Martial Peak

Chapter 1832, Gui Zu’s Tragedy

Gui Zu was feeling quite miserable.

After his three-day lecture, his image in the minds of High Heaven Sect’s ten thousand disciples became tall and mighty. Gui Zu was also feeling quite proud and happy that he had quickly won the approval of the disciples and integrated into High Heaven Sect.

Yesterday, he had been wandering around High Heaven Sect to familiarize himself with its sights and scenes; after all, this place would be regarded as his Sect in the future.

High Heaven Sect had a total of eighty-one peaks, each one rich in World Energy aura and natural beauty, making Gui Zu extremely satisfied.

The Three Blazing Flame Rings that protected High Heaven Sect also shocked him, and it really made him wonder which Grandmaster had arranged such a profound array that even a master like him did not dare to enter.

He had, at one point, passed by Hundred Flowers Peak on a whim.

Yang Yan was sleeping with her eyes closed at the time, but when Gui Zu saw her he mistakenly thought she was cultivating some kind of Secret Art. After Yang Yan opened her eyes, Gui Zu acted the part of a powerful master and ‘graciously’ gave some pointers. He thought she would definitely thank him for his advice with gratitude and worship, but how could he have known all Yang Yan would do was give him a light ‘hehe’.

This faint laughter was like a crack of thunder in his ears though, completely overwhelming his senses.

Gui Zu froze up in that instant as the sound of her laughter echoed continuously in his mind, as if it would continue on forever, only stopping earlier today and allowing him to slowly wake up.

How could Gui Zu not understand he had kicked an iron plate? He was greatly startled by Yang Yan’s shocking methods and did not dare to act presumptuously in front of her again.

Even now, he still could not figure out what kind of cultivation Yang Yan had.

A simple, casual laugh had sunk him into a nightmare, unable to return to his senses for almost an entire day. This was not something a Third-Order Origin King could do. If he had not personally experienced it, Gui Zu would never have even believed such a thing was possible.

All he could say for certain was that Yang Yan’s cultivation was far superior to his own because, no matter how Gui Zu observed, he couldn’t tell what Yang Yan’s true depths were. There were no artifacts on her that isolated Divine Sense probing either, so it was not that she was simply hiding her strength from him.

[Just what are the origins of this woman? She is too terrifying!]

[That damn Yang Boy is too insincere. Why didn’t he warn this old master there was such a powerful character hidden inside the Sect.] Now, he had embarrassed himself by trying to show off his meagre skills before an expert like her.

Recalling those few words of instruction he spoke yesterday, Gui Zu couldn’t wait to find a hole to crawl into and not come out for a lifetime.

It was like a toddler who had barely learned to walk standing before an honoured Senior and saying he would teach her how to fight…

Just what kind of Sect was this? In the Sect, not only was there a monstrous rising star like Yang Boy, a freak who had reached the Origin King Realm at such a young age, but there was that frightening young woman in white as well as another young woman who was an Origin King Grade Alchemist. Now, there was even this terrifying woman as well!

[This old master has not just stepped into a monster pit, right?] Gui Zu’s heart beat rapidly as unease filled it.

“Sect Master, you know that this old master was just trying to be helpful, please say a few good words for him,” Gui Zu saw that Yang Yan was still unhappy, so he could only look to Yang Kai for help.

Yang Kai lightly coughed, and said after thinking for a while, “Yang Yan, Senior Gui Zu acted out of good intentions. Just let this matter slide.”

Gui Zu nodded repeatedly, “This old man indeed only wanted to be of assistance. Please do not blame him for his ignorance, Senior.”

Yang Yan snorted lightly, but her expression eased noticeably.

Yang Kai smiled faintly, “Since you fell asleep, you and I have not seen each other like this for more than ten years, so do you insist on throwing a tantrum as soon we meet?”

“Who’s throwing a tantrum with you?” Yang Yan glanced at Yang Kai coldly.

Yang Kai hesitantly scratched his nose, “You seem to be quite upset right now, completely different from before.”

Gui Zu chimed in angrily from the side, “It must be because you’ve been out picking flowers and enjoying the snow and moon while ignoring and treating Senior here so coldly!”

As soon as these words were spoken, Gui Zu realized he had used some poor phrasing. He intended to please Yang Yan, his statement came off as ambiguous and incendiary.

Sure enough, Yang Yan shot him a glance and hehe’d once more.

[Not again…]

Gui Zu’s complexion changed drastically and in the next moment he went stiff and his eyes went blank…

“Why…?” Yang Kai smiled bitterly. With his eyesight, he could see that Gui Zu’s Soul had been overwhelmed and suppressed by Yang Yan, likely experiencing some kind of nightmarish torture.

“It’s just a small punishment, nothing to worry about,” Yang Yan said lightly. “Moreover, it’s not a misdeed for him. Do you think just anyone can have the honour of being suppressed by this Queen’s Divine Sense?”

“Since it’s good for him, then it’s fine,” Yang Kai smiled lightly before he stared at Yang Yan and said, “It feels like after you woke up, you’re a bit different from before.”

“The one you interacted with before was this Queen’s Embodiment, but now you are before this Queen’s true body, how could it be the same?” Yang Yan’s expression remained indifferent, the kind of indifference that seemed to push all others far away, making Yang Kai feel a little uncomfortable and lose interest in chatting. Instead, he just focused on tasting his tea silently.

After a long silence, Yang Yan suddenly said, “Your progress is quite good, I didn’t expect you to break through to the Origin King Realm in such a short period of time. Perhaps with your ability… you can really protect this Star Field.”

“Me?” Yang Kai pointed his finger at himself and said with a smile, “All I want to protect is my relatives and friends. The Star Field is too big and has nothing to do with me.”

“If you really think so, then you are wrong,” Yang Yan looked at Yang Kai seriously, “Do you know why I came to this Star Field?”

Yang Kai frowned, faintly realizing that Yang Yan was about to reveal some great secret, but he still shook his head and said, “You never told me, so how could I know. However, if I had to guess, it would be related to the Insect Emperor.”

In this Star Field, only the Insect Emperor was comparable to Yang Yan over the countless years. Ten thousand years ago, when these two fought, one had their body destroyed while the other fell into a deep sleep. In the region around Shadowed Star, many Stars had been crushed, and a thick Emperor Pressure still lingered about, creating the Dead Zone that stretched for millions of kilometres, a physical reminder of just how fierce the battle at that time had been.

When Yang Yan asked this question, Yang Kai immediately thought of the Insect Emperor.

“En, my coming here was indeed related to the Insect Emperor. Then, do you know why the Insect Emperor came here?” Yang Yan continued to ask.

Yang Kai shook his head again.

Yang Yan explained, “He came here to swallow World Principles. If he had succeeded, all the Cultivation Stars in this Star Field would have been turned into Dead Stars, so I pursued him here and engaged in a life or death battle with him.”

“Why would he want to devour World Principles?” Yang Kai looked at Yang Yan in shock.

“The Emperor’s Dao is to gain control over the Principles of Heaven and Earth. Only by controlling such Principles can one become an Emperor!” Yang Yan explained, “But how could it be easy to master Principle Strength? It isn’t like simply becoming an Emperor grants you such power, one needs to comprehend the Heavenly Way deeply if they wish to control such strength, but aside from years of hard cultivation, there is a shortcut…”

Yang Kai faintly thought of something and said in amazement, “Refining Star Sources?”

He had refined the Star Source of Shadowed Star, which allowed him to faintly feel its World Principles, which was why he thought of this.

“Correct,” Yang Yan nodded, “But what the Insect Emperor wanted to do wasn’t refine a Cultivation Star’s Source, he wanted to swallow them! Swallowing a Source and integrating the Principle Strength of Cultivation Stars into his own is the shortcut he wanted to take.”

Yang Kai felt cold sweat all over his body at this moment…

If the Insect Emperor had succeeded, then countless Cultivation Stars across the Star Field would have been destroyed. It is even possible that all life in the entire Star Field would have been annihilated.

“You should know that this Star Field is not the only Star Field that exists. There is a powerful barrier that separates individual Star Fields from one another, formed by the Star Field’s Principles themselves. Even for an Emperor, trying to break through these barriers is very difficult, which is why you don’t know of the existence of anything outside your Star Field,” Yang Yan ignored Yang Kai’s shock and continued to speak without pause, “Many, many years ago, a powerful master from the place I came from reached the Emperor level and discovered this shortcut to strengthening himself, so he used his powerful Divine Abilities to break through these barriers and went from one Star Field to the next, swallowing all the World Principles of those Star Fields, resulting in the total destruction of nineteen Star Fields in just one hundred years! Each of those nineteen Star Fields was even more prosperous than the one you reside in now.”

More cold sweat dripped from Yang Kai’s forehead hearing this.

“Star Fields are the foundation of cultivators, so the destruction of any Star Field is a matter of great significance. At that time, the top ten masters realized the seriousness of this problem, so they joined forces to create rules which prevented other masters from abusing this practice. From then on, if anyone is found trying to act against a Star Field in this manner, they would be killed without mercy. Although this solution was quite effective, it didn’t eradicate the problem as there are always some who are willing to take risks. The Insect Emperor was one such character. I was sent here to stop him.”

“This… this is all a bit overwhelming and difficult to accept. How about we put this matter aside for now and continue once you’re feeling better?” Yang Kai wiped the cold sweat on his forehead while trying to get up to leave.

He had an ominous feeling about what was about to transpire.

However, in the next moment, Yang Kai discovered that his movements were completely suppressed by some invisible force and he could only sit in place, unable to move.

Yang Yan glanced at him obliquely before continuing on, “Every Star Field actually has its own protector. This is the most efficient method to prevent those with bad intentions from invading. Once a cultivator that exceeds the power of a Star Field is discovered trying to break in, those protectors are the first to receive a notification, and they are then charged with preventing anything from happening. However, the guardian of your Star Field has been missing for over ten thousand years and no one knows whether he is alive or dead, so I was sent in his stead. By the way, your Sealed World Bead was originally his.”

Yang Yan looked at Yang Kai with a grin that clearly held some mischievous intent, “I also have my own Star Field I am charged with protecting, and I have been away from there for long enough. Now that I have truly awoken, I can’t continue to remain here, and you can only depend on yourself from now on. Now that you’ve obtained that person’s Sealed World Bead, you should inherit his mantle and become the Protector of this Star Field. Your relatives and friends all live here, so you can’t exactly refuse, can you?”

“If you do not have the strength and skill, one day, when someone comes and tries to refine Shadowed Star, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself. If you want to ensure that your friends and family can live in peace, work hard to cultivate, and when your cultivation reaches my level, you will be able to properly protect this Star Field.”

After Yang Yan finished speaking, she ignored Yang Kai, picked up her teacup, and drank from it lightly.

The power that imprisoned Yang Kai also disappeared, but Yang Kai did not leave, instead just sitting there and frowning in thought, as if he was digesting what Yang Yan said.