Chapter 4216 – Exposure and Warning
Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Yang Kai smiled at Old Zhou, “What if I refused?”
Old Zhou calmly said, “You have no reason to refuse, Nephew. Fighting life or death battles in the Asura Arena might be able to help a person grow extremely fast, but there is no point in participating if you are simply going to one-sidedly crush your opponents. Even Yu Luo Sha could not last for more than ten breaths against you. There are few below the Open Heaven Realm in this vast universe who have the qualifications to stand before you. You won’t be able to meet a suitable opponent even if you enter the Asura Arena again. In that case, why would you waste your time by returning to the Asura Arena?
“Besides, even if you do enter the Asura Arena again, the Asura Arena can adjust the odds so while we won’t make money, we can minimize our losses. That is why I believe that you have no reason to refuse. What do you say, Nephew Yang?”
Yang Kai considered those words for a moment and nodded, “What you say does make sense, Old Zhou.”
Old Zhou grinned lightly at Yang Kai, “So, do we have a deal?”
Yang Kai laughed, “It’s not like I can’t agree to never set foot in the Asura Arena again. But, I have to ask that you restrain Junior Sister Yu, Old Zhou. I’m worried that she might not be convinced even after the battle today…”
Old Zhou replied, “Please don’t worry about this, Nephew. Xiao Yu’er might be stubborn, but she is not a fool. I’m certain that she will not challenge you again when she knows that she cannot defeat you and that her actions will only humiliate herself once more. Nevertheless, this Old Master will restrain her!”
“And, about the compensation…”
He raised an eyebrow at Yang Kai’s words, “Nephew Yang, do you think that it is too little?”
Yang Kai rubbed his fingers together and said slyly, “How can there ever be such a thing as too many Open Heaven Pills?”
Old Zhou pondered for a moment and came to a decision, “This Old Master can give you another 50 million. What do you think, Nephew?”
Yang Kai’s expression became stern, “50 million doesn’t sound that nice. Why don’t you round it up to a whole number instead?”
Old Zhou’s expression became stiff, “Nephew Yang, you should show some propriety. Don’t be too greedy. This is already the limit that this Old Master can provide under his authority. If you ask for more, this Old Master will have to pay you out of my own pocket. If you agree to this deal, you will not only receive a large amount of Open Heaven Pills but also the friendship of Asura Heaven. This is a very good deal for you.”
After saying that, his eyes flashed for a moment and he looked at Yang Kai seriously before adding, “Coincidentally, this Old Master heard of a name recently. That name is exactly the same as yours, Nephew Yang Kai.”
Yang Kai smiled, “The 3,000 Worlds is extensive. There are trillions upon trillions of living creatures scattered across the vast universe. I’m sure there are people out there with the same name as me.”
Old Zhou gently nodded, “Indeed. It’s not strange for a few people to have the exact same name and surname. What’s strange is that this person’s cultivation is also similar to yours. Don’t you find that rather strange, Nephew Yang Kai?”
Yang Kai’s expression changed and his eyes flashed, “What else did you hear about, Old Zhou?”
Old Zhou said slowly, “I also heard that this ‘Yang Kai’ was involved in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary incident. He made a huge fortune there and even condensed several High-Rank Open Heaven Elements. It seems he is very ambitious and intends to break through to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm directly. Say, Nephew Yang Kai, don’t you agree that this person has no fear of the Heavens?”
Yang Kai quickly replied, “Cultivators all seek to reach the peak of the Material Dao. How is that having no fear of the Heavens?”
“It is difficult for a rogue cultivator to directly achieve the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. This Old Master believes that this person will suffer a catastrophe in the future since he does not have any background nor support to rely upon. If he does not survive the catastrophe, then things would simply end with his death.”
“What if he survives the catastrophe?” Yang Kai looked at Old Zhou.
Old Zhou studied Yang Kai for a moment and gave a soft chuckle, “If he can survive the catastrophe, then this Old Master will cut off his head for him to kick around like a ball.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but coldly snort in response, “Don’t get too high and mighty with your words, Old Zhou. Like water that has been spilled, the words you speak can never be taken back again.”
Old Zhou shook his head, “That is fate. If this Old Master says that he won’t be able to survive the catastrophe, then he won’t. Forcefully pushing forward will only cause his Soul to be extinguished. This Old Master hopes that he can change his mind as soon as possible. If he only takes a step back, then all will end well; otherwise, it will be too late for regrets by the time the catastrophe strikes.
Yang Kai looked livid.
Then, Old Zhou abruptly changed the subject, “There’s no point in speaking about such irrelevant matters. Nephew Yang, have you considered the offer this Old Master has given you?”
Yang Kai stretched out his hand, “Hand it over.”
Old Zhou smilingly took out another Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai. That Space Ring contained an impressive 50 million Open Heaven Pills. He said meaningfully, “Nephew, this Old Master has a word of advice for you. Those who understand how to be flexible will rise higher!”
Yang Kai muttered, “Many thanks for your advice, Old Zhou. I will keep your words in my heart.”
Old Zhou gave Yang Kai a measuring look and seemed to see the determination in his eyes; thus, he sighed and shook his head before taking his leave.
Next to them, Pei Bu Wan bowed and sent Old Zhou off. It wasn’t until Old Zhou was gone that he looked at the two Space Rings in Yang Kai’s hands with an envious look. Those Space Rings contained a whopping sum of 1.25 billion Open Heaven Pills. It was an amount he would never earn even if he worked all his life. A moment later, he suddenly jumped in fright, “Little Brother Yang, why is your expression so terrible?”
Yang Kai randomly came up with an excuse, “I was wounded by Yu Luo Sha.”
Pei Bu Wan was surprised for a moment, then a wave of understanding washed over him. [I guess the battle just now was not as easy as it seemed on the surface. Yang Kai probably paid a heavy price to defeat Yu Luo Sha within ten breaths, it’s just that it doesn’t show on the surface.]
“Shopkeeper Pei, until we meet again.” Yang Kai cupped his fists and led Yue He away, his expression still as gloomy as before.
He knew that he could not hide his identity after what happened in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, or the fact that he had condensed a High-Rank Elements and was intending to reach the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm directly. So many people had witnessed what happened in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary after all. It was a given that the news would spread out. It was only a matter of time.
Calculating the time, nearly two years had passed since he came out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. If Asura Heaven could learn about the events inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, then it would not be surprising for them to know about him.
Looking for a person in this vast universe was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack. Unfortunately, Old Zhou had noticed something during this battle in the Asura Arena and ascertained that Yang Kai was the same person mentioned in those rumours. Yu Luo Sha had condensed the Sixth-Order Element Powers after all. She could be considered an invincible existence among those below the Open Heaven Realm. As such, one needed to have a greater heritage than hers in order to defeat her within ten breaths.
If Asura Heaven was already aware of this fact, then that was probably the case for all the other Cave-Heavens and Paradises.
Yang Kai had always known from the Proprietress that his journey towards the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm was not going to be easy and he was very likely going to be suppressed by the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises. It was just that he had never revealed himself in the eyes of the world before. He had simply taken over Void Land and quietly strengthened himself. It could be considered a fairly stable lifestyle. On the contrary, he had been completely exposed after the battle today.
In any case, it was not something that could be helped. Even without today’s battle, it was simply a matter of time before his whereabouts were discovered by those who were interested in him. Unless he hid himself in Void Land forever and never showed his face anywhere, it was impossible to remain anonymous.
Be that as it may, there was no need to worry about being suppressed for the time being. He had only just condensed four Elements after all. There was still a long way before he could advance into the Open Heaven Realm. Even if the Cave-Heavens and Paradises planned to suppress him, they would not make their move so quickly. They had reputations to worry about, so they had to be mindful of how they took action.
A cultivator’s road to advancing into the Open Heaven Realm was long; in addition, there were many variables that could affect the final outcome. Just like the wooden boards that make up a wooden barrel, how much water a barrel could hold depended entirely on the shortest board. They only needed to ensure that his water barrel had a single wooden board that was below the High-Rank to get the results they wanted.
Upon considering all of this, Yang Kai felt a little more at ease. Old Zhou’s words today might seem like nothing more than kind advice, but they were actually a kind of warning, one that came from the various Cave-Heavens and Paradises. He did not dare to say that it was the will of all the Cave-Heavens and Paradises, but their opinions would likely be quite consistent when it came to this matter.
After passing through a long and dark corridor, the bright light ahead seemed to welcome him. Yang Kai tightly clenched his fists and looked up into the sky with a smirk on his lips. [Forget a trivial warning. Even if I have to make the entire world my enemy, my determination to achieve the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm will not be shaken!]
“Brat, why are you smiling so exaggeratedly?” Bai Qi’s face suddenly appeared in front of Yang Kai with an infinitely curious expression.
Yang Kai was astonished, “What are you doing here?”
Old Bai chuckled and waved the Space Ring in his hand slightly.
Yang Kai blinked and quickly caught on to the meaning, “Did the Proprietress ask you to place a bet?”
Old Bai delightedly replied, “It’s a good opportunity to make a fortune. Who would willingly miss out on such an opportunity? The Proprietress prepared this long ago.”
Those who did not know Yang Kai might not have been optimistic about his prospects, but the Proprietress knew him very well. How could she not know how strong he was? She started preparing for Bai Qi to place a bet the moment Yang Kai decided to accept Yu Luo Sha’s challenge.
“It’s a pity. The Proprietress did not have many Open Heaven Pills on hand, so we could only place a 30 million wager.” Bai Qi complained with some dissatisfaction.
Yang Kai was dumbstruck. The Proprietress had placed a bet of 30 million with ten to one odds; in other words, she had won 300 million Open Heaven Pills. Combined with the 1.25 billion Open Heaven Pills that he received, the Asura Arena must have lost basically its entire betting pool this time. There was no saying how long it would take for them to recover from these losses.
“We’ll have enough money for the auction now. Heh heh heh…” Bai Qi chuckled softly.
“Auction?” Yang Kai immediately became interested when he heard those words, “Where is the auction? Wind and Cloud Auction House?”
Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City had an auction house by the name of the Wind and Cloud Auction House. It was a place Yang Kai was familiar with as it was an industry owned by Wind and Cloud Paradise.
Back when Yang Kai and Old Bai went there to collect debt payments, Wind and Cloud Auction House had made all sorts of excuses to avoid paying them. The two had been so annoyed that they snuck into the auction and made multiple malicious bids, which resulted in the auction being ruined. The person in charge of the Wind and Cloud Auction House at the time was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master by the name of Yun Zhen Hua.
Due to the malicious bids that Yang Kai and Bai Qi made during the auction, most of the auction items had basically fallen into their hands; however, they refused to settle the bill with Open Heaven Pills. It stood to reason that Yun Zhen Hua would not let this matter slide, so he imprisoned them inside Wind and Cloud Auction House. This provoked the Proprietress who subsequently flew into a rage and attacked Wind and Cloud Auction House as a result. Thus, a grudge was formed between them because of this incident.
Later, Yun Zhen Hua teamed up with Yue He, Qin Ji, and Ling Chun Qiu to ambush the Proprietress. Yun Zhen Hua was ultimately killed on the spot and his Soul was extinguished inside the Sealing Yang Domain of Golden Rainbow Province when Yang Kai used his last Mie Meng Golden Feather.
When Yang Kai heard Bai Qi mention the word ‘auction’, Wind and Cloud Auction House immediately came to mind.
Bai Qi sneered, “First Inn and Wind and Cloud Auction House are at odds with each other, how could we possibly participate in any of their auctions? This time, we are participating in an auction held by Red Clouds Auction House.”
Knowing that Yang Kai was not very familiar with the Star City, he went on to explain, “Red Clouds Auction House is owned by Red Clouds Cave Heaven. Their heritage is far greater than Wind and Cloud Auction House and they have branches in many Star Cities. Furthermore, they tend to hold a large-scale auction in a random Star City every five years or so. The large-scale auction this time will be held in Thousand Birds Territory’s Star City.”