Martial Peak

Although it was only a soft greeting, when it reached Elder Qian Yue’s ears, her body shivered greatly as she hurriedly raised her head to stare at Yang Kai in disbelief.

Immediately, a look of surprise and confusion bursts flashed across her beautiful eyes, as if recognizing Yang Kai but unsure if she was just imagining things, her thoughts being thrown into complete chaos for a time.

“What? Could it be Elder Qian Yue doesn’t recognize this Yang?” Yang Kai smiled at her lightly.

“Yang Kai!” Qian Yue called out in shock, covering her mouth with her hands as her eyes trembled violently, “It’s really you!”

“In this place, besides me, who else knows you as Elder Qian Yue?” Yang Kai raised his brow.

Qian Yue’s expression became even more complicated as she stared at Yang Kai fixedly, wanting to laugh, wanting to cry, a deep struggle taking place on her face for quite some time before she was finally able to restore her calm, leaving only a touch of fondness in her eyes, as if she had finally met a family member after being separated from them for a very long time. Taking a light breath, she pats on her abundant bosom in relief and finally offered her own greetings, “I never expected to be able to meet you here.”

Yang Kai grinned, “I also didn’t anticipate such a reunion.”

“Right, sit down so we can talk,” Qian Yue regained her composure and offered him a seat.

Yang Kai nodded and sat across from her.

Qian Yue sat down, and as their four eyes met, both of them went silent. Obviously they both had a stomach full of questions, but neither of them immediately began asking them.

Qian Yue’s mood was still a bit unstable and Yang Kai was not much better, as the woman named Yue’er in front of him really turned out to be Elder Qian Yue from Tong Xuan Realm’s Ice Sect!

Yang Kai hadn’t really had much contact with this woman and they could at most be considered unfamiliar acquaintances, but in the past, Qian Yue had helped direct Su Yan’s cultivation and although they weren’t officially Master and Disciple, the relationship they shared was essentially that.

When Meng Wu Ya returned to Tong Xuan Realm with Xia Ning Chang and Su Yan through the Void Corridor belonging to the Central Capital, because he needed to free himself from the Profound Heavenly Seal planted on him by Demon Commander Zhang Yuan, he found it impossible to constantly protect Su Yan, so he had entrusted her to the reclusive Ice Sect.

Later, Yang Kai also arrived in Tong Xuan Realm, and after much searching, he had arrived at the Ice Sect where he met Elder Qian Yue and even fought with her.

At the time, Ice Sect’s entire leadership had been drawn out and, in addition to Qian Yue, Yang Kai vaguely remembered several other Saint Realm Elders. Among them was a person named Qian Hao who was Qian Yue’s older blood-related brother as well as Sect Master Qing Ya, who was a peak Third-Order Saint, one of the top masters who stood at the summit of Tong Xuan Realm’s cultivation world.

Back then, Yang Kai had only been a Transcendent Realm cultivator and had only been able to deal with the several Saint Realm Elders of Ice Sect with the help of his Soul Devouring Insects. In the end, he had forced Sect Master Qing Ya to give way and then spent some time to finally communicate with Su Yan’s Soul, bringing their Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art to the grand accomplishment stage.

Now, less than two decades later, an Elder-class figure that Yang Kai had needed to look up to was currently a destitute traveller who had lost even the freedom to decide her own fate and had degenerated into a Dual Cultivation tool for paying customers to use for breaking through their cultivation bottlenecks. The myriad twists and turns which had resulted in the current situation really made Yang Kai feel somewhat emotional while the same must be even truer for Elder Qian Yue.

As these thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, his expression suddenly changed as he put on a smile and asked, “I heard that Lady Yue’er has cultivated an Ice Attribute Secret Art. Did you come here from afar? How did you wind up in this place?”

Qian Yue’s brow furrowed slightly as she stared at Yang Kai suspiciously, but after seeing the unusual look in his eyes, she suddenly understood something and replied lightly, “I indeed once cultivated an Ice Attribute Secret Art, but this matter will not have any detriment to Honoured Guest’s request. As for how I came to this place, it is not something Honoured Guest need concern himself with.”

Yang Kai didn’t reveal any signs of discontent and simply smiled lightly, “If that’s the case, then this Yang will not ask any further, I simply thought that before we dual cultivate, some communication would benefit both of us. This Yang would like to have a good discussion with Lady Yue’er to increase our mutual understanding, does Lady Yue’er have any objections?”

“If that is what Honoured Guest requests, this Mistress will naturally cooperate,” Qian Yue still replied indifferently.

Yang Kai gently nodded before launching into a conversation about some trivial matters with Qian Yue, most of which were about some interesting rumours he had heard which actually piqued Qian Yue’s interest. Although her expression remained cold, her beautiful eyes were quite animated and revealed a curious light.

After a long time, Yang Kai’s voice abruptly came to a halt as his expression became serious once more, nodding to Qian Yue slightly, “Alright. The Divine Sense which was monitoring us has withdrawn.”

Qian Yue expression also became serious while some surprise flashed across her eyes at the same time as she said, “Yang Kai, you really are a bit difficult to see through. When you were just a Transcendent, you dared to break into the Ice Sect all alone, and now you’ve come to Joyous Union Pavilion and are actually able to detect the Divine Sense surveillance of those people. How did you accomplish that?”

Any Divine Sense that would be monitoring this place must belong to an Origin Returning Realm master! If not for seeing Yang Kai’s expression which was silently warning her about this, Qian Yue wouldn’t have cooperated with him.

However, Qian Yue could clearly tell that Yang Kai’s cultivation had only reached the Second-Order Saint King Realm, something which greatly surprised her for many reasons.

Yang Kai smiled lightly and explained, “My Divine Sense is a bit stronger than the average cultivator’s.”

“This can’t be described as merely being a bit stronger,” Qian Yue shook her head wryly but didn’t try to dig any deeper, instead asking eagerly, “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to ask you the exact same question,” Yang Kai looked at her seriously.

“It’s a long story,” Qian Yue smiled bitterly, picking up the teapot to pour both of them a cup before sorting out her thoughts and continuing, “Presumably you should know by now why Ice Sect had established itself in that glacial world?

“En, I have a fair understanding. It must have been to guard against the resurgence of the Bone Race,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, his memories of the past surfacing slowly.

“Yeah, but the Bone Race’s reappearance was far more violent than what our Ice Sect anticipated and after many years of decline, we were unable to resist them by relying on just the few Saint Realm masters we possessed! Fortunately, the Seniors of Ice Sect had seized a Star Shuttle during their first conflict with the Bone Race and that Star Shuttle had been passed down from one generation of Sect Master to the next. After Ice Sect was destroyed, Qing Ya knew that she wouldn’t be able to escape with us in tow so we had no choice but to risk entering the Void Corridor nearby and rely on the power of the Star Shuttle to enter the Star Field!”

“En, it’s just as I had inquired about,” Yang Kai took a deep breath, “After entering the Star Field though, how did you wind up here? Where are Sect Master Qing Ya and Su Yan?” Yang Kai asked anxiously.

Qian Yue’s expression dimmed suddenly, and upon seeing this, Yang Kai’s face turned pale as fear and anxiety threatened to overcome him.

Seeing his look, Qian Yue immediately knew that he had misunderstood her and quickly waved her hands, “It’s not what you think. Although I don’t know where they are now, Sect Master Qing Ya and Su Yan are definitely still alive.”

“How can you be so sure?” Yang Kai looked at her suspiciously.

“Because of this,” Qian Yue turned her palm over and summoned two pure and flawless ice crystal beads, each of them only the size of a thumbnail.

As soon as he saw these two ice beads, Yang Kai was startled and his eyes immediately became fixed on one of them in particular, unable to look away. He felt Su Yan’s aura from this ice bead while the other carried Qing Ya’s.

“What are these?” Yang Kai eventually looked up at Qian Yue.

“These are Ice Soul Beads created using one of our Ice Sect’s secret techniques. This bead will only shatter when the person who condensed it falls!” Qian Yue explained softly, “Every Ice Soul Bead corresponds to a specific person. We were also concerned that we would become separated after entering the Star Field, so we condensed several sets of these just in case. I have the others’ Ice Soul Bead in my hands, and they have my Ice Soul Beads in theirs. Since these two Ice Soul Beads haven’t broken, that can only mean they are still alive!”

Hearing this, Yang Kai finally calmed down as a look of pleasant surprise flashed across his eyes.

As long as Su Yan was alive, he could feel at ease. Although he didn’t know where she was right now, there would be a day when they would meet again, of this, Yang Kai was convinced.

After hesitating for a moment, Yang Kai asked, “This Ice Soul Bead, can you give it to me?”

Qian Yue smiled lightly, “Of course; after all, you are little Su Yan’s most beloved person in the world.”

Saying so, she handed over the Ice Soul Bead that belonged to Su Yan. Yang Kai expressed his thanks once more before accepting it.

Staring at the cold bead, Yang Kai couldn’t help reminiscing about Su Yan’s appearance and the smile she showed him all those years ago, a trace of tenderness filling his expression. Yang Kai indulged in this reverie for a moment before very cautiously placing this Ice Soul Bead into his Black Book Space.

After doing this, Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief as his mind and body seemed to relax greatly. The invisible pressure which had been weighing on his heart for so long finally lifted at this moment and the Saint Qi in his body began to involuntarily churn, causing the surrounding World Energy to stir violently.

After learning that Su Yan had not encountered any kind of fatal accident, relieving the stress in his heart, Yang Kai’s aura began to surge and he showed signs of breaking through.

Although Yang Kai hadn’t mentioned the matter about Su Yan to anyone for a long time, and even if he only occasionally had time to think about it, the subtle worry he felt had never left him and had become something of a stumbling block for his process.

Now, feeling Su Yan’s aura once more, this shackle had been released. As long as this Ice Soul Bead still existed, Yang Kai could rest assured that she was still alive, so naturally, he was able to relax. After refining the Profound Yin Sunflower Water in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, his cultivation had reached the peak of the Second-Order Saint King Realm, and now that almost two years had passed, he had truly reached the edge of a breakthrough.

Today’s matter was simply a sudden opportunity, and even if it hadn’t happened, Yang Kai estimated that within three to six months he would still be able to break through. Him being in a rush to return to Dragon Cave Mountain was also because he wanted to make preparations for this breakthrough.

The abnormalities in Yang Kai’s aura naturally didn’t escape Qian Yue’s eyes and she couldn’t help looking at him in surprise. A look of delight appeared on her face and Qian Yue was just about to congratulate him when suddenly Yang Kai frowned and forcibly suppressed the roiling of his Saint Qi. A moment later, after his face went a bit red, nothing more happened.