Martial Peak

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye before a young man and a black-robed young woman stood two thousand metres outside Heavenly Fate City. Naturally, it was Yang Kai and Yang Yan.

After leaving the Flowing Flame Sand Field, Yang Yan made the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle tear space again, but unfortunately, while the distance travelled this time did not change, the position the Battle Shuttle emerged from The Void was completely wrong, delaying the pair’s return trip by a few days.

However, this little mishap did not matter too much as the Emperor Garden was still not open, so there was no need to rush.

Yang Kai figured out another important point during this trip, and that was why the Emperor Garden had settled in the sky above Dragon Cave Mountain, bringing so much attention to Heavenly Fate City. This was no accident, nor did it have anything to do with Dragon Cave Mountain’s good or bad fortune, but rather because Yang Yan lived on Dragon Cave Mountain!

The Emperor Garden was both the Great Emperor’s residence as well as the place where her true body slumbered, so there being an inextricable connection to Yang Yan was only natural.

Of course, this was just Yang Kai’s conjecture, and he did not ask Yang Yan to confirm it, but he felt all of this shouldn’t just be a coincidence.

Now, Yang Kai was staring out towards a certain direction where multiple flashes of light were constantly occurring accompanied by strong energy fluctuations. Exchanging a knowing glance with Yang Yan who was standing next to him, the pair both showed gloomy expressions.

It was obvious that a battle was taking place, and this fight was surrounding Dragon Cave Mountain.

Could it be that, in the month he and Yang Yan had been gone, someone had decided to attack Dragon Cave Mountain?

Thinking so, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense before summoning his Star Shuttle and rushing over at full speed with Yang Yan following close behind.

Yang Kai’s expectations were soon confirmed as he determined that Dragon Cave Mountain was indeed under siege, and the leader of this assault was none other than the Xie Family that held many grudges against him.

Due to Lu Ye’s staying in the Xie Family and because Yang Kai had been busy with a number of issues recently, he hadn’t had time to settle his grievances with the Xie Family, but he hadn’t expected the other party would actually launch an all-out attack.

At the moment, outside Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array, a middle-aged man wearing a purple robe with a hazy look in his eyes stared angrily towards the flashing light display occurring in front of him.

This man was none other than Xie Li, the Xie Family’s most powerful master, a genuine Second-Order Origin Returning Realm master. He held a fairly high position in Shadow Moon Hall, but currently, he had not hesitated to leave Shadow Moon Hall in order to avenge the dead Xie Hong Wen!

It was no secret that Xie Hong Wen had died at Yang Kai’s hands, and although no one had publicly revealed it, before Xie Hong Wen dived into the Flowing Flame Sand Field he had a secret technique planted on his body, proving Yang Kai killed him as this secret mark had been stealthily transferred to him during the process.

Afterwards, as long as the Xie Family investigated, they could confirm who the murderer was.

Unfortunately, Yang Kai had Qian Tong as a backer, forcing Xie Li to act cautiously lest he harm himself. The only option Xie Li had was to wait for an opportunity to act.

Such an opportunity came quickly though. When Qian Tong disappeared, he naturally wanted to immediately take revenge, so Xie Li instructed his subordinates in Heavenly Fate City to embezzle Dragon Cave Mountain’s Saint Crystals then seize the cultivators who came to investigate in an attempt to draw out Yang Kai.

This strategy worked perfectly, but Xie Li had greatly underestimated Yang Kai’s strength. After storming into Heavenly Fate City, Yang Kai had killed a Xie Family Origin Returning Realm master in front of the entire city’s eyes and, even after Fei Zhi Tu intervened, Yang Kai was able to calmly leave.

Afterwards, Qian Tong returned safely and Xie Li was forced to withdraw temporarily.

What Xie Li had not expected, however, was that Qian Tong actually announced that Shadow Moon Hall would not intervene in any way in the grievances between the Xie Family and Dragon Cave Mountain. This statement made Xie Li both happy and wary, thinking that Qian Tong was simply trying to lure all the snakes from their holes to destroy them all at once.

However, after inquiring through many parties, Xie Li learned that this non-interference pledge was made at Yang Kai’s request; Qian Tong was only cooperating with him.

[This little brat was seeking his own destruction!] Xie Li was overjoyed; without Qian Tong as a backer, and without Shadow Moon Hall’s support, how could a trivial Dragon Cave Mountain withstand the Xie Family’s strength?

As far as Xie Li knew, there were only two Origin Returning Realm masters on Dragon Cave Mountain, and both were just First-Order Origin Realm cultivators that had broken through a few years prior.

There was even a time when Xie Li could not wait to personally rush to Dragon Cave Mountain to kill Yang Kai, but after seeing Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array, Xie Li realized he had greatly underestimated this place.

He was unable to see the slightest flaw in this protective Spirit Array, and even after sending many of the Xie Family’s disciples in to probe it, Xie Li had been unable to learn anything, instead incurring severe losses.

Originally, Xie Li planned to invite members of the Cai Family and Du Family who were proficient in Spirit Arrays to try to crack Dragon Cave Mountain’s protective array, but to his surprise, the leaders of both the Cai Family and Du Family categorically rejected his request and sent back all the rewards he promised them without hesitation.

Afterwards, Xie Li learned that Yang Kai had once saved the lives of the Cai Family’s Cai He and the Du Family’s Du Si Si, so when these two heard someone wanted to act against Dragon Cave Mountain, as the rising stars of both families, they used their influence to force their families to reject Xie Li’s invitation, frustrating the latter greatly.

Fortunately, the Heavens opened another path for Xie Li. Dragon Cave Mountain was apparently extremely proud of its defensive capabilities and did not put anyone in their eyes. As a result, they had offended a great force from the Limitless Ocean, Sea Heart Sect, and then offended Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple.

On top of that, the Young Master of Flowing Cloud Valley staying at the Xie Family, Lu Ye, had some kind of deep grudge with Yang Kai.

Xie Li’s confidence soared when he learned these several forces were willing to collaborate! He even believed that Dragon Cave Mountain would be trampled flat this time and immediately assembled the elites of his family and declared their separation from Shadow Moon Hall before beginning an assault on Dragon Cave Mountain.

There were more than thirty Origin Returning Realm masters in this attacking force, and although there was no Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master leading them and Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple did not openly cooperate with them, just secretly sending some masters to provide assistance, Xie Li was still very satisfied.

In any case, there were no masters on Dragon Cave Mountain, so they could only rely on the protection of their Mountain Defending Array. As long as this protective array was destroyed, Xie Li was confident he could easily slaughter the people inside by himself.

Every time he imagined Yang Kai kneeling before him, begging for mercy, Xie Li felt great happiness.

The saddest thing in this world was for a parent to have to bury their child. When he first learned that Xie Hong Wen had died in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, Xie Li had been overcome with grief. Then, after finding out that Yang Kai was the murderer, Xie Li had been unable to rest at ease these past few years, or even eat or sleep in peace, knowing Yang Kai was still alive. Yang Kai’s very existence had become a kind of heart demon for Xie Li, even preventing him from cultivating properly.

Although he was no longer young, Xie Li’s violent temper had not changed since his youth.

Revenge for the death of his child was one thing, but the incredible wealth of Dragon Cave Mountain had also drawn Xie Lie’s attention. The heritage exhibited by Dragon Cave Mountain in recent years was extremely shocking. Just the materials it had purchased from Shadow Moon Hall alone were worth hundreds of millions of Saint Crystals.

Xie Li even wondered whether Dragon Cave Mountain sat atop a rich Saint Crystal lode; how else could they have acquired so many Saint Crystals?

If the attack on Dragon Cave Mountain was successful this time, the biggest gains would go to his, Xie Family. The people from Myriad Beast Mountain and Demon Blood Temple had already declared they did not want anything other than the Profound Gold Yang Kai had taken from them. As for who would ultimately end up owning the Profound Gold, that was a matter for them to decide among themselves and had nothing to do with the Xie Family.

Being offered such good conditions, Xie Li naturally agreed.

As for the condition that Flowing Cloud Valley put forward, it was even stranger. That Flowing Cloud Valley Young Master Lu Ye wanted Yang Kai’s body and nothing else.

What use did a mere Saint King Realm cultivator’s corpse have? Although Xie Li didn’t understand, he had no intention to dwell on the matter. Lu Ye, on the other hand, was worth being vigilant about. Whenever he saw this young man, Xie Li always felt a sense of unease, as if he weren’t facing a Saint King Junior but rather a poisonous snake hiding its fangs!

What surprised Xie Li even more was that this Lu Ye’s subordinates consisted of more than a dozen Origin Returning Realm cultivators. Although all these cultivators were just First-Order Origin Realm masters, Flowing Cloud Valley was just a small force so they shouldn’t have had so many masters in the first place.

These Origin Returning Realm masters also gave Xie Li a sense of incongruity. The few times he had seen them interact with Lu Ye, Xie Li could clearly tell these Origin Realm masters were incredibly respectful towards Lu Ye, displaying a mix of awe and fear, as if they were slaves facing the master who controlled whether they lived or died.

All sorts of miscellaneous thoughts flashed across Xie Li’s mind, but he soon shook his head to dismiss them before shouting to the crowd of people gathered around him to bombard Dragon Cave Mountain’s Mountain Defending Array.

Since he could not bring an excellent Array Master to come here to crack this array, he could only use brute force to break it open.

Xie Li firmly believed that he could eventually break open this protective array.

This method also aligned with Xie Li’s temperament. He wanted to see the look on Yang Kai’s face when this Spirit Array was broken and he wantonly destroyed Dragon Cave Mountain.

Two days had passed since the siege was launched, but over this time the more than thirty Origin Returning Realm masters had exhausted themselves, not to mention the many Saint Kings under their command. Countless Saint Crystals and pills had already been consumed to supplement everyone’s Saint Qi.

This Mountain Defending Array was far stronger than Xie Li ever imagined. After two days of continuous bombardment, the light curtain itself had only become slightly dimmer and was nowhere near breaking.

Up until now, Dragon Cave Mountain had not launched any kind of counterattack, as if everyone inside was already dead.

Various artifacts of different shapes and sizes radiated dazzling light as all of the cultivators present pressed down their shock and continued to attack the light curtain in front of them.

None of them had ever encountered such a solid Spirit Array before. All of them could only describe it as impregnable.

Suddenly, inside the Spirit Array, the fog began to tumble and revealed several figures.

Xie Li frowned and raised his hand, motioning everyone to stop.

In the next moment, everyone withdrew their artifacts and looked towards the newly appeared figures. What they saw was two beautiful women standing side by side, with three old men who were clearly First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators standing behind them.