Martial Peak

In a flash, two months passed by. Yang Kai had spent these past two months familiarizing himself with this tearing space method.

He had spent more than half this time inside the Void, quietly perceiving the turbulent flow of the Void, trying to comprehend its hidden mysteries.

When his Spiritual Energy ran out, he would leave the Void, find a place to meditate and restore himself, then repeat the process again.

By now he was able to easily tear space, enter the Void, and re-appear elsewhere in Tong Xuan Realm.

However, even when Yang Kai exerted his full strength, the distance he could cross was quite short, roughly two or three hundred kilometers at once. On top of that, he had yet to grasp which direction he traveled, so when he returned from the Void, he would appear in a random spot.

Every time he used this Divine Skill, Yang Kai exercised a high degree of caution.

The turbulence inside the Void could not be taken lightly as the chaotic energy they contained was too unpredictable and difficult to guard against. There were several times when Yang Kai was almost caught up in these currents, and if he had not hastily escaped, he likely would never have been able to leave the Void again.

Yang Kai’s tyrannical physique also played a vital role during this period. Just like the Starry Sky Energy, the Void turbulences were extremely harmful to one’s body. Yang Kai estimated that even Wu Jie would have to summon his defensive artifact to ensure his safety each time he used this method.

One day, Yang Kai returned from the Void through the Void Rift and appeared inside a misty mountain valley.

Yang Kai was still unable to control where he re-emerged from the Void, so each time he came back, he would raise his vigilance in case he landed in some dangerous place.

This time too, Yang Kai immediately concealed his aura and quietly began exploring his surroundings.

After a moment, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling stunned.

He discovered that there were actually a few hundred people of varying strength led by a First Order Saint Realm master gathered at the mouth of this mountain valley.

All of these people seemed to be solemnly and silently waiting at the edge of this valley. As for why they were behaving this way or why they were here, Yang Kai couldn’t tell.

Yang Kai quickly realized he had inadvertently intruded into the territory of some force, but seeing as the strongest master present was just a First Order Saint, he also wasn’t worried.

Quietly finding a place to sit down, Yang Kai concealed himself and his aura before starting to restore the strength he had just consumed.

Yang Kai didn’t bother investigating what the group of cultivators outside the valley were up to, but half a day later, after finished restoring himself, he was surprised to discover that this unknown Sect seemed to be carrying out some kind of sacred ceremony. All of these cultivators were acting very seriously and the ones with lower strength seemed to be filled with excitement and anticipation.

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Yang Kai didn’t hurry to leave but instead decided to stick around and observe for a moment.

Another half a day later, the ceremony apparently ended and in a booming voice, the lone Saint Realm master began to solemnly chant some incomprehensible words.

A moment later, a cultivator with a Peak True Element Boundary cultivation strode into the mountain valley.

A Peak True Element Boundary would not be weak back in the Central Capital, but in Tong Xuan Realm, such cultivators either had mediocre aptitude or were very young.

The one who walked into the mountain valley belonged to the latter category.

Inside the thick mist, this individual walked straight towards Yang Kai. From his appearance, he appeared to only be a fourteen year old boy.

Not unlike Yang Kai many years ago, this slightly immature youth excitedly strode forward with an unyielding look upon his face that seemed eager for strength.

Yang Kai let out a chuckle as he such a thought came to mind.

Remaining hidden, his Divine Sense locked onto this boy, Yang Kai silently observed what he was doing.

This mountain valley was not too wide, but it stretched and twisted for quite some distance. The boy walking through the fog maintained a steady pace, his eyes focused ahead of himself.

But before this youth had gone more than a thousand meters, from the depths of the mountain valley, a gentle wind burst forth.

The youth was unable to resist this force and was pushed back towards the valley’s entrance.

After stabilizing himself, a discouraged look appeared on his face.

At the same time, Yang Kai wrinkled his brow, because when this thrust of wind appeared, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation from behind himself, as if something was trying to crawl across his back.

However, upon carefully examining himself, Yang Kai didn’t find anything at all on his back.

Yang Kai wore a puzzled expression and slowly shook his head.

After the boy was pushed back, he turned around, hung his head, and walked back the way he came. A moment later, upon leaving the mountain valley, everyone who was waiting there seemed to understand and sighed.

The First Order Saint simply glanced at the youth once before calmly shouting, “Next!”

Another cultivator, who was similar in age and cultivation to the first boy, then walked into the valley.

Like the first boy’s experience, after walking inwards a short distance, he was pushed back by the same soft force and turned back in frustration.

One by one, these youths walked into the valley, were repelled, and returned.

The Saint Realm master, who was presiding over all this, also began to appear somewhat low-spirited.

Yang Kai observed for some time before finally understanding. Although he didn’t understand the specifics of the ceremony these people were performing, it was in all likelihood some kind of test.

Unfortunately, it seemed like none of the youths gathered here were able to pass this test, each of them being blocked after advancing several hundred to a thousand meters into the mountain valley.

Out of the hundred or so young boys who had gathered at the mouth of the valley, fewer and fewer had not entered, those who had failed all wearing disappointed looks upon their faces.

Yang Kai turned his attention to the depths of the mountain valley at some point and narrowed his eyes.

Every time that gentle force appeared to push back these youths, Yang Kai would feel the same tingling sensation coming from his back. At first, Yang Kai thought it was just his imagination or perhaps some hidden master playing tricks on him.

But after experiencing this tingling sensation so many times and carefully investigating it over and over again, Yang Kai found that it was not like he originally thought.

The strange sensation he was feeling, as if something was crawling across his skin, was clearly coming from the Golden Dragon tattoo on his back.

Listening carefully, Yang Kai could even hear a subtle dragon roar from this tattoo.

The Golden Dragon tattoo on his back, and the Ice Phoenix tattoo on Su Yan’s, were things they obtained when they had inherited the Yin-Yang Joyous Unification Art.

What was the relationship between that and this place?

After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai left his hiding place and walked deeper into the mountain valley.

Spreading out his Divine Sense, a moment later, Yang Kai wore a look of surprise.

Although he had been observing the movements of the group at the mouth of the valley, he had not yet carefully examined the surrounding terrain, so it wasn’t until now that he discovered that this winding mountain valley, from a bird’s eye perspective, was actually shaped just like a great dragon.

The mouth of the valley was the dragon’s tail, while the deepest depths was its head. There were also several offshoots from the valley in the shape of dragon claws, giving it a vivid and realistic look.

Moreover, the deeper Yang Kai ventured into the valley, the clearer the sensation coming from his back was and the faster the Golden Dragon tattoo swam about.

Sensing this, Yang Kai was even more convinced that this place was related to the inheritance that he and Su Yan had received back in the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave.

[How could there be such a coincidence?] Yang Kai secretly thought to himself. He had only inadvertently arrived here while trying to master the technique to tear space.

(PewPewLaserGun: How? PLOT ARMOUR! That’s how!)

(Silavin: No no no. This is entirely the result of luck and meticulous planning)

If everything was as he suspected, then Yang Kai could even guess which force this place belonged to.

At the mouth of the valley, the Saint Realm master’s brow had by now completely turned into a frown as he shouted in a worn out voice, “Next!”

At this command, a young boy with somewhat delicate facial features stepped forward and walked towards the mountain valley.

When the youth disappeared into the fog, the Saint Realm cultivator couldn’t help letting out a sigh.

“Palace Master, this is the last person,” A nearby Transcendent Realm cultivator whispered.

The man referred to as Palace Master simply nodded slightly, “I know, it seems this time is also a failure.”

The Transcendent Realm cultivator frowned, “After three years training these hundred youths, which one of them hasn’t made good progress? Palace Master, could it be that our method is somehow wrong?”

The Palace Master glanced over at his subordinate and asked, “What are you suspecting?”

“Subordinate would not dare, but…”

“No buts!” The Palace Master scolded harshly, “Although our Sect is now not very strong, you must remember that long ago, we were one of this world’s most powerful forces! Anyone who saw us would treat us with courtesy, and our disciples could freely walk the world as no one dared to provoke us!”

“Yes.”

The Palace Master then let out a sigh, “Our ancestors recorded these things in our Sect’s ancient books so that we would never forget our past prosperity! Unfortunately, all these years, no one has passed the Dragon Valley’s test so it has been impossible for us to reproduce our past brilliance and glory!”

“Palace Master, you…” The Transcendent Realm cultivator curiously asked.

The Palace Master simply shook his head, “I did not pass the valley’s test, it was just good fortune that I was still able to break through to the Saint Realm, otherwise I’m afraid we wouldn’t have even been able to protect our Sect’s foundation.”

The group of youths standing nearby eagerly listened in on the conversation between these two masters, a look of curiosity appearing in their eyes.

At this moment, the fog that constantly shrouded the Dragon Valley suddenly became somewhat disordered and the enter mountain valley trembled slightly, startling everyone standing at its mouth, each of them wondering if some kind of accident had occurred.

The gathered youths even went somewhat pale with fright.

Suddenly, a great dragon’s roar resounded from the depths of the mountain valley and a dazzling golden radiance as brilliant as the noon sun shot into the sky.

The eyes of the man called Palace Master suddenly bulged as he stared dumbfounded at the golden light. The Transcendent Realm cultivator beside him also wore the same shock filled look.

The golden light began twisting and after a while, a dragon head filled with endless majesty was formed, proudly and indifferently overlooking the valley below.

Under its gaze, all the gathered cultivators couldn’t help feeling small and insignificant.

Even the First Order Saint Realm Palace Master couldn’t help trembling as he pointed towards the Golden Dragon high up in the sky and stammering, “It appeared, it really appeared… it’s exactly the same as what was recorded in the ancient book, the Golden Dragon’s head has appeared, the Dragon Emperor has returned…”

“Palace Master… this, does this mean… someone passed the test?” The Transcendent Realm master stuttered.

The Palace Master was too excited to compose himself as tears streamed down his face, not even reacting to his subordinate’s question as he stared fixedly at the Golden Dragon head for a moment. Only after a while did he suddenly ask, “The boy who just entered the Dragon Valley, what was his name?”