Martial Peak

Seeing Yang Kai and Huang Juan conversing, apparently quite familiar with one another, the shopkeeper of the pill store could not help showing a touch of impatience. He subconsciously thought that anyone who was friends with a poor woman like Huang Juan would not be wealthy.

What’s more, Yang Kai had just come out from the Emperor Garden where he fought several battles, after which he flew nonstop over the open ocean to reach Sea Side City, so he currently had quite the dishevelled look himself.

The shopkeeper’s face sank immediately and all the flattery in his voice disappeared as he quickly snorted, “If you two want to reminisce, find somewhere else to do it, don’t hinder my shop from doing business.”

Hearing what he said, Yang Kai glanced over at him casually and understood that this man had a habit of acting snobbish. Feeling somewhat annoyed at being treated like this, Yang Kai coldly snorted, “How many Saint Crystals for a Hundred Spirits Pill?”

“What? You want to buy one?” The shopkeeper surnamed Cheng swept his eyes over Yang Kai suspiciously.

“What? Can’t I buy one?”

“Of course you can, but this is a business after all, only after you pay money will we deliver goods…”

As soon as the shopkeeper spoke these words though, a cloth bag flew over to him which he quickly caught. Sweeping the inside of this bag with his Divine Sense, the look on shopkeeper Cheng’s face immediately changed as he smiled widely, “Oh! Please wait a moment dear customer.”

Saying so, he quickly went to the back of the shop and took out a Hundred Spirits Pill before handing it over to Yang Kai.

After taking the Hundred Spirits Pill, Yang Kai did not bother with this man any further. The other party was just a Saint Realm cultivator, so although his character was a little rotten, Yang Kai would not lower himself to deal with him, simply waving to Huang Juan and saying, “Let’s go.”

“En,” Huang Juan replied blankly before following after Yang Kai in something of a daze.

Not long after, the two entered an inn under the leadership of Yang Kai and, after renting a courtyard, he handed the Hundred Spirits Pill to Huang Juan to refine.

After a day and night, Huang Juan had fully recovered.

Although the Hundred Spirits Pill was just a Saint King Grade Low-Rank pill, it was excellent for detoxification. The poison Huang Juan was afflicted with was not too strong, with the only problem being that she had been suppressing it forcefully for some time now. As such, after she swallowed the Hundred Spirits Pill and spent some time adjusting her breathing, she was completely cured and would not need to worry about the poison’s effects in the future.

Opening her eyes again, the woman said to Yang Kai with a somewhat complicated expression, “This Mistress must thank Sect Master Yang for his help, I will not forget this graciousness for the rest of my life.”

As she spoke, she choked up a bit. If it were not for her coincidentally running to Yang Kai here, what fate she might have met was completely uncertain. Although she couldn’t die from such a poison, if she were unable to detoxify herself for too long, her strength would have been affected and her realm might have even fallen. Such consequences were unacceptable for any cultivator.

“Just a trivial matter,” Yang Kai waved his hand faintly, “But it seems that Foreign Elder Huang has had a difficult time these past few years.”

Hearing this, Huang Juan brushed her tattered hair back behind her ear and smiled bitterly, “Far more than difficult, times have been extremely hard.”

Only after she left the Hai Ke Family did she realize how difficult it was for a cultivator to be alone in this world. She had not noticed at first because she had built up some savings after spending so many years as a Foreign Elder in the Hai Ke Family.

However, when her savings ran out, her nightmare began.

Without any status or backing, she could only depend on herself. Moreover, she was a woman who, despite not being young anymore, was still somewhat charming, so she had often faced the coveting of unscrupulous men, leading to many dangerous situations.

She had wanted to find another Sect or small family to join, but no one was willing to admit a cultivator like her that had unclear origins.

As a last resort, she could only partner with a few other cultivators in similar situations to her in Sea Side City and go out to sea to hunt sea beasts for a living. However, this kind of work was accompanied by huge risks. Huang Juan had witnessed many cultivators she worked with die on the ocean in recent years, including cultivators from the team she belonged to. Fortunately, her luck hadn’t been too bad, and she was able to return alive each time.

That was until a Sea Beast managed to poison her, after which no one wanted to partner with her anymore. To cure this poison, Huang Juan had sold off all her belongings, but unfortunately, she still hadn’t managed to gather enough Saint Crystals to afford a Hundred Spirits Pill. She had gone to the previous pill store several times, but each time she begged, the shopkeeper surnamed Cheng would ruthlessly reject her.

It was not until today when she met Yang Kai that things had changed.

After listening to her story, Yang Kai gently nodded, pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, “Have you ever thought of going back?”

“Going back?” Huang Juan looked at him for a moment, a trace of nostalgia flashing across her face before she gently shook her head and said with a wry smile, “I can’t go back, this Mistress already left the Hai Ke Family, so how could I shamelessly return now? Not to mention, I heard that the family already dismissed all its Foreign Elders a few years ago and now only allows those with blood ties to become Elders. Even if I were to go back, they won’t accept me.”

“No, no, no, I don’t mean to return to the Hai Ke Family, I mean return to Wu Yi, Chang Qi, and Hao An!” Yang Kai raised a finger and shook it.

“You mean… to High Heaven Sect?” Huang Juan’s eyes lit up.

“Oh? You know of High Heaven Sect?” Yang Kai was surprised.

“Sect Master Yang must be joking,” Huang Juan’s eyes flashed brilliantly, “High Heaven Sect is now extremely well-known. Although this Mistress has lived in Sea Side City for many years now, how could I not have heard of it? What’s more, the Battle of Dragon Cave Mountain is a famous event that is still widely talked about across Shadowed Star. I’m afraid there is no one on Shadowed Star that does not know about High Heaven Sect and Sect Master Yang.”

“Am I so famous?” Yang Kai raised his brow. He didn’t think Huang Juan was trying to fawn over him; after all, this place was truly far from the inland, so what she said about being able to hear about the Battle of Dragon Cave Mountain and High Heaven Sect was likely the earnest truth.

“Forget it, such things aren’t important. I’ll just ask you this, what do you think of my proposal?”

A touch of excitement appeared on Huang Juan’s face, but she did not immediately respond. Instead, hesitation crept into her expression before she lowered her head sadly, “This Mistress naturally wishes for such an opportunity, but this Mistress’ cultivation is so low, how could I be worthy of joining High Heaven Sect?”

“What does having low cultivation have to do with anything? There are many people in the Sect whose cultivation is inferior to yours. You must be familiar with the skills of the Hai Ke Family’s disciples, most of them are still just Saints, and while a number have broken through to the Saint King Realm they are still far worse than you,” Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter.

“But…”

“No buts, are you willing or not, it’s only a matter of a few words,” Yang Kai’s expression turned serious as he cut her off.

Huang Juan bit her red lip, but after a long pause, she nodded her head solemnly, “This Mistress is willing!”

“Very good.” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “Then from today onwards, you will be a member of High Heaven Sect.”

As the Sect Master, it was not a problem for Yang Kai to receive someone like this.

“Subordinate thanks Sect Master for granting this one shelter!” Huang Juan was also a decisive person. If not, she would not have left the Hai Ke Family in advance all those years ago. Since she had made a decision, she would not act hesitant anymore and immediately bowed respectfully.

“There’s no need for such formalities,” Yang Kai stretched out his hand and helped Huang Juan up. Seeing some lingering doubts and confusion still adorning her face though, Yang Kai took the initiative to explain, “Being able to meet you here must be some kind of fate. Over the years, Wu Yi, Chang Qi, and Hao An would often speak about you, and besides, the Sect is currently in need of more Origin Realm masters, so my offering you an invitation is not something you need to think too much about.”

“Yes!” Huang Juan nodded lightly, “But Sect Master, your subordinate is currently just a Third-Order Saint King.”

She thought Yang Kai had made a mistake.

“For now you are a Third-Order Saint King, but you will be an Origin Realm master shortly,” Yang Kai grinned confidently. Huang Juan’s situation was the same as Chang Qi and Hao An’s, who had been stuck at this realm for many years, unable to take the next step in their cultivation. However, since Chang Qi and Hao An were able to break through, Huang Juan should also be able to.

High Heaven Sect’s reputation was truly quite resonant right now, and there was no need to worry about coming under attack inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field, but the power of a Sect was always inseparable from the number and strength of its masters, so it would be improper to sit back and become complacent.

Considering the current High Heaven Sect, apart from Ye Xi Yun and Yang Kai, the cultivation levels of the others were too low. There was especially a lack of Origin Realm masters.

It would take at least ten or twenty years for Wu Yi and the others to fully mature and reach the Origin Realm, but Huang Juan was different, she could make a breakthrough in short order. It could be said that she was a ready-made Origin Returning Realm master candidate whose origins and temperament Yang Kai had full knowledge of.

This was why Yang Kai had the idea of ​​taking her back with him.

If it had been a stranger with unknown origins, how could Yang Kai act so carelessly?

In the future, High Heaven Sect would definitely face many setbacks and hardships, so it was naturally important to plan ahead and use any means possible to strengthen it right now.

“Do you have anything to pack here? If not, we can set off now,” Yang Kai looked at her and asked.

“I have no possessions to pack, it’s just…”

“Just what?” Yang Kai looked at her curiously.

“It’s just that there is another person I want to bring with me, I hope Sect Master will permit it!”

“Another person?” Yang Kai frowned, “Who?”

He was willing to take Huang Juan into High Heaven Sect, but that did not mean he would accept others as well, so hearing Huang Juan make this kind of request, he immediately felt a little displeased.

[Wasn’t she acting a bit too presumptuous?]

Huang Juan couldn’t help showing a look of panic as she deeply bowed her head and said, “Please calm your anger, Sect Master. Subordinate humbly requests Sect Master to accompany her to meet this individual before making a decision.”

Yang Kai narrowed his eyes for a moment before nodding, “Fine, lead the way.”

“Many thanks, Sect Master,” Huang Juan was overjoyed and hurriedly guided him.

Huang Juan led Yang Kai to a small, crude-looking house in a remote corner of Sea Side City. This kind of house could be described as a shack. After arriving at the door, Huang Juan entered a kind of code into what seemed like a lock before pushing it open and entering.

Yang Kai followed her inside, and upon glancing around, he could not help letting out a sigh.

Not only was this house small and narrow, it was also damp and gloomy with an extremely simple layout. Besides some minimal furniture, there was literally nothing else here.

“You lived here all these years?” Yang Kai frowned, the anger in his heart dissipating greatly.

“Reporting to Sect Master, Subordinate has only lived here for the last three years,” Huang Juan smiled awkwardly. She had been a Foreign Elder of the Hai Ke Family, and although the Hai Ke Family was not very strong, they were able to at least provide her with a comfortable residence, one infinitely better than this shack.