Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

After taking the basket, the woman shot into the air and disappeared. Yang Kai wondered where she was going, but before he could ask, Bao Ze Tong extended his hand and said, "Envoy Yang, please come in and have a chat with me."

Yang Kai nodded, "Excuse me, then."

After they entered the hall, Bao Ze Tong took the Master's seat while Yang Kai sat down as a guest. Following that, a maidservant presented cups of tea and rare fruits to them. Both the tea and the fruits were aromatic. Besides the tea, Yang Kai had never seen the fruits on the plate before. Apparently, these were the fruits exclusive to this world. After having a taste, he realised that they were delicious; moreover, these fruits could help refine the strength of cultivators. Nevertheless, these fruits were useless to people like Yang Kai and Bao Ze Tong. Yang Kai just regarded it as trying out new delicacies.

As he drank tea and ate fruits, Yang Kai made small talk with Bao Ze Tong, and soon, the atmosphere became lively.

A moment later, Bao Ze Tong asked, "How has Madam been?"

Yang Kai reckoned that the elderly man must be talking about Madam Lan, so he nodded, "She's well." In fact, she seemed to be enjoying herself almost too much. No other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters needed three meals a day.

Bao Ze Tong replied with a smile, "That's good." Then, he heaved a sigh, "In fact, life has been hard on her."

Yang Kai lifted his head, "What do you mean?"

Although he had frequently come into contact with the Proprietress, he basically knew nothing about her. He only knew that she was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with a powerful background. Therefore, his interest was piqued when Bao Ze Tong said that life had been hard on her. He was resentful because the Proprietress had been tormenting him, but he was unable to defeat her. It would be wonderful if he could learn some gossip about her to make him happier.

However, Bao Ze Tong waved his hand and said, "Please excuse this Bao's loose lips, Envoy Yang."

At that, Yang Kai became frustrated. Since the elderly man wasn't willing to tell him, it was inappropriate for him to keep asking, thus, he asked, "By the way, although I've received orders to come here, I have no idea what I should do. Could you please enlighten me?"

Without answering his question, Bao Ze Tong asked, "How long has Envoy Yang worked for Madam?"

"A few days…" Yang Kai flashed a bashful smile at him. Strictly speaking, he was forced to work under her; otherwise, he wouldn't have followed that crazy woman around.

Bao Ze Tong nodded, "I see. In fact, it's nothing important. We have a kind of spirit fruit on Heavenly Mountain called Heavenly Snow Fruit. It has a special taste and only grows here. Madam loves this fruit deeply, so she always has someone collect some from us whenever she passes by Nine Nether Continent."

"Heavenly Snow Fruit?" Yang Kai arched his brow as the name sounded somewhat poetic. He wondered what kind of spirit fruit could hold the Proprietress', a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master's, interest so greatly that she would make a point to collect some every time she passed by this place. He decided to have a proper look at them later.

It was then he realised why Bai Qi had passed him a bamboo basket. It was supposed to be used to carry these spirit fruits.

"Heavenly Snow Fruit…" As Bao Ze Tong spoke, he seemed to be walking down memory lane, then he became dejected, "Let's not talk about it. Since Envoy Yang works under Madam, you will find out about it soon."

The elderly man would never finish his words after he started a topic, frustrating Yang Kai to the point he wanted to pry open Bao Ze Tong's mouth with his Azure Dragon Spear.

Bao Ze Tong realised this as well apparently, so he took the initiative and led the conversation to topics such as cultivation, which Yang Kai was more than willing to go along with.

Yang Kai asked him why, since he had become a Great Emperor, he had not broken free from the world's bounds and headed to an even wider world. Bao Ze Tong replied with a smile, "This Bao is too old and lacks the ambition he once had. So what if I can break free from this world's restrictions? What can I do after that?"

Yang Kai frowned, "Have you decided to stay on Nine Nether Continent forever?"

An optimistic Bao Ze Tong said, "This Bao was born and raised here, so I'm willing to protect it for the rest of my days."

Yang Kai nodded as the Star Boundary came to mind. If the Star Boundary hadn't been devastated by Mo Sheng, would he have come to the Outer Universe? Was he willing to stay in the Star Boundary for the rest of his life? He didn't have an answer to these questions.

Half an hour later, the woman, who had taken the basket earlier, returned to the hall and respectfully put it down on the table beside Yang Kai before saluting him, "Sir Special Envoy, your Heavenly Snow Fruits are ready."

"Many thanks," Yang Kai nodded and examined the spirit fruits in the basket. He realised that Heavenly Snow Fruits were dark red and about the size of a baby's fist. All of them looked similar in terms of their size, so it was apparent that they were carefully selected; after all, these fruits were for the Proprietress, so those from Heavenly Mountain wouldn't dare to be negligent.

The fruits were aromatic, so he wondered what they tasted like. After rising from his chair, Yang Kai cupped his fists, "Sect Master Bao, since the fruits are ready, I'll take my leave now."

Bao Ze Tong nodded, "Safe travels, Envoy Yang. When you see Madam later, please send our regards to her and tell her that we're grateful for the protection she has granted our world over the years."

"I shall," Yang Kai nodded his head and shuffled out of the hall with the basket while Bao Ze Tong respectfully saw him off.

It was easier for him to leave the Nine Nether Continent as, unlike the time he tried to enter, he didn't have to break through the World Barrier. Apparently, Bao Ze Tong must have communicated with the World Principles to allow him to pass.

Meanwhile, in a room on the top floor of the First Inn ship, Bai Qi was standing in front of the Proprietress with his head hung low in an obsequious manner. As usual, the Proprietress had closed her eyes to take a rest as she was lying on her side on the wooden bed.

A long time later, she asked, "Has he not returned?"

Bai Qi shook his head, "No. I'm worried that he's fled."

The Proprietress didn't respond to him.

Bai Qi went on to say, "He was never willing to join First Inn, so now that he has a chance, it's expected that he'd flee. I'm worried that he won't come back again."

"Forget it, then," the Proprietress replied impassively, "If he's really fled, his life or death will have nothing to do with us anymore."

A shocked Bai Qi said, "Proprietress, since you knew this would be the outcome, why did you allow him to go to Nine Nether Continent on his own?" Soon, he realised the reason though and nodded, "I understand. You were trying to find out whether he would flee?"

The Proprietress replied dispassionately, "It's not so complicated. It just annoyed me to see him around me."

Bai Qi was speechless at that, but just when he was about to say something, he saw the Proprietress opening her eyes as a glint flashed across her gaze.

"What happened?" He asked.

"He's back," The Proprietress closed her eyes again.

Bai Qi didn't understand her at first, but he soon realised what happened as he turned around and left the room. Then, he stood on the deck and looked out at Nine Nether Continent. As expected, a moment later, a figure flew over rapidly. The person was none other than Yang Kai.

"He didn't flee!" Bai Qi couldn't believe his eyes as he muttered under his breath. He thought for sure that Yang Kai would seize the chance to escape from them, but Yang Kai had really returned. [Could this guy be a fool?] If Bai Qi were in his shoes, he would have run away.

A while later, Yang Kai landed on the deck as the light around him faded and revealed his figure. He raised his head, only to see Bai Qi staring dazedly at him.

Yang Kai looked around and furrowed his brow before asking, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Bai Qi crossed his arms and stroked his chin. As he sized Yang Kai up, he said in amazement, "I suddenly realise that you look like someone I once knew. Why hadn't I noticed it in the past?"

"Who are you talking about?" Yang Kai asked.

Bai Qi shook his head and fell silent, then he pointed at the room on the top floor to suggest that the Proprietress was waiting for him.

After a snort, Yang Kai leaped towards the room and knocked on the door, "Proprietress, I'm back."

"Come in," the Proprietress' languid voice was heard saying, upon which he pushed the door open.

On the deck, Bai Qi seemed to be lost in his thoughts, but he soon shook his head and walked back towards the cabin as he muttered, "Why didn't I realise it before? Odd..."

Then, he entered the accountant's room and told him about it. The accountant looked emotionlessly at him, "Are you blind or something? You drank with him pretty frequently, but you only realised it now?"

"You already knew?" Bai Qi was astounded.

The accountant replied, "I realised it the first time he walked into the inn."

Upon that realization, Bai Qi said, "It's no wonder Proprietress wanted him to stay. So that's the reason. Has she been tormenting him because of that as well?" Then, he put on a bitter expression, "It's all over, then. She just managed to put down what had happened in the past, but now she's forced to recall those sorrowful memories. What should we do?"

The account replied, "I've been pondering on this issue recently, and I've finally come up with a way to permanently settle this problem. Do you want to know?"

"Go on." Bai Qi nodded.

The accountant went on to say in a hushed voice, "You'll look for a chance and bring him somewhere quiet, then we'll kill him together." After finishing his words, he slashed at his own neck with his hand.

The corner of Bai Qi's eye twitched, "Is this what you mean by a permanent solution?"

The accountant said matter-of-factly, "Do you have another solution?"

"No, no, no!" Bai Qi shook his head, "We don't even know what Proprietress really thinks about it. If we cause her even more sorrow, we'll be eternal sinners."

The accountant heaved a sigh, "That's a problem as well. The most important thing is that we have to find out what Proprietress thinks. Why don't you try to sound her out?"

Bai Qi shook his head like a pellet drum, "You know what she's like during this period of time every year. We must not look for her for the next three days; otherwise, it'd be akin to courting death."

Hearing that, the accountant couldn't help but shudder as though he had recalled a horrible memory. In a resolute manner, he said, "I'll go into seclusion for a few days now. Tell the others not to bother Proprietress for the next three days."

"I've already told them about it, or rather, they've all worked for the inn for a long time now, so they don't need me to remind them. In any case, I'll also go into hiding now."

In the room on the top floor, Yang Kai entered the inner room and put down the basket on the table before saying, "Proprietress, I've brought back your fruits. If there's nothing else, I'll take a rest now."

He wondered why the Proprietress loved these Heavenly Snow Fruits so much as on his way back, he had tried one of them and realised that they were actually quite bitter and sour, making them basically unpalatable. However, Bao Ze Tong told him that the Proprietress would always tell someone to fetch a batch of these fruits every time she passed by Nine Nether Continent. In the end, Yang Kai figured everyone had their own preferences when it came to food and just left it at that.