Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"For example, if Sir wins the first match, you will receive 50 Open Heaven Pills, for the second match you'll obtain 100, and for the third match, you'll get 200. This continues until you reach the highest limit. However, if you lose any match, you'll have to start accumulating all over again."

Yang Kai nodded, "An interesting idea." Although one would only get 50 pills for the first win, the reward would snowball if they could win seven or eight matches. One could even get more than tens of thousands of pills if they won nine or ten matches.

"There are three ranks in Asura Arena, which are Heaven, Earth, and Mortal. Three Asura Rankings have been set up accordingly. The Mortal Ranking is for people below the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm, Earth Ranking is for Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Masters, and Heaven Ranking is for Open Heaven Realm Masters. Regardless of the rankings, none of the people who are listed on the Asura Rankings are easy to deal with."

The arrangements were pretty reasonable; after all, for cultivators, Half-Step Open Heaven Realm was a dividing line. Once a cultivator managed to condense five Elements, his power would experience a great leap forward while after one ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, his power would undergo a fundamental change. Therefore, the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm served as a dividing line for the three rankings.

Since Pei Bu Wan had said that Yang Kai's opponent wasn't a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm Master, the person he was going up against must be listed on the Mortal Rankings.

"I've also heard that the reason Asura Arena was established is to train the disciples of Asura Cave Heaven. The training they primarily get is through battles. The more intense the battles are, the faster they grow. However, although they're one of the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens, it's impossible for them to have a chance to fight with someone else all the time. Hence, the Asura Arena is made to meet their needs."

Pei Bu Wan turned to grin at her, "Woman, you know a lot. That's right. Asura Arena exists for the disciples of Asura Cave Heaven to train themselves. Everyone who takes part in the battle is a stepping stone for their trials. Regardless, the rewards are truly attractive. Even those in the Mortal Rankings can get 50 Open Heaven Pills for winning their first match, and those in the Earth and Heaven Rankings can get even more. That's why there are many applicants despite the risks. Since time immemorial, benefits have been the motivation behind everything."

As they spoke, they reached the entrance of a certain building that didn't look special from the outside. It was just that its door was wider than those of other shops. Before even entering though, Yang Kai could feel an air of bloodlust coming at him. Lifting his head, he realised that a signboard had been hung above the door. The characters 'Asura Arena' had been emblazoned on it. These characters looked so bright that it was as though they had been written in blood. At first glance, the characters didn't look unusual, but as time passed, traces of redness seemed to be streaming down the signboard and dripping from it.

Yang Kai arched his brow and blinked, whereupon the signboard became normal again. The bloody image he saw had disappeared.

"Shopkeeper Pei! Welcome!" The shop boy at the door passionately said. It was apparent that Pei Bu Wan was a regular here.

With his hands behind his back, Pei Bu Wan calmly grunted and led his group of people into the building.

Upon entering the arena, Yang Kai realised that the interior was extraordinary. The hall was so wide that many thousands of people could be crammed inside it. The people in the hall were either in groups or on their own, while in the middle of the hall, three thick columns had been erected with glistening words written on them.

Pei Bu Wan turned around and said, "Wait for me here. This King will get someone to make the arrangements."

Then, he left the place with two of his shop hands. After he was gone, Luo Hai Yi came over and said in a small voice, "Sir, are you sure you want to fight? This is a dangerous place. You'd better leave."

Yang Kai replied with a smile, "I already made an agreement."

Her expression dimmed as she warned, "Then, you'll have to be careful. The battles in this arena are extreme. Your past experiences may not be of much use."

"Got it." Yang Kai nodded and gazed at the three columns, "Are those the Rankings of Heaven, Earth, and Mortal?"

The three columns immediately caught his attention when he entered the hall. It couldn't be helped, as the columns were too conspicuous, so it was impossible to ignore them. Moreover, the words 'Heaven', 'Earth', and 'Mortal' had been respectively engraved atop them, so one could easily understand what they were.

Luo Hai Yi nodded her head, "You're right. Those are the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Rankings."

Yang Kai examined them and realised that the names written on them were pretty interesting. Most of them didn't look like real names; instead, they were more like aliases. For example, Black Fox, Thousand Blades, and so on. There were of course some normal-sounding names that were probably real names as well.

On these three rankings, the names at the top and those at the bottom were written in different colours.

The top three names were a dark gold colour. It was gold for numbers 4 to 10, silver for 11 to 30, and below 30 they were white.

On every ranking, there were exactly 100 names. Those names were not engraved on the columns though and instead looked more like light projections that had been written using some kind of special technique.

While Yang Kai was looking at them though, one of the names on Earth Rankings dimmed, which caught his attention, so he asked in puzzlement, "Why has that name turned grey?"

Luo Hai Yi turned pale, "He died."

Upon hearing that, Yang Kai became astounded. The name was originally written in a silver colour. The fact that it was the 15th-ranked individual suggested that this person had been fairly strong, but he had died just like that, which went to show that the battles in Asura Arena were truly ruthless. Although the rewards were attractive, one had to fight for them with their life on the line. Most cultivators wouldn't have the courage to take part in such a thing.

While he was in a dazed state, the grey name suddenly scattered and disappeared as it had been removed from the Earth Rankings. Following that, all the names below it moved up, and a new name appeared at the bottom to make it one hundred names in total.

There was a passageway in the corner of the hall, and presently, a person, who was carrying a blood-soaked corpse that had lost all vitality on his back, walked out from the passageway as the blood dripped onto the floor. Seeing that, the people in the hall felt traumatised as chills ran down their spines.

Yang Kai reckoned that the dead person must be the one whose name had been removed from the Earth Rankings. Judging from the state his corpse was in, he must have gone through a difficult battle.

Hearing rapid footsteps from behind him, Yang Kai turned around and saw Pei Bu Wan striding towards him. Then, Pei Bu Wan said, "Everything has been arranged. You'll get your premier battle in one hour." He scratched his head, "But there's a slight problem."

"What do you mean?" Yang Kai asked.

"What name will you use?" As Pei Bu Wan spoke, he pointed at the three rankings, "You can either use an alias or your real name. It's up to you."

A nonchalant Yang Kai replied, "I'll use my real name, then." He was just here for a single fight, so there was nothing to hide, and there wasn't a need for him to pretend to be mysterious. Moreover, even if he used an alias, it would be pointless if he couldn't change his appearance.

Pei Bu Wan nodded and fished out a communications artifact. It seemed that he was going to contact someone from Asura Arena. After he was done with that, Luo Hai Yi asked, "Shopkeeper Pei, who is going to be his opponent?"

With a grin, Pei Bu Wan took a glance at Yang Kai and pointed at the Mortal Rankings, "The one ranked 4th."

In an instant, Luo Hai Yi turned ashen, "How is that possible?! Sir Yang has never taken part in a battle in this arena before, so how could he have the right to fight against that person?"

She soon realised there was something wrong with what she had said, so she hurriedly explained, "Sir, there are still rules in this arena. A person can only challenge an opponent who is within ten rankings above him or herself. If they win, they will replace that person."

Pei Bu Wan grinned, "To the average person, rules are rules. But, to this King, rules are to be broken." There was a smug smile on his face.

Yang Kai turned his head and saw that the name of the person ranked 4th was painted in gold.

Yu Luo Sha!

The name and rank suggested that this person would be difficult to deal with.

"Let's go. You only have one hour to prepare. Get yourself ready," Pei Bu Wan said and led all of them to one corner of the hall.

Soon, they entered a room, upon which a maidservant came over to serve them.

The room was spacious, and it was directly facing the gigantic arena. At this moment, two people could be seen battling intensely; however, one of them was apparently on the back foot, so it was just a matter of time before he was defeated. The arena was surrounded by spectators who were constantly yelling and cheering.

With his hands behind his back, Pei Bu Wan stood by the window and looked down at the battle, "The terrain of the arena can be changed freely. You can discuss with your opponent and decide on a particular battlefield beforehand. It can also be selected randomly. Is there any particular terrain you prefer? There are options like snowy world, scorching desert, swamp, and so on. You can choose whatever you like."

Yang Kai arched his brow, "So, this arena is also a giant artifact."

Pei Bu Wan nodded his head, "That's right. This arena is an artifact."

Yang Kai replied, "A random terrain will do, then."

With a grin, Pei Bu Wan shot him a glance, "I love how confident you are. Brat, you'd better do your best and win the battle. If you lose, you'll die. To be honest with you, your opponent is a disciple from Asura Cave Heaven."

Hearing that, Yang Kai said, "Yu Luo Sha is from Asura Cave Heaven?"

"Are you afraid now?" Pei Bu Wan looked him in the eyes.

Yang Kai shook his head, "Not really. I'm just worried that if I accidentally kill that person…"

"Don't worry." Pei Bu Wan lifted his hand to cut him off, apparently understanding his worries, "Just kill if you can. There are many disciples from Asura Cave Heaven who lose their lives in the Asura Arenas around the 3,000 Worlds. They won't care about it or retaliate against you at a later date. If they did, no one would ever take part in any battle in this arena again."

"Good."

"One can use any method within the rules in the arena, so you must not hold back." Pei Bu Wan warned him with a solemn expression.

After a grunt, Yang Kai took a seat in the corner and began to meditate. His opponent was ranked 4th on the Mortal Rankings, and they were from Asura Cave Heaven, so it was apparent that they were not a pushover. Although Yang Kai was confident in himself, he planned to go all out as this was a life-or-death battle.

As time passed, the people around the arena became increasingly rowdy, but Yang Kai remained unfazed as he remained as calm as still water.