Martial Peak
chapter-4835

It was the same case in the fifth life, and it became even more difficult to break Qu Hua Shang’s Heart Barrier. It was no longer easy to win her heart. After they met each other, they even got into a fight due to some misunderstandings.

The level of difficulty further increased in the sixth life. She no longer looked like her original self; instead, she appeared with an entirely different face, just like what happened to Tao Ling Wan, who was reincarnated as Qian Qian in her first life.

However, Tao Ling Wan’s situation was unique. Her Heart Barrier was that Yang Kai had to recognise her true identity without knowing who she actually was; therefore, she wouldn’t appear before Yang Kai with her original appearance.

It was different for Qu Hua Shang. Her appearance didn’t change in the first five lives, so Yang Kai could instantly recognise her after finding her.

Nevertheless, in the sixth life, she had turned into an entirely different person. If Yang Kai hadn’t repeatedly made sure she was Qu Hua Shang, he would have missed her.

The more reincarnations one went through in the Samsara Pavilion, the more difficult the challenge would be. One’s memory was greatly affected during reincarnation, and for every reincarnation, Qu Hua Shang’s memory would be sealed. Yang Kai was fine initially, but as he went through rounds of reincarnation, his memory began to be affected as well.

They moved on to the seventh life, eighth life, and finally arrived at their ninth life.

There were a lot of Grand Halls in the Grand Qi Temple where many powerful cultivators resided.

The fight between the forces of righteousness and evil had persisted for hundreds of years. Due to the never-ending war, countless people had lost their lives. As a result, the entire continent had turned into living Hell where blood rivers had formed.

About 100 years ago, Grand Qi Temple was born from an alliance of seven Sects. Only the most powerful and upright person had the right to become the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple and lead all the righteous great forces in the world.

On the other hand, there were those from White Lotus Sect who were good at bewitching people and causing trouble in the world. In this chaotic world, they had taken on innumerable disciples to fight against Grand Qi Temple, becoming their greatest enemy.

There were victories and losses on both sides following years of fighting between the righteous and the wicked. Evil had steadily gained the upper hand over the past few decades, but perhaps the righteous would gain an upper hand in the decades that followed. However, regardless of which side was at an advantage, they couldn’t completely destroy the other.

There were the top seven Sects on the continent, which were Divine Method Hall, Grand Battle Sect, Swaying Willow Sect, Hidden Sword Villa, Shooting Star Palace, Emerald Smoke Sect, and Lion Hall. These were the seven Sects that had propped up the righteous side and jointly founded Grand Qi Temple.

It had been about 130 years since Grand Qi Temple was born. There had been four Temple Masters in the past who had all died in the battle against the powerful Masters from White Lotus Sect.

Yang Kai, who was in his prime, was the Fifth Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple. He was from one of the seven Sects, Divine Method Hall. His mastery over the spear was unrivalled, and he was an upright and honest man. After the Fourth Temple Master passed away three years ago, he single-handedly saved Grand Qi Temple, which was on the brink of falling apart.

In comparison, the Fifth Temple Master was much stronger than the previous four Temple Masters when it came to raw strength, determination, and intelligence.

In fact, as the Temple Master, he had launched dozens of attacks on White Lotus Sect in the past three years and been victorious every time. As a result, White Lotus Sect had suffered immense losses.

Everyone believed this was an opportunity for Grand Qi Temple. Under the leadership of Temple Master Yang, they might stand a chance to finally destroy White Lotus Sect once and for all.

In the middle of the night, Yang Kai awakened from his dream in shock.

A figure appeared beside his bed like a phantom and examined him before giggling, “Did you have a dream again?”

After shooting her a dispassionate glance, Yang Kai sat up on the bed and nodded.

The person was his personal bodyguard, Luo Ting He from Emerald Smoke Sect. Although she was a bit petite, she was extremely powerful. Three years ago, she was the one who competed against Yang Kai for the position of Temple Master. Nevertheless, she was defeated by Yang Kai in the end.

It wasn’t certain what was on her mind at that time. Given her strength, she was more than good enough to be the Vice Temple Master even though she had lost the competition to be the next Temple Master.

However, she didn’t do that; instead, she requested to become Yang Kai’s personal bodyguard.

Those from Emerald Smoke Sect were against the idea; after all, if a person from their Sect could become the Vice Temple Master, they would have a bigger influence in Grand Qi Temple.

Nevertheless, Luo Ting He obstinately wanted to become Yang Kai’s personal bodyguard, and no one could change her mind.

Although she was a personal bodyguard on paper, she was more like a friend to Yang Kai now. She could be at ease in front of the man. As they had spent the past three years together, she was fully aware of all the man’s secrets as well.

Therefore, she knew that this Temple Master, who was the hope of Grand Qi Temple’s future, had a problem.

He would always have strange dreams in the middle of the night. In those dreams, he would see a woman with a vague appearance. He had no idea who the woman was, nor had he met her before; however, he had a feeling that she was very important to him.

“Have you not recalled it?” Luo Ting He suddenly asked.

A speechless Yang Kai rolled his eyes, “Do you even know what you’re asking?”

Luo Ting He shrugged, “I don’t know. I just wanted to ask.”

The problem with Temple Master Yang Kai was that he would always have strange dreams. On the other hand, his personal bodyguard also had a problem. Whenever Yang Kai awakened from his dream in shock, she would always ask this exact question.

Yang Kai had a serious discussion with her the first time around, but she was unable to explain anything.

Furthermore, after three years of getting along with one another, Yang Kai realised that something was wrong with his personal bodyguard’s head. She would always do things that were unexpected.

For example, she would suddenly laugh for no reason, but sometimes, she would weep in silence. Her mood swings were pretty drastic.

“What time is it?” Yang Kai looked out the window.

“Just after midnight,” as Luo Ting He spoke, she soaked a towel in a basin of water and wrung it before passing it to Yang Kai.

After taking it, Yang Kai wiped his face and felt refreshed.

However, the vague image of that woman in his dream still lingered in his mind.

He had a feeling that the woman in his dream was someone very important to him, but as he went through the past experiences in his life, he was certain that he had never met her before.

This strange matter puzzled him.

Just then, a slight noise was heard coming from outside. Yang Kai’s gaze turned ferocious while Luo Ting He’s petite figure instantly disappeared from the spot.

A cold breeze swept through the gap of the door.

A moment later, Luo Ting He returned to the room with blood still dripping from her sword.

Yang Kai looked up while a calm and collected Luo Ting He said, “Some of the conceited disciples from White Lotus Sect wanted to assassinate you.”

“How many of them are still alive?” Yang Kai asked in a grim voice.

“Three.” Luo Ting He chuckled.

“You must do whatever it takes to find out everything they know.” Yang Kai snorted.

“Don’t worry.” Luo Ting He nodded repeatedly, “I’ll dig out everything from their heads.”

Upon finishing her words, she turned around and left.

The next day, powerful cultivators gathered together in the Main Conference Hall of Grand Qi Temple.

There were six Vice Temple Masters under Temple Master Yang Kai. Since Yang Kai was from Divine Method Hall, which was one of the seven Sects, the other Vice Temple Masters were the ones who were in charge of the remaining six Sects.

Under the Vice Temple Masters were the Hall Masters. There were about thirty of them.

These were the Managers of Grand Qi Temple that had gathered together. They could command all the cultivators in the world who belonged to the righteous path.

At this moment, all of them were gazing at Yang Kai. The past three years were more than enough time for Yang Kai to build sufficient authority as the Fifth Temple Master. Presently, he remained silent, and even though there were a lot of people in the Grand Hall, no one dared to say anything.

A moment later, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and said, “In ten days, those from White Lotus Sect intend to hold a sacrificial ceremony in East Star City and refine a Ten Thousand Soul Banner.”

All of them had their expressions changed drastically upon hearing that.

Vice Temple Master Gan Wen Shan, who was from Grand Battle Sect, asked in horror, “Are you serious, Temple Master?”

Yang Kai nodded, “Xiao He personally obtained the information from the assassins last night.”

At the mention of Xiao He, all of them shuddered, including Vice Temple Master Xia Hong Tao, who was also from Emerald Smoke Sect.

Although Luo Ting He appeared to be crazy sometimes, all of them knew how ruthless she was. She was the oddest one in Grand Qi Temple. If not for the fact that she had never done anything wicked, and that she was really from Emerald Smoke Sect, many would have condemned her as the things she had done were no different from, if not worse than, those from the wicked path.

No one could hide any secrets following her interrogation.

Yu Xing Zhou, who was from Shooting Star Palace, frowned, “Can we believe what the assassins have said? Holding a sacrificial ceremony in East Star City to refine a Ten Thousand Soul Banner is no small matter. It’s supposed to be a top secret that only the leaders of White Lotus Sect have the right to know.”

Yang Kai explained, “It’s a major event to hold a sacrificial ceremony in East Star City, so they will need a lot of people to carry it out. Even if White Lotus Sect wanted to hide this news, some people might still be able to figure out what’s going on. Xiao He has already speculated that something like this was about to occur, so this conclusion is not entirely based on what the assassins have said.”

Upon hearing that, Yu Xing Zhou nodded, “In that case, East Star City will be in danger.”

Yang Kai rose from the seat and declared, “Although East Star City is not big, there are still around 100,000 residents, all of whom are innocent. If those from White Lotus Sect succeed in refining the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, many more innocent people will be affected. We have to stop them. Moreover, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner is very important to White Lotus Sect, so the White Lotus Matriarch might personally host the sacrificial ceremony. If we can kill the White Lotus Matriarch in East Star City, White Lotus Sect will definitely collapse. The fight between the righteous and wicked path that has spanned hundreds of years will come to an end, and peace will be restored to our world!”

Upon hearing that, all of them felt their blood boiling as they got up and said, “We will follow your lead, Temple Master!”

With a satisfied expression, Yang Kai nodded. He calmly gave the orders as it was apparent that he was well prepared.

When all the arrangements were made a moment later, Yang Kai swept an authoritative glance over them, “This is a great opportunity for Grand Qi Temple. If we succeed, we’ll be able to destroy White Lotus Sect. All of you should lead your own people and wait for further orders. Any leak of information will be punishable by death!”