Martial Peak

“You’re right. This Queen will find a chance to talk to him. At the very least, we need to know if Sir Luo Hai coming to Scarlet Wave Star has anything to do with him. If not, we can try to recruit him, but if Sir Luo Hai really is here because of him…” Bing Long sighed softly, “We can only hand him over at that time in exchange for Ice Heart Valley’s security.”

“Valley Master is wise!” All the Elders agreed with her decision.

Yang Kai’s aptitude and potential were indeed excellent. He was able to fight above his realm and was also highly likely to break through to the Origin King Realm in the future.

But that was only a possibility for the future; after all, right now he was just a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy.

Between the wrath of a Second-Order Origin King Star Master and a great individual with a bright illusionary future, which was more important, all of them could naturally distinguish.

“When Valley Master meets with him, this Elder will accompany you!” Ran Yun Ting’s voice suddenly sounded inside the hall.

Everyone turned their heads towards the entrance and saw Great Elder Ran Yun Ting walk inside.

“Oh? Great Elder is also interested in him?” Bing Long was surprised.

Although Ran Yun Ting’s strength wasn’t quite as high as hers, the difference was almost negligible, but since Ran Yun Ting brought Su Yan back to Pure Ice Island more than thirty years ago, she had been devoting herself to cultivating her Disciple while ignoring all other matters and people.

Now that she was taking the initiative to meet Yang Kai, Bing Long was naturally surprised.

“Of course I am interested in such an outstanding talent, this Elder is naturally interested!” Ran Yun Ting smiled softly.

Without knowing why, everyone felt a chill run up their spines when they saw this smile.

————-

Millions of kilometres away from Pure Ice Island stood Scarlet Wave Star’s other peak force, Brilliant Flame Sect.

Brilliant Flame Sect’s headquarters was located in the best cultivation environment on Scarlet Wave Star. Its headquarters was extremely beautiful and filled with outstanding masters. In this place, Brilliant Flame Sect’s disciples could cultivate at an extremely rapid pace.

Scarlet Wave Star’s two great forces had always stood as equals; however, in recent years, Brilliant Flame Sect had slowly been gaining the upper hand in their millennia-old battle. The reason for this was the rumour that Ice Heart Valley’s Supreme Elder had experienced a cultivation dissonance and been badly wounded.

Supreme Elder level figures were naturally Origin Kings, and although this kind of powerhouse would not intervene in the fights between juniors, such news had naturally affected the morale of Ice Heart Valley.

Brilliant Flame Sect had been steadily taking more and more aggressive actions these past few years intending to suppress Ice Heart Valley.

In the southern region of Brilliant Flame Sect headquarters, there were several huts built in a bamboo forest.

These huts seemed simple and unremarkable, with a set of mountains behind and a lake in front, making them seem rather picturesque situated among the vast grove of red bamboo.

At this moment, two men were sitting cross-legged across from one another at a low stone table. There was a simple chess board placed in the middle of the table where a match was being played.

On the left side was an old man with fiery red hair who, despite his aged appearance, had a bright complexion and skin that seemed youthful and vibrant as a thick imposing manner surrounded his body.

Opposite him was a middle-aged man wearing a golden robe with a golden crown on his head.

In addition to these two, a middle-aged man was standing motionlessly roughly a hundred metres away like a statue, only glancing towards the two seated men occasionally, his face flashing a trace of yearning.

The red-haired old man and the golden-crowned man were engaged in a battle of wits.

The red-haired old man made his moves extremely quickly, often not even needing to think about the position of his pieces before moving them with his fingers. On the other hand, the man with the golden crown often frowned and thought hard about each move he made.

On the chessboard, the black pieces belonging to the red-haired old man seemed to take a commanding position, encircling the golden-crowned man’s white forces.

As time passed, the golden-crowned man took longer and longer to make each move, his expression turning more and more cautious.

The red-haired old man did not rush his opponent though, instead just closing his eyes and maintaining mental tranquillity while he waited.

At a certain moment, the golden-crowned man suddenly showed a grin, reached out his hand, and with a single move, reversed his unfavourable position, taking a decisive edge.

The red-haired old man’s eyes widened as he stared in astonishment.

After thinking for a long time, the red-haired old man slowly shook his head and smiled bitterly, “Brother Luo Hai’s chess skills have improved greatly, this old master is no longer your opponent.”

The man with the golden crown smiled slightly, “Chi Huo, it is not that my chess skill surpasses yours, it’s that you’re too impatient. Your intentions and actions are written on the board for all to see, this King only needs to examine them to understand your strategy.”

“Acting straightforwardly is not a misdemeanour,” The red-haired old man shook his head and said. “Life is so short, how can one waste so much time thinking about each possibility or consequence of his actions? En, in any case, I have lost this battle.”

“En, it was an interesting match!”

The red-haired old man turned his head towards the side and beckoned to the other figure present.

The scholarly looking man who had been standing a hundred metres away immediately stepped forward, walked over to the two seated men, and saluted respectfully, “Wei Qing greets Supreme Elder, greets Senior Luo Hai!”

Luo Hai nodded lightly, waving his hand to indicate there was no need for formalities.

This scholarly looking man was none other than Wei Qing, the Sect Master of Brilliant Flame Sect, so his position and status were not low. Although Luo Hai was Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, he could not afford to act too arrogantly here. What’s more, he had a good relationship with Brilliant Flame Sect’s Supreme Elder Chi Huo, so Wei Qing could be considered his Junior.

“Why have you come?” Chi Huo raised his head and looked at Wei Qing.

Wei Qing replied respectfully, “Reporting to Supreme Elder, there has been a development in the matter Senior Luo Hai entrusted to us.”

Luo Hai’s eyes flashed brightly but he quickly concealed his burgeoning expectations.

Chi Huo said lightly, “Continue!”

“A few days ago, one of our spies saw Ice Heart Valley’s Thirteenth Elder Yu Xue Qing lead a young man into Pure Ice Island through a Space Array. Although Ice Heart Valley put up a strict guard and our spy did not see the young man’s face clearly, there is a good chance he is the person Senior Luo Hai is looking for.”

After delivering his report, Wei Qing stood aside respectfully and kept silent.

Although on Scarlet Wave Star, his position was under one, above ten million, Wei Qing didn’t dare act out of turn in front of Luo Hai and Chi Huo.

“Brother Luo Hai, what do you think?” Chi Huo turned to Luo Hai.

“Pure Ice Island is Ice Heart Valley’s headquarters, and no man has set foot on it for thousands of years. Them bringing a young man in at such a time shows how much value they place on him. He might very well be the one I am looking for and they plan on trying to use him as some kind of bargaining chip.”

“En, most likely they want to gain Brother Luo Hai’s favour and have you act as a peacemaker to resolve their current crisis,” Chi Huo seemed quite gruff on the outside but his mind was still extremely sharp.

Luo Hai simply laughed and said nothing.

“By the way, Brother Luo Hai, isn’t it about time that you tell this old master what you want with that little boy? What is it about him that can cause a character like you to pay so much attention to him?” Chi Huo asked suspiciously. He had been thinking about this question for a long time but was still unable to come up with any plausible answer.

What masters like Luo Hai cared about was breaking through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm, or Origin King Grade High-Rank artifacts! Besides these two things, in this world, essentially nothing else could even gain so much as a glance from Luo Hai.

A treasure which Luo Hai coveted was something Chi Huo was also extremely concerned about.

But every time Chi Hou attempted to probe Luo Hai’s intentions, he would receive only vague answers, leaving him helpless.

“Didn’t this King tell you? That little boy used his Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation to survive the Blood Prison Trial and his aptitude is also quite good. This King happens to not have any heirs and wants to take him as a Disciple to inherit this King’s legacy!” Luo Hai replied with a smile.

“So that’s how it is! This is a great blessing for that boy,” Chi Lu laughed and nodded while in his mind dismissing this obviously fake answer.

Luo Hai was a Second-Order Origin King and had refined a Star Source, so it was highly likely he would eventually break through to the Third-Order. How could he now be so eager to accept a Legacy Disciple?

Besides, even if he did want to accept a disciple, it would be impossible for him to drag so many people into this matter. If a Second-Order Origin King announced he was looking for a disciple, there would be countless geniuses who flocked to him to fight for the chance, how could Luo Hai chase after a mere boy so doggedly just to force him to be his disciple?”

No matter how Heaven-defying a genius this boy might be, Luo Hai couldn’t go through this much trouble for that alone!

There was definitely more to this than Luo Hai was willing to reveal.

“Since Ice Heart Valley has found that boy, then this King will go pay them a visit,” Luo Hai said, slowly getting up.

“This old master will come with you!” Chi Huo grinned meaningfully.

Luo Hai glanced at him thoughtfully for a moment before nodding, “Good, I’ve heard that Ice Heart Valley’s Pure Ice Grand Array is quite powerful, with Brother Chi Huo accompanying me, this trip will go much more smoothly.”

He didn’t try to refuse.

“Great. By the way, Wei Qing, tell that little bastard boy of yours to come and see this old master. This old master will bring him along to enjoy the scenery of Pure Ice Island!” Chi Huo shouted at Wei Qing again.

“Supreme Elder wants to take Wei Feng to Pure Ice Island?” Wei Qing was startled and said in a half-panic, “But that boy…”

He knew better than anyone the character of his son.

As the son of a Sect Master, Wei Feng’s aptitude was actually quite poor. Over the years, Wei Qing had used countless pills and magical resources to try to improve his son’s cultivation, but even so, Wei Feng had barely managed to enter the First-Order Origin Returning Realm.

Although Wei Feng had indeed reached the Origin Returning Realm, he was still unable to condense his Shi at all!

In this lifetime, his son would likely never reach beyond the First-Order Origin Returning Realm and would never possess the strength an Origin Realm cultivator should have.

In other words, Wei Feng was just a bit stronger than a peak level Saint King, and any Origin Realm master who had condensed their Shi to any extent would easily be able to defeat him.

The Supreme Elder had always disliked Wei Feng, feeling he was a disgrace to the Sect, and had even severely injured him once with a palm.

But today, why did the Supreme Elder say he wanted to take Wei Feng to Pure Ice Island?

“Enough nonsense, since I’ve made a decision, you simply need to follow it! It’s not like this old master is planning to kill him!” Chi Huo always had a short temper and shouted angrily when he saw Wei Qing hesitate.

“Yes!” A trace of fright flashed across Wei Qing’s face as he quickly stepped back.

Luo Hai frowned and turned to Chi Huo, not knowing what he was doing.

Pure Ice Island was no ordinary place, and even if Luo Hai was a Second-Order Origin King, he was still wary of the Pure Ice Grand Array that protected Ice Heart Valley. He and Chi Huo going alone would be the optimum plan, so why were they now trying to bring along a mere Junior?

What’s more, Chi Huo clearly disliked this Junior very much.

After frowning for a moment, however, Luo Hai suddenly understood something and shook his head with a wry smile.

Chi Huo laughed and said, “Brother Luo Hai, this time, this old master will have to borrow a bit of your momentum.”

“Only this time, but don’t go too far. Luo Li’s strength is not bad and if you really push her into a desperate situation where she uses the Pure Ice Grand Array, you and I will both suffer.”

“This old master naturally understands this, Brother Luo Hai. There is no need to worry.”