Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Luo Hai Yi patted her burning face and said with a smile, "Those with an excellent aptitude can comprehend their own Grand Dao to condense a Dao Seal; however, those with a weaker aptitude like me can only rely on auxiliary aids."

After drinking some wine, Luo Hai Yi had become less restrained so she no longer spoke as cautiously as before.

"What do you mean?" Yang Kai arched his brow.

"Some treasures as well as elixirs can help peak Emperors condense their Dao Seal, the most common example of which is the Grand Dao Pill. However, these things are all quite expensive and difficult to come by."

In response, Yang Kai nodded. He had always wondered what those Emperor Realm Masters, who hadn't condensed their Dao Seals, needed Open Heaven Pills for. Although the pills were like a currency in the Outer Universe that could be used to buy various items, they were useless to Emperor Realm cultivators. It was unlike Open Heaven Realm Masters, who could improve their Order by consuming and refining such pills.

Now, it seemed that Open Heaven Pills were useful for everyone. Apparently, Luo Hai Yi had been working hard in order to save up to buy some Grand Dao Pills to condense her Dao Seal so that she could take a leap forward in her Martial Dao.

However, condensing a Dao Seal was just the first step; after that, one still had to condense the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements before they could ascend to the Open Heaven Realm. The Martial Dao was long and winding, and one needed plenty of financial resources to traverse it. Not many people were as lucky as Yang Kai, who managed to condense the High-Order materials for both his Wood and Fire Element.

Nevertheless, he wasn't even certain whether he could find the remaining Elements necessary, and if even one of those materials failed to meet his requirements, he would fail to reach the Open Heaven Realm in one leap.

As they continued drinking and chatting, the atmosphere grew more harmonious.

A long time later, Yang Kai said, "Let's call it a day. You can have a rest now. We'll meet again tomorrow in the usual spot."

Hearing that, Luo Hai Yi put down her chopsticks and rose from the chair, "This Mistress will take her leave then."

Yang Kai nodded and watched her leave.

After the incident the previous day, Yang Kai decided not to return to First Inn lest he be forced to serve customers again; thus, he fished out a communications artifact and contacted Bai Qi, who, unexpectedly, replied promptly. After asking Bai Qi where he was, he immediately told Yang Kai his location.

Judging from the place's name though, Yang Kai reckoned that it was one that offered certain amorous services.

[He dares to have fun at a brothel while I have to work!?]

Bai Qi passionately invited Yang Kai to enjoy the night with him, which Yang Kai resolutely rejected.

After drinking on his own for a bit, Yang Kai paid the bill for the meal and left the restaurant, preparing to look for a different inn to take a rest.

Although the inns in the Star City were not cheap, they wouldn't be more expensive than First Inn. In the past, he had to pay 1,000 Open Heaven Pills every night to stay in First Inn. Later on, the fee was raised by the black-hearted Proprietress to 10,000 a night.

Right after he stepped out of the restaurant though, Yang Kai saw a figure standing across the street. Shocked, he went over and asked, "Why are you still here? Is everything alright?"

He hadn't expected that Luo Hai Yi would be waiting for him outside the building.

Luo Hai Yi shook her head, "I'm fine. I was just worried about you."

Yang Kai burst into laughter, "Those bottles of wine couldn't get me drunk. You should go home now."

He thought that she was pretty considerate.

"It's still early. If Sir wants, I can take you on a stroll around the city. You're always busy during the day, so you have no time to just explore." She paused for a moment, "Of course, for free," she added.

After giving it a thought, Yang Kai replied, "I'm fine with it, but will I be troubling you?"

Luo Hai Yi quickly waved her hands, "It's alright. There's no one else in my home, so I have nothing to do anyway." She halted for a moment, "Where do you want to go? There's a red light district in the Western District. Men love going there…" As she spoke, she started blushing.

Yang Kai said, "Where's the Spring Breeze Fine Rain Pavilion?"

Luo Hai Yi lowered her head and blushed as she asked, "Does Sir know about that place?"

Yang Kai tutted, "I've heard of it, but I've never been there before." He had speculated that Bai Qi was having fun with women, and now it seemed that it was indeed the case.

"Does Sir want to go there?" Luo Hai Yi asked.

Yang Kai waved his hand, "There's no need for that. Let's just walk around." He suddenly thought of something, "By the way, I'd like to buy a map. Where can I get one?"

Luo Hai Yi asked, "Do you want to buy a Universe Chart? We have to go to Four Seas Workshop, then. They have the latest and most comprehensive Universe Charts."

"Let's go, then," Yang Kai's interest was piqued as he had always wanted to buy a map of the Outer Universe. He remembered someone telling him that a Universe Chart included the maps of all the Great Territories that had been discovered in the Outer Universe. It could be said that the chart was one of the necessary items for a cultivator to roam around.

Yang Kai intended to use a Universe Chart to look for the Star Boundary. He was swallowed by a Myriad Facets Insect and then unfathomably appeared near where Seven Wonders Land was located. Although he hadn't found the World Tree, it would be wonderful if he could find a route home first.

Luo Hai Yi was very familiar with the city, so after passing through some streets, the pair arrived at a certain shop, which was Four Seas Workshop.

Even though it was nighttime now, the Star City remained just as lively as during the day.

After they entered the shop, a woman that looked like a maidservant approached and elegantly bowed to them before asking in a sweet voice, "Good evening, honoured guests. What can I help you with?"

Luo Hai Yi promptly stepped forward and replied, "My companion would like to buy a Universe Chart."

The maidservant replied with a smile, "Please come with me." At the same time, she motioned with her hand.

Yang Kai followed her to a row of shelves, but there didn't seem to be any maps in sight. Instead, the shelves were filled with boxes the length of chopsticks. The black boxes looked extremely odd. Although he was puzzled, he didn't ask any questions.

Luo Hai Yi then said, "Introduce them to us."

Hearing that, the maidservant replied, "Replying to the honoured guest, our shop's Universe Charts are divided into three ranks. The lowest rank ones are of single Great Territories. They include the Universe Worlds that have been discovered as well as important Spirit Provinces of these territories. The middle rank is a map of the known universe, including all the Great Territories that have been discovered. It also includes all the information in the lowest rank maps as well as the locations of all Universe Temples and Territory Gates, making it fairly comprehensive and easy to understand."

Yang Kai arched his brow, "What about the one above the middle rank?"

The maidservant replied with a smile, "There's no difference between a high-rank map and a middle-rank map."

An amazed Yang Kai asked, "Why are they divided into different ranks when there's no difference?"

"Well, there's indeed no difference between the two, but if you buy a high-rank map, we'll help you update the Universe Chart for free for life in the instance, for example, that a new Great Territory is discovered. We have many branches in different Star Cities across the 3,000 Worlds, so honoured guest doesn't have to worry as you just have to take your Universe Chart to any of our branches. However, you don't get this benefit if you buy a mid-rank one and will have to pay a fee if you want to update the chart."

Upon hearing her explanation, Yang Kai nodded.

The maidservant went on to say, "Does honoured guest want a map of a particular Great Territory, or the compilation of all Great Territories?"

Yang Kai replied, "I want the compilation, of course."

The maidservant said, "In that case, I suggest that you buy a high-rank chart…"

Before she could finish her words, Luo Hai Yi cut her off by saying, "The middle-rank one is good enough."

The maidservant shot her a glance, but she still kept a smile on her face, "Good. It is honoured guest's freedom to choose."

"Show us one," Luo Hai Yi said.

The maidservant nodded and turned around.

Seizing the chance, Luo Hai Yi spoke to Yang Kai via Divine Sense, "Sir, as far as I know, the high-rank map is twice as expensive as a middle-rank one; moreover, no new Great Territories have been discovered in over 10,000 years, so it would be quite wasteful if you buy a high-rank one."

Hearing that, Yang Kai nodded gently.

A moment later, the maidservant took out a long black box and passed it to Yang Kai, "You just have to infuse your Divine Sense into it."

Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was astounded. It was then he realised that these long boxes were the Universe Charts. Fortunately, he didn't ask any questions when he saw them; otherwise, he would've embarrassed himself.

Following her instruction, Yang Kai infused his Divine Sense and immediately realised that the view around him had changed, as though he had entered a new world. His vision kept zooming in on a particular spot and eventually stopped. After a glance, he realised that there was a red dot that kept flickering, and the words 'Star City' were marked beside the red dot.

It was then he came to the realisation that the red dot represented his current location, and the Star City that was marked must be the one he was in.

As a thought flashed across his mind, his vision started zooming out. Names began appearing around the Star City. They looked like the names of the surrounding Universe Worlds.

Although it was his first time using a Universe Chart, Yang Kai was able to quickly figure out how to operate it as it was quite user-friendly.

At that instant, he thought that he should get one so that he could move around easily. After retracting his Divine Sense, he asked, "How much?"

The maidservant replied with a smile, "500,000."

Yang Kai nodded his head as the price wasn't excessive given its quality and utility; however, did he even have 500,000 Open Heaven Pills? Most of his current wealth was obtained from looting dead people from Seven Wonders Land. Then, in First Inn, Wei Que felt sorry for failing to bring Yang Kai to Great Moon Province, so he passed him some pills before he left, approximately 200,000 of them. Great Moon Province was just a Third Class force, and the pills were given to him by Wei Que as personal compensation, so it was expected that there were not too many. Yang Kai even reckoned that 200,000 pills had been quite a big loss for Wei Que.

Just when Yang Kai was preparing to count how many pills he had with him to see if he could afford the price for the Universe Chart, he saw Luo Hai Yi dragging the maidservant away and began discussing something with her via Divine Sense.

After Yang Kai finished counting, Luo Hai Yi was also done with the discussion as she walked over and said, "Sir, I've managed to secure a 10% discount for you. It's now 450,000."

At that, Yang Kai was speechless. It was then he realised that Luo Hai Yi had pulled the maidservant away to bargain.

It could be said to be a big discount to have 50,000 pills taken off the price tag.

However, after counting just now, Yang Kai realised that he still didn't have enough pills as he only had about 430,000 on him.

Yang Kai was now caught in an embarrassing situation as the price had been agreed upon, so all he could do was pay the bill, but how could he do that without enough money?

As he was stuck in a dilemma, Luo Hai Yi observed his expression and realised that he might be facing just such difficulties, so she spoke to him in via Divine Sense, "Sir, have you not brought enough with you?"