Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & frozenfire

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

The tiny flame snake twisted around deftly in a lifelike manner, bringing unimaginable shock to everyone present.

Fu Shu was already stupefied as he stared blankly at the flame snake, utterly forgetting that he was still in the middle of a fight.

The goateed man roared, "First Imperial Prince, that isn't a Sacred Technique! Don't be deceived by his methods!"

"That really isn't a Sacred Technique?" Fu Shu turned around to ask.

The goateed man was so furious that his beard was trembling as he repeated with strong reaffirmation, "This Old Master is willing to stake his life that it absolutely isn't a Sacred Technique! It's just… somewhat similar to the Sacred Techniques, that's all! There's no need to fear it!"

Fu Shu's mind shook upon hearing those words, leading him to roar out furiously, "Just as I expected! As if an inferior being like you could unleash the Sacred Techniques! It turns out that you are just trying to scam me! Despicable bastard, you must die!"

Fu Shu attempted to notch his invisible bow to fire off another arrow; however, with a flick of his finger, the flame snake Yang Kai had conjured straightened up, before shooting over towards Fu Shu like a bolt of lightning.

Fu Shu pretended not to hear anything as he completely ignored the incoming flame snake attack, as he knew that the Sacred Tree would provide impenetrable protection. Any attack from Yang Kai would be utterly ineffective, just like what happened earlier.

The flame snake didn't seem to possess much power behind it, appearing just like an extremely common Flame Snake Spell. In ancient antiquity, even a Shaman Warrior would be able to execute a Shamanic Spell of this level.

With a bang, the flame snake smashed into Fu Shu's body, but an unexpected outcome occurred then. The protective green light had once again blossomed around Fu Shu's body, but after the impact from the flame snake, despite the latter instantly disappearing without a sound, flames covered Fu Shu's entire body, burning him until he was crying out in pain.

The goateed man's eyes contracted, as he could faintly sense that something wasn't quite right about this.

According to reason, being the First Imperial Prince, Fu Shu was granted the protection of the Sacred Tree within Human Imperial City. Therefore, only existences with eight leaves or more would have the capability of harming him. However, this mysterious foreigner had actually managed to accomplish such a feat! This was utterly out of his capability to comprehend, and he simply couldn't understand how this could even happen.

Furthermore, why did that Secret Technique appear no different from the Sacred Tree's Sacred Techniques? Other than the absence of the Sacred Tree's signature fluctuations, it simply appeared identical to the Sacred Techniques.

"Seems I've also obtained the protection of the Sacred Tree." Yang Kai grinned as he looked at the First Imperial Prince.

"Nonsense!" Extinguishing the flames on his body, Fu Shu cursed out madly, "You? Impossible!"

"Take a close look, First Imperial Prince, and see if I'm talking nonsense or not." As he sneered, Yang Kai suddenly raised his hand, before a flame snake appeared before him once again. This was followed up by another one, a third, then a fourth …

"You, you, you…" Fu Shu was getting shock after shock, "Why don't you need to chant an incantation!"

"Why would I need to chant?" Yang Kai continued to execute Shamanic Spells; but they were all the simple Flame Snake Spell.

"Singing incantations is necessary to unleash any Scared Technique!" Fu Shu felt his common sense being shattered apart, something he found hard to accept.

Yang Kai chuckled, "How can trash like you compare with this Young Master? This Young Master can conjure Sacred Techniques with a snap of his fingers."

As he was talking, a dense array of flame snakes had already appeared before him, as though they had just been forced out from their holes. As time continued to pass, the newly formed flame snakes started to transform.

Slivers of green glow started to surface on their fiery red bodies, and although this was not very conspicuous, the green glow was undoubtedly present. The green glow grew increasingly intense, and before the final few flame snakes materialized, they were completely covered with a jade-green glow.

Yang Kai finally pulled his hands back, grinning as he looked at Fu Shu, "Take a look. Didn't I say that I've also obtained the Sacred Tree's protection?"

"Ssii…" The goateed man sucked in a mouthful of cold air, while beads of cold sweat dripped down from his forehead. The way this matter developed exceeded all of his expectations! A foreigner was actually able to obtain the Sacred Tree's protection, and execute Sacred Techniques boosted with the Sacred Tree's power. Now, it was utterly impossible to rely on the Third Imperial Prince to deal with him. In fact, the appearance of this man would be sufficient to cause a giant storm that Human Imperial City had not experienced in over ten thousand years. If this young man wasn't dealt with appropriately, he could change the entire situation of Human Imperial City.

At this moment, the goateed man no longer had any thoughts of dragging Yang Kai down, only wanting to find an opportune moment to flee.

On the other hand, Fu Shu was also in such shock that he had turned speechless. The massive turmoil of emotions he was experiencing caused a series of events to occur within him, with the first being the dispelling of the Bloodlust Spell, before being closely followed by the backlash of his continuous usage of Sacred Techniques. The latter left Fu Shu crying out as he collapsed onto the ground, his hand covering his nose, though he was unable to stem the flow of blood. In an instant, his vitality plummeted, to the point where he was only a step away from death. Crying out in misery, he sought help from his surroundings. Yet, who could step forward to save him at such a moment?

Seeing his enemy, who was fighting on equal footing against him just a moment ago, had actually collapsed onto the ground, Yang Kai's face twitched fiercely. Nevertheless, he felt too lazy to add insult to injury. In the first place, he wasn't all that concerned about Fu Shu, as the latter was only able to contend with him by temporarily relying on the strength of the Sacred Tree. Currently, with Yang Kai having access to the same power, there was already nothing to fear from Fu Shu.

Turning around, Yang Kai grinned as he looked towards the goateed man.

With beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead, the goateed man spoke out in a sour tone, "Could it be… that you're actually royalty that has been lost in the past?"

Yang Kai replied with an indifferent expression, "You have quite the imagination."

"Then why are you able… to summon the power of the Sacred Tree?" The goateed man was unable to wrap his head around it.

"Who told you that only the Imperial Family is able to gain the Sacred Tree's protection?" Yang Kai sneered.

The goateed man gawked in sudden realisation. That deeply entrenched thought was completely due to the environment and knowledge he had been exposed to since his youth. It really seemed that no one had considered why only the Imperial Family was able to obtain the Sacred Tree's protection, and thereby gain access to its strength.

All of a sudden, the goateed man's mouth turned parched, as he felt as though an enormous secret had just been exposed before him.

He proceeded to ask in a quivering voice, "What kind of people can obtain the Sacred Tree's protection?"

Yang Kai replied coldly, "Getting rebellious, old dog? Why are you asking about this? Do you really have such thoughts?"

The goateed man burst into anger, "Stop spewing nonsense!" As he replied, he glanced at his surroundings, appearing afraid that his question had been overheard by other people.

Yang Kai snorted coldly, "Scram off and tell your master to not bother me in the future. This Young Master has no intention of purposefully offending anyone, and more so becoming enemies with anyone. It's just that my wife and I accidentally strayed into this place, so we will leave when we find the exit. If anyone dares to find trouble with us… heh heh."

Coming to a clear realization, the goateed man nodded his head and replied, "This Old Master will definitely convey Your Excellency's message. As for what the Third Imperial Prince decides to do, that isn't up for this Old Master to decide."

"I also know that you don't have the qualifications to make a decision, now scram." Yang Kai waved his hand as though he was shooing away a fly.

The goateed man immediately left. How could he dare to remain here?

At this point in time, Fu Shu was still shrieking in pain, his voice filled with incomparable misery. Not far away in the air, Zhu Qing was currently engaged in an intense fight against over thirty cultivators. Despite being blessed by Fu Shu's Bloodlust Spell and Life Chains, having their strength boosted and their vitalities tied together, how could these rabble match up with a member of the Dragon Clan?

The Bloodlust Spell could only stimulate the power of one's Blood Qi to strengthen their physical bodies and raise their bravery and ferocity. This would result in an increase in pure strength, though it would not raise it by much. As for the Life Chains, it merely linked their lives together, increasing their ability to absorb damage and injuries.

Their offensive capabilities still remained within the upper bounds of their cultivation realms.

As such, it wasn't difficult for Zhu Qing to deal with them, with the odds still being overwhelmingly stacked in her favour. Nevertheless, due to the effect of Life Chains, it still took her quite some effort to deal with them.

Yang Kai raised his hand at that moment and sent the flame snakes floating before him over, taking only an instant to smash into the crowd of people.

Immediately, the Life Chains which tied their life force together, burst apart like a pin-pricked balloon as countless flame snakes drilled their way through their protections.

The Life Chain Spell was dispelled before shattering apart. In the next instant, the group of thirty were swept away by Zhu Qing's violent aura, resulting in them suffering serious injuries, all of them spewing blood as they fell out of the sky like dumplings.

Under normal conditions, Life Chains couldn't be dispelled with such ease; however, Fu Shu was using the power from the Sacred Tree when he had cast that spell, and with Yang Kai's interference, it had resulted in the Life Chains breaking from within.

With her opponents suddenly collapsing in a single move, Zhu Qing was also too lazy to clean them up. Bullying the weak was considered an embarrassment for the Dragon Clan. With a flicker, she arrived by Yang Kai's side. Shooting a look at Fu Shu, who was now squirming in a pool of his own blood, she asked in an irked tone, "Why is he still alive?"

Yang Kai replied in shock, "You still want to kill ruthlessly? Indeed, there's nothing more poisonous than a woman's heart."

Zhu Qing snorted coldly in response, "Why are you letting trash like him live?"

"You have a point." Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and looked towards a certain location within the crowd of people, "Having witnessed such a good show for so long, shouldn't you come out already, Sir? You should have heard it. If you aren't going to come out, my wife will execute this First Imperial Prince. When that happens, don't come crying over spilt milk!"

Right after Yang Kai's words rang out, a figure suddenly dashed forward, appearing right before the First Imperial Prince. This person was rather tall and had a lanky build, as though he was malnourished. Standing there, he appeared akin to a bamboo pole, creating an exceedingly conspicuous sight.

Upon seeing this man, shock flashed across the face of Fu Shu, who was drowning in pain, before pointing at him, "You, you, you… you are…"

The tall man did not give a reply. Instead, he bent down and shoved a Spirit Pill into Fu Shu's mouth, before knocking him unconscious with a slap. Extending his hand, he lifted Fu Shu up, before turning around to stare coldly at Yang Kai.

"Oh? A Third-Order Emperor!" Yang Kai's brow immediately rose.

Despite knowing the outstanding heritage of this Human Imperial City, bumping into a Third-Order Emperor so quickly still brought some shock to Yang Kai. This tall man's aura was exceedingly profound, and wasn't inferior even when compared to Azure Sun Temple's Temple Master Wen Zi Shan, or the Star Soul Palace's Xiao Yu Yang.

In other words, he was a Master on the same level as Temple Master Wen and Elder Xiao, and not just some embroidered pillow. If he were to take action here, Yang Kai might not be able to deal with him.

Of course, within Human Imperial City, it shouldn't be a problem for Yang Kai to suppress him with the aid of the Sacred Tree's protection. At this moment, he had the Sacred Tree's blessing. The reason he had unleashed so many Flame Snakes earlier was for the sake of establishing a connection with the Sacred Tree.

The Sacred Tree didn't only protect and bless the Imperial Family, but rather it protected and blessed all Shamans. This was the deduction Yang Kai had made after observing the First Imperial Prince display Shamanic Spells. Therefore, he had used his Shamanic Strength for the sake of proving his theory.