Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

As he was struck by the seal, Yang Tai was knocked down into the sea below, blood splashing out that dyed the water red.

He paid a heavy price for his carelessness and underestimating his foe.

Time Principles began to erode his old body, and the little lifespan he had left in him rapidly melted away, causing him to panic. He had no idea what to do in this situation.

Just as Yang Tai was feeling at a loss, Yang Kai caught up to him underwater. His movements were strong and nimble, even in this environment, and he was able to arrive in front of Yang Tai in just a breath. Raising his hand, Yang Kai thrust out his palm, causing the surrounding water to surge. Even though this wasn't some kind of Secret Technique, it wasn't a strike the current Yang Tai could handle.

Yang Tai let out a strange cry as his body was torn apart.

Yang Kai did not feel the slightest joy after his strike landed though, and instead turned his eyes to the side.

There, a gigantic catfish with thick whiskers was swimming away quickly, fleeing several kilometres in the blink of an eye.

This catfish was actually Yang Tai. At the most critical moment, he used the power of the Illusion Array to create the scene of him being killed in front of Yang Kai while disguising himself as a fish to escape.

Yang Tai himself was definitely incapable of really transforming like this, but he could do as he pleased thanks to the Illusion Array.

Ten kilometres away, the catfish leapt out of the sea and changed back to reveal the figure of an elderly man. Right now, Yang Tai was not as casual and confident as before; instead, he was in a miserable state. There were large blots of red on his chest, and as he bent over and coughed violently a few times, he appeared more like a terminally ill patient that was about to die than a powerful Emperor Realm Master.

The Time Flies Seal was still eroding every part of his body, right down to his bones, causing Yang Tai to panic. No matter how he tried to resist this strange force, he couldn't stop its rampage, much less disperse it.

Yang Kai also leapt out of the water, and panting lightly, he looked at Yang Tai from across the sky.

He injured Yang Tai, but he wasn't in good shape himself either. Usually, he would be able to crush someone like Yang Tai easily, but in his current state, it would require more thought on his part, especially since his opponent had both favourable conditions and an advantageous position.

"Damn it. Damn you!" Yang Tai cursed through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with hatred.

Yang Kai waved his hand and sent out several Moon Blades before chasing after them.

He wasn't clear about the situation outside, but he knew that it could only get worse the longer he delayed things here. Xia Sheng entrusted Hua Yu Lu to him, so he had to bring her back safely.

Yang Kai could ignore the lives of the others, but he couldn't afford to make any mistakes with Hua Yu Lu.

He had the opportunity to strike first and he didn't want to be passively beaten anymore, so he took the initiative into his own hands.

When the Moon Blades whistled over to him, Yang Tai stopped his cursing. He could feel the terrifying force contained within the Moon Blades, causing his face to change abruptly as his body began to melt away like water.

The Moon Blades cut through his body, but they weren't able to harm him much.

Yang Tai had clearly begun exercising the Spirit Array's might as well. The sea began to rage, and a thousand-metre-high wave rose up, transforming into a water giant that vaguely shared Yang Tai's features.

The water giant walked on the waves, each and every step rolling up the tide of the sea into a terrifying attack.

Compared to Yang Kai, who continued his charge, it was simply like the difference between an ant and an elephant.

A moment later, Yang Kai arrived before the water giant, summoned his Myriads Sword, and sent out a series of sword lights that sliced huge gashes into his opponent. But no matter how Yang Kai attacked, the gashes would just restore themselves in short order.

The water giant that Yang Tai transformed into howled above the sea. Inside the Illusion Array, he was able to perform the Water Attribute attacks of the highest grade, pushing Yang Kai to the edge immediately.

Yang Kai thought about using his Dragon Transformation or even summoning the Mountains and Rivers Bell to end this once and for all, but his injuries would not allow him to do so. Right now, he could not even release half of his full strength.

Yang Tai gradually took the advantage, and steadily suppressed Yang Kai to the point where the latter couldn't fight back.

The water giant howled, "I'll rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces!"

He seemed to have forgotten about his original intention of taking Yang Kai's blood to perform the blood sacrifice. Right now, all Yang Tai wanted was to end Yang Kai's life right here.

Wisps of black Qi began seeping out from the body of the transparent water giant at that moment.

Sensing this black Qi, Yang Kai's body shook as he shouted, "Demon Qi!"

His jaw instantly dropped.

He actually saw Demon Qi coming out of Yang Tai's body. Even though it was neither pure nor dense, it was undoubtedly Demon Qi. Yang Kai couldn't recognize it wrongly as he had just left the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld where he had fought for years with the Ancient Demons. His memory of their Qi was still fresh.

[How could Demon Qi come out from Yang Tai's body?] Yang Kai couldn't figure it out.

In ancient times, the Demon Race invaded the land several times, but they were always beaten back. The Two Worlds Passage should also have been sealed, so normal people couldn't come into contact with Demon Qi.

But thinking about it again, Yang Kai had encountered Demon Qi several times before. Only, it was far purer than the Demon Qi Yang Tai was radiating.

Yang Tai must have obtained something as well that allowed him to develop Demon Qi.

All sorts of thoughts passed through his mind in a flash before it all suddenly clicked in Yang Kai's mind, [Was it that Secret Technique?]

Hua Yu Lu told him that her trio had all gained something when they explored the Ancient Cave Mansion six months ago. She obtained the Little Flower Drum, Wu Kuang Yi made great advancements in his cultivation, and Yang Tai acquired a Secret Technique.

When they were on their way here, Yang Kai was lucky enough to see Yang Tai use that Secret Technique. It was power condensed into an ancient character. Even if he stayed in an ancient world for two years though, he still had no idea about the mysteries behind that character. He had only seen it once in the Shaman Divine Temple, and even the records inside were not clear.

But now, it appeared that the ancient character was not from this land, but was instead a Demon Race character.

The reason that records of it were available in the Shaman Divine Temple was to warn their descendants of the existence of these types of characters.

Yang Tai had unknowingly learned the true meaning of that character, and a trace of Demon Essence was thus formed in his body. As this Demon Essence awakened during this life or death battle with Yang Kai, it began releasing Demon Qi.

All of this was just his speculation, but Yang Kai couldn't find a better explanation for the current situation. If what he thought was truly the case though, then all of Yang Tai's strange behaviours would make sense. He was an Emperor Realm Master after all, and should have a corresponding level of intelligence and mental fortitude. Large emotional fluctuations and frenzied reactions towards certain things were definitely not something normal, but if he was being affected by Demon Qi hiding inside his body, then it would be perfectly reasonable to act in this manner.

Thinking about it this way, Yang Kai was shocked again. He speculated that perhaps it was a Demon Spirit that was born from the Demon Race character that gave Yang Tai insight into the secrets behind the giant blood-coloured door.

If that was true, then whatever was hidden behind that giant blood-coloured door was definitely related to the Demon Race.

"Yang Tai, you've become demonised and aren't thinking straight!" Yang Kai bellowed.

Yang Tai ignored him, however, as the water giant he transformed into slammed its palm down, raising a huge wave that seemed like it wanted to shatter the entire world.

"Tell me, is there a Demon sealed behind that door?!" Yang Kai continued to shout, but this time he infused his Spiritual Energy into his voice and sent it directly into Yang Tai's Soul, making it impossible for him to ignore.

Some Ancient Demons were very difficult to kill, just like the Giant One-Eyed Demon that Yang Kai encountered, which was sealed outside of Maplewood City. If what was sealed behind that giant blood-coloured door also happened to be such a Demon, or a part of such a Demon, then it definitely wouldn't be a good thing to set it free.

Last time, Yang Kai just happened to seal an Ancient Demon's Qi into his dantian, but such a miracle may not happen again this time.

This time, Yang Tai heard Yang Kai's shout and the water giant's movements stalled for a moment before turning furious, "How did you know that? How could you possibly know that!"

As if some unspeakable secret had been revealed, Yang Tai had become infuriated.

Yang Kai's heart sank sharply hearing these words.

The water giant raised its palm again, slamming it down towards Yang Kai.

Yang Kai stood his ground this time though, not trying to evade. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, but by the time they opened again, the aura surrounding his body had abruptly changed, taking on an ancient air.

He was now channeling his Shaman Strength.

After leaving the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, Yang Kai had always wanted to try and see if he could still use his Shaman Strength; after all, he had cultivated this power for more than two years there, so he couldn't just let it go to waste.

So, he attempted it several times on the way here.

The results pleasantly surprised him. He could freely switch between Emperor Qi and Shaman Strength now, with the two powers not conflicting with each other. Only, the Shaman Strength was a little weaker than his Emperor Qi, and the Shamanic Spells were a little strenuous to perform. It wasn't as easy as the Secret Techniques of the modern day.

Another thing Yang Kai noticed was that though he could perform the Shamanic Spells, they weren't as strong as they were inside the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld. It could only be used at eighty percent of its power.

Yang Kai felt that this must be due to the effects of the different World Principles.

The Ancient Barbarian Race could only cultivate Shamanic Spells because the World Principles of that era aligned with these techniques. Over time, slight changes also began to appear in the World Principles. The living beings of each era had their own specialties.

Yang Kai was forcefully using Shamanic Spells of the ancient times in this era, so it was only natural they wouldn't be as effective.

This was just how it was, and nobody could change it.

While muttering an archaic incantation, Yang Kai quickly formed seals with his hands and a glowing light burst forth from his hands, spreading out in all directions with a loud bang.

"Demon Suppression!"

The light swept over towards the water giant's body as Yang Kai's voice sounded.

It didn't cause any apparent damage, but the water giant seemed to take a hard hit, its actions halting as it lost all its momentum. At the same time, a grating cry sounded from the mouth of the water giant, naturally, it was Yang Tai.

The black Qi floating on the surface of the water giant's body melted away like snowflakes under the sun after the light swept across it.

During the war inside the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld that lasted more than two years, the Barbarian Race also developed a number of Shamanic Spells to use against the Demon Race. The Demon Suppression Spell was born at that time. It did little in terms of lethality, but it could disrupt and suppress the power of a Demon.

Yang Kai had several dozen such Shamanic Spells in his possession, all of which were similar to each other.

After using Demon Suppression, Yang Kai began chanting again, quickly engulfing the water giant in front of him with another blinding light and drawing even more miserable screams from Yang Tai.