Martial Peak

The banner seemed to have turned into a living creature as it writhed about in the air. After spitting out more than ten withered corpses, it returned to Gui Zu.

In just a short moment, all the Dao Source Realm Masters had their Souls taken away by the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, and all the essence in their bodies had been sucked dry. Gui Zu's moves were more horrifying and shocking to the eyes than those of Yang Kai.

In the blink of an eye, the Sect Master and the more than ten Dao Source Realm Masters from Mountain Quarrying Sect had all been killed.

At that instant, the hundreds of remaining disciples felt every part of their bodies turning cold as they stared ahead with a horrified look. They were all very weak, and before they even understood what was going on, their Sect Master and Seniors had become corpses. It was then they realised that the reason Li Kai Shan was able to stand tall before those from High Heaven Palace without responding to their threats was that he simply couldn't move. Once the other party made a move, their Ancestral Founder was killed as easily as a mosquito. Faced with such a tragedy, some of the female disciples were so shocked that they started tearing up. Since the Ancestral Founder had lost his life, there was no way they could survive.

"Why are you not running away? Do all of you want to die here too?" Ling Tai Xu bellowed at those people.

It was then they came to their senses. After someone shrieked and turned around to leave, others followed him as hundreds of people scurried for their lives. Some of them were so terrified that their legs had turned to jelly as they fell to the ground. However, they soon got to their feet and kept running forward in embarrassment.

In just over ten breaths' time, everyone was gone. Ling Tai Xu and Chu Ling Xiao traded glances and heaved a sigh of relief.

They were worried that Yang Kai would be ruthless and force all the disciples of Mountain Quarrying Sect to stay behind forever. If that happened, they wouldn't have known what to do. It didn't matter that Li Kai Shan and the Dao Source Realm Masters, who were attacking the Sect Defending Array in High Heaven Palace, were killed; after all, the Sect Defending Array of any Sect shouldn't be attacked in the first place. By doing so, it was like provoking the entire Sect, so such presumptuous people only had themselves to blame for getting killed.

However, the hundreds of others were still young and inexperienced. They had just followed orders to come to this place with their Sect Master. Perhaps they didn't even know what consequences their actions would bring.

Seeing as Yang Kai didn't stop the rest from fleeing, they were finally able to be at ease.

Then, Yang Kai withdrew his Demon Qi. By just looking at his calm expression now, it was hard to imagine how wicked he looked earlier.

"As of this moment, High Heaven Palace's gates will reopen," Yang Kai ordered dispassionately.

Upon hearing this, Hua Qing Si and Bian Yu Qing turned solemn before replying in an excited manner, "Yes, Palace Master!"

They couldn't help but be excited because over the years, their bad reputation as an evil Sect and the Great Emperors' orders to seal off High Heaven Palace had pressed down on them like two huge mountains, making it difficult for them to even breathe. The disciples might not have any profound feelings on the matter as most of them came from the Star Field, so they were currently quite weak and most were focused on cultivating in seclusion. However, the managers of High Heaven Palace worried every day. They couldn't be at ease since the Sect's reputation was at stake.

By reopening the Sect, they were finally able to clear away the fog and go out into the world to prove to everyone that they were innocent.

"Sister Hua," Yang Kai called out.

Hua Qing Si quickly stepped forward, "Yes."

"Over the years, what other Sects insulted us like what the Mountain Quarrying Sect just did? Do you remember?" Yang Kai turned to look at her.

Hua Qing Si took a look at him and put on a helpless expression as she knew what he was up to. Nevertheless, she still nodded and replied, "I remember all of them."

She knew Yang Kai fairly well, which was why she had memorised all the Sects that had come over to make a scene over the years so that she could give Yang Kai a list when he asked about it.

Yang Kai grinned, "That's great. Sister Hua, please take a group of people to those Sects and send all the cultivators who are in the Origin King Realm and above to the battlefield in the Western Territory. I'm worried that a major event will happen on the battleground soon, so we need more people there."

Hua Qing Si nodded her head, "En."

Meng Wu Ya pressed his lips together as he felt somewhat troubled. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Palace Master, will there be any problem if we do that?"

It was justifiable to kill those who had provoked them earlier, but it was unreasonable to force those people to get involved in the battle in the Western Territory. Over the years, the Great Emperors had only enlisted people who were willing to join the war voluntarily. They had never forced anyone to participate in the Two Worlds' Great War. Hence, Yang Kai's action was somewhat overbearing.

"What problem will there be?" Yang Kai chuckled, "If they want to make a name for their Sects, the best way to do so is by making contributions on the battlefield. I'm just trying to grant their wish by sending them over."

All of them were speechless at his reply. The battlefield was indeed a good place to make contributions and make a name for themselves, but the prerequisite was that they had to survive. In the past few years, even some of the Half-Saints from the Demon Realm and Pseudo-Great Emperors from the Star Boundary had lost their lives, so no one could guarantee that they could remain safe in this war.

However, those people, who had been doing nothing but living a lavish lifestyle, were not worth any pity either.

Just then, Yang Kai grunted in surprise and turned to look at High Heaven Palace. The others had no idea what had happened, so they also followed his gaze.

A moment later, a beam of light shot out from the Sect and landed on the ground, which then revealed an arrogant-looking young man with a dispassionate expression. After he revealed himself, he ignored the others and only set his sights on Yang Kai.

At that instant, all of them stared vigilantly at the young man as though they were facing a formidable enemy. It couldn't be helped, as this young man showed very clear hostility towards Yang Kai. It was as though he had come across someone he was extremely resentful of.

The young man was only in the Second-Order Emperor Realm, but his aura was even stronger than that of an ordinary Third-Order Emperor, which caused the others to wonder where this rising star was from as the way he carried himself was truly unordinary.

"Brother Yao." Ji Ying of course could recognise him at first glance.

The young man was extremely haughty as he lifted his head and looked down at the others; however, he was still respectful of Ji Ying as he cupped his fists and replied, "Grandmaster Ji."

"Brother Yao, why are you here?" Ji Ying asked curiously.

"I'm looking for him!" The young man pointed at Yang Kai as his expression turned cold again.

Yang Kai put on a smile and asked, "What's wrong, Brother Yao?"

Although the others had never met this young man before, judging from what Ji Ying and Yang Kai had said, they could figure out his identity; after all, the surname Yao was indeed very rare. Perhaps there was only one Yao Family in the entire Star Boundary worthy of fame.

This young man was none other than the son of Serene Soul Great Emperor, Yao Si! Yao Jun had one son and one daughter, so he had the highest number of children among the Great Emperors. The other Great Emperors either had no children or only had one. Moreover, all their children were women, and only Yao Jun had a son.

At that moment, they finally understood why this young man had such an impressive air. That was because he was the son of a Great Emperor.

Yang Kai wasn't close to Yao Si as they had only met a few times before. They met each other for the first time in the Shattered Star Sea, after which they didn't come into contact with one another more than a handful of times.

Though, in a sense, it could be said that Yang Kai was closer to Yao Si's sister, Yao Lin. Her attitude was that of a typical spoiled Young Lady, and she had suffered some setbacks when dealing with Yang Kai before. Previously, when she, Lan Xun, and Gao Zhan were captured, it was Yang Kai who had gone out to save them. It was during the same incident that Yu Ru Meng pretended to be Li Shi Qing and planted her Heart Seal in Yang Kai, which signalled the beginning of the Two Worlds' Great War.

Since they were not close to each other, Yang Kai had no idea why Yao Si was looking for him. Nevertheless, he didn't feel pressured at all. One of his women was a Demon Saint, so he didn't think the mere son of a Great Emperor was worthy of note.

"I am here to deliver the Great Emperors' order. Yang Kai, prepare to accept it now!" Yao Si suddenly lifted his hand and a jade plate appeared in his grip which shone brightly under the sun, exuding the Great Emperors' aura, which caused everyone to be unable to look at it directly.

All present had their expressions change. Yang Kai had just killed an Emperor Realm Master who had come over to make a fuss and revealed his Demon Qi. He had also ordered the reopening of High Heaven Palace; however, the Great Emperors had sent orders so soon, which caused them to become anxious. They wondered if word had gotten out, which was why the Great Emperors had decided to deal with Yang Kai.

The other matters weren't of much consequence. The main problem was that it was hard for Yang Kai to explain the Demon Qi within his body. The sight of his figure engulfed in Demon Qi was too similar to that of those from the Demon Heavenly Dao, who were a vile group of people everyone in the Star Boundary hated to the bones.

The only person who seemed to be taking pleasure in Yang Kai's misfortune was Zhou Cheng, whose face was originally pale. Earlier, when Yang Kai reprimanded him but didn't do anything to him in the end, he thought that Yang Kai actually felt diffident, which was why he had raced after him to press the issue of Xia Ning Chang. Seeing Yang Kai release his Demon Qi and directly kill an Emperor Realm Master, however, he then realised that Yang Kai was a ruthless character, not nearly as laid-back as he had presumed. When Li Kai Shan was killed, Zhou Cheng was astounded and thought that he had just escaped from death's door without knowing it.

Yang Kai was stone-hearted enough to kill someone who was there to simply make a scene, so what needed to be said about Zhou Cheng who was clearly coveting his woman?

Initially, Zhou Cheng decided to stop pursuing this matter. He would apologise to Yang Kai at a later time and resolve the grudges between them; however, he didn't expect that things would have taken a new turn as the Great Emperors' order had arrived.

It was said that what goes around comes around, and it was now time for Yang Kai to repent for his misdeeds. At that instant, Zhou Cheng was elated as he thought that Yang Kai was doomed.

No matter how powerful Yang Kai was, his life wouldn't be spared if the Great Emperors wanted to deal with him.

With the jade plate in Yao Si's hand, all bowed their heads low and waited for the order to be announced, including Yang Kai.

Yao Si curved his lips into a sneer. Initially, he wasn't the one who was responsible for making this announcement; after all, anyone could have done it, so a Great Emperor's son didn't have to personally come. However, he had decided to take on the task because he wanted to see Yang Kai showing respect to him. Although Yang Kai's respect was directed at the Great Emperors, not him, he still hung his head.

When all of them were prepared, Yao Si said, "This is the Great Emperors' order. The Palace Master of High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai, has ventured into the Demon Realm to obtain vital information on the enemy at great risk to his own life and reputation, rendering the highest of services to the Star Boundary. From today onwards, High Heaven Palace will no longer be sealed and its members no longer subjected to restriction."

Yao Si's voice wasn't loud, but he had infused it with his Emperor Qi to make sure that everyone in High Heaven Palace could hear him.

After a moment of silence, everyone in High Heaven Palace broke into a commotion.