Martial Peak

Chapter 2768, Xue Zong Mao

Translator: Silavin & frozenfire

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

It took a whole half hour before Wen Zi Shan finished his speech. Looking at Yang Kai, he said, "Have you memorized this King's words?"

Yang Kai replied in a solemn and respectful tone, "I have committed them to memory."

"Good," nodding in satisfaction, Wen Zi Shan extended his hand behind him. Immediately, Chen Qian, who was standing beside him, placed an object into his hand.

"Receive this Jade Elder Token. Yang Kai, from this day onwards, you will be an Elder of our Azure Sun Temple, advancing and living alongside our temple!"

"I will comply with the Temple Master's orders!" Yang Kai cupped his fists and accepted the Jade Elder Token before returning his Azure Sun Golden Token to Wen Zi Shan.

From this moment on, Yang Kai was an Elder of Azure Sun Temple. The jade token was exceedingly light, and wasn't large in size; however, it felt heavy when Yang Kai held it in his hands. This sense of heaviness came from the care and support he had received from the various Seniors of Azure Sun Temple.

"Sacrifice to the Heavens!" Wen Zi Shan roared out in a deep voice as he waved his hand.

"Huo…"

A beastial roar pierced through the skies. Looking over towards the source of the sound, Yang Kai saw Qiu Yan flying while carrying a cage with his Emperor Qi. Inside the cage was a mighty and impressive ape-type Monster Beast that radiated a golden light from its back which made its fur seem as if it had been cast from a golden metal. Despite being trapped within the cage, which restricted its strength, a violent aura that blotted the skies still radiated from it. It continued to smash its body against the cage, though its attempts to escape were futile, leaving it roaring incessantly in fury.

"Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape!" Someone exclaimed in shock.

The expressions of a number of Emperor Realm guests present at the ceremony changed.

This Sacrifice to the Heavens was the final event in the Grand Canonization Ceremony. This was also a chance for the new Elder to display his strength before the audience.

Generally speaking, the Monster Beast used in such ceremonies would be of average strength, neither strong nor weak. If it was too strong, it would result in the new Elder becoming a laughingstock if they were unable to kill it. If it was too weak, the new Elder wouldn't have the chance to properly display his or her ability.

Although the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape was a Low-Rank Twelfth-Order Monster Beast, which was on par with a First-Order Emperor, an average First-Order Emperor could only hope to flee safely if they encountered this Monster Beast in the wild. That was because the defensive capabilities of this Monster Beast were astonishing, along with its strong restorative capabilities. Any First-Order Emperor would need to risk their lives in order to kill it, and even that wouldn't guarantee success.

No matter how they looked at him, Yang Kai was just a First-Order Emperor. Could he successfully finish this sacrificial ceremony and deal with that Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape?

Apprehension rose in the hearts of quite a few people among the audience, afraid that a mistake made by Yang Kai would turn Azure Sun Temple into the butt of all jokes, with no way to wipe it clean.

Some were secretly guessing that the Monster Beast's strength might have been restricted, to allow Yang Kai to kill it more easily.

Just as doubts and suspicions rose within the audience, Wen Zi Shan nodded slightly towards Qiu Ran. The latter made a few seals with his hands, and in the next instant, the cage imprisoning the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape opened. With a flash, even the restrictions on its strength were lifted.

"HOU…"

A violent aura exploded forth and as it left its cage, the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape seemed just like a tiger that had entered the plains, or a dragon that swam in the seas. Beating its fists against its chest, powerful thumping sounds rang out as it swept its scarlet red eyes towards its surroundings.

Shocked expressions appeared on the faces of quite a few people as massive waves of fear surged within their hearts.

All of the restrictions placed on this Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape had been completely removed. Furthermore, being enraged, it would probably react more aggressively than usual. Just this alone was enough for basically any First-Order Emperor to become insufficient to deal with it. Only a Second-Order Emperor Realm would be able to defeat such a beast.

What was Azure Sun Temple thinking? Being known to be astute throughout his life, how could Wen Zi Shan turn muddled at this moment? If a setback occurred in this ceremony, wouldn't he become a laughingstock?

A sword glow flashed as Yang Kai took to the air.

Earlier, on Purple Bamboo Peak, Gao Xue Ting had already briefed him clearly about the sequence of today's events. Therefore, he knew what he had to do during this Sacrificial Ceremony. Naturally, he did not regard this trivial Twelfth-Order Low-Rank Monster Beast as a threat.

Summoning his Myriads Sword, he pointed it towards the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape as he locked his murderous intent onto it.

Appearing to have sensed this, the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape immediately looked over right when Yang Kai's murderous intent surged. Monster Qi gushed out from its body, and with a ferocious roar, it lunged towards him, wanting to tear him into shreds.

Right at this instant, an unexpected occurrence happened; a streak of light suddenly shot over from afar. Travelling like a bolt of lightning, it pierced through the body of the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape, before continuing unimpeded towards Yang Kai.

"Who!" Wen Zi Shan roared out as he attempted to save Yang Kai, though he was too late to do so.

A clear metallic sound rang out as the Myriads Sword in Yang Kai's hand flashed. He was thrown back a whole thousand metres before being able to stabilize himself. His face abruptly turned pale, before he vomited out a mouthful of blood.

It was only at this moment that Wen Zi Shan arrived between him and the streak of light. In the next instant, Gao Xue Ting appeared by Yang Kai's side. Standing before him, she turned her beautiful eyes vigilantly towards the newcomer.

Peng…

A dull bang rang out, as the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape, which had been raging about as mightly as a dragon and as fiercely as a tiger just now, exploded into a cloud of blood mist, dispersing in the air, not even leaving bones behind.

The audience was dumbstruck by what they had just witnessed, as all of them proceeded to stand up. No one had expected someone to actually come and cause trouble during the last event of this ceremony. Furthermore, that person had killed the sacrificial beast in a single move! Not only that, that person had dealt a blow to the lead figure of today's Grand Canonization Ceremony!

This action was basically a slap towards Azure Sun Temple's face! Who could endure it?

However, being able to smash the Twelfth-Order Monster Beast, the Golden-Backed Heavenly Ape into a blood mist was evidence of the astonishing strength this intruder possessed. There were absolutely no more than three people among the many Emperors present who could achieve such a feat.

Exactly who was this rampant in their actions?

Looking over, the audience could not help but to be dumbstruck once again, though looks of understanding soon surfaced on their faces as they started to slowly sense that this Grand Canonization Ceremony might not be able to proceed smoothly anymore.

"Elder Xue!" Wen Zi Shan's eyes narrowed as he stared at the intruder, the tone of his voice deep, with an ugly expression appearing on his face.

The intruder was impressively Elder Xue Zheng Mao of Star Soul Palace! This was something that he did not expect at all. After all, Xiao Yu Yang was already present, which should have been sufficient for a delegation from the Great Emperor Sect of the Southern Territory. Why did Xue Zheng Mao run all the way here? Furthermore, he had caused trouble right as he arrived, not giving Azure Sun Temple any face at all.

As he roared out, he simultaneously shot a glance towards Xiao Yu Yang, only to discover that there was a slight frown on the latter's face. It seemed as though Xiao Yu Yang wasn't informed about this matter at all.

"Temple Master Wen!" Xue Zheng Mao replied indifferently before sweeping his gaze past Wen Zi Shan and landing on Yang Kai before he opened his mouth, "So, you are Yang Kai? You're actually able to remain alright after receiving this Old Master's strike. You can be considered outstanding for that, however… you must now come with this Old Master."

As he said those words, he extended his hand to grab at Yang Kai.

Wen Zi Shan's expression turned into one of fury as he raised his hand to send a palm right towards Xue Zheng Mao.

"Impudence!" As he roared out, Xue Zheng Mao turned his grab into a palm and smashed it against Wen Zi Shan's incoming palm strike. A shock wave propagated out as space collapsed. Both parties retreated three steps back, appearing to be evenly matched from the exchange.

"Elder Xue, this King respects you as a guest! However, you've attacked my temple's Elder right upon your arrival! Aren't you going overboard with your actions?" Wen Zi Shan snorted coldly.

Xue Zheng Mao replied, "Your temple's Elder? Wen Zi Shan, you're really getting more muddled the older you get. Don't tell me that you don't know how big of a mess this little brat has created? And yet you still dare to protect him? Are you trying to uproot your Azure Sun Temple's foundations?"

"May I know what mess Elder Yang had created that caused Elder Xue to be this angry? This King really wishes to know about it," Wen Zi Shan did not back down in the slightest.

"I will not argue with you about this. Today, I will take Yang Kai from here." Xue Zheng Mao snorted coldly, stubborn and headstrong in his ways. Turning his head to Xiao Yu Yang, he asked, "Elder Xiao, what do you think?"

Wen Zi Shan's face changed slightly upon hearing those words.

Although he was a Third-Order Emperor, he was only able to deal with a single person of the same cultivation realm as him. If Xiao Yu Yang and Xue Zheng Mao were to collaborate, it would be hard for Yang Kai to escape from here. Even if all of Azure Sun Temple's Emperors were to take action, they might not be able to save the situation.

Xiao Yu Yang frowned, "Five days ago, I reported this matter to the Great Emperor. I'm now waiting for the Great Emperor to give his verdict!"

Wen Zi Shan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Yu Yang not taking action was a good thing for him, as he was not afraid of Xue Zheng Mao alone.

"Hmph!" Not getting the answer he was looking for, Xue Zheng Mao appeared to be unsatisfied with Xiao Yu Yang. Nevertheless, with both of them being Elders of Star Soul Palace and having the same status, he did not say anything more despite the dissatisfaction that surfaced within his heart. Turning his head around, he looked at Wen Zi Shan, "Temple Master Wen, the ceremony has not been completed, so Yang Kai cannot be considered an Elder of your temple. Hand him over to this Old Master. This will benefit your temple, without any disadvantages at all."

Wen Zi Shan shook his head and replied, "Although the ceremony has yet to be completed, Yang Kai has already received the Jade Elder Token. Who would dare to claim that he is not an Elder of our temple?"

"Are you going to be that obstinate and insist on making the Great Emperor furious before being willing to lower your head?" Xue Zheng Mao roared out in anger.

With a faint smile, Wen Zi Shan replied, "The Great Emperor's wisdom and judgment are beyond question, so how could he be infuriated by such a matter? He might even reward Elder Yang for helping Star Soul Palace clean up its mess."

"Impudence!" Xue Zhen Mao's face turned ashen with rage.

Wen Zi Shan replied coldly, "If you want to take Elder Yang away, you have to go past this King before doing so."

"Do you really think that I don't dare to take action?" Xue Zheng Mao growled between his clenched teeth.

"Didn't you already take action earlier?" Wen Zi Shan retorted.

These two Third-Order Emperors traded barbs back and forth, neither willing to back down. The flames of anger in their eyes grew stronger by the moment, as though they were about to viciously attack one another. Seeing this, the hearts of the guests started to pound in fear as cold sweat drenching their backs.

If these two started to fight, regardless of how amazing a sight it would be to see, being caught up in the fallout would be a disaster.

No one was willing for that to happen.

"Seniors, please calm yourselves. You two are pillars of our Southern Territory, and cross paths regularly, so there's no need for this, right?" Orthodoxy Temple's Feng Ming stood up in an attempt to mediate.

"That's right. Please don't let anger blind your judgment. Come have a seat and have some tea." Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce's Vice President Cheng Yang stood up and chimed in.

Chen Wen Hao from Heavenly Martial Holy Land quickly added, "Didn't Elder Xiao say that he was waiting for the Great Emperor's verdict? It has already been five days, so it won't take long before the Great Emperor's decision is sent out. Therefore, there's no need to be in such a rush, right, Elder Xue?"

Xue Zheng Mao frowned, turning silent for a short moment before replying, "Good. This King will wait here for the Great Emperor's judgment. When that happens, I want to see how you, Wen Zi Shan, will protect that little brat."

After saying that, he shot a glare at Xiao Yu Yang. Today's matter had caused a great deal of frustration for him. Originally, he had believed that Yang Kai would surrender without a fight when he personally made an appearance. Never did he expect Wen Zi Shan to actually not give him any face at all. More importantly, he was utterly blindsided by the presence of Xiao Yu Yang, as well as the latter having already reported this matter to the Great Emperor. If he had known about these details, he would have never made an appearance today. In any case, the Great Emperor's verdict would arrive soon, and when it did, how would Wen Zi Shan dare to resist?