Martial Peak

Chapter 2666, Treasures Provoke Jealousy

Translator: Silavin & Danny

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

This person seemed to have kindly warned Yang Kai for the sake of that High-Rank Source Crystal.

Yang Kai was dumbfounded, however.

A year ago, he brought the three Monster Kings to destroy the Seeking Passion Sect, but he did not expect that Thousand Leaves Sect would also be destroyed at the same time.

He happened to encounter the long-lost Chi Yue, Gui Zu, Ai Ou, and others during that time when he was invited by Ye Jing Han, the daughter of Thousand Leaves Sect’s Sect Master in Maplewood City to Thousand Leaves Sect to repair their hidden Space Array and restore their connection to a Small Sealed World which contained their lost inheritance.

Yang Kai was not well connected with the Thousand Leaves Sect, so they meant little to him personally, but Chi Yue and the others were in the Thousand Leaves Sect so that made all the difference.

Now that the Thousand Leaves Sect was wiped out, what happened to Chi Yue and the others?

Yang Kai had tight bonds with those who came to the Star Boundary from Heng Luo Star Field with him. Chi Yue was Shan Qing Luo’s adoptive mother, so she was considered to be his mother-in-law; Ai Ou was Xue Yue’s father, his father-in-law, Gui Zu was the Supreme Elder of his High Heaven Sect, and the two of them had been through many life-and-death experiences together. The only one he was less familiar with was Gu Cang Yun, the Union Master of Sword Union…

Yang Kai’s face was scrunched up at the sudden bad news, and terrifying murderous intent instantly diffused into the air as he stared at this unknown man, “Are you lying to me?”

The expression of the man who initially did not pay much attention to Yang Kai changed drastically when he felt Yang Kai’s aura, yelping in amazement, “Emperor Realm!”

He did not expect this young man who stopped to ask for directions was actually an Emperor Realm Master. Had he known this, he would not dare have spoken so carelessly just now.

The cold murderous intent as thick as substance lingered next to him, making him feel like he could die at any moment, so he could not help but sweat profusely and stutter, “S-S-Sir… this lowly one isn’t lying! The Thousand Leaves Sect is really gone, everyone in the Southern Territory knows this!”

“Bullshit!” Yang Kai grabbed his neck and lifted him up.

There were a million and one large and small Sects in the Star Boundary, so how could the news of the extermination of a second-class Sect like Thousand Leaves Sect, which had essentially no fame or influence, cause such commotion? Only the destruction of top Sects like the Seeking Passion Sect would turn an entire territory into an uproar.

To put it even more bluntly, the destruction of Thousand Leaves Sect would just be like a stone dropped into the vast ocean of the Southern Territory, causing some small local ripples at most that would immediately dissipate.

This was why Yang Kai instinctively felt that this man was lying.

Being grabbed by the neck, the person was struggling to breathe, but to no avail.

“Young Master Yang!” Ying Fei cautioned from the side, aware that Yang Kai’s mood was greatly affected while also realizing that this Thousand Leaves Sect should have an extremely important place in Yang Kai’s heart.

Yang Kai frowned and quickly realized he had lost control of his emotions. He loosened his grip and set the man down before quickly ordering, “Tell me everything you know. I won’t mistreat you if you are really telling the truth.”

The man choked and sputtered for a long time, tears running down his cheeks, but he did not dare to show any irritation. When he finally caught his breath after a while, “Sir, what… What do you want to know?”

The Emperor Realm Master in front of him seemed to be subject to shifting mood, so he did not dare to try to guess his thoughts and could only inquire carefully.

“Who destroyed the Thousand Leaves Sect?” Yang Kai asked in a deep voice.

“I heard that they angered the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect.”

“Flowing Shadow Sword Sect!” Yang Kai frowned, trying to recall where he had heard about this Sect.

After thinking carefully, he eventually remembered that it was in the Four Seasons Realm that he had encountered some disciples from the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect. In Yang Kai’s impression, this Sect was not a first-class Sect with considerable strength.

“Why did the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect annihilate Thousand Leaves Sect?” Yang Kai pressed on, “What deep grievances did the two have with each other?”

The man hurriedly replied, “There was no deep hatred, but the treasures of Thousand Leaves Sect provoked jealousy!”

A thought flashed across Yang Kai’s mind as he quickly guessed, “The Heaven Grade Puppets?”

The so-called Heaven Grade Puppets were the core inheritance of Thousand Leaves Sect from thousands of years ago. Back then, while Thousand Leaves Sect’s inheritance was intact, its Ancestors had profound attainments in the Dao of Puppets and had refined a dozen or so Heaven Grade Puppets for the Sect. Every Heaven Grade Puppet was comparable to an Emperor Realm Master.

The Thousand Leaves Sect in its heyday was also a top Sect in the Southern Territory, renowned throughout the Star Boundary.

However, its descendants were too mediocre and were unable to carry forward the glory of their ancestors. Their reputation declined from generation to generation, and Thousand Leaves Sect was eventually reduced to a mere third-class Sect, with most of its knowledge of Puppet Arts being lost to history.

Fortunately, Yang Kai had repaired their hidden Space Array last time, reopening their exclusive Small Sealed World and allowing them to retrieve their long-lost Secret Techniques, enabling them to reactivate the Heaven Grade Puppets.

Liu Yan’s current body was also obtained from that Small Sealed World. If it were not for that opportunity, Liu Yan would still have no physical form of her own.

The man nodded his head earnestly at Yang Kai’s mention of the Heaven Grade Puppet, “Exactly. It turns out that Sir also knows about the Thousand Leaves Sect’s Heaven Grade Puppets. In the past few years, Thousand Leaves Sect regained control of its lost inheritance for some reason, the Heaven Grade Puppets, which had been sealed for many years. The Flowing Shadow Sword Sect seemed to be quite interested in these treasures and launched a war to destroy the Thousand Leaves Sect.”

“That’s it?” Yang Kai’s face darkened and looked ugly.

The man smiled bitterly, “The world revolves around benefits and profits. It’s hard not to attract people’s attention given that the Thousand Leaves Sect’s Sect Master was only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator while he and his Sect possessed multiple Heaven Grade Puppets that were comparable to Emperor Realm Masters.”

It was true. If there was an Emperor assuming command of the Thousand Leaves Sect, it would still be acceptable for them to control Heaven Grade Puppets comparable to Emperor Realm cultivators, but the Thousand Leaves Sect’s Sect Master Ye Hen was nothing but a Third-Order Dao Source Realm, so it was inevitable for others to feel he was unworthy of the Heaven Grade Puppets.

After pondering for a while though, Yang Kai interrogated coldly, “The Thousand Leaves Sect had over ten Heaven Grade Puppets, each having strength comparable to an Emperor Realm Master. How could the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect so easily destroy them?”

He knew the capabilities of those Heaven Grade Puppets because Liu Yan owned a White Tiger Heaven Grade Puppet, which could exert a combat power comparable to a First-Order Emperor Realm Master. Although the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect was good, it was not a top Sect of the Southern Territory, so how could it be possible for them to overwhelm such a formidable force so easily?

The man laughed wryly, “I really don’t know, everyone found this point strange as well. The Heaven Grade Puppets from the Thousand Leaves Sect were probably not as powerful as the rumours claimed them to be.”

This was also true in a sense. Although each Heaven Grade Puppet was powerful, it required a human to control it, and since there was no Emperor Realm Master in Thousand Leaves Sect, the full potential of any Heaven Grade Puppet couldn’t be displayed. However, Yang Kai had a feeling that the matter was not as simple as it seemed.

“What happened to the disciples of Thousand Leaves Sect after it was destroyed?” Yang Kai asked anxiously.

The man replied, “Some died, some escaped. I’m afraid not many survived, but I heard that some of them were captured, and among those who were captured there was actually a Star Master of a Lower Star Field!”

“Is that true?” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed brightly.

The man gave a wry laugh, “I would not dare to deceive Sir. Many people in the Star Boundary originally came from Lower Star Fields, but only a small minority of them are Star Masters. It is said that to become a Star Master, one needs to refine a Star Source, but I don’t know how that guy was fortunate enough to get a complete Star Source. Although that person’s cultivation was not high, he had a bright future. This is also information that was publicized by the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect. Otherwise, how would this have caused such an uproar in the Southern Territory?”

“Why are they trying to spread this news?” Yang Kai asked with a weird expression, his anxiety having calmed greatly.

The Star Master mentioned by this man was, if Yang Kai was not mistaken, Ai Ou.

Since Ai Ou was fine, Chi Yue and the others should be fine too. Of course, this was just the ideal outcome he was hoping for while it was possible that they had encountered some kind of accident.

“What else could they do? They are spreading the news to promote the auction Flowing Shadow Sword Sect is going to hold a month from now. They wanted to let it be widely known so they could sell off the Heaven Grade Puppets of Thousand Leaves Sect and that Star Master at a high price.”

“Is a Star Master something that can be auctioned off?” Yang Kai was stunned.

The man laughed wryly again, “Sir must be joking. That Star Master has a complete Star Source inside of him, so if it can be extracted and transferred to a disciple with good aptitude, that disciple will have a boundless future and admirers will rush to him like flocks.”

After hearing what he said, Yang Kai suddenly recalled the time when he encountered Yin Le Sheng in the Starlight Corridor. Back then, Yin Le Sheng seemed to be extremely interested in the Star Source in his body, and even claimed that he had a Secret Technique that could extract and transfer it to another.

Now it seemed that Yin Le Sheng was not lying.

A complete Star Source played an extremely important role in the cultivation of a cultivator. In this case, Ai Ou’s life was currently not in danger, but Yang Kai was worried about Chi Yue and the others.

“In a month, Flowing Shadow City…” Yang Kai murmured to himself, already forming plans in his mind.

Now that the Thousand Leaves Sect had been wiped out, and it had already been a year since it happened, there was no need to rush to take action no matter how anxious he was. He could only wait for an opportunity.

“One last question. Where is Thousand Leaves Sect and where is Flowing Shadow City?” Yang Kai asked in a deep voice, looking at him intimidatingly.

That person dared not to disobey Yang Kai, and pointed in the two directions obediently.

He did not get a response for a long time, and turned to find that the young man had already disappeared. He felt like he had just escaped death and it was only then that he realized that his clothes were drenched in sweat, as if he was just fished out of a lake.

Up in the sky, Yang Kai and Ying Fei were speeding side by side like lightning.

Ying Fei did not dare to probe Yang Kai, who seemed to be in a bad mood, but secretly felt that someone was going to be in trouble now.

If Yang Kai dared to destroy a huge Sect like Seeking Passion Sect in the Northern Territory, this Flowing Shadow Sword Sect’s end would probably not be good.

After a long silence, Ying Fei finally commented, “Young Master Yang, I don’t know if it’s just me, but something feels off.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly, “I can feel it too. What are your thoughts?”

It was said that bystanders would have a clearer picture of the situation than the involved party. Yang Kai was too focused on inquiring about Thousand Leaves Sect, Chi Yue, and the others, and did not have the presence of mind to carefully consider all aspects of this situation. However, the cold wind whipping past them must have calmed him down, allowing him to notice many strange points.

Now that Ying Fei mentioned it, he immediately comprehended that he was already sceptical of the described scenario, feeling something was really off.

Ying Fei answered, “Since the Thousand Leaves Sect was wiped out a year ago, why wasn’t the auction held immediately? If hosting an auction to reap profits was the ultimate goal of all this, it should have been hosted a long time ago. Not only that, but this news seems to have been deliberately spread out as if they wanted to make sure it reaches someone, and they have been fermenting the news over the past year as if they were afraid that it would not reach their intended target.”