Martial Peak
chapter-4730

Fan Liang Peng originally thought that the child would immediately bow down and gratefully beg him to join Heavenly Martial Tower after listening to his question, but contrary to his expectations, the child waved his offer away dismissively, “I know. People have told me the exact same words before.”

Fan Liang Peng’s heart clenched upon hearing those words. [Somebody said the exact same words before? Who?]

The child named Chai Shan asked, “Old man, let me ask you this, who is the strongest in the Heavenly or something Tower?”

[O-Old man!?] The corners of Fan Liang Peng’s brow twitched. [I’m a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master! It’s bad enough that you didn’t call me Senior, but how dare you call me an old man!?]

Nevertheless, children had no filters on their mouths, so as a responsible adult, he did not pick an argument with the child and simply answered with a smile, “The strongest Master is Heavenly Martial Tower’s Tower Lord!”

“What Order?”

“Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!” He announced proudly.

“How many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are there in your Sect? What about Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters?”

“Uh, if you’re talking about Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, then our Tower Lord is the only one. As for Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, we have around six of them.”

“Tsk!” Chai Shan spat disdainfully, “One Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and just six Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters? Heavenly Martial Tower sure is weak!”

[Foul-mouth child, how dare you speak so disrespectfully!?] Fan Liang Peng nearly lost control and cussed out loud. In his mind, he was thinking that Heavenly Martial Tower was a Second-Class great force that dominated Heavenly Martial Territory. Even the Great Territory was named after the Sect itself!

While he did not dare to claim that Heavenly Martial Tower was very strong, there was no doubt that Heavenly Martial Tower was definitely considered mid-level among all the Second-Class great forces in the 3,000 Worlds! Which great force in the nearby Great Territories would dare not show Heavenly Martial Tower some respect!? Therefore, he could hardly believe that Heavenly Martial Tower was mercilessly scorned as weak by a ten-year-old child!

For a time, he could barely keep his composure. Just as he was about to reason with the child, Chai Shan leaped off the chair. It was clear that the boy could not be bothered to reason with him any longer.

Chai Shan put his hands on his waist and looked Fan Liang Peng in the eye, “Old man, please go back. I’m a man who will join High Heaven Palace one day. I’m not interested in Heavenly Martial Tower!” Then, he turned to look at his parents, “Father, Mother, don’t just let any random person into the house next time. It’s such a waste of time. I’m going off to play now!”

After saying that, he turned around and skipped out the door.

His Mother quickly shouted after him, “Don’t run so quickly! Be careful not to fall!”

“Got it!” His voice came from afar.

Meanwhile, Fan Liang Peng remained seated in his chair with dumbstruck silence. [I am a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. How did I become just ‘any random person’ in the eyes of a child?]

Chai Shan’s Father looked at Fan Liang Peng with a smile, “Old Sir, Chai Shan does not seem to be willing. Uh…”

Fan Liang Peng came back to his senses and coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment, “You Son’s intentions to join High Heaven Palace shows that he has lofty aspirations indeed. It would seem that he is not fated with Heavenly Martial Tower. Ahem. Since we are not fated, then this Old Master will not disturb you any further.”

After leaving the small village, he looked back once more. Chai Shan was playing with a group of children in a carefree manner. Thus, he couldn’t help feeling a little emotional. [Have the times changed? Or, is the situation in the Star Boundary simply different?]

…

Inside the Grand Hall of High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai sat upright and listened to Hua Qing Si reporting on the changes in the Star Boundary over the years. When he heard about how High Heaven Palace was fostering the disciples that many great forces had recruited from the Star Boundary, he couldn’t help bursting into laughter, “I can’t believe they came up with that idea!”

Hua Qing Si said, “There’s no helping it. Aside from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, Great Evolution Paradise is the only other Sect with a Dao Temple in the Star Boundary. The other great forces don’t have their own Dao Temples, so they have nowhere to place the disciples that they recruit. That’s why they can only choose fostering instead. In that regard, High Heaven Palace and the other native great forces in the Star Boundary have opened our doors for their convenience. Doing so does not increase our troubles after all. We also make sure that the cultivators under our foster care are all treated equally.”

Yang Kai nodded in agreement, “They are all cultivators from the Star Boundary after all. It’s only right for us to do so.”

Still, Hua Qing Si sighed, “To be honest, many of those disciples have extraordinary aptitudes. I have to admit that the people sent by the great forces to recruit disciples have extremely sharp eyes.”

He smiled, “Head Manager, are you feeling sad about the loss of talent?”

“A little,” She nodded.

“There’s no need for that.” He waved away her concerns, “Thanks to the feedback from the World Tree, the number of talents will only increase with time. Even if we accept them all into High Heaven Palace, we will not be able to care for them. On the contrary, it will only cause others to be jealous of us. This is the best solution to the problem. Although many great forces in the 3,000 Worlds have recruited disciples from the Star Boundary, they have no choice but to leave these disciples in the care of the great forces in the Star Boundary. In other words, they are spending resources to help the Star Boundary cultivate our talents.”

Her eyes lit up at those words, “As expected of you, Sect Master, you’ve seen through everything.”

He laughed, “These disciples come from the Star Boundary in the first place. Their homes are here, so no matter how high their cultivation becomes in the future, they will never forget about the Star Boundary.”

“That’s true!” She nodded.

All of a sudden, Yang Kai looked at Hua Qing Si with slight regret, “Head Manager, did you eventually advance to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm?”

During this return trip, Yang Kai discovered that Hua Qing Si was already a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!

Hua Qing Si lifted a hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled, “With my aptitude, I’m already very satisfied to be able to advance to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.”

“Didn’t you try to use the Divine Dao Water I set aside for you?” Yang Kai asked.

To which she replied, “I didn’t see a need to try. It’s not because I’m being reserved either. We discovered quite a significant amount of Divine Dao Water in the New Great Territory over the years. It’s just that I know that even if I had used the Divine Dao Water to fortify my Dao Seal, I would still have had a long way to go before I could advance to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. There would have been a huge risk involved if I forced my way.”

He nodded lightly, “If there was such a risk, then it was better to be safe.”

“That’s what I thought too. Besides, a starting point in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm isn’t bad either. I will still have the chance to advance to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm one day.” She smiled.

“Second Manager told me that you’ve found something special in the New Great Territory. Is that true?” Yang Kai asked.

Nodding, Hua Qing Si reported, “I was just about to tell you about this, Sect Master…”

Just then, he raised his hand to stop her. He looked up and saw more than ten people coming towards them from the outside. Each of them was shrouded in an extraordinary aura which made it obvious they were extremely strong. They were High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.

Both Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si stood up to greet them.

Yang Kai was familiar with most of the people who just arrived, with only a few of them being unfamiliar faces to him. One of them was a charming and beautiful woman who stared at him with great interest with a pair of elegant eyes.

Yu Chang Dao was also among them, and he automatically introduced Yang Kai to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters whom the latter was not acquainted with. The rest of the unfamiliar faces were nothing special, but there was one person who was worthy of attention. It turned out that the beautiful woman came from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and her name was Yu Xiang Die.

Yang Kai bowed in greeting, “Greetings, Martial Aunt Yu!”

Yu Xiang Die smiled sweetly, “I’ve long wanted to meet you, Young Master. It’s a pity you’re never around. Now that I meet you today, I can see that you have an extraordinary temperament indeed.”

Yang Kai humbly replied, “You praise me too much, Martial Aunt.” After a pause, he followed up with another question, “Where is Xu Ling Gong?”

Xu Ling Gong was supposed to be in charge of all matters related to the Star Boundary, but he was nowhere to be seen and Yu Xiang Die was here in his stead.

Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking that it was rather strange.

Yu Xiang Die smiled, “Senior Brother Xu is busy with another matter. I’m afraid he left the Star Boundary some time ago.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly in response and did not inquire further.

After everyone took their seats, Hua Qing Si instructed somebody to prepare some tea before she stood respectfully to the side.

More than a dozen Open Heaven Realm Masters had suddenly come here together; moreover, these people included Yu Chang Dao and Yu Xiang Die. The former served as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme Guest Elder while the latter came from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, which had a close relationship with Yang Kai.

The reason for their arrival went without saying. It was obvious that they came for the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.

After everybody sat down, they chatted for a little while longer before Yu Chang Dao said, “Sect Master, we came here today mainly to discuss the matter regarding the Good Fortune Divine Furnace with you.”

Yang Kai had expected the response, so he was not surprised. He nodded and asked, “Have the Cave Heavens and Paradises decided to agree to the request I made previously?”

Before Yu Chang Dao could speak, another High-Rank Open Heaven Master interjected instead, “Sect Master Yang, the opportunities to undergo training in the Small Source Worlds are extremely precious. Don’t you think that you’re trying to take the lion’s share by demanding the opportunity to undergo training in exchange for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for one month?”

Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t think so. I’ve personally witnessed the amazing effects of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. One month might seem short, but if you’ve made adequate preparations, you can obtain quite a lot of good things within that period. It will be more than enough to satisfy your disciples’ advancement needs for some time.”

Another person spoke up, “That might be the case, but each Sect will have to take certain risks when using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Besides, the number of materials consumed by the Good Fortune Divine Furnace can be very alarming. We cannot bear all the risks ourselves while you alone enjoy all the benefits. Isn’t that right, Sect Master Yang?”

Yang Kai looked at the man with a smile, “As far as I know, each Sect has more than one Small Source World. I am only asking for one opportunity from each of you. Why are you so reluctant to make some sacrifices? It is true that the Good Fortune Divine Furnace will consume a lot of materials, but it is well within your ability to bear such losses. You would not have tried to target the Good Fortune Divine Furnace otherwise. What’s more, if each Sect gets one month and more than 100 Sects take turns every month, then it will take more than ten years for everyone to get their turn. It’s not that I’m not willing to give each Cave Heavens and Paradises more time, it’s just that the people at the back of the line will have to wait a very long time if each Sect gets an extended usage period.”

That man shook his head, “The price is too high!”

Yang Kai calmly replied, “Since you’ve all decided to come together today, you’ve obviously discussed a solution in advance. Why don’t we just get straight to the point instead?”

Everybody looked at each other and nodded lightly in unison.

Yu Chang Dao said, “Sect Master, the outcome of our discussion is that we forgo the qualification to enter the Small Source World for training. Instead, we will provide a certain number of materials in exchange for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Of course, each Sect can make a certain degree of concession in terms of the materials. We will not let High Heaven Palace suffer any losses. What do you think, Sect Master?”

Although he was High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder, Yu Chang Dao was here today to represent the Cave Heavens and Paradises; therefore, he could only negotiate with Yang Kai from the standpoint of Free and Unfettered Paradise.

Yang Kai burst into laughter and shook his head, “High Heaven Palace does not lack materials.”

If mere compensation in terms of materials was enough to exchange for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, then Grandmaster Ma Fan would not have left this matter to Yang Kai. It would have been more beneficial for him to do the negotiations himself.

The High-Rank Open Heaven Master who spoke up previously frowned, “Sect Master Yang, the Good Fortune Divine Furnace belongs to Great Evolution Paradise. If you are unable to make a decision, then don’t you think you need to have a careful discussion with Grandmaster Ma Fan at Great Evolution Paradise?”

Yang Kai turned to look at that person, “I have full authority to make the final call when it comes to the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Grandmaster Ma Fan left this matter to me, and I will not disappoint him.”

He then stood up and continued, “It looks like you have not come to a consensus, which is fine. It’s not too late to come back and discuss matters with me once you have reached an agreement amongst yourselves. But, don’t even bother to mention anything about providing materials in exchange for the use of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace again, not unless you are providing Yin and Yang Element materials in the Sixth Order and above!”