Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Ashish

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

A 10,000 metres long Great Dragon was buried under the Crouching Dragon Mountains, and over the years, its blood had completely drained.

However, even after so many years, the Great Dragon's corpse showed no signs of decay. It was quite evident that its physique was extremely resilient. It only looked dry and desiccated because of a lack of blood. Furthermore, Yang Kai also found that the Great Dragon was missing many of its organs.

From the horrifying wounds all over its body, it wasn't difficult to imagine what a terrifying battle it must have fought before its death.

The carcass of such a Great Dragon was full of treasure even after countless years. The Dragon Scales, Dragon Bones, and Dragon Tendons could all be used for Artifact Refining, making its value immeasurable.

What Yang Kai couldn't figure out was who or what had killed this Great Dragon. Judging by its size, it must have been tremendously powerful, yet it still perished in battle. What's more, from the shape of its wounds, its opponent should not have been small either.

The Dragon Clan was the Head of Myriad Spirits, so who could threaten it? Even someone as strong as Mie Meng was imprisoned by the Dragon Clan.

Suddenly, Yang Kai thought of an entity, one that was called the nemesis of the Dragon Clan, treating Dragons as prey!

It was absolutely impossible for a member of the Dragon Clan as strong as this to be a native of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. It was very likely that it was sucked into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, just as he was, and after arriving here, it succumbed to its injuries.

Yang Kai was just making speculations though and had no way to find out the truth.

Suddenly, Yang Kai's attention was drawn to something.

He noticed unusual energy fluctuations coming from somewhere inside the Dragon's body, so he started moving along it in the direction of the energy fluctuations.

After an incense stick of time, Yang Kai finally reached the location of the source, a sphere the size of a basin. The sphere was perfectly round and gave off a light brown glow.

The Dragon Blood in Yang Kai's body boiled as he stood before the ball in a daze for a while before his eyes lit up, "A Dragon Bead!"

Every True Dragon had a Dragon Bead, an essential part of their foundation. Just like a Monster Beasts' Monster Core, the Dragon Bead was where Dragons stored their Spiritual Essence.

The Dragon carcass was buried here for countless years, and although Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong could tell that there was something strange below ground, they couldn't reach it because of the bloodline suppression, so the Dragon Bead had remained untouched to this day.

What surprised Yang Kai was that this Dragon Bead was actually an Earth Attribute treasure!

And what he desperately needed now was an Earth Attribute material!

Of the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, Yang Kai had already condensed his Wood and Fire Elements. Wood stoked Fire, and Fire gave birth to Earth. So, the next Element he had to condense was Earth. Previously, Yang Kai had been thinking about where he could find a suitable Earth Element. He had inquired about it many times, but unfortunately he had been unable to find anything. He had never expected for his quest to end here.

But whether this Dragon Bead met his requirements or not was yet to be tested.

[It should be okay.] Yang Kai thought in his heart; after all, this Great Dragon was 10,000 metres long before its death, so the quality of its Dragon Bead couldn't be poor.

Yang Kai reached out towards the Dragon Bead.

The moment he came in contact with it, a fearsome Dragon Pressure radiated from it. The next moment, a vivid illusion of a fierce-looking Great Dragon charging straight at him like it was going to swallow him in one bite appeared.

Yang Kai shivered and promptly stimulated his Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength. With a great dragon roar, the illusion collapsed.

Immediately after, a gentle and heavy Power of Earth came from the Dragon Bead. Yang Kai couldn't help but smile, feeling the purity and richness of this Earth Element.

Yang Kai's guess was right. The Power of Earth in the Dragon Bead indeed met his criteria. Although he didn't know how to determine its Order, he could tell that it wasn't any inferior to the Golden Crow's True Fire.

[This is really wearing out iron shoes while seeking one's feet!] Yang Kai had the urge to throw back his head and laugh towards the Heavens.

This discovery alone made his trip to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary worthwhile!

Rubbing his hands, Yang Kai respectfully bowed to the huge Dragon Bead as he spoke, "Senior, you have been dead for many years, so it would be a waste for your Dragon Bead to remain here. Today, this Junior will take the liberty to borrow Senior's Dragon Bead. If my cultivation someday succeeds, I will not bring disgrace to the Senior's prestige!"

After saying so, Yang Kai rubbed his hands and circled around the Dragon Bead a few times. After he found a more comfortable position, he sat down cross-legged and placed his hands on the Dragon Bead. He closed his eyes and prompted his Dao Seal to absorb the Power of Earth in the Dragon Bead.

In an instant, the Dragon Bead started glowing brighter as the rich Power of Earth that had been collecting dust for many millennia flowed along Yang Kai's palms and madly poured into him like he was a whale swallowing water.

There were only two colours, black and green, in Yang Kai's Dao Seal, but as he absorbed the Power of Earth, a khaki-coloured wisp was gradually being added to it, giving onlookers a thick and robust feeling.

The Earth Element's speciality was defense. Not to mention that it was the Dragon Bead energy of a 10,000 metres long Great Dragon.

Slowly, Yang Kai forgot himself and the outside world, completely devoting himself to refining this Earth Element.

Days passed by one by one. Outside, Yue He and the others found a spot and set up camp. As they were guarded by Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong, no one dared to trouble them. Occasionally, some cultivators would pass by, but seeing the two vicious exotic beasts, they would immediately keep their distance.

But Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong were like natural enemies. They were very unreasonable. They often got entangled with each other for some inexplicable reason and started fighting. Fortunately, they had a sense of propriety and never fought to the death. But these kinds of battles would inevitably result in injuries.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by. Everyone had passed this time at ease and leisure, but the fact that Yang Kai wasn't back yet made Yue He a little worried.

Before Yang Kai had left, he too had said that he would return in three to five days, but now, half a month had passed and he was nowhere to be found. Yue He was becoming worried and restless.

Just as she was about to venture deeper to investigate, she suddenly felt the World Energy flow change.

Upon silently sensing it, the source was the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountains, which was the direction Yang Kai left in. It made Yue He slightly frown, wondering, [What is he doing there? What is taking him so long? Now, he has even caused the flow of World Energy to change.]

But because of this, she could say for sure that Yang Kai was safe and sound.

Over the next few days, the change in World Energy became more and more obvious. It had turned into a World Energy tide, as if there was a behemoth breathing in the aura of the entire Crouching Dragon Mountain Range. And every time it breathed, it also caused a World Energy turbulence within a thousand kilometers.

Suddenly, Yue He looked shocked!

Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong also stopped fighting as they looked towards the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountain. Obviously, they too had sensed something.

Suddenly, a Dragon Roar reverberated through the world, reaching the highest Heavens.

Yue He and others turned their heads and looked in that direction in unison while Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong's reaction was even more exaggerated as they directly prostrated on the ground, trembling.

Chen Yue leaned over and nervously asked, "Senior, what was that?"

Yue He solemnly replied, "A Dragon Roar!"

Meng Hong asked in shock, "There's a True Dragon there?"

Yue He furrowed his brow before her figure moved, "You guys stay here, I'll go take a look."

Saying so, her figure disappeared into thin air.

In the depths of the Crouching Dragon Mountains, Yang Kai was still sitting with his legs crossed, maintaining his previous posture, but at this moment, his clothes were dancing in the air even when there was no wind blowing here. Even his black hair was dancing.

His body was surrounded by a tri-coloured glow. The essence of the vibrant Immortal Tree, the unstoppable Golden Crow's True Fire, the thick and heavy energy of the Dragon Bead, the three energies were circling around Yang Kai like three rings of light, rotating endlessly.

The huge Dragon Bead in front him was now dull and bleak. The Power of Earth that had been stored in it for countless years had been absorbed down to the last strand by Yang Kai.

Yang Kai finally opened his eyes, which were full of brilliance at the moment.

With a cracking sound, the huge Dragon Bead shattered into dust and dissipated.

Yang Kai slowly stood up and gently clenched his fists. He could clearly feel that his body was filled with explosive power. He scanned his body, and found the Power of Wood, Fire, and Earth in his Dao Seal were coexisting perfectly, mutually promoting and restraining each other.

His body shook as the three coloured rings around his body dissipated as everything returned to normal.

Yang Kai slightly furrowed his brow.

The process of gathering the Power of Earth this time could be said to be extremely smooth. It was much easier than when he was condensing the Golden Crow's True Fire. It might be because he was familiar with the process now, or it may be related to the Dragon Bead itself.

Yang Kai could be considered as a member of the Dragon Clan, so he had a unique advantage in gathering the energy of the Dragon Bead.

Furthermore, Yang Kai vaguely felt that not only had he successfully absorbed the Power of Earth in the Dragon Bead, but he also seemed to have gained something else.

Yang Kai stretched his hand out and pointed towards the front. The next moment, a prismatic yellowish-brown shield appeared out of thin air. Even though it looked as thin as a cicada's wing, Yang Kai could feel that it was extremely strong and robust.

This was the Innate Dragon Technique found in the Dragon Bead!

Yang Kai raised his brow at this sight. Although he had entered the Dragon Palace on Dragon Island of the Star Boundary, and practiced many Secret Techniques of the Dragon Clan with the help of his Golden Divine Dragon Source, at the end of the day, what he was doing was just imitation and it took him a lot of time and effort to use these techniques.

But now, he could cast this Dragon Technique at will, just like it was his own Innate Divine Ability. Not only was it fast, but its consumption was almost negligible.

Yang Kai sunk into his thoughts. [I guess this Innate Dragon Technique was mastered by this 10,000 metres long Great Dragon, and now I have inherited it. What's more, it should not be just this one technique. There should be some more, but I have just gathered this Earth Element, so I can only slowly comprehend these techniques.]

Yang Kai couldn't help but think, [I now possess the Innate Dragon Techniques of a 10,000 metres Great Dragon after absorbing its Dragon Bead. So what about the Golden Crow's True Fire? Are there any Secret Techniques in the Golden Crow's True Fire? And then there is also the Immortal Tree's essence, I might learn something from it too, right?]

[I will need time to test these theories. I shouldn't hurry.]

After settling his mood, Yang Kai looked around.

After having gathered the Earth Element, the next thing to do was to collect this Great Dragon's carcass.

The Dragon's corpse was 10,000 metres long and buried deep under the Crouching Dragon Mountain. For ordinary people, just coming here would have been extremely difficult while no Space Ring was big enough to fit it unless the dragon carcass was dismembered and taken into separate rings.

Fortunately, Yang Kai had the Sealed World Bead!