Martial Peak
chapter-4837

Strange images kept flashing through Yang Kai’s mind. The name Qu Hua Shang seemed to have a special power as it repeatedly resonated across his head while he was unconscious, knocking on his sealed memory.

There came a moment when the seal was broken as he went through the experiences in his previous lives in his dream.

The figure that had always been vague in his dreams finally became crystal clear. As she turned her head, a joyful and coquettish face came into his sight.

Yang Kai abruptly opened his eyes.

He was still weak due to the injury and poison he had suffered from. Even though he was strong, it was impossible that he could fully recover as soon as he awakened.

Everything around him looked familiar to him. He supposed he was in his own bedroom in Grand Qi Temple.

A person was seated beside his bed. The only person who could enter his bedroom as she pleased and protected him while he was unconscious was none other than Luo Ting He.

At this moment, she was looking at him with a weird expression. As though realising something, she once again asked the question she had asked countless times before, “Have you recalled it?”

Yang Kai nodded his head.

An energised Luo Ting He asked, “What did you recall?”

“Many things,” Yang Kai struggled to sit up, but he didn’t have the strength to do so. Seeing that, Luo Ting He quickly helped him up and placed a pillow behind his back.

Then, she stared at him with a longing expression, “Tell me all about it.”

Yang Kai shook his head, then gazed at her with an awkward expression and asked, “Have you recalled it?”

In an instant, Luo Ting He appeared puzzled, “What am I supposed to recall?”

“I don’t know.”

In the dream, he finally shattered the shackles that had locked his memory and remembered who he truly was. He recalled where this place was and his reason for coming here.

Yang Kai felt a lingering fear in his heart and realized once more how mysterious the Samsara Pavilion was. It was already his ninth life. After living in this world for so long, he had forgotten about who he was, not to mention the fact that he was supposed to shatter Qu Hua Shang’s Heart Barrier.

After many rounds of reincarnation, his memory had been greatly affected.

If he hadn’t come across Qu Hua Shang by chance this time, his memory wouldn’t have been restored. He would have still regarded himself to be the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple who strived to achieve victory for the righteous path.

The challenge he had to face in this life was unusually difficult.

Now, he was the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple while Qu Hua Shang was a disciple of White Lotus Sect. Both parties had been arch nemeses for a very long time.

During their first encounter, Qu Hua Shang thrust her sword into his chest and almost killed him.

This wasn’t a good sign. He reckoned that he had to come up with a good plan in order to win her heart and shatter her Heart Barrier in this kind of situation.

Besides that, the existence of Luo Ting He concerned him.

After his memory was restored, Yang Kai realised that his personal bodyguard was no ordinary person.

That was because she had been by his side since the sixth life!

In the sixth life, he saved a starving beggar, who was none other than Luo Ting He. The person had the same name and appearance as his current personal bodyguard.

He initially thought that she was just an illusory figure in the Samsara World, so he wasn’t bothered by it.

However, in the seventh life, she once again appeared by his side. This time, she was no longer a beggar; instead, she was a valiant General who had made countless contributions on the battlefields. On the other hand, he was the King of the country.

In the eighth life, she became a Sect Master while he was a disciple of that Sect.

After so many rounds of reincarnation, he finally figured out a thing or two about the Samsara Worlds.

These Samsara Worlds were born on the foundation of Qu Hua Shang’s Heart Barrier. In other words, her heart was the key to solving the mystery in the Samsara Worlds.

The reason Yang Kai could always smoothly appear in these Samsara Worlds was that Qu Hua Shang’s Heart Barrier had something to do with him as it connected both of them. Therefore, regardless of how many rounds of reincarnation he went through, he would always appear in the Samsara World where she was located.

While that was the case for him, what was going on with Xiao He? Since the sixth life, she had always appeared in the Samsara Worlds that were born on the foundation of Qu Hua Shang’s Heart Barrier, which suggested that she had something to do with the latter.

Was she someone important to Qu Hua Shang? Was that the reason she had always been around in the previous few lives?

However, Yang Kai had never heard Qu Hua Shang mention this person before.

What was even more puzzling was that Xiao He would always be by Yang Kai’s side every time she appeared.

Now, he wasn’t certain whether Xiao He was someone who had entered the Samsara Pavilion and become reincarnated into the Samsara Worlds just like himself or an illusory figure created by these Samsara Worlds.

If it was the former, it meant that Luo Ting He was training her heart in the Samsara Pavilion while her true body was hidden in one of the trees.

If it was the latter, she should be a manifestation of Qu Hua Shang’s memories somehow.

She repeatedly asked him if he had recalled anything, which seemed to suggest that she was aware that her memory had been sealed too. In that case, she was probably not an illusory figure; instead, she was a real person who had barged into these Samsara Worlds somehow.

However, she was muddle-headed and even acted somewhat crazed most of the time, so it was impossible for Yang Kai to ask her anything about it.

Luo Ting He stared at him with a tilted head for a moment. Upon realising that he didn’t intend to delve into this topic, she stopped asking. Instead, she said, “I’ve found out what you want to know. Qu Hua Shang is one of the Saintesses under the White Lotus Matriarch. She had only stopped cultivating in seclusion some time ago. The White Lotus Matriarch has very high hopes of her.”

“She’s a Saintess?” Yang Kai was rendered speechless. He initially thought that Qu Hua Shang was just an ordinary disciple of White Lotus Sect, so it surprised him when he learned that she was a Saintess.

This was a knotty issue.

There were countless disciples in White Lotus Sect, but there were only a small number of Saintesses who all had the right to become the next Sect Master. Every Saintess had extraordinary aptitude and influence.

Moreover, they were all loyal to White Lotus Sect and regarded Grand Qi Temple to be the arch-nemesis.

In this kind of situation, it was close to impossible for him to win Qu Hua Shang’s heart as the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple.

Furthermore, it was already the ninth life.

He reckoned that the last round of reincarnation was also the hardest as even his memory had been sealed for several dozen years. It wasn’t until he came across Qu Hua Shang that his memory was unsealed. It must be even worse for her.

Unlike the first life, she wouldn’t fall in love with him just because he had saved her life.

Therefore, it was practically hopeless to wait for Qu Hua Shang to fall in love with him. When they met again, she would only try to kill him without hesitation, just like how she steadfastly thrust her sword into his chest during their first encounter.

“From what we’ve gathered, it was just a pretence that those from White Lotus Sect wanted to hold a sacrificial ceremony in East Star City. Their original intention was to kill you,” Seeing that he didn’t say anything, Xiao He took the initiative to report the information that Grand Qi Temple had gathered recently.

Yang Kai nodded, “I figured.”

In fact, the White Lotus Matriarch had made an incredible move. Holding a sacrificial ceremony in East Star City might not be entirely a pretence. If those from Grand Qi Temple were unable to stop them, they would achieve something great by successfully refining the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

If those from Grand Qi Temple decided to interfere, they could attempt to kill Temple Master Yang Kai.

In reality, they had almost succeeded. Yang Kai was fully aware of who the Saintesses in White Lotus Sect were, but those from Grand Qi Temple were completely clueless about this new Saintess, Qu Hua Shang.

Moreover, Yang Kai fell into a dazed state when he saw the familiar figure; therefore, he was unsuspecting when Qu Hua Shang made her move.

“The people outside are flustered. They thought that you might not ever awaken,” Xiao He said, “The Vice Temple Masters have had some arguments. Do you want to go out and placate them?”

“There’s no need for that,” Yang Kai shook his head.

“Okay,” Luo Ting He appeared nonchalant. Everyone knew that Yang Kai was the only person in the world that she cared about. She wasn’t even concerned about her own Master Sect, the Emerald Smoke Sect.

That was the reason she decided to become Yang Kai’s personal bodyguard back then instead of one of the six Vice Temple Masters.

The fact that the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple was badly injured wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. Basically, every cultivator would become wounded at some point in their lives; however, the injury Yang Kai had suffered was not ordinary and there was fatal poison on the sword that had wounded him.

Everyone thought that the Temple Master was doomed. Even if he was lucky enough to survive, his strength would diminish significantly.

In fact, that was indeed the case. The Temple Master was lucky enough to have escaped from death’s door, but he had rarely stepped out of his room since he awakened. When he did show up sometimes, he was seen with a pale face, and it was apparent that he had difficulty walking.

This was a sign that his condition had deteriorated.

One month later, all six Vice Temple Masters came to an agreement. During a meeting in Grand Qi Temple, they implicitly suggested that Yang Kai step down from the position of Temple Master.

After all, the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple was supposed to be the most powerful cultivator of all seven great Sects. The Temple Master wasn’t just a symbol, but also the spiritual support of Grand Qi Temple.

Every year, those from White Lotus Sect would make countless attempts to kill the leaders of Grand Qi Temple. If the Temple Master was weak, the entire Grand Qi Temple would be greatly impacted if he was assassinated. By then, everyone would be flustered, and those from White Lotus Sect would seize the chance to destroy them.

Faced with the Vice Temple Masters’ implicit request, Yang Kai didn’t hesitate to step down as the Temple Master. As for who would be the next Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple, it was none of his business.

If his memory hadn’t been restored, he wouldn’t have easily made a concession; after all, he was a disciple from Divine Method Hall in this life, and he had always been involved in the fight against White Lotus Sect. Furthermore, his biggest wish had been to destroy White Lotus Sect once and for all.

However, since his memory had been restored, he knew what he was supposed to do.

Yang Kai turned down their invitation to become one of the Vice Temple Masters and one fine morning, he simply left Grand Qi Temple with a horse and some belongings.

Luo Ting He followed him closely. Although those from Emerald Smoke Sect were against the idea, they were powerless to stop her. As far as they were concerned, she was a crazy woman, and only Yang Kai was able to communicate with her. She wouldn’t bother to talk to others at all.

Barely after three years, she seemed to have perfectly accepted the fact that she was Yang Kai’s personal bodyguard. Even though he had stepped down from the position of Temple Master, she still followed him wherever he went.