Old Man Cheng was killed with a single blow and Hai Wang Gu had been flung away like a stray dog and was currently scrambling frantically to escape from Yang Kai.
Yang Kai glanced over at the fleeing Hai Wang Yu faintly before his moving his hand slightly, the giant sword that had just crushed Old Man Cheng transforming into a rope and shooting off, capturing the fleeing old man instantly and immobilizing him.
Yang Kai gently tugged his hand and the rope that was binding Hai Wang Gu dragged him back towards the former.
“This is the Imprisoning Heaven Lock?” Yang Kai asked the Nine Heavens Holy Land Saintess.
“En!”
“Interesting, why am I suddenly able to use these Soul Skills?” Yang Kai looked at her suspiciously, “And my Spiritual Energy seems to have strengthened significantly. What exactly did you do to me?”
“Can we talk about this later?” The Saintess’ eyes flickered, apparently somewhat reluctant to answer.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and didn’t ask any further.
The two Soul Skills Yang Kai had just used were skills he had never even heard of until just now, yet now he seemed to have a comprehensive understanding of them as well as a complete mastery of their usage, as if he had cultivated them for many years.
If was impossible for this odd situation to occur spontaneously and the only explanation was that this woman had done something to him.
If Yang Kai had to guess, it was like she had directly transferred these two Soul Skills into Yang Kai’s consciousness, allowing him to instantly comprehend and use them.
On top of that, the amount of Spiritual Energy Yang Kai just used wasn’t that great; at most, it was equivalent to what Hai Wang Gu and this Saintess could use, but that not powerful strength had been enough to easily obliterate Old Man Cheng.
Yang Kai’s heart and head were filled with doubts and confusion!
“What are you going to do with this person?” The Saintess asked, pointing to the tied up Hai Wang Gu.
“What else can I do?” Yang Kai snorted, and the rope tied to Hai Wang Gu suddenly burst into flames. With a scream of despair, Hai Wang Gu’s Soul Avatar was incinerated, leaving behind not even a trace of ash.
Throughout the entire Soul Battle Hall, only Yang Kai and the Nine Heavens Holy Land Saintess remained.
Facing each other, under Yang Kai’s focused gaze, the Saintess seemed somewhat uncomfortable and averted her eyes.
“What is your name?” Yang Kai asked.
“An Ling’er… what about you?”
“Zhang San!”
An Ling’er’s pretty face turned sour. Yang Kai’s perfunctory attitude really annoyed her, but right now wasn’t an appropriate time to vent her grievances so she could only swallow her anger.
“Now can you tell me what you did just now?” Yang Kai asked solemnly, “Whatever it was, it was quite unusual.”
“Do you have to know?” An Ling’er bit her lip lightly but Yang Kai just nodded firmly, “If I don’t understand what just happened, how can I be sure it won’t bring me harm?”
“You can rest assured that what I did was absolutely harmless to you, moreover, I have no reason to harm you.”
“I still hope you can explain it to me clearly.”
“Good!” An Ling’er took a deep breath, “Since you insist on this, I’ll tell you.”
After she said that, she fell silent for a moment, seemingly organizing her thoughts, a moment later continuing, “Even you should know some basic information about my Nine Heavens Holy Land. Every Holy Master is found by us, the Saintesses from the outside world. We have some special methods with which to seek out appropriate candidates, and if one of them passes our test, they will become the next Holy Master of the Holy Land. As for what kind of methods we use to seek out such candidates, please forgive me, I can only tell you that it is related to my Secret Art.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“I think you should have heard that before being named as Holy Master, each of these people came from different walks of life and their aptitudes varied greatly, but once they enter my Holy Land and become the Holy Master, they are reborn and become extraordinary existences. This actually had a lot to do with us, the Saintesses.”
“Oh? How so?”
“We… since birth were raised as the Holy Master’s cultivation furnaces! All our cultivation and experiences are strictly prepared for the Holy Master, so that upon finding him and bringing him back to the Holy Land, we can instill them into him; this is the greatest responsibility of us Saintesses. Moreover, because there is more than one Saintess in the Holy Land, the benefits each Holy Master can obtain are massive, which is why every Holy Master can become an extraordinary powerhouse, because it is not just him cultivating on his own. Depending on various circumstances, the number of Saintesses can range from three or four to up to seven or eight, all of them assisting the Holy Master in his cultivation. With so many cultivation furnaces all providing assistance to him, it is difficult for the Holy Land’s Holy Master to not become strong.”
“Something like that really happens?” Yang Kai was shocked.
“This is the greatest secret of my Holy Land, do not tell anyone else about it,” An Ling’er warned seriously.
“Don’t worry, I don’t have loose lips,” Yang Kai nodded, becoming slightly pensive as he muttered, “So, my being able to master the Soul Skills of your Nine Heavens Holy Land is simply because you learned them yourself and you then instilled that knowledge into me?”
“En, what you mastered are the skills I am proficient in. A Saintess, before death, does not kill, but we can use our special methods to assist the Holy Master, and the benefits we bring to the Holy Master are not limited to just this. You should have felt just now, with my assistance, your Spiritual Energy became stronger.”
Yang Kai’s expression couldn’t help being strange at this point, “But I’m not your Holy Master, how come you were able to assist me so?”
An Ling’er sighed and bit her lip before saying, “Although I don’t want to admit it, you probably have the aptitude to become the next Holy Master.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“It’s true. Just now, I only wanted to help boost your Spiritual Energy so that you could fight against those two and had no intention of imparting the Holy Land’s Divine Skills, but somehow you managed to comprehend them all on your own. Can I ask you, how many of the Divine Skills did you manage to learn just now?”
“Just those two!”
“Those two skills are both incredibly difficult to comprehend, even with the help of us Saintesses. If a new Holy Master wants to master the Holy Land’s Divine Skills, it is not so easy. It is very likely that it will take many tries before a new Holy Master can thoroughly master any of the Divine Skills. You being able to not only grasp but utilize two of them in an instant, you should be able to understand the implications,” An Ling’er narrowed her eyes slightly.
Yang Kai’s eyes also narrowed slightly, “How many Divine Skills have you mastered?”
“Nine!” An Ling’er smiled lightly, “Want to learn?”
“Meh!” Yang Kai replied casually, putting on an uninterested expression.
“I can teach all of them to you right now actually, but there is a condition you have to promise me.”
Yang Kai’s face sank; he didn’t like it when people bargained back and forth with him.
“Follow me back to the Holy Land. When the times comes, not only will you be able to obtain my enlightenments but also those of my three sisters, we will help you grow in the shortest time possible.”
“You want me to go back with you to become your Holy Master?” Yang Kai grinned.
“Yes! I feel like you are an appropriate candidate, even though… you’re somewhat hateful,” An Ling’er replied truthfully.
“Not interested!” Yang Kai smiled and shook his head slowly.
“You…” An Ling’er almond coloured eyes bulged, a look of pure surprise spreading across her face. Never had she imagined that Yang Kai would refuse her offer so bluntly.
Who didn’t want to be the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land? The entire archipelago occupied by the Seven Family Alliance had become incredibly lively, with cultivators coming from near and far, all just for the chance of being selected by the Saintess. After all, if they were really chosen, it would be like leaping over the Dragon Gate and soaring into the sky in a single bound!
No matter where An Ling’er went, each island was the same: All the men, young and old, would flock to her with expectant looks.
But now, when she took the initiative to invite someone she believed worthy of receiving this honour, she was actually rejected! An Ling’er couldn’t help feeling like she was dreaming, staring dumbfounded at Yang Kai, unable to speak.
“If I want strength, I’ll cultivate it myself, why should I depend on women for it?” Yang Kai sneered, “What difference is there between that and being a gigolo?”
“Are you still not clear about the benefits of becoming a Holy Master?” An Ling’er frowned, “Becoming a Holy Master not only means you will become one of this world’s hegemons in the future, you will also receive things most people will never be able to obtain in their lifetimes. Whether its wealth, status, fame, even beauties, all of it will be yours.”
“Does that also include you?” Yang Kai looked at her evilly.
An Ling’er’s expression suddenly became a bit unnatural, but she soon nodded, “Yes, I was originally born to be the Holy Master’s cultivation furnace, not only me, but also my three sisters. As long as you desire it, regardless of what it is, we sisters will give it to you; you can openly enjoy the pampering of four wives!”
“A tempting offer!” Yang Kai licked his lips, an obscene expression appearing on his face which seemed to be particularly wretched.
“Then you…”
“Nope!” Yang Kai sneered, his expression changing faster than flipping the page of a book, shaking his head and saying, “There must be demerits, becoming Holy Master has so many advantages, so the price one has to pay shouldn’t be small, right?”
An Ling’er pretty face froze up as she stared deeply at him and nodded, “Yes, there is a rumor in the Holy Land that, although there is no basis, I believe is the price each Holy Master needs to pay!”
“Let’s hear it!”
“Every Holy Master doesn’t live long… It seems that the one who lived the longest was only three hundred years old.”
Nine Heavens Holy Land was a powerful Sect and the Holy Master, with the assistance of so many Saintesses as cultivation furnaces, definitely increased his strength rapidly. Yang Kai estimated that each Holy Master became a Third Order Saint after only several dozen years.
Third Order Saints had long since transcended the level of mortality and their life expectancy was greatly extended, to only live to three hundred years was obviously dying young.
Even Third Order Transcendents from certain forces could live for hundreds of years.
Upon hearing the price, Yang Kai completely discarded any intentions to become the so-called Holy Master had. Three hundred years seemed like a long time, but for those who pursued the Martial Dao, such a period of time was but a fleeting moment.
Yang Kai firmly believed that even if he didn’t become a Holy Master, in three hundred years he would still be living well, perhaps traveling around with Su Yan and Little Senior Sister, freely exploring the world.
“However, if you think about it, in exchange for such benefits, it’s a small price to pay; after all, this isn’t something many people can pursue in their lifetime,” An Ling’er continued trying to persuade Yang Kai.
But Yang Kai simply snickered and said confidently, “After thirty years, I will be able to stand on equal footing as your nonsense Holy Master.”
“Thirty years…” An Ling’er stared at him doubtfully, “You certainly know how to talk big.”
