Martial Peak

Chapter 1577, Past Events

Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang smoothly entered the palace.

After such an overt display back in the main hall, everyone knew about the close relationship between Yang Kai and Shan Qing Luo, causing a great deal of jealousy amongst the Monster Race masters who were cursing Yang Kai for his luck in love.

Inside a luxurious guest room, Shan Qing Luo brought Bi Luo to visit Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang.

Just now, there had been too many people around so Shan Qing Luo had not said very much, but now that she had an opportunity, she would naturally speak with him at length.

Although Yang Kai already learned a lot from Bi Luo inside the Emperor Garden, there were plenty of details he wasn’t clear about. After talking with Shan Qing Luo, however, Yang Kai understood that after this enchantress arrived on Monster Emperor Star, she had experienced a lot of hardship.

From the start, she was extremely beautiful and naturally charming, and when she came to Monster Emperor Star, her strength was not high, so she became the target of many unscrupulous men.

If not for her bumping into Red Moon Tribal Lord coincidentally and being accepted as the latter’s adopted daughter, Shan Qing Luo did not even want to think about what her fate would have been.

Therefore, she was very grateful to Red Moon Tribal Lord. Moreover, since accepting her as an adopted daughter, Chi Yue had treated her very well, a fact which was obvious just by looking at Shang Qing Luo’s status in Red Moon Territory. For those who did not already know the truth, they would most likely assume she was a pure-blood Monster Race.

A human being able to hold such a position in Red Moon Territory was a testament to Red Moon Tribal Lord’s vision.

After hearing what Shan Qing Luo said, Yang Kai also felt some admiration towards this Red Moon Tribal Lord he had never met before.

“In short, Adoptive Mother is very good to me. Also, because I refined the Source of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, I can no longer be considered purely human, but I’m not a member of the Monster Race either,” Shan Qing Luo said with a light smile.

“What are you then?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.

“En, I’m what is known as a Half-Monster. There is a special group on Monster Emperor Star that are considered Half-Monsters, but their status is only slightly higher than humans.”

“Half-Monsters…” Yang Kai was stunned.

“En, these Half-Monsters were born from the union of the Monster and Human Race and are not recognized by humans or accepted by the Monster Race, so their status is quite awkward,” Shan Qing Luo casually explained.

“A union between Human and Monster Race? Is such a thing allowed on Monster Emperor Star?”

“Of course it’s not allowed. Monster Emperor Star is different from other Cultivation Stars in that the Monster Race is supreme, so how could they tolerate their blood being contaminated by humans? However, sometimes love between two people does not follow the common sense of the world around them or care about its disdain. That’s why a special group like Half-Monsters exists,” Shan Qing Luo said lightly, “To be honest, I quite admire those people. For example, Senior Ba He who came with you… he experienced such matters.”

“Do you know about Ba He?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.

“En, I didn’t know about it originally, but I heard some things from Yu Xiong recently.”

“Do tell, I’m also quite curious about the old man,” Yang Kai asked quickly. He had heard a lot of rumours about Ba He back in Shimmering Moon City and the strength he had displayed was indeed extraordinary, so Yang Kai had some interest in him.

Shan Qing Luo didn’t know much, but the reason why Ba He had remained hidden in Shimmering Moon City for two hundred years, even changing his appearance and concealing his cultivation, was truly related to a human woman.

Ba He had been the strongest general under Red Moon Tribal Lord for several hundred years and his aptitude was extremely high. He had long reached the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, and with his attainments in Shi, no other Origin Returning Realm master was his match.

For a time, he was known as the first master under the Origin King Realm on Monster Emperor Star.

He was also the most likely candidate on all of Monster Emperor Star to break through to the Origin King Realm! Once he reached that realm, it would mean that he could stand on equal footing with Chi Yue and become a powerful existence at the level of the other Tribal Lords.

But Ba He suddenly fell deeply in love with a human woman at first sight…

The Monster Race rejected the union between ordinary Humans and Monsters, so how could a future star like Ba He be allowed to engage in such behaviour? The resistance he encountered was naturally far greater than normal, especially from Red Moon Tribal Lord, a fact that made Ba He even more miserable.

If things really continued to develop like this, with Ba He’s arrogant temperament back then, it was highly likely he would turn his back on the whole Monster Race! At that point, he would definitely become the target of public scorn across all of Monster Emperor Star.

Red Moon Tribal Lord also had a terrible headache about this problem. Naturally, she did not want to see her most powerful general be forced into such a desperate situation.

Out of respect for his talent, she was even prepared to accept the fact Ba He wanted to be together with that human woman.

After all, although the two races could not openly fraternize with one another, it was perfectly normal for some Monster Race masters to keep a few human beauties. Which Monster Race master’s mansion didn’t have some beautiful human toys? Everyone was well aware of this reality but also made sure not to mention it in public.

As long as Ba He could really break through to the Origin King Realm, him being together with a human woman wasn’t a matter of consequence.

However, before Chi Yue could clearly explain her position to Ba He, a tragedy occurred.

The Human Race woman Ba He was in love with actually experienced a deviation in her cultivation when attempting to break through a Minor Realm and died…

Ba He, who learned the news, was both deeply saddened and infuriated.

He could not help thinking that the reason why his beloved woman inexplicably experienced deviation in her cultivation was because Red Moon Tribal Lord had secretly meddled with her somehow.

In a rage, Ba He ran amok on Half-Moon Mountain before storming into Chi Yue’s private chambers to confront her.

No one knew what happened that day, but when Lady Chi Yue came out, she announced that for his crimes of disrespect and disobedience, Ba He had been executed by her.

For the next two hundred years, there were no news of Ba He.

Only recently had he taken the initiative to show himself in Shimmering Moon City.

“So… Red Moon Tribal Lord didn’t kill Ba He but let him go?” Yang Kai postulated.

“Most likely,” Shan Qing Luo nodded lightly, “Adoptive Mother is a master at the Second-Order Origin King Realm, if she really wanted to kill Ba He, he would definitely be dead. There is no way he could have escaped with his life.”

Yang Kai nodded gently.

“Yang Kai…” Shan Qing Luo suddenly called out softly.

“Hm?”

“Do you think… that human woman’s cultivation deviation and death were really related to Adoptive Mother?”

“How would I know? I’m afraid that no one but those who were directly involved know what happened more than two hundred years ago,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, but upon seeing the worried look on Shan Qing Luo’s face, his brow furrowed and he couldn’t help asking, “What are you worried about?”

Shan Qing Luo slowly shook her head and with a forced smile said, “Nothing. Right, you must be careful of that Mi Tian, I heard that you had a little conflict with him in Shimmering Moon City. Mi Tian is incredibly prideful so after offending him, he will never forgive you.”

“Don’t worry, he can’t do anything to me,” Yang Kai smiled proudly.

The two continued chatting for some time before Shan Qing Luo got up and left.

“Junior Brother, what are we going to do next?” Xia Ning Chang asked softly after Shan Qing Luo was gone.

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Yang Kai smiled awkwardly. He had been trying his best to enter the palace to see how Shan Qing Luo was doing, so now that he was certain she was doing well and learned just how high her status was, he naturally relaxed.

“Then do you want to take Elder Sister Qing Luo away?” Xia Ning Chang asked.

“I don’t know, but I think it’s best if we see what she wants first. In fact, I think it would be best for her to remain here; after all, Monster Emperor Star’s environment is extremely beneficial to her cultivation and future development!”

“En,” Xia Ning Chang gently nodded.

After hearing about Ba He, she immediately understood that if Yang Kai really insisted on taking Shan Qing Luo away, it would be difficult. No one knew whether the death of that human woman who Ba He fell in love with had anything to do with Red Moon Tribal Lord, but if it really was the result of Red Moon Tribal Lord’s secret machinations…

Xia Ning Chang understood why Shan Qing Luo showed a worried look just now, she was clearly afraid that history would repeat itself but with Yang Kai as the victim this time.

For the future of her adopted daughter, Red Moon Tribal Lord would not mind the death of a single human man.

“However, since we’re already here, we should do our best to acquire as many unique materials as possible,” Yang Kai said while looking towards Xia Ning Chang with a smile, “We’ll need to rely on you for this, Little Senior Sister.”

…..

Shan Qing Luo left the guest room before taking Bi Luo straight to Chi Yue’s private palace.

Shan Qing Luo was highly regarded by Chi Yue and was being cultivated as her future successor, so no one would dare to stop her from walking around in the palace. All the Monster Race cultivators who saw her bowed to show their respect when she passed by them.

Arriving outside Chi Yue’s chambers, Shan Qing Luo found a man with a bear-like waist and strong, burly back, giving him an impressive stature like an iron tower. This man was standing outside the Chi Yue’s palace with a furrowed brow as he leaned forward slightly, as if listening to something stealthily.

“Yu Xiong!” Shan Qing Luo walked up and shouted.

Hearing the shout, Yu Xiong quickly turned around and put a finger to his lips.

“What are you doing acting all sneaky in front of Adoptive Mother’s residence? You’d best be careful not to get caught or Adoptive Mother will certainly punish you,” Shan Qing Luo frowned, staring at him as she reprimanded him.

“Senior Ba He is being tortured inside, listen!” Yu Xiong pointed inside and gossiped with an interested expression on his face.

Shan Qing Luo was surprised at first, but after listening carefully, she could hear a series of terrible cries from inside the palace.

Shan Qing Luo couldn’t help paling slightly as she asked in surprise, “Does that mean Adoptive Mother refuses to forgive Senior Ba He?”

Although she had never met Ba He, Ba He and her situation were somewhat similar, so if Red Moon Tribal Lord refused to let off Ba He, then her and Yang Kai’s future prospects would certainly be dim.

Ba He’s experience and situation were something Shan Qing Luo could learn from to help predict her own future, so it was only natural for her to become nervous when she heard the screams Ba He was making from being tortured inside.

It was as if Shan Qing Luo could see Yang Kai being tortured by her Adoptive Mother…

“I don’t know, Adoptive Mother has always been amiable and seldom gets angry. Most of the time she will only warn, instruct, or reprimand when someone makes a mistake, rather than punishing them severely. Senior Ba He being tortured so miserably this time must be because Adoptive Mother is truly enraged,” Yu Xiong quickly waxed as he continued to perk up his ears to spy on what was happening inside.

Shan Qing Luo’s expression, of course, darkened even more upon hearing this as the worries in her heart grew slightly stronger and she began thinking hard about what she should say when she met with her Adoptive Mother.