Chapter 4688 – Punishment Translator: Silavin & Jon Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Zhao Ye Bai had no idea what was going on with him. As he grew older, he became increasingly stronger. He didn’t feel one bit of pressure at all when holding two buckets filled with water. He had secretly tried it on a boulder, which weighed about 1,000 kilograms, and it was easily lifted by him using only one hand. Therefore, he had no idea where his true limits were. He didn’t hide this fact from Zhao Ya. Since they had grown up together, there were no secrets between them. According to Zhao Ya, there were always talented people in the world who were born with abilities that others couldn’t possess. Some people even had great innate strength for no apparent reason. Zhao Ye Bai believed that he was one such person. Moreover, since he settled down on the peak ten years ago, he had never fallen sick. Although he would always be beaten, he just supposed he had really thick skin and strong flesh. Any bruises or cuts he got would all disappear after a night’s sleep. Because of that, Zhao Ya had excitedly looked for her Master and told him that Zhao Ye Bai had an unusual physique. She pleaded with her Master to examine Zhao Ye Bai’s aptitude so that the latter could also become his Disciple too. Unfortunately, after an examination, her Master still said that Zhao Ye Bai’s aptitude was ordinary and he didn’t have the intention of taking him on as a Disciple. It had been ten years since Zhao Ya started cultivating, so she was no longer a young girl who knew nothing. Knowing fully well that her Master was exceptionally powerful and knowledgeable, she felt dejected over his judgement. She had secretly taught Zhao Ye Bai the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques that her Master had imparted to her so that he could cultivate with her, thinking the result of his aptitude would only be clear after he started cultivating. What made her furious was that the obstinate Zhao Ye Bai never tried to cultivate. He said that he couldn’t cultivate without the Senior’s permission. This made Zhao Ya infuriated. The young man dashed up the steps of Azure Jade Peak. While he held two huge buckets full of water, they didn’t slow him down in the slightest. Instead, he only became faster as his hands were extremely steady. Not even a drop of water spilled out of the buckets. As his speed increased, layers of ripples were formed in the Void around Zhao Ye Bai; however, the young man was not aware of these changes. He just loved to run like this, like a fish swimming in the ocean. It felt as though he was about to merge with the world. These 1,008 steps took the young children a whole day to climb as blisters formed on their soles in the past. Nevertheless, Zhao Ye Bai could now easily reach the top in less than an hour. When he reached the summit of Azure Jade Peak, he saw a beautiful young woman standing there waiting for him. The young woman’s beauty was like a breath of fresh air, so it was no wonder that the Fellow Brothers from Seven Stars Sect could never forget about her the moment they laid their eyes on her and did everything they could to pass love letters to her. “Big Brother Ye Bai.” Zhao Ya put on a sweet smile. Zhao Ye Bai stopped in his tracks. While staring at the young woman in front of him, he fell into a dazed state as he recalled what Miao Fei Ping had said to him. Zhao Ya tilted her head, “What’s wrong?” “Nothing,” Zhao Ye Bai shook his head, “Have you done your homework? Why are you waiting for me here?” Zhao Ya extended her hands in an attempt to take the buckets, but Zhao Ye Bai stepped aside to dodge them, “There’s no need for that. This is my duty. Senior will chide you if he sees you helping.” She pursed her lips and complained, “Master is too strict, always saying I can’t do this and that. It’s so annoying!” Zhao Ye Bai replied with a smile, “Senior is doing it for your own good.” “Hmph!” Zhao Ya slightly lifted her nose as she caught a whiff of something. As she sniffled, she looked doubtfully at Zhao Ye Bai. Before she could close in, Zhao Ye Bai ran off in an awkward manner as he shouted, “You should get some rest, Xiao Ya. I’ll call you when the meal is ready!” “Alright!” Zhao Ya replied as she looked smilingly at his disappearing back. When his figure was out of sight, the smile on Zhao Ya’s face faded as her clear eyes burned with fury. That was because she caught a whiff of medicinal fragrance from Zhao Ye Bai. She then turned around and took a step forward. A few steps later, she was already at the bottom of the mountain. As usual, she arrived at the river. Presently, Miao Fei Ping was seated on a boulder as he was chewing on a stalk of grass he had picked up from somewhere. Upon hearing the rustling, he turned around and put on a helpless smile, “You came sooner than I expected.” Zhao Ya asked, “Who was it?” Her voice sounded so cold that it could almost freeze the river. Miao Fei Ping let out a sigh, “This happens every time. Aren’t you aware of the reason they do this? Those guys that you beat up were all happy being punched. They oppressed Zhao Ye Bai because they wanted you to stand up for him so that they could see you. They were still pleased even though they were beaten black and blue.” Zhao Ya said through clenched teeth, “I was too gentle back then!” Miao Fei Ping suddenly had a bad feeling, “What are you trying to do this time?” “It has nothing to do with you. Just tell me who they are.” Miao Fei Ping shook his head, “You can’t defeat that guy this time. You’re now only in the True Element Boundary Third-Stage while he’s in the Ninth-Stage. He’s just one step away from making it to the Immortal Ascension Boundary, so how are you supposed to be a match for him?” “True Element Boundary Ninth-Stage?” Zhao Ya muttered under her breath. All of a sudden, she closed her eyes as her aura rose rapidly. Miao Fei Ping was surprised as he had no idea what she was doing; however, his jaw suddenly dropped in disbelief. He wasn’t even aware that the grass he had been chewing on had fallen. That was because he could feel that Zhao Ya’s aura, which was stuck in the True Element Boundary Third-Stage, suddenly began rising and wasn’t showing any signs of stopping. When it finally reached the peak, Zhao Ya suddenly achieved a breakthrough as a pressure wave spread out from her body. She was now in the True Element Boundary Fourth-Stage! That wasn’t the end yet. Just a moment later, she made it to the Fifth-Stage and then the Sixth-Stage. It only took her a short while to break through three Minor Realms. At the sight of this, Miao Fei Ping was flabbergasted as he thought that this was probably the power of a person with A+ aptitude. Achieving a breakthrough was as easy as eating food or drinking water to her. He also had Rank A aptitude, and his cultivation increased rapidly over the years with his progress being far greater than that of his Fellow Brothers. However, he realised he still wasn’t comparable to Zhao Ya at all after witnessing what she had just done. It was the first time he discovered that one could achieve a breakthrough like this. Although the True Element Boundary Sixth-Stage was still three Minor Realms below the Ninth-Stage, the gap had been significantly shortened. The corners of Miao Fei Ping’s face twitched as it was the first time he felt inferior to anyone. Seeing that Zhao Ya was burning with murderous intent, he stopped stalling and gave her a list of names. Zhao Ya extended her hand and summoned a silver spear before turning to leave. Miao Fei Ping felt his heart pounding against his chest as he had a feeling that something serious was about to happen. He thus hurriedly contacted his Honoured Master, Guan Qian Xing. Less than an hour later, the incident of an attempted murder sent a shock wave across Seven Stars Sect. For some reason, a disciple named Liu Yi got into a conflict with Azure Jade Peak’s Zhao Ya. They engaged in an intense battle, but surprisingly, Liu Yi, who was three Minor Realms above the other party, was powerless to fight back the whole time. If Elder Guan Qian Xing hadn’t managed to intervene in time, Liu Yi would’ve lost his life on the spot. Despite that, Liu Yi was so severely wounded that it would take him three to five months to recuperate. The battle stunned everyone in Seven Stars Sect. There were naturally some fights between the disciples in the same Sect over the years, and sometimes disciples were injured, but no one would attempt to kill their Fellow Brothers or Sisters. However, Zhao Ya did just that this time. According to the onlookers, every move Zhao Ya made was filled with murderous intent as she seemed determined to end Liu Yi’s life. Zhao Ya’s identity was also unusual as she was the only Disciple of the Ancestor who resided on Azure Jade Peak. Although Zhao Ya’s progress had disappointed the Elders of Seven Stars Sect, her identity and status would not change just because of that. If any other disciple had done such a thing, he or she would have been kicked out of the Sect; or worse, their cultivation would be crippled. Nevertheless, no one would dare to do that to Zhao Ya. What’s more, it was a battle between a True Element Boundary Sixth-Stage disciple and one in the Ninth-Stage; however, Liu Yi, the supposedly stronger one, was completely powerless to defend himself. It was rare that a weaker cultivator could defeat a stronger one, so it was hard to understand why there was such a huge gap between these two’s powers when they fought. Liu Yi was brought back by his Honoured Master while the Elders of Seven Stars Sect came together in the middle of the night to look into the matter and come up with a plan to clean up the mess. On the other hand, Zhao Ya stealthily returned to Azure Jade Peak, but as soon as she reached the peak, she saw her Honoured Master standing there, looking impassively at her. Zhao Ya stiffened as she hung her head low and bashfully walked up to Yang Kai. While looking down at her feet, she called out, “Master.” When she was younger, she swore that she would cultivate hard so that she could defeat her Master one day and make him have a taste of becoming a Worker. However, after spending over ten years with him, she no longer had such impudent and aggressive thoughts. Her Master had treated her very well, and she regarded him to be a teacher as well as a father figure. “You broke through three Stages?” Yang Kai asked calmly. Zhao Ya nodded cautiously. Upon hearing the reply, Yang Kai sighed, “Given your strength, you could’ve easily dealt with a True Element Boundary Ninth-Stage boy even though you were only in the Third-Stage. You didn’t need to achieve a breakthrough.” Zhao Ya pursed her lips, “I didn’t expect him to be so weak.” Yang Kai said, “It’s not that he’s weak, but that you’re strong.” Zhao Ya looked up and flashed a bright smile at him, “It’s all thanks to Honoured Master’s guidance over the years.” Just then, Yang Kai turned his head and shouted, “Zhao Ye Bai!” “I’m here!” Zhao Ye Bai, who had been hiding somewhere to watch them, ran towards Yang Kai, “What do you need me to do, Senior?” Yang Kai extended his hand and grabbed the huge tank full of water from the kitchen before placing it on Zhao Ye Bai’s head. A stunned Zhao Ye Bai wouldn’t dare to move away as he quickly raised his hands to prop up the water tank. Fortunately, he had unusual strength, so it wasn’t a difficult task. The average person would’ve been pressed into a patty by the weight of the water tank. “Since Zhao Ya broke through three Minor Realms today, you’ll stand right here for three days. If one drop of water is spilled, you will immediately leave the mountain.” Instead of feeling resentful, Zhao Ye Bai was relieved and replied solemnly, “Don’t worry, Senior. I’ll not let a single drop of water spill.” Although others didn’t know why Zhao Ya, who had A+ aptitude, had progressed so slowly, he was fully aware of it. Zhao Ya had told him that Yang Kai had deliberately suppressed her cultivation; otherwise, given her peerless aptitude, she would’ve made it to the Saint Realm already.