Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

The axe rapidly swelled in size after it was summoned and a horrifying Demon Qi radiated from it. It then transformed into a huge Shadow Axe and came slashing down at Yang Kai. The power behind this slash was so great that it even split the mountain in half.

Yang Kai stretched out his hand and summoned out the Azure Dragon Spear, calmly spinning it in his hands as he swung it up to intercept the Shadow Axe.

A Dragon Roar was heard amidst the slashing sound, which was followed by a deafening explosion. Both Yang Kai and the Half-Saint were involuntarily pushed backwards by the impact.

The Half-Saint who came rushing at Yang Kai widened his eyes in astonishment, shocked to the core. Xue Li and the other Demon Saints had already warned them about Yang Kai, so he knew that Yang Kai should not be taken lightly. Even so, it was a little unbelievable to see Yang Kai blocking his attack so easily.

[This bastard really does have the strength of a Half-Saint!] His gaze involuntarily fell upon the Azure Dragon Spear and his pupils contracted slightly. Among the warnings from Xue Li and the others, great emphasis had been placed upon this spear with unknown origins. It was said that the spear was extremely powerful, and it would seem to be true. Yang Kai had managed to block his attack despite only being a High-Rank Demon King. Perhaps, it was largely due to the power of this spear.

Yang Kai's strength did not make him shrink in fear though; instead, it aroused the bloodlust and arrogance in his heart and he shouted, "Again!"

Raising the axe up high, the Demon Qi in his body surged as he poured it into the Demon Artifact before another Shadow Axe came smashing down again.

"Scram!" Yang Kai shouted. He only came here to check on the situation, so he had no time to fight a meaningless battle with this Half-Saint. With a shift of his body, he lunged toward his enemy. A spear shadow flashed out from the Azure Dragon Spear and loomed across the sky as he thrust out while ignoring the Shadow Axe that was slashing down on his head.

The Half-Saint paled greatly at the sight. Yang Kai acting so decisive right from the start left him feeling a little lost for what to do. If he didn't dodge this attack, it would surely end in a lose-lose situation for both parties. Leaving aside the question whether he could kill Yang Kai with his strike, things would not end well for him if he was hit by Yang Kai's spear.

It was said that Yang Kai had realised some sort of mysterious Martial Truth and if one received an injury from him, that Martial Truth would corrode their flesh and leave them in a half-dead state. Even a Half-Saint was helpless against it. Only the Demon Saints had the ability to disperse that power.

During the battle at Star Soul Palace previously, a Blood Demon companion had been injured by this Martial Truth, and in the end, Xue Li had stepped in to help remove the Martial Truth and save the Blood Demon's life. As for all the other Demon Kings who were injured by Yang Kai, it was rumoured that they were abandoned by Xue Li and slaughtered on the spot. That was because even though Xue Li could remove the Martial Truth, it consumed too much energy. Wasting a Demon Saint's energy on Demon Kings was obviously not worth it, so they were all killed instead.

All sorts of thoughts raced through this Demon Race Half-Saint's head in that instant before he immediately made the decision to retreat from battle while retrieving his Demon Artifact Axe at the same time. The axe danced and formed a Shadow Axe in front of him, acting as a shield.

There was a series of clanging sounds and two figures rushed into the Demon Land at a high speed, one in front of the other.

There was a look of great horror on the Demon Race Half-Saint's face. The power coming from the spear opposite him was so strong that he could barely fend off the attacks; thus, he couldn't help widening his eyes in terror.

[Is this kind of power something a Human can have!? I heard that Yang Kai can transform into a more than 1,000-metre-long Dragon, and it looks like it's true! I'm not fighting some ordinary Human, he's clearly a giant Dragon! In that case, it's not surprising for him to have such raw strength.]

What frightened him even more was the strange aura coming from the Azure Dragon Spear. Despite his experience and knowledge, he could not figure out what that aura was. The aura was extremely mysterious, almost as if it contained a great secret that left everybody scratching their heads in confusion. That was most likely the Martial Truth the Demon Saints mentioned before. Feeling even more frightened, he vowed to himself that he would never allow himself to be hurt by this Martial Truth.

Last time, a Demon Saint had been willing to step in and help remove the Martial Truth from the Blood Demon Half-Saint's body because the situation had not been serious. Now that the strength of the two Dragon Clan Elders had exploded, however, the three Demon Saints had to maintain peak condition at all times to ward off these powerful enemies.

[If I get injured in this encounter, I won't be lucky enough to receive help from the Demon Saints in resolving the Martial Truth. At that time, my life or death would depend entirely on myself!] Bogged down by fear, the Demon Race Half-Saint was unable to exert his full strength and soon fell into a complete disadvantage in his battle with Yang Kai as he retreated over a thousand kilometres.

Numerous figures rushed out from the depths of the Demon Stronghold, each of them emitting the aura of a Half-Saint. It was clear that they came to provide support after seeing their companion's pathetic state.

Before they could approach, however, they heard an angry roar and a golden light erupted. Yang Kai's figure swelled rapidly and soon a 1,000-metre-long burly figure stood in the sky. Even the Azure Dragon Spear had increased in size to 1,000 metres.

The horrifying pressure that burst out caused the Half-Saints to choke in fear and they involuntarily stopped in their tracks.

The humongous Dragon swung the 1,000-metre-long giant spear in a sweeping motion towards the Half-Saints, causing the world itself to shudder in response.

Who among those Half-Saints would dare to face such an attack head-on? When they saw the spear coming toward them, their expressions changed drastically and they all fled backwards.

On the other hand, the Half-Saint fighting Yang Kai could not avoid the attack and could only desperately activate the power of his Demon Artifact to form a huge axe to forcefully defend himself.

In the end, he was sent flying, coughing up blood mid-air. The light of the Demon Artifact Axe in his hands went dim and it was clear that its spirituality had been considerably damaged. When the Half-Saint finally stabilised his figure again, his expression was overflowing with unwillingness and rage.

It would have been one thing if Yang Kai was actually a Half-Saint as forcing him to retreat this much would have meant that his strength was inferior to his opponent; however, Yang Kai was nothing more than a High-Rank Demon King. It made him feel useless instead. He was a Half-Saint after all; when had he ever suffered such humiliation before?

Fortunately, although his organs had been shaken by the impact and he suffered light injuries, it was nothing serious. He had not been injured by the rumoured Martial Truth.

It wasn't until he turned back to look at his companions that the ugly expression on his face dissipated significantly. They were also showing fearful expressions at this moment; moreover, nobody dared to come forward lightly. Their reactions relieved some of his embarrassment and humiliation from getting injured.

Yang Kai raised his spear. His mountain-like body stood on the ground as his cold gaze swept out. Nobody dared to meet those pale gold Dragon Eyes directly. His thunderous voice boomed, "Come at me if you want a fight! If not, then make way!"

Hearing those words left the Half-Saints fuming from anger.

This was a Demon Stronghold, the place where the Demon Race army was stationed, yet not only did Yang Kai barge into this place alone, he also dared to make such arrogant statements! If it were anybody else, they would not have tolerated such actions even if it were a Pseudo-Great Emperor standing there. They would definitely have come at him all at once and taught him the consequences of shameless boasting.

But, this was Yang Kai. Leaving aside the fact that he had just displayed strength comparable to a Half-Saint, he was proficient in the Dao of Space. Who could restrain him here? Moreover, they had to worry about getting hurt by the Martial Truth while fighting him…

Ordinary injuries would not have bothered them, but it was a kind of injury that even a Demon Saint would find troublesome. That was not something anybody would dare to experience. The only ones who could keep him in check at this point were the Demon Saints. Be that as it may, the Demon Saints would not take action so easily at this critical juncture; therefore, the Half-Saints simply stood frozen in place and stared at Yang Kai coldly despite their ashen complexions.

Yang Kai snorted but did not provoke them any further. He came here only to investigate the situation and quickly realized that the Demon Stronghold in the Northern Territory was identical to the one in the Eastern Territory. Nevertheless, he was still clueless as to why such a huge change had occurred.

Since he couldn't figure it out from outside the Demon Stronghold, then he could only barge in and have a closer look. Why else would he have come here alone if not for that?

According to the information from his intelligence, Xue Li and the others were still in the Southern Territory's Star Soul Palace. They seemed to have made that place their base. He did not know if they were purposely humiliating the Star Boundary by doing so, but although they could come here very quickly, Yang Kai planned to escape at the slightest hint of abnormality. He had no intention of giving Xue Li and the others a chance to attack him.

The Azure Dragon Spear stood beside him like a giant pillar that towered into the skies and seemed to have noticed his intentions. The body of the spear let out a Dragon Roar before an illusory Azure Dragon emerged from the giant spear and coiled around it. The enormous Dragon Head was held high, overlooking the world while monitoring all four directions.

Closing his eyes, Yang Kai relaxed his mind and spread out his Divine Sense like a tidal wave. Nobody else would dare to do something like this in the Demon Land as Demon Essence was abundant within the Demon Stronghold; moreover, it was highly likely for them to become corrupted by the Demon Essence when their Divine Sense left their body. Doing so might leave behind hidden dangers at the very least. However, Yang Kai was different from ordinary people. His Emperor Qi had been converted into Demon Qi, so why would he fear the Demon Essence in the Demon Stronghold?

His target was very obvious. He was aiming for the Demon Tower standing in the middle of the Demon Stronghold. Since the Demon Towers could connect to each other and produce an effect similar to Cross-Territory Space Arrays, allowing the Demon Race to travel back and forth in the blink of an eye, it was only natural that it could allow his Divine Sense to navigate between them.

By borrowing the Demon Tower, Yang Kai would be able to clear the fog in front of him and look at the overall situation by standing at a greater height. He would be able to figure out the reason behind the Demon Land's sudden expansion.

He had no intention of concealing his intentions, so it was only natural that the Half-Saints watching him hungrily from nearby would notice what he was doing.

One of them was a Bone Demon. He twisted his skull and glanced at the Demon Tower. The emerald Ghost Fire in his eye sockets danced slightly as his teeth made metallic noises when they knocked against each other, "Clever bastard. I can't believe he even thought of using this method."

"Hey, should we stop him? If this goes on, he will probably notice something."

"How?" Another Half-Saint sneered, "Do you plan to go up and fight him?"

"Why not?" The Half-Saint who spoke previously looked eager, "He is alone after all."

"What's the point of fighting when we know we can't kill him? Not to mention, we have to be wary of getting injured by him. As you all know, that Martial Truth…"

"The Demon Saints are about to make their move. Besides, the Star Boundary will figure out the truth sooner or later. What difference does it make whether it's a little earlier or a little later? Let's just leave this guy to the Demon Saints."

"That's right. I've already sent a message to the three Venerables. If they plan to stop him, then they will definitely come. If they don't come, then we don't need to do anything unnecessary either."

Following a simple discussion, the Half-Saints quickly came to an agreement to stand back and watch how things unfolded. It wasn't that they were cowardly. It was just that… the Martial Truth was much too troublesome. Nobody was willing to stand on the frontlines and risk their life. With nobody leading them, it was only natural that they could not become united. Furthermore, they had the Demon Saints to decide for them. Why would they need to take the risk?