Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Unfortunately, his glory only lasted until he became an Emperor Realm Master…

When the Shattered Star Sea opened, the best among the younger generation of the Star Boundary broke through into the Emperor Realm in quick succession. Xiao Chen was no exception. Up until then, he firmly believed that his glory was bound to be part of the Star Boundary's future; however, it would now seem that his short burst of brilliance in his youth was the last of his glory, akin to the afterglow of a sunset.

To date, the people among the younger generation with relations to the Great Emperors had all advanced into the Second-Order Emperor Realm. Take Yao Si, Lin Yun'er, Mo Xiao Qi, Li Shi Qing, and Gao Zhan for example. In particular, Lan Xun was even more incredible. After she refined the World Pagoda, she rose to become a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master in one fell swoop.

On the other hand, he was still stuck in the First-Order Emperor Realm, unable to advance.

It would have been fine if that were all. These people had unusual relationships with the Great Emperors after all. They were either the children or Disciples of Great Emperors, so it wasn't a big deal if their cultivation progressed faster than his. His talent was still no less than anybody else's, the only thing he lacked was the unique privileges that they had. It only served to inspire him to strive harder to catch up instead.

But, what about Yang Kai? He had no connection with any of the Great Emperors whatsoever. His cultivation had initially been much lower than Xiao Chen's when they first met each other, but he was now at a level where Xiao Chen had to look up to him.

Xiao Chen couldn't get close to Lan Xun despite trying his best; rather, he even caused her to become distracted and forced her to protect him instead. On the contrary, Yang Kai had easily slaughtered all the enemies around them.

Xiao Chen looked down at his hands, feeling extremely powerless for the first time. He longed for power. He wanted to become much stronger…

…..

The Star Boundary army evacuated to the mountain valley in an orderly manner and World Beads had long been distributed. Many Division Commanders placed their subordinates who had withdrawn to the mountain valley into World Beads in a rapid fashion.

Be that as it may, how could the Demon Race just sit back and watch as the Star Boundary army withdrew from battle? Countless Demons swarmed towards the mountain valley to keep the millions of the Star Boundary cultivators locked down.

Many Emperor Realm Masters were desperately defending the mouth of the mountain valley to buy more preparation time for the army behind them. Placing people into World Beads was not a simple feat and required the consumption of copious amounts of Spiritual Energy. At this moment, all the Pseudo-Great Emperors and Half-Saints under the Star Boundary's banner were fighting the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm so that these Demon Race Masters could not interfere with what was happening within the mountain valley. Therefore, the heavy burden of evacuating the Star Boundary army rested on the shoulders of the many Emperor Realm Masters.

It didn't matter if it was Wen Zi Shan, Gao Xue Ting, Qiu Ran, Chen Qian, Ma Qing, Chen Wen Hao, or Wu Chang. Regardless of whether the names of the Emperor Realm Masters were famous or obscure, all of them were using their bodies to form an iron-clad defensive wall at the mouth of the mountain valley to prevent the invasion of the Demon Race army.

Fortunately, they had the advantage of topography on their side. Not many of the Demon Race army could swarm around them at one time; otherwise, they would not have been able to hold out against the millions of bloodthirsty Demons that swarmed towards them all at once.

Nevertheless, the situation was extremely precarious. None of the Emperor Realm Masters had much strength left after so many days of intense battle. If they were not careful, even a Demon Great General or Demon General would be able to kill them now.

They would incur injuries from time to time, but there was no time for them to treat the wounds. Despite the blood flowing freely from their wounds, they could only push through with gritted teeth. The lights coming from many Secret Techniques and artifacts flashed constantly, illuminating the area in front of the mountain valley with many blinding flashes of colour.

Amidst all the sounds of fighting, Zhui Feng went on a rampage. He did not know how many times he successfully cut off the Demon Race army's violent attacks, but it was all thanks to him that Wen Zi Shan and the others managed to persist up until this point.

In a place without the interference of a Half-Saint or Pseudo-Great Emperor, Zhui Feng was an invincible existence. He simply charged back and forth from the mouth of the mountain valley to the back of the Demon Race army, repeating the same process over and over again. Every trip he made, he left countless Demon corpses in his wake. Killing them excited him greatly, so the sounds of his neighing never paused for a breath. The blood of the Demon Race flowed as thick as mud across the ground, and whenever Zhui Feng's flaming hooves trod, red fumes evaporated, created a disgusting and nauseating stench.

Unfortunately, there was only one Zhui Feng, and as more and more of the soldiers were placed into the World Beads and sent away via the Space Array in the mountain valley, the people among the Star Boundary army who could stand up against the enemy dwindled.

"Little Xue Ting, take our people and leave!" Wen Zi Shan turned to shout at Gao Xue Ting while swinging his sword and clearing a huge area in front of him.

"I'm not leaving!" Gao Xue Ting stood firmly beside him, the Radiant Sun Mirror hanging high above her head. A scorching ray of light shot out from the mirror, burning with a crackling sound as it landed on the bodies of the Demon Race.

Wen Zi Zhan was furious and roared, "You've always been disobedient since you were a child, and you've only gotten worse as an adult! Will you just listen obediently for once!?"

She didn't even look at him. She simply pale-facedly pushed the power of the Radiant Sun Mirror to the limit and replied lightly, "If you're upset over my disobedience, then you shouldn't have picked me up back then!"

"You'll be the death of me!" The words had just left his mouth when he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Shocked, Gao Xue Ting quickly stepped forward to support his body, her red lips trembling slightly as she asked, "A-Are you okay?"

"I don't think I can hold on any longer…" He currently looked very weak. The corners of his mouth twitched as though he was trying to smile, but he couldn't manage even that. The light in his eyes was dimming rapidly, and he weakly said, "Be a good girl. Hurry up and go."

She shook her head strongly, her hair flying in the wind as her eyes turned bloodshot, "Don't drive me away. I'll listen to whatever you say in the future."

"Really? Don't you lie to me now."

She hugged him tightly, tears flowing down her face as she sniffed and said firmly, "Don't you dare die. I'm not lying to you!"

He blinked, his dull and dim eyes quickly regaining their lustre as a smile formed on his lips, "Don't forget what you just said! You better not regret those words later!"

Afterwards, he suddenly got up and swung his sword to the side. The sword light slashed through the void, cutting a Shadow Demon Demon King in two. Blood and organs spilled across the ground as the Shadow Demon looked down at his lower body with an expression of astonishment on his face.

Meanwhile, Wen Zi Shan spat out a mouthful of blood and sneered, "I knew you were hiding in the shadows. If I had not pretended to be dying, you probably wouldn't have revealed yourself."

While speaking, he gave a flick of his sword and the two halves of the Shadow Demon turned to mist. His weak and defeated appearance from before was gone, replaced by a triumphant look. All of a sudden, he felt a scorching gaze burning into the back of his head as though about to incinerate him to ashes. Flinching slightly, Wen Zi Shan dared not look back as he shouted to the people around him, "Stand strong! Don't let these bastards through even if its cost your lives!"

The Emperor Realm Masters of Azure Sun Temple immediately responded, "Yes!"

Only Murong Xiao Xiao dared to throw a cautious glance at Gao Xue Ting.

There were tears in Gao Xue Ting's beautiful eyes, but the corners of her mouth were curled into a cold smile. The Radiant Sun Mirror that had gone bleak above her head suddenly shone brightly once more. A blazing flame shot out from the mirror, brushing past Wen Zi Shan's head to blast more than ten Demons into ashes.

There was an audible gulping noise as Wen Zi Shan swallowed nervously. He lifted a hand to touch his hair and felt a patch of ashes as the smell of burnt hair wafted into his nose.

"Brother Wen, something is happening in front!" Ma Qing suddenly shouted, looking in a certain direction with a solemn expression.

Wen Zi Shan had no time to think about other matters as he cocked his ear and listened carefully. There was a rumbling sound coming from the depths of the Demon Race army. Looking into the distance, he saw a plume of smoke and dust heading straight towards them. Everywhere that plume of dust passed, the Demons were forced to open up a path.

"It's one of our own!" He frowned at the sight.

Ma Qing was stunned, "Is there anyone who has not withdrawn!?"

"Yang Kai isn't back yet!" With just a few words, Wen Zi Shan could already confirm the identity of the incoming person. He couldn't help feeling a burst of joy. Yang Kai's current cultivation was extraordinary and his combat prowess was outstanding. If he could assist them, then the pressure to defend this mountain valley would reduce significantly.

His guess was right. The person rushing towards them from the back of the Demon Race army was Yang Kai indeed. However, he was not alone. He was charging ahead and forging a bloody path through the Demon Race army with the Azure Dragon Spear. Behind him were several dozen people. These were Star Boundary soldiers who had not been able to evacuate in time and were scattered across the battlefield with no support.

Yang Kai had spread out his Divine Sense to cover the entire Star Soul Palace, and after locating these people, he had gone to rescue them one by one. That was why it had taken him so long to return.

Most of the people had been placed into the Sealed World Bead while those who stayed behind were all in the Emperor Realm. Although there were only a few of them, they were akin to a thousand-man army wielding a torrent of deadly steel under Yang Kai's lead. They made their way through the Demon Race army but suffered no casualties despite facing enemies that outnumbered them by tens of thousands of times.

Those Emperor Realm Masters were filled with admiration and finally understood why Yang Kai could become an Army Commander. His strength was simply not something an ordinary Emperor Realm Master could possess.

Yang Kai led those Emperors to penetrate the dense formation of Demons, swiftly clearing a path and breaking through the siege to arrive at the mountain valley.

When everybody was reunited, there was a sense of elation all around. Many of the Masters who remained to guard the mouth of the mountain valley nodded at Yang Kai with a look of gratitude in their eyes. Those Emperor Realm Masters that he brought back with him were their companions. They originally thought that those people had perished on the battlefield so it was only thanks to Yang Kai that they could return safely. How could they not be grateful towards him?

Carrying the momentum of having killed thousands of Demons, Yang Kai turned around and swept his eyes across the sight in front of him. The Demon Race army that had gathered in this place like a rising tide involuntarily took several steps back as if frightened by his murderous intent.

"Are there any others?" Wen Zi Shan wiped the fresh blood from his face, looking at Yang Kai when he asked the question.

Yang Kai shook his head, "This is the last of them."

Wen Zi Shan calmed down, "That's good." Turning to the rest of the people, he shouted, "Those who are exhausted and injured will evacuate first. The rest will follow later."

Contrary to expectations however, Yang Kai turned to Wen Zi Shan and said, "All of you should leave. I alone am enough."

Ma Qing was taken aback by those words, "You alone!?"

Yang Kai grinned in response, "Indeed!"

Wen Zi Shan looked solemn, "Brat…"

Yang Kai raised his hand to stop Wen Zi Shan mid-sentence, "Senior Li and the others are still fighting the Half-Saints of the Demon Realm. If you don't leave, they won't be able to leave either. They can only escape safely once all of you have left."

Wen Zi Shan hesitated, "But, with just you…"

Yang Kai smiled slightly, "Since I've decided to stay behind, it's only natural that I'm confident in my ability. Besides… Once all of you have left, I can leave whenever I want."

Upon hearing what Yang Kai said, Wen Zi Shan had to admit that those words were the truth. Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so even if he couldn't win a battle, he could escape at any time. Nobody else had this advantage; therefore, Wen Zi Shan did not waste any more time and nodded, "Be careful."