Martial Peak

Dragon Valley stretched and twisted like a real dragon laying on the ground. It was covered in a fog all year round and even the strongest of masters couldn’t see into its depths.

Initially, around Dragon Valley, many Dragon Phoenix Palace masters had hidden themselves and were constantly on guard, but as time passed, these masters had left one by one.

Now, only Palace Master Chen Zhou remained at the mouth of the valley.

At this moment, Chen Zhou stared towards the misty mountain valley with a worried look and sighed.

Two years ago, when the disciple named Sun Yu had managed to trigger the long dormant Dragon Valley’s barrier and summoned for the vision of the Golden Dragon head, all of Dragon Phoenix Palace celebrated.

The attention of all the top leaders of Dragon Phoenix Palace was constantly focused here, thinking that the Sect would soon enter into a new prosperous age and would one day stand at the summit of Tong Xuan Realm alongside its most powerful forces.

But after two years had passed, there was still no movement from inside the valley. Although everyone could detect the powerful energy fluctuations coming from within, the disciple name Sun Yu had never returned.

Gradually, people became disheartened, though none dared say so in front of Palace Master Chen. But in private, everyone had come to the conclusion that the disciple name Sun Yu had likely met with disaster.

He was only a boy at the True Element Boundary Seventh Stage. After not having appeared for so long, it was almost certain he had starved to death in the Dragon Valley.

Gazing at the golden light ocean, Chen Zhou sighed once more.

“Palace Master…” Chen Zhou’s companion, Yu Ting Yi, who was one of the few who still remained here, couldn’t help sighing and offering words of comfort, “The disciple who opened the barrier has obtained great fortune, he is surely alright.”

Chen Zhou did not respond, his expression simply becoming gloomier.

Yu Ting Yi reluctantly sighed again before turning to look at a nearby old man.

Besides Chen Zhou, the only other who had insisted on waiting here for the entire two year time was this old man.

It was Elder Ling Jian, Sun Yu’s master.

Elder Ling did not possess great strength or aptitude, his title as Elder more a formality due to his age than an indication of his status in Dragon Phoenix Palace. Before, he had no real power and was all but ignored by most.

Two years ago, when Sun Yu had suddenly opened the formation, Ling Jian’s status suddenly soared and almost every Elder who saw him would politely greet him, allowing him to enjoy almost unparalleled freedom and respect inside Dragon Phoenix Palace.

But now, no one treated him that way anymore.

Chen Zhou and Ling Jian stood next to each other as they stared into the mountain valley’s depths, sighing continuously as looks of sorrow filled their faces.

A figure quickly approached, and Elder Xiao Ling of Dragon Phoenix Palace soon appeared and quickly observed Chen Zhou’s expression before glancing over at Yu Ting Yi.

The latter slowly shook her head, her beautiful eyes filled with a helpless gloom.

Xiao Ling immediately understood; since the last time he came, no noticeable change had likely appeared in Dragon Valley. Shaking off these distracting thoughts, he respectfully cupped his fists and spoke, “Palace Master, the Elders request your presence to discuss some important matters.”

“Let them hold their discussion , just inform me of the result,” Chen Zhou Yi Xing waved his hand.

“Forgive me, Palace Master, but this matter must be decided by you personally, otherwise I would not have dared disturb you,” Xiao Ling replied awkwardly.

Chen Zhou frowned slightly, a look of annoyance appearing on his face.

Yu Ting Yi quickly said, “You should go, you have not asked about any of the Sect’s affairs for the past two years…”

“I must wait here for the Dragon Emperor to return!” Chen Zhou firmly declared, interrupting Yu Ting Yi before she could finish speaking.

Yu Ting Yi wore a forced smile in response.

“Do you think there is no hope left? Ignorance! The Dragon Emperor will return, we just do not know when!” Chen Zhou coldly snorted, his face showing a look filled with confidence.

Yu Ting Yi smiled and spoke, “If you say it will be so, it will be, but that also means there’s no need for you to be so anxious. The Elders are waiting for you, the sooner you take care of things the sooner you can return. Leave this place to Elder Ling and I, we will inform you immediately if anything happens.”

Chen Zhou glanced over at his wife for a moment before nodding lightly, “Then I’ll ask this of you, be sure you keep a close eye on this place.”

“En,” Yu Ting Yi nodded gently, feeling somewhat helpless in her heart.

Chen Zhou took one last long look towards the depths of the valley before turning around and preparing to leave with Xiao Ling.

At that moment though, Dragon Valley, which had remained silent for two whole years, suddenly pulsed, sending out a powerful energy fluctuation that blew away all the lingering mist, revealing itself in all its splendor.

Now, anyone standing at its mouth could see straight into its depths.

Chen Zhou’s steps immediately came to a halt and he began trembling with excitement, not daring to even breathe as he stared towards the valley.

The low-spirited Ling Jian also suddenly became excited as his old pair of eyes flashed with expectation, his wrinkled hands clenching tightly.

“There’s movement!” Chen Zhou couldn’t help shouting.

Xiao Ling, who had come to summon Chen Zhou, also couldn’t help stopping in place as he stared suspiciously towards the depths of the valley, his mood also becoming somewhat jubilant.

Although he and the other Elders were somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that Palace Master Zhou had cast aside all of the Sect’s affairs and had stubbornly remained at Dragon Valley’s mouth for the past two years, many of them even feeling that the disciple name Sun Yu had long ago perished, seeing this phenomenon still couldn’t help rousing Xiao Ling’s expectations.

After all, he too was a member of Dragon Phoenix Palace.

……

Inside the golden ocean at the end of Dragon Valley, the Golden Dragon had finally finished swallowing up all the ambient energy and its whole body was now emitting a dazzling light. It was as if it had become a true dragon and carried with it an aura of endless majesty.

Sun Yu, who had been meditating, was alarmed and awoke, instantly meeting the Golden Dragon’s eyes. In that instant, Sun Yu felt a sharp pain in his head and collapsed to the ground.

The moment he met eyes with the Golden Dragon, Sun Yu felt as if his Soul was being forcibly drawn out of his Knowledge Sea and crushed.

Yang Kai suddenly appeared in front of him and shielded him from the Golden Dragon’s view, allowing Sun Yu to quickly close his eyes and steady his mind.

A resounding dragon’s roar rang out as the Golden Dragon soared up into the sky.

The sky seems to explode as a burst of light so bright erupted that everyone within a hundred kilometers was blinded.

It was as if the Golden Dragon had been trapped for thousands of years and had just broken free, rejoicing as it soared through the sky. After a while, the Golden Dragon suddenly swooped down and slammed into Yang Kai, bringing with it a devastating power.

Yang Kai let out a shout as the Golden Dragon sunk into his body, immediately feeling like something he had lost had returned.

Along with this feeling of reunion, the Golden Dragon also brought with it a phenomenal amount of pure energy.

All of Yang Kai’s clothes were blasted into dust as this energy burst forth.

Yang Kai quickly condensed several Grand Heavenly Shields around Sun Yu while summoning his Silver Leaf Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact.

The Silver Leaf pulsed vividly before rapidly expanding and wrapping Sun Yu in a second layer of protection.

If Yang Kai did not do this, Sun Yu wouldn’t be able to resist the fallout from the energy explosion and would be instantly vaporized.

After spending a great deal of time, Yang Kai had finally finished refining this artifact which had belonged to the previous Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land. This Silver Leaf had the ability to transform into many shapes and sizes, giving it great flexibility whether it was used for attacking or defending, worthy of a Saint Grade Top-Rank artifact.

*Kacha…*

The sound of his bones dislocating crackled as Yang Kai’s flesh rippled, the True Qi in his meridians circulating as an unimaginable speed, exerting huge pressure on them.

A moment later, countless cracks appeared on Yang Kai’s skin and blood began pouring out, dying his surroundings a golden sheen. Fortunately, under the powerful restorative strength of the Demon God Golden Blood, the damaged areas were quickly repaired.

However, this didn’t mean that the energy rampaging through Yang Kai’s body had stopped. A cycle of damage and repair quickly formed.

During this process, Yang Kai not only didn’t show any signs of distress but instead wore an excited look upon his face.

When the Golden Dragon returned to his body and transformed back into a Golden Dragon tattoo, Yang Kai suddenly felt that the world around him had undergone some subtle changes.

The flow of energy between the Heavens and Earth had become clear and more distinct compared to before.

In the midst of all this, Yang Kai felt as if he had caught a glimpse of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao. The insights and mysteries he had previously failed to grasp now seemed to be within reach of his fingertips!

Standing in place, Yang Kai calmed himself, closed his eyes, and immersed himself in this wondrous feeling.

Above Yang Kai’s head, wind and clouds swirled as the World Energy within a hundred kilometer radius began gathering, as if some great force was drawing it in.

These giant Heavenly Manifestations had naturally attracted the attention of all Dragon Phoenix Palace’s leadership, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and rushed towards Dragon Valley, each of them wearing looks of excitement.

Chen Zhou and Ling Jian, who had been standing guard here the whole time, stared bright eyed towards the depths of Dragon Valley, the latter even bursting into tears of joy.

Although none of them was able to detect Sun Yu’s aura, all of them knew that this scene must be related to the young boy. Perhaps he had successfully acquired the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance and was now facing some kind of final test.

“These violent energy fluctuations are signs of a breakthrough!” Xiao Ling muttered to himself.

Yu Ting Yi is also nodded lightly, “The momentum is not inferior to someone breaking through to the Saint Realm!”

When Chen Zhou had broken through to the Saint Realm, there had also been a grand Heavenly Manifestation, but compared to the scene that was playing out before their eyes, it was still somewhat dwarfed.

Was the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance really so amazing? When Sun Yu entered Dragon Valley two years ago, his cultivation had only reached the True Element Seventh Stage. Just what standard had he reached now? No matter what, it was impossible for him to have reached the Saint Realm, so how was he supposed to withstand such a violent energy storm?

Everyone couldn’t help suddenly feeling worried.

Chen Zhou suddenly shouted severely, “Relay my orders! Create a blockade twenty kilometers outside the Sect! No outsiders may enter! If anyone dares try to intrude, no matter who it is, kill them without mercy!”

With such a massive movement happening here, it was bound to attract nearby masters. If anyone who harboured malicious and covetous intentions towards the new Dragon Emperor, this would be an ideal time for them to interfere.

Especially in the nearby Frozen Nether Cave Heaven. Two years ago, after obtaining news about the occurrences in Dragon Valley through various means, they had shown signs of wanting to make trouble, but after two years of silence, and not knowing whether Sun Yu was dead or alive, they hadn’t made any rash moves.

But today, with this Heavenly Manifestation appearing, they would definitely act.

Feeling the thick murderous intent pulsing from Chen Zhou’s body, Xiao Ling also realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly began making arrangements.

“The Dragon Emperor’s legacy has finally reappeared, these two years… I haven’t waited in vain!” Chen Zhou’s eyes began to water up as he felt that a great weight had lifted from his shoulders.