Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

In the depths of the Flowing Time Temple, inside a certain room, many powerful people had gathered.

This was the inner sanctum of the temple, and those who were qualified to reach this place were all top Masters of the Southern Territory's Dao Source Realm cultivators.

Lan Xun, Xiao Chen, Luo Yuan, Kong Qi, Murong Xiao Xiao, Gong Wen Shan, and Bian Yu Qing were all present.

Among these seven, aside from Lan Xun who was in the First-Order Dao Source Realm and Gong Wen Shan who was in Second-Order, the others were all in the Third-Order.

There was no need to comment on Lan Xun, as the prized gem of Bright Moon Great Emperor and the possessor of a Special Constitution, her strength was vastly superior to her cultivation, so she was absolutely qualified to stand here. The same was true for Gong Wen Shan as, although his cultivation was lower than most of the people present by a Minor Realm, as an Array Grandmaster, his methods were profound and his strength could not be measured by his cultivation alone.

At this moment, besides Xiao Chen who had been guarding Lan Xun and stuck close to her, everyone else had found their own space to sit down cross-legged and restore themselves, seemingly waiting for something.

Murong Xiao Xiao would glance towards a certain spot from time to time, her beautiful eyes containing a trace of anxiety as she waited.

At a certain moment, a hundred meters or so behind where everyone else was waiting, a circular light-gate appeared and a figure slowly walked out.

Everyone noticed this disturbance and turned to look back.

"Finally…" Luo Yuan seemed to have become impatient and couldn't help snorting coldly.

Murong Xiao Xiao stood up hurriedly, with a smile on her face, and walked towards that side, as if to welcome this newcomer.

The others also showed some interest, wanting to see who had come.

The figure slowly emerged from the light gate and revealed its face.

"Huh?" The smile on Murong Xiao Xiao's face froze for a moment as she stared at this newcomer in astonishment, her expression extremely complicated as some disappointment and surprise were mixed together.

She never expected that the last one to emerge from this light gate would actually be Yang Kai rather than Xiao Bai Yi!

The faces of the others present also showed some slight differences. Kong Qi's face twitched and he quickly turned his gaze aside, as if looking at Yang Kai would somehow tarnish his vision.

Bian Yu Qing smiled meaningfully…

"Oh… so many people!" After Yang Kai walked out of the light gate, he saw the silhouettes of seven people in front of him and couldn't help feeling a bit surprised, "Why are all of you here?"

"We were waiting for you!" Bian Yu Qing smiled enchantingly as she spoke some suggestive words.

Yang Kai scratched his nose and said, "Please don't joke, this humble one does not command such a big face!"

He thought Bian Yu Qing was cracking a joke.

But what he didn't know was…

"It's not a joke, we were really waiting for you!" Gong Wen Shan stood up from where he was sitting and looked at Yang Kai sternly, "But that's only half right. We weren't waiting for you specifically, but rather the last person we needed!"

Yang Kai frowned, swept his eyes around, and soon fixed his gaze on something ahead before muttering thoughtfully, "It looks like if you want to break this barrier, you need a specific number of people!"

"Yeah!" Gong Wen Shan nodded.

"Would anyone care to explain to me what the situation is?" Yang Kai smiled and looked around.

Gong Wen Shan snorted, "I don't want to explain such a troublesome thing twice!"

After saying so, he ignored Yang Kai entirely.

Murong Xiao Xiao pursed her red lips and said, "I'll explain. Junior Brother Yang, please come here."

She beckoned to Yang Kai.

Yang Kai nodded and walked over.

Murong Xiao Xiao immediately explained the situation to him.

After listening to her, Yang Kai understood that the entrance to the large hall in front of them was protected by a Spirit Array called the 'Eight Points Yuan Returning Array'. This Spirit Array was actually not that complicated and cracking it was extremely easy.

Just gather eight people and stand in specific positions to force the Spirit Array to de-activate. There wasn't even a need for the ones cracking the array to use their strength.

Of course, if there was not someone proficient in Spirit Arrays present, seeing through the intricacies of this Spirit Array would be difficult, but that was not an issue to Gong Wen Shan's eyes.

"So, you could only wait for the arrival of another person here?" Yang Kai asked after listening.

"En," Murong Xiao Xiao nodded lightly and smiled, "I didn't expect Junior Brother Yang to be the last to come."

Yang Kai glanced at her and whispered in a low voice, "Don't worry, Brother Xiao Bai is only a bit injured, there's no need to worry about his life!"

Murong Xiao Xiao heard this and her eyes lit up, "Junior Brother Yang, have you seen Senior Brother Xiao?"

"En," Yang Kai nodded.

"Then where is he now?" Murong Xiao Xiao asked nervously.

"I don't know, probably teleported out of the temple, maybe somewhere else inside," Yang Kai shrugged.

Murong Xiao Xiao seemed to have realized something from Yang Kai's words and couldn't help covering her mouth in shock as she asked, "Junior Brother Yang… did you defeat Senior Brother Xiao?"

"Hm?" Yang Kai was stunned, "Does that mean… everyone here had to pass through the same test?"

"En…" Murong Xiao Xiao replied, "I ran into an opponent on that stage and only after winning did I come here."

"It looks like everyone's experience was similar…" Yang Kai muttered thoughtfully.

If everyone had to pass the Flowing Time Steps and the battle stage, then, there only being eight people left at this moment would make sense.

It was not easy to pass these two tests, so naturally, many were eliminated.

While they were talking, Yang Kai glanced around at the others present and soon found that some Star Seals had appeared on the backs of their hands. Even Murong Xiao Xiao had one.

It seemed that everyone had their own opportunities inside the Flowing Time Temple. Unfortunately for Yang Kai, he only managed to obtain a Flowing Time Fruit inside the temple while his Star Seal came from when he just entered the Two Seasons Mountain Range, since then he had not seen another.

"Are you done yet? If so then hurry up, I don't have time to waste here!" Luo Yuan urged impatiently.

If it wasn't necessary to gather eight people to crack this Spirit Array, how could Luo Yuan have idled here for so long? Instead of waiting, he would have just started a fight and driven out as many others as possible.

Yang Kai glanced at him lightly but didn't say anything, instead turning to Gong Wen Shan and saying, "Brother Gong, I understand the general situation. What should I do?"

Gong Wen Shan nodded and explained, "If that's the case, then everyone just needs to follow my instructions and stand where I tell you to. Although this Eight Points Yuan Returning Array is simple to crack, if something goes wrong… heh…"

Although he didn't finish what he said, everyone understood what he meant.

Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Brother Gong, please give us your advice. I don't believe anyone here will be ignorant enough to ignore your instructions."

As he spoke, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he glanced over at Luo Yuan.

"Very good!" Gong Wen Shan heard this and smiled lightly before stretching out his hands and forming a seal.

Ripples of visible Source Qi were sent out from his figure and before Gong Wen Shan, a circular seal appeared on the floor.

Immediately, Gong Wen Shan pointed and instructed, "Friend, stand here!"

He was referring to Luo Yuan.

Luo Yuan didn't say a word and just stood in the spot that Gong Wen Shan pointed to.

"Madam, please stand there!" Next, he pointed to Bian Yu Qing.

"Calling me madam makes it seem like I'm old…" Bian Yu Qing pouted under her breath as she moved to her spot.

"You stand there!" Gong Wen Shan pointed to Yang Kai next.

Yang Kai nodded and flew over to Bian Yu Qing's side.

Under Gong Wen Shan's guidance, everyone stood in a different position.

While they were waiting, Bian Yu Qing turned to Yang Kai and smiled, "Smelly brat, I didn't expect to see you here!"

"What's wrong? Are you looking down on me?" Yang Kai raised his brow and coldly snorted, "This one's power is beyond what Protector Bian can imagine."

"Is that so…" Bian Yu Qing smiled with interest, "If that's true, I'd like to take a closer look."

"There'll be a chance!" Yang Kai gave her a blank look before asking, "What about Senior Brother Kou? Isn't he with you?"

Bian Yu Qing heard these words and her expression dimmed.

Yang Kai was surprised and asked, "He couldn't have…"

Bian Yu Qing composed herself and shook her head, "It's not what you think, Kou Wu knew his limits and stopped at the Flowing Time Steps!"

"Oh, that's a pity." Yang Kai sighed.

Although the Flowing Time Steps were extremely perilous, if one could surmount them, they would gain incredible benefits. Yang Kai's strength had been greatly tempered even in that short time, and from the looks of it, the other seven people present clearly gained similar benefits from the Flowing Time Steps.

However, what Bian Yu Qing said confirmed Yang Kai's previous guess that everyone's chances had basically been the same, especially in the later stage. After passing the Flowing Time Steps, one simply needed to overcome the elimination battle before arriving here.

As the two talked, everyone was placed appropriately, with only Gong Wen Shan left.

Gong Wen Shan stood outside the runic circle and carefully checked to make sure everyone's position was correct before he flew over to the last spot.

When he landed, he quickly shouted, "No one move, no matter what you sense, no matter how abnormal it might feel. Also, do not circulate your strength, otherwise, you will risk everyone's life!"

Seeing how he spoke so solemnly, how could those gathered here not listen to his advice? One after another, they withdrew their strength and entered into a kind of meditative state.

Soon, a faint humming was heard.

The surrounding World Energy seemed to be swirling, causing a kind of chain reaction.

As the World Energy movement became more intense, the humming sound grew louder.

Soon, a strange sound, like something crumbling, reached everyone's ears.

Only now did Gong Wen Shan, who had seemed quite anxious before, let out a sigh of relief. He knew that this Eight Points Yuan Returning Array was collapsing.

*Kacha…*

Along with this sound, a crack began to appear in the array ahead, releasing a bright light. As the crumbling sounds grew louder, the crack also slowly expanded.

Just as the crack became big enough for a single person to pass through, Gong Wen Shan shouted, "Don't move yet!"

Everyone was taken by surprise by this shout and immediately halted their movements.

However, at that moment, Gong Wen Shan shot out towards the opening like an arrow from a string.

"Damn it, that bastard!" Kong Qi yelled angrily and hurried to catch up.