Chapter 3010
Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
[Iron Blood Great Emperor! I can't believe that Yun'er's Master turned out to be Iron Blood Great Emperor!] Yang Kai stood in place, lost in his thoughts for a long time. Then, he suddenly smiled. Despite feeling slightly regretful over failing to bring Lin Yun'er back, there would always be another chance for them to meet in the future. Now that she had a good Master taking care of her, her path towards the future would never be as thorny and difficult as his.
At that time, Hua Qing Si flew over and smiled at him as she called out from a distance, "Palace Master, you're back!"
She had rushed over immediately as soon as she received the news while Bian Yu Qing had tagged along too.
Upon landing close by, Bian Yu Qing became rather cautious and cupped her fists respectfully, "Greetings, Palace Master!"
If not for Yang Kai's help back at Spirit Lake Palace, she might not have had the chance to reach the Emperor Realm. Many things had changed with time. The little brat from back then was now her Palace Master. Moreover, he had provided her with shelter and a paradise to cultivate in. Thus, she couldn't help feeling slightly embarrassed. Still, she had adapted to her new circumstances very well and was extremely grateful. She had assimilated quite well into High Heaven Palace and gotten very close with Hua Qing Si recently. They were practically like sisters now.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and looking at Hua Qing Si, he said, "Long time no see, Sister Hua. You've gotten more beautiful again."
Hua Qing Si glared at him, but the joy sparkling in her eyes could not be concealed, "You are a Palace Master now so you should speak with some propriety. What would somebody who doesn't know the full story think if they heard you?"
"I was only speaking the truth," turning to look at Bian Yu Qing, Yang Kai asked, "How do you like living here so far?"
Bian Yu Qing hurriedly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Palace Master. I am very grateful to you for giving me a place to settle down."
He gestured dismissively, "You became part of High Heaven Palace the moment you entered High Heaven Palace. You don't need to be so stiff. This place will be your home from now on."
Bian Yu Qing fell silent for a moment and smiled.
Then, Hua Qing Si added, "Palace Master, Junior Sister Qing helped out with many things within the palace while you were gone. In fact, regarding the management of a Sect, she is more experienced than I am; therefore, I was thinking of making her the Vice-Manager of High Heaven Palace. It's just that I have not had the chance to inform you about it."
"Good," Yang Kai nodded, "Then, Protector Bian will be the Vice-Manager from now on."
He instantly made the decision and with that, Bian Yu Qing's position as Vice-Manager was confirmed.
Although Bian Yu Qing came from a small Sect and her foundation wasn't as strong as Hua Qing Si's, she was still a Protector of her previous force. When the Sect Master of Blue Feather Sect, Wu Meng Chuan, had been imprisoned, she and three other Protectors had stepped forward and managed the Sect. Naturally, they accumulated a lot of experience from that incident.
Hua Qing Si honestly learned a lot during the time she had spent with Bian Yu Qing. High Heaven Palace did not have many members at the moment since most of them were actually disciples of Thousand Leaves Sect, but even so, its background was deep and profound, so it was only a matter of time before it became one of the top Sects in the Star Boundary. When that happened, the disciples of the Sect might number tens of thousands. It would definitely require somebody to manage them, and although Hua Qing Si was doing well enough right now, things would only become increasingly difficult in the future.
Bian Yu Qing uttered with trepidation, "Palace Master, I didn't help out that much! Entering High Heaven Palace has been the greatest stroke of fortune of my life. I will live as a member of High Heaven Palace and die as a member of High Heaven Palace and do everything in my ability to help should the Sect ever require it, but I am not worthy to accept the position of Vice-Manager!"
This wasn't false humility on Bian Yu Qing's behalf, it was simply the truth. When she first came to High Heaven Palace, she had not thought too deeply about it and simply felt that it would be a good place to live. Putting aside the fact that she owed Yang Kai a huge favour, the conditions of this land were incomparably better than those of Blue Feather Sect, so cultivating in this place was something any cultivator would yearn for.
As time passed though, Bian Yu Qing gradually learned more about High Heaven Palace's depths and it was then that she realized she had completely underestimated this small Sect.
Three Monster Kings were guarding this place and each of them could rival a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master in strength. Meanwhile, the Fifth Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor served as Chief Alchemist of High Heaven Palace. Additionally, the Sect had an Emperor Rank Array Master, an Emperor Rank Artifact Refiner, as well as the Heavenly Tone Palace and the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld…
That wasn't all. Yang Kai had a close relationship with Ice Heart Valley, a top Sect in the Northern Territory, one that was akin to the bonds of family. Likewise, the other two top Sects, Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect, owed a huge debt to High Heaven Palace.
On top of that, the Sect had a Cross-Territory Space Array linked directly to the Southern Territory, where it had a close partnership with the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce. Moreover, the annual income of the Sect was several times that of other top Sects.
Rumours even had it that Yang Kai had an ambiguous relationship with a member of the Dragon Clan…
It was hard to imagine that such an impressive heritage belonged to a Sect that had only been established recently. Furthermore, Yang Kai was the one to lay down such a foundation himself.
The more she learned about the Sect, the more frightened she became, so how could she take on the role of Vice-Manager? Not to mention she had just broken through to the Emperor Realm, only a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master would be qualified to take on such a role.
Hence, the moment she heard that Yang Kai wanted her to take on the position of Vice-Manager, she quickly refused. She simply lacked the confidence to fulfil this role.
Hua Qing Si knew what Bian Yu Qing was worrying about though and simply smiled, "We don't base our positions in the Sect on our cultivation. We only look at who is most competent. Besides, the Palace Master himself is just an arm-flinging shopkeeper. I know how skilful you are, so you can't turn down the position as Vice-Manager."
Bian Yu Qing was about to speak again when Yang Kai waved her off, "This matter is settled."
Then, he turned to look at Hua Qing Si, "Is Zhu Qing back?"
Hua Qing Si shook her head, "No. Didn't she go to the Frozen Earth?"
Although Yang Kai had returned for a short time the other day, he had left again in a hurry; therefore, Hua Qing Si was completely unaware that he had also gone to the Frozen Earth and experienced so many things there as a result.
Yang Kai frowned upon hearing her reply. He had spent a lot of time in the Western Territory; making his way to Wind and Cloud Pavilion with Lin Yun'er had taken some time after all. Based on his calculations, Zhu Qing should have returned by now, and yet, Hua Qing Si had not seen her around… [Could it be that she was delayed en route?]
That possibility seemed likely after considering it. Hence, he did not inquire further into the matter. In his opinion, Zhu Qing would definitely return to High Heaven Palace once she left the Western Territory. She would, at the very least, come back to check on his situation since they now shared an intimate relationship with each other.
Yang Kai decided to wait for her. Who knows? She might turn up within the next few days.
"Palace Master, did something happen?" Hua Qing Si keenly noticed the strange expression on his face.
"It's nothing." He shook his head.
"How long will you be staying here this time, Palace Master?"
"I'm not sure."
"Would you like to call everyone over to hold a meeting?"
"Good," Yang Kai nodded. He also felt that he was being too much of an absentee landlord and since it was a rare occasion for him to be back, he ought to bond with everybody else too.
A short while later, a number of figures appeared in the Main Conference Hall of High Heaven Palace, one after another.
Yang Kai sat at the head of the hall. To the left of him was Ji Ying, an Emperor Alchemist. His strength wasn't the highest here, but his status was special. He was the Fifth Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, which made his position far higher than others. Naturally, there were no objections to him sitting in that position.
On Yang Kai's right sat Xi Lei, a Monster King. The three Monster King's cultivations were almost on par, but his true strength was greater than the other two. He was ranked very high among the Thirty-Two Monster Kings of the Ancient Wild Lands.
Further down were Ying Fei, Xie Wu Wei, Emperor Array Master Nanmen Da Jun, and Emperor Artifact Refiner Hou Yu. Hua Qing Si and Bian Yu Qing, the Head Manager and Vice-Manager respectively, sat opposite Yang Kai.
A total of nine Emperor Realm Masters were gathered inside the main hall, among which three were Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters. Such a lineup was simply luxurious. The number of Emperor Realm Masters might lose to other top Sects, but no top Sect could compare in terms of quality.
Chi Yue and others were not present. According to Hua Qing Si, they had been training within the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld recently. The distortion of time and space within the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld was special and something irreplaceable for rapid growth.
Everyone knew of the power of the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld and recognized it as a key component of the foundation for the future of High Heaven Palace.
Gathering everybody here wasn't to discuss anything important. Although High Heaven Palace occupied a massive piece of land, it currently had few members so it was only natural that there were few issues too. Thus, there was no need for Yang Kai to ask about anything in particular.
Ji Ying had been immersed in Alchemy during this period. Yang Kai had given him countless Spirit Herbs, most of which came from the Ancient Wild Lands in the Eastern Territory. Many of the spirit medicines among them were things that Ji Ying had only heard about but had never seen before. Consequently, many Emperor Grade Spirit Pills had been accumulated in recent days, enough to splurge for a while.
On the other hand, Nanmen Da Jun had just finished arranging a new set of Spirit Arrays across the entire High Heaven Palace. He also finished refining the Mountains and Rivers Projection of High Heaven Palace. As soon as the Mountains and Rivers Projection was activated, the entire situation within High Heaven Palace could be seen at a glance. Hence, he had nothing much to do recently.
Only Hou Yu was busy all day long. Since she was a rebellious spirit, she constantly tried to escape every few days. It was a pity that the three Monster Kings took turns to watch over her; thus, she had no hope of fleeing at all. It caused the resentment she held towards the Monster Kings to deepen.
They chatted for a bit before everybody dispersed a short while later.
Yang Kai returned to High Heaven Peak and emptied out his mind for some time. Then, he waved his hand and countless High-Rank Source Crystals filled the room. In the first place, High Heaven Peak was the best Spirit Peak in High Heaven Palace with the densest World Energy. With so many High-Rank Source Crystals in the room, the density of the World Energy was elevated to a whole other level. The World Energy in the room practically began to form mists and was about to condense into a solid substance.
Yang Kai felt incredibly comfortable being enveloped in such dense World Energy. It felt as if his very pores were expanding.
He prepared to cultivate seriously. Ever since he broke through to the Emperor Realm in Shattered Star Sea, his cultivation had been steadily increasing; however, there were no signs of the next breakthrough even though a long time had passed since then.
He always felt as though his next breakthrough was imminent. Unfortunately, there was always something missing at the critical moment that he simply couldn't identify.
With all of the recent outings he had been on, Yang Kai had not had the time to cultivate in retreat for any appreciable amount of time. For that reason, he wanted to quickly break through to the next realm now that he finally received a rare period of calm.
At present, he was a First-Order Emperor Realm Master and if he used everything at his disposal, he could stand against a Third-Order Emperor. If he was lucky, he might even be able to kill such an opponent. Even so, that was not enough. The higher his cultivation became, the higher the cultivation of enemies he faced rose. It made Yang Kai more aware of his shortcomings.
The Emperor Realm was not the pinnacle of cultivation. There still existed the Great Emperor Realm above the Emperor Realm! And, Yang Kai's goal was to become a Great Emperor!
Ever since his trip to the Shattered Star Sea, his various experiences had been considerably rich and colourful, especially the years he spent inside the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld. It was simply an opportunity that not just anybody could encounter. It stood to reason that that experience itself should have been enough for him to break through to the Second-Order Emperor Realm, but for some reason, he just couldn't overcome that last barrier. Therefore, he felt that he needed to work harder so that he could climb to even higher heights in one go.
