Martial Peak
chapter-878

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

After bustling about for half a day, all the disciples had come out from the Holy Tomb.

Confirming that there was no longer anyone inside, Yang Kai once again closed the Holy Tomb and gathered the Elders and An Ling’er together.

Seeming aware that he had something important to discuss with them, everyone remained silent and waited for Yang Kai to speak.

“There is something I must tell you,” Yang Kai brow furrowed, still sorting out exactly how to broach this matter.

“If Holy Master has something to say, please speak freely. We subordinates will certainly listen closely!” Xu Hui chuckled, not sure why Yang Kai was acting so awkwardly.

“As long as you don’t say you wish to leave the Holy Land and give up the position of Holy Master, we can promise you anything else,” Yu Ying interjected with a smile.

“En, en, exactly!” The Elders all nodded, obviously still somewhat concerned that Yang Kai would try to cast off his position just as he had attempted to do a few years ago. At that time, Yang Kai acted like a rouge, not displaying any of the poise a Holy Master should at all.

“I won’t,” Yang Kai laughed dumbly despite trying not to, quickly gathering his thoughts and saying, “Before I met all of you, I actually ran into a group of people. It was back when I was still quite ignorant and weak. That group had been imprisoned in a Mysterious Small World for some special reasons and they pleaded with me to find a way to save them; in exchange for freeing them, they pledged to serve me for the rest of my life.”

“Oh?” Xu Hui’s brow rose, “Making such a promise when Holy Master was still weak, if they weren’t speaking irresponsibly, then they must have recognized Holy Master’s potential, in which case they belong to?”

Xu Hui seemed somewhat uneasy. What lay in the heart of an individual was difficult, much less an entire group of people, so hearing Yang Kai’s words he couldn’t help probing.

“They were not speaking casually. During the years when all of you were hiding inside the Holy Tomb, I happened to save them and brought them out of that place just a few months ago. Since then, they have faithfully honoured their pledge and obeyed my commands.”

“This group of people is quite upstanding then,” Cheng Yue Tong smiled warmly, “Those who keep their word are trustworthy. So does Holy Master want to absorb them into the Holy Land?”

Cheng Yue Tong saying this enlightened the other Elders, all of them thinking this was a case, directing curious and somewhat expectant looks towards Yang Kai.

“They can’t be absorbed into the Holy Land… I just wish to have them settle down on one of the nine peaks. I don’t know if the Elders are willing to comply?”

“Can’t be absorbed?” Xu Hui’s brow furrowed but soon relaxed, “If they can’t be absorbed then so be it. Since they are Holy Master’s subordinates, living in the Holy Land is only a matter of course. The Holy Land is quite large, accommodating a group of people isn’t an issue…”

“En…” Luo Sheng and Meng Tian Fei also nodded, agreeing with Xu Hui’s sentiments.

“Don’t be in such a hurry to agree, I haven’t finished explaining everything yet. You should reserve your decision until after hearing all I have to say!” Yang Kai smiled and continued, “There are about a thousand people in this group.”

“Hm, that is certainly not a small number, but the Holy Land should have more than enough capacity to accommodate them,” Xu Hui nodded lightly, asking casually, “What kind of strength do they possess? How strong are their top masters?”

“There are five Saints!”

“Ah… what?” All of the Elder were instantly dumbfounded, An Ling’er covering her mouth in shock.

This group of people had promised to serve Yang Kai back when he was very weak, so Xu Hui and the others mistakenly thought that the strength of this group wasn’t very high; otherwise how could they have made such a promise?

All of them had assumed that these thousand people were some small Sect or family with a few Transcendents serving as leaders at most.

None of them had expected Yang Kai to tell them that there were actually five Saint Realm masters among this group!

That was only slightly fewer than the number of Saints Nine Heavens Holy Land had…

“Holy Master, are you perhaps kidding?” Xu Hui simply couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Does it look like I’m telling a joke?” Yang Kai’s expression became serious, “Three of them are Second Order Saints while two are First Order!”

Everyone was once against stunned silent.

Three Second Order Saints and two First Orders; although this was one fewer Saints than Nine Heavens Holy Land, if a conflict broke out between the two groups, obviously Nine Heavens Holy Land would be the one to lose!

Xu Hui and the others immediately understood why Yang Kai had unexpected asked for their opinions.

Without knowing for certain what the disposition of this group was, if a conflict occurred inside the Holy Land in the future, Xu Hui and the others wouldn’t be able to fight back.

They joy of leaving the Holy Tomb was suddenly replaced with deep concern.

“On top of that, they are not ordinary people…” As if thinking the Elders weren’t shocked enough already, Yang Kai finally brought up the most important concern, “They’re Demons!”

“Demons?” Yu Ying screamed.

Cheng Yue Tong’s pretty face also went pale.

Xu Hui didn’t say anything immediately, but anyone would be able to see the shock and inner turmoil he was experiencing.

Yang Kai saying all this had left him not knowing what to say.

“If you consider it carefully and decide you cannot accept them in Nine Heavens Holy Land, tell me honestly and I will find another place to settle them,” Yang Kai said faintly, not showing any intention to force them to agree, waving his hand in the next moment, “For now, we should first finish arranging the disciples. My telling all of you about this was simply to give you a chance to mentally prepare yourselves.”

Everyone stared towards Yang Kai, none of them making any moves.

“Don’t concern yourselves too much, even if they can’t stay in Nine Heavens Holy Land, I have a place to put them,” Yang Kai grinned, seeing the complex looks on all of their faces.

This was what he had expected would happen.

At that moment, Xu Hui seemed to wake from his confusion and wore a dignified expression, “Holy Master, I will only ask one question. Has this group of Demons truly submitted to you or could it be that in order to escape that Mysterious Small World they have temporarily deceived you and are just waiting for the right opportunity to escape from your control?”

“You don’t have to worry about this,” Yang Kai smiled confidently, “As long as I live they won’t dare betray me!”

The Elders were stunned by the firmness of Yang Kai’s response.

Xu Hui took a deep breath and nodded, “Then there is no problem. You are the Holy Master of the Holy Land, and you have complete authority over who to admit and settle here. The Elders and I are only here to advise you, we have no decision-making power! Holy Master seeking our council is already giving us enough face…”

Yang Kai grinned, sweeping his eyes over the others.

Luo Sheng, Shi Kun, Meng Tian Fei, Yu Ying, and Cheng Yue Tong all nodded. Although they obviously had some concerns, the looks they directed towards Yang Kai were filled with trust and goodwill.

“Then on their behalf I offer you my thanks,” Yang Kai nodded firmly, “Good, the Holy Land has nine peaks, they only need one. They will prepare their own living materials and will not burden the Holy Land. I will also ensure that they not cause any conflicts with the Holy Land’s disciples.”

“Which peak does Holy Master intend to settle them on?” Xu Hui asked.

“The peak where Reflecting Moon Pond is located.”

Because of the current state of Reflecting Moon Pond, that particular peak was now in a perpetual state of deep winter and everyone who had once lived there had moved away. It was the only one of the nine peaks that was completely devoid of occupants.

However, the Ancient Demon clansmen were all endowed with powerful physiques, so living there wouldn’t be an issue for them as long as they didn’t get too close to Reflecting Moon Pond.

Also, there were already houses and other facilities on that peak so there would be no need to build new ones them.

“They won’t have any complaints? Are you sure you don’t wish to have them settle on a different mountain?” Xu Hui couldn’t help but worry.

“There’s no problem, the environment inside the Mysterious Small World where they used to live was far worse than here, they’ll be more than satisfied,” Yang Kai chuckled.

“En…” Xu Hui didn’t say anymore.

After learning that the group of Demons had already arrived inside the Holy Land, Xu Hui immediately said he wanted to meet with them.

After all, everyone would be neighbours in the future, so even if they didn’t technically belong to the same force, they would be living together. Building a good rapport was essential to ensure future conflicts could be resolved smoothly.

Fortunately, both Nine Heavens Holy Land and this group of Demons were Yang Kai’s subordinates.

With such a common point, Xu Hui felt that as long as there were no major incidents, most issues could be worked through.

Leaving Meng Tian Fei and Shi Kun to see to the disciples, Xu Hui and the others followed Yang Kai back to the main peak.

The hundreds of Alchemists and Artifact Refiners stood around with the Ancient Demon Clan, silently waiting. Although Yang Kai had been gone for half a day now, the Ancient Demon clansmen had not caused any issues, most of them still just looking around curiously.

Acting as a host, Xu Hui immediately came forward and welcomed Li Rong and the others.

Li Rong and the other Great Commanders smiled and returned the courtesy, exchanging greetings for a while. After talking amongst themselves for a while, each of them discovered that the other party wasn’t difficult to get along with.

This was especially true for Xu Hui; he felt that Li Rong was quite reasonable and friendly, nothing at all like the arrogant and brutal Demons he was used to. She was more like a refined lady from some big family or powerful Sect.

Xu Hui’s mood immediately brightened.

Yu Ying and Cheng Yue Tong also soon got close to Han Fei. All of them were beautiful women, but Han Fei’s cultivation was higher than their own by a minor Realm and her temperament was both cold and noble. The two of them felt they could learn a thing or two from her.

Having found common topics of interest, the two parties soon immersed themselves in their own discussions.

Yang Kai had essentially been relegated to the background and was now idly watching.

After a while, Li Rong suddenly said, “Right, together with Master we captured a certain person a few days ago, she seems to be your Nine Heaven’s Holy Land’s previous generation’s Saintess. I believe Master called her Saintess Nan!”

“Saintess Nan?” Xu Hui exclaimed as he hurriedly looked around, “Where is she now?”

Li Rong lightly clapped her hands and immediately had a group of Ancient Demon clansmen bring over the bound Saintess Nan.

Seeing the previous generation’s Saintess’ miserable appearance, Xu Hui and the others couldn’t help wearing sad expressions.

An Ling’er was even worse off, tears freely streaming from her eyes as she rushed over and held Saintess Nan.

The previous generation Saintess and the current Saintess had very close ties. Saintess Nan had always treated An Ling’er as her own daughter, but after Saintess Nan died, she had personally killed the other three Saintesses, and if not for a stroke of luck, An Ling’er would have died at her hands too.

Seeing her again now, how could An Ling’er continue to suppress the grief in her heart?

Xu Hui wiped the corner of his eyes and turned his gaze away.

Li Rong and the others seemed infected by the mood and also let out slight sighs.

After a while, Yang Kai stepped forward and gently patted An Ling’er’s shoulder, “However you wish to handle Saintess Nan, I leave up to you.”

An Ling’er nodded as she continued to sob, slowly lifting up Saintess Nan and gradually walking off.