Martial Peak
chapter-4690

“You’re such a blockhead, Big Brother Ye Bai!” Zhao Ya knelt beside him with fury.

While holding the water tank with one hand, Zhao Ye Bai stroked the woman’s head with his other. Without refuting her, he just let out a hollow laugh.

Since such a major incident had happened, he was supposedly able to seize the chance and get some rest; however, Zhao Ye Bai said that since Yang Kai’s punishment wasn’t over yet, he decided to prop up the water tank again.

Left with no choice, Zhao Ya knelt beside him once more, but this time, she stuck close to his leg as she wouldn’t allow him to leave her again.

In the middle of the night, Zhao Ya suddenly heard some snoring coming from the side. When she looked up, she realised that Zhao Ye Bai had dozed off.

Looking at the face she would never get tired of, she put on a sweet smile, for only Zhao Ye Bai had such an unusual talent. No ordinary person who had never cultivated before could hold up a water tank while being sound asleep. He was probably the only one.

[Big Brother Ye Bai is indeed the most amazing!]

At the break of dawn, Zhao Ye Bai slowly opened his eyes. For some reason, he furrowed his brow while being hesitant to speak, but he didn’t say anything in the end.

The next day, he tried his best not to fall asleep, but for some unfathomable reason, he became extremely lethargic when darkness descended upon them. After talking to Zhao Ya a little, he dozed off again.

The same thing happened on the third day.

When he awakened, he suddenly had a feeling that his body was a little different, but he couldn’t point out what the changes were.

When he turned his head, he saw Zhao Ya staring at him with a pleasantly surprised look.

“What’s wrong?” Zhao Ye Bai asked in puzzlement.

“You broke through to the Initial Element Realm, Big Brother Ye Bai!”

“What do you mean?” Zhao Ye Bai was perplexed, but he soon became shocked, “You mean ‘that’ Initial Element Realm?”

He had been a Worker who did manual work on Azure Jade Peak for the past ten years, and he had never cultivated before, and no one had taught him how to cultivate. However, he had been staying with Zhao Ya for a long time, so he was naturally aware of the categorisation of the different Martial Dao Realms.

The Initial Element Realm was the second Great Realm.

After sensing it for a while, he realised there was indeed a force in his body that had never existed before. The force was passing through his meridians and flesh, which made him feel elated.

“This is the Initial Element Realm?” Zhao Ye Bai fell into a dazed state. When he was a young child, his dream was to join Seven Stars Sect and become a powerful cultivator one day. Nevertheless, ten years ago, in order to make Zhao Ya agree to become a Disciple of Yang Kai without any worries, he practically cut off his own future by requesting to become a Worker on Azure Jade Peak.

Over the years, when he went down the mountain to get water and saw people about his age who had become successful cultivators, he was naturally envious of them, but he never regretted his decision.

He was way past the best age to start cultivating, and as he grew older, he stopped thinking about his childhood dream. He felt more than happy to see Zhao Ya growing up and getting stronger by the day.

Hence, he had never expected that he would be able to set off on his journey in the Martial Dao one day.

“Is it because of the incident that took place a few days ago?” Zhao Ya asked. No one had taught Zhao Ye Bai how to cultivate, but he had suddenly made it to the Initial Element Realm. It was obviously not normal.

Zhao Ye Bai shook his head, “No. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that I kept falling asleep over the past few days. Xiao Ya, when I fell asleep, there was a voice that never stopped talking to me in my mind. Initially, I thought it was just a dream, so I didn’t pay any attention to it; however, the same thing happened day after day.”

“What kind of voice was that?” Zhao Ya asked worriedly.

“I can’t describe it clearly.” Zhao Ye Bai shook his head, “But I remember everything the person said.”

He then went on to tell Zhao Ya everything he had heard in his dreams.

Upon hearing that, Zhao Ya covered her lips with her hand, “It’s a very profound and abstruse Secret Art.”

“A Secret Art?” Zhao Ye Bai was stunned, “How could it be?”

On the other hand, Zhao Ya was elated, “This is wonderful! You don’t have to worry about anything anymore, Big Brother Ye Bai!”

There was a worried look on Zhao Ye Bai’s face, however, as he muttered, “Senior has never allowed me to cultivate. If he finds out about it…”

Zhao Ya placed a finger on her lips and made a shush sound. She then looked around stealthily and said in a small voice, “Master will not find out about it if neither of us exposes this secret. He has only treated you as a Worker as he has never taught you how to cultivate before. Now that you’ve gained such an opportunity, you must treasure it. Have you forgotten about what you said when you were a young kid, Big Brother Ye Bai?”

[One day, I will become the most powerful cultivator in the world. I will build a big house so that Mother, Xiao Ya, Grandma, Uncle Yang, and I can all live together happily as one family.]

At that moment, Zhao Ye Bai was tempted, but he soon shook his head, “I can’t do this. I must tell Senior about it and see what he has to say. If he allows me to cultivate, I will. If he doesn’t allow me, I won’t. Moreover, we don’t even know whether there’s anything wrong with this Secret Art. If there is a problem, I might become an evil person in the future!”

Upon finishing his words, he gently put down the water tank and shuffled towards Yang Kai’s palace.

“You’re so stubborn, Big Brother Ye Bai!” Zhao Ya stomped her feet on the ground with fury, but she couldn’t stop him.

A moment later, Zhao Ye Bai returned with a puzzled look while scratching his head.

Presently, Zhao Ya was facing away from him with fury. Unlike a typical lady, she was directly seated on the ground while grabbing some strands of grass and ripping them into pieces.

All of a sudden, she turned her head with an incensed look, “What did Master say?”

Zhao Ye Bai was still scratching his head, “Senior chased me out without saying anything.”

Zhao Ya batted her eyes, then leapt to her feet with ecstasy as her eyes radiated a glow, “Since Master said nothing, it means that he’s allowed you to cultivate! You can cultivate now, Big Brother Ye Bai! You can cultivate now!”

She kept jumping up and down as tears almost leaked from her eyes.

Seeing how elated she was, Zhao Ye Bai also couldn’t help grinning.

Miao Fei Ping’s words made him feel heartbroken; however, since he was able to cultivate now, all his worries blew away with the wind. As long as he worked hard enough so that his cultivation could keep up with Zhao Ya’s, he could accompany her for a very long time.

“Your smile looks silly, Big Brother Ye Bai!” Zhao Ya wiped the tears from her eyes as she joked.

All of a sudden, Zhao Ye Bai asked, “Xiao Ya, do you think it’s possible that it was Senior who passed on this Secret Art to me?”

Zhao Ya became startled and fell into her thoughts. Given how abstruse the Secret Art was, a commoner like Zhao Ye Bai, who had never cultivated before, shouldn’t be able to comprehend it. In the entire Seven Stars Sect, perhaps only her Master was able to teach a Secret Art to someone in his dreams.

However, would her cold-blooded, petty, and stingy Master really do such a thing? Zhao Ya wasn’t sure about it; after all, Zhao Ye Bai had been a Worker here for ten years and her Master never went back on his word as he had never taught him anything.

Nevertheless, when Zhao Ye Bai informed her Master about it, the latter directly chased him out without saying anything, which went to show that there was something off about it.

“In that case, you’ll be my Senior Brother since you’re also a Disciple of Master,” Zhao Ya said with joy.

With a helpless smile, Zhao Ye Bai shook his head, “My aptitude is too weak, so I have no right to be Senior’s Disciple.”

He supposed that was the reason Yang Kai made use of his dreams instead of personally passing on the Secret Art to him.

He then bent his back and bowed towards Yang Kai’s palace and said, “Don’t worry, Senior. I’ll cultivate hard so that I won’t disappoint you.”

Zhao Ye Bai’s aptitude was indeed weak. It took Zhao Ya ten years to make it to the True Element Boundary because Yang Kai had deliberately suppressed her cultivation; however, since Zhao Ye Bai obtained the Secret Art that came as a surprise, he went on to cultivate hard for the next three years, but only managed to make it to the Initial Element Realm Ninth-Stage. He couldn’t even break through to the next Great Realm. It seemed very accurate that his aptitude was revealed to be C- in the past. His talent was among the worst in the entire Seven Stars Sect.

With that said, Zhao Ye Bai was pleased with his progress. That was because he had embarked on the Martial Dao, which was unlike in the past. As for how far he could go, it would depend on how much effort he was willing to put in.

…..

“What’s wrong, Master?” Zhao Ya, whose white dress made her look pure and refreshing, stepped into the main hall. She then respectfully looked at her Honoured Master, who was seated with his legs crossed.

Yang Kai opened his eyes, “You’ve reached the True Element Boundary Ninth Stage?”

Zhao Ya replied, “I achieved a breakthrough two days ago.”

Yang Kai nodded, “I’ve suppressed your cultivation over the years so that you’ll not achieve breakthroughs too quickly. You and Miao Fei Ping joined the Sect at the same time, but he’s now in the Saint Realm. Do you ever have any complaints about it?”

Zhao Ya shook her head, “Honoured Master must have a good reason for doing this. It’s thanks to your careful nurturing that this Disciple has such achievements. Why would I have any complaints instead of feeling grateful?”

“I’m glad that’s how you feel.” Yang Kai nodded gently, “One day, you’ll understand why I’ve done such a thing. However, your aptitude is indeed extraordinary, so a prolonged suppression will harm your foundation. Since you’ve made it to the True Element Boundary Ninth-Stage, you should get ready to break through to the Immortal Ascension Boundary.”

“I’ll start cultivating in seclusion, then,” Zhao Ya replied respectfully.

Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t want you to cultivate in seclusion. Instead, I want you to go out and experience the outside world. You’ve stayed on Azure Jade Peak for thirteen years, so don’t you want to see what’s out there? I remember that you were only eight years old when you became my Disciple.”

“I’m not interested in the outside world.”

Wherever Zhao Ye Bai was, that would be her home.

“It will only benefit you by venturing into the outside world to broaden your horizons,” Yang Kai spoke in an unquestionable tone.

“Yes,” Zhao Ya replied, “Can Big Brother Ye Bai come with me?”

“Do as you please.”

It was only then that Zhao Ya put on a smile, “Many thanks, Master!”

She then turned around and dashed out of the hall, her steps as light as the wind.

“Venturing into the outside world?” Zhao Ye Bai widened his eyes as he appeared pleasantly surprised.

Zhao Ya nodded repeatedly, “Master told me to experience the outside world to prepare for my breakthrough to the Immortal Ascension Boundary.”

“He has agreed to let me go with you?” Zhao Ye Bai couldn’t believe it.

“Yes.”

Zhao Ye Bai suddenly had a feeling that pie had fallen from the sky into his lap. It had been thirteen years since he settled down on Azure Jade Peak, and he had never set foot outside of Seven Stars Sect since then. Now that he was allowed to leave, he still found it hard to believe.

“Give me a moment. I have to prepare some presents for Mother and Grandma. Oh, let’s not forget about Uncle Yang,” Upon finishing his words, Zhao Ye Bai bolted into his room to get prepared.

“Presents…” Zhao Ya darted her gaze around. All of a sudden, she recalled that when Miao Fei Ping looked for her and Zhao Ye Bai previously, he said that there was a Spirit Fruit Tree on the Spirit Peak where his Master Guan Qian Xing resided. It would take the Spirit Fruit Tree ten years to blossom, ten years to bear fruits, then another ten years before the fruits matured. The fruits could help cultivators improve their cultivation. As for the ordinary people, the fruits could help prolong their lives.

[The fruits should have matured by now…]