Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai had also grown used to her presence and nodded lightly.

"Senior Brother Yang!" Meng Hong and the others cupped their fists, looking as if a weight had been lifted off their chests.

"Subordinate greets Sir!" Guo Zi Yan said resoundingly while more than thirty people behind her cupped their fists in unison, "Greetings Sir, congratulations on your return!" Each one of them spoke with great vigour, their voices filled with respect and admiration!

It was hard not to admire him though as just several days ago, none of them expected that a mere Emperor Realm cultivator could actually achieve such unimaginable feats. Other than Guo Zi Yan, who was in the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm, the rest of them were all Emperor Realm cultivators. What they had witnessed made this young man a totem of worship in their hearts.

"No need for formalities, get up." Yang Kai raised his hand.

Only then did Guo Zi Yan and the others stand up.

Yue He pursed her lips into a smile as she commented, "Young Master should know that Commander Guo has withdrawn from Scarlet Star. Now, he is no longer one of Scarlet Star's men."

"Resigned as a Great Commander?" Yang Kai glanced at Guo Zi Yan and the people behind him, nodding, "That's not a bad idea. What do you plan to do in the future?"

Guo Zi Yan cupped his fist and quickly said, "This subordinate is willing to follow Sir in the future and be at Sir's service!"

"We are willing to follow and serve Sir!" The rest spoke in unison.

Yang Kai knew that these men must have been stamped with his seal after the fight that day. No matter who, these men were all his people now, so Scarlet Star probably didn't dare to keep them either, allowing them to easily leave.

Guo Zi Yan was a man of good disposition. Back then on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, he did not retreat even half a step under Thunder Light's intimidation, willing to share life and death with Yang Kai. It was clear he was a trustworthy man. Only, his cultivation was slightly low at the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even if his strength could be elevated later, he would only be able to reach the Fourth Order at best.

But a man's heart was more important. His low cultivation was no issue. What's more, Yang Kai really needed some subordinates to deal with miscellaneous matters right now, so he nodded and said, "Very well. In that case, you will follow me in the future. I can't guarantee anything else, but I will not let you suffer any injustice as long as you are sincere and loyal!"

Everyone felt their spirits lift as they shouted, "Many thanks, Sir!"

Each of them was overwhelmed with joy. With an unparalleled star such as Yang Kai watching over them, then their status would surely rise in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Who would they have to fear in the future?

"Congratulations, Commander Guo! You've finally achieved your dream," Yue He congratulated him joyously from the side.

Guo Zi Yan's face blushed and he responded embarrassedly, "Please don't make fun of this lowly one, Lady Yue He. This one will be seeking Lady's guidance in the future."

Yue He smiled even more brilliantly.

After that, Yue He took out a Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai, "These are the things from the enemies you killed before. I've collected them all and sorted them into different categories."

Yang Kai casually accepted it, glanced at it, and then put it away without a change in his expression.

Yue He was surprised at this sight. There were quite a lot of things in that ring; after all, it was the combined wealth of 3,000 people. The Space Rings of those Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were especially heavy with wealth. She thought that Yang Kai would be happy to receive such a fortune, but unexpectedly, he didn't react at all.

[Could it possibly be that he is already satisfied from the last harvest from the Yuan Magnetic Mountain?]

While she was still feeling surprised, she heard Yang Kai say, "It's good that you have this experience. I'll have to trouble you to work a little more in the future then."

With those words, Yang Kai suddenly waved his hand.

In the next moment, there was an endless clanking sound. Then, a large pile of Space Rings instantly appeared in the courtyard before everyone's eyes, piled high like a small mountain.

Everyone was shocked speechless, and they all stared at the pile in a daze with indescribable astonishment in their hearts.

The Space Rings in front of them must have numbered in the tens of thousands!

Yue He's face paled and her voice was trembling as she asked, "Young Master, how many people have you killed?"

She was about to cry. Wasn't this Young Master's murderous intent a little too strong? He had only made one trip to Sword Pavilion's headquarters, so how did he end up killing so many?

No wonder Yang Kai didn't even blink at the Space Ring when she handed it over. That was only an accumulation of 3,000 people, whereas Yang Kai had tens of thousands of people's wealth here. The two couldn't even be compared, so how could such a small amount even faze him?

Guo Zi Yan and the others were also dumbfounded.

Just as Yue He thought, each Space Ring represented a life, and several tens of thousands of Space Rings meant several tens of thousands of people had died. Yang Kai left for just three or four days, so how could so many people have died at his hand in such a short time?

What's more, where in Sword Pavilion did he find this many people to kill?

Yue He's heart clenched. Her Young Master couldn't have had a spike in his bloodlust and wiped out the entire Star City, right? If that was truly the case, then this was no small matter.

"The situation is complicated. I'll explain it to you later," Then, Yang Kai beckoned, "Guo Zi Yan."

"Subordinate is present," Guo Zi Yan responded solemnly, his heart beating intensely.

"Have your men sort through these Space Rings, the same as before."

"Yes!" Guo Zi Yan gulped. Even with several dozen people, sorting the contents of tens of thousands of Space Rings was still going to be a lot of work that would take them at least ten days to half a month.

Meng Hong said, "Let me help, too."

Yang Kai nodded, "I'll be troubling you then, Brother Meng."

Meng Hong laughed, "Nothing of the sort, Brother Yang. This Meng cannot be more grateful for your bestowment of the Sun's True Fire. Such a trivial matter isn't even worth mentioning."

After leaving Guo Zi Yan, Meng Hong, and the others in the courtyard to deal with the Space Rings, Yang Kai summoned Yue He into the hall. Yue He poured him a cup of tea and looked at him nervously before asking, "Young Master, what happened? You couldn't have really slaughtered everyone in the Star City, right?"

Killing some people was no big deal, but if Yang Kai really did raze Sword Pavilion's Star City to the ground, it would be highly improper. She was worried that a heart demon would be bred in the future from such a wanton slaughter, leading Yang Kai to fall to the demonic path.

How could she not be nervous?

"How can that be the case?" Picking up the cup of tea, Yang Kai sat down boldly on a chair. He had gone to pick a fight with Sword Pavilion, but even if he had fought it out with them, he wouldn't have involved innocents, let alone slaughtered an entirety Star City, "I already told you, things are complicated."

"Then what happened?" Moving her round hips over, Yue He sat down on the chair next to him.

Yang Kai frowned, "Before I could arrive, Sword Pavilion's Star City had already been razed. Everyone was dead. I just picked up their Space Rings."

"Picked them up..." Yue He was speechless. This kind of luck was simply too good. He had merely run over there and was able to pick up tens of thousands of Space Rings. It was a massive fortune, but soon, Yue He realized the severity of the situation and asked, "Sword Pavilion's Star City was already razed? Who would be strong enough to do such a thing?"

Though the Star City was not too strong among the 3,000 Worlds, Sword Pavilion was considered a fairly powerful force. Who could wipe them out?

"A Beast Tide!" Yang Kai sighed, "But it was no simple Beast Tide. It's not the same as the ones we've encountered before. I did not see the details, but even Sword Pavilion's Pavilion Master died there. Not a single person was left alive."

"Even Sword Pavilion's Pavilion Master died?" Yue He was well and truly shocked. She knew that this Pavilion Master was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, an Order above her. Such a character would even have a place in the Cave-Heavens and Paradises, but he actually died in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? Shaken, she asked, "How do you know that it was Sword Pavilion's Pavilion Master?"

"Lu Xue told me; otherwise, how would I have known?" Yang Kai put down his tea and grinned meaningfully, "You probably can't imagine whose hands Sword Pavilion's Pavilion Master died at."

Yue He had a curious look on her face, and Yang Kai didn't keep her hanging, "A Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!"

Yue He's face suddenly paled. Clearly, she knew what the existence of a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider represented. That was an Ancient Divine Spirit! It was an existence that stood at the peak of the world. Only High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would be able to face it.

"While I was collecting the Space Rings in the Star City, I also bumped into a strange guy with a mantis head." While speaking, Yang Kai brought out the mantis head's corpse.

Yue He looked over at it, but saw no head on the corpse. Its body was covered in turquoise skin, and the two scythe-like arms were extremely sharp. There were reversed spikes on its leg bones. Even though the body was humanoid, it remained largely similar to a Monster Beast.

"This guy was not simple. I was heavily injured by him and was only able to recover after three days." Yang Kai flicked a finger at the corpse.

"He managed to injure you?" Yue He was surprised. But then, she had a suspicious look on her face, "That's strange... If he could hurt you, then his strength must not have been bad, so how did he end up like this? He should have assumed Human Form long ago."

"That puzzled me, too. That's why I brought him back so you can have a look at him. How much do you know about the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?"

Yue He shook her head gravely, "I don't know much, either. I've only heard some rumours before now. Only those who came in the past and left safely would know what the situation inside is like."

After pondering for a moment, she guessed, "This Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary's World Principles are extremely strange. For example, exotic beasts like the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon have quite good strength and, logically, they should have assumed human form long ago, but their sentience still remains low. Perhaps it's because of the strange World Principles here that this... Uh, this mantis head would remain in a half-Human half-Beast form. At least, I think that's why."

Yang Kai nodded, "That's the only possibility, it seems. But Divine Spirits also exist in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary... This place is not as simple as we thought it was."

Yue He felt the same. Even an existence such as Sword Pavilion could be destroyed by a Beast Tide, so clearly it wasn't too safe here for Scarlet Star either. Not to mention the existence of a terrifying Ancient Divine Spirit... If there were more of these mantis heads, then Scarlet Star may not be able to survive. This was a creature that was able to injure Yang Kai, so ordinary people would not be able to resist in the slightest. Yue He even doubted that she would be able to last more than an incense stick of time in a fight with this guy.

"No matter what, let's be careful from now on." Yang Kai was already thinking of a way out. If one day, the exit of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was barred by a Divine Spirit, then he needed to find a chance to get away.

As the two were talking, Chen Yue walked in from outside and cautiously observed Yang Kai's face for a moment before announcing, "Sir, Scarlet Star's Managers are seeking an audience outside."