Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Ashish

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"Ah!" Dong Hai's face went pale, and he almost collapsed.

He had deployed all the Third-Order Dao Source Realm Elders of the Dong Family this time in order to capture Shi Tian He as this was an important matter with no room for mistakes. He had thought it was an adequate arrangement, but little did he know that it would result in all of them getting slaughtered.

With the Dong Family losing so many Elder level figures at once, their power was sure to plummet. After that, it was entirely possible that they would be consumed by the other great families in the city.

Dong Hai could hardly accept this reality, and his mind went blank.

"Who are you!?" Commander Yu was shocked as well. As the Commander of Serenity City's Guard, an Emperor Realm Master appearing all of a sudden in his city without his knowledge was a serious dereliction of his duties.

Not only that, but the pressure he felt from Ji Yao was even greater than that of the City Lord.

In other words, this icy woman was even stronger than the City Lord.

A Master who was stronger than the City Lord… Had to be a Second-Order Emperor! Commander Yu felt cold sweat lining his brow at such a thought.

Around the corner, Bai Lu and Yan Xue Man saw everything that happened and were both filled with terror.

They had thought that between Yang Kai and Ji Yao, only the Honoured Master Yang Kai was an Emperor Realm Master. Only now did they realise that Ji Yao was one too.

Yan Xue Man, who had tried to buy her ship just yesterday, clearly realized that Ji Yao had been merciful back then, otherwise, the two of them would have long lost their lives.

Commander Yu hurried over while wiping the sweat from his forehead, "Greetings, Senior, I am Serenity City's Guard Commander, Yu Zhen. May I know your honoured name?" He asked Ji Yao respectfully, cupping his fists.

Standing before someone he suspected to be a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, he did not dare to show any rudeness; after all, even the City Lord was only a First-Order Emperor Realm Master. If he angered this Master into losing her temper and she decided to go on a rampage, Serenity City would disappear from the Stary Boundary today.

Ji Yao did not seem to hear Yu Zhen's words, only turning her head and staring at Shi Tian He with a frown.

Shi Tian He was also stunned, still holding her sword in her hand. She looked around, but saw that every single one of the Dong Family Elders that had been attacking her was now dead.

"Senior…" Shi Tian He looked very emotional as she gazed at Ji Yao, saying gratefully, "Many thanks to you, Senior, for saving me!"

She had felt certain that she was about to die, only to suddenly receive someone's assistance at the last moment and have her fate completely changed. The gratitude in her heart was more than she could express.

"You're a disciple of Ice Heart Valley, right?" Ji Yao asked, frowning.

Those words fell like a giant boulder being thrown into the surface of a calm lake, creating humongous waves of shock.

"What? Patriarch Dong's wife is an Ice Heart Valley disciple? Is this for real?"

"Surely not? If it is true, then the Dong Family is doomed!"

"It's no wonder that Patriarch Dong was willing to drive his own wife out of the Dong Family in order to sever ties with her. It turns out she's an Ice Heart Valley disciple!"

"Patriarch Dong is resolute indeed, how could anyone else bear to cast out such a pretty wife?"

The air was full of the crowd's chatter, which made both Ji Yao and Yang Kai frown deeply as they wondered what was going on.

At Ji Yao's query, Shi Tian He gave a bitter laugh, "I dare not call myself an Ice Heart Valley disciple anymore. I was expelled from the Sect by my Honoured Master one hundred years ago."

"Expelled from the Sect? What crime did you commit?" Ji Yao asked after a shocked pause.

It was impossible for Ice Heart Valley disciples to be driven out of the Sect unless they had done something seriously wrong.

Shi Tian He's expression was bitter as she cast a glance at Dong Hai below.

Ji Yao understood her meaning, and snorted coldly, "So, it was for a man! You really are blind to go with him even when it meant being driven out of the Master Sect. And look at you now, he even cast you out of the Dong Family!"

At those words, Shi Tian He's eyes reddened again. This was her greatest source of anguish, but she was unable to say anything.

"It's over, it's over…" Dong Hai's face seemed to grow old and weary as he heard Ji Yao and Shi Tian He's words. His body swayed as he looked like he was about to fall.

He knew that this really was the end of the Dong Family. Not only did they lose their Elders and fall greatly in strength, the relationship between Shi Tian He and Ice Heart Valley had also been exposed. There was no way the Dong Family could ever recover from this!

From this day on, there would be no place in Serenity City for the Dong Family. Even if the other great families in the city didn't deal with them, the City Lord would not possibly bypass them.

Even though Shi Tian He had been expelled from Ice Heart Valley a hundred years ago, she had still once been their disciple. Right now, in the entire Northern Territory, anyone who had anything to do with Ice Heart Valley would face a nasty end.

"So, she's from Ice Heart Valley…" Yang Kai looked astonished as well.

When he had been eavesdropping on Commander Yu and Dong Hai's conversation earlier, Commander Yu had said that Madame Dong was from some Major Sect. He had not paid attention to it then, but now he knew that the 'Major Sect' was actually Ice Heart Valley!

In the Northern Territory, Ice Heart Valley was considered one of the top forces. For their disciple to marry down and join the puny Dong Family of Serenity City was an incredible honour.

"Whose disciple are you exactly?" Ji Yao asked.

Shi Tian He said quietly, "Senior, this Junior's Honoured Master's surname is An, and her given name is Ruo Yun!"

"You're Eldest Senior Sister's disciple?" Ji Yao jolted.

An Ruo Yun was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master and held the highest rank amongst Bing Yun's direct Disciples. She was the Eldest Senior Sister amongst them all. During the years Bing Yun had gone missing, it was An Ruo Yun who took charge of Ice Heart Valley in her stead and kept it going.

It could be said that almost all the cultivators in the Northern Territory knew her name.

Upon hearing that Shi Tian He's Honoured Master was An Ruo Yun, the crowd was shocked. None of them had thought that Dong Hai's wife had such an astonishing origin!

The glances they cast towards Dong Hai were now filled with complicated emotions. The disciple of An Ruo Yun herself had chosen expulsion just to marry him! What had Dong Hai done to deserve such an honour? It was a pity, however, that what was once a great honour was now a death sentence for the Dong Family.

"Eldest Senior Sister?" Shi Tian He was stunned and stared blankly at Ji Yao, "Senior, you are…"

Since this person referred to her Honoured Master as Eldest Senior Sister, then she was evidently also from Ice Heart Valley. Shi Tian He recalled all the faces of her Martial Aunts in Ice Heart Valley, but none of their faces matched the person before her, which caused her great confusion.

"I am your Third Martial Aunt!" Ji Yao said coldly.

Shi Tian He's eyes lit up and she cried out, "You are… Martial Aunt Ji Yao!"

Back when she was still in Ice Heart Valley, Ji Yao had never appeared in the Sect as she had been wandering outside. She had thus never seen Ji Yao in person, but during the days she spent in the valley, she had often heard her Honoured Master speak of this Martial Aunt who had been missing for so long. The other Martial Aunts in the valley were all concerned about her safety, but none of them knew where to begin looking for her.

She had never thought that she would run into Ji Yao in Serenity City today.

Quickly, Shi Tian He was overjoyed, and the sorrow in her heart was greatly reduced by seeing Ji Yao. She hurriedly knelt down before Ji Yao and greeted, "Greetings to Third Martial Aunt from the expelled disciple of Ice Heart Valley, Shi Tian He!"

"Get up!" Ji Yao raised Shi Tian He to her feet with one hand, and said with a cold snort, "You were the disciple of Eldest Senior Sister, and yet you went against her for the sake of such a man. If I was her, I would've killed you right away and not let you live to this day!"

Shi Tian He smiled bitterly and said nothing.

Ji Yao continued, "But since Eldest Senior Sister decided to spare your life, I will not go against her wishes. Since you were cast out from Dong Family today, then you are no longer one of them. Come back with me to Ice Heart Valley and apologize to Eldest Senior Sister! Whether you live or die will be up to her to decide."

Tearfully, Shi Tian He answered, "Many thanks, Third Martial Aunt!"

Ji Yao turned her head and looked coldly at the distraught Dong Hai below, then scolded, "Though Tian He is an expelled disciple of Ice Heart Valley, that doesn't mean any random trash can mistreat her! If you had cared for her after she abandoned her Sect to be with you, then it would've been fine, but now that you've cast her aside for your own selfish needs, your death isn't worth pity!"

As she spoke, she was about to strike downwards with her palm.

"No!" Shi Tian He turned pale, and in a flash she had thrown herself in front of Ji Yao, falling to her knees as she pleaded, "Third Martial Aunt, don't kill him! I beg you, please don't kill him!"

The Emperor Qi was surging in Ji Yao's palm, but she held it back and did not unleash it. She glared at Shi Tian He and snapped furiously, "You would protect him even now?"

Shi Tian He shook her head, crying, "He saved my life all those years ago. Please spare his life today, Third Martial Aunt, and just take it as me repaying that life debt. From now on, there is nothing between us, and there will never be any further contact!"

Ji Yao was unbearably livid, and she almost wanted to kill her foolish Martial Niece here and now. The Emperor Qi in her palm surged several times, but in the end, she could not bear to do it. After all, Shi Tian He's life had been difficult enough already.

Given no other choice, Ji Yao could only turn her head to look at Yang Kai, "Honoured Master, what do you think?"

"His life may be spared, but he cannot escape punishment!" Yang Kai answered coldly.

As he spoke, he appeared before Dong Hai and landed a palm strike on his chest. Dong Hai could not even react before he was sent flying and was knocked out as he crashed into a nearby building.

Since Yang Kai had already acted, Ji Yao naturally had no objections and retracted her Emperor Qi.

"We're leaving!" Yang Kai waved his hand and flew into the air first.

Ji Yao hurriedly followed, with Shi Tian He turning to look at Dong Hai unconscious on the ground for a moment before ultimately also averting her gaze and quickly disappearing from the onlookers' view.

Only then did the many cultivators at the city gates heave a sigh of relief. With an Emperor Realm cultivator present, they didn't even dare to breathe loudly in case they somehow caused offence.

"So, she's from Ice Heart Valley!"

Around the corner, Bai Lu looked like he had discovered some great secret treasure, and his face was full of excitement. Thoughts spun rapidly in his head for a while before he suddenly said, "Xue Man, hurry and tell your Father that an Emperor Realm cultivator from Ice Heart Valley has just left Serenity City. Tell him to quickly gather all his forces and chase after them! Remember to tell him not to alert them! He just needs to make sure they're followed!"

"What about you?" Yan Xue Man stared at him.

"I'm going back to Profound Thunder Pavilion to tell my Father what happened here. I believe he will be very interested in that woman."

Having said so, he dashed towards the Space Array in Serenity City from where he could directly return to Profound Thunder Pavilion and inform his Father.

"To think someone from Ice Heart Valley dared to come out and stir up trouble. Now, I can finally get revenge!" Bai Lu thought with a cold smile, feeling gleeful as he thought about what it would look like when his father stepped in and took down those two.

Silavin, Ok. So, slight adjustments. Technically, Ji Yao is not supposed to be gone 100 years ago. So, changed it to her just leaving the Sect for long periods of time, which is true.

Pewpew: Made another adjustment to erase all mention of how long she was gone for, so nothing needs to be adjusted from before.