Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai ambled forward and stopped in a spot that wasn't far away from the Proprietress, "Is that our destination?"

The Proprietress tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded her head, "You're right. That's our destination."

"Where is this?" It took the ship half a year to pass through several Territory Gates to finally reach this place, so Yang Kai was curious.

"That's the Star City of this Great Territory." Bai Qi approached him with an excited expression and asked, "Brat, have you heard of Star Cities?"

He thought that Yang Kai had never heard of such a place before.

Yang Kai's gaze brightened, "That's a Star City?"

He couldn't help looking in that direction, but he couldn't see what was going on over there due to the great distance; moreover, the Spirit Province seemed to have been surrounded by a Grand Array, so all he could see was a blurred area.

Zhang Ruo Xi told him that if he wanted to learn anything about the World Tree, his best option was to visit a Star City. That was because such places were where people from all walks of life in the Outer Universe gathered together. With so many people coming and going, a lot of information could be traded for along with many precious items. Perhaps he could find out where the World Tree was in such a place.

Unfortunately, right after he arrived in the 3,000 Worlds, he was brought to Seven Wonders Land to become a Worker. Then, he roamed around the universe for a while before arriving at First Inn. He had no time to look for a Star City, nor did he have any idea where one was. He hadn't expected that the Proprietress' destination was actually a Star City.

"You already know about them?" Bai Qi was shocked.

"I've heard of them before." Yang Kai nodded, and then he turned to look at the Proprietress, "Will we stay there for the long term?"

First Inn was destroyed during a battle, so they had to look for a new place to settle down. There was no way they had spent half a year coming all the way here just to buy supplies, so they would most likely stay there.

"For the time being," The Proprietress nodded. Noticing the excitement on his face, she flashed a smile at him, "You seem interested in this Star City."

Yang Kai replied, "I've never seen one before, so of course I'm curious."

The Proprietress said with a smile, "There's nothing special about it. The world you're from must have many different shopping districts and trade cities. A Star City is just a bigger, higher-level type of shopping district. The things on sale are also more expensive."

Yang Kai nodded his head and looked forward again. He was pondering whether he should ask the Proprietress about the World Tree; after all, First Inn engaged in the business of collecting information. If the World Tree really existed, the Proprietress must be aware of it. After giving it a thought though, he decided not to. He would just ask around after reaching the city.

Bai Qi, the chef, and the accountant were having a chat amongst themselves on the deck, and a salacious look adorned Bai Qi's face.

One hour later, the ship arrived at a dock in the periphery of the Spirit Province. There were quite a few cultivators guarding the dock. Their leader was clad in golden armour and had a long sword sheathed at his waist. He looked just like an imposing General.

After the ship stopped at the dock, the Golden Armour General lead a group of cultivators and boldly jumped onto the deck. With his hand resting on his sword, he swept a glance over them in an imposing manner.

A soldier in silver armour stepped forward and yelled, "Identify yourselves and present documents!"

The Proprietress hinted at Bai Qi, who then moved forward and passed a jade slip to the soldier in silver armour. After scanning it with his Divine Sense, the soldier became surprised and presented the jade slip to the Golden Armour General.

After reading it, the general nodded gently, "So it is First Inn's Madam, I apologize for failing to recognise you earlier."

The Proprietress kept a faint smile on her face, "General, you're responsible for guarding an important place like the Star City's dock, so you must be swamped with work. It's understandable that you didn't recognise me."

While they were speaking, Bai Qi put on a smile and passed a Space Ring to the soldier in silver armour. At this point, the Proprietress said, "All of you have worked hard. Please take this gift from me and buy some refreshments for yourselves."

The soldier didn't know how to handle the Space Ring as he looked inquisitively at the Golden Armour General.

The general said with a smile, "Since it's a gift from Madam Lan, just accept it."

It was only then that the soldier set his mind at ease and stored the Space Ring before cupping his fists to the Proprietress.

The Golden Armour General went on to say, "Madam Lan, it's just the usual practice, so please don't pay it any mind." Then, he passed the jade slip back to Bai Qi and led them to leave the ship. Following that, he waved his hand, "Let them pass!"

Then, the barrier at the dock slowly opened and the Proprietress thanked him before sailing the ship towards the Spirit Province.

Aboard the ship, Yang Kai was amazed by what had just happened. It was apparent that the Proprietress had a wide network. She might not know the Golden Armour General, but after she fished out a simple jade slip, the general could immediately recognise that she was First Inn's Madam Lan, which suggested that she was truly famous in the Outer Universe.

It wasn't surprising as she could be considered a powerful cultivator as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; furthermore, she was a charming lady, so she could easily attract others' attention.

However, there was one thing that Yang Kai didn't understand, so he approached Bai Qi and asked in a small voice, "Why are there so many soldiers in the periphery of the Star City? Is this city not safe? Would anyone invade this place?"

Bai Qi replied, "No one would dare to do so. This Star City is the property of Great Battle Heaven. The Golden Armour General and the soldier in silver armour are all from Great Battle Heaven. They keep guard on the dock because that allows them to control the entire Star City. Secondly, they have to fend off Space Beasts. Have you seen Space Beasts before?"

"Is the Myriad Facets Insect considered a Space Beast?" The only Space Beast Yang Kai had come across was the Myriad Facets Insect, which caused Zhang Ruo Xi and him to be separated at that time. Until this day, he still had no idea where she was.

Nevertheless, she had inherited some memories from her ancestor, so she had a better understanding of the Outer Universe than he did. In the light of that, Yang Kai felt he didn't have to worry about her. If he wasn't mistaken, she must have headed to Lang Ya Paradise; after all, that was the place where her ancestor was born.

"Yes, it can be considered a Space Beast; however, Myriad Facets Insects are basically harmless. Some Space Beasts love places that are bustling with noise and activity, and they're all generally quite powerful. If they manage to barge into a Star City, they can cause a lot of damage. With the soldiers guarding the dock, these Space Beasts normally wouldn't dare to make a scene."

Upon hearing his explanation, Yang Kai went on to ask, "You just mentioned Great Battle Heaven. Is it one of the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens?" He recalled seeing the name in the jade slip given to him by Meng Hong, who was a disciple from Great Moon Province.

"That's right. The first Universe Temple you visited was guarded by those from Great Battle Heaven as well. They're easily recognisable as they're just like an army. They live by military rules, and they're divided by ranks. They're a bunch of rough people."

Yang Kai grunted, "It's no wonder Proprietress called him General."

Bai Qi grinned, "A General is in fact a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. That guy is supposed to be a Great General in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realms. There are also Great Generals in the Fourth-Order or Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. A Grand Marshal is someone who is one rank above them."

"Interesting…" Yang Kai was amazed, then he changed the topic, "By the way, which great force is First Inn from?"

Although it had been half a year since he joined First Inn, he still had no idea which great force was behind the inn; nevertheless, he was certain that it had to be one of the Cave Heavens or Paradises.

"Go ask Proprietress," Bai Qi grinned.

Yang Kai shot him a glare as he had the urge to rip his mouth off.

While they were speaking, the ship arrived at the Spirit Province where the Star City was located. After the ship passed through the clouds, an abundance of World Energy came right at them, which prompted Yang Kai to take a deep breath. They had been roaming around the void for a long time. When he finally reached such a place, he felt like a wanderer who had finally found a place to settle down.

The Spirit Province couldn't be considered expansive. Looking from above, one could see the end of it at a glance. It was the equivalent of a few major cities combined.

However, one could see that the entire Spirit Province was full of different styles of buildings. The clean and wide streets criss-crossed one another like the pattern on a chessboard. The streets were also lit up by beautiful lights.

On the ground, countless people could be seen moving around. In the sky, some people could be seen flying around from time to time. There were also some uniquely-shaped flight-type artifacts.

Seeing that, Yang Kai fell into his thoughts. It seemed that flying wasn't prohibited in this place, which was a friendly practice. Many cities and forces erected Flight Inhibiting Arrays which prevented anyone from flying.

After the ship moved forward for about a quarter-hour, the Proprietress called out, "Disembark now."

Upon hearing that, the people on the deck flew up. The Proprietress performed a set of hand seals as her energy fluctuated around her, whereupon the ship began shrinking rapidly and soon became an item the size of a palm. Following that, she hid it in her sleeve.

"Let's go," she said and landed on the ground, followed by those from First Inn.

There were over ten people that worked for First Inn, a number that was neither big or small. Besides Bai Qi, the accountant, and the chef, whom Yang Kai was already familiar with, the rest of them were general workers.

After all, it didn't require a lot of people to run an inn. Ten people were more than sufficient.

A moment later, the group reached a shop, but it wasn't certain what was sold here as there was no signboard. It was in a prime location, however, as it was at the intersection of some streets, there were a lot of people moving around.

The Proprietress looked around and nodded gently before walking inside.

Soon, an elderly man approached her and cupped his fists, "Greetings, Madam. This one is Yuan Rui De."

The elderly man was an Open Heaven Realm Master, but he wasn't very strong. Although he was old, he was still respectful to the Proprietress.

In response, the Proprietress nodded her head.

Yuan Rui De said, "You must be exhausted. Do you need to take a rest?"

The Proprietress waved her hand, "There's no need for that. Let's get down to business now."

"Good. Have a seat, please." Yuan Rui De extended his hand.

After Madam Lan was seated, he fished out a jade slip and passed it to her, "This is the title deed of this shop. Everything has been settled."

The Proprietress took it and briefly scanned it before storing it.

Then, Yuan Rui De fished out another jade slip, "This contains the information of the businesses under those great forces, including the shop names and the top cultivators that work in those shops."

After that, he took out one more jade slip, "This one contains the information about the shopkeepers and the shop hands in those shops."