Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Inside a teahouse, Yang Kai and Zhu Qing sat opposite each other with good-quality fragrant tea steeping on the table. The black puppy was lying on a corner of the tea table, sleeping.

"What happened just now?" Zhu Qing asked in a quiet voice. She still had no understanding of how Yang Kai had come to be injured. Even though it wasn't a serious injury, it still drew blood. To say it was the Third Imperial Prince who made a move didn't seem too likely either. She couldn't be any clearer as to how strong Yang Kai was, so how could a trivial First-Order Emperor injure him? And with just a snap of his fingers at that.

If the Third Imperial Prince really had that ability, then he may not be far off from becoming a Great Emperor.

"There's something strange about this Human Imperial City." Yang Kai moved the silk handkerchief from his nose. The bleeding had stopped, but the silk handkerchief had been turned into a mess, so he casually put it away.

Zhu Qing was amazed, "It really was the Third Imperial Prince who injured you?"

"Yes." Yang Kai nodded.

"How could that be?" Zhu Qing's expression changed slightly, "He couldn't be hiding his power, could he?" She was shaken inside. What sort of Master could hide their strength so well that even she could not see through it? If there really was such a person, then would that power not be too terrifying?

"No, no, no." Yang Kai shook his head, "That guy wasn't hiding his strength. He really is in the First-Order Emperor Realm."

"Then how…" Zhu Qing's lips parted slightly.

"How should I say this…" Yang Kai frowned and recalled what he experienced earlier and only after a long pause did he continue, "There's a powerful force that pervades Human Imperial City, and that Third Imperial Prince seems to be able to control that force at will. The one who hurt me was not the Third Imperial Prince per say, but rather that omnipresent power."

It was hard to describe, but its meaning was very simple. Naturally, Zhu Qing wouldn't understand, so she asked in a daze, "So what sort of power is it?"

"I can't say for sure." Yang Kai shook his head, "Remember when that woman told us not to mess with those people with leaf emblems on their chests?"

Zhu Qing tapped the table lightly in realization, "There seemed to be a leaf emblem on the Third Imperial Prince's clothes."

Yang Kai grinned, "And it was a nine-leaf emblem!" Then, he pointed to the sky, "You may not have noticed, but the guys flying in the sky all had leaf emblems on their chests, just not with the same number."

Hearing him say so, Zhu Qing quickly released her Divine Sense to check and discovered that it seemed to be true. Regardless of strength, none of those people flying in the sky were ordinary people. All of them had the leaf emblem embroidered in front of their chests.

"These people probably hold a special status in Human Imperial City." Yang Kai rapped his fingers on the table, "There's the Human Sovereign and the Imperial Princes here, so I'm guessing… Those guys with the leaf emblems on their chests must be related to this Imperial Family, which gives them some privileges."

Zhu Qing frowned, "What kind of Imperial Family is this? Aren't there too many relatives?"

Yang Kai laughed, "That's why most of those guys only have one or two leaves on their emblem. It's rare to see a number above five. Take the Third Imperial Prince for example. With nine whole leaves, he seems to be a real powerful figure."

Zhu Qing said, "I remember now. That Liao Guan Shi from the cave earlier seemed to have an emblem like that too."

"That's right." Yang Kai nodded, "That's why he could control the Space Array over there, and why he had the Primary Human Sovereign Seal. That couple before had to swallow his insults despite both of them being stronger than him. Tsk… Privilege is a good thing to have, huh?"

"What are you thinking about?" Zhu Qing looked coldly at him.

Yang Kai spoke with a serious face, "What I mean is that only the Imperial Family can mobilize that mysterious power within the city, allowing them to easily defeat stronger opponents. Of course, not everyone who serves the Imperial Family should have that ability, I'm guessing. There may be some restrictions, for example, only those with five leaves and above would have that sort of qualification. The more leaves, the stronger the power that can be mobilized."

"En. What you say seems to make sense." Zhu Qing did not think deeply about it. She just thought that there were no problems with what Yang Kai said.

Yang Kai scoffed, "In the end, it's still the law of the jungle here. Only, some of the people can draw on a special type of power for help, and that power seems to pervade every part of Human Imperial City."

"Will we be able to resist it?" Zhu Qing asked.

Yang Kai shook his head, "I'm not sure. Just now, the Third Imperial Prince didn't use its full power, and I didn't try to defend either. If we really confront each other, I'm not sure whether I'll be able to resist it. Right now, the most important thing is to figure out what sort of power it is. Only then will we be able to prescribe the right medicine."

"So, should we ask around about it?" Zhu Qing suggested.

Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, "No need."

"Why?"

"Because… Someone has sent themselves to our door, silly." Yang Kai smiled at her.

Zhu Qing snapped at him, "You're the silly one!" But Yang Kai's words reminded her that her intelligence seemed to have been lacking since coming into Human Imperial City. If she thought carefully about things, it seemed to be because a sense of reliance had emerged in her heart. So, both her judgement and observation ability had plummeted, which gave her a bad feeling, and yet, she wasn't repulsed by that feeling.

"This Sir, since you're here, then come and sit with us. There's no need to sit there alone with no one to talk to, right?" Yang Kai suddenly turned his head to look at a table not far away from them.

Only one guest was sitting at that table, and he looked to be in his fifties. He sported a goatee and had a well-mannered appearance. At first glance, he looked like a scholar of some kind, and with his cultivation withdrawn and his aura concealed, it was difficult to judge how strong he was.

And this guy had entered the teahouse right after Yang Kai.

Upon hearing Yang Kai's words, the goateed man simply stood up and walked over, looking at neither Yang Kai nor Zhu Qing, instead finding some interest in the black puppy which was napping on top of the table.

Tea fragrance overflowing, Yang Kai picked up the teapot and filled a cup for the man, "What is this Sir's name?"

The goateed man sat and picked up the cup of tea, gulping it down without fear of the heat, "What a fine dog."

Yang Kai smiled, "It's just a mutt, what's fine about it? Sir is over-complimenting it."

The black puppy did not have any particularly conspicuous features, and under the premise that it did not reveal its Abyssal Returner bloodline, outsiders simply would not be able to catch anything strange about it.

The goateed man shook his head, "I'm not talking about it."

Yang Kai raised a brow, "If not it, then you're talking about me?"

The goateed man stroked his beard, "Seems the child can be taught."

Zhu Qing's face turned sour and she immediately felt the need to teach this old thing a lesson. This oblivious old bastard actually insulted her man right in front of her, so how could Zhu Qing tolerate that?

Yang Kai just shot a glance at her though, telling her to calm down before chuckling at the man, "Sir is funny. I'm a man, how can I be compared to a dog?"

The goateed man said "Sometimes, a man can be worse than a dog when they're unwilling to show proper respect. A dog, on the other hand, can have its own benefits."

Yang Kai sneered, "Then may I ask whose dog this Sir is? The Third Imperial Prince's?"

The goateed man's face was slightly cold, but he did not get angry and nodded, "There is nothing wrong with you calling me so."

Yang Kai said, "I often hear people say that a dog that bites doesn't bark, but a dog that barks redundantly is a waste. It seems to me that this Sir is also a fine dog."

Zhu Qing scoffed, "Don't compare him to Ah Wang. Ah Wang is much better than him."

She seized every opportunity to vent her anger and quickly reached out to pick up the black puppy, gently brushing its fur with her hand.

The goateed man responded, "It's not up to me to decide whether a dog is good or not. That's up to His Highness the Third Imperial Prince. If he thinks you are, then you are, but if he doesn't, then you're still a dead dog no matter how strong you are."

Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, "So, is this Sir's intention here to beat the dog for his meat, or is this Sir here for something else?"

The goateed man pushed his teacup in front of Yang Kai, indicating for him to fill it up, "Dog meat does not taste good, and the Third Imperial Prince does not have that interest either."

Yang Kai answered, "Oh, that means you're here to catch a hunting dog, then?"

"Whether it's a hunting dog or a pet, that all depends on your performance."

The goateed man picked up his teacup once more and placed it by his lips for a sip, "A Master from the outside is rare, and Third Imperial Prince thinks you're not bad, so he's willing to give you this opportunity. Whether you can seize the opportunity or not depends on your own performance."

Yang Kai laughed and shook his head, "I really have to apologize, but Sir's ambitions are too high. It's Sir's freedom to become a man's pet dog, but I have different thoughts. There's no need for me or my wife to put on a performance. For us… raising a dog is enough, we have no interest in being one ourselves."

The goateed man put his cup down, his expression unchanged, seemingly expecting this response, and nodded, "I have heard about some matters from the outside, and also know the situation there. You may have been a powerful man who could command wind and rain in the outside world, but this is Human Imperial City, so it follows Human Imperial City's rules. Outsiders like you have to eat a loss before you can understand the law."

After he was done speaking, he stood up and casually tossed over a wooden token, "This is the Third Imperial Prince's token. If you can escape this, then find yourself qualified to be the Third Imperial Prince's hunting dog. Otherwise, that just proves that's as far as your abilities go."

After saying that, the man walked away.

At the same time, the sound of clothes fluttering emerged from all sides as a dozen figures rushed in from all directions. At once, the teahouse had become tightly packed with people, and the guests in the teahouse were also greatly alarmed at the sight, hurriedly fleeing away. When the owner of the teahouse saw this sudden situation, he had a face that seemed desperate to cry but was unable to shed any tears, yet he didn't dare to have an outburst.

That was because he recognized the identity of the people who just appeared.

Yang Kai massaged his aching head, "Giving us a honey date before sending us a wooden club? What's the meaning of this?"

Zhu Qing observed the people around her coldly, "They don't seem to be from the same side."

Yang Kai understood, "If there's a Third Imperial Prince, then there has to be a First and Second Imperial Prince, no? I don't know which group they're from, but whatever the case, they don't seem to be a monolithic entity."

They did not try to hide their conversation in the slightest, so the cultivators gathered around the teahouse all heard it clearly, but they were all indifferent. No one came forward to explain the situation to Yang Kai; instead, they seemed to be waiting for something or someone.

And they were indeed waiting for someone as the sound of something breaking through the air could be heard in just a moment, followed by the appearance of a huge palanquin from one end of the street. The people carrying the palanquin were all Dao Source Realm cultivators. With wind blowing under their feet, they did not need to move their bodies and the palanquin would speed along steadily.