Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"Brother Li, you must be tired from the long journey. Why don't you go back to Fire Dragon Palace to rest? I will take care of the rest."

Li Jiao felt a little grateful to hear those words. He knew that Yang Kai was not planning on bringing him to Full Sky Sect out of consideration for his friendship with Mi Qi; otherwise, he could not justify standing by the sidelines and watching Yang Kai attack Mi Qi. Nevertheless, Li Jiao cupped his fists and spoke up after considering it carefully, "Many thanks for your concern, Brother Yang, but although I may not be of much help, I would still like to accompany you."

His friendship with Mi Qi wasn't that deep to begin with, and after their last encounter, it had completely fallen apart. In the future, Fire Dragon Palace would need to depend on High Heaven Palace if it wanted to strengthen its position in the Northern Territory; therefore, it was best if Li Jiao took a firm stance now. Besides, how could his life and death relationship with Yang Kai compare with his casual friendship with Mi Qi? It was easy to distinguish which one was more important and more meaningful.

Yang Kai glanced at Li Jiao and smiled, "It would be impolite for me to refuse your kind intentions, Brother Li. Wait a moment, I will gather some people. Please join me when I leave for Full Sky Sect later."

"Good," Li Jiao nodded.

Then, Yang Kai left.

Standing on the spot and pondering for a while, Li Jiao said something to Bian Yu Qing, who was standing to the side, then turned around, stepped onto the Space Array again, and disappeared.

A short while later, several figures rushed over speedily and landed in the hall. Yang Kai glanced around and did not see Li Jiao anywhere. Surprised, he asked, "Where did he go?"

Bian Yu Qing replied, "Palace Master Li said that he is going back to Fire Dragon Palace to gather some more people to cheer you on, Palace Master."

"How thoughtful of him," Yang Kai smiled and glanced back at the three figures behind him. They were none other than the three Monster Kings.

Although the number of disciples in High Heaven Palace exceeded a hundred thousand now, and there were many Emperor Real Masters among them, the only ones that could actually fight were the three Monster Kings.

Hua Qing Si, the Head Manager, was not suitable for fighting and killing as it would be a disaster if something unexpected happened to her. Bian Yu Qing was the Second Manager and was currently guarding the Space Array and could not leave her post either. The rest included Ji Ying, Nanmen Da Jun, and Hou Yu, who while being Emperor Realm Masters, were not good at combat. They were only capable of producing excellent results in their respective craftsmanship fields. It was not suitable to bring them out with him on this occasion. Ye Hen might have broken through to the First-Order Emperor Realm, but it would not matter much whether he came along or not when it came to something like this. Thus, Yang Kai decided against bringing Ye Hen with him. It was enough to have the three Monster Kings follow him.

He was just about to set off with Ying Fei and the others when he heard the sound of clothes fluttering behind him and the sound of something speeding through the air so quickly that it cut through the wind. Turning back, he saw Liu Yan standing at the door of the hall, pouting as she glared at him angrily.

[How could I have forgotten about her?] He slapped his head and beckoned to her, indicating for her to come over. Only then did she break out into a smile. She picked up her skirt with one hand, skipped over to him, and held one of his large hands.

Subsequently, the five of them stepped onto the Space Array and disappeared in a flash of light.

In the meantime, Li Jiao was working efficiently inside Fire Dragon Palace. Under his command, eight Emperor Realm Masters and two hundred Dao Source Realm disciples had gathered together, standing just outside the Space Array and waiting.

Chang Sheng, the Vice Palace Master, was in a dishevelled state. His clothes were in disarray, and his hair was a mess. He looked like he had just crawled out of bed. He was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, so he did not need any sleep; however, it was easy to guess what he had been doing just by looking at the distinct 'marks' on his face. While straightening his clothes, he asked puzzledly, "Palace Master, where are we going?"

[Why have we gathered in front of this Space Array? And, a Space Array connecting directly to High Heaven Palace at that. We can't be attacking High Heaven Palace, right?] Many people were frightened by the speculation in their hearts.

High Heaven Palace was not to be trifled with. Who in the Northern Territory did not know about the three Monster Kings in High Heaven Palace? Furthermore, there was a Sect Defending Array arranged by the Emperor Array Master, Nanmen Da Jun. With just these few people from Fire Dragon Palace, they would definitely not come out victorious. Seeking Passion Sect was a lesson to be learnt from. Fire Dragon Palace was no better than Seeking Passion Sect in any way.

"Why are you asking so many questions? You'll know when the time is right," Li Jiao snorted coldly. He deliberately refused to give them a clear explanation because many of the Emperor Realm Masters in the Northern Territory had connections with each other. The Elders of his Sect, who were in the Emperor Realm, that had gathered here were friendly with many of the Elders from Full Sky Sect, so Li Jiao was worried that information might leak to the enemy as a result if he explained the situation to them at this time.

Chang Sheng looked sheepish after being rebuked and did not dare to say anything more.

A brilliant light flashed suddenly, and five figures appeared on top of the Space Array. Before they could identify who these newcomers were, a terrifying wave of Monster Qi spread out across the surroundings. It horrified the people of Fire Dragon Palace and caused their expressions to change drastically. Upon a closer look, they realized that it was Yang Kai; thus, their expressions turned serious and they secretly let out a sigh of relief. [It looks like the Palace Master isn't going to attack High Heaven Palace. That's good, that's good]

Looking at the three figures standing next to Yang Kai, the Fire Dragon Palace members couldn't help feeling surprised. Although they had never met these people before, they could guess from the Monster Qi that these three were none other than the famous Monster Kings.

However, there was also a seven-or-eight-year-old little girl that looked like she was a statue carved out of the finest jade accompanying this group. Her presence and identity confused them greatly. [Could this little girl be Yang Kai's daughter? But, we've never heard of him having a daughter with anybody. No way; is she his illegitimate daughter?]

Many glanced at each other with strange expressions.

"Brother Yang!" Li Jiao cupped his fists.

Everybody else followed suit and greeted, "Greetings, Palace Master Yang."

Yang Kai swept his gaze over them and immediately felt his spirits lifting, "An impressive army!"

Excluding Li Jiao, there were eight other Emperors and two hundred Dao Source Realm Masters. Going by the situation back at Azure Sun Temple, Li Jiao had most likely deployed all the cultivators in Fire Dragon Palace that were in the Dao Source Realm and above.

Li Jiao smiled, "Brother Yang, I can gather more people if you think that this is not enough. But, their strength…"

"No need," Yang Kai had not planned to bring many people with him in the first place. The fact that Li Jiao could mobilize so many Masters under his command to help out was already a pleasant surprise in itself. Gathering more would only be superfluous. Why would he want people who were weak?

"En… Shall we set off then?" Li Jiao asked.

Yang Kai nodded in response.

"Move out!" Li Jiao shouted and flew into the air, the others following behind him.

The flight speed between an Emperor Realm Master and a Dao Source Realm Master was vastly different, with the former undoubtedly being much faster. In consideration of those Dao Source Realm cultivators, the Emperors swiftly summoned their flight type artifacts and allowed the others to board and ride along together with them.

In an instant, all kinds of flight type artifacts, such as flying boats, flying swords, flying shuttles, and flying chariots, turned into streams of light that flashed across the sky like a meteor shower. Similarly, Yang Kai summoned his Flowing Clouds Shuttle and led the three Monster Kings and Liu Yan inside. Then, he followed behind Li Jiao and headed in the direction of Full Sky Sect.

Full Sky Sect was quite far from Fire Dragon Palace, so despite flying non-stop for two whole days, Yang Kai's group had yet to reach their destination. Nevertheless, the Emperor Realm Masters of Fire Dragon Palace seemed to have noticed some clues by now. No matter how they thought about it, their flight route seemed to be heading for Full Sky Sect. Many of them had been to Full Sky Sect before, so they could not be mistaken about the direction. After communicating with each other via Divine Sense, they felt extremely apprehensive and pushed Chang Sheng to raise the question.

Chang Sheng did not refuse this duty. He was the Vice Palace Master of Fire Dragon Palace, so it was only natural that such responsibilities would fall on his shoulders. As such, he flew over and landed on Li Jiao's flying artifact. Cupping his fists, he bowed and asked, "Palace Master, are we going to Full Sky Sect?"

"Yes."

He was astonished, "Palace Master, may I know why we are heading there?"

Li Jiao replied, "To help Palace Master Yang subdue Full Sky Sect." At this time, there was no point trying to hide it anymore. He would need their strength later after all so he did not want them falling into confusion when the moment arrived.

"Ah!" Chang Sheng panicked and exclaimed anxiously, "Palace Master, please rethink your decision. We can't do this!"

"Why not?" Li Jiao looked at Chang Sheng expressionlessly.

Chang Sheng explained, "High Heaven Palace rose to power very quickly. A few years ago, its reputation spread far and wide because it destroyed the Seeking Passion Sect. Their prestige might have gone down a bit since they have been silent for the past few years, but if we assist High Heaven Palace in conquering Full Sky Sect, High Heaven Palace will become the number one Sect in the Northern Territory!"

"And? What of it?" Li Jiao thought to himself. [Even if High Heaven Palace doesn't subdue Full Sky Sect, its current heritage is still unrivalled by the other Sects.]

Chang Sheng looked solemn, "Palace Master, may I ask how Fire Dragon Palace compares to High Heaven Palace?"

"We are inferior!" Li Jiao spoke the truth. He had seen Yang Kai's ability with his own eyes. He even suspected that Yang Kai alone could wipe out Fire Dragon Palace. Needless to say, Fire Dragon Palace was greatly inferior. Besides, there were also the three Monster Kings.

"Indeed, we are inferior. Fire Dragon Palace is already no match for High Heaven Palace, so what would happen to Fire Dragon Palace's standing in the Northern Territory if High Heaven Palace were to subdue Full Sky Sect? Seeing as we are so dependent on them, Fire Dragon Palace will not be safe any longer."

Li Jiao looked at Chang Sheng and asked seriously, "In your opinion, what should we do instead?"

Chang Sheng solemnly answered, "We should cooperate with Full Sky Sect to resist High Heaven Palace. If two top Sects join forces, I'm sure even we can match High Heaven Palace in strength. At least, we can prevent one Sect from dominating the entire Northern Territory."

Li Jiao simply looked at Chang Sheng without saying anything.

Chang Sheng was a little baffled by Li Jiao's response, "Did I say something wrong?"

Li Jiao patted Chang Sheng on the shoulder and sighed, "I don't blame you for having that mindset. It's Human nature after all. It's just… there are many things you don't understand."

Putting aside the fact that Yang Kai had saved him on multiple occasions, Li Jiao was personally not willing to make an enemy of Yang Kai. [Who says we can win against High Heaven Palace if we join hands with Full Sky Sect? That's impossible. Yang Kai has the backing of the Dragon Clan. Who would dare provoke him if they knew? It might be different if it was just a casual association, but Yang Kai is married to a Ninth-Order Dragon!]

"Palace Master…"

"Haa… You never spoke a word about this, and I did not hear anything either. Go back and tell them to stuff their hearts into their stomachs. I don't need you to do any fighting either; I only need you to cheer loudly when we get there."

Chang Sheng's expression twitched at those words, "Palace Master, do you mean to say that Palace Master Yang can wipe out Full Sky Sect with just those few people?"

"Are you saying they can't?"

He shook his head, "It's not that I am underestimating Palace Master Yang and the others. The cultivation of the three Monster Kings is obvious and no one in Full Sky Sect can be their opponent in a one-on-one fight. However, laying siege to a city is different. Leaving aside the fact that there are many Masters in Full Sky Sect, the Sect Defending Array alone cannot be broken that easily. Once the array is activated, even the three Monster Kings will be helpless against it for a time. Isn't that right?"

"Helpless?" Li Jiao couldn't stop himself from chuckling as he waved his hand, "Well, just wait and see."

Chang Sheng was stunned. He could not understand why Li Jiao had such confidence in Yang Kai. It was Full Sky Sect they were talking about, one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory. Its Sect Defending Array would not be broken so easily. Nevertheless, there was nothing else he could say if Li Jiao was so adamant about it. In any case, Li Jiao had already said that they were only there to cheer Yang Kai on, not to get into a fight, so they wouldn't face any danger. Thus, Chang Sheng bowed and left to convey Li Jiao's message to the rest. Upon hearing these orders though, the other Emperor Realm Masters looked at each other in confusion.