Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Fortunately, that terrifying pressure soon dissipated into nothing, almost as if the feeling just now had been nothing more than an illusion. Yang Kai bowed, “Greetings, Senior Guo!”
“Yes, it’s very similar!” Senior Brother Guo nodded repeatedly.
Yang Kai was taken aback. He didn’t quite understand what those words meant at first, but he soon understood. Senior Brother Guo was referring to his appearance. It was the reason why the Proprietress had taken such good care of him in the past, as well as why Yue He addressed him as ‘Young Master’. Apparently, his appearance was very similar to that of the Proprietress’ younger brother, Lan Ting Yu.
One’s appearance was determined by the Heavens, so he was unable to change anything about his appearance. Besides, there were trillions upon trillions of living creatures in the 3,000 Worlds. It was not surprising that some people would look similar to each other. Yang Kai did not feel that his appearance had caused him any trouble; rather, it could even be said that it had brought him great luck. If not for that, how could a humble person like himself become acquainted with somebody like the Proprietress in this vast universe?
“They might look alike, but they are two different people.” The Proprietress smiled softly, “I was very shocked when I first met this brat.”
Senior Brother Guo gently nodded, “Once this matter is over, let me bring this boy back to meet the Old Man. His aptitude is not bad. If he is personally taught by the Old Man, he will surely have great accomplishments in the future.”
“The Old Man?” The Proprietress’ expression changed slightly, “Is that what he wants?”
Senior Brother Guo shook his head in response, “The Old Man has not heard about this yet. I only just learned about it myself when I arrived here.”
Her expression became gloomy and uncertain as she glanced at Yang Kai worriedly and shook her head, “Senior Brother Guo, this boy does not belong to First Inn. If you wish to bring him back to meet the Old Man, you will have to ask him for his opinion.”
“Not part of First Inn?” He seemed a little surprised by those words.
Yang Kai was a little confused by the flow of the conversation. He did not know who this ‘Old Man’ they were talking about was, but a person who could be addressed so formally by two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could not be a trivial person.
Senior Brother Guo laughed, “Since he does not belong to First Inn, then there’s no need to ask you.” He turned to look at Yang Kai and continued, “Kid, do you have any interest in joining Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven?”
“Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven?” Yang Kai was shocked.
Each of the Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens and Seventy-Two Paradises were extremely famous. They had more than one Great Territory under their command; were known as First-Class great forces in the 3,000 Worlds; and every one of them was led by High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Out of all of them, Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven was ranked in the top ten even among the Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens.
Yang Kai had long since guessed that this person by the name of ‘Senior Brother Guo’ came from a very powerful background. There was a high possibility that Senior Brother Guo came from one of the Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens or the Seventy-Two Paradises. It wasn’t until this moment that Yang Kai learned that he belonged to Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven.
Did that mean that Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven was the great force behind First Inn? Why else would the Proprietress and Senior Brother Guo address each other as ‘Senior Brother’ and ‘Junior Sister’?
Senior Brother Guo said, “The aptitude of Yu Luo Sha from Asura Heaven is pretty amazing. The fact that you can defeat her in one move must mean that your aptitude is even more impressive. An aptitude like that is enough for you to join Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. What do you think? If you are interested, you can follow me back to Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven once this matter is over.”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded. If a Cave-Heaven had tried to recruit him when he first arrived in the 3,000 Worlds, he might have joined them eagerly without a second thought; that way he could enjoy the cool shade under a big tree after all. Backed by such a powerful force like Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, his future would be very promising. He wouldn’t even need to worry about his cultivation resources. He would only need to ask his Elders for what he needed and somebody would immediately satisfy his needs.
Unfortunately, the current Yang Kai was no longer the same person who just arrived at the Outer Universe. He was now in charge of Void Land and had more than 600,000 people under him. What would happen to Void Land if he left? Besides, his path to becoming a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master would most likely be cut off halfway if he joined Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven.
The Proprietress once mentioned that only those disciples with excellent aptitudes who were born into and grew up in the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises had the qualifications to achieve the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm directly. That was because the Cave-Heavens and Paradises had no need to worry about their loyalty!
However, who would dare to allow the birth of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master if they were an outsider? What if that person cultivated to the level of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master? Who could suppress them then? Especially somebody like Yang Kai who only joined as a disciple halfway through. Nobody could guarantee his loyalty towards the Sect.
After considering all this, Yang Kai vaguely realised something. He had exposed his identity in the Asura Arena, so many people probably had their eyes on him now. Senior Brother Guo was just one of those people. It was only because he was an old acquaintance of the Proprietress that he took the lead to try and win Yang Kai over.
[If I agree to join Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, I will only be allowed to achieve the Sixth-Order Heaven Realm at most! I will never be allowed to achieve the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm!] Yang Kai turned to look to the side and sure enough, the Proprietress was staring at him in anxiety and worry. He made up his mind seeing that and carefully said, “Many thanks for your praise, Senior Guo. Unfortunately, this Junior has too many obligations to fulfil and must regretfully refuse your kindness.”
Senior Brother Guo became livid upon hearing those words. His stern and majestic eyes suddenly transformed to become a bottomless abyss, almost as though he wanted to drag Yang Kai’s Soul into them!
[I can’t believe this Senior Guo immediately turned hostile the moment we disagreed. He truly is subject to shifting moods.] Yang Kai trembled for a moment, feeling his Dao Seal vibrating uncontrollably. Sparks danced in his vision as he grit his teeth and shouted, “Senior Guo, are you trying to silence the witness to your crime?”
He originally hoped to cause a scene large enough to attract the attention of the people around him so that this Senior Guo would be more mindful about taking action. This was Red Clouds Auction House’s territory after all so he would not be allowed to do whatever he wanted. To Yang Kai’s surprise though, his voice never came out. His mouth opened and closed like a goldfish stranded on land, making him look extremely funny.
“Senior Brother Guo!” The Proprietress let out a sharp cry.
All of a sudden, the terrifying pressure disappeared. The power that was tugging at Yang Kai’s Soul and Dao Seal also vanished without a trace. He came back to his senses and saw Senior Brother Guo looking at him with a smile, almost as though what he experienced earlier was all an illusion. But, cold sweat drenched his entire body and he knew that what he felt just now was not a figment of his imagination.
“Your appearance is similar, as is your attitude. I just hope that the path you walk won’t be that similar.” Senior Brother Guo uttered that sentence meaningfully, “Otherwise, the ending that will befall you won’t differ much either. Junior Sister Lan, you don’t wish to see history repeating itself, right?”
The Proprietress’ expression was extremely dark as she snapped, “Senior Brother Guo, please mind your own business. I will take care of this boy myself.”
“That would be for the best.” He nodded, “It took a lot of effort for the Old Man to settle that matter for you in the past. You wouldn’t want to cause trouble for him again, right?”
Rubbing his chin, he abruptly changed the subject, “Speaking of the Old Man, I suddenly remembered something. When the Old Man brought the Golden Crow’s carcass back, he was muttering about how most of the essence from its body was missing for some reason. It’s obvious now that it was the doing of this brat.”
Only then did Yang Kai finally realise who the Old Man Senior Brother Guo kept mentioning was. The Golden Crow’s carcass had fallen into the hands of the owner behind First Inn, an old man known as Si Tu Kong.
Before handing the Golden Crow carcass over, Yang Kai had absorbed most of the Golden Crow’s True Fire and to condense his Fire Element Power. He originally thought that he had been very secretive about what he did, but who could have known that his actions had been noticed so quickly?
Judging by the current situation, Si Tu Kong belonged to Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven and First Inn was indeed backed by the powerful force.
The Proprietress spoke firmly, “Please don’t speak nonsense, Senior Brother Guo.”
Senior Brother Guo sneered, “I was just speculating. What are you so nervous about, Junior Sister Lan? Even if it is true, the Old Man failed to notice the issue on the spot, so you don’t expect him to come after this brat after so long, right? What would come of the Old Man’s pride? At his age, what he cares about the most is face. He would not do something that would slap himself so terribly.”
His expression turned cold and his voice became solemn, “There is no evidence regarding this matter, but is your intention to take down the Golden Rainbow Province and the Boundless Altar, or is this also this Senior Brother talking nonsense?”
She replied calmly, “What are you talking about, Senior Brother Guo? This Junior Sister does not understand.”
He turned to look at her, “Don’t give me that nonsense! These two great forces held a grudge against you in the first place! It was only because the Old Man and the other great forces intervened in the past that this matter was settled calmly. Not too long ago, you caused another huge ruckus. Did you think you could hide the truth!? Do you think you can still stand here alive if the Old Man had not intervened again when you killed Yun Zhen Hua of Wind and Cloud Paradise!?”
She looked at him leisurely, “What do you know, Senior Brother?”
He said, “Even if Yun Zhen Hua provoked you first, you should not have killed him. He belonged to Wind and Cloud Paradise after all. In the end, the Old Man had to clean up your mess again when you killed him.”
She became angry, “Are you saying that they are the only ones who can attack me and I can’t defend myself? What kind of logic is that!”
He retorted, “With your strength as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, running away would be a piece of cake for you!”
“Why should I run? They dared to provoke this Great Aunt. In that case, this Great Aunt will dare to slice off their necks. I will cut down every single person they send after me. I’ll see just who in the 3,000 Worlds would dare to provoke me again!” She said furiously.
He slowly shook his head, “Stop causing so much trouble and manage First Inn properly.”
She stared at him fixedly, “Is that what the Old Man wants?”
He replied, “It’s what I want.”
“What the Hell do you count for?” She threw a contemptuous look at him.
He sighed, “The Old Man is getting on in age. How long more do you think he can continue to shelter you? What will you do when all your enemies come at you at the same time following his death? Forget your enemies. Many people don’t like you even within the Cave-Heaven.”
“Let them come! I’ll take the opportunity to settle my grudges against them!” She gnashed her teeth together, “Damn it! The Old Man has lived for so long, why isn’t he dead yet!?”
His mouth fell open in shock and he looked speechless. After a long time, he angrily muttered, “Brainless woman!”
Then, he turned to the tall girl next to him and said, “Remember this Martial Aunt Lan of yours. Don’t be like her in the future; otherwise, you will never get married! Look at her; even now, nobody is interested in her. That’s the reason.”
The young girl pursed her lips and smiled. On the other hand, the Proprietress glared fiercely.
Senior Brother Guo ignored the Proprietress and pointed at Yang Kai.” Don’t forget this person’s face either. Don’t ever become his enemy. If you are ever in danger, you should ask him to rescue you.”
The young girl nodded obediently. Her beautiful eyes stared at Yang Kai seriously for a moment before she replied softly, “I’ve memorised it.”
Yang Kai was stunned by those words. He did not understand the meaning behind Senior Brother Guo’s words. This young girl looked like one of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven’s elite disciples at a glance. Also, what kind of danger would she face that he would need to rescue her from?
