Martial Peak

In front of the cave, Yang Kai waved his arms a few time and quickly discovered that there seemed to be some kind of invisible threads entangling him, restraining his actions, not only making it difficult to move about, but also impeding the flow of his Saint Qi. This was a very disconcerting feeling that kept him from exerting his full strength and forcing him to summon his purple shield to defend himself against Hong Zhen punch.

Although the purple shield had not been fully refined and couldn’t display all its functions, it was made from the carapace and Monster Core of a Ninth-Order Monster Beast along with various Origin Grade ores, so it was extremely strong and easily able to withstand Hong Zhen’s attack.

“What kind of power is this?” Yang Kai couldn’t detect the power that was suppressing him so he could only ask Hong Zhen.

Hong Zhen laughed, “Ignorant child, you don’t even know what Shi is, yet you dare act so wild?”

“Shi?” Yang Kai frowned, “As in fighting spirit? I have that too.”

Saying so, Yang Kai released his aura and killing intent, but to his disappointment, his Shi is seemed completely different from Hong Zhen. It wasn’t that his will to fight was weak, on the contrary, to objective observers, Yang Kai’s imposing manner was simply earth-shattering. On the contrary, Hong Zhen’s Shi seemed inferior.

But Yang Kai could tell that the Shi Hong Zhen was referring to was something completely different from mere fighting spirit. The two things seemed to have nothing to do with each other. The fighting spirit Yang Kai just sent out couldn’t directly interfere with his opponent, while Hong Zhen’s Shi was able to greatly suppress Yang Kai’s strength.

Was this what it meant to be an Origin Returning Realm master? It was indeed impressive and caused Yang Kai’s eyes to burn, instead of becoming discouraged it only caused his fighting intent to soar.

Shaking his head to dispel his excitement, Yang Kai held up his purple shield towards Hong Zhen and shouted, “Come, let me see what this Shi you speak of is all about!”

Yang Kai dismissed his Demonic Flame sword and put everything he had into his defence.

Although he had only traded blows once, Yang Kai already understood that as it was currently impossible to kill an Origin Returning Realm master. Even if he brought out his Golden Blood it might not necessarily be possible. This power called Shi was too mysterious, but on the other hand, it was absolutely impossible for Hong Zhen to kill him. With his purple shield and ability to tear space, even Third Order Origin Returning Realm masters couldn’t kill Yang Kai.

Looking at Yang Kai’s stance, Hong Zhen immediately understood what this young man wanted to do, infuriating him greatly.

Origin Returning Realm cultivators had the ability to completely suppress those in the Saint King Realm, but this young man who was just a First Order Saint King wanted to use him to study Shi. This was nothing less than a huge insult to Hong Zhen, causing murderous intent to burst from his body as he began mercilessly attacking. Sending wave after wave of wind blades, enough to blot out the sky, Hong Zhen acted as if he wanted to rip apart space itself.

“Ahahaha! shred him to tiny little pieces!” Xie Hong clapped and laughed, completely forgetting about his earlier clamouring of stepping on Yang Kai and urinating on his face.

Wu Yi’s face turned pale, and she could not help screaming, but this only made Xie Hong feel even more excited.

Many cultivators who had followed Wu Yi couldn’t bear to watch so they turned their heads away, thinking that Yang Kai would die for sure under this attack.

Only Yang Yan spat disdainfully while muttering under her breath, “If the artefact I refined can’t even block the attack of a First-Order Origin Realm, after today I won’t ever refine artefacts again.”

The voice was so low that no one heard her, even Wu Yi who was standing right beside her.

*Hong Hong Hong…*

A series of violent explosions rang out and the spot where Yang Kai was standing was immediately filled with flying dirt and stones, blocking him from everyone’s view. Yang Kai was pushed backwards again, smashing into and blowing apart a giant stone, causing him to cough out a mouthful of blood.

The power of the wind blades hadn’t injured Yang Kai at all, but the huge impact had still caused his organs to shift.

Hong Zhen’s eyes narrowed, seemingly not having expected this shield’s defensive ability would be so outstanding. Not waiting for Yang Kai to steady himself, Hong Zhen’s figure flickered and in the blink of an eye arrived in front of Yang Kai, sending out a fist towards the young man’s forehead.

Hong Zhen’s Shi, which was already fettering Yang Kai’s strength, suddenly became stronger, prohibiting Yang Kai from taking any kind of defensive action before Hong Zhen’s attack landed.

Out of desperation, Yang Kai attacked with his half-finished Space Blade.

A space crack swiftly flew towards Hong Zhen’s chest, and although Hong Zhen didn’t know what this attack was, he instinctually perceived danger from them and immediately condensed a thick layer of Saint Qi around himself for protection while still pushing his fist forward.

However, Hong Zhen’s short delay allowed Yang Kai to raise his purple shield once more.

A loud bang rang out and Yang Kai was sent flying again like a paper kite whose strings had been cut.

Hong Zhen’s brow furrowed deeply as he stared down at the spot on his body which had just been attacked. But try as he might, he couldn’t discover anything, and there was no trace of him being injured, so he simply shook his head and wondered why he had suddenly felt danger just now.

Looking back towards Yang Kai, Hong Zhen was speechless.

Although this First Order Saint King youth seemed quite battered, in reality, he hadn’t suffered much damage. All of Hong Zhen’s attacks had been blocked by the purple shield and Yang Kai’s injuries were only some minor traumas caused by being thrown about.

Also, at this moment, not only did this young man not show any signs of fear or intention to escape, he instead wore a look full of interest with a happy smile on his face as he beckoned to Hong Zhen.

“You court death!” Hong Zhen was furious. As an Origin Returning Realm master, being unable to kill a mere Saint King in short order while also suffering provocations again and again made Hong Zhen feel like he was being treated like some kind of entertainment; or a sideshow, further enraging him.

Hong Zhen pushed his Shi out once more to cover Yang Kai, but in the next instant, he showed a look of shock, because, from this young man’s body, an aura similar to his own Shi appeared, and although it was very incredibly light and weak, Hong Zhen was certain this was an embryonic form of Shi. As long as this kid was given enough time, he could definitely form his own Shi!

How could that be? A couple dozen breaths ago this kid was still asking him what Shi was, so how could he achieve such a feat now?

Did he figure all this out from just their brief fight? Considering this, Hong Zhen felt some cold sweat on his back. If this was really the case, then this kid was nothing less than a monster. Even Hong Zhen had taken ten years after breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm to gradually understand the mysteries of Shi, and that was with the guidance and assistance of his Sect Elders. In terms of Shi, Hong Zhen was still just a novice, far from reaching the Minor Accomplishment Stage.

More importantly though, only those who reached the Origin Returning Realm could touch the threshold of Shi. Without reaching the Origin Returning Realm, there was no such thing as Shi.

How did he do it? How did this little brat achieve even a vague understanding of what Shi was?

“Come again!” Yang Kai saw Hong Zhen’s expression fluctuate wildly as he just stood there, so he couldn’t help calling out and urging, “What are you gawking at? Weren’t we going to fight?”

Not only was Yang Kai egging him on, Xie Hong Wen was also constantly clamoring for Hong Zhen to kill Yang Kai.

How could Yang Kai care about him now though? All Yang Kai wanted right now was to have an all-out fight with Hong Zhen now.

If he could figure out this Shi thing, what did it matter if he was beaten up a bit?

Hong Zhen let out a light breath and didn’t rush to attack Yang Kai, instead suddenly turning his head and shouting, “Senior Brother, let’s do this together. His artefact is too powerful, I can’t break his defence alone.”

He didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed. If it was anyone else, Hong Zhen wouldn’t have asked his Senior Brother for help, but Yang Kai was just too frightening. If this boy wasn’t beheaded today, once he grows up, he would become a true nightmare.

As such, he didn’t hesitate to ask his Senior Brother for help.

The other Origin Returning Realm who was protecting Xie Hong Wen heard this and couldn’t help showing a look surprise, but he didn’t ask anything and just nodded, “Sure!”

Saying so, he too went forward.

Everyone was stunned!

A First-Order Origin Realm master, while facing a First-Order Saint King, actually asked for help, and the one he asked was also a First Order Origin Realm master…

Yi En felt the world spinning around him. Although he didn’t understand the situation, he was at least able to tell that Yang Kai was truly dangerous and suddenly developed began feeling anxious. He didn’t know whether thoroughly offending Yang Kai this time was a blessing or a curse.

Seeing both Origin Returning Realm masters come towards him, Yang Kai frowned as a hint of disappointment flashed across his face before he swiftly returned to the cave entrance.

He could dance around with One Origin Returning Realm Master, but two of them? Once the fight began, unless he tore space and escaped, Yang Kai was certain he would be killed.

“Start it!” Yang Kai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, put away his purple shield, and called out to Yang Yan.

“Finally!” Yang Yan nodded, forming a few strange hand seals that quickly activated the Spirit Array outside the cave. Suddenly, the surrounding space rippled slightly before becoming calm once again.

Hong Zhen and his Senior Brother’s faces both became restless, releasing their Divine Senses all around them but to their surprise, were unable to discover anything. Before the Spirit Array was started, they could feel a vague sense of danger, but now that it was active, they couldn’t sense anything, their Divine Senses moving about seemingly unobstructed, but despite all this, they knew that if they fell into the Spirit Array’s range, they were bound to suffer.

“What are you standing around staring at, quickly break this Spirit Array and grab those two women for me!” Xie Hong Wen shouted.

The two Origin Realm masters were helpless, so they summoned their artefacts and began fiercely attacking the open space in front of the cave.

The artefacts these two carried weren’t low quality, both of them Origin Grade Low-Rank. A set of twelve flying knives was used by Hong Zhen, each one of them a Saint King Grade High-Rank artefact on their own, but combined together, their grade was promoted. Forming a straight line, these twelve knives constantly bombarded a specific location of the Spirit Array.

The artefact used by Hong Zhen’s Senior Brother was even more imposing, a great war-hammer that shook the Spirit Array every time it struck.

Ordinarily, the Spirit Array arranged by Yang Yan couldn’t even be detected, but once it was attacked it would reveal some traces. Those who weren’t proficient in Spirit Arrays could only use brute force to break them. About ninety-nine percent of people fell into this category. When such cultivators encountered a Spirit Array, they would attack it until it broke. This method of breaking through an array was both laborious and time-consuming. Sometimes, even if one broke a Spirit Array by force, they would still encounter backlash upon its destruction. Only a few people who understood Spirit Arrays would search for weaknesses and steadily unravel them.