Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
As they stared into each other’s eyes, the Proprietress’ heart finally softened and she sighed, “What’s the point of doing this?”
Yue He bit her lip as even more tears stained her face.
The Proprietress reached out and stroked the other woman’s head, “All those years ago, I brought you back and raised you. Your life belongs to me. Without my permission, no one can kill you, including yourself!”
With her head hanging low, Yue He said in a trembling voice, “Yes.”
The Proprietress slightly surged her World Force, whereupon Yue He groaned and collapsed to the ground. She had passed out while Yang Kai widened his eyes as he was still reeling from the shock.
If the Proprietress hadn’t made a move just now, Yue He would have lost her life right in front of him. He had been in contact with her for more than ten years in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and while he used to be annoyed with her and wanted nothing more than to get rid of her, eventually, they grew to support each other as they went through countless difficulties. However, even after more than ten years of contact with her, Yang Kai had never realised how determined and resolute Yue He was.
Although the Proprietress had calmed her down by knocking her out, there was still a troublesome issue, which was her heart demon oath.
As long as Yue He and her Small Orchid Palace existed, there was no way the heart demon oath could be resolved, and the Proprietress would never have the chance to ascend to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. It wasn’t certain whether Yue He would attempt to end her own life again after she awakened.
Following a sigh, the Proprietress carried Yue He up and stepped into a room in the hall before placing her on a bed. Yang Kai and Bai Qi followed her without saying a word.
As the Proprietress gazed at the woman on the bed, her expression gradually softened. She even started humming a lullaby as though she was trying to lull a baby to sleep. She placed one hand on Yue He and gently tapped her following the rhythm.
Yang Kai and Bai Qi traded glances as they felt speechless at that. A moment later, the Proprietress waved her hand at them. Getting the hint, they left together.
After leaving the inner hall, Bai Qi immediately wrapped his arm around Yang Kai’s shoulder and winked at him, “Let’s grab a drink.”
Yang Kai guffawed and replied in agreement, “Good.”
Bai Qi could be considered the first true friend he made after arriving in the 3,000 Worlds. Old Fang wasn’t the first because when they got to know each other in Seven Wonders Land in the past, they had their own ulterior motives, so their intentions were not pure.
When they were still in First Inn in the Star City, Yang Kai and Bai Qi would frequently drink until late at night, so they were already familiar with it.
After walking for a bit, they stopped in the Grand Hall and took a seat on the ground. While Yang Kai didn’t have any good wine with him, Bai Qi seemed to possess many wine bottles of extremely high quality.
Yang Kai fished out a lot of spirit fruits from his Space Ring, many of which were local products from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary that amazed Bai Qi.
They went on to drink excessively and it wasn’t long before they became completely smashed.
It was two days later when the Proprietress and Yue He left the inner hall. Looking around, they realised that the Grand Hall was a mess as the ground was covered in wine bottles and fruit pits while a pungent smell of alcohol permeated the air.
Yang Kai and Bai Qi were lying on the ground with their limbs spread wide. Their snoring was deafening.
A furious Proprietress glared at them and said through clenched teeth, “Wake them up!”
Yue He hurriedly stepped forward and performed a hand seal. After activating her power, she let out a breath at them. Following that, a breeze whisked through the men on the ground, which caused them to shudder and slowly open their eyes.
Feeling an excruciating pain in his head, Yang Kai slowly sat up and rubbed his forehead. He sported a helpless smile and thought that he had overindulged this time. Since the closure of the Primordial Land, he had always been tense. The Proprietress’ arrival gave him a great sense of security, which was why he could finally unwind.
After circulating his strength to sober himself up, he raised his head and saw Yue He looking worriedly at him.
An elated Yang Kai got up and said, “Yue He, you’re awake.”
Imperceptibly, Yue He nodded and pointed at the Proprietress in front of her.
Yang Kai turned his head, only to see that the Proprietress was glaring at him with a cold expression, which caused his neck to shrink instinctively before he stood beside Bai Qi. Both of them sported fawning smiles.
“When will you two ever grow up?” The Proprietress appeared completely disappointed.
They hurriedly said in unison, “We’re sorry. We won’t do it again.”
The Proprietress batted her eyes as she felt like she had just landed a punch on a pile of cotton. Then, she said through gritted teeth, “If this happens again, I’ll drown you two in a pool of wine!”
Both of them nodded repeatedly. Standing behind the Proprietress, Yue He covered her mouth and giggled.
Yang Kai took a glance at her, and upon seeing that life had returned to her face, he let out a sigh of relief. When he was drinking with Bai Qi earlier, he asked him about Yue He’s past. Not daring to reveal too much information, Bai Qi only told him that Yue He was an orphan brought home and raised by the Proprietress, who also taught her cultivation. It could be said that the Proprietress was just like her Mother and Elder Sister.
Besides Yue He, Bai Qi, the chef, and the accountant were also close to the Proprietress. Nevertheless, Yue He had stayed with the Proprietress for a longer time than any of them.
As for why they had fallen out, Bai Qi wouldn’t reveal it even though he was drunk. He wasn’t in any position to speak about this, so he told Yang Kai to personally ask the Proprietress about it.
Certainly, Yang Kai didn’t have the guts to do that. If he really asked such a question, he’d be beaten.
“Grandmaster Wu Liang already has some ideas on how to repair the Grand Array, but he needs you to consult with him first. Come with me,” the Proprietress said and led the way.
Hurriedly, Yang Kai followed her.
Soon, the four of them saw Grandmaster Wu Liang again together with Lu Xue. Over the past two days, Lu Xue had followed him to tour Void Land and seen the skills of this Spirit Array Grandmaster, which were truly admirable. The person invited by the Proprietress was indeed skilful.
After they met, the Proprietress greeted Grandmaster Wu Liang, who stroked his beard and said in a proud manner, “Madam Lan, I’ve examined the Grand Array around this place and have three proposals for you to choose from.”
There was a faint smile on the Proprietress’ face, “Grandmaster, this place doesn’t belong to me or Fist Inn. The owner is my shop hand, so he’ll be the one choosing from the options.”
Yang Kai stepped forward and said politely, “Grandmaster, please tell me more about your proposals.”
Grandmaster Wu Liang gave him a look and announced, “The first proposal will require the shortest time and least materials and involves repairing the Grand Array.”
Yang Kai raised his brow; after all, they had practically invited the old man to do just that. Suppressing his doubts, he asked, “What are the other two proposals?”
Grandmaster Wu Liang went on to say, “The second proposal is that this Old Master upgrades the Grand Array. I have the confidence to improve its power by 20%; however, compared to the first proposal, this one will require more time and carry a greater cost. I estimate that the cost will be double that of the first proposal.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened when he heard that.
The Grand Array around Void Land was the same one as when this place was called Seven Wonders Land. Yang Kai had witnessed the power of the Grand Array. In the past, Xu Huang made use of the Grand Array to wage war against several Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in Seven Wonders Land on his own, managing to severely injure Qi Qiao and kill three Venerable Protectors. His success was thanks to the Grand Array.
Now, Grandmaster Wu Liang said that he could increase the power of the Grand Array by 20%. How skilled must this old man be in the Dao of Spirit Arrays to be able to achieve that? Was he just boasting? After all, it wasn’t easy to upgrade such a large Spirit Array.
Then, Yang Kai turned to look at the Proprietress, who imperceptibly nodded. It was apparent that she had faith in Grandmaster Wu Liang’s capabilities.
It was then Yang Kai set his mind at ease and asked, “What about the third proposal?”
After giving it a thought, Grandmaster Wu Liang replied, “The third proposal is that, while using the foundation of this Grand Array, this Old Master will completely rearrange it. This will take the longest time, and the cost will be five times more than the first proposal at least. Doing this will allow the Grand Array’s power to be increased by 50%.”
The cost of the second proposal was double that of the first one, and the power could be increased by 20%. On the other hand, the third proposal was five times more expensive than the first one, but the power could only be increased by 50%.
There was no doubt that the second proposal was a much better deal than the third one; however, the Grand Array was the first and greatest layer of protection for this place, so direct cost wasn’t the only consideration. Moreover, it was only natural for a more powerful Grand Array to be more expensive.
Yang Kai intended to bring all his friends and family from the Star Boundary to this place, so he had to build a safe environment for them. By the time he brought them here, he certainly wouldn’t have the means to protect them all himself, but by improving the Grand Array, in a time of crisis, they would have the means to protect themselves.
Therefore, Yang Kai made a decision without hesitation, “I’ll choose the third proposal. Grandmaster, please start working on it now.”
A shocked Grandmaster Wu Liang sized the young man up and asked just to confirm, “Brat, do you understand how expensive it is to repair this Grand Array alone?”
In his eyes, Yang Kai was just an Emperor Realm boy who took control of this place by chance, so there was no way he was that wealthy. To just repair a Grand Array of this scale was beyond the ability of most Third Class great forces to afford, not to mention a mere Emperor Realm Junior.
With a faint smile, the Proprietress said, “Grandmaster, rest assured. My shop hand made a great fortune some time ago, so he should be able to afford it. Just go with the third proposal.”
She had learned from Lu Xue about what Yang Kai had gone through in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so she was fully aware that he was filthy rich now; after all, the wealth those from Scarlet Star had amassed in the Boundary was all taken away by him.
The cost of repairing the Grand Array was probably just some small change to the current Yang Kai, so five times of that was nothing to him.
Grandmaster Wu Liang took a glance at the Proprietress and then Yang Kai, thinking that this boy had the full support of Madam Lan. Even if he didn’t have enough money, Madam Lan would lend him a hand. As such, Grandmaster Wu Liang nodded, “In that case, we’ll go with the third proposal. But, before that, this Old Master must talk about remuneration.”
“Please go ahead, Grandmaster,” Yang Kai said politely.
A moment later, they came to an agreement. It had to be said that it cost a lot of money to invite such a Grandmaster to work on the Grand Array. His remuneration wasn’t fixed and instead would be based on the cost of upgrading the Grand Array.
Grandmaster Wu Liang would take 20% of the total repair and upgrade cost. In other words, regardless of the cost to upgrade the Grand Array, he would want twenty percent of that.
Apparently, the Proprietress was aware of this kind of practice, so she didn’t say anything.
