Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Presently, Yang Kai was hesitating in front of a room on the top floor of the ship. A long time later, he summoned enough courage and knocked on the door.

A languid voice could be heard coming from the room, "Come in."

Yang Kai forced himself to push the door open. Upon entering the room, he realised that the interior wasn't luxurious; instead, it gave off a clean and fresh feeling. The scent that permeated was pleasant, but he wasn't sure if it was the smell of sandalwood or bodily fragrance.

The Proprietress was nowhere in sight, so he figured she was in the inner room.

Upon pulling the bead curtains apart, Yang Kai saw the Proprietress lying on her side on a wooden bed. With one hand propping up her temple, she appeared languid as her clothes perfectly outlined her curvy figure.

Without looking at her, Yang Kai said impassively, "What do you want?"

Then, he fell silent and sized her up. They had frequently come into contact, but they mostly argued or fought one another, so he had never had a proper look at this woman before. Upon closer examination, he realised that the Proprietress was indeed strikingly gorgeous as every move she made had an innate charm to it. Even just lying there, she still appeared indescribably alluring.

It was no wonder that the customers at the inn would always try to flirt with her. No man in the world would ignore such an enchantress.

On the wooden bed, the Proprietress suddenly opened her eyes, "If you dare to keep staring, I'll dig your eyes out!"

Yang Kai lowered his gaze and shuffled forward. While the Proprietress was dumbfounded, he climbed onto the bed and moved past her before lying on the other side; then, he spread his limbs and looked away as though he felt utterly humiliated, "Even if you can obtain my body, you'll never have my heart!"

The Proprietress was astounded as what Yang Kai had done was simply too shocking. Even a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her was unable to react to it when he climbed into the bed all of a sudden. As though she had been stung by a scorpion, she jumped up and stood on the bed before glaring at him, so exasperated her entire body shook as she snarled, "What are you doing!?"

Yang Kai turned to look at her, "You said…"

Over ten breaths later, a pitiful shriek was heard. Following that, the door flung open, and Yang Kai shot out of the room like an arrow leaving the bow, crashing into the light barrier around the ship before he slid down miserably.

Covering his chest with his hands, he bellowed, "It's you who didn't make yourself clear! You said I could compensate with my body, but now you attack me? Why are you so unreasonable!?"

"Get lost!" The Proprietress yelled from the room.

"What's going on?" Bai Qi and the others dashed out of the cabin after hearing the commotion. Then, they saw Yang Kai standing there with a furious expression. Two symmetrical dark circles around his eyes.

At that instant, they felt like they had seen a similar sight before.

"What are you all looking at? Get back to work! Now!" The Proprietress growled, upon which Bai Qi and the others shrank their necks and hurriedly left.

"Crazy woman!" Yang Kai cursed through clenched teeth before shuffling towards the cabin.

"What did you just say? I dare you to repeat that!" The Proprietress was heard yelling.

Yang Kai glared at the room on the third floor as his lips trembled for some time before he hung his head low, "A wise man does not fight against the odds." Then, he dashed into the cabin and looked for an empty room.

Upon entering a room, he realised that it was spacious and had complete facilities.

Then, he sat down on the bed with his legs crossed and rubbed his black eyes as he felt completely incensed. When the Proprietress said that his body could serve as a form of compensation, he thought she wanted to bed him, but he hadn't expected that it wasn't what she meant at all. She simply wanted him to work for First Inn, slowly earning back his freedom from his 10 million Open Heaven Pill debt.

Although he had no idea how much money Bai Qi and the others received every month as salary, he reckoned that it wouldn't be so easy to pay back 10 million pills. Therefore, he would probably be forced to work for that crazy woman for tens or even hundreds of years.

At the thought of this, Yang Kai let out a long sigh. There were some benefits he could gain by following the Proprietress. At the very least, a Sixth-Order Open Realm Master like her was powerful enough to ensure his safety; however, it was also dangerous to work for her. He had absorbed most of the Golden Crow's True Fire to condense his Fire Element. If she found out about it in the future, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.

Recalling the Golden Crow's True Fire, Yang Kai became fervent. He had condensed his Fire Element in the Six Fated Paths Bag, but he hadn't had an opportunity to examine himself. Now that he was free, he wanted to see what transformation he had gone through.

Thus, he emptied his mind and inspected himself.

Inside his Dao Seal, two wisps of light, one green and one black, could be seen swirling around. The green one was full of vitality, while the black one was quite low-key. Despite that, it contained an aura that seemed capable of burning down the world.

The Wood Element and Fire Element lived in harmony within his Dao Seal, which was why the two colours existed at the same time. Although it looked slightly odd, it gave off a powerful feeling.

The Golden Crow's True Fire was immensely powerful, but Yang Kai had successfully absorbed it and condensed his Fire Element from it. He came to the realisation that the Proprietress was right to say that only a Wood Element that was strong enough could suppress the True Fire. If his Wood Element wasn't strong enough, his Dao Seal would have been at risk of shattering after he absorbed the True Fire.

Once his Dao Seal collapsed, the foundation of his Martial Dao would be destroyed, and he would certainly lose his life.

Besides that, Yang Kai could also feel that his strength had increased. It then dawned on him that just like the Open Heaven Realm Masters, there was a gap in power between those who had condensed their Dao Seals. The reason for that disparity was how many of the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements one had condensed.

Every time a cultivator successfully condensed an Element, their cultivation would increase significantly. Once a person managed to condense five Elements, there would be an exponential growth in their strength. Such a person was called a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master.

Only after splitting Heaven and Earth apart within their body would one be able to take another great leap forward in power.

Certainly, the growth rate was also correlated to the Order of the materials one absorbed. If a cultivator had condensed a single Third-Order material while another had condensed a Seventh-Order material, the latter would certainly be more powerful.

Yang Kai felt that his strength had increased considerably, but he hadn't battled against anyone yet, so he couldn't make a proper judgement. Whatever the case, it was good news for him. The incident at the Golden Crow Divine Palace made him desperately crave greater strength. He wouldn't want to be helplessly hunted down by a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters again.

Next, Yang Kai decided that he wouldn't easily use the Golden Crow's True Fire unless he was left with no other choice; otherwise, his secret would be exposed.

Now, he had successfully condensed his Fire Element, and he was satisfied with the Order of the material. Although he wasn't sure what Order the True Fire was, Yang Kai reckoned that it was at least Seventh Order.

Wood supported Fire, which then suppressed Earth. His next step was to condense the Power of Earth.

Yang Kai was immensely lucky to have obtained the Golden Crow's True Fire, but where was he going to look for a Seventh-Order or higher Earth Attribute material? He was clueless.

A Seventh-Order material could possibly be bought for 150 million Open Heaven Pills, but Yang Kai severely doubted whether one could actually purchase such a material with just pills. Just like the Sun's True Gold, once such a treasure appeared, countless top cultivators would come over and fight for it. Even if a great force possessed such a material, it would likely serve as a strategic resource and not be sold for any price.

Yang Kai couldn't think of any item in his possession that could be traded for such a treasure with those great forces; furthermore, without being powerful enough, he had no right to make such a deal in the first place.

Therefore, it was pointless to think about it for the time being. In any case, his Fire Element had just been condensed, so he needed some time to stabilise it and adapt to his new strength.

The ship moved forward at great speed, but it wasn't clear where it was heading.

While Yang Kai was meditating, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. With a frown, he got to his feet and opened it only to see Bai Qi holding a tray with delicate dishes and a jar of wine on it.

Upon catching a whiff of the aroma, Yang Kai forced a smile and stepped aside, "Come in."

Bai Qi was startled for a moment before he said, "It's not for you."

A speechless Yang Kai asked, "Why are you here if these dishes aren't for me?"

Bai Qi pointed at the ceiling, "The Proprietress wants it."

A puzzled Yang Kai asked, "Since she wants it, you should go to her instead of coming to my place."

With a sympathetic look on his face, Bai Qi explained, "She has given the order that you must deliver it to her." Then, he pushed the tray towards Yang Kai and didn't wait for his reply, "It's your job now. Do it well."

Yang Kai was rooted to the spot as Bai Qi left, and only after coming to his senses did he bellow, "Outrageous!"

Following that, he raised the tray in an attempt to smash it to the ground, but he didn't have the guts to do so in the end. As his face twitched visibly, he thought that the crazy woman had started bossing him around as though he was really a shop hand in her inn.

After taking a deep breath, he suppressed his fury and stared at the dishes on the tray. Although he had the urge to spit on them, he was worried that the Proprietress might be monitoring him; hence, he didn't do it in the end.

"What are you waiting for? Come up now!" The Proprietress' voice suddenly rang out.

Yang Kai shuddered as he realized she was indeed monitoring him. Fortunately, he didn't spit on the dishes on a whim; otherwise, he would be punished.

"I'm coming now. Stop rushing me," Yang Kai replied in exasperation before leaving the room with the tray in his hands.

Upon reaching the top floor, he kicked the door open, but before he could enter, he was swept backwards by a gale.

"Didn't your parents tell you that you have to knock before entering another's room?"

The door was then shut with a loud slam, which almost smacked him in the nose. After blowing his top for a while, Yang Kai knocked on the door and asked through clenched teeth, "Is anyone inside?"

"Come in," the Proprietress was heard replying from the room.

Then, Yang Kai pushed the door open and entered the room before putting the tray on the table, "Your food is here. Enjoy."

"Where do you think you're going?" The Proprietress questioned.

Yang Kai turned his head, "Of course, I'm going back to my room to have a rest. What else do you need?"

The Proprietress retained her languid posture as she pouted her moist lips at the table, "Fill the cup."