Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Ashish

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"Serenity City…" Yang Kai pondered as he exited the inn, and then came to a realisation, "Isn't this the city that Yan Xue Man woman comes from?"

Earlier on, when those three people had blocked their path and demanded to buy Ji Yao's ship, the old man had introduced the young man as the Young Master of Profound Thunder Pavilion, and the young woman as the daughter of Serenity City's City Lord.

When they entered the city yesterday, Yang Kai had been preoccupied with Ji Yao's condition and had not paid attention to the city's name. Only now did he find out that they were actually in Serenity City.

This was quite the coincidence.

Still, Yang Kai was not afraid. A mere city was not sufficient cause of concern for him.

He led Ji Yao on the way out of the city, and in a short time they had reached the city gates.

There were quite a lot of people in line waiting to exit the city, as well as a number of cultivators keeping guard at the city gate. Each person leaving the city had to undergo inspection by those guards.

"Hm?" Yang Kai frowned at the sight, wondering if this was part of Serenity City's normal regulations, or if something had happened.

"Honoured Master, it's not because of those three people from yesterday, is it?" Ji Yao suddenly asked him in a low voice, "Could they be looking for us?"

"That would be too much of a coincidence," Yang Kai laughed, "We didn't alert anyone when we entered the city yesterday. Perhaps some other incident happened within the city."

Ji Yao gave a small nod.

The two of them chose not to barge through the city gates even though they were more than capable of doing so. Since they were in someone else's territory, it was not a big deal to follow their rules. Thus, the pair quietly joined the back of the line amidst the crowd, waiting to exit the city.

The cultivators guarding the gate were very careful with their inspections, even covertly using Divine Sense to check those who were ready to leave.

Cultivator after cultivator was checked and let through with no issue, and the queue gradually moved forward.

"Patriarch Dong!" Suddenly, a voice was heard from inside a guard station by the city gate.

"Still nothing?" Another person, who seemed to be Patriarch Dong, asked.

"We've found nothing just yet." The first person replied, "But, please rest assured, Patriarch Dong, the other three city gates have been closed already. If your wife wishes to leave the city, she will definitely go through this gate. As long as she appears, we'll be able to find her."

"Thank you for your hard work, Commander Yu. Ah, what a misfortune that has befallen my household," Patriarch Dong sighed deeply.

Commander Yu suddenly laughed lightly, "Patriarch Dong, as far as I know, you and your spouse have always been affectionate, often entering and leaving Serenity City together, a sight which made many onlookers deeply envious. How did the two of you have such a big argument that it could not be resolved? And why did she choose to run away suddenly, forcing your hand to request the aid of us people from the City Lord's Mansion to find her?"

After those queries from Commander Yu, the guardhouse instantly fell into silence as it seemed like Patriarch Dong found it difficult to answer.

Commander Yu then commented, "If it is not convenient for you to answer, Patriarch Dong, then just act as though I never asked."

"Ha…" Patriarch Dong sighed heavily, then began to speak, "You know how the saying goes, one's dirty laundry should not be aired in public. I originally wished to keep it under covers and not make a big deal out of it, but that foolish woman truly left me no choice! It's nothing too inconvenient to say, really. It's just that foolish woman was suddenly consumed by greed, and stole the most valuable treasure of my Dong Family, that's all."

"Thievery!?" Commander Yu was astonished, "Surely that can't be? Madame Dong holds the second-highest position in the Dong Family, and I've even heard that she apparently comes from some big Sect. What could the Dong Family have that she would want to take without giving notice?"

"I don't know if she's lost her senses or not, to have done such a shameful thing," Patriarch Dong said in anguish, then solemnly continued, "Commander Yu, the Dong Family has treated you well in the past, and for that sake, I hope you will find that foolish woman and capture her quietly. Please do not alert others, especially not City Lord Yan!"

"I understand, Patriarch Dong," Commander Yu replied, "Please do not worry."

……

Though the two of them were speaking quietly inside the guardhouse, Yang Kai could hear them quite clearly.

He was not intentionally eavesdropping but had overheard them by accident. Now, however, he understood why Serenity City was on high alert.

It turned out that the wife of a Patriarch of a big family had stolen the family's most important treasure, leading to her being hunted down with the help of the City Lord's Mansion. This was indeed a great embarrassment to such a family. The helplessness and anguish in Patriarch Dong's words had Yang Kai snickering internally. He figured that the man was probably floundering in desperation, wanting to both retrieve the stolen item while also keeping this shameful deed a secret.

Yang Kai wondered what the stolen item could be, to have triggered such greed in the Patriarch's wife.

The queue continued moving forward though, and in no time, Yang Kai and Ji Yao had reached the city gate.

Just at that time, a stream of light suddenly appeared outside the city, flying towards the city gate.

"Who is it? Such impudence is not permitted at the gates of Serenity City!" One of the cultivators guarding the gate roared as he flew up to meet it.

The stream of light stopped, revealing a man and a woman.

"Are you blind, you lowlife? You dare to holler at this Young Master without even seeing who I am!?" The man snapped angrily.

The gate guard looked at them, and immediately began trembling uncontrollably, "Young Master Bai, Young Lady Yan!"

The couple was evidently the same people who crossed paths with Yang Kai just yesterday. He did not know where they had returned from, but noticed that Old Yan, who had been by their side yesterday, was now nowhere to be seen.

"Scram!" Bai Lu seemed to be in a foul mood. As he spoke, he struck the cultivator standing in their way with his palm, sending the guard flying backwards with blood spraying from his mouth. It was a pitiful sight.

As everyone around them watched, Bai Lu and Yan Xue Man charged right through the city gates and landed on the ground. Their eyes were full of arrogance, with an attitude of utter confidence of being the strongest present.

But very soon after, Bai Lu's face twitched and his body trembled as he suddenly looked in one direction.

At the end of his gaze, Yang Kai was looking coldly at him.

Bai Lu had embarrassed himself in front of Yang Kai yesterday, and nearly lost his life as a result, so it was impossible for him to forget what Yang Kai looked like. Who knew that in just a day's time, they would meet again at the gates of Serenity City?

The sight of Old Yan, who was an Emperor Realm Master, having his arm shattered in one strike was still fresh in Bai Lu's mind. He was extremely terrified of Yang Kai and could not help but shrink in fear, his haughtiness from early withering in an instant.

"What happened?" Yan Xue Man asked, having noticed him acting strangely. As she spoke though, she followed his gaze, and in the next moment, her pretty face turned white as if she had seen a ghost and she immediately looked away.

She had no doubt caught sight of Yang Kai as well.

"Quickly, we need to leave!" Bai Lu muttered under his breath, casting aside his gaze and dragging Yan Xue Man along as he fled, rushing into the city immediately. This caused the cultivators from the City Lord's Mansion great astonishment, and they all looked at each other as they wondered what was wrong with Young Master Bai and Young Lady Yan today.

A moment later, Bai Lu and Yan Xue Man peeked their heads around a street corner, quietly gazing towards the city gate.

"W-w-why are those two here?" Yan Xue Man asked in a trembling voice.

Bai Lu's face was ashen as he answered, "If you ask me, who am I supposed to ask?"

The nasty encounter from the previous day had given the couple quite a shock, and they were as afraid of Yang Kai as a pair of mice would be in front of a cat.

Suddenly, Yan Xue Man thought of something, frowned deeply and declared, "No, this is Serenity City, why must this Young Lady fear them? I have to go tell Lord Father about this and have him seek justice for me!"

After saying so, she really turned around and started walking towards the City Lord's Mansion, apparently eager to find her father.

Bai Lu hurriedly grabbed her arm though and said in a cold tone, "How can you have such a big chest but no brains!"

"Who… who has a big chest but no brains!?" Yan Xue Man screamed angrily.

Bai Lu bluntly continued, "The cultivation of Old Yan and your father is essentially equal, but Old Yan wasn't that man's opponent at all! Did you even stop to think about what would happen even if your father did come? Do you want to kill your father? When that happens, don't come crying to this Young Master for help!"

When Yan Xue Man heard this, his pretty face turned pale and she thought about it again. Even Old Yan had his arm shredded in a single punch, so how could her father do any better? If she really called her father, the only one to suffer a loss would be him.

"What should I do then!?" Yan Xue Man panted anxiously, "Why don't you call your Father over then? Uncle Bai is a Second-Order Emperor, so it shouldn't be a problem for him to clean up that person."

Bai Lu shook his head and said, "I don't know how to tell my father about Old Yan. Profound Thunder Pavilion doesn't have many Emperor Realm Masters, and Old Yan has already suffered such a serious injury. Speaking of which, this is all your fault, isn't it!? Why did you insist on buying that ship? Old Yan lost an arm thanks to your selfish whims!"

After being accused by him, Yan Xue Man's eyes reddened immediately and she snapped back in a trembling voice, "Surnamed Bai, after you and this Young Lady shared such a time together under the moonlight, you're now accusing me of such crimes? Do you still have any conscience?!"

Seeing her cry like this, Bai Lu only felt more disgruntled, but he had no choice but to comfort her, "Good, good, don't cry. What happened yesterday was my mistake, it has nothing to do with you."

"Bad, you're a bad man, bad..." Yan Xue Man yelled, pounding him with her fists while weeping.

"Don't make trouble!" Bai Lu didn't have the presence of mind to deal with her now so he quickly grabbed her hand and said, "What's important is to send these two disasters away first. Fortunately, it seems that they are leaving the city... sii..."

Mid-sentence, Bai Lu took Yan Xue Man and quickly hid back behind the corner.

Because when he looked up, he actually saw Yang Kai turn his head and glance in their direction with an expression that nearly stopped his heart from fright.

At the city gate, Yang Kai, who was waiting in line to leave the city, turned his head back and sneered.

He didn't expect that Young Master Bai and Young Lady Yan would react that way when they met him today, but it did save him some trouble. If they really didn't know what was good for them and wanted to gather up forces to seek revenge, Yang Kai wouldn't have minded teaching them a final lesson for bothering him.

"Cough cough cough..." A violent cough suddenly sounded as an old woman at the front of the line stumbled, losing her balance and nearly falling to the ground.

Ji Yao moved swiftly at that moment and supported the old woman, asking with concern, "Grandma, are you okay?"