Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Half an hour passed by before the commotion on the elevated platform gradually subsided. Everybody watched as the Blood Sea retreated with a crashing sound and the scene that appeared from the inside was imprinted upon their eyes.

Despite being mentally prepared, the expressions of many Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary could not help but darken at the sight of the scene laid out on the elevated platform at that moment.

At this moment, Lin Ru Song was lying at a corner of the elevated platform. His originally old body had already been reduced to nothing but skin and bones. Moreover, his shrivelled body was covered in countless wounds and fresh blood. It was a terrible sight to behold. His short sword artifact had also fallen to the ground beside him. The sword that used to be full of brilliance was now dim and dull, just like his turbid eyes. In addition, the blade of the sword was scarred by various traces of corrosion.

His shrivelled body and his artifact that had lost a great deal of spirituality all served to show just how fierce the battle had been.

On the other hand, Lin Ru Song's opponent, the Blood Demon Half-Saint, was half-kneeling not far away and breathing heavily. His eyes were filled with murderous intent as he glared coldly at Lin Ru Song who was lying less than three hundred metres away from him. Judging by the state he was in, the battle had not been easy even though he won.

Under normal circumstances, the result of a Pseudo-Great Emperor and a Half-Saint fighting in a one-on-one battle would be a lose-lose situation unless one side had an obvious advantage in strength.

Staggering slightly, the Blood Demon stood up with a smirk as a strange laughter came out of his mouth as he slowly walked towards Lin Ru Song.

"Old Lin!" Somebody shouted.

Lin Ru Song was currently in a wretched state, but his chest was still moving up and down slightly. It was clear that he was still alive. Both parties were arrows at the end of their flight. Even though the Blood Demon seemed to be in better condition, he might still be able to turn the situation around if he could launch a powerful final attack. Unfortunately, Lin Ru Song showed no response even when the Blood Demon stopped right in front of him.

The Blood Demon raised his hand and a crimson red blood mist appeared on the surface of his body. Pointing his hand at Lin Ru Song, the thick blood mist turned into countless Blood Snakes that entered Lin Ru Song through all seven orifices. Lin Ru Song suddenly opened his eyes wide with an expression of extreme pain. He looked towards the many Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary and reached out his hand towards them as though trying to grab at his last chance of life.

Looking into those turbid yet hopeful eyes, the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary all felt a deep sense of powerlessness. It felt as though a volcano that might erupt at any time was brewing in their chests. No matter who it was, they couldn't help feeling a sense of sorrow as they watched a veteran Pseudo-Great Emperor creep closer and closer to his demise with their own eyes. In addition to their grief, they were secretly worried that the next person to participate in a life-or-death battle on the elevated platform would be themselves. They also wondered if they would be the next person to follow in the footsteps of Lin Ru Song.

What infuriated the Pseudo-Great Emperors even more was when the Blood Demon Half-Saint turned his head at this moment to grin at them with savage triumphant as if to demonstrate his might.

Yang Kai glared back at the Blood Demon, the coldness in his eyes like eternal ice that would never melt.

Meeting Yang Kai's eyes directly, the Blood Demon grinned and his mouth moved silently. Judging by the shape of his mouth, he seemed to be mouthing, "Kill me if you can!"

Lin Ru Song failed to turn his defeat around in the end. The injuries he suffered before were fairly severe. Combined with the Blood Demon's Secret Technique, he became incapable of resisting whatsoever.

10 breaths later, what little vitality remained in him disappeared. His already shrivelled body instantly turned into a mummified corpse at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. On the other hand, the Heavenly Source Fruit inside the Illusionary Heavens Furnace became more complete and the tantalising fragrance it exuded also became more intense.

Upon seeing that scene, everybody understood that what Jia Long said before was the truth. It was true that three more people needed to die in this place for the Heavenly Source Fruit to ripen completely. When that happened, the final stage of the Grand Dao battle would kick off.

*Shua...*

The figure of the Blood Demon who obtained victory vanished from the elevated platform and returned to the Demon Race camp in an instant. It was not that he had returned voluntarily but instead similar to how he had appeared on that platform before, completely ignoring his own will.

Jia Long turned to look at the Blood Demon and nodded slightly in acknowledgement, "Good job."

The Blood Demon smiled to himself. Then, he sat down cross-legged to meditate. He closed his eyes and focused on recovering from his injuries. He had been severely wounded from his fight with Lin Ru Song and if he did not recover quickly, he would be unable to participate in the upcoming final battle.

At this moment, an uneasy thought popped up in the minds of both the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary and the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm. [Who will be the next person to step onto that elevated platform? If I get chosen, then who will my opponent be?]

Before they could even finish the thought though, there was a slight movement beside them. Nobody panicked this time since they had already experienced this once. Instead, they immediately glanced towards the platform. Everybody in the Star Boundary exclaimed in surprise at the sight. Meanwhile, Yang Yan and Bing Yun's pretty faces darkened instantly. The candidate from the Star Boundary for the second life-or-death battle was none other than Yang Kai!

Looking around, they confirmed that Yang Kai, who had been standing right next to them just now, was gone.

Yang Yan suddenly looked anxious and she simply could not understand the current situation. [Why did the World's Will choose Yang Kai to participate in this battle!? Doesn't he hold part of the World's Will in him!? Logically speaking, the world should be partial to him!]

At this time, he should not be allowed to participate in the battle regardless of the reason. Whether he won or lost, it would not benefit him in any way. Even if he won, he would have consumed a lot of his energy. If he lost, then it would only lead to a tragic ending.

At this moment, Yang Yan even had the urge to start cursing out loud, [Damn Heavens! Are you blind!?]

On the other side, Jia Long's eyes suddenly gleamed brightly. He stared at Yang Kai intently with an eager and impatient look on his face. He was the strongest Master below the Demon Saints from the Demon Realm, as well as the strongest Half-Saint in existence. If not for Yang Kai's Space Secret Techniques, he had full confidence that he could kill the latter.

It was just that, be it in the outside world or the Source Sealed World, Jia Long knew he could not kill Yang Kai even if he could win against the latter. That was because Yang Kai would immediately escape as soon as he noticed that the situation was not in his favour. Instantaneous Movement was something nobody other than the Demon Saints could handle.

However, that platform where the life-or-death battles took place was different. It was only a thousand metres in diameter. More importantly, there was an invisible barrier that sealed off space. Yang Kai would not be able to escape!

[As long as the world chooses me as the next participant in battle, I am confident I can end his life here!] Unfortunately, the look of anticipation in Jia Long's eyes quickly turned into disappointment. There was a whooshing sound next to him and the figure of a Demon Race Half-Saint appeared on the platform closer to their side.

When Jia Long glanced over, his expression instantly became as black as the bottom of a pot. On the other hand, the worried and anxious expressions on Yang Yan and Bing Yun's faces became a little strange.

Bing Yun soon laughingly said, "He certainly is favoured by the World. Even at a time like this, he can still obtain such a great bargain."

Similarly, Yang Yan also breathed a sigh of relief, "En, there's no need to worry anymore."

For a moment, Yang Kai simply stood on the elevated platform in a daze; however, he quickly realised that he was standing on the life-or-death stage. Like Yang Yan, he was slightly surprised and wondered why the World's Will chose him to participate in the battle.

Even so, there was no time for him to ponder that question. Seeing as he had been chosen, then all he could do was finish off his enemy at the lowest cost possible. As for whether or not he had the ability to do so… He was extremely confident in himself.

The rest of the Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints in this place had already gone through a huge battle by the time he arrived at this place, so all of them had been injured in one way or another and none could exert their full strength.

On the contrary, he had entered a strange space where he was asked about what the Dao meant to him. Not only was he completely unscathed, but he also attained a deeper understanding of the Heavenly Way, enhancing his cultivation. There was no reason for him to lose against a wounded enemy when he was at full strength.

[The Star Boundary lost the first match and Lin Ru Song lost his life in the process. I need to win this second match no matter what!] Before Yang Kai could finish his thought though, a figure appeared opposite him. He immediately looked over, and after seeing who his opponent was, Yang Kai couldn't help grinning in response.

A few hundred metres away stood a pale-faced Blood Demon covered in blood. He looked around in a panic, unable to understand why he was standing on this platform again when he had just stepped off of it a moment ago. [There are 14 other Half-Saints on our side, why did I get chosen twice!? What are the odds of this!?]

Meanwhile, Jia Long looked gloomy and muttered, "Favoured by the World, was it…"

If the opponent was anybody else but Yang Kai, he would have believed that it was simply a matter of bad luck; however, things were not as simple as that since Yang Kai was the one chosen as a representative from the Star Boundary.

In the past, everybody had been wondering what kind of help Yang Kai would receive from the World's Will in his body during the Grand Dao battle, it was just that nobody could give a clear answer. There was no such precedent throughout history after all. It had always been that a person would only receive the World's Will after obtaining the Grand Dao opportunity and becoming a Great Emperor, but the entire process was reversed when it came to Yang Kai. Since this situation was unprecedented, there were no examples to draw reference from.

It wasn't until this moment that both the people from the Star Boundary and the Demon Realm came to deeply realise the benefits brought by the invisible and intangible World's Will.

This Blood Demon was the one who fought Lin Ru Song for half an hour earlier. Although he won the battle, he was an arrow at the end of its flight. At this moment, even an ordinary High-Rank Demon King could have killed him, so what more need be said about Yang Kai whose strength was comparable to that of a Half-Saint?

This match was decided in the Star Boundary's favour before it even began, there was no doubt about it. It was also precisely because of this reason that Yang Yan and Bing Yun relaxed completely even though Yang Kai was standing on the life-or-death stage.

Standing among the crowd, Cang Mo's expression became gloomy. Likewise, his eyes that were full of anticipation filled with disappointment instead…

Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood on the platform and looked at the Blood Demon standing about a thousand metres away from him with an indifferent expression. He did not choose to make the first move.

Unexpectedly, this silent oppression made the Blood Demon panic instead and he turned to look at Jia Long for help. That was just like what Lin Ru Song had done before his death… At this moment, the Blood Demon experienced the same despair his opponent had felt during the last battle. The light of hope in front of him was now completely shrouded in darkness.

*Ta ta ta...*

Yang Kai strode forward calmly.

On the other hand, the Blood Demon couldn't help but retreat, but where could he run? He was already standing at the edge of the field. Besides, the invisible barrier surrounding the platform sealed off space and did not allow him to withdraw any further than that.

The Blood Demon glanced over in horror. Yang Kai's head was lowered and his hair fell over his forehead to cover half of his face. Be that as it may, the Blood Demon could vaguely catch a glimpse of the murderous light coming from his opponent's eyes…

There was a mummified corpse lying on the platform still. It was Lin Ru Song. Yang Kai walked over to the mummified corpse, crouched down, stretched out a hand, and placed the mummified corpse into the Small Sealed World. When he stood back up, he lifted his gaze to look at the Blood Demon who was cowering at the very edge of the platform and watching him warily. He slowly raised a hand and spat out a single word, "Die!"

A strong wind blew and Yang Kai's figure seemed to remain in place, but another him appeared at the edge of the stage at the same time, gripping his spear in one hand as a figure dangled from its tip.