Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Gao Xue Ting reached out to hold Yang Kai's arm and support him to prevent him from falling, and Yang Kai nodded in thanks. He quickly caught his breath in order to calm the roiling blood in his chest.

Suddenly, there was a whimper. The Abyssal Returner that looked just like a puppy actually uttered a sad cry, seemingly enduring incredible pain.

At the moment, its appearance looked miserable. They had no idea what method Gong Yue used before in order to stimulate the power of its bloodline and allow it to take on so many Emperor Realm Masters by itself for such a long amount of time; however, it was no longer any threat after reaching its limit. After being swept up by so many Divine Abilities, its body lay bloodied and covered in terrible injuries that were hard to look at.

Gong Yue glanced at it and clearly sensed something. Smiling, he said, "Well, it's just about time anyway."

None of them knew what he meant by that, but at the end of his sentence, the Abyssal Returner suddenly heaved a few times before its mouth burst open, transforming into that monstrously big mouth from before in an instant.

A cold aura emerged from that huge mouth, and a man and spear seemed to have been released from the abyss and spiralled out from within.

The moment he saw light again, Feng Ming was clearly dumbfounded. He had been swallowed and surrounded by boundless darkness with no light or sound. Fortunately, he did not suffer any harm. It seemed like he was just sucked into a strange world.

He would occasionally find a glimmer of light appearing in that world, and he tried his best to follow it until he finally broke free.

Sweeping a glance over the scene, Feng Ming made a determination to kick the Abyssal Returner who was still retching beside him and sent it flying out of sight. Then, like a dragon, his spear was thrust towards Gong Yue who was sitting at the side.

Gong Yue did not dodge this life or death crisis. He didn't even have the slightest intention to resist. His aura had been very weak this whole time and he had been depending on that Abyssal Returner's strange ability in order to hold off so many Emperor Realm Masters, but now that the Abyssal Returner was no longer useful, he wouldn't be able to defeat the enraged Feng Ming even if he tried to resist.

He faced the call of death with a calm expression, as if he had already seen through the meaning of life.

With a piercing noise, the tip of the spear thrust through Gong Yue's chest, leaving a hole where his squirming five viscera and six organs could be seen.

However, Gong Yue just laughed, "Killing me alone is useless. Time will prove that I made the right choice, and that you've all chosen wrong!"

"Foolish nonsense!" Feng Ming coldly snorted. Emperor Qi surging, the roar of a beast was released from his Flying Thunder Spear, followed by Gong Yue's body bursting apart into a mist of blood, leaving no bones behind.

A small black light flew out at that moment, but Feng Ming reacted quickly and thrust his spear over, popping it directly. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and turned to the group, "Are you all alright?"

Chen Wen Hao's complexion did not look good, but he shook his head, "We're unharmed, all thanks to Elder Yang. What about you, Brother Feng? How are you feeling?"

Feng Ming shook his head, "I am also unharmed, but I must check my condition carefully. That thing was truly too strange."

"What did Gong Yue mean just now?" Gao Xue Ting's eyebrows were furrowed. She kept on thinking about Gong Yue's words, but she couldn't figure out what they meant. Still, they filled her with anxiety, as if something bad was going to happen in the future.

Nobody knew the meaning of Gong Yue's last words.

Just as the group was lost in thought, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the distance. Both the ground and the mountain peaks began to shake and stir, as if something had been cracked apart. Then, one after another, black lights suddenly rose up from somewhere on Spirit Sword Peak, turning into streams of light that flew out in all directions.

"Demon Spirits… How could there be so many Demon Spirits?" Looking up, Gao Xue Ting's beautiful face lost all colour in an instant.

The black lights were clearly the same as the ones that corrupted Gong Yue's mind. They were the remnant Demon Spirits, but their numbers were in the hundreds, possibly reaching a thousand in total. Like fireworks exploding in the sky, they shot off towards the horizon.

"How can this be!" Chen Wen Hao was also dumbfounded at the sight.Read first at L i g h t n o v e l r e a d e r . o r g

Qiu Ran and the others were seeing Demon Spirits for the first time, but even though they had no idea how powerful they were, they could still sense that these things were tough to deal with, and each one of them had serious looks on their faces.

"Spirit Sword Peak… is an ancient Demon Sealing Ground!" Yang Kai coughed, appearing extremely weak, "The reason Gong Yue came here was so that he could break the seal and release the other Demon Spirits!"

Gao Xue Ting was shocked at his words and turned over to look at him, "Junior Brother, you mean to say that this place is the same as the Southern Swamp?"

Yang Kai answered, "There's no other explanation besides that."

Everyone's attention was drawn to the Ancient Cave Mansion in the Southern Swamp, but no one expected that Demons would be sealed under Azure Sun Temple's Spirit Sword Peak as well. Since Gong Yue's mind had been invaded by a Demon Spirit, he obviously knew this. That's why he went around the sun to reach the moon, coming straight here in order to break the seal with the help of his Spirit Array attainments to release even more Demon Spirits.

The reason he did not resist in the face of death was first because he could not resist, and secondly because there was no need to. Because even if he died, his mission had already been completed. Just as he said before, many more would now follow in his footsteps.

"Damn it!" Gao Xue Ting gritted her teeth.

"Open the Sect Defending Array! These things must be stopped as soon as possible. If they're allowed to escape…" Yang Kai spoke urgently, but he had only spoken halfway before a sudden change occurred. Another rumble rang out, followed by a loud laugh that reached everyone's ears.

Yang Kai's words came to an abrupt halt as he looked towards the direction of that voice with utmost shock.

He could already tell who that voice belonged to.

Initially, the laughter was somewhat restrained, as if the person was stunned, but as time passed, it became more and more unrestrained and savage.

A stream of light came from the distance, and the laughter was rapidly approaching.

In the blink of an eye, a scraggly old man with an all-white beard appeared not far in front of them and an indescribable pressure suddenly descended from the sky, as if a mountain was pressed down on each person's heart. Even breathing was becoming difficult for many of the Emperor Realm Masters present. Yang Kai had been in a bad state to begin with, so this sudden pressure caused fresh blood to spill from the corners of his mouth.

The old man stood mid-air and stopped his laughter before his gaze swept over the crowd lightly, his eyes soon fixing on Yang Kai as he grinned, "Oh? Little brat, you're here too! Truly, there is nowhere that we do not meet in life."

Yang Kai frowned. He had the constant feeling that something wasn't quite right. The old man in front of him was not different from the one in his memories, but his temperament was very different. In his memory, the elderly man was wise and carefree, but the man in front of him now was covered in a malevolent aura.

Gao Xue Ting's expression turned solemn and she quickly said, "Greetings, Great Emperor!"

Qiu Ran also quickly saluted him.

Everyone else was shocked, including the other Elders of the temple. They knew nothing about this man, but Qiu Ran and Gao Xue Ting actually called him a Great Emperor. There were only a few Great Emperors in this world, so which venerated figure was this man?

Feng Ming and Chen Wen Hao looked at each other and could both see the shock in each other's eyes.

Gao Xue Ting explained, "This is Senior Hong Chen!"Read first at L i g h t n o v e l r e a d e r . o r g

"What?" The two men were shocked, but they didn't dare to delay, both of them cupping their fists respectfully, "Greetings Senior Hong Chen!"

Among the Ten Great Emperors, other than the few who founded their own Sects, the rest were hidden dragons who show their tails but never their face, of which Bustling World Great Emperor was the most mysterious. That was because he cultivated the Bustling World Dao, and to do so, he would assume a thousand disguises and travel through the bustling world in them, experiencing all kinds of lives. Among the beggars on the streets, the woodcutters in the mountains, the pimps in the brothels, and the dignitaries in the court, his figure may perhaps be seen. Only, nobody could recognize him. They may brush shoulders with him or even share a drink and a song with him, but nobody really recognized his identity.

Feng Ming and Chen Wen Hao had never met the Bustling World Great Emperor before, but they were convinced of Gao Xue Ting's words.

Because rumor had it that Azure Sun Temple was very close with the Bustling World Great Emperor, especially the Temple Master, Wen Zi Shan, who was known to be like a son to him. Otherwise, how could Azure Sun Temple become one of the Southern Territory's top Sects in just a short few years? It had to be known that other than the Azure Sun Temple, the other top Sects all had inheritances passed down for many generations, with Heavenly Martial Holy Land being able to trace its lineage back tens of thousands of years.

Duan Hong Chen received their greeting with a mere smile, but it was as if he did not hear them. His eyes fixed on Yang Kai with interest the whole time.

Gao Xue Ting followed up, "Sir, the Demon Spirits have resurfaced and the temple is in crisis. Please lend us your aid!"

Yang Kai gently patted Gao Xue Ting's arm and shook his head, "Stop, he's not Senior Hong Chen."

"Huh?" Gao Xue Ting was stunned. Then, as if remembering something, her tender body trembled and she looked at 'Duan Hong Chen' with great fear.

Both Feng Ming and Chen Wen Hao were bewildered. They were completely confused when they heard Yang Kai's words. Gao Xue Ting said that the man in front of them was the Bustling World Great Emperor, but Yang Kai disagreed. Yet, the old man did not try to refute anything, leaving the two outsiders a little puzzled.

"Wu Kuang, how did you get out? What did you do with Senior Hong Chen?" Yang Kai asked in a grim voice, his gaze icy cold.

'Duan Hong Chen' smiled and pointed his finger to his head and said, "Since this King has come out, what do you think happened to that old fart, Hong Chen? He has already been devoured by this King! Hahahaha!"

"Impossible!" Yang Kai shouted.

Wu Kuang's laughter stopped abruptly, and his voice turned cold, "You little brat, how long have you lived? What do you know of this King's Divine Ability? What a joke that Hong Chen thought he could imprison this King in a mere mirror. Instead, he made this King whole! Truly, his foolishness is laughable! Under this King's Heaven Devouring Battle Law, how could he resist? How could anyone resist?"

"Heaven Devouring Battle Law?" Both Feng Ming and Chen Wen Hao looked shocked, and they both took a few steps back. They had naturally heard of this infamous Secret Art before. This was the most powerful and most evil Secret Art in the history of the Star Boundary. It was the cause of the Battle of Great Emperors and gave rise to the Shattered Star Sea. Even now, tens of thousands of years later, the name of this Secret Art was still familiar to all Masters.

Chen Wen Hao frowned and asked hesitantly, "Your Excellency couldn't be…"

He dared not continue his sentence as fear of that mighty name had not diminished even tens of thousands of years after his supposed death.

Wu Kuang proudly announced, "That's right! This King is the Heaven Devourer!"