Martial Peak

An unfazed Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and looked up at Yao Si.

Right then, Zhu Qing's red hair flapped in the air as she shot forward and countered him with a fist.

The sound of something breaking through the air was heard as Yao Si, who was still ten metres away, grunted and flew backwards until he disappeared.

Yang Kai pressed his hand against the pillar of a pergola and looked into the distance. Feeling sorry for Yao Si, he said, "Why did he even bother to challenge me?"

Zhu Qing was a Ninth-Order Dragon who was born with immense power, so even a Half-Saint might not be a match for her, let alone Yao Si, who was only in the Second-Order Emperor Realm. She didn't use her full strength just now of course as she had only sent him flying backwards. After all, he was a Great Emperor's son, so if he was injured or even killed, they would have a hard time explaining themselves to Serene Soul Great Emperor.

Soon, Yao Si was seen coming back at full speed. With a dark expression, he bellowed, "You are the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace who is famous across the Star Boundary, so how could you allow a woman to protect you? Do you not have the courage to fight me? If that's the case, I am deeply disappointed in you."

Yang Kai replied with a smile, "You're no match for me, so what's the point of bullying you?"

Yao Si refuted, "How are you so sure I'm no match for you when we have never fought? Don't think you're more powerful than I am just because you're a Minor Realm above me. I am Yao Si, I am different from those nobodies you've come across."

Yang Kai shot him a look with a weird expression, "Are you really that eager to fight? In that case, you should go to the Western Territory, you can fight there however much you want."

Yao Si snorted, "Since the Two Worlds' Great War broke out, I have been on the front lines battling against our enemies, and more than five High-Rank Demon Kings have been killed by me." He put on an arrogant expression. A High-Rank Demon King was equivalent to a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. Since he was able to kill a High-Rank Demon King, logically he would be able to do the same to a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master.

After that, he yelled, "I'll ask you one more time. Will you fight with me?"

Yang Kai replied after a sigh, "What's the point of fighting when there are no benefits?"

"You want benefits?" A glint flashed across Yao Si's eyes as he sneered, "Alright, I'll give you a benefit. If I lose today, my life will belong to you."

Yang Kai stared flatly and replied, "What would I need your life for?"

Ignoring him, Yao Si went on to say, "If you lose, I don't want your life, but you have to give up the position of the Army Commander of the Sixty-First Army!" Upon finishing his words, he grinned meaningfully.

Yang Kai's expression appeared awkward, "You want to be the Army Commander of the Sixty-First Army? Fine, I'll just tell the Great Emperors about it and ask them to change their order."

Although the Great Emperors valued him and wanted to compensate for his losses by appointing him to be the Army Commander of the Sixty-First Army, Yang Kai really wasn't interested. He still had a lot of matters to attend to, so he didn't have the time to build an army. Even if he managed to do so, he had to lead the army to destroy the enemy and invade their territories, which would be difficult tasks for him.

He would rather work under other more powerful people and just follow orders than be responsible for the lives of millions of soldiers. The position of Army Commander might sound glorious, but every order he gave would affect the life or death of countless people.

Yao Si snorted, "If I want anything, I'll earn it for myself. I don't need you to speak on my behalf."

Yang Kai replied with a frown, "So what if you're able to defeat me? Are you sure you can persuade the Great Emperors to let you take on this position?" It would be ridiculous if the Great Emperors' order could be changed so easily.

"You don't have to worry about that," Yao Si said dispassionately.

Yang Kai scowled and recalled what Yao Si had said earlier, then he realised that this was the latter's true intention for coming to High Heaven Palace.

It was indeed the truth. Yao Si took up this task and came all the way to High Heaven Palace for two reasons. Firstly, he really did want to take revenge for his sister, Yao Lin. Secondly, he wanted the position of Army Commander of the Sixty-First Army for himself.

It wasn't that he was blinded by greed, but due to his origins, he wanted to fight for a chance to become the Army Commander of this particular army.

Most of the ten Great Emperors in the Star Boundary didn't have children, and for those who did, they all had daughters. Only Serene Soul Great Emperor Yao Jun had a son and a daughter. In other words, Yao Si could be said to be the leader among the younger generation of the Star Boundary.

As a Great Emperor's son, he had been doing quite well. Although he hadn't cultivated for a long time, he had already reached the Second-Order Emperor Realm, and given enough time, even if he couldn't reach the same heights as Serene Soul Great Emperor, he could become a Pseudo-Great Emperor. If the opportunity fell upon him, he might even be able to comprehend the Heavenly Way and become a Great Emperor.

So far, all the Army Commanders of the fifty-four armies were Third-Order Emperors from the older generation. The younger generation didn't have the chance to hold any of these high positions yet. Firstly, their cultivation wasn't good enough. Secondly, they were less experienced. The position of Army Commander was important, so no one would comfortably entrust a young person with this position.

Yao Si wanted to be the first, and he must be the first not for himself but for Serene Soul Palace and his father, Serene Soul Great Emperor!

He had been battling against the Demons on the battlefield to train himself and accumulate contributions. As a result, he had been promoted several times, and he was now a Deputy Army Commander, which was just one step away from his goal.

He didn't even need another year to achieve his objective. It would just take him half a year before he would have the right to become an Army Commander. By then, he would have a chance to prove his worth to everyone in the Star Boundary. He would show them that his power did not come from his background, but rather from his own hard work.

However, he hadn't expected that just when his wish was about to come true, Yang Kai would return and become an Army Commander before he could.

It wouldn't matter if Yang Kai was going to become any other Army Commander, the crux of the matter was that he was going to lead the Sixty-First Army, which was the beginning of the Earthly Branch.

It wasn't easy to build an army. First of all, one had to recruit enough people. Although there were still many cultivators that hadn't been enlisted, it was hard for them to create more armies. Even if Yao Si was able to become the Army Commander of the next new group, which was the Fifty-Fifth Army, he would still be less influential than the Army Commander of the Sixty-First Army.

There was no room for negotiation unless he could snatch that position from Yang Kai. That was why he had come all the way here to challenge Yang Kai to fight with him, but before he could, he was sent flying by Zhu Qing. That was the reason he was incensed.

After a nod, Yang Kai said, "Does that mean that if you defeat me, the Sixty-First Army will go to you?"

"Enough nonsense! Are you going to fight with me or not?"

"Good good!" Yang Kai nodded repeatedly with an elated expression. Remaining on the same spot, he beckoned to Yao Si, "If you insist, this King will grant your wish. Make your move!"

He had decided that as soon as Yao Si made a move, he would quickly admit defeat. To him, the position of Army Commander of the Sixty-First Army wasn't as important. Moreover, he didn't have the time to manage an army. If he could pass this burden to Yao Si, he would be more than willing to do so.

Although Yao Si was indeed one realm lower than him, there was no doubt that he was powerful. He had grown up in Serene Soul Palace, and he had been involved in the war for several years, so he was familiar with the situation on the battlefield. Hence, he was more suited to being an Army Commander.

Yao Si narrowed his eyes and realised that Yang Kai intended to give in. Nevertheless, he wouldn't mind it if he could win the battle without doing anything. It was Yang Kai's choice not to resist. To Yao Si, he just wanted to defeat Yang Kai, the process wasn't important. That was because he firmly believed that even if Yang Kai used his full strength, the latter still wouldn't be a match for him. He was confident in himself because he was Yao Si, the son of Serene Soul Great Emperor.

With that said, he still took a look at Zhu Qing, who was standing beside Yang Kai. He had no regard for other people, but he was wary of this grumpy Fire Dragon.

A smiling Yang Kai said, "Qing'er, please stand aside."

Zhu Qing shot a glare at Yao Si before backing down without saying a word.

With no more hindrance in front of him, Yao Si hesitated no more and shot forward. As his Emperor Qi undulated, he prepared his Divine Ability. However Yang Kai would deal with him, Yao Si had decided that he would go all out from the start!

Right then, he suddenly sensed someone using their Divine Sense to speak to Yang Kai. He made an effort to take a look over and saw a woman he recognised as the Head Manager of High Heaven Palace, Hua Qing Si.

It wasn't certain what she had told Yang Kai, but after being startled for a moment, his gaze brightened.

Then, a very dangerous aura enveloped Yao Si. The next moment, a figure abruptly appeared before his eyes, their faces almost coming into contact with one another.

An astounded Yao Si realised that Yang Kai had used a Space Secret Technique and quickly responded with the Divine Ability that he had prepared.

As the son of Serene Soul Great Emperor, he had learned much from his Father since young, and he was an expert in Spiritual Energy. His most powerful methods were actually Soul Secret Techniques. As his Divine Sense rose up like a tidal wave, his very pure Spiritual Energy transformed into nine hundred and ninety-nine miniature swords before they broke through the defence of Yang Kai's Divine Sense and penetrated his Knowledge Sea.

Anyone else wouldn't have dared to use such a move in such a situation. That was because this violent move could potentially kill the other party. There was no blood feud between Yang Kai and him, so there was no reason for him to do so; however, since he had decided to use this move, Yao Si was confident about his control. Even though the nine hundred and ninety-nine mini swords had penetrated Yang Kai's Knowledge Sea, he could still control them and make sure that the latter's life wouldn't be at risk.

Then, he put on a sneer. He knew that Yang Kai was an expert in the Dao of Space, so it would be troublesome if Yang Kai decided to evade his attacks. However, Yang Kai just recklessly appeared right in front of him, so it could be said that he was far too presumptuous.

After the nine hundred and ninety-nine miniature swords entered Yang Kai's Knowledge Sea, however, the expression on Yao Si's face changed drastically. That was because, at that instant, he realised that he had lost contact with his Divine Sense swords. He was so shocked that he fell into a dazed state, and just then, a white lotus suddenly started blooming in front of his eyes.

The world seemed to be filled with this lotus. He had fallen into the stamen of the flower and was unable to escape from it. The petals slowly folded and sealed him inside it. He realised that he wasn't able to flee no matter how hard he tried. There was nothing he could do as he watched the lotus trapping him.

The world around him was pitch-black now as he couldn't see anything. Even his senses had been blocked as he was engulfed in a sense of isolation. It seemed that he would be trapped in this sealed world for tens of thousands of years, possibly even forever.

Right then, he felt his eyelids close and his consciousness blur and despite his great strength, he was unable to resist the urge to sleep.