Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Taking advantage of Great Demon God's distraction, Yang Kai immediately mobilised the World Force to push the boundaries of the pure land outward by a slight margin. The results were not very satisfactory, but it was the first time he was able to counter Great Demon God's advance since they started fighting.

When he turned back to look at the Flowing Time Temple again, he saw the palace that had been smashed into the ground shakily rising into the air again. Although its light had dimmed somewhat, it seemed like it was not too badly damaged.

He calmed down upon learning that Yang Xiao and Yang Xue were safe. The Flowing Time Temple was a treasure left behind by Flowing Time Great Emperor after all, so it would not be destroyed so easily. As a result, Yang Xiao and Yang Xue, who were hiding inside, were not in immediate danger.

Meanwhile, Great Demon God became livid when he saw that he had failed to destroy them in a single blow. Despite seeing the palace flying into the air once more, he did not bother to attack again, though, because Yang Kai was putting a lot of pressure on him. He might have borrowed the powers of the seven Great Emperors to mobilise the World Force and fight Yang Kai for control of this world, but it was not something that he owned after all. It was only something he borrowed, so he was unable to fully utilise it.

"Wastes!" He roared furiously. The situation was in his favour, and yet he had failed to defeat Yang Kai quickly and devour the Star Boundary completely. Therefore, Mo Sheng couldn't help becoming angry out of shame. While speaking, a strange light flashed in those huge pupils of his.

At the same time, it was accompanied by a brief commotion. A figure came flying from the front, spitting blood countless times along the way. He was falling directly in Yang Kai's direction; hence, Yang Kai quickly stretched out a hand to catch that person and asked, "Are you alright, Brother Xiao?"

The person who was flung backwards in Yang Kai's direction was none other than Xiao Chen, and judging by the aura around Xiao Chen's body, he was severely injured. Fortunately, his injuries were not life-threatening.

Xiao Chen did not answer, however; instead, he turned around and stabbed his sword at Yang Kai. His Emperor Qi surged wildly as this attack contained all the power in his body. His initially weakened aura swelled rapidly the moment he launched the attack and a smirk curled the corners of his lips.

Yang Kai was unable to react in time to the sudden turn of events and it wasn't until the sword had nearly pierced his body that he flew into a rage, "What are you doing!?"

He reached out and slammed his palm towards Xiao Chen.

Under normal circumstances, a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master like Xiao Chen would not be a threat to Yang Kai; however, all his focus was currently directed toward the Great Demon God as they fought for control over the World. The slightest distraction could result in a catastrophe.

When Yang Kai struck out with his palm, he suddenly noticed that Xiao Chen's eyes were completely pitch black and his heart sank at the sight, quickly withdrawing some of the power of his attack. This situation indicated that this was not Xiao Chen's original intention. It was most likely that the other party had already been demonified.

[But... When did Xiao Chen undergo demonification? I didn't notice anything before now.]

*Hong...*

Xiao Chen was sent flying backwards once more and his surging aura immediately died down as a result.

It was not over yet, though, as just as Yang Kai sent Xiao Chen flying with his palm, another figure lunged at him from the side with a sword pointed directly at him, all while a faint floral scent permeated the air and distracted his mind.

"Li Shi Qing!" Yang Kai gritted his teeth, staring at the figure rushing towards him with an outraged expression, "When did you undergo demonification!?"

Li Shi Qing turned a deaf ear to his words as her beautiful eyes were completely pitch-black. Her entire being transformed as Heavenly Blossom Rain wrapped around him. Flower petals danced in the air, each one a sharp weapon in and of itself.

Yang Kai reached out his hand and grabbed at something among the storm of flower petals. His actions were accompanied by a grunt, followed by the collapse of the storm of flowers. After the air cleared, Yang Kai was seen holding Li Shi Qing up by the neck. Exerting some strength into his arm, he knocked her unconscious and tossed her into the Small Sealed World.

Two former companions had switched sides in an instant and that caused quite a great shock to everyone and made them hurriedly look around. Upon confirming that nobody else was showing signs of having undergone demonification though, they finally relaxed slightly.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai immediately understood the reason behind this incident.

Li Shi Qing once spent quite some time with Mo Sheng's Soul Clone on the three peaks in the Small Sealed World. It was quite possible that Mo Sheng had done something to her at the time. The reason Mo Sheng had kept this chess piece hidden for so long was that the timing had not been right. This moment happened to be the best time for a piece like Li Shi Qing to inflict the most damage.

While Li Shi Qing's situation was probably caused by something Mo Sheng's Soul Clone had done to her, Xiao Chen's situation was much more complicated in comparison.

Prior to this incident, Yang Kai had already sensed that something was wrong with Xiao Chen's mental state, more so after he returned as a Great Emperor. As the saying went, 'a Demon is born in the heart'. If Xiao Chen had been entertaining some unsavoury thoughts, then he would definitely be taken advantage of by Mo Sheng.

With Great Demon God's intelligence, it was a given that he knew these two could not do much harm to Yang Kai; nevertheless, Yang Kai would be conflicted about whether to kill two people he had known for such a long time. In any case, he was bound to be distracted regardless of his ultimate decision.

Consequently, the slight advantage he gained from Yang Xiao and Yang Xue's return was instantly voided by the betrayal of Xiao Chen and Li Shi Qing. The initiative that he regained previously collapsed in an instant due to his momentary distraction and he was now being suppressed again. In addition, the situation this time was much more serious than before. Watching as the Demon Land expanded towards High Heaven Palace at an exceedingly fast speed, he couldn't help feeling extremely anxious.

"Those who stubbornly resist will surely perish. Yang Kai, a wise man submits to his circumstances. It's not too late to join this King's side."

"Good!" Yang Kai agreed readily, "Why don't we stop for a moment and discuss this matter in detail?"

The Great Demon God laughed, "Of course, we can discuss this matter in detail. So, why don't you stop resisting first? This King might even spare yo... Hm?" Before he finished his sentence, his expression changed abruptly. He seemed to notice something and immediately flew into a rage, "Wastes! All of them, nothing but wastes!"

At the same time, Yang Kai looked astonished. That was because he noticed a sudden and sharp decrease in the pressure coming from the Great Demon God. It seemed as though the other party's control over the World was also gradually weakening, allowing Yang Kai to mobilise even more of the World Force as a result. The most obvious result of this change was that the boundary of the pure land was expanding outward at an incredible speed.

He did not know what was going on or why this was happening. Be that as it may, this was an unexpected but welcomed surprise for both him and the entirety of the Star Boundary, so how could he dare to hesitate? Yang Kai hurriedly focused all his efforts into mobilising the World Force to repel the erosion of the boundless Demon Essence and madly expand the pure land in response.

*Kacha...*

The sound of something cracking rang out. Then, enormous cracks appeared in the Void, one after another, like the scars in the sky.

Yang Kai could clearly sense some familiar auras coming from those cracks; therefore, he couldn't help looking in that direction in surprise.

Several figures walked out from the cracks. The numbers were neither too many nor too little. There were a total of eight people and an overwhelming pressure descended from the sky along with their arrival. It felt as though what walked out of the cracks were not eight people but eight parts of the World's Will. The world rumbled and the Void shuddered.

For a time, all eyes were focused on these eight figures.

A moment later, Yang Kai threw his head back and laughed. Crystal-like tears glittered at the corners of his eyes and a huge sense of relief washed over him. [They're back... All of them are back...]

Ever since the start of the second war between the two Great Worlds, the seven Great Emperors had been trapped in an inexplicable space. They had gone missing, so the heavy responsibility of ensuring the Star Boundary's survival had fallen on the shoulders of the Army Commanders of the Star Boundary army, as well as Li Wu Yi, their Supreme Commander.

After the Grand Dao battle, this heavy responsibility had been shifted over to Yang Kai instead.

Yang Kai had not dared to shirk his duties. In any case, he could not shirk even if he had wanted to. He was the only Great Emperor in the world, so it fell to him to ensure the safety of his homeland.

However, that was just... extremely tiring.

Watching as his companions dropped dead like flies around him, watching as the poison spread across the Star Boundary but was powerless to fight back... That gut-wrenching anxiety and enormous pressure that bogged down his body and mind was not something just anyone could ever understand.

At this moment, he suddenly calmed down at the sight of the eight familiar figures. There was no need for him to struggle alone anymore as he had companions now. There was no need to carry the burden of the World's survival on his own anymore, he had people to share that burden with.

Therefore, he laughed almost maniacally. He laughed so hard that his tears came out. At the same time, he felt slightly aggrieved... It was as though the adults had gone out and he was left to watch the house alone. Not only did he get bullied by others during that period, but his bullies had also turned his home into a huge mess. At last, it felt like the adults had finally returned.

Eight pairs of eyes glanced in his direction, their first reaction one of surprise. That was because they could sense a similar aura coming from him. It was swiftly followed by approval and praise, however. Their home might be in a miserable state at the moment, but it had been defended to this day. It was fine as long as it was not lost. Needless to say, it was all thanks to the young man in front of them.

Zhan Wu Hen stepped forward and bowed to Yang Kai. His voice was low and solemn, "I am Iron Blood!"

Another person stepped forward, "I am Heaven's Revelations!"

"I am Serene Soul!"

"I am Martial Beast!"

"I am Ice Feather!"

"I am Flower Shadow!"

"I am Wondrous Pill!"

"I am Bustling World!"

Following a series of soft murmurs, their titles rang out across the World and resounded in everybody's mind, causing a turbulent storm to begin to brew.

All the Great Emperors were back! Aside from Night Shadow Great Emperor who died at Yang Kai's hands and Bright Moon Great Emperor who lost his life on the Eternal Sky Continent, the other eight Great Emperors were gathered in this place at this moment.

Yang Kai's expression was solemn. Likewise, he also bowed his head slightly, "I am Void! Welcome back! All of you!"

Zhan Wu Hen smiled, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but we'll talk after we finish dealing with the matter at hand."

Yang Kai nodded in response. There were indeed many questions in his heart, such as where had they been trapped for all these years? How did they escape? Is Bustling World Great Emperor Duan Hong Chen? Or, is he Wu Kuang? Why did he appear together with the rest?

All sorts of questions swirled around in Yang Kai's head, but there was no time to ask for an explanation. In any case, these questions did not matter right now. As long as they could right the wrongs in the world, there would be plenty of chances to ask them in the future.

Even so, his perception indicated that, aside from Bustling World Great Emperor, the auras of the remaining seven were rather weak. It would seem that they had used up a lot of energy after being trapped for so many years. They were not at their full strength even though they finally managed to escape from their predicament.

Following their brief conversation, numerous horrifying auras descended from the sky again. It was closely followed by several figures leaping out of the countless Void Cracks in the sky. It was the Demon Saints with Huang Wu Ji in the lead. There were exactly seven of them. They seemed to be in similar condition as Zhan Wu Hen and the others. The auras of Huang Wu Ji and the other Demon Saints were weakened. In fact, they seem to be in worse condition.

"Wastes! Wastes!" Great Demon God glared at Huang Wu Ji and the others furiously as his roars reverberated across the sky. Mo Sheng simply could not accept the fact that these Demon Saints had failed their tasks at such a critical moment and allowed the Great Emperors to escape.

In response, the Demon Saints were as silent as cicadas in winter.