Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Obviously, Si Tu Kong was speaking to Yang Kai. After hesitating for a bit, Yang Kai knew that he had to face the music no matter what. Since he had successfully condensed his Fire Element already, there was nothing else he needed. At the thought of this, he leaped out of the Six Fated Paths Bag.

At that instant, some people turned to look at him with examining gazes, which caused him to feel his chest tightening.

On the other hand, the young man, who was seated across from Si Tu Kong, flashed a wicked smile at him. An alarmed Yang Kai thought that if the young man made a move against him, even a casual one on a whim, he wouldn't be able to resist.

Fortunately, the probing stares and the young man's smile only lasted for a short moment as everyone soon stopped paying attention to him.

Seeing that, Yang Kai was slightly relieved as he hid behind Si Tu Kong and let out a breath.

Just then, he felt someone staring resentfully at him. He turned his head, only to be met with Madam Lan's exquisite-looking eyes. With a forced smile, he cupped his fists and said in a small voice, "Proprietress."

The resentful Proprietress said through clenched teeth, "Smelly brat, this is all your fault!"

Yang Kai flashed an embarrassed smile at her and stepped back to stand beside Bai Qi. Although he had no idea why the Proprietress was so incensed, he reckoned that he'd better stay further away from her.

As for Bai Qi, he secretly gave him a thumbs-up with an admiring look on his face, which rendered Yang Kai speechless.

It wasn't until this moment that Yang Kai realised that the Six Fated Paths Bag was firmly held in Si Tu Kong's hand. Apparently, the owner of First Inn had won the contest, which was why the bag was in his possession now.

"What's going on?" Yang Kai couldn't understand what was happening now. He also wondered why Si Tu Kong was playing chess with the young man after snatching the bag. With no one else to ask, he could only turn to Bai Qi.

Bai Qi looked around before secretly sending him a Divine Sense message, "They're trying to determine who the winner will be through a game of chess. This is the last round. If Owner can defeat him, he'll be able to take the Golden Crow carcass home."

Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was dumbstruck, "They're battling against one another through a game of chess?" Were they not locked in an intense battle earlier? How did the chessboard become the battlefield in the end? The transition was too awkward for him to understand.

Moreover, Si Tu Kong had snatched the bag, so he could just run away. Why did he decide to play a game of chess with them?

However, after giving it a thought, Yang Kai realised that if Si Tu Kong could flee, he would have done so already. His opponents at the scene were all High-Rank Open Heaven cultivators as well, so although Si Tu Kong had gained the upper hand by obtaining the bag, he wouldn't be able to go against them if they joined forces to stop him.

Looking at it from another perspective, regardless of which High-Rank cultivator obtained the bag, the others wouldn't give up without being convinced first.

This was basically a deadlock as the others would join forces to deal with the one who got his hands on the bag. That was the reason they decided to play a game of chess to determine the winner. It was a win-win situation as they could sit down and sort out the problem peacefully.

However, judging from what Bai Qi had said, Yang Kai reckoned that Si Tu Kong was the more skilful one amongst this group when it came to chess. Although Yang Kai could understand the game and give it a try, he wasn't really familiar with it; therefore, he wasn't certain whether Si Tu Kong or the young man had gained the upper hand by just looking at the chessboard as it was currently.

Nevertheless, by observing their expressions, he concluded that Si Tu Kong was the more confident one. On the other hand, the young man kept frowning from time to time as he seemed to be in a dilemma. The speed at which he made a move was also much slower than the old man.

At this rate, it seemed it was just a matter of time before Si Tu Kong could defeat his final opponent.

Yang Kai wasn't really interested in the game as he was most concerned about his Six Fated Paths Bag. Now that the Golden Crow carcass was in Si Tu Kong's grasp, he shouldn't even think about getting it back. Moreover, he had fully condensed his Fire Element, so it was pointless for him to offend everyone further.

Nevertheless, Yang Kai wanted his bag back, and wondered if Si Tu Kong would return it to him. If the bag was taken away from him, he would suffer an immense loss. He was so dejected that his face started contorting.

Just then, he was shocked by a crashing sound. Raising his head, he realised that the chessboard that was placed between Si Tu Kong and the young man had been flipped upside down, and the chess pieces were scattered everywhere. The young man stood up straight with a frustrated expression, "It's pointless to continue."

This went to show how terrible his demeanour was as he flipped the board after seeing he couldn't win.

Si Tu Kong rose from his seat and replied with a smile, "My respects!"

The young man shot him a cold glare, "Don't be too proud of yourself. You've simply lived for a longer time. This King wouldn't have lost the game if it was something else."

Si Tu Kong replied casually, "With age comes wisdom, or didn't you know?"

The young man scoffed, "Old people also tend to pass away first. I hope that you'll still be so energetic the next time we meet. Farewell!" Upon finishing his words, he turned into a dark cloud and shot into the distance.

He left without any hesitation.

Upon seeing this, the other High-Rank cultivators also took their leave. No one congratulated Si Tu Kong as they were not in the mood to do so. The reason they had stayed until now was that they wanted to witness the outcome. Now that the winner had emerged, it was pointless for them to stay there.

In the blink of an eye, everyone was gone except for those from First Inn. Yang Kai felt slightly awkward because he was the only outsider.

The Proprietress said smilingly, "Congratulations, Sir."

The others also congratulated him.

Si Tu Kong waved his hand, "There's nothing worth congratulating as it's just a material. Although there have been some upheavals, we've finally obtained it." Then, he gazed at Yang Kai with a smile, "Take it out."

Following that, he tossed the bag at him.

A surprised Yang Kai caught the bag and hurriedly shook out the Golden Crow carcass. Then, he quickly stored the bag as though he was worried that it would be taken away from him.

Si Tu Kong didn't mind his attitude as he was more concerned about the carcass, as was everyone else. With the exception of Madam Lan, none of them had seen an adult Golden Crow at such a close distance before.

Yang Kai appeared calm on the surface, but inside was feeling nervous. He had absorbed a lot of the True Fire from the Golden Crow to condense his Fire Element. The True Fire within the carcass was already much weaker than it was before, so he wondered if Si Tu Kong would notice.

Fortunately, Si Tu Kong only examined it briefly before waving his hand, upon which the carcass disappeared from the spot. It wasn't certain where he had put it.

With that said, Yang Kai was sure that the carcass wasn't put inside a Space Ring. Even his Small Sealed World was unable to store the Golden Crow carcass, so there was no way an ordinary Space Ring could do so.

After putting away the carcass, Si Tu Kong turned to look at Madam Lan, "I'll leave the rest to you."

Madam Lan elegantly saluted him, "Please rest assured, Sir."

Si Tu Kong nodded and performed a hand seal, after which an abstruse pattern appeared beneath his feet and swirled around him. Yang Kai could clearly feel the fluctuation of Space Principles coming from it.

While he was amazed and wondered if Si Tu Kong was also a Master of the Dao of Space, the latter disappeared from the spot in a flash of light.

A dazed Yang Kai soon realised that it wasn't that Si Tu Kong was adept at Space Principles, but rather that he had used the Universe Transference Law, which Bai Qi had explained to him before. Si Tu Kong must have gone to one of the nearby Universe Temples.

[So, this is how the Universe Transference Law works.] Yang Kai fell into his thoughts. Now that he had seen it, he realized there was actually a problem with the Universe Transference Law. As a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, Si Tu Kong still needed a couple of breaths to use the Universe Transference Law, so it would undoubtedly take longer for weaker cultivators.

This amount of time was not to be underestimated. During a life or death moment, a single blink could be the difference between living or dying. In order to use the Universe Transference Law to flee from danger, it seemed one had to make sure that no one would disturb them.

While he was lost in his thoughts, Yang Kai suddenly felt a piercing stare, which caused him to shudder. Upon raising his head, he forced a smile, "Proprietress…"

Madam Lan kept a smile on her face and said in a soft voice, "Your name is Yang Kai, right?"

A terrified Yang Kai nodded, "Yes."

The Proprietress nodded slightly, and just when Yang Kai thought she was going to say something, she hung her head low as though she had fallen into her thoughts.

Yang Kai felt like he was on pins and needles as he cupped his fists, "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

Terrible things might happen if he stayed there, so without waiting for her reply, he turned around and tried to leave.

"Don't you want your things anymore?" The Proprietress' voice could be heard coming from behind.

A shocked Yang Kai turned his head, "What do you mean?"

The Proprietress replied, "What's wrong? Did you think our First Inn would buy and sell by compulsion?"

Although Yang Kai was both surprised and shocked, he still asked tentatively, "What do you mean by that?"

She then explained, "Although you've been uncooperative, and Owner had to expend a great deal of effort to get the carcass, First Inn has always been fair when it comes to doing business. So, we wouldn't take your things for free; otherwise, others will think that we've oppressed you by stealing."

Yang Kai couldn't believe his ears. Upon turning around, he rubbed his hands together with an elated expression, "So, do you mean that your offers are still valid?"

Ten million Open Heaven Pills and the assurance to help him ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm could be said to be very attractive offers.

"In your dreams!" The Proprietress snorted, "If you had agreed to it earlier, the offers wouldn't have changed, but now the situation is different and our agreement must be altered as such. I'm sure you can understand."

Yang Kai was startled for a moment, but he never intended to haggle over this point so, after a nod, he replied, "Of course, I can understand that. What will I get as compensation now?" The compensation came as a surprise, so he wasn't going to pretend that he didn't want it.

The Proprietress fished out a Space Ring and waved it in front of Yang Kai, "There are ten million Open Heaven Pills inside."

Upon finishing her words, she tossed the ring to him.