Martial Peak

Central Capital, North City District, Clear Sky Tavern.

Yang Kai, wearing a set of cyan robes, crossed his hands behind his back and stepped inside.

The slightly obese shopkeeper behind the front counter immediately showed a big grin and asked, “Is this Young Lord here to rest or eat?”

Yang Kai’s attire was uncommon and he had ridden here on a Cloud Treading Colt, catching the attention of everyone in the tavern. The shopkeeper’s eyes were naturally not bad so he knew that this youth’s origins were definitely not low so he dared not be inattentive.

“I’m looking for someone!” Yang Kai said indifferent, casually placing a green bamboo knot token on the counter.

When he saw this token, the face of the shopkeeper suddenly became very dignified, quickly running out from behind the counter and whispering, “Young Lord, please follow me.”

Yang Kai put away the token, nodded slightly and then followed the shopkeeper to the back of the store.

Although Clear Sky Tavern also did some ordinary business that was mainly just a cover for the outside world, the true face of Clear Sky Tavern was actually the Bamboo Knot Gang.

In the Central Capital, there was more than just the Eight Great Families!

There were countless forces, some exposed to the light, others lurking in the shadows; however, all of these forces were supported or controlled by one of the Eight Great Families, and were mainly responsible for handling things that the Eight Great Families found ‘inconvenient’ to do themselves. The Bamboo Knot Gang was just one of these forces and compared to other similar forces, it was actually rather small.

After passing through the Clear Sky Tavern, Yang Kai came to a huge courtyard where many cultivators were sparing with one another, either one on one or in groups of three to five.

Yang Kai casually glanced around and found that the strength of the people here really wasn’t that high, the strongest only having Peak True Element cultivations, the majority actually still at the Separation and Reunion Boundary while a few were only at the Qi Transformation Stage.

In the Central Capital, almost all cultivators with slightly good aptitudes were gathered up by the Eight Great Families, those who weren’t were naturally a mixed bag.

Yang Kai didn’t care too much, but the cultivators who were sparring, seeing the fat shopkeeper respectfully leading Yang Kai through the courtyard couldn’t help but show some surprise, some of them quietly whispering to one another, wondering who this youth was.

After passing through the huge courtyard, the two came to a large hall.

There were some cultivators in front of the hall, all of them looking somewhat on edge, staring around vigilantly. When Yang Kai and the fat shopkeeper appeared before them, all of the guards’ eyes inevitably turned to stare at them.

Stopping in front of these guards, the fat shopkeeper hurriedly smiled and said, “Four Master has sent someone, please inform the Sect Master.”

One of those cultivators looked Yang Kai over, his brow wrinkling slightly as he asked, “How come I’ve never seen him before? Are you sure the Fourth Master sent him?”

The fat shopkeeper nodded firmly, “Naturally, he has the Fourth Master’s token on him.”

The man nodded, no longer asking any question, simply saying, “Wait one moment.”

Not saying another word, the guard turned around and walked into the hall. A moment later, the guard returned and said to Yang Kai, “Sect Master said that you should go to the Tavern to rest first, after he’s finished discussing some matters he will come see you.”

Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, not expecting that he would actually be shut out.

This was interesting.

Inside the hall, there seemed to be some kind of quarrel going on, the voices of several people shouting was loud enough to hear even though he was outside.

Yang Kai released his Divine Sense, not only to understand what the people inside were saying, but also to learn about the situation.

Not long after, Yang Kai’s expression grew cold, unable to stop himself from snorted.

“Young Lord, would you like to return to the Tavern first?” The fat shopkeeper carefully proposed.

“No need, I’ll go in!” Yang Kai shook his head and walked towards the hall.

“Please wait!” The guard who had spoken with him just now wanted to stop Yang Kai, but the instant he spoke he suddenly found himself flying through the air, a scorching hot True Qi exploding in front of him, flooding into his meridians, causing him to fall unconscious before he even landed.

With a few muffled sounds, several cultivators in front of the main hall suddenly fell to the ground, and before the fat shopkeeper could recover from his shock, Yang Kai had already arrived at the front door.

With a bang, the closed doors opened and Yang Kai casually strode into the hall.

There were probably a dozen or cultivators inside sitting around a large table, all of them wearing a gloomy expression on their face. It seemed like the argument they were having was quite fierce, some of them even had signs that their True Qi circulation was unstable.

Yang Kai’s gaze turned slightly and fixed on the person at the head of the table.

This person’s expression was amiable and he was dressed in a very scholarly style, he seemed to have the temperament of a calm mature man with refined look. However, his brows were thoroughly furrowed, a faint trace of sorrow and helplessness apparent in his eyes.

Bamboo Knot Gang’s Sect Master, Pang Chi!

It was difficult to connect his name with his refined temperament.

(Silavin: Pang Chi means ‘Extremely Late’)

Yang Kai throwing open the doors had naturally disturbed everyone inside, the moment he walked in the fierce quarrels immediately stopping, everyone turning their eyes in amazement to the intruding youth, several of them frowning in displeasure.

However, the majority of the cultivators inside wore dignified expression, all of them clearly understanding that Yang Kai was the person Yang Ying Feng had sent.

Pang Chi quickly got up, waving to the fat shopkeeper, signalling him to draw back before he himself wore a forced smile, cupped his fists, and asked, “May this humble one ask Young Lord’s name?”

“Yang Family’s Yang Kai!”

When these words came out, everyone couldn’t help trembling in shock!

They had thought that this youth was at most a messenger Yang Ying Feng had sent. In the past, the Bamboo Knot Gang was contacted by Yang Ying Feng in a similar fashion whenever he had instructions for them.

But once Yang Kai reported his name, everyone realized that the situation was different from what they had thought.

This youth was obviously one of the Young Lords who had just returned to Yang Family!

In all likelihood, he was the Yang Family Fourth Master’s son.

Recognizing the Yang Kai’s extraordinary identity, all of them hastily stood up, Pang Chi scrambling forward and bowing respectfully, “Bamboo Knot Gang’s Pang Chi didn’t know it was the Young Lord who had come to visit and failed to prepare an appropriate greeting! Many apologise Young Lord!”

“Many apologise Young Lord!” everyone else shouted in unison.

“Nevermind that!” Yang Kai waved his hand casually, obviously not caring about such matters.

Pang Chi couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief. Previously, when he was unaware of his identity, he had let Yang Kai go back to the tavern to rest and wait for him. If this Young Lord had been upset and blamed him, Pang Chi probably would be able to see tomorrow’s sunrise.

For a time, Pang Chi felt cold sweat drip down his back as he secretly thanked the Heavens for being merciful.

“Young Lord, please sit down!” Pang Chi quickly motioned.

Yang Kai nodded lightly then went straight to the head position and sat down without the slightest hesitation. Pang Chi smiled and stood aside, unable to help feeling slightly tense, everyone else who was still standing in place also awkwardly shifting their eyes back and forth.

They had never been in contact with any of the Yang Family’s children so at this moment they naturally felt some psychological pressure, on top of that, none of them knew what purpose Yang Kai had come here for.

Thinking about the quarrel they were having just now, several of them couldn’t help cold sweat from pouring down their foreheads.

Yang Kai grabbed a fragrant fruit, leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table, assuming a comfortable position to eat.

It was as if he didn’t understand the slightest bit of etiquette, his performance no different from a local ruffian. Seeing his behaviour, everyone in the hall suddenly felt slightly more relaxed.

Their origins were very low, so seeing Yang Kai act so casually, naturally the invisible pressure they felt reduced slightly.

“Not bad.” Yang Kai took a few bites before throwing the half eaten piece of fruit back onto the table, finally looking up at everyone and waving, “Sit down.”

All eyes turned towards Pang Chi instinctively, the latter nodding slightly, silently telling all of them to take a seat.

Gently coughing twice, Pang Chi cautiously asked, “This humble servant dares ask, Young Lord coming to visit my Bamboo Knot Gang at this time, is it possibly at the request of the Fourth Master?”

“No.” Yang Kai shook his head, “I’ve just come here to play, and you don’t need to care about me. It seems that you all were discussing something important. Continue, I’ll just sit here and listen!”

After that, Yang Kai grinned fiercely as he swept his eyes over the crowd.

Everyone in the room couldn’t help lowering their eyes, keeping silent.

Pang Chi smiled awkwardly and said, “Just some trivial disagreements, this one fears that if Young Lord remains, he will only be bored. Perhaps Young Lord would like to return to the Tavern first?”

“Nonsense, continue.” Yang Kai casually dismissed Pang Chi’s suggestion.

Pang Chi expression became bitter, not having expected this Yang Family Young Lord to be so difficult to handle.

Yang Kai sat up straight suddenly and smiled again, “Right right, when I was outside the hall just now, I thought I heard someone calling out Huo Family, Huo Family... what exactly were to discussing? By all means, speak up, I’ve been away from the Central Capital for so many years so I’m not that well-informed about current events, I’m very interested in this Huo Family!”

Hearing Yang Kai’s word, everyone inside the hall paled in panic.

“No one dares to speak?” Yang Kai’s tone dropped sharply, his eyes suddenly becoming cold.

“Young Lord, actually, what happened is...” Pang Chi quickly spoke. He knew that from the start, this Yang Family Young Lord had already heard something, otherwise he wouldn’t be acting so aggressive.

However, Pang Chi hadn’t had time to finish explaining before Yang Kai took action, his True Qi surging as the hall was suddenly filled with blood-red flower petals. These sharp petals gave off a cold and murderous aura, instantly crashing towards four people in the room.

Three of these four couldn’t even respond before they were enveloped by the Thousand Blossoming Blood Begonia, immediately suffering hundreds of cuts to their bodies, each of them letting out pitiful screams.

Only one Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage expert managed to dodge this attack but before he could escape from the hall, a blood red Sword Qi had already arrived in front of him.

*Hong...* With a bang, the whole hall was suddenly filled with a torrent of swirling True Qi, quickly falling into disorder.

The man took the Sword Qi strike full on, his face draining of all colour, apparently hurt quite seriously. Immediately he realized the horrifying strength and ruthlessness of Yang Kai, not daring to stick around, turning to the door and fleeing with all his might.

But before he could reach the hall’s entrance, countless blood red petals blocked his way, the next moment shooting towards him like a thousand arrows, the Thousand Blossoming Blood Begonia displaying its full might once again.

The man’s expression cramped up as he hurriedly backtracked.

Suddenly, a purple ray of light shot through the air and arrived at the man’s forehead, instantly sending an unbearable pain through his Knowledge Sea, causing him to fall to the ground not far from Yang Kais.

Yang Kai stood there motionless, lifting the crimson sword in his hand and thrusting forward unemotionally.

*Pu...*

The man was run through directly, his Immortal Ascension body no better than a thin piece of paper before this strike.

When Yang Kai drew his sword out, copious amounts of blood spurt from the wound, the Immortal Ascension Boundary First Stage master falling softly to the ground a moment later.

Sweeping his eyes across the rest of the people in the hall, Yang Kai said in a cold voice, “Accept bribes from the Huo Family? You’ll have to pay for that money with your life!”

Hearing this naked threat, everyone in the room paled.

Pang Chi stared at Yang Kai with horror, his eyes trembled fiercely, a cold chill shooting up his spine.

Silavin: Hey guys, please do not patreon until the next announcement. I’m trying to setup something. (More details will be announced once I get everything ready). Thank you.