Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

All of a sudden, a great crisis descended from the sky. It was accompanied by an indescribably horrifying pressure. Xin Xuan Ming felt like a huge mountain was pressing down on his chest and his expression changed abruptly as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The place where he was located was also the place where the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core was located. Many of the disciples of Netherworld Sect and the other Sects from Grand Desolation Star Field were gathered here. The defence here was extremely tight, so Xin Xuan Ming never imagined that somebody would launch a sneak attack here and time had shown that to truly be the case. Over the years, those rats had only assaulted this place once before when the initial preparations for the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array had been underway. After that, they vanished without a trace.

Therefore, Xin Xuan Ming had been cultivating in retreat here without any worries. He was simply waiting for the day the Spirit Array would be completed. That was the day he would come out of retreat and turn the rivers red with the blood of the people he slaughtered.

While in retreat, his mind needed to be fully focused and he could not afford to be disturbed at all; however, that huge pressure from the sky forced him out of his meditative state. If that was all, Xin Xuan Ming would not have suffered any injuries from the rude awakening, it was just that the pressure was so terrifying that even he couldn't afford to take it lightly. He bent over, injured by the force of the pressure, his eyes filled with horror as he desperately circulated his Saint Qi.

Standing up under the tremendous pressure, he took a step forward and arrived outside of the hall.

He looked around and saw that the surroundings were in a miserable state. Countless disciples of Grand Desolation Star Field were crushed against the ground, staining it with splatters of red blood that stood out glaringly. It was the blood that these cultivators had coughed up, while some with weaker cultivations had even exploded into blood mist on the spot.

In just the blink of an eye, hundreds of cultivators had died on the spot.

Lifting his head, Xin Xuan Ming looked up and his eyes narrowed. All he saw was a bright light falling from the sky and a humongous palmprint crashing down on them. The palmprint was so enormous that it covered the entire Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core with space to spare.

[What kind of Divine Ability is this!? Just who is challenging us now?] Even Xin Xuan Ming, who had experienced many great storms, was dumbstruck by this sight. [This kind of power isn't something an ordinary Origin King can display. The only person who can do something like this in the Tong Xuan Realm is the Star Master who has holed up somewhere for the past several years! But, that Star Master is a woman while that palm print clearly belongs to a man. How is this possible?]

There was no room for consideration in that fleeting moment though as Xin Xuan Ming knew that if he did not defend against this falling palm, the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core would be in danger. Leaving aside how many people would die from the force of that palm strike, all their hard work and persistence over the past few years would be for nought if the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core was destroyed.

As the Vice Sect Master of the Netherworld Sect, he could not stand idly by and do nothing. That seemingly thin body swelled up with a loud roar, similar to a balloon filling with air. At the same time, his clothes billowed around him. An Array Jade appeared in his hand as he formed a set of seals and injected his Saint Qi into it rapidly.

The Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array was a Grand Spirit Array composed of eight smaller sub-Arrays, each of which could operate independently. As the place he was located was also where the Array Core was located, this place was able to handle even more power than the other seven.

The Array Jade in his hands was the controller for the Array Core. The moment the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core was activated, Yang Kai let out a soft exclamation of surprise as he fell from the sky. The huge 'black ink stain' beneath him suddenly distorted and squirmed. Immediately following that, thick Black Qi gathered in one place and transformed into a ghost hand, its fingers sharp like claws as it stabbed upward into the sky.

Looking at it from above, the ghost hand did not look that large, but in reality, it was gigantic beyond comparison. When it spread its palm open, it was large enough to encompass an area approximately 100 kilometres wide. Moreover, the aura it was exuding was extremely powerful and did not seem easy to deal with.

Naturally, that was only when considering ordinary Third-Order Origin Kings. This Array was set up by cultivators in the Origin King Realm, so its power could not exceed a certain limit despite its potency. Unfortunately, Yang Kai happened to be an existence that exceeded all those limits and broke all of such preconceived notions.

"How troublesome!" Yang Kai muttered under his breath and exerted slightly more strength. The palmprint that could cover the world suddenly doubled in size and power instantaneously.

Xin Xuan Ming originally had a frosty expression on his face. With the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core in his control, he believed that the enemy's ambush would not succeed; however, when he was about to control the ghost hand to clash against the enemy, he saw the descending palmprint rapidly expand, causing his calm expression to turn into one of shock.

[The enemy still had strength left to spare?! How is that even possible?!] He almost thought that there was something wrong with his eyes, but the increased pressure coming down on him proved that it was not a lie.

Under Xin Xuan Ming's dumbfounded gaze, the black ghost hand and the huge palmprint slammed into each other. The palmprint paused for a moment before pressing down abruptly. The colour of the palmprint had grown distinctly duller than before, but the ghost hand was far worse off. It looked like a thin wooden stick that was splintering apart little by little, and despite pouring every last bit of his strength into it, Xin Xuan Ming still couldn't stop the palmprint from bearing down.

The whole world darkened instantaneously.

As the palmprint smashed down on the 'black ink stain', a wave of violent pressure swept out and crushed the ground below it to form a large depression. A gigantic trench appeared suddenly as a result, and the 'black ink stain' was smashed apart at the same time. Looking down from above, a distinct five-fingered palmprint could be seen dug into the ground, covering the entire region where the 'black ink stain' had once been.

*Peng peng peng…*

Strange muffled noises rang out as one after another, the bodies of the cultivators within the 'black ink stain' exploded into clouds of blood mists. None of the cultivators below the Origin King Realm were spared. They either couldn't withstand the pressure of the palmprint crushing down on them or they were squashed into meat patties by its eventual impact. Similarly, the buildings in the surroundings had turned into dust.

Only a few Origin Kings were lucky enough to escape with their lives, but all of them were seriously injured. Many didn't even realize what was going on. All they felt was a sense of crisis looming over them before they collapsed in pain. At this moment, they were looking around their surroundings in confusion and their mouths fell open in shock. The Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array had been broken!

All the efforts of Grand Desolation Star Field's operation here over the past few years had been crushed to pieces, literally. Concurrently, the hundreds of disciples they had brought with them had all either died or been critically wounded. The losses suffered were devastating.

Xin Xuan Ming vomited a large amount of blood as everything below his knees had been smashed, exposing bone while blood flowed out freely. Collapsing to the ground, he could only stare up in horror.

He had the highest cultivation in this place; he was the strongest; he had control over the Array Core; therefore, he thought that he could use the power of the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core to resist this invader, but in the end, he had still underestimated his opponent's strength. He bore the brunt of the attack after the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core was destroyed, so he suffered the most miserable fate. Even the Array Jade in his hand had exploded, covering him in soot and dust. Even though the other Origin Kings suffered severe injuries, none of them was in as bad of a condition as he.

[Who is it!? Just Who!? How is it possible for such a shockingly powerful person to exist in this place!? He destroyed the Eight Desolation Binding Spirit Array Core with a single palm strike! Impossible!]

As if sensing something, Xin Xuan Ming looked up and saw a handsome young man slowly descending from the sky. The young man stood in mid-air, looking down on them.

[Is it him!?] He released his Divine Sense and discovered that he could not detect the young man's cultivation. A seven-or-eight-year-old girl followed closely behind that young man and landed next to his side. She was exquisite and lovely, but she also gave off an unfathomable feeling.

"Who… are you, Your Excellency…" Xin Xuan Ming endured the stabbing pains coming from his wounds and asked in a bitter tone. Under this person's stare, he couldn't even form the desire to escape. He knew today was the day he would meet his end, but even so, he wanted to die knowing the reason for his death. At the very least, he wanted to know who was attacking them.

[Perhaps… I might even be able to inform them about this before I die…]

"It looks like I didn't kill the wrong person," Yang Kai ignored Xin Xuan Ming. Turning his head, he glanced around at all the cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field. Next, he stepped out and arrived in front of Xin Xuan Ming. Then, he placed one foot on the old man's chest, put his arm against his thigh, and leaned down to stare at Xin Xuan Ming, "Old thing, I'd like to ask you about the whereabouts of someone. Where is the Star Master of this Star?"

"Pei!" Xin Xuan Ming opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of blood in Yang Kai's direction. This person was cruel and merciless and it was clear that he was targeting them, so Xin Xuan Ming knew that he was not going to survive today, even begging for mercy was useless. If that was the case, he might as well save that effort and act as he pleased instead.

Yang Kai waved his hand and the blood flowed backwards, rushing back into Xin Xuan Ming's mouth; however, the liquid somehow became incredibly hard and smashed all Xin Xuan Ming's teeth. Yang Kai smiled savagely, "How dare you spit at me. Have you gotten sick of living, you old dog?"

Xin Xuan Ming sneered, "Hurry up and get on with it. Why are you wasting your breath?"

Yang Kai laughed mockingly, "Kill you? What thing are you? I refuse to kill you."

"If you don't kill me, you will pay for this a hundred times over once I recover!" Xin Xuan Ming yelled.

"Then, I'll be waiting for you." Yang Kai grinned at Xin Xuan Ming and removed his foot from the other party's chest. Turning around, he glanced toward another Origin King Realm Master.

Behind Yang Kai, a flash of delight flitted through Xin Xuan Ming's eyes. [The taunting method sure is useful. Although it can be rather cliche, it often works wonders, especially when dealing with these young and powerful Masters like him.]

Yang Kai turned around abruptly and teased, "You can't be so naïve as to think that I'd really let you go, right?"

Xin Xuan Ming's heart clenched and his Saint Qi surged, but before he could do anything, a burst of energy rushed towards him and slammed into his head. His eyes widened in surprise, and he died with his eyes wide open just like that.

"Seriously; what a sly and deceitful old dog!" Yang Kai coldly snorted. Then, he looked over at the injured Origin King Realm Masters and asked loudly, "Alright. Now, who can answer my question?"

His voice was not that loud when he was asking all those questions just now, but even so, the ones still alive here were all Origin Kings, so how could they have failed to hear him? Upon hearing this, one of them cautiously answered, "Will you let me live if I tell you the answer?"

When his voice rang out, his entire body shuddered without warning. After that, both his arms separated from his body. The pain made him screech out in agony. He staggered backwards unsteadily and fell to the ground, feeling a wave of cold air around his legs. Looking down, he saw that both his legs below his knees were gone. All his limbs had been chopped off! Blood-curdling screams resounded through the sky. Following that, he felt pain coming from his dantian as his Qi all began leaking out from his body. His cultivation had been crippled!

Everybody was horrified.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai coldly snorted, "I was just asking. It's up to you whether you answer me or not."

"Attack!" Somebody shouted.

Yang Kai's cruel and tyrannical acts clearly indicated that answering him would not allow them to survive. Every here was an Origin King, and none of them were fools. Even if he promised to let them live, none of them would dare to believe him. The only hope they had to survive was to join forces against him.

"Charge!" Somebody else immediately echoed the first and all of them rushed towards Yang Kai. Eight figures surrounded Yang Kai in an instant, each of them brimming with murderous intent as they charged forward…