MARTIAL PEAK 4567

After a series of chaotic exchanges, Yang Kai released his Divine Abilities and his face paled slightly as he retreated a hundred kilometers back, suppressing the roiling blood in his body.

Underworld Heavenly Monarch and the others stood in front of Yang Kai while protecting the Sixth Order woman, all of them breaking out in cold sweat.

If they hadn’t come to her rescue in time just now, this disciple of Zuo Quan Hui, would have been seriously injured even if she didn’t die. Although he was cursing this woman in his heart, he didn’t dare lower his guard.

At this moment, in the depths of the Flying Smoke Territory, an extremely terrifying aura suddenly spread out. This aura was obviously extremely far away, but everyone could clearly sense it.

“The Heavenly Monarch is here!” Underworld Heavenly Monarch and the others were overjoyed. Zuo Quan Hui, who had been cultivating in seclusion, must have noticed the fluctuations of the battle and rushed over to help. [MSN: High Rank should be called Divine Monarch, but it's probably changed since he join 2nd class force.]

Yang Kai’s face sank slightly as he raised his head to look towards the source of this aura. He could faintly make out a giant phantom rapidly approaching him. This phantom was an angry face that could cover most of the void.

Slightly sighing in his heart, Yang Kai had originally planned to kill another of Zuo Quan Hui’s people even at the cost of his own life, but now it seemed that he had no choice. With Zuo Quan Hui’s arrival, Yang Kai had no choice but to flee.

Staring coldly at Underworld Heavenly Monarch and the others, Yang Kai turned around and left.

“Stop him!” As Underworld Heavenly Monarch shouted, he had already rushed towards Yang Kai. As long as Yang Kai remained here, Zuo Quan Hui would definitely kill him.

“Those who block my path will die!” Yang Kai raised his spear and thrust it forward. As the spear light burst out, the many Open Heaven Stage cultivators who had gathered outside the encirclement suddenly screamed.

These Open Heaven Stage masters who had been surrounding Yang Kai were all below the Sixth Order, so how could they possibly block his path?

A gap suddenly appeared, leaving behind a dozen or so corpses in the air. The remaining people were all terrified and fled in all directions.

By the time Underworld Heavenly Monarch and the others arrived, Yang Kai had already disappeared into the Domain Gate, leaving behind only Underworld Heavenly Monarch and the others with helpless expressions.

None of them dared to chase after Yang Kai into the Void Territory. Who knew if Yang Kai wouldn't kill them after they go through the Domain Gate? If they were to rush in now, it would be the gates of hell.

After standing in place for half an hour, Zuo Quan Hui finally arrived. Sweeping his eyes over the surrounding area, he coldly snorted.

Underworld Heavenly Monarch and the others all lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

“Where did Yang Kai come from?” Zuo Quan Hui asked.

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. None of them had expected Yang Kai to appear in the Flying Smoke Territory. If they had known this would happen, they would have been even more vigilant.

“A bunch of trash!” Zuo Quan Hui cursed.

Many Open Heaven Stage masters couldn’t even lift their heads after being scolded, all of them feeling somewhat depressed, but considering Zuo Quan Hui’s mood had been quite bad recently, none of them dared to refute him.

Zuo Quan Hui threw a tantrum before flicking his sleeve and leaving.

Seeing that Zuo Quan Hui had no intention of killing his way into the Void Territory, Underworld Heavenly Monarch and the others let out a sigh of relief, secretly regretting their decision to join Zuo Quan Hui’s side. Now that they had just escaped from Crime Star and were about to suffer such a fate, it was not worth it.

In the Void Territory, outside Star City, Yang Kai stopped and observed.

The Void Harbor was as lively as ever.

However, in the past, the liveliness was because the people outside were waiting to enter Star City, but this time, it was because the people inside the Star City were waiting to leave.

Of course, there were also people who wanted to enter the Star City, but the number of people who wanted to enter was quite small, which was very different from the situation in the Star City before.

Yang Kai had already anticipated this, but he hadn’t expected things to develop so quickly. It seemed that the reputation of Thousand Crane Paradise and Zuo Quan Hui was not something ordinary forces could provoke.

Arriving at the Void Harbor in a flash, Jin Yuan Lang, who was in charge of overseeing this place, immediately came out and greeted with a worried expression, “Sect Master!”

Yang Kai nodded slightly, “Let’s find a quiet place to talk.”

“Sect Master, please follow me.” Jin Yuan Lang waved his hand and led Yang Kai into a quiet room.

Without waiting for Yang Kai to speak, Jin Yuan Lang hurriedly said, “Sect Master, that Zuo Quan Hui released news that he and my Void Land cannot live under the same sky and vowed to raze my Void Land to the ground. Many of the merchants in the Star City have received the news and are now leaving.”

“I saw it,” Yang Kai nodded, “How long has this news been out? How many people have left?”

Jin Yuan Lang thought about it for a moment before replying, “The news should have been spread more than a month ago. Now that ten percent of the merchants have left Void Star City, this number will likely increase. The Viceroy has sent word that many merchants in the Star City are preparing to leave.”

“We didn’t make things difficult for these merchants, did we?” Yang Kai asked.

Jin Yuan Lang shook his head and said, “Second Manager said that if someone wanted to leave, we couldn’t force them to stay, so all those who wanted to leave were allowed to leave, so this subordinate only conducted a routine inspection of the harbor and allowed everyone who had no problems to leave.”

“Second Manager did well,” Yang Kai praised.

The people in the Star City all came from various large and small forces, so it was only natural for them to fear Zuo Quan Hui, a High Rank Open Heaven master. If they really tried to force their way into the Void Land, they would only incur the wrath of others, so it was better for them to part peacefully.

“But Sect Master, if this continues, the foundation of our Star City will be shaken, and the popularity we’ve gathered with great difficulty will also disappear.”

Yang Kai waved his hand and said, “It’s not that serious! There will always be some merchants who won’t leave.” Pausing for a moment, he asked, “How many do you think will remain?”

Jin Yuan Lang shook his head, “I can’t say for sure, I’m only in charge of the Void Harbor, Sect Master has to ask Viceroy about this!”

Void Star City had a Viceroy’s mansion, Mo Mei was in charge, and the Viceroy was Mo Mei.

As they were talking, Mo Mei’s voice rang out, “We should be able to retain less than thirty percent.”

Yang Kai turned his head and saw Mo Mei walk in and greet him, “Sect Master has returned.”

Yang Kai nodded and gestured, “Sit.”

Mo Mei sat down and explained, “The people below said Sect Master appeared at the harbor, so I came to take a look. Did Sect Master’s trip go smoothly?”

When Yang Kai left half a year ago, he did not make a sound, but the higher-ups of the Void Land knew about his movements and knew that he had gone to the Black Prison to find Luan Bai Feng.

“Good,” Yang Kai nodded and smiled, “I brought back a lot of good stuff.”

Mo Mei’s eyes lit up as she smiled and said, “With Sect Master personally taking action, it really is easy.”

“I’m just lucky,” Yang Kai waved his hand, “Tell me about the Star City, how do you think thirty percent of them will remain?”

Speaking of proper business, Mo Mei’s expression also became serious, “Although the merchants in the Star City is afraid of Zuo Quan Hui and Thousand Crane Paradise's prestige and don’t look favorably upon my Void Land, as a merchant forces, they have an instinct to pursue benefits, so there are still some bold people who will remain and observe the situation. Moreover, the merchants who live in the Star City may not all be afraid of Zuo Quan Hui, there are still a few families who don’t put him in their eyes, such as Yin-Yang Heaven’s Training Hall and Asura Heaven’s Asura Arena.”

Yang Kai nodded slightly. These two families were backed by Cave Heaven forces, so they really didn’t need to care about Zuo Quan Hui.

“The reason my Void Star City was able to rise to prominence was because of the Heavenly Yuan Positive Seal Pill. As long as we have this pill to sell, there will definitely be people who will stay. Thirty percent is just my estimation, it’s not accurate,” Mo Mei smiled lightly, “However, I don’t think it will be too bad, but with so many merchants leaving, it will be a huge blow to the Star City’s popularity. Before the battle with Zuo Quan Hui ends, it will be impossible for us to maintain our former popularity.”

“It doesn’t matter. Although the Star City is the foundation of my Void Land, it has accumulated a lot of resources over the past few years, so it should be enough for now. As long as we win this battle, the Star City’s popularity will recover sooner or later.”

“Sect Master is right!” Mo Mei nodded, “The Second Manager also summoned us to discuss this matter. With Void Land’s current accumulation, we don’t need to worry about three to five years.”

“Three to five years!” Yang Kai nodded slightly. This time, he had brought back enough materials for ten people to break through to the Sixth Order. If the Great Emperors worked hard, they might be able to break through after three to five years. At that time, they would naturally have the qualifications to compete with Zuo Quan Hui.

“Sect Master, I have an idea,” Mo Mei looked at him.

“Tell me.”

“Previously, the merchants who lived in the Star City had all signed a different yearly contract with us to rent out the Star City’s shops. Now that they’ve taken the initiative to leave, the contract naturally became invalid, and many more idle shops will appear.”

Yang Kai nodded, “This is unavoidable, what solution do you have?”

Mo Mei smiled and said, “Naturally, I can’t deal with idle shops, but for those merchants who are willing to stay, can we provide them with some benefits, such as reducing their rent and taxes? At least we can let them know that my Void Land is not an ungrateful place.”

Yang Kai pondered for a moment before agreeing, “That’s a good idea. Also, count all the merchants who have left. If they want to return to the Star City in the future, they must pay more rent and taxes than others.”

Mo Mei was surprised, “This… isn’t this too bad?”

Yang Kai sneered, “Star City belongs to my Void Land. If they want to come, they can come. If they don’t want to come, no one will force them. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Every large Star City was extremely expensive, and it was very difficult for ordinary forces to rent a good location. Void Star City had the qualifications to own a large Star City, and after several expansions, it had reached its current scale. In the past, many merchants had fought to obtain a good store, but now that Void Land was facing external threats, these merchants had the freedom to leave, but if they wanted to return, they would have to depend on Void Land’s attitude.

Mo Mei pursed her lips and smiled, “You’re the Sect Master, so you have the final say. I’ll have someone compile a list now.”

Yang Kai nodded, “Go.”

After Mo Mei left, Yang Kai turned to Jin Yuan Lang and said, “Those who want to leave, there’s no need to be so harsh on them. All of them can leave, one day they will return.”

Jin Yuan cupped his fists and said, “Subordinate understands!”

The current situation in the Star City was not stable, but there was no need to pay too much attention to it. Under the threat of external threats, everyone had the instinct to protect themselves.

Rising his feet and walking outside, Yang Kai looked up into the sky. This battle had just begun!

TO BE CONTINUED...