Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask!" Yang Kai glanced at Li Jiao coldly.

Li Jiao immediately fell silent at those words.

"I need a favour from you!"

Li Jiao quickly replied, "What are you saying, Palace Master Yang? I owe my life to you. Please let me know if you have any instructions for me, I will not shirk away from it."

Despite his bold and unrestrained manner, Li Jiao secretly felt bitter inside. He could already guess what Yang Kai wanted his help with. It was undoubtedly related to Yang Kai's grievances with Wind and Cloud Pavilion. Now that Yang Kai had arrived in Great Cloud City, it was obvious that he wanted to infiltrate the headquarters of Wind and Cloud Pavilion.

Li Jiao thought to himself, [Hua Xing, oh, Hua Xing… It's not that I don't bear any friendship with you. It's just that I have no other choice.]

"Take us into Wind and Cloud Pavilion."

Li Jiao puffed out his chest, "No problem. Leave it to me!"

A quarter of an hour later, the group of three flew over and stood just outside Wind and Cloud Pavilion. Circulating his Emperor Qi, Li Jiao enveloped both Yang Kai and Lin Yun'er. Even the black puppy was not spared. After that, Yang Kai, Lin Yun'er, and the black puppy obediently followed behind him as though they had been placed under some sort of restriction.

"Are you Senior Li?" An Elder of Wind and Cloud Pavilion was standing behind the Sect Defending Array and cupped his fist to greet Li Jiao. It was obvious that he had heard from Hua Xing and specifically came here to await Li Jiao's return. The Sect Defending Array was fully activated at the moment. Clearly, Hua Xing had not placed all his hopes on Li Jiao either and made preparations just in case.

"It is this Li!" Li Jiao replied in a deep voice.

"Then, these two…" the Elder asked suspiciously.

"Open your eyes wide and have a good look. Is this girl the one behind the murder of the Young Pavilion Master? I have captured her and brought her back."

The Elder fixed his gaze on Lin Yun'er and was soon overjoyed, nodding, "That's her! It's that cheap slut! Senior Li, you are truly amazing to be able to capture her! The Pavilion Master will be ecstatic to know about this!"

"Then why are you still wasting time on nonsense? Hurry up and open the array. I want to hand these two over to the Pavilion Master and finish this sorry business!"

"Of course, of course," the Elder nodded repeatedly and took out a token he then poured his Emperor Qi into. A stream of light immediately shot out from the token and landed on the Sect Defending Array which subsequently opened a crack and allowed Li Jiao to enter.

"Brother Li, you returned victoriously! I apologize for not coming to greet you sooner, please forgive me for my discourtesy," Hua Xing suddenly appeared out of nowhere, flying over from not too far away. It was uncertain if he had been hiding nearby, waiting for Li Jiao to return or had really just arrived.

"It's nothing worth mentioning!" Li Jiao waved his hand lightly.

"Are you the Father of that nasty guy?" All of a sudden, Lin Yun'er frowned at Hua Xing and asked, but before Hua Xing could answer, she continued, "I'm sure it's you. You both look very similar."

"You cheap slut!" Hua Xing turned to look at her, flames of rage burning in his chest as his murderous intent surged up like a wave. He roared furiously, "How dare you kill my son?! Today, I… Huh?"

While he was speaking, he suddenly noticed that something was wrong. This girl's aura was vigorous and her Emperor Qi was clearly flowing freely, she hadn't been imprisoned at all!

Just as those doubts grew in Hua Xing, Lin Yun'er rushed forward as swiftly as lightning. At the same time, a pair of pitch-black gloves appeared on her tender fists which she clenched tightly and threw out with all her might.

*Ssii…*

Hua Xing was startled, but although things had happened so abruptly, it wasn't enough to panic him. What shocked him was the explosive force the girl exerted in that instant. Those small fists of hers contained enough strength to destroy the Heavens and shatter the Earth. It would hurt greatly if he were struck by that fist, even if he was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master.

"You court death!" Hua Xing immediately countered in a furious rage. He initially wanted to torture this girl by subjecting her to all sorts of torment before brutally killing her; however, the battle had been joined and he had no choice but to respond in kind. He circulated his Emperor Qi and struck out at her with his palm.

Following that, a gigantic palm formed from pure, condensed Emperor Qi instantly appeared in mid-air. That palm hanging in mid-air triggered a Secret Technique, stretching out its finger and pointing it at her, causing the surrounding World Energy to become turbulent while Principles surged up.

That was definitely a powerful Secret Technique and all of Wind and Cloud Pavilion's disciples shuddered under its might. At the same time, an impulsive urge to bow down and worship that power bloomed in them. Even the Sect Defending Array nearby rippled as if it was about to break. This was the power of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master's attack at full strength; it was phenomenal indeed.

Undeterred, Lin Yun'er smashed her fist against the palm before she grunted in pain. Her entire being was slapped by a vigorous force, and she was sent flying like a kite with a broken string before being pressed into the ground.

Even if she was strong, her cultivation was still two Minor Realms lower than her opponent's; therefore, her strength was inadequate in a fight against a veteran like Hua Xing and her disadvantage was clear after just one exchange of blows.

*Pa…*

A soft sound rang out as Yang Kai slapped his hands together before drawing a large arc in the air, Space Principles surging as a gigantic Moon Blade was slashed out.

The Moon Blade soared forth, collapsing space around it as it flew. As a result, a deep gash was cut into the palm Secret Technique, causing its power to reduce drastically.

Consequently, the pressure pressing down on Lin Yun'er disappeared suddenly. Her feet kicked against the ground, and she slipped through the gaps like a flash of lightning before appearing Hua Xing, her fists striking out repeatedly.

Hua Xing's expression changed as he opened his mouth, he spat out a tiny cyan sword. The sword spun leisurely in the air before instantly expanding until its shadow covered the entire sky, forming a defensive barrier in front of him.

*Hong Hong Hong…*

Lin Yun'er's fists continuously smashed into the barrier formed by the giant sword, each punch containing the sum of her complete strength behind it, and the sounds of explosions that rang out from each blow was deafening. Her raw destructive power made everybody's expression change; however, the sword remained unyielding and stood before Hua Xing steadily, rendering all her attacks futile.

"Cut!" Yang Kai flexed his fingers. Following that, Moon Blades flew towards Hua Xing one after another.

Hua Xing furrowed his brow slightly as he waved his hand to send out another Secret Technique. Then, the sword barrier in front of him suddenly shot out phantom blades that struck and deflected the Moon Blades accurately. Not only that, but a giant sword also descended from the sky at the same time and slammed down towards Yang Kai ferociously.

"Hmph!" Li Jiao snorted coldly, lifting his hand as a phantom Flood Dragon flew out, slammed into that gigantic sword and caused it to shatter to pieces.

Meanwhile, Lin Yun'er fluttered backwards and retreated, returning to Yang Kai and Li Jiao's side while panting lightly. She had used up a lot of energy to launch the previous round of attacks. Even so, it had not affected Hua Xing in any way, which showed how impressive the Emperor Artifact Sword was.

During that exchange of blows, sparks flew and mayhem ensued. Everything happened so quickly that the onlookers could not keep up with the battle. Before the disciples of Wind and Cloud Pavilion in the surrounding area could grasp what was happening, both sides had retreated from the clash.

Hua Xing's eyes flashed sharply. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Li Jiao! I treated you with such courtesy during your stay here, how could you collude with outsiders to deceive me?!"

That young man and woman had looked like they were being restrained by Li Jiao, but in truth, they were not imprisoned at all. Otherwise, they couldn't have fought with Hua Xing. In addition, Li Jiao had stepped up to help them just now. Hua Xing would be an idiot if he still failed to notice the problem.

However, he simply couldn't figure out something. [Li Jiao only left for a short while, so why did he suddenly turn from an ally to an enemy? This young man and woman shouldn't have that much power to make him switch sides, right? What is going on?!]

Even though Hua Xing couldn't make heads or tails of the situation, he already held a grudge against Li Jiao now. If not for his trust in him, he would never have allowed an enemy to slip through the Sect Defending Array.

This was a matter of pride. It didn't matter if they had massacred their way to Great Cloud City, but the fact that they managed to kill their way into Wind and Cloud Pavilion headquarters and get past the Sect Defending Array was a naked insult to the Sect. Even though Wind and Cloud Pavilion's reputation had taken a huge blow recently, the Sect Defending Array was the last layer of defence they had left to cover up this embarrassing incident.

[This is just great. Even our last layer of defence was rendered useless. Wind and Cloud Pavilion will have no face to speak of from now on.]

Hua Xing originally hated Lin Yun'er because his son had died in her hands, but the betrayal of Li Jiao angered him even more.

Faced with Hua Xing's questioning, Li Jiao's expression remained unchanged as he simply snorted, "Brother Hua, your aura sure is vigorous. It seems like you're recovering quite well. That's so amazing. Only a short while has passed, but you recovered from your internal injuries so quickly. I am extremely impressed. What kind of rare and precious treasures did you take to heal yourself so quickly? I can't believe how miraculous the effects are. Do you think you can spare me a few?"

He avoided the most important topics and instead changed the subject to one more favourable to him. Li Jiao was undoubtedly embarrassed to speak of his own affairs; thus, he pointed out the fact that Hua Xing had deceived him by faking an injury and forcing his hand.

He could see it now. This old fox Hua Xing had pushed him to take action, obviously without good intentions. Thinking about it this way, Li Jiao suddenly felt the guilt in his heart lessen.

Hua Xing turned to look at Yang Kai and Lin Yun'er before turning to look at Li Jiao, "Brother Li, was my hospitality lacking during your stay in Wind and Cloud Pavilion?"

"Nothing of the sort. Brother Hua, you made me feel extremely welcome," Li Jiao replied lightly.

Then, Hua Xing asked bitterly, "In that case, why did you betray me? W-Why did you join hands with them?!"

Li Jiao responded, "I had to!"

Hua Xing stared at Li Jiao incredulously, "You had to?"

This was what puzzled him the most. Why would Li Jiao rather join hands with this unknown young man and woman? Why would he rather become his enemy?

Gritting his teeth, Hua Xing asked, "You and I have been friends for hundreds of years, but that's all it takes for you to make me your enemy? Because you 'had' to?!"

Li Jiao scratched his cheek somewhat awkwardly, "Friendship isn't as important as life, right?"

Hua Xing couldn't help losing his composure, "Just who are these people?!"

Hua Xing knew very well just what kind of person Li Jiao was. He was a descendant of the Dragon Clan, a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, as well as the Palace Master of one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory. Hua Xing couldn't believe Li Jiao was acting so weakly now. It looked like his guess was right. This young man and woman must come from influential backgrounds, ones powerful enough that they can even threaten Li Jiao's life! If not, Li Jiao would never say such embarrassing things.

Hua Xing's expression suddenly became gloomy and uncertain. Li Jiao's betrayal had upset him greatly, but although Wind and Cloud Pavilion was pretty impressive, that was only a relative comparison. If this man and woman, plus Li Jiao were to really kick up a fuss here, more than half of Wind and Cloud Pavilion would be destroyed. Even if the Sect ultimately survived, it would undoubtedly be a pyrrhic victory.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Hua Xing began considering backing down. Thus, he secretly sent a Divine Sense transmission to Li Jiao, "Brother Li, tell me the truth. Are these two… related to one of the Great Emperors?"

If that was the case, then even if his pride was damaged, this conflict could not be aggravated any further. Wind and Cloud Pavilion could not afford to provoke anybody related to the Great Emperors.

Li Jiao glanced at him before glancing at Yang Kai. Seeing that Yang Kai had no intention to stop him from speaking, he casually replied, "No."

"No?" Hua Xing was taken aback by the reply.