Martial Peak

In an instant, the hall was engulfed in flames and there was basically no corner that wasn't ablaze.

Nevertheless, a breeze was swirling around Wind Lord as there was no sign of fire in a radius of ten metres around him. He looked like an unmoving rock amidst the violent storms and waves as he snorted, "It seems that you won't regret until you see your coffin!"

After he declared so, he shot towards Yang Kai. The flames separated and revealed a path that he could pass through. It seemed that wherever he went, the flames around the area would be extinguished.

In just a moment, he reached a spot that was ten metres away from Yang Kai. Presently, his figure was smaller than that of Yang Kai by several hundred times, but he appeared to be more imposing than the other party as though he was the taller one. Then, he lifted his right hand and balled up his fist, after which a fan appeared in his grip. The fan was only half an arm's length in size, but a shocking light could be seen emitting from it. Raising the fan, he gently waved it at Yang Kai.

A gale swept across the hall as a razor-sharp wind blade shot out of the fan and expanded to several tens of metres before slashing at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai wanted to dodge, but his perception of time had been warped, so he was unable to move as he pleased. When he came to his senses, the wind blade was already right in front of him, so he hurriedly crossed his arms to protect his face.

With a loud boom, Yang Kai shuddered as his mountain-like figure slid backwards. Huge wounds appeared on his arms, which were now drenched in blood.

Making use of that force, Yang Kai turned around and swept his tail at Wind Lord. His Dragon Tail, which was covered in Dragon Scales, looked like a long whip which seemed able to make space shake and shatter where it passed.

Wind Lord scoffed and lifted his leg. In just a few steps, he was able to dodge the tail with ease.

Following a failed strike, Yang Kai charged forward and chanted in the Dragon language again. Wind Lord raised his fan and waved it at Yang Kai again. This time, it wasn't just one but over ten wind blades that came at Yang Kai from all directions, which made sure there was no way he could dodge or defend.

With no other way to ward off or avoid the wind blades, Yang Kai decided to dash forward with a grin. He seemed resolute and ready to lose his life.

"Don't get presumptuous!" Wind Lord sneered, grasping the hourglass in his left hand in an attempt to use the same trick again. He wanted to influence Yang Kai's perception by using the power of the Flowing Time Divine Sand.

Right then, a clang was heard, and light expanded. Following that, Yang Kai vanished into thin air.

Wind Lord's pupils contracted, and the next moment, he realised that the light in front of him had been blocked by a gigantic figure. Looking up, he saw that Yang Kai was gazing down at him like he was an ant. After Yang Kai inhaled deeply, he opened his mouth and spat out a Dragon Breath.

The Dragon Breath seemed extremely sharp, as it could cut through space as it slashed at Wind Lord's head.

Wind Lord grunted in surprise and took a step sidewards to dodge the attack, but he felt a force coming at him from the side as though it had been waiting for him.

Turning around, he realised that Yang Kai was sweeping his right fist at him. The horrifying force caused his eyelids to twitch. Although he was more powerful than Yang Kai, he knew that he would end up in a terrible state if he was hit by this fist.

So, he immediately turned into a breeze and disappeared. Yang Kai was frustrated that he hit air again.

In one corner of the hall, Wind Lord reappeared and stared at the bell in Yang Kai's hand before he snorted, "Mountains and Rivers Bell!"

At this moment, not only was Yang Kai holding the Mountains and Rivers Bell, but he was also flicking it around, which caused the ringing of the bell to reverberate around the hall. With the bell as the centre, glowing waves could be seen spreading across the hall, seemingly cleansing Yang Kai's body.

Wind Lord had stayed in this place for a hundred years and obtained Flowing Time Great Emperor's Legacy Artifact, the Infinite Hourglass. With that hourglass, he was able to drain Yang Kai's life away and affect his perception of time.

However, he wasn't the only one who possessed a Great Emperor's Legacy Artifact. Yang Kai also had a Legacy Artifact, which was the Mountains and Rivers Bell. That was the reason he wasn't afraid of Wind Lord. Only a Great Emperor's Legacy Artifact could be used against another Legacy Artifact.

Therefore, after Yang Kai summoned the Mountains and Rivers Bell and made it ring out, he was able to restore his own perception of time. However, he still hadn't managed to cut off his connection with the Infinite Hourglass. As the Flowing Time Divine Sand continued trickling down, his remaining years of life would still rapidly leave him.

Yang Kai was unable to fully utilise the power of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, but it was the same case for Wind Lord and the Infinite Hourglass. In this regard, both of them were even.

The bell continued ringing out as the invisible pressure permeated the hall, causing Wind Lord to feel extremely heavy, as though a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders.

The ringing of the bell was able to suppress the world itself, such a statement best described the Mountains and Rivers Bell.

After activating the power of the Mountains and Rivers Bell, Yang Kai managed to break free from the Infinite Hourglass's disturbance and restored his perception of time.

Noticing this, Wind Lord stared at the bell for a moment before he sighed and said, "Grudges should be resolved rather than formed. You've killed many of the people from Demon Heavenly Dao, and I've made you suffer a setback. Why don't we forget about what has happened today? We can part ways and never see one another again. What do you think?"

With the hourglass rendered ineffective, he wasn't confident in dealing with an expert in the Dao of Space, unless Yang Kai insisted on battling against him until either party was killed instead of fleeing. If Yang Kai wanted to flee, he wouldn't have any way to stop him.

He didn't want to fight with Yang Kai. He was already satisfied that he had obtained the Infinite Hourglass from the Flowing Time Temple. As for those people from Demon Heavenly Dao who were killed, there had never been a lack of people who were killed in this world. They should feel honoured that they were able to sacrifice their lives for his Master's goal.

"Sure," Yang Kai replied in a hushed voice and put on a grin, "Put the hourglass down and cripple your cultivation. After that, I'll let you go."

Wind Lord narrowed his eyes and grinned wickedly, "Boy, this King is sincerely trying to make peace with you, but it doesn't mean that I'm afraid of you. If you remain obstinate, this King will have no choice but to kill you."

"Do it if you can," Yang Kai lifted his hand and crooked his finger.

"Is there really no room for discussion?" Wind Lord stared grimly at him.

Yang Kai guffawed, "I've told you that we're not even from the same side. Cut the nonsense, will you?"

Wind Lord took a deep breath and put on a helpless expression, "Since you insist on forcing me, you must pay the price."

After he finished speaking, he raised the hourglass and pushed his Emperor Qi wildly, infusing as much power into it as possible.

Initially, the speed at which the Flowing Time Divine Sand trickled down inside the hourglass was neither fast nor slow. After a long battle, only half of the Divine Sand had reached the bottom of the hourglass. In other words, only four hundred years of Yang Kai's life had been sucked away from him.

However, what Wind Lord had done was to accelerate the speed at which the sand fell. The other half of the sand reached the bottom in just a short moment.

Yang Kai couldn't help but grunt as his blood gushed towards his throat and almost spurted out. Although he wasn't hit by any external force, he had suffered a serious injury by losing four hundred years of his life in just a moment. He could also feel his vitality plummeting.

Wind Lord wasn't done yet though. When the sand in the hourglass completely reached the bottom half, he flipped it upside down again before infusing more Emperor Qi into it. Grinning wickedly, he said, "How are you going to fight with me when I have this hourglass? This King was magnanimous enough to let you off, but do you seriously think this King has no way to deal with you?"

Having his life drained away from him was a terrible feeling. Furthermore, not only was this loss of life visible to the naked eye, but it could also be physically felt. Of course, Yang Kai wouldn't stay idle and wait for death. As the Mountains and Rivers Bell continued ringing, he disappeared from his spot. When he reappeared, he was already behind Wind Lord as he extended his free Dragon Claw towards him.

However, as though there were eyes behind Wind Lord's head, he gently flapped the fan in his right hand, after which giant wind blades accurately slashed at Yang Kai.

Whizzing sounds were heard but Yang Kai didn't dodge the attack. As a consequence, new wounds appeared on his huge claw, which was now covered in blood. In a resolute manner, he continued pushing forward. Wind Lord gritted his teeth as he hadn't expected Yang Kai to be so determined.

He was frustrated at the fact that Yang Kai's body was so sturdy. His wind blades were extremely sharp and they were able to slash the average Emperor Realm Master to pieces; however, Yang Kai's Half-Dragon form was extremely tough, so while his wind blades could cut his body, the wounds weren't even bone deep.

At the critical moment, Wind Lord transformed into a breeze again and shot up into the sky. To his surprise though, he found the Mountains and Rivers Bell was falling down on him.

Yang Kai had been controlling the bell for some time now, so certainly he would do everything he could to stop Wind Lord from fleeing by turning into wind as he had done so before. As long as he could trap Wind Lord inside the bell, he had a hundred ways to torture him to death.

Naturally, Wind Lord wouldn't get trapped easily, so he quickly changed direction and escaped from the bell's suppression before reappearing on the other side of the hall.

The sand in the hourglass had completely reached the bottom half again. Unable to take it anymore, Yang Kai sprayed out a mouthful of blood as his three-hundred-metre figure shrank by thirty metres. His life was sucked out of him and his vitality had declined, which was why he was unable to fully maintain his Half-Dragon form anymore.

Nonetheless, he didn't stop attacking as he seemed determined to bite off a piece of his opponent's flesh even if he died in the process. Charging forward, Yang Kai manipulated Space Principles and launched a series of Moon Blades at his enemy.

Wind Lord infused more Qi into the hourglass, after which the Moon Blades abruptly stopped in front of him. Then, he nonchalantly walked away and stared at Yang Kai like the latter was a madman, "Are you really so eager to die?"

Yang Kai put on a hideous grin, "Suck all the life out of me if you can!"

Wind Lord's brow twitched as he turned the hourglass over again. This time, the sand didn't trickle down quickly as the speed became normal again.

It wasn't that he didn't want to accelerate the sand, but rather that he couldn't anymore. It had only been a hundred years since he obtained the hourglass, and although he had partially refined it, he was unable to fully utilise the treasure's power. He had reached his limit by activating it twice, and he had paid a hefty price to do so.

Yang Kai had figured this out, which was why he appeared so fearless. He was a Third-Order Emperor, so he still had a few thousand years left to live. After the sand in the hourglass fully reached the other end, it meant that over eight hundred years of Yang Kai's life had left him. Since the hourglass had been used twice, it meant losing some one thousand six hundred years in total. Taking the time that was stolen from him when he was flying across the Two Seasons Mountain Range into consideration as well, Yang Kai figured he still had many years left to live. It was unwise to battle against his opponent when his own life was draining away from him, but he had no other choice; otherwise, he wouldn't have done it.

Seeing as Wind Lord had no other tricks, Yang Kai cackled, "You're dead now!"