Martial Peak

A great howl rang out and shook the earth, sending snow flying behind them as Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue fled for their lives. They no longer had the calm, carefree look they had when they first met Yang Kai, their clothes ripped in multiple places and blood leaking from numerous wounds, their exposed white skin now stained red.

Feeling the cold wind on her face, Zhu Ying Yue couldn’t help trembling.

“Hurry!” Ji Meng shouted as she ran.

“Senior Brother Qi, he…” Zhu Ying Yue cried out while glancing back, but seeing the ferocious Monster Beast chasing them, her beautiful face drained of all colour and fear flashed across her eyes.

“He’s dead, don’t look back.” Ji Meng did her best to sound calm, but her heart was already a mess. She had never thought they would suddenly encounter an Ice Crystal Wolf here.

Ice Crystal Wolves were authentic Seventh-Order Monster Beasts, their whole body covered in thick fur that was as strong as steel. Ordinary artifacts and Martial Skill could only leave shallow traces on it.

On top of that, it was extremely fast and its four claws and fangs were incredibly sharp.

The three of them had only confronted this Ice Crystal Wolf for a few breaths before Qi Chao was shredded to pieces before their eyes.

They had explored this region of the Snow Mountain Range numerous times and had never had any problems, but this time they had encountered such a terrible accident.

Compared with Ji Meng’s apparent calm, Zhu Ying Yue was completely flustered. Under the threat of death, she couldn’t even exert half of her Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage strength, only able to flee with all her might. If it weren’t for Ji Meng using her artifact from time to time to impede the Ice Crystal Wolf, Zhu Ying Yue would have been caught by it long ago.

“Senior Sister Ji!” Zhu Ying Yue wept as she shouted.

“If you don’t want to die, don’t cry!” Ji Meng shouted to her in a solemn tone.

Having been scolded, Zhu Ying Yue nodded hastily.

Through the wind and snow up ahead, Ji Meng suddenly saw a stationary figure, her beautiful eyes lighting up as she quickly called out, “Friend up ahead, can you help us?”

At this moment, it was like she had suddenly caught a glimpse of hope.

The other party was clearly waiting here so they obviously weren’t afraid of the Ice Crystal Wolf, perhaps it was a Senior from their Spirit Religion, if that was the case, Zhu Ying Yue and her might really be saved.

Just as she spoke though, a burst of True Qi shot towards her.

Accurately striking right in front of her, Ji Meng noticed a hostile aura from this person and quickly pulled Zhu Ying Yue closer to her, stopping in place.

“What a coincidence!” A sarcastic voice called out to them as the man slowly approached.

Ji Meng immediately became vigilant, her brow furrowing deeply as she gazed forward.

A moment later, Ji Meng’s expression froze up as she stared dumbfounded at Yang Kai. Zhu Ying Yue also couldn’t help covering her small mouth and exclaiming in shock, “You’re alright?”

“Were you hoping I wouldn’t be?” Yang Kai sneered lightly.

“No, we didn’t mean…” Zhu Ying Yue quickly waved her hands, her face filled with anxiety.

“What about that guy?” Yang Kai glanced around but didn’t see any signs of Qi Chao.

“He died!” Ji Meng protected Zhu Ying Yue behind her, replying icily, “He was killed by the Ice Crystal Wolf chasing us.”

“He’s dead?” Yang Kai was a bit surprised.

“I admit that we didn’t act appropriately last time. Qi Chao should not have pointed you in the wrong direction and I should not have stood idly by and allowed him to, but can we discuss that later?” Ji Meng hurriedly said, “If we don’t leave now, it will be too late. The Ice Crystal Wolf that is chasing us is a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, none of us can resist it!”

Yang Kai frowned and shook his head, “It’s already too late!”

Just as he said so, a whooshing sound burst from behind the two young women.

Feeling a cold murderous intent lock onto her, Ji Meng’s expression changed greatly as she quickly turned around, her hands waving as they sent threads of silk, blocking a number of ice blades that were approaching her

*Hong Hong Hong…*

Countless ice blades were smashed, creating a fog of white powder. Ji Meng grunted as her delicate shoulder was sliced through by one of the blades, immediately sending out a stream of fresh blood.

A huge figure suddenly landed in front of the trio, and the Ice Crystal Wolf bared its fangs, spewing a foul stench from its mouth, its two giant eyes staring towards Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue, drops of saliva leaking from its jaw, giving it a particularly fierce appearance.

The moment the Ice Crystal Wolf appeared, Yang Kai leapt up into the sky and stared down. He quickly noticed that this Monster Beast was actually crystal clear, like a jade carving, its smooth fur coat giving off a soft radiance. If it weren’t for the cruel murderous aura it gave off, it would look actually be quite beautiful.

Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue both went pale, knowing that the brief delay they had suffered dealing with Yang Kai meant they could no longer escape the scope of the Ice Crystal Wolf’s attack. Unwilling to simply lie down and die, Ji Meng summoned a Lightning Attribute artifact in the shape of a whip, poured her True Qi into it, and attacked the Ice Crystal Wolf.

At the same time, although she was still shuddering, Zhu Ying Yue summoned her own artifact, a small fan, and waved it frantically, sending out a stream of visible wind blades towards the Monster Beast.

When the two joined forces, the strength of the combined attacks was actually quite good.

But against the Ice Crystal Wolf’s thick fur, these attacks were nothing more than an irritant.

After a series of sparks bounced off its fur, the Ice Crystal Wolf stood in place, completely unscathed. Opening its mouth, the beast let out a loud roar and a giant ice spear quickly formed, shooting towards Ji Meng and Zhu Ying Yue in the next instant.

The two women were sent tumbling and were inevitably injured. The smell of fresh blood further stimulated Ice Crystal Wolf’s brutality and it became more and more aggressive.

Before the pair could steady themselves, another wave of ice blades condensed around the Ice Crystal Wolf and was sent towards them, forming an inescapable net. Facing this crisis, the two women could only focus all their efforts on dodging and defending themselves

Snow flew up and the entire scene became chaotic.

Ji Meng suddenly looked up, anxiety plastered all over her face as she shouted to Yang Kai who was still standing high up in the sky, “Please help us!”

Yang Kai however just stared back at her coldly and slowly shook his head.

Although Qi Chao, the one who had actually maliciously tricked him before, had already died under Ice Crystal Wolf’s claws, these two women not speaking up at the time had made Yang Kai quite disgruntled.

Their little deception had delayed him six or seven days and caused him to fall into danger numerous times.

Seeing Yang Kai’s decisive rejection, Ji Meng suddenly knew that he was still holding a grudge against them for their previous actions and quickly shouted, “We were certainly wrong to deceive you. Even though Qi Chao was the one who lies, we also share some responsibility, but are you really just going to stand there and watch us die?”

“Why should I save you? I also almost died because of you,” Yang Kai said indifferently.

The Ice Crystal Wolf charged at that moment, forcing Ji Meng to quickly retreat, but she was still scratched by one of its claws, tearing open her clothes and revealing her flat belly and delicate navel.

More fresh blood flowed out from this new wound but all Ji Meng could do was clench her teeth and endured the pain while trying to open some distance between her and the Ice Crystal Wolf.

Seeing this, Zhu Ying Yue quickly used her fan artifact to try to help.

The two women worked together to resist the Ice Crystal Wolf’s attacks but quickly noticed that this Seventh-Order Monster Beast wasn’t treating them seriously at all. Apparently, it had no intention to take their lives immediately and was instead treating them as toys, tormenting them like a cat playing with a mouse, its eyes flashing a hint of disdain.

Seventh-Order Monster Beasts already had a high degree of sentience and if they could obtain enough resources and meet certain conditions, they were even qualified to take on human form and join the Monster Race.

Realizing this truth, Ji Meng once again called out to Yang Kai, “We are disciples of Bright Thunder Spirit Religion. If you can save us, we will certainly compensate you for your losses after we return. Qi Chao is already dead, can you really not put down your grudge and help us?”

“Bright Thunder Spirit Religion?” Yang Kai’s expression changed slightly, feeling like he had heard of this Sect somewhere before but even after thinking about it for a while he couldn’t remember where.

When Ji Meng saw his thoughtful expression and realized he might have some kind of relationship with their Sect, she suddenly became excited, “Are you acquainted with my Spirit Religion?”

“Nope, I’m not,” Yang Kai shook his head.

“You bastard!” Ji Meng cursed, her heart filled with bitterness as she clenched her teeth in anger, wanting nothing more than to slap this shameless man across his face. She had felt quite guilty about deceiving him before but now seeing his abominable and petty character, she really thought he should have just died in the Snow Mountain Range to spare her some grief.

“Seeing two young women in danger and doing nothing to help, are you really a man!?” Ji Meng shouted.

Yang Kai still stood still, “Saving you isn’t difficult, but I’m still quite upset about our previous encounter, and since I’m upset, I don’t want you to feel happy either. Well, if you somehow manage to survive, I’d be happy to show you if I’m a man or not.”

As Yang Kai spoke, the two women fell into even greater danger, receiving more and more attacks from the Ice Crystal Wolf. Ji Meng clenched her jaw so tightly her teeth nearly shattered yet she didn’t give up trying, “How can we make amends? State your requests, if I can, I will fulfil them!”

“I don’t want anything,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, folding his arms pretentiously and putting on an amused expression, like he was enjoying a good show.

Ji Meng was so angry that she coughed up blood!

Yang Kai’s calm attitude made her realize that he certainly had the strength to deal with the Ice Crystal Wolf. At the very least, he could escape from this Seventh-Order Monster Beast, otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to just stand there and being tormented to death, making Ji Meng feel even more helpless.

“Is it really no good, even if I beg you?” Ji Meng bit her lip so hard it bled, feeling a deep sense of resentment in her heart but still somehow managing to lower her attitude.

“This Senior Brother, I’m also begging you!” Zhu Ying Yue stared up at Yang Kai pitifully, his eyes completely wet, doing her best to hold on despite her obvious fear.

Staring into this pair of beautiful limpid eyes, Yang Kai’s expression couldn’t help softening slightly, the coldness in his eyes gradually converging.

Seeing this young woman’s clear and innocent eyes, without the slightest trace of impurity, he was suddenly reminded of Xia Ning Chang.

Yang Kai suddenly went silent but also didn’t show any intention of helping them, so Ji Meng couldn’t help thinking he was really cold-blooded and was just going to stand by and watch them die.

Feeling a cold chill in her heart, she smiled bitterly and said, “Ying Yue, don’t bother asking him anymore, I’m afraid we’re really going to die here. Before I die, I just want to remember what he looks like, so when I die I can become an evil spirit and haunt him for the rest of his miserable life!”

As she spoke, she turned her head and glared towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling dumbly, “Woman, you’re really a vicious cunning snake!”

“Takes one to know one!” Ji Meng retorted sarcastically.

Yang Kai expression suddenly became serious as he asked, “With your strength, can’t you just run away?”

It wasn’t the two women differed that much in strength, but that in this dangerous situation Ji Meng was able to remain calm and exert her full strength. Even though the Ice Crystal Wolf was a Seventh-Order Monster Beast, with her Immortal Ascension Boundary Eighth Stage cultivation, if he wanted to escape, it should still be possible.

Unfortunately, the other young woman was different, she was really frightened so her attacks had become chaotic and her combat ability had sharply decreased. At first glance, it was obvious she was someone who had lived under others’ protection all the year round. Obviously, her status within her Sect wasn’t low thus she had very little practical experience, much less life or death experience.

“If I were to run, what would happen to Ying Yue? I’m not as despicable as you!” Ji Meng shouted as she clenched her fists.

“Seems you have some righteousness after all!” Yang Kai nodded gently, suddenly grinning, “I’ve changed my mind, I’m willing to save you!”