Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

After seeing Gu Pan off, Yang Kai turned to Hui Gu, looking him over so meticulously that the latter couldn’t help feeling spooked.

“What is it, Sir?” Hui Gu hurriedly asked.

“Did nobody invite you to join Prison League?” Yang Kai asked.

Startled, Hui Gu hurriedly explained, “This one has already submitted to you, Sir. I will always follow you, Sir! I will never join an evil force like Prison League willingly!”

“Relax!” Yang Kai patted Hui Gu on the shoulder and cheerfully said, “I know how loyal you are to me, but joining Prison League is not in conflict with your loyalty to me.”

“Sir, do you mean…” Hui Gu seemed to have caught on to Yang Kai’s intentions.

Yang Kai affirmed, “There are no more fish to catch here. As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, I’m sure you will obtain quite a high position if you join Prison League. At that time, we should work together from both inside and out…”

Hui Gu immediately understood, “A good idea, Sir!” He pondered in silence for a moment before he added, “Logically speaking, somebody should have invited this one to join when Prison League was established. Since I didn’t receive an invitation, it’s quite possible that the invitation bearer was killed by you, Sir!”

“Uh…” Yang Kai stiffened in surprise and nodded lightly, “That’s certainly possible.”

During the time he spent waiting in the tree cave, he had caught three large fish and many other small fries. There was a high possibility that the people sent by Prison League to deliver an invitation to Hui Gu had died at his hands.

“But, it’s not a problem. If I take the initiative to join Prison League, I believe those old farts won’t turn me away.” Hui Gu volunteered.

“Go, but be careful!” Yang Kai nodded.

They exchanged means to communicate with each other; then, Hui Gu immediately set off to search for the location of Prison League.

With the Loyalty List in his hand, Yang Kai had no need to fear that Hui Gu might betray him. As long as Hui Gu could join Prison League without issues, he could act as a spy for Yang Kai. In that way, Yang Kai would be the first to obtain news about Prison League’s movements.

One day after Hui Gu departed, Yang Kai set off with Lu Jing.

Four or five months had passed since the Dao Theory Assembly kicked off and the situation on the Prison Star that started off as a chaotic mess had gradually settled. The weak had chosen to huddle together to stay warm, desperately seeking shelter and protection from other Masters as a result. That was how Prison League was born.

The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Prison Star were powerful existences with deep heritage from the long years of accumulation since their advancement. In a one-on-one battle, the participants from the major Cave-Heavens and Paradises would be no match for them; however, the strength of the veteran Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would become lacking if it turned into a two-on-one battle.

Of course, while the newly-advanced Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave-Heavens and Paradises knew how to work together, so did the veteran Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Prison Star.

Since Prison League came into being, it had madly absorbed all the criminals on the Prison Star and became an enormous behemoth in a very short time frame. Throughout the existence of the Prison Star, this was the first time the criminals had ever been so united.

The process on Hui Gu’s side went very smoothly. He was one of the Masters that Prison League had wanted to invite from the start, so now that he took the initiative to join them, it was only natural that he was taken in quickly and given the role of a Protector.

Prison League’s Headquarters was located on a piece of barren land called the Yellow Spring Cave. It was originally the secluded home of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master by the name of Huang Quan, also known as Yellow Spring Heavenly Monarch, but this place had been transformed into the Headquarters of Prison League out of necessity.

With Huang Quan’s strength, he could be considered a first-class existence on the Prison Star. Even the jade slip that Qu Hua Shang gave to Yang Kai had specially flagged this person along with a handful of other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to warn Yang Kai to be careful if he encountered them.

That was because these Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were existences on the verge of advancing into the Seventh-Order. It could be said that they had reached the peak of the Sixth-Order. As a result, they were existences on the same level as Yang Kai’s subordinate, Mao Zhe. Even after being imprisoned on the Prison Star for so many years, their strength would not have decreased by much.

Yellow Spring Heavenly Monarch had established Prison League and proclaimed himself as Prison League’s Master. There were two Vice League Masters and six Protectors serving under him, all of whom were in the Sixth-Order.

It could be said that Prison League had nine Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters as their strongest combat force. Now that Hui Gu had joined them, that number reached an incredible ten Sixth-Order Masters.

Besides the five Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters killed by Yang Kai, Prison League had gathered almost all of the remaining Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters under its banner. Even if some were missing, there were not many of them.

This was only taking into account the Sixth-Order Masters. There were countless more with cultivations below the Sixth-Order.

This information was what Hui Gu secretly passed to Yang Kai after he joined Prison League.

The criminals had huddled together to keep warm, resulting in the establishment of a powerful great force like Prison League. In turn, the cultivators participating in the Dao Theory Assembly began bemoaning their misfortune.

In the previous months, they were able to hunt down some of the criminals and reap some achievements. Although many of them also died as a result, in general, there was a balance of losses and gains.

However, it became extremely difficult to find and kill any lone criminals since Prison League was established. The criminals of Prison League would move about in groups whenever they travelled anywhere; moreover, these groups were always led by Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at the very least.

Five made up a Small Team; ten formed a Medium Team; and twenty or more formed a Large Team. If the lone cultivators participating in the Dao Theory Assembly ran into these groups, their strength would not be enough for them to resist. The only fate waiting for them was death. As such, the number of fatalities among the cultivators participating in the Dao Theory Assembly increased sharply.

The establishment of Prison League also forced the cultivators participating in the Dao Theory Assembly to form their own groups. It was just that there was no rallying call for unification. Not to mention, they were scattered all over the Prison Star. Their groups simply consisted of good friends or general acquaintances temporarily travelling together, which did not improve their safety by much.

With the help of Hui Gu acting as a spy, Yang Kai gained a lot of benefits. Hui Gu was one of the seven Protectors of Prison League, so it was only natural that he had access to inside information, which he quietly passed on to Yang Kai, allowing the latter to enjoy success again and again.

Yang Kai and Lu Jing both sat down cross-legged in an extremely dry and hot cave located in the belly of a barren mountain about 150 kilometres away from Yellow Spring Cave.

All of a sudden, Yang Kai’s expression changed. He took out and examined the communication bead, then he slowly got to his feet.

Sensing movement, Lu Jing quickly opened his eyes “Senior Brother, are you going out?”

Yang Kai nodded, “This trip might be a little dangerous. Wait here for me!”

Lu Jing was aware that his strength was lacking. The last few times Yang Kai had made a move, he could only watch from afar with no means of participating in the battle at all. Thus, he nodded at those words, “Take care, Senior Brother.”

Yang Kai smiled and strode out, his figure rapidly becoming a blur on the horizon.

An hour later, Yang Kai quietly laid in ambush on top of a barren mountain while concealing his aura. According to the information from Hui Gu, Prison League had arranged a large deployment this time. If everything went well, he would be able to reap a great harvest.

It didn’t take long before numerous figures approached quickly from a distance. There were many people, as many as a dozen or so. In addition, they were led by three Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Such a line-up could be considered a very powerful Medium Team. Most cultivators would be powerless against them. Be that as it may, this group of people was nothing more than an abundant harvest to Yang Kai!

These people landed on the barren mountain, seemingly with a clear goal in mind. They immediately began searching the area with a fine-toothed comb. Their Divine Senses surged turbulently as they probed their surroundings. Although it was vague, they seemed to have formed a simple Formation between them that connected their auras with one another. The amplification might not be large, but it was enough to enhance their respective auras slightly.

Yang Kai remained hidden in the shadows, concealing his aura. With his cultivation in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he was not afraid of being discovered by this group.

After waiting for a short while, Yang Kai abruptly summoned the Azure Dragon Spear when the enemy group entered a suitable range and swept out with his weapon.

Caught off guard, the dozen or so people were thrown off their feet, with a number of them exploding into blood mist on the spot. Black light burst forth and plunged into Yang Kai’s golden wristband shortly after.

Horrified screams rang out as those who were lucky enough to survive did not hesitate to act. They quickly used their respective Secret Techniques and artifacts to bombard Yang Kai indiscriminately.

Yang Kai’s spear danced. Drawing upon his strength as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he defended against this barrage of attacks before carrying forward his momentum to thrust out his spear again.

At this moment, five people suddenly emerged in a ghostly manner, each one of them possessing a powerful aura. The two people standing in the lead were both in the Sixth-Order. One of them was a fair-faced man. It was none other than Hui Gu. The other person was a tall and dignified middle-aged man with greying hair.

As soon as they appeared, they activated their power at the same time to cover Yang Kai from above. It was obvious that they were prepared in advance. The middle-aged man shouted, “We’ve been waiting a long time for you!”

Yang Kai ‘paled in shock’ and raised his spear to block.

*Hong...*

His body was shaken badly and Golden Blood spurted out of his mouth. His expression immediately fell and he staggered backward by a significant distance. Barely able to steady his figure, he raised his head to look at them with an uncertain and fearful expression, “Who are you!?”

Hui Gu’s brow twitched at the sight. He took a careful look at the blood trickling out of Yang Kai’s mouth and thought to himself, [Sir sure has great acting skills. If I had not known the truth, I would have been fooled by his performance.]

Still, stepping forward, he announced lightly, “This Monarch is Hui Gu!”

The middle-aged man held a pale blue longsword in his hand, one that flashed slightly as he coldly snorted, “This Monarch is Void Mind Heavenly Monarch, Wu Nian!”

“Two Heavenly Monarchs!?” Yang Kai wiped at the blood at the corners of his mouth, his expression becoming extremely solemn. Coldly observing the many Open Heaven Realm Masters that were forming an encirclement around him, he snorted softly to himself, “Prison League sure is giving me great respect. I can’t believe they dispatched two Heavenly Monarchs to ambush this King!”

Wu Nian ground his teeth, “You’ve ambushed and killed 36 members from Prison League. Did you really think we would be so easily bullied!? I don’t care which Cave-Heaven or Paradise you come from. This place will be your burial ground today!”

With the help of the information provided by Hui Gu, Yang Kai had attacked Prison League three times recently and killed many of its members, including a number in the Fifth-Order. As a result, he naturally caught the attention of Prison League’s leaders.

After investigating the three battlefields, Prison League determined that it was the work of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; moreover, this Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was acting alone. They could not remain indifferent to the culprit behind these attacks; hence, Hui Gu suggested a plan to lure out the culprit.

Sure enough, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who secretly attacked from the shadows had made his move again, but this time, two of Prison League’s Protectors were hidden nearby to finally put an end to this menace.

“Huh?” Wu Nian suddenly noticed the dense stars covering the golden wristband on Yang Kai’s wrist and couldn’t help feeling shocked. [Just how many people did this guy kill in the short span of six months? How did he accumulate such horrifying achievements!?]