Martial Peak

Just now, when they saw Xue Li injured by the golden chain, Zhang Ao and the others finally saw hope, silently thinking to themselves that as long as this Human Race master arrived, they would be saved.

“That’s right!” Cao Guan echoed, “We don’t wish to be enemies with you, we were simply tricked into coming here by that cheap whore Xue Li. There’s no bitter hatred between us so why not just part ways here and never meet again? It should be the best solution for you too…”

The Ancient Demon Clan however made no response, only turning their attention to Yang Kai while waiting for him to speak.

Zhang Ao and the others quickly realized that this boy they had all once looked down on was now the only one who could determine whether they would live or die. Thinking about the debacle with Nine Heavens Holy Land two or three years ago, where they had hunted Yang Kai for months, fear once again welled up as they stared vigilantly towards him.

Clearly they were afraid that the next words to leave this little brat’s mouth would be an order to kill them.

Fortunately, the Human Race master who had just injured Xue Li was closer than they anticipate and arrived swiftly. After seeing this newcomer, Zhang Ao and the others smiled happily, all the fear and worry leaving their faces as they regained their confidence.

Because they found that it was not just one person who had come, but five!

One Third Order Saint and four First Order Saints instantly appeared in the sky above everyone, each of them wearing a slight frown as they stared down at this unusual gathering.

The one in the lead was a white-haired sage-like old man who despite his seemingly reserved temperament and aura was clearly an extremely powerful master. The other four were also not weak, seemingly having broken through to the Saint Realm for a number of years now.

The five Saints who just arrived, consisting of four males and one female, only glanced around for a moment before all of them turned their gazes towards Yang Kai, looks of incomprehension plastered all over their faces.

The one woman even began glaring at Yang Kai, grinding her teeth as her lips squirmed slightly, seemingly muttering something to herself.

From the way her lips moved though, it seemed as if she was repeatedly cursing.

The arrival of these five people brought great joy to Zhang Ao who immediately rushed over and cupped his fists, “Dare I ask this Brother’s honoured name and which force you hail from?”

The old man at the head of the group glanced towards Zhang Ao and narrowed his eyes slightly, “Soaring Heaven Sect’s… Chu Ling Xiao!”

“Chu Ling Xiao?” Zhang Ao muttered, smiling happily in the next instant as he loudly declared, “So it is Brother Chu. Please forgive this one’s rudeness. This Zhang has long since heard of Brother Chu’s great name, and after witnessing Brother Chu’s might, clearly it is well-deserved, even that evil wench Demon General Xue Li fled at the mere sight of Brother Chu, truly impressive.”

“Who are you?” Chu Ling Xiao swept his eyes over the Ancient Demon Clan before turning back to Zhang Ao and asking, his tone indifferent.

Zhang Ao and Cao Guan quickly reported their names.

“Shattering Mystical Palace, War Spirit Temple?” Chu Ling Xiao thought for a moment before continuing, “What are the two of you doing here, hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from your respective Sects? Moreover, dragging so many people along with you.”

Sensing some blame in Chu Ling Xiao’s tone, Zhang Ao couldn’t help wincing slightly.

Although this place was not close to Soaring Heaven Sect; regardless of how one put it this was still close to Soaring Heaven Sect’s territory. As outsiders passing through and even operating in this region, they should have gone to pay a visit to the overlord of this region, but for this expedition into the Snow Mountain Range, they had only used a lot of money to forcefully invite the nearby Ancient Moon Cave Heaven and Luo Sheng Sect to assist them.

There were no powerful masters in these two forces, which was why Zhang Ao and Cao Guan weren’t worried about them stirring up any trouble.

Zhang Ao quickly tried to explain, “We were simply following clues regarding the legendary Coffin Carrying Man and inadvertently arrived here when suddenly this group of Demons suddenly appeared. It seems that Demon General Xue Li was up to something nefarious here and we unintentionally stumbled upon it. If it weren’t for Brother Chu’s prompt arrival, I’m afraid none of us would have been able to escape from her poisonous grip!”

Zhang Ao spoke these words with a trembling voice and pained look upon his face, as if he was speaking from his heart while suffering great injustice.

Cao Guan also hurriedly echoed his statements.

Li Rong sneered softly, her beautiful face filled with disappointment, “These people are true masters at reversing black and white. Master, may I shut them up forever?”

Yang Kai slowly shook his head.

Li Rong had not bothered concealing her voice so her words quickly reached Zhang Ao’s ears, the latter puffing up his chest and flying into a rage as he shouted, “Slut, in front of one of my Human Race’s top powerhouses, you dare act dissolute? Obediently surrender and we may spare your lives!”

At this moment, Zhang Ao’s attitude had taken a complete turn from just a moment ago.

Before Chu Ling Xiao arrived here, he and Cao Guan only spoke softly, showing deference and asking to resolve the situation peacefully.

But the moment Chu Ling Xiao arrived, their attitudes instantly changed, becoming arrogant and overbearing.

This display only made Li Rong look down on them even further.

“Brother Chu!” Zhang Ao turned back to Chu Ling Xiao, “This group of Demon Race evildoers must be the subordinates that Xue Li brought to our Human Race’s territory. Brother Chu does not need to speak any nonsense with them, it would be best to immediately kill all of them and those two human traitors with them!”

Saying so, he pointed indignantly towards Yang Kai and Wu Jie.

“Is that so?” Chu Ling Xiao glanced at him faintly before shifting his eyes to Yang Kai again, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Right now, all he wanted to know was how this little Martial Grandson of his kept managing to involve himself in such troublesome matters; also, from what Chu Ling Xiao could see, Yang Kai’s relationship with this group of Demons was not superficial.

[This little brat…] Chu Ling Xiao secretly shook his head, his mood quite complicated.

“Master, if that old man and the others take action, you first withdraw together with Han Fei, she will protect you safely,” Li Rong whispered into Yang Kai’s ear as she raised her guard.

Chu Ling Xiao gave her a lot of pressure, as the master who had long reached the Third Order Saint Realm; he was indeed a top level powerhouse of this world.

What concerned Li Rong the most though was the chain-like artifact he had used to injure Xue Li.

The pure Yang Attribute that pulsed from it restrained their Demonic Qi inside their bodies greatly. In the hands of a master like Chu Ling Xiao, the power it could display was not to be underestimated.

After suffering that strike, Li Rong estimated that Xue Li would need at least a month or two to completely heal.

“Old man?” Yang Kai brow rose as he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling, not responding to Li Rong’s concerns and simply stepping forward towards Chu Ling Xiao and cupping his fists, “Disciple Yang Kai greets Ancestral Founder!”

“Ancestral Founder?” Li Rong couldn’t help covering her mouth in surprise, her beautiful pupils shivering slightly, seemingly shocked that Yang Kai actually had such a relationship with this kind of Human Race master.

Zhang Ao and Cao Guan were also both stunned, suddenly recalling a critical piece of information they had discovered before.

Yang Kai was a disciple of Soaring Heaven Sect!

In all the excitement just now, they had temporarily forgotten this point.

“Smelly brat, get over here now!” Fei Yu, who was standing behind Chu Ling Xiao, shouted.

“Coming…” Yang Kai’s shoulders drooped helplessly as he quickly walked over.

Arriving in front of these five, Yang Kai wore a big awkward smile.

Nearby, both the Ancient Demon Clan and Zhang Ao’s group stared over towards them, listening carefully, wondering what these six would say.

Knowing this, Chu Ling Xiao waved his hand and erected a barrier to isolate them from outside probing.

“How did Ancestral Founder and four Martial Seniors know to come here?” Yang Kai’s brow twitched slightly, somewhat restlessly looking around at these familiar faces.

Cang Yan quickly explained, “When that Demon woman arrived here, Ancestral Founder detected her, but not knowing what her purpose was, we decided to observe her quietly first. It wasn’t until today when that great battle broke out that we decided to take action. When that Demon woman fled, she suffered a heavy blow, but it seems she still managed to get away.”

“So that’s it!” Yang Kai suddenly understood.

Although Chu Ling Xiao was in retreat almost all year round in his secluded residence, when a master like Xue Li arrived within a few thousand kilometers of him there was no way she could evade his detection.

In an instant, Yang Kai had a clear and profound understanding of Chu Ling Xiao’s tyrannical strength!

He had long speculated what level this Ancestral Founder of his had reached.

But now Yang Kai was able to confirm that Chu Ling Xiao was indeed a Third Order Saint that stood close or is at the apex of those at his level.

This made sense though as after all, he had killed a Demon General in the past!

“Smelly brat, weren’t you exploring the Alchemy Way with Old Man Du in Grand Boulder City? How come you suddenly rushed out here?” Fei Yu was both angry and confused; some time ago, Mi Na had visited Soaring Heaven Sect to relay Yang Kai’s message to her, saying he would be staying in Grand Boulder City for a while and not to worry about him. Fei Yu believed this and didn’t bother going to Grand Boulder City to find him but now they had suddenly met here, thousands of kilometers away from where Yang Kai was supposedly staying.

“It’s a long story… Where should Martial Nephew begin?” Yang Kai replied seriously.

“Just tell us all that you can. As for what you can’t, there’s no need to force yourself, this old master is also quite curious how this situation came to be,” Chu Ling Xiao smiled as he spoke to Yang Kai, no trace of blame in his tone, seemingly not intending to chastise Yang Kai for being too close to the Ancient Demon Clan.

Yang Kai glanced at him then at his three Martial Uncles and Martial Aunt, discovering curious looks on all of their faces.

Nodding lightly, Yang Kai began, “Then disciple will speak, Ancestral Founder, Martial Seniors, try not to be too surprised.”

“Hmph, who do you think we are? Do you think it’s that easy to surprise us?” Fei Yu spat disdainfully.

“I suppose I must start from the time shortly after I arrived here in Tong Xuan Realm. This will take a while to say…” Yang Kai thought about it and began from the point where he encountered the Coffin Carrying Man in Raging Flame City and how he was captured and thrown into a Mysterious Small World by him. Just as Yang Kai anticipated, it wasn’t long before Chu Ling Xiao and his several Martial Seniors wore shocked looks upon their faces.

Yang Kai didn’t dare mention anything about his Unyielding Golden Skeleton or his relationship with Great Demon God, instead only explaining how in exchange for rescuing the Ancient Demon Clan, they had agreed to serve him.

Although there were holes and inconsistencies all over the place in his story, Chu Ling Xiao and the others didn’t ask any question and just listened to his explanations quietly.

Understanding why this group of Demon Race people were so close to Yang Kai, Chu Ling Xiao thoughtfully asked, “So what you mean to say is, they are completely obedient towards you?”

“En.”

“Is there any chance of them revolting?”

“None!” Yang Kai firmly declared.

Chu Ling Xiao stared at him deeply, seemingly trying to see into the depths of his Soul, a moment later his gaze softening as he nodded, “Very good, although you are not old, you act in a calm and composed manner and should not bring any harm to our Human Race. Since they are willing to obey you, they can also be regarded as a force in their hands… but remember, that power is a double-edged sword, if you wield it unskillfully, you will only end up harming yourself.”

Yang Kai wore a thoughtfully look as he nodded, “Disciple will remember.”

“Moreover, you will certainly become the target of countless people’s hostility. If you are not prepared for such a reality, I advise you to give them up now. Once you accept them, your future road will become filled with thorns with many masters you have never even met before declaring you a life and death enemy!” Chu Ling Xiao spoke solemnly.

“Disciple is aware!”

“Good, then this old master will say nothing more,” Chu Ling Xiao smiled, “Soaring Heaven Sect cannot accommodate them, so where do you plan on having them stay? Will you be leading them to the Demon Land?”