Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"Such boldness!" Chi Gui looked at Yang Kai in disbelief as he secretly admired the latter. If he were in Yang Kai's situation, he wouldn't be able to appear so unperturbed. Not only did Yang Kai not try to break the siege, he even mocked the Masters from the two top Sects while standing around idly. Was he simply sick of living?

Xu Chang Feng said impassively, "We don't necessarily have to set up any Spirit Array to cut off the world. Do you think you'll be safe just because you have your Space Divine Ability? The world is vast, and there's always something you don't know."

Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, "Holy Master Xu, what you've said is interesting. Can I take it as that you've already sealed off this stretch of the world?"

A smiling Xu Chang Feng replied, "You can give it a try."

Yang Kai nodded and made an attempt. After trying to manipulate the Space Principles around him, he realised that his surroundings really were like an unbreakable cage. Although he could still manipulate Space Principles inside the local region, he couldn't move around instantly anymore.

Despite his calm expression, he was slightly shocked as he looked around.

He didn't discover any traces of a Spirit Array setup around here, so how did they manage to seal off the space here? He wasn't even able to use his instantaneous movement.

Was there someone on their side who is also a Master of the Dao of Space? Only someone as proficient in the Dao of Space as him would be able to seal off the world without him knowing. But that should be impossible. It was extremely difficult to even begin cultivating the Dao of Space, and it only became harder to continue cultivating it. Sheng Yu Zhu was a Master capable of competing for the position of Great Emperor with Wu Kuang and had diligently studied the Dao of Space during her confinement in the Void Crack for more than thirty thousand years, but she had still barely scratched the surface. If there was someone in Netherworld Sect or Brahma Holy Land who was proficient in the Dao of Space, the person would've become famous long ago instead of staying obscure.

Since Yang Kai wasn't able to figure it out, he decided to stop thinking about it. He didn't intend to make use of his instantaneous movement to break through the siege anyway.

"Do you have any last words to say before your death?" Fu Bo stared coldly at Yang Kai, the murderous intent in his eyes flashing brilliantly. His feud with Yang Kai was different from that of Brahma Holy Land. The reason Brahma Holy Land wanted to deal with Yang Kai was that their two Holy Sons were killed by him in the Shattered Star Sea, causing them to lose face along with two rising stars.

Although some people from Netherworld Sect were killed by Yang Kai as well, it wasn't the main reason Fu Bo wanted to kill him. The main reason stemmed from what happened in the Grand Desolation Star Field.

The Netherworld Sect in Grand Desolation Star Field was the root of the same Sect in the Star Boundary. It was because the top cultivators from Grand Desolation Star Field ascended from the Lower Plane and achieved greater heights that they were able to build another Netherworld Sect in the Star Boundary, so the connection between the two was inseparable. However, not long ago, Yang Kai had destroyed the Netherworld Sect in Grand Desolation Star Field, devastating their foundation. Almost all the disciples were killed. When Fu Bo heard the news, he was so enraged he nearly passed out from anger.

Moreover, Yang Kai had killed Yin Le Sheng and Hua Fei Chen, so the blood feud between them could never be resolved.

Therefore, Fu Bo stopped caring about the relationship between Yang Kai and the Divine Spirit Luan Feng. In the past, he was wary of Luan Feng, so he decided to hold his fury in and kept the grudges to his heart. Nevertheless, after what happened in Grand Desolation Star Field, he couldn't tolerate it anymore and decided to kill Yang Kai to get his revenge.

Just like what he had said, this was a Human affair. He was wary of Luan Feng, but if the Divine Spirits and members of the Monster Race from the Ancient Wild Lands decided to interfere in Human affairs, others would eventually step up to deal with them.

"We're not even sure who will be the last man standing. Sect Master Fu, don't you think you're too optimistic about your chances?" Yang Kai shot him a glance before he turned to look at Qi Hai and shook his head in disappointment, "Why are you doing this, then? Do you think that by helping them to set me up and kill me, you can snatch the Phoenix True Fire from me to save your wife?"

All of a sudden, Qi Hai's expression turned hideous, "She's dead, and it's your fault! If I can't kill you today, I'll never be able to soothe this fury in my chest!"

Upon hearing that, Fu Bo guffawed, "Well said, my good disciple."

Yang Kai arched his brow in surprise, "So, you've joined Netherworld Sect. It's no wonder that you're able to reach the Emperor Realm. However, Qi Hai, you're wrong."

Qi Hai balled up his fists and said through clenched teeth, "What do you mean that I'm wrong?"

Yang Kai uttered lightly, "Your wife's death has nothing to do with me. The reason she lost her life was because she had married the wrong man."

"Bullshit!" An enraged Qi Hai was torn between pain and sorrow, "You had the power to save her, but you turned a blind eye to her plea and let her suffer in pain until she passed away in the end. It's all your fault!"

Yang Kai scoffed, "According to your logic, anyone in this world who has the power to help treat your wife is your enemy as well, because they had the power to do so but they chose not to. Qi Hai, are you retarded?"

Qi Hai refuted coldly, "I don't know whether others had the power to do so, but I know you did!"

Yang Kai shook his head and sighed, "You've had grudges against me just because of this. Your wife really married the wrong man. If she was still alive, I still wouldn't choose to save her and would let her perish. If she still had to rely on an incompetent man like you who can't even take responsibility for her, she would be better off dead."

"Shut your damn mouth!" Qi Hai's expression turned horrifying.

Yang Kai continued to rub salt in his wound though, "You were unable to save your woman. Instead, you pinned all your hopes on someone else to help you. How can you even call yourself a man anymore?"

Qi Hai was both enraged and ashamed as he growled, "I'll kill you!"

His wife's death was the greatest sorrow in his life, as well as a knot in his heart that could never be untied. Otherwise, he wouldn't have attempted to join Netherworld Sect at all costs to get himself more support. This was all because he knew that he had an extremely low chance to kill Yang Kai on his own. There were some grudges between the Netherworld Sect and Yang Kai anyway, so Qi Hai knew that he could make use of the Sect's power to have a greater chance to get his revenge.

On this day, they had managed to trap Yang Kai here. Under the attention of so many top cultivators, there was no way Yang Kai could flee. It was Qi Hai's biggest wish to kill Yang Kai with his own hands, and after becoming infuriated by what Yang Kai had said, he decided to personally deal with him.

Upon finishing his words, Qi Hai waved his hand to summon a black banner. At that instant, Yin Qi surged as crying and howling were heard. The thing he had summoned was none other than one of the two signature artifacts of Netherworld Sect, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

Yang Kai stared coldly at him as if the latter was already dead.

He had no deep-seated grudge against Qi Hai; however, since the latter treated him as an enemy and made a move against him, he wouldn't go easy on him. Yang Kai was able to kill a First-Order Emperor Realm Master with a flick of a finger.

However, after Qi Hai summoned the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, he didn't immediately pounce on Yang Kai and instead stared startled at the banner with widened eyes. That was because at that instant, a vague illusory figure suddenly appeared out of the banner.

The phantom looked like a woman, and was clearly some kind of Spirit. That was because it looked vague and ethereal. She exuded a glacial aura, and her face was pale. It was apparent that she was a beautiful woman before her death and that her demeanour was gentle. The ghostly aura around her still couldn't cover up her charm.

"Hmm?" Fu Bo had been staying idly by on the side and didn't have the intention of stopping Qi Hai when the latter was preparing to make a move; however, his expression changed when he saw this phantom. As he stared at it in a dazed state, a glint flashed across his eyes and he uttered, "A Yin Spirit!"

Due to their Secret Arts and Techniques, those from the Netherworld Sect always had to come into contact with Yin Souls. It took Souls to refine a Ten Thousand Soul Banner, and the more Souls that were sacrificed, the more powerful the banner became.

It was easy to refine Yin Souls from Souls, but it was extremely difficult to obtain even one Yin Spirit from millions of Yin Souls. That was because most Yin Souls had no sentience. No matter how powerful they were before their deaths, after they lost their lives, they would be sacrificed by the disciples of Netherworld Sect using a Secret Technique and become vengeful ghosts that would execute any orders given to them.

However, Yin Spirits were an entirely different existence. They were also a kind of Yin Soul, but despite not having physical bodies, they had their own consciousness; therefore, they could be nurtured, and even grow over time given enough resources.

If there was a Yin Spirit as the Main Spirit in a Ten Thousand Soul Banner, the banner's power would increase tremendously. However, the probability of a Yin Spirit appearing was extremely low. There were countless Ten Thousand Soul Banners in the Netherworld Sect, but only a small number of banners contained Yin Spirits, each of which was treated as a treasure by the Emperor Realm Masters in the Sect.

At this moment, Fu Bo couldn't believe that he was seeing a Yin Spirit in Qi Hai's Ten Thousand Soul Banner. Moreover, the Yin Spirit was purer and more outstanding than any Yin Spirit he had seen before, making it exceptionally rare. At that instant, Fu Bo was so exasperated that he started clenching his teeth. If he knew that his new Disciple, whom he had never treated seriously, had a Yin Spirit with him, he would have tried to snatch the banner instead of letting it stay with Qi Hai, which was a complete waste.

However, after the Yin Spirit appeared, she didn't attack Yang Kai as prompted by Qi Hai. Instead, she turned around and looked quietly at Qi Hai. Her eyes, which were supposed to have lost vitality, started glowing with a gleam that resembled that of a Human.

Qi Hai was rooted to the spot as his entire body trembled. As he extended his hand to touch the Yin Spirit's vague face, he uttered in a shaking voice, "Xiu Xiu, is that you?"

Yang Kai's face fell as he uttered incredulously, "You actually refined her Soul?"

The other people at the scene had never seen what the Yin Spirit looked like before her death; however, anyone who wasn't blind was able to see that this Yin Spirit, who was called Xiu Xiu by Qi Hai, was formerly his wife.

However, no one had expected that Qi Hai would even sacrifice his wife's Soul. But how else would she appear in his banner all of a sudden?

Qi Hai's action was utterly heartless and outrageous. Even those from the Netherworld Sect couldn't help but look disdainfully at him.

Although they would also sacrifice Souls to increase the power of their banners, they would never do so with their relatives, let alone their lovers.

"I see," Fu Bo's expression changed as he realized something. [It's no wonder that in the past, Qi Hai came all the way to the Netherworld Sect and swore that the entire Qi Family Fort would be loyal to us in order to join our Sect. After that, he requested to cultivate the Secret Techniques necessary to refine a Ten Thousand Soul Banner. It was all because he wanted to keep his wife's Soul by his side.]

After a person passed away, their Soul would quickly dissipate. However, the Secret Technique of Netherworld Sect was able to keep Souls within their Ten Thousand Soul Banner. However, such a Soul would end up in a miserable state; after all, the person would get stuck in the banner forever as a mindless mass of negative emotions. Not only that, they would lose the ability to reincarnate and might even be devoured by other Yin Souls.