Martial Peak

Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong listened to the sounds inside the palace for more than an hour before the screams gradually subsided.

Even a Monster Race master with steel nerves like Yu Xiong could not help feeling somewhat anxious at this moment.

The door of the palace opened suddenly, and a figure staggered out from it. This man was covered in blood and his aura was quite chaotic, seemingly not far from death.

Shan Qing Luo’s eyes shrank…

She could see at a glance that this man should be Ba He; after all, the powerful aura of a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master still lingered around his body.

It seemed that her adoptive mother had been extremely angry this time, and it wasn’t yet clear whether she had forgiven Senior Ba He.

“Senior, are you okay?” Yu Xiong walked over and supported Ba He.

“Ah… I’m fine, at least I won’t die,” Ba He waved his hand slowly, as if he didn’t even have the strength to speak.

Yu Xiong opened his mouth but did not know how to comfort him.

Ba He suddenly raised his head and looked at Shan Qing Luo. As an old master with vast experience reading others, the moment he saw her, his eyes could not help lighting up. Even his sluggish aura seemed to recover somewhat at that moment.

Gently nodding, Ba He asked, “You should be Young Lady Shan, right?”

“Qing Luo greets Senior,” Shan Qing Luo elegantly bowed.

“Young Lady Shan is too polite. Good, the Monster Race has finally found a decent talent,” Ba He said with a light smile, “This old master acted too willfully in the past and failed to live up to the expectations of Lady Tribal Lord, I hope you will not disappoint her as well.”

“Junior will remember Senior’s teachings…” Shan Qing Luo said softly, with a complex expression.

“En, go in. Lady Tribal Lord is waiting for you,” Ba He waved his hand before forcing his weak body forward step by step at a slow pace.

Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong stared at the fading figure of Ba He and could not help sighing. This future star of the Monster Race, the First Master under the Origin King Realm, had been punished so severely by their adoptive mother.

“Is that Qing Luo? Come in,” From inside the palace, Chi Yue’s voice called out.

Shan Qing Luo could not help feeling anxious hearing this call, but quickly bit her red lip to brace herself and walked inside.

“Uh, I’ll head back first…” Yu Xiong seemingly thought out loud before turning around to flee.

“Yu Xiong, you get in here too!” Chi Yue’s tender shout rang out.

Yu Xiong’s neck shrank as he put down his already lifted foot, an expression like his father and mother had just died filling his face as he reluctantly followed Shan Qing Luo.

[I should have run away sooner…] Yu Xiong regretted deeply to himself.

Inside the spacious and brightly lit palace, a beautiful woman in a long dress stood quietly, her expression calm and composed.

This beautiful woman had a mature proud figure and a slender waist. There were no energy fluctuations around her at all, as if she was an ordinary mortal that had never cultivated before.

She seemed to have been born extremely beautiful, with red lips like the most glamorous of rubies that flashed a seductive luster and frost-white skin that gave off a cool glow.

In terms of attractiveness to men, she wasn’t inferior to Shan Qing Luo at all; however, she lacked the kind of innate charm Shan Qing Luo naturally radiated, instead possessing a noble aura that was many times greater.

It was hard to imagine that such a beautiful woman was one of Monster Emperor Star’s Ten Great Tribal Lords and the adoptive mother of Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong, Chi Yue!

After the siblings came in, they first greeted Chi Yue, and after receiving Chi Yue’s nod, they sat down cautiously.

“Have you made appropriate arrangements for the Alchemy Grandmaster that arrived here from Shimmering Moon City?” Chi Yue asked casually.

“Reporting to Adoptive Mother, everything has been arranged. Does Adoptive Mother wish to see her immediately?” Shan Qing Luo looked at Chi Yue and asked.

“There’s no hurry. Since she can refine an Origin Grade pill that formed Pill Clouds, she is indeed somewhat extraordinary, but compared to her, I am more interested in the human man who came with her; I’ve been hearing some incredible rumours about him. Qing Luo, is there anything you want to tell me?” Chi Yue turned to look at Shan Qing Luo elegantly.

Shan Qing Luo’s tender body trembled as she hurriedly got up, knelt down on the ground, grit her teeth, and pleaded, “Adoptive Mother, please show mercy, that man…”

“Why are you acting so nervously? Adoptive Mother will not eat him. Get up first and then we’ll talk,” Chi Yue stretched out her hand and brought Shan Qing Luo to her feet.

Seeing that Chi Yue didn’t seem to be angry; Shan Qing Luo couldn’t help feeling relieved and her nervous mood gradually calmed down.

“Tell me, are the rumours I heard true or false?” Chi Yue continued to ask.

“They’re true,” Shan Qing Luo replied through gritted teeth.

“Oh? So that human is really the object of your affection?” Chi Yue laughed softly.

“Yes.”

“What’s so great about him? Why does even a woman like you seem so deeply in love with him? Yu Xiong said that he is just a boy toy that depends on women for food.”

“What’s wrong, Yu Xiong is just spouting nonsense,” Shan Qing Luo shot Yu Xiong a vicious look, to which the latter shrank his head, touched his chin, and looked up at the sky…

“Tell me about him then, what is it about him that causes you to never be able to forget him?” Chi Yue seemed to be interested and asked carefully.

“Adoptive Daughter can’t explain well…” Shan Qing Luo smiled shyly. In front of a powerful existence like Red Moon Tribal Lord, her Demon Queen aura was completely suppressed, “We met when he was very weak. At that time, Adoptive Daughter was just an Immortal Ascension Boundary Ninth Stage cultivator while he had only reached the True Element Boundary.”

“That is quite a big gap,” Chi Yue raised her brow, “But he seems to have arrived at the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm now. Does that mean he’s able to match your cultivation speed?”

Knowing this, Chi Yue finally showed a hint of surprise.

Shan Qing Luo’s cultivation pace was extremely fast, so Chi Yue seeing this human man not inferior to her adopted daughter in this regard came as a bit of a shock.

“En, I don’t know where he has been over the years or what he has done, but after accidentally crossing paths in the Emperor Garden recently, he seems to have made a special trip to Monster Emperor Star to find me.”

“He has also been to the Emperor Garden?” Chi Yue became more interested.

“En, at that time, Adoptive Daughter joined forces with him and fought a group of people from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, but before we had time to talk, the Emperor Garden closed.”

“Hmph, Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce!” Chi Yue snorted coldly, a trace of disdain flashing across her pretty face, “Since you collaborated with him in battle, tell me, how strong is he?”

“This…” Shan Qing Luo looked embarrassed.

“You don’t know?” Chi Yue’s face sank.

“Please forgive me, Adoptive Mother. The battle did not last long, and Adoptive Daughter was not able to observe much, but Adoptive Daughter is certain he is not weak.”

Chi Yue laughed softly and declared, “Since you are so certain, I can give him a chance. Although it is admirable that he came to Monster Emperor Star to find you, he is still just a human after all. Moreover, he seems to have another woman! How can this Chi Yue’s daughter share a man with other women? Compose yourself for now; as for his worth, I will test it. If he really has the skill to win my approval, then I will not oppose your relationship with him, but if he is nothing but an embroidered pillow, I will personally kill him!”

After speaking, Chi Yue looked at Shan Qing Luo, thinking she could see this Adoptive Daughter of hers panic and plead for mercy, but instead all she saw was a look of joy on Shan Qing Luo’s face.

“You have that much confidence in him?” Chi Yue was surprised.

“Although I have not seen him in several dozen years, he is a man who is able to create miracles, so Adoptive Daughter believes he will not let me down and will win Adoptive Mother’s approval!” Shan Qing Luo quickly said.

“Sure, since you think so, I will act freely,” Chi Yue nodded slightly, satisfied with Shan Qing Luo’s attitude as she shouted in a low voice, “Yu Xiong!”

“Yes!” Yu Xiong quickly got up.

“I leave this task to you. Test that little bastard’s depths. If he is just an ordinary human, kill him quickly so he does not become an eyesore,” Chi Yue waved her hand.

“Yes!” Yu Xiong replied in a deep voice as his eyes flashed fiercely.

“You may leave.”

The brother and sister pair then left Chi Yue’s palace. After exiting, Yu Xiong wore a look of excitement as he rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was going to start a fight immediately.

Although he thought Yang Kai was an interesting guy, even daring to call him Older Brother, he was still a human. While having another woman, this boy toy was still coveting his little sister; a toad lusting after swan meat if Yu Xiong ever saw one.

Now that he obtained Chi Yue’s instructions, he wanted to immediately test out Yang Kai. In any case, he could think about more complicated things after first beating him up.

“Yu Xiong!” Shan Qing Luo suddenly shouted.

“Hm?” Yu Xiong quickly glanced over at her.

Shan Qing Luo’s beautiful eyes flashed a cold light as she glared at him and declared, “If you dare act against him personally, I’ll make you suffer for it!”

“Uh…” Yu Xiong was dumbfounded, a gloomy look filling his face, “Little sister, older brother was assigned this task by Adoptive Mother, I cannot disobey Adoptive Mother’s instructions!”

“I don’t care, you can’t act yourself! If you do, you won’t have a little sister in the future!” After saying so, she did not give Yu Xiong a chance to speak and flew off immediately.

“Little sister… Great-Aunt…” Yu Xiong called from behind, but no matter how he shouted, he could not get any response.

He suddenly felt he had received a very awkward assignment.

…..

After staying at the palace for three days, Red Moon Tribal Lord finally summoned Xia Ning Chang. As an Alchemy Grandmaster who refined a pill that formed Pill Clouds, Xia Ning Chang was worthy of such an audience.

As for Yang Kai, Chi Yue did not take him to heart and had no plans to meet with him.

Chi Yue’s impression of Xia Ning Chang was particularly good. This human woman was docile and kind, with pure, limpid eyes. Not only did she have a good cultivation level, she also had a profound knowledge in Alchemy.

When she summoned Xia Ning Chang, Chi Yue specially asked several well-known Alchemists in the palace to come test Xia Ning Chang’s skills.

The result greatly satisfied Chi Yue. With regards to Alchemy, Xia Ning Chang had the demeanour and style of a master that was not inferior to the old white-haired men who had devoted their entire lives to Alchemy.

The Alchemy competition held on the spot was also won by Xia Ning Chang overwhelmingly!

Chi Yue was incredibly pleased with this talent and offered extremely favourable terms to hire Xia Ning Chang, allowing her to live comfortably in the palace while providing Alchemy services for her.

If not for Xia Ning Chang’s young age and lack of reputation, the identity of the palace’s Chief Alchemist would likely have immediately changed hands.