Martial Peak

Chapter 2026, Parting

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Before he broke through to the Dao Source Realm, this Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre would have some use to him.

His most precious artifacts were the four Emperor Artifacts he had on him, but none could be easily revealed in front of others. Apart from that, only the Dragon Bone Sword was left.

However, Yang Kai had already made up his mind to fuse the Dragon Bone Sword into his body, so this artifact was destined to disappear in the near future. The Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre would be able to make up for this in the short term. This artifact wasn't too high-grade, so it wouldn't be noticeable when he used it, and it could also display the might of Principle Strength, which boosted its strength greatly.

Thinking so, Yang Kai put away the Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre, not intending on refining it, as that would be a waste of time. This way, when he found something better, he could simply replace it.

Then, he solemnly took out the Space Spirit Jade from his Space Ring.

As soon as the dark round jade appeared, Yang Kai felt that it was different from earlier today. At this moment, the Space Spirit Jade was vibrating slightly while also exuding a profound and mysterious fluctuation. On its surface, a faint trace of black ripples even appeared.

The pitch-black jade seemed to grow even darker, like a pure emptiness that wanted to swallow in everything around it!

"Seems like it's real!" Yang Kai saw this and confirmed that the Space Spirit Jade had undergone this change because Zhang Ruo Xi was nearby. When Yang Kai had seen it earlier in the day, it was completely still and tranquil.

But now, Yang Kai could clearly feel the Space Force fluctuations coming from the Space Spirit Jade. If someone was immersed in these fluctuations for a long time, it wouldn't be impossible to comprehend Space Force.

Zhang Ruo Xi had lived with Lu Family for a month at one point, and during that month, Lu Bai Chuan had an opportunity to comprehend the Dao of Space.

Obviously, the reason why Lu Bai Chuan wanted his heir to marry Zhang Ruo Xi was entirely because of this Space Spirit Jade. It could even be said that the reason he turned on the Zhang Family was related to this.

However, Yang Kai wouldn't be able to learn anything from these kinds of fluctuations. If Zhang Ruo Xi were to be exposed to this jade, however, he didn't know if a change would occur.

This thing was currently in his hands, but ultimately, it stemmed from the Zhang Family. It belonged to Yang Kai now though, and it didn't matter if he didn't return it as this was a trophy that the Zhang Family no longer had any right to. But that also meant that Yang Kai couldn't just go to the Zhang Family to ask about it either.

What's more, the Zhang Family likely didn't even know anything about this! If they had considered it valuable, they would not have given it away two hundred years ago as dowry to the Lu Family.

It seemed he would need to depend on himself.

Yang Kai thus began to study the Space Spirit Jade attentively.

Over the next two days. Yang Kai stayed with the Zhang Family, and he spent almost all his time trying to pry into the secrets of the Space Spirit Jade but got nothing for his investment.

When he realized that such investigations were pointless, he also determined that there was no reason to remain with them. As such, he immediately decided to bid farewell to the Zhang Family'.

The old woman and the middle-aged woman tried multiple times to get him to stay, but seeing Yang Kai determined to leave, they did not force the issue and instead saw him out personally.

"Benefactor, please take care of yourself in the future, if you ever have time to spare, my Zhang Family would be honoured if you grace us with your presence!" After two days of recuperation, the old woman looked much better, but due to her age and the damage she had suffered to her foundation, she was unable to completely restore herself.

Seeing her act so enthusiastic, Yang Kai simply smiled lightly and said, "If there is a chance, I will stop by. When the time comes, I hope old madam will not shut me out."

"Benefactor is the sole reason my Zhang Family was able to overcome our crisis, but my Zhang Family really has nothing to repay you with… This Mistress has noticed the Benefactor is a lone traveller, so inevitably there must be some inconveniences in Benefactor's daily life. As such, This Mistress hopes that Benefactor will allow Ruo Xi to accompany him so she may tend to his needs in the future!" The middle-aged beauty suddenly said while pulling out Zhang Ruo Xi who had been hiding behind her.

"Huh?" Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, never having expected the middle-aged woman to make such a proposal, causing him to unconsciously glance towards the young girl.

All Yang Kai could see, though, was the little girl lowering her head and playing with her clothes, her face blushing, her lips pressed tightly shut.

Yang Kai had a strange feeling in his heart, but soon understood the intentions of this middle-aged beauty.

She obviously felt that the Zhang Family was severely weakened now and feared that, powerful enemies would covet them in the future. She wanted to build a good relationship with him in hopes he would shelter the Zhang Family in the future, and Zhang Ruo Xi was the bridge she had chosen to build this relationship on.

If he really agreed, he likely wouldn't be able to stand idly by if such calamity befell the Zhang Family out of consideration for Zhang Ruo Xi.

After understanding this, Yang Kai frowned as he instinctively repelled such ideas, but he did not immediately refuse.

Because according to his original idea, he was planning on handling affairs with Kang Si Ran first before coming to the Zhang Family to stay as a guest to study the Space Spirit Jade. If that wasn't the case, he wouldn't have agreed to the old woman's invitation to visit in the future.

However, through some twist of fate, the Zhang Family was actually giving Zhang Ruo Xi to him.

While he found this kind of practice off-putting, he also could not help feeling that good fortune had fallen from the sky and landed in his lap.

Seeing Yang Kai hesitating, Zhang Ruo Xi seemed to become even more embarrassed. The middle-aged beauty, however, just smiled slightly and said, "Although Ruo Xi is a young child with low cultivation, unable to assist Benefactor in battle, she has good talent and is both quiet and clever. If Benefactor takes her with him, he will no longer need to worry about trivial matters in the future and can focus on his own cultivation as well as breaking through to the Dao Source Realm as soon as possible."

The middle-aged woman vigorously promoted Zhang Ruo Xi in front of Yang Kai, while observing his words and expressions, "However… If Benefactor is adverse to this idea, then it seems Ruo Xi will not be able to enjoy this blessing."

As soon as she said this, Zhang Ruo Xi could not help trembling slightly as she tightly gripped her small fists.

"Sister Ruo Xi is both refined and intelligent, how could I dislike her, it's just…" Yang Kai frowned and glanced at the old woman while speaking but seeing her looking back at him with some expectation, he knew that this matter had already been discussed between these two women beforehand.

Perhaps, during the dinner that night, him glancing at Zhang Ruo Xi a few times had caused some kind of misunderstanding.

Seeing Zhang Ruo Xi's head droop as she bit her thin lip, Yang Kai sighed in his heart and swallowed back the refusal he was about to make, "It's just that I don't want to force someone to do something against their will. Regarding this matter, I will have to ask Miss Ruo Xi's opinion. If she wants to go with me, I can take her away from Zhang Family, but if she does not want to leave, then I'll pretend I never heard anything."

Hearing this, the middle-aged beautiful woman breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Of course."

Saying so, she turned to Zhang Ruo Xi and asked, "Ruo Xi, you heard Benefactor's words yourself, so speak your mind. Would you like to leave with Benefactor and serve him from now on?"

Zhang Ruo Xi did not lift her head and just nodded shyly.

The middle-aged woman smiled warmly and spoke once more, "Ruo Xi, you need to make yourself clear or Benefactor will not know your true thoughts."

Zhang Ruo Xi's voice was as quiet as a mosquito as she spoke a simple, "Yes!"

The middle-aged beauty smiled and turned to Yang Kai, "Benefactor, Ruo Xi is willing. No one is forcing her."

Yang Kai sighed, "Good, in that case, she will accompany me."

"Many thanks, Sir," Zhang Ruo Xi bowed elegantly.

"You may rest assured, as long as you remain with me, no one will bully you, regarding this, old madam may feel relieved," Yang Kai turned to the old woman and said with a serious face.

The old woman smiled, "It is Ruo Xi's blessing to be able to follow Benefactor, and the Zhang Family believes in the character of Benefactor."

Yang Kai nodded before turning to Zhang Ruo Xi and saying, "If you have anything you wish to say to your family, do so now, I will go on ahead and wait for you."

Saying so, Yang Kai flew off a short distance.

Glancing back, Zhang Ruo Xi had thrown herself into the arms of the old woman, choking on her sobs, the old woman patting her shoulders to comfort her while telling her something.

Next, Zhang Ruo Xi bid farewell to the middle-aged woman and the other members of her family one by one. Before leaving, she kowtowed three times towards the Zhang Family home before turning around and walking out towards where Yang Kai stood.

When she got closer, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her hand and whispered, "Sir, I'm fine now."

Yang Kai chuckled, "You don't have to look so forlorn. I live in Maplewood City, so if you ever feel homesick in the future, you can come back here to visit, I won't stop you."

Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head and said, "Grandma said I am no longer a member of the Zhang Family so I do not need to return. I should only serve Sir with all my heart."

Yang Kai was taken aback for a moment, before nodding, "Old madam seems to have considered things carefully."

The old woman telling Zhang Ruo Xi this was obviously because she was afraid of upsetting Yang Kai, but how could she have known that he would not care about such things at all. The only reason Yang Kai agreed to bring Zhang Ruo Xi along with him was because of the Space Spirit Jade, not because he had any interest in her personally. Yang Kai couldn't be bothered to explain any of this though, so he simply left it as it was.

Flying back, Yang Kai realized he did not have a good flight-type artifact, only the Star Shuttle he had from his native Star Field, which was far from sufficient for his current needs.

As such, he simply wrapped Zhang Ruo Xi in his Qi and flew back on his own.

Zhang Ruo Xi only had a First-Order Saint King cultivation, and had never left the Zhang Family before, nor experienced such a fast flight, so she kept her eyes closed shut with fright and her fists clenched tightly, like she was bracing herself on the way to the execution ground.

Yang Kai saw this, smiled, and shook his head, choosing not to say anything.

Soon after, Yang Kai arrived at the gates to Maplewood City, landed, and brought Zhang Ruo Xi into the city.

This little girl had apparently never seen the city due to her constantly attending to the old matriarch in the Zhang Family, so after entering, she could not stop her eyes from darting about, taking in all the new and dazzling sights.

Yang Kai noticed she was wearing a simple dress with no jewellery on her body and found it a bit pitiful. He wanted to give her something, but was afraid she would misunderstand his intentions, so he simply gave up.

Once back at his rented secluded home, Yang Kai took out the Identity Token and was about to open it when suddenly, someone rushed up to him and called out anxiously, "Alchemist Yang, you're back."

Yang Kai heard this voice, turned his head, and saw a familiar face he couldn't help chuckling at, "It's you again?"

It was none other than the shop-hand from Spirit Pill Plaza he was familiar with. Because Yang Kai often went in and out of Spirit Pill Plaza to refine Spirit Pills, he had a slight impression of this man.

"It is this humble one," The shop hand bowed to Yang Kai. After straightening himself back up, he gave Zhang Ruo Xi a strange look, wondering why Yang Kai was being accompanied by a young First-Order Saint King girl.