Martial Peak

“Master, is this Floating Clouds City?”  The young man asked as he sized up the crowds down below with great enthusiasm.

“En, the name of this city hasn’t changed, but it seems many of the people have. After a thousand years, as I had expected, there are so many changes” The old man sighed.

“Then the mountain over there is Ascending Heaven Cliff, yes?” The young man shifted his gaze towards the towering mountain peaks nearby.

“Indeed, the Thousand Year Demon Flower blooms atop that peak,” The old man nodded lightly, “Yao’er, this time I’ve brought you here mainly for the blooming of the Thousand Year Demon Flower.  You have been following me since you were just a baby, cultivating diligently among the mountains and streams, so you are somewhat ignorant of how to behave in society. When we enter the city, make sure not to cause troubles and beware of sinister intent from those around you.”

“Disciple understands,” The young man nodded respectfully.  “Teacher, you also once condensed the medicinal liquid of the Thousand Year Demon Flower.  Can you tell me more about what the situation was like back there? I’m very curious to learn about it.”

The old man showed a faint smile, “I can’t describe it clearly to you, but you will understand once you experience it.  Good, let’s pay a visit to the City Lord here; I recall that the current City Lord should be the descendent of one of this old man’s old friends.”

“Walk slowly, Master,” The young man who was called Yao’er diligently supported the old man as the pair stepped forward through the air.

Many people in the city look up curiously as this old and young pair, but none of them paid them much attention in the end.  After all, there were too many cultivators coming and going from Floating Clouds City. The old man looked old and withered, as if he would die at any moment, but simultaneously he exuded the aura of a true master.

Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, one master from each of the Human, Demon, and Monster Race sat.

City Lord Ao Gu was a master from the Demon Race, while Vice City Lords Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao belonged to the Human Race and Monster Race respectively; all three of them were Saint Realm powerhouses.

Every three years, one master from each of the Three Clans would compete and the winner would become the new City Lord while the other two would hold Vice City Lord positions.  Together, they would be in charge of Floating Clouds City.

At this moment, the Three Clans masters were discussing an important matter.  The Thousand Year Demon Flower was about to bloom, and Floating Clouds City was becoming overcrowded, so they needed to deploy more security personal to guard against any chaos which might occur, lest it bring trouble to Floating Clouds City’s peace.

Moreover, during this critical period, they had to ensure there were no Saint Realm masters within a hundred kilometer radius of Floating Clouds City.

The Thousand Year Demon Flower was the symbol of Floating Clouds City and the foundation of its prosperity.  Every thousand years, as the time of the Demon Flower’s blossoming approached; many people would come to pay homage to Ascending Heaven Cliff.  This influx of people brought many benefits to the city.

Because of this, these three were treating the situation very seriously.  Making sure that when the time came for the Demon Flower to bloom, it would not be disturbed by the aura of any Saint Realm master.

As they were talking though, a Monster Race guard hurried in and cupped his fists respectfully, “City Lord Ao Gu, there is an old man outside the mansion who requests to see you!”

“An old man?” Ao Gu frowned and waved his hand impatiently, “I won’t see him, ask him to leave.”

The guard however didn’t immediately depart, hesitating for a moment before saying, “But Sir, he said that he knows Senior Ao Si, and said that I must hand this to you.”

Ao Gu’s expression changed dramatically as he quickly stood up and said, “He knows my grandfather?”

Furrowing his brow, Ao Gu asked, “What is this thing?  Give it to me.”

The guard hastily offered a small token which Ao Gu quickly snatched after only a single glance, his expression undergoing another earth-shaking change, his brow wrinkling deeply as he was trying hard to recall something, a moment later putting the token away and turning to Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao, “Brothers, pardon me for ending things here for today, it seems I must meet this individual.”

“City Lord need not be so polite,” Zhou Liang nodded lightly.

After Ao Gu left, Jin Jiao stared at the door thoughtfully, a moment later saying, “Brother Li, since this old man is acquainted with Ao Gu’s grandfather, doesn’t that mean he must be around a thousand years old?”

Zhou Liang gave him a curious glance, “In this world, aren’t there a number of old monsters around that age?”

Jin Jiao grinned meaningfully and continued, “There are indeed many, but masters who have relationships with Ao Gu’s family aren’t many.  I don’t know if Brother Li noticed that what the guard took out was Ao Gu’s family’s highest level token. Only those who have made huge contributions to his family are eligible to hold them.  As far as I can remember, Ao Gu’s family to date has only issued three such tokens, two to Demon Race masters who now belong to their family, and one to a Human Race master.”

“The one who has come is from the Human Race!” Zhou Liang concluded as he did not feel a strong Demonic Qi from outside the mansion.

“This issue is quite big then,” Jin Jiao’s expression deepened.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you know of any Human Race master that could possess Ao Gu’s family’s highest level token?”

Zhou Liang thought for a moment before quickly replying, “To be able to receive such a token from Ao Gu’s family, this Human master must be truly extraordinary.”

The Human, Demon, and Monster Race’s divisions ran quite deep; the Three Clans basically did not interact with each other except for in the neutral territory.  Ao Gu’s family was also not a small force. Any Human Race master that could make a huge contribution to such a family must possess a supreme status and identity.

“Brother Jin, I happen to know some rumors regarding this, if you are unaware, how about I inform you?”

Jin Jiao glanced around before moving slightly closer to Zhou Liang and whispered a few words.

Hearing these few words though, Zhou Liang’s expression changed dramatically, “Are you serious?”

“Indeed,” Jin Jiao nodded firmly.

“If it is really him…” Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao only exchanged a single glance before neither of them could sit still anymore, both of them quickly standing up and chasing after Ao Gu.

Outside the City Lord’s Mansion, Ao Gu hurriedly rushed over.  After seeing the old man in front of him, he was dumbstruck and only recovered after quite some time.  Hastily cupping his fists and bowing, he respectfully said, “Junior Ao Gu did not expect that it was truly old Sir who had come and was thus negligent in welcoming old Sir. Please forgive this Junior.”

The several guards outside the mansion almost had their eyes pop out of their sockets.

The Demon Race was known for the savageness and no master from the Demon Race would ever bow to others easily, this was a well-known matter, but now, Ao Gu had completely acted outside their expectations.  None of the guards present had ever seen their City Lord greet any powerhouse so humbly and respectfully.

Moreover, this master was Human!

Just what kind of status did this old man have that could allow their City Lord to willingly assume the position of a junior and bow his head?

All of the guards instantly found themselves at a loss.

The old man however just smiled lightly, “I have not seen you for many years, the young man from back then has really grown up, it’s quite commendable that you still even remember my appearance.  En, good, how is Ao Si now?”

Ao Gu’s expression sank somewhat as he replied low-spiritedly, “My grandfather died nearly a hundred years ago.”

Hearing this, the old man sighed slightly, “My old friends have already departed, leaving behind only my old bones, haa…”

“Senior is too modest; Senior’s continued existence is the good fortune to the Human, Demon, and Monster Races.”

“Heh heh, growing old isn’t always a blessing,” The old man slowly shook his head.

“This little brother is…” Ao Gu’s gaze landed on the young man beside the old man suspiciously.

“Junior Di Yao greets Senior, I am Master’s disciple!” The young man respectfully performed a Junior’s greeting as he reported his identity.

Ao Gu’s eyes immediately lit up as his expression became excited, “Has Senior accepted a disciple?”

The old man nodded, “My time is quickly approaching, so I decided to find someone to pass down my legacy to.  This child’s aptitude is good, so I kept him by my side in order to teach him.”

“Young man, you are very lucky, being able to worship a character like Senior as your Master, I’m afraid that no one in this world would not envy you,” Ao Gu replied solemnly.

After a quick examination, Ao Gu also noticed that this young man named Di Yao was actually not human, but was instead from the Monster Race!

It was just that the Monster Qi inside this youth’s body was perfectly hidden, if the gap in their strength wasn’t so massive Ao Gu would not have been able to tell.

Ao Gu secretly nodded in praise, thinking that this Senior’s heart was truly open-minded; born a Human, yet actually receiving a Monster Race youth as his legacy disciple, this would be impossible for almost anyone else.  Perhaps, in this Senior’s mind, there was no difference between Human, Demon, or Monster in the first place, they were all simply living beings of this world.

It was also because of this Senior’s unique viewpoint that he could gain the respect of the entire world.

At this moment, Ao Gu felt a profound sense of respect.

As they spoke, Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao also rushed out of the City Lord’s Mansion and arrived in front of the old man, cupping their fists and bowing, “Greetings, Senior.”

“You two should be Vice City Lords Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao of Floating Clouds City, yes?”  The old man smiled slightly.

“Senior’s eyes are indeed sharp,” Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao straightened their backs and replied heartily, seemingly quite flattered that such an important master actually recognized them.

“En, very good,” The old man nodded repeatedly, “Under your three’s jurisdiction, Floating Clouds City is very prosperous, it seems that you have put in a lot of effort.  If there were more people like you in this world, able to abandon the barriers which separate the Three Clans, it would truly be good. A time when the whole world can live as one family, this old master doesn’t know whether he will be able to see such a scene in his lifetime.”

“Junior will definitely work hard towards such a future,” Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao quickly stated, “Although we do not dare say anything about the outside world, but in this Floating Clouds City, Senior can definitely witness such a scene.”

“Hoho, then this old master looks forward to it,” The old man smiled lightly.

“Senior, let us talk inside,” Ao Gu hastily invited the old man into the City Lord’s Mansion, as if he wasn’t willing to let Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao continue monopolizing the conversation with this profound master.

The old man nodded slightly and strode forward with the help of the young man named Di Yao.

Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao also hurriedly kept up, thinking about whether or not to take this opportunity to ask this Senior to refine them some Saint Pills.

Inside the mansion, Ao Gu threw a banquet for the old man and Di Yao, serving many fine wines and rare spirit fruits along with numerous other delicacies.

The old man only tasted a few spirit fruits before stopping while on the other hand, Di Yao gorged himself as if his belly was a bottomless pit.

Zhou Liang and Jin Jiao also put down their status and identities and frequently toasted with Di Yao.

After three rounds of wine, Ao Gu asked, “Senior, have you come this time for the Thousand Year Demon Flower?”

“En,” The old man nodded lightly, “But you can rest assured that I will not break the existing tradition or harm everyone’s interests.  My most important reason for coming this time is to allow this youngster to see more of the world.”

“We naturally trust Senior’s character,” Ao Gu nodded repeatedly.

Given this old man’s present status, if he really needed the Thousand Year Demon Flower’s medicinal essence, he only needed to say a few words and no one else would compete with him over it.  At that time, the Thousand Year Demon Flower on Ascending Heaven Cliff would undoubtedly land in his hands.

“My coming here today is not for much, I just wish to ensure the safety of my disciple.  This old master doesn’t want to worry about finding another legacy successor.”

“Senior can rest assured that in Floating Clouds City, Junior swears upon his life that no one will harm little brother Di Yao!” Ao Gu replied firmly.

“Then I shall be troubling you.  En, in exchange, I can help you three people each refine a Saint Pill.”

As soon as this statement came out, the faces of Ao Gu and the others lit up, each of them exchanging a joyous glance before hurriedly making their request.