Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

After closing the door, Yang Kai took out Seven Faces from the box, and with the help of the dim light, he carefully pasted the mask on his face in front of a mirror.

It was so comfortable that it was as though nothing had been placed on his face at all, surprising him once more at its thinness and lightness; however, his face didn't change as he hadn't refined the artifact yet.

Then, he sat down on the bed with his legs crossed and emptied his mind before circulating his strength to refine it.

A few days later, Yang Kai, who was still refining Seven Faces, suddenly heard a series of rapid footsteps approaching his room. Following that, the door was pushed open from the outside as Bai Qi stuck in his head, "Brat, it's time to start working. Come to the lobby now."

Yang Kai grunted and took Seven Faces away from his face. After storing it away, he shuffled out of his room.

A few days had passed, but he still hadn't fully refined Seven Faces, so he couldn't activate its power yet; nevertheless, this process couldn't be rushed. Therefore, he would just do it slowly over time.

In comparison, he was more curious about why the Proprietress had decided to come all the way to this Star City. Supposedly, after First Inn was destroyed, she should have rebuilt it in the same spot. What was her purpose for coming here?

With that said, it had nothing to do with him. Presently, he was just a shop hand hired by the inn, so he just had to obey the Proprietress' orders.

Upon reaching the lobby, he realised that everyone from First Inn was already there, and he was the only one who was late. Hurriedly, he stood beside Bai Qi and scanned the surroundings. Everything in the lobby had been changed as all the tables and chairs appeared brand new. They must have bought new ones over the past few days.

After he joined the group, the Proprietress started giving them a pep talk. There was nothing special as she just said that the previous inn was destroyed, and they had to settle down here. Although they had come to a new place, the things they had to do remained unchanged; therefore, she hoped that everyone could work hard and move forward together.

Certainly, they all agreed to it.

Then, the Proprietress told Yang Kai and Bai Qi to hang the signboard of First Inn above the front entrance, which signalled that they were officially open for business. Seeing that, Yang Kai was speechless. First Inn was famous throughout the Outer Universe, but no one had come to congratulate them on the first day of reopening, which made them look somewhat pitiful.

With that said, the Proprietress certainly didn't invite anyone to come over; after all, it had only been a few days since they arrived at this place, so they didn't have the time for such minor things. Furthermore, as long as the signboard of First Inn was hung, they didn't have to worry about not having customers. First Inn had been around for thousands of years, and they were now open in this Star City, where lots of people had gathered together and information could be spread around quickly. If anyone wanted to purchase information, they would have to come to First Inn.

Not long after the signboard was hung, a thin and shifty-looking middle-aged man appeared outside the doors.

As though he couldn't believe that First Inn had opened a shop in this lively city, he kept looking around and beating around the bush. It wasn't until the Proprietress revealed her Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura that this man was finally convinced.

Then, he requested a private room to have a chat with the Proprietress. It wasn't certain what she was worried about, but she had brought Bai Qi and Yang Kai with her.

The middle-aged man was here to buy information. It wasn't a top secret as he was just looking for the whereabouts of a certain type of precious treasure. After the Proprietress revealed the information to him, he became ecstatic and thanked her repeatedly. Following that, he put down some money and sauntered out of the inn.

An amazed Yang Kai had no idea how much money the person had left behind, but he reckoned that it must have been quite a sum. The Proprietress could earn lots of money by just selling information, making Yang Kai envious of this kind of business that required such low operating costs.

After the customer was gone, the Proprietress respectively gave Bai Qi and Yang Kai a jade slip and parted her lips, "Have a look." Then, she took a sip of the tea.

A doubtful Yang Kai took it and scanned it with his Divine Sense, only to realise that the information in the jade slip was quite bizarre. The jade slip contained information such as shop names and their locations in the Star City. Besides that, it also included information such as the names of the shopkeepers and their cultivation. Recalling the jade slips given to the Proprietress by Yuan Rui De some time ago, Yang Kai reckoned that this was the same information.

Puzzled, he stared at the Proprietress and asked, "Who are they?"

The Proprietress lifted her head and shot him a glance, "Just like you, they owe us money."

An amazed Yang Kai said, "There are people who have the guts to owe us money?"

First Inn was in the business that bought and sold information, and their customers had to pay in pills on delivery of service. How was it possible that so many people owed them money?

To the side, Bai Qi landed a kick on Yang Kai, which prompted him to turn his head, "What?"

The corner of Bai Qi's mouth twitched as he put on a hollow laugh.

An exasperated Proprietress explained, "Our First Inn branch being destroyed has something to do with the great forces behind these shops, and I've already said that I will never let them off."

Yang Kai became startled for a moment before he came to his senses, "You mean, the great forces behind these shops were the ones who had made a move in First Inn?"

"Naturally. Otherwise, why would I have come all the way here?"

With a frown, Yang Kai asked, "What do we have to do?"

"Demand payment," the Proprietress tapped on the table and said slowly. "Collect 10 million from every force listed."

At that instant, Yang Kai felt an ache in his head. The reason he owed the Proprietress 10 million was that the inn's destruction was partially his fault, so it wasn't outrageous to demand 10 million from every one of those great forces that had participated in that fight that day. However, he was just an Emperor Realm Master while the people who had made a fuss in the inn previously were either from First Class Cave Heavens and Paradises, or Second Class great forces with Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters assuming command. Would they even bother to meet a nobody like him, let alone deliver compensation?

The Proprietress seemed to understand his concerns, so she said, "Debts must be repaid, and we're in the right to collect it from them. It would be best if they're willing to pay, but if they refuse, I don't mind making a fuss at their headquarters."

A frustrated Yang Kai said, "Proprietress, if I'm not mistaken, some of the people who made a scene in the inn are from Cave Heavens and Paradises. How…"

The Proprietress cut him off by saying, "I'll personally deal with them, so you don't have to worry about it. You'll handle the rest." Then, she shot them a glance, "This is a matter which reflects upon our inn's reputation, so don't make any mistakes."

"Proprietress may rest assured. I will definitely complete this task without embarrassing you," Bai Qi cupped his fists and replied loudly.

Yang Kai gulped down what he was about to say as the Proprietress gazed at him and asked, "What about you?"

She was forcing Yang Kai to make his stance clear, so he said through clenched teeth, "I'll do my best. I've never collected debts before, so I'm not familiar with it."

The Proprietress said, "You currently owe me 16.2 million Open Heaven Pills. En, five percent of the debt you collect will go towards your repayment."

"Seriously?" Yang Kai's gaze brightened. Five percent might sound like a small number, but if he could collect 10 million, 500,000 would go towards his debt. There were about twenty shops listed in the jade slip given to him by the Proprietress, so if he could collect debts from all of them, he would pay off 10 million all at once.

"I'm always serious when it comes to money." The Proprietress nodded.

In a far more forceful manner than before, Yang Kai cupped his fists, "Rest assured, this Yang will collect those debts regardless of what it takes."

A satisfied Proprietress nodded her head and waved her hand, "Go now."

At the same time, Yang Kai and Bai Qi turned around with their gazes filled with murderous intent, as though they were determined to achieve their goals at any cost.

After leaving the room, Bai Qi asked, "Why do you owe her 5 million more all of a sudden? Wasn't it supposed to be 11.2 million?" 10 million was what Yang Kai already owed, and 1.2 million was the fee for leaving his Imprint at those Universe Temples. Bai Qi was aware of all that, but the extra 5 million puzzled him.

Yang Kai directly dodged the question by saying, "Old Bai, I reckon that we'd better come up with a way to collect these debts first."

The Proprietress had lent him Seven Faces, but Yang Kai felt that he'd better keep it a secret for now.

Bai Qi replied, "I already have an idea. Come to my room for now so we can plan our strategy." Then, he took Yang Kai's arm and lugged him away.

After they entered the room and sat down, Yang Kai asked, "Have you collected debts before?"

Bai Qi shook his head, "No, it's my first time."

In disbelief, Yang Kai widened his eyes, "How dare you make such a bold claim when it's your first time?" Bai Qi just claimed that he would definitely complete the task!

A nonchalant Bai Qi replied, "What is there to worry about? We have the Proprietress behind us, so we'll just demand repayment from them first. If we can't do it, we'll just ask the Proprietress to make a move. I'm sure they wouldn't dare to default on the debts then."

At that, Yang Kai was speechless. Bai Qi could carry out such a plan, but he couldn't. The Proprietress had said that five percent of the debts he collected would go towards repaying his own debts, so he wanted to collect as much money as possible. It would be pointless if he had to ask the Proprietress to do it for him.

Bai Qi went on to say, "Whatever the case, we have to be polite before demanding any repayment. Everyone we're trying to collect from is a famous figure in their own right, and they might not be aware of what had happened. It's inappropriate if we just go over there and demand money from them."

"En." Yang Kai nodded lightly, "Why don't we send them a notice of debt first? In the notice, we'll explain to them what happened and the purpose of our visit. We'll see how things go before taking further action."

"That's a great idea. Let's do it."

"In that case, we have to get a Faith Token from Proprietress; otherwise, why would anyone believe we're from First Inn?"

"That's easy. We'll look for Proprietress later."

After their brief discussion, the two got busy as they fished out blank jade slips and began writing notices of debt. Just like what they had agreed, they jotted down what had happened and their purpose of visit in those notices. The language they used was euphemistic and gentle. Although it was to demand repayment, it wouldn't make anyone feel loathsome.

In fact, nineteen shops were listed in Yang Kai's jade slip, so he had made nineteen notices of debt in total. Certainly, the number of notices Bai Qi had made was similar.

After they were done, they cross-checked one another's jade slips to make sure that there was nothing wrong before going to ask the Proprietress for a Faith Token.

A generous Proprietress directly gave each of them a Jade Token the size of a palm with the characters 'First Inn' engraved on them.

After they got everything ready, they stepped out of the inn and cupped their fists at one another. Then, they wished each other swift success and parted ways, as though they were determined to not come back unless they managed to complete their great crusade.

(Silavin: Yang Kai is still an Emperor Realm Master - technically, Great Emperor is not a cultivation realm.)