Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Every time Yang Kai tried to use Instantaneous Movement to approach the Illusionary Heavens Furnace, Jia Long would use a Secret Technique to interfere with him; therefore, his expression was as ugly as could be.

Jia Long might not be proficient in the Dao of Space, but the Illusionary Heavens Furnace was right there. If Yang Kai wanted to snatch the Heavenly Source Fruit, he would need to approach the Illusionary Heavens Furnace. Hence, Jia Long only needed to disrupt the space surrounding it through brute force.

The Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary were unable to break through the defensive circle of the Half-Saints and could not get close to the Heavenly Source Fruit as a result. At the final moment, the extra few on the Demon Race's side turned out to be the key to success.

The battle continued without pause with the Pseudo-Great Emperors burning with anxiety as they watched the Half-Saints getting closer and closer to the Illusionary Heavens Furnace while being unable to do anything about it.

When the Illusionary Heavens Furnace was within arm's reach, Jia Long shouted, "Stop them!"

After saying that, he turned and reached towards the Illusionary Heavens Furnace, opening his large hand and grabbing at the Heavenly Source Fruit. His eyes were blazing with a fiery light. As long as he could get his hands on the Heavenly Source Fruit, he would obtain the final victory. Not only would the Star Boundary lose everything, but the Demon Race would also gain an additional Demon Saint. At that time, the Star Boundary would be powerless to resist.

At that moment, somebody's low voice suddenly rang out slowly, "Heaven Severing... Slash!"

A fearsome Spiritual Energy wave suddenly burst out. That invisible and intangible Soul attack transformed into a sword that was visible to the naked eye, which then shot straight at Jia Long's head.

Yang Kai widened his eyes abruptly and turned to look in the direction of the person who spoke just now. What he saw was a middle-aged man smiling at him with cunning eyes. He recognised the middle-aged man; however, they were not on familiar terms. It was Fire Lord, one of the Four Great Lords of Demon Heavenly Dao.

Yang Kai had paid special attention to this man when he first entered the Profound Heavens Temple. This man was the only Human in the Demon Race camp after all. That fact alone made him stand out like a crane amongst chickens. It was harder not to notice him.

It was just that Yang Kai had neither met with nor dealt with this person in the Source Sealed World known as the Profound Heavens Temple. Although he had exchanged several blows with the other party during the chaotic battle just now, he could not determine the other party's true strength since everybody was holding back at the time. Who could have expected that Fire Lord would suddenly unleash such an attack at this time? Moreover, the target of his attack was none other than Jia Long!

His actions were too shocking. It was almost similar to that time when Yang Kai attacked Cang Mo without warning. The Demon Race had not expected Fire Lord of Demon Heavenly Dao to have the courage to betray the strongest Demon Race Half-Saint.

Only Yang Kai's eyes brightened in pleasant surprise. If Fire Lord had remained silent, he might not have understood the situation and would simply have assumed that Fire Lord had nefarious intentions from the start and wanted to snatch the Heavenly Source Fruit for himself. However, the moment the words 'Heaven Severing Slash' rang out, Yang Kai immediately thought of something.

This Soul Secret Technique was something he could also use, and the one who taught him this Secret Technique was a man he once met in the Azure Sun Temple's Divine Ascension Mirror, Tian Yan.

Tian Yan was born and raised in the Divine Ascension Mirror, and because of that he did not have a physical body. As a result, his attainments in Soul cultivation were extremely terrifying. The Divine Ascension Mirror was an independent world that had its own World Principles, which allowed Tian Yan to rise to the level of a Great Emperor when it came to attainments in Soul cultivation.

Yang Kai later obtained the Flesh Incarnation Fruit by chance and refined the Flesh Incarnation Pill to help Tian Yan obtain a physical body and break free of the shackles of the Divine Ascension Mirror and venture into a wider world.

It was just that Tian Yan had been very weak when he first obtained a physical body; therefore, he later stayed at the Azure Sun Temple for some time to cultivate before leaving to wander the world after he became a little stronger.

There had been no news from Tian Yan after that. Yang Kai had tried to inquire news about Tian Yan's current whereabouts, but the invasion of the Demon Race and the great mayhem in the Star Boundary left him with no energy for anything else. He could never have imagined that the Senior who had been missing for so many years had been right in front of him all this time. Not only did Tian Yan become one of the Four Great Lords of Demon Heavenly Dao, but he also infiltrated the Profound Heavens Temple only to switch sides at the last moment.

Yang Kai did not know what Tian Yan had gone through all these years that could allow the latter to cultivate until he became a Pseudo-Great Emperor after starting over from scratch. Be that as it may, it was not that surprising either. Tian Yan originally had the heritage of a Great Emperor, it was just that he did not have a physical body. Despite receiving Yang Kai's help in creating a physical body and needing to start all over from the beginning, all the insights regarding the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way remained with Tian Yan. He only needed to cultivate steadily for his strength to improve rapidly. In addition, he would not be limited by various bottlenecks like other cultivators.

As for why his appearance had changed, it was probably due to some sort of Secret Technique.

In the first place, Tian Yan's Soul cultivation was on par with a Great Emperor's, so even if he was bound by all kinds of restrictions and could not exert his full strength, his attack just now was still not to be underestimated.

Jia Long was completely unprepared when the Soul Sword pierced into his head from behind. His burly body stiffened and for a moment, he was completely frozen in place, unable to move. His large hand that was stretching out towards the Heavenly Source Fruit was less than a forearm's length away from the seven-coloured Divine Fruit.

The situation was not over yet, however. After Tian Yan finished launching his first attack, he didn't even bother to look at Jia Long and instead clapped his palms together before immediately pushing them out to the sides with great force. A large ring of fire that was centred around him spread out all of a sudden. The ring of fire contained a scorching heat that caught many Demon Race Half-Saints off guard, causing their stances to falter as a result, opening a hole in their defensive formation.

"What are you still standing there for!?" Tian Yan chuckled as he stared at Yang Kai, who had a confused and astonished expression on his face.

"Many thanks, Senior!" Yang Kai hurriedly said before he rushed through the gap that Tian Yan had forcefully created and arrived in front of the Illusionary Heavens Furnace in the blink of an eye.

"Bastard!" It wasn't until that moment that Jia Long returned to his senses. Suppressing the pain that was drilling into his head, he formed a fist with the hand he had stretched out earlier and struck at Yang Kai's waist.

Yang Kai ignored the attack, his eyes completely fixed on the Heavenly Source Fruit. The moment Jia Long's fist came into contact with his body, he used Nihility to exile himself into the Void. The punch that contained a highly destructive force passed right through Yang Kai's body. Although he was not hit by the full power of the blow, the force that reverberated through the Void was enough to make him grunt in pain.

Jia Long's expression changed drastically as he realized it was already too late to stop Yang Kai. By the time he turned around, Yang Kai had already appeared beside the small tree.

Grabbing the Heavenly Source Fruit with one hand, Yang Kai gently plucked it from the branch and placed it into his pocket.

Jia Long fell into complete madness and charged at Yang Kai with a furious roar.

On the other hand, Yang Kai faced Jia Long calmly. He knew that it was time for them to fight to the death. Everybody had held back previously in order to compete for the Heavenly Source Fruit; however, he was in possession of the Heavenly Source Fruit right now, so how could the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm accept such an outcome? Even if they had to fight with their lives on the line, they refused to let Yang Kai bring this fruit out with him; therefore, a storm of attacks rained down on him from all directions. The cooperation of more than 10 Half-Saints made even Yang Kai's expression extremely grim.

At that moment, a transparent light barrier appeared around the periphery of the Illusionary Heavens Furnace. With a loud rumble, all the attacks were blocked by the light barrier before they could land on Yang Kai.

Yang Kai was stunned, as was Jia Long. Even the rest of the Half-Saints and the Pseudo-Great Emperors were frozen in shock. Silence filled the entire hall as countless eyes were fixed on Yang Kai, who was still standing next to the small tree in the Illusionary Heavens Furnace. The emotions behind those looks varied greatly.

"Hahahahahaha!" Yang Kai couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling out of him. His tense nerves relaxed completely at this moment. He never imagined that the Profound Heavens Temple would protect him with a barrier after he obtained the Heavenly Source Fruit. His elation was also mixed with a tinge of lingering fear. [Thank goodness Senior Tian Yan took action in time. If Jia Long had gotten his hands on the Heavenly Source Fruit, the one anxiously standing outside would be me instead!]

His laughter continued to echo inside the hall. The Half-Saints from the Demon Realm had extremely ugly expressions on their faces. On the other hand, the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary looked a little disgruntled. Nevertheless, this result was still within the acceptable range. In the end, the greatest reason they entered this place was to prevent the Demon Race from obtaining this opportunity. Although they were not the ones having the last laugh, at least Yang Kai was still part of the Star Boundary.

Yang Yan breathed a long sigh of relief. Recalling what Li Wu Yi had asked of her before her departure, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Li Wu Yi's sacrifice and the deaths of nearly 20 Pseudo-Great Emperors had not been in vain. In the end, it was Yang Kai, a High-Rank Demon King, who ultimately achieved the lifelong dream of the people in this generation.

Feeling relieved, she turned to look at Sheng Yu Zhu. She noticed that Sheng Yu Zhu seemed to hesitate for a moment before seemingly letting go of something and revealing a hint of a smile.

A short while later, the laughter died down. Yang Kai coldly glared at Jia Long who was standing only metres away from him, then playing with the Heavenly Source Fruit, he gave a warning in a dangerous voice, "This King will kill every single one of you the moment he finishes refining this fruit!"

Jia Long glared so fiercely that his eyes felt like they were going to explode. The veins in his temples twitched in anger. Looking at Yang Kai who looked to be within arm's reach, he suddenly understood what the saying 'So close yet so far' meant. As long as the barrier existed, there was nothing he could do to Yang Kai no matter how hard he tried. Furthermore, he couldn't help feeling a sense of danger when he heard Yang Kai's threat.

[The strength of this little bastard was not to be underestimated in the first place. How much stronger will he grow once he completely refines the Heavenly Source Fruit? Will the Half-Saints be able to match him in terms of power when that happens?]

After Yang Kai made his declaration, he opened his mouth, stuffed the Heavenly Source Fruit into it, and chewed aggressively. His gaze was fixed on Jia Long the entire time, looking as though he was immediately going to leap out and fight him to the death.

Jia Long's expression fluctuated. At this moment, it didn't matter how unwilling he was anymore, it would not change a thing. Yang Kai had already eaten the Heavenly Source Fruit, so was he supposed to make Yang Kai spit it out? Besides, Yang Kai might finish refining the Heavenly Source Fruit if he procrastinated in this place for too long. At that time, it would be difficult for him to escape even if he wanted to. The moment that thought flashed through his mind, he decided to withdraw and shouted, "Let's go!"

After saying that, he led the 10 or so remaining Half-Saints and retreated slowly.

There was a hint of hesitation on the faces of the Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary, but they did not stop the enemy from retreating in the end. Now that the dust had settled and their numbers were more or less even, it would not benefit anybody to continue fighting. They might as well wait until Yang Kai finished refining the Heavenly Source Fruit and received a huge boost in strength. It would not be too late to get rid of the enemy at that time.

On the other hand, the Heavenly Source Fruit transformed into a sweet nectar the moment it entered Yang Kai's mouth. The nectar immediately flowed down his throat and into his abdomen where a feeling of warmth spread out in an instant. It made his tense nerves relax immediately, so much so that he even felt drowsy as a result. At the same time, all sorts of insights flashed through his Knowledge Sea, allowing him to comprehend many mysteries that had once eluded him.

"The Profound Heavens Temple is going to close soon." Forcing himself to endure and stay awake, Yang Kai turned to the people in front of him. He did not know how he knew that fact, he just did, somehow. The entire situation within the Profound Heavens Temple now seemed to be at his fingertips.

Everybody was shocked by the news, but they quickly calmed down. The Heavenly Source Fruit had been consumed by Yang Kai, so the Profound Heavens Temple no longer had a reason to remain open. It stood to reason that it would close soon.