Martial Peak

[If I try to return to the Star Boundary… I'm sure the Demon Saints will be expecting me. Besides, there is only one Two Worlds' Passage. They only need to fortify that place, and my path will be blocked off completely.] Yang Kai was certain that there was already a Demon Saint heading towards the passage by now. Zhui Feng might be fast, but he could not outrun a Demon Saint.

Since he couldn't head toward the Two Worlds' Passage, then there were only two other places that he could go. One was Hundred Spirits Continent! Rushing into Hundred Spirits Continent to seek shelter from Chang Tian might be one way, but he did not know if Chang Tian could withstand the pressure of so many Demon Saints. It was true that Chang Tian looked highly upon Yang Kai, but that was because his vitality was nearing its limits and he wanted to train Yang Kai as his successor. Unfortunately, he might not be willing to completely fall out with the Demon Saints and bring chaos to Hundred Spirits Continent as a result just for Yang Kai's sake if more than ten Demon Saints joined forces to put pressure on him.

One of the reasons why Hundred Spirits Continent managed to remain peaceful for so many years was that Chang Tian himself was not to be trifled with. He had enough strength to make the Demon Saints respect him. The second reason was that none of the Demon Saints were willing to push Chang Tian into the arms of any one Demon Saint. That was why Hundred Spirits Continent had managed to survive between the cracks for so long.

Be that as it may, a thirteenth Demon Saint was related to the interests of the entire Demon Realm. The many Demon Saints would certainly be able to reach a consensus on this issue.

What's more; it was not really a wise decision to place one's own safety in somebody else's care. Yang Kai had not been acquainted with Chang Tian for long and did not really know the latter that well; therefore, he only entertained that idea for a brief moment before immediately rejecting it.

The second option was to head toward Yu Ru Meng's territory. Although what Bei Li Mo and Bright Moon said to him previously had caused him to be a little more suspicious and vigilant towards Yu Ru Meng, it was obvious she had done a lot to protect him back on Eternal Sky Continent. He was certain that it would not be a problem if he went to her. The only problem was whether she could actually protect him.

After mulling over it, he decided he would neither go to Hundred Spirits Continent nor Yu Ru Meng's Territory. Instead, he would search for a continent that had disappeared and hide there. There were many continents that had disappeared in the Demon Realm, so he only needed to find one and hide there to escape detection. Now that the situation was so tense, it would be best if he could lay low for three to five years. He could show his face again once the storm died down. It would not be too late for him to find a way back to the Star Boundary at that time.

Upon making up his mind, he hurriedly checked the map in his hand. At the same time, he thought back on all the information on the various continents in the Demon Realm that he had seen before and confirmed his location a short while later. He also found the nearest continent that had disappeared. It was not too far away. He only needed to pass through two Territory Gates to reach it.

He had just put the map away when his expression abruptly turned frosty. He restrained Zhui Feng, who was speeding ahead swiftly. With a loud neigh, Zhui Feng stopped in mid-air and let out a loud snort.

Yang Kai's expression turned extremely solemn as he turned his head and looked around his surroundings and called out, "Which Divine Saint has come? Show yourself since you are already here, why bother sneaking around?"

After saying that, he waited quietly for a short while, but there was no response.

Seeing this, Yang Kai sneered, "The opportunity to become a Great Emperor currently lies in me. Holy Venerable, go ahead and make your move if you wish to take it. You can't be afraid of me, right?"

There was still no response.

He couldn't help frowning in response. [Could I have been wrong? That doesn't make sense!]

At that moment, he had clearly felt himself being watched by somebody hiding in the dark. That feeling had been so obvious that he could not have felt wrongly with his current cultivation and level of perception! The only people who could conceal themselves from him could not be ordinary Masters. It was most likely a Demon Saint, but if that was the case, why not show themselves? He wasn't a Demon Saint's opponent at his peak, much less in his current condition.

Listening to Yang Kai murmuring to himself under his breath, Zhui Feng couldn't resist turning back to glance at him, his eyes filled with suspicion, as though he was asking, 'Are you stupid? There's nobody nearby. Who are you talking to?'

At the same time, Yang Kai sensed the feeling of being spied on disappearing without a trace. This puzzled him greatly. [What is going on? Could it be that I felt it wrongly?]

It didn't matter which Demon Saint was spying on him in secret though. Since they were not showing themselves, then it could only mean that they had no intention of attacking him. It seriously did not make any sense.

Unable to do anything about it, he once again directed Zhui Feng towards the continent he had decided on previously while simultaneously stuffing a handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth, crunching them like candy.

After passing through two Territory Gates in succession, his expression darkened as he neared his destination, but it wasn't because of something bad; rather, it was a good thing. He could feel the Qi in his body fluctuating. The bottleneck he had been facing for so many years was slowly loosening.

[I can't believe I'm showing signs of breaking through at this time!]

Yang Kai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had been worrying about his cultivation that had been stuck in the Second-Order Emperor Realm for such a long time, more so when the war between the two worlds broke out. After entering the Demon Realm, he had always felt that his strength was a little insufficient. He had always been strong in will but weak in strength every time he had to face those Half-Saints; thus, he had been wondering when he would finally achieve a breakthrough. Unfortunately, his cultivation had not shown any signs of movement up until now.

[Why does it have to be now!?] During such troubled times, when he should be hiding and concealing his presence… Who could have thought that he would start showing signs of achieving a breakthrough!?

Thinking about it for a moment though, it wasn't that strange. He had received the opportunity from the Great Emperor and the Star Boundary's Will. Although his strength had not shown significant improvement, the hidden benefits were slowly beginning to surface. The loosening of his cultivation's bottleneck was most likely related to this.

If he had a choice, he would definitely not choose to undergo a breakthrough at this time. He tried to suppress it only to discover that the fluctuating Qi was like the rumblings of a volcano. The more he tried to press it down, the more powerful it rebounded. It seemed determined on breaking through the barrier and reaching for the skies, which made him feel extremely speechless.

The destination he decided on previously was no longer viable. The continents that had disappeared might be extremely safe places to hide, but the World Principles in those continents were shattered beyond repair. They were not suitable for breakthroughs.

On the other hand, the Small Sealed World was an excellent place to go. The World Principles in the current Small Sealed World were complete. Combined with its abundant World Energy, it was enough to meet his breakthrough requirements. More importantly, nobody would notice regardless of how much of a commotion he caused if he underwent a breakthrough inside.

Just as this idea struck him though, Yang Kai had a vague and uncomfortable feeling in his heart. It felt as though he would definitely miss out on something important if he had his breakthrough in Sealed World Bead. Moreover, it was something that he would regret for the rest of his life! Without any further hesitation, he immediately turned Zhui Feng around and headed towards Cloud Shadow Continent.

He did not choose to undergo his breakthrough in the Small Sealed World. One of the reasons was the unease he felt in his heart. The other reason was due to the lack of security. If he entered the Small Seal World, then the Sealed World Bead would be exposed to the world. It didn't matter how well he concealed himself. He could not guarantee that the Sealed World Bead would not be found with so many Demon Saints of the Demon Realm searching for him. The Divine Sense of the Demon Saints was outrageously powerful. It was not impossible for them to notice a bead that was obviously rather unusual if they carried out a thorough search. If any of the Demon Saints discovered the Sealed World Bead, he would truly become a turtle hiding in his own shell.

On the other hand, the Embodiment was the Master of Cloud Shadow Continent. Choosing to break through there could greatly benefit him. At the very least, the Embodiment could cover up the commotion of his breakthrough to the greatest extent. Furthermore, Cloud Shadow Continent was part of Yu Ru Meng's territory, so if any troubles were to arise, she would surely come to his aid as soon as possible.

Having come to a decision, Yang Kai stopped thinking about it. He rode on Zhui Feng's back, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing. With his breakthrough so imminent, he had to maintain himself in his best condition; otherwise, his cultivation path would be cut off if his breakthrough failed. This was not something that could be taken lightly.

The injuries he suffered were not caused by others. They were caused by the backlash of the Mountains and Rivers Bell from the time when he teamed up with the Embodiment to deal with Yue Sang. They could not be considered serious, but could also not be considered light.

Those injuries were recovering quickly with the help of the medicinal efficacies of the Spirit Pills he took, and he could vaguely sense that he would almost be fully healed by the time he arrived on Cloud Shadow Continent.

Yang Kai passed through Territory Gate after Territory Gate until half a day later, trouble came just as he was about to reach the next gate.

Looking from afar, he could see that many members of the Demon Race were forming a blockade around the Territory Gate and performing a strict check on each person that passed through. Yang Kai watched with his own eyes as a passing member of the Demon Race even had their Space Ring taken from them for investigation.

This situation darkened Yang Kai's expression. He knew that he must be the cause of this. He probably did not encounter such a situation previously because news had not spread out yet. The entire Demon Realm was probably taking strict precautions right now.

He quietly scanned the surroundings and was relieved to see that there were no Half-Saints guarding this place. Although there were several Demon Kings, they were no match for him if he really wanted to force his way through. Nevertheless, Yang Kai did not want to reveal his current whereabouts. On the other hand, it didn't make sense to change his course either.

After pondering for a while, he placed Zhui Feng into the Sealed World Bead and flew out alone. He wandered around for a while and quickly came across a lone member of the Demon Race. This man was a Low-Rank Demon King. When he saw Yang Kai blocking his road, he opened his mouth and let out a cold laugh, but the only reply he received was Yang Kai's aggressive attacks.

It only took three punches and two kicks for Yang Kai to beat the Low-Rank Demon King into the ground. After that, he didn't waste any time, reaching out to grab the latter's head. Divine Sense overflowed like a tide, tearing through the Low-Rank Demon King's Knowledge Sea defences and forcefully extracting the other party's Soul Brand.

The Low-Rank Demon King had not recovered from his shock even after Yang Kai released him; however, his expression changed drastically the moment Yang Kai's Divine Sense moved and he glanced up at Yang Kai aggrievedly, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Having his Soul Brand taken from his Knowledge Sea meant that his life was no longer his to control. That was not something anybody could accept. Even so, he was no fool. He knew that Yang Kai must have done it for a reason.

Yang Kai stretched out his hand, took out the Sealed World Bead, and said lightly, "Swallow this bead and pass through the Territory Gate over there."

The Demon King frowned at those words, "What do you mean?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask; otherwise, your life will be at risk!" Yang Kai coldly snorted and tossed the Sealed World Bead over.