Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

A group of Emperor Realm Elders turned to look at him, dumbfounded. That dark-faced man clearly did not expect his own Palace Master to answer that way either and for a moment, his jaw dropped and he appeared stunned.

Li Jiao did not stop there, however, and continued in a forceful tone, "I don't know when this trash got in here and dared to masquerade as one of my Fire Dragon Palace's Elders! No need to bother about the offences of lowly people, Palace Master Yang. There's no need to pay men like him any heed."

Yang Kai said coldly, "Since he's trash, then he should be cleaned up."

Li Jiao quickly agreed, "Palace Master Yang is right!"

As soon as he finished his sentence, he raised his hand and palmed towards the dark-faced man, instantly stirring up the air inside the hall.

Clearly, the dark-faced man hadn't been able to react when that huge palm print came down on him, but even if he had, there was no way for him to be Li Jiao's opponent with his First-Order Emperor Realm cultivation.

There was a scream, and the dark-faced man fell to the ground. Countless bones were broken and fresh blood was spilling out of his mouth and nose. The impact had caused him to pass out directly.

The entire hall was so silent that even a pin drop could be heard. All the Fire Dragon Palace's Elders were dumbfounded, never expecting that their own Palace Master would actually raise a hand against his own Elders. In an instant, chills seeped through their hearts and bodies.

Li Jiao was not a man who was subject to shifting moods, and every Emperor Realm Elder present had been following him for at least a hundred years, making great contributions to Fire Dragon Palace, but simply to not displease an outsider, Li Jiao would actually go as far as to all but waste one of his own men. Their hearts couldn't help but sink at his actions.

Suffering that blow, even if the dark-faced man did not die, the injuries were still severe. At the very least, it would take a month or two of recuperation to recover from them.

In front of everyone's eyes, Li Jiao waved his hand again, tossing the dark-faced man straight out of the hall before looking around with a stern gaze, "If you have no eyes in your own home, you will lose face, but if you have no eyes outside, you will lose your lives. I hope all of you remember this."

When the thinly veiled warning in his words entered their ears, the Elders couldn't help but feel stunned, each one with a different expression.

Li Jiao turned back around and smiled dryly at Yang Kai, "I wonder if Palace Master Yang is satisfied with this?"

Yang Kai smiled, "Brother Li is handling his own Sect's business, it doesn't matter whether I'm satisfied or not."

Only then was Li Jiao relieved and exhaled a light breath, "May I ask what Palace Master Yang has come for?"

Yang Kai responded in a cheerful tone, "To collect money, of course. Didn't Brother Li guess it just now? Why ask if you already know the answer?"

Li Jiao paled in shock and tried to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead as he said, "Palace Master Yang, please don't joke with me…"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Yang Kai looked indifferently at him.

Even now Li Jiao could not understand what Yang Kai was here for. It was reasonable to say that the annual debt payment of 40 million Source Crystals was simply not worth Yang Kai making the effort to come here personally, but from his expression, it didn't seem like he was joking either. This made Li Jiao's heart pound.

With such a huge debt hanging overhead, he constantly felt as if he was on his back foot and didn't even have much confidence to object. If High Heaven Palace did not have such a shocking heritage, Fire Dragon Palace might be able to resist to a certain extent, but after gaining a first-hand understanding of the depths of High Heaven Palace's background, Li Jiao couldn't even think of resisting.

This man was able to associate himself with Grandmaster Ji Ying and had three Monster Kings protecting his Sect, while even a True Dragon was among their ranks… How could Fire Dragon Place compare to such a lineup? If Li Jiao really did annoy these people, then Seeking Passion Sect's yesterday would be Fire Dragon Palace's tomorrow.

For a moment, Li Jiao forced out the ugliest smile imaginable, having no idea what else to do.

Yang Kai suddenly said, "Is Brother Li having difficulties turning over the payment?"

Li Jiao answered embarrassedly, "I will have to ask Palace Master Yang to give me more time!"

"How long?"

"Half a year… No no no, three months. Three months will do," Li Jiao answered him hurriedly.

"Three months? Isn't Palace Master Li rushing too much?" Yang Kai smiled, "What if this Palace Master gave you three years?"

"What?" Li Jiao was stunned. He couldn't understand what Yang Kai was implying.

Yang Kai went on, "This Palace Master will give you three years. For three years, your Fire Dragon Palace will not need to make any payments to my High Heaven Palace. After three years, our agreement will continue as usual. With these three years as a buffer, life for your Fire Dragon Palace should be much better!"Read first at L i g h t n o v e l r e a d e r . o r g

Li Jiao didn't feel pleasantly surprised by this sudden grace and instead was shocked and asked hesitantly, "What is Palace Master Yang… asking for in return?"

Nothing was free in this world, and there was no way this High Heaven Palace's Palace Master would be so kind either. Li Jiao had been alive for so many years, so he was clearly aware of such worldly matters.

Yang Kai chuckled, "I need Brother Li to accompany me to a place."

Li Jiao suddenly became alert and his expression changed, "What kind of place?"

Yang Kai next sent his voice directly to Li Jiao's ear.

There was a dramatic change in Li Jiao's expression as if he had heard some shockingly terrible news and he instantly shook his head like a rattle, "Palace Master Yang, it's not that this Li is not willing to help, but…"

"Then pay me back the money now!" Yang Kai held out his palm before Li Jiao could finish speaking.

Lips twitching, Li Jiao fumed, "Palace Master Yang, this Li treats you with sincerity, so please don't bully others too much! I, Li Jiao, am not scared of you!"

Yang Kai smiled, "No need to be so unreasonable, Brother Li. All you have to do is accompany me there. It's not like I'm asking for your life."

Li Jiao shook his head, "Any other place is fine, only that place is…" He seemed to recall something from the past and was unable to help himself from shivering, "Palace Master Yang should ask for something else instead. If this Li can fulfil it, this Li will surely meet your demands."

"You really won't?" Yang Kai's face sank slightly.

Li Jiao gave his silence in response.

Yang Kai sighed, "Forget it. A forcefully picked melon is not sweet. Since Brother Li is unwilling, then this Palace Master will not force it. It's just that this Palace Master intended to help Brother Li solve a crisis, but since Brother Li is unwilling to cooperate, then I wish you the best of luck."

Li Jiao's heart jumped and he asked in astonishment, "Crisis? What crisis?"

Yang Kai shrugged.

Zhu Lie, who had been standing silently at the side, finally spoke at this moment, "He knows where Zhu Qing is?"

"No one knows better than him," Yang Kai nodded.Read first at L i g h t n o v e l r e a d e r . o r g

The reason why Zhu Qing went to the Frozen Earth in the first place was because of Li Jiao. Many years ago, Li Jiao was able to obtain a Dragon Blood Flower from the Frozen Earth and brought it back to his Fire Dragon Palace to cultivate it with his own blood. According to him, the reason why a Dragon Blood Flower could appear in a desolate place like the Frozen Earth was because a Great Dragon lost its life there, and it was by drawing on the vital essence of that fallen Great Dragon that a Dragon Blood Flower was able to survive.

Zhu Qing had asked Li Jiao about the location, hoping to head into the Frozen Earth to retrieve the Dragon Source left behind by that Great Dragon.

So, if anyone else in this world knew where Zhu Qing was in the Frozen Earth, it had to be Li Jiao. Making him lead the way would be the fastest way to find her.

"Good!" Zhu Lie nodded at his words and walked towards Li Jiao.

Li Jiao's chest tightened suddenly as an inexplicable sense of danger welled up in him. He had noticed this red-haired young man before and also sensed his might. That was the reason he repeatedly tolerated Yang Kai's attempts to trouble him. Now, as he had disagreed, Li Jiao was naturally even more wary of him.

Li Jiao asked in a deep voice, "May I ask who Your Excellency is?"

Zhu Lie sneered, "A lizard like you is not qualified to know my name."

"Li… Lizard!" Li Jiao was furious. Naturally, he was afraid of Yang Kai because there were countless Masters behind him that he could not afford to provoke, especially that female Dragon. She was an existence that he couldn't even lay eyes on. Though this red-haired young man was certainly powerful, it was not to the extent that he would fear him.

Li Jiao was still a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so there weren't many people who could beat him in this world.

"Filthy bloodlines like yours disgust me the most. You should have been exterminated a long time ago!" Zhu Lie's eyes were overflowing with contempt.

This statement angered Li Jiao completely as the impurity of his bloodline had always been a thorn in his heart, so anyone who mentioned it was sure to draw his ire.

So, with a roar, Li Jiao was ready to teach this red-haired young man a lesson. No matter how powerful this man was, as long as he was not a Great Emperor level existence, then they couldn't be his opponent here in Fire Dragon Palace.

Li Jiao occupied favourable conditions and an advantageous position, allowing him to exert force far beyond his own strength.

But Li Jiao's raging roar abruptly caught in his throat the next moment while the surging Emperor Qi inside his body froze. Standing on the high platform, his eyes trembled as he gazed down below, shaking like a leaf and nearly falling on his butt as he stammered, "D-D-Dragon Clan!"

Below, behind Zhu Lie who was approaching him step by step, the manifestation of a vibrant red Great Dragon suddenly emerged. The pair of huge dragon eyes floating above his head was staring at Li Jiao without any emotion, causing him to feel as if all energy had been sucked from his body. The blood in his veins felt like it had stopped flowing and even his Emperor Qi couldn't circulate.

Now, even if the man approaching was in the Dao Source Realm, he would still be able to slaughter him casually right then and there.

A loud dragon roar finally sounded, and the deafening call sent shivers down everyone's spine.

Fire Dragon Palace's many Elders were all ashen-faced and panicked at the sight, all of them staring at the figure of the Great Dragon behind Zhu Lie's back with lost eyes, each of them feeling a deep sense of inferiority and insignificance before it.

Only now did they realize how wise their Palace Master truly was.

When Li Jiao knocked out that dark-faced man and threw him out, they thought that their Palace Master was cold and unfeeling, but now they deeply understood that it wasn't that Li Jiao was timid and cowardly, but that he had far greater foresight than they.

Without even mentioning how strong that High Heaven Palace's Palace Master who was watching the show from the side was, a member of the Dragon Clan like this one alone would be enough to sweep away everyone present. If any conflict truly broke out at this moment, then only Fire Dragon Palace would suffer.

That was a True Dragon! A living breathing member of the Dragon Clan! The Dragon Clan that had always existed only in legends and ancient books actually appeared so suddenly in front of their eyes. The situation almost didn't feel real to the people here.

Only after witnessing it with their own eyes did they realize how subdued the descriptions in those ancient books were. The might of the Dragon Clan could not be described in words alone.

When a Dragon became angry, who could oppose them? Not to mention, clashing with a Dragon meant opposing Dragon Island. Fire Dragon Palace did not have the courage, nor the ability.

In a flash, Zhu Lie had already walked up the platform, reached out, and grabbed Li Jiao by the neck, lifting him up.

Even though he had Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation, Li Jiao was just like a baby in front of Zhu Lie, having no power to resist in the slightest. Even if he tried to struggle, he could not break free from his restraint and soon his face was turning blue as his breathing became difficult.