Yang Kai took a side glance at Yi Zheng Kai before chuckling.
Yi Zheng Kai’s face turned ugly. He quickly reprimanded, lest Yang Kai was offended, “Ling’er, don’t be rude! Pour tea for this friend!”
After Yi Zheng Kai had spoken, the girl named Ling’er reluctantly walked up to Yang Kai, picked up the teapot, and filled up a cup before retreating angrily.
“Thanks.” Yang Kai thanked as he picked the cup and drank in one go. “It’s just passable.”
“Just passable!?” Lin Yu Hai’s veins bulged in anger as he quickly retorted, “Do you what kind of tea is this?”
“I don’t know.” Yang Kai shook his head.
Lin Yu Hao let out a cold snort and explained, “It’s White Snow of Sun. No money can buy it because it will only be produced once or twice in a century. Also, it’s prepared using Supreme True Water, yet you said it’s just…”
“Alright! Alright!” Yang Kai waved his hand and interrupted his grumbles. “It’s just tea, isn’t it? Isn’t it just used for drinking? What’s the point of praising it so much? It will be gone in one sip.”
“You…” Lin Yu Hao was almost angered to death.
Yi Zheng Kai said, “Brother Lin, why are you explaining this to him? You can see in one glance, this guy is not a man of elegance.”
“Hmph!” Lin Yu Hao let out a cold snort.
“What’s the point of elegance?” Yang Kai sneered. “Can you eat it? Can it kill anyone? The world is in chaos. If you are so elegant, why don’t you two wield this elegance and kill those guys, returning peace and order to this continent?”
Just as Yang Kai said this, Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai looked embarrassed. Lin Yu Hao tried to justify himself, “You don’t need to tell us! Brother Yi and I were just about to go out and teach those scoundrels a good lesson.”
“Forget it.” Yang Kai burst into laughter. “You two would just be slapped to death if you really went with just this level of strength.”
“How dare you humiliate us!” Lin Yu Hao blew his top. He formed some weird seals and shouted angrily, “I don’t care who you are, since you dare to humiliate Brother Yi and I, be ready to accept due punishment! Plucking Flower Finger!”
Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai were both straightforward people that could not bear being so despised and humiliated by Yang Kai.
Plucking Flower Finger was a supreme Secret Technique that Lin Yu Hao had developed after many years. It was extremely powerful and could kill the target without drawing any blood, very much in line with his style.
In a flash, a flower made of World Energy shot out from his finger, while an invisible energy locked on to Yang Kai.
Yin Zheng Kai, on the other hand, stood aside; he had no intention of attacking with Lin Yu Hao, focusing all his attention on Yang Kai instead. He had a hunch that Lin Yu Hao’s ultimate technique would be useless against Yang Kai because this young man seemed very strong.
Be that as it may, he could gauge Yang Kai’s depth through Yang Kai’s reaction. So, Yi Zheng Kai was keeping an eye on him.
But in the next moment, a look of terror took over his face as he muttered to himself, “How is this possible?”
Yang Kai didn’t even move his body. All he did was gently blow and it directly dispersed Lin Yu Hao’s Plucking Flower Finger, the flowers scattering into petals before it could touch Yang Kai.
Lin Yu Hao was also dumbstruck. He glanced at Yi Zheng Kai as a chill ran down his spine.
The other party had broken his strongest Secret Technique just like that, evidence that Yang Kai’s cultivation had reached a level that the two couldn’t even fathom. Even if there was too big of a gap in their cultivation, such a thing was still impossible.
“What a superb Secret Technique.” Yang Kai chuckled lightly. “Unfortunately, your cultivation is too low. It can’t play a big role.”
It sounded insulting, but rather than feeling insulted, a pondering look appeared on Lin Yu Hao’s face.
In cultivation, it didn’t matter who started cultivating first, what mattered was who had higher cultivation. Yang Kai might seem young, but he was naturally qualified to comment with his strength.
Having said this, Yang Kai’s face sank again. “You two have been hiding here, drinking tea and discussing the Dao without paying attention to the worldly affairs. It might look like you are free and unrestrained but are you really free to do as you like?”
Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai looked at each other. An embarrassed look appeared on their faces.
Yang Kai sneered and continued, “If you feel that you are free and at peace, then forget it, but I don’t think you are. If you want to escape from the world, then why care about the world? Why bring trouble to yourself for nothing? It’s really ridiculous. Either seclude yourself in the mountains and forests for your entire life or enter the world of mortals, enjoying all aspects of life. On the road of Martial Dao, your heart needs to be free and at ease. You need to keep forging ahead with firm determination. If you calculate your gain and losses, being overly cautious and indecisive, you will never achieve anything in your life!”
“Needs to be free and at ease!” Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai were hit with a shock. A pondering look immediately appeared on their faces. Their expression kept on changing; sometimes they looked confused, sometimes they looked excited. It seemed as if they were comprehending something.
Yang Kai glanced at them and chuckled. He then beckoned to the girl named Ling’er. “Miss, pour me another cup, and don’t be so angry.”
Ling’er nibbled her lips and hugged the teapot tightly while glaring at Yang Kai. It seemed as if she could guard it with her life.
Yang Kai rubbed his nose in embarrassment.
Right at this moment, Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai suddenly let out a long roar towards the sky. Their long roars immediately summoned the winds and clouds. In the blink of an eye, the Nine Heavens Holy Land was covered in lightning and thunder. It seemed as if a blanket of dark clouds had fallen from above.
“Oh!? It looks like they are about to advance!” Yang Kai looked at the sky. It was clearly the baptism of the world that a cultivator had to face when he was about to break through by a Great Realm.
He hadn’t expected these two guys, who had occupied the Nine Heavens Holy Land like a dove occupies the magpie’s nest, would break through their own shackles because of his words. Just from this, it was quite evident that these two guys were very talented. It was just that they were limited by the meagre World Energy of Tong Xuan Realm, and were unable to break through.
Just as they finished howling, Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai flew into the sky with a serious look on their faces and separated from each other, preparing to face the World Energy baptism.
“What did you do to the two Young Lords?” Ling’er’s beautiful face lost all colour as she rushed to Yang Kai and asked loudly.
The other girls also rushed over and surrounded Yang Kai. Worry and anger were clearly visible in their beautiful eyes; worried for Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai while angry at Yang Kai.
It seemed that as long as something happened to Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai, they would beat Yang Kai to death.
“I didn’t do anything. Weren’t you watching?” Yang Kai was in a jam. “I just spoke a few words to them that’s all.”
“Then why are they like this?” Ling’er was on the verge of crying.
“Don’t worry, they will come down stronger in a while!” Yang Kai patiently explained.
“Save it for someone who would believe you, you scoundrel! Sisters, let’s beat him up.” A round-faced girl from the crowd shouted angrily.
Just as she proposed this, all the girls raised their fists and rained their punches at Yang Kai.
“Huh, where is he?” In the next moment, Ling’er screamed in shock. She was shocked to discover that Yang Kai, who should be sitting on the chair, couldn’t be found anywhere. All their punches just hit the air.
“Was he… a ghost?” That round-faced girl turned pale as she asked cautiously.
Just as she said this, everyone turned pale and shuddered in horror when they recalled that they had been with the ghost for so long.
On one of the Nine Peaks, Yang Kai heaved a sigh. “The girls are afraid of nothing these days.”
These girls’ Martial Dao cultivation might not be high, but their determination to defend Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai was not a joke. It really made Yang Kai helpless. If he stayed any longer, he might have been crushed by the waves, so Yang Kai had no choice but to flee decisively.
In the sky, two human figures stood in the air as the might of heaven and earth struck them one after another, making them scream, but their cries contained unyielding will and joy.
After a long while, the phenomena over the Nine Heavens Holy Land finally and slowly scattered.
Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai immediately appeared in the pavilion at the same time. They looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Although the two looked quite embarrassed, they had already broken through the Saint Realm and advanced to the Saint King Realm.
“Young Lords, are you all right?” Ling’er and the girls anxiously rushed over and asked.
“We are okay! Well, where is that friend?” Lin Yu Hao looked around but when he didn’t find Yang Kai, he was shocked.
“That Ghost was driven away by us!” Ling’er waved her fist as she claimed the credit.
“Ghost…” Yi Zheng Kai’s face twitched a little. Although he had no idea how strong Yang Kai was, judging by the fact that Lin Yu Hao and he advanced simultaneously with just a few words from him was a proof in itself that Yang Kai stood at a height they could only look up to. Even if they had broken through to the Saint Realm, they didn’t dare to compare themselves with Yang Kai.
Such a powerful expert had been called a ghost by these girls.
“You actually drove him away?” Lin Yu Hao looked upset.
“Young Lord, did we do something wrong?” Ling’er asked nervously.
“No harm, no harm!” Yi Zheng Kai hurriedly waved his hand, “It’s not related to you, you guys…”
Yi Zheng Kai abruptly paused before he could finish anything. He perked his ears to listen closely. Suddenly, a look of joy appeared on his face. He immediately looked at Lin Yu Hao and found that he too was looking at him happily. The two understood each other and nodded slightly.
“You guys stay here, Brother Yi and I will be back in a jiffy.” Lin Yu Hao ordered before he stamped on the ground and shot towards a direction. Yi Zheng Kai closely followed behind him.
After a few minutes, the two simultaneously arrived at the peak where Yang Kai was. When they caught sight of that mysterious and eminent figure, both of them turned serious and cupped their fists. “Thank you very much for your advice, Senior. I hope Senior can forgive us for our past transgression.”
Although they didn’t know how old Yang Kai was, since he was stronger than them, he might be an old monster who had lived for hundreds of years. Addressing him as a Senior wasn’t shameful.
“Senior!?” Yang Kai touched his nose and said with a chuckle, “Don’t address me like that, I’m very young. Furthermore, I didn’t point you to how to break through, you broke through on your own. It has nothing to do with me.”
Had Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai not prepared to go out and contribute to the continent, Yang Kai would not have bothered to pay attention to them.
At first, he had decided to drive the two away. This Nine Heavens Holy Land was his territory, so he wanted to lay a Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array here. How could he allow someone else to occupy it? But after he noticed that these two were good-hearted, Yang Kai came up with another idea.
Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai looked at each other before the former asked, “Then… how do we address you, Friend?”
“Yang Kai!”
“Yang Kai!?” Yi Zheng Kai furrowed his brow. “I think… Where have I heard this name? It sounds so familiar.”
“Your Excellency, you wouldn’t happen to be…” Lin Yu Hao, on the other hand, looked at Yang Kai in shock. “Are you…”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
“It’s really you!?” Lin Yu Hao was dumbfounded.
“Brother Lin…” Yi Zheng Kai looked at Lin Yu Hao for help. He still hadn’t figured out where he had heard the name Yang Kai.
“Brother Yi is truly forgetful.” Lin Yu Hao smiled bitterly, “Weren’t we just discussing that we will follow the Nine Heavens Holy Lord’s footsteps? Now, that very Lord had appeared before us and Brother Yi can’t even recognize him!?”
Yi Zheng Kai lost his voice, “Nine Heavens Holy Lord! So you are the Nine Heavens Holy Lord!?”
Nine Heavens Holy Land Lord was like the Great Demon God to the entire Tong Xuan Realm. He was a legendary figure.
Many people only knew of Nine Heavens Holy Land Lord but unaware of his name, just like the Great Demon God. After so many years, everyone only knew of Great Demon God, but most had forgotten his name.
Yi Zheng Kai couldn’t recall for a while, but when Lin Yu Hao reminded him, he was completely shocked.
In the next moment, his expression changed as drops of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He immediately cupped his fists and apologized, “It turns out that Holy Master Yang had appeared before us, but Brother Lin and I had eyes but failed to see. I hope Holy Master Yang will forgive us.”
Lin Yu Hao too apologized in horror, “Since Holy Master Yang has returned, Brother Yi and I will immediately leave the Nine Heavens Holy Land. I hope Holy Master Yang won’t blame us for disturbing this paradise.”
Occupying someone else’s headquarters without even informing them was a very serious issue. Although the Nine Heavens Holy Land had been empty for many years, it didn’t mean that one could occupy it at will. In case Yang Kai chose to look into it, Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai would not be able to compensate for it with their deaths, no matter how many lives they had.
So, after they came to know Yang Kai’s identity, Lin Yu Hao had immediately decided to withdraw.
“Why? You don’t have to leave,” Yang Kai chuckled.
But Lin Yu Hao looked horrified. He immediately tried to explain, “Holy Master Yang, Brother Yi and I had no idea that you were still in Tong Xuan Realm. We thought you had…”
“You don’t have to explain. Well, I don’t mean to make trouble for you,” Yang Kai waved his hand and interrupted him before adding in an indifferent manner. “If you like this place, I can gift you the Nine Heavens Holy Land.”
“Gift us!?” The two were really dumbstruck this time. They had no idea what Yang Kai was cooking.
“That’s right, gift you.” Yang Kai nodded. “But you have to do something for me.”
Lin Yu Hao sunk into silence for a moment before asking cautiously, “I wonder what we can do for you. Holy Master Yang, can you please elaborate.”
“It’s nothing big. You don’t have to be so nervous.” Yang Kai smiled kindly. “You just have to keep watch on this place, stopping any outsiders from coming in at will. I will be arranging a Spirit Array here, and you just have to guard that Spirit Array in the future.”
“So simple!?” Yi Zheng Kai was extremely surprised.
“It’s just that simple.” Yang Kai nodded. “Of course, I don’t like forcing anyone. If you don’t want to, then forget it. I will find someone else.”
Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai glanced at each other. They were finding it rather difficult to make up their minds.
Even though Yang Kai looked calm and relaxed when he mentioned this, they knew that the Spirit Array should be of absolute importance. If they couldn’t guard it well, they would just be offending Yang Kai for no reason, and judging by the strength Yang Kai had just displayed, it was not a responsibility they could bear.
The two exchanged glances and conversed with their Divine Senses for a long time, but they couldn’t reach an agreement.
“Oh, you two seem reluctant. If that’s the case, then forget it, I’ll look for someone else. It doesn’t matter if their cultivation is low, I will give them some artifacts, pills, and Secret Arts. That will be enough to guard this place,” While speaking, Yang Kai turned around to leave.
“Wait!” Lin Yu Hao stopped him at once. A serious look appeared on his face as he said, “Holy Master Yang, please wait. We have already decided.”
“Really?” Yang Kai turned and looked at them.
“Yes,” Yi Zheng Kai hurriedly nodded his agreement. “Back then, Holy Master Yang commanded the masters of three races and confronted the Bone Race, defending the continent. Although our cultivation is low, we have received Holy Master Yang’s guidance. We don’t want to just drag out our ignoble existence anymore. We would like to contribute to the peace of this continent.”
“We might not have an idea what Spirit Array Holy Master Yang wants us to guard, but since it’s laid by Holy Master Yang, it must be related to the safety of the continent. It’s our duty, and we can’t decline it, so please leave it to us, Holy Master Yang!” Lin Yu Hao said in a loud and sonorous voice.
“You don’t need to force yourselves.” Yang Kai rubbed his forehead, “I don’t like to force others. It will be very boring to guard the Spirit Array here. You might even need to guard it for generations.”
“Why would that be difficult?” Yi Zheng Kai proudly said, “Brother Lin and I don’t like to hustle and bustle, we like to keep away from distracting thoughts and desires. The Holy Land is beautiful and rich in World Energy. It would be a great honour for us to stay here, so how can it be boring?”
“Brother Yi is right.” Lin Yu Hao nodded with an earnest look. “This seems to be very important. If Holy Master Yang has no candidates, I hope Holy Master Yang can consider us two brothers.”
“But your cultivation is a little low.” Yang Kai rubbed his chin as if he was being picky.
“We aren’t that old. Also, we have broken past the Saint Realm. We will grow stronger as long as we keep on cultivating.” Lin Yu Hao eagerly looked at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai pondered for a long while before he heaved a sigh and said, “Forget it! Since you insist so much, this Holy Master would entrust you with this important task. I hope you don’t take it lightly, you must guard this place well.”
“Holy Master Yang, don’t worry. As long as we two are alive, no outsider can set foot in Holy Land. If anyone dares to force themselves in, we will stop and kill them within five steps!” Lin Yu Hao said in a low and deep voice.
“Great! I like this kind of determination. Then, I will leave the Holy Land to you two, I hope you will pay more attention to it.”
Yi Zheng Kai and Li Yu Hao were overjoyed upon hearing this. The former put a grin on his face and said, “Holy Master Yang, you mentioned gifting some Secret Techniques and pills. I…”
“And Secret Arts… Cough Cough…” Lin Yu Hao coughed in embarrassment.
“I’ll find something suitable for you,” having said this, Yang Kai rummaged through his Space Ring.
There were many things in his Space Ring, looted after killing his enemies. Naturally, there was no shortage for Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai. After a while, Yang Kai took out a few Saint King Grade artifacts and numerous Spirit Pills. He also taught them two suitable cultivation techniques and few Secret Techniques and Martial Skills.
The two had never seen Saint King Grade artifacts and pills, or the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques that seemed to be tailor-made for them. They could not hold their excitement.
Although they pursued free and easy life, every cultivator yearned for stronger and higher Martial Dao.
Yang Kai seemed to have opened another door for them.
After rejoicing, Yi Zheng Kai seemed to have thought of something. He immediately notified in a solemn voice, “By the way, Holy Master Yang, many things have happened in Tong Xuan Realm this year. A group of foreign cultivators had been wreaking havoc. I wonder whether Holy Master Yang would get rid of them?”
“You don’t have to worry about this. I have already punished their leader. As for the remaining trash, my companion is cleaning them up. Peace and order will return to the continent in a few days,” Yang Kai calmly said.
Having heard Yang Kai speak of it in such a dismissive manner, Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai were extremely shocked.
They might not have any idea about how powerful these outsiders were, but judging by the fact that they could destroy and enslave those great forces, Tong Xuan Realm cultivators definitely could not resist these outsiders. But much to their surprise and horror, these very outsiders were completely powerless before Yang Kai and would be wiped clean in just a few days.
The two immediately realized Yang Kai’s strength in disguise.
“Hmm, you two have just advanced. If you don’t know anything about your current realm, you can ask me. I will explain it to you.” Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry to arrange the Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array. Since he wanted Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai to guard this place, he would naturally make them stronger. Therefore, he intended to help them.
Lin Yu Hao was taken by surprise. He immediately asked, “I hope Holy Master Yang can explain to us what realm we are actually in? Although we can feel that we have already surpassed Saint Realm, we are still at a loss.”
“Mhmm, due to Tong Xuan Realm thin World Energy, Saint Realm is the highest anyone can generally reach and it’s natural that you don’t understand this. Your current realm is called the Saint King Realm, a realm above the Saint!”
“Above the Saint Realm!” Both were dumbstruck.
Over the next few hours, Yang Kai systematically taught Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai of the division of upper realms in the Martial Dao, and also explained to them the matters they should pay attention to during cultivation. The two kept nodding over these hours. They had received a lot of benefits.
Only after half a day did Yang Kai ask them to withdraw and consolidate their current realm. Meanwhile, he began to look for a suitable place to arrange the Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array.
More than ten days later, the Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array had taken shape in the Holy Land. Yang Kai, after making the final adjustments, poured his Saint Qi into it. The Array immediately started running, shining with dazzling white light and overflowing with an intense Space Force.
“It can really connect to Azure Tree Star!” Yang Kai looked surprised, “It looks like these Space Spirit Crystals from the Severed World are indeed extraordinary.”
He wasn’t sure that the Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array would connect to the one in the Azure Tree Star Palace, but after finishing it, he discovered that it was powerful enough to do so. The two Cross-Cultivation Star Space Arrays resonated with each other as they established a mysterious connection in the void.
All of this was due to those pure Space Spirit Crystals. If he didn’t bring them from the Severed World and look for them outside, perhaps he would not have been able to achieve this.
“Isn’t this a Space Array?” Gui Zu appeared beside Yang Kai like a ghost. His eyes were glued to the Array before him, incredibly surprised.
“Mhmm, it’s a Space Array.” Yang Kai nodded his affirmation.
In fact, Gui Zu had arrived at Nine Heavens Holy Land a few days ago, it was just that Yang Kai was busy, so the former didn’t bother him until now.
After circling around the Space Array a few times, Gui Zu shook his head and praised, “It’s really amazing. I’m afraid this Old Man will never be able to understand its mystery! This Old Man deserved to be trapped on the floating continent for two thousand years. Where can this Array teleport?”
“Azure Tree Star.”
“What!?” Gui Zu stood slack-jawed. “You mean… Azure Tree Star? The same Azure Tree Star of the Sword Union!?”
“Indeed!”
“We are hundreds of millions of kilometres away from Azure Tree Star. Can just this one Space Array…?”
“There is not just this one. There are other Space Arrays in-between the two, that’s why the connection could be achieved,” Yang Kai explained a little, but Gui Zu still couldn’t believe it.
That was billions of kilometres away. Even with his cultivation, it would take almost a year to fly there, but now, this distance was narrowed to zero by two Space Arrays.
“Well, what’s the result of Elder’s action?” Yang Kai looked at Gui Zu and asked.
“All killed.” Gui Zu grinned. “I also seized an Origin Grade High-Rank Starship! This Spirit Devouring Sect is really rich.”
“Excellent! What about the Spirit Devouring Crystals!?” Yang Kai looked at him with a happy smile.
Gui Zu immediately grew vigilant and said, “What do you mean? Those are this Elder’s trophies. Even if it’s Sect Master, you can’t ask for it like this.”
“Don’t be so serious, Elder. The energy in these Spirit Devouring Crystals belongs to this continent, it’s reasonable to return it. Be good and give me those Spirit Devouring Crystals. Besides, they won’t be of much help to you. They might improve your strength but I’m afraid it would make your foundation unstable, and I don’t think Elder would like that.”
After squabbling with Gui Zu for a long time, Yang Kai finally got him to return those Spirit Devouring Crystals. In exchange, he would ask Little Senior Sister to refine a few Origin King Grade pills for him after returning to High Heaven Sect.
How would Gui Zu know that Little Senior Sister could refine Origin King Grade pills easily? With her natural talent, she could refine pills with less effort than ordinary alchemists, so it was as simple a matter as asking. If he came to know this, he would probably call Yang Kai cunning and insidious.
Gui Zu brought back forty to fifty Spirit Devouring Crystals, all of which were smashed by Yang Kai, returning their energy to this world.
Tong Xuan Realm was already connected to the entire Star Field and could continuously absorb the energy of stars. With Xia Ning Chang as its Star Master, it would surely prosper again in time.
Next, Yang Kai summoned Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai from their retreat and gave a Transmission Token refined by him. He asked them to take good care of Nine Heavens Holy Land and enter the Space Array with the Transmission Token, reporting to Azure Tree Star, if Tong Xuan Realm was in a crisis due to outsiders again.
The two had just advanced to Saint King Realm. They weren’t that strong, and as such, Yang Kai left a Blood Beast just to be on the safe side. Naturally, it was the Steel Flame Ghost Spider that had reached the Tenth-Order. Although the Steel Flame Ghost Spider’s strength had declined slightly after being refined into a Blood Beast, anyone below the Origin King Realm was not its opponent. Even if it was up against an Origin King, it could still deal with the situation.
With the Steel Flame Ghost Spider guarding the Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai could finally rest assured and leave.
After he left Shadowed Star, he had arranged several Cross-Cultivation Star Space Arrays along the road, completely connecting Shadowed Star with his homeland. In the future, it would be extremely convenient to go back and forth or to another Cultivation Star.
This was just the beginning. Yang Kai’s plan was to spread the Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array throughout the Star Field so that every prosperous Cultivation Star would be connected.
However, this was a time-consuming and laborious project. More importantly, it needed a lot of Space Spirit Crystals, so Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry.
After arranging the matters of Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai stepped into the Space Array with Gui Zu, poured in his Saint Qi, and activated the Spirit Array.
Meanwhile, Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai respectfully sent them off.
Azure Tree Star, Twin Shark Island, Yang Kai’s palace…
He Zao and He Miao sisters were sitting cross-legged in the depths of the palace, facing each other. The two sisters had no idea how profound the Secret Art they were cultivating was. As their palm came in contact with each other, their Saint Qi met and circulated non-stop in their bodies. Meanwhile, the World Energy outside kept pouring into their acupoints.
There was no wind blowing in the hall, yet their hair was dancing and their clothes were flapping continuously.
At this time, the Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array in the main hall gave off strange noises as it bloomed with a dazzling white glow.
He Zao and He Miao were instantly jolted in shock. They opened their pretty eyes and immediately stood up, looking towards the Array.
“Someone came from Shadowed Star again,” He Zao said, pondering. Ever since Yang Kai left with Luo Lan, cultivators of the High Heaven Sect kept arriving from Shadowed Star. All of them were at the peak of Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, and one had even reached the Origin King Realm. The sisters gradually realized the power and heritage of the High Heaven Sect, feeling proud to be a member of such a Sect. Now, when they saw the Spirit Array up and running again, He Zao suddenly thought that someone was coming from High Heaven Sect again.
As soon as her voice fell, two vague figures appeared in the centre of the Array and slowly grew distinct with time. After the white light dissipated, Yang Kai and Gui Zu appeared at the same time.
“Ah, it’s Brother Yang Kai!” He Miao cried in joy.
The nearby He Zao immediately knocked her head and rebuked, “It’s Sect Master!”
He Miao stuck out her tongue, showing a coy expression.
The two sisters came to Yang Kai, elegantly bowed, and greeted with joy, “Greetings, Sect Master!”
“Are you on duty here?” Yang Kai looked around and asked with a smile.
“Yes,” He Zao replied with a sweet smile.
“Thank you.” Yang Kai nodded gently to her.
Gui Zu recovered from the long-distance teleportation only now. He shook his head and complained, looking ill at ease, “It was really uncomfortable, I felt like I was going to be swallowed by the void.”
Even someone as strong as he felt uncomfortable during this kind of super-long-distance teleportation. As for those with weaker cultivation than his, it would take them a good long while to recover and stabilize their aura after each teleportation.
If anyone stepped into the Space Array without the Transmission Token specifically refined by Yang Kai, they would be banished into the endless void, unable to find their way forever.
“He is…” He Zao looked at Gui Zu with a frown. Gui Zu was radiating a sinister and loathsome aura. It made her extremely uncomfortable. In just one glance, she could tell that he was far from good. She didn’t understand how Yang Kai could mingle with someone like him.
“Heh heh, are these two little girls your Sect’s disciples?” Gui Zu asked before Yang Kai could explain.
“Mhmm, He Zao, He Miao, and their master, Yue Xi, have been accepted into the High Heaven Sect by me,” answered Yang Kai, nodding his head. While answering, he beckoned to He Zao and He Miao and said, “Come and greet Supreme Elder.”
“Supreme Elder!?” He Zao and He Miao were shocked. They hadn’t expected this old guy with such a detestable aura to actually be their Sect’s Supreme Elder.
But since Yang Kai had said so, there would naturally be no mistake.
They immediately converged their thoughts, bowed and greeted Gui Zu earnestly, “Disciple greets Supreme Elder!”
“Hahaha!” Gui Zu suddenly started laughing like crazy. He looked very proud. He forced a kind smile, raised his hand, and said, “Relax, relax! You girls are pretty good. Well, since we are meeting for the first time, this Old Man will have to give you some gifts.”
“Ah!?” It never occurred to He Zao and He Miao that they would receive such benefits by just greeting. Amazed, they looked at Yang Kai for his opinion.
Yang Kai looked at Gui Zu with a strange look. He could easily guess that Gui Zu, who had been alone for so long, was feeling a little complacent after suddenly becoming the Supreme Elder of High Heaven Sect and respected by the disciples so much.
Otherwise, why would he give them any gifts after just meeting the Sect disciples?
None of the other Sects’ Supreme Elders was so generous.
All Supreme Elders were symbolic existences. They were the target of every disciple’s admiration and worship. Only those disciples who had made great contributions to the sect or had outstanding aptitude would be eligible to meet them in person, let alone receive some advice and gifts.
By acting like this, Gui Zu might have shown the amiability of a Supreme Elder, but it was at the expense of his majesty.
However, that didn’t matter, it was a novel experience for him. How could Yang Kai stop it? He smiled and said, “Since Supreme Elder is gifting you, take it.”
He Zao and He Miao were overjoyed. They immediately thanked, “Thank you, Supreme Elder.”
“Mhmm.” Gui Zu smiled in return. He took out two copper lock-like things from his Space Ring as if he was already prepared. He waved his hand and said as the two copper locks floated to He Zao and He Miao, “This is a set of Twin Lock artifacts. They are not used for fighting, but to assist in cultivation. Refine them separately, and when you cultivate with these Twin Locks in the future, they will help you two reach the ‘One Heart and Soul State,’ doubling your cultivation efficiency.”
“How generous of Supreme Elder!” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up immediately. Although this set of artifacts weren’t high-grade, just releasing Mid-Rank Origin Grade fluctuations, these kinds of auxiliary artifacts were extremely rare. They were especially suitable for siblings like He Zao and He Miao.
Clearly, Gui Zu had noticed that they were related by blood, so he especially gave them these Twin Locks.
Gui Zu smiled and didn’t say anything, acting like a powerful master.
He Zao and He Miao sisters took the Twin Locks and played with them joyfully.
“Ask your master to come and see me. I have something to ask her,” having said this, Yang Kai left the hall with Gui Zu and moved to the bedroom.
Yue Xi rushed over after a short while. She must have heard about Gui Zu from He Zao and He Miao, as she didn’t look that surprised after meeting Gui Zu. Rather she generously bowed to Gui Zu.
“How did the Sect Master’s trip go?”
In the bedroom, Yang Kai and Gui Zu were sitting apart. Yue Xi stood before the right-hand seat and asked in a gentle voice.
“It was okay! Did anything unusual happen during my absence? Did any ignorant people come looking for trouble?” Yang Kai took a sip of tea and asked indifferently.
“Nothing happened. Now, everyone on Azure Tree Star knows that Twin Shark Island is under Senior Luo Lan’s shelter, so no one dares to come here and seek their deaths. The cultivators are also living peacefully on the island, and would pay Saint Crystals as tribute every month.”
“That’s better! Did anyone come from the High Heaven Sect?”
“I was just about to report it to the Sect Master.” Yue Xi smiled slightly with grace. “Many people have come from the High Heaven Sect after Sect Master left. This Disciple has written down their names. Sect Master, please check.”
Having said this, she stepped forward and offered a sheet of beast hide.
Yang Kai went through it and found Qian Tong, Yang Xiu Zhu, Lin Yu Rao, Chu Han Yi, Mu Yu, and others’ names on it. Except for Qian Tong, who was in Origin King Realm, everyone else had reached the peak of Third-Order Origin Returning Realm.
Their purpose was self-evident: They wanted to use the World Principles of Azure Tree Star to attack the barrier of Origin King Realm.
“Huh, Great Elder has also come?” Yang Kai was puzzled at the sight of Ye Xi Yun’s name on the list. Ye Xi Yun had once said that she wanted to protect Yang Yan. Before the Great Emperor woke up, she would never leave the High Heaven Sect. [And yet she had come to Azure Tree Star. Could it be…]
Having considered everything, Yang Kai was stunned. He hurriedly asked, “When did the Great Elder arrive?”
“Great Elder Ye arrived three months ago.”
“Do you know where she is now?”
Judging by the eager look on Yang Kai’s face, Yue Xi knew that this was important. She immediately answered in embarrassment, “This Disciple only knows that Temple Master Qian is currently in Azure Tree Palace to discuss the profundities of Origin King Realm. As for the others… Please forgive me, Sect Master. Disciple has no idea where they have gone. After arriving here, every Elder only told Disciple that they are leaving to search for a secret place to enter retreat. Therefore…”
“Hmm, I’m not blaming you for this, you don’t have to rebuke yourself.” Yang Kai said in a comforting voice. Ye Xi Yun and the others came here to break through to the Origin King Realm, so they went looking for a suitable place for their retreat. Azure Tree Star was so big, and they could easily find a secluded spot. How would Yue Xi know where they were?
Ye Xi Yun actually leaving Shadowed Star to come to Azure Tree Star came as a great shock to Yang Kai.
Frowning, various thoughts churned in his mind as his expression fluctuated.
Seeing him like this, Gui Zu and Yue Xi did not disturb him.
After a while, Yang Kai got up and said decisively, “Supreme Elder, let’s return to the Sect!”
“I’d like nothing more!” Gui Zu grinned meaningfully. Although he had just joined High Heaven Sect and could now be regarded as its Supreme Elder, he had yet to see the Sect itself, so he was quite eager to. This was also his chance to establish a lofty and majestic image.
Gui Zu was interested in what being admired by thousands of people would feel like.
“Sect Master, Senior Luo Lan visited once after returning to Azure Tree Star and told this disciple that if Sect Master returned, she would very much like for him to visit Azure Tree Palace, or allow her to visit you here,” Yue Xi saw Yang Kai about to leave and quickly reported.
“That can wait; Luo Lan shouldn’t have anything vital to discuss with me,” Yang Kai pondered for a moment before shaking his head, “Just tell her that I will see her when I have time.”
Luo Lan probably just wanted to offer her thanks; after all, in the medicine valley of the Severed World, he had helped her a lot. If he had not given her that Space Mark, Luo Lan wouldn’t have been able to move about freely.
Although Yang Kai did not know how much she had gained exactly, it certainly was not a small amount.
“Yes! Safe travels, Sect Master and Supreme Elder!” Yue Xi bid formal farewells.
“En, you’ve worked hard as well. Take this little thing as a gift for our first meeting,” Gui Zu said, throwing something out. Yang Kai did not see what it was, but it should be an artifact.
Yue Xi’s voice cried out from behind as the pair walked off, “Many thanks for the gracious reward, Supreme Elder!”
Soon after, the two arrived at the room where the Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array was placed, and under the admiring gazes of He Zao and He Miao, Yang Kai and Gui Zu activated the array to travel to Shadowed Star.
“This old master’s luck seems a bit bad, following you and experiencing this unpleasant sensation without any chance to recuperate,” Gui Zu kept complaining. Although teleporting over a trillion kilometres in an instant was not an experience many could have, doing so multiple times in short order was truly unpleasant.
Yang Kai just grinned and ignored him. In the next moment, the two figures disappeared from the palace.
Azure Tree Star’s Space Array only connected to the rich Ore Star Yang Kai had discovered, so if he wanted to return to High Heaven Sect, he had to make a stopover there first to reach Shadowed Star.
After arriving on the Ore Star, Yang Kai didn’t disturb the disciples who were mining ore and just silently released his Divine Sense to confirm all was well before immediately activating the Space Array again.
After so many consecutive transfers, when he appeared in the massive main square of the High Heaven Sect, Gui Zu’s face was pale, and his whole body was a bit shaky.
He did not cultivate Space Force like Yang Kai, so this kind of uninterrupted chain of ultra-long-distance transmissions really caused him some discomfort.
It was only thanks to his profound cultivation that he was able to even stand here like this, otherwise, he would have already passed out.
In the square, the disciples on duty saw Yang Kai and were immediately overjoyed, “Sect Master has returned! Sect Master has returned!”
These disciples were some of the earliest cultivators to follow Yang Kai from the former Hai Ke Family. Over the years, each of them had made great progress, the best of which being Wu Yi and Yu Feng, who were on the verge of breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm. As for the rest, all of them had at least reached the Saint King Realm.
One had to know that the most powerful cultivators in the Hai Ke Family back then were only Saint Kings. If these disciples had remained in that family, they may not have been able to reach the Saint King Realm even if they spent their entire lives cultivating, yet all of them had achieved this milestone after following Yang Kai for just a few decades.
While the disciples on guard duty shouted loudly, one of them ran over and began ringing a large bell that had been set up nearby.
*Dang dang dang dang…*
The bell echoed among all eighty-one of High Heaven Sect’s peaks, reaching every corner of the Sect.
In the next moment, it was as if the entire Sect began to boil and from the majestic peaks streaks of light shot out and rushed towards the square.
As if seeing Yang Kai’s suspicion, the disciple on duty quickly reported, “The two Madam Sect Masters issued an order are to ring this bell to inform them if Sect Master returns.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai gently nodded before turning in the direction of Pristine Ice Peak, his eyes softening as a warm smile appeared on his lips.
He could feel that from Pristine Ice Peak, Su Yan was rushing over rapidly.
From Pill Treasure Peak, the figure of Little Senior Sister had also appeared and was riding the wind towards the square.
The other peaks also had similar activity.
“There are a lot of disciples in the Sect,” Gui Zu looked around happily, doing his best to restrain the evil aura coming from his body, determined to make a good first impression.
Soon after, a beautiful figure fell from the sky, wearing a long snow-white dress that paired perfectly with her warm-jade white skin, her limpid eyes staring at Yang Kai as if trying to silently tell him she had longed to see him.
Who else could it be but Su Yan?
In the next moment, Little Senior Sister Xia Ning Chang also landed and stood next to Su Yan, showing both deep affection and shyness.
Gui Zu’s eyes flashed as he wore a meaningful grin and muttered, “Boy, seems you’re quite lucky in love…”
As he thought so though, Gui Zu was also secretly astonished. With his level of vision, he could naturally tell that these two young women weren’t just stunning beauties, but each had remarkable talent and prowess.
Moreover, these two girls were both Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators, while the girl in white had an aura that was far stronger than average. The cold aura she radiated naturally even had some influence on his Saint Qi, being both oppressive and sharp.
Although the girl in green did not have such an intimidating aura, the power hidden within her body was not to be underestimated.
This Sect… seemed to be larger and more powerful than what he had imagined, causing Gui Zu to feel much more confident in his decision.
After all, he was a Second-Order Origin King, and although Yang Kai had tempted him to join by saying High Heaven Sect had several Origin King Grade Alchemists, if the Sect itself was just a bunch of loose sand without any foundation, it would be uncomfortable for him to remain.
At this moment though, Gui Zu felt this Sect had great future prospects.
“Smelly Brat, seems you finally remembered to come back after going out for so long,” A low shout rang out from nearby. There was only one person who dared to talk to Yang Kai like this.
Yang Kai turned his head and chuckled as he called out, “Father.”
Yang Ying Feng’s face was rosy, and although he had just been reprimanding his son, there was no way to hide the relief in his expression. Yang Kai going out for a few years had caused his father to worry, so seeing him safe and sound with both his arms and legs, Yang Ying Feng was finally able to put down the huge stone which was weighing on his heart.
“Oh stop it, our son is already big, why do you insist on meddling so much?” Dong Su Zhu glared at Yang Ying Feng, “You can’t even manage these affairs, yet you dare call yourself a father?”
Yang Ying Feng smiled awkwardly, “An old fortune-teller once told me that I would only fully realize my greatness later in life, so apparently, my time to rise has not come yet. When it does, I will surely soar up into the sky and become…”
Dong Su Zhu narrowed her eyes as clear disbelief filled her expression.
Yang Ying Feng immediately felt deflated and turned his ire towards Yang Kai, his eyes filled with bitterness.
The square immediately became extremely lively, and just like every time Yang Kai returned, everyone warmly welcomed him.
“En en… the Sect having such cohesion, it seems there’s no need to worry about its future prospects. This old master feels very relieved,” Gui Zu suddenly found himself out of place and ignored, so he coughed lightly a few times to make his presence known.
As a Second-Order Origin King, he thought that he would \be welcomed with the admiration and worship of the various disciples when he arrived here, but it seemed like no-one even noticed him and all the attention and limelight were taken up by Yang Kai, causing Gui Zu to feel a bit awkward in his heart.
“Yang Kai, this is…” Ling Tai Xu looked at Gui Zu suspiciously and asked solemnly.
Ling Tai Xu was now also a Third-Order Saint King. The masters from Tong Xuan Realm, such as Ling Tai Xu and Meng Wu Ya, had all made great strides in recent years, but with their cultivation, it was only natural that they were unable to sense Gui Zu’s true depths and were thus puzzled about why Yang Kai had brought back such an inscrutable master.
“En, that’s right, I forgot to introduce everyone. This is Senior Gui Zu, who will be serving as Supreme Elder of High Heaven Sect in the future!” Yang Kai straightened his face, pointed to Gui Zu, and announced loudly.
“Supreme Elder?” The crowd immediately went into an uproar as they stared at Gui Zu curiously.
After all, even a cultivator as powerful as Ye Xi Yun was only the Sect’s Great Elder. High Heaven Sect had only been founded recently and didn’t even have a Supreme Elder position. Now, suddenly having a Supreme Elder surprised everyone.
After the initial surprise came speculation about Gui Zu’s cultivation realm.
Since he was a Supreme Elder, a position below one but above ten thousand, he needed corresponding strength; at the very least he should be stronger than the Great Elder. Great Elder was a peak Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator, so could this old man be…
[An Origin King?] The hearts of everyone jumped.
“Supreme Elder is a Second-Order Origin King. Even considering the entire Star Field, he is a peak-level master and it is the Sect’s good fortune he has decided to join.” Yang Kai said, causing the entire square to fall silent as everyone stared at Gui Zu in shock, many of the disciples even showing looks of fanaticism and worship.
A real Origin King Realm master, and a Second-Order one at that!
Shadowed Star was no longer an isolated Cultivation Star, and the information brought back from the outside world by Qian Tong and the others had spread far and wide, so the disciples here knew what a Second-Order Origin King represented.
A Second-Order Origin King was a top master that could stand at the peak of the Star Field. Besides a few old monsters that were in perennial retreat, Second-Order Origin Kings were the highest authority and strength in the Star Field.
The Sect had actually attracted such a powerful person to join?
For a while, the disciples felt like they were in a dream, unable to believe their ears.
“Haha, Sect Master is too serious. It is this old master’s honour to join High Heaven Sect,” Gui Zu chuckled, very satisfied with the reactions of the disciples in front of him. Trying to remain humble but also make a strong impression, he slowly released his Second-Order Origin King aura to allow the disciples to feel his strength while smiling and saying, “Since this old master has become a Supreme Elder of this Sect, he swears to advance and retreat together with the Sect. If there is someone who wishes to bring misfortune upon the Sect one day, they will have to first deal with this old master, however… this old master is only one man and his power is limited. For the Sect to truly prosper in the future, it will require everyone to contribute their strength for generations to come!”
Gui Zu’s words were both upright and profound, so he was shocked and somewhat embarrassed that no one responded to him after he finished. The nearly ten thousand disciples in the square seemed to have been struck by lightning and were unable to move.
Quietly turning his head to look at Yang Kai, Gui Zu discovered that this little brat had already wrapped his arms around Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang and was whispering something to them quietly, totally ignoring his plight.
[Little bastard! Abandoning me when I need you most!] Gui Zu cursed in his heart.
But in the next moment, a loud shout suddenly sounded.
“What Supreme Elder said is right! I won’t disappoint Supreme Elder and Sect Master’s expectations!”
“Advance and retreat together with Supreme Elder, live and die together with the Sect!”
“Supreme Elder and Sect Master can rest assured, I will definitely work hard to cultivate so the Sect will soon stand equal then dominate above the three great forces of Star Field!.”
“Supreme Elder is mighty! I will obey all of Supreme Elder’s orders!”
Gui Zu’s recruitment seemed to have injected a dose of hot blood into the High Heaven Sect, causing everyone to be excited.
Gui Zu secretly breathed a sigh of relief as he experienced an inexplicable feeling. If he were to put it into words, it would be like the ugly daughter-in-law who came to see her in-laws and finally managed to obtain their approval…
[This is quite stressful. Aren’t I a Second-Order Origin King? Didn’t I come here to accept worship and blessings? Why did it all become so complicated?]
Gui Zu really could not understand his own feelings.
Quickly adjusting himself, he tried to put on the appearance of a powerful master and smiled lightly, “Today is the first time this old master has stood before you but… En, this old master has not prepared anything as a gift on first greetings, so instead, this old master will speak about his comprehensions of the Martial Dao for the next three days. During this time, if any of you have any questions about your cultivation, you may ask them, and this old master will answer them if he can.”
As soon as this statement came out, the nearly ten thousand disciples became even more excited. Although they were excited, all of them tried to restrain themselves and immediately sat down cross-legged, giving their full attention to Gui Zu.
There were not many opportunities to listen to the teachings of a Second-Order Origin King, and every cultivator, throughout the course of their cultivation, would encounter difficulties and questions. These problems may appear when one tried to cultivate Secret Arts or Martial Skills, when refining artifacts, or even when trying to comprehend the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way. If at that time, there was someone to guide and teach them, they could save much time and difficulty.
Now, there was a Second-Order Origin King who would speak of his own experiences and answer their questions. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so how could the disciples not get excited?
Seeing all the disciples give him so much face comforted Gui Zu’s heart, and after clearing his throat, he began to speak, his words reverberating across the square. Within a short time, all the disciples showed mesmerized expressions, completely immersed in his explanations of the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way.
“Two Senior Sisters, I haven’t seen you for many days. Junior Brother has missed you very much. Come come, let’s find a quiet place to talk in private,” Yang Kai saw that Gui Zu was at ease, so he didn’t pay him anymore mind, tightening his hold on Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang as he walked out with them shamelessly.
“Junior Brother!” Su Yan’s pretty face flushed red as she gave him a disapproving glance, “We have lots of time. Today, Supreme Elder is discussing his life experiences, so it is a rare opportunity. I want to stay…”
“I want to stay too…” Xia Ning Chang looked at Yang Kai eagerly.
“There will be plenty of opportunities for that. If you want to, I can have him speak to you personally another day,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
Hearing this, Gui Zu, who was full of vigour on the stage, almost tripped and fell to the ground. Shooting a glare towards Yang Kai viciously, he felt that this boy was just using him to please his women. Absolutely shameless!
“How could we do that? Supreme Elder is the Supreme Elder after all…” Xia Ning Chang was a little worried.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Yang Kai ignored Gui Zu’s glare and just chuckled lightly, “Supreme Elder wants to ask you for Alchemy, so he can teach a little to you when the time comes.”
“Supreme Elder want to request Alchemy from me?” Xia Ning Chang glanced over at Gui Zu.
Gui Zu’s heart was shaking as he wondered if this woman was the Origin King Grade Alchemist mentioned by Yang Kai. Indeed, Yang Kai had said that his Senior Sister was an Origin King Grade Alchemist back then, and this innocent looking woman did have a strong pill fragrance about her, one that could only be obtained by constantly refining pills.
[So, it really is her!]
Thinking so, Gui Zu hurriedly squeezed out a smile and nodded to Xia Ning Chang, not daring to be careless while he continued to speak without stopping.
“Look, Supreme Elder has agreed,” Yang Kai struck while the iron was hot and quickly ran off with Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang, not giving them a chance to hesitate. The two women flushed with shame and lowered their heads, unable to argue any further.
Halfway back though, Xia Ning Chang suddenly remembered something and said, “By the way, Junior Brother, Sister Yang Yan…”
“I know!” Yang Kai interrupted her.
When he returned to High Heaven Sect just now, Yang Kai had already noticed Yang Yan’s Divine Sense sweeping him briefly before disappearing in a flash, so he was almost certain she had awakened!
The legendary Starry Sky Great Emperor had returned!
However, he did not have time to deal with Yang Yan’s affairs right now as he first needed to attend to Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang.
…..
Five days later, Hundred Flowers Peak.
Yang Kai walked up the long mountain road, but as soon as he reached the peak, a young girl suddenly flew towards him. Mid-air, her slender calf swept out. There was no energy fluctuation coming from her body, so it seemed she was only using her physical strength.
Yang Kai’s face turned extremely solemn, however, and with a low shout, he stabilized his stance and raised his right arm to block.
*Hong…*
As if two giant mountains collided with one another at high speed, a violent blasting sound filled the air and the ground under Yang Kai’s feet suddenly turned into dust. The young girl who suddenly attacked Yang Kai also cried out as she flew backwards.
Turning mid-air, the young girl dexterously adjusted her position before landing gracefully. The next moment though she bent down and began rubbing her leg while glaring at Yang Kai, “Uncle Sect Master, is your body made of steel? That hurt so much!”
While complaining, a few tears squeezed out from her eyes.
“Silly little girl,” Yang Kai looked at her with a smile. “Every time I see you, you try to attack me. Why, are you that confident in your physical strength?”
“Hmph,” The little girl snorted slightly as she pointed her nose towards the sky, “Great Elder said that I have the Tyrant Strength Body that grants immense strength, and Martial Aunt Yang Yan also said that I have great talent, but they must be lying to me. I can’t even tidy up Uncle Sect Master after eating so many Shadowed Heaven Pills.”
“Haha, they’re not lying to you, it’s just that you’re too young. When you’re my age…”
“Then I can tidy you up?” The little girl asked excitedly.
“Nope! You’re still growing, but so am I, so you’re not the only one who will be getting stronger and stronger, but… why are you so keen to tidy me up?” Yang Kai stared at the little girl in amazement.
The little girl was of course Lin Yun’er, the orphan adopted by Huang Juan.
As time passed, Lin Yun’er’s physical prowess was becoming more and more terrifying. The power hidden in her tiny body was almost on par with that of an average Origin Realm master, and if she used her Saint Qi as well, she would be able to fight against Origin Returning Realm cultivators with ease.
[How old is this little girl? This year, she should not be more than sixteen. Nevertheless, she has already achieved such astonishing strength.] Yang Kai could almost imagine that she would become the most famous master of the Star Field in the future.
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, Lin Yun’er promptly replied, “Martial Aunt Yang Yan said that if Yun’er can clean up Uncle Sect Master, she will take me to a good place to make me stronger.”
“Haha…” Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he glanced over towards Yang Yan who was sipping tea lightly in front of her Hundred Flower Pavilion.
After awakening, Yang Yan gave off a vastly different feeling from before, and when Yang Kai looked at her, he could not help feeling this difference, causing him to frown slightly.
“I thought you would stay in First Heavenly Palace forever and never come see me,” Yang Yan put down the teacup in her hand and smiled at Yang Kai meaningfully. “Were these past few days enjoyable?”
“It was alright,” Yang Kai’s face was not thin, but even he couldn’t help going slightly red at this moment. Glancing over to the side and seeing Gui Zu standing next to Yang Yan, he could not help asking in surprise, “Oh, Supreme Elder is also here, what a coincidence.”
“Haha…” Now it was Gui Zu’s turn to have his face twitch.
Actually, Yang Kai had noticed him the moment he arrived, but looking at Gui Zu’s appearance, it seemed that he had suffered a big loss at Yang Yan’s hands. At this moment, he stood behind Yang Yan respectfully like a servant, not daring to reveal the slightest bit of his evil aura, instead even shrinking his neck as if trying to make himself seem smaller.
“This is your newly recruited Supreme Elder, right?” Yang Yan pointed to Gui Zu and asked Yang Kai.
“En, Senior Gui Zu has a Second-Order Origin King cultivation. which is sufficient for a position of Supreme Elder of the Sect,” Yang Kai said as he walked up to the Hundred Flower Pavilion and sat opposite Yang Yan.
Lin Yun’er followed obediently and poured Yang Kai a glass of water with a smile.
She seemed very relaxed in front of Yang Yan, without the slightest pressure, a stark contrast to Gui Zu, who was like a mouse being stared at by a cat…
“His cultivation is so-so, but… he doesn’t seem to know the immensity of Heaven and Earth,” Yang Yan snorted softly.
Yang Kai clearly saw Gui Zu shiver when he heard these words come out.
As Yang Kai has guessed, he had suffered a big loss at Yang Yan’s hands! But what had Gui Zu done? Yang Kai also became curious and could not help looking at him.
Gui Zu squeezed out an ugly smile and said, “Senior, this is the first time this old man has held the post of Supreme Elder so he couldn’t help acting a bit insolent and having eyes but failing to see, causing him to accidentally offend Senior. I hope Senior can be forgiving and not lower herself to this old man’s level.
“Lower herself to your level, this Queen?” Yang Yan looked at him with a grin, “Just yesterday you said you would answer this Queen’s questions about cultivation. This Queen has not even thanked you for your offer yet. In fact, I have some things I wish to ask you today. I wonder if Supreme Elder has the time?”
“Senior must be joking…” Gui Zu almost cried, “This old man really didn’t know Senior’s identity and thought you were just an ordinary disciple, as such…”
“Supreme Elder, you didn’t take the initiative to try to teach her, did you?” Yang Kai’s jaw dropped.
Gui Zu nodded slightly with a distraught look on his face.
Yang Kai picked up the teacup and took a light sip as he tried very hard not to smile, his shoulders shaking noticeably from the effort.
Gui Zu was feeling quite miserable.
After his three-day lecture, his image in the minds of High Heaven Sect’s ten thousand disciples became tall and mighty. Gui Zu was also feeling quite proud and happy that he had quickly won the approval of the disciples and integrated into High Heaven Sect.
Yesterday, he had been wandering around High Heaven Sect to familiarize himself with its sights and scenes; after all, this place would be regarded as his Sect in the future.
High Heaven Sect had a total of eighty-one peaks, each one rich in World Energy aura and natural beauty, making Gui Zu extremely satisfied.
The Three Blazing Flame Rings that protected High Heaven Sect also shocked him, and it really made him wonder which Grandmaster had arranged such a profound array that even a master like him did not dare to enter.
He had, at one point, passed by Hundred Flowers Peak on a whim.
Yang Yan was sleeping with her eyes closed at the time, but when Gui Zu saw her he mistakenly thought she was cultivating some kind of Secret Art. After Yang Yan opened her eyes, Gui Zu acted the part of a powerful master and ‘graciously’ gave some pointers. He thought she would definitely thank him for his advice with gratitude and worship, but how could he have known all Yang Yan would do was give him a light ‘hehe’.
This faint laughter was like a crack of thunder in his ears though, completely overwhelming his senses.
Gui Zu froze up in that instant as the sound of her laughter echoed continuously in his mind, as if it would continue on forever, only stopping earlier today and allowing him to slowly wake up.
How could Gui Zu not understand he had kicked an iron plate? He was greatly startled by Yang Yan’s shocking methods and did not dare to act presumptuously in front of her again.
Even now, he still could not figure out what kind of cultivation Yang Yan had.
A simple, casual laugh had sunk him into a nightmare, unable to return to his senses for almost an entire day. This was not something a Third-Order Origin King could do. If he had not personally experienced it, Gui Zu would never have even believed such a thing was possible.
All he could say for certain was that Yang Yan’s cultivation was far superior to his own because, no matter how Gui Zu observed, he couldn’t tell what Yang Yan’s true depths were. There were no artifacts on her that isolated Divine Sense probing either, so it was not that she was simply hiding her strength from him.
[Just what are the origins of this woman? She is too terrifying!]
[That damn Yang Boy is too insincere. Why didn’t he warn this old master there was such a powerful character hidden inside the Sect.] Now, he had embarrassed himself by trying to show off his meagre skills before an expert like her.
Recalling those few words of instruction he spoke yesterday, Gui Zu couldn’t wait to find a hole to crawl into and not come out for a lifetime.
It was like a toddler who had barely learned to walk standing before an honoured Senior and saying he would teach her how to fight…
Just what kind of Sect was this? In the Sect, not only was there a monstrous rising star like Yang Boy, a freak who had reached the Origin King Realm at such a young age, but there was that frightening young woman in white as well as another young woman who was an Origin King Grade Alchemist. Now, there was even this terrifying woman as well!
[This old master has not just stepped into a monster pit, right?] Gui Zu’s heart beat rapidly as unease filled it.
“Sect Master, you know that this old master was just trying to be helpful, please say a few good words for him,” Gui Zu saw that Yang Yan was still unhappy, so he could only look to Yang Kai for help.
Yang Kai lightly coughed, and said after thinking for a while, “Yang Yan, Senior Gui Zu acted out of good intentions. Just let this matter slide.”
Gui Zu nodded repeatedly, “This old man indeed only wanted to be of assistance. Please do not blame him for his ignorance, Senior.”
Yang Yan snorted lightly, but her expression eased noticeably.
Yang Kai smiled faintly, “Since you fell asleep, you and I have not seen each other like this for more than ten years, so do you insist on throwing a tantrum as soon we meet?”
“Who’s throwing a tantrum with you?” Yang Yan glanced at Yang Kai coldly.
Yang Kai hesitantly scratched his nose, “You seem to be quite upset right now, completely different from before.”
Gui Zu chimed in angrily from the side, “It must be because you’ve been out picking flowers and enjoying the snow and moon while ignoring and treating Senior here so coldly!”
As soon as these words were spoken, Gui Zu realized he had used some poor phrasing. He intended to please Yang Yan, his statement came off as ambiguous and incendiary.
Sure enough, Yang Yan shot him a glance and hehe’d once more.
[Not again…]
Gui Zu’s complexion changed drastically and in the next moment he went stiff and his eyes went blank…
“Why…?” Yang Kai smiled bitterly. With his eyesight, he could see that Gui Zu’s Soul had been overwhelmed and suppressed by Yang Yan, likely experiencing some kind of nightmarish torture.
“It’s just a small punishment, nothing to worry about,” Yang Yan said lightly. “Moreover, it’s not a misdeed for him. Do you think just anyone can have the honour of being suppressed by this Queen’s Divine Sense?”
“Since it’s good for him, then it’s fine,” Yang Kai smiled lightly before he stared at Yang Yan and said, “It feels like after you woke up, you’re a bit different from before.”
“The one you interacted with before was this Queen’s Embodiment, but now you are before this Queen’s true body, how could it be the same?” Yang Yan’s expression remained indifferent, the kind of indifference that seemed to push all others far away, making Yang Kai feel a little uncomfortable and lose interest in chatting. Instead, he just focused on tasting his tea silently.
After a long silence, Yang Yan suddenly said, “Your progress is quite good, I didn’t expect you to break through to the Origin King Realm in such a short period of time. Perhaps with your ability… you can really protect this Star Field.”
“Me?” Yang Kai pointed his finger at himself and said with a smile, “All I want to protect is my relatives and friends. The Star Field is too big and has nothing to do with me.”
“If you really think so, then you are wrong,” Yang Yan looked at Yang Kai seriously, “Do you know why I came to this Star Field?”
Yang Kai frowned, faintly realizing that Yang Yan was about to reveal some great secret, but he still shook his head and said, “You never told me, so how could I know. However, if I had to guess, it would be related to the Insect Emperor.”
In this Star Field, only the Insect Emperor was comparable to Yang Yan over the countless years. Ten thousand years ago, when these two fought, one had their body destroyed while the other fell into a deep sleep. In the region around Shadowed Star, many Stars had been crushed, and a thick Emperor Pressure still lingered about, creating the Dead Zone that stretched for millions of kilometres, a physical reminder of just how fierce the battle at that time had been.
When Yang Yan asked this question, Yang Kai immediately thought of the Insect Emperor.
“En, my coming here was indeed related to the Insect Emperor. Then, do you know why the Insect Emperor came here?” Yang Yan continued to ask.
Yang Kai shook his head again.
Yang Yan explained, “He came here to swallow World Principles. If he had succeeded, all the Cultivation Stars in this Star Field would have been turned into Dead Stars, so I pursued him here and engaged in a life or death battle with him.”
“Why would he want to devour World Principles?” Yang Kai looked at Yang Yan in shock.
“The Emperor’s Dao is to gain control over the Principles of Heaven and Earth. Only by controlling such Principles can one become an Emperor!” Yang Yan explained, “But how could it be easy to master Principle Strength? It isn’t like simply becoming an Emperor grants you such power, one needs to comprehend the Heavenly Way deeply if they wish to control such strength, but aside from years of hard cultivation, there is a shortcut…”
Yang Kai faintly thought of something and said in amazement, “Refining Star Sources?”
He had refined the Star Source of Shadowed Star, which allowed him to faintly feel its World Principles, which was why he thought of this.
“Correct,” Yang Yan nodded, “But what the Insect Emperor wanted to do wasn’t refine a Cultivation Star’s Source, he wanted to swallow them! Swallowing a Source and integrating the Principle Strength of Cultivation Stars into his own is the shortcut he wanted to take.”
Yang Kai felt cold sweat all over his body at this moment…
If the Insect Emperor had succeeded, then countless Cultivation Stars across the Star Field would have been destroyed. It is even possible that all life in the entire Star Field would have been annihilated.
“You should know that this Star Field is not the only Star Field that exists. There is a powerful barrier that separates individual Star Fields from one another, formed by the Star Field’s Principles themselves. Even for an Emperor, trying to break through these barriers is very difficult, which is why you don’t know of the existence of anything outside your Star Field,” Yang Yan ignored Yang Kai’s shock and continued to speak without pause, “Many, many years ago, a powerful master from the place I came from reached the Emperor level and discovered this shortcut to strengthening himself, so he used his powerful Divine Abilities to break through these barriers and went from one Star Field to the next, swallowing all the World Principles of those Star Fields, resulting in the total destruction of nineteen Star Fields in just one hundred years! Each of those nineteen Star Fields was even more prosperous than the one you reside in now.”
More cold sweat dripped from Yang Kai’s forehead hearing this.
“Star Fields are the foundation of cultivators, so the destruction of any Star Field is a matter of great significance. At that time, the top ten masters realized the seriousness of this problem, so they joined forces to create rules which prevented other masters from abusing this practice. From then on, if anyone is found trying to act against a Star Field in this manner, they would be killed without mercy. Although this solution was quite effective, it didn’t eradicate the problem as there are always some who are willing to take risks. The Insect Emperor was one such character. I was sent here to stop him.”
“This… this is all a bit overwhelming and difficult to accept. How about we put this matter aside for now and continue once you’re feeling better?” Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat on his forehead while trying to get up to leave.
He had an ominous feeling about what was about to transpire.
However, in the next moment, Yang Kai discovered that his movements were completely suppressed by some invisible force and he could only sit in place, unable to move.
Yang Yan glanced at him obliquely before continuing on, “Every Star Field actually has its own protector. This is the most efficient method to prevent those with bad intentions from invading. Once a cultivator that exceeds the power of a Star Field is discovered trying to break in, those protectors are the first to receive a notification, and they are then charged with preventing anything from happening. However, the guardian of your Star Field has been missing for over ten thousand years and no one knows whether he is alive or dead, so I was sent in his stead. By the way, your Sealed World Bead was originally his.”
Yang Yan looked at Yang Kai with a grin that clearly held some mischievous intent, “I also have my own Star Field I am charged with protecting, and I have been away from there for long enough. Now that I have truly awoken, I can’t continue to remain here, and you can only depend on yourself from now on. Now that you’ve obtained that person’s Sealed World Bead, you should inherit his mantle and become the Protector of this Star Field. Your relatives and friends all live here, so you can’t exactly refuse, can you?”
“If you do not have the strength and skill, one day, when someone comes and tries to refine Shadowed Star, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself. If you want to ensure that your friends and family can live in peace, work hard to cultivate, and when your cultivation reaches my level, you will be able to properly protect this Star Field.”
After Yang Yan finished speaking, she ignored Yang Kai, picked up her teacup, and drank from it lightly.
The power that imprisoned Yang Kai also disappeared, but Yang Kai did not leave, instead just sitting there and frowning in thought, as if he was digesting what Yang Yan said.
The Emperor’s Dao, multiple Star Fields, Principle Strength, Protectors…
All these new and novel things impacted Yang Kai’s mind, leaving him silent for quite some time.
Yang Yan seemed to have opened a new door in front of him, one that was filled with dazzling light that, although painful to Yang Kai’s eyes, also filled him with excitement…
“According to what you said, this Star Field’s Protector has been missing for over ten thousand years. Wouldn’t that make this Star Field a big piece of unclaimed cake that everyone would covet? Why has only the Insect Emperor invaded after so many years?” After a long silence, Yang Kai raised his head and asked Yang Yan.
Yang Yan laughed lightly, “Do you think it is such a simple thing to break through the barriers of a Star Field? Principles are the laws that govern the world, and those laws are supreme. Even the top ten masters from the place I come from do not dare infringe upon those Principles at will. To break through those Principles and reach this place, one must pay an enormous price!”
Saying so, Yang Yan’s brow furrowed, as if she was thinking of something.
After a brief pause though, she continued, “In short, this price is not something everyone can afford. If one can sense and comprehend Principle Strength all on their own, why take the risk to come to a Star Field to refine the Sources of Cultivation Stars? Only those whose cultivation has stagnated and see no hope of advancing any other way will choose to do this. You must know that once you come to a Star Field that is not yours, your realm will drop significantly. No master wants this to happen.”
“Even if their realm drops, they still want to refine Star Sources in violation of those rules?” Yang Kai exclaimed in shock.
As a cultivator, he naturally knew how painful it was to have one’s cultivation regress. If he, as an Origin King, were to suddenly have his cultivation fall to the Origin Realm or Saint King realm, it would be a massive blow.
Such a setback would likely be impossible to recover from, bringing one’s path on the Martial Dao to an end.
“Naturally!” Yang Yan raised her white chin slightly, “You haven’t reached this realm yet, so you don’t understand the temptation Principle Strength holds to those people. If one’s realm falls, it can be regained through cultivation, but it is not so simple to master Principle Strength. You are now the Star Master of Shadowed Star, so you have vaguely experienced the benefits of Principle Strength. This is an excellent opportunity that only belongs to Star Masters. If their fortune is good enough and they can break through the void to arrive at that place, many great forces will try to recruit them.”
“That place… is called Star Boundary, right?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes at Yang Yan.
Yang Yan was startled, “How do you know that name? I don’t remember telling you…”
Saying so, her expression suddenly changed, “Who did you meet?”
Yang Kai smiled bitterly, “I did meet someone, and he mentioned the name Star Boundary.”
Yang Kai gave a detailed account of the Spirit Devouring Sect he encountered on Tong Xuan Realm.
After listening to his story, Yang Yan coldly snorted, “As I thought, someone has come down again. They must be anxious to die! Spirit Devouring Crystals are so evil that they are even forbidden in the Star Boundary. All knowledge of how to create them was sealed or destroyed long ago, but it seems there are still those who have access to that information and actually dared bring it to this Star Field.”
“Although that Spirit Array is quite profound and the Spirit Devouring Crystals refined from World Energy are good treasures, they’re not very effective resources, right?” Yang Kai thoughtfully, “Using those Spirit Devouring Crystals to improve one’s strength is indeed faster than cultivating normally, but when I fought that Spirit Devouring Sect’s Sect Master, although he was also a First-Order Origin King, his combat power was far lower than any Origin King I’ve encountered before.”
“Do you think that person passed Secret Techniques to that Spirit Devouring Sect to improve their strength?” Yang Yan coldly snorted, “That person only wanted to use them to test whether this Star Field’s Protector would act. Before he is certain there is no Protector here, he will not dare act rashly. The Spirit Devouring Sect was just a pawn to him.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “I heard that the Spirit Devouring Sect suddenly emerged a hundred years ago, so doesn’t that mean that person came to the Star Field a hundred years ago? He actually remained in hiding for that long?”
“Compared to his life, what is a hundred years?”
“That’s right, you fell into a deep sleep for ten thousand years…” Yang Kai thought about it and realized that a hundred years of patience was really nothing compared to the time Yang Yan had been asleep.
“Lower your Knowledge Sea’s defences, I’ll check what that guy left in you. If possible, this Queen will find him personally and deal with him. It will be this Queen’s final gift to you before leaving this Star Field.”
“Alright!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
The next moment, he sent his consciousness into his Knowledge Sea and released all his defences.
He did not need to feel the least bit of wariness toward Yang Yan. Although the feeling he got from her was not exactly the same as before, Yang Kai still found many things familiar about her.
With a light breeze, a beautiful figure appeared inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea and stood beside him. Naturally, it was Yang Yan’s Soul Avatar.
Looking around for a while, she nodded in approval, “Your Soul is far stronger than an average cultivator of your realm, probably on the same level as a Third-Order Origin King. What’s more, you have a Mutated Conflagrated Knowledge Sea… Hm? A Soul Warming Lotus? A Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus?”
Yang Yan suddenly exclaimed as she covered her small mouth with her delicate hands, her beautiful eyes flashing as if she had seen something astonishing, “You actually possess a Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus?”
This was the first time she had entered Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, so after seeing the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, she was thoroughly stunned.
It was no doubt a Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus. The seven coloured radiance which gently lingered around this supreme treasure gave her Soul a comfortable and pure feeling.
“Is this thing really that valuable? Why does everyone who sees it wear such an expression?” Yang Kai scratched his nose. The unknown master who saw the Soul Warming Lotus in his Knowledge Sea the other day reacted almost identically to Yang Yan.
“Is it valuable?” Yang Yan glanced at Yang Kai, “The value of this treasure is immeasurable. As its owner, I am sure you’ve experienced the benefits it brings to you. What more do I need to say?”
Yang Kai nodded.
“So that’s how it is. I wondered why your Spiritual Energy was so much stronger than a normal cultivator’s, it turns out you’ve had this Soul Warming Lotus all along! And this Soul Warming Lotus is actually in its seven coloured form. Your luck is definitely not ordinary,” Yang Yan showed a look of envy as she told Yang Kai’s solemnly, “Even in the Star Boundary, the Soul Warming Lotus is a legendary treasure. Very few people have ever even seen it before. If you one day reach the Star Boundary, you must keep its existence secret.”
“I know. Only those closest to me know I have this Soul Warming Lotus,” Yang Kai nodded.
Hearing what he said, a strange look flashed across Yang Yan’s eyes, but it disappeared in the next instant and she gradually restored her previous calmness before saying, “That’s not enough. I will give you a set of Soul-Type Secret Techniques later that you can cultivate to block off probing of your Knowledge Sea. I will also place a barrier for you. With these two things, unless it is someone with cultivation equalling mine, no one will be able to forcefully invade your Knowledge Sea. The barrier won’t harm you and as your strength improves, it will slowly lift on its own.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai smiled happily.
Yang Yan nodded lightly before continuing to sweep her eyes around, eventually directing them upwards where she saw a sea full of stars and was stunned once again, muttering out loud, “The Star Chart?”
“Oh, it’s something I obtained by accident when I first entered the Star Field,” Yang Kai casually explained while carefully examining Yang Yan’s expression.
Yang Yan’s expression was quite strange actually. When she saw this Star Chart, it was like a forlorn and lonely aura washed over her, as if she had lost something unbelievably valuable, sadness filling her pretty face.
Yang Kai was not clear about what happened. When that unknown master saw this Star Chart before, he was obviously extremely excited, even more so than when he saw the Soul Warming Lotus, so why was Yang Yan reacting like this…
“The Star Chart actually appeared here!” Yang Yan closed her beautiful eyes and stood motionless.
Yang Kai did not dare to interrupt and just waited quietly.
After a long time, Yang Yan slowly opened her eyes and sighed, “Yang Kai, it seems the role of Protector for this Star Field is destined to fall on your shoulders.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Please don’t joke, how could I be this Star Field’s Protector with just my strength? Although I do not know what kind of masters roam the Star Boundary you come from, I do know I’m no match for them right now.”
“You can’t escape this, because this Star Chart can only belong to the Star Field’s Protector!” Yang Yan turned his head to look at him.
“What do you mean?”
Yang Yan whispered, “A Cultivation Star has its own Star Source, which a cultivator can refine to become its Star Master. In another sense, a Star Master is the guardian and protector of their Cultivation Star. The same principle applies to Star Fields: they have their own source as well, and that source is this Star Chart!”
As she said so, she pointed to the sky, “Only by refining the Star Chart Source can you qualify to be a Star Field’s Protector. Now that this Star Chart belongs to you, do you think you can escape this fate?”
Yang Kai was stunned, “This thing is the entire Star Field’s Source? You must be kidding me, I’ve only ever used it to find directions, other than that, I haven’t discovered any other use for it.”
Yang Yan just looked at him with a solemn expression.
“You’re serious?” Yang Kai’s face changed slightly.
“Why would I joke about such an important matter? It’s almost like the Heavenly Way is silently guiding you towards this destiny,” Yang Yan said with mixed emotions. “You have the Star Chart and that person’s Sealed World Bead. You also cultivate the Dao of Space. Hehe, it seems you really are inheriting that guy’s mantle. As for the reason you can’t discover any of this Star Chart’s effects, it’s just because you aren’t strong enough yet. When you reach my level, you will understand how precious this Star Chart is. It is a treasure that countless people wish to possess but cannot obtain.”
“The person you spoke of was this Star Field’s previous Protector, right?”
“En.”
“Where is he now?”
“He disappeared thousands of years ago and this Star Chart is now with you, where you do think he is?” Yang Yan looked straight at Yang Kai.
“Dead?” Yang Kai was shocked.
“Who knows?” Yang Yan sneered with a mix of frustration and resignation, “He likes to wander through The Void, so perhaps he was swallowed up by it one day. If that is the case, he brought his fate upon himself!”
Yang Yan’s sorrowful expression was definitely not fake and even the fluctuations emanating from her Soul Avatar were extremely unstable, showing her mood was quite unsettled.
Yang Kai suddenly became a little curious, wondering what the relationship between her and the owner of the Sealed World Bead was.
“Enough, let us not mention him anymore. In any case, he has been missing for so long I already figured he had died. I’ll deal with what that person left in your Knowledge Sea first,” Yang Yan said after a while before sitting down cross-legged with a solemn expression, forming a series of seals with her hands as she swept her beautiful eyes across the sea down below.
A thread of Divine Sense that was visible to the naked eye rushed out from her fingertips, transformed into a snake-like appearance, and dove into the sea.
Yang Kai stood by and watched silently.
His Knowledge Sea was calm at first, but soon, the sea of flames began to become restless and at a certain location, large bubbles appeared.
Yang Kai turned his attention to that side and suddenly found that there was a triangle mark he had never seen before there, one which was vague and misty, nearly making it invisible.
The snake-like thread of Yang Yan’s Divine Sense was swimming around this mark and as it moved, the mark became clearer and clearer.
After the mark was completely revealed, Yang Yan took back the spirit snake.
Relaxing, Yang Yan explained, “It’s the simplest form of Soul Tracing Mark, but even so, you can’t get rid of it nor would you have been able to find it.”
“You can’t get rid of it?” Yang Kai was astonished.
“I can, I just chose not to,” Yang Yan slowly got up and spoke.
Yang Kai looked at her thoughtfully, “Casting a long line to catch a big fish?”
“Exactly,” Yang Yan smiled coldly, “After ten thousand years of silence, it seems like some from the Star Boundary are becoming restless again. This is a good opportunity to teach them a lesson they won’t soon forget. After this Queen returns to the Star Boundary, she’ll hang the head of whoever dared to come here above the Star Gate and see who else dares to come down and covet the Star Field’s Principles again.”
Yang Kai quietly wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, almost feeling sad for this pitiful fellow, but he quickly said, “Whatever you need, I’ll cooperate with you.”
“You don’t need to do anything in particular, he’ll come to you. Just go about your life, I will monitor you secretly,” Yang Yan said before suddenly stretching out her finger and condense a ball of light at its tip before sending it to Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar, “This is the Secret Technique to block off your Knowledge Sea, take some time to cultivate it.”
Yang Kai nodded seriously before closing his eyes to comprehend this new Secret Technique.
His Knowledge Sea had supreme treasures like the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus and the Star Field Star Chart. If he went to the Star Boundary in the future, it was inevitable that these things would be discovered by some master if he took no precautions, so Yang Kai diligently cultivated this Secret Technique to seal off his Knowledge Sea.
Seeing him like this, Yang Yan did not say any more, simply leaving him to his studies while she erected a number of powerful barriers around his Knowledge Sea before taking her leave.
One day later, Yang Kai opened his eyes as a faint trace of exhaustion filled his face.
The Secret Technique that Yang Yan handed to him to seal his Knowledge Sea was extremely profound, and he had consumed a great deal of his Spiritual Energy to comprehend it; however, although he was quite tired, his harvest had been rich, so he felt full of energy.
Yang Yan and Lin Yun’er had disappeared from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, and when Yang Kai released his Divine Sense, he was unable to perceive their existence, having no clue where they had gone.
Only Gui Zu was now sitting directly opposite Yang Kai, wearing a solemn expression on his face, seemingly pondering something.
“Elder!” Yang Kai greeted him.
Gui Zu came out of his reverie and looked over towards Yang Kai to ask, “Sect Master, that Senior… who was she? Why does this old master feel as weak and vulnerable as a three-year-old child in front of her?”
Gui Zu was truly shocked.
After reaching the Second-Order Origin King Realm, he had thought that despite the world being vast, there was not anyone left who he needed to truly fear, but soon after arriving at High Heaven Sect, he had met Yang Yan and been tossed about by her ruthlessly, making him lose a great deal of confidence.
Although he had gained some benefits from the experience, Gui Zu really couldn’t accept this profound feeling of weakness.
“If I told you she is the Starry Sky Great Emperor, would you believe me?” Yang Kai smiled back at Gui Zu.
Gui Zu’s jaw dropped so far a melon could be stuffed into it as he stared at Yang Kai in shock, his eyes trembling violently.
“Hahaha… didn’t Supreme Elder want to refine some Origin King Grade Spirit Pills? You can go to Pill Treasure Peak to find my Little Senior Sister, she will refine whatever you want,” Yang Kai laughed before getting up and leaving leisurely.
Gui Zu sat alone for quite some time, unable to recover.
Only after a long silence did he pound the table with his fist and curse, “Damn brat, daring to play tricks on this old master! The Great Emperor is just a legend, how could she really appear here all of a sudden? What’s more, as a woman… This old master is not a naïve character, how could he have been fooled so easily? Never mind, those pills are more important now!”
Regardless of the true origins of that woman named Yang Yan, Gui Zu knew that she was definitely not someone he could provoke, and after having suffered two complete losses at her hand, Gui Zu no longer dared act self-righteous.
The Martial Dao was endless, and one needed to always strive to improve themself…
Inside First Heavenly Palace, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes tightly.
Calming himself, Yang Kai spread out his Divine Sense and integrated it into Shadowed Star’s aura. As long as he wanted to, he could even feel the wind or grass anywhere on Shadowed Star now.
It was as if he and the Cultivation Star had merged into one, the two indistinguishable from one another.
The World Principles which had felt vague before had now become clearer, and his grasp of Shadowed Star’s power was much stronger than before.
“Is it because I broke through to the Origin King Realm?” Yang Kai muttered thoughtfully, “It should be, the Origin King Realm and Origin Returning Realm are two completely different Great Realms, after all. As my strength improves, there are bound to be some changes… oh? The World Principles seem to have changed a little…”
Yang Kai suddenly noticed something unusual and began to investigate. After a long time, he was slightly surprised, “The World Principles here are no longer disordered and have become flawless? Is this also a result of my breakthrough? It being impossible to reach the Origin King Realm on Shadowed Star was a direct result of the imperfect World Principles disrupted by the battle between Yang Yan and the Insect Emperor. My breakthrough seems to have altered this situation though… If the flaws in the World Principles have been repaired now, does that mean Shadowed Star will no longer reject Origin Kings? Right, I have not noticed Shadowed Star rejecting me at all since I returned, but I’m also its Star Master, so I can’t use myself as proof. En, I can use Supreme Elder to give it a try.”
Thinking this way, he quickly found where Gui Zu was.
Currently, there were only two Origin Kings on Shadowed Star: him and Gui Zu. Yang Kai was Shadowed Star’s Star Master and would not be rejected by the star, so he could only experiment on Gui Zu.
At this moment, inside a grand palace on Pill Treasure Peak, a strong pill fragrance filled the air.
Gui Zu sat cross-legged on the ground while carefully explaining his own experiences and comprehensions on the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way.
Su Yan sat opposite Gui Zu, in front of the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Pedestal, her whole body exuding a deep chill and her hands resting on her knees lightly, listening attentively.
Next to her, Little Senior Sister was also listening very seriously, but her hands never stopped moving, continuously taking out Origin King Grade herbs and extracting medicinal liquid from them.
With her Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, Alchemy was like eating or drinking to Little Senior Sister, an all but instinctive behaviour, so while she listened to Gui Zu’s cultivation experiences, she was not distracted when performing Alchemy.
From time to time, a Spirit Pill would be completed and placed into a pre-prepared jade bottle by Xia Ning Chang.
Gui Zu was delighted and motivated every time he saw this happen.
Suddenly, Gui Zu frowned and turned his head to look around, his expression suspicious.
At that moment, he felt someone spying on him.
Shocked, he immediately and mistakenly thought that Yang Yan was observing him; after all, the only one who should be able to spy on him without revealing their location was Yang Yan.
Not daring to be negligent, Gui Zu became more focused on explaining the many difficulties and intricacies of cultivation, a faint trace of sweat leaking from his forehead as he did.
Fortunately, this feeling disappeared after a while, allowing Gui Zu to breathe a sigh of relief.
“There really is no sense of rejection,” Inside First Heavenly Palace, Yang Kai smiled happily. He had just tried to mobilize the World Principles to apply some pressure to Gui Zu, but found that they didn’t reject his presence.
The perfection of its World Principles was a massive breakthrough for Shadowed Star.
This meant that the World Principles on Shadowed Star would no longer suppress cultivators and restrict them from breaking through to the Origin King Realm. At the same time, they would not repel Origin Kings anymore, like when Qian Tong had been struck by lightning or burned by Earth Fire.
In the future, Shadowed Star would now just allow Origin Kings to rise, it also would not force these masters to leave.
In this way, it would save all the Origin Returning Realm masters of Shadowed Star from having to travel to other Cultivation Stars to make breakthroughs.
It seemed he would need to send word to Azure Tree Star and let Ye Xi Yun, Qian Tong, and all the others know about the good news.
Shadowed Star’s Principles had been repaired thanks to his breakthrough, but the World Principles of the Sealed World Bead were still incomplete, a fact that made Yang Kai feel quite helpless. These incomplete World Principles meant that breakthroughs could not be made inside.
However, this was an artifact left behind by the previous Star Field Guardian, so Yang Kai certainly had not uncovered all of its secrets yet.
For the next six months, Yang Kai remained on Shadowed Star.
He had just broken through to the Origin King Realm not long ago, and although thanks to his Embodiment inadvertently refining the entire floating continent, allowing his realm to rise to the peak of the First-Order, Yang Kai had yet to carefully consolidate his cultivation.
Over the past six months, besides consolidating his realm, Yang Kai also cultivated the Secret Technique to seal off his Knowledge Sea.
After half a year, he had reached the minor accomplishment stage and his entire Knowledge Sea was now shrouded by the invisible layer that seemed to blend and cooperate with the barriers left behind by Yang Yan. With his current cultivation, it was likely there was no one in the entire Star Field now who could invade his Knowledge Sea.
This way, the secrets in his Knowledge Sea were safe.
Today, Yang Kai was enjoying some family time and completing his filial duties by accompanying his parents on the mountain where they lived.
Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang were also present. Some time ago, the two women had been in retreat and had some gains, their auras now fluctuating somewhat, as if they were on the verge of a breakthrough.
As such, Yang Kai pulled them out to relax for a while, since breakthroughs were not something to be anxiously pursued.
Their son was a dragon among men and their two daughters-in-law were great beauties, making Yang Ying Feng and Dong Su Zhu feel as if their lives had been worth living. Dong Su Zhu also kept urging Yang Kai to hold a proper wedding ceremony soon, causing his two Senior Sisters to become both excited and shy.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s brows furrowed, and he quickly released his Divine Sense, the next moment his expression becoming solemn as he said, “Mother, Father, wait here a while. I’ll be right back.”
Saying so, he gave a wink to Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang, to which both of them nodded in understanding.
Yang Kai’s figure then flickered and disappeared.
Shadowed Star, the Limitless Ocean, above a vast, calm sea, a middle-aged man stood mid-air. Dressed in white, he exuded an extraordinary aura and temperament.
With closed eyes, this man felt the surging World Energy around him and practically smelled the World Principles in the air, his face showing a joyful look.
“The World Energy is rich here. Although the Principles are not perfect, they’re still quite good. En, it’s been a long trip, might as well replenish myself,” The middle-aged man said to himself as he began forming a series of seals.
In the next moment, his body seemed to transform into a bottomless pit that madly swallowed the surrounding World Energy.
Suddenly, the originally calm sea became unsettled and the winds began to howl.
Although with the disappearance of a large amount of World Energy, something else seemed to also be vanishing from the surrounding hundred thousand kilometre radius, causing many cultivators to feel uncomfortable as well as slightly anxious.
Sea Temple headquarters, on a massive island, the current Temple Master Sha Hu was discussing some important matters with the other high-level officials when suddenly he sensed something. Raising his hand and looking in the direction of the middle-aged man, a solemn expression filled Sha Hu’s face.
“Temple Master, what happened?” The Second Temple Master asked.
Sha Hu did not answer directly but his expression grew more and more solemn. It took a while before he stood up and said, “Someone is making trouble on the Limitless Ocean. This old master will go take a look.”
Saying so, his body shot out like lightning, the many masters in the hall exchanging confused looks before following along.
Deep under the sea, instruments played as many young Sea Clan girls sang and danced, brightening the scene inside Sea God Palace.
Suddenly, the waters for several tens of thousands of kilometres around Sea God Palace became turbulent and a violent earthquake shook the ground violently. Lie Kong, the King of Sea God Palace, who sat at the head of the banquet, wore a solemn look as he raised his head up and a profound light flashed across his eyes. The next moment, a vague figure appeared in front of his eyes, and although they were separated by a few ten thousand kilometres, this vague figure still seemed to be aware of his gaze, he just smiled disdainfully and ignored Lie Kong.
Lie Kong was furious and roared in a majestic voice that resounded through Sea God Palace, “Who dares act presumptuously on my Limitless Ocean? If you come to Sea God Palace immediately and admit your sins, this King may spare your life!”
This sound crossed the barriers of space with the help of the Sea Clan’s Secret Techniques and directly sounded in the middle-aged man’s ears.
The middle-aged man who was madly absorbing the surrounding World Energy coldly snorted when he heard this threat and directed an icy glare in Lie Kong’s direction as he shouted, “Pathetic ant, you dare speak to this Senior with such disrespect? Come here now!”
Saying so, he waved his hand lightly, as if he was brushing away a fly.
However, this light movement seemed to contain unimaginable power, causing the seawater to split like a mirror all the way to the seabed. From above, it looked like a huge canyon had appeared in the middle of the Limitless Ocean.
Sea God Palace under the sea was suddenly exposed to the vision of the middle-aged man above.
“Huh?” Lie Kong’s face changed drastically as he felt incredibly stunned.
He had only caught a glimpse of this middle-aged man with the assistance of the Sea Clan’s Secret Technique, but never did he imagine it would result in the other party waving his hand and cutting the entire Limitless Ocean in half.
Such methods were simply beyond Lie Kong’s comprehension or imagination.
[An Origin King? Impossible, even an Origin King wouldn’t have such ability!]
The Sea Clan girls screamed and fled, trying to rush into the sea to seek refuge, but when their bodies touched the edge of the canyon, their bodies burst into blood fog, causing countless casualties.
The many masters of the Sea Clan were shocked as they all looked up in horror at the figure standing in the sky who seemed like some kind of god they were unable to defy.
“I told you to come, did you not hear me? This Senior won’t repeat his words a second time!” The middle-aged man showed a look of impatience and snorted as he stretched out his hand and pointed towards Lie Kong.
Being pointed at like this, Lie Kong suddenly broke out into a cold sweat as he could not even muster the will to resist. This move seemed to be made slowly, but at the same time cut off all avenues of retreat.
*Pu…*
Lie Kong coughed up a mouthful of blood and felt his body imprisoned by an invisible force that dragged him upwards at a rapid speed.
“Palace Master!” The many masters from the Sea Clan called out, but none dared to act rashly.
Lie Kong was the strongest master of Sea God Palace, and even he was easily captured by this unknown opponent, so acting hostile now would be the same as courting death.
A feeling of despair began to spread as no one knew where this middle-aged man came from or what kind of cultivation he had.
The only thing everyone knew was that this person had the power to destroy all of Shadowed Star.
In just a few breaths, Lie Kong was dragged a few tens of thousands of kilometres away and arrived in front of the middle-aged man.
“Kneel down!” The middle-aged man did not even glance at him but uttered two words lightly.
Lie Kong did not feel this man use any kind of strength, but these two words shook his mind like thunder and had a kind of coercive force that seemed to be forcing him to obey, his knees softening instantly as he nearly knelt like he was commanded.
Quickly though, Lie Kong’s eyes turned red and he roared, “This King is the lord of Sea God Palace, how could he kneel to you? If he did, how could he face Sea God Palace ever again?”
Desperately pushing his Strength, a kind of white light burst from Lie Kong’s body as he resisted, but because of the tremendous pressure he was under, his skin cracked, and blood began to leak out.
The middle-aged man just looked at him coldly and said indifferently, “You have no right to refuse!”
“Even if this King must die, he won’t give you what you want!” Lie Kong roared as blue veins throbbed on his forehead, swearing an oath on his life.
*Pa pa pa…*
A loud series of bangs rang out from Lie Kong’s legs, and with them, his legs from his knees down exploded.
The intense pain only further stimulated Lie Kong though as he grit his teeth tightly and despite his miserable appearance let out a hearty laugh, “This King no longer has any knees, so how will you make me kneel now? Try again in your next life!”
The middle-aged man’s expression finally changed slightly as he spoke, “Seems your spirit is stronger than expected. Don’t worry, I won’t let you die here, I’ll keep you alive to teach you some manners later!”
Saying so, with a wave of his hand, a bubble-like object flew out and directly wrapped up Lie Kong. No matter how hard Lie Kong struggled to resist, he was unable to escape.
Nearby, Sha Hu and a group of masters from Sea Temple had appeared, but after witnessing this terrifying scene, all of their hearts froze.
The people of Sea Temple knew well of Lie Kong’s strength; after all, the two great forces had fought for countless years on this Limitless Ocean, so it was not an exaggeration to say that they knew each other intimately.
Lie Kong had always been regarded by Sea Temple as their greatest enemy, as well as the most difficult one to deal with. Even Sha Hu was not certain he could kill Lie Kong in the sea.
But now, the leader of the Sea Clan, the lord of Sea God Palace, a man of great power, was as powerless as a baby in front of this unfamiliar middle-aged man. Not only did he not have any power to resist, even his legs had been destroyed.
This scene caused Sha Hu and the others to feel quite distressed.
“Withdraw!” Sha Hu saw that something was wrong and quickly shouted, preparing to evacuate this place.
An opponent who could easily defeat Lie Kong was definitely not one he could resist.
“Since you’ve come, don’t think you can just go!” The middle-aged man sneered, “This Senior simply wanted to absorb some of this Star’s Source Strength, so if you had just minded your own affairs obediently, this Senior wouldn’t have come to trouble you, but since you seek death on your own, this Senior doesn’t mind sending you all on your way!”
Saying so, he waved his hand in the direction where Sha Hu and the others stood.
It was as if he was swatting away flies.
World Energy gathered together at that moment into a huge palm and fell fiercely.
An aura of death rapidly approached, causing Sha Hu and the others to pale, all of them raising their heads to look at the giant hand which seemed to cover the sky, none of them able to muster the strength to resist.
[What are the origins of this man?] Sha Hu knew that death was imminent, but was still puzzled about where such a powerful cultivator had come from and just who could deal with him?
Could it be Shadowed Star was about to experience a tragedy and he was about to become a casualty?
At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly appeared in his mind.
Perhaps… only that boy could deal with this person. But as soon as that idea came to mind, Sha Hu denied it. That boy was indeed powerful, but compared with the person in front of him, there was still an obvious gap.
The palm arrived above the top of Sha Hu’s head in an instant and some of the masters with him with lower cultivation burst apart and died on the spot before even being struck.
Even Sha Hu with his great strength felt intense pain all over his body as it literally began to crack apart.
“Scatter!” A low shout suddenly rang out.
It was only a mere word, but it seemed to contain a kind of supreme power that affected reality itself.
The surrounding World Energy suddenly became chaotic and the huge palm which was descending towards Sha Hu’s group instantly dispersed.
The sky cleared up and Sha Hu and his group felt the sun’s gentle rays beam down on them, a look of shock covering their faces.
“Oh?” The middle-aged man finally showed a look of interest on his indifferent face as he turned towards the source of this voice and in the next moment he grinned, “It’s you, hahahaha! Before this Senior even went looking for you, you’ve delivered yourself to him. Good, very good, you’ve saved this Senior some trouble. As thanks, this Senior will let you off slightly easier when he kills you!”
Yang Kai frowned as he glanced down at the scattered flesh and blood, then at Lie Kong’s miserable condition, saying with a calm tone, “Seems I came a bit late!”
“Yang Kai!” Sha Hu was overjoyed and called out in excitement.
“Sect Master Yang!” Lie Kong also smiled miserably towards Yang Kai from his bubble.
Sha Hu and Yang Kai had met on Shadowed Soul Island and formed a kind of friendship while Lie Kong also knew Yang Kai because of a trade relationship Sea God Palace had with High Heaven Sect. The last time Yang Kai left the seabed, the Sea Clan’s Little Princess also gave him the Sea God Orb which contained some of the Ocean’s Source, a treasure which was perfectly suited to Yang Kai’s Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art.
After seeing Yang Kai, both Sha Hu and Lie Kong couldn’t help feeling happy but also extremely anxious.
Sha Hu called out anxiously, “Yang Kai, leave this place quickly, this man is definitely not something you can resist!”
“Old Sha can relax,” Yang Kai smiled at him. “Since I’ve come here, I’m prepared. What’s more, he’s here for me. Old Sha and Palace Master Lie Kong being hurt is partially my responsibility, so just stand back for now.”
Saying so, Yang Kai waved his hand lightly.
An invisible force enveloped Sha Hu and he found that he and the Sea Temple masters had been teleported ten thousand kilometres away while the bubble which had enveloped Lie Kong also burst apart.
By the time Lie Kong knew what was happening, he had returned safely to Sea God Palace.
“Palace Master!” The many Sea Clan masters were overjoyed and rushed up quickly, several of the Elders hurriedly taking out good healing pills from their Space Rings to give to Lie Kong.
“A Star Master? Did you refine this Cultivation Star’s Source?” The middle-aged man’s eyes flashed and he looked at Yang Kai in surprise.
If he were not the Star Master of this place, it would have been absolutely impossible to perform such acts with just Yang Kai’s First-Order Origin King’s cultivation. What’s more, the moment Yang Kai waved his hand, the middle-aged man sensed a fluctuation in the World Principals around him.
“What? Sect Master Yang is actually the Star Master of Shadowed Star?” Although the people from Sea Temple and Sea God Palace were watching from afar, when they heard the middle-aged man’s words clearly, they couldn’t help showing looks of shock and excitement.
This was especially true for Lie Kong. After learning that Yang Kai is actually the Star Master of Shadowed Star, the light of hope was rekindled in his eyes.
If it was the Star Master, on this Star, it would really be possible to fight this inexplicable enemy!
“Boy, this Senior is talking to you, are you deaf?” The middle-aged man could not stop his face from sinking when he saw that Yang Kai blatantly ignored him.
Thinking of his noble status and his great strength, him taking the initiative to speak to a little First-Order Origin King brat was a great honour yet the other party actually ignored him, causing him to feel a little angry out of shame.
Only after being shouted at like this did Yang Kai turn his head and glance indifferently towards the middle-aged man, cleaned his ear with his finger impudently, and called out, “What did you just say? Sorry, this wind is quite strong when we are above the sea, so I didn’t hear you clearly. Say it again.”
Sha Hu, Lie Kong, and everyone else gawked…
They could clearly hear this man’s voice from ten thousand kilometres away, so Yang Kai, who was standing only a few kilometres away obviously could as well. This was nothing short of naked contempt!
While feeling somewhat refreshed themselves, the Shadowed Star cultivators all worried whether it was really a good idea for Yang Kai to provoke such a terrifying enemy.
“You’re certainly rampant enough, boy!” The middle-aged man snickered, “This Senior will congratulate you: You have successfully angered me. You won’t die so easily now.”
“Whether I die or not has nothing to do with you, because you’re going to die very soon,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, not showing the slightest fear despite facing an enemy whose depths he could not even comprehend.
“This Senior admires your courage, but courage without strength is useless,” The middle-aged man raised a finger and shook it gently in front of him, “Little Brat, obediently hand over your Soul Warming Lotus and Star Chart and this Senior will leave you a complete corpse, otherwise this Senior doesn’t mind letting you taste the world’s more exquisite torture first.”
“You want my things? If so, take them yourself and see if you have the ability,” Yang Kai still didn’t show any change in expression.
“Fool!” The middle-aged man did not seem to have much patience, so seeing Yang Kai still refuse his ‘generous’ offer, he snorted and sent his Divine Sense crashing towards Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea.
Whether it was the Soul Warming Lotus or the Star Chart, both were kept inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, so if the middle-aged man wanted to snatch them, he could only invade his Knowledge Sea first.
Yang Kai finally changed slightly as he felt his Knowledge Sea being struck hard by some invisible force. Going dizzy, Yang Kai felt a wave of nausea overcome him as his heart pounded and his face turned pale.
*Hong…*
When this invisible spike impacted Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, a number of profound barriers suddenly appeared and directly blocked the middle-aged man’s Divine Sense from entering inside.
“What?” The middle-aged man was taken aback.
He thought that with his strength, he would easily be able to invade this boy’s Knowledge Sea and seize the Soul Warming Lotus and Star Chart. How could he have imagined that this little brat’s Knowledge Sea actually had such a powerful barrier around it, one that seemed quite impossible to penetrate?
“Boy, you have a lot of secrets!” The middle-aged man looked at Yang Kai with a vicious grin on his face, “Good, after this Senior captures you, he will be sure to study you carefully!”
Saying so, he suddenly reached out to grab Yang Kai.
Within the range of several tens of metres around Yang Kai, space seemed to solidify and an invisible force bound him as it dragged him towards the middle-aged man.
Yang Kai understood his situation and desperately pushed his Space Force while at the same time mobilizing the Star Source’s power to shell and disperse this invisible power, successfully breaking free and teleporting away.
“Now, now, there’s no rush. Your opponent here isn’t me,” When Yang Kai appeared again, he was already a thousand metres away, but this time only a mocking grin appeared on his face when he looked at the middle-aged man.
“Nonsense, is there a cultivator here stronger than you? Even you do not dare fight with this Senior, so who here can stop me?” The middle-aged man sneered, unmoved.
“Your opponent is me!” Suddenly, from the void, a clear female voice suddenly rang out, one that seemed to drift about and come from all directions at once.
The middle-aged man was shocked and showed a serious look for the first time as he shouted, “Who goes there?”
A series of ripples suddenly appeared at a certain point in the sky, like the surface of a calm lake that had a stone thrown into it, and from the centre of these ripples a woman in black robes walked out. Next to the woman, there was another young girl who only looked about fifteen or sixteen, her hair done up in a long ponytail, making her look quite cute.
As soon as this little girl appeared, her pair of bright eyes looked around and in the next moment, they landed on Yang Kai and she smiled and waved, “Uncle Sect Master!”
“Yun’er, come here!” Yang Kai also beckoned at her.
Lin Yun’er glanced at Yang Yan and saw her nod slightly before she made her way over to Yang Kai’s side.
“Uncle Sect Master, I haven’t seen you in half a year! Yun’er missed you very much,” Lin Yun’er was so innocent that she did not seem to notice the treacherous situation around her and the moment she arrived next to Yang Kai she began acting spoiled.
“En, Uncle missed you too… I mean, no, that’s not right, when did I become your Uncle?” Yang Kai looked at Lin Yun’er with some dissatisfaction, “You should call me Brother, I’m not that old.”
“Hehe, if I call you Brother Sect Master, what should I call Martial Aunt Yang Yan?” Lin Yun’er looked at Yang Kai slyly.
“Forget it, Uncle it is,” Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat on his forehead.
In the distance, Sha Hu, Lie Kong, and all the others gawked, wondering what was happening. Why were neither of these two taking this deadly situation seriously? Moreover, what were the origins of the woman in black, and how did she appear here without them noticing?
What exactly was happening on Shadowed Star? Before, there had not been an Origin King for ten thousand years, but today, one master at or even beyond that level was appearing like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
“Uncle Sect Master, can’t you beat that bad man?” Lin Yun’er looked up at the middle-aged man in the sky and asked Yang Kai.
“I’m not his opponent,” Yang Kai admitted frankly as even now he was unable to see through the depths of his opponent, much less fight with him. Even if he was the Star Master of Shadowed Star, occupying favourable conditions and an advantageous position, if he really had to fight with this unknown man, Yang Kai was fairly certain he would die.
In this world, only one person could subdue this man!
Yang Kai turned his gaze to Yang Yan and felt a strong desire deep in his heart to rise further up the Martial Dao!
“It doesn’t matter, Martial Aunt Yang Yan will take care of him. Yun’er will also cultivate hard, so if anyone bullies you in the future, Yun’er will protect you!” Lin Yun’er patted her steadily developing chest and promised heroically.
“Haha, then I’ll rely on you in the future,” Yang Kai laughed.
In the sky, the middle-aged man showed a solemn expression after Yang Yan appeared. He did not know why, but he felt a very dangerous aura from this woman in black robes, as if fighting her would result in a miserable end for him.
Yang Yan on the other hand looked calm and relaxed as she stared at him indifferently.
A light sweat dripped down from the middle-aged man’s forehead as he took a deep breath and tried to calm his mood, cupping his fists, and asking, “Dare I ask Your Excellency’s name?”
“That’s none of your business,” Yang Yan replied faintly before observing the other party’s robes and frowning slightly, “Are you from Falling Star Sect?”
The middle-aged man was shocked as he stared at Yang Yan incredulously, “Do you know my Sect? It seems that you are also from Star Boundary. Could it be you’re this Star Field’s…”
“No!” Yang Yan didn’t wait for him to finish and interrupted him directly, “Since you’ve displayed appropriate courtesy, this Queen will offer you a chance to surrender without a fight. This Queen isn’t fond of bullying the weak.”
“You want me to surrender without a fight?” The middle-aged man seemed to have heard a bad joke and his expression turned grim, “I do not care who you are, but since you’re not this Star Field’s Guardian, then mind your own business. There is nothing this Wu Sheng Feng has set his eyes upon that he has been unable to obtain.”
“Really? Then you are destined to be disappointed this time. With this Queen here, you will obtain nothing and will pay for it with your life,” Yang Yan still had a calm, indifferent expression.
“Does Your Excellency wish to oppose my Falling Star Sect?” Wu Sheng Feng grit his teeth and shouted.
“What thing is Falling Star Sect? Even that old dog Yu He Ling would not dare act presumptuously in front of this Queen, so what do you count for? Do you think you can suppress this Queen with a mere Falling Star Sect? Laughable!” Yang Yan sneered.
Wu Sheng Feng’s eyes bulged, “You know my Sect Master?”
The Yu He Ling that Yang Yan mentioned was Falling Star Sect’s Sect Master, and hearing this woman rampantly disdain him, Wu Sheng Feng really began to slightly panic. This woman’s status and cultivation were clearly unfathomable, and existence he should not provoke.
Any previous sense of superiority disappeared at that instant as Wu Sheng Feng’s expression fluctuated and cold sweat gradually dripped down his back.
“You have three breaths to give this Queen a satisfactory answer or this Queen will obtain one herself,” Yang Yan declared before raising a jade finger and counting, “One!”
As soon as this count began, the atmosphere changed and became heavy, causing Wu Sheng Feng to panic further, “Wait, I have something to say!”
“Two…” Yang Yan remained unmoved.
“Don’t go too far! My Falling Star Sect is not weak! Even if you are stronger than me, so what? I have already determined that there is no Guardian in this Star Field! Why are you trying to insert yourself into my business for no reason?”
“Three!” Yang Yan called out lightly before suddenly appearing in front of Wu Sheng Feng.
*Pa…*
No one saw exactly what happened, only hearing a crisp sound echo before Wu Sheng Feng was sent flying while half of his face swelled up.
“You dare hit me?” Wu Sheng Feng roared, his tone filled with anger and indignation.
*Pa…*
Wu Sheng Feng, who had just stood firm, suddenly flew out again as the other side of his face began to swell up.
“Bitch, don’t think I’m afraid of you! This Senior wanted to show mercy because you were a woman…”
*Pa…*
“Enough!”
*Pa…*
“Don’t just beat others without considering the consequences…”
*Pa…*
“Miss, it’s important to show decorum in battle!”
*Pa…*
“Senior, show mercy…”
*Pa…*
“Wuwu… I was wrong, Senior, I admit my wrongs and accept my punishment, so please stop…”
Ten thousand kilometres away, Sha Hu, Lie Kong, and everyone else stared at this scene dumbfounded. Even Yang Kai and Lin Yun’er both had their jaws slacken as they stared at the funny scene playing out before them.
The majestic and imposing Wu Sheng Feng from before, the one who carried the demeanour of an aloof master who was unchallenged below the Heavens, was as weak and helpless as a three-year-old child in front of Yang Yan, unable to resist or even dodge the blows that Yang Yan rained down on him.
The crisp sound of him being beaten and Wu Sheng Feng’s pleas for mercy filled the air, causing some complicated emotions to fill everyone’s hearts.
Yang Kai gulped as he quietly asked Lin Yun’er, “Yun’er, has your Martial Aunt been in a bad mood recently?”
“En,” Lin Yun’er nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice, a slight tinge of fear flashing across her face, “Martial Aunt has been quite quiet and gloomy recently.”
“I feel sorry for that guy,” Yang Kai sighed slightly.
In the sky, Wu Sheng Feng’s face had been beaten into the shape of a pig’s head that had been stung by countless bees, making him look extremely ridiculous. Any sense of majesty he once possessed had been thoroughly thrashed and his head was now drooping as he stood obediently in front of Yang Yan, a look of resignation filling his expression.
Yang Yan looked down at him faintly and declared, “Originally, for daring to violate the Star Boundary’s laws, I should take your life.”
Wu Sheng Feng heard this, and he began to tremble, looking up at Yang Yan in horror and squeezing out a smile even uglier than if he was crying and hurriedly begging, “Senior… please reconsider! This is my first offence and I swear there won’t be a second! I only ask Senior to spare my life!”
“Hmph!” Yang Yan coldly snorted, “If that weren’t the case, do you think you’d still be alive now? But while the capital punishment may be exempted, you must still suffer some penalty. For your crimes, you will follow me back to the Star Boundary and stand guard the Star Gate for three thousand years!”
“Three… three thousand years?” Wu Sheng Feng was shocked.
Guarding the Star Gate for three thousand years, without even mentioning the unending dullness, one was unable to cultivate there at all because of the barrier which protected the Star Gate. If he was really forced to spend three thousand years in such a position, what future would he have?
“Do you have any objections?” Yang Yan looked at him coldly.
“No, no!” Wu Sheng Feng shook his head quickly, “Senior’s judgement, Junior wouldn’t dare disagree with this. This is an honour for this Junior, haha…”
“Don’t think this Queen doesn’t know what you are thinking,” Yang Yan sneered, “Do you think that after returning to the Star Boundary, you can have that old dog Yu He Ling come forward to save you? If that is what your plan is, you’re going to be disappointed again. If Yu He Ling dares to come forward, this Queen will make him guard Star Gate for three thousand years as well!”
Wu Sheng Feng’s eyes immediately bulged as his face filled with horror and he called out hoarsely, “Senior, who… who…”
His Sect Master, Yu He Ling, in the Star Boundary, could be regarded as a famous figure, but from this woman’s tone, it was not difficult to tell that she did not put him in her eyes at all.
Throughout the entire Star Boundary, the number of people who were qualified to do this did not number more than fifty, and besides the top ten masters, each one of these people was an Emperor existence.
“Who is this Queen?” Yang Yan coldly snorted, stretching out her hand and waving to summon a palace-like artifact before her before she slapped Wu Sheng Feng one last time and shouted, “Get in!”
The next moment, Wu Sheng Feng was wrapped in an invisible force and involuntarily thrown towards the palace-like artifact.
“The Emperor Garden!” When Wu Sheng Feng saw this palace-like artifact, he called out in shock, “You’re…”
Before he finished speaking though, his body was swallowed by the artifact.
Yang Kai squinted at the palace-like artifact and found that it was none other than the Emperor Garden that had been suspended above High Heaven Sect many years ago. With Yang Yan’s awakening, the Emperor Garden had now obviously been taken back by her.
Wu Sheng Feng had been easily subdued, but Sha Hu and Lie Kong did not dare to step forward to offer their thanks, instead just standing in place with dignified expressions. They understood that this woman was a master beyond their comprehension, one they were not even worthy to address. What they had seen and heard today had exceeded Shadowed Star’s bounds, from ancient to present.
Perhaps, today’s battle would go down as something of a legend.
Midair, Yang Kai stared at Yang Yan, suddenly feeling like this woman stood above the clouds and he needed to stretch his neck up just to catch a faint glimpse of her shadow, a somewhat uncomfortable feeling.
Yang Yan did not show any intention to speak either, simply standing in place quietly as she stared at Yang Kai.
Only after a long time did she say lightly, “I should go.”
“Back to the Star Boundary?” Yang Kai frowned and asked.
“En,” Yang Yan nodded, “I have my own Star Field to protect, one I haven’t visited in over ten thousand years, so I have no way of knowing what its situation is or if it’s been invaded by anyone. After so long, there’s no telling if an accident has happened.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, expressing his understanding.
“If you want to go to the Star Boundary, the nine Star Emperor Tokens are the key. When I came here that year, I sealed the connection between this Star Field and Star Gate, and only by using those nine Star Emperor Tokens can that seal be opened. If you want your relatives and friends to live a peaceful life, seek out a higher Martial Dao, or when someone like Wu Sheng Feng appears again one day, you will be unable to resist,” Yang Yan said while gently tapping her finger to send out a small ball of light like a firefly towards Yang Kai. “This is the method to open the channel; whether to go or stay will be up to you to decide.”
Yang Kai remained in place, allowing the small ball of light to enter his Knowledge Sea, the next moment feeling like something had been added to his mind.
Yang Yan waved her hand again and with a yelp, Lin Yun’er, who was standing next to Yang Kai, was summoned over to her.
“Yun’er is very talented and her constitution is perfectly suited to inherit a Secret Art one of my old friends, so I’m taking her with me,” Yang Yan took one last look at Yang Kai before her figure flickered and she suddenly disappeared from his view.
“I hope I can see you again in the Star Boundary!” Yang Yan’s words came from the sky.
Yang Kai opened his mouth to say something, but eventually just sighed and stood there in a daze.
On the Limitless Ocean, calm was restored again.
After a long time, Sha Hu and Lie Kong flew over to Yang Kai cautiously, the former turning his head around nervously as he asked, “Yang Kai, that Senior…”
“Don’t ask. Don’t even think about it. I have nothing to say,” Yang Kai waved his hand.
“En,” Sha Hu nodded, knowing that he had asked something he should not.
Yang Kai glanced at Lie Kong and said, “When you have time, Palace Master Lie Kong should go to High Heaven Sect and ask my Little Senior Sister to refine a Yellow Heavens Pill for you. It should allow you to reform your destroyed limbs!”
Lie Kong’s eyes bulged in shock but quickly a joyous look came to his face and he cupped his fists gratefully, “Many thanks, Sir Star Master! This Lie Kong is extremely grateful. Sea God Palace looks forward to continuing to work together with Sir Star Master in the future!”
He didn’t know that Yang Kai was the Star Master before, but now that he did, and was even being gifted a precious Yellow Heavens Pill, Lie Kong knew not to be negligent and hurriedly offered his sincere thanks.
Sha Hu’s expression on the side changed a bit as he hurriedly said, “The same is true for my Sea Temple. If Sir Star Master has any commands in the future, Sea Temple will not spare any effort to accomplish them.”
“Your sentiment is appreciated,” Yang Kai nodded faintly and replied perfunctorily before closing his eyes and expanding his perception quietly.
He could feel Yang Yan gradually leave Shadowed Star with Lin Yun’er. He did not know where they were headed, only that their final destination was the mysterious Star Boundary.
After a stick of incense, Yang Yan and Lin Yun’er’s aura completely disappeared from Yang Kai’s range, separating themselves from Shadowed Star and entering the vast Star Field.
Opening his eyes, Yang Kai waved to Sha Hu and Lie Kong faintly before his figure flickered and disappeared.
A short time later, Yang Kai returned to First Heavenly Palace in High Heaven Sect and entered a state of meditation.
Yang Yan disciplining Wu Sheng Feng was a battle not many people knew about, only a few masters from the two great forces of the Limitless Ocean who were present at the scene witnessed it with their own eyes, but under the strict orders of Sha Hu and Lie Kong, no one dared to openly discuss it. The entire incident was covered up and disappeared into the annals of history, with the only evidence of it being written briefly in the ancient records of the two Sects.
“Has Sect Master exited retreat yet?” Atop Hundred Flowers Peak, Ye Xi Yun drank tea with a carefree expression while asking Wu Yi.
She had returned to High Heaven Sect three months ago and, not disappointing Yang Kai’s and anyone else’s expectations, Ye Xi Yun had successfully broken through to the Origin King Realm.
She had long been the strongest master on Shadowed Star and had stagnated at the peak of the Origin Returning Realm master for centuries. She had already touched upon the mysteries of Domain long ago but had taken the initiative to stay in High Heaven Sect to protect Yang Yan. If not for this, she would have left with Yang Kai the first time he sailed from Shadowed Star and broken through together with Qian Tong.
Wu Yi had also broken through to the Origin Returning Realm more than a month ago, and during the recent days, she had been accepting some guidance from Ye Xi Yun. Hearing this question, Wu Yi immediately replied, “No, since Sect Master returned two months ago, he has secluded himself in First Heavenly Palace and has not even met with the two Sect Madams.”
“En…” Ye Xi Yun nodded lightly and was just about to inspect Wu Yi’s recent cultivation when she suddenly raised her head and looked towards a certain direction, saying solemnly, “That’s… the direction of First Heavenly Palace?”
“Has something happened to Sect Master?” Wu Yi asked anxiously.
“It doesn’t look like some kind of accident, it’s just that World Energy seems to be gathering towards that direction. Could Sect Master be breaking through?” Even with Ye Xi Yun’s calm temperament, she felt taken aback by her own guess.
How long had it been since Sect Master broke through to the Origin King Realm? A year? Two? How could he have another breakthrough so soon?
“I’ll go and see,” As soon as her voice fell, Ye Xi Yun disappeared.
Outside First Heavenly Palace, a ghostly figure covered in black mist had already appeared. When Ye Xi Yun saw this figure, she stepped forward and quickly greeted, “Senior Brother!”
Gui Zu turned his head and smiled back, “Junior Sister Ye!”
Although the two had only known each other for a few months, they were both Origin Kings and belonged to High Heaven Sect, so addressing each other as Senior Brother and Junior Sister was only natural. After Ye Xi Yun broke through to the Origin King Realm, her title of Great Elder was automatically replaced by that of Supreme Elder, similar to Gui Zu.
In this sense, the two shared the same status.
“Junior Sister Ye also noticed the situation here and came to have a look?”
“En, judging from the movement of the World Energy, it looks like a breakthrough, but I remember hearing from Senior Brother before that Sect Master only reached the Origin King Realm a short time ago. Why is he having another breakthrough so soon? “
“Who knows,” Gui Zu shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t understand either. This boy… cough cough, Sect Master can’t be judged using common sense.”
Ye Xi Yun frowned, “Although Sect Master is indeed a genius that broke through to the Origin King Realm at an extremely young age, if he breaks through too frequently, I’m afraid that his foundation will become unstable.”
She could not help feeling a little worried about Yang Kai.
The Origin King Realm was not like the Great Realms that came before it. It was not unusual for geniuses to make successive breakthroughs in the lower realms, but once reached the Origin King Realm, if a cultivator wanted to make further progress, they needed to do so step by step in a steady fashion.
In the Star Field, many Origin Kings had been stuck at the First-Order their entire lives, unable to spy on greater heights in the Martial Dao.
But Yang Kai’s breakthrough speed was simply too fast, enough so to worry Ye Xi Yun.
Gui Zu frowned as he mumbled, “Sect Master isn’t the type who covets advancement at the expense of strength. Him daring to make a breakthrough at this time should be because he has complete confidence. In any case, it’s useless to worry about it now, this is a matter only Sect Master can handle. We just have to wait and see what the results are.”
“It is as Senior Brother says,” Ye Xi Yun took a deep breath and stared at the gate of First Heavenly Palace.
A large amount of World Energy had gathered around First Heavenly Palace, and although a breakthrough of a Minor Realm would not result in a World Energy baptism, it was still a magnificent scene to behold.
Almost all disciples of High Heaven Sect noticed the anomaly at First Heavenly Palace, and not long after, Yang Kai’s relatives and friends had gathered behind Ye Xi Yun and Gui Zu, all of them staring nervously ahead.
The rich World Energy poured into First Heavenly Palace and soon disappeared, as if it were being swallowed by a bottomless vortex.
This situation lasted for half a day until at a certain moment, Yang Kai’s loud roar rang out from First Heavenly Palace and an aura that seemed to be stronger than Gui Zu’s burst forth.
Everyone’s knees bent at that moment and many were almost crushed to the ground, but fortunately, this aura disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
Gui Zu’s eyes lit up as he whispered, “Freely releasing and taking back one’s strength! Haha, Junior Sister, it seems we were worried for nothing.”
Ye Xi Yun finally showed a relaxed look, but she still did not dare to be careless and said, “We should still wait for Sect Master to come out before we make a final conclusion.”
At that moment, the doors of First Heavenly Palace opened with a bang and Yang Kai’s figure was revealed.
Ye Xi Yun and Gui Zu immediately released their Divine Senses and inspected Yang Kai’s condition.
After a moment, the two exchanged a knowing smile.
The energy fluctuations coming from Yang Kai’s body were stable and there were no signs of his foundation becoming unstable due to a premature breakthrough. Finally confirming this, the two were able to put down their last concerns.
“So many people?” Yang Kai swept his eyes over the sea of familiar faces in front of him in amazement, cupped his fists, and said with a sheepish smile, “Sorry, I accidentally broke through and disturbed everyone.”
Accidentally…
Many people glowered at Yang Kai!
Although most of the cultivators present were Saint Kings, with only a few Origin Realm masters, all of them understood the power of an Origin King and how difficult it was for them to achieve even a minor breakthrough, so Yang Kai’s words just now slightly irksome to them.
“Congratulations, Sect Master,” Gui Zu laughed loudly. “Sect Master’s aptitude is astonishing, something this Elder has only seen once in his life.”
“Sect Master, why did you suddenly break through?” Ye Xi Yun asked curiously.
“There’s no special reason. I was already at the peak of the First-Order and recently comprehended something important, leading to a breakthrough,” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
The main reason for this breakthrough was the stimulation Yang Kai received from bearing witness to Yang Yan and Wu Sheng Feng’s extraordinary strength. Although he had long known that the Origin King Realm was not the peak of the Martial Dao, he had not thought much about it yet. Wu Sheng Feng’s appearance though had given Yang Kai a sense of crisis.
Sitting in meditation for a month, remembering the pressure Wu Sheng Feng put on him, Yang Kai finally had a breakthrough.
Just like what he said to Lin Yu Hao and Yi Zheng Kai in Nine Heavens Holy Land, a cultivator could only advance on their path when they comprehended where they were headed.
After the questions that lingered in his mind were sorted out, his realm had naturally improved.
“Everyone, please return. Everything is alright,” Yang Kai cupped his fists to everyone and said, causing the crowd to slowly disperse.
“Two Elders, please stay a moment, I have something to discuss with you,” Yang Kai called out.
Gui Zu and Ye Xi Yun paused and looked at Yang Kai curiously.
After everyone had left, Ye Xi Yun asked, “I wonder what Sect Master’s orders are?”
“I have something here for you, please take a look,” Yang Kai stretched out his hand and while speaking pointed towards Ye Xi Yun and Gui Zu.
The two of them did not try to dodge or resist, instead just allowing Yang Kai to reach out and touch their heads. The next moment, a package of information was transmitted to their Knowledge Seas, after which Gui Zu and Ye Xi Yun closed their eyes to inspect it.
After a while, Gui Zu’s body shook and his eyes shot open, “The Star Boundary? A realm that exists above the Star Field? That Senior really was the Starry Sky Great Emperor!?”
It was not until this time that Gui Zu understood that Yang Yan was really the rumoured Great Emperor, because the message Yang Kai gave him explained all of this.
On the other hand, Ye Xi Yun wasn’t too shocked; after all, she knew Yang Yan’s identity a long time ago, but regarding the other information, she couldn’t help frowning and saying, “Sect Master, according to the method Milady left behind, if you want to go to the Star Boundary, you must gather all nine Star Emperor Tokens as well as six Third-Order Origin Kings in order to activate the Void Corridor which connects to the Star Gate. Are you… planning to go to the Star Boundary?”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Indeed!”
“Is it because of the Guardian issue Milady mentioned?” Ye Xi Yun asked.
“That’s not the entire reason,” Yang Kai shook his head with a contemplative expression on his face, “It is just that, as a cultivator, who doesn’t yearn for a higher Martial Dao?”
Ye Xi Yun’s beautiful eyes flashed a profound light as she nodded deeply.
“That’s right,” Yang Kai grinned. “Being satisfied with the status quo will only lead your path to its end. If I remain here, I will be able to reach the Third-Order Origin King Realm sooner or later and stand at the pinnacle of this Star Field, but so what? If another Wu Sheng Feng were to appear, he would be able to trample me under his foot.”
If Yang Kai was such an easily satisfied person, he would have stayed in the Central Capital or Tong Xuan Realm and there would be no High Heaven Sect now.
“But the conditions for opening the Void Corridor are too harsh, can they even be satisfied?” Gui Zu frowned, “Although collecting the nine Star Emperor Tokens won’t be too much of a problem for Sect Master, finding six Third-Order Origin Kings… Where would we even begin to look? I’m not sure there even are six such masters in the entire Star Field, and even if there are, all of them have secluded themselves from the world, disappearing without a trace.”
“Everything depends on our own efforts,” Yang Kai grinned and patted Gui Zu on the shoulder, “Elder, I’m counting you among these six!”
“Me?” Gui Zu was shocked and waved his hands quickly, “This old master knows his own ability best. Although this old master has hope to break through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm in this life, he has no idea when that turning point will arrive.”
“Ten years! Within ten years, Elder must break through to the Third-Order!” Yang Kai said with a solemn expression, “I will have Little Senior Sister fully cooperate with you and supply an unlimited number of Spirit Pills, but Elder still must not advance recklessly.”
“Ten years…” Gui Zu frowned, pondered for a while, before suddenly nodding, “Alright, this old master will enter retreat for the next ten years and he will definitely live up to the Sect Master’s expectations!”
Yang Kai smiled next at Ye Xi Yun and said, “You as well, if you can break through to the Third-Order within ten years, you can follow me to the Star Boundary.”
“I’ll try my best,” Ye Xi Yun smiled bitterly and nodded. Having said that, she also knew that this was absolutely impossible. She had only just broken through to the First-Order Origin King Realm, so how could she reach the Third-Order in just ten years? Only a monster like Yang Kai could achieve such a feat.
“Even if the three of us meet the conditions, where can we find another three?” Gui Zu worried again.
“I’m not in a hurry to find others just yet. I’ll collect the Star Emperor Tokens first,” Yang Kai smiled lightly. “I’ll be leaving Shadowed Star in a few days so I must entrust the Sect to the both of you.”
“Sect Master can rest assured, with Senior Brother and I here, not even blind fools would dare act presumptuous,” Ye Xi Yun smiled lightly.
Purple Heaven Star, one of the three great forces of Star Field’s, Purple Star’s Home Star.
Together with Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s Water Moon Star and Sword Union’s Sword Star, they made up the top three Cultivation Stars in the entire Star Field. These three Cultivation Stars not only possessed rich World Energy but also a wealth of materials, causing the average strength of all cultivators who lived on them to far exceed that of other Cultivation Stars.
If Cultivation Stars had a strict classification hierarchy, Tong Xuan Realm would undoubtedly belong to the lowest class, Shadowed Star would be ranked in the middle, and these Cultivation Stars would rank at the peak.
Purple Star City occupied a large swath of land and had many magnificent buildings in it. Spacious streets were crisscrossing each other, lined with prosperous shops selling a dazzling array of wares as rivers of cultivators flowed through.
This was the headquarters of Purple Star.
For any Purple Star cultivator, this city symbolized honour and glory.
Purple Star City was located atop a top-level Earth Vein, so the aura in the city was no worse than that of any spirit mountain or cultivation paradise. The inner city’s aura was the richest and most important location on Purple Star. Not just any member of Purple Star would be granted entry to this holy ground.
On this day, a stream of light shot forward at a rapid pace and only came to a halt about a thousand metres away from Purple Star City. When the light dissipated, the figure of a young man appeared.
It was none other than Yang Kai.
Starting from High Heaven Sect, even though he had managed to save a great deal of time by using two Cross-Cultivation Star Space Arrays, it still took Yang Kai half a year to fly through the Star Field to Purple Heaven Star.
The purpose of his trip here was simple, to obtain the Star Emperor Token inside Purple Star’s Treasure Vault.
Of course, if he had other gains, it would be for the best; after all, the place where the Star Emperor Token was hidden was where Purple Star kept all its most valuable treasures as well.
Releasing his Divine Sense for a bit, Yang Kai was also secretly surprised by the grandeur and scale of Purple Star City. A city of this size could only be built and maintained by a super force.
Just the city walls alone were three hundred metres high and radiated a purple light. Yang Kai could not identify what material had been used to build this wall and only knew that it gave off the aura of a powerful barrier.
It was conceivable that if a foreign enemy invaded, Purple Star City could simply activate this Sect Defending Array to resist.
However… Yang Kai felt it unlikely there was anyone who would dare come here to find trouble.
“This is Purple Star City?” Yang Kai seemed to be muttering to himself as he narrowed his eyes and looked ahead.
The next moment, however, a faint voice reached his ear, “Replying to Young Master Yang, this is indeed my Purple Star’s headquarters, Purple Star City. Young Master Yang acts decisively, I haven’t felt much time pass but we have already arrived here.”
The voice was extremely faint, and as a Divine Sense Message, only Yang Kai was able to hear it.
Naturally, this voice belonged to Zi Dong, who was still hiding in the Soul Sustaining Bowl.
Yang Kai daring to rush into Purple Star’s headquarters single-handedly was not because he was a hot-tempered fool, but because he had access to a source of inside information like Zi Dong. With this Purple Star Young Master as his guide, as long as he acted carefully, Yang Kai felt he shouldn’t have any trouble entering Purple Star’s Vault.
Of course, the premise was that this boy was not plotting something.
After associating with him for a while, Yang Kai determined that although this boy’s talent was on par with that of Xue Yue and Gu Jian Xin, he was far behind in terms of Martial Heart. At this moment, Zi Dong no longer had any of his former spirit and had degenerated into a dog who could only beg for his life. He was respectful of Yang Kai in every way and did not dare show any disobedience.
“I see. Do all of the Starships in this sky belong to Purple Star?” Yang Kai raised his head and looked up to see some twenty or thirty Starship floating in the distance. Because they were so far away, Yang Kai was unable to perceive what grade these Starships were, but since they were floating atop Purple Star City, they were surely of high quality.
“Most of them,” Zi Dong replied proudly. “What Young Master Yang sees here is just the tip of the iceberg. My Purple Star’s influence extends across the entire Star Field and many other great forces send Starships here for various purposes like trade.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Conceal your aura, I am going in.”
“Yes!” Zi Dong replied obediently before quickly hiding inside the Soul Sustaining Bowl.
Yang Kai flew down and landed before walking towards the towering city gate. The gate was like the maw of a giant beast, as tall as the city wall and just as daunting. The cultivators who came to Purple Star City for the first time would definitely be affected by this, feeling so shocked and humbled by the imposing pressure of the city gates that they would not dare act presumptuously in Purple Star City.
There was a long line outside the gates with many cultivators waiting to enter the city.
Yang Kai didn’t want to be too conspicuous, so he obediently lined up at the back.
As time passed, people at the head of the line would pay a certain amount of Saint Crystals, receive a special permit, and walk into the city.
Suddenly, a dissatisfied cry came from the front, “Sir, why did you only charge the man who just entered a hundred High-Rank Saint Crystals but now you’re charging me a thousand? Isn’t this a flaunting of the rules?”
“Rules?” A sneer replied, “Father here is the city’s gate guard, my words are the rules! Now either hand over the Saint Crystals or scram!”
“You…” The person who spoke before became angry. “Do all Purple Star cultivators bully people like this? I refuse to accept!”
Most of the cultivators who were waiting in line to enter also showed a disgruntled look, but in the end, this was not their domain so even if they were displeased, no one raised a fuss.
Yang Kai raised his eyes and looked over to find that the one arguing with the city gate guard was a middle-aged man who seemed to be about thirty years old. This man was dressed plainly, and after sweeping him with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai determined he was just a Second-Order Saint King. It was really a wonder why such a man was stirring up trouble for just a thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals.
Yang Kai shook his head secretly, feeling that this person’s situation was worrisome.
“Bully others?” Suddenly, an elderly voice sounded. Everyone turned to see that the source of the sound was an old man who had been sitting to the side. This old man had a very wrinkled face and snickered as he stood up and walked over, the ground trembling beneath his feet as he rolled up his sleeves, seemingly getting ready for a fight, his eyes filled with cold indifference causing others to gulp unconsciously.
[Third-Order Origin Realm!] Yang Kai’s brow rose slightly as he felt Purple Star’s reputation was not undeserved. Even the gate to enter the city was guarded by a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator!
The old man walked a few steps forward while staring at the troublemaker coldly and speaking loudly, “Well said, this old master will let you know today what the meaning of bullying is!”
As soon as his voice fell, the old man’s figure suddenly flickered and appeared directly in front of the middle-aged man and under the latter’s horrified gaze stretched out his hand towards his head.
The middle-aged man was only a Second-Order Saint King, so how could he resist the sudden attack of a Third-Order Origin Realm master?
Immediately, the middle-aged man cried out and tried to retreat.
But the old man’s hand seemed to exude an irresistible suction force that held him firmly on the spot, and with a scream, a stream of energy visible to the naked eye was sucked out of the middle-aged man’s head and flowed into the dry old man’s hand.
Outside the city gate, everyone took a few steps back in shock as they stared at this scene in horror.
“Mercy! Senior! I’ll pay the Saint Crystals!” The middle-aged man yelled.
“Regretting now? Why didn’t you regret it sooner?” The old man remained unmoved and instead pushed his Saint Qi even more violently.
In just three breaths, the middle-aged man was drained until he became old and withered before collapsing to the ground. There was no aura of vitality coming from him anymore and instead the old man’s complexion had become a bit rosier, like he had become a dozen years younger.
There was silence outside the city gate as every cultivator felt a deep chill run up their backs.
After the old man finished all this, he walked back to where he was sitting before as if nothing had happened and continued to meditate with his eyes closed.
“Many thanks, Deacon Min,” The gate guard bowed to the old man with a flattering smile on his face before turning around and putting on an imposing air as he shouted. “This man was a spy sent by an enemy force to infiltrate my Purple Star City but he was seen through by Deacon Min and killed on the spot to serve as a warning. Take this filth and throw him into a pit somewhere outside the city.”
With those words, two Purple Star cultivators came out and quickly carried away the withered corpse.
Everyone knew that this guy was sleep-talking with his eyes wide open, but none dared to refute him.
“It will be getting dark soon and there are still many who haven’t entered the city yet, but when the gates close at sunset, no one will be allowed in. Heh, as for what will happen outside at night, I’m afraid you all know…” After the gate guard finished speaking, he stopped paying attention to the crowd.
However, the cultivators waiting in line had their complexions pale slightly and they hurried forward to pay the required Saint Crystals to enter the city, as if some huge danger was lurking outside just waiting for nightfall.
Although the murder of the middle-aged man made some of the people present feel a sense of pity in their hearts, who had the bigger fist and who was causing trouble was obvious. Just to save a trivial thousand Saint Crystals, that man dared to act insolently here, which was nothing short of courting death.
The city guards did not seem to have any criteria for collecting Saint Crystals and just named prices arbitrarily. Oftentimes, when a beautiful woman walked up, they would simply flirt a little then let them pass by for free.
Sometimes there would be a man who the guards felt was unpleasant to the eye and would thus be charged a large amount of Saint Crystals.
However, no one dared to complain.
Soon, it was Yang Kai’s turn.
The city guard looked up at Yang Kai and coldly snorted, “Five thousand!”
Yang Kai frowned as this number was the highest he had heard so far. He didn’t know what it was about him this guard didn’t like, but despite being disgruntled, he didn’t want to raise a fuss here, so he simply wiped his Space Ring and dumped the required Saint Crystals in front of the guard.
The guard shot Yang Kai a look of surprise, as if he did not expect the other party to be so cooperative.
Fiddling with the pass in his hand, the guard grinned meaningfully, “Friend, five thousand was just the cost of this pass, but if you want to remain in the city for a long time, you’ll have to pay another ten thousand Saint Crystals.”
“Heh…” Yang Kai could not help but laugh, wondering if this guard thought he was some kind of fool.
“Something funny?” The gate guard also looked at Yang Kai with a smile on his face.
“You were telling a joke just now, weren’t you?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he found that the other party was still looking at him without fear.
Five thousand, ten thousand, this number of Saint Crystals really meant nothing to Yang Kai. With High Heaven Sect at his back and all the masters he had killed and robbed, the number of Saint Crystals in his Space Ring totalled at least a hundred million.
But the other party reaching out for a yard after taking an inch displeased Yang Kai greatly.
“Do you think I’m telling you a joke? Boy, are you also a spy sent by enemy great forces to infiltrate my Purple Star City?” The city guard snorted coldly as he played with the pass in his hand and casually threatened Yang Kai.
As soon as this statement came out, the faces of the cultivators waiting in line to enter the city changed drastically.
They had witnessed what end the middle-aged man who had caused trouble before suffered with their own eyes, and that was just half a cup of tea’s time ago. Was this well-dressed young man planning to follow in that man’s footsteps?
Suddenly, everyone’s eyes filled with pity as they looked at Yang Kai.
“There’s no lack of pretext to falsely incriminate a man!” Just as Yang Kai’s annoyance reached a boiling point, someone suddenly appeared behind him and gently pushed him to the side before hurriedly smiling and addressing the guard, “This Sir must be joking. He isn’t a spy, he’s with our Five Paths Chamber of Commerce and was just with us handling some matters outside the city.”
As soon as this statement came out, the city gate guard was taken aback, and even Yang Kai was surprised.
Furrowing his brow, Yang Kai glanced over at the person standing in front of him and found that it was a woman, but because her back was to him, he couldn’t see her face clearly. However, her long black hair was done up in a neat bun and revealed a slender white neck while her long dress outlined her slender waist and shapely bottom.
At this time, someone was willing to stand up for him?
Yang Kai was quite surprised but that did not stop him from having a good impression of this woman.
“President!” A few exclamations sounded from behind, ones mixed with fluster and anxiety as someone even rushed forward and shouted, “He’s…”
“Shut up!” The woman turned her head and glared at the speaker.
The woman seemed to hold high prestige among this group of people as with just a few words the man immediately fell silent; however, he still glared at Yang Kai while the women’s other companions also gave him an ugly look.
“Sir must know that our Five Paths Chamber of Commerce often travels outside Purple Star City to trade goods, so how could one of our members possibly be a spy? This child is a bit hot-tempered and inadvertently offended Sir. You Meng hopes this little gift will be enough to settle this unfortunate affair.” Saying so, she took out a bag from her Space Ring and placed it in the guard’s hand.
[Child…] Yang Kai could not help touching his nose hearing this.
The guard weighed the bag in his hand lightly and his eyes lit up, grinning happily, “Five Paths Chamber of Commerce? I have also heard of you. If I am not mistaken, the President of your chamber of commerce is called Hua You Meng? Yes?”
The woman smiled lightly and said, “I had not expected my trivial name had reached Sir’s ears. This Mistress is truly honoured.”
“Why would it not have?” The guard looked at Hua You Meng with bright eyes as an obscene expression crept onto his face, “Since President Hua has come forward to testify and paid enough Saint Crystals, this Sir won’t be unreasonable.”
“Many thanks, Sir!” Hua You Meng was overjoyed.
“But…” The guard’s tone suddenly dropped as he cast a cold look towards Yang Kai, “If President Hua can promise me two conditions, I will let this matter end here, otherwise…hmph!”
Hua You Meng smiled stiffly and softly asked, “Please name them, Sir.”
“I don’t like the look in this little brat’s eyes. Before, he dared talk back to me, so he must apologize,” The guard looked at Yang Kai coldly before turning his gaze to Hua You Meng and smirking. “Secondly, President Hua must have just returned from afar. After Haishi, this King happens to be free and would like President Hua to accompany him to dinner. I wonder if President Hua is willing to accept this invitation? The eastern city’s Free Wind Restaurant would be nice.”
He phrased his words as a question, but his tone indicated he would not tolerate Hua You Meng’s rejection.
Hua You Meng’s face changed slightly as she forced herself to keep smiling, “This… would it be fine to discuss this another day? I’ll let this boy apologize to Sir first.”
As she said so, she turned her head and signalled imploringly to Yang Kai.
Only now did Yang Kai catch a glimpse of her true face.
Yang Kai’s eyes couldn’t help brightening slightly as he saw that, although this Hua You Meng wasn’t a Heaven-Defying beauty; she was still very pretty and had a mature charm about her. Her whole body exuded an aura of calm and confidence, probably from running around all-year to maintain her Five Paths Chamber of Commerce and her body itself gave off a light fragrance.
This was not some exotic fragrance, but a natural one that was both fascinating and enchanting.
It was understandable why this city guard could not keep his eyes off of her.
At this moment, not only was Hua You Meng secretly winking at him, but the others from this Five Paths Chamber of Commerce were also glaring at Yang Kai, silently telling him to follow along or else.
Yang Kai smiled helplessly.
He had not expected that just entering the city would cause such a scene.
But he did not blame Hua You Meng for this; after all, she had stepped forward out of good intentions to help him…
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai cupped his fists to Hua You Meng and said, “This one is grateful for President Hua’s kindness.”
Hua You Meng frowned slightly as she suddenly had a bad premonition in her heart.
Sure enough, Yang Kai continued, “But this all happened because of me and has nothing to do with you, so I must ask President Hua to stand back.”
After speaking, despite Hua You Meng’s astonishment, Yang Kai smiled at the gate guard and sneered, “You want me to apologize to you?”
“President Hua, what’s the meaning of this? Why does it sound like this little brat is not part of your Five Paths Chamber of Commerce? Was President Hua trying to deceive me? Do you know what the consequences of such a crime are?” He did not put Yang Kai in his eyes and instead shouted at Hua You Meng.
Hua You Meng did not expect that her good intentions would be rejected like this, or that this young man would be so unyielding, causing cold sweat to drip from her forehead as she waved her hands quickly, “Sir, let me explain to you, this boy, he…”
“There is nothing to explain! President Hua, you are in great trouble this time. If you can’t give a reasonable explanation for this matter, don’t even think about escaping punishment!” The city gate guard roared, without giving Hua You Meng any face, causing her to turn pale.
“There really is nothing to explain,” Yang Kai sneered as he took a step forward and swept his hand towards the guard.
*Pa…*
With a loud clap, the city guard was sent tumbling through the air before falling several dozen metres away with half his teeth missing from his bloody mouth.
“Is this enough explanation?” Yang Kai looked ahead coldly.
“Huh?” Hua You Meng was stunned, her instincts telling her that she had really found herself in deep trouble this time and for a moment unable to think of what to do next.
“You… you dare to hit me?” The city gate guard staggered up from the ground, covered his cheek with his hands, and cried out hoarsely, a vicious look flashing across his eyes, “I am a Purple Star City guard! How dare you hit…”
Before he could say anything more though, Yang Kai swatted the air again.
The guard screamed as the remaining half of his teeth were sent flying.
“Bold!” Deacon Min, who had been keeping his eyes closed and meditating, finally moved, his figure leaping up and flying towards Yang Kai like an eagle striking from the heavens. The Shi of a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master burst forth and shrouded a ten-metre radius around Yang Kai as Deacon Min thrust his palm out.
Hua You Meng and the several Five Paths Chamber of Commerce cultivators all gasped involuntarily as under this huge pressure their knees bent and their Saint Qi circulation was disrupted. The two with the lowest strength fared even worse, coughing up blood on the spot.
“Daring to strike my people in Purple Star City, do you not put this old master in your eyes?” Deacon Min yelled as he radiated murderous intent towards Yang Kai.
“What the hell do you count for? Do I need to put you in my eyes?” Yang Kai sneered, “I didn’t want to cause trouble for no reason, but you are insisting on seeking death.”
Saying so, Yang Kai sent out a casual palm of his own.
*Hong…*
When the two palms touched, a huge shockwave was sent out and Deacon Min’s original anger and menacing murderous intent abruptly gave way to a look of horror as he was blown away like an old sack.
*Kacha…*
The sound of bones breaking rang out as Deacon Min flew through the air, spraying blood from multiple wounds all over his body.
*Hua…*
Outside the city gate, an uproar sounded.
The conflict between Yang Kai and the city guard, as well as Hua You Meng’s intervention, was seen by everyone. All of them had thought Yang Kai was courting disaster, but it was actually the city guard, and even Deacon Min, who had been the ones to suffer in the end.
With just a palm, Deacon Min had been sent flying, his life or death undetermined.
Everyone looked at Yang Kai like he was some kind of monster.
Although Deacon Min’s status in Purple Star was not high, he was still a Deacon identity. Being able to hold such a position in a behemoth like Purple Star proved he was at least a Third-Order Origin Realm master.
A Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator had been wasted with just a single palm though, so how strong was this young man? Could it be that he was an Origin King?
When this thought emerged, everyone was shocked and could no longer calm down.
After all, Origin Kings were the strongest cultivators in the entire Star Field, and even a power as strong as Purple Star wouldn’t provoke an Origin King for no reason.
Everything happened so fast that no one’s thoughts were able to keep up. President Hua You Meng of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce felt her jaw drop as she stared in shock at the scene before her eyes.
At the gate of the city, there were originally a dozen guards that were going to join Deacon Min in capturing Yang Kai and the members of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, but after seeing the half-dead Deacon Min, how could they dare step forward? All of them froze in place as they exchanged extremely nervous looks, worried Yang Kai would suddenly strike out and slaughter them.
Yang Kai, however, just stretched out his hand and summoned back all the Saint Crystals he had paid before as well as the bag Hua You Meng had handed over before coldly snorting, “Seems you don’t want my five thousand Saint Crystals, so I’ll be taking them back. President Hua, I believe these are yours.”
Saying so, he tossed the bag towards Hua You Meng.
The latter caught the bag on reflex but felt that it was slightly hot in her hand.
“Let’s go, what are you still gawking at,” Yang Kai grinned at Hua You Meng before leading the way forward.
“Eh, ah,” Hua You Meng seemed unable to even think for herself at the moment, so after hearing Yang Kai’s call, she simply followed him into Purple Star City while the other cultivators of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce all did the same.
The gate guards didn’t dare to stop them, all looking at Yang Kai as if he was some kind of scourge to be evaded at all costs. The cultivators who lined up outside to enter the city also took this as a chance and swarmed forward.
The city gate descended into chaos for a moment as the dozen guards were unable and even unwilling to stop these people. Only after some time did one of them come back to his senses and call out, “Quickly, check Deacon Min’s condition!”
With this shout, the other guards seemed to wake from their daze and several of them rushed over to Deacon Min’s side to investigate with concern.
“Inform… Sir Lu Tian Feng!” Deacon Min forced out a few words before coughing up blood and collapsing to the ground, passing out again.
The guard who spoke first hurriedly took out his communication artifact, poured his Divine Sense into it, and ground his teeth fiercely, “Boy, you’re dead! Daring to beat my Purple Star City’s people, even if it’s the King of Heaven, he won’t be able to save you now.”
The other guards all wore angry expressions as well as they glared at Yang Kai’s disappearing back.
After Yang Kai raised such a disturbance, one they were unable to prevent, they would certainly be punished harshly, so how could they not resent him?
For so many years, no one had dared act presumptuous in Purple Star City, but such a big fuss occurred at the city’s main gate today. If this matter wasn’t handled properly and examples weren’t made, Purple Star would become a laughing stock. Clearly, these guards wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences of such a loss in face.
Five Paths Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters, inside a small meeting room.
Hua You Meng and the others sat there blankly, each with a look of panic on their faces.
Yang Kai was also sitting here, observing the room, looking calm and relaxed, not showing the slightest awareness of the trouble he had caused, even seeming to be having fun.
“Little brat, why did you follow us here?” After a long silence, a burly bald-headed man suddenly snapped as he turned his head and glared at Yang Kai, his eyes full of hostility.
“That’s right, why are you here?” Another male cultivator finally recovered and looked at Yang Kai curiously.
“Oh… This is my first time in this city and I’m not familiar with it yet. Just now, President Hua was kind enough to invite me over, and since I had no reason to refuse, I humbly accepted,” Yang Kai smiled lightly and explained.
“Me?” Hua You Meng looked at Yang Kai blankly and thought for a moment before gently nodding, “Yes, yes… that’s right.”
On the way here from the city gate, this group of people from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce had behaved like soulless drones, completely lost and acting on instinct. This wasn’t surprising though, as Five Paths Chamber of Commerce was just a small organization. It had survived in the cracks left behind by the various giants which ruled the Star Field and had always acted discreetly and cautiously in Purple Star City so as not to create trouble, but this time, they had gotten involved in an incident where Deacon Min was beaten badly enough to cough up blood at the city’s main gate, his life or death uncertain.
For Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, this was no different from the sky collapsing on their heads.
No one even noticed that Yang Kai had come together with them to Five Paths Chamber of Commerce. Hua You Meng only managed to regain her senses now, take a deep breath, and fix her beautiful eyes towards Yang Kai as she muttered quietly, “Sister Hong, please arrange a guest house for him so he can rest.”
Hearing this, a beautiful woman in a glamorous red dress responded and waved to Yang Kai, “Follow me.”
“I’ll be troubling you then,” Yang Kai nodded lightly before he got up to follow.
“President…” The burly bald-headed man called out anxiously when he saw Yang Kai get up to leave.
Hua You Meng just shot him a glare and he fell silent, not daring to speak any further, only able to glare angrily at Yang Kai’s back while gritting his teeth.
Yang Kai followed the beautiful woman named Sister Hong forward as he observed his surroundings, only after a while chuckling lightly, “Madam, it seems your Chamber of Commerce has some good heritage.”
“Why do you say that?” The beautiful woman looked back at Yang Kai, her expression cold.
“Although this is the first time I have come to Purple Star City, since it is Purple Star’s headquarters, every inch of ground must be worth its weight in gold. If your chamber of commerce can occupy such a large space, it’s finances must be strong.”
A vigilant look appeared in the beautiful woman’s eyes as she snapped lightly, “This is all the result of President’s and everyone’s hard efforts for more than twenty years. Many of our brothers and sisters died out in the Star Field to make this little space in Purple Star City our own, so what great financial strength could we have? “What’s more… we’ve been caught up in such big trouble this time that the future of our Five Paths Chamber of Commerce is now in question.”
Yang Kai smiled apologetically, “Sorry, I seem to have caused trouble for your Chamber of Commerce.”
“As long as you understand,” The beautiful woman’s expression brightened slightly as she stopped talking and continued to lead Yang Kai.
After a short while, she came to a guest pavilion and opened the door, “It’s a bit crude, but you can stay here for the time being.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
The beautiful woman then turned around and left, only to pause after a few steps and turn back.
“What advice does Madam have?” Yang Kai looked at her suspiciously.
The beautiful woman lightly opened her vermilion lips, “Our President is compassionate and does not like seeing others bullied. Many of our brothers and sisters are here today supporting her because they have received kindness from her, myself included. If not for the President’s assistance, I would have died ten years ago. As such, I won’t blame her for now standing up to help you, but… if Purple Star City wants to hold someone accountable, I hope you can take the initiative to stand up and settle this matter, not allowing any harm to befall President. She is a good person, so I don’t care how strong you are: If anything happens to her because of you, even if I have to do so as a ghost I won’t let you off.”
Yang Kai’s facial expression became serious as he nodded, “I understand.”
“I hope so.” After the beautiful woman finished what she had to say, she turned and left.
In the previous room, the burly bald-headed man paced back and forth anxiously like an ant on a hot wok.
“Uncle Yao, can you calm down? My eyes are going blurry just watching you,” To the right, a woman who appeared to be in her twenties looked helplessly towards the burly bald-headed man.
“With everything that’s happened, how am I supposed to calm down?” The burly bald-headed man yelled angrily, “You saw what happened just now, this time I’m afraid it’s all over for us.”
At the head of the room, Hua You Meng gently rubbed her forehead with her hand and smiled bitterly. She hadn’t expected that she would get into such trouble today. She just didn’t want to see the tragic end previously exemplified by the middle-aged man befall Yang Kai as well. How could she have known that Yang Kai would be so resolute and unyielding that he even dared to hit the city guards and Deacon Min right outside Purple Star City?
“Yao Qing, sit down. Now that things have gotten to this point, there’s no point in getting agitated,” Hua You Meng was also getting a bit dizzy watching Yao Qing pace back and forth, so she had him settle down.
As soon as she spoke, Yao Qing stomped his feet before walking back to his chair and sitting down; however, as if his cushion was made from thousands of needles, he simply couldn’t sit still, his expression constantly twitching as he shifted back and forth, a stiff and ugly look plastered over his face.
Hua You Meng cast her gaze towards the elderly man sitting nearby, who had kept his eyes closed since they returned, making his thoughts impossible to read.
Pausing for a moment, Hua You Meng finally asked, “Uncle Xia, you are the most experienced and knowledgeable in the Chamber of Commerce. I wonder if Uncle Xia has any way to resolve our current predicament?”
Xia Jing Wu slowly opened his eyes and frowned for a moment before letting out a sigh, “This is a difficult situation.”
“Even Uncle Xia doesn’t have a way?” Hua You Meng’s heart sank to the bottom when she heard this.
Xia Jing Wu smiled bitterly, “Although this old master has always claimed to be the strategist of the Chamber of Commerce, this old master is nothing but a Third-Order Saint King. With such low strength, there aren’t many methods that he can use. President, you understand just who we have offended this time…”
Hua You Meng’s beautiful eyes darkened and her expression turned extremely bitter. The Chamber of Commerce had experienced many catastrophes in the past, but they had weathered all of them thanks to Xia Jing Wu’s meticulous arrangements and advice, but this time, even Xia Jing Wu was helpless.
“President, you were too reckless this time,” Xia Jing Wu shook his head slowly.
“Uncle Xia, don’t say that about the President. President was simply acting on her conscience, she didn’t seek trouble intentionally,” The woman in her twenties whispered softly, seemingly unable to bear the sight of Hua You Meng being reprimanded.
“This old master doesn’t mean to accuse the President of anything. Which one of us sitting here has not received kindness from her? If the President didn’t have such an upright moral code, there wouldn’t be a Five Paths Chamber of Commerce today. In fact, it’s likely that none of us would even be sitting here,” Xia Jing Wu said slowly.
Everyone nodded gently and deeply agreed. It was because of Hua You Meng’s kindness that they had survived to this day.
“It’s just, this time… haa…” Xia Jing Wu sighed heavily. After a while, he looked up at Hua You Meng and said, “President, there are only two options now.”
Hua You Meng’s beautiful eyes lit up and she smiled, “I knew that Uncle Xia would have a way. Please elaborate.”
Yao Qing and the woman in her twenties also hurriedly looked at Xia Jing Wu with great expectation.
“President thinks too highly of this old man. En, the two plans this old man has may not resolve the Chamber of Commerce’s crisis, but… we have to try something,” Xia Jing Wu reached out and stroked his beard before quickly saying. “The first option we have is… to capture that boy and hand him over to Purple Star City!”
Hua You Meng immediately frowned.
“This problem was caused by that boy, so it should be resolved by him as well. As long as we hand that boy over, we might be able to avoid Five Paths Chamber of Commerce taking on the full responsibility. Of course, some punishment will likely still be meted out, but the future is still far, and as long as the President is here, our Five Paths Chamber of Commerce can rise again.”
“Yes, it’s just as Uncle Xia says. I’ll go catch that boy now and hand him over to Purple Star City,” Yao Qing didn’t wait for Hua You Meng to get a word in before quickly jumping to his feet.
Hua You Meng just shot him a glare and firmly shouted, “Sit down!”
Yao Qing’s neck shrank immediately before he quickly sat down obediently. It could be seen that Hua You Meng’s words held great authority to him.
Xia Jing Wu stroked his beard and continued, “Yao Qing, don’t be impulsive. I don’t know what the strength of that young man is exactly, but since he can defeat Deacon Min with one palm, he is definitely not someone you can capture. Even if everyone in the Chamber of Commerce were to join forces, we likely would not be his opponent. If you really went to provoke him now, you will only bring shame upon yourself!”
Yao Qing thought about it for a moment and an embarrassed look appeared on his face as he knew it was true. The more he thought about it, the more he began to sweat.
Hua You Meng looked at Xia Jing Wu with a wry smile and said, “This method won’t work; please talk about the second one, Uncle Xia.”
Xia Jing Wu sighed, “I knew that President wouldn’t agree to this proposal.”
How could Xia Jing Wu not know what kind of temperament Hua You Meng possessed? As someone who was charitable and caring, even able to stand up for a stranger like Yang Kai outside the city gate, how could she be willing to turn him over to Purple Star City for punishment now? If she were to really do this, she would not be Hua You Meng anymore.
“Since we cannot capture and hand him over, we can only choose the second option to avoid this crisis,” Xia Jing Wu said before solemnly declaring. “President must bring some people here and leave the Chamber of Commerce quickly; this old master will stay behind and manage the fallout.”
Hua You Meng was surprised when she heard these words and said in amazement, “Uncle Xia, what are you…”
“Since the crime has already been committed, someone must naturally take responsibility. It is impossible for Purple Star City to simply let the matter drop. In fact, we should not have even entered the city just now and left directly; but at the time, all of us were in a daze so it couldn’t be helped. Now that we are already inside the walls though, I’m afraid that trying to leave will be as difficult as ascending to the Heavens. However, now is a time for decisive measures! This old man has been in the President’s care for many years and hopes that in the end he can serve the President one last time,” Xia Jing Wu stood up and straightened his short body, seemingly preparing himself to meet whatever end was to befall him.
“I’ll stay with Uncle Xia!” Yao Qing got up quickly.
“I will stay too!” Outside the door, the beautiful woman named Sister Hong walked in and said in a deep voice.
“You can’t!” Hua You Meng’s expression finally changed as she flatly rejected the idea.
“Hehe, you truly can’t. If you all stay, who can assist the President in the future? If that happens, our Five Paths Chamber of Commerce will really meet its end, so all of you must go. Bring as many of the Chamber of Commerce’s value assets with you as you can while this old man stays behind to bear the burden,” Xia Jing Wu smiled lightly, as if already indifferent to the prospects of life and death. “Not to mention, this old man has some friendship with a certain Sir in Purple Star City. If I can contact him, I may not lose my life.”
“No!” Hua You Meng shook her head vigorously and said, “If Purple Star City really wants to make an example of someone, it is absolutely impossible for me, as the President, to not be here. I am the one who should remain while the rest of you leave.”
The group immediately began to argue, no one able to convince anyone else about who should go and who should stay.
After a fruitless debate, Xia Jing Wu slapped his thigh anxiously, “President, time is running out. If you continue to argue with this old man anymore, none of us will be able to leave! Do you want this old man to kneel and beg you? Good, this old man will kneel and beg!”
Saying so, he actually kneeled down towards Hua You Meng.
“Uncle Xia!” Hua You Meng’s complexion changed drastically as her figure disappeared from the chair she sat on and arrived right in front of Xia Jing Wu.
Just when she was about to reach out to support Xia Jing Wu though, Xia Jing Wu suddenly raised his hand and tossed a fistful of powder towards Hua You Meng.
How could Hua You Meng imagine that Xia Jing Wu would do something like this to her at such a time? Before she was able to react, she had already breathed in some of the powder and in the next moment, her whole body went limp. Staring at Xia Jing Wu in a daze, she called out in shock, “Flower Petal Raindrops!”
“Uncle Xia, what are you doing!?” When Yao Qing saw that something was wrong, he roared and rushed towards Xia Jing Wu in anger.
“Stop!” The beautiful woman named Sister Hong quickly understood what was happening and warded off Yao Qing before supporting Hua You Meng in her arms.
“Uncle Xia… you…” Although Hua You Meng felt incredibly weak, she did not fall unconscious.
Xia Jing Wu chuckled wryly, “Since President recognizes this Flower Petal Raindrops, she must also know its effects. Even if the President has a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, you won’t be able to use your Saint Qi for at least an hour!”
Having said so, he then shouted abruptly, “Gao Hong, quickly take the President away from the Chamber of Commerce and find a safe place to hide in the city until things calm down. Once they do, find a way to leave Purple Star!”
The beautiful woman’s tender body shook and her eyes leaked tears as she stared at Xia Jing Wu for a moment before she nodded solemnly and said, “Uncle Xia may rest assured. Even if this Gao Hong must give her life, she will ensure the President is safe!”
“Yao Qing, Hai Tang, you go too!” Xia Jing Wu turned his head and looked at the other two in the room.
Yao Qing and the twenty-something-year-old woman heard this and nodded one after another.
Yao Qing, despite his rugged exterior, could not help crying at this moment, “Uncle Xia, you must take care.”
“Hoho, rest assured, this old man won’t die,” Xia Jing Wu smiled lightly before motioning to them to hurry.
Under his urging, Gao Hong picked up Hua You Meng while Yao Qing and Hai Tang quickly gathered up whatever they could get their hands on, preparing to leave the Five Paths Chamber of Commerce before disaster struck.
“Loyal and righteous, the people from this small chamber of commerce are quite interesting,” Yang Kai sat cross-legged in his pavilion and could not help raising his brow as he nodded in approval.
Although he was some distance away, the argument between the Five Paths Chamber of Commerce members could not evade his senses. Among these people, Hua You Meng was the strongest at the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, while the cultivations of the others were mixed. With Yang Kai’s Second-Order Origin King strength, if he wanted to spy on them, none of them would be able to notice much less stop him.
“En, the situation is somewhat different from what I had expected,” Yang Kai rubbed his forehead as he muttered to himself. His original intention was to sneak into Purple Star City quietly, then steal what he needed from Purple Star’s Treasure Vault under the guidance of Zi Dong and be done with it.
With his current methods and powerful cultivation, Yang Kai was certain he could accomplish this without anyone noticing. Even if he was discovered, Yang Kai was confident he could escape any siege.
However, the incident at the city gate had destroyed all those plans.
Yang Kai knew that beating Purple Star’s people in Purple Star City would create complications for him, and although he did not need to fear such minor problems, the people from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce were certainly going to suffer.
So, when Hua You Meng unconsciously invited him to Five Paths Chamber of Commerce after entering the city, Yang Kai happily agreed.
She had stuck her neck out to help him and was suffering this disaster because of him, so Yang Kai could not just ignore her.
Yang Kai also knew that the Five Paths Chamber of Commerce members thinking they could escape now was nothing more than a naive dream.
“They’re here!” Yang Kai frowned as his Divine Sense picked up a large number of cultivators approaching the chamber of commerce. After these cultivators entered the building, they immediately began using force, causing all the cultivators who had come here shopping to flee in panic while the employees were knocked to the ground as they cried out in pain.
Before Gao Hong and the others, who had just run out into the backyard, had time to escape, a number of extremely powerful auras suppressed them in place.
The man who seemed to be the leader of this group of masters then shouted angrily, “Injuring my Purple Star City’s guards then trying to flee? Your Five Paths Chamber of Commerce is absolutely lawless!”
As soon as these words fell, this man punched forward.
Gao Hong was the first to bear the brunt of this assault, causing her pretty face to pale as she hurriedly shielded Hua You Meng who she was holding, exposing her back to the attack.
Yao Qing and Hai Tang also screamed as they hurriedly summoned their artifacts to resolve the fierce attack.
*Hong long long…*
After a loud bang, most of the backyard of the Five Paths Chamber of Commerce was destroyed while Gao Hong, Yao Qing, and Hai Tang were all sent flying. Coughing up blood mid-air, all of them crashed to the ground looking pale and bloodless.
*Hualala…*
Countless armoured cultivators flooded in from the back door, each of them holding a spear in their hands as they quickly sealed off the backyard.
A burly figure stepped forward to the front of this group next, his hands folded behind his back and a cold, indifferent expression adorning his face.
“Senior Bai!” Xia Jing Wu, who rushed out after hearing the ruckus, could not stop his heart from sinking as he saw who the leader of this group was and hurried forward to greet him.
He recognized at a glance that this man was a Vice Commander of the Purple Star City Guard, Bai Zheng Chu.
Purple Star City’s Guard was led by Commander Lu Tian Feng, an Origin King Realm master, and directly beneath him were eight Vice Commanders, all of whom were peak Origin Realm cultivators. The Guard managed the peace of the city and was responsible for handling various disputes.
Bai Zheng Chu was one of these eight Vice Commanders and would never show up for trivial matters. This time, because Deacon Min had been injured, he had come to Five Paths Chamber of Commerce.
When this man arrived, Xia Jing Wu realized the situation had become far more dangerous.
According to rumours, Bai Zheng Chu was the most ruthless of the eight Vice Commanders, a man who killed others like flies and destroyed any business he targeted. Over the years, he had served as a Vice Commander, even if a hundred businesses were not demolished at his hands, there were at least eight. Not only had those businesses been forced to close down, all the personnel who worked there had also had their lives destroyed if not lost completely.
Xia Jing Wu could not help trembling as he felt that this time Five Paths Chamber of Commerce was truly doomed.
“Scram!” Bai Zheng Chu did not even look at Xia Jing Wu and just yelled angrily, his voice containing a force that slammed into the old man’s body and made him collapse to the ground, seemingly suffering some internal injuries.
In the backyard, everyone from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce wore an ashen expression as despair flashed across their eyes. The menacing glares of the Purple Star City Guard all made them shiver in fear.
Bai Zheng Chu turned his head around for a moment before coldly snorting, “Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, haha. There’s no need for it to continue to exist.”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone’s expressions changed wildly. Bai Zheng Chu’s words were tantamount to condemning the chamber of commerce to death.
Hua You Meng, who was still being held by Gao Hong, said weakly, “Senior Bai, this matter is all just a misunderstanding. Can you… let this Mistress explain it to you.”
Bai Zheng Chu turned his attention to Hua You Meng and simply snorted once more, “There’s no need to explain, Five Paths Chamber of Commerce will be disbanded from today and all its staff will be sent to Purple Star Frozen Prison.”
“Purple Star Frozen Prison!” Gao Hong exclaimed.
The Frozen Prison was an ominous existence in Purple Star City. Officially it was a place used to detain prisoners, but no one who entered ever left alive.
Entering there was no better than being executed on the spot.
“You two aren’t bad though,” Bai Zheng Chu reached out and drew Hua You Meng and Gao Hong to him before declaring lightly. “Good, if you spend some quality time with us brothers here, you can avoid suffering in the Frozen Prison.”
His tone was indifferent, but his words were no less terrifying.
Gao Hong and Hua You Meng both went pale as the guards who had gathered around them laughed lewdly. Obviously, this was not the first time they had done this.
“Senior Bai…” Xia Jing Wu’s sweat dripped down his forehead as he forced out a smile, walked over, and cupped his fists. “Senior Bai, this lowly one is Xia Jing Wu and had the good fortune to meet Senior Bai three years ago. I wonder if Senior Bai still remembers?”
Bai Zheng Chu looked over at him coldly, “What thing are you?”
“Haha…” Xia Jing Wu chuckled, “Senior Bai need not remember such trivial things, en, however, this one has some friendship with Senior Bai’s subordinate, Senior Kang Sheng. Out of respect for that friendship, would Senior Bai be willing to enter the hall for a moment to allow this one to explain the situation in detail?”
While speaking, Xia Jing Wu took off the Space Ring from his hand and handed it to Bai Zheng Chu stealthily.
Almost all of his belongings were inside this Space Ring, but Xu Jing Wu had still handed it over without hesitation because he knew that, if the Chamber of Commerce could not survive this catastrophe, there was no way he could keep these things anyways.
“You know Kang Sheng?” Bai Zheng Chu glanced over at Xia Jing Wu in surprise.
Xia Jing Wu nodded repeatedly and bowed, “It is this one’s good fortune.”
Bai Zheng Chu sneered, “How could Kang Sheng associate with such trash? It seems he doesn’t need his patrol captain position anymore.”
As soon as this statement came out, Xia Jing Wu’s face changed drastically.
His words had now dragged the patrol captain named Kang Sheng into these muddy waters and brought disaster to him. After this incident, even if Bai Zheng Chu did not destroy Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, Kang Sheng certainly would not let them off.
The friendship between him and Kang Sheng was entirely based on Saint Crystals, and such a friendship was naturally quite fragile.
“Your courage isn’t small, daring to bribe a Vice Commander in front of everyone’s eyes!” Bai Zheng Chu coldly snorted before reaching out and seizing Xia Jing Wu’s Space Ring. Without even looking at it, he tossed it to one of his subordinates before declaring, “Five Paths Chamber of Commerce committed violence, flaunted Purple Star City’s laws, and attempted to bribe a Vice Commander to cover up their crimes, for these three charges, all of them are to be arrested.”
“Yes!” The group of cultivators snorted and surrounded everyone from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce.
Besides Hua You Meng, who was a Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator, only the woman named Gao Hong had reached the First-Order Origin Returning Realm out of the chamber of commerce’s members. Everyone else was just a Saint King. If Hua You Meng was at her peak, she may have been able to struggle, but under the effects of Xia Jing Wu’s Flower Petal Raindrops, she was now the weakest of all. Although she was still conscious, she could not use her Saint Qi and could only watch as her brothers and sisters were captured.
Soon, everyone from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce was taken down, with Xia Jing Wu and Yao Qing being the most bruised and swollen.
“We didn’t attack anyone, so why are we the ones being captured? I refuse to accept this!” Yao Qing yelled as he thrashed about.
“Oh? You did not hit anyone? So many people outside the city witnessed your Five Paths Chamber of Commerce’s people commit the act, could they all be lying?”
“If I say it wasn’t us, it wasn’t us!” Yao Qing ground his teeth and roared.
“Senior Bai…” Gao Hong wore a hesitant expression for a moment before she called out, “Reporting to Senior Bai, the one who committed violence was indeed not from our Chamber of Commerce. That person defeated Deacon Min with one move after all; how could our small Five Paths Chamber of Commerce hire such a master? Senior is wise and insightful, so surely you have seen through this already, yes?”
Bai Zheng Chu narrowed his eyes and stared at Gao Hong coldly as he snapped, “Are you accusing this Vice Commander of confusing right and wrong?”
“I wouldn’t dare!” Gao Hong trembled under the pressure as she grits her teeth and continued, “However, if Senior Bai only arrests us innocent people while letting the true culprit off, should this matter become known to Commander Lu, I don’t know whether Commander Lu would believe Senior Bai is confusing right and wrong and failing to execute his duties.”
“Impudence!” Bai Zheng Chu shouted sharply, his eyes becoming fierce.
Gao Hong forced herself to endure this pressure and stared up at him.
After a while, Bai Zheng Chu grinned meaningfully, “I did not expect that there were so many in this small chamber of commerce who don’t know how to fear the Heavens, good! Since you say the culprit is not from your Five Paths Chamber of Commerce… where is he?”
“He’s still here!” Gao Hong could not help but breathe a sigh of relief and quickly replied.
“Gao Hong!” Hua You Meng’s pretty face changed slightly as she directed a look of blame towards Gao Hong.
Gao Hong smiled sadly, “President, that person caused this trouble himself, so we can’t let our chamber of commerce take responsibility. Whether you blame me or not, I must tell the truth.”
Saying so, she stretched out her hand and tapped Hua You Meng’s neck, making it impossible for her to speak, only able to watch.
“The attacker is still in your chamber of commerce, yet you dare say he’s not one of you?” Bai Zheng Chu looked at Gao Hong with a sneer, “Do you take this Vice Commander for a fool?”
Gao Hong quickly explained, “Because he is not a member of our chamber of commerce, this one did her best to have the real culprit remain here to await Sir’s arrival so that the situation can be resolved.”
“Glib!” Bai Zheng Chu smiled slightly, seemingly satisfied with the answer, “Good, in that case, you lead the way. I want to see which bastard dares act presumptuously in my Purple Star City!”
“Sir, please!” Gao Hong stretched out her hand and immediately led the way.
Even if she was leading the way, she did not put down Hua You Meng though, whose body was still limp.
Gao Hong narrowed her eyes towards the pavilion where Yang Kai was located, her expression fluctuating. But after a moment, her beautiful eyes became firm, as if she had made some kind of big decision. Lowering one of her hands quietly, she pinched a few seals with her fingers.
Xia Jing Wu, who was following behind, saw this and his expression became solemn.
A moment later, under the leadership of Gao Hong, a group of people crowded around outside the guest house Yang Kai occupied.
“Sir, the person is inside. If Sir does not believe me, just tell him to come out and confront him, and you will know whether what I said before is true or false,” Gao Hong stood aside and pointed forward.
Bai Zheng Chu ignored her as his focus was on the pavilion in front of him. Releasing his Divine Sense, he probed the situation.
He had noticed that there was someone inside, but when he tried to spy on the other party’s cultivation, he found that his Divine Sense was unable to uncover anything. The moment it penetrated the other party’s body, it was like a stone sinking into the vast sea.
This discovery made Bai Zheng Chu stare blankly for a moment, aware that the opponent’s strength was not low.
This made sense though; after all, anyone who could defeat Deacon Min with a single blow was certainly not weak. At least, Bai Zheng Chu was unable to achieve such a feat.
As such, Bai Zheng Chu did not dare act too presumptuous and quickly took his Divine Sense back. However, this was still Purple Star City and he was used to being arrogant and domineering as a Vice Commander, so he still did not put Yang Kai in his eyes and shouted loudly, “Your Excellency dares wound my Purple Star City’s people? Quickly show yourself!”
No sound came from inside.
Bai Zheng Chu’s face suddenly became gloomy as he sneered, “Friend, if you know what’s best for you, come out on your own. I do not care what your background is or how powerful your cultivation is, anyone who dares act presumptuously in Purple Star City will have a miserable end. If you cooperate obediently, you may still have a chance to survive, otherwise…”
He waited for a while with a calm face, but still didn’t get a reply, causing him to become angry out of shame and shout furiously, “Playing cheap tricks! Just wait for this Vice Commander to throw you into the Frozen Prison. Let’s see if you can act so arrogant after that!”
Saying so, Bai Zheng Chu waved his hand and said to six nearby cultivators, “Go inside and capture him.”
The six cultivators were not stupid and knew that the man inside this pavilion was not someone to be provoked easily, but since Bai Zheng Chu gave them an order, they did not dare to disobey and could only charge in.
Everyone thought there would be some commotion next, and at worst, some sounds of fighting from inside the room, but on the contrary, after these six went in, they seemed to completely disappear, making not a single sound at all.
If it were not for their life auras not disappearing, everyone would have assumed they had simply vanished.
Bai Zheng Chu’s face grew more solemn.
The people from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce also looked at each other, unable to understand what happened inside.
A moment later, several figures flew out from inside and fell to the ground one by one, motionless.
Naturally, it was the six who just rushed inside, but each of them now wore a peaceful look on their face, as if they were asleep. On the surface, they did not seem to have suffered any harm and there was even one who wore a smile, seemingly dreaming a good dream.
*Ah…*
Bai Zheng Chu gasped audibly. These cultivators were all Origin Realm masters, and although they were just First-Order, they were not men who could be casually controlled. Even if he had taken action personally, he couldn’t achieve this.
Just who was it that was inside this house? Bai Zheng Chu’s heart began to pound nervously.
However, as one of the eight Vice Commanders of the Purple Star City Guard, he could not show weakness in this situation, so after steeling himself, he commanded, “Follow me.”
If he could not take down this troublemaker today, he would no longer be a Vice Commander. At this moment, he could only secretly pray that the other party was not an Origin King, otherwise, there was no way he could win.
A large group of guards rushed into the pavilion.
This time, it was no longer silent though as sounds of shouting and fighting immediately rang out. In the next moment, one cultivator after another was thrown out and fell to the ground, howling miserably.
In the blink of an eye, everyone who had rushed inside had been thrown out with the exception of Bai Zheng Chu, but from his continued screams, it was clear his situation was dire.
“Now!” Gao Hong, who had been watching coldly, suddenly yelled, held Hua You Meng tightly, and flew up into the sky.
Xia Jing Wu, who had already understood her intentions, also shouted, “Go!”
Yao Qing and Hai Tang did not react until this moment, but they still quickly followed after Xia Jing Wu and Gao Hong, wanting to escape from this chaos.
However, they only made it a couple dozen metres before a terrifying aura surrounded them. This aura was like a mountain pressing down on them, and before Gao Hong and the others were even aware of what was happening, they had been knocked back down to the ground.
In the sky above them, a series of ripples appeared and at their centre stood a figure which had appeared like a ghost.
It was impossible to know when this man had arrived, or if he had been here the whole time in secret. This man was wearing an Artifact Armour that exuded a stronger aura and was shouldering a long spear. A jade crown adorned his head, giving him a majestic and awe-inspiring image, like a great general on the battlefield.
The aura radiating from his body also made everyone suffocate.
His mere aura had pushed the group from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce back to the ground and even slightly injured them; however, his attention was not focused on Gao Hong and the others but was instead fixed on the pavilion Yang Kai was inside of.
“An Origin King!” Gao Hong’s beautiful face turned pale as she exclaimed.
The other party made no attempt to conceal his aura, so it was clear he was an Origin King. This discovery made Gao Hong’s heart sink as she realized that the Chamber of Commerce was really doomed.
“Ah!” A scream rang out and Bai Zheng Chu was flung out into the yard like a sack, his face bruised and swollen, in a much more miserable state than either Xia Jing Wu and Yao Qing. Bai Zheng Chu now had a swollen pig head, giving him an extremely comical appearance.
“You trash, how dare you disturb this King meditation, you deserve to be damned!” Yang Kai’s dissatisfied, extremely arrogant voice came from the room.
Although Bai Zheng Chu was beaten miserably, there was no danger to his life at the moment, but after hearing Yang Kai’s words, he shuddered and hurriedly got up from the ground. Just as he was about to escape though, he heard a cold snort coming from the sky. Bai Zheng Chu stiffened and looked up just in time to see the General-like cultivator staring at him with displeasure.
Bai Zheng Chu’s expression changed drastically, but he was overjoyed inside as he flew towards this man and shouted, “Lord Commander! Greetings, Lord Commander, this humble officer asks the Commander to take responsibility here. This bastard dared to injure the city’s gate guards, and when this humble officer came here to enforce the law, not only did he refuse to cooperate, he even attacked us. This humble officer has experienced this evil-doer’s skills and knows he is not his opponent, so he can only ask Lord Commander to uphold justice for Purple Star City!”
“En,” The Lord Commander snorted coldly and waved his hand, “Draw back, this man is an Origin King Realm, of course you are not his opponent.”
“Origin… Origin King!” Bai Zheng Chu nearly bit his tongue in shock. Although he had already guessed this, when he heard his Commander confirm his speculations, he could not help trembling slightly.
He had actually fought an Origin King just now. Moreover, he managed to withdraw with his life…
Considering this, Bai Zheng Chu could not help feeling a bit proud.
The people of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce were also stunned. Hua You Meng, who was still being held in Gao Hong’s arms, widened her beautiful eyes, as if she could not believe her ears… [Heavens, that young man really turned out to be an Origin King? He does not seem to be very old, does he? How could he already be an Origin King?]
When she thought back to how she had tried to ‘save’ him at the city gate, Hua You Meng could feel her cheeks becoming hot.
[He was an Origin King, yet I actually had eyes but failed to see and tried to stand up to speak for him…]
If she had not interfered at the time, with his cultivation, the gate guards and even Deacon Min would not have dared to provoke him; after all, Origin Kings were revered masters no matter where they went, and Purple Star wouldn’t offend one for no reason.
But instead, things had become more troublesome because she had intervened.
Thinking so, Hua You Meng was very embarrassed.
On the other hand, Gao Hong was staring excitedly and expectantly towards the guest house. She knew that whether the chamber of commerce would be able to escape this disaster all depended on whether this mysterious young man was powerful enough.
Her original plan was to lead Bai Zheng Chu and the others to Yang Kai and use him to deal with them.
Yang Kai being able to defeat Deacon Min with a single move obviously indicated that his strength was not low. Bai Zheng Chu was also a Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator like Deacon Min, so since Yang Kai could take care of Deacon Min, he should not have any problems dealing with Bai Zheng Chu.
If the two parties fought, no matter who won or lost, it would be their chance to escape with their lives.
That was why she had spoken the way she did to Yang Kai before, and why she had secretly given Xia Jing Wu a signal on the way over, one the old man naturally understood.
Unfortunately for her, although her plan was good, the appearance of another master had cut off all hope of escape.
As for this newcomer… Gao Hong quietly looked over at the cultivator dressed as a General and combined with the way Bai Zheng Chu had just addressed him, she was easily able to identify the other party.
Purple Star City Guard Commander, Lu Tian Feng!
“Finally, someone slightly decent has come,” Inside the room, Yang Kai’s arrogant tone remained undiminished, not putting Lu Tian Feng in his eyes at all.
Hearing this, Lu Tian Feng’s face flashed an unpleasant look as he coldly snorted and said, “Slightly decent? Your Excellency’s tone is not small.”
“Whether it’s small or not, you’ll know if you try it,” Yang Kai snickered back.
“Friend, why do you insist on acting like this in my Purple Star City?” Lu Tian Feng frowned, unexpectedly not getting angry but instead asking cautiously.
The other party was able to cultivate to the Origin King Realm, so obviously he was not a fool. Since this unknown young man knew this was Purple Star City yet he still dared to act presumptuous, not even putting the city Guard Commander in his eyes, he undoubtedly had enough strength to back up his arrogance, or a powerful background that allowed him to act this way.
As the Guard Commander, how could Lu Tian Feng not think of this?
Which was why he had no choice but to act with discretion.
“If you want to know who I am, come down here and speak to me face to face rather than standing up there.”
Lu Tian Feng’s expression became cold, “Is Your Excellency trying to provoke this Lu?”
“What’s wrong? Does Commander Lu not have the courage?”
“Nonsense!” Lu Tian Feng snorted, “You think such paltry threats can intimidate this General? Fine… Since you are so confident, then this General must see if you are qualified to act so. However, if you are just some blind fool, heh heh… Then don’t blame this Lu for being impolite.”
Saying so, with his spear in hand, and as a strong wind whipped around him, he stepped down from where he stood.
Everyone held their breath as the atmosphere grew tense, all of them watching as if a great storm was about to hit; after all, this was a conflict between two Origin Kings; who among them had ever witnessed such a scene before?
Not long after, Lu Tian Feng arrived in front of the pavilion and displaying the boldness of a powerful master he pushed open the door directly and went inside.
With a squeak… the door closed after Lu Tian Feng.
Everything went so quiet one could hear a needle drop…
No fight broke out, and not even an argument occurred.
The atmosphere was quite strange, but heavy enough that everyone could hear their own heartbeat. Bai Zheng Chu even perked up his ears to listen, trying to hear what was happening.
The Five Paths Chamber of Commerce members all exchanged bewildered glances, none of them able to understand what their current situation was.
After a cup of tea worth of time, the door opened again.
Lu Tian Feng stepped out serious, then in front of everyone’s eyes, turned around, carefully closed the door and then bowed deeply, “Since that is the case, I hope Sir will rest early today. Tomorrow, this one will come to pay his respects to Sir again.”
“No need, this King prefers peace and quiet,” Yang Kai’s voice came from inside the house.
“Yes!” Lu Tian Feng replied respectfully.
“Good, you withdraw then. But first, the backyard of this Five Paths Chamber of Commerce was destroyed by your subordinates…”
“Sir may rest assured; this one will definitely give Sir a satisfactory explanation.” Lu Tian Feng quickly said.
“Some people were also injured…”
“This one will handle matters appropriately!”
“En!”
Once no more sounds came from the room, Lu Tian Feng turned around with a solemn expression.
By now, everyone’s jaws had dropped as looks of pure disbelief filled their faces.
What exactly just happened?
The famous Purple Star City Guard Commander Lu Tian Feng, a powerful figure with near-unlimited authority in Purple Star City, was acting so respectful and obedient towards the young man inside the pavilion. Just what was the background of this person?
Everyone from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce could hardly process the scene before them and the burly bald-headed man Yao Qing even rubbed his eyes desperately, wondering if he was hallucinating because of his injuries.
“Lord… Lord Commander…” Bai Zheng Chu went forward to grovel, but Lu Tian Feng simply shot him a cold glare caused Bai Zheng Chu’s head to shrink back as he felt his situation becoming worrisome.
“I’ll deal with you later!” Lu Tian Feng ground his teeth and snorted coldly.
Bai Zheng Chu felt his head go blank as he stood there in shock.
“May I ask, who is in charge of this place?” Lu Tian Feng turned around once more and put on a friendly smile as he addressed Gao Hong and the others, a hint of flattery even apparent in his tone.
The members of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce felt like there was something wrong with their heads as they could not keep up with the changing situation, all of them just standing dumbfounded in place, unable to react.
It wasn’t until Lu Tian Feng called out to them that Gao Hong’s tender body trembled, and she put down Hua You Meng, who she had been holding in her arms the whole time, before offering her shoulder as support and introducing, “This is the President of our Chamber of Commerce. Does Commander Lu have some instruction for us?”
“I wouldn’t dare!” Lu Tian Feng’s hands fidgeted as he quickly put away his long spear artifact. Smiling at Hua You Meng, he asked in a respectful tone, “Dare I ask this lady’s name?”
Hua You Meng replied softly, “This Mistress is Hua You Meng, Lord Commander can simply address me by name. Please forgive this Mistress for being unable to offer a proper greeting at this time.”
“So it is President Hua, I’ve heard so much about you!” Lu Tian Feng put on a surprised expression, as if Hua You Meng’s name was as resounding as thunder, causing one’s ears to ring just from its mention. But Lu Tian Feng did not give her a chance to refute as he smiled widely and continued, “President Hua’s… um…”
“Five Paths Chamber of Commerce…” Bai Zheng Chu quickly informed him.
“En, this Lu has long heard of President Hua’s Five Paths Chamber of Commerce. Its reputation as an honest and upright establishment is well known, a model for all other chambers of commerce. En, seeing it today, it truly deserves its reputation, hahaha!”
Hua You Meng’s cheeks blushed bright red from this clearly nonsensical flattery.
Gao Hong and the others’ expressions were also extremely unnatural.
They were well aware of the chamber of commerce’s situation: Five Paths Chamber of Commerce was a small business that did not have many members. Even if there were not ten thousand such chambers of commerce in Purple Star City, there were at least eight thousand. What kind of status did Lu Tian Feng have? He was the City Guard Commander, one of the highest-ranking members of Purple Star. How could he possibly understand the situation of their tiny chamber of commerce? Suddenly being called a role model for all other chambers of commerce was a hat far too heavy for any of their heads to hold up.
However, everyone knew that this change in Lu Tian Feng’s attitude was completely due to that mysterious young man!
In Five Paths Chamber of Commerce’s backyard, Hua You Meng, Gao Hong, and the others looked on in shock. Compared to Lu Tian Feng’s humility, they were more concerned about Yang Kai’s identity and why the Commander of Purple Star City’s Guard had changed his attitude so greatly after just meeting him.
None of the flattery Lu Tian Feng was touting even entered their ears as they only felt their heads spinning.
“There seems to have been a small misunderstanding here. I do not know where this Lu’s stupid subordinates heard such an outrageous rumour to make them believe a troublemaker was in this area, but it seems they acted hastily and came to make an arrest for no reason, causing varying degrees of damage to the personnel and property of your chamber of commerce. President Hua may rest assured, this Lu, as the Commander of the Guard, will absolutely not allow you to suffer a loss in vain. This Lu will deal with the situation promptly and seriously to give President Hua a satisfactory explanation,” Lu Tian Feng declared solemnly as he patted his chest and promised.
“Ah… en…” Hua You Meng smiled forcefully, “This matter cannot be entirely blamed on Vice Commander Bai, we are also somewhat responsible.”
Hearing what she said, Bai Zheng Chu’s eyes began to tear up as he looked towards Hua You Meng with eyes full of gratitude.
“Is that so?” Lu Tian Feng raised his brow before carefully glancing towards the nearby guest house and saying cautiously, “Since President Hua is so reasonable…”
“Hmph!” From the pavilion, a single snort sounded.
Lu Tian Feng shivered at this snort and sternly declared, “Even if President Hua is so reasonable, they should be punished for mistakes they made. As a member of the Purple Star City Guard, if they cannot follow the law, who will? If anyone can just rush into a business without cause and hit and abuse its employees, will any chambers of commerce ever open in Purple Star City? Vice Commander Bai, what do you say?”
How could Bai Zheng Chu not know he had kicked an iron plate this time? Walking up with a face filled with remorse, he bowed his head and said, “Subordinate acted rashly and mismanaged this situation. Subordinate apologizes to President Hua and asks Lord Commander to deliver appropriate punishment.”
Hua You Meng waved her hands frantically as she repeatedly claimed she wouldn’t dare.
Lu Tian Feng coldly and righteously declared, “For having eyes but failing to see, offended President Hua and Five Paths Chamber of Commerce. This sentences you to one month’s imprisonment inside the Frozen Prison, understood?”
“The Frozen Prison!” Bai Zheng Chu shivered, his face going pale.
Just now he had said he would throw Xia Jing Wu and all the others into the Frozen Prison, but through a twist of fate, he was the one who was going to be imprisoned there. As one of the eight Vice Commanders of the City Guard, how could he not understand the horrors of the Frozen Prison?
That was a natural frozen world where one would freeze their Saint Qi no matter how high one’s cultivation was. In other words, once one entered the Frozen Prison, they could only rely on their physical strength to resist the bone-chilling cold.
But without Saint Qi, how many cultivators could resist such a frigid environment?
A month in the Frozen Prison was no different from being thrown into the gates of Hell!
“Hm?” Lu Tian Feng glared as he did not receive an immediate answer.
“Subordinate understands!” Bai Zheng Chu shrank his neck and nodded repeatedly.
“As long as you understand. En, this is just the punishment for the violence you committed against these good people. As for the damage you caused to Five Paths Chamber of Commerce… Hand over all your Space Rings.”
With Lu Tian Feng issuing such a command, who would dare to resist? One by one, like they had just been told their parents had been killed, all the guards took off their Space Rings and handed them over, including Bai Zheng Chu.
Lu Tian Feng smiled before handing the rings to Hua You Meng and saying, “President Hua, this Lu hopes you can be forgiving and not lower yourself to the same level as this group of idiots. This is compensation for your healing expenses.”
“Senior Lu…” Hua You Meng was completely dumbfounded. Facing the dazzling array of Space Rings, she did not dare refuse or accept, putting her at a loss for a moment.
“President Hua, please… please don’t refuse.” Lu Tian Feng said solemnly with a look that was almost pleading Hua You Meng to accept.
The man inside the nearby pavilion was still watching him, and Commander Lu knew that, if he did not handle this matter well, losing his position as Guard Commander would be the least of his worries.
Xia Jing Wu hurriedly stepped forward, chuckled, and cupped his fists to Lu Tian Feng, “Since Commander Lu has personally presided over justice, our Five Paths Chamber of Commerce will cooperate fully. Many thanks, Commander Lu, Commander Sir’s moral righteousness is worthy of admiration!”
“It’s my duty…” Lu Tian Feng took the opportunity to shove the Space Rings into Hua You Meng’s hand before quietly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking that the matter was finally completed. Although things had not been settled perfectly, he had at least made his position clear.
“What are you still doing stupidly standing here? Scram to the Frozen Prison to serve your punishment!” Lu Tian Feng roared at Bai Zheng Chu and the others.
“Yes!” Bai Zheng Chu and the other guards quickly fled, trembling in terror.
After all his subordinates disappeared, Lu Tian Feng turned around, cupped his fists to the pavilion, and grovelled, “Sir, are you satisfied with the handling of this matter?”
Yang Kai’s voice soon came from the room, “Commander Lu surely jests, it is the Commander’s responsibility to maintain the peace in the city, rewarding the good and punishing the evil. As long as you are satisfied that justice has been served, what does it matter what this King thinks?”
Upon hearing this, Lu Tian Feng was immediately relieved, knowing the other party would no longer pursue this issue. Quickly bowing his head, he followed up, “What Sir says is absolutely correct. This Lu will take his leave then, please have a good rest, Sir!”
Saying so, he nodded politely to Hua You Meng and the others before quickly walking out.
Hua You Meng, Gao Hong, Xia Jing Wu, Yao Qing, Hai Tang, and all the other employees of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce stood dumbfounded, all of them wearing extremely strange expressions. Recalling the scenes that just played out before them, everyone felt like they were seeing some kind of impossible dream.
After a long silence, Hua You Meng snorted and exhaled fiercely, releasing a pink mist from her body. It was the remnants of the Flower Petal Raindrops that had been suppressing her Saint Qi.
“President, are you all right?” Gao Hong quickly looked over at her and asked.
Hua You Meng nodded lightly. She was, in fact, the only one who had remained unharmed in the conflict with Bai Zheng Chu just now; everyone else had suffered varying degrees of injuries.
“President, should we…” Gao Hong glanced in the direction of Yang Kai.
Hua You Meng slowly shook her head and said, “Uncle Xia, go close the shop and post notice that we will remain closed for the next five days. Have all the employees rest and tend to anyone who has injuries. Make sure we provide enough for everyone’s healing expenses. These rings… en, I’ll leave them in Uncle Xia’s care.”
“Yes.” Xia Jing Wu nodded while accepting the Space Rings.
“Yao Qing, Hai Tang, you two assist Uncle Xia,” Hua You Meng next called out to the side.
“En.” Hai Tang heard this and obediently nodded, but Yao Qing actually cast an indignant look towards the guest house and said, “I want to…”
“You want what?” Gao Hong cut him off abruptly, “Hurry up and get out!”
Yao Qing could not help rolling his eyes, but he still shut his mouth and followed Xia Jing Wu and Hai Tang out.
In a blink of an eye, only Gao Hong and Hua You Meng were left. The two women looked at each other and saw the hesitation in each other’s eyes as they passed messages between themselves using their Divine Sense.
After a while, Hua You Meng sighed, turned around, and said, “For today’s matter, this Mistress offers her sincere thanks.”
“President Hua is too polite, it was just a slight effort,” Yang Kai smiled calmly. He heard both a little awe, fear, and even blame, in Hua You Meng’s tone, but that was only to be expected so he did not care too much about it.
“Sir must be tired; this Mistress won’t disturb Sir any further. Tomorrow, this Mistress will pay a visit to Sir again,” Hua You Meng whispered.
“Very well. President Hua must have many things to attend to, just attend to your own business.”
Hua You Meng nodded, winked at Gao Hong, and the two women withdrew one after another.
Inside the guest house, Yang Kai wore a helpless smile on his face as he appreciatively played with a token in his hand, muttering to himself, “I didn’t expect this thing to be so useful. Even someone like Lu Tian Feng was like a mouse seeing a cat the moment he saw it.”
Lu Tian Feng was a First-Order Origin King, and even if Yang Kai could suppress him by force, the reason he had been so deferential and respectful was all because of this token.
“Of course it is, that is one of my Purple Star’s Purple Star Orders. Anyone who holds this token has status equal to my Purple Star’s Great Elder. Lu Tian Feng is only a Guard Commander, so how could he dare act presumptuously in front of an Order holder?” Zi Dong’s voice suddenly came out as his Soul Avatar appeared from the Soul Sustaining Bowl which had been placed to the side by Yang Kai.
“How many of these did your Purple Star create?” Yang Kai asked.
Zi Dong thought for a while before replying, “As far as I know, only two have been given out, and both to Second-Order Origin Kings. The Purple Star Order not only represents elite status but even grants a certain degree of authority to mobilize my Purple Star’s resources and personnel. As such, only those who have made great contributions to Purple Star will receive them.”
“So that’s how it is.” Yang Kai nodded lightly, better understanding the value of this token.
He had found this thing in Zi Long’s Space Ring, and although the materials used to make it were rare and precious, Yang Kai hadn’t paid any attention to it until today.
He simply had no choice. His original plan was to act sneakily; steal the Star Emperor Token and then leave Purple Star. However, after Hua You Meng and Five Paths Chamber of Commerce appeared, he could no longer proceed as planned.
Although he was not afraid of confronting Lu Tian Feng, this was Purple Star City after all, and if he really were to fight this Guard Commander, it would only attract the attention of stronger opponents.
So, Yang Kai had asked Zi Dong if he had a way to deal with the situation.
Zi Dong had then recommended he use the Purple Star Order.
Giving it a try, it had worked perfectly.
Lu Tian Feng had arrived fiercely but left with his head almost touching the ground. With practically no effort, Yang Kai was able to resolve today’s issue.
Unfortunately, Purple Star would begin paying very close attention to him after this, which would make it far more difficult for him to steal the Star Emperor Token. Yang Kai secretly felt a headache coming on as he had to re-think his plans from scratch.
Considering all this, Yang Kai looked at Zi Dong and said, “Tell me about your Purple Star’s situation. What kind of masters there are and are there are any internal disputes?”
Although Zi Dong was very reluctant to cooperate, with his Soul now in Yang Kai’s hands, he did not dare to resist. Having been asked and with no other choice, he began honestly explaining many things about Purple Star to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took down this information carefully because there was a chance some of it would be useful soon. He also asked a few questions when it came to key points, which Zi Dong coordinated with and explained everything he was able to.
The next day, early morning.
Hua You Meng came to the guest house as scheduled, holding a tray in her hands that contained several bunches of spirit fruits.
At first glance, it was obvious that these spirit fruits were not ordinary. They exuded a strong aura and rich fragrance. Obviously, they were treasures to cultivators.
Standing outside the door, just as she was hesitating about what to say, the door opened on its own initiative and Yang Kai, who was sitting cross-legged inside, smiled at her lightly.
“This Mistress greets Sir,” Hua You Meng hurriedly and elegantly bowed.
“President Hua is too polite, please come in,” Yang Kai gestured.
“Pardon me.”
Saying so, Hua You Meng stepped inside, put down the tray in her hands, and continued, “The place is quite simple, so this Mistress has taken the liberty to prepare some refreshments for Sir. I hope Sir won’t refuse.”
“Blue Blood Exquisite Fruits?” Yang Kai glanced at the bunch of amethyst grape-like fruits on the plate and was slightly surprised, nodding in approval, “President Hua’s consideration is appreciated.”
“As long as Sir is pleased,” Hua You Meng accompanied him carefully, standing to the side, seemingly both cautious and uneasy.
Even now, she was unaware of the other party’s identity or status, nor did she know why someone as powerful as Lu Tian Feng was so scared of him. If the events of yesterday had taken place in any other small chamber of commerce, it would likely have been totally destroyed, but not only was Five Paths Chamber of Commerce safe and sound, they had even received a great deal of compensation on top of a personal apology from Lu Tian Feng.
This was not something a man of ordinary high status could achieve. This young man was clearly so important that even masters like Lu Tian Feng had to treat him with reverence, so how could Hua You Meng dare act carelessly?
What troubled Hua You Meng the most though, was that she didn’t even know the other party’s name.
“Please have a seat, President Hua. There’s no need to be so formal,” Yang Kai looked at her with a smile.
“In front of Sir, this Mistress doesn’t dare to be presumptuous,” Hua You Meng pursed her red lips and squeezed out a slightly anxious smile, insisting on remaining standing.
Yang Kai rubbed his forehead, thought for a while, and said solemnly, “President Hua, do you still blame this one for what happened?”
Hua You Meng’s pretty face abruptly changed, and she quickly waved her hands frantically, “Why would Sir think so? If Sir had not stepped in yesterday, I’m afraid my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce would have been destroyed and all my brothers and sisters would not have escaped death. This Mistress only has gratitude for Sir, how could she dare blame him?”
“Haha, I hid my strength and identity, and ran into you for no reason, bringing such a disaster to you. Does President Hua truly have no complaints?”
Hua You Meng’s brow furrowed slightly as her innermost thoughts seemed to be seen through by Yang Kai, causing her to go somewhat speechless.
“Not just President Hua, but also your companions have similar opinions, no? They just don’t dare to show it,” Yang Kai chuckled.
Hua You Meng smiled forcefully and said, “Please don’t misunderstand, Sir. There is an old saying that when Immortals fight, mortals suffer. This Mistress and Five Paths Chamber of Commerce are just a small force in this area. Any great disturbance is enough to tear us to pieces.”
As she spoke, she seemed to gain more courage and began forming her words more clearly, “I am truly grateful to Sir for what happened yesterday, but I would not wish to experience it ever again. However, this Mistress’ experience is lacking so she really cannot understand what my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce possibly has that would attract Sir to stop here. With Sir’s identity and strength, is there anywhere in Purple Star City that you cannot go?”
“Indeed,” Yang Kai nodded. “But if I left yesterday, you would all definitely suffer, so I chose to stay. President Hua offered her aid to me at the city gates, so I could not just abandon you to your fate.”
Hua You Meng was startled but soon nodded lightly.
Yang Kai laughed, “Starting over, this one’s name is Yang Kai, and hiding my strength before was just for convenience. If I were to go around announcing I am an Origin King everywhere, wouldn’t that appear too arrogant? As for my status… it is inconvenient for me to say any more so please forgive me for holding back, President Hua.”
Hua You Meng nodded, “Sir must have his own considerations.”
“Yes, but you don’t need to concern yourself too much with any of this. Regardless of what my status and identity are, you should just treat me as an ordinary Origin King…”
Hua You Meng frowned and was a little dazed, but seeing that Yang Kai looked sincere, she didn’t know what to think right away. After some thought, she realized that, with Yang Kai’s strength, there was no reason for him to deceive her, so she simply replied seriously, “This Mistress was too suspicious. Please do not take offence, Sir.”
“There’s no need to address me as Sir, I’m also not used to it. Today I simply wanted to let President Hua know that everything that happened was just an unfortunate coincidence and I don’t have any plans or intentions towards your Five Paths Chamber of Commerce,” Yang Kai looked at Hua You Meng sincerely.
“This Mistress understands,” Seeing him act so forthright, Hua You Meng believed him and only hesitated for a moment before asking, “It’s just that if this Mistress doesn’t address you as Sir, should she call you… Senior?”
Yang Kai lightly coughed, “Just call me by name.”
“This Mistress wouldn’t dare!” Hua You Meng waved her hands in a panic.
“Forget it, just call me as you’d like,” Yang Kai didn’t insist and simply reached out to push the tray of spirit fruits back while saying, “This Blue Blood Exquisite Fruit is useless to me as anything but a delicacy. On the other hand, President Hua can purify her Saint Qi if she consumes them, so please take them back.”
Hua You Meng smiled and looked at Yang Kai with some gratitude, “Many thanks, Sir.”
She had bought this plate of spirit fruit at a very high price, and they were quite rare. If it weren’t for Yang Kai’s identity and strength, how could Hua You Meng have done this? She was a frugal President who would normally never spend so wastefully.
“En, someone is outside looking for you,” Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed as he glanced outside.
Hua You Meng looked out but did not see anyone outside the door, but just when she was about to ask, she saw Gao Hong hurriedly walking over.
Gao Hong’s face was filled with smiles, as if something good had just happened.
“Sir, please wait for a moment. This Mistress will quickly deal with this,” Hua You Meng said before hurriedly withdrawing.
When she met Gao Hong outside, the two women whispered to each other, and soon Hua You Meng wore a look of surprise and asked urgently, “Really?”
Gao Hong nodded seriously, to which Hua You Meng replied in pleasant surprise, “Let me go out and have a look.”
Saying so, she hurried back into the store.
Shortly after, Hua You Meng appeared neatly in Five Paths Chamber of Commerce’s front foyer. At this moment, Xia Jing Wu, Hai Tang, and Yao Qing were waiting quietly together with a group of cultivators dressed in shining armour. At the lead of this group of cultivators was a pale-faced man who stood at attention while waiting silently.
Seeing their attire, these cultivators were easily identifiable as Purple Star City Guard, the same as Bai Zheng Chu and Lu Tian Feng from yesterday.
After seeing Hua You Meng, the lead man quickly cupped his fists and respectfully said, “I take it this Madam is the famous Five Paths Chamber of Commerce’s President Hua?”
Hua You Meng was slightly taken aback but still replied promptly, “Not at all, Hua You Meng greets this Sir.”
“President Hua is too polite,” The pale-faced man smiled amiably. “Allow me to introduce myself, this one is Purple Star City Guard Vice Commander Qu Zheng!”
“This Mistress has long heard Vice Commander Qu’s honoured name, but I wonder what Vice Commander Qu has come to my humble chamber of commerce today for?” Although she had received some news from Gao Hong just now, Hua You Meng couldn’t be certain of anything yet, so she still took the time to ask.
“This Qu has come here today on orders of Senior Lu to hand these things over to President Hua.” Saying so, he took out a jade box from his Space Ring and handed it over respectfully.
Hua You Meng wore a solemn look as she reached out to accept the jade box.
Upon opening the jade box, Hua You Meng saw that it contained a number of neatly stacked papers, and after pulling out one and examining it, she couldn’t help calling out in shock, “Land deeds!”
“What?” Xia Jing Wu and the others were also shocked, with even Gao Hong’s jaw dropping.
Although Qu Zheng had said when he arrived that he had come to deliver a gift to Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, he had not explained what that gift was, but seeing the land deeds at this moment, everyone finally understood.
“So many land deeds?” Hua You Meng was completely stunned as she began taking the deeds out one by one. There were more than thirty deeds in the box, each one representing ownership of a shop or plot of land.
“Ahaha, President Hua is too serious. En, these land deeds are for all the stores on Soaring Dragon Street, where Five Paths Chamber of Commerce is located,” Qu Zheng explained with a smile, “Senior Lu said that although Five Paths Chamber of Commerce is small, it has operated for many years with great integrity and made significant contributions to the development of Purple Star City, a model for all merchants. These land deeds are a special token of appreciation for the hard work your chamber of commerce has done and are being transferred to President Hua in hopes that others will follow the example of your chamber of commerce.”
“This…” Hua You Meng’s tender body trembled, unable to believe what she was seeing with her own eyes, simply feeling that the land deeds in her hands were so heavy that they were crushing her beneath them.
“President Hua, please don’t refuse,” Qu Zheng stretched out his hand and stopped her before she could say anything, declaring solemnly. “This Qu is here on orders. If President Hua refuses, then this Qu will not be able to fulfil his mission and will be punished with imprisonment in the Frozen Prison. This Qu has heard that President Hua has a kind heart, so this Qu begs her not to make things difficult for him.”
Hua You Meng looked at Qu Zheng as if she did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Qu Zheng immediately struck while the iron was hot, smiled, and said, “Good, this Qu will take it as President Hua accepting these, so he will now return now to report he has completed his mission.”
“How could that…” Hua You Meng was a bold and wise woman, but she was still somewhat overwhelmed right now, not knowing how to respond. After a moment, she hurriedly said, “Uncle Xia, prepare a gift for our honoured guest’s hard work.”
She knew from the words the other party had spoken that she couldn’t return these land deeds.
Uncle Xia responded and hurried to prepare some small offerings.
Qu Zheng, however, reacted with something akin to terror as he hurriedly cried out, “President Hua, there’s no need for that! This Qu is simply doing his duty, how could he dare accept any benefits? President Hua’s sentiments are more than enough.”
The other guards had also gone pale, as if the small gifts Xia Jing Wu wanted to offer them were some kind of deadly scourge to be avoided at all costs.
Qu Zheng stood on the spot anxiously, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead vigorously as he glanced towards the backyard from time to time.
After a while, he heard a voice in his ears, “Good, go back and tell Lu Tian Feng that he has handled the situation well this time and this King is very satisfied.”
Like he had received a pardon from the Heavens, Qu Zheng cupped his fists in that direction and bowed deeply while calling out, “Many thanks, Sir!”
Saying so, he quickly turned to Hua You Meng and said, “This Qu will take his leave. Good day, President Hua!”
As soon as his voice fell, he dashed out, his figure barely visible from behind as it raced off.
In the Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, everyone looked around at each other, still in shock and confusion, mixed with a great deal of pleasant surprise.
“President… are these land deeds really for the entire Soaring Dragon Street?” Gao Hong asked with a trembling voice. If so, the value of this box of land deeds was simply inestimable!
Under the leadership of Hua You Meng, the people of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce had worked hard for more than twenty years before finally managing to purchase a small shop on Soaring Dragon Street, and they weren’t even the official owners, simply renters with a thirty-year contract. Not only did they need to pay a large sum of money to Purple Star City’s administration every year, but the city would come to take back this shop when their contract was over.
But now, a box of more than thirty land deeds had fallen into Hua You Meng’s hands…
This box represented the ownership of more than thirty shops on a main street! Any merchant could see the massive value in it.
Gao Hong and the others almost fainted from happiness.
Hua You Meng’s hands were also trembling as she checked through the box again before she looked up at all the expectant eyes around her and haltingly said, “It’s true…”
“Hahahaha, it is our Five Paths Chamber of Commerce’s time to rise!” Yao Qing kept patting his bald head, seemingly too excited to even settle down, his eyes flashing a fierce light as he thought about the bright future ahead of them. “That damn Heavenly Yuan Firm next door has always been competing maliciously with us, hmph, now let’s see how they fight with us! Just wait, I’ll be sure to sweep them out of their store! That’s right, that Treasure Pill Hall down the street also needs to go. When I went with Hai Tang last time, those arrogant bastards berated us before throwing us out, but now their land deed is in our hands. Let us see if they dare throw Father here out now! Next time, Hai Tang and I will go over there and teach them a lesson!”
Hai Tang stood by his side and nodded vigorously, apparently holding a deep grudge about what had happened last time.
“Only villains seek petty vengeance!” Xia Jing Wu glared at Yao Qing, who only smirked and rubbed his head awkwardly, not daring to offer any rebuttal. In Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, Hua You Meng had the highest prestige, followed by Xia Jing Wu as the chamber of commerce’s strategist. Sometimes, his words carried even more weight than Hua You Meng’s.
“Uncle Xia, how do you see this matter…” Hua You Meng finally recovered from the huge shock and turned to Xia Jing Wu hesitantly.
The latter stroked his beard without any excitement, instead wearing a deep frown as he pondered, only quietly whispering to Hua You Meng a moment later, “President, the core of this matter is there.”
Saying so, he gestured towards the backyard before continuing, “Whether it is the attitude and compensation of Commander Lu yesterday or today’s land deeds, none of it is because of our Five Paths Chamber of Commerce’s abilities. Since the key to all of this does not lie with us, President might as well consult with the one whose opinion does matter. Perhaps, he will have a better understanding of what to do next.”
Hua You Meng thought for a moment before nodding lightly and ordering, “You’re all free to go about your business as usual, but keep what has happened today a secret. As for the chamber of commerce, it will remain closed today.”
Saying so, as if the wind was carrying her feet, Hua You Meng hurried back to the backyard.
Soon after, she returned to the guest house where Yang Kai was staying.
Yang Kai looked at her with a smile, apparently aware of what had just happened outside.
Hua You Meng took out the jade box without any hesitation and placed it on the table in front of Yang Kai before saying, “Sir, this is far too precious for my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce to enjoy. Keeping it will likely just provoke more misfortune for us, so I hope Sir can process it appropriately.”
After recovering from her shock and excitement, she gradually realized that Lu Tian Feng having someone deliver this box of land deeds to her was entirely because of Yang Kai. She did not know Yang Kai’s true background, but because he was here, just one day ago, Lu Tian Feng put on a humble and even reverent demeanour towards Five Paths Chamber of Commerce; however, if one day Yang Kai were to leave, these thirty land deeds would definitely become a disaster to them.
An ordinary man is innocent, but treasures can make one guilty. In Purple Star City, even in the outer city, land deeds were extremely rare and precious treasures that only the most powerful merchants and organizations were qualified to possess. Five Paths Chamber of Commerce was simply too small to have such qualifications.
Would Yang Kai always be there to shelter Five Paths Chamber of Commerce? Hua You Meng knew the answer was no; after all, the other party was an Origin King. It was already the accumulated good karma of their ancestors that he had been willing to help them once, so how could they expect him to continue protecting them from now on?
Yang Kai glanced at her thoughtfully before saying, “Since they were given to you, President Hua should accept them. In any case, these things are worthless to me; even if I accepted them, they’d have no use.”
Hua You Meng gave a wry smile, “But…”
Yang Kai stretched out his hand to interrupt her, “No buts. You can relax and just accept them without any worries. I will bear all the consequences if there are any.”
Hua You Meng stared at Yang Kai in a daze as she was able to understand what kind of commitment he was making. Gratitude welling up inside her heart, she took a deep breath and declared, “Since Sir has said so, this Mistress will simply offer her sincere thanks.”
Although her cultivation was not bad, she was a businesswoman at her core, and no businesswoman would refuse this box of land deeds.
Yang Kai smiled and said, “But I want to know, how does President Hua plan to deal with these land deeds?”
“How do I plan to deal with them?” Hua You Meng froze for a moment before saying, “I have always had a dream: I always wanted to hold the land deed of my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce in my own hand, but land deeds in Purple Star City are so expensive that they are quite difficult to acquire. Our original plan was to spend another ten years or so to save up enough Saint Crystals and buy our land deed, then use this shop as a foundation to slowly develop from a small chamber of commerce to a large chamber of commerce. Standing shoulder to shoulder with a giant like Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce may be impossible, but I wish to one day stand tall enough to not be bullied by anyone!”
As she spoke, she seemed to let go of her restraints and caution, her pretty face turning ruddy with a hint of excitement, “This is not just my personal dream though, but also Uncle Xia, Sister Hong, Yao Qing, and Hai Tang’s dream. We have been working hard towards this dream, doing everything from street peddling to wandering aimlessly to sell our wares. After living such a life, who would not want to have a stable home? Now, this dream has been achieved so easily… With these land deeds, my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce can expand to more than ten times its original size. We will be able to hang our sign above the entire Soaring Dragon Street now and my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce will be able to sell our goods throughout Purple Star City!”
Reaching the end of her speech, Hua You Meng felt her heart racing as her eyes flashed brilliantly, as if she could see a beautiful picture of the future unfold in front of her, sinking her into a wondrous dream.
It was not until she noticed that Yang Kai was looking at her with a smile that Hua You Meng’s expression turned embarrassed, her face going quite red as she whispered, “I’ve shown Sir something embarrassing…”
“Everyone’s dream is sacred, why would I laugh at yours?” Yang Kai said seriously, “President Hua should have struggled very hard these past decades, yes?”
“There has been much hard work, but with my fellow brothers and sisters by my side, hard work is not a problem,” Hua You Meng smiled sweetly, dazzling Yang Kai for a moment.
Seemingly perceiving the change in Yang Kai’s eyes, Hua You Meng quickly lowered her head as her heart began to pound violently, feeling quite nervous as she hoped he would not suddenly take interest in her.
However, when she thought about it again, it actually didn’t seem like a bad proposition to catch the eye of such a young and promising Origin King. Although she had not been in contact with him for long, Hua You Meng was quite proud of her ability to read others. Yang Kai was different from those other Origin Kings who only knew how to act lofty and arrogant. Not only was he approachable, but his appearance wasn’t bad either, having a brave and heroic face and a well-built body…
[What are you thinking about!?] Hua You Meng suddenly screamed to herself as she could not wait to find a hole to crawl into and disappear.
“Good, President Hua seems to have a comprehensive plan for the future, but I wonder if you would be willing to listen to my advice?” Yang Kai naturally didn’t know what Hua You Meng was thinking about, so he simply continued the conversation.
“Sir is the benefactor of my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce. If you have any advice, please do say it,” Hua You Meng quickly composed herself and said.
“These land deeds… Don’t keep any of them, sell them all!” Yang Kai quickly said.
“Huh?” Hua You Meng was startled, not having expected that Yang Kai would say such a thing. If she did this, then the future dream she had just described would disappear.
All her dreams would never be realized.
“Do you trust me?” Yang Kai looked at Hua You Meng sincerely, staring straight into her eyes.
Being stared at with such a focused gaze, Hua You Meng suddenly became flustered and put aside her eyes before nodding subconsciously, “This Mistress naturally trusts Sir.”
“Very good. While it is not convenient for me to give a specific reason, you can’t keep these land deeds. It would be best to deal with them as soon as possible. One day, you will understand why I am giving you this advice.”
He came to Purple Star City this time to steal their Star Emperor Token, and there was no doubt he would soon come into conflict with Purple Star. Although Lu Tian Feng deliberately showed his favour because of the existence of the Purple Star Order, even sending over so many land deeds, once Yang Kai’s real purpose was exposed, Five Paths Chamber of Commerce would definitely be implicated. At that time, they would definitely not be able to remain in Purple Star City and these land deeds would all become worthless.
The best option for them would be to gather a large number of Saint Crystals while by selling off the land deeds now.
As long as they had enough Saint Crystals, what worry would they have about their chamber of commerce’s future?
Although Hua You Meng did not understand why Yang Kai asked her to do this, after calming down and thinking for a while, she vaguely thought of something and couldn’t help trembling as she nodded, “I understand.”
Yang Kai looked at her deeply and smiled, “President Hua is really an intelligent person.”
“I’m just a small woman who is following Sir’s advice. En, can I ask for Sir’s assistance in a certain matter then?”
“What matter?” Yang Kai became curious.
“Could you accompany me out?”
“What for?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“It’s like this…” Hua You Meng explained, “There are too many land deeds here, and if we really must sell them, I’m afraid my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce won’t be able to do so for a good price, as that is simply beyond our ability. This Mistress wants to hand over these land deeds to Clear Sky Auction House for them to process, that way they will promote them at their auction on our behalf and allow us to maximize our profit while minimizing our risk.”
“You want to sell them at an auction?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “Good idea, President Hua really has a talent for business!”
“Sir surely jests!” Hua You Meng flushed.
“No no, I sincerely admire your talent. An ordinary person can’t think of such a good idea in such a short period of time.”
“Then does Sir agree?” Hua You Meng looked at Yang Kai in pleasant surprise.
“En, I wanted to go out for a walk to see the richness of Purple Star City anyways, so I’ll have to trouble President Hua to be my guide,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Hua You Meng quickly got up and said happily, “Then please wait a moment, Sir. I’ll be right back after I inform Uncle Xia and the others about my plan to sell these land deeds.”
“Go on, I’ll wait for you outside,” Yang Kai nodded.
Some time later, Hua You Meng walked out of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce.
Regarding the sale of the thirty-odd land deeds, everyone in the Chamber of Commerce had different thoughts. Some, like the previous Hua You Meng, wanted to keep all the land deeds to grow the Chamber of Commerce; after all, this was a rare opportunity that no one wanted to miss. Some wanted to compromise, selling half while keeping the other half, this way, not only would they have enough shops, but also enough Saint Crystals.
However, in the end everyone agreed to Hua You Meng’s decision to sell all the land deeds.
Although they did not know why Yang Kai would suggest this, they dared not disregard the words of an Origin King. However, because of this, Five Paths Chamber of Commerce would miss an opportunity to establish themselves in Purple Star City, making many sigh.
Hua You Meng looked around and saw Yang Kai squatting in front of a stall not far away, bargaining with its owner.
[Do Origin Kings actually buy things like this?] Hua You Meng felt strange just seeing this scene and quickly walked over. Soon, the voices of Yang Kai and the seller reached her ears.
“Brother, my Red Copper Web Crystal is a good Artifact Refining material that took me a lot of effort to mine. Using it, one can definitely refine a Saint King Grade High-Rank artifact. Isn’t your offer of 10,000 High-Rank Saint Crystals a bit outrageous?” The seller exclaimed angrily.
“Ten thousand isn’t low,” Yang Kai ignored the seller’s argument entirely and just said back with a smile.
“Good, good, you drive a hard bargain. I’ll sell it to you for 80,000 Saint Crystals. Consider it my respect for your business skills.”
“10,000!”
“70,000. This is really my bottom line, I can’t lower it any further!”
“10,000!”
“Are you serious? Bumping into a fellow who cannot tell the quality of goods is my misfortune it seems… Fine, you look like a handsome and intelligent man my brother, so I’ll give you a bit of face. 65,000!”
“10,000!”
“60,000!”
“10,000!”
“Damn it, which of my enemies sent you to mock me? Do you think I won’t hack you to death here!?” The seller was so angered by Yang Kai after a while that he drew out a Saint King Grade sabre and pointed it at his nose while fiercely cursing, seemingly saying he would not tolerate any more nonsense.
Yang Kai let out a hearty laugh, quickly got up, and rushed away.
“Damn fool!” The seller saw him run off and stowed his artifact before yelling out towards the disappearing Yang Kai, “Don’t let me see you here again, or I’ll beat you senseless!”
“Sir…” Hua You Meng appeared next to Yang Kai with a deep frown on her face, “This… this is…”
She could not believe what she had just seen. A dignified Origin King Realm master actually bargaining back and forth over a few thousand Saint Crystals with a Saint King Realm cultivator for half an hour, in the end not actually buying anything and being driven away.
Was he really an Origin King? Did he not care how offensive that seller had been to him? If that seller knew he had just cursed out and pointed a weapon at an Origin King, it was really hard to imagine just what his expression would be.
“I was just experiencing the local customs of Purple Star City while passing the time away,” Yang Kai explained with a smile. “En, the temper of Purple Star City’s cultivators is a bit hot.”
Hua You Meng did not know whether to laugh or cry, thinking that anyone who was pestered so endlessly would react similarly.
“Anyways, let’s head to that Clear Sky Auction House to deal with the land deeds,” Yang Kai motioned. “Lead the way.”
“En,” Hua You Meng responded and obediently led the way.
Yang Kai kept looking around as they walked forward, as if he was a countryside hick who had just come to the big city for the first time, everything giving him a fresh feeling.
As for Hua You Meng, her head was a mess. Yang Kai’s performance completely subverted her perception of Origin Kings.
In her imagination, Origin Kings should be like Lu Tian Feng, arrogant and aloof, but when she saw Yang Kai mix into the crowd, he seemed no different from an ordinary cultivator, even somewhat naïve compared to most. If she were to have met him right now, Hua You Meng would not believe he was an Origin King.
Soon after, Hua You Meng arrived at a carriage rental stall.
The carriages were pulled by two monster beasts that looked similar to horses. The carriages were spacious and comfortable. After Yang Kai and Hua You Meng boarded one, the carriage driver swung his whip and the carriage moved forward smoothly.
“These Snow Treading Colts are Fifth-Order Monster Beasts, and although they don’t have much combat power, their speed is quite good, so Purple Star City raised many of them to use as a means of transportation in the city for cultivators. Because flying is not permitted, and the city is quite large, these carriages are very popular with everyone, but the cost to use them even once isn’t low, five thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals,” Hua You Meng explained to Yang Kai as they rode.
“Fifth-Order Monster Beasts…” Yang Kai nodded. “Purple Star certainly lives up to its reputation.”
Although Fifth-Order Monster Beasts were not anything special on their own, if you wanted to fill the entire city with carriages pulled by them, at least tens of thousands would be necessary. This was not something an ordinary great force could achieve. Purple Star must have mastered some special techniques for breeding these Monster Beasts in captivity and had methods for domesticating them.
While talking to Hua You Meng, Yang Kai frowned suddenly and looked up into the sky.
Under his gaze, the roof of the carriage was as good as glass, unable to block his sight at all.
“What happened?” Hua You Meng asked in surprise when she saw his expression change.
“Is fighting allowed in Purple Star City?” Yang Kai asked rhetorically.
“Of course not. Is there some blind fool trying to act presumptuously here?” Hua You Meng was shocked.
“Interesting,” Yang Kai smiled slightly before stretching out his hand and releasing an invisible field around the carriage to shield it.
The next moment, there was a violent series of noises in the sky, accompanied by several explosions.
Hua You Meng’s face changed as she suddenly became slightly nervous.
Although she was not affected by the aftermath of the fight because of Yang Kai’s protection, she was also a Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator and realized that it was an Origin King who had acted just now.
She finally understood why Yang Kai did what he just did. Obviously, he was trying to avoid having the Monster Beast pulling their carriage become startled.
Because after this battle, the Snow Treading Colts pulling other carts were neighing and running about chaotically while the cart she and Yang Kai were in was safe.
This scene puzzled the driver of their carriage greatly.
However, the battle ended just as quickly as it began, and by the time Hua You Meng released her Divine Sense to investigate, no one remained up in the sky. All that was there was a damaged Starship.
“Hm? Is that…” Hua You Meng’s brow furrowed as she quickly opened the curtains of the carriage and looked up, a moment later her complexion changed greatly as she quickly sat back down.
“What did you find?” Yang Kai asked.
Hua You Meng looked at him and said, “If I’m not mistaken, that Starship belongs to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.”
“Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, are you sure?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“En, the emblem on that Starship is definitely Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s!” Hua You Meng nodded sincerely.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense again to confirm this and soon found that just as Hua You Meng said, the somewhat damaged Starship did have a special emblem on it that he vaguely remembered seeing embroidered on Xue Yue and Ni Guang’s robes.
[Was this Starship really from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce?]
[So, just now, the cultivators of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce fought with Purple Star?]
After being silent for a moment, Yang Kai asked, “Why is a Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce Starship in Purple Star City?”
Hua You Meng smiled, “Although Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is a massive super force, it’s primary focus is still commerce. In this Star Field, wherever there are cultivators, there will be their business opportunities. Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce coming to Purple Star City isn’t strange, but as for why the two sides suddenly fought, that is not something this Mistress can speculate on.”
Yang Kai gently nodded, checked the Starship one last time, then set the matter aside.
No matter what kind of friction there was between these two super forces, as long as it didn’t affect his plan, he didn’t care.
The carriage continued to move forward steadily, at a speed like that of the wind.
After a while, the pair arrived at a huge auction house.
After getting off the carriage, Hua You Meng pointed to the front and said, “This is Clear Sky Auction House. It is also one of the three largest auction houses in the outer city and its reputation is quite loud. I heard that they will be holding an auction in five days with many rare items appearing.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly before turning his head and glancing at Hua You Meng and asking, “President Hua, why do you seem a little nervous? Is this the first time you’ve come here”
Hua You Meng flashed a wistful smile as she replied, “It’s not the first time I’ve been here. I’ve been here several times, in fact, to participate in auctions, but I’ve rarely won anything as the prices are simply too high for this Mistress to afford. However, this is the first time I’ve been here to sell something… Perhaps, it will also be the last.”
“I’m with you, so don’t be afraid!” Yang Kai cast an encouraging look at her.
Hearing what Yang Kai said, Hua You Meng calmed down immediately, remembering that she was being accompanied by an Origin King, and an extraordinary one at that. Even Lu Tian Feng had to treat this Sir with respect, so although Clear Sky Auction House was a powerful force, she was here to auction a valuable item, so they should not embarrass her, right?
Moreover, the reason why she pulled Yang Kai along was that she wanted to use his identity as a deterrent, otherwise, if her tiny Five Paths Chamber of Commerce were to suddenly take out so many land deeds, it would likely cause lots of trouble.
Considering all this, Hua You Meng immediately collected herself and stepped forward.
Inside Clear Sky Auction House, the lobby was spacious and bright, with people coming and going, making for a lively scene.
As soon as Yang Kai and Hua You Meng entered, a young woman came up to greet them with a smile and respectfully said, “Greetings Honoured Guests, how may I serve you today? Are you here to enter an item into Clear Sky Auction House’s upcoming auction? Or do you have other important business to discuss?”
Yang Kai glanced at this young woman and was easily able to sense her cultivation with his powerful Divine Sense.
This young woman was a First-Order Saint King, and although her strength was not high, it also was not low. Her being placed in the lobby as a receptionist was a testament to Clear Sky Auction House’s strength.
What’s more, there were at least eighty others just like her inside the lobby.
“We’re here to enter something into the auction,” Hua You Meng calmed herself and smiled lightly. “How should we proceed?”
“So Honoured Guests are here to auction an item,” The young woman smiled sweetly. “Honoured Guests should know that our auction house does not accept items that are worth less than a million Saint Crystals. If honoured guest’s item is worth more than one million but less than five million, this servant can handle it for you. If Honoured Guests’ item is worth more than five million but less than fifty million, this servant will have to summon one of the auction house’s stewards to process it.”
“What if it exceeds fifty million?” Hua You Meng asked in a low voice.
Although Hua You Meng did not know the exact value of these thirty-odd land deeds, she was certain they well exceeded fifty million.
The young receptionist’s face changed slightly, but she soon smiled like a flower and replied, “If that is the case, the auction house’s manager will personally receive it. This way please!”
With just Hua You Meng’s words, this young woman understood that the item these two honoured guests wanted to auction could not be handled by a mere steward, so she did not hesitate to lead them into the auction house’s interior.
At the same time, this receptionist felt joyful in her heart, as she would receive a percentage of the profits from any business that she brought to the auction house. In other words, as long as these two guests successfully negotiate a deal with the auction house, she would receive a rich reward.
From beginning to end, Yang Kai did not speak and simply stood silently behind Hua You Meng like a guard. This made the young woman feel that Hua You Meng’s background was not simple, so she did not dare act negligently.
Once through the bustling lobby, the trio entered a hallway leading further into the complex and soon arrived at a secluded courtyard. Entering this courtyard was like entering a different world, the noise of the outside world completely disappearing and being replaced by the babbling of a small brook that flowed under a small, wooden bridge. There was even some light music that played in the background, adding to the refreshing atmosphere.
Walking along a winding path, the trio eventually came to an oval arch. The young woman then took a communication artifact from her Space Ring and poured her Divine Sense into it.
A short time later, there was a faint flash of light from the arch, which was obviously a sign that a barrier had been opened.
The young woman turned around and said respectfully, “Please enter inside, Honoured Guests. Someone will welcome you on the other side.”
Saying so, she turned and left.
Hua You Meng and Yang Kai exchanged a glance before stepping through the arch and entering another courtyard.
A woman who seemed to be about forty years old walked over at that moment and said elegantly, “Are Two Guests here to auction an item?”
“Indeed,” Hua You Meng nodded and replied.
“En, then please follow me!” The woman turned to lead the way, but as she did, she glanced suspiciously at Yang Kai, as if she had just received a surprise.
Yang Kai also smiled at her meaningfully, causing the woman’s expression to change slightly and her steps to become slightly unsteady.
After walking for a while, the trio came to a stone pavilion from which the fragrant scent overflowed. Inside, there was a woman in a floral dress brewing tea with elegant and refined movements.
“Young Lady, the guests have arrived,” The woman walked closer and called out before standing to the side silently.
“Manager Li?” Hua You Meng asked with some surprise. She had not expected that the person in charge of this huge auction house to be a woman, and a stunning beauty at that. Observing her face and temperament, Hua You Meng could not help feeling slightly inferior.
“Is this guest surprised?” Manager Li looked up at Hua You Meng, pursed her lips, and winked at Hua You Meng playfully, “Why, did Honoured Guest think I should be a man?”
“No no!” Hua You Meng waved her hands quickly, “I only felt slightly surprised as well some… admiration.”
“Oh?” Manager Li took a serious look at Hua You Meng before immediately seeming to understand something, nodding and saying, “It seems that this guest is also the leader of a certain force. It seems we have something in common.”
“It is only a small chamber of commerce, nothing compared to Manager Li’s formidable business,” Hua You Meng said modestly.
“The strength of the force is irrelevant. As a leader who bears the expectations of all her brothers and sisters, as well as their lives, the burden is always… heavy.”
Hua You Meng agreed with this sentiment and nodded firmly.
These two women, as soon as they met, got along well, and once they found a common topic to discuss, they immediately became immersed in conversation.
The middle-aged woman who had escorted Yang Kai and Hua You Meng here eventually could not help lightly coughing, “Young Lady, these two guests are here to auction an item!”
“Hehe,” Manager Li smiled apologetically. “My apologies, meeting someone of similar interests and position has made me forget myself. Honoured guests, please have a seat.”
Hua You Meng hesitated for a moment before taking a seat at a stone table.
Manager Li was about to speak when suddenly she looked down at a jade token on her waist and in the next moment, she raised her head again and looked at Yang Kai solemnly, “Sir, this Mistress had faulty eyes and committed an offence. I also hope Sir won’t take it to heart.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai glanced down at the jade token on Manager Li’s waist with a smile and said with some surprise, “This thing can actually sense my cultivation?”
“I’ve shown Sir something embarrassing,” Manager Li said softly, “This Mistress interacts with many people each day, and there are always some powerful masters who hide their cultivation like Sir. This Mistress is just a small Origin Realm cultivator and is not always able to see through others’ depths, so she had this item specially made to ensure she does not unintentionally offend a great master. This Mistress assures Sir she had no malicious intent.”
Yang Kai nodded gently, “I understand, but why must you act so frightened? Without even mentioning that Clear Sky Auction House is a powerful entity in Purple Star City, with the protection of this Madam here, Manager Li should have nothing to fear, yes?”
While talking, Yang Kai glanced over at the mature woman with a smile.
The mature woman’s face changed slightly as she openly said, “Your Excellency’s strength is truly profound. Not only are you able to conceal your own strength from this Mistress, but you can also see through this Mistress’s depths!”
“Thank you for the compliment,” Yang Kai smiled slightly. When he saw this mature woman earlier, he immediately realized that the other party was a First-Order Origin King, but she had clearly cultivated some kind of concealment technique that hid all signs of her being one from the outside. Only if the one she was facing had far superior cultivation would they be able to discover anything.
Yang Kai was now a Second-Order Origin King, and his Soul was extremely powerful, comparable to a Third-Order’s, so this mature woman could not hide her strength from him.
This auction house had an Origin King protecting it. It was obvious Clear Sky Auction House had a deep background.
With just a sentence or two, the atmosphere became tense.
However, Manager Li simply giggled and said, “Please don’t take these minor matters too seriously, everyone has their own circumstances, after all. En, let’s talk about business.”
With her words, the atmosphere immediately relaxed.
“En, this Mistress’s name is Li Nuo; might I ask what it is two guests had brought to auction this time?” After introducing herself, Li Nuo turned to Hua You Meng and asked.
“I’ve brought this.” As Hua You Meng spoke, she took out the box containing the land deeds and placed it in front of Li Nuo.
Li Nuo took the box curiously and began inspecting it, soon determining that, although the box itself was precious, it was not priceless treasure, so she immediately understood that what mattered was inside.
Upon opening the box, the land deeds appeared before her eyes.
Li Nuo lifted one of them and her beautiful eyes shrank as she exclaimed, “This is…”
The mature woman’s eyes also swept over, and she too was shocked, “Land deeds? Are these Purple Star City land deeds?”
“En, they’re all land deeds for Purple Star City,” Li Nuo checked carefully one by one, her expression growing more solemn by the moment, “There are so many, and they’re all for the same street?”
Hua You Meng smiled slightly, “These land deeds are for the entire Soaring Dragon Street.”
Li Nuo’s tender body trembled. Although she was accustomed to great winds and waves, seeing countless valuable treasures in her time, she still could not help feeling shocked.
Purple Star City land deeds were each incredibly valuable on their own, but these land deeds were actually for the entire Soaring Dragon Street.
Just by encompassing an entire street, these land deeds would likely double in value!
Suddenly, Li Nuo seemed to think of something and turned to look at Hua You Meng in amazement, “Is Elder Sister a member of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce?”
This time it was Hua You Meng who was stunned, “Manager Li has heard of my Five Paths Chamber of Commerce?”
She was incredibly surprised; after all, Five Paths Chamber of Commerce wasn’t some big force in Purple Star City. To be blunt, Five Paths Chamber of Commerce was among the lowest tier of businesses that struggled just to survive. If there were not ten thousand similar businesses in Purple Star City, there were at least eight thousand.
Clear Sky Auction House on the other hand was a powerhouse, so how could its Manager have even heard of Five Paths Chamber of Commerce?
“I hadn’t heard of it before, but over the past two days…” Li Nuo took a deep look at Yang Kai and said, “I heard that someone who doesn’t fear the Heavens appeared in Five Paths Chamber of Commerce and beat the city guard and Deacon Min to a pulp. However, after that rampant act, not only was that man remained safe and sound, Commander Lu Tian Feng even personally visited him to apologize and offer compensation! Once Elder Sister brought out these land deeds, Junior Sister knew they must be some form of compensation from Commander Lu, as only Commander Lu is qualified to move these things.”
“Has the news spread so quickly?” Hua You Meng frowned.
“Rather than the news having spread quickly, I think it would be better to say Manager Li’s methods and network are impressive, yes?” Yang Kai looked at Li Nuo with a smile.
Li Nuo’s pretty face turned red as she smiled shyly, “Sir surely jests; when doing business in Purple Star City, one naturally has to stay well informed. En, not many people know about this incident yet, but my Clear Sky Auction House is among those that do. However, what happened at the city gates yesterday will likely be known to everyone soon, and Five Paths Chamber of Commerce will certainly become quite famous at that time.”
“The entire city will know?” Hua You Meng paled.
Five Paths Chamber of Commerce was just a small force, but it had suddenly become the centre of attention for the entire city. Knowing this would bring more trouble than benefits, Hua You Meng could not help casting an entreating glance towards Yang Kai, to which he just smiled lightly and motioned for her not to worry. Seeing this, Hua You Meng somehow managed to calm down.
“Is Elder Sister sure she wants to auction all these land deeds?” Li Nuo was a businesswoman herself, so the moment business came to her door, she set aside all other matters and quickly entered negotiations with Hua You Meng.
“En,” Hua You Meng nodded. Although she had her own plans, these things were only given to her because of Yang Kai’s existence. Since Yang Kai suggested that she sell them all, she would not object.
“That’s a pity,” Li Nuo sighed lightly. “If you kept them for yourself, it wouldn’t take ten years for Five Paths Chamber of Commerce to become famous with Elder Sister’s methods.”
“Manager Li must be joking, I don’t have such skill,” Hua You Meng waved her hands quickly.
“Why does Elder Sister insist on being so modest? Although Five Paths Chamber of Commerce is not well-known today, with this Sir assuming…” She was halfway through her words when she noticed Hua You Meng smiling bitterly and understood that Yang Kai was likely just a passerby and would not be staying in Five Paths Chamber of Commerce. As such, she didn’t bother continuing this topic and smiled, “Good, since Elder Sister wants to sell all these land deeds, Junior Sister will accept; however, does Elder Sister want to auction these land deeds separately or as a package?”
Hua You Meng frowned and fell into contemplation.
As a businesswoman, she knew the difference between selling these land deeds individually or together.
If they were split apart, it was guaranteed that these land deeds would easily sell out; after all, although each land deed was expensive, there were many chambers of commerce or great forces that could afford them. However, splitting them apart would mean losing the appeal of owning the entire Soaring Dragon Street.
On the other hand, if all the land deeds were auctioned off together, the price would be so high that not many great forces would be able to fight for them. The final selling price would still likely be much higher than if these land deeds were sold individually.
The two methods both had advantages and disadvantages, and it was not clear which was the better choice.
Helpless, Hua You Meng turned her eyes to Yang Kai, hoping for him to advise her.
Yang Kai just chuckled though, “I only know how to fight. Business is completely foreign to me. It would be better to ask Manager Li for her opinion.”
Hua You Meng’s eyes lit up as she looked towards Li Nuo eagerly.
Li Nuo pursed her lips and said with a smile, “Since Sir has offered such generous praise, this Mistress won’t hold back. Elder Sister, Junior Sister suggests auctioning these off as a set with a starting price of 100 million Saint Crystals.”
“1… 100 million!” Hua You Meng’s pretty face changed drastically as her voice trembled audibly.
She almost fainted from happiness after hearing this number. Together with her thirty or so brothers and sisters from Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, Hua You Meng would need to work all year round just to earn one million Saint Crystals in revenue, but after wages and expenses were subtracted, the chambers of commerce would be able to save 200,000 Saint Crystals at best!
To her, 100 million was simply inconceivable.
“Does Elder Sister believe this is too expensive?” Li Nuo smiled. “If Elder Sister thinks about it, it shouldn’t be too surprising actually. Although Soaring Dragon Street is not in the most prosperous area of the outer city, it is not a poor location either. As a street to do commerce on, it should rank around the middle. Each land deed on Soaring Dragon Street would allow one to set up a shop with a good fifty-metre frontage, making the base cost for each one about five to eight million Saint Crystals; however, that is still a low estimate. In the busiest areas, a single land deed should be worth at least twenty million. Let us say the average land deed on Soaring Dragon Street is worth six million, since there are around thirty such deeds, that alone is 180 million… What’s more, these land deeds are all connected together, which makes it far more convenient and attractive for those great forces or large commercial firms. This alone will push the value up by at least twenty percent. With that said, does Elder Sister still think a base price of 100 million is unreasonable?”
Hua You Meng was stunned on the spot, unable to speak for a long time, her tender body trembling constantly.
The impact of Li Nuo’s words on her was too great.
Although she had realized before that these thirty land deeds were not low in value, she had never had the presence of mind to calculate it out carefully. Now that Li Nuo had explained it to her in plain words, Hua You Meng realized just how immense the wealth she stood to gain was.
This was something she would not be able to accumulate over an entire lifetime with just Five Paths Chamber of Commerce.
Seeing her so stunned, Li Nuo did not hurry her but instead picked up the tea she had just brewed and poured a cup for Hua You Meng and Yang Kai each.
Yang Kai raised his cup and asked, “Manager Li, if these are auctioned as a package, how many great forces in Purple Star City could swallow it?”
“There are at least ten companies that have this ability. Sir must not underestimate the great forces in Purple Star City. Although it would not be easy to take out a few hundred million Saint Crystals on the spot, all that is needed is to let out some rumours ahead of time and many firms will be able to gather enough funds.”
“Good, in that case, let us auction it as a whole. President Hua, what do you think?” Yang Kai asked while turning to Hua You Meng.
Hua You Meng let out a faint breath as her face flushed with excitement and she said blankly, “I trust Sir to make this decision.”
“Then let’s do this,” Yang Kai chuckled. He knew that Hua You Meng was too shocked to think straight right now, so he took the initiative to decide on her behalf.
“Sir, please rest assured. There are still five days before the next auction is held, so this Mistress will properly advertise these land deeds so your chamber of commerce can sell them for a good price,” Li Nuo assured Yang Kai.
“Then I’ll have to trouble you with that,” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
“En, according to our auction house’s regulations, after the auction is successful, we will take a five percent service fee, but since this time’s transaction is so large, this Mistress will give Sir a discount. How about two percent?”
Although it was only a three percent difference, this was still a massive number of Saint Crystals because the selling price would undoubtedly be sky-high.
Yang Kai was taken aback for a moment, but since he had no reason to refuse, he simply said, “Then on behalf of President Hua, I will offer Manager Li thanks for this favour.”
Li Nuo was slightly startled as she understood the meaning behind Yang Kai’s words, but not dwelling on them too much, she smiled and turned to the mature woman beside her and said, “Aunt Chun, take out two VIP invitations for this Sir.”
“Yes.” Aunt Chun responded and took out two golden invitation cards from her Space Ring, placing them in front of Yang Kai.
Li Nuo smiled and explained, “In five days, Sir and President Hua can enter the auction house with this invitation. This Mistress will arrange everything. There will be many good things at the auction, so Sir should definitely attend. Perhaps there will be a treasure that interests you.”
“I’ll certainly come,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded, putting away the invitation before immediately taking Hua You Meng, who had not yet recovered, and walking out of the stone pavilion.
Aunt Chun saw them to the exit of the auction house before returning.
“Young Lady, why did you show such goodwill to that man? Is it because of the Second Young Master?” Aunt Chun looked at Li Nuo with a worried face and asked.
“En, why else does Aunt Chun think I would take the initiative to take three percent off from the auction fee? Those three points represent some ten million Saint Crystals,” Li Nuo smiled bitterly before sighing again. “But he is a very sharp and cautious individual.”
“En,” Aunt Chun also sighed.
What Yang Kai said at the time was ‘On behalf of President Hua, I will offer Manager Li thanks for this favour’. It could be seen from this sentence that Yang Kai was being cautious of them. Rather than saying he had personally accepted Li Nuo’s kindness, he simply gave thanks in Hua You Meng’s place, pushing the favour onto her while making Li Nuo feel helpless.
“Second Young Master’s status is uncertain, but there was some fighting above the city not long ago. Could Aunt Chun perceive what happened clearly?” Li Nuo asked the woman.
“Everything happened too fast,” Aunt Chun shook her head, “I’m afraid that Second Young Master and his people tried to escape from Purple Star City but failed.”
“Haa….” Li Nuo sighed, “The President is too cruel, sending his own flesh and blood to this place. Why send Second Young Master here while allowing the Third Young Master to enjoy riches and honour…”
“Young Lady!” Aunt Chun was taken aback and quickly cut her off.
Li Nuo simply smiled though, “I know, Aunt Chun, but there are no outsiders here. I only wanted to complain a little in front of you. We cannot make any overt moves, let alone reveal ourselves rashly; for now, we can only borrow the help of others. The origins of that Sir with Five Paths Chamber of Commerce are unknown, but from Lu Tian Feng’s attitude, it is obvious he is someone of great strength and status. I originally wanted him to inquire about the Second Young Master on our behalf, but it seems that won’t be possible now.”
Aunt Chun frowned and said, “Young Lady should not worry. Although Second Young Master sometimes acts a bit rashly, he is not someone who lacks discretion, so it is unlikely that anything extreme will happen to him. What’s more, even though Purple Star is not weak, it wouldn’t really dare move against our people, especially the Second Young Master who has an honourable identity. There’s no need to worry about his life, but some suffering is probably unavoidable.”
“That is precisely what I’m worried about though. Second Young Master has been pampered since childhood so his tolerance for suffering cannot be too high.”
Nodding, a light of determination flashed across Aunt Chun’s eyes as she said, “If Young Lady is really unable to feel relieved, I will go speak with Elder Peng.”
“Peng Hu?” Li Nuo frowned, “That man is nothing good, filled with greed and lust. Aunt Chun shouldn’t interact with him!”
“Young Lady need not worry,” Aunt Chun smiled lightly. “Although that old man Peng Hu is impudent, it is precisely because of his nature that we can take advantage of him. At worst I will give him some small benefits and that will be it. In any case, his strength is lower than mine, so I certainly won’t be the one to suffer.”
While talking, Aunt Chun seemed to make up her mind and declared, “Good, I will go find him now!”
“Aunt Chun!” Li Nuo wore a stern look, but Aunt Chun disappeared in the next moment. Helpless, Li Nuo could only silently pray that Aunt Chun really did not suffer a loss at Peng Hu’s hands.
Yang Kai and Hua You Meng left Clear Sky Auction House with the latter still in a daze, her cheeks flushed and a bounce in her step as she was unable to calm herself when thinking about those 100 million Saint Crystals…
Glancing over at Yang Kai once in a while, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude.
Without this person, Five Paths Chamber of Commerce would have been razed to the ground yesterday, and all her brothers and sisters would have been severely punished. Yet now, such great blessings were practically raining down on them. At this moment, Hua You Meng suddenly understood the feeling of being able to rely on someone.
This warm and comfortable feeling soon infatuated her.
For so many years, she had helmed Five Paths Chamber of Commerce, and just as Li Nuo said, everyone’s future and lives were resting on her shoulders, a heavy burden her tender body struggled to bear.
But she currently had someone to support and protect her, letting her experience the feeling of relying on others.
She was unable to extricate herself for a while as she imagined what a future together with such reliable support would be like… wouldn’t it be wondrous?