Martial Peak
chapter-4149-30041322

Chapter 4149 – Smiling Foolishly

Banging sounds were continuously heard. Yang Kai was completely powerless to stop the Proprietress from beating him senseless, but although she was furious, she didn’t exert too much force or use her power as an Open Heaven Realm Master.

On the other hand, Yang Kai had a strong physique, so he wasn’t afraid of getting hit. When they were in First Inn in the past, there were times when the Proprietress was harsher on him.

After a while, she suddenly pinched his ear and pulled him closer to herself. Seeing as he was smiling foolishly, she said through gritted teeth, “Brat, why are you still so happy when you’re getting punched?”

With a grin, Yang Kai replied, “As long as it makes you happy.”

Certainly, he was happy. Since he arrived in the Outer Universe, the Proprietress was the one who had taken the most care of him and given him the protection and resources he needed. When he first joined First Inn, he wasn’t used to the environment, but as they gradually got along, he felt warm in his heart whenever he thought about the inn.

He couldn’t understand why, but the Proprietress had always given him an amiable feeling, as though she was his long-lost family member.

What Yang Kai had just said sounded familiar to the Proprietress. She seemed to have returned to the past when another was standing in front of her and said something similar to her.

She fell into a dazed state as a certain face flashed across her thoughts. Soon, she pulled herself together though and landed a thump on Yang Kai’s forehead before saying furiously, “I’m not going to let you off with just this. I’ll settle accounts with you at a later time!”

She wasn’t planning on just forgiving him after he made her worry for more than ten years.

Yang Kai grinned from ear to ear and nodded repeatedly.

The Proprietress rolled her eyes before turning around. Facing a stern-looking elderly man whose hair and beard were all grey, she spoke, “Grandmaster Wu Liang, this is my useless shop-hand. Please help him with his Spirit Array problems.”

Hearing this, Yang Kai immediately knew that this elderly man was the Array Grandmaster that the Proprietress had invited. Hurriedly, he stepped forward and saluted him, “Junior Yang Kai greets Grandmaster Wu Liang.”

Grandmaster Wu Liang lifted his saggy eyelids and sized Yang Kai up. Seeing as Yang Kai was just an Emperor Realm brat though, he stopped paying attention to him and instead nodded to the Proprietress, “Madame, since you’ve invited this Old Master, I shall do my best. I’ve observed the Grand Array from the outside for a bit, and I think it’s decent enough. With that said, there’s room for improvement. As for how it can be improved, I’ll need to examine it further before I can make a proposal.”

“Of course.” The Proprietress kept a faint smile on her face and gave Yang Kai a hint.

Hurriedly, Yang Kai said, “Lu Xue, lead the way for Grandmaster Wu Liang to inspect the Grand Array.”

Lu Xue, who just returned to Void Land with the Proprietress, immediately replied, “Yes.”

Then, she extended her hand, “Grandmaster, please.”

Grandmaster Wu Liang nodded lightly and turned into a ray of light before shooting into the sky, followed closely by Lu Xue.

Seeing that, Yang Kai set his mind at ease. Grandmaster Wu Liang seemed to be very professional. Initially, he wanted to hold a banquet for the Proprietress and the others and let Grandmaster Wu Liang have a rest before working on the Grand Array, but unexpectedly, this Grandmaster suggested he start working right away.

Certainly, Yang Kai was satisfied with such an attitude. It would be best if the Grand Array could be repaired as soon as possible as once it was, he would be free to do other things. It seemed that the Proprietress had found a reliable person.

After Grandmaster Wu Liang left, only the Proprietress and Bai Qi, who had tagged along, were left. Presently, Bai Qi was standing behind the Proprietress and looking smilingly at Yang Kai; however, his smile seemed to be somewhat apologetic as well.

In the past, after ascending to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he immediately set off to look for the Proprietress, leaving Yang Kai behind. If he had brought Yang Kai with him instead of leaving in such a rush, the subsequent incidents wouldn’t have happened, and Yang Kai wouldn’t have gone missing for more than ten years.

Over the years, just like the Proprietress, he was worried about Yang Kai’s safety. Every time he thought about it, he was full of self-blame and regret over the decision he had made. Seeing Yang Kai alive and well now, he could finally set his mind at ease.

As they looked at each other, Yang Kai nodded at him and turned around.

Yue He had been standing behind him and hanging her head low. With her lips pressed together, she seemed to be apprehensive, as though she was a naughty child who got caught after making a mistake.

“Yue He,” Yang Kai called out to her.

It was then Yue He stepped forward with difficulty. Standing in front of the Proprietress, she said in a hushed voice, “Big Sister…”

The Proprietress didn’t seem to hear her, nor did she bother to take a glance at her. Staring at Yang Kai, she said, “I’m tired from all the travelling. Do you have a place for me to take a rest? Lead the way for me.”

Then, she directly walked past Yue He, who turned absolutely ashen.

On the other hand, Yang Kai was having a headache. In fact, he wasn’t certain about the grudges between these two women. He speculated that they were very close to one another in the past, but for some reason, they had fallen out. After that, Yue He sided with Qin Ji and the others. Making use of the Sealing Yang Domain controlled by Golden Rainbow Province, they lured the Proprietress and Bai Qi into a deadly trap.

While Bai Qi was breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm, they launched a surprise attack. Although the Proprietress had tried her best, she wasn’t able to ensure Bai Qi’s safety. In the end, Bai Qi fell into a perilous state and was on the brink of death.

Bai Qi was the Proprietress’ trusted aide who had worked for her for many years. Since Yue He had attempted to kill him, it could be said to be a blood feud that was unresolvable.

“What are you doing there? Come right this instant!”

Just as Yang Kai was about to comfort Yue He, he heard the Proprietress shout at him. Not daring to be negligent, he gave Yue He an apologetic look and ran after her.

Yue He turned a shade paler and like a quail in the winter, she was trembling violently.

After a sigh, Bai Qi said, “Why did you do such a thing when you knew this would be the outcome? Since you’ve made a mistake, there’s a price to pay.”

A stunned Yue He lifted her head for the first time and exclaimed, “Y-You’re still alive?”

In the past, she had seen that when Bai Qi was breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm, his Yin, Yang, and Five Elements had become chaotic while his newly formed Small Universe was on the brink of collapsing. In that state, his ascension had essentially already failed, so there should have been no way he could survive.

She had believed that Bai Qi had lost his life in the Sealing Yang Domain.

While she was standing behind Yang Kai earlier, she had hung her head and she was anxious that she wasn’t even aware of Bai Qi’s presence. Now that she saw him all of a sudden, she was truly astounded.

Staring at her, Bai Qi said dispassionately, “If I were dead, you would have lost your life by now.”

If Bai Qi passed away, the Proprietress would never have let Yue He off. She would’ve killed her to avenge Bai Qi’s death. It was because he had escaped from death’s door that the Proprietress didn’t kill her on sight.

“You should thank Yang Kai.” Bai Qi sighed.

Hearing that, Yue He didn’t understand what any of this had to do with Yang Kai.

At that time, the Proprietress single-handedly fought back several Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and lured them away. Seeing as Bai Qi was about to meet his end, Yang Kai fed him with some World Source Liquid at the critical moment, which allowed him to stabilize his Small Universe and escape from death’s door.

Yang Kai had obtained the World Source Liquid in the Profound Heavens Temple in the Star Boundary. It was a special kind of liquid that was formed during the birth of a World and contained the essence of that very process.

By forming a Small Universe in one’s body, a cultivator was essentially building a new World, and since the World Source Liquid could help a cultivator to comprehend the wonders of a World’s birth, it could save Bai Qi when he was at his last breath.

At that time, Bai Qi had no idea what the liquid was and it was only later when he told the Proprietress about it that she speculated it was World Source Liquid.

No one could’ve expected that Yang Kai possessed such a treasure.

World Source Liquid was formed during the birth of a World, and there were very strict conditions required for it to appear. In the past, it was possible to find small quantities of it, but whenever it appeared it would be swiftly snatched up. In recent times though, unless a new World was born, this liquid should not have appeared.

However, it was extremely difficult for a World to be born. Such an incident might not happen even once in 100,000 years. What’s more, even if a new world was born, there might not be any World Source Liquid formed.

The ancient environment in the Profound Heavens Temple in the Star Boundary, however, remained unchanged since the latter’s birth, which was why it could preserve some World Source Liquid.

While Yang Kai had no idea about its true value, the Proprietress was fully aware of it. It could be said that with this liquid in possession, a cultivator would not face any danger while trying to break through to the Open Heaven Realm.

The success rate of ascending to the Open Heaven Realm wasn’t 100%. Even if a cultivator had condensed their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements and was fully prepared to split Heaven and Earth apart to form their Small Universe, there was always a risk of failure if their foundation wasn’t sufficient. Once that happened, the consequences would be dreadful.

However, World Source Liquid could perfectly solve this problem.

Once such a treasure appeared, even those Cave-Heavens and Paradises would scramble to snatch it. No one could guarantee that it was totally safe when they were attempting their ascension, and over the years, many of the disciples from these Cave-Heavens and Paradises had lost their lives for this reason.

“Just apologise to her properly.” Bai Qi didn’t explain it to Yue He as he wouldn’t dare to leak the secret regarding the World Source Liquid. Presently, only he and the Proprietress were aware of it, “In fact, over the years, the Proprietress has missed you.”

Yue He’s body shook as her originally listless gaze finally had some life return to it. Some words seemed to be reverberating around in her mind and unwittingly, her eyes became soaked with tears.

When she came to her senses, she realised that Bai Qi was nowhere to be found. After wiping away her tears, she hurriedly rushed in a particular direction.

In the Grand Hall of Earth Spirit Land, the Proprietress didn’t regard herself as an outsider at all as she leisurely strolled around.

Yang Kai led her to a certain courtyard and said, “Proprietress, you can take a rest here. I’ll assign some maidservants to you.”

There were many people in Void Land now, so there shouldn’t be any problem finding some women to act as maids. Yang Kai would pay them fairly in any case.

The Proprietress looked around and said, “Why am I given this room? I think the one over there is better and more spacious.”

Yang Kai could only reply awkwardly, “I really can’t let you live in that room.”

Hearing that, the Proprietress turned around and looked doubtfully at him, “What do you mean by that? Are you keeping a lover in that room or something?”

A speechless Yang Kai refuted, “Absolutely not! But, someone is indeed living in that room.”

The Proprietress was just as intelligent as she was beautiful, so she soon understood and asked Yang Kai via Divine Sense, “Is it that Zhu Jiu Yin?”