Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

There were jade slips on both the left and right sides of each wooden shelf. Yang Kai started copying the jade slips from the left while Ji Yao started from the right. The two of them kept the same pace, walking forward at the same time with only a hollow wooden shelf between them. Whenever they looked up, they could see each other's faces clearly.

They were not choosy when it came to what they were copying into the jade slips either. In fact, Yang Kai was hell-bent on taking everything. He was prepared to copy everything from the fourth floor all the way to the eighth floor of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion in Ice Heart Valley.

For a while, the Cultivation Technique Pavilion was utterly silent. Only the jade slips in their hands kept changing. There were several thousands of jade slips on the fourth floor, but it only took them half a day to finish copying all the Secret Arts on that floor.

"Let's head to the next floor," Ji Yao said before leading the way to the stairs.

The fifth floor was slightly smaller than the fourth floor, and there were considerably fewer wooden shelves too. There were only around a dozen or so of them. Accordingly, the jade slips stored on this floor were also approximately half the amount found on the fourth floor.

With their previous experience, the two worked even more efficiently than before. It only took them around two hours to finish copying all the jade slips on this floor. Then, it was the sixth floor, followed by the seventh floor…

In the beginning, Yang Kai felt rather uneasy. He had the feeling that it was not a good thing that Ji Yao was following him around; however, she was acting as she normally did, and even when they spoke to each other occasionally, it was just casual conversation. Thus, he slowly began to relax in her presence.

He was afraid that she might bring up the incident in the Ancient Wild Lands back then. Her consciousness had been hazy, and she had mistakenly identified him as Bing Yun. With no other choice, he had impersonated Bing Yun for a while. As a result, he saw some things that he should never have seen. Ji Yao's reputation would be ruined if word got out about what happened back then.

Seeing that she seemed to be calm and peaceful though, Yang Kai gradually calmed down as well. He understood that what happened back then had been nothing more than an accident; hence, there was no reason for her to hold onto that incident for so long.

When they entered the eighth floor, there were only a few wooden shelves. A rough estimate placed the number of jade slips to be around only a hundred or so. Nevertheless, the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques stored within these jade slips were the most advanced in Ice Heart Valley, second only to the restricted resources, and were suitable for those in the Emperor Realm to cultivate. It could be seen how generous Bing Yun was to Yang Kai for her to share these things with him. If it were any other person, they wouldn't even have the chance to set foot into the Cultivation Technique Pavilion.

There were not many jade slips, so Ji Yao did not copy anymore. She walked over to the window and stared out into the distance, a slightly sad and lonely expression showing on her side profile.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai continued the copying on his own.

"I heard you brought back four wives from the Star Field." She suddenly spoke up.

Lifting his head, he glanced at her. She continued showing only her side profile to him. If he had not been paying attention, he would have thought that he had an auditory hallucination just now. Cold sweat broke out across his forehead as he called out, "Who did you hear that from?"

She turned to look at him with a mocking smile hanging from the corner of her lips, "I've already met Little Junior Sister. When can I meet the other three?"

[Why do you want to meet them!?] He yelled in his heart. What puzzled him even more than that was how she learnt about this matter. It was true that he had returned from the Star Field for more than a month now and bringing his four wives with him was not a secret either; even so, who would tell her something as trivial as this?

"Did you plant spies in High Heaven Palace?" Yang Kai suddenly looked at her with an incredulous expression. She could not have learnt about these things unless she did that.

"You haven't answered my question," she replied without replying to the question.

He laughed wryly, "If you want to meet them, you can always visit them at High Heaven Palace at any time, Junior Sister Yao."

She snorted softly and spun around angrily, "I would love to go, but I'm afraid some people wouldn't welcome my presence."

"Who dares!?" He glared.

Her gaze burned into him unwaveringly.

Pointing at himself, he asked, "You can't be talking about me, right? What nonsense! Junior Sister Yao, you can come to High Heaven Palace any time you want to. Everyone will surely warmly welcome you."

"You said it yourself." She smiled, "In the future, I should show my face around High Heaven Palace more often."

She used to visit High Heaven Palace frequently, but nine times out of ten, she wasn't able to meet him. All the information she received only mentioned that he had yet to return from his various excursions. Even if that was the truth, it inevitably gave her the illusion that he was avoiding her, which made her very sad. Now that she had his promise she could come over at any time, some of her unease faded away.

"By the way, I also heard that a Zhu Girl has fallen for your charms too."

The corner of Yang Kai's face twitched at those words, "Who has such loose lips?"

Several possible candidates flashed through his mind. [The three Monster Kings? No. They have no reason to gossip about me behind my back. Could it be Hua Qing Si? Or, Nanmen Da Jun? Or, Hou Yu? It was Hou Yu, no doubt!] He was furious. [I will definitely lock her up for a hundred years and make her refine artifacts non-stop once I get back! I won't let her out before a hundred years have passed!]

"Senior Brother, you really are quite capable. You have so many lovers. You must be enjoying life to the fullest. It really is the envy of others."

Yang Kai awkwardly coughed and said, "Junior Sister Yao, if you have nothing to do, please help me copy these jade slips. There's not much left."

Talking about a subject like this with a woman like Ji Yao felt extremely strange. He might have had some interest in joining the conversation had it been with a man instead.

Ji Yao only looked at him sarcastically though, "Senior Brother, are you feeling embarrassed? What is there to be embarrassed about? Aren't all men like this? They can't help but want to conquer all the beautiful women in the world."

"That's wrong." Yang Kai shook his head, "I cannot deny that beautiful women will always attract a man's attention. Men might even fantasize about them sometimes, but to conquer all the beautiful women in the world is simply unrealistic."

"Is that so?" She was expressionless, "Does that mean you are already content with five beautiful women by your side?"

He sternly said, "How dare I be unsatisfied?"

She walked toward him and solemnly said, "Senior Brother, can you guarantee that you will never mess around with other women or seduce other women in the future?"

He pressed his palm against his forehead, "Junior Sister Yao, we really should change the conversation topic."

"Are you avoiding my question, Senior Brother? Or, could it be that you have other intentions in your heart? Are you saying you won't refuse a woman if they throw themselves into your arms?" She stopped in front of him, and her soft fragrance filled his nose.

Yang Kai took a step back, his back now pressing against the wooden shelf as he warned, "Junior Sister Yao, you are overstepping your boundaries!"

Ji Yao didn't pay his warning any mind though and continued, "If it was like in the past, I could have ignored it, but Honoured Master promised to accept Little Junior Sister into the Sect. That means I am already family with Little Junior Sister. Although it's only our first time meeting, I can tell that Little Junior Sister has a cold nature. I'm sure she won't restrict you when it comes to relationships between men and women. As a Senior Sister, it's only natural that I worry on her behalf."

"You are being ridiculous." He frowned.

She laughed coldly, "And you are a hypocrite."

"How am I a hypocrite!?"

"How are you not?"

"Don't talk as if you know men very well." Yang Kai glanced at her up and down. Then, he sneered, "If I'm not mistaken, you are still a virgin, Junior Sister!"

Ji Yao's fair face blushed beet red, feeling ashamed, "Scoundrel!"

He spread his arms wide, "You just had to discuss this topic with me. I'm only replying in kind. You've never even met a suitable man before, spending all your time painstakingly cultivating in Ice Heart Valley, so how can you understand a man's thoughts?"

"Who says I haven't met one!?" She snapped angrily, her chest heaving violently as she glared at him with wide eyes.

Feeling guilty for some reason, Yang Kai shifted his gaze away and shrugged, "That's why I suggested we change topics. It's meaningless to continue discussing this."

"No!" She reached out and grabbed him by the collar, "I used to think that you were a decent person who understands how to control his desires. I never imagined that you would turn out to be this rotten on the inside despite your decent appearance! We have to settle things between us now; otherwise, Little Junior Sister will surely suffer in the future!"

Yang Kai instantly became livid and snapped back, "Who is decent on the outside but rotten on the inside!?" [This is too much! How am I decent on the outside but rotten on the inside!? This is a blatant slander! How can I possibly tolerate this!?]

She abruptly put force into her hands, and her entire body leaned forward towards him, then she enunciated her words clearly, "I am talking about you."

"Ji Yao!" He shouted, "That's enough!"

"Enough? Enough?! I'm just that unreasonable! What are you going to do to me!?" She leaned in further, looking incensed. She clearly had no intention to step back. Despite being half a head shorter than him, it felt as though she was looming over him instead.

He glared at her fiercely, hot air blowing out of his nose. There was such a beautiful woman in front of him; moreover, he could feel an amazing warmth and elasticity pressing against his chest. It made him lose track of what he was thinking for a moment, and his savage expression changed to something more intimate all of a sudden. He had only been focused on arguing with Ji Yao just now so he failed to notice how close they were to each other. Now that the reality of the situation hit him, his heart was pounding like crazy. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly as he softened his tone, "Let's calm down and talk this out. Why don't you let go of me first?"

He reached out and tried to pry her hands away, but to his surprise, she had no intention of letting go at all. It was just that the moment their skin made contact, her soft and white hands began to tremble. At the same time, her face slowly flushed red.

Their gazes met, but it was no longer hostile. Rather, it felt tantalizing and sensuous.

Yang Kai took a deep breath to try to calm his rampaging emotions and earnestly said, "Look; I was wrong, okay? Can you let go first?"

"No!" Ji Yao lost the courage to meet his eyes but remained stubborn.

He quickly said, "This will lead to trouble."

She said nothing; however, her silent defiance was enough to indicate her stance.

"I'm warning you for the last time. This will only lead to trouble." His expression was stern.

She remained motionless.

[I can't stand it anymore! There's no need to endure!] Letting out his breath softly, he slowly lowered his head and tilted hers up, pressing his lips against hers.

Ji Yao's entire body began shivering violently, and her hands grabbing at his collar tightened abruptly. A strong male scent washed over her as the distance between them was closed swiftly. She immediately closed her eyes, and only her long eyelashes continued to tremble softly, revealing the nervousness she was feeling inside.

A soft and warm touch came from her lips. There also seemed to be a touch of fragrance that lingered and made her crave for more. Her trembling body instantly stiffened as if a binding technique had been cast on her.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai's movements were extremely gentle. He seemed afraid of frightening her, pulling back immediately every time he touched her. His touch was as light as a dragonfly skimming across the water surface. The rigid tender body gradually relaxed and the hands that had been gripping his collar tightly released at some point. She was being held in his embrace as he snuck his arms around her back. Then, his hands tightened around her waist and her whole body pressed forward against his.