Chapter 2373, Drawing Back Only Leads to Defeat Translator: Silavin & Raikov Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys This young man called Yang Kai should have cut off his cultivation at the critical moment, otherwise it was impossible for him to be safe. To cut off one’s cultivation was to cut off their path in the Martial Dao. Considering all this, Ling Yin Qin couldn’t help but sigh a little, and, looking at his face, he seemed to have suffered a lot of injuries as well. Otherwise, why would his face look so terrible? This person truly was unlucky, to encounter this kind of disaster after being in the Solitary Void Sealed World for only a few days. If it had happened maybe two months later, then he may have the chance to break through to the Emperor Realm back on Clear Sky Island. “Brother Yang, did your breakthrough... fail?” Jiao Yi blabbed his big mouth and asked bluntly. He wasn’t thinking too deeply about it. He had only asked because he saw Yang Kai return so quickly without any improvement in his cultivation. But as soon as he said that, he received a silent kick from Ling Yin Qin. Jiao Yi immediately realized that he had been indiscreet, so he immediately shut his mouth. There would be nothing to blame him for if he asked about Yang Kai’s situation out of concern if nobody else was around, but there were now enemies nearby, so asking this would lead others to know that Yang Kai was currently not in good shape. “Yeah, I failed!” Yang Kai replied calmly, showing no hint of chagrin. “A breakthrough?” When the man in purple heard this, he raised his brow as if he realized something and looked over at Yang Kai and asked, “So, that commotion over there was caused by you trying to break through?” “Who are you?” Yang Kai glanced at him. Ling Yin Qin quickly transmitted to him, “He is the Vice Pavilion Master of Profound Cloud Pavilion, Yang Yao Shi. The Profound Cloud Pavilion holds great power in Clear Sky Island. The Pavilion Master is an Emperor Realm Master. Don’t say anything and just leave this matter to me.” From her tone, it seemed like she had quite a lot of scruples about this Profound Cloud Pavilion. Yang Kai talked with Jiao Yi a lot before this and got to know that there were many great forces on Clear Sky Island because, to survive in this damned place, cultivators had to group together. Naturally, as time went on, all sorts of big and small forces formed. Ling Yin Qin and her crew were considered one of them. It was just that they weren’t famous. There were about a dozen Emperor Realm Masters on Clear Sky Island, and the subordinates of these Emperors held the most of the power, so no one dared to mess around with them. This Profound Cloud Pavilion was one such force. Yang Kai would also never have expected to come across the Profound Cloud Pavilion’s ship in this vast ocean. Ling Yin Qin had undoubtedly transmitted the message to Yang Kai for fear that he would provoke someone he shouldn’t as he was new here. She had good intentions. At the same time, a man next to Yang Yao Shi suddenly leaned over to whisper something into his ear. Yang Yao Shi’s eyes lit up instantly and a meaningful light flashed across his eyes as he gazed at Yang Kai, “Boy, are you new here like that woman? You don’t look too familiar.” Upon hearing this, Ling Yin Qin’s heart could not help but sink. The crew manifest on her ship had not changed at all in years, and the man next to Yang Yao Shi obviously recognized them, so once he saw the two unfamiliar faces, Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun, he instantly realized that these two were newcomers. New cultivators would generally have a lot of Source Crystals on them, so for those living in the Solitary Void Sealed World, newcomers were fat sheep. Even a man like Jiao Yi used to have thoughts against them, so nothing needed to be said about these people from Profound Cloud Pavilion. Ling Yin Qin quickly spoke up, “Brother Yang, these two are my crew members, not some newcomers. Are you perhaps mistaken?” Yang Yao Shi’s face sank and he huffed, “Cheap slut, you think yourself worthy to call me Brother Yang?” Even though his cultivation was also just at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, Ling Yin Qin could not contest against him. He was the Vice Pavilion Master of Profound Cloud Pavilion and had an Emperor backing him, making his status simply incomparable to someone like Ling Yin Qin. When he heard Ling Yin Qin addressing him so casually, Yang Yao Shi immediately got annoyed. Ling Yin Qin’s face turned ugly, but the situation was bigger than herself right now, so she had no choice but to lower her head, “Vice Pavilion Master Yang, this Mistress has spoken out of place. I hope Vice Pavilion Master Yang can pardon my rudeness.” She had lived for several dozen years in this Solitary Void Sealed World and knew who she could and could not mess with. So, even though she felt indignant at the situation, she could only swallow her anger and hope for the best. Jiao Yi and the other crew members had quietly clenched their fists and gritted their teeth as well. “Hmph!” Yang Yao Shi glanced at Ling Yin Qin from the corner of his eye and said, “This is the last time. Next time, I won’t let you off so easily.” “Many thanks, Vice Pavilion Master Yang,” Ling Yin Qin said through gritted teeth. “As for these two...” Yang Yao Shi pointed his hand at Liu Xian Yun and Yang Kai, snickering, “Did you think this King would not be able to tell whether these two are new here? Anyone living long enough in this damned place will more or less be stained by the ocean air, but they are not. They obviously just arrived here not long ago. You’ve got a lot of guts to dare deceive this King, Ling Yin Qin!” Ling Yin Qin’s pretty face changed as she knew it was impossible to deny it now. She glanced over at Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun worriedly and thought about how she could let the two escape, but she also knew there was little hope, which caused her heart to become riddled with guilt. She had thought that Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun would both be panicked and scared that Yang Yao Shi had his eyes on them, but when she looked over, she only saw them whispering something to each other with indifferent looks on their faces. It seemed like Yang Kai was asking how the marks on Liu Xian Yun’s face came about, but Liu Xian Yun kept shaking her head and saying nothing, which put Yang Kai at a loss. “Hand those two over and give us half of your trip’s harvest. If you do that, this King can make an exception and let you go this once!” Yang Yao Shi pointed his hand at Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun and said in a domineering manner. “Half of our harvest?” Jiao Yi had a hot temper, so he was instantly riled up by those words and stamped his feet, “Why don’t you come and snatch it from us if you dare?” Yang Yao Shi’s face sank as he shot Jiao Yi a glance and grunted, “Is this how you train your subordinates, Ling Yin Qin? You know what will happen if you offend this King, don’t you?” Ling Yin Qin immediately shot a glare at Jiao Yi and snapped at him, “Don’t make things more complicated!” Since the Big Sister had spoken, Jiao Yi didn’t dare to say anything more even though he was still discontented; however, the look on his face was extremely ugly. The anger he was suppressing could almost set him ablaze, and the others around him shared similar expressions. They worked so hard at sea and risked their lives, spending so much effort in order to secure a full harvest, but they didn’t expect Yang Yao Shi to block them here and want to rob them of half their haul. Half of the harvest was quite a lot. It was equivalent to one or two years of hard work that they were doing before this. Who would be willing to just hand that over? Ling Yin Qin cupped her fists, “Vice Pavilion Master Yang, since those two are on my ship, then they are part of my crew and this Mistress is responsible for their safety. How about this, we had a pretty good harvest this trip, so we can offer it all to you, but only if you don’t find any trouble with them.” “You’re trying to bargain with me?” Yang Yao Shi’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint shining within them. There seemed to be a cold chill emitting from his entire body. Ling Yin Qin looked up and explained, “We harvested more than 100,000 pieces of Grey Feather Coral and also collected the carcass of one Ice and Fire Profound Armoured Dolphin. Vice Pavilion Master Yang can consider for himself whether or not this is a good deal.” “What?” Yang Yao Shi was stunned, “Over 100,000 pieces of Grey Feather Coral, and the carcass of an Ice and Fire Profound Armoured Dolphin?” Even though he was the Vice Pavilion Master of Profound Cloud Pavilion, he had still never come across such a large amount of wealth in one go. Just the 100,000 pieces of Grey Feather Coral alone was an immense treasure, but they even had the carcass of a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast! A Twelfth-Order Monster Beast was equivalent to an Emperor Realm Master, so its Monster Core was definitely worth a lot of money. In the Solitary Void Sealed World, many Spirit Pills were refined from the Monster Cores of Sea Beasts. The Monster Core of this Twelfth-Order Monster Beast would be good enough to refine an Emperor Grade Spirit Pill, the effects of which would be difficult to estimate for Yang Yao Shi. He was immediately moved. But Yang Yao Shi still snorted, “You dare try and play tricks on this King, Ling Yin Qin? An Ice and Fire Profound Armoured Dolphin is a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast. How could you possibly kill it with your strength?” Ling Yin Qin answered, “It was already dead. The Grey Feather Coral was located in its territory. We just went there to collect it.” Yang Yao Shi was immediately convinced, that was because cultivators would often encounter opportunities and other strange things out in this Solitary Void Sea and were able to get a lot of good things without much effort if their luck was good enough. He laughed, “You guys are quite lucky. Not bad, not bad at all. So many good things are enough to buy their lives.” Ling Yin Qin quickly said, “Does that mean that Vice Pavilion Master Yang agrees?” Yang Yao Shi nodded and said, “Naturally. Why would I not agree to such a good thing? This King can leave the two of them, but in addition to the conditions you mentioned, the Space Rings of the two of them must also be handed over.” The main reason he wanted to take Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun away was for the Source Crystals inside their Space Rings. As long as he could get their Space Rings, why would he care whether Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun were dead or alive? Ling Yin Qin frowned, “This Mistress is unable to make this decision for them!” As she spoke, she turned towards Yang Kai with a helpless look on her face. This was already the best she could do. The rest would be left up to Yang Kai to see how sensible he was. Yang Kai sneered, “Such lack of shame and respect. You can already be considered a new standard in this regard.” While Ling Yin Qin and Yang Yao Shi were negotiating earlier, Jiao Yi and the others did not dare to interrupt even though they were all furious. Even when Ling Yin Qin said she was willing to give up their entire harvest to ensure his and Liu Xian Yun’s safety, none of the crew members retorted. Yang Kai was now able to understand how highly this group of men regarded Ling Yin Qin. Considering he and Liu Xian Yun had nothing to do with them and only paid the fare and the room fees, without an incredible sense of honour and integrity, who would be willing to spend so much just to protect them? Ling Yin Qin had done this because she considered Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun part of her crew the moment she accepted them aboard, making them her responsibility. [What an extremely principled woman!] This part of her nature also clearly convinced her subordinates that no matter what decisions she made, they would obey. Naturally, Yang Kai could see the meaning in Ling Yin Qin’s eyes. Even though she didn’t say anything explicitly, there was no doubt she wanted to persuade him to part with his wealth in order to avoid this disaster. Ling Yin Qin thought that he had failed his breakthrough, cut off his cultivation, and was now weakened, but she had no idea that Yang Kai didn’t place these people in his eyes at all. So, when she heard him speak so arrogantly, Ling Yin Qin’s face changed and she quickly warned, “Yang Kai, bear with it now and you’ll find calm and peace; take a step back and you’ll find more space around you!” Yang Kai sighed, “Big Sister Ling, a cultivator’s only path must be to forge ahead, meeting troubles head-on. It’s not a good habit to back down and give up. For people like them, if you take a step back, then they will only push you down and step on your head.”