Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai searched for a hiding place and hid inside. Thinking back to the remaining half of the World Source Liquid that he failed to obtain, he couldn't help feeling greatly distressed. He had collected quite a lot, but how could anybody believe that there could be too much of a good thing?

The World Source Liquid contained the chaotic aura from when the world was created. That aura was enough to allow a Third-Order Emperor, who had been troubled by a bottleneck for many years, to break through their shackles and be promoted to become a Pseudo-Great Emperor. If only he could have collected a little more of the World Source Liquid, he could have created many more Pseudo-Great Emperors for the Star Boundary in the future.

He could only say that what belonged to him would belong to him no matter what. On the contrary, it was useless to dream too much about something that was not destined to be his.

Yang Kai sighed and wallowed for a bit before he finally let go of the regret in his heart. Shifting his thoughts, he checked the Small Sealed World and discovered that Bing Yun, Yang Yan, and Gan Li had woken up. The three of them had gathered together and seemed to be discussing something. It was obvious that they had realised they were currently inside Yang Kai's Small Sealed World, so they did not look panicked. Nevertheless, they couldn't help feeling some lingering fears whenever they recalled what they went through previously.

Yang Kai's Soul Projection manifested in front of them, and once everybody greeted him, Gan Li spoke, "Many thanks for your help this time, Brother Yang. This Gan would have been in great trouble if not for you."

Yang Kai responded with a smile, "You're too kind, Brother Gan. You and I have both fought under the command of Supreme Commander Li and equally contributed to the peace of the Star Boundary. During a period where the outsiders are coveting all we have, I'm certain you would not stand by idly either if this Yang encountered trouble and you had the ability to help."

"Of course." Gan Li nodded sternly, "In any case, I will forever remember this second chance at life that you've given me, Brother Yang. Feel free to let me know if you need any assistance inside this Profound Heavens Temple."

The two exchanged a few more words of courtesy, but neither of them mentioned the World Source Liquid. Yang Kai did not know if Gan Li had seen the World Source Liquid or if the latter deliberately refused to broach the subject.

Thinking about it again, since Yang Yan had seen it, there was no reason for Gan Li to have missed it. Gan Li must have been attracted by the World Source Liquid and fell prey to the Natural Spirit Array as a result. As for whether he recognized exactly what the World Source Liquid was or not was another matter altogether.

"What do you plan to do next, Brother Gan?" After the pleasantries were dealt with, Yang Kai went straight to the point.

"Naturally, I will try my best to seize the opportunity to reach the peak of the Grand Dao and locate the Illusionary Heavens Furnace." Gan Li frowned and smiled bitterly, "But, then again, this Gan has been searching for the Illusionary Heavens Furnace since entering the Profound Heavens Temple. It's a pity that I have found nothing so far. Did you find anything on your end?"

Yang Yan replied flatly, "No."

She then turned to look at Yang Kai and continued, "Little brat, are you sure that Sheng Yu Zhu was not lying to you? Did she deliberately throw out bait to lure others away while she goes off doing something on her own in secret?"

Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment, "It's not impossible, but this is the only clue we have."

He had not gotten any useful information from the Demon Race Half-Saints either. All he learned was that the Demon Saints had ordered the Half-Saints to kill the Pseudo-Great Emperors of the Star Boundary. But, why did something like that need to be specifically worded into a command? The struggle between the two worlds had never ceased. Was there any possibility of peace between the Masters from both the Human Race and the Demon Race if they encountered each other inside this place?

"In any case, our top priority is to find the Illusionary Heavens Furnace. We can search for more information along the way." Yang Kai then turned to look at Gan Li, "If you don't mind, would you like to travel with us, Brother Gan?"

Bing Yun and Yang Yan were definitely going to accompany him as this was something they had decided on beforehand. Since Yang Kai had the World's Will, the Demon Race was sure to target him. Even with his mastery of the Dao of Space, it would be bad if he were to face this situation all on his own. Besides, it wasn't just the Demon Race. Even the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary might try to kill him at the final stage of this battle.

It was obvious that Gan Li also knew about this situation. Yang Kai was currently in possession of something that would incite the greed of others, so he did not dare to take the initiative to mention this subject. He was afraid that Yang Kai and the others might misunderstand him even though he genuinely wanted to join forces with them. He never imagined that Yang Kai would be so carefree to broach the subject himself. It made him feel a little ashamed.

Without giving Gan Li a chance to speak, Yang Kai continued, "There are only 30 Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary who entered the Profound Heavens Temple. On the other hand, there are 40 Half-Saints from the Demon Realm. Just from our numbers alone, the Demon Race holds an absolute advantage over us. If we don't unite, it will only give the Demon Race a chance to destroy us. That is why I implore you to come with us, if possible, Brother Gan. We can discuss our plans again at the final stage of the Grand Dao battle."

Having said so much, it would be ill-mannered for Gan Li to refuse. Besides, Yang Kai had just saved his life, so how could he dare to refuse this proposal? Not to mention, that was also his intention in the first place, so he immediately cupped his fists, "That was my wish. It was just that I did not dare ask it of you."

Yang Kai smiled, "Good! In that case, I'm going to go fishing."

"Fishing?" Gan Li looked at Yang Kai suspiciously.

Yang Yan understood instantly and smiled in response, "Just don't catch any sharks."

"What's wrong with sharks?" Yang Kai chuckled and his figure faded away. Just before he left, he saw Yang Yan wink at him.

At this moment, Gan Li seemed to catch on to what Yang Kai previously meant by 'fishing' and exclaimed in realisation, "Interesting. How interesting." While speaking, he revealed a look of great anticipation.

Yang Kai was moving around outside; however, he left a thread of consciousness inside the Small Sealed World. The look that Yang Yan secretly gave him just now clearly meant that she wanted a private conversation with him, so he quietly contacted her.

"Little brat, what about the World Source Liquid? Did you get it?"

As expected, she immediately asked that question of him the moment he got in touch with her. Nevertheless, she remained engaged in conversation with Gan Li about something else on the surface.

Yang Kai grinned and replied, "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you I didn't manage to get any."

"Very good! Give me half!" She said decisively.

Yang Kai tripped over his own feet and nearly faceplanted on the ground at those words, "Big Sister, why not declare you're robbing me!" [How can she ask for half right at the start!? It's inhuman!]

Yang Yan simple giggled and declared, "If not for me, you wouldn't even have found that in the first place. So, it's perfectly acceptable for me to demand half."

"Fine, fine, half it is." He couldn't be bothered to argue with her. Besides, he had taken so much of the World Source Liquid that he could not possibly finish it all on his own anyway, "But, I only managed to collect half of the World Source Liquid there. I couldn't collect the remaining half."

"Why?" She was puzzled.

"I can't give you an exact explanation. I just had the feeling that something terrible would happen if I had forcefully taken the remaining half."

"Something that ominous happened?" Yang Yan was shocked, but after mulling over it for a bit, she added, "En, that makes sense. That is a treasure formed during the creation of the world after all. Alchemists always emphasise leaving behind roots when harvesting treasures, lest they cause the herbs to go extinct. If a treasure like the World Source Liquid was completely taken away, it would surely be self-defeating. Still, half isn't a bad haul either."

"Seeing how enthusiastic you are about the World Source Liquid, do you know what kind of mysterious properties it has?"

She laughed softly, "Do you want to know?"

"Tell me about it." Although he had tried some and deeply experienced the effects brought about by that small drop of World Source Liquid, Yang Kai was unable to fully grasp its effects even now.

Yang Yan didn't try to keep him guessing and immediately asked, "Do you know why Senior Iron Blood is more powerful than the other Great Emperors?"

"Isn't it due to the Secret Art he cultivated?" Yang Kai was puzzled. Nobody ranked the Ten Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, but Iron Blood Great Emperor, Zhan Wu Hen, was publicly recognized as the strongest among them. This point was something none of the other Great Emperors denied either.

"Of course not. How could the Secret Art cultivated by one Great Emperor be any worse than another's?" Yang Yan sneered, "Besides, the only thing that could be compared at their cultivation is their own understanding and insights. It has little to do with their Secret Arts. Well… Wu Kuang is a special case. All his success came from the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and I have to admit that that guy is truly a genius."

"Are you saying that Senior Iron Blood once consumed World Source Liquid?" Yang Kai asked.

"En! He once casually brought up the subject of the world's treasures with me and among them was World Source Liquid. He claimed that he had the opportunity to consume a cup of the World Source Liquid in the Profound Heavens Temple; moreover, he was still benefiting from that cup to this day!"

"Sii…" Yang Kai inhaled sharply. At the same time, his figure that was rushing forward paused for a moment. He had tried to overestimate the effects of the World Source Liquid as much as possible, but it turned out he was still greatly undervaluing it.

Iron Blood Great Emperor had participated in the Grand Dao battle that took place when the Profound Heavens Temple opened two cycles ago, which meant between 20,000 and 30,000 years had passed since then. Be that as it may, a single cup of World Source Liquid he consumed at the time had given him so much insight that he was still benefiting from it today. It was conceivable just how precious the World Source Liquid was.

In addition, Zhan Wu Hen had gotten a cup of World Source Liquid in the Profound Heavens Temple. Did he have the ability to escape from that natural death trap at the time? This was somebody else's affair, moreover, so many years had passed, so Yang Kai did not know the details, but he was becoming increasingly aware of the terrifying effects of the World Source Liquid.

"Don't feel bad, boy. Besides, I wasn't planning on using my half of the World Source Liquid all for myself. With the World Source Liquid in hand, we might be able to considerably improve the strength of many Pseudo-Great Emperors of the Star Boundary. What's more, if the Great Emperors were to escape their current predicament, they might also be able to use some of the World Source Liquid to enhance their strength. When the time comes, I will inform them that I brought this precious treasure out."

Yang Kai replied, "For the Star Boundary's sake, that's how it should be."

In that way, the remaining half of the World Source Liquid in his possession would belong solely to him. More importantly, as far as the public was aware, Yang Yan would be the only one in possession of this item. Even if somebody were to covet it, they would not make the connection back to him. Unfortunately, this would most likely cause some trouble for her. Then again, considering that she was Zhan Wu Hen's direct subordinate, nobody would have the courage to provoke her.

"By the way, what happened to the two Demons? Did you see them?"

Yang Yan had been in the middle of cracking the Natural Spirit Array when two Demon Race Half-Saints happened to pass by. She had no choice but to take some risks with what she was attempting and as a result, seemed to have triggered some sort of restriction and fallen unconscious. She didn't even know when Gan Li got trapped in that place.

"Those two are already dead," Yang Kai chuckled. That was probably the easiest two Half-Saints he had ever killed in his life as there had been no resistance whatsoever.

"Good," Yang Yan coldly snorted.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Kai relayed to her the information he had obtained from the Strength Demon Half-Saint before. He also added the speculations he and Bing Yun came up with, as well as the abnormality that occurred to the corpses of the Demon Race Half-Saints who died in this place.

After listening to this, Yang Yan fell silent for a long while before saying, "Your guess is not unreasonable. Slaughter and blood… That might just be the truth. Perhaps, the final opportunity might only be revealed once enough blood has been spilt."

Pausing, she then laughed lightly, "Little brat, do a good job fishing. The more Demons die, the better. Our advantage will also get greater and greater with time. It doesn't matter who gets the opportunity in the end, as long as it doesn't fall into the hands of the Demon Race."