Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

The feather-crowned man had been incredibly cold and emotionless ever since he appeared. Similarly, his eyes were empty and indifferent. It was as though he looked down on everybody and everything. It wasn't until this moment when Gun-Gun appeared that he looked interested in something.

Yang Kai could clearly discern a possessive desire in those eyes.

Gun-Gun was the manifestation of the Will of the Small Sealed World. It could also be regarded as the Artifact Spirit of the Sealed World Bead. After devouring five or six Cultivation Stars, its body had grown to a truly massive size. It also grew a mouthful of fangs and a long tail. It had the appearance of a fat tadpole.

Its birth had been a lucky coincidence. It was something Yang Kai had never anticipated. While he was spending his day swimming through Grand Desolation Star Field like a fish in water, he had considered the question of whether Gun-Gun's existence or the change in the Small Sealed World would be incompatible with the existence of Heng Luo Star Field for him.

He was the Star Field Master of Heng Luo Star Field, as well as the Master of the Small Sealed World. All things considered; he was the Master of two worlds. Unfortunately, one could end up too greedy and bite off more than one could chew. This was especially true for cultivators. Having more worlds might not necessarily be a good thing. If Yang Kai wanted to gain insight into World Force, his best bet would be to do so with the assistance of Heng Luo Star Field; after all, the Small Sealed World could not compare to a whole Star Field in certain aspects.

Yang Kai originally thought that the ownership of the two worlds would be redundant to him and that sooner or later, one of them would become useless to him; however, looking at the feather-crowned man's gaze at this moment, he immediately understood that he was wrong. Heng Luo Star Field was not incompatible with the Small Sealed World. In the same vein, the Small Sealed World was not inferior to a complete Star Field either. It could even be said that the value of the Small Sealed World was far greater than a Star Field in some aspects that he was unaware about. Otherwise, why would this feather-crowned man show such a look?

Yang Kai moved to stand in front of the feather-crowned man and forced the man to look at him. The feather-crowned man seemed slightly annoyed, but the annoyance in his eyes disappeared quickly and he asked, "Is this Small World yours?"

Yang Kai knew that he was not asking about Heng Luo Star Field, but the Small Sealed World. It was not strange for somebody with such sharp eyes to see through Gun-Gun's essence. It would have been stranger if he had failed to do so.

"What difference does it make to you whether it belongs to me or not?"

"If it doesn't belong to you, I will be taking it away with me. Even if it does belong to you, I will still be taking it away with me."

"Then, why did you even bother asking?" Yang Kai lowered his eyebrows.

The feather-crowned man shook his head, "It's only right for me to ask. Although I am stronger than you, I don't seize things by force!"

"What's this? Are you going to propose an exchange?"

"That's right." He nodded, "This Small World will be very useful to me. Name your price, I will pay whatever you desire."

Yang Kai shook his head in response, "I apologize, but it is also very useful to me."

He might not understand why the other party was so enthusiastic about Gun-Gun for the time being, but there was no way he could exchange it for some paltry benefits. It might play a huge role in his future, but even if it turns out to be useless, Yang Kai still refused to exchange it for anything else with this man.

"Leaving it in your hands is a waste."

"How is it a waste?" Yang Kai's expression darkened. There should be a limit to how much one can look down on another. He didn't deny that this man's strength was superb, far stronger than his own, but there was also an enormous gap in the number of years they had spent cultivating.

Yang Kai still had some qualms about stirring up trouble though, otherwise, he would have retorted with the words 'Don't bully the young for being poor' as a way to snub the feather-crowned man. Nevertheless, he realized that he wasn't that young anymore either, having long outgrown his juvenile years, so he decided against speaking up.

"Boy, you should be a little more self-aware," the feather-crowned man scolded impatiently. His expression seemed to say 'You should feel honoured that I am interested in something of yours.'

"You will not suffer any losses in making an exchange with me. I can even arrange for you to obtain the neighbouring Star Field. You can devour and refine it as much as you want. I can even give you its Star Field Source."

With a few simple words, he determined the fate of Grand Desolation Star Field, making Yang Kai wonder how Wu Heng would have reacted if he heard those words?

Yang Kai shook his head again, "I refuse!"

The feather-crowned man said, "I promise to help you break through to the Third-Order Emperor Realm within 10 years."

Yang Kai glared at the feather-crowned man, "What's this? Are you trying to bribe and extort me since you can't seize it by force?"

Even if this person turned out to be a Great Emperor, it wasn't as if Yang Kai had never met a Grand Emperor before. He even fought side-by-side with one of the Great Emperors, so how could he be intimidated by this person's aura?

[Provoke me, and I'll show you my 200-metre Half-Dragon Form! You'll learn what a sea of Dragon Pressure feels like!]

"Boy, if you refuse to take the easy way out, then I'll have you take the hard way!" The feather-crowned man's expression sank. It was clear that he was utterly furious. He felt that he had been extremely sincere. Even for him, giving away a Star Field on top of a promise to break through to the Third-Order Emperor Realm within 10 years would require him to pay a huge price. He was only asking for a Small World in exchange, but to his surprise, the other party refused to agree to the conditions.

Yang Kai grinned, "I refuse both the easy way out and the hard way out." While he was speaking, the power of the vast Starry Sky pressed down and covered the feather-crowned man like a hood.

[I need to strike first!] Although Yang Kai had not known this feather-crowned man for long, he could tell that this person was not a patient man, and since he was determined not to exchange the Small Sealed World with him, a confrontation was inevitable. Compared to passively being beaten up, Yang Kai figured taking the initiative to make a pre-emptive strike was the better option. Who knows, he might actually stand a chance if he acted decisively enough.

In an instant, the space where the feather-crowned man stood turned into a solid cage. Space Principles fluctuated violently, and countless Void Cracks appeared around him like fish swimming around in his surroundings.

Yang Kai might only be a First-Order Emperor, but he was also the Master of Heng Luo Star Field. Even if the opponent was a Great Emperor, it would not be easy for him to take on the power of an entire Star Field.

Looking up though, Yang Kai felt his heart sink. He was dumbfounded by the sight and nearly doubted his eyes. Although the feather-crowned man's defence seemed to be full of flaws, his surroundings remained untouched and the power of the Star Field Yang Kai had mobilized against him could not touch him at all, only hover around him.

The feather-crowned man was wearing a treasured garment that was glowing with starlight, which blocked out all of Yang Kai's powers and at this moment seemed slightly surprised. He had clearly not expected Yang Kai to be so reckless as to attack him; hence, he was so furious that he laughed instead while shouting, "You court death!"

If Yang Kai had not made a move, he would only have snatched the Small Sealed World by force. A Star Field Master was not somebody that could be killed on a whim, and his duty did not allow him to do so. Besides, it would be troublesome if his enemies used this incident against him in the future; however, since Yang Kai was the one who took the initiative to provoke him, it wouldn't matter if he killed Yang Kai off just like that. Nobody could criticize him for it either.

Then, the feather-crowned man pulled out the sword at his waist and slashed forward with it while shouting, "Sever!"

An intangible but extremely mysterious power burst forth that did not cause any harm to Yang Kai, but still made his entire body shudder.

A moment later, Yang Kai exclaimed in shock, "How is this possible!?"

Those words had always been used by his enemies and it wasn't until this moment that Yang Kai understood the feelings of the many opponents he had faced when they spoke those words. It was unbelievable, beyond imagination, and completely incomprehensible! When the sword of the feather-crowned man fell, it had cut off the connection between him and Heng Luo Star Field!

Yang Kai had spent a lot of time and energy refining the Star Chart, which was the Source of Heng Luo Star Field, to become the Master of this Star Field. The connection formed by this refining process went deep into his Soul and should be impossible to sever unless somebody managed to kill him. Yet, the feather-crowned man made the impossible into the possible with only a light wave of his sword.

The surging power of the Star Field was no longer being driven, and it spread out all at once. Yang Kai tried his best to communicate with the Star Chart, but he couldn't make it react at all. It felt as though there was a shackle locking up the entire Star Field Source, making his advantage as a Star Field Master disappear.

"How dare you attack me!?" The feather-crowned man lashed out with his sword. He did not take the opportunity to kill Yang Kai though and instead looked down at him disdainfully and declared, "I am the Star Envoy of the Star Court in charge of countless Star Fields. How dare you attack me!?"

"The Star Court!?" Yang Kai's expression changed. [That really is a mysterious and long-lost name.]

He knew about the existence of the Star Court. It was said that the surviving Great Emperors created it after the Great Emperor War. It was made to prevent someone like Wu Kuang from reappearing again. Its purpose was to seal and suppress the passage to the Lower Star Fields, and protect and monitor the inhabitants of those Star Fields. It would not take the initiative to intervene in the affairs of the Star Field, leaving them to their own devices and allowing them to fend for themselves. If another Wu Kuang appeared though, the Star Court would definitely take action.

The Star Court was so mysterious that not many people in the entire Star Boundary knew about its existence. When Yang Kai was trying to return to Heng Luo Star Field back then, he went around collecting a lot of information. At the time, somebody had told him that he could go to any Star Field he wanted through the Star Court. Unfortunately, that person did not tell him where to find the Star Court.

The only reason he was able to return to Heng Luo Star Field was thanks to Wu Kuang. Had Wu Kuang not used the power of the Dragon Palace to forcefully break through the World Barriers and form a Cross-World Void Corridor, Yang Kai would have needed to go to the Star Court to find a way to return.

The Masters of the Star Court were as numerous as clouds; moreover, it was overseen by a Great Emperor at all times. Rumour had it that the Iron Blood Great Emperor was currently in charge of the Star Court.

[No wonder… No wonder this feather-crowned man managed to cut my connection with Heng Luo Star Field and render my greatest strength useless with a single swing of his sword.] It was only natural for the other party to have this ability since he was a Star Envoy from the Star Court, an organization that supervised thousands of Star Fields.

The treasure garments the feather-crowned man was wearing and the sword at his waist were probably refined specially with Lower Star Fields in mind, to protect him from or reduce the rejection of World Principles when he visited these Star Fields.

Yang Kai had the vague feeling now that this person was not comparable to the Ten Great Emperors but rather that it was a combination of circumstances created by the environment they were in combined with the feather-crowned man's status.

"Oh? You don't know about the existence of the Star Court?" The feather-crowned man looked at Yang Kai carefully and nodded, "So that's how it is. It hasn't been long since you became a Star Field Master. No wonder you are so reckless."

Generally speaking, anybody who became a Star Field Master of any Star Field was required to register with the Star Court. That was the case for Wu Heng, and the same held true for the other Star Field Masters.

Every Star Field Master was a Master from the Star Boundary. They couldn't become a Star Field Master without reaching the Third-Order Emperor Realm. All of them had to go through the Star Court to obtain the qualification to refine a Star Field. Once the refinement process was successful, they had to report to the Star Court as soon as possible to register their name with the Star Court. This registry was both a constraint and a responsibility.