Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & frozenfire

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

This proved that his guess was right. When he had unleashed the first Flame Snake Spell, there was indeed a sliver of resonance with the Sacred Tree, resulting in a faint connection being formed. After successively casting the Spell, this connection grew substantially stronger.

This resulted in Yang Kai gaining the blessings of the Sacred Tree, allowing him to display what the goateed man recognized as Sacred Techniques.

The so-called Sacred Techniques were just Shamanic Spells that had received a blessing of power.

The citizens of Human Imperial City had assumed that the Sacred Tree was protecting the Imperial Family, resulting in the Imperial Family becoming existences that could not be provoked or disrespected, while granting them many different privileges that no one could go against. However, the truth was simply that the only Shamans in Human Imperial City were from the Imperial Family, a status which allowed them to form a resonance and connection with the Sacred Tree to enable them to tap into the strength of the Sacred Tree.

Other than the Imperial Family, there was basically no one else that could cultivate Shamanic Strength. In other words, they were obstructed from cultivating Shamanic Spells.

This should be the method used to control Human Imperial City.

There was only one thing that Yang Kai could not understand. Exactly what was the Sacred Tree? Why did it protect Shamans, and offer them its strength?

Various thoughts swam through his mind, though Yang Kai could not find the answer for the time being, as the only way he could do so was to personally take a look at the Sacred Tree. However, how would that be an easy task to accomplish? Since the Sacred Tree's importance was tantamount in this place, it would definitely be well guarded by Human Imperial City. Therefore, it would be more difficult than ascending to the Heavens for Yang Kai, an outsider, to be able to see the Sacred Tree in person.

Focusing his attention towards the tall and skinny man, Yang Kai smiled faintly and said, "Let me guess, since the First and Third Imperial Princes have appeared, could your excellency be a person of the Second Imperial Prince? No, that doesn't seem right; although I also do not know if there is any Second Imperial Prince at all."

The tall and skinny man's expression remained emotionless as he replied in an indifferent tone, "How can you be so sure?"

His voice sounded like what a person with a skinny build would sound like, while his tone seemed to be exceedingly raspy, as though he had not drunk any water for several dozen years.

Yang Kai snorted in reply, "Since ancient times, Imperial Families have not cared about family relationships, and it is inevitable for intense struggles and underhand schemes to occur between princes. If you really were a person of the Second Prince, you would be ecstatic for the First Imperial Prince to kick the bucket as soon as possible, so why would you bother to save him? The Spirit Pill you just fed to him was quite expensive after all."

"So that's how it is. Looks like you have quite a sharp mind." The tall and skinny man nodded lightly, "You're right, I'm not a person of the Second Imperial Prince."

"Then whose person are you?" Yang Kai's eyes narrowed as he asked.

The tall and skinny man replied, "I'm here on orders from the Human Sovereign to invite you two to the palace!"

"Human Sovereign!" Yang Kai raised his brow, before turning his head towards Zhu Qing, "Madame, should we go or not?"

Zhu Qing replied, "I'll let you decide."

Yang Kai nodded lightly, before flashing a faint smile, "Let me ask a question first. Having beaten the First Imperial Prince up, would the Human Sovereign punish me?"

The tall and skinny man replied, "This lowly one isn't fit to judge the intentions of the Human Sovereign. I'm just acting on orders! Please cooperate!"

After saying those words, he turned his body sideways in an inviting stance.

Yang Kai said to Zhu Qing, "Looks like we have to take a trip there. I just so happen to have some questions to ask him as well."

"Let's go then." Zhu Qing nodded her head.

"Lead the way!" Yang Kai indicated to the tall and skinny man with his chin.

Without saying a word back, the tall and skinny man's body flickered before he flew off in a certain direction, with Yang Kai following in suit.

The little black puppy ran out from an unknown location at that point, and with a few barks, rushed into Zhu Qing's bosom.

During the earlier fight, this fellow had fled without a trace, but with the fight over now, he had immediately shown himself.

Within this exceedingly large Human Imperial City, this tall and skinny man clearly possessed a high status, as Yang Kai had caught notice of the five-leaf insignia embroidered on his clothes.

Although a five-leaf insignia was relatively low in terms of status compared to the First and Third Imperial Princes, it was still a symbol of nobility. In accordance with the words of the goateed man, only people with six leaves have the qualifications to borrow the power of the Sacred Tree, and unleash the Sacred Techniques that could suppress all in its path.

There was only a single leaf difference between five and six, but it was a great chasm in terms of status.

Yang Kai estimated that anyone within this Human Imperial City that was part of the Imperial Family's direct bloodline should have six leaves at the very least. For people like this tall and skinny man, who possessed powerful cultivation yet was not part of the Imperial Family's bloodline, five leaves would be the very peak, with it being impossible for them to rise any higher.

This man was a Third-Order Emperor, and would be an overlord or a Sect Master of a top Sect if he was in the outside world. However, within this Human Imperial City, he was a subordinate that served someone else.

Within Human Imperial City, one's status depended on one's presence or absence of leaves, while the number determined how esteemed one was, or whether one would be the master or subordinate. This was a method of control which Yang Kai would not agree to blindly, nor did he wish to make any judgement about it.

Yang Kai figured the Human Sovereign was a man who appointed people through favouritism, and someone that was very narrow-minded, which caused his initial impression of the latter to be rather poor.

The reason the Human Sovereign had summoned him was most probably due to him being able to borrow the power of the Sacred Tree. His appearance and his actions had shaken the very core of control the Human Sovereign had in his reign.

Yang Kai's appearance was just like a rock that had been thrown into a tranquil lake, causing ripples to spread out, and thereby attracting the attention of the overlord of the depths.

Yang Kai believed that if he were to reject the Human Sovereign's summons, a kill or capture order for him would immediately be spread across the entire Human Imperial City. Therefore, he could not reject this summon at all, and since that was the case, Yang Kai had no other choice but to go with the flow.

However, this would definitely not be a peaceful trip, so he needed to be extra vigilant.

Only nobility were allowed to fly within Human Imperial City. Regardless of how powerful one's cultivation was, one would need to obediently walk on the ground if one did not possess any leaves.

The tall and skinny man possessed five leaves. Furthermore, he seemed to be a Master that directly served the Human Sovereign, naturally giving him the qualifications to fly. As he did so, the people that were in his path all retreated to give way to him.

The status of the nobles were inferior to that of the tall and skinny man.

Yang Kai quickly noticed that it was hard to bump into anyone with six leaves. At the very least, he did not bump into a single one on this flight. The majority of the nobles he had bumped into possessed three leaves or less, with only a small handful possessing more than three leaves.

With such a pool, the tall and skinny man with his five leaves appeared to tower over the rest. The only difference between him and the First and Third Imperial Princes was his inability to borrow the power of the Sacred Tree.

That was because he was not born into the Imperial Family, leaving him unable to cultivate Shamanic Strength, resulting in him not receiving the blessing of the Sacred Tree.

The Imperial Palace was situated in the centre most region of Human Imperial City. The palace consisted of numerous buildings and spanned over an exceedingly vast area of space. It was also precisely the direction that Yang Kai had sensed the resonance coming from, where the power provided to him by the Sacred Tree came from.

Yang Kai squinted his eyes towards the direction he estimated the Sacred Tree was located, only to see a stretch of haze hanging over there, as though something was being encompassed by a powerful Spirit Array, leaving him unable to survey the situation within. The Spirit Arrays were most likely the ones that were obstructing his Divine Sense before as well.

Not long after, the tall and skinny man descended from the air, before landing in front of a palace. This palace was exceedingly opulent and furthermore, it seemed to have been built a long time ago. Standing outside of the palace, an ancient and desolate aura came surging out to greet them, as though it was telling them the ebb and flow of time.

Yang Kai's expression turned solemn.

The tall and skinny man passed the First Imperial Prince, whom he had been carrying over his shoulder like a sack the whole time, to the guards standing outside of the palace, before turning around, "Please enter. The Human Sovereign is waiting inside."

Yang Kai smiled, "This isn't a trap, is it? There aren't a few hundred blades and axes waiting to cleave us apart when we enter, right?"

The tall and skinny man replied in an emotionless tone, "Is this a joke from the outside world? It is not funny at all."

Yang Kai shrugged, "You obviously do not have any sense of humour."

The tall and skinny man replied, "The Human Sovereign is the most supreme existence in this world, and does not need any traps if his esteemed self wanted to deal with you."

"We're all Emperors here, so what's the use of posturing?" Yang Kai spat in disdain, before striding towards the palace.

The tall and skinny man pointed towards the little black dog in Zhu Qing's bosom, "Leave the bastard behind."

Zhu Qing shook her head and replied, "Ah Wang will not be left behind."

"The Human Imperial Palace is not a palace where one can just enter like that, much less a mutt. Please do not add more difficulty to my job." The tall and skinny man obstructed their paths.

Yang Kai replied with a sneer, "You are the one that said the Human Sovereign had summoned me and my wife, and yet now, you are obstructing us. Can't you make up your mind?"

The tall and skinny man opened his mouth, appearing to be in the process of giving a reply, before his ears suddenly perked up. Clearly, someone was transmitting a message to him.

After an instant, with a shift of his body, he moved to give way to Yang Kai and Zhu Qing.

"This is the proper attitude to treat guests with," Yang Kai smiled faintly, before walking forwards with Zhu Qing by his side.

From the outside, the interior of the Human Imperial Palace appeared to be filled with a dusky haze, making it seemingly impossible to make out anything within. However, upon entering, one would immediately notice how bright it was in here, with a dozen gigantic pillars erected in all directions, appearing as though they connected the Earth to the Heavens. Rays of light radiated out from the luminous pearl decorations that dotted the halls, encompassing the entire palace with a warm glow.

Pairs of eyes immediately swept over from all directions.

Yang Kai raised his brow in response, as he did not expect there to be so many people present within this Human Imperial Palace. Sweeping his gaze around, he quickly spotted a familiar figure among the crowd, and with a faint smile, he sent his greetings, "How are you, Third Imperial Prince? We meet again so soon! I have to thank you for your care earlier."

The Third Imperial Prince snorted coldly in response, his eyes brimming with disdain.

All of the people present within this palace possessed six leaves and above. In other words, all of them were blood-related to the Imperial Family, and Shamans of outstanding power. There was a great range in their ages though, with both males and females present.

There were not many nine leaves present, with only two people having them. Other than the Third Imperial Prince, there was a beautiful woman who appeared to be around thirty years of age. The two of them stood right at the highest place within the palace, right next to the throne, with the others standing in rows by their sides.

What piqued Yang Kai's curiosity was that the beautiful woman was actually a Second-Order Emperor.

Of the twenty or so Shamans present, there was a great range in their cultivation, but not a single Third-Order Emperor.

Right at the head of the room was a gigantic imperial throne, one that was wide enough to allow a person to lie in comfortably without feeling cramped. Seated on the imperial throne was a somewhat obese elderly man. He did not seem to be tall or muscular, instead appearing somewhat tubby when seated on the imperial throne, making for somewhat of a funny sight.

However, the aura that radiated from him gave Yang Kai a shock.

Before coming over here, he was secretly guessing the cultivation of the Human Sovereign.

The unique situation within this city had led him to the realisation that the greatest source of power was the ability to connect with the Sacred Tree and borrow its strength, with one's cultivation coming second to this.

Therefore, he had faintly concluded that the Human Sovereign's cultivation should not be too high, and thus would obviously not be at the Great Emperor Realm.

It was precisely because of this that Yang Kai had come here so confidently to meet this Human Sovereign.

If the latter really was a Great Emperor, he would not even have the chance to retaliate.

However, upon seeing the Human Sovereign, Yang Kai realized that he had been too naive. This Human Sovereign wasn't a Great Emperor at all. In fact, he wasn't even a Third-Order Emperor.

The aura that he radiated was just of a Second-Order Emperor! What's more, it was an exceedingly feeble aura at that!