Martial Peak

"Twelve people… Good, very good!" Yang Kai appeared elated. He recalled that when he came to the Star Boundary for the first time, he was shocked to realise there were Emperor Realm Masters in this world. Nevertheless, only several dozen years had passed, and there were already more than ten Emperor Realm Masters in High Heaven Palace, a Sect he had founded. Furthermore, those people only ascended to a new realm after joining his Sect, which showcased that as a leading Sect, they did have incredible heritage. All of this had happened in just several dozen years. In a few hundred years, or a thousand years, their achievements would be unimaginable.

With such accomplishments, they could live up to their name as a Top Sect. That was the reason Yang Kai was laughing joyfully.

After he calmed down, he said, "With so many Emperor Realm Masters around, we don't have to worry that there are not enough people to take up the positions of Brigade Commanders."

Yao Si sneered, "Sir, do you intend to assign all the positions of Brigade Commanders to your own people in High Heaven Palace?"

"What's wrong with that?" Yang Kai asked.

Yao Si explained, "There wouldn't be a problem if there were enough people in High Heaven Palace to prop up the entire Sixty-First Army; however, that isn't the case now, so we have to recruit people from outside. In that case, we need to give the suitable positions to the right people. If all the Brigade Commanders are from High Heaven Palace, no First-Order Emperor Realm Masters will be willing to join us."

"Aren't there Deputy Brigade Commander positions?" Yang Kai smiled, "Moreover, there are Defenders under Brigade Commanders. We can assign the positions of Left Defenders to those First-Order Emperor Realm Masters."

On his way back some time ago, he had come across Han Zheng Qing, who was a Left Defender as well as a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, but that was the structure in the Fifty-Third Army. The army was overflowing with talented people, so they had let Emperor Realm Masters become Left Defenders. There was no way the Sixty-First Army was no match for them.

However, Yao Si shook his head, "You're not wrong, but it's still inappropriate. By doing so, you'll give off the impression to the outsiders that the Sixty-First Army belongs to High Heaven Palace…"

"The Sixty-First Army does belong to High Heaven Palace!" Yang Kai cut him off.

Yao Si stared at him with his mouth open.

Yang Kai went on to say, "No one in the army shall disobey my orders! I want all of us in the Sixty-First Army, whatever their position, to be united, and I don't need any voices of dissent."

A flustered Yao Si said, "Sir is not wrong to think in this way, but it will be hard to execute it according to your plan…"

Yang Kai grinned at him, "I know it will be difficult. That's why I've asked you to become the Adjutant."

Yao Si was dumbfounded as he realised that it wasn't going to be easy to be the Adjutant of the Sixty-First Army. He had practically picked up a hot potato, but he couldn't get rid of it now.

Seeing that Yang Kai was determined, Yao Si shook his head and changed the subject, "We'll put the issue of Brigade Commanders aside for now. Let's talk about the positions of Division Commanders. According to your plan, the positions of Division Commanders are supposed to be taken up by people from High Heaven Palace as well, but are there so many people in the Second-Order and Third-Order Emperor Realm in your Sect?"

Certainly, there were not enough. He was fully aware of how many Emperor Realm Masters there were in High Heaven Palace. The reason he even asked this question was to make Yang Kai wake up to reality. Yang Kai wanted to get the people from his Sect to take up all the important positions in the Sixty-First Army, but there weren't even enough people to hold the positions of Division Commanders, so there was no way he could do this.

"There are not enough people in High Heaven Palace, but I know where to recruit some." Yang Kai put on a faint smile, "En, I'll come up with a list later. Adjutant Yao will then head to Seven Mists Sea on my behalf and get those people from Supreme Commander Li."

Yao Si's face twitched as he said grimly, "Are you trying to poach talents from other armies?"

Yang Kai raised his hand to stop him, "I just want to give them a chance to join a place where they can shine."

Yao Si said, "Sir, I think you'd better do this in person."

Yang Kai wanted to get some top cultivators to become the Division Commanders of the Sixty-First Army, but there was no way that such people were insignificant in their respective armies. Most likely, these people were already Division Commanders; hence, what Yang Kai was doing was basically stealing from others.

Although Yao Si wasn't afraid to offend other people by doing so, he would rather not do it.

Yang Kai laughed and said, "Adjutant Yao will handle it for me as I have other matters to attend to, so I really have no time for that. Adjutant Yao, you have to spend more effort in building the Sixty-First Army."

Certainly, Yao Si was reluctant to do it as he bombarded Yang Kai with all sorts of excuses, determined to turn down this job.

In the end, Yang Kai said helplessly, "Adjutant Yao, why don't you handle it on your own first? If you really can't accomplish it in the end, I will then step forward to settle it."

After he finished speaking, he didn't wait for Yao Si to respond as he rose from the chair and clapped the other person's shoulder, "It's settled, then. I still have other matters to attend to. Farewell."

Following that, his figure suddenly flickered and disappeared.

"Sir!" Yao Si stood up straight and shouted, but no one responded to him as Yang Kai had already left the hall. At that instant, Yao Si was so exasperated that his expression turned livid. He had come all the way here to discuss building the Sixty-First Army with Yang Kai, but not long after the discussion began, Yang Kai, as the Army Commander, had actually fled. There was still a lot he needed to talk about.

Hua Qing Si was still in the hall. Seeing that Yao Si was blowing his top, she put on a smile and said, "Adjutant Yao, please don't get mad at him."

As Yao Si was still infuriated, she quickly said, "This is what Palace Master has left behind for you."

She pointed at something on the table.

It was a jade slip. Yao Si didn't even notice that Yang Kai had put it down on the table. After a snort, he picked it up and realised that there was a list of names inside.

Xie Wu Wei, Ying Fei, Xi Lei, Hu Fei, Du Mi'er, Chi Lian, Fu Ling, Li Jiao, Mi Qi…

Earlier, Yao Si's expression was still cold and angered; however, after he went through the names on this list, the coldness on his face melted. In the end, he grinned and gripped the jade slip as though he was holding a treasure.

When he heard Yang Kai say that they were going to poach talents from other armies, he instinctively thought that it was an abominable task. The other Army Commanders wouldn't easily let their people go, and when they didn't, he, the Adjutant, would have to persuade them.

However, it now seemed that even though this task was still troublesome, it wasn't so difficult to carry out.

At the very least, Xie Wu Wei, Ying Fei, Xi Lei, Hu Fei, Du Mi'er, and Chi Lian, all of them Monster Kings, were closely related to High Heaven Palace to begin with. Yang Kai was on good terms with those in Ancient Wild Lands as well. Now, all these Monster Kings were working under the three Divine Venerables of the Ancient Lands. If he went over with Yang Kai's order to get those people from them, Luan Feng and the others wouldn't reject him.

On the other hand, Fu Ling was a member of the Dragon Clan, so the average Army Commander wouldn't be able to restrict her. Hence, she had always worked directly under Li Wu Yi in the First Army. Together with those top cultivators she had brought over from Dragon Island, Li Wu Yi had weaved them together into a formidable group.

Given Yang Kai's relationship with Dragon Island, Fu Ling would definitely be willing to join the Sixty-First Army, and by obtaining Fu Ling, they would also obtain the cultivators from Dragon Island. There were more than a hundred thousand people in that group, with several dozen of them being Emperors.

It could be said that the name Fu Ling didn't only represent herself, but also a part of Dragon Island's power.

There were also Li Jiao and Mi Qi. They were already the Sect Masters of two top Sects in the Northern Territory, so their subordinates must be the disciples from their own Sects. By roping them in, they would have acquired the people from Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect as well.

Yao Si had heard that most Sects in the Northern Territory regarded High Heaven Palace as their leader, so now that Yang Kai's Sixty-First Army wanted manpower, Li Jiao and Mi Qi wouldn't turn them down.

With so many Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters, which included Zhu Qing, they had more than enough people to fill up the positions of Division Commanders.

After settling the issues regarding Division Commanders and Brigade Commanders, Yao Si could go on to build the army with ease; after all, the rest of the positions didn't require people with powerful cultivations, so those from High Heaven Palace would totally suffice.

The Sixty-First Army could really become High Heaven Palace's army, which wasn't a bad thing. Although it might affect those who would join as outsiders, the cohesion of the Sixty-First Army would be unbreakable. The other armies wouldn't be comparable to them in this regard.

Upon that realization, Yao Si stopped getting mad at Yang Kai. After putting the jade slip away, he placed his hands behind his back and shuffled out of the hall. He was pondering on whether he should return to Seven Mists Sea to get those people from Li Wu Yi or head to the armies where those people whose names were on the list were at and tell them about Yang Kai's idea.

In the end, he decided to head to Seven Mists Sea to inform Li Wu Yi first. In the military, the transfer of people whose positions were Brigade Commanders and above had to be authorized by Lu Wu Yi. So, it would be inappropriate if he didn't tell Li Wu Yi about it before they tried to poach those Division Commanders and Deputy Commanders from other armies.

When he reached the Space Array, he suddenly realised that while he had reluctantly accepted this job, at this moment, he was enthusiastically solving problems for Yang Kai.

After giving it a thought, Yao Si concluded that he wasn't happy to work for Yang Kai, he was just excited about the future of the Sixty-First Army.

…

While Yao Si was moving between Seven Mists Sea and different armies to poach talents from them, Yang Kai was paying a visit to all the Seniors in High Heaven Palace with his wives. Since he had made a promise, it would be inappropriate if he didn't fulfil it.

Nevertheless, it didn't take them much time to visit every peak and meet the Seniors. Eventually, they arrived at the residence of Yang Ying Feng and Dong Su Zhu.

Certainly, his parents were happy because he got to spend a few days with them; however, he could sense that there was a tinge of sorrow and anxiety behind his mother's smile. It couldn't be helped, as there was still no news about Yang Xue.

In the past, Yang Kai had brought Yang Xiao and Qiong Qi back from Dragon Island; however, he hadn't expected that Yang Xiao only pretended to be obedient in front of him, but when he wasn't around, the latter and Qiong Qi snuck out of High Heaven Palace. It wouldn't have mattered if Yang Xiao had left alone, but he had actually brought Yang Xue with him as well!

Liu Yan was worried about them at the time, so she raced after them to protect and watch over them.

Eventually, the group of four entered the Four Seasons Realm, and there hadn't been any news about them since then. Despite knowing that Yang Xue wouldn't be harmed with Liu Yan around, Dong Su Zhu still missed her only daughter deeply.

Moreover, Yang Xue was just seven to eight years old when she left home, and she had barely started cultivating. The Four Seasons Realm was the personal domain of the Flowing Time Great Emperor, and although Yang Xue had the protection of Qing Qi and Liu Yan, it was hard to tell what would happen to her there.

Yang Kai was still incensed every time he thought about it. Yang Xiao indeed had to be taught a lesson. It wouldn't have mattered if he had left alone, but he just had to bring Yang Xue with him.

According to Zhu Qing, those from Dragon Island had found out about it after all, and because of this, Second Elder Fu Zhun had personally come to High Heaven Palace to inquire about it. She had even gone to the valley in which the entrance to the Four Seasons Realm was located in search of Yang Xiao for half a year, but she couldn't get any clue in the end. Before she left, she had told Zhu Qing to tell Yang Kai to visit her on Dragon Island the moment he returned.