Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Just before the sun rose, at the darkest time before dawn, a figure quietly snuck out from Dragon Cave Mountain and quickly disappeared.

Half an hour later, several thousand kilometres north of Heavenly Fate City, this figure appeared again. It was Yang Kai. Glancing around for a moment, Yang Kai spotted the meeting place and immediately flew towards the small, nearby hill.

At this moment, two other people who had arrived earlier were sitting in meditation atop this hill. Both were male and they didn’t appear very old. Most surprising, however, was that both of them were just Third-Order Saint Kings.

Yang Kai did not conceal his approach and after landing atop the hill, the two young men opened their eyes and glanced over at him lightly. One of these two did not show any intention to speak and simply closed his eyes indifferently again.

The other observed Yang Kai with interest for a moment before nodding slightly.

Yang Kai nodded back, but neither side made any attempt to speak. This hill was not small, so with a few doubts in his heart, Yang Kai found an empty spot and sat down cross-legged.

He heard from Fei Zhi Tu that this operation would be very dangerous, so Yang Kai had naturally assumed there would be many Origin Returning Realm masters taking part; after all, Fei Zhi Tu had made it clear that if not for the existence of the Firebird Artifact Spirit, even Yang Kai would not be qualified to participate in this action.

Yet, as soon as he arrived at the rendezvous point, Yang Kai was greeted by two young men with cultivations equal to his own.

Although he was quite curious about this, Yang Kai also understood that, since Fei Zhi Tu had invited these two, he must have a good reason. Either these two had some kind of special ability Fei Zhi Tu needed to borrow, or they were elites among the elite.

Judging from their appearances, the former was more likely.

Atop this hill, the three young men did not make a sound, and for some time only silence could be heard. Half an incense stick worth of time later, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards the distance where he saw an azure streak of light rapidly approaching. Obviously, it was another cultivator.

Because Fei Zhi Tu’s action this time required the utmost confidentiality, everyone had arrived here separately, something Yang Kai had anticipated.

After the azure streak arrived, it flew down and landed on the hill, revealing a beautiful figure. The one who had come was a young woman with an enchanting body, beautiful face, and long raven black hair. She was an eye-catching beauty.

However, this woman’s cultivation was also just Third-Order Saint King, puzzling Yang Kai even further.

Counting himself, there were now four Third-Order Saint Kings gathered here, but where was Fei Zhi Tu? Surely, he couldn’t be expecting these four Saint Kings to rescue Qian Tong, could he?

Thinking of this possibility, Yang Kai’s face sank.

After this young woman landed, she quickly discovered that the three best spots on top of the hill had already been occupied, causing her brow to furrow.

Upon seeing this young woman, the man who had nodded politely to Yang Kai earlier stood up hastily and cupped his fists, “So it is Sister Si Si, it has been many years since we last met! I trust Sister Si Si has been well since then.”

From the tone of his voice, it was apparent that he knew this young woman and from the look on his face, it was also obvious he was interested in her.

The woman named Si Si glanced over at this young man indifferently and said, “Cai He? So you’re here too. It seems City Lord Fei’s vision is not very good, even inviting an Array Master like you on this trip. It makes me worry deeply about the future.”

Despite being belittled by this young woman, the man named Cai He didn’t show any trace of annoyance and continued, “Actually, City Lord Fei invited my father first, but unfortunately he is currently in retreat, making it inconvenient to come out. As such, I was sent in his place. During this trip it seems Sister Si Si and I will need to cooperate; I hope Sister Si Si will grant me your instruction.”

“Hmph!” The woman named Si Si coldly snorted, her pretty face filling with arrogance as she declared, “I wouldn’t dare grant you instruction. Although your Cai Family’s understanding of Spirit Arrays is not as profound as my Du Family’s, it has its own unique insights. Just don’t become a burden this time and everything will be fine.”

“Naturally, naturally!” Cai He nodded while still smiling, as if he had no backbone at all, making the other young man present flash a look of contempt.

After listening to their conversation, Yang Kai realized why Fei Zhi Tu had invited these two Third-Order Saint Kings along. It turns out that they were both experts in the field of Spirit Arrays and came from famous families which were similarly professionals in this regard. Evidently, Fei Zhi Tu wanted to be prepared for any situation.

Du Si Si next glanced over at the indifferent man then Yang Kai before asking proudly, “Who are these two? Were they also invited here by City Lord Fei? How could they only have the same cultivation as us?”

This young woman looking down on all other Saint Kings made Yang Kai frown and realized she was a spoiled, arrogant young lady from a big family.

Cai He smiled helplessly, “I’m not clear about these two brothers’ origins. If they do not mind, why don’t we all introduce ourselves? In any case, all of us will be travelling and working together, so getting to know one another will benefit our future cooperation.

Compared with Du Si Si, this Cai He’s demeanor should be very temperate, almost the opposite of Du Si Si. When he asked Yang Kai and the other young man about their backgrounds, he did it with a smile on his face with not even a trace of arrogance.

“Lian Guang!” The indifferent man apparently cherished his words like gold and only reported his name before falling silent again.

“Surnamed Lian…” When Du Si Si and Cai He heard this name, both of their expressions changed dramatically. Both of them now looked at this Lian Guang with a hint of fear, as if the other’s surname by itself was a powerful deterrent.

Even Yang Kai could not help giving this Lian Guang a curious look.

This was because, in the local region, the Lian Family was quite famous. Even if one were to take all of Shadowed Star into account, the Lian Family’s reputation wasn’t lower than general second-class Sects, allowing even someone as ignorant and uninformed as Yang Kai to have heard of them. It could easily be imagined what kind of reputation this family had.

The Lian Family itself did not have very powerful masters, nor did it have many members. All in all, there were only about a hundred or so Lian Family members with the strongest being just a First-Order Origin Returning Realm master. On Shadowed Star, even if there were not a thousand such families, there would be at least eight hundred, but only the Lian Family name was widely known.

The reason for this was simple: The Lian Family were Puppet Masters.

It was well known that the Lian Family specialized in refining and operating puppets, so while their personal cultivations weren’t too high, their combat effectiveness was far superior to others in the same realm because they could use countless puppets to assist them in battle. When a Lian Family cultivator fought, it would always become a spectacular scene where up to dozens of puppets would appear.

Moreover, the Lian Family had several supreme puppets which were comparable to Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters in strength. The existence of these puppets alone was enough to deter many other forces.

There was once a family force which far exceeded the Lian Family in strength that coveted the latter’s puppet techniques. This family attempted to destroy the Lian Family and claim its Secret Techniques for themselves, but at the end of that conflict, it was the Lian Family that emerged victorious and wiped out the other family.

It was this war that caused the Lian Family’s reputation to soar and highlighted their Third-Order Origin Returning Realm puppets’ incredible strength. These supreme puppets killed countless enemies during that battle, causing many to covet and fear them all at once.

The Lian Family weren’t fools though, and understood that an ordinary man is innocent, but treasures made him guilty. After that war, the Lian Family attached themselves to Shadow Moon Hall and agreed to refine some puppets for them free of charge in exchange for protection.

So, after hearing this Lian Guang’s self introduction, Du Si Si and Cai He were both taken aback. The families the two of them came from weren’t small or unknown and could even be considered quite famous due to their proficiency in Spirit Arrays, but compared to the Lian Family they were still dwarfed.

Yang Kai also wore a thoughtful look. Fei Zhi Tu bringing Du Si Si and Cai He along must be in anticipation of needing to break through some barriers and Spirit Arrays in the Ancient Ruins, which was justifiable, but what point was there in inviting someone from the Lian Family?

After Lian Guang reported his name, he fell silent. Obviously, he was a naturally reticent individual.

After Du Si Si and Cai He recovered from their shock, they turned to look at Yang Kai. After Yang Kai, too, reported his name, their expressions became strange.

Cai He looked Yang Kai up and down for a moment before venturing a guess, “Brother Yang, you wouldn’t happen to be the one who caused a scene in Heavenly Fate City a few days ago, would you?”

Yang Kai chuckled and said, “If there was no other person who went and caused a fuss that day in Heavenly Fate City, it should be me!”

Cai He was immediately startled by Yang Kai’s admission, and even Du Si Si withdrew much of the arrogance on her face. Even Lian Guang opened his eyes again to take a second look at Yang Kai.

Although the families of these three were not weak, none of them had the courage to go to Heavenly Fate City, kill people, and burn down shops. What was even more bizarre was that after this guy ran amok and even committed murder, he emerged essentially unscathed and was even invited by Fei Zhi Tu to participate in this operation.

This surprised all three of them and made them wonder what kind of agreement Yang Kai and Fei Zhi Tu had reached that allowed him to get off scot free.

However, the three of them knew that there were some secrets best left unknown, so they didn’t try to get to the bottom of the situation. However, after learning Yang Kai‘s identity, Cai He became much friendlier towards him, no longer remaining silent and even engaging him in a lively discussion.

After chatting for a while, Yang Kai realized why this Cai He’s attitude had changed so dramatically. It turned out that there were many disputes between the Cai Family and Xie Family, and Cai He himself had suffered a few big losses at the hands of Xie Family disciples. Last time Yang Kai went to Heavenly Fate City though, he had killed a Xie Family Origin Returning Realm master. The details of the incident had spread, and many families and cultivators who had grudges against the Xie Family cheered; the Cai Family was, naturally, among them.

Yang Kai cutting down Xie Quan was equivalent to helping them get revenge, so how could they not be happy?

As a Cai Family member, Cai He naturally found Yang Kai pleasing to the eye.

Du Si Si on the other hand found a place to sit down, and closed her eyes.

After waiting for about half an hour or so, several figures suddenly and mysteriously appeared atop the hill, surprising the Saint Kings here apart from Yang Kai. Only Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was powerful enough that he had noticed this group’s arrival ahead of time, allowing him to remain calm and indifferent.

After seeing that the one who led this group of newcomers was Fei Zhi Tu, Cai He and the other young cultivators breathed a sigh of relief and quickly cupped their fists in greeting.