Martial Peak
chapter-5044

After some calculations, Yang Kai realised that it took one year for his Small Universe to fully heal. During this period of time, he could feel that his foundation was slightly unsteady, which resulted in a decrease in his speed of refining materials. He hadn’t fought anyone, but if he had done so, he would’ve realised that his strength had plunged as well.

The Small Universe was the foundation of an Open Heaven Realm Master. Once it was damaged, the cultivator would be affected in many ways.

However, Yang Kai was surprised that the World Tree clone was able to fully repair his Small Universe in just one year, which could be considered rapid. He had asked Feng Ying about the effects of consuming a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit. It was said that after a cultivator consumed a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, while it would immediately patch the damage, it would take one to two years to fully repair a Small Universe. There were even those who spent three to five years or even more than ten years waiting for their Small Universes to fully heal.

It seemed that the clone’s healing ability was greater than that of a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit.

Not only had Yang Kai’s Small Universe been repaired, but his Dragon Bead, which was damaged during the battle against Zhu Feng in the past, had been repaired as well.

Yang Kai had overexerted himself to battle against Zhu Feng Territory Lord. In the end, he was forced to summon his Dragon Bead to deal with the formidable enemy. Even though such a move was powerful, it was also dangerous. The consequences would be dreadful if his Dragon Bead was destroyed.

After the battle, his Dragon Bead was damaged and full of cracks.

Fortunately, the Dragon Bead could be repaired by nourishing it with his Dragon Vein, and as long as he didn’t need to use his Dragon Transformation Secret Art, the problem with the Dragon Bead wouldn’t affect his usual strength.

Over the years, he hadn’t done anything special, but the Dragon Bead became perfect again with the Dragon Vein’s constant nourishment.

In fact, it had become better than in the past. He could clearly feel that the power of his Dragon Vein had improved.

He initially thought that it was just an illusion, but after examining himself, he realised that the power of his Dragon Vein had indeed increased.

The revelation puzzled him.

It was expected that his Dragon Bead would be healed one day, but it came as a complete and pleasant surprise that the power of his Dragon Vein had been strengthened as well.

After examining himself closely, Yang Kai reckoned that his quick recovery and improved strength were thanks to the gift the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer had given him in the past.

Rumour had it that Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were the origins of all Divine Spirits. The Dragon Clan was the leader of all Divine Spirits, so they were supposedly closely related to the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.

It was for this reason that, when Yang Kai sought help from Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan to deal with Black Ink Strength, he was given the two marks that could be used to activate Purifying Light. Not everyone could activate the two marks and draw on the powers of Yellow and Blue Crystals to cast this technique.

If Yang Kai was not attuned to the two marks, he still wouldn’t be able to cast Purifying Light even if he had abundant Yellow and Blue Crystals.

Before he left the Chaotic Dead Territory, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan left a mysterious force in his body.

That force was harmless to Yang Kai and wouldn’t improve his cultivation in any way; however, it could stimulate the power of the Dragon Vein in his body and purify his Dragon Clan bloodline.

It was thanks to the help of these supreme beings that the power of his Dragon Vein had increased significantly. Initially, Yang Kai could only transform into a 10,000-metre Dragon after using Dragon Transformation Secret Art, which allowed him to just barely be regarded as a Grand Dragon. After the incident, he could reach 20,000 metres upon using his Dragon Transformation Secret Art. His figure had expanded by two times.

At that time, Yang Kai had a feeling that the mysterious force left behind by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan in his body hadn’t been depleted and was instead hiding somewhere in his body.

Over the years though, he had never detected the presence of the mysterious force again.

It never crossed his mind that the damage in his Dragon Bead silently triggered it. His Dragon Vein had once again been improved without him noticing.

Yang Kai had no idea how huge his Grand Dragon Form would be after using his Dragon Transformation Secret Art now. Nevertheless, he believed that he would be longer than 20,000 metres.

He decided to use his Dragon Transformation Secret Art and examine the changes he had gone through when he was free one day.

After his Small Universe had healed, Yang Kai could once again refine a set of Seventh-Order materials every half a year, which allowed his heritage to grow rapidly.

Given the speed of his progress, he reckoned that it would take him less than 1,000 years to ascend to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

It was inconceivable that anyone could ascend to the Eighth Order from the Seventh Order in less than 1,000 years. There were a lot of Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Blue Sky Pass who had been stuck in the same Order for thousands of years. First of all, they were limited by their own aptitude, and secondly, they hadn’t accumulated enough heritage.

Usually, regardless of how talented a cultivator was, it would take them three or four thousand years to ascend to the Eighth Order from the Seventh Order, while 5,000 years was considered average.

As for ascending to the Ninth Order from the Eighth Order, it would take a cultivator more than 10,000 years to do so. Open Heaven Realm Masters lived long enough to go through such a long process though, so most didn’t think too much of it.

It was because of how difficult it was for an Open Heaven Realm Master to grow their strength that there were not a lot of Ninth-Order Old Ancestors in the Cave Heavens and Paradises even though they had lived for countless years. No one could guarantee that it would always be smooth sailing while they were growing their power either. Even if a person had the chance to make it to the Ninth Order, they might lose their future or even their life if an accident happened.

There were three reasons why it would only take Yang Kai 1,000 years to achieve this same feat. First of all, he had been refining Seventh-Order materials, so he could increase his strength more efficiently. Secondly, the World Tree’s clone in his Small Universe helped increase his refining speed by several times. Lastly, the living creatures residing in his Small Universe continuously helped strengthen his heritage.

All these advantages added up and allowed him to grow his power in the shortest time possible.

Achieving a breakthrough in just 1,000 years was only Yang Kai’s estimation, of course. If he was held up by something during this period of time, it would take him longer to achieve his goal.

Just like he had done previously, Yang Kai would go out and unwind after refining a set of materials every half a year.

A few years went by in the blink of an eye.

When Yang Kai left his room one day, he saw Zhong Liang already waiting for him. It seemed that the latter had predicted the time he would stop cultivating.

Yang Kai was disciplined when it came to cultivating, so it wasn’t hard for anyone to know when he would leave his room.

It had been peaceful in Blue Sky Pass in the past few years, so Yang Kai was surprised to see Zhong Liang waiting for him. He quickly went over and saluted him, “Do you need something, Sir?”

Zhong Liang nodded, “Come with me.”

Despite not knowing what was going on, Yang Kai still hurriedly followed him.

Soon, he realised that Zhong Liang was heading to the Pill Hall.

Someone was already waiting for them outside. It was none other than Tang Qun, whom Yang Kai had met before. At that instant, Yang Kai had a speculation about the reason Zhong Liang had brought him to the Pill Hall.

With Tang Qun leading the way, they soon arrived at a Grand Hall.

Three people were already waiting inside the Grand Hall, and Yang Kai had met two of them before. They were Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang. He had no idea who the last person was, but the latter seemed energetic despite his old age. His aura suggested that he was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

Upon seeing Yang Kai, both Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang were excited as they came over.

Yang Kai saluted them. Even though they were excited, they appeared somewhat tired. Both of them had become much thinner than when Yang Kai met them for the first time.

It had to be noted that they were Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so even though they knew nothing about fighting, they were still fairly powerful. It wasn’t certain what caused them to go through such a transformation over the years.

Zhong Liang introduced the third old man to Yang Kai, “He’s the Hall Master of the Pill Hall, Fu Zhou.”

Yang Kai saluted him again, “So it is Senior Fu.”

Fu Zhou ran his fingers through his beard with a smile, “A talented young man indeed.”

The ever-impatient Zhu Ge Ming said, “Cut to the chase. We’re here for a pill test.”

Zhou Fang nodded repeatedly on the side.

Upon hearing that, Yang Kai realised that his speculation was right. Pleasantly surprised, he asked, “Have you completed the pill recipe for the Purifying Black Ink Pill?”

It had been a few years since he passed the incomplete pill recipe to these two Alchemy Grandmasters, and he would ask about the progress from time to time. Things seemed to be going well in the beginning, but they started facing some difficulties in the later stage. Those from the Pill Hall were unable to complete the pill recipe easily.

However, Zhu Ge Ming’s words suggested that not only had they completed the recipe, but they had also successfully refined some Purifying Black Ink Pills.

Zhou Fang nodded and replied, “We’ve completed the pill recipe and made some Purifying Black Ink Pills; however, we have to give it a test to find out whether it’s effective. We’ve asked you to come here to take part in the pill test.”

Yang Kai nodded as he finally understood why Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang appeared exhausted. They must have continuously exerted themselves to complete the pill recipe while experiencing countless failures. It was no wonder that they were worn out after years of such an endeavour.

Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t object to a pill test, for he also wanted Purifying Black Ink Pills to be mass-produced as soon as possible, so he asked, “What do you want me to do?”

Zhong Liang replied, “Since we have to find out the effectiveness of the Purifying Black Ink Pill, we have to let someone become corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Obviously, we don’t keep Black Ink Strength in the Inner Sanctum, but I know you have quite a lot of it in your Small Universe. We need you to use that Black Ink Strength. It will be fine if the experiment is successful; however, if the pill is not effective, we’ll need you to activate Purifying Light to help.”

“Understood.” Yang Kai nodded, then asked, “Who will receive the Black Ink Strength, then?”

Zhu Ge Ming immediately took a step forward, “Me!”

Zhou Fang directly pushed him aside, “Back down old fart. I’ll handle it.”

A furious Zhu Ge Ming snapped, “How dare an old fart like you call me old!? Take a piss and look at your own reflection first!”

Zhou Fang scoffed, “I’m younger than you by 300 years, so you should give a young person like me a chance.”

The corner of Zhu Ge Ming’s mouth twitched, “How do you have the nerve to call yourself a young person?”

Yang Kai was dumbfounded, thinking that they even had to compete against one another over such a trivial matter. It seemed that these Grandmasters were truly on bad terms.

Fu Zhou said with a smile, “I’m sorry for the farce, Little Friend. This matter has something to do with the effectiveness of Purifying Black Ink Pills, so it’ll be helpful to personally go through the experience. However, Junior Brother Zhou has a point. This matter is important, and we should give young people a chance.”

Then, he turned his head to the side, “You do it, Tang Qun.”

Tang Qun had been silently watching the show. Since the two Grandmasters were arguing, he didn’t have the nerve to say anything. In fact, he had remained silent after he led Yang Kai and Zhong Liang to this place. He hadn’t expected that Fu Zhou would call out to him at this point.

After being startled for a moment, he cupped his fist respectfully, “Yes.”