Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

That was clearly impossible. If Sheng Yu Zhu was truly a Great Emperor, she would have ripped open this Void Crack and escaped a long time ago. Great Emperors inherited the blessing of the world and were existences recognized by the Heavenly Way itself, so they could not be trapped in the Void Crack.

"He really succeeded," Sheng Yu Zhu murmured, the expression on her face seemingly a little strange. Pausing for a moment, she continued, "It's not strange for you to misunderstand. It's just that… when he trapped me in here, he wasn't a Great Emperor yet."

Yang Kai's mouth fell open so wide an egg could easily be stuffed into it. The amount of information in those words was simply overwhelming. Wu Kuang had been famous for tens of thousands of years and his title as Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was known to everyone across the entire Star Boundary. Just how long ago did he become a Great Emperor? Yet, what Sheng Yu Zhu was saying was that she had been trapped in this place since before Wu Kuang even became a Great Emperor.

Now, the question was, how long had she been trapped in this place? It had to be said that the Great Emperor War took place nearly twenty thousand years ago, and it only happened a long time after Wu Kuang rose to the position of Great Emperor.

In other words, Sheng Yu Zhu had been trapped in this place for at least thirty thousand years, likely even longer. She had been unable to escape from this place for such a long time, and even after painstaking effort, she could just barely scratch the surface of the Dao of Space to open a tear in this Void Crack to pass a message to the outside world.

Yang Kai almost suspected that she was lying. How could anyone possibly survive for so long in a place like this all alone!?

Unexpectedly, Sheng Yu Zhu ignored him and continued talking to herself, "Back then, Wu Kuang and I were equals in terms of strength and we both aspired to become Great Emperors. It was precisely because of this that I was set up by Wu Kuang."

Yang Kai's eyes shone with a brilliant light, "You were competing with Wu Kuang for the position of Great Emperor?" [What a heroic act that is! To think that this woman was such a supreme Master! It's hard to imagine. In her era, she must have been quite a prominent figure.]

Sheng Yu Zhu smiled bitterly, "I was tricked by him before I could get that far and I've been stuck in the Void ever since."

Yang Kai looked at Sheng Yu Zhu sympathetically, "Your grudge must run deep…"

Disputes on the Grand Dao typically had a no-holds-barred approach, so what Wu Kuang did could not be considered despicable or shameless. Although Wu Kuang was by no means a decent person, in this case, it could only be said that Sheng Yu Zhu made a blunder.

The hatred formed from having one's Grand Dao stolen away was absolutely irreconcilable. Nevertheless, Sheng Yu Zhu spoke about this matter in quite a bland manner. She didn't seem to hold any resentment or hatred, which made Yang Kai's opinion of her rise significantly. If she had such a broad mindset, he felt she couldn't be that bad.

Through her words, Yang Kai was certain of what her cultivation had been in the past. She was probably one of those existences Yang Yan mentioned before, the ones half a step away from becoming a Great Emperor. The only reason such Masters failed to become Great Emperors was that they could not receive the recognition of the world. They were by no means comparable to ordinary Third-Order Emperors and could target the position of Great Emperor at any time to replace one of the current Ten Great Emperors if the conditions were right.

Sheng Yu Zhu swept her gaze over Yang Kai and stated, "Seeing that you are in the Second-Order Emperor Realm even though you don't look that old, you will probably compete with those just below the top of the world given enough time."

Yang Kai responded in a dead serious manner, "That is what I am working towards."

She nodded, "Good. With an ambitious nature like that, you will surely earn a place in the world in the future."

Pausing for a moment, she continued, "You didn't answer my question. Is Wu Kuang still alive?"

Yang Kai sighed and shook his head, "He's dead!"

Of course, this was a lie. Although Wu Kaung's body was destroyed, his Soul endured and was now locked in a strange partnership with Duan Hong Chen. They were sharing the same body and it could be said that he was not quite alive but not quite dead either. The reason Yang Kai answered this way was to see how Sheng Yu Zhu would react to the news. If she showed any abnormal reaction whatsoever, he would have to seriously consider whether or not to bring her out.

Sheng Yu Zhu was obviously stunned for a time upon hearing his answer and asked in a daze, "He's dead?"

Yang Kai solemnly replied, "Heaven Devouring Great Emperor brought chaos to many Lower Star Fields. Everywhere he went, innocents perished and countless Stars were destroyed. The other Great Emperors could not bear watching any longer, so they banded together to slay him in the Shattered Star Sea."

She looked directly at him and asked, "When did all of this happen?"

"About twenty thousand years ago."

"It's been so long…" Sheng Yu Zhu wore a complicated expression on her face for a time before she sighed sadly, "He succeeded as the Heaven Devourer and died as the Heaven Devourer. Such is the cycle of cause and effect, the consequences of his actions."

Yang Kai commented, "You should be happy, Senior."

To which Sheng Yu Zhu nodded, "I should be happy… I knew he would suffer a tragic fate one day, but I never imagined that he would die under the besiegement of all other Great Emperors… Forget it, since he is dead, whatever grievances I had with him are now behind us. Let's not talk about him anymore. What about Duan Hong Chen, Yao Jun, Zhan Wu Hen, and Chu Tian Ji? Do you know any of them?"

Yang Kai vividly felt cold sweat dripping down his back as his expression twitched slightly as he replied, "Senior Hong Chen is a role model for all cultivators in the Star Boundary, and I have had the honour of meeting him a few times. I have also met Senior Serene Soul Great Emperor, Yao Jun, once before. But who are Zhan Wu Hen and Chu Tian Ji?"

Of the four names that popped out of her mouth, two of them were Great Emperors, and although Yang Kai had no idea who Zhan Wu Hen and Chu Tian Ji were, he had a vague guess of their identities.

Sheng Yu Zhu elucidated, "Zhan Wu Hen cultivated the Iron Blood Record and was the most combative of those four. Perhaps he is known by another name now while his real name has been forgotten by the world. As for Chu Tian Ji… He's a no-good scammer as far as I am concerned, but it seems he gained some insight into Heaven's secrets."

The cold sweat was now practically raining off Yang Kai's back when he heard her explanation and he weakly said, "Senior, the people you mentioned might be referring to Iron Blood Great Emperor and Heavens Revelations Great Emperor."

At the same time, Yang Kai lamented in his heart. [There's no doubt that she is an Old Monster who has lived for tens of thousands of years! All the people she knows are Great Emperors! But that's not that surprising either. I asked her to mention people that might still be alive after all, so it's only natural that she chose to name the strongest amongst those she once knew. And the most powerful people she knew back then would not be little known existences if they managed to survive until today.]

With this level of contacts, how powerful her cultivation was didn't matter anymore. Who would dare to slight her after she left this place? Even if the Great Emperors ran into her, they would probably have to show her some respect as a peer.

"So, they have all become Great Emperors…" A nostalgic look appeared in her eyes as if she was recalling her past memories from a long, long time ago. Nevertheless, she quickly recovered from her reverie and smiled, "They aren't dead yet, right? You only need to ask one of them what kind of person I am. They will surely tell you."

"They are indeed all still alive." Yang Kai wiped the sweat away from his brow before continuing bitterly, "But, the Great Emperors rarely show themselves to the world, so someone like me won't be able to meet them on a whim."

Of the four Great Emperors, Duan Hong Chen was probably still confronting Wu Kuang in the Ancestral Domain.

On the other hand, Iron Blood Great Emperor was an elusive person who rarely made an appearance even though he was currently in charge of the Star Court. The last time he made an appearance was in the Western Territory. Unfortunately, he refused to meet Yang Kai and even destroyed his Cross-Territory Space Array while intercepting Lin Yun'er during the teleportation.

Yang Kai had the feeling that even if he encountered Iron Blood Great Emperor again, the latter would not be happy to see him; after all, he almost abducted Lin Yun'er from him back then.

As for Serene Soul Great Emperor… It went without saying that Yang Kai would never meet him voluntarily. Yang Kai had some friction with Yao Jun's daughter, Yao Lin, in the Ancient Wild Lands of the Eastern Territory previously and nearly killed her as a result. In the end, the Soul Descend of Serene Soul Great Emperor appeared to resolve the incident. The feud between them was neither too big nor too small, and it was quite magnanimous of Serene Soul Great Emperor to not pursue the matter. How could Yang Kai deliver himself up to Serene Soul Great Emperor on a silver platter now though?

Finally, Heavens Revelations Great Emperor supposedly lived in seclusion in Heavens Spying Valley; however, Yang Kai didn't even know which Territory Heavens Spying Valley was located in.

When it came down to it, Sheng Yu Zhu's contacts were simply too high for him to reach. One should not be fooled by her emaciated appearance and her weak manner of speaking. Even if she had fallen from her peak, she was still no ordinary person. Her connections spanned tens of thousands of years, and all the people she knew were now extremely influential figures in the Star Boundary.

"Then what are we to do? I don't think anyone else can verify my identity…" Sheng Yu Zhu felt a little helpless. Too much time had passed. If it had only been thousands of years, or a little under ten thousand years, things would have been much easier. The lifespans of Emperor Realm Masters were long, so she might have been able to name a few others for Yang Kai to check with, but it had been tens of thousands of years since she was trapped here, so how many of her contacts would have survived until the present? Almost all those who lived until the present were Great Emperors.

Yang Kai pondered for a while before declaring, "It's alright. I'll bring you out, Senior."

Sheng Yu Zhu was astonished and asked, "Weren't you afraid I might be a wicked person?"

To which he smiled at her in a carefree manner, "Even if you are an evil person, you have been trapped in this place for tens of thousands of years, so how much of your strength could possibly be left? Even if Senior wanted to wreak havoc, you are powerless to do so. Besides… If you turn out to be a heinous villain, then Wu Kuang's fate will be your future."

Since she knew so many of the Great Emperors, those Great Emperors would also know what kind of person she was. If there really came a day when she tried to turn the world upside down, the Great Emperors would not sit idly by; hence, there was no need to worry about her causing any trouble as far as Yang Kai was concerned.

Sheng Yu Zhu was extremely grateful, "Many thanks!"

Pausing for a moment, she added, "But, I'm not the kind of person who likes owing other people favours. Since you saved my life, I must give you some form of repayment."

Yang Kai solemnly replied, "This is just a slight effort for me, Senior, please don't worry about it."

He wasn't trying to act modestly as what he said was simply what he truly thought. On top of that, Yang Kai felt that Sheng Yu Zhu would not have anything valuable on her. Even if she had some sort of precious treasure, did he really need them? The Mountain and Rivers Bell in his possession was priceless enough to attract even the interest of Great Emperors, so it was impossible for her to produce an artifact more precious than that.

Sheng Yu Zhu shook her head with some difficulty and continued, "Let me finish speaking. It won't be too late for you to reject me afterward."

Her expression seemed to say that it was something so tempting that he would not refuse.

This aroused Yang Kai's interest, so he cocked his ears and listened intently.

"I mentioned this before, but your cultivation is quite impressive despite how young you are. Given enough time, you will surely compete for a position at the summit of this world. As such, have you ever wondered why there are only Ten Great Emperors in the world?"

Yang Kai answered promptly, "This Junior once heard from someone that the world is like a bottle filled with sand and stones, and that bottle has a limited capacity. It is unable to accommodate the existence of more than ten Great Emperors at a time as they are the biggest stones of all, but I don't know if it is true or not."

This time, it was Sheng Yu Zhu's turn to be surprised as she exclaimed, "You actually know about this…"

"It's just something I heard." Yang Kai smiled lightly.

She nodded affirmatively, "Indeed. This world is a bottle that can only hold ten Great Emperors at a time. If you want to become a Great Emperor, you can only wait for a position to open up and then compete against the best in the world to obtain that spot!"

Yang Kai sighed, "Only the Heavens know when that will happen."

The lifespan of a Great Emperor was incredibly long, to the point where, unless they died of some unexpected circumstances, no position would be vacated for thousands or tens of thousands of years. Several Great Emperors were born after the Great Emperor War, but that was only thanks to Wu Kuang. Several Great Emperors died at Wu Kuang's hands in that great battle. Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, Flower Shadow Great Emperor, Night Shadow Great Emperor, and Bright Moon Great Emperor all rose to their positions after that battle.