Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai strolled over to the main gates of Orthodoxy Temple and headed directly to a small slope. Lowering his head, he studied the cold corpse lying there and a trace of sorrow flashed across his eyes. The corpse was covered in a layer of ice, so it showed no signs of decay or being eaten by wild beasts even though several days had passed.

The fatal injury was located on her chest. Yu Zhuo had been pierced by some kind of sharp weapon, such as a sword, and judging by the injury, Yang Kai could tell that she had not suffered any pain before she died. It was just that her wide-opened eyes were still full of fear and helplessness still.

"Palace Master!" Hua Qing Si walked over and called out softly.

"Why are you here?" Yang Kai asked. Squatting down, he brushed his hand over the cold corpse. The layer of ice melted instantly and he gently closed Yu Zhuo's eyelids before tidying up the messy strands of hair stuck to her forehead.

"Elder Ji asked me to guard this place," Hua Qing Si replied as she secretly observed Yang Kai's expression and realized that what Ji Yao said was correct. [Palace Master really does know this dead woman. I wonder what kind of relationship they had? The guilt and sorrow on his face indicates that their relationship was not quite one of normal friendship but not at the level of romance between a man and a woman either.]

He nodded at those words. When Ji Yao passed the border of Orthodoxy Temple's Sect Defending Array and charged into battle with him, he noticed her casting a Secret Technique to freeze Yu Zhuo's body. Sadly, they were facing an imminent battle at the time, and he had no time to worry about anything else. It wasn't until everything was resolved that he had the time to come and check on the situation here.

The dead were gone; nevertheless, Yu Zhuo's laughter and smiling face constantly appeared in his mind. If she had not died in this place, the possibility of her becoming an Emperor Realm Master one day was very high based on her performance in the Martial Gathering. Unfortunately, one had to overcome many obstacles in the Martial Dao, and the slightest bit of carelessness would mean death.

Yang Kai could not say that he had much of a friendship with Yu Zhuo, and during this incident, the Southern Territory had suffered casualties numbering from twenty to thirty thousand. Even Azure Sun Temple lost more than a third of its top disciples. Nevertheless, Yu Zhuo's death was the only one that made him feel truly regretful and sad.

It was an inexplicable feeling. Looking at this person in front of him, he recalled the scene where she suddenly turned around and waved goodbye at him after he refused to meet with her that day. Who could have expected that that moment when she turned around to leave would be their final goodbye?

"Palace Master, the people over there are her Sect members. They seemed to be waiting to collect her body." Hua Qing Si had waited for some time before finally reminding him when she saw that Yang Kai showed no signs of moving.

Lifting his head, Yang Kai saw about ten individuals standing anxiously not too far away. The person leading them was a young woman who looked to be in her thirties and the group behind her were all women. Each of these women wore a depressed expression while some of the younger ones were weeping softly.

"Bring them over." Yang Kai nodded.

"Understood," Hua Qing Si responded and walked over in that direction. She arrived in front of that young woman leading the group, spoke a few words, and then brought them over with her.

"Luo Sha Sect Qin Pei greets Elder Yang," The leading young woman bowed, her eyes reddening instantly when they swept over Yu Zhuo's corpse. However, she held back her tears somehow since Yang Kai was in front of her.

Yang Kai glanced at this group and discovered that Qin Pei had the highest cultivation out of them. Even then, she was only a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. There was only one other woman in the First-Order Dao Source Realm among the others while the rest were Origin Kings or Origin Returning Realm Juniors.

"Are you Yu Zhuo's fellow Sect members?" He asked.

Qin Pei nodded, "Yes. I am Yu Zhuo's Senior Sister."

"Where is your Sect Master?" Yang Kai looked at her and asked. Although Luo Sha Sect was neither a large nor powerful Sect, he recalled that they at least had a Sect Master in the Emperor Realm. Moreover, their Sect Master was the one to lead them here to participate in the Martial Gathering.

Qin Pei lowered her head and replied in a choked-up voice, "Sect Master fell as well."

As soon as those words left her mouth, the few girls whimpering behind her couldn't hold back anymore and burst out wailing.

Luo Sha Sect was an all-female Sect, and an all-female Sect would always draw much attention from the outside world. It was inevitable that some lustful men would try to get their hands on a Sect like that. In the past, Luo Sha Sect had a Sect Master in the Emperor Realm protecting them while they also had alliances with the surrounding Sects and clans, so they were fairly safe from assault.

Unfortunately, their Sect Master had died a tragic death and only two among all the disciples in the Dao Source Realm who came to participate in Martial Gathering survived. It could be said that the foundation of Luo Sha Sect had been severely damaged. It would be hard for them to gain a foothold in the Southern Territory again. Furthermore, the female disciples of Luo Sha Sect would face a worrying fate if word got out about their situation. Combined with their grief, how could this group of women hold back their sorrow when they thought about what the future held for them?

Yang Kai was silent.

Qin Pei took out a cloth bag suddenly from her Space Ring and handed it to him.

"This is…" Yang Kai glanced at her questioningly.

Wiping away her tears, Qin Pei forced a smile to her face, "A few days ago, Junior Sister Yu Zhuo asked me to keep an eye out for seeds and to collect them if I found any. I think she wanted to give them to you. I was a bit late in collecting them, so I didn't have time to hand them to her before…"

Yang Kai pursed his lips and reached out his hand to take the cloth bag, but when he held it, that small bag somehow felt extremely heavy.

Qin Pei added, "Junior Sister Yu Zhuo admired Elder Yang very much. Just recently…" She couldn't continue speaking anymore. Covering her mouth with her hand, she broke down sobbing while the dozen or so girls behind her also covered their faces and wept with grief.

Under these circumstances, even Hua Qing Si was affected by the situation and her eyes slightly reddened.

A while passed before Qin Pei managed to collect herself again. Taking a deep breath, she smiled and said, "It was a blessing for Junior Sister Yu Zhuo to meet Elder Yang before her death."

Yang Kai's hand that was holding the cloth bag clenched slightly and his chest felt incredibly tight and stuffy.

Qin Pei waited a moment before continuing, "Elder Yang, if you don't mind, I would like to bring Junior Sister's body back to the Sect for burial."

Yang Kai nodded lightly in response, unable to speak.

Only then did Qin Pei crouch down and gently stroke Yu Zhuo's hair. Afterwards, she placed Yu Zhuo's corpse into her Space Ring.

"Many thanks, Elder Yang!" Qin Pei bowed again and turned to leave with the rest of her Sect members.

"Wait," Yang Kai reached out his hand and called for her to stop.

Turning back, Qin Pei asked, "Is there anything else you need, Elder Yang?"

"What are your plans for the future?" He asked, looking at her.

A look of confusion flashed across Qin Pei's eyes before she shook her head. She had been worrying about this issue over the past few days. Now that their Sect Master was dead, what was going to happen to the roughly thousand disciples of Luo Sha Sect? The person with the highest cultivation left in the Sect was an Elder in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm who had stayed behind to guard the Sect. Unfortunately, such strength was not enough to protect their foundation. There were several Sects and clans that Luo Sha Sect was allied with, but it no longer had the protection of an Emperor Realm Master so forget about providing shelter and protection, those allies would likely be the first to try and swallow up Luo Sha Sect.

Therefore, Luo Sha Sect's fate was certain and the only way to gain safety was to somehow bring in a powerful and influential external force to shelter them. Be that as it may, doing so might just be inviting a wolf in the flock of sheep. All those scruples to consider had left the Sect's future looking rather bleak.

"Do you plan to revive your Sect, or merge it with another?" Yang Kai asked, "If it's the latter, I can help introduce you to a reliable force. Both the Southern Territory and the Northern Territory are fine. You will have limited choices in the Southern Territory, but you can choose any Sect you want to join in the Northern Territory."

Upon hearing those words, Qin Pei's eyes lit up, "Elder Yang, are you willing to help Luo Sha Sect?"

Yang Kai replied, "Yu Zhuo and I… Can be considered friends. Although she has passed, I cannot just stand by and do nothing when her Sect is in trouble."

Qin Pei couldn't help feeling beside herself with joy when she received an affirmative answer. Similarly, the dozen or so disciples of Luo Sha Sect looked at Yang Kai in amazement. In their experiences, Emperor Realm Masters had always stood far above people like them. One did not have the right to speak with Emperor Realm Masters on equal terms unless one was also in the Emperor Realm. That was why they had been standing so far away and did not dare to come forward while Hua Qing Si was watching over Yu Zhuo's body; it was because she too was an Emperor Realm Master.

Although their Sect Master could be considered amiable when she was still alive, her status as an Emperor Realm Master was still intimidating and nobody dared to act presumptuously in front of her.

They were already so cautious around a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, so what more needed to be said about a Second-Order or Third-Order Emperor? Moreover, Yang Kai was an Elder of Azure Sun Temple. That title itself carried more weight than an ordinary Emperor Realm Master in the Southern Territory. For that reason, Qin Pei had been rather cautious while speaking to Yang Kai just now. Who could have known that the other party would be so approachable? He even claimed that he was friends with Yu Zhuo.

The simple word 'friend' was a very big deal; after all, how many Emperor Realm Masters would willingly acknowledge a mere Dao Source Realm cultivator as a friend? Even if there were any, they would be very rare cases. If Yu Zhuo had heard those words, who knows how ecstatic she would have been?

At the thought of Yu Zhuo though, Qin Pei's expression filled with sorrow again as she resolutely stated, "I want to revive the Sect!"

Luo Sha Sect was the place where they grew up together. It was also home to this group of young girls. If they could preserve and revitalize their Sect, who would be willing to abandon their home and seek shelter somewhere else?

The group of women behind Qin Pei all nodded vigorously.

"Hmm…" Yang Kai pondered for a moment before asking, "Has Luo Sha Sect ever hired a High-Rank Guest Elder before?"

Qin Pei shook her head. There was only one Emperor Realm Master at Luo Sha Sect, so if they were to hire a High-Rank Guest Elder, they had to choose from those that were in the Emperor Realm; however, most Emperor Realm Masters were attached to their own Sects, so who would go to Luo Sha Sect just to be a High-Rank Guest Elder there? On the other hand, hiring a Dao Source Realm cultivator in such a position was completely redundant.

"Hire me then. I'll be Luo Sha Sect's High-Rank Guest Elder from now on," Yang Kai forced a slight smile onto his face.

Qin Pei was stunned by those words and after realizing the implication and meaning behind them, she knew that Yang Kai was lending them his assistance in order to save their Sect. Even so, she never expected him to use such a method to help them. She thought that he would, at best, announce to the public that their Sect was under his protection so that people with malicious intentions would be deterred from harming them, she never imagined that he would be willing to abase himself and become a High-Rank Guest Elder at Luo Sha Sect.

[We are talking about a High-Rank Guest Elder! Even though it comes with the title of 'Honoured Guest', it is tantamount to becoming attached to Luo Sha Sect! If the Sect ever encounters trouble, he will have no choice but to help us!]

Seeing as Qin Pei was not answering, Yang Kai touched his nose awkwardly and said, "Does the Luo Sha Sect only allow women to join? If that's the case, I can recommend somebody else for you. Her cultivation is no worse than mine." Naturally, he was referring to Ji Yao. He was certain that Ji Yao would not mind lending them her name.

"No! That's not it!" Qin Pei hurriedly waved her hands in denial. [Are you joking!? Even if Luo Sha Sect really had such a rule, rules were dead while people were alive!] Who was Yang Kai? He was the saviour of the Southern Territory, a Master who could assemble a force of more than two hundred Emperor Realm Masters, thirty-two Monster Kings, and even three Divine Spirits at will! Moreover, he was a powerful Emperor Realm Master himself! Just one of those titles would be enough for no one in the world to dare look down on him… With someone like him as a High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect, who will dare try to harm them?