The market square was very large, and a canyon that was more than a dozen kilometers long was almost entirely the territory of the market square. On both sides of the canyon, there were many shops, and there were countless cultivators coming and going, all of them shouting loudly.
This was a square owned by the Plain Palace. All the shops here belonged to the Plain Palace, and there were also some disciples who had set up shop here, selling all kinds of goods. Although it was usually quite lively, it wasn’t so lively.
The main reason for this was because the Martial Meeting had opened recently. Tens of thousands of cultivators from the Southern Domain had gathered here, so naturally, some people had come back to take a stroll. Before Yang Kai could descend, he saw many cultivators dressed in different attires and wearing the same robes as the disciples from various Sects.
In fact, every great Sect had a market like this one, and the Azure Sun Temple also had one, but Yang Kai had never seen it before, so it was probably not too bad.
When they landed in front of the market, Yu Zhuo and Yang Kai didn’t stop and directly walked in. Women were naturally interested in such a lively place, so they were naturally cheerful and lively. After arriving here, she smiled happily and walked with her hands behind her back while looking at Yang Kai, “What does Senior want to buy?”
Although she was walking backwards, it was as if she had eyes on her back, occasionally shaking her shoulders to avoid the crowd.
“Buy some seeds,” Yang Kai looked around.
He had decided to come here at the last minute to buy some seeds, mainly because the demand of Mu Zhu and Mu Lu had been too great recently. Although he had exchanged some of them at the Exchange last time, it was simply not enough for them to use. When he had delivered the seeds, the two Wood Spirits had told him to get as many as possible.
Previously, he had not thought that there was a market here, but now that he knew about it, he decided to make a trip here.
“Seed?” Yu Zhuo was a bit stunned, seemingly not having expected Yang Kai to come here for this. After thinking for a moment, she said, “I know where it is. Senior, please follow me.”
Saying so, she turned around and dove into the crowd like a fish swimming in water. Although Yang Kai was neither fast nor slow, he didn’t fall too far behind.
Soon, the two of them arrived in front of a shop that sold herbs. Normally, this kind of shop would sell some seeds, but the quantity was definitely not high.
In fact, this was indeed the case. Under Yu Zhuo’s questioning, the shopkeeper took out some seeds and Yang Kai examined them for a moment, but he didn’t mind and simply bought them before leaving.
Who would have thought that Yu Zhuo would actually haggle with the shopkeeper, forcing the price down by one-fifth, making Yang Kai laugh.
When it was time to pay the bill, Yu Zhuo would also rush over, so how could Yang Kai allow her to do this? Naturally, he didn’t agree.
After leaving this shop, Yu Zhuo led Yang Kai to the next shop, seemingly quite familiar with this place.
After half a day, Yang Kai had reached the end of the ten-kilometer market, and his harvest was quite good. Although the seeds he had bought weren’t too precious, the two Wood Spirits didn’t ask for too much and just let them try planting them.
“What else does Senior want to buy?” Yu Zhuo blinked at him.
“Not at the moment,” Yang Kai smiled and looked at her, “You still have to compete with someone tomorrow, go back to rest early, i have trouble you today.”
Yu Zhuo smiled as her eyes curved into crescents, “It’s no trouble, no trouble at all. If Senior has any other instructions in the future, please feel free to ask.” After pausing for a moment, she said, “Then I’ll take my leave first. Senior, you should go back and rest early.”
Yang Kai nodded, and Yu Zhuo flew up into the sky. On the way back, she glanced back at Yang Kai and waved her hand.
Watching her leave, Yang Kai weighed the beast skin pouch in his hand and stuffed it into the Mysterious Small World before placing it in front of the medicine garden. He believed that Mu Zhu and Mu Lu would be able to discover it, so he turned around and flew towards the Spirit Peak where the Azure Sun Temple was.
The news that Rakshasa Sect’s Yu Zhuo had come to find Yang Kai spread like wildfire among the people of Azure Sun Temple. Murong Xiaoxiao deliberately came to ask about it, as if there was some kind of unspeakable relationship between Yang Kai and Yu Zhuo, making Yang Kai somewhat speechless.
Even Gao Xueting’s gaze towards him was somewhat strange, not to mention Xiao Baiyi, who wore a look of disdain, causing Yang Kai to become somewhat angry.
The following days were still quite ordinary. Every few days, Yang Kai would come out of seclusion and go to the mountain valley to be the judge. As time passed, more cultivators were eliminated. Those who could continue to stand on the stage all had some ability.
During this time, Yu Zhuo once again stood on stage number eight while her opponent was still a 3rd order Principle Source Stage cultivator. This battle was even more difficult than the one on the first day, but Yu Zhuo’s ability to adapt at the critical moment had managed to resolve the situation and force her opponent off the stage.
However, Yang Kai also saw that although Yu Zhuo’s ability was not bad, it was difficult for her to enter the top ten. Her cultivation was her biggest weakness. If she also had a 3rd order Principle Source Stage cultivation, she would definitely be able to enter the top five in this Martial Meeting.
Yang Kai didn’t go to the Emperor Realm Exchange anymore. In any case, he didn’t have anything good to offer. Instead, it was Gao Xueting who came back to deliver a message to him. Many of the Emperor Realm wanted to exchange Emperor Pills from him for a price he could offer himself.
Yang Kai didn’t pay any attention to them. That day, exchanging Emperor Pills for seeds was a simple matter, so how could he possibly offer more Emperor Pills to attract others’ attention?
On the twentieth day of the Martial Meeting, the results of the individual battles were announced.
The one who won first place was not a disciple of Azure Sun Temple or even a disciple of one of the three great forces, but a member of the Eight Directions Sect.
Yang Kai recognized this person. She was none other than the beloved daughter of the previous Sect Master of the Eight Directions Sect, Su Zi. This was a huge blow to the Three Great Factions, causing them to lose face.
Yang Kai had never interacted with Su Zi before, he only knew that she had a special affection for Luo Yuan. When Yang Kai refined the Extreme Mysterious Pill in the Four Seasons Land, Su Zi had asked Yang Kai to exchange for one. She had wanted to give it to Luo Yuan to help him ascend to the Emperor Realm as soon as possible, but Luo Yuan didn’t appreciate it, instead directly stuffing the Extreme Mysterious Pill into her mouth and forcing her to consume it.
After so many years, Su Zi’s cultivation had also reached the peak of the 3rd order Principle Source Stage. With the help of the Extreme Mysterious Pill from back then, it wasn’t difficult for her to break through to the Emperor Realm. This time, she was able to suppress the tens of thousands of young talents of the Southern Domain and bring glory to the Eight Directions Sect.
Because of this, the Eight Directions Sect once again entered the eyes of many masters.
In fact, ever since Luo Yuan had broken through to the Emperor Realm, the Eight Directions Sect was no longer the small sect it once was. Its influence had expanded greatly, and Luo Yuan had taken over the position of Sect Master.
This time, Su Zi had also taken first place in the Martial Meeting, so it was easy to imagine how great of an honor it had brought to the Eight Directions Sect. Currently, the Eight Directions Sect’s foundation was only a bit lacking, with only Luo Yuan, an Emperor Realm, holding down the fort. But in time, when he and Su Zi fully matured, they would inevitably lead the Eight Directions Sect to prosperity.
It had to be known that the prize for the Martial Meeting’s first place was to cultivate in the Secret Territory of the Three Great Sects. Coupled with the Extreme Mysterious Pill, it was likely that Su Zi would be able to break through to the Emperor Realm after she came out of seclusion. This was truly a cause for envy.
The second place was the Azure Sun Temple’s Xue Yi, who didn’t disappoint and managed to suppress the participating disciples from Plain Palace and Heavenly Martial Holy Land.
The third place was a member of Plain Palace. This time, Heavenly Martial Holy Land had no chance of entering the top three, and the leading Elder wore a distressed expression, probably not knowing how to report back to his Sect. In the back rows, most of the disciples from the Great Sects were ranked near the top, demonstrating the strength of the Great Sects.
The individual battles had come to an end, and the remaining ten days were the group battles.
The competition venue was still the same mountain valley. Several hundred Emperor Realm had spent a day to dismantle the hundreds of rings, dividing the entire mountain valley into more than a dozen regions, each of which could accommodate more than a hundred people.
In an individual battle, the referee only needed one, but in a group battle, the referee needed five people to ensure that no one died.
Naturally, Yang Kai was also summoned. Just like before, everyone took turns to act as referees, taking turns every three days.
In order to compete for the group battle’s ranking, all the disciples from the various families had fought with all their might on the battlefield, using all kinds of methods and schemes, causing everyone to gasp in amazement. It was truly difficult to imagine that this group of people would resort to any means to obtain the ranking.
However, this was not surprising. The rankings were related to the face of the various Sects, so who would dare not put in effort?
The people from Azure Sun Temple were all elites. Regardless of their individual ranking, they were invincible in the group battles. In the first few days, they were completely unable to meet their opponents, and it was only when they met the disciples of the other two top Sects that they began fighting fiercely.
On this day, Yang Kai was meditating again when a maid came to inform him that Yu Zhuo wanted to see him.
Ever since Yu Zhuo had come here that day, she would come here every few days for a legitimate reason, mainly to deliver seeds to Yang Kai.
When she saw that Yang Kai was interested in the seeds in the market, she asked her fellow disciples to collect them before sending them to him.
She had already sent it three times, so although it wasn’t expensive, Yang Kai still felt that something was wrong.
The way this woman looked at him gradually became a bit clingy. Yang Kai wasn’t a greenhorn, so how could he not understand what she was thinking? Perhaps the way he had saved her the first day had planted something in her heart, and after these past few days of contact, it had begun to take root.
Although she had carefully concealed it, Yang Kai was not blind, so how could he not see it?
Yang Kai felt that it was necessary to have a good talk with her. Right now, he really didn’t want to provoke any more women, and he still hadn’t figured out his relationship with Ji Yao, so he asked the maid to bring her in.
Not long after, a head popped out from the door and Yu Zhuo grinned, “Senior, I hope I didn’t disturb you?” After a few interactions, she found that Yang Kai didn’t put on any airs and was quite familiar with him.
“Since you’re already here, so what if you disturb me?” Yang Kai looked at her angrily. After a few interactions, they had become much more familiar with each other.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak