Chapter 2628

Translator: Silavin & Ashish

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"Yang Kai?" Shi Tian He was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, "Senior, you're the one that…"

Yang Kai smiled, "Indeed, I am the one who the Seeking Passion Sect is looking for."

Shi Tian He smiled wryly as she heard Yang Kai admit it himself.

When she had previously heard the rumours of what happened, she had admittedly criticized Yang Kai greatly; after all, he was the root cause of the crisis that Ice Heart Valley was currently suffering. It was his killing of Feng Xi in the Shattered Star Sea that made Feng Xuan fly into a rage, which then led to all the subsequent conflicts which placed the Northern Territory in its current state of chaos.

Shi Tian He had never thought that the culprit who started all the mess in the Northern Territory would one day appear right before her own eyes.

As she mused it over, another thought struck Shi Tian He with astonishment.

She suddenly recalled that Feng Xi was killed only a few years ago in the Shattered Star Sea. In other words, Yang Kai had been in the Shattered Star Sea a few years ago, but only cultivators below the Emperor Realm were able to enter that place.

Wouldn't that mean that Yang Kai was only a Dao Source Realm a few years ago? And now, he had just reached the First-Order Emperor Realm.

But even though he was a First-Order Emperor Ream Master like the Elders of Profound Thunder Pavilion and Serenity City's Lord, none of them were any match for him.

The cultivation that he had displayed was his real cultivation, and he had not concealed anything!

If such a thing had not happened right before her eyes, Shi Tian He would not have believed it in the slightest. Since when were First-Order Emperor Realm Masters so easy to kill?

In the past, she had even fantasized about one day finding that fellow Yang Kai, capturing him, and handing him over to the Seeking Passion Sect to resolve her Sect's crisis. But now, she did not dare to have such intentions.

"It's over for Bai Yu!" At that moment, Yang Kai suddenly spoke.

Shi Tian He hurriedly looked over and saw a dazzling light burst out from where Bai Yu and Ji Yao were fighting. A bone-chilling coldness spread everywhere as there was the flash of a blade, and the battle was finally over.

As the light faded, Ji Yao stood mid-air, only giving a light swing of her longsword, her expression indifferent.

An ice crystal had formed before her, and frozen in its centre was a man, Pavilion Master of Profound Thunder Pavilion, Bai Yu.

Trapped inside the ice, Bai Yu's face was full of shock and terror. He seemed to still be in disbelief that he had completely, utterly, helplessly lost the battle.

*Shua…*

The ice block plummeted and broke apart with a loud boom as it hit the ground.

Trapped within, Bai Yu also shattered into many pieces, such that there was not a complete part of him to be found.

Just as Ji Yao had sworn, she had shredded his corpse into ten thousand pieces.

With another whoosh, Ji Yao was back at Yang Kai's side. She cast a glance around, and did not bother asking where the other four opponents had gone. The fresh blood and torn flesh scattered everywhere was more than enough explanation. She nodded at Yang Kai and said, "Honoured Master, let us hurry back to the valley!"

There had not been much urgency earlier on, when she had been ignorant of Ice Heart Valley's situation, but after hearing from Shi Tian He that Ice Heart Valley had been surrounded, Ji Yao felt intensely homesick. She wished she could instantly return to the valley and weather out the crisis with all her Sisters.

"Good!" Yang Kai nodded, casting a meaningful look at Shi Tian He.

Shi Tian He was quick on the uptake and hurriedly flew over to retrieve the Space Ring from Bai Yu's corpse.

Ji Yao had brought out her ship by this time, and the three of them boarded it in order. Ji Yao formed hand seals, and the ship instantly flew forth as swift as the wind.

"Senior Yang, this is for you," Shi Tian He handed over the Space Ring, which was still encased in ice and with a severed finger attached.

Yang Kai took it and channelled his Emperor Qi, melting the ice. He then tossed the severed finger away before throwing the ring back to Shi Tian He.

"Senior Yang, this is…" Shi Tian He looked at Yang Kai in confusion.

"This is your Third Martial Aunt's spoils, and since she isn't interested, you can have it instead. Once you're back in Ice Heart Valley, you should focus on your cultivation so you don't disappoint your Master again," Yang Kai smiled.

"Many thanks, Senior Yang," Shi Tian He said gratefully, "Many thanks, Third Martial Aunt…"

"What do you mean, Senior Yang!?" Ji Yao glared at her, "I already told you, this is the Ancestral Founder!"

"Yes, of course. Many thanks, Ancestral Founder." Shi Tian He's face paled and she hurriedly corrected herself. She had no idea how to explain any of this to Ji Yao and snuck a glance at Yang Kai, only to see that he looked even more awkward than she did.

……

Two days later, on a snowy mountain three thousand kilometres from Ice Heart Valley.

Snow was falling heavily upon a frozen landscape while Yang Kai and the others stood on the mountain's peak, gazing out into the distance.

Ji Yao was full of emotion, unable to stop trembling as she looked upon the familiar sights and breathed in the familiar cold air. Feathery snowflakes fell onto her, gradually melting, and she felt as though she had been reborn. Her joy could not be suppressed.

Perhaps it was the anxiety of being so close to home, but there was also a trace of timidness and worry in Ji Yao's eyes.

"That's a lot of people," Yang Kai let out a breath which turned into white mist.

It could be clearly seen from where they stood that a constant stream of cultivators was patrolling outside Ice Heart Valley, and it was obvious that they were not its disciples. Some of them were gathered together in small groups of three to five while larger groups had up to twenty members, all of them seemingly guarding the key entry and exit points of Ice Heart Valley.

The entirety of Ice Heart Valley was tightly surrounded.

"How did the Seeking Passion Sect gather so many people?" Yang Kai frowned slightly.

Based on what he had heard from Shi Tian He, he knew that not only had Ice Heart Valley been surrounded, but even the neighbouring Ice Moon City had been occupied as well.

Ice Moon City was a crucial hub for Ice Heart Valley's connection to the outside world. After it had been taken over, Ice Heart Valley's communications to the outside world had also been cut off.

But how was it possible that Seeking Passion Sect would have enough manpower to both surround Ice Heart Valley and occupy Ice Moon City?

"There are many Sects in the Northern Territory that are subordinate to the Seeking Passion Sect," explained Shi Tian He, "For them to be able to cause such a ruckus, they must've called upon all the great forces from their subordinate Sects."

"That's still not enough people," Yang Kai shook his head slowly, then suddenly added, "Ice Heart Valley and Seeking Passion Sect are both major forces. Since Seeking Passion Sect has its subordinate Sects, doesn't Ice Heart Valley have some as well? As far as I know, quite a number of Ice Heart Valley's female disciples have married out of the Sect. With such connections, aren't any of the other great forces coming to help with Ice Heart Valley's current crisis?"

Shi Tian He smiled bitterly at his words, not knowing how she should respond.

Ji Yao spoke up instead, "Honoured Master, didn't you establish rules about this when you founded the Sect? The Sect does not forbid marriage, but disciples who marry out no longer have any connection to Ice Heart Valley. You were concerned at the time that people would misunderstand Ice Heart Valley to be spreading its influence through marriages, and wanted to avoid controversy."

Yang Kai was shocked, "There is such a rule?"

"You set those rules yourself…" Ji Yao said reproachfully.

Yang Kai gave an awkward laugh, "I must've forgotten."

"Who's sneaking around over there!"

Just as they were looking around, a sudden shout was heard.

It was immediately followed by several whooshing sounds as a group of five appeared in front of Yang Kai and the others.

Amongst the group, an elderly man was the leader while the others looked like they were under forty years old. All of them were men.

Yang Kai did a sweep with his Divine Sense, and observed that these five were merely Dao Source Realms. The old man, who appeared to be their leader, was Second-Order, while the other four were merely First-Order.

"And who are you?" Yang Kai asked, narrowing his eyes. As he spoke, he released a little of his Emperor Qi and let it wash over the five newcomers.

All of them instantly turned pale, and the old man's face was full of terror. He cupped his fists and said, "This one's name is Fang Ming Hui. Greetings to you, Sir, please forgive the rudeness."

Fang Ming Hui did not dare to show any more brazenness after realising that Yang Kai was an Emperor Realm Master. He hurriedly put on a subservient air, anxious to avoid upsetting Yang Kai in any way.

"What are you people doing here?" Yang Kai asked coldly.

Fang Ming Hui hurried to answer, "This humble one is leading a few people to patrol this area, on orders." As he spoke, he gave Yang Kai a forced smile.

"Patrol? You are disciples of the Seeking Passion Sect?" Yang Kai frowned.

Fang Ming Hui shook his head, "No, no, we belong to Double Jade City's Fang Family. The people behind me are all Fang Family disciples."

"Double Jade City's Fang Family…" Yang Kai said, comprehending, "Subsidiary great force, I see."

"Sir, surely you jest," Fang Ming Hui was still giving a strained smile, "Our Fang Family is merely a small force, how could we gain the interest of a top Sect like the Seeking Passion Sect? Even the entire Double Jade City would most likely be unworthy of their interest."

Yang Kai was puzzled, "Since you're not an attached force of the Seeking Passion Sect, what are you doing here? And on whose orders are you patrolling this area?"

This area was extremely close to Ice Heart Valley, so now that the Seeking Passion Sect and Ice Heart Valley were like locked in a life or death struggle, ready to start fighting at any moment, surely people who had nothing to do with the matter would not remain in the area.

Fang Ming Hui was astonished, "On orders from the Seeking Passion Sect, of course."

Yang Kai snorted, "Are you talking nonsense just to try to confuse me? If you don't speak clearly, I'll rip out your tongue!"

Fang Ming Hui paled, "Please quell your anger, Sir," he said hurriedly, "This humble one really is under orders from the Seeking Passion Sect to patrol this area. But our Fang Family really does not have any connections to the Seeking Passion Sect. This one is not lying, Sir."

The faces of the four behind him were also pale. They were thinking that Emperor Realm cultivators were indeed not to be provoked, as this guy was threatening to pull out someone's tongue just because he was in a bad mood. Such violence! If they could ascend to the Emperor Realm someday, they could do the same thing if they ever felt slighted…

"Since you have no connection, why would you obey their commands? You think I'm easy to deceive?" Yang Kai looked coldly at Fang Ming Hui.

Fang Ming Hui wiped the cold sweat from his brow and explained, "Sir, what are you saying? Currently, there are many forces like our Fang Family in the area around Ice Heart Valley…"

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to realise something, and cast a timid glance at Yang Kai, "Sir, have you not heard of the Seeking Passion Sect's Recruitment Order?"

"What Recruitment Order?" Yang Kai frowned.

Fang Ming Hui let out a breath, "Sir has not heard of it, then."

"Explain in detail. If your explanation is satisfactory, I won't rip out your tongue."

"Yes, yes, of course…" Fang Ming Hui hurriedly nodded, and began explaining, "A few years back, when theSeeking Passion Sect and Ice Heart Valley started fighting, both of them were top Sects of the Northern Territory. Their strength was about equal, so both sides suffered losses. After the initial battles, in order to avoid further losses, the Seeking Passion Sect sent out a Recruitment Order. It informed all cultivators of Northern Territory that as long as they temporarily joined with the Seeking Passion Sect's forces and obeyed their commands to help fight against Ice Heart Valley, they would be rewarded with Source Crystals, artifacts, and Secret Arts. Not only that, but depending on their contributions, they could even become Seeking Passion Sect's subsidiary forces in the future. In addition, after Ice Heart Valley was destroyed, some cultivators who make great contributions would also get a share of Ice Heart Valley's disciples."