Martial Peak

Yang Kai’s anger rang in his ear like booming thunder, causing the yellow-robed man’s body to tremble and making him hurriedly try to hide among the crowd as if instinctively seeking some sense of security.

But wherever he hid, the feeling that a sword was hanging above his neck and the aura of death followed him.

“If you dare attack me, you will regret it in the future!”

The yellow-robed man shouted hysterically.

“Are you threatening me?” Yang Kai grinned disdainfully, “Those who dare threaten me all have miserable ends!”

*Chi…*

The sound of something piercing through the air rang out and the yellow-robed man who was still trying to hide amongst the crowd suddenly felt like some strange force had drilled into his body. In the next instant, his body began to swell up like a balloon, his entire figure quickly inflating to an unnatural size.

His face dyed a bright shade of red, the yellow-robed man could clearly feel his five viscera, six organs, flesh, and bones all being crushed because of this strange force.

Unimaginable pain filled his entire body as blood overflowed from every one of his orifices.

In a state of pure panic, the yellow robed man had never felt more clearly that he was on the verge of death.

“Save… save me…” The man in yellow robes managed to squeeze out just those words before his eyes rolled back and became pure white as his figure twitched uncontrollably.

*Peng…*

A muffled sound rang out as the man in the yellow robe suddenly burst in an explosion of blood.

His flesh and organs flew out and dyed the cultivators nearby him a deep shade of crimson.

Having just witnessed this terrifying scene, all the foreign cultivators present shivered in fear, terror gripping their hearts.

The cultivators who had been loudly screaming just a moment ago now no longer opened their mouths or even looked towards Yang Kai, for fear that he would suddenly kill them too.

“This is the fate of those who dare to threaten me!” Yang Kai smiled lightly, as if his actions just now were not even worth mentioning.

Suddenly, Yang Kai expression became cold and gloomy, “If you came here solely to play, my Nine Heavens Holy Land will warmly welcome you, but if you’ve come here with ulterior, nefarious motives, don’t blame me for not showing any mercy.”

*Chi chi chi…*

Golden streaks of True Qi suddenly flew out, darting through the crowd and piercing several cultivators, sinking into the bodies in the blink of an eye.

Just like the yellow-robed man, these cultivators all began inflating, and when they reached their limit they burst, absolute fear penetrating all the way to their souls as they died miserably.

Seeing Yang Kai so decisively kill people, and seeing no signs of him planning to stop, none of the foreign cultivators who had gathered here dared to remain, all of them screaming in panic as they went all out to flee.

None of them wanted to remain anywhere near the nine peaks anymore.

Yang Kai waved his hand and a chain comprised of True Qi flew out, wrapping around a middle-aged man who was also doing his best to escape, quickly dragging him back.

The middle-aged man was shuddering uncontrollably and his face had long ago drained of all colour. He watched helplessly as everyone else besides him made their escape and immediately began kowtowing and begging for mercy.

“Just now, you were calling out quite loudly,” Yang Kai stared at him with an evil smirk.

“Sir Holy Master, forgive me! I won’t dare do this again, I’ll never disturb Nine Heavens Holy Land again! I beg of you, forgive me, Sir Holy Master!”

Yang Kai stared down at him disdainful and snorted, “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you this time, but you must help me deliver a message!”

Hearing this, the man rapidly nodded, “Please say it, Sir Holy Master!”

“No matter who it was that incited you to do all this, go back and tell him, if he dares use such despicable means to irritate me again, I will definitely pay his Sect a visit and extinguish his entire family. No chicken or dog will be spared!”

The man’s expression became dull, immediately realizing that Yang Kai had long ago seen through their little play and quickly nodded, “I will definitely deliver Sir Holy Master’s message!”

“Get out!” Yang Kai scoffed.

The middle-aged man kowtowed once more before fleeing as quickly as he could.

Looking at the figure that the man fleeing, Shi Kun’s expression became somewhat dignified, “Holy Master, will this cause any trouble?”

“Don’t worry, it’s just a few clumsy mischief-doers. If they die, they die,” Yang Kai shook his head, “Next time you discover someone harbouring ill intentions towards the Holy Land outside our borders, once you’ve verified their purpose, kill them directly. There’s no need to act reasonable with them.”

“Yes!” Shi Kun quickly responded, his eyes gradually filling with excitement as he looked towards Yang Kai.

Shi Kun suddenly discovered that this Holy Master and the old Holy Master had very different personalities. The old Holy Master always acted prudently, taking the big picture into consideration before anything else, never doing anything that might bring the slightest harm to the Holy Land.

But this new Holy Master was different. He acted decisively and ruthlessly.

This kind of temperament very much suited Shi Kun’s appetite!

Sure enough, young people were more hot blooded; Shi Kun only hoped the Holy Land would also become full of vigor like this new Holy Master in the future.

The cultivators that were wandering around outside the nine peaks were just a bunch of rabble; Yang Kai didn’t even put them in his eyes. If he hadn’t coincidentally come across this scene, he would have even intervened.

After leaving instructions for Shi Kun, Yang Kai returned to the nine peaks.

Li Rong also asked to be excused, saying she had to distribute the Saint Grade artifacts Yang Kai had given her to her clansmen, allowing them to enhance their strength.

Holy Master Court!

This was the residence where the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land lived.

All previous Holy Masters had lived in this exquisite and magnificent palace complex, enjoying the best scenery and richest World Energy aura among the nine peaks.

Now that Yang Kai had assumed command of the Nine Heavens Holy Land, this place naturally became his residence.

In addition to him, there was only one other person who lived here, the Saintess An Ling’er.

According to the traditions of Nine Heavens Holy Land, the Saintesses would live together with the Holy Master. Everything about each Saintess was prepared for the Holy Master, even their strength and lives were all fostered for the Holy Master’s benefit.

Every Saintess was instilled with such thoughts from early childhood.

When Yang Kai came back here, he saw An Ling’er sitting outside in her private courtyard, her head resting listlessly on her hands, her eyes slightly red as they gazed off absentmindedly.

Yang Kai looked at her for a while but she didn’t seem to notice his presence.

It wasn’t until Yang Kai sat down across from her that An Ling’er awoke and quickly bowed, “Has Holy Master just returned?”

“Can you not act so politely?” Yang Kai smiled and poured a cup of tea for himself before looking at her, “Saintess Nan… how is she?”

Hearing Yang Kai mention this topic, An Ling’er seemed to become more low-spirited as she whisper, “There’s been no change…”

“What do you plan to do?”

“I want to try to resolve the obsession in her heart, but I have no idea how to go about doing so!”

Saintess Nan was a living corpse. The only reason she was still moving about was because of the powerful obsession she held; once this was resolved though, her body would naturally stop acting and she could finally be laid to rest.

According to what Yang Kai knew, the easiest solution to this issue was to directly destroy Saintess Nan’s body ending all troubles, but An Ling’er had deep feelings towards Saintess Nan so obviously she was unwilling to do this.

“Is there any precedent for that in the Holy Land’s history?” Yang Kai asked with a frown.

“There are!” An Ling’er dried her eyes, “The Holy Land’s ancient records have examples of it being done before.”

“Then have some patience. If you persist you should be able to find a solution.” Yang Kai comforted.

An Ling’er gently nodded, “I think so too…”

After a while, Yang Kai suddenly noticed that An Ling’er’s expression had become somewhat strained, as if there was something else she wanted to say but was hesitating.

Smiling, Yang Kai said, “You don’t have to act reserved around me. If there’s something you want to say, feel free, I’ll do my best to help you.”

An Ling’er’s face blushed slightly as she pursed her lips and whispered, “It’s just, the Elders, they’ve been asking…”

“Asking about what?”

“About… us,” An Ling’er’s face blushed even brighter as she managed to squeeze these words out, her eyes becoming somewhat watery as she wore a look of helplessness.

Yang Kai was stunned and took a moment to recover, soon putting on a bitter smile, “Why are they so concerned about that?”

“Naturally because they’re anxious…” An Ling’er laughed wryly, “You are the Holy Master of the Holy Land. All of them hope you can mature as quickly as possible to become a true peak powerhouse.”

Each generation’s Holy Master matured at an incredible speed by cultivating together with his Saintesses.

On top of that, every Holy Master eventually became a peak Third Order Saint.

The reason Nine Heavens Holy Land was able to endure for so many years and had such a resounding reputation in Tong Xuan Realm was closely tied to this fact.

“What are your thoughts?” Yang Kai stared at An Ling’er seriously

An Ling’er lowered her head, her hands gently clenching her dress as she whispered somewhat awkwardly, “We Saintesses were taught from young to obey all commands of the Holy Master, and to dedicate our everything to him. So, regarding these matters… whatever you decide, I’ll accept.”

An Ling’er’s reserved and obedient appearance was quite difficult for Yang Kai to simply brush off.

Each Saintess was a rare, one in a million beauty, and now that she was putting on such an expression and saying such words, it would be odd for any man’s heart not to be moved.

Even Yang Kai felt that in this moment, An Ling’er was quite charming.

Sighing slightly, Yang Kai quickly adjusted his face and said, “You told me before that we’re friends, right?”

An Ling’er nodded lightly.

“Then because we are friends, I will tell you the truth…” Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he continued, “From the various encounters I had inside the Holy Tomb, I learned the secret behind why all the Holy Masters of the Holy Land were able to improve strength so rapidly.”

“What is it?” An Ling’er couldn’t help but become somewhat curious, although she was a Saintess of Nine Heavens Holy Land, this was one secret she really knew very little about.

“Each Holy Master can improve so quickly and always reach the peak of the Third Order Saint Realm by consuming his and his Saintesses’ vitality in exchange.”

“Consume their vitality?”

“En,” Yang Kai nodded and explained carefully, “Everyone has a different degree of vitality or life essence. Those with strong vitality can live longer that those with weak vitality. Additionally, as one’s cultivation improves, so too does their vitality. The Holy Master’s core cultivation method, however, sacrifices that vitality and the vitality of his life companions in exchange for enhanced cultivation speed. That’s why every Holy Master, despite having amazing strength, is always short lived!”

An Ling’er couldn’t help covering her mouth in shock after hearing this secret.

“I’m not going to cultivate such a detrimental Secret Art. Neither will I allow you to cultivate it!” Yang Kai looked at her seriously, “Because I want to live a long life and because you are one of my friends, I don’t want to see you die young.”

An Ling’er’s beautiful eyes shimmered, seemingly quite moved.

“I don’t have many friends here, but you are definitely one of them, so I hope that in the future our relationships can remain the same. Holy Master and Saintess are just our external identities, but in private, I hope we can still interact freely like this. How about it?”

An Ling’er didn’t hesitate to nod.