Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

After taking the ring, Yang Kai scanned it with his Divine Sense and became dumbstruck. The Open Heaven Pills inside the ring were piled up like a mountain, and the glow radiating from the pills dazzled his eyes.

It was impossible for him to count them all at once, but from the look of it, there really should be 10 million pills.

At that instant, he still couldn't believe that he had obtained 10 million pills so easily.

It was substantial wealth for anyone who had just arrived in the Outer Universe, and with the right connections, one could even buy a Sixth-Order material with this amount. Old Fang and the others could never have expected that Yang Kai would possess a ring that contained 10 million pills one day.

Although he was over the moon, he still remained calm, thinking that those from First Inn had really treated him well. After all that had happened, they still gave him such generous compensation, which made him feel somewhat guilty. After all, he had absorbed a lot of the Golden Crow's True Fire, so he wasn't sure if the remaining True Fire was enough for another person to condense their Fire Element. If it wasn't enough, it would ruin that person's cultivation for life.

Nevertheless, he couldn't expose this secret, so he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

While Yang Kai was still lost in his thoughts though, the Proprietress said coldly, "Now that you've gotten your compensation, it's time we talked about this Queen's losses."

A shocked Yang Kai lifted his head, "Your losses? What do you mean?" He instinctively had a bad premonition, and even the ring in his hands seemed to have become scorching hot.

The Proprietress sneered, "As I said, First Inn values our reputation deeply, so we have always been fair when it comes to doing business. Since you've given us some benefits, we naturally have to provide you with appropriate compensation in return. However, since you've also made us suffer some losses, we'll need appropriate compensation from you. See, perfectly fair, isn't it?" Then, she clenched her fist and declared, "Let us settle accounts now."

The accountant stepped forward from the crowd and made some loud noises with the golden abacus in his hands.

Yang Kai became dumbfounded as he stared at the accountant. A moment later, the accountant was done with his calculation and presented the abacus to the Proprietress. With a sympathetic look on his face, he gazed at Yang Kai and announced, "Including the accommodation fee, you owe us twenty million forty-six thousand pills in total."

The Proprietress nodded gently and fiddled with the abacus with her slender fingers, then she said impassively, "We'll just round it down and make it an even 2o million."

"Yes," the accountant replied.

The Proprietress extended her hand, and before Yang Kai could react, the ring that contained 10 million pills was taken back by her. With the ring in her hand, she showed it to Yang Kai and demanded, "There are 10 million pills here, so you now owe us just 10 million."

Yang Kai was astounded. Just a few moments ago, he became wealthy as he was dazzled by 10 million pills, but in the next instant, he owed the Proprietress 10 million pills for no apparent reason.

Then, he became incensed as he gritted his teeth and glared at her, "Is it fun to mess with me?"

The Proprietress gave him a look with her alluring eyes and replied dispassionately, "Do you think I'm messing with you? I don't have the time to waste on such things."

"What do you mean by this, then?" Yang Kai felt his fury rising within him like a volcano that would erupt at any moment. He secretly swore that if she couldn't give him a satisfactory explanation, he would immediately summon his Azure Dragon Spear and stab it at her beautiful face. Regardless of whether he could defeat her or not, he would make a move first and deal with the consequences later. He still had a Mie Meng's golden tail feather that could be put to use anyway.

"What do I mean?" The Proprietress was so exasperated that she started laughing, then she pointed in a particular direction, "See for yourself!"

Yang Kai turned his head around, but there was nothing special in sight. A moment later, he gazed at the Proprietress and asked, "What?" What was he supposed to look at when there was nothing over there?

The Proprietress said slowly through clenched teeth, "First Inn was destroyed!"

"What does that…" Before Yang Kai finished his words, he gulped down what he was about to say. With a frown, he soon realised what had happened, then he appeared helpless, "I didn't destroy your inn, so what's the point of settling accounts with me?"

The Proprietress snapped, "If it weren't because of you, the inn wouldn't have been destroyed! I've been in charge of the inn for 1,300 years without making a single mistake; however, because of you, my inn is now gone! Who else should I settle the score with?"

Yang Kai replied under his breath, "Look for those who actually broke down your inn…"

"Don't worry. This Queen will never let those bastards off, but as you're the main culprit, you have to take up most of the responsibility. I don't think I've gone overboard by demanding 20 million pills from you."

"You!" Yang Kai was infuriated, "Don't go too far!"

Just then, a figure flashed across his eyes as he caught a whiff of a pleasant scent. The next instant, a slender finger was pointed at his chest as a dangerous aura fluctuated around the tip of her finger. Madam Lan narrowed her eyes and threatened, "I dare you to say that again."

Yang Kai gulped as he looked down at the finger on his chest, then he minced his words and said, "Proprietress, can we discuss this? While I feel sorry that your inn has been destroyed, I never made a move or damaged a single piece of furniture, so I don't think it's righteous of you to try to extract wealth from me because of that."

"You say I'm not righteous?" The Proprietress laughed in exasperation, "If you had accepted my offer from the start, none of this would have happened. How dare you say that it has nothing to do with you!?"

"I have the right to decide whether I wanted to accept your offers or not. As a business person, you couldn't force me to agree to anything, could you?"

The Proprietress said, "No one was forcing you, and you indeed had a right to decide whether you wanted to accept my offers, but do you have the guts to say that the inn's destruction has nothing to do with you?"

Yang Kai braced himself and replied, "No, I don't think it has anything to do with me."

The Proprietress examined him for a moment and started laughing. Upon withdrawing her hand, she swung her sleeve, "It's fine even if you don't admit it. No one can renege on a debt with me."

Yang Kai balled up his fists and glared at her.

With a faint smile on her face, the Proprietress stared back at him with a mocking gaze. Behind her, Bai Qi kept hinting at him with his gaze to motion for him to calm down.

After taking a deep breath, Yang Kai suppressed his urge to summon the golden tail feather to make a scene, then he looked away, "I have no money!"

10 million Open Heaven Pills were an astronomical number for him. There was no way he could fork out so many pills.

Surprisingly though, Madam Lan simply said, "I don't expect you to pay me now."

"Hmm?" Yang Kai turned his head in shock, "Then… do you need a note of indebtedness or something?" It would be wonderful if he could flee from this place by leaving such a note. The Outer Universe was expansive, so he might not come across the Proprietress again if he was careful enough. Certainly, it wasn't hard for the Proprietress to order her subordinates to look for him, but if he never showed up again, it would be easy for him to escape from her.

"What would I do with a mere notice of debt?" The Proprietress sneered and sized him up.

Then, she said impassively, "However, you can use your body to compensate."

Yang Kai almost spat blood as he thought he had heard her wrong, "What?"

Ignoring him, the Proprietress ordered her subordinates, "Take him. We're leaving."

Upon receiving the order, Bai Qi and the accountant stepped forward and captured Yang Kai.

An astounded Yang Kai bellowed, "What are you doing!?"

While the accountant sported a poker face, Bai Qi kept winking at him, but it was hard to know what message he was trying to convey.

Madam Lan raised her hand and summoned an artifact that looked like a ship. The artifact expanded rapidly and turned into a several dozen metres long ship with three floors. Then, she flew towards a room on the top floor and stepped inside.

Those from First Inn subsequently boarded the ship and got to work. Yang Kai was dragged towards the ship by Bai Qi and the accountant.

Although the ship looked ordinary from the outside, Yang Kai could feel that it was of a much better quality than the ship from Great Moon Province, which wasn't surprising seeing as it was the Proprietress' artifact, so it must be good enough to match her status.

After a hum, the ship trembled slightly as a visible membrane appeared and surrounded it. The next instant, Yang Kai shuddered as he could feel the ship moving rapidly in a particular direction.

A baffled Yang Kai turned to look at Bai Qi, "Where are we going?"

Bai Qi shook his head, "I have no idea. Proprietress never told us."

"You have no idea as well?" Then, Yang Kai shifted his attention to the accountant, who silently released him and shuffled into the cabin.

Bai Qi stretched his back, and upon seeing that Yang Kai appeared dejected, he patted his shoulder, "Are you still upset?"

"If you were me, would you not be upset?"

After giving it a thought, Bai Qi nodded his head, "I would've felt the same way; however, not everything is as simple as it seems. We should think positively."

A frustrated Yang Kai replied, "I don't know what benefits I'll gain out of it."

"Then look over there." Bai Qi suddenly extended his finger.

Yang Kai looked in the direction he pointed and faintly saw a ship silently hovering in the distant void.

"What do you mean?" He asked in puzzlement.

Bai Qi grinned, "I have no idea which great force they're from; however, if you left on your own just now, they certainly wouldn't have let you go. I'm sure you can imagine what the outcome of that would be."

Yang Kai frowned, "But the carcass was taken away by Senior Si Tu. It's pointless for them to care about me."

"True, but who knows whether you obtained other treasures from the Golden Crow Divine Palace? For example, things like Sun's True Fires or Sun's True Golds."

Yang Kai was startled for a moment before he said through gritted teeth, "Outrageous!" Although he had no Sun's True Gold, he had obtained quite a number of Sun's True Fires, three of which were Fifth-Order.

Bai Qi patted his shoulder, "Proprietress might seem ruthless from your perspective, but she's actually protecting you. Regardless of whether you're willing or not, we have a business deal with you, so there's no way we'll see you falling into danger and stand idly by. If we really did that, our reputation would be tarnished."

"In that case, should I go over and thank her?" Yang Kai snorted.

"That's up to you," Bai Qi shrugged.

A furious Yang Kai said, "Even if she's well-meaning, what is she trying to achieve by making me owe her 10 million pills? She could have directly told me that she wanted to protect me."

"Well…" Bai Qi scratched his chin, "I'm not sure about that, so you have to talk to the Proprietress. With that said, you're indeed responsible for the inn's destruction."