Martial Peak
chapter-4725

When they returned to the Grand Hall, Hong Xiang Ling and the others immediately turned to look in their direction.

Lu Zhen Yang of Azure Nether Paradise said, “Sect Master Yang, we have been delayed here for quite a few days now. The Grandmaster refused to come out of retreat earlier, so there was nobody we could discuss with. Seeing as you have the right to call the shots regarding this matter, you need to give us a proper answer.”

Duan Rui Shan of Clear Mind Cave Heaven nodded in agreement, “That’s right, Sect Master Yang. Please feel free to name any condition you might have. We are here on behalf of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Naturally, we will not let Great Evolution Paradise suffer any losses from this transaction.”

Yang Kai turned to look at Grandmaster Ma Fan, who had an aloof expression on his face, as though this matter had nothing to do with him. It was clear that he was unwilling to intervene at all.

Just as Grandmaster Ma Fan had mentioned earlier, Great Evolution Paradise simply could not refuse the Cave Heavens and Paradises borrowing the Good Fortune Divine Furnace under the current circumstances.

In this vast universe, Void Land was the only force that could negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises on equal footing. The declining Great Evolution Paradise did not have this qualification.

Grandmaster Ma Fan’s previous act of hiding and refusing to meet anybody was nothing more than a tactic to buy time. It just so happened that Yang Kai was returning from the Shattered Heaven, so he quickly passed this troublesome matter over for Yang Kai to handle. Still, even if it was only for personal benefit, Yang Kai would not sell the rights to the Good Fortune Divine Furnace cheaply.

Facing everybody’s gazes, Yang Kai smiled lightly, “It has only been a few decades since you sent your disciples to the Star Boundary. No matter how extraordinary their aptitude, I’m sure their cultivation is not that high, right? There is still a long time before they advance to the Open Heaven Realm, so why are you in such a rush?”

Duan Rui Shan shook his head, “How can we not be anxious? Just as you said, the cultivation of the disciples we sent to the Star Boundary over the past few decades might not be too high, but their growth speed is too greater. I’m afraid it won’t take more than one or two hundred years before some of them begin to advance into the Open Heaven Realm.”

Yang Kai was stunned, “That fast?”

For some to advance into the Open Heaven Realm within another 100 or 200 years, the speed was simply too shocking to believe.

Hong Xiang Ling stated, “The disciples we sent to the Star Boundary were carefully selected in the first place, so their aptitudes and talents were already among the best. Moreover, they are cultivating in a place as wondrous as the Star Boundary, so how can they not improve quickly? To be honest, despite how long old men like us have lived, we have never seen such a prosperous sight before. The cultivation of those little ones advances practically every single day.”

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling slightly worried, “If their cultivation improves too quickly, will they not suffer from an unstable foundation?”

Yu Chang Dao shook his head, “We were also worried about this at the beginning; however, we discovered that there are no such issues after performing a thorough examination of the condition of our Disciples. The feedback they received from the World Tree and the highly abundant Heavenly Way and Martial Dao aura in the Star Boundary are enough to satisfy their advancement requirements. That is why they do not show any signs of an unstable foundation whatsoever even though their cultivation is progressing rapidly. Take my Disciple, Shi Da Zhuang, for example. Sect Master, do you know what his current cultivation is?”

Shi Da Zhuang was the child whom Yu Chang Dao tried so hard to recruit as his Legacy Disciple because of the baby’s Innate Dao Body which was extremely compatible with his inheritance. It was also because of Shi Da Zhuang that Yu Chang Dao became High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. That was why Yang Kai had a deep impression of this Disciple.

At the time of Yang Kai’s departure, Shi Da Zhuang was a newborn baby, and about 30 years had passed since then. With his aptitude, it was obvious that his cultivation would not be too low.

Yu Chang Dao had no real intention to let Yang Kai guess, so he answered his own question, “That child is already in the Origin Returning Realm. In the near future, he will advance into the Origin King Realm, then the Dao Source Realm, and then Emperor Realm. After that, he only needs to condense his Dao Seal before he is ready to advance into the Open Heaven Realm!”

Advancing from a baby with no foundation to the Origin Returning Realm in the short span of a couple of decades was no longer something that could be achieved with talent alone. One would also need the guidance of a great Teacher and an extremely conducive cultivation environment. Fortunately, Shi Da Zhuang had both!

Yang Kai gasped softly. He himself had two disciples. Leaving aside Zhao Ye Bai who had mediocre aptitude, Zhao Ya was definitely the cultivator with the most Heaven-defying aptitude he had ever met. Nevertheless, even with her aptitude, and even if he did not suppress her cultivation for so many years, she might not be able to advance to the Origin Returning Realm within such a short time.

The reason for the difference in their cultivation was that one was cultivating in a Holy Land like the Star Boundary while the other was in his Small Universe.

Yu Chang Dao continued, “In another one or two hundred years, the disciples of each Sect will surely reveal a splendid scene of a hundred flowers blooming. At that time, there will be as many people advancing into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm as carp swimming upriver. There will most likely be people advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm too. Can you imagine how great the demand for materials would be among the Cave Heavens and Paradises? Forget the Fifth-Order materials; each Sect has an adequate stock of them, so there will be enough to go around. However, there won’t be enough Sixth-Order or Seventh-Order materials at all.”

In the past, those who could advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm generally held the status of a Core Disciple in the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Most of the time, only one person would be born to each Sect every few hundred to 1,000 years. Qu Hua Shang of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and Ning Dao Ran of Free and Unfettered Paradise were such disciples.

It was precisely because Core Disciples were so rare and precious that Zuo Quan Hui tried to take revenge on Yang Kai for killing Zhao Xing during Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Theory Assembly.

Now though, thanks to the Star Boundary’s existence, there were bound to be more and more Core Disciples in the future.

Hong Xiang Ling followed up, “It is precisely because of this reason that we need to plan ahead; otherwise, it will be too late if we wait until the time comes when we need these materials.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly, “It has been a long time since I left the Star Boundary, so I don’t know much about the situation there.” His fingers tapped lightly against the table as he pondered in silence for a while. Then, he raised a finger, “The right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for one month in exchange for the opportunity to enter the Small Source Worlds of each Sect once for life experience.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan had been standing nearby, silently drinking wine from his bottle all this while, seemingly aloof and unaware of what was being discussed; however, as soon as Yang Kai spoke those words, he choked and spat out a mist of wine.

[This brat… sure is bold!] Ma Fan suddenly felt that leaving the matter involving the Good Fortune Divine Furnace to Yang Kai had been a wise choice indeed. That was because he would never have such thoughts if he were the one to do the negotiations. At most, he would have asked for resources from each Sect as compensation.

Thinking about it carefully though, this was like any business transaction where one should always try to take the lion’s share so that the other party had some space and leeway to bargain and negotiate.

Duan Rui Shan’s brow twitched visibly at those words, “Sect Master Yang, can you change your conditions? For example, each Sect pays a certain amount of resources in exchange for the right of use it for a certain amount of time.”

Lu Zhen Yang nodded in agreement, “That’s right, Sect Master Yang. The Small Source Worlds are extremely important to the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Our own disciples have to wait in line to enter the Small Source Worlds for training. Most of the time, many of them don’t even get a chance to enter despite waiting for hundreds or even thousands of years. We simply cannot afford to portion out an opportunity for you.”

Although Yu Chang Dao and Hong Xiang Ling remained silent, it was clear that they were of the same mind.

Yang Kai just smiled and negotiated, “You don’t need to feel so distressed. Thanks to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, I had the opportunity to enter a Small Source World for training once. It was a bountiful trip, and I’ve not forgotten the feeling. I’ve been thinking that it would be great if I had another opportunity to enter another Small Source World. As for this request… Well, it’s bound to be a little tight, but I’m sure it’s not too difficult for you all.”

Lu Zhen Yang looked like he was about to speak, but Yang Kai raised a hand and interjected, “Of course, I am simply making this suggestion. As for how things will actually be implemented, I’m sure you will need to discuss with the others first; after all, this matter involves all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. This decision is not something the four of you can make on your own.”

The words Lu Zhen Yang wanted to speak got stuck in his throat, which was a terrible feeling.

Yang Kai thus swiftly got to his feet, “I’ve been away from home for too long. I need to return to Void Land, so I won’t stay here any longer.” While speaking, he turned to look at Grandmaster Ma Fan, “Grandmaster, I’ll be taking my leave first. I will send some people over. At that time, I will be counting on you, Grandmaster.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded lightly. It was something they had agreed to earlier, so he would not regret his decision.

Yang Kai glanced at Hong Hu and the two of them walked out.

“Shall we head back to the Star Boundary?” Hong Xiang Ling looked at the others. Now that Yang Kai, the only person they could negotiate with, was gone, it was meaningless for them to remain here any longer. Yang Kai had already named his conditions. Whether or not they could accept the conditions or how they were going to fulfil the conditions would require further discussion among the representatives of the other Cave Heavens and Paradises.

“Let’s go!” Likewise, Duan Rui Shan nodded and stood up. The rest quickly bid their goodbyes to Grandmaster Ma Fan and followed closely behind Yang Kai and Hong Hu’s departure.

Yu Chang Dao caught up to Yang Kai. Standing next to him, he spoke in a low voice, “Sect Master, in my opinion, Da Zhuang has a solid foundation. Moreover, his roots and his aptitude are absolute. There is a high possibility that he can advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm when he condenses his Dao Seal in the future!”

Yang Kai raised his brow at those words, “That’s good news.”

Yu Chang Dao smiled flatteringly, “About the materials that he will need when he advances into the Open Heaven Realm…”

Yang Kai turned to look at Yu Chang Dao and asked with a chuckle, “Elder Yu, are you asking me this question in your capacity as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder or Free and Unfettered Paradise’s foreign affairs envoy?”

Yu Chang Dao answered with a straight face, “When it comes down to it, Da Zhuang is a High Heaven Palace disciple. Of course, this Old Master is discussing this matter with you in my capacity as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Da Zhuang is a High Heaven Palace disciple. Naturally, High Heaven Palace will take full responsibility to provide all the materials he will need to advance into the Open Heaven Realm.”

Yu Chang Dao immediately broke into a bright smile, “Da Zhuang is really fortunate to have joined High Heaven Palace.”

Yang Kai said gratefully, “It’s all thanks to your dedicated teaching over the years, Elder Yu.”

Hong Xiang Ling and the others watched as the one old fox and one young fox chattered away happily. They couldn’t help feeling a little frustrated by the sight. When Yu Chang Dao did not hesitate to become High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder in order to take Shi Da Zhuang as his Disciple back then, many of his friends laughed at and ridiculed him.

However, based on the current situation, his decision had been a wise one indeed. Thanks to his identity as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder, he succeeded at forming a good relationship with Yang Kai, and as a result, it was much easier to get some benefits from, and reach agreements with Yang Kai.

Even if Shi Da Zhuang were to grow and develop under High Heaven Palace’s banner, he would still be Yu Chang Dao’s Legacy Disciple. That was something that would never change, regardless of the circumstances.

During the journey, Hong Xiang Ling and the others constantly tried to find opportunities to discuss the rights to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace with Yang Kai, but the latter stubbornly refused to budge on his stance. Thus, the others could only sigh helplessly.

From Yang Kai’s viewpoint, he had already named his conditions. As for the rest, the Cave Heavens and Paradises would need to come to a consensus. Only then could the negotiation proceed any further. There was no need to waste their energy discussing this matter until then. Besides, he actually proposed similar conditions in the past.

When news about the World Tree first leaked out to the public, the news attracted many Cave Heavens and Paradises to investigate the situation. He had wanted to request opportunities to enter the Small Source Worlds of these top great forces in exchange for the right to accept disciples from the Star Boundary and establish a Dao Temple in the Star Boundary.

However, the proposal was rejected by Xu Ling Gong. The reason was that the qualifications to enter the Small Source Worlds were tough competition even among the disciples of each Cave Heaven and Paradise. They didn’t even have enough to go around for themselves, so how could they let somebody take advantage of them in that manner?