Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"It's not that we don't have savings. Only, compared to what the Sect is lacking… it will only be a drop in the bucket, Palace Master," Elder Xu looked at Li Jiao timidly with a troubled look on his face.

"That's right, Palace Master. Even if we, the older generation, were to take out all of our money, it still won't hold us up for long."

"However long it holds us is still time spent supported," Li Jiao tried his best to persuade them, "We just have to get through this moment of difficulty. Once the Sect is well-off again, your contributions will surely not be forgotten."

Since Li Jiao had already put it this way, then the Elders were also too embarrassed to argue further; after all, what Li Jiao said was true. Everyone had already been in the Emperor Realm for so long that they should more or less have some savings on them. If these assets were taken out, then it could really help to ease the Sect's crisis.

Everyone looked at each other, and it was Elder Xu who broke the silence first, "Sect Master has a point. In that case, this Old Master will set an example. This Old Master contributes 5 million…"

When they heard this, everyone's eyes lit up and Li Jiao was also looking at him with a hot gaze.

Elder Xu smiled embarrassedly, "Mid-Rank Source Crystals! This is almost everything that this Old Master has."

Li Jiao's face turned pitch-black in an instant.

5 million Mid-Rank Source Crystals, when converted, only equalled 50,000 High-Rank Source Crystals. What could they do with this amount? Moreover, as an Emperor Realm Elder and an Emperor Alchemist who had been refining pills for hundreds of years, it was simply impossible for him to have so little money.

"That doesn't seem right, Elder Xu," a dark-faced man jumped out and yelled, "That pot of Myriad Flower Wine you served to your guests alone was already worth 30,000 High-Rank Source Crystals. That was a Peak-Rank wine that came out from Medicine Pill Valley. If you had only that bit of money, then how could you possibly afford that?"

Having his lie exposed to his face, Elder Xu blushed red and tried to defend himself, "That… This Old Master didn't buy that, it was a friend who brought it and invited this Old Master to try it. How could I be the one who bought it? The amount this Old Master earns each year is also just a small amount. It's just barely enough to cover this Old Master's cultivation requirements, so how could I have so many Source Crystals to buy that Myriad Flower Wine? Don't try to slander others!"

The dark-faced man coldly snorted, "Elder Xu doesn't have Source Crystals? Who would believe that? Elder Xu, you control the Pill Room of Fire Dragon Palace. You take countless Source Crystals from the Palace Master each year. Not mentioning the past, you took 6 million High-Rank Source Crystals last year alone, and more than 7 million the year before that! Going further back, there were even years you took 8 million! The Sect's total revenue is only 50 million, while the Pill Room directly consumes ten to twenty percent of it!"

Elder Xu waved his sleeve and argued, "This Old Master has already said that the Pill Room is the most important part of Fire Dragon Palace. How can our abundance of disciples cultivate without Spirit Pills? It's normal for the consumption to be large."

The dark-faced man sneered, "If only those Source Crystals were really all spent on buying herbs… Can Elder Xu guarantee that all the Source Crystals you take from the Palace Master are truly put into the operation of the Pill Room?"

Elder Xu instantly felt a little angry out of shame and shouted at him, "What… What are you trying to imply!?"

The dark-faced man snorted, "You know exactly what I'm implying. If Elder Xu had been embezzling funds to fill his own pocket when the Sect was rich, then so be it, but now, when the Sect is in crisis, shouldn't Elder Xu show a little more sincerity?"

"Embezzling funds to fill my pockets!?" Elder Xu jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his Emperor Qi surging as if he intended to fight it out with the dark-faced man to prove his innocence right then and there. Turning to Li Jiao, he pleaded indignantly, "Palace Master, this man slanders this Elder! I ask Palace Master to please seek justice for this Elder!"

Li Jiao stood there with a numb expression, as if he did not hear what Elder Xu said.

Elder Xu turned back and sneered at the dark-faced man, "My Pill Room's financial income and expenditure are available for inspection, so this Old Master will not argue with you here. Whether there is any embezzling going on, Palace Master can make his own decision. As for your Artifact Room, who knows whether your bottom is clean or not!"

"You old thing, you dare try to turn this around on me?!" The dark-faced man was furious.

"How dare you call me an old thing, you bastard!"

"So what if I call you that? Old thing old thing old thing!"

"…"

The two of them immediately began another quarrel. Some of the remaining Elders would try and back one of them up, but others tried to quell the fight. The hall was instantly sent into chaos. If Li Jiao were not still here at this moment, a brawl would most likely have broken out.

Li Jiao gazed coldly at the crowd, wishing only to sweep all these annoying bastards out of the room to end all the trouble to return peace to his ears. But he was still the Palace Master after all. At the thought that the survival of his ten thousand disciples rested on the decisions that needed to be made here, no matter how angry he felt in his heart, he had no choice but to force it down and find a way to solve the immediate crisis first.

At that moment, a creak emerged, the door was pushed open, and in walked a disciple.Read first at L i g h t n o v e l r e a d e r . o r g

The noise came to an abrupt halt as everyone turned their attention to the disciple.

The disciple clearly did not expect such exciting things to be happening inside the hall either. As far as his eyes could see, the prominent and aloof Elders were all red-faced with bulging veins while the Palace Master stood at the head with a mirthless smile on his face. The disciple was immediately so frightened that he did not even dare to take a breath.

"What is it?" Li Jiao asked impatiently.

"Reporting to Palace Master, someone is seeking an audience!" The disciple responded, trembling.

"I'm not seeing anyone!" Li Jiao was in a bad mood, so he refused without even thinking about it.

As if he had received a pardon, the disciple quickly excused himself.

But Li Jiao suddenly asked, "Who is asking for an audience?"

The disciple thought for a moment and answered, "He called himself Yang Kai!"

"What!?!" Li Jiao was shocked to hear that answer. The group of Elders below were also stunned.

Elder Xu asked, "Yang Kai? Isn't that High Heaven Palace's Palace Master?"

"If it really is him, then this will be interesting!" The dark-faced man who was arguing with Elder Xu just now had a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He raised his head and said, "Palace Master, why don't you let this Yang Kai come in? Isn't he the creditor of our Fire Dragon Palace? Perhaps now we can have a proper 'discussion' about our debt with him."

"Yes, that's right! What a coincidence for him to visit at this time. Just let him in. Palace Master, what do you… think?"

They all turned to their Palace Master, only to see Li Jiao's face as black as the bottom of a pot. He clearly didn't think what they were suggesting was a good idea.

Li Jiao sighed, "High Heaven Palace is not to be provoked. And that Yang Kai… is also not to be provoked."

But the group of Elders were unconvinced because they'd heard that High Heaven Palace's Palace Master was only a First-Order Emperor. Last time, their Palace Master and Full Sky Sect's Sect Master suffered a great loss in their territory, but since this Yang Kai daringly sent himself to their doorstep, then they really had no idea what their Palace Master was afraid of. As long as they got him into this hall and shut the doors, then they could settle that huge debt in mere moments.

"Tell that man that this Palace Master has gone out to wander the world and is not in the palace."

The disciple answered his command and was just about to turn around when a sneer emerged from outside the door, "What an interesting man you are, Brother Li. This Palace Master has come to visit, but you won't even see me?"

At the end of that sentence, two more figures appeared in the hall.Read first at L i g h t n o v e l r e a d e r . o r g

Before the two men appeared, none of the many Emperor Realm Masters inside even noticed them, as if they simply appeared out of thin air. Both the newcomers looked young. One of the men had a frivolous appearance with sharp brows and bright eyes, a slight smile on his lips. The other man had hair as red as fire and a cold, condescending gaze. Despite standing on the ground, he gave off the feeling that he was in the clouds, as if he belonged to a different world from everyone present.

The Elders were all shocked and each paled in unison.

Li Jiao was also so shaken that he almost turned around and fled. It took a lot of effort before he was able to hold down that impulse in his heart to flee and turn his eyes to Yang Kai with a speechless face.

Yang Kai looked up with a smile, "Brother Li is going out to wander the world?"

Li Jiao laughed dryly, "That was what I was planning, yes, but it's nothing important, just a whim. However, since Palace Master Yang is here, this Li naturally cannot leave."

Yang Kai stroked his chin, "If Palace Master Li still has the mind to go out on a trip, then it seems like life has been going pretty well."

Li Jiao's face suddenly looked bitter, "Don't be ridiculous, Palace Master Yang. Right now, this Li's life is… worse than death."

When the Elders heard this, all of them lowered their heads apologetically.

Yang Kai laughed, "Brother Li is really interesting. Fire Dragon Palace is so big, and Brother Li is so strong and holds so much power, how could his life be worse than death?"

Li Jiao thought to himself, [Isn't this all your fault?] But he kept a smile on his face as he changed the subject, "I wonder what Palace Master Yang is here for today?"

Yang Kai did not answer and merely looked at him with a smile.

Li Jiao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "This… This… Palace Master Yang isn't thinking of collecting money, right? There's no need for Palace Master Yang to come personally for such a trivial matter, is there? Matters like these can just be left to subordinates. What's more, my Fire Dragon Palace has not forgotten this year's payment. However, I will need some time to prepare… Once everything is prepared, it will be sent to High Heaven Palace immediately without delay. And besides… The deadline is not up yet!"

"How could I not know when the deadline is? I think today is the deadline."

The cold sweat on Li Jiao's forehead was now flowing freely as he stammered, "P-P-Palace Master Yang r-r-really came to collect money?"

He simply couldn't believe it. Even though it was true that Fire Dragon Palace owed High Heaven Palace a large amount of Source Crystals, it was a bit too much for Yang Kai to come himself without informing anyone.

"The one surnamed Yang, don't be arrogant!" The dark-faced man stepped out of the crowd and pointed at Yang Kai with his finger, "Even though I don't know what means you used to cheat our Palace Master and put Fire Dragon Palace in such a tight spot, you should remember that you are at least a Palace Master. We are considered peers in the Northern Territory that are sure to come across each other in the future. As long as you can put things down in writing here and nullify the debts between our Sects, then we can let you go this time. Otherwise… Heh heh!"

Many of the Emperor Realm Masters were looking towards Yang Kai with ill intentions.

After seeing Yang Kai in person and confirming that he was indeed just a First-Order Emperor, they all naturally had nothing to fear. Regardless of how strong High Heaven Palace's heritage was, as long as they could confine Yang Kai here, that was equivalent to gaining control over High Heaven Palace, and their so-called debt would also turn into nothing more than a joke.

Li Jiao on the other hand was now standing in a puddle of sweat and almost fainted when he heard this.

Yang Kai looked at the black-faced man, then back at Li Jiao, asking, "Is this one of your Elders?"

"No!" Li Jiao flatly denied it.