The next morning, Yang Kai woke slowly, yawning, with a warm, soft body nestled in each arm. The room was filled with a strange, lingering scent.
Last night had been yet another wild night!
He carefully extracted himself from the two slender figures, waved a hand to open the windows, and a fresh breeze swept in, dispersing the odd smell in the room.
His movements woke both Shan Qingluo and Xue Yue. Shan Qingluo, thick-skinned as ever, sat up and stretched languorously, her exquisite figure on full display. She glared at Yang Kai with a humph. "Satisfied now?"
Yang Kai grinned, walked over, and gave her chest a squeeze. "You make it sound like you were the one who suffered. As if I've forgotten who was the wild one last night."
Shan Qingluo huffed. "Don't come find me for a while. I need to go into seclusion and attempt a breakthrough to the Dao Source Realm. Big Sister is already at the second level of Dao Source. If I don't put in the effort, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with you all." As she spoke, she reached over and pinched Xue Yue's cheek. "Still pretending to be asleep? Get up already."
Having been exposed, Xue Yue's face flushed red, and she could only sit up. But she didn't have Shan Qingluo's boldness, so she grabbed a blanket to cover her chest.
Shan Qingluo reached over to tickle her. "What's the big deal? It's not like he hasn't seen it before. Why so shy?"
"Ah Luo, stop it!" Xue Yue's face was burning. While she wasn't as easily embarrassed as the Eldest Senior Sister, she certainly wasn't as uninhibited as Shan Qingluo. She stole a glance at Yang Kai, only to find him standing there naked with an amused smile, making no move to intervene. Annoyed and mortified, she said, "Big Sister isn't here and you two think you can run wild. I'm telling her when she gets back."
"Oh? You dare snitch!" Shan Qingluo bared her silver teeth and pounced, yanking the blanket off Xue Yue before tickling her mercilessly. Xue Yue cried out for mercy again and again, then called out to Yang Kai: "Husband! If the harem can't even be kept in order, how can you bring peace to the world? Yue'er needs to be taught a lesson. What are you waiting for?"
Yang Kai considered this gravely, then nodded. "Wise words." He advanced with a menacing grin, and with Shan Qingluo's assistance, gave Xue Yue a thorough, teasing takedown.
Of course, Shan Qingluo didn't escape his clutches either. By the time things finally settled down, it was already midday.
The two women helped Yang Kai dress, seating him before a mirror. One adjusted his robes while the other stood behind him, combing his hair.
Xue Yue spoke while busy with her task. "Husband, Ah Luo is going into seclusion, and so am I. Don't come bothering us for the next little while. If our cultivation really falls behind you and Big Sister, it'll be trouble."
"Mm." Yang Kai nodded. Sentimental attachment between loved ones was hard to give up, but the path of a warrior demanded constant upward progress. Shan Qingluo and Xue Yue had only just arrived from the Star Field — this was the perfect time for them to accumulate and unleash their potential. Missing this window could affect them for the rest of their lives. He reminded them, "Cultivate well. If there's anything you don't understand, go ask someone. The Palace has no shortage of Emperor Realm masters — they can teach you without issue."
"Got it," Xue Yue nodded.
Shan Qingluo suddenly smirked. "Big Sister went to Ice Heart Valley, Ning Shang went to Medicine Pill Valley, and Yue'er and I will be going into seclusion. Husband, you're probably going to be a lonely man for a while. Didn't you say there's another woman — a Dragon Clan member? Why not bring her here? At least she'd be around to keep you company while we're gone."
"Her…" Yang Kai murmured. "We'll talk about it later."
The matter of Zhu Qing wasn't easy to handle. It concerned the prestige of Dragon Island — the Dragon Clan probably wouldn't let their people go so easily. On top of that, he'd caused a huge scene at Dragon Island the last time, and an Eighth-Order Giant Dragon had indirectly died because of his involvement. The Dragon Clan not being openly hostile was already the best outcome. How could they possibly agree to let Zhu Qing come to Lingxiao Palace?
To bring Zhu Qing out, he would need strength that could stand above all of Dragon Island.
Once they'd finished tidying up, Yang Kai left Lingxiao Peak and found Hua Qingsi waiting outside. She hurried over with a reproachful look. "It was one thing when you weren't around the Palace, but now that you're back, you're still impossible to get a hold of."
"What is it?" Yang Kai asked.
"See for yourself." Hua Qingsi handed over a jade slip.
Yang Kai took it and sent his divine sense inside, then couldn't help but wince. "That many people lodging complaints?"
Hua Qingsi said, "Too many monks, too little gruel. Those instructors who came from Li Long Palace have been having a rough time lately — they barely have any time to rest, day or night, let alone cultivate."
"How could they not have time to rest?" Yang Kai asked, bewildered.
Hua Qingsi rolled her eyes. "Come see for yourself and you'll understand."
With that, she led Yang Kai to fly over to a nearby Spirit Peak.
This peak seemed to house cultivators who had come from the Profound Nether Star, roughly a thousand of them. Before a palace at the summit, a long queue wound its way forward — at least two or three hundred people waiting in line. Warriors emerged from the palace one by one, each wearing an expression of sudden realization. Whenever someone walked out, the person at the front of the line would enter, and the cycle repeated.
Yang Kai's eye twitched. He pointed down at the palace. "That's where the instructors live?"
"Yes." Even Hua Qingsi herself looked somewhat unnerved watching it. "The warriors you brought are new arrivals and haven't fully adapted to the Star Realm yet. They run into all sorts of problems during Cultivation, and whenever they do, they go straight to their peak's instructor for answers. But each peak only has a single instructor. Just look at that queue — when would the instructors ever have time to rest? And this is only a peak with around a thousand residents. The peaks with two or three thousand are even worse. The ones with only a few hundred are somewhat better, but still hectic. Several instructors have already come to me, saying they can't stand the life here and would rather accept punishment just to go back to Li Long Palace immediately. They asked me to contact Palace Master Li."
"Pay them no mind."
Hua Qingsi said, "I've managed to hold them off for now, but with the instructors in this state of mind, how are they supposed to teach the disciples properly? If the teaching suffers, it affects the disciples' entire lives. Palace Master, we really need to bring in more instructors."
"Mm, I'm looking into it."
Hua Qingsi said, "Ice Heart Valley has a good relationship with us. Perhaps we could borrow some people from them."