Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Among the ruins of Heavenly Fate City, Ma Xin Yuan and others stood silently, their faces sombre and the atmosphere dignified.

They had not expected Yang Kai to really be able to resist one move from Fei Zhi Tu and then retreat safely.

All of them had witnessed the power behind that move and understood that Fei Zhi Tu had not just been putting on a show. None of the Origin Realm masters present were confident they could have successfully blocked that move, yet a mere Third-Order Saint King Realm youth had.

While Ma Xin Yuan and the others felt shocked, a fear of Yang Kai swept over them. This boy was just a Third-Order Saint King yet already possessed such strength, so what would happen if he were to break through to the Origin Returning Realm?

Everyone on the scene was an old fox, so naturally they understood the truth of strangling danger in its cradle, and after witnessing Yang Kai’s cold gaze before he left, none of them doubted he would seek revenge for this when he rose up in the future.

After hesitating for a moment, Ma Xin Yuan cupped his fists and haltingly asked, “Sir City Lord, are you really going to just let him go?”

“If I don’t let him go, what do you want me to do?” Fei Zhi Tu had a stomach full of grievances but nowhere to vent, so he glared coldly the moment Ma Xin Yuan spoke up.

“But that little brat killed a member of the Xie Family…”

“Xie Family!” Fei Zhi Tu coldly snorted, “So what? Are you also a member of the Xie Family? What do the lives of the Xie Family have to do with me?”

Ma Xin Yuan lowered his head and did not dare say anything more.

“Hmph, if you don’t want to let him go, you can chase after him now, as long as you have the confidence to make him remain!”

“Sir City Lord surely jests,” The group of people all looked extremely embarrassed, none of them daring to mention Yang Kai again.

“Since you have no confidence in your own strength, just shut up and stay put! If anyone dares question this City Lord’s conduct again, do not blame this City Lord for not giving any face. In addition, do you really think that old fart Qian Tong really will not come back? Heh, you’d all best pray you’ve made the right choice today, otherwise, there may be no place for you in Shadow Moon Hall in the future.”

The group of people all glanced around at each other in dismay and were about to try to inquire more about the current situation when they saw Fei Zhi Tu flick his sleeve and fly off.

“Brother Ma, what should we do? Listening to what City Lord Fei said just now, there seems to be some twists and turns in the battle inside the Sect. Perhaps the rumours about Elder Qian aren’t…” Someone looked at Ma Xin Yuan and asked.

“That’s right! Brother Ma, didn’t you say this time’s matter was foolproof and wouldn’t have any repercussions? Why else would we all cooperate with the Xie Family against a Saint King Realm Junior if that wasn’t the case?” Someone else chimed in.

Ma Xin Yuan’s expression became ugly and impatient as he shouted, “If you ask this old master, who is this old master supposed to ask? This old master just listened to the people above and followed their instructions, how am I supposed to understand the specific situation? If you really want to know, go try asking Manager Xie and see what answer he can give you.”

“Manager Xie…” Listening to Ma Xin Yuan’s excuses, how could everyone here not know that this time they had been used as pawns? Feeling deeply regretful and remembering Qian Tong’s power and ability, all of them went pale, cupped their fists, and left quickly.

Back at Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai returned with a pale face.

As soon as he entered the mountain, he saw Wu Yi, Yang Yan, Qian Yue, and the others standing there waiting for him. When the three women saw him appear, they all greeted him joyfully.

“Are you hurt?” Wu Yi saw Yang Kai’s complexion and could not help calling out in alarm.

“I’m fine. How are Yu Feng and the others doing?” Yang Kai waved his hand and asked.

“They’re busy healing, but it shouldn’t take long before they recover. If you had not returned just now, Foreign Elder Chang and Foreign Elder Hao would have rushed back to Heavenly Fate City.”

“En,” Yang Kai gently nodded, “Tell them there’s no need for that, this time’s matter will end here. Shadow Moon Hall shouldn’t engage in any kind of harassment anymore, but you should try not to go out during this time and be especially careful of the Xie Family. They might try to make a move.”

“Understood, I’ll make sure no one leaves unless absolutely necessary,” Wu Yi responded quickly before immediately saying with concern, “You also need to heal your wounds.”

Yang Kai nodded and walked towards his cave mansion.

Fei Zhi Tu deserved his reputation as a peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master. Although the move he made did not outwardly seem fancy or profound, only Yang Kai, who had taken it head-on, understood how fierce it was. Unfortunately, whether his opponent had used his full strength or not was something Yang Kai could not tell.

Needing only a single move to wound him, even without using full strength, it seemed the gap between Yang Kai and the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm was still too big.

Taking a few bottles of pills out from his ring, Yang Kai poured them out and began stuffing them into his mouth before closing his eyes and adjusting his breathing.

Fortunately, his injuries were not serious and only his aura was a bit unstable, so after half a day of meditation, Yang Kai had basically completely recovered. His Golden Blood’s restorative abilities were as astonishing as ever, so this minor injury was really nothing to Yang Kai.

Releasing his Divine Sense and realizing that it was already late at night, Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he quietly got up, opened the cave mansion’s barrier, and stealthily left Dragon Cave Mountain before flying straight to Heavenly Fate City.

Soon after, Yang Kai arrived at the city and, following the route in his memory, rushed towards the City Lord’s Mansion.

After another cup of tea worth of time, Yang Kai landed outside the City Lord’s Mansion, and although this was his first time here, under the investigation of his Divine Sense, he was quickly able to grasp the situation here.

Tonight, the City Lord’s Mansion seemed a little weird. There were no people around, not even the cultivators who would normally be responsible for patrolling and guarding the perimeter.

The City Lord’s Mansion’s staff did not know what was happening, only that tonight the City Lord himself had ordered that everyone was forbidden to move about the compound. Anyone found disobeying this decree would be killed without mercy!

Facing this kind of strict order, no one dared to violate the City Lord’s command.

Seemingly having anticipated this, Yang Kai simply walked right through the front entrance of the City Lord’s Mansion. After taking a few turns, he soon arrived at a certain side building inside the City Lord’s Mansion and, just as he stood firm, Fei Zhi Tu’s voice called out, “Since you’ve arrived, come in and sit down.”

Hearing this, Yang Kai smiled slightly and pushed the door openly.

Inside this building, Fei Zhi Tu sat on a chair and looked towards the door with a smile. After Yang Kai walked in, he waved his hand lightly, using his Saint Qi to close the door again.

Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged as he walked directly to another chair across from Fei Zhi Tu and sat down calmly.

“Today I saw you were quite bold, but it seems I still underestimated your courage. Aren’t you afraid that after entering the tiger’s cave you won’t be able to easily leave?” Fei Zhi Tu sneered meaningfully.

“Senior need not joke, if you really wanted to deal with this Junior, there would be no need to go through all this trouble. Taking action directly would have sufficed,” Yang Kai replied lightly.

Fei Zhi Tu’s eyes flashed brightly, and he nodded, “Good, it seems that old fart Qian Tong didn’t misread you, a truly impressive youth!”

“May I ask why Senior Fei silently sent this Junior a message earlier today, asking me to come here at this time?” Yang Kai asked in a solemn tone.

During the day, when he fought with Fei Zhi Tu, the other party had suddenly sent him a Divine Sense Message asking him to come to the City Lord’s Mansion at night, a development that puzzled Yang Kai greatly. Although he did not know the reason, he could guess that it was related somehow to the recent changes in Shadow Moon Hall.

“If I said I want to ask you for your help, would you believe me?”

“My help?” Yang Kai frowned, “What kind of help?”

“Let’s set that aside for the moment. Let me first ask you, what do you think of Shadow Moon Hall’s current situation?” Fei Zhi Tu lowered his voice and asked solemnly.

Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “Junior has recently been in retreat on Dragon Cave Mountain, so he isn’t aware of what has been happening outside. I hope Senior can enlighten me.”

“So, that’s how it is!” Fei Zhi Tu gently nodded, “In that case, this City Lord won’t beat around the bush. The reason your Dragon Cave Mountain was targeted this time is actually because of the infighting going on inside Shadow Moon Hall. Regarding this, my Shadow Moon Hall has utterly wronged you; after all, you have been happily cooperating with us over the past few years and our relationship has brought great benefits to both parties. However, your Dragon Cave Mountain still being able to remain safe and steady is mainly because of that old fart Qian Tong sheltering you. Now though, Qian Tong has encountered a little trouble and some people want to take this opportunity to deal with him. They used your grievance with the Xie Family as an excuse to act against your Dragon Cave Mountain so they could test Qian Tong’s reaction.”

Having said this much, Fei Zhi Tu stared at Yang Kai for a moment but to his surprise he did not see any change in expression on this youth’s face, prompting him to ask, “You already knew?”

Yang Kai simply chuckled, “I had my speculations.”

“Fierce!” Fei Zhi Tu’s eyes flashed with approval, “Since you’ve already guessed that much, the rest is easier to explain. In short, Shadow Moon Hall is currently divided into two camps, one headed by Qian Tong, the other by an Elder named Feng Zhen. These two have different ideas and employ different methods, causing conflict between them inside the Sect. Moreover, these two respectively oversee the Sect’s Artifact Refining and Alchemy divisions with the other Elders and Deacons fairly evenly distributed among them. These two factions have been struggling with one another for many years, but no major incidents had taken place until recently a big event broke the balance between them.”

“Grandmaster Ge Lin’s death?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he recalled this matter. Qian Tong and Grandmaster Ge Lin had a particularly good personal relationship, so when Grandmaster Ge Lin passed away, it was equivalent to Qian Tong losing one of his greatest supporters, inevitably causing the other faction to have some ideas.

Yang Kai thought his guess was correct, but Fei Zhi Tu sneered and shook his head, “Grandmaster Ge Lin’s death was indeed part of the reason, but the real cause of this falling out was something else.”

“Something else?” Yang Kai asked curiously.

“Speaking of this matter, you were also involved in it,” Fei Zhi Tu whispered, “The Red Candle Fruit piece!”

“That?!” Yang Kai suddenly realized.

“In Shadow Moon Hall, the Sect Master isn’t actually the strongest. The most powerful ones are that old fart Qian Tong and Feng Zhen. Both of them have the highest chance to break through to the Origin King Realm, but there is only a small piece of the Red Candle Fruit and everyone wants it. Surely you can imagine how the situation developed from there, right? “

“If that’s the case, it certainly could explain the current situation,” Yang Kai’s expression flashed a look of understanding.

Two years ago, when the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, a Red Candle Fruit had appeared in the third layer, and although it had ultimately been cut into several pieces by Leng Qing of Star Emperor Mountain, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er managed to snatch one of those pieces and successfully bring it back to Shadow Moon Hall. This treasure was rumoured to be able to allow an Origin Returning Realm master to break through to the Origin King Realm. This kind of temptation was far too great, so it was not surprising that the original balance between Shadow Moon Hall’s factions was broken by its appearance.