Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"Let's go." After putting the token away, Gao Xue Ting turned around and walked out. When her back was facing Yang Kai, an almost imperceptible smile drew up the corners of her lips.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood in place and sighed for a long while before striding out to catch up to her.

The reason he had admitted to setting up the Space Array so readily was that the other party had already discovered it a long time ago. It was meaningless to continue playing dumb. Besides, he came here to borrow some manpower for High Heaven Palace so it would have been exposed soon anyways. Instead of continuing to cover it up, it might be better to reveal his hand now.

As for whether Gao Xue Ting would go to the Northern Territory to ask him to refine Spirit Pills in the future, it was practically a done deal. In any case, he had Ji Ying so he could just push everything onto him.

Spirit Jade Peak was the place where the Vice Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, Qiu Ran, lived. When Yang Kai and Gao Xue Ting arrived, Qiu Ran was meditating. He walked out of his room after being notified of their presence and met them in the hall.

Yang Kai got up and bowed, "Greetings, Senior Brother Qiu."

On the other hand, Gao Xue Ting remained sitting. They were one big family and often met each other anyway so there was no need for her to be so reserved.

"What a rare guest. Junior Brother Yang, when did you return?" Qiu Ran looked at Yang Kai expressionlessly. Stretching out a hand to dismiss the formalities, he sat on the main seat in the hall.

Yang Kai chuckled, "I just got back and immediately came to visit you, Senior Brother Qiu. It has been many years since we last met. I'm glad your noble bearing is still the same." While speaking, he sat down too.

Qiu Ran lifted his brow in response, "I am not worthy of your praise. Junior Brother Yang, you are an extraordinary man, but we don't see much of you. If you failed to return any longer, I'm afraid this Old Master would have forgotten that you were a part of the Temple in the first place."

[Those words are practically identical to what Gao Xue Ting said just now.] Yang Kai wanted to roll his eyes. Nevertheless, he maintained a smiling face on the surface, "I apologize, Senior Brother. I am greatly indebted to Azure Sun Temple and have never forgotten the Temple nor my Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters."

Qiu Ran did not respond. He simply glanced at Gao Xue Ting, who quietly nodded lightly in response. It seemed as though they were having a secret conversation via Divine Sense Transmission.

Soon, Qiu Ran's expression brightened. Nodding, he spoke up, "It's good if you have us in your heart, Junior Brother. You should also pay attention to your safety when going out. Regardless of the circumstances, you are still an Elder of Azure Sun Temple. You represent the Temple, so you must never do anything that can harm the reputation of the Azure Sun Temple."

"I will remember that." Yang Kai nodded solemnly.

Qiu Ran said, "Good. If there's nothing else, you should leave. I still have other things to do."

[What? Are you kicking me out already? I haven't even gotten to the main point yet.] Yang Kai looked stunned and quickly looked at Gao Xue Ting, desperately trying to signal her with his eyes. However, Gao Xue Ting looked down and simply sat there doing nothing.

[How heartless! How dare you cast me aside once you no longer need me!? I shouldn't have given you that token!] Since she refused to help him, he could only rely on himself. Putting his hand on his chest, he bowed and said, "Senior Brother, this Junior Brother has something to report."

"What is it?" Qiu Ran raised his eyes and looked at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai explained, "When I left, I took a large amount of spirit herbs from the Temple with me. Senior Sister Gao asked me to refine Spirit Pills for the Temple's use with them and, fortunately, I did not fail my mission."

"Oh?" Qiu Ran raised his eyebrows at those words, "Does that mean you have refined the Spirit Pills?"

"Yes!"

"Show me."

Only then did Gao Xue Ting speak up, "It's all with me." Removing the Space Ring from her jade finger, she handed it to Qiu Ran.

Qiu Ran took the Space Ring from her and swept his Divine Sense through it. His expression immediately became one of astonishment. [So many!? Moreover, they are all Emperor Grade Spirit Pills and high quality too!]

He had known that Yang Kai was an Emperor Alchemist and had agreed to allow him to take those spirit flowers and exotic herbs back then, but he never expected Yang Kai to bring back such a large amount of Emperor Grade Spirit Pills just ten years later.

[Having our own Emperor Alchemist sure is nice.] Qiu Ran was already calculating whether he should give Yang Kai more spirit herbs. As long as they could be refined into Emperor Grade Spirit Pills, what was waiting for ten more years?

"Hmm. Not bad," he said indifferently. [I can't praise him too highly; otherwise, it will be difficult to ask him to refine Spirit Pills again.]

Yang Kai said, "It's my job to contribute to the Temple." Pausing for a moment, he rubbed his nose and asked, "Senior Brother, how many Elder Contribution Points can I exchange these for?"

Qiu Ran replied, "I will need to make careful calculations before I can give you an exact number."

"Then, I ask that you please calculate it for me quickly, Senior Brother."

He blinked at Yang Kai, "Are you in a hurry?"

"Not really." Yang Kai made a fist and awkwardly coughed into it, "Of course, it would be wonderful if you can give me an exact number now, Senior Brother."

Qiu Ran frowned at those words and studied Yang Kai. He did not know what Yang Kai was up to. Nonetheless, he was counting on Yang Kai to continue refining Spirit Pills for them in the future so for that reason, he needed to give Yang Kai some motivation. Thus, he nodded and said, "Fine. I will calculate it for you right now."

"Many thanks, Senior Brother!" Yang Kai looked elated.

Qiu Ren said nothing to that. Taking out all the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills from the Space Ring, he placed them on the table in front of him. It was naturally impossible to store Emperor Grade Spirit Pills in ordinary bottles. Each Emperor Grade Spirit Pill was stored in a container of appropriate Attribute, which would ensure that their medicinal efficacies were not lost in short order. There were jade boxes, gold boxes, silver boxes, wooden boxes, and so on and so forth, covering a range of different types of Spirit Pills. Soon, the table was filled with containers. They were spread out over several layers and looked to be at least 200 to 300 in total.

Gao Xue Ting also came over, mainly because she had never seen so many Emperor Grade Spirit Pills in one place before. It was a very strange and rare sight. If they wanted to get any Emperor Grade Spirit Pills from the Temple, they had to ask an Alchemy Grandmaster to refine it for them. Not only did they need to collect their own materials, but they also needed to offer up a large sum as a reward. Sometimes, they might even have to wait in line when the Alchemist was busy.

To put it bluntly, the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills that Yang Kai brought out were almost equal to the sum of the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills that the Temple had acquired in the past five hundred years. Qiu Ran and Gao Xue Ting were both extremely happy and shocked inside but showed no signs of their emotions on their faces.

"There has never been such a precedent before, but Emperor Grade Spirit Pills are rare, so I will now convert them into Elder Contribution Points for you." While speaking, Qiu Ran opened a wooden box with his hand and studied the Spirit Pill inside carefully. He nodded and said, "This pill can be categorized as Mid-Rank. After deducting the cost of the materials, I will price it at 800 Elder Contribution Points. Is that alright?"

Yang Kai did some swift calculations in his head. He once heard from Gao Xue Ting, You Kun, and the others that Elder Contribution Points were somewhat difficult to obtain at Azure Sun Temple and on average an Elder would acquire about 5,000 to 6,000 points at most. On the other hand, entering the Divine Ascension Mirror World required 2,000 points per entry.

Elder Contribution Points could be redeemed with Source Crystals but could only be redeemed up to 2,000 points per year, which was just enough to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror once. Moreover, the redemption ratio is 1:1,000. In other words, it took 1,000 High-Rank Source Crystals in exchange for 1 Elder Contribution Point. If one wanted more Elder Contribution Points, they could only help Azure Sun Temple out with various tasks. For example, Gao Xue Ting received some Elder Contribution Points when she led the team of disciples to the Four Seasons Realm.

If the 800 Elder Contribution Points were converted into High-Rank Source Crystals, it would be worth 800,000 High-Rank Source Crystals. Furthermore, that was after the deduction of the costs of materials. Since the materials for the Spirit Pills were provided by Azure Sun Temple, it was cheaper than if the materials had been bought from external sources. At any rate, Yang Kai was one of the Elders of Azure Sun Temple so it was a matter of course for it to be slightly below the market price.

Although Yang Kai could reluctantly accept the value given, he brazenly asked, "Could you give me a little more?"

Qiu Ran replied, "As the Vice Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, I am in charge of all matters concerning the Temple's finances. All I ask for is fairness for all. If you feel that it is too little, you can ask Junior Sister Gao for her opinion."

There was no need to ask as Yang Kai was well aware of the situation. Nevertheless, he said, "Won't you make it 1,000 points? Let's round it up to a whole number."

"800!" Qiu Ran completely ignored Yang Kai. After saying that, he stuffed the jade box into his Space Ring without another word.

"Serves you right for failing to find a dual cultivation partner," Yang Kai muttered under his breath in dissatisfaction.

"What did you say?" Qiu Ran looked up at Yang Kai.

"Nothing, nothing. Senior Brother Qiu, please do continue."

Snorting, he picked up another jade box, opened it, and nodded with a smile, "An Emperor Grade High-Rank Spirit Pill. 1,000 Elder Contribution Points." He stuffed the jade box into his Space Ring and picked up another one.

He briefly evaluated each jade box and swiftly determined the value in terms of Elder Contribution Points. A High-Rank Spirit Pill was valued at 1,000 Elder Contribution Points, a Mid-Rank Spirit Pill was 800 Elder Contribution Points, and a Low-Rank Spirit Pill was only 500 Elder Contribution Points. The numbers slowly added up. Yang Kai could feel a bubbling feeling of joy in his heart while, occasionally, he would explain the benefits of various Spirit Pills from his perspective as an Alchemy Grandmaster, the difficulties of refining a Spirit Pill, and how time-consuming the process was. It was all done in hopes of convincing Qiu Ran to give a higher valuation.

However, Qiu Ran was strict and impartial. He completely ignored Yang Kai, which made the latter so irritated that his teeth itched.

"Please wait, Senior Brother. Although this Spirit Pill is Mid-Rank, the pill fragrance is strong and the veins are clear. You can tell at a glance that it has almost reached the High Rank. Don't you think it's too unfair to only give it 800 points?" Yang Kai suddenly raised his hand.

Qiu Ran asked, "Then how much do you think should be given?"

Yang Kai replied in a serious tone, "Since it is between Mid-Rank and High-Rank, we can give a slight discount and value it at 900 points. This way, it's a win-win solution for everybody, right?"

Qiu Ran chuckled softly and pushed the jade box in front of him to Yang Kai, "Junior Brother, your words make sense. Why don't you help me evaluate the goods instead? That way, I can take a break."

[I wish I could. But, what's the point of evaluating it? I still need your approval anyway.] Thus, Yang Kai smiled and said, "What are you saying, Senior Brother? I'm just trying to explain the truth as it is. I don't mean to overstep my boundaries."

"Hmph!" Qiu Ran's expression became frosty as he stuffed the jade box away, "700 points!"

"Wait!" Yang Kai was shocked, "Why did it become 700 points!? It was 800 points just now!"

"600!"

Yang Kai immediately stopped talking lest the price get lowered even further. Then, he turned to look at Gao Xue Ting for help, hoping that she would speak up on his behalf; however, this woman was actually looking up at the roof as though there were flowers growing there.

Yang Kai's face twitched in response, and he secretly gritted his teeth. [You are both so ruthless! I wonder who it was that said 'all he wanted was fairness'. All a bunch of lies! An abuse of authority!]

An hour later, Qiu Ran finished doing an inventory of the items and concluded, "The total comes to 156,300 Elder Contribution Points. Did I make a mistake in my calculations?"

"No!" Yang Kai lowered his head weakly. That number was identical to the one he had calculated in his head.

Gao Xue Ting expressionlessly murmured, "Congratulations, Junior Brother."

Yang Kai snorted at those words. [I was oppressed and underpaid by this stingy Qiu Ran. What is there to be congratulated about?]

Nevertheless, if these 150,000 over Elder Contribution Points were converted into High-Rank Source Crystals, it would come up to more than 1.5 billion High-Rank Source Crystals. That was an extremely shocking number. There were many Elders in Azure Sun Temple, but nobody had managed to accumulate more than 10,000 Elder Contribution Points at once so far. Compared to those people, Yang Kai could be said to have become rich overnight.