Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Inside the palace, there were nearly fifty people wearing the disciple uniforms of Shadow Moon Hall, each of them looking neat and dignified. The other hundred were wearing other assorted dress.

Seemingly understanding Yang Kai’s doubts, Qian Tong took the initiative to explain, “My Shadow Moon Hall has a total of fifty quotas to use as we see fit, but the other families and Sects attached to Shadow Moon Hall also have their own quotas as well, although not nearly as many per force. On top of that, there are some forces and families here who have no relationship with Shadow Moon Hall but because they are located near Heavenly Fate City, they will be travelling together with us.”

Yang Kai suddenly realized that this was the reason why so many people had gathered inside this hall.

The great forces on Shadowed Star had apparently managed this situation quite fairly, not even trying to swallow all the benefits by themselves. They had allocated some entry quotas to the smaller Sects and families, but whether they could obtain anything would be up to their own effort and means.

It was no wonder last time Qian Tong had said that each time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, the number of people who entered was no less than ten thousand.

Shadowed Star was simply too big, and even if each force wasn’t granted many quotas, after adding them all together, reaching ten thousand wouldn’t be a problem.

As Qian Tong walked inside, Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and looked in a certain direction as he felt a sharp, hate-filled glare being directed towards him.

Yang Kai was very sensitive to this kind of gaze and could easily notice it.

When the two people’s eyes met, the opposite party’s face twitched slightly before quickly turning away.

Xie Hong Wen!

[He’s going too?] Last time, when Xie Hong Wen went to Dragon Cave Mountain to find trouble with Yang Kai, if it wasn’t for Qian Tong’s prompt arrival, Xie Hong Wen would have died. This delinquent Young Master was nothing but a mud wall unable to hold water. Although he had a First Order Saint King cultivation, he clearly had very poor combat strength, so how could he dare go on this dangerous expedition?

What surprised Yang Kai even more though was that Xie Hong Wen wasn’t wearing a Shadow Moon Hall uniform. Behind him were two Third-Order Saint Kings who were similarly dressed and seemed to be responsible for protecting him.

“Senior, can people be killed inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field?” Yang Kai suddenly asked lightly.

Seeing Yang Kai staring towards Xie Hong Wen, Qian Tong was naturally clear about his intentions and nodded with a sneer, “Yes, so Nephew Yang should be careful not to contract any enmity with others. However, if someone dares to bully you, there’s no need to act leniently. Whatever the consequences, this old master will handle it for you.”

“Then I will thank Senior in advance,” Yang Kai also sneered, if Xie Hong Wen restrained himself in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, ignoring him wouldn’t be a problem, but if he dared seek vengeance, Yang Kai would not show mercy a second time, not killing him last time was simply out of consideration for Qian Tong’s face.

Qian Tong also seemed a little annoyed. After all, he had spent quite a lot of effort last time to save Xie Hong Wen’s life, yet this idiot not only did not appreciate it but instead had bore a grudge.

If he insisted on bringing destruction down upon himself, Qian Tong was disinclined to care about him.

“That fool isn’t eligible to enter Flowing Flame Sand Field, my Shadow Moon Hall wouldn’t give a quota to such a waste.” For some unknown reason, Qian Tong continued whispering to Yang Kai, “But his father spent a high price to purchase three quotas from a small family affiliated with Shadow Moon Hall, to allow him to enter. Those two Third Order Saint Kings are just disciples of their Xie Family, they have no relationship with my Shadow Moon Hall.”

Naturally, Qian Tong meant there was no issue with killing them.

What surprised Yang Kai, however, was that the quotas to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field could be bought and sold, something he immediately asked about.

Qian Tong simply laughed, “Naturally they are transferable, the allocation of quotas is determined in advance by all the great forces, and they are then distributed to the qualified forces, but how they handle them is their business.”

“Doesn’t that mean that as long as there is a force with enough courage and means, they can send in a far larger number of people than their assigned quota?” Yang Kai immediately thought of something.

“Indeed, but that being said, the Flowing Flame Sand Field is too dangerous, so how could those smaller forces dare to send in too many of their elites? Once their losses reach a certain point, their very foundation will become damaged which will be extremely detrimental to their development. But Nephew Yang thinking is correct, in addition to the fifty quotas my Shadow Moon Hall is assigned, we also purchased twenty more from smaller families. In other words, there are a total of seventy disciples from my Shadow Moon Hall participating this time.”

“I see,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

“There are many things to pay attention to in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Last time Nephew Yang was in a hurry so this old man did not have time to explain all of them to you, so I suggest you travel together with Gu Chang and Xuan’er so they can pass this information along to you. If there is anything Nephew Yang is uncertain about, don’t hesitate to ask them,” Qian Tong exhorted.

“Okay,” Yang Kai smiled slightly, knowing that this was done intentionally by Qian Tong to create an opportunity for Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er to establish a good relationship with him, so naturally he wouldn’t refuse.

As the two were talking, they arrived in front of the Space Array where Qian Tong beckoned to Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er.

“You two head out first with Yang Kai. You don’t have to wait for the rest of us in Calm River City, just proceed to the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Your Martial Uncle Wang and Martial Uncle Yan are already waiting there for you. When you arrive, they will give you further instructions. This old master will lead the rest of our group to meet up with you later.”

“Yes,” Wei Gu Chang nodded respectfully before smiling towards Yang Kai, “Greeting, Brother Yang.”

His attitude this time was many times better than previously; obviously he had been carefully advised by Qian Tong. Dong Xuan’er also gave an elegant greeting.

Yang Kai returned the greeting in kind before the three of them stepped onto the Space Array.

The Space Array had already been prepared and was simply waiting for its passengers to board before activating.

The Shadow Moon Hall disciple who was managing the Space Array saw the three youths stand ready and quickly activated the Spirit Array. A white light flashed and the three disappeared. Qian Tong then began arranging for the others to use the Space Array.

This Space Array could only transmit up to five people at once, so transmitting nearly two hundred people would take an hour or two.

On the other side, Yang Kai only felt a slight bit of vertigo before he recovered, finding himself in another hall.

There was also a Space Array in this hall. Yang Kai couldn’t identify which force the disciple guarding this Space Array was from, but after seeing the three of them appearing, this disciple quickly asked, “Are you from Shadow Moon Hall?”

Wei Gu Chang nodded and took out a token from his sleeve, handing it over to the man. The man briefly examined this token before nodding and returning it.

Outside the hall, Wei Gu Chang said, “Brother Yang, please follow us. This is Calm River City is about a million kilometres away from Heavenly Fate City, but we’ll still need to fly for a day or two to reach the Flowing. Edge of Flame Sand Field.”

“Please lead the way, Brother Wei,” Yang Kai nodded, he wasn’t familiar with the geography of Shadowed Star, so he naturally allowed Wei Gu Chang to take the lead.

Wei Gu Chang nodded before quickly summoning his Star Shuttle, hopping aboard, then stretching out his hand towards Dong Xuan’er.

Dong Xuan’er’s face flushed slightly, shooting him a slightly angry look, as if blaming him for acting so boldly in front of others.

Wei Gu Chang simply laughed though, “Brother Yang is not an outsider, what is there to be shy about?”

Dong Xuan’er knew she couldn’t dissuade him, so stretched out her hand and allowed Wei Gu Chang to pull her up onto the Star Shuttle.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit impressed. This kind of scene made him feel a little warm and his perception of Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er changed quite a bit. Immediately after, he too summoned his Star Shuttle.

Two blue lights flashed and the trio flew off, quickly leaving Calm River City.

Like Yang Kai, Wei Gu Chang’s Star Shuttle was Saint King Grade High-Rank, so even if it was carrying an additional person, its speed didn’t drop much.

Wei Gu Chang had only just left Calm River City when he began to speak, “Elder Qian said that Brother Yang doesn’t know much about Flowing Flame Sand Field. If Brother Yang has anything he wishes to ask, this Wei will be happy to answer.”

Yang Kai truly had some things to ask, and since Wei Gu Chang had offered, he would certainly not hold back, “I only know that we need to pass through some special places to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, as for what the situation inside is like, and what needs to be paid attention to, I’m afraid I know nothing, so I must ask Brother Wei for advice.”

Seeing how polite Yang Kai was acting, Wei Gu Chang also smiled, “I don’t dare offer advice, but this Wei has indeed been given some information from his Elders so I know slightly more than Brother Yang. It’s not much, but if Brother Yang asks, I can provide at least some answers.”

He had learned from Qian Tong that Yang Kai came from the outside world, so thinking that Yang Kai probably knew nothing about the Flowing Flame Sand Field, he patiently began explaining what he knew.

Dong Xuan’er chimed in every now and then to supplement any information Wei Gu Chang missed.

Together, the Senior Brother and Junior Sister duo quickly gave Yang Kai a comprehensive briefing on the Flowing Flame Sand Field.

The Flowing Flame Sand Field was shrouded in blistering heat all year round, Origin Returning Realm masters couldn’t enter it at all and it was only at specific times that Saint Kings were able to enter.

However, the Flowing Flame Sand Field wasn’t completely covered in heat. It was actually a set of large circular rings divided into several layers.

The outermost ring was a Flame Area that was constantly shrouded in blistering heat, and the deeper one went, the hotter and more dangerous it became.

In this Flame Area, there were some precious treasures, but what was more common was precious ores. These ores had been baked by heat for many years and were extremely pure, some of them even directly useable for Artifact Refining. The quality of these ores was also extremely high, several times better than those mined outside.

The greatest danger inside the Flame Area wasn’t the unbearable heat though, but the Fire Spirit Beasts and Flowing Flame Flying Fires; these were the real threats.

Fire Spirit Beasts were a type of Fire Attribute Energy amalgamation. Once the ambient aura reached a certain concentration, it would take on a physical form that normally mirrored the appearance of Monster Beasts. Their bodies seemed both real and illusory all at once. The more solid the body was, the more powerful it would be, but regardless of the height of their strength, all of them lacked sentience. Physical and Divine Sense attacks were basically ineffective against these creatures and only Saint Qi-based attacks could destroy them.

It was best to use Ice Attribute attacks or artefacts against them. Almost everyone who entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field would prepare such artefacts.

Within the body of a Fire Spirit Beast was a valuable treasure called a Fire Crystal Stone. Fire Crystal Stones were used to refine some special pills and artefacts and when used could greatly improve the quality of the refined pill or artefact.

The Alchemy and Artifact Refining levels on Shadowed Star were stuck at Origin Grade Low-Rank, so if one wanted to refine an Origin Grade Mid-Rank pill and artefact, Fire Crystal Stones were essential.