Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai had never seen this ring before, and he was certain Yang Yan did not possess such an artifact before. It was as if this artifact appeared out of thin air, and as for its grade, Yang Kai was unable to tell, something which shocked him greatly.

With his current vision, Yang Kai could clearly identify Origin Grade High-Rank artifacts, so could this ring be an Origin King Grade artifact?

Thinking so, Yang Kai was taken aback.

A moment later, everything suddenly became calm, and the chaos in the surrounding world completely disappeared.

At the same time, the First-Layer Flame Area of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, a famous Forbidden Zone on Shadowed Star that all cultivators dared not enter, had ceased to exist, leaving behind only an expanse of dark red ground in its place.

Yang Yan slowly opened her eyes and Yang Kai was about to call out to her, but before he could, he noticed a strange light coming from her beautiful eyes and immediately squinted.

Yang Yan played with the ring in her hands for a moment before a smile appeared on her face, as if she had just recovered something precious to her, making her extremely happy.

Holding up her hands, the ring she was holding quickly shrank down and wrapped around her wrist, fitting perfectly in place. Yang Yan flashed another happy smile as she revealed a look of satisfaction.

“Yang Kai!” Standing mid-air, Yang Yan suddenly raised her head and called out loudly.

Yang Kai didn’t respond immediately and instead just stared at her more and more intensely because the current Yang Yan, although identical in appearance, gave him a completely different feeling compared to before, as if she had become a different person, making him feel a bit uneasy.

Although he did not know why Yang Yan had undergone this kind of change, Yang Kai was certain it had something to do with the strange event that had just transpired. Rather than why the First-Layer Flame Area of the Flowing Flame Sand Field had disappeared though, Yang Kai was more interested to know what had happened to Yang Yan.

Yang Yan did not mind Yang Kai staying silent, instead just brushing her hair back behind her ear and saying softly, “I know who I am.”

“Who are you?” Yang Kai asked aloud.

“I am the Starry Sky Great Emperor!” Yang Yan flashed a proud look on her face, lifting her head up slightly, revealing a majestic and noble aura. This kind of temperament shouldn’t have appeared on this timid woman at all, but at the moment it seemed completely natural for her, as if it was part of Yang Yan’s innate nature. This caused anyone who gazed upon her to feel lowly and humble.

Even an Origin King Realm master may not necessarily possess such a temperament.

Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed and he nodded lightly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as his figure suddenly flickered, disappearing from where he stood and appearing again beside Yang Yan a moment later.

Under her stunned gaze, Yang Kai lifted his finger and flicked Yang Yan’s forehead.

With a light thump, Yang Yan let out an alarmed cry and used her hands to cover her forehead, her beautiful eyes watering up as she directed a grievance-filled stare towards Yang Kai. The graceful and majestic temperament she had been exuding had seemingly been instantly defeated by this finger and disappeared without a trace.

“So your name is Starry Sky Great Emperor, is it?” Yang Kai grit his teeth and stared at Yang Yan for a moment before reaching out his hand, pinching her cheek, and pulling it out.

“What are you doing?” Yang Yan seemed to be dumbstruck as she called out, her speech somewhat unclear as her cheek was being pulled.

“What do you think I’m doing?” Yang Kai grinned wickedly as he pulled even harder.

“Let go of me!” Yang Yan shouted as she glared at Yang Kai, “Hurry up and let go, don’t think I don’t dare fight back! Just you wait for my true body to awaken, then I’ll make you pay!”

“Wait for your true body to wake up, right?” Yang Kai reached out his other hand and pinched Yang Yan’s free cheek, twisting her face into funny shapes. Yang Yan responded by waving her hands angrily and trying to break free, but regardless of how she struggled, Yang Kai remained unmoved and continued playing with her.

It was not long before tears welled up at the corner of her eyes.

Suddenly, Yang Kai’s expression changed and he turned his head to look into the distance. At the same time, Yang Yan’s struggles also stopped, the two of them exchanging a knowing glance before their figures flickered and disappeared.

Both of their Divine Senses had detected a large number of people rapidly approaching their location, obviously attracted here by the massive disturbance that had just occurred.

About a cup of tea’s worth of time after Yang Kai and Yang Yan disappeared, dozens of different coloured lights flew over from various directions. When these people landed at the periphery of the Flowing Flame Sand Field and saw the surroundings, all of them were dumbstruck as looks of disbelief filled their faces.

The Flowing Flame Sand Field’s First-Layer Flame Area had existed on Shadowed Star for tens of thousands of years, yet now it had suddenly disappeared. These cultivators rubbed their eyes involuntarily, wanting to confirm whether or not they were seeing things.

However, to their shock, the First-Layer Flame Area really seemed to have strangely disappeared.

After a long, stunned silence, these cultivators began quickly taking out their communication artifacts and sending out messages, and as time passed, more and more cultivators rushed to this place, all of them wearing blank looks of shock.

After several hundred cultivators had gathered, everyone reached a simple agreement to explore the situation together; after all, the First-Layer Flame Area had disappeared, which meant the Second-Layer Treasure Area had become exposed, so there were perhaps gains to be had.

What disappointed everyone though, was that after several days of searching, no one was able to discover anything of value in the Second-Layer Treasure Area. It was as if all the spirit herbs which should have existed had disappeared without a trace together with the Flame Area.

While these people were searching through the Second-Layer Treasure Area, Yang Kai and Yang Yan had already penetrated the rolling mountains of the Fourth Layer.

Yang Kai did not have to use his Star Emperor Tokens to reach this place. Instead, all he needed to do was follow behind Yang Yan.

The Third-Layer Flame Area had much more intense heat and Fire Attribute energy than the First-Layer, but for some reason, whenever Yang Yan passed through it, the heat and flames separated on their own, as if they had spirituality and didn’t dare bar her path.

The pair continued deeper this way, but didn’t encounter any danger.

Looking at the expansive palatial pavilions shrouded in mist, Yang Yan revealed a look of reminiscence as she stated, “These are the ruins of the Supreme Profound Sect.”

“The Supreme Profound Sect’s ruins?” Yang Kai frowned as he turned to look at her and asked, “Is it related to you?”

“Yes and no,” Yang Yan’s brow furrowed slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s the Sect the Starry Sky Great Emperor conveniently created in the past.”

“Aren’t you the Starry Sky Great Emperor?” Yang Kai’s brow twitched slightly.

Yang Yan curled her lips, “I am me, the Starry Sky Great Emperor is the Starry Sky Great Emperor. Although we are somewhat related, I cannot represent the Great Emperor.”

“Oh?” Yang Kai became even more interested. He never doubted what Yang Yan had said; after all, he had suspected that there might be some connection between the Flowing Flame Sand Field and the Starry Sky Great Emperor ever since he obtained a Star Emperor Token in the loft in the sixth layer.

When Yang Yan fell unconscious after the Emperor Garden appeared and Yang Kai had broken into her Knowledge Sea to awaken her, he had seen many incredible things.

Now Yang Yan had easily been able to enter and even take away part of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, combined with all the information he had gathered before, Yang Yan declaring herself the Starry Sky Great Emperor wasn’t actually too shocking.

Even though there was some uneasiness and hesitation in his heart, Yang Kai still chose to believe Yang Yan.

After a long silence, Yang Yan asked, “Have you heard of Soul Clones?”

“En,” Yang Kai nodded.

“I am a kind of Soul Clone of the Starry Sky Great Emperor. For some reason, the true body of the Great Emperor is in a deep sleep. My Artifact Refining and Spirit Array knowledge have also been inherited from the Great Emperor.”

“Why is she in a deep sleep?” Yang Kai frowned and asked. He was not too curious about Soul Clones because he had cultivated a Soul Clone technique that he comprehended after refining a drop of Golden Blood from Great Demon God. Yang Kai had used his Soul Clone back on the floating continent when Gui Zu was testing out his Space Array. As a result, it had been severely damaged and nearly destroyed.

However, after so many years of cultivation, Yang Kai’s Soul Clone had been restored and was now even more powerful than before.

It was just that Yang Kai was unable to find a vessel to fuse his Soul Clone with so it could act independently.

“She seems to have been injured,” Yang Yan spoke an astonishing truth.

“The Starry Sky Great Emperor can also be injured?” Yang Kai was startled.

“Why can’t a Great Emperor be injured? She also has enemies, enemies that possess strength on par with her own. However, I do not know the specific situation as the memories I’ve inherited from her are somewhat incomplete. I didn’t even know about any of this until I arrived here; although, from what I can gather, it seems that after fighting a great battle, the Great Emperor fell into a deep sleep, and now tens of thousands of years have passed,” Yang Yan slowly shook her head, “My strength is too low, so I can’t recall too much. Only after my strength improves will I be able to remember everything.”

“What about that enemy?” Yang Kai asked.

“They’re probably dead,” Yang Yan replied uncertainly.

“And that bracelet…” Yang Kai asked thoughtfully as he glanced towards the red ring on her wrist.

“One of the three Blazing Flame Rings. Since it was one of the Starry Sky Great Emperor’s artifacts, I can also use it,” Yang Yan smiled lightly, “The Third Layer and Fifth Layer are both parts of the Three Blazing Flame Rings, but with my current strength, I can’t recall them for now, nor can I use much of the first ring’s power.

Yang Kai secretly panicked. While he had been able to tease and toy with Yang Yan a moment ago, that was only because he had been friends with her for many years now, but if the one standing before him was the true Starry Sky Great Emperor, Yang Kai wouldn’t dare act so dissolute.

The Great Emperor’s majesty could not be easily offended.

Moreover, the so-called Three Blazing Flame Rings was just one of the Great Emperor’s artifacts, yet it had become a famous Forbidden Zone on ​​Shadowed Star for tens of thousands of years. So how strong was the Great Emperor herself?

To think that such a person had actually been severely injured though. Who was her enemy?

But what shocked Yang Kai even more was that the Starry Sky Great Emperor famous throughout the Star Field was actually a woman!

If such knowledge were to be spread out, many men would likely feel so ashamed they would want to die.

Fortunately, many things became clear to Yang Kai with this.

No wonder when the Flowing Flame Sand Field closed, the hand which appeared to remove everyone clearly belonged to a woman, and when the Emperor Garden appeared, that same jade-white hand appeared for a second time. Obviously, this was some kind of technique left behind by the Great Emperor; after all, whether it was the Flowing Flame Sand Field or the Emperor Garden, they belonged to the Great Emperor, strictly speaking.

With the Great Emperor’s strength and methods, being able to accomplish these feats should not have been difficult.