Martial Peak

Although the relationship between the Three Clans had become more harmonious after they joined forces to defeat the resurgent Bone Race, that didn’t mean there were no disputes between them, especially when it came to cultivation resources.

Now, however, there wasn’t an atmosphere of life or death enemies when different races met.

Still, no one from the Human Race would dare trespass into the Demon Land at will.

But now a human boy had appeared here, not putting Sir Meng Ge in his eyes, and even fearlessly called the Demon Commander by his name, causing this group of Demon Race members to feel quite dissatisfied.

If it weren’t for Meng Ge holding them back, these Demon Race members would likely have charged forward to teach that human boy a harsh lesson.

“Shut up!” Meng Ge shouted, “That person… is someone you cannot provoke, I cannot provoke, even… even Sir Demon Command cannot provoke him. Don’t even discuss him behind his back!”

“What? Even Sir Demon Command cannot afford to provoke him?” The several Demon Race members were shocked and their eyes bulged, “Who is he?”

“His name, you’ve all heard before,” Meng Ge frowned, “He is the Lord of Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai!”

The faces of the several Demon Race members immediately became stern as they quickly held their tongues.

Today, Nine Heavens Holy Land held a dominant position on Tong Xuan Realm, standing atop all of the Three Clans with countless Saint Realm masters at their disposal. No great force could be compared with it.

However, although Nine Heavens Holy Land had reached the height of fame over these past few decades, their Holy Master had seemingly disappeared.

Unexpectedly, the young man they just met was the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land.

“A great change is approaching,” Meng Ge murmured while looking up at the grey sky. Soon after, he turned around and hurried back to the Demon Capital.

He needed to bring news of Yang Kai’s return to Demon Commander Zhang Yuan as soon as possible.

…..

Nine Heavens Holy Land was situated on nine tall peaks that formed a powerful Spirit Array. On Tong Xuan Realm, Nine Heavens Holy Land enjoyed the highest reputation. There were innumerable masters in the Holy Land, and although it had not recruited any new disciples in recent years, its population was still quite large and had no shortage of wealth.

The reason for this was not only because of the great power Nine Heavens Holy Land possessed, or the close ties it had to great forces of the Human Race, but rather because of the famous Alchemist who resided here.

Several top Alchemists were living here all year round.

Cultivators who came here to request Alchemy basically always obtained the pill they desired. As long as one could pay enough remuneration and materials, they would leave with their requested pill after a few days.

Relying on the income from Alchemy services alone, Nine Heavens Holy Land never needed to worry about having enough cultivation resources.

Outside the Holy Land’s Nine Peaks, a line several kilometres in length, composed of at least a thousand cultivators, snaked back and forth. These cultivators were all waiting here to request Alchemy services from Nine Heavens Holy Land, and as some left satisfied, others would join the line.

Although the line was long, it was extremely orderly. Everyone kept their place, and any newcomer obediently joined the end of the line, with no one daring to try to jump the queue.

Anyone who dared to do otherwise had already been taught a harsh lesson.

Of the cultivators waiting in line, the ones who had been here the longest had been waiting for a month, but even they showed no impatience, simply standing there expectantly, waiting for the people from Nine Heavens Holy Land to greet them and accept their materials.

To pass the time, these cultivators would talk amongst themselves, whispering rumours to one another or exchanging information.

On this day, however, a young man suddenly walked towards the Nine Peaks. His figure was heroic, and his eyes shone a profound light, but him looking around constantly made him look like someone from the countryside who had never seen the world. There also seemed to be a kind of nostalgia in his expression.

After seeing the long queue, this sense of nostalgia only became more obvious.

“Looks like some things haven’t changed,” Yang Kai grinned, and while walking forward, he looked at the cultivators who came to request Alchemy with interest.

When he still lived in Nine Heavens Holy Land, such a scene outside the Holy Land was common.

Unexpectedly, nothing had changed several dozen years later other than the fact that even more people were here to request Alchemy services.

“Hey brat, what do you think you’re doing?” Suddenly an angry shout came from the crowd.

Yang Kai turned his head and found a burly man glaring at him.

“Where are you from boy? You want to jump the line?”

“Young man, if you want to survive, just go to the back and wait obediently. Don’t think you’re anything special, everyone who comes here must follow the rules.”

“Hmph, if he dares to jump in the line, I’ll twist his head!”

“Young man, go to the back and line up. If you’re found by someone from Nine Heavens Holy Land you’ll only receive a harsh lesson, but if you provoke these people, your end will be miserable.”

Before Yang Kai could even say anything, many from the crowd began calling out, one after another discouraging him from acting rashly, many of them casting him pitiful or derisive looks.

As if Yang Kai’s end would truly be ugly if he didn’t follow their advice.

“I didn’t come here to ask for Alchemy,” Yang Kai touched his nose.

“Everyone who wants to jump in the line says that. Boy, it seems that you won’t regret unless you see your coffin. Do you want Father here to teach you a lesson?” The big man who yelled at Yang Kai first coldly snorted and clenched his fists as he stared at him menacingly.

“I really didn’t come here to ask for Alchemy though,” Yang Kai said helplessly.

“Then what are you here for?” The big man asked reluctantly, his eyes filled with aggression, as if he wouldn’t let Yang Kai off without first getting an explanation.

“I’m just going home, I’m from Nine Heavens Holy Land,” Yang Kai scratched his cheek.

“You’re what?” The big man scanned Yang Kai up and down, a clear look of disbelief on his face. Suddenly, he waved to the side and shouted, “Brother, please come over here.”

The one he called out to seemed to be a cultivator on patrol, and hearing this shout, the latter rushed over, took in the scene, frowned, and asked, “What is it? Is there someone trying to break the rules again?”

“Heh heh, Fellow Brother, take a look at this guy, he said he’s from your Holy Land but I say he’s just trying to jump in the line. Brother, take a look and see if he is from your Holy Land,” The big man pointed to Yang Kai and said to the disciple of Nine Heavens Holy Land.

The disciple heard this and nodded before taking a careful look at Yang Kai, a moment later shaking his head and saying, “I’ve never seen this person before; moreover, he doesn’t have our Holy Land’s robes or symbol anywhere on him.”

Saying so, he gestured to a mark on his own robes.

“Sure enough, this little brat is spewing nonsense,” The big man looked at Yang Kai mockingly, taking pleasure in his misfortune, “Pretending to be a Holy Land disciple, you’re dead.”

“You don’t know me?” Yang Kai asked the disciple.

“Should I know you?” The other party snorted.

Yang Kai pondered for a moment before nodding, “Looking at your age, you probably joined the Holy Land not long ago. It’s fine, which Elder is on duty here today?”

Hearing his question, the disciple’s expression immediately became suspicious, uncertain if Yang Kai was just talking nonsense or really had some relation to the Holy Land.

Although he had grown up in the Holy Land since he was a child, he was now just twenty-five years old. When Yang Kai was in the Holy Land, he hadn’t even been born yet, so naturally he had never seen Yang Kai’s face.

Surprised but not daring to be negligent, the disciple hesitantly said, “It is Elder Shi who is on duty today.”

“Elder Shi?” Yang Kai frowned, but soon a figure emerged from the depths of his memory and a slight smile appeared on his face, “Shi Kun?”

“En,” The disciple was shocked, really not understanding who Yang Kai thought he was, even daring to call Elder Shi directly by his name; and from listening to his tone, it seemed this stranger was quite familiar with Elder Shi.

“Take me to see him, he’ll recognize me,” Yang Kai said casually, but soon changed his mind, “Forget it, I’ll go myself.”

Saying so, his figure suddenly disappeared.

The group who were watching all had their eyes bulge as shock filled their hearts.

“What? Where did that guy go?” The burly man from just now looked around but he couldn’t see any trace of Yang Kai, a faint trace of sweat appearing on his brow.

He thought he had provoked some kind of hidden master.

Everyone else also had similar expressions on their faces and for a time they felt a chill down their backs.

Inside a pavilion not far away, at this moment, Shi Kun was sitting cross-legged in meditation, seemingly comprehending something.

Suddenly, Shi Kun opened his eyes, as if sensing something, and shouted, “Bold!”

He noticed at that moment that someone had broken into the pavilion.

As one of the Holy Land’s Elders, his job here was to maintain order, but not even the disciples on guard duty could dare to disturb him without first asking for permission, yet now some bold fool had actually rashly intruded while he was in the middle of comprehending a Secret Technique.

Shi Kun was naturally furious.

Fortunately, he had not been at a critical moment in his comprehension, otherwise it was very likely he would have experienced cultivation deviation from being disturbed.

He shouted sharply as he gazed towards the direction of the intruder.

However, the next moment, Shi Kun’s jaw dropped and he froze in place.

Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and called out, “It’s been many years since we last met, but it seems Elder Shi’s temper has grown shorter!”

“Holy… Holy Master?” Shi Kun exclaimed in shock, never having expected the one who had disturbed his meditation was Holy Master Yang Kai who had been gone for several dozen years.

At first, Shi Kun could hardly believe his eyes and rubbed them vigorously, but even after doing so, the person in front of him was still the Holy Master.

Although Shi Kun hadn’t seen him in several decades, and the Holy Master was still quite young when he left, it seemed like the years had left no trace on him.

Shi Kun became so excited his body began trembling.

“Not bad, not bad at all. You’ve also reached the Second-Order Saint Realm, it seems you haven’t been idling these years,” Yang Kai gently nodded, seeing through Shi Kun’s realm at a glance.

“Subordinate Shi Kun greets Holy Master. Welcome back to the Sect, Holy Master!” Shi Kun hurriedly half-kneeled on the ground, shouting in an excited voice.

“Get up,” Yang Kai waved his hand.

Shi Kun quickly got to his feet as he continued staring at Yang Kai in disbelief, as if he was having a dream, pursing his lips for a moment and hesitating before asking, “Holy Master, have you really returned?”

“En, I’m back. How is the Holy Land now?”

“Everything is in order, Holy Master need not worry,” Shi Kun quickly replied, because of the ups and downs of his mood, his blood seemed to be surging, causing his face to flush.

“Very good!”

“Holy Master, please hurry back to the Holy Land, since you left, Great Elder and the others have been worrying day and night. Once they learn you’ve returned safely, they will certainly be very happy,” Shi Kun cupped his fists.

“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “Come with me.”

Saying so, he stretched out your hand and wrapped Shi Kun in his Saint Qi.

The next moment, both of them disappeared from the pavilion, and when Shi Kun looked around, he suddenly found that he and Yang Kai had reached the inner sanctum of the Holy Land’s nine peaks.