Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

From the looks of it, the yellow-robed old man didn’t suffer much damage and only looked slightly dishevelled.

For the cost of a defensive artifact, this old man had managed to escape from the Demonic Flames, illustrating how decisive he was.

Yang Kai was secretly surprised and had to admit that he had somewhat underestimated his opponent. Anyone who could reach the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm clearly had a wealth of combat experience!

“Boy! This old master must skin you alive to dispel his hatred!” After the yellow-robed old man narrowly escaped disaster, not only did he not give in, but he ground his teeth and glared towards Yang Kai threateningly instead.

As soon as his words fell, this old man drew in a sharp breath, his expression becoming strained, as if he was about to execute some kind of powerful Secret Technique.

Naturally, Yang Kai was not going to sit back and wait for this old man to act. Although he didn’t know what kind of card his opponent was going to play, the tide of battle could shift in the blink of an eye; perhaps this yellow-robed old man really had some kind of killing blow that could reverse his current disadvantage.

Considering this, Yang Kai flicked his wrist again and sent his Golden Blood Thread piercing forward like a spear towards the old man’s head.

The Golden Blood Thread’s sharpness was unrivalled, and after being warmed and nourished by Yang Kai for such a long time, its power was truly immense. Furthermore, Yang Kai could control this Golden Blood Thread as if it was an extension of his body. After the yellow-robed old man self-destructed his defensive artifact, it was clear that he only had the Artifact Armour he was wearing to protect himself, so Yang Kai could use his Golden Blood Thread to pierce him where his guard was weakest.

Yang Kai had full confidence to kill or severely injure his opponent with this blow.

What shocked Yang Kai though was that, facing his Golden Blood Thread, the old man did not show any intention to dodge, simply standing in place and spitting out a fiery red wave of energy from his mouth.

In the blink of an eye, a crimson red mass appeared in front of the old man, radiating a power so imposing that even Yang Kai could not help feeling shocked!

This red mass was clearly still composed of Fire Attribute energy, but its energy fluctuations were on a completely different level compared to the flames the old man had released previously and obviously contained profound mystery.

Just after this fiery red mass took shape, the Golden Blood Thread pierced into it.

The moment it did, however, Yang Kai’s complexion changed slightly, and he immediately withdrew his Golden Blood Thread. With a frown, Yang Kai saw that the leading section of his Golden Blood Thread showed signs of melting.

If Yang Kai had not swiftly pulled his Golden Blood Thread back, the forward section of it would surely have evaporated, causing a certain amount of backlash against him.

Yang Kai could not help narrowing his eyes slightly, not having anticipated that his opponent’s Secret Technique would be so powerful.

On the other hand, the old man’s original ruddy face had gone slightly pale, most likely because of the heavy burden using this Secret Technique had on him. Even so, he laughed wildly, “Boy, have a taste of this old master’s Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire’s might!”

Saying so, the old man pushed his hands forward and madly poured his Saint Qi into the fiery red haze. With this infusion of Saint Qi, the fiery red haze swelled up suddenly and began releasing a heat that caused the space around it to distort. In the next instant, this heat mass transformed into a kind of ferocious-looking monster that rippled with intense flames.

As soon as this monster took shape, it pounced towards Yang Kai, seemingly melting the air around it as it moved forward, the sand and gravel down below turning into molten glass, making for a shocking scene.

This monster wasn’t just composed of extremely high-temperature flames though, as there were obvious streaks of jet black lightning swimming about its form, crackling violently, adding to its ominous prestige.

However, Yang Kai was not the least bit afraid facing this strange creature, only wearing a somewhat puzzled look on his face, seemingly lost in thought.

But soon, he regained his calm, and with a quick thought, a sharp bird cry rang out and a strange-looking Firebird leapt from his body, spreading its several dozen metre wide wings as it released a dazzling light into the surrounding space.

Firebird Artifact Spirit!

After being released by Yang Kai, the Artifact Spirit’s eyes flashed with excitement as it stared at the monster rushing towards Yang Kai. It was like it saw a delicious feast.

The moment the Artifact Spirit appeared, the strange thunder fires monster’s imposing manner stagnated for a moment and its eyes even flashed a look of dread, seemingly terrified of the Firebird before it. At the same time, the speed at which it was charging dramatically decreased.

The self-satisfied look on the yellow-robed old man’s face instantly cramped up, as if someone had just slapped him across the face, causing his jaw to drop as he stared at the Firebird Artifact Spirit Firebird in amazement.

He had never imagined that Yang Kai could use a method similar to his.

However, worrying now was useless. He did not believe that this boy’s methods could compare to the Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire he had cultivated for most of his life and had absolute confidence in.

In his moment of absent-mindedness, the Firebird Artifact Spirit and strange thunder fire monster collided and a bizarre scene of two different flames battling each other suddenly emerged. Monstrous howls and sharp bird cries constantly rang out as the two fought one another for dominance.

The yellow-robed old man secretly began to sweat while he watched; although he felt that his means were superior, saying he was not concerned at all would be a lie.

On the other hand, Yang Kai was extremely indifferent. His Firebird Artifact Spirit had even absorbed many wisps of Sun’s True Fire, and although he did not know what this Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire was, Yang Kai was certain it wasn’t on the same level as the Sun’s True Essence.

His Firebird Artifact Spirit should not have any difficulty dealing with it.

Taking advantage of this brief pause in hostilities, Yang Kai quickly probed the situation on the other battlefields.

Kong Wen Dong and the lead young woman’s battle need not be mentioned. With the two of them both having the same cultivation, without using the Origin King Grade Profound Yin Heart Shattering Drum artifact, neither could gain the upper hand on the other.

The same was true for the battle between the two Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators nearby.

The battle between the two First-Order Origin Realm cultivators, on the contrary, was completely lopsided, with the woman from Ice Heart Valley holding a distinct advantage. This was not a surprise though as her opponent had suffered a heavy blow from Ice Heart Valley’s leader before the battle began and was thus unable to display much of his strength at the moment. He could only clench his teeth and struggle desperately.

Even so, it was obvious this man was not far from being defeated.

As long as Ice Heart Valley’s side won a single battle, the momentum would shift dramatically in their favour and obtaining victory would only be a matter of time.

It only took Yang Kai a moment to use his Divine Sense to determine the situation around himself, but immediately after he learned what he wanted to, a mournful beast roar suddenly rang out from in front of him.

Yang Kai raised his brow and looked over just in time to see his Firebird Artifact Spirit Firebird completely suppress the strange thunder fire monster beast, wrapping itself around it completely.

Although the two creatures were both composed purely of flame, they both had their own unique advantages and disadvantages.

Yang Kai’s Artifact Spirit had long ago obtained sentience and had been nourished by the Earth’s Lung Fire Pond for over ten thousand years. Even in its original form, the Firebird was not a creature ordinary flames could compete with, and after swallowing several wisps of Sun’s True Fire, it had only become stronger. The monster transformed from the yellow-robed old man’s Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire was simply incomparable to it.

As such, moments after the fight began, the strange thunder fire monster fell into a disadvantage and, judging from the Firebird Artifact Spirit’s current behaviour, it seemed it wanted to swallow this thunder fire beast entirely.

Realizing this, the yellow-robed old man immediately became angry and anxious. He had spent a huge amount of his strength to use his trump card, but now it was obviously unable to play any role, so how could he not feel like coughing up blood?

Continuously pushing his Divine Sense, the old man attempted to recall his Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire monster from the Firebird Artifact Spirit’s suppression, but his efforts were to no avail.

“Old dog, look here!” Yang Kai suddenly grinned towards the old man and called out to him.

The yellow-robed old man could not help turning his head to look towards Yang Kai, wary that this boy would try to use this opportunity to attack him if he didn’t.

But the moment his eyes met Yang Kai’s; he was no longer able to look away.

In Yang Kai’s left eye, a strange lotus-bud strangely appeared before swiftly taking root in the old man’s Knowledge Sea, its beautiful petals slowly beginning to blossom in the next instant.

What horrified the yellow-robed old man though was that as this lotus blossomed, his Spiritual Energy began gathering towards it, as if it was being absorbed by it regardless of how he tried to stop it!

It was almost like this lotus was using his Spiritual Energy as nourishment to make itself bloom.

In the blink of an eye, almost a tenth of his Spiritual Energy had been drained and the rate of consumption was only increasing. At this rate, the old man estimated it would be less than ten breaths of time before his entire Knowledge Sea was dried up.

Once this happened, his Soul would suffer a devastating blow, one that would be extremely difficult to recover from.

The yellow-robed old man was thoroughly terrified and could not spare any of his attention to urge his Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire, quickly pushing all of his Spiritual Energy towards the strange blooming lotus to submerge it.

*Hong…*

A silent explosion occurred in the old man’s Knowledge Sea, instantly filling it with great waves and storms.

*Pu…*

The old man immediately coughed up a large blood mist, as if he suffered a serious injury.

Although he had used his Divine Sense to forcibly dispel Yang Kai’s Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique, he had still suffered a severe blow as a result.

As the saying goes, however, good fortune never came in pairs while misfortunes never occurred alone. Just as the old man escaped this crisis, without his conscious control, his Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire was swallowed by the Firebird Artifact Spirit.

The Firebird once again revealed its original form, but the strange thunder fire monster transformed from the old man’s Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire was nowhere to be seen. However, if one looked carefully, they could spot a few streaks of black lightning swimming about the Artifact Spirit’s belly.

There was no doubt it was the Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire!

*Pu…*

Another blood mist spurted from the yellow-robed old man’s mouth. His Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire was connected to his Soul, but now that the Firebird had swallowed it and forcibly cut this connection, it was inevitable for the old man to suffer backlash.

These successive blows had caused the yellow-robed old man’s momentum and aura to drastically weaken and his face was as pale as paper. Nothing remained of this Second-Order Origin Returning Realm’s former arrogance, and now he simply looked like a frail old man who was in danger of being toppled by a strong breeze.

One wrong move had led to his complete loss. This yellow-robed old man had never anticipated that a trivial First-Order Origin Returning Realm boy could force him to this extent.

Before the old man could even stabilize his turbulent Saint Qi though, a streak of golden flashed towards him.

Yang Kai’s Golden Blood Thread!

Taking advantage of an opponent’s moment of weakness to finish them was something Yang Kai had long ago learnt through his many years of wandering and innumerable battles.