Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Qiu Ran put all the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills away again. Stroking the beard on his chin, he pondered for a moment before asking, "Junior Brother, how do you intend to spend this vast amount of Elder Contribution Points?"

Having too many Elder Contribution Points was not a good thing. According to the rules, the Elder Contribution Points could be used to redeem anything and everything that could be redeemed in Azure Sun Temple. For example, various cultivation resources or advanced Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. However, Yang Kai had too many Elder Contribution Points, so many it frightened Qiu Ran. If he were to exchange them for materials, the treasure accumulated within the Temple's storehouse would be greatly reduced all at once.

Naturally, that was not what Azure Sun Temple hoped to see. If Yang Kai were to completely exchange his Elder Contribution Points for supplies, then the other disciples would have to tighten their belts when cultivating for the next while.

Yang Kai had a plan in mind for a long time, so when he heard the question, he immediately replied, "Senior Brother, as you know, I have founded High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory. I recently took in some disciples, but unfortunately, the foundation of High Heaven Palace is not broad enough and its heritage is insufficient. Therefore, I would like to ask the Temple to allow me to copy some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques to bring back. I don't know if that is allowed. Of course, I can use my Elder Contribution Points in exchange for them."

Qiu Ran said, "You are an Elder. It's not a problem if you copy some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. As long as it's not something especially important, you won't need to use any Elder Contribution Points."

[At least there's something good out of this!] Yang Kai felt happy. [With how stingy Qiu Ran was with me just now, I thought he was intentionally targeting me. It looks like I misunderstood him.]

Yang Kai nodded, "Of course, the more Secret Arts and Secret Techniques the better. I would also like to get some of the precious ones."

Qiu Ran advised, "You can discuss this with Junior Brother Di. He is in charge of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion. He knows best what needs Elder Contribution Points and what doesn't."

The 'Junior Brother Di' Qiu Ran was referring to was none other than Di Rong. Yang Kai wasn't as familiar with Di Rong as he was with Gao Xue Ting, but they could be considered friends who had drunk together and suffered punishments together. They were not strangers to each other.

"Good!" Yang Kai nodded.

"Is there anything else?" Qiu Ran looked up at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai said, "In addition, I want to borrow some manpower from the Temple."

"Borrow some manpower?" Qiu Ran frowned, "What do you mean?"

Yang Kai explained, "The disciples I recently took in at High Heaven Palace don't have very high cultivation, so they need someone to help guide their cultivation and answer questions they might have. Therefore, I would like to borrow some manpower from the Temple to serve as their teachers. Of course, I won't be asking for free. I can use my Elder Contribution Points to offset their compensation." This was the main purpose of his visit this time. The one hundred teachers from Fire Dragon Palace had been complaining for many days now, so he had to gather more manpower as soon as possible.

"Although there is no precedent for this, it shouldn't be a problem. Junior Sister Gao, what do you think?" Qiu Ran turned to look at Gao Xue Ting.

Gao Xue Ting spoke up, "It's not like it's impossible. He isn't an outsider after all; however, how many people do you want to borrow and what cultivation do they need to have, Junior Brother?"

"Two hundred people," Yang Kai replied.

"En."

"Dao Source Realm?"

*Puhh…*

Qiu Ran had just taken a sip of tea and spurted it out upon hearing those words. He quickly put down his teacup and patted at the water stain on his chest. Looking at Yang Kai in amazement, he exclaimed, "Junior Brother, you want to borrow two hundred Dao Source Realm cultivators!?"

"You heard correctly, Senior Brother. I would like to borrow two hundred Dao Source Realm instructors."

Gao Xue Ting was similarly astonished, "Why do you need so many Dao Source Realm disciples?"

These people were going to High Heaven Palace to teach. Since they were teachers, it would definitely be one teacher to a group of students. If one teacher was to teach two hundred people, then two hundred teachers would be teaching forty thousand people. [High Heaven Palace has forty thousand disciples!?]

"Didn't I tell you just now? I want them to be teachers."

She frowned, "How many disciples did you recruit at High Heaven Palace?"

Yang Kai sniffed lightly, "More than a hundred thousand…"

Both Qiu Ran and Gao Xue Ting were completely stunned. They almost thought that they had misheard Yang Kai. Exchanging a glance with each other, Qiu Ran asked Gao Xue Ting using his Divine Sense, "How many did he say just now?"

Gao Xue Ting replied, "I heard him say more than a hundred thousand. What did you hear him say, Senior Brother?"

[So it really was more than a hundred thousand! We weren't mistaken!] The corners of his brow twitched, "Why did you take in so many disciples!?"

The key point to what Yang Kai had said was that these disciples' cultivation was not high. The strength of a Sect did not lie in the number of disciples, but whether they had enough powerful Masters.

Azure Sun Temple only had about eight thousand disciples, but it was still one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory. On the other hand, High Heaven Palace had more than one hundred thousand disciples. [It's more than a hundred thousand people! It's not like they are a hundred thousand chickens. Can he even feed so many people!? Besides, what's the point of taking care of a hundred thousand people with low cultivation!? There has never been any Sect with so many disciples before. It's completely unseen and unheard of!]

"I had no choice," Yang Kai smiled bitterly. It was inconvenient to explain the situation to others. It was enough if his own people knew about it. If people from Azure Sun Temple learnt that those disciples had been brought over from a Lower Star Field, Azure Sun Temple would surely try to snatch some of them.

[With more than a hundred thousand disciples, two hundred teachers really isn't much…] Qiu Ran forcefully composed himself and asked, "Junior Brother, do you know how many Dao Source Realm Masters are in Azure Sun Temple?"

"No, I don't." Yang Kai shook his head. Although he was qualified to know, no one had told him before, so how could he have known about that?

"352." Qiu Ran offered an extremely accurate number, "Leaving aside the disciples in the Dao Source Realm who oversee various properties, there are only 289 who remain in the Temple." The implication behind his words was: 'What is the Temple going to do if you take away two hundred Dao Source Realm disciples all at once!?'

Yang Kai nodded at those words, "289. The heritage of the Temple is truly not to be taken lightly. It's perfectly capable of fulfilling my needs. I ask that you carry out my request, Senior Brother."

Qiu Ran almost failed to stop himself from cursing. He even wondered if Yang Kai was doing this on purpose. Those 289 people in question had duties to perform in the Temple as well. They were not idlers with nothing to do. While deploying some people was not a problem, two hundred was simply too many. Besides, Qiu Ran was certain that Yang Kai was deliberately playing dumb despite being well aware of this point. Taking a deep breath, he stated, "Two hundred Dao Source Realm cultivators is impossible. I can lend you thirty at most."

Yang Kai opened his eyes wide and said, "Thirty!? What am I going to do with thirty?" [Thirty is nowhere near enough people to fill in the gaps!]

"Take it or leave it." Qiu Ran turned around and picked up his teacup. Just as he was about to take a sip, he suddenly remembered that he had just spat into his tea mere moments ago. Thus, he put it down again in anguish.

"Please don't do this, Senior Brother. We are all one family aren't we? We can talk things out. Is it because you don't have the authority to decide on this matter? If you can't make the call on this matter, I can always go and negotiate with the Temple Master instead."

Qiu Ran shook his head, "It's useless even if you approach the Temple Master over this matter."

"Good, I'll lower the amount I'm asking for. One hundred and eighty people." Yang Kai took a step back.

Qiu Ran was expressionless, "Forty."

"One hundred and seventy."

"Fifty!"

"One hundred and sixty. That should work, right? Senior Brother, please don't be so unreasonable. I'm only asking them to be teachers and they will be paid for their work. I won't let them work for nothing."

"Sixty!" Qiu Ran glanced sideways at Yang Kai, "It looks like High Heaven Palace is quite well off, Junior Brother. Not only can it feed more than a hundred thousand disciples, but it can also afford to pay salaries for two hundred Dao Source Realm teachers. Junior Brother, you truly are a capable man."

"I am also living on a tight budget to support my Sect. Senior Brother, you are also somebody who is in charge of a Sect so I'm sure you can understand my pain. One hundred fifty. I really can't go lower than that anymore."

"It's precisely because I understand how hard it is that I'm willing to be more considerate of you. Seventy people. I can't go any higher than that."

The two of them had a lively back-and-forth conversation, each responding to the other in quick succession. It was similar to haggling at the market, making Gao Xue Ting stare at them speechlessly. [The two of you are talking about tens to hundreds of disciples in the Dao Source Realm. Can you please be a little more serious about it?]

After a battle of wits and courage, Qiu Ran adamantly refused to budge from eighty people. He would not give even a single one more.

Yang Kai slapped the table furiously, "Senior Brother, don't force my hand!"

Qiu Ran calmly adjusted his sleeves, "Calm down, Junior Brother. Giving you eighty Dao Source Realm disciples as teachers is really the Temple's limit. How can you say that I am forcing your hand?"

"You really can't give me more?" Yang Kai showed a fierce look as if he had a deep grudge against Qiu Ran.

Qiu Ran slowly shook his head.

"Fine." Yang Kai pointed a finger at Qiu Ran, "Since that's the case, I don't want any teachers anymore. Not a single one."

Qiu Ran was surprised by this declaration, but suddenly had an ominous premonition wash over him.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai spread his arms out, "Senior Brother, please convert all of my 150,000 plus Elder Contribution Points into High-Rank Source Crystals. I currently need to feed more than a hundred thousand disciples and we are sorely lacking in cultivation resources so we need to use Source Crystals to make up for that deficit. Please support me, Senior Brother."

Qiu Ran's expression instantly turned black and he had to struggle intensely to stop himself from cursing out loud. What he feared the most really came true. While he was calculating Yang Kai's Elder Contribution Points before, he had felt that there were far too many of them, that was why he wanted Yang Kai to spend some of them. Unfortunately, he did not expect to arrive back at square one after taking such a big detour.

If all those Elder Contribution Points were to be converted into High-Rank Source Crystals, it would amount to over a billion High-Rank Source Crystals. It wasn't that the Temple couldn't afford such an expenditure, but what would happen after that? Besides, the Temple still needed to trouble Yang Kai to continue refining Emperor Grade Spirit Pills for them in the future. If he continued being stubborn here, it would only anger Yang Kai further and make things more difficult.

"Cough, cough…" Qiu Ran formed a fist and coughed into it, "Junior Brother, let's not get agitated. I'm sure we can reach a middle ground. Aren't we still in the process of negotiating?"

Yang Kai laughed. Leaning back into the chair, he crossed one leg over his knee and said, "One hundred forty teachers in the Dao Source Realm. Senior Brother, it's up to you."

Qiu Ran replied with a sour expression, "That's too many."

"Is that so? But, I don't think it's too many." Yang Kai secretly thought to himself. [Li Jiao was really quite agreeable. I only needed to ask him to send some Dao Source Realm teachers over, and he arranged for it immediately. On the contrary, Azure Sun Temple is being so fussy about it. They are acting as if I'm trying to kidnap their people or something.]

"Please reduce it by a bit more."

Yang Kai resolutely declared, "Senior Brother, please help me exchange my Elder Contribution Points for Source Crystals."

Qui Ren's expression darkened even more.

Unable to stand this farce any longer, Gao Xue Ting spoke up, "Why don't we do this instead, Junior Brother Yang. One hundred Dao Source Realm disciples, plus three hundred Origin Kings. Since your disciples' cultivation is not that high, the Origin Kings should be able to teach some of them too; after all, not everybody needs the guidance of a Dao Source Realm Master."

Yang Kai glanced at her, knowing that she was right. In any case, a hundred Dao Source Realm instructors were not far off from his original estimations. The reason why he asked for two hundred people was so that Qiu Ran had room to bargain.

Three hundred Origin Kings was quite a large number, and if Yang Kai divided them among all the Spirit Peaks, he would have two to three per Spirit Peak. Although some of those who came from the Star Field were also Origin Kings, they had their hands full with their own cultivation at the moment and did not have the time to guide others. Therefore, the current situation at High Heaven Palace would surely improve with the help of these four hundred additional teachers.

Still, Yang Kai pretended to consider it for a long time before saying, "Since Senior Sister Gao has spoken, then I will back down out of respect for her. However, the number of Origin Kings is a little lacking. Let's increase it to four hundred instead." After saying that, he glanced at Qiu Ran.

Qiu Ran gritted his teeth and snarled, "Fine!" [He backs down in respect for her, but not for me? How outrageous!]

Yang Kai immediately broke into a grin and cupped his fists, "Many thanks, Senior Brother Qiu."