Martial Peak

All the foreign enemies inside High Heaven Pavilion, Blood Battle Gang, and Storm Hall were swept away.

Facing Li Rong and Han Fei, how could these ordinary Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple cultivators resist? Before they even figured out what was happening, they had been violently killed.

In the face of absolute strength, all resistance was futile.

Just before they died, these cultivators might have been humiliating the disciples of High Heaven Pavilion, Blood Battle Gang, and Storm Hall these past few months.

If they were to face such torture, no path to Heaven or road to Hell, only endless despair and the earnest wish for death to come even a moment sooner.

At this moment, Li Rong and Han Fei stood on an empty field in the middle of High Heaven Pavilion, curiously looking around, wondering if this was really the land where their Master grew up.

They couldn’t see anything special about this place, so it was really a mystery how a monstrosity like Yang Kai emerged from here.

Not all of High Heaven Pavilion’s disciples were taken to the Void Corridor entrance. A large part still remained behind in the Sect. Li Rong and Han Fei struck like lightning and eliminated all the Free And Unfettered Spirit troops, shocking all the remaining disciples, leaving them wondering who these mysterious women who saved and freed them were.

A moment later, a large group of people rushed in from the Sect’s main entrance, and upon seeing the ones in the lead, the remaining High Heaven Pavilion disciples started shouting excitedly, “It’s Sect Master and the Elders!”

“They came back.”

“Hey, isn’t the guy walking next to Sect Master Junior Brother Yang Kai?”

“It really is Junior Brother Yang Kai!”

“…”

Cheers resounded as all the High Heaven Pavilion disciples who had only a moment ago been in the midst of despair rushed over from all directions, tears streaming down their faces as they greeted these people.

Su Mu spoke in a firm yet gentle voice to calm the excitement of his many fellow Brothers and Sisters.

“Brother-in-law… En, Senior Brother Yang has returned, so there’s no need to worry about that pack of animals anymore! Instead it is their turn to fear. Together, we’ll kill them all!”

“Kill them all!” Many disciples echoed Su Mu’s call.

Among the spirited crowds though, there was one person whose face paled as he quickly tried to hide himself, preparing to sneak away.

Su Mu’s eyes suddenly glanced over at that moment and he shouted, “Senior Brother Xie, where do you want to go?”

The High Heaven Pavilion disciples all fell silent upon hearing these words and turned their eyes in the direction Su Mu was staring, their gazes all landing on Xie Hong Chen.

Looks of despise and revulsion were cast towards Xie Hong Chen, causing his face to fill with shame and embarrassment.

The several Elders of High Heaven Pavilion also shook their heads and sighed, all of them revealing disappointed look.

“Senior Brother Xie?” Yang Kai’s brow rose slightly as he glanced over at Xie Hong Chen.

Senior Brother Xie had originally been the second strongest member of the Sect’s younger generation, only surpassed by Su Yan. He had also had many conflicts with Yang Kai long ago.

However, as Yang Kai grew stronger and stronger, he had gradually forgotten about this person.

Right now though, seeing the looks in the eyes of the Sect Elders, Brothers, and Sisters, Yang Kai faintly understood he had committed some kind of unforgivable sin.

After so many years, Xie Hong Chen had also grown to the Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage, not too low, nor too high.

“Senior Brother Xie!” Su Mu sneered lightly as he slowly walked towards him, gnashing his teeth audibly, “My High Heaven Pavilion’s Brothers and Sisters are deeply indebted to all the ‘care’ you’ve shown us these past few months!”

“Junior Brother Su, if you’ll let me explain…” Xie Hong Chen retreated step by step as he felt the murderous intent pouring out of Su Mu’s body, wrapping him in a cold chill like the icy grip of death.

“Does trash like you think yourself worthy to call me Junior Brother?” Su Mu shouted.

“Sect Master!” Xie Hong Chen’s legs went soft and he immediately kneeled on the ground, pleading miserably, “Senior Brother has not forgotten where his loyalties lie! I only surrendered to those bastards and agreed to work for them, enduring such great humiliation, to show the enemy weakness while searching for a way to rescue everyone.”

“Endured humiliation?” Su Mu suddenly laughed, “All I saw was Senior Brother Xie obeying the orders of those bastards like a loyal dog, offering up all the Sect’s secrets of your own will while even ruthlessly killing your Junior Brother Wei to prove your loyalty. Junior Brother Sun also died at your hands did he not? Don’t even try to deny it, many people here witnessed your despicable betrayal with their own eyes!”

“I…” Xie Hong Chen was struck speechless and aware of Su Mu’s increasing murderous intent, he began to panic. Quickly turning to the Elders, Xie Hong Chen kowtowed and cried, “Elders, disciple knows his wrong; please spare this disciple’s life.”

In response, the Fourth Elder just stared back at him coldly, with Wei Xi Tong shouting, “Spare your life? I, more than anyone, wish I could cut you into a thousand pieces! Xie Hong Chen, you have disappointed this old master far too much. This old master once regarded you as the Sect’s future hope, but you turned out you’re nothing but a vicious, spineless, ungrateful traitor! This old master was truly blind.”

The other three Elders also began emitting killing intent.

In a sense, the person in front of them was even more hateful than those foreign enemies, he had to die!

“Junior Brother Yang, Junior Brother Yang…” Xie Hong Chen saw none of the Elders take a stand to help him so he decided to pin his last hope on Yang Kai, “I know you have the greatest say here. Please save me! After this, I, Xie Hong Chen, swear to serve you with absolute loyalty in order to repay this grace!”

Yang Kai stared back at him indifferent and lightly said, “Senior Brother Xie… you talk too much.”

Xie Hong Chen’s expression went blank.

“I, Su Mu, as Sect Master of High Heaven Pavilion, formally declare that when the Sect was exposed to danger, disciple Xie Hong Chen, for his own selfish desires, killed his Junior Brothers in order to live on dishonourably, mistaking enemies for friends. The punishment for his crime is death. As Sect Master, I will now personally right the wrongs done to this Sect! Fellow Brothers and Sisters, please take heed of this warning, work hard so that you will not disgrace my High Heaven Pavilion’s name as he has!” Su Mu shouted in a clear and resolute voice as he stared down at Xie Hong Chen, his eyes filled with cold light as he lifted his hand, condensed his True Qi into a great swirl of wind.

The palm strike gradually enlarged in Xie Hong Chen’s eyes and soon the tornado engulfed him.

None of the spectating High Heaven Pavilion disciples showed the slightest hint of sympathy or compassion, many of them instead even wearing happy expressions.

As the powerful winds wrapped around him, Xie Hong Chen was swept up and tossed around, his body soon ripping apart and bursting into a bloody fog.

“Master’s Junior Brother makes a decent Sect Master,” Li Rong pursed her lips and chuckled as she glanced towards Su Mu with some surprise.

Su Mu looked quite young, probably even more so than Yang Kai, but just now he displayed a bearing appropriate for a Sect Master.

Yang Kai also gently nodded.

“Sect Master Su, we’ll let you decide the placement of our two Sects’ disciples,” Hu Man and Xiao Ruo Han walked up to Su Mu and said.

Su Mu nodded, first ordering several Junior Brothers to process Xie Hong Chen’s bones before leaving to discuss with the Elders about how to settle the other Sects disciples.

While everyone was busying themselves, Yang Kai walked around High Heaven Pavilion alone.

High Heaven Pavilion had been destroyed once before when the First Young Lady of the Qiu Family, Qiu Yi Meng brought a number of experts here and fought with Grand Master and the Elders. It was after that incident, when Qiu Yi Meng had gone missing, that the Sect had been burned down.

High Heaven Pavilion was re-built some time later, after the incident was resolved.

However, history had repeated itself.

Yang Kai arrived at the small wooden house he had once called home.

This wooden house carried a lot of his memories, it was the place he had lived when he was still weak and helpless.

He could still vividly remember his days as a Trial Disciple of High Heaven Pavilion, when even filling his belly each day was a challenge.

It was inside this cabin that Yang Kai first opened the Wordless Black Book, drastically altering his destiny.

The wooden house had been refurbished since that time, but the tables and chair were actually the same ones Yang Kai had originally used, but since this place had been left unattended for many years, everything was now covered with a thick layer of dust.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yang Kai couldn’t help recalling the night when he returned from the outside to discover Little Senior Sister Xia Ning Chang fast asleep on his bed, the gentle moonlight streaming in from the holes in the roof, startling Yang Kai greatly.

It was from that moment on that her beautiful figure had been permanently engraved in his heart.

Every time he remembered that scene, his heart would fill with a tender warmth. It was a precious memory he would never be able to forget.

After sitting inside his wooden house for a while, Yang Kai left to visit Su Yan’s small house.

It was inside this small house that Yang Kai inadvertently saw the scene of Su Yan changing her clothes, the smooth, graceful curve of her back seizing his soul at the time, her charm and beauty robbing him of all ability to even breathe.

At that time, Su Yan was furious and used her frigid True Qi to freeze Yang Kai into a block of ice. It was only a few days later that Yang Kai thawed out after comprehending the profound Martial Skill, Unyielding Will.

Xia Ning Chang and Su Yan, the two most important women in his life, it was here that Yang Kai had met and grown close to them.

As his heartbeat steadied, a flurry of emotions washed over him.

High Heaven Pavilion was filled with so many of Yang Kai’s memories and emotions.

Walking along the familiar paths, it was like he had returned to the time he was a simple High Heaven Pavilion disciple so many years ago, the sights and scenes from that time all coming back to him.

The Contribution Hall was still the same as before, Yang Kai even felt like he could see Treasurer Meng lazily sitting behind the front desk, his eyes darting around, staring lewdly at the beautiful female disciples passing through, commenting on the height of their chests and the fullness of their bottoms.

The Martial Skill Pavilion was also unchanged, still housing the many Secret Arts and Martial Skills of High Heaven Pavilion.

Of course, for the current Yang Kai, these things had no value other than for nostalgia.

Soon, Yang Kai arrived at the Coiling Dragon Stream. Standing at its edge, he could hear the wind whistling as it blew through the seemingly bottomless canyon.

Several fruit trees stood nearby, swaying gently in the wind. These were the fruit trees Yang Kai had planted in the past. Originally they were only slightly taller than him, but now they had grown high enough for their thick leaves to provide shade for those who stood beneath them.

Stepping off the edge, Yang Kai allowed his body to fall into the Coiling Dragon Stream.

Part-way down, Yang Kai came to a halt and stepped into the secluded cave he had worked so hard to carve all those years ago.

Inside this secluded cave, there were a number of plants that Xia Ning Chang had planted as decorations still growing. After the Demonic Qi had been purged from the canyon down below, these plants had flourished and covered the surrounding area in a thick bed of green leaves.

There were even a few delicate flowers next to the cave’s entrance.

The cave even retained a faint trace of Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang’s fragrances.

This secluded cave was the secret place for the three of them. Several times, while Yang Kai and Su Yan were happily flirting with one another, Little Senior Sister would be ‘sleeping’ on the stone bed nearby.

Yang Kai sat cross-legged at the cave’s entrance and closed his eyes, completely relaxing his mind and body. After revisiting all these memories, he suddenly felt as if his soul had received a kind of sublimation. This indescribable feeling gave him an incredible sense of comfort.

A burst of humming sounds rang out as Yang Kai’s physique began to tremble and the True Qi inside his body seemed to burst forward, flowing like a mighty river through his meridians.