Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

"There's an easy path to the Heavens but you refused to take it; instead, you force your way into the Gates of Hell!" The Shadow Demon gave a soft, cold laugh before his figure suddenly faded, and vanished from sight.

"Qian Zhong, where are you going!?" A Half-Saint shouted after him.

"To kill!" His voice came from the direction of the black spot.

The other Half-Saints raised their eyebrows at those words; then, the realization of the meaning behind that strange feeling they experienced just now suddenly struck them. They had not seen any traces of Yang Kai during this battle! Yang Kai held a high position among the Human Race; he seemed to be an Army Commander or something of the sort, so it was impossible for him not to show up during such an important battle. Thinking back to the Human Race army's movements just now, how could they not realize that the attack was all a feint? It was simply to distract them. Besides, Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so it was not impossible for him to sneak into the Demon Realm through this place amidst all the chaos.

"He is proficient in the Dao of Space. I'm afraid it won't be easy to kill him! Qian Zhong attempted it once before but failed," One of the Half-Saints frowned.

"If he really snuck into the Demon Realm, then he would surely feel smug about himself and become complacent as a result. It might just work out this time."

"Let's hope it does. It's just that the Human brat has a storage artifact. There are always traitors around him to protect him."

"Bai Ya, Bai Zhuo, and that strange Stone Man made an appearance just now. I believe he only has that beast, Zhui Feng, with him at the moment. It's difficult for even you and I to guard against Qian Zhong's sneak attacks, so as long as that boy lets down his guard even just a little, Qian Zhong will have a great chance of succeeding."

"That's true. Let us hope Qian Zhong can bring back some good news."

At this point, the Half-Saints stopped talking. They simply watched the Human Race army's movements warily, preparing to defend against another attack at any time.

The Shadow Demon Clan was inherently proficient in concealment and assassination. Like a rabbit eating grass or a jackal eating meat, it was an ability that came innately to them. Moreover, a Shadow Demon Half-Saint stood at the peak of this field.

Qian Zhong concealed his figure and aura, passed through the enormous black spot in the sky, and quietly snuck back into the Demon Realm.

Yang Kai infiltrated the Demon Realm in order to cause mayhem. That was simply his suspicion born from the fact that he had not seen Yang Kai anywhere on the battlefield just now. He had not been too confident whether it was the truth or not, but be that as it may, he became certain that his guess was correct the moment he returned to the Demon Realm. That was because traces of Yang Kai's aura clearly remained at the place where he appeared, which made him ecstatic.

All the Half-Saints, and even the Demon Saints themselves loathed Yang Kai. It was just that Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so despite being weak, his skill at escaping was unmatched. Even the Demon Saints had failed to capture him when they tried to hunt him down after the battle on Eternal Sky Continent.

Later, Yang Kai wreaked havoc in the Demon Realm, destroyed a vast swatch of territory, and instigated two Demon Saints, a Master on par with the Demon Saints, and a large number of Demon Race Masters to defect. Those actions left the Demon Race nursing an irreconcilable grudge against him.

Before this recent invasion of the Star Boundary, the Demon Saints announced that they would personally guide and assist in the cultivation of the meritorious person who managed to take Yang Kai's head so that that person could reach the peak as soon as possible. The Half-Saints might not have been tempted by the offer if it had been just any ordinary reward; however, who wouldn't covet being taught by the Demon Saints themselves?

[The credit is mine!] Qian Zhong thought to himself; even so, he did not show his excitement outwardly. A good assassin was able to precisely control the fluctuations of their emotions so that not even the slightest turbulence would be revealed.

There was no need to track the trail carefully. He only needed to lift his head to see Yang Kai riding on Zhui Feng at a distance of no more than two kilometres away from him. They were travelling at leisure, acting so relaxed and carefree that it was almost as if their purpose in coming to the Demon Realm was for a casual stroll.

For Qian Zhong, a distance like that was practically no different from standing face-to-face with each other, he could launch a sure-kill strike at any time. Before he could take any action though, he suddenly saw Yang Kai, who was two kilometres away, turning to look back in his direction with a bright smile, one filled with cunning.

Qian Zhong felt his heart skip a beat, instinctively thinking that something bad was going to happen, but before he could react, a gentle force slammed into his body. That force was invisible and undetectable, so well-hidden that he failed to notice until it was too late. Besides, the power behind this strike was harmless and clearly only for reconnaissance purposes. It was just that his figure, which was concealed, was immediately revealed when that force struck.

"I've been waiting for you!" A voice sounded from the side. Following those words, a figure dressed in white stepped out of the Void with one hand behind his back, his aura calm and relaxed like that of an aloof Master!

[Li Wu Yi!] Qian Zhong froze in surprise and his eyes widened from the shock. His head was full of questions, the most prominent one being, [Why is he here!?]

There were few Pseudo-Great Emperors in the Star Boundary, far less than the number of Demon Race Half-Saints. Even with the subordinates of Yu Ru Meng and the others, there was still a large gap between the number of Pseudo-Great Emperors in the Star Boundary and the number of Demon Race Half-Saints. Nevertheless, the gap was not as wide as before.

Among all the Pseudo-Great Emperors though, Li Wu Yi was the most famous. He was also the person most feared by the Half-Saints, that was because three Half-Saints had died at his hands. He was an existence that stood above the rest of the Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints. His reputation of being the strongest beneath the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary was well warranted.

Although Qian Zhong was powerful enough that he could look down on any other Pseudo-Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, he did not dare to underestimate Li Wu Yi; therefore, he instantly realized that this was a trap the moment he saw the latter appear! It was a trick to deceive the opponent into walking into the trap themselves! And, he had fallen right for it!

Without any hesitation, Qian Zhong abruptly retreated. The Two Worlds' Passage was not far behind him, and as long as he could return, he could reach the stronghold in the Star Boundary. At that time, Li Wu Yi would not be able to touch a single hair on his head. On the contrary, he could try and unite with his companions on the other side to kill Li Wu Yi here.

However, a scorching heat came from behind him the moment he tried to make a move. That scorching heat seemed to be able to burn everything in the world, causing Qian Zhong's expression to fill with horror even before the attack landed on him.

His figure that was withdrawing backwards stopped abruptly. There had been no pause between his sudden movement and equally sudden halt, showing how solid his foundation was. He dodged to the side and turned back to look in the middle of all the havoc.

A slender and bright-eyed young woman was standing in front of the Two Worlds' Passage, showing a row of pearly teeth as she smiled at him. Forming a set of seals with her hands, she sent out another Secret Technique, manifesting a flame that danced like a Fire Dragon to chase after him. While casting the Secret Technique, she laughingly said, "Yang Kai, there really was an idiot who walked right into our trap!"

Yang Kai rode over and laughed loudly, "How could I show off my intelligence if he wasn't so stupid?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he struck his palm at Qian Zhong from a distance. Space Principles fluctuated violently as he shouted, "Solidify!"

At the same time, Li Wu Yi raised a palm slowly and brought it down in Qian Zhong's direction with a stern expression. He might be powerful, but his opponent was a Half-Saint; thus, he attacked with all his strength.

Combining their strength, the space around Qian Zhong suddenly froze!

Qian Zhong, who was escaping like a fleeting shadow, felt as though a mountain was suddenly pressing down on him. The vitality in his heart churned, and his breathing became laboured. His originally unpredictable figure became extremely sluggish too.

At that moment, scorching heat swiftly descended on him. He broke out in cold sweat and let out a roar, his Demon Qi surging violently. Like a mirror that was broken by a huge force, the sound of something shattering rang out as cracks suddenly appeared in the space surrounding him.

Qian Zhong took advantage of the situation to escape his shackles, but the burst of flames had already rushed up to him during that momentary delay. At this moment, he was in the middle of recovering from the last attack and could not gather more strength to defend. It was such a short gap that it was practically negligible, but even so, the young woman had managed to time her attack perfectly.

The flames suddenly enveloped him and turned into a ring of fire that quickly shrank. Then, it tightened abruptly and bound Qian Zhong in place. With the ring of fire wrapped around his body, the Demon Qi covering his body burned with a crackling sound. In his horror, he bit his tongue hard and his aura surged violently, causing the ring of fire binding him showed signs of cracking.

*Xiu Xiu...*

Two more bursts of flames shot out from the young woman's hands. Similar to the first burst of flame, they struck out like a Fire Dragon and shrouded over Qian Zhong's head. After that, the three bursts of fire turned into three rings of flame and bound themselves around his chest, waist and legs. He had been on the verge of breaking free previously, but now he was locked down tightly, a look of despair filling his face.

Yang Kai and Li Wu Yi attacked at the same time. Li Wu Yi's clothes were flapping in the wind, the Emperor Qi in his body surging madly as he pointed at Qian Zhong from a distance. That movement seemed incredibly slow, yet at the same time, it was over in an instant. Qian Zhong reacted as if struck by lightning when that finger pointed at him and his head jerked back, a finger-sized hole appearing on his forehead. Strangely, no blood came out. Only his entire body trembled uncontrollably.

Yang Kai also pointed a finger forward. It was different from the slow-moving action that Li Wu Yi had made as he thrust forward rapidly, causing space to shudder and the world to tremble. It was incredibly majestic and terrifying to watch.

Meanwhile, Qian Zhong's chest sank sharply, then his whole body shrank rapidly and collapsed towards the dent in his chest.

Rupture!

Li Wu Yi's eyes lit up. As an expert proficient in the Dao of Space, he instantly knew that this attack was very powerful the moment Yang Kai used it. It involved the essence of the Grand Dao of Space itself.

The scene of a living person collapsing in on himself at a rapid pace was an extremely strange sight to behold. If Yang Kai had been alone, he could never have won against this Shadow Demon Half-Saint, but by launching a surprise attack, which combined his strength with Li Wu Yi and Yang Yan, they managed to defeat this opponent so quickly that he had no chance to retaliate.

In a span of three short breaths, Qian Zhong's whole body collapsed in on itself completely and a small black spot suddenly formed in his place.

The three rings of fire turned into bracelets that flew towards Yang Yan, where she wore them on her fair wrists. Just as she was about to turn around with a smile on her face to say something to Yang Kai, her expression changed drastically and she shouted, "Watch out!"

There was a loud explosion. Following that, the small black spot expanded without warning and countless figures erupted from within. Each figure was similar to Qian Zhong in appearance. There were thousands of those figures and each one of them had identical auras, making it impossible for anybody to discern which was real and which was not. Then, those thousands of figures fled in all directions.

Li Wu Yi and Yang Yan attacked in unison. Most of the figures were wiped out before they could take more than a few steps. Meanwhile, Yang Kai felt his skin tingling with a sense that he was being watched by a dangerous beast. Lifting his head, he saw a figure rush towards him at a high speed. The eyes of that figure were filled with a hatred that was carved deep into his bones and a resolute determination to drag Yang Kai down to hell with him.

"A cornered beast will undoubtedly fight back!" Yang Kai coldly snorted, and with a flick of his wrist, he summoned the Mountains and Rivers Bell. He gave a gentle shake of his wrist and a melodious and ancient sound tolled. At the same time, a force of suppression swept out in all directions.