Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Gathering Clouds Mountain on Shadowed Star was a place filled with vitality where the World Energy was abundant. It was also the location of the most famous Crystal Stone Lodes on the Star and the most important business for High Heaven Sect. The Crystal Stones mined from this place accounted for one-tenth of the Sect's income every year.

For this kind of important business, naturally, there was a Master assuming command here.

She was clad in tight-fitting clothes which outlined her curvy figure and her hair was tied into a neat bun, giving her a clean-cut appearance. In the past, she was the Eldest Young Lady of the Qiu Family in the Great Han Dynasty, but now, she was the Matriarch of the Qiu Family. Qiu Yi Meng was the person who guarded this place. Several dozen years had passed since she came to Shadowed Star, and she had always worked hard to increase her cultivation. Now, the aura radiating from her body suggested that she was a First-Order Origin King.

It could be said that among the youths who had left the Great Han Dynasty, besides Yang Kai, her cultivation was the strongest. Even many of those from the older generation were not comparable to her. There was no doubt that she had innate talent, but there was a more important reason why her cultivation had soared.

The sun in the sky was too far away from her, so if she wanted to pick the Sun and reach for the Moon, she had to work harder. Even if she couldn't pick it, she wanted to be nearer to it at least.

As one of the main battlefields of the two Star Fields, Shadowed Star was targeted by many Masters from Grand Desolation Star Field. There were more than several dozen battlefields on the Star, and as expected, those places with more resources were where more battles were fought.

Naturally, those from Grand Desolation Star Field had their eyes on Gathering Clouds Mountain and had deployed an Origin King to take control of it. This person had hundreds of subordinates who were mostly Origin Returning Realm cultivators. With Qiu Yi Meng as the leader of the disciples from High Heaven Sect, the feud between the two sides had lasted for about five years now.

During this period of time, there had been hundreds of skirmishes between them. Both parties had won some battles and suffered some losses, but no one had managed to become the clear winner. Those from Grand Desolation Star Field failed in their attempt to seize the Crystal Stone Lode, while on the other hand, Qiu Yi Meng couldn't expel or exterminate all of her enemies. Nevertheless, she couldn't seek help from High Heaven Sect because the other party would also do the same if she did that.

Moreover, the helpers on the other side would arrive quickly. The more Origin Kings that High Heaven Sect sent out, the more the other party would also increase their fighting strength.

Five years had passed, and they seemed to have come to a tacit agreement that they would only battle against each other with the current manpower they had. Neither commander would seek help from their respective backers.

At this moment, Qiu Yi Meng was burning with rage. [Several dozen years have passed, so he's probably reached a very high realm by now. If I can't even deal with these low lives, how am I supposed to get closer to him?]

With such thoughts, whenever there was no active battle, Qiu Yi Meng would cultivate diligently because she didn't dare to waste any time.

Just then, someone rapidly knocked on the door from outside.

"Come in!" Qiu Yi Meng opened her eyes.

The door was opened, after which a burly man stepped into the room. His murderous intent was so intense that it was as though it had almost materialised. He was none other than Tu Feng, a Blood Warrior who had greatly helped Yang Kai in the Inheritance War.

The Blood Warriors from the Yang Family were all top talents who had sworn loyalty to the Yang Family. After they followed Yang Kai to Shadowed Star, their power had also seen exponential growth. As one of the most outstanding Blood Warriors, Tu Feng was already in the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, just one step away from the Origin King Realm.

Among the subordinates Qiu Yi Meng had, many came from the Eight Great Families of the Great Han Dynasty, so naturally, Blood Warriors from the Yang Family worked under her as well.

"Elder Qiu!" Tu Feng cupped his fists.

After Qiu Yi Meng had reached the Origin King Realm, she had been promoted to the position of Elder in High Heaven Sect.

"What's the matter?"

"Those rats have made a move."

"Again?" Qiu Yi Meng frowned and felt that something was off, because their enemies had returned too soon. The last battle only ended five days ago, and normally after such a war, they would rest and recuperate for at least a month before staging another assault, so why did they come back after only a few days?

With a weird expression, Tu Feng replied, "They're not coming; they're fleeing."

"What!?" Qiu Yi Meng scowled. They had been fighting with each other for five years now, so both sides were quite familiar with one another. The question then became, why would the enemy flee all of a sudden? Realising something, Qiu Yi Meng asked, "What were those loud sounds just now?"

She was cultivating earlier, so although she had heard some strange noises, she didn't pay much attention to it. Now, she realised that those sounds came from the Starry Sky, and the source of the sounds was…

Appearing excited, Tu Feng replied, "That's what I was going to tell you. Those Starships from Grand Desolation Star Field seem to have been destroyed."

"Has the Great Elder made a move?" Qiu Yi Meng straightened her face.

The dozen or so Starships had been anchored outside Shadowed Star and had served as the enemy's headquarters and staging ground for their invasion. Not only did this strategy allow those from Grand Desolation Star Field to wage an unrestricted war on Shadowed Star, it had also served as a blockade to stop those from High Heaven Sect from making a move.

Although High Heaven Sect was fairly powerful, and they had quite a few Origin King Realm Masters, there was only one Third-Order Origin King, the Great Elder, Ye Xi Yun, guarding this place. The other top Masters were no longer on Shadowed Star as they had their own territories to defend.

Unless Ye Xi Yun personally made a move, no one else could deal with those Starships.

In fact, even if Ye Xi Yun made a move, she couldn't have achieved this kind of result, unless those people had returned to High Heaven Sect and joined forces with her.

[Have they come back?] That was the only reason Qiu Yi Meng could think of. If that was the case, then everything made sense to her now.

Tu Feng uttered, "I don't know the exact details, but it's the best time for us to make a move."

Qiu Yi Meng rose from the chair and sneered, "It's time we settled the score with them."

The Grand Desolation Star Field's support had been destroyed, so it was no wonder that their forces on the ground became flustered. Certainly, Qiu Yi Meng wouldn't let this chance of striking their weakened enemies slip through her fingers.

After she stepped out of the room, she saw many people gazing at her. All of them exuded auras that were thick and heavy. Staring at these familiar faces, she nodded slightly.

Then, she turned around and saw that many beams of lights were flickering in the sky that was hundreds of kilometres away. They were as bright as meteors, but instead of descending, they were all flying upwards. Those were the cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field who were trying to flee from Shadowed Star.

After that, she turned to look at the other side and saw a similar sight in an even further location.

It seemed that those from Grand Desolation Star Field had become flustered after their Starships were destroyed and they no longer dared to remain on Shadowed Star, so they attempted to run for their lives.

"Spare no one!" Qiu Yi Meng ordered while snickered to herself, [Shadowed Star is not a place where you can come and go as you please!]

"Yes!" Everyone pushed their Saint Qi and shot into the sky to chase down the hated enemies they had fought with for the past five years.

At this moment, dazzling lights could be seen filling the sky. It was a bustling and chaotic day on Shadowed Star as similar sights could be seen everywhere. However, those who were racing after their enemies couldn't shorten the gap between them. After all, those from Grand Desolation Star Fields were not weaklings. They must be quite powerful to have the guts to invade another Star Field.

Qiu Yi Meng realised that she had to use her trump card here, otherwise, those people would flee from Shadowed Star soon. Gritting her teeth, she performed a hand seal with both hands, upon which a layer of pink mist wafted from her skin. Suddenly, her pace quickened as though she was able to move as swiftly as lightning.

Those cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field, who were running away, sensed this sudden surge in energy fluctuations and turned their heads to investigate, only to see a beam of red light shooting towards them at incredible speed. The man leading the withdrawal had his expression darken as he cursed, "You!"

He was the Origin King Realm Master from Grand Desolation Star Field who had been fighting with Qiu Yi Meng in the past few years. He was a thin man who appeared to be in his forties. Although he had been drooling over Qiu Yi Meng's beauty since he arrived, he had never been able to subdue her. Now that she had separated from her forces though, he started having lustful thoughts again.

[It'd be nice if I can get myself a woman before we have to leave.]

After he spoke to his subordinates with Divine Sense, they all immediately dispersed.

Although Qiu Yi Meng saw this, she still didn't slow down her pace.

"Come if you dare! I won't let you leave if you do!" The thin man sneered.

"Bian Hong, today you die!" Qiu Yi Meng's shout resounded even before she arrived within striking distance.

The man called Bian Hong simply cackled as he pretended to flee as he turned his head and mocked her, "Little Girl, are you reluctant to see me go? Why don't you come with me? I'll dote on you and make sure to fill you with 'satisfaction' every day!"

His vulgar language elicited a laugh from his subordinates.

In response, Qiu Yi Meng used her Divine Ability. She raised her hand as her long sword pulsated. Lights could be seen flashing across the blade, and the power of wind converged at its edge.

With a wide sweep of her sword, a sword wave was released and transformed into a weapon that was several dozen metres long, aimed at the heads of those cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field. The Wind Attribute energy could be seen circling around the sword wave as the sound of a tornado forming was heard.

Seeing that, all of them from Grand Desolation Star Field turned solemn. After all, this was the attack of an Origin King Realm Master, so they couldn't take it lightly.

The dispersed group converged all of a sudden as their Saint Qi fluctuations could be seen around them. In the blink of an eye, those cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field had assumed a Formation that linked their Saint Qi together, forming a light shield before them.

With a loud crash, the huge sword wave slashed into the giant light shield, upon which a surging explosion took place.

Clenching her teeth, Qiu Yi Meng exerted more force and pressed down her weapon in an attempt to break the light shield and kill some people first.

*Kacha…*

Cracks were immediately seen on the light shield, as though it would break into pieces at any moment.

Qiu Yi Meng was startled at this sight. Although her strike was powerful, it was impossible that it could break the other party's defence so easily; after all, there was an Origin King on the opposing side, unless…

She swept a glance over all of them and realised that Bian Hong was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't even sure when he disappeared.

[Damn it!] Qiu Yi Meng was astounded as she realised that she had fallen into the enemies' trap because she was too eager to chase after them.

Suddenly, she felt a gust of wind coming at her from behind. At the same time, Tu Feng and the others could be heard shouting out warnings in the distance.

Although Qiu Yi Meng was astonished, she still wasn't flustered. She had learned to be flexible and swift from her years of battle. In order to ward off the attack, she pushed her Saint Qi and formed a protective layer behind her.

Two streams of Saint Qi clashed with each other as the protective layer behind her broke apart in an instant and Bian Hong landed a palm on her back, scoffing as he sneered, "Go to Hell!"

Qiu Yi Meng staggered forward and spat a mouthful of blood. At the same time, she seized the opportunity to widen the gap with Bian Hong.

Rather than looking pleased though, Bian Hong looked down at his palm with a livid expression as he realised that it was now darkened. He even felt a numbing sensation in his hand that he tried his hardest to suppress with his Saint Qi, but found very little success.

Clenching his teeth, he growled, "What have you done?"

Qiu Yi Meng chuckled and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth before she gazed at him with a tilted head, "Do you like my present? I've prepared it specifically for you."

Bian Hong's chest tightened when he saw her expression, "You set me up!"

Now, he realised that she had used a powerful Divine Ability just now, seemingly leaving herself exposed and defenseless, in order to draw him in and take the opportunity to mount a sneak attack.

[She must be wearing an Artifact Armour that is coated in some extremely potent poison.] Instead of ending her life with a palm, he was actually poisoned. Although the poison wasn't fatal, it would require him to spend some time suppressing it. However, he couldn't divert his attention to do that right now as he was facing her in battle.

Qiu Yi Meng brushed her hair behind her ear and stared at him with her clear gaze, "Indeed, and so?"