Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai's damaged Soul had not recovered completely. No matter how powerful the Soul Warming Lotus was, it would still take time for it to repair such injuries. Nevertheless, the purified Martial Truth that gradually accumulated in his Knowledge Sea was just waiting for him to absorb its insights.

Yang Kai stepped forward without any hesitation and entered the ancient battlefield again. Just like before, the Time Principles in the surroundings wrapped around him and gave him a sense that time was being distorted confusingly.

Having come here with just a thread of his consciousness during his last visit, it had been very inconvenient to be affected by the Time Principles. Unlike last time, he arrived with his true body this time. It was only natural that the resistance he had towards those effects was on a different level altogether compared to before. At the very least, he no longer felt a disconnect between his thoughts and his body.

Forging ahead one step at a time, he travelled a distance of a thousand metres in just a quarter hour, causing him to raise his brow slightly. When he first came here, it had taken him a whole day just to travel the first thousand metres. The advantages of coming to this place in his true body were showing.

Yang Kai did not proceed any further inward this time though. That was because he knew that the two forces clashing against each other in this ancient battlefield would definitely wreak havoc on him again if he took one more step forward. His damaged Soul had yet to recover completely, so he had to wait until he was fully recovered before making plans to proceed further. Besides, he only entered this ancient battlefield to gain more time to cultivate.

After calculating the distance, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and let the Soul Warming Lotus repair his Soul. In the meantime, he studied the pure insights that were gathered in his Knowledge Sea and absorbed the Martial Truth of the two Masters.

Time passed in a blink of an eye. His damaged Soul returned to a complete state after several days, and after experiencing this disaster, his already powerful Soul had gotten stronger by a slight margin. It might not be much, but it already saved him many days of hard cultivation.

The moment his Soul recovered was the moment Yang Kai also completely comprehended all the Martial Truths that were gathered in his Knowledge Sea. The two forces belonging to the two Masters were originally of different Principles and Attributes, so it should have been impossible for them to be fully integrated with each other. However, the purification of the Soul Warming Lotus had stripped away all extraneous components, leaving behind just the purest Martial Truth. That was the only reason why he could absorb both of them together.

As the saying went, 'All Grand Daos led to the same truth'. This was no different.

Yang Kai's Knowledge Sea, which had originally turned black due to his partial demonification, now glimmered with a slight golden light. It seemed insignificant in that pitch-black environment, but it was also extremely conspicuous, like an ember that would ignite into a raging fire one day.

Yang Kai stood up and discovered that his thoughts flowed smoothly now with no sense of blockage whatsoever. Although the Time Principles were still flowing around him, they no longer had any effect on his body. He knew that this was part of the benefits of comprehending and absorbing the Martial Truth.

Be that as it may, this was only the outermost periphery of the ancient battlefield where the residual Time Principles were the weakest. If he went deeper into the ancient battlefield, it would definitely be a different scene.

Yang Kai took a step forward, and as he had expected, the two overwhelming forces in the surroundings immediately attacked him. It was the Flowing Time Great Emperor's Time Principles and another power belonging to another Master.

When Yang Kai came here with his thread of consciousness previously, he had been afraid of encountering unexpected events, which was why what he had perceived had not been very clear. It wasn't until now that he discovered under careful examination that the other force contained deep-rooted Demon Essence, which was incredibly compatible with the Demon Qi in his body.

It was becoming more and more certain that the one who fought Flowing Time Great Emperor on this battlefield was one of the Masters of the Demon Realm, even if it was not Great Demon God himself. A clear understanding bloomed in Yang Kai's heart as he realized why he was able to comprehend and absorb the Martial Truths of those two.

He originally thought a free pie had fallen from the Heavens, but he now knew that this piece of pie was not something that just anybody could eat.

Although he had failed to obtain Flowing Time Great Emperor's true inheritance, Yang Kai had managed to cultivate the Time Flies Seal and scratched the surface of the Dao of Time. This gave him a relationship with Flowing Time Great Emperor, albeit a superficial one. With this foundation, it was only natural that he could comprehend and absorb the Martial Truth left behind by Flowing Time Great Emperor.

Similarly, he had been influenced by the World Principles of the Demon Realm when he became a High-Rank Demon King, undergoing demonification and having his Emperor Qi converted into Demon Qi. It was only because the Soul Warming Lotus protected the last pure land in his Knowledge Sea that he did not truly become part of the Demon Race. Even so, he could now be regarded as partially a member of the Demon Race! That was why he could comprehend and absorb the Martial Truth belonging to this ancient Demon Race Master.

Everything seemed to be a lucky coincidence, but who could say whether it was an opportunity or the work of the Heavens? If anybody else other than Yang Kai had arrived at this place, they would not have obtained any benefits; instead, they would have been eroded away by the Martial Truth and their cultivation would have been destroyed.

Even if Yang Xiao and Yang Xue had come here, they would only be capable of absorbing the part of the Martial Truth that belonged to Flowing Time Great Emperor. They would not have been able to gain anything from the ancient Demon Race Master. The consequences of not being able to comprehend and absorb that portion of the Martial Truth would likely be disastrous for them instead.

After giving it some thought, Yang Kai couldn't help breaking out into a grin as he kept walking without pausing, taking one step at a time.

When he came here via his thread of consciousness before, it had been underqualified to act as a carrier; therefore, he only persisted for a short while before he was unable to bear the pain and quickly retreated instead. Now that he arrived here with his true body, it was proving to be a much stronger carrier than a mere wisp of consciousness had been. If the previous Soul Avatar was equivalent to a small pond, then his true body was a lake that could withstand much more. Even so, it still could not contain the attacks of the two giant Dragons, that was simply beyond his current limits.

Five thousand metres! The strength of his true body, coupled with the Martial Truth that he had absorbed before, allowed Yang Kai to advance five thousand meters before he had to stop. At this point, he could no longer move forward. He would probably sustain indelible injuries if he tried to force his way forward.

His Soul felt like it was tearing apart and the pain in his physical body was unbearable. His entire body shuddered uncontrollably as traces of Golden Blood oozed out of all his pores. Still, he grit his teeth and clenched his fists with a savage expression that was rather terrifying.

The Soul Warming Lotus was already emitting a seven-coloured glow, constantly repairing the damage done to his Soul. Accompanied by the Soul Warming Lotus, Yang Kai did not have to fear dying here, so he quietly inspected his condition. His Soul had not reached its limits yet, but his physical body could not withstand anymore, which was only to be expected. His Soul already exceeded the level of a Half-Saint due to his relationship with Yu Ru Meng, but his body was only that of a High-Rank Demon King. The gap between these two was simply too large.

Pondering in silence for a while, Yang Kai let out a low roar, "Dragon Transformation!"

It was a pity that his physical body could no longer withstand the pressure even though his Soul had not reached its breaking point, so the simplest solution was to strengthen his body.

A Dragon Roar sounded and a dazzling Golden Dragon head appeared and vanished in a flash. Then, Yang Kai's body rapidly swelled up. Following a series of crackling sounds, Dragon Scales covered his entire body, two short Dragon Horns appeared on his forehead, his hands turned into sharp Dragon Claws, and a Dragon Tail flicked behind him. His transformation stirred up a cloud of smoke and dust on this ancient battlefield.

His Half-Dragon Form still retained some resemblance to his Human form, but his Dragon Clan features were clearly more defined than before. After the Dragon Transformation, Yang Kai breathed heavily. The air that blew out of his nostrils formed gusts of wind, giving him an extremely majestic impression.

He was stunned for a moment and scratched his head, vaguely feeling as though he had… grown slightly taller. Examining himself carefully, he discovered that it was not just his imagination. He had certainly grown taller than before; thus, he couldn't help feeling amazed by the changes.

The last time he performed the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique was during his deadly battle against Wind Lord in the Flowing Time Temple. He had been wandering about in recent years and was so busy that he had no time to cultivate the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique. Nevertheless, he had been consuming Dragon Blood Pills regularly so his body had been growing larger without his knowledge, even though he had not deliberately tried to cultivate the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique.

It was just that this process took a very long time. The Dragon Clan had always been long-lived; therefore, growth had never been a matter of urgency for them. Since his battle on Dragon Island, despite consuming so many Dragon Blood Pills and Dragon Blood Flowers over the years, he had only grown to about 320 metres.

During the fight with the Wind Lord in the temple, he had given it his all. After that, he went to the Lower Star Field to refine World Beads. He didn't even have the time to consume more Dragon Blood Pills he had refined, so logically speaking, he shouldn't have grown much at all.

But now, he estimated that he had grown to 400 metres in height, which could only be described as a huge eruption in growth.

For the Dragon Clan, a bigger body undoubtedly signified greater strength. The largest among the Dragon Clan Elders in the Dragon Temple throughout the generations had been just shy of 1,000 metres, a length that none of the current Dragon Clan could compare to.

Yang Kai had the Golden Divine Dragon Source, and the more he integrated with the Source, the bigger his body would become. Now that his body had increased in size, it would mean that his Source Strength had been stimulated again somehow.

After giving it some thought, Yang Kai guessed that his rapid growth was probably due to the benefits he received during his battle with Wind Lord. He had gone all out after executing the Dragon Transformation, so his Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength must have been developed without his knowledge at the juncture of life and death. He had been so exhausted at the time that he had not noticed anything; therefore, it wasn't until today that he discovered the benefits. This discovery could be regarded as a pleasant surprise as the stronger his physical body was, the more punishment it could withstand.

The surrounding pressure that was crushing his body suddenly became lighter after he assumed his Half-Dragon form. He had been struggling to take another step forward before, but now, he had no trouble continuing forward again. With this, he travelled another five thousand metres.

Yang Kai finally stopped in his tracks. This was his limit. His large body sat down cross-legged, looking like a small hill. Then, he opened up his mind in the middle of this ancient battlefield, allowing the two forces to enter his body while he quietly comprehended this phenomenon.

Three months passed just like that. During that period, Yang Kai did not move in the slightest. It wasn't until three months later that he abruptly opened his eyes. His majestic Dragon Eyes were brimming with energy and it was clear that he had benefited greatly from this endeavour. He couldn't stop himself from breaking into a grin; however, what came next was a rumbling sound that shook the world itself. If a timid person had witnessed this scene, they might have been scared to death by the sight of his horrifyingly large mouth spreading out in a grin.

The two forces that had been raging against each other in the outer periphery of the ancient battlefield for countless of years had vanished completely. They had been absorbed into his body and refined into his strength.

Without the influence of the Time Principles here, the flow of time in this area returned to normal. A thought flashed in Yang Kai's mind and in the next moment, Bo Ya, who was sitting on top of Gun-Gun's head with her chin resting on both hands and a bored expression on her face, suddenly heard Yang Kai's voice, "How long has it been?"

Although she didn't understand why he was asking her such a strange question, she still answered seriously, "It's been five days."

[Good. It has only been five days.] Inside the ancient battlefield, Yang Kai stood up and strode forward. His steps were unhurried, but every step made the Earth tremble slightly. At the same time, the scabs covering his body fell off with every step he took. He had not taken many steps when a doubtful expression appeared on his face. [Why does it feel like… I've grown a little taller again?]