Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

The Astral Wind never stopped as the entire Shadowless Cave Heaven was devastated by the sandstorm it kicked up.

Two parties silently confronted each other. While Yang Kai was calm and collected, a myriad of expressions came over the three Mountain Lords of Profound Yang Mountain.

“Big Brother,” Zhou Ya called out gently.

Mao Zhe turned to look at her, and as their eyes met, he couldn’t help but recall the moments they had spent together in the past. The coldness on his face slowly melted away.

After a sigh, he gazed at Yang Kai and asked, “Will you ensure our safety if we submit to you?”

Yang Kai arched his brow, “Not only can I ensure your safety, but I can also bring you out of the Shadowless Cave Heaven.”

Mao Zhe shook his head, “How do I know if your Divine Manifestation is able to protect others as well?”

Yang Kai replied with a smile, “It’s easy. Just come over and give it a try if you don’t believe me.”

Mao Zhe nodded, “I’ll do that then.” After he finished speaking, he was ready to charge towards Yang Kai.

Geng Qing immediately stopped him, “I’ll do it, Big Brother!” Before Mao Zhe could object to it, he had already gone on ahead. Apparently, he was worried that Yang Kai might harm Mao Zhe, so he decided to give it a try in his stead.

In the blink of an eye, Geng Qing had already reached Yang Kai, who didn’t stop him and even opened a gap in the Towering Evergreen’s protection to let him come in.

Geng Qing remained vigilant while standing beside Yang Kai. As he looked up at the tree crown and observed the low-hanging branches, his expression was soon transformed by shock.

Standing in the protection range of this ancient tree, he couldn’t feel the slightest harassment from the Astral Wind. Besides that, the ample vitality around him soothed his body and mind, and his fatigued figure seemed to have been rejuvenated in an instant.

He had never seen or heard of such a Divine Manifestation before.

More than ten breaths later, he dashed out of the protection range. Before that, he took a glance at Yang Kai with a conflicted gaze.

Upon his return, he secretly spoke to Mao Zhe and narrated what he had gone through just now. As Mao Zhe listened to him, he narrowed his eyes.

A moment later, Mao Zhe let out a sigh, “Good. We have nowhere else to go in Shadowless Cave Heaven. If you’re able to bring us out of this place, we’re willing to submit to you.”

If he could leave this place, he would have a chance to ascend to the Seventh-Order, which was greatly tempting.

Yang Kai rubbed his palms together and said, “Head Mountain Lord is a straightforward and flexible man. However… how do I know if it’s not just an empty promise? Since you’ve made such a decision, I hope you’ll give me some assurance. I don’t wish for you to betray me one day; after all, we haven’t really been on good terms.”

Mao Zhe snorted, “What kind of assurance do you want? Do you want us to make a heart demon oath?”

“There’s no need for that.” Yang Kai grinned at him and summoned an ancient-looking book, “You just have to use your Blood Essence to write your names in here.”

Mao Zhe’s expression changed, “What’s this?”

“The Loyalty List!” As Yang Kai spoke, he tossed the book at Mao Zhe.

After taking it, Mao Zhe opened it and realised there were only nine pages in the Loyalty List. A person named Chen Tian Fei was on the first page, Hei He was on the second page, and some Yun Xing Hua was on the third page. The rest of the pages were blank.

As he scanned the Loyalty List with his Divine Sense, Mao Zhe realised that the book contained a mysterious power. Although he was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was still unable to see through it.

The thin book felt extremely heavy in his hands, as though it weighed as much as a mountain.

He looked up at Yang Kai and asked, “What’s the use of this thing?”

Yang Kai replied honestly, “Once you leave your name on it, your life will come under my control.”

Mao Zhe’s expression changed.

Geng Qing bellowed, “Brat, don’t go too far!” The three of them were Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. If Yang Kai’s words were true, they would essentially become his slaves by leaving their names in this book. He’d rather die than be humiliated in such a way.

Yang Kai dispassionately said, “You can decide whether you want to leave your names on it or not, I won’t force you. However, what I can tell you is that if you’re willing to leave your names there, I’ll bring you out of the Shadowless Cave Heaven and return you to the 3,000 Worlds. If you’re not willing to do that, it’s fine as well. If we have a chance to get along with one another in the future, you’ll find out what I’m really like.”

Mao Zhe suddenly asked, “What’re the cultivations of these three people?”

Yang Kai was startled for a moment before he realised that the other person was talking about the people on the Loyalty List, then he replied, “Two of them are in the Fourth-Order and the remaining one is in the Fifth-Order.”

Mao Zhe nodded, “The people on the Loyalty List must have some grudges with you. You were not willing to let them off, but you didn’t want to kill them either, so you made them leave their names on the list so they would work for you.”

“Correct.”

“Good.” Mao Zhe nodded, then he put a finger into his mouth and bit it to squeeze out his Blood Essence. After that, he turned to page four of the book and wrote down his name.

“Big Brother!” Geng Qing and Zhou Ya were flabbergasted. Once he left his name there, he would never be able to resist Yang Kai again.

After leaving his name on page four. Mao Zhe tossed the book at Geng Qing and replied, “Rather than waiting for death here, we should seize the chance to live.”

In the meantime, he secretly spoke to the two of them, “I’ve heard about the Loyalty List before. It was made by a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master named Loyalty Demon using the blood and flesh of Xie Zhi. It can be used to enslave Open Heaven Realm Masters, but only those below the High-Rank.”

Although he had already heard about the Loyalty List, he didn’t let his emotions show on his face when Yang Kai mentioned the book’s name.

He was at the peak of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and if he hadn’t been trapped in the Shadowless Cave Heaven where there was a lack of resources, he would’ve ascended to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm a long time ago. If he could return to the outside world, he could gather enough resources and shake off the book’s control in no time.

That was the reason he didn’t even hesitate to leave his name on the book.

Geng Qing and Zhou Ya were excited upon hearing Mao Zhe’s intention but still pretended to know nothing as Geng Qing said through clenched teeth, “Since you’ve made such a decision, Big Brother, I’ll follow suit!”

Then, he squeezed out his Blood Essence and put down his name before passing the book to Zhou Ya.

A moment later, Zhou Ya left her name on page six.

Yang Kai extended his hand and retrieved the book, then flashed a smile at them, “Wise people will submit to the circumstances. I’m glad that you’ve made such a decision. I’m sorry for offending you some time ago. From now on, we’re all one family.”

Mao Zhe replied in a muffled voice, “You didn’t offend us. It was just that we had different stances.”

Yang Kai opened up his Towering Evergreen and beckoned to them, “The wind is strong outside. Please come in here and follow me to seal the Void Crack.”

The three of them exchanged glances and dashed towards Yang Kai.

Upon entering the protection range of the ancient tree, they realised that the Astral Wind was completely shut out. Zhou Ya couldn’t help but let out a breath with a relieved look on her face.

Mao Zhe’s expression turned milder as he examined the branches and fell into his thoughts, “Your Wood Element Divine Manifestation is simply incredible, Brother Yang. What’s the Order of your Wood Element Power?”

After giving it a thought, Yang Kai replied, “I don’t know what Order it is either actually, but it’s a High-Rank one at least.”

He had no idea what the Order of the Immortal Tree was, but upon hearing that, Mao Zhe thought that he simply wasn’t willing to tell him the truth, so he stopped asking.

“A High-Rank Power!” Mao Zhe exclaimed, “Your foundation is indeed solid since you had the guts to condense a High-Rank Power. I saw you using a Fire Element Divine Manifestation and a Water Element Divine Ability that are also of the High-Rank. Did you intend to directly ascend to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm?”

Yang Kai replied with a smile, “That was indeed my original plan, but an accident happened so I only ended up in the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm.”

Mao Zhe’s brow twitched as he was horrified deep down inside.

He couldn’t believe that someone was ambitious enough to plan to directly ascend to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Although Yang Kai didn’t make it in the end, the foundation he had built wouldn’t be wasted. That was the reason he was able to defeat Mao Zhe even though both of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

As they casually chatted, they headed towards the wind source.

They arrived at their destination in just four hours. The Void Crack where the wind source was located was torn apart by Yang Kai using Space Principles. Supposedly, it would slowly heal under the influence of the local World Principles. However, the Astral Wind was extremely abrasive, and the Principles in the Shadowless Cave Heaven were already somewhat broken, so the crack didn’t seem to be showing signs of healing.

The crack was still around even though half a day had passed.

Standing in front of the crack, Yang Kai manipulated his Space Principles and pushed out his palms. As Space Principles undulated, the crack slowly healed wherever his palms moved over.

After an hour, Yang Kai finally managed to close the crack and the Astral Wind disappeared. Next, he put away his Towering Evergreen and frowned before falling into his thoughts.

Mao Zhe and the others had suffered immense losses, so they immediately sat on the ground with their legs crossed. Following that, they fished out piles of Open Heaven Pills and various other resources to refine them in order to make up for the losses in their Small Universes.

Yang Kai didn’t have to do this, so he found a place nearby and started doing his own things.

Half a day later, Mao Zhe opened his eyes and saw a newly created array. Yang Kai appeared busy, but he wasn’t certain what he was doing.

Although Mao Zhe was unresigned and resentful of the young man, he wouldn’t let his emotions show on his face as he had left his name on the Loyalty List. Hence, he went over and asked curiously, “What are you doing, Brother Yang? Do you need my help?”

“There’s no need for that. It’s almost done.” Yang Kai waved his hand.

After observing it for a moment, Mao Zhe finally realised what the young man was doing and asked, “Are you building a Space Array?”

Yang Kai nodded, “En. It takes more than ten days to come here from Twin Spirit Island. It’ll be much easier with a Space Array around.”

“Are you going back to Twin Spirit Island?”

Yang Kai replied with a smile, “The reason I came to the Shadowless Cave Heaven was to look for my companions. Since I’ve found them as well as the exit, we’d better leave this place sooner rather than later. The environment in the Shadowless Cave Heaven is far too hostile.”