Martial Peak

In the blink of an eye, the originally dominant octopus was killed, its massive body miserably chopped into pieces.

Having just escaped from death, how could this woman from an unknown force not understand that she had been lucky, and a passing master had saved her? Calming herself down, she hurriedly raised her voice and shouted, “May I ask which Senior has arrived here? Profound Heaven Sect’s Xiao Luo thanks Senior for this life-saving grace.”

The other four also recovered and offered their thanks, looking around to find the figure who had rescued their Junior Sister.

A gust of wind blew in and the dark mist covering the area was blown away, revealing a stalwart looking young man standing nearby, his expression somewhat strange as a look of nostalgia flashed across his eyes.

[So young?] The group of five were all quite surprised. They had thought that whoever it was who killed this peak Seventh-Order beast must be an old master, but it turned out that their saviour looked no older than themselves.

However, age could not be judged according to appearance alone as the higher a cultivator’s strength, the slower their vitality would pass. As a result, many extremely powerful masters retained youthful looks.

Thinking so, the five Saints became even more respectful. Led by a sturdy-looking man, they flew over to Yang Kai and bowed again to thank him.

“A minor matter, there’s no need for such politeness,” Yang Kai said lightly as he observed the dishevelled looks of these five people and the Seventh-Order sea beast’s corpse down below, recalling the past where he too was weak, like they were. Now, however, a peak Seventh-Order Sea Beast couldn’t even last a breath against him.

[Time really flies by! Now… I’m the Senior.]

Yang Kai suddenly felt the urge to laugh.

As such thoughts swirled around Yang Kai’s head, the expressions of the five Saints in front of him remained taut and cautious. Understanding why these five were acting this way, Yang Kai simply asked, “Is this the Limitless Ocean?”

The five people glanced at each other before the man leading their group nodded and replied, “Reporting to Senior, this is indeed the Limitless Ocean.”

“So… It’s true,” Yang Kai’s face sank. Although he had guessed as much, he had not expected that he would really be sent to the Limitless Ocean from the Emperor Garden.

“Is Senior from inland?” The woman named Xiao Luo suddenly asked.

“Luo’er!” The lead man’s face changed drastically as he called out in alarm. Although he did not know what kind of cultivation Yang Kai possessed, judging from the method he used to kill the sea beast just now, if he wanted to kill them, it would not take any effort.

It was one thing to be grateful for a life-saving grace and another to remain wary. Before they were clear about this passing Senior’s temperament, if they were to suddenly begin asking questions it would likely irritate him.

What’s more, this man currently had two beautiful Junior Sisters in his group. If this Senior were to be a lascivious man, interacting with him would likely lead to trouble. The lead man’s expression became tense as he raised his eyes to look at Yang Kai, but to his relief, he found that Yang Kai was not angry and instead just staring at his Junior Sister with interest.

“How did you know I came from the inland?”

“Because those who live on the Limitless Ocean all-year-round have darker skin tones and a unique kind of moisture in their auras. Senior doesn’t have either of these,” The girl named Xiao Luo explained naturally.

“So that’s how it is,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, glanced around, and discovered it was just as this woman said. These five indeed had a kind of moisture mixed in with their auras, one that was so light that wouldn’t be noticed if one didn’t specifically look for it. The skin tone of these five was also slightly darker than the ones of people from the inland. With someone guessing his origins, and never having any intention to conceal them in the first place, Yang Kai simply nodded in acknowledgement, “Yeah, I came from the inland but I seem to have gotten lost. Do you know which way I need to go to return to the inland and about how long it will take?”

…..

After a half cup of tea’s time, Yang Kai summoned his Star Shuttle again and flew off in a certain direction.

After asking these five disciples of Profound Heaven Sect for directions, Yang Kai realized that his luck had not been so terrible. He was currently at the edge of the Limitless Ocean, not its depths, so he was not too far from the inland. With his speed, it would only take him about three to five days to reach land.

However, flying back to the Flowing Flame Sand Field was a bit unrealistic; after all, the distance was too far. If he relied on his own power, it would take Yang Kai at least half a year to return!

Yang Kai was not interested in wasting so much time on the road.

As such, he was planning to find a city where he could use a Space Array.

Fortunately, there was a city called Sea Side City not far from where he was at that was regarded as a way-station between the inland and the Limitless Ocean. Many cultivators would enter and exit Sea Side City, so the Space Array was open to the public; of course, one would need to pay enough Saint Crystals to use it.

For each use of the Space Array, depending on the distance one wanted to travel, the charge would be different. The minimum cost was 10,000 Saint Crystals while the maximum was 300,000.

Such a price would be difficult for an average cultivator to bear, but it was nothing to Yang Kai.

Five days later, Yang Kai arrived at Sea Side City. The scale of this city was not small, about twice as large as Heavenly Fate City, and the cultivators coming and going seemed to form a human river that never stopped flowing.

This was not surprising as, although the inland and ocean both belonged to Shadowed Star, the various resources they produced were vastly different due to differences in geography and climate. Many cultivation resources that were not available inland could easily be found on the ocean while the opposite was also true.

As an interchange between the two, Sea Side City had become the most famous commercial city in the surrounding million-kilometre radius.

Yang Kai did not plan on staying here for very long though, so after some quick inquiries, he learned the location of the Space Array and rushed over to it.

The streets of Sea Side City were spacious enough to accommodate several carts driving side by side and each street was lined with rows upon rows of shops, enough to make a person dizzy.

As he was rushing towards his destination though, a loud noise suddenly caught Yang Kai’s ear.

“You cheap bitch, with just two thousand Saint Crystals you want to buy a Hundred Spirits Pill? Are you insane? If you do not leave this instant, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

“But I only have two thousand Saint Crystals on me right now. Shopkeeper Cheng, you and I have done many transactions these past few years, and although none of those were of great value, you know I am a credible person. Can’t you make an exception and sell me that pill on credit? I swear that I will pay back the Saint Crystals I owe you in the future! I have to earn a living here in Sea Side City in the future, so you know I won’t simply run away.”

“Nonsense, I’m running a business here! People pay money and I sell them goods, this isn’t a charity! If you do not have enough Saint Crystals, then get the hell out, you must be dreaming if you think I’ll just give you a Hundred Spirits Pill!”

“Shopkeeper Cheng I’m begging you.”

“Shut up! I’m warning you one last time, if you don’t leave, you’ll face the consequences!”

The source of this disturbance was a nearby man and woman. The man was the shopkeeper of a pill store while the woman, who seemed to be about forty years old, was a prospective customer. From her appearance, it was clear that this woman must have been quite beautiful in her youth, but right now her skin was a bit pale and her figure was a bit thin. Clearly, she was quite impoverished. She was imploring this shopkeeper surnamed Cheng but the other party remained completely unmoved.

Yang Kai stared at this woman’s profile for a long time before suddenly raising his brow, a thoughtful look flashing across his face.

He felt that this woman was familiar, but he couldn’t be sure he was right; after all, the two of them weren’t familiar with one another and it was just her voice and profile that seemed similar to the ones in his memory.

Thinking so, Yang Kai decided to step forward.

The shopkeeper, who was just fiercely berating the women, saw Yang Kai approach and immediately put on a friendly business smile and asked, “May I help you, Sir? Although this shop is small, we have a wide selection of high-quality pills available. Whether it is for healing or cultivation, we carry pills for every need, please have a look for yourself.”

Yang Kai glanced at this shopkeeper for a moment without showing any intention to respond before turning to the woman and examining her carefully. After a while, he asked tentatively, “Are you Foreign Elder Huang?”

The woman who appeared to be on the brink of breaking down and crying was just about to leave but heard Yang Kai’s voice and could not help looking up in surprise to see him staring curiously at her.

In that instant, her tender body trembled as she showed a startled and somewhat amazed look on her face.

“It truly is you, Foreign Elder Huang!” Yang Kai gently nodded. Although this woman looked quite dishevelled, she was indeed someone he knew; after all, she would not have reacted this way had she been a stranger to him.

Huang Juan! In the past, she had been one of the Hai Ke Family’s Foreign Elders, an old acquaintance of Chang Qi and Hao An’s so to speak.

During the struggle between Yang Kai and the Hai Ke Family, Huang Juan had been ordered by Patriarch Yi En to go to the City Lord’s Mansion for help. Unfortunately for them, Fei Zhi Tu had no interest in intervening and refused to see her, so Huang Juan had no choice but to return in failure, soon after which she quietly left the Hai Ke Family.

Yang Kai had heard from Chang Qi and Hao An about her so he had some faint impression of Huang Juan. Understanding that she was unwilling to become enemies with Wu Yi and the others, she had chosen to leave the Hai Ke Family without hesitation.

She apparently had a good personal relationship with Wu Yi, and when Chang Qi and Hao An spoke about their old friends over the years, Huang Juan was the one they mentioned most often.

As for why she had come to Sea Side City and why she seemed so down on her luck, Yang Kai didn’t know.

However, it wasn’t too difficult to imagine what happened. With only a Third-Order Saint King Realm cultivation, while she might have been able to receive some good treatment from the Hai Ke Family, it was nothing worth mentioning in relation to the great forces on Shadowed Star. With no strong backing and no background to speak of, a lone Third-Order Saint King would indeed have a difficult time surviving, especially if she were a woman.

“Are you Yang Kai?” Huang Juan obviously remembered Yang Kai, “Why are you here?”

“It’s a long story,” Yang Kai shook his head slowly, not planning to explain in detail, “Rather than that, why are you here, Foreign Elder Huang?”

“I came here many years ago,” Huang Juan’s expression flickered slightly before continuing awkwardly, “What happened back then, I was simply acting on orders, so…”

“I know, don’t worry about it. I didn’t come here to find trouble with you. Are you poisoned?” Yang Kai frowned as he observed a faint black Qi between Huang Juan’s brows.

Huang Juan wore a stunned look hearing this, as if she did not expect Yang Kai to be able to see through her condition so easily.

“No wonder you want to buy a Hundred Spirits Pill,” Yang Kai gently nodded.

“I’ve shown you something embarrassing,” Huang Juan said as her face blushed. Having such an awkward condition exposed was something to feel ashamed about.