Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Ashish

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai, who was summoned, hurriedly rushed over to the Spirit Peak where his parents were residing, greeted and then explained everything to them. Finally, he cleared the misunderstanding and let them know that Yang Xiao was really not his biological son, just his Adoptive Son.

Dong Su Zhu's expression finally changed for the better. She then maternally and earnestly persuaded Yang Kai, "Son, you are not young anymore, and you've already gained a firm foothold in the Star Boundary. If you really want a child, your mother won't object, rather, I would be really delighted at the prospect, but you can't keep fooling around outside. You have four wives already, so you need to conceive a child with each of them first, do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand! I'm not fooling around outside at all," Yang Kai repeatedly nodded while at the same time the image of Ji Yao suddenly appeared in his head, inexplicably making him feel guilty.

Dong Su Zhu, seeing that he was being perfunctory, couldn't help but sigh, "Forget it, you're not a child anymore so you can take responsibility no matter the outcome. Since you are always out all year round, it's not suitable for Xiao'er to follow you all the time. So, let him live with me. He can play with Xue'er too. What do you think?"

Yang Kai gave it a thought before agreeing with a nod, "Good."

With his mother taking care of Yang Xiao, he naturally had nothing to worry about, but before that, he had to first ask Yang Xiao what he thought. If the brat didn't agree, he could do nothing about it.

And so, he called Yang Xiao over and asked his opinion. Yang Xiao had no objections and immediately agreed.

He could easily tell that he could enjoy his grandmother's protection if he stayed with her; however, if he followed Yang Kai, he might be tortured by his devilish Great Aunt, Liu Yan, who would burn him without speaking a word whenever she pleased.

Yang Kai was quite surprised by Yang Xiao's response and suddenly felt that this boy's disposition was quite unpredictable.

Since Yang Xiao had agreed, he would now be staying by Dong Su Zhu's side.

…..

Whether it was the Northern Territory's High Heaven Palace or the Southern Territory's Orthodoxy Temple Branch, everything was proceeding smoothly. After returning from Dragon Island, Yang Kai had no plans of leaving anytime soon and was ready to enter a long retreat to digest his recent experiences and consolidate his current cultivation. Ever since he returned to the Star Boundary from the Star Field, he had been running here and there and didn't have any time to sit and cultivate in peace. The road of cultivation was fraught with obstacles, which he had to overcome to keep moving forward, so he would rarely have free time and naturally couldn't waste it when he did.

But before that, Yang Kai had some other matters he needed to take care of first. At the very least, he had to attend to his wives.

Yang Kai first went to Spirit Pill Peak for Xia Ning Chang where he spent a day and night with her, much to the ire of Ji Ying. Xia Ning Chang was the unofficial close-door disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, and although they weren't Master and Disciple on the surface, in reality, that was exactly what they were. Wondrous Pill Great Emperor was filled with praise for Xia Ning Chang's Alchemy talent and even went so far as to say that if she found the right opportunity, her future achievements would absolutely not be lower than his own.

In other words, she could become the second Wonderous Pill Great Emperor.

As Yang Kai ran over to waste Xia Ning Chang's time, it would be strange if Ji Ying was happy. They might be on friendly terms, but when it came to his Little Junior Sister's future, Ji Ying would absolutely not compromise; he would not let Xia Ning Chang's talents go to waste.

After Xia Ning Chang was Xue Yue, who Yang Kai spent day and night with as well.

He then set off to Ice Heart Valley where he dual cultivated with Su Yan.

Before leaving, he naturally secretly accompanied Ji Yao in a rather exciting affair.

Then, after returning to High Heaven Palace, he stood before the Space Array, hesitating for a long time. Finally, he heaved a sigh and decided to not go to the Ancient Wild Lands. If he met with his enchantress, his body would be sucked dry and break down.

For the first time, he found that having so many women was not necessarily a good thing.

He then announced that he was going into retreat and gave orders to not disturb him unless something serious happened.

In the best cultivation room in High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and dumped out a large number of High-Rank Source Crystals around him. The next moment, his Emperor Qi surged and the Source Crystals burst apart, filling the room with incredibly rich World Energy.

Yang Kai continued to throw out Source Crystals, flooding the room with the World Energy to the point it became a fog so dense it was almost tangible.

Yang Kai then silently circulated his Secret Art as he cultivated and comprehended the various gains he had on Dragon Island.

In the Dragon Temple, the Dragon Souls of the Dragon Clan's past Great Elders had passed down to him many Dragon Clan Secret Techniques. Each Secret Technique was extremely powerful and had its own mystical effects, but since all of it was delivered to him all at once, Yang Kai still needed to take some time to process and comprehend them before he could use them.

This wasn't a task that could be completed overnight. It would require a long period of study, followed by many trials and experiments.

Spring went and autumn came, flowers bloomed then wilted.

When one's cultivation reached the Emperor Realm, it was quite common for a single retreat to last several years to over a decade. It wasn't even rare for a Master to spend an entire century in seclusion. Yang Kai had reached the Second-Order Emperor Realm already, so if he wanted to break through again, he would need a long period of accumulation.

During this period, he occasionally left his retreat to check up on High Heaven Palace's situation, to see if anything serious had happened. Fortunately, with Hua Qing Si as Head Manager, everything ran smoothly, which gave Yang Kai the time and peace of mind he needed to improve his cultivation and strength.

Two years later, Yang Kai, who was steadily absorbing World Energy, furrowed his brow and took a deep breath before slowly ending his cultivation and opening the barrier.

Hua Qing Si quickly rushed in, cupped her fists, and greeted, "Palace Master."

"What is it?" Before entering retreat, Yang Kai had issued instructions to not disturb him over trivial matters, but now, Hua Qing Si had intentionally disturbed the barrier, so it was clear that something major must have happened.

"Someone from the Southern Territory had come, saying that he must speak with the Palace Master about something important."

"Who?"

"Elder Gao Xue Ting, and… Star Soul Palace's Elder Xiao Yu Yang."

Yang Kai was surprised, "They came together?"

Yang Kai might not have been too surprised if Gao Xue Ting had come to talk to him; after all, he was also regarded as a High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple, but why would Xiao Yu Yang come too?

"Yes!" Hua Qing Si slightly nodded with a complex look on her face. She used to be a Star Soul Palace disciple, and her Master was even one of its Elders, but Tan Jun Hao was too unreliable. He even sacrificed his own Disciple for his own benefit and was eventually killed by Yang Kai. Since then, Hua Qing Si had left Star Soul Palace and officially joined High Heaven Palace. Still, when she met Xiao Yu Yang as the Head Manager of High Heaven Palace, she couldn't help but feel a little awkward.

"Did they say anything about their purpose?" Yang Kai asked.

Hua Qing Si shook her head, "They didn't say anything, but by the looks of it, it's something bad."

"Invite them to the main hall, I will join you soon," ordered Yang Kai.

Having received Yang Kai's order, Hua Qing Si withdrew.

Yang Kai sat on the ground, rubbing his chin. He couldn't understand why these two had come all of a sudden, but he still got up and went straight to meet them.

In the main hall, Gao Xue Ting and Xiao Yu Yang were sitting at a long table. Gao Xue Ting had a familiar cold look on her face, making it difficult to read anything just from her expression, but Xiao Yu Yang on the other hand appeared to be quite anxious, even looking up from time to time to see whether Yang Kai had arrived yet.

It was a rare sight to see someone of his cultivation acting like this; after all, Xiao Yu Yang was a Third-Order Emperor. More importantly, he was one of the Elders of the hegemon Sect of the Southern Territory. He would not bat an eye even if a mountain collapsed right before him. Judging by how anxious he was, it was evident that whatever the situation was, it was far from good.

Fortunately, Yang Kai didn't make them wait any longer and arrived in the main hall after freshening himself up slightly.

Seeing him appear, Gao Xue Ting lightly nodded whereas Xiao Yu Yang hurriedly greeted, "Yang Kai."

"Elder Xiao!" Yang Kai cupped his fists before nodding to Gao Xue Ting as a greeting. Then, he cut straight to the point and asked, "For what reason has Elder Xiao decided to suddenly visit my High Heaven Palace?"

Xiao Wu Yang was equally straightforward and asked, "This Xiao needs your help to save someone."

"Who?" Yang Kai furrowed his brow, wondering if that little brat, Xiao Chen had some kind of accident. [If it's really that arrogant boy, I might not be in the mood to save him. That little brat is an eyesore, but since Xiao Yu Yang has personally come, I guess I should give him face, shouldn't I?]

Just as he was thinking this through, Xiao Yu Yang made a shocking declaration, "Her Royal Highness, Princess Lan Xun."

Yang Kai was taken aback, "What happened to Junior Sister Lan?"

Xiao Yu Yang replied as a thick gloom appeared on his face, "Her Royal Highness was kidnapped."

Yang Kai was startled when he heard this and couldn't help staring at Xiao Yu Yang with an incredulous expression. He then turned to look at Gao Xue Ting, but seeing her nod, he realized that he had not heard wrong just now.

[Lan Xun was kidnapped? Who would dare to kidnap Lan Xun, the apple of the Bright Moon Great Emperor's eye? Furthermore, Lan Xun reached the Emperor Realm some time ago. Although she is just a First-Order Emperor, she inherited Bright Moon Great Emperor's Special Constitution, so her true combat power is far from what an ordinary First-Order Emperor can display. What's more, as the daughter of a Great Emperor, she must have a number of life-saving treasures granted to her by Senior Bright Moon. If someone wanted to capture her, he or she must at least be a Third-Order Emperor.]

But what madman had eaten a bear's heart and leopard's gall to get the courage to pull off such an act?

While thinking about it though, Yang Kai's brow suddenly furrowed as he recalled a certain event from two years ago…

[This sounds somewhat familiar… it can't just be a coincidence, right?]

Faintly, Yang Kai felt a bad premonition and hesitantly asked, "Do you know who did it?"

Xiao Yu Yang solemnly replied, "We have some idea, but it's not definitive."

Yang Kai stated, "Since you have some speculations, why not take decisive action. What about the Great Emperor? Since Lan Xun was the one kidnapped, the Great Emperor can't possibly be staying out of this, right? Why even bother coming to me in that case?"

Although Yang Kai's strength was pretty good, in the end, he was just a Second-Order Emperor. Star Soul Palace was a ruling Sect with a Great Emperor overseeing it, with numerous Third-Order Emperors and quite likely a hidden Pseudo-Great Emperor or two. Yang Kai couldn't figure out why Xiao Yu Yang was trying to go around the sun to reach the moon.

Xiao Yu Yang hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you remember the matter of the Orthodoxy Temple?"

Yang Kai replied, "Of course."

The disaster only happened three years ago, so how could Yang Kai have forgotten? But why would Xiao Yu Yang suddenly bring that incident up?

Xiao Yu Yang continued, "The Orthodoxy Temple incident was related to the safety of the entire Southern Territory, so it stands to reason that the Great Emperor should have stepped forward to handle it personally, but in the end, the Great Emperor never appeared. Did you ever wonder why that was?"

When Xiao Yu Yang mentioned this, Yang Kai recalled the aftermath of that event and indeed found it strange. The Orthodoxy Temple incident was quite serious, but Bright Moon Great Emperor hadn't even shown up; instead, only a few Elders of Star Soul Palace had come to deal with it. Obviously, this didn't make much sense…