Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Just then, a ringing sound could be heard as a few figures suddenly appeared around the thin man. The figures came in different shapes and sizes, but they all exuded very thick Death Qi. Upon closer look, it could be seen that their faces were all ashen and hollow. Their teeth were sharp, and their hair was in a mess, so they looked rather hideous.

"Corpse Refinement!" Yang Kai arched his brow in surprise, as he didn't expect that someone from the Netherworld Sect was an expert in Corpse Refinement. No one else he had come across from the Netherworld Sect so far knew this skill. It seemed that the Secret Techniques in Netherworld Sect were also divided into different schools; however, they all seemed related to the dead.

"Hmm?" Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at one of the Corpse Puppets. After he sized it up for a bit, his expression darkened.

"Brat, I'll capture and refine you so that you'll become one of my Corpse Puppets too!" The thin man bellowed at Yang Kai and glowered at him. Although the young man before his eyes had showcased some exceptional combat skills, he wasn't a weakling either. With the Corpse Puppets around him, even a Third-Order Origin King Realm Master couldn't possibly harm him. He might also stand a chance to capture his enemy; therefore, he wasn't flustered at all. Instead, his interest in Yang Kai had increased because of what the latter had done.

A Corpse Puppet's strength correlated with its power before death. The more powerful a cultivator was, the more power he would be able to showcase after he was made into a Corpse Puppet.

Not only was Yang Kai powerful, but his body was also tough, which was the best Corpse Refinement material that this thin man had always dreamed of obtaining.

He almost couldn't contain his urge to cackle out loud, as he couldn't believe that it didn't take him any effort to find such a precious material. If he could refine this young man, his position within the Netherworld Sect would be strengthened.

As the copper ring on the thin man's hand spun, the Corpse Puppets that he had summoned started howling. All of them exuded very thick Corpse Qi as they pounced on Yang Kai with their claws. Their nails were just as sharp as blades, and they also appeared green, which suggested that they were poisonous.

Just then, a fire appeared as a petite firebird flew towards the Corpse Puppets. Its movement was swift, and its demeanour was elegant.

The first Corpse Puppet that it came into contact with was set ablaze in an instant while the firebird didn't even slow down as it flew towards the second Corpse Puppet. In the blink of an eye, it had burned several of them to ashes.

"Keep this one alive!" Yang Kai suddenly shouted and clenched the neck of one of the Corpse Puppets before pulling it towards himself. The Corpse Puppet started struggling as he clawed at Yang Kai's chest with his sharp nails; however, it was as if he was trying to jab his nails into a piece of iron as clanging sounds could be heard. Ultimately, he was unable to penetrate Yang Kai's chest at all.

Liu Yan tilted her head. Although she didn't know what Yang Kai's intentions were, she didn't ask him about it as she controlled the firebird to burn down the other Corpse Puppets.

*Pu…*

The thin man sprayed out a mouthful of blood as his once confident gaze was now filled with utter terror. Staring at Liu Yan in fear, he stammered, eyes turning bloodshot, "Y-You…"

His Corpse Puppets were all as powerful as Origin Kings, especially the strongest one, which was refined from the body of a Third-Order Origin King Realm Master. Given this lineup, he was confident that no one in Heng Luo Star Field would be able to oppose him. However, now, his Corpse Puppets had mostly been reduced to ashes by a little girl who looked at best eight years old, and even his strongest Corpse Puppet had been captured by the young man with ease.

Just then, something flashed across his eyes as the young girl appeared in front of him without warning. She was looking up at him as her clear gaze reflected his terrified face.

He watched as the little girl raised her hand and pressed it against his belly, but he didn't have the time to make a move at all.

"Keep him alive as well," Yang Kai suddenly shouted.

Liu Yan released some of her energy through her palm, after which the thin man became listless like a popped balloon. He staggered backwards and fell on his butt as he coughed up blood. At the same time, he felt the organs inside his body churning.

It was then he realized that his cultivation was gone. Nothing in this world was more painful than this for a cultivator. Moreover, his Corpse Puppets were destroyed earlier, which affected his mind, so he was currently half dead.

His enemy was able to severely injure him with ease, which meant if she got serious, no one in this world would be a match for her. Not even his Sect Master.

[Where are these two monsters from?]

Yang Kai clenched the strongest Corpse Puppet's neck and let him claw at his body with the latter's sharp nails, a conflicted glint flashing across his eyes.

This Corpse Puppet was under someone else's control, so he kept struggling and growling, as if he had gone mad. Cracking sounds could be heard coming from the puppet's neck as, apparently, his bones were breaking; however, as this puppet didn't feel pain or had the ability to think, he continued lashing out. All he knew was that he must destroy everything before his eyes, so he wouldn't stop moving even if his bones were all ground to dust.

Yang Kai took a deep breath and pushed his Divine Sense before shouting through gritted teeth, "Long Tian Shang! Wake up!"

Extremely pure Spiritual Energy mingled with his voice and shot into the Corpse Puppet's mind. Then, a faint sound of something breaking could be heard. Following that, the Corpse Puppet, who had been flailing about wildly, calmed down all of a sudden. Although he was still waving his claws, he wasn't as ferocious as earlier.

His eyes started darting around and seemed to be regaining focus; however, it was just a weak sign.

Seeing that, Yang Kai immediately knew that the Corpse Puppet hadn't lost all his spirituality. Perhaps it was because it had only been a short time since he was refined into a Corpse Puppet, or because his cultivation before death had been extremely powerful. Whatever the case, there seemed to be a chance of awakening him, so Yang Kai hurriedly circulated his Spiritual Energy and infused it into the Corpse Puppet's mind to carefully guide his consciousness to the surface.

A quarter-hour later, the Corpse Puppet's eyes regained focus and he stopped waving his hands. A strange expression appeared on his hideous face as he asked, "Y-You are…"

His voice was husky, like he hadn't spoken for a long time, or possibly because his body had been damaged, so it was grating and unpleasant to the ears.

"Senior Long," Yang Kai gazed at him with a conflicted expression.

In fact, Yang Kai wasn't close to Long Tian Shang. He had met him once when he arrived on Water Moon Star in the past, but they hadn't talked much. This man was the Supreme Elder of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, so he was actually Ai Ou's Senior. Naturally, that made him Yang Kai's Senior as well.

At that time, Ai Ou had followed Yang Kai to leave the Star Field and head for the Star Boundary. After that, Xue Yue took over the businesses of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, while Long Tian Shang stood behind her to give her some support. In fact, given his power, he had the right to follow Yang Kai to leave the Star Field as well; however, he had spent most of his life contributing to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, so he didn't have the heart to leave. Therefore, he decided to stay and continue to act as their guardian.

However, Yang Kai didn't expect that when they met again after several dozen years, Long Tian Shang would be refined into a Corpse Puppet and enslaved by someone else.

Fortunately, he had come across Yang Kai, who was able to use his Spiritual Energy to awaken him for a moment. No one else in the world could have done this.

"You are… Yang Kai!" Long Tian Shang slowly regained his senses as he recalled some memories from the past. Naturally, he still remembered Yang Kai, who was a rising star at that time as well as Xue Yue's husband.

Yang Kai said, "Senior Long, we don't have much time. Please tell me what has happened to the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. Where is Xue Yue?"

In fact, he was most concerned about Xue Yue, as it didn't matter that the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce was gone. The most important thing now was that Xue Yue had to be safe. Nevertheless, given Long Tian Shang's cultivation, he was still made into a Corpse Puppet by someone from the Netherworld Sect, so it was expected that Yang Kai was worried about Xue Yue's safety.

"Xue Yue…" Long Tian Shang muttered in a hoarse voice as he recalled more memories from the past. He then took a look at his own hands and appeared dejected, "Ah, I see…"

Finally, he remembered the situation he was in. After pulling himself together and finding the right words, he said, "Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce was destroyed. Xue Yue… After the fall of Water Moon Star, I stayed behind to cover their escape; however, I don't know where they are now."

His memories halted on the day of that epic battle. He single-handedly held back more than ten Starships from the Netherworld Sect and its Grand Desolation Star Field allies. Eventually, he was exhausted, after which he was captured and refined into a Corpse Puppet.

Yang Kai arched his brow, "Xue Yue fled?"

That was indeed some good news, given the perilous situation they were in at that time. Although it wasn't certain whether Xue Yue was safe, there was a hope at the very least. With this thought in mind, Yang Kai was finally able to relax a bit.

"Have you met this woman before?" Liu Yan crouched down in front of the thin man and a flame on her palm flickered before transforming into the image of a valiant-looking lady. Although the image was formed from fire, it resembled the actual person greatly, which went to show how talented Liu Yan was in controlling fire.

She had refined the Fire Phoenix Source, so controlling fire was her forte.

Although she spoke in a calm and soft tone, it sounded like a reaper of death's voice to the thin man. He was horrified as he shuddered and shook his head repeatedly, "No! I have never seen her!"

"Haha…" Liu Yan put on a hollow laugh as another fire shot out from her palm and transformed into a fire snake, which surrounded the thin man and opened its mouth wide above his head before hissing and sticking out its tongue at him, as though it would swallow him whole in the next moment. Liu Yan's fire was able to burn his powerful Corpse Puppets with ease, but at this moment, it seemed to have lost its heat as it didn't harm the thin man one bit, which made it look quite absurd, "How could you say you had never met her when you didn't even take a look? Although I'm young, it doesn't mean you can lie to me."

It was then the thin man raised his head and took a glance at the fire image.

"You'd better give me an honest answer. Otherwise, you'll be begging for death before we're done," Liu Yan uttered dispassionately.

"Yes, I've seen her before!"

"Where is she now?"

The thin man replied, "She and some people fled to a Cultivation Star where there's a Star Master. Over the years, we've been in a deadlock with the people over there."

"Where did she flee to?"

The thin man tried to identify the location and then pointed in a direction.

Liu Yan turned to look at Yang Kai, who immediately entered his own Knowledge Sea and looked up at the Star Chart. Following that, an idea came into his mind.

[Xue Yue and the others fled to a Cultivation Star where there's a Star Master. Moreover, the direction is right as well. If I'm not mistaken, she must have gone to that place. A wise decision. Although it is pretty far from Water Moon Star, it's a better option when compared to others.]