Martial Peak - Chapter 1075

Yang Kai really didn’t know how he managed to produce Pill Clouds.

When he was refining this last Burning Flame Pill, he had no distracting thoughts, nor did he feel any kind of pressure, he simply believed he would be successful.

When he finished the refinement though, Yang Kai clearly felt that a great deal of his vitality had been stripped away, leading to his current state of weakness.

In fact, had it not been for Yang Kai’s Demon supreme-ruler Golden Blood, making his vitality incredibly rich, this massive drainage would have killed him on the spot.

This Burning Flame Pill wasn’t anything like a pill at all, it was closer to a living creature!

That was also why it was so full of life and energy, startling Zong Ao greatly.

Although he had managed to succeed once, if Yang Kai was do another refinement now, he wouldn’t be able to succeed, because he had lost that indescribable sense of confidence and momentum.

After explaining his thoughts to Zong Ao in order to alleviate his emotional damage, the old man comforted himself by thinking all of this was due to Yang Kai entering some kind of ethereal state of enlightenment, allowing him to produce Pill Clouds.

Hundreds of years pursuing the Alchemic Way, yet finding himself inferior to a less than thirty years old Junior made Zong Ao feel like he had simply lived in vain, sending him in a spiral of shame and resentment.

Fortunately, though, his will was tough and he had many more years to live, there was plenty of time for Zong Ao to continue studying Alchemy.

Inside a palace at Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s branch, Yang Kai set Xue Yue down and fed her the Burning Flame Pill.  After making sure her vitality had stabilized, Yang Kai left her room.

After turning a few corners, Yang Kai saw Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and a number of others crowding around Zong Ao, praising and flattering him without end, extolling Zong Ao’s extraordinary skills and methods which had even allowed him to refine the legendary Pill Clouds, sincerely admiring him.

Some even going so far as to say the top-ranked Origin King Grade Alchemists in the Star Field couldn’t accomplish such a feat, saying that all of them were just a crowd of fame-seeking imposters who couldn’t compare to Zong Ao.

Zong Ao’s old face blushed bright redness as he withstood this barrage of flattery, wishing he could kick all these people out but lacking the energy to do so, only able to silently endure it.

Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the others in this group of blind idiots only felt Zong Ao wasn’t happy with their insufficient praise and began flattering him even more, causing the old man’s complexion to grow even worse.

Only after Yang Kai walked out did this group cease their unending stream of praise and shoot him a strange look.  Ha Li Ka even quietly gave him a big thumbs up with a look of admiration before patting Lin Mu Feng’s shoulder heartily and quickly departing.

The backs of these two straightening up much, as if a great weight had just been lifted from their shoulders.

Yang Kai walked over to Zong Ao with a confused look, wondering what they all meant when they shot him those looks.

“Boy, are you really willing to hand such huge benefits over to this old master?  You successfully refined a pill which formed Pill Clouds and are able to consistently produce Pill Veins at a rate of thirty to forty percent. With such skill, you can become one of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s most honoured guests, and no one would dare to provoke you.  You would be able to own your own territory, with as many servants and beauties as you want. You’d be able to enjoy the highest standards of treatment with things others would need to spend their entire lives fighting for at your fingertips. Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce would also go all out to cultivate you, allowing you to reach the highest heights in the shortest amount of time.  This old master can’t figure out why you didn’t tell them that Burning Flame Pill was refined by you and instead handed this undeserved credit over to this old master!” Zong Ao said slowly, picking up his cup of tea and taking a small sip.

Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and everyone else all thought that the Burning Flame Pill which had formed Pill Clouds was refined by Zong Ao, because Yang Kai had told them that was the case from the beginning, and even now Zong Ao had not corrected the record, causing all of them to be even more convinced this was the truth.

That was why they were all showering Zong Ao in compliments.

Yang Kai sat next to him, picked up the pot of tea and poured himself a cup, taking a sip before letting out a chuckle, “Old Zong, don’t feign ignorance.  The tall tree is the first to be knocked over by the wind, this Junior understands this concept very well. This Junior is less than thirty years old today, and although I have some small methods, my cultivation is still too low.  Such great benefits are not something I can withstand, only an established and respected Grandmaster like Old Zong can enjoy such a reputation. Do you believe that if both you and I were to take a Burning Flame Pill which formed Pill Clouds to President Ai Ou, our treatment will be completely different?  You will receive even greater respect and President Ai Ou will only become more courteous to you, perhaps even granting you dominion over an entire Medicine Star, but I would immediately be put under strict supervision, with numerous masters constantly watching me, never allowing me to take a single step out of my room while forcing me to refine pills every day.  Perhaps even when they send some beautiful women for me to play with, those masters will continue peeping on me…”

“Hahahaha!”  Zong Ao heard Yang Kai’s words and couldn’t help laughing, imagining such a funny scene with a big smile as he nodded, “Kid, your thoughts are quite sharp, such merits are really not easy to handle!  I really wonder how many great storms you’ve had to pass through in order to develop such keen insight at your age.”

“Without such insights, this Junior would have died already!” Yang Kai shrugged.

“En, you’re right, the tallest tree is the first to be destroyed by the strong winds!   Good, this old master will shoulder these benefits and reputation for you. In any case, this old master’s Alchemy skills have indeed risen a lot, such advantages aren’t completely undeserved!”

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he quickly got to his feet and cupped his fists, “Congratulations Old Zong, this Junior has been so absorbed in refining Burning Flame Pills during this time that he failed to realize Old Zong had taken a step further along the Alchemic Way!”

After offering his congratulations, Yang Kai sat down again, a touch of worry appearing in his expression as he continued, “But Old Zong, if you do this, you may not be able to resist joining Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.  They used to indulge you in your pursuits, but they likely won’t now. If my guess is right, Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the others will have reported this event to Water Moon Star and it won’t be long before a real executive from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters comes to speak with you.”

“This old master naturally understands,” Zong Ao nodded, “This old master has already lived on Rainfall Star for a hundred years, so as long as they don’t interfere with my Alchemy, everything can be discussed.  Whether I join them or not is just a formality. If they dare to annoy this old master, can’t this old master simply leave?”

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty.  Zong Ao couldn’t be regarded as a virtuous person, he had a strange temperament and his own sense of arrogance.  Yang Kai also knew that he had directed murderous intent towards himself at least three times before.

But regardless of all this, Zong Ao had agreed to carry this undeserved credit for him, and although it would greatly enhance the old man’s reputation, that wasn’t something Zong Ao wanted.  Truly capable people don’t care about their reputation, only those who seek for power and wealth dedicate themselves to climbing the social ladder.

After this time, Zong Ao would lose a lot of his personal, but perhaps he simply considered this repayment for Yang Kai showing him the path forward in the Alchemic Way.

Both Yang Kai and Zong Ao understood these things well.

“What’s the situation with that little girl?”  Zong Ao obviously didn’t want to talk about this anymore and quickly changed the subject.

“The negative effects of her exposure to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water should have been removed completely, and her vitality is stable, but she’s still in a coma.  To wake her up, I need to find a way to revive her Soul Avatar,” Yang Kai said with a frown. He had just checked Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea again but even after searching around for a while, he was unable to locate her Soul Avatar; he really didn’t know where it had hidden.

Zong Ao also frowned and said, “In principle, exposure to Profound Yin Sunflower Water cannot cause this situation… Her Soul Avatar going missing must be related to something else.”

Yang Kai was shocked and quickly asked, “Please offer me your guidance, Old Zong.”

Zong Ao unfortunately just shook his head, “I don’t know anything about this little girl, so what guidance can I provide you?  Since you are her guard, you should understand whether she has any kind of deep-seated regrets in her heart. Sometimes, when a person falls into an unconscious state and cannot be awoken, it is not because of physical injuries, but rather because of some kind of heart knot.  As long as she can overcome this barrier, she will naturally be able to awaken.”

After hearing these words, Yang Kai wore a thoughtful look on his face, his eyes slowly growing brighter, as if he had discovered something.

Zong Ao noticed this change and nodded lightly.

This kid was a worldly person with incredible skills; Zong Ao really didn’t understand why he would choose to become another’s guard.

Sometime later, Yang Kai’s look suddenly became relaxed.

“Figured it out?”  Zong Ao asked with a smile.

“I have some ideas, whether they’re right or not will have to wait until I can verify them,”  Yang Kai chuckled, suddenly remembering something and asking, “By the way, when I came here, Ha Li Ka and the others all gave me a strange look, what was that all about?”

“Want to know?”  Zong Ao gave him a meaningful glance.

Yang Kai nodded.

“This old master just told them that you deeply in love with that little girl and when she needed to take those pills you fed it to her mouth to mouth,” Zong Ao said lightly, as if it was just an innocent comment.

Yang Kai, on the other hand, was furious, “Don’t you feel embarrassed to publicize such things?  Don’t you have any kind of moral standards?”

Zong Ao snorted, “This old master has taken on such a heavy burden for you and lost so many good things to you, you think I’ll just let you off for free?  Just you wait. Xue Yue Third Young Master will charge over to Rainfall Star, peel your skin, and crush your bones.  Hahaha, to think a little guard actually dares to have ideas about Xue Yue’s woman. I really don’t know if you care about your life or not. If I were you, I’d leave here as quickly as possible!”

Laughing loudly, Zong Ao strode off in a good mood.

[Old fart!]

Yang Kai stared at Zong Ao with resentment, immediately realizing why Ha Li Ka and the others had shot him such a strange look.  Yang Kai was annoyed to no end that he hadn’t bet even bigger with Zong Ao, asking for all of his Profound Yin Sunflower Water and pill furnaces.

There were no good people amongst these old bastards!

This was true of Gui Zu and Zong Ao!

However, no matter how Zong Ao thought about it, he wouldn’t have been able to imagine that this Lady Xue’er was actually Xue Yue himself!

[You think kissing Xue Yue’s woman is something to worry about?  Father here has seen and touched everything Xue Yue’s body has to offer!]