Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Ashish

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Seeing the distressed look on Yang Kai's face, Elder and Mu Na glanced at each other before they bowed together, pleading, "Honoured Guest, we request you to help our two clans!"

Yang Kai promptly stepped back and indifferently declared, "You two… The both of you are asking for the impossible from me."

Elder shook his head and stated, "It's not like that. We are just following the Heavens' will."

"The Heaven's will?" Yang Kai sneered, "Where did this Heavens' will come from?"

Elder smiled as he turned sideways and said, pointing at a certain cave wall, "Honoured Guest, please look."

Mu Na also waved her hand as a streak of radiant light suddenly flew out, brightening the imprints on the wall of the cave. The stream of light remained close to a certain part of the wall, slowly lingering around it, and as the light shone on the wall, Yang Kai suddenly discovered a set of extremely old pictures.

In the first picture, a person was sitting cross-legged with a round stone before him. His finger was stretched out and blood was dripping from his fingertip down onto the stone. Strangely, the blood dripping from this man's fingertip wasn't red but gold.

Yang Kai stared at it this a daze, but before he could make the heads and tails of it, his gaze involuntarily shifted to the second picture, following the movement of the streak of light.

In the second painting, the man was still sitting cross-legged, but there was a small figure near him this time. The figure was crouching on all fours, like a monkey, chasing butterflies.

The two pictures were drawn using the simplest of lines and looked extremely rough, but they vividly expressed the meaning intended.

[Isn't this Xiao Xiao and me!?] Yang Kai was dumbfounded and couldn't believe his eyes. The small figure was clearly Xiao Xiao, and the figure dripping the golden blood could be none other than him!

[But this... painting has already mottled with time. It's extremely old, at least thousands of years... so how can it be of me?]

Yang Kai couldn't help but find it extremely surreal.

He then looked at the third picture. Yang Kai couldn't help but have his pupils shrink at what he saw, because in the third picture, it was the scene of Xiao Xiao and him fighting side by side, with Xiao Xiao holding the Heaven Shaking Pillar. The painting was drawn with forceful strokes, it was vivid and filled with majesty.

The fourth picture seemed to be inside a tunnel with points of light lingering around it. The space was shattered and Xiao Xiao was falling into blackness, leaving only his one hand remaining outside, trying to reach out to grab hold of something.

[This is the scene from the Starlight Corridor, when we entered the Star Boundary!]

In the fifth picture, there were nine more stone men like Xiao Xiao around him, recuperating in an old and dense forest. There were many smaller Wood Spirits flying around.

In the sixth picture, the man who was in the first painting seemed to have found the small figure, reuniting after a long time. They couldn't hold their happiness and a bonfire blazed while many Stone Spirits and Wood Spirits were singing and dancing around them. It completely overlapped with what happened tonight.

In the seventh picture, there was a huge oval-shaped gate that was as red as blood. Thousands of creatures of all shapes and sizes were fighting in the vicinity of the blood-coloured gate, with many injured and dead.

In the eighth picture, the small figure flew over from the horizon and rushed straight into the blood-coloured gate with the help of the human, disappearing into it.

In the ninth picture, there was nothing but the blood-coloured door, leaving everyone in great suspense.

There were a total of nine paintings etched on the walls of this tree, and although they were a simple outline, they were quite vivid and lifelike.

After having finished observing these pictures, Yang Kai's mood was a mess. It took him a long time to recover and lift his head, asking, "What's the meaning of this?"

Elder explained, "The Wood Spirit Clan might not be good at fighting, but the previous Matriarch of the Wood Spirit Clan was proficient in divination. Before her death, she had a premonition that our two clans would be annihilated at some point in the future, so she divined a way out for us at the cost of her remaining life, and what she left was these nine paintings."

Mu Na added with a sigh, "For over a thousand years, Elder and I have been trying to comprehend the meaning of these nine paintings, but we couldn't until Shi Jiu came to us from the outside world. His appearance helped us validate the content of the fifth painting. We then finally knew that the hope of the two clans wasn't in the two clans, but rather Shi Jiu and you, our Honoured Guest."

Yang Kai's brow twitched as he asked, "Are you two going to risk all the lives of your clans on these nine paintings?"

Elder sternly shook his head and stated, "This is Heavens' will, it's a revelation, not a risk! Honoured Guest, we have truly been waiting for you for a long time!"

Yang Kai was taken aback. When he first saw Elder today, he heard the same words. At that time, he thought that it was because of Xiao Xiao, but he hadn't expected the Elder to have other intentions.

Inside the tree cave, Elder and Mu Na stared at Yang Kai with scorching gazes.

Yang Kai spoke with a sigh, "Even if this revelation was left by the last Matriarch of the Wood Spirit Clan at the cost of her life, it doesn't say that we will succeed." Pointing at the ninth painting, he added, "There is nothing here."

Mu Na solemnly stated, "I believe that the previous generation's Matriarch would not fire an arrow without purpose. If it was a dead-end, she would not have left the revelation here. Since she left it, it is meant to be a guide to show us the right path."

"Honoured Guest…" Elder exhorted again.

But before he could finish speaking, Yang Kai interrupted him, waving his hand, "This is no simple matter, I will have to consider it carefully. You don't need to say anything more."

After saying so, Yang Kai turned around and left the tree cave, regardless of what the other two inside wanted. The outside was still hustling and bustling with noises and the Wood Spirits and Stone Spirits were singing and laughing together. Ruo Xi had been dragged on to the stage by the Wood Spirits and was lithely and gracefully dancing, drawing applause from the Wood Spirits. Even the eyes of a few Stone Spirits brightened at the sight of this.

Xiao Xiao was also twisting and turning like crazy, but it really wasn't that elegant.

Yang Kai didn't bother them. His figure flickered as he returned to Xiao Xiao's tree cave, sitting down cross-legged.

Seeing him disappear, Elder heaved a slight sigh, seemingly feeling sorry about not being able to convince Yang Kai right away.

Mu Na turned her head and stared at the nine paintings for a moment before suddenly stretching out her hand and waving. When the streak of light illuminated again, the ninth painting completely changed. The blood-coloured gate still existed, only a huge stone giant was standing outside, looking at the world with contempt, like nobody in the world could defeat him. On his shoulder was a pitch-black giant stick, signifying Xiao Xiao's identity.

Mu Na asked, "If this was the case, would he have agreed just now?"

Elder replied, "Since it's a divination, it should only guide the way, and not show the results. If it was the other way around, he might instead have become suspicious. He isn't a fool. Showing the first one was the best possible choice."

Mu Na, hearing this, nodded approvingly before she waved her hand once again, restoring the ninth painting to its original state.

Elder heavily sighed and continued, "We should not have collaborated to deceive him, but we really have nowhere else to turn. If we want to get things done, we need help. Naturally, we have to give him a chance to think about it."

Mu Na agreed, "Elder is right."

The two were racking their brains quite hard. How could Yang Kai have guessed that these two honourable heads of their respective clans would actually conspire to deceive him? The nine paintings on the tree wall were the handiwork of Mu Na. It wasn't some revelation left behind by the previous generation's Wood Spirit Clan's Matriarch.

If Yang Kai came to know of this, he would surely beat them black and blue.

Yang Kai, sitting cross-legged inside the tree cave, was at his wit's end. According to his assessment of the situation, his best choice would be to directly take the two clans away from this place, and if that didn't work, he would simply take Xiao Xiao away.

But after hearing Elder talk about the difficulty of leaving their homeland, he quashed the very notion right then and there. It wasn't impossible to take Xiao Xiao away by force, but this way, Xiao Xiao would lose the opportunity to become the Divine Spirit, Tai Yue.

On the one hand, there was a chance that Xiao Xiao would become a Divine Spirit, but on the other hand, he would be facing a huge risk. Yang Kai was in a dilemma.

It all depended on what Xiao Xiao's wish was.

At dawn, the celebration of the two clans finally ended. The Wood Spirits then disappeared into the jungle, whereas the Stone Spirits went back to their respective tree caves.

Ruo Xi and Xiao Xiao walked back together, but when they saw Yang Kai sitting cross-legged there, Ruo Xi couldn't help but ponder. She was so engrossed in the celebratory mood last night that she had no idea when Yang Kai left.

"Xiao Xiao, come here!" Yang Kai beckoned to Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao immediately tottered to his side, curiously looking at him. He had no idea what Yang Kai wanted to do.

Yang Kai reached out and grasped Xiao Xiao's hand before he surged his Divine Sense to communicate with him.

After a while, Yang Kai heaved a sigh, "Are you sure?"

As he had expected, Xiao Xiao truly wanted to enter the Blood Gate. Elder had already analyzed the pros and cons of it clearly with him, and he had no intention of forcing things on him.

Xiao Xiao stood up and hammered his fists on his chest, indicating that he was very strong and wasn't afraid of anything.

Yang Kai wryly smiled, shaking his head. He pondered for a long while before finally stating, "Go tell your Elder that I agree to his request."

Xiao Xiao was confused, obviously having no idea what Yang Kai meant. Nevertheless, he obediently ran out.

"Sir, did something happen?" Ruo Xi couldn't help but anxiously ask, noticing the unsettled look on Yang Kai's face.

Yang Kai furrowed his brow and replied, without hiding anything, "The Stone Spirit and Wood Spirit Clans want to send Xiao Xiao into the Blood Gate to inherit a Divine Spirit Source. So, I am a little worried."

"Ah!" Ruo Xi immediately exclaimed, covering her mouth, "Enter the Blood Gate, but over there… right now…"

"Yes, it will be extremely difficult. If I don't help them, they will not be able to break through the defences around the Blood Gate for sure, and even with my help, they might not be able to succeed."

"Then, Sir, why did you still agree?"

Yang Kai stated, "I will try my best and leave the rest up to the Heavens to decide as I'm not sure that I can take them away from here."

Ruo Xi's eyes flickered before she grit her teeth and suggested, "Then, I'll also help."

Yang Kai glared at her and reprimanded, "No, if we really rush to the Blood Gate, things will be very dangerous. You're not… strong enough. You have to be obedient."

An aggrieved look appeared on Zhang Ruo Xi's face, but she didn't dare to violate Yang Kai's command. All she could do was softly agree, "I know..."

Yang Kai glanced at her and gently said, "Since I brought you out from the Zhang Family, I have the responsibility to guarantee your safety. When you have advanced to the Emperor Realm, it won't be too late to participate in such things."

"Yes!" Ruo Xi replied, clearly frustrated.