Martial Peak
chapter-4687

Barely a moment later, Yang Kai returned with a bowl of rice and passed it to Zhao Ya.

After taking it, Zhao Ya looked up at him, “There’s only one?”

“Is it not enough?” Yang Kai frowned.

“Big Brother Ye Bai has to have some food as well!”

Zhao Ye Bai hurriedly shook his head, “It’s fine. I’m not hungry.”

Zhao Ya looked pitifully at Yang Kai, “Could you give me one more bowl of rice, Master?”

“No,” Upon finishing his words, Yang Kai left the place.

“What a stingy man!” Zhao Ya was furious, for not only was her Master cold-blooded, but he was also stingy. With that said, they finally had some food to eat. At this moment, she was resentful of her Master. If she had known this was what would happen, she wouldn’t have agreed to become his Disciple. It was ridiculous that an adult oppressed two young kids.

After a moment of persuading each other to have the food first, the young kids then wolfed down the rice with pleasure. Although they were still hungry after finishing the rice, they had regained some strength at the very least.

There were four seasons in the Void Continent and years slowly went by.

Since Zhao Ya had an exceptional A+ aptitude, the Elders of Seven Stars Sect initially had high hopes for her. They believed that given her aptitude, her cultivation journey would be smooth sailing as it would probably only take her a few years before she made it to the Emperor Realm.

However, ten years had passed, and she had only managed to make it to the True Element Boundary.

From the bottom to the top, the Martial Dao was divided into Tempered Body, Initial Element, Qi Transformation, Separation and Reunion, True Element, Immortal Ascension, Transcendent, Saint, Saint King, Origin Returning, Origin King, Dao Source, and Emperor Realm. There were thirteen Great Realms in total.

Although it was considered swift that Zhao Ya had reached the True Element Boundary in ten years, she didn’t live up to her A+ aptitude.

It had to be noted that Miao Fei Ping, who joined Seven Stars Sect at around the same time, was now in the Transcendent Realm, which was two Great Realms ahead of Zhao Ya.

When the news was spread, others thought that the Ancestor from Seven Stars Sect who lived on Azure Jade Peak was not a good teacher. Although he was powerful, he didn’t know how to nurture his Disciple. There was not a lack of such people in this world. While they were adept at cultivating, they didn’t know how to teach. Those people felt sorry for Zhao Ya because her aptitude had been wasted after she became the Disciple of the wrong Master.

As for the Worker Zhao Ye Bai who settled down on Azure Jade Peak alongside Zhao Ya, he was forgotten by most people. Only the disciples of Seven Stars Sect could see him getting swamped with work every day.

Ten years had passed, and the young kids, who were eight years old in the past, were now young people who turn eighteen recently. After working as a Worker for ten years, Zhao Ye Bai had become a rugged young man whose eyes were bright.

At the bottom of Azure Jade Peak, Zhao Ye Bai arrived at a river with two big buckets and filled them up. Before he could leave though, he saw a group of people striding towards him.

These people were all disciples from Seven Stars Sect. One of them was a fine-looking young man who was surrounded by a group of people, as though he was the Moon while the others were Stars. He was older than Zhao Ye Bai by a few years, and the folding fan in his hand added an aloof, noble air to him as he sauntered over.

When Zhao Ye Bai heard the noises and looked up, his face stiffened involuntarily.

The group of people reached Zhao Ye Bai and surrounded him. The handsome young man leading the group closed his folding fan and stuck it in the back of his hair before staring calmly at Zhao Ye Bai and asking, “Did you pass Junior Sister Ya the thing I told you to two days ago?”

Zhao Ye Bai scratched his head, “I did.”

The young man arched his brow, “Did you personally give it to her?”

“En,” Zhao Ye Bai nodded.

The agitated young man asked, “What did she say?”

Zhao Ye Bai replied, “Nothing.”

The young man was stunned, then went on asking, “Did she read it?”

“Do you want to know the truth?” Zhao Ye Bai asked cautiously.

The young man glared at him, “Of course I want to know the truth!”

In a straightforward manner, Zhao Ye Bai replied, “She didn’t read it. Instead, she tore it apart and told me to ignore you next time.”

The young man’s hopeful expression instantly turned dejected. His face had even turned pale as though he was badly injured.

“Senior Brother Liu,” Zhao Ye Bai called out, “I have to get these buckets of water back to Azure Jade Peak. I’ll take my leave now.”

The young man surnamed Liu came to his senses and said through clenched teeth, “You must have bad-mouthed me in front of Junior Sister Ya; otherwise, why would she tear the letter apart without even taking a look at it?”

When he came across Zhao Ya the last time, she flashed a smile at him. If she wasn’t interested in him, why would she put on such a sweet smile?

Zhao Ye Bai quickly waved his hands, “I didn’t! In fact, I didn’t say anything else as I just told her that this was given to her by you, Senior Brother Liu. She told me that she had no idea who you were though and…”

“How dare you still lie to me!” Senior Brother Liu barked while waving his hand, “Beat him up!”

As swift as lightning, Zhao Ye Bai crouched down and curled up his figure while protecting his head with his hands, “Not the face!”

His movements were so smooth that it was apparent he had done this many, many times before.

With each passing day, Zhao Ya grew more beautiful and alluring; as a result, all the male disciples in the Sect who had a chance to meet her were stunned by her beauty.

Unfortunately, she led a reclusive life on Azure Jade Peak, and she wouldn’t come down the mountain unless it was absolutely necessary, which made it impossible for these Fellow Brothers to have a glance at her beauty. As such, Zhao Ye Bai, who had to go up and down the mountain every day, became their messenger.

In fact, Zhao Ye Bai had passed a lot of love letters to Zhao Ya over the years, but she would always tear them apart.

Initially, those Fellow Brothers were wary of the Ancestor who resided on Azure Jade Peak, so they didn’t dare to touch Zhao Ye Bai; after all, this brat was a Worker from Azure Jade Peak, so they had to be respectful of his owner.

However, they soon realised that the Ancestor really wouldn’t care about Zhao Ye Bai’s life or death, so they began acting more unscrupulously. As a result, Zhao Ye Bai had suffered a lot over the years.

Fortunately, the attackers knew their boundaries as they wouldn’t deal a heavy blow to him. Knowing that he was just a mortal who had never cultivated before, they only used a bit of brute force instead of their cultivation.

A series of fists and feet landed on Zhao Ye Bai as the dust rose in the air, and he was soon covered in bruises.

“What’s going on here!?” A person was heard bellowing all of a sudden. The next instant, a burly young man dashed out of the nearby forest and landed with a violent force which crashed into the male disciples around Zhao Ye Bai and dispersed them. Some of the weaker ones even fell to the ground.

Senior Brother Liu widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Miao Fei Ping!”

The newcomer was none other than Miao Fei Ping, who also came from Seven Stars Town and joined Seven Stars Sect alongside Zhao Ya. Now, he was already a Transcendent Realm Master, whose cultivation was far ahead of the others in the same age range. The Elders of the Sect had high hopes for him and granted him near unlimited resources. Even many Senior Brothers, who were much older, were weaker than him.

Miao Fei Ping picked up Zhao Ye Bai and examined him before asking, “Are you alright?”

Zhao Ye Bai put on a grin, “I’m fine. These Fellow Brothers were just helping me work out a cramp.”

Miao Fei Ping scoffed, “Since when does working out a cramp lead to being covered in bruises? How are you still in the mood to laugh?”

“Am I supposed to cry, then?” Zhao Ye Bai pursed his lips.

Miao Fei Ping snorted, then turned to look at Senior Brother Liu, “You’re a glorious disciple of Seven Stars Sect, aren’t you? Do you feel proud oppressing a mortal who has never cultivated before with so many people?”

Senior Brother Liu and the others wouldn’t dare to say anything. Their cultivation was lower than that of Miao Fei Ping, and they were also less important than him, who was a favourite disciple among the Elders in the Sect, so they wouldn’t dare to talk back. If he was offended, they would be beaten up without the chance of getting their revenge as their Masters wouldn’t stand up for them.

“Wastes who oppress the weak but fear the strong. I won’t dirty my hands by beating you all up. Although I won’t deal with you all, there’s someone who definitely will.”

Upon hearing that, Senior Brother Liu appeared elated instead of feeling frightened.

An annoyed Miao Fei Ping waved his hand impatiently, “Scram, scram!”

And so the crowd dispersed in a hurry.

After they were gone, Miao Fei Ping turned to look at Zhao Ye Bai and rubbed his forehead, “Where should I even begin? I told you not to become a Worker on Azure Jade Peak, but you wouldn’t listen to me. Is it fun to get beaten up every few days?”

Zhao Ye Bai just sported a silly smile.

“Take it.” Miao Fei Ping tossed a porcelain bottle at him, “Apply it on your bruises. It can help heal them.”

“En,” Zhao Ye Bai didn’t turn him down as he took the porcelain bottle and started using its content.

Miao Fei Ping let out a sigh, “We were still just kids back then. In order to let Little Sister Ya become a Disciple of the Ancestor, you requested to be a Worker on Azure Jade Peak. Many years have passed, and Xiao Ya is now in the True Element Boundary. Her future will only become brighter, so how much longer can you protect her? 100 years from now, Xiao Ya will remain the same while you’ll have become an old man. Do you want her to face an old man every day and cry her eyes out?”

Zhao Ye Bai fell silent.

Miao Fei Ping patted the other man’s shoulder, “Short-term pain is better than long-term suffering. Just sleep on it.”

“En,” Zhao Ye Bai replied in a small voice.

“I returned to Seven Stars Town some time ago and met Aunty Lu and Grandma Zhou,” Miao Fei Ping went on to say.

Zhao Ye Bai looked up, “How are my Mother and Grandma?”

Miao Fei Ping replied with an odd smile, “Don’t worry, they’re fine. What’s strange is that Grandma is getting younger instead of older as the wrinkles on her face have been reduced. Your Mother has not gotten younger, but she hasn’t changed one bit. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw them. They have never cultivated before, so how do they keep their faces young?”

“What about Uncle Yang?” Zhao Ye Bai inquired.

Miao Fei Ping replied, “Your Uncle Yang left two years ago. Before he left, he told your Mother to inform you that you must take care of yourself in Seven Stars Sect. You can always return home if you’re unhappy.”

“Uncle Yang is gone?” The light in Zhao Ye Bai’s eyes dimmed significantly. He never had a real father before, but Uncle Yang was just like one to him. When he was a young boy, he always hoped that his Uncle Yang would get together with his Mother so that he could call him Father.

However, whenever he voiced such thoughts, he would get a beating from his Mother.

He had heard from Grandma Zhou that Uncle Yang had several wives, so it wasn’t appropriate for him to wander around in the outside world for a long time. He would have to go back sooner or later.

“Your Uncle Yang also said that he would visit you and Xiao Ya again one day,” Miao Fei Ping added.

It was then Zhao Ye Bai put on a smile, “Got it.”

“You should go back now,” Miao Fei Ping waved his hand.

“I’ll take my leave, then,” Zhao Ye Bai said and picked up the buckets filled with water before dashing towards the peak.

The corners of Miao Fei Ping’s brow twitched, thinking that even though this brat had never cultivated before, his strength was unusual; after all, an ordinary mortal wouldn’t be able to carry two giant buckets of water and sprint up a mountain like a rabbit.