Martial Peak

Chapter 2524 – Higher Heaven, Deeper Earth

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

The Ten Thousand Beasts Seal was a special artifact that could seal the Souls of fallen Monster Beasts and release them to fight against the enemy. The sealed Monster Beast Souls retained most of their abilities from their past lives, and the more Souls sealed into the Ten Thousand Beast Seal, the more powerful it became.

Ever since Zu Hong broke through to the Emperor Realm, he had been hunting Monster Beasts all over the Eastern Territory. There were eight hundred to a thousand Monster Beast Souls sealed inside the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal now, most of which were Eleventh-Order, while some were even Twelfth-Order.

But even this was far from the limits of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal as, like its name implied, it could seal ten thousand Monster Beast Souls.

If he really put forth all his might, ordinary First-Order Emperor Realm Masters were no match for him.

And it was exactly with the help of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal that Zu Hong could control Earth City and become its City Lord.

However, he was currently injured, and although he had been recuperating and recovering for some time now, he had not been restored to his peak, so he could not unleash the full power of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal and was only able to summon some Eleventh-Order Monster Beast Souls.

But this was enough. As long as Yang Kai’s actions could be restrained for a moment, that would be enough to create an opportunity for Ju Tian Qing to show him the consequences of offending the veteran Masters.

Previously he also used the same tactic when he joined hands with Ju Tian Qing to deal with Gao Xue Ting, so doing the same thing again would be a breeze.

*Hong hong hong…*

The endless army of Monster Beasts bared their fangs and roared at Yang Kai. There were all kinds of Monster Beasts; some were flying in the sky, while some were running on the ground, and all of them were gathered into a formidable army.

Yang Kai’s eyes lit seeing how remarkable an artifact the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal was.

Although this Monster Beast army was fierce, Yang Kai did not feel the slightest bit of fear, and with a wave of his hand, the Myriads Sword appeared. Swinging the sword, a beam of light slashed towards the army of Monster Beasts.

“Those are the Souls of Monster Beasts, normal attacks are ineffective as they don’t have physical bodies… Watch out for an ambush!” Gao Xue Ting’s voice reached Yang Kai’s ears.

Even though it was inconvenient for her to move as she was hiding behind the barrier to heal, it did not prevent her from watching from the perspective of a spectator.

She was surprised yet anxious when Yang Kai appeared.

She was surprised because she did not expect to meet Yang Kai here, but on the other hand, she was anxious for Yang Kai’s safety in this damned place.

No matter how gifted he was, he was still young after all. He couldn’t win against Ju Tian Qing and Zu Hong. Even she had suffered a great loss at their hands so she naturally knew how powerful they were. If she was no match to them, how could the newly promoted Yang Kai be?

Perhaps, Yang Kai’s achievements would surpass them in the future, but definitely not now.

Her first thought was to ask Yang Kai to run.

She knew that Yang Kai probably came here for her. She had no idea how he located her, but this was the only logical explanation as there was no such convenient coincidence in this world.

However, since he was already here, he could not leave even if he wanted to.

Gao Xue Ting was extremely shocked when she realized that Yang Kai was an Emperor Realm Master.

She still remembered her first encounter with Yang Kai. He was just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, accompanying Qin Zhao Yang to Azure Sun Temple to request for a quota to enter the Four Seasons Realm with the Bustling World Token. But in just a few years, he had already reached the Emperor Realm, his cultivation comparable to her own.

This kind of cultivation speed was unprecedented.

Her aptitude was considered phenomenal too, otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to spy on the mysteries of the Emperor Realm. But how long did it take for her cultivation to reach the Emperor Realm from the First-Order Dao Source Realm back then? Fifty years? A hundred years?

She did not remember anymore.

Even their Temple Master, Wen Zi Shan, could not be compared to Yang Kai in terms of cultivation speed. As for those geniuses in the Sect, comparing them to him was like comparing a firefly with the bright moon.

What opportunities did he get in Shattered Star Sea that made him grow up to such an extent!?

While Gao Xue Ting was shouting, Ju Tian Qing had taken advantage of Yang Kai’s attention being attracted to the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal. He flew over Yang Kai and slashed down with his blade. The power of his Burning Ocean of Stars Blade spread out in all directions, creating an image of stars all over the sky crashing downwards, in an instant enveloping Yang Kai.

All of a sudden, Yang Kai seemed to be trapped in an illusion, being placed in the vast Star Sea, greatly aware of how small and insignificant he was.

Yang Kai’s actions were slightly delayed at this moment, and when he finally regained his senses, the ferocious blade of light was already about to reach his chest.

Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of panic and horror flashing across his bright eyes as he was hit directly by the sword wave.

Next, the Monster Beast army rushed forward and stampeded over the place where Yang Kai was located. It could be seen that Yang Kai was torn to pieces by the raging momentum.

“No!” Gao Xue Ting exclaimed, her pretty face draining of all colour.

Although she knew that Yang Kai couldn’t be victorious against Ju Tian Qing and Zu Hong with his current strength, she did not expect that he would just die like this. Her tender body trembled, unable to accept this cruel reality. A strong sense of guilt and anger built up in her heart, and her enchanting eyes turned scarlet red instantly.

The purpose of Yang Kai coming here was absolutely for her, so how could Gao Xue Ting not feel guilty after watching him die here?

Judging from Yang Kai’s previous cultivation speed and Heaven-defying aptitude, if he was given more time, he would become the brightest star of the Star Boundary eventually. He would be able to rise and shine brightly, making his name echo throughout every corner of the world.

However, that bright future had just been destroyed.

A young man with an endless future had his journey ended before he even had the chance to truly feel the power of the Emperor Realm.

“Hmph, overconfident brat!” Ju Tian Qing sneered and sheathed his blade while standing in the void.

“Hmm? That little brat actually had more bark than bite. This City Lord was wondering how strong he could be, but it turned out that he was just an embroidered pillow.” Zu Hong cackled mockingly. If he had known that Yang Kai was this weak, he would not have bothered helping Ju Tian Qing as the latter could have easily won on his own. He now felt like he had wasted the strength that he had barely restored.

“Young people nowadays really do not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth. They’re easily blinded by arrogance after having just some small achievements and most forget that there is always someone better. There is always a higher Heaven and a deeper Earth.”

“You’re right, Brother Ju, such an arrogant Junior needed to be taught a harsh lesson.” Zu Hong nodded in agreement.

“Both of you are indeed right! How about the two of you tell this Young Master exactly how high are the Heavens and how deep is the Earth then?” Yang Kai’s voice emerged once again, and this time, it came from behind Zu Hong.

“Brother Zu, watch out!” Ju Tian Qing hurriedly exclaimed, his eyes bulging so large that they almost popped out of their sockets.

There was Yang Kai, who was supposed to have been torn to pieces by their attacks, standing behind Zu Hong unscathed with a broadsword in his hand that was radiating waves of Emperor Intent, and releasing a dreadfully vicious aura. He was going to stab Zu Hong from behind, who was completely caught off guard.

Zu Hong jumped out of his skin. Despite his powerful Emperor Realm cultivation, he had not even noticed how Yang Kai appeared behind him. As if he could not believe this was happening, he turned to look at the place where Yang Kai formerly stood. There, he saw the ‘corpse’ of Yang Kai fading away, nothing but an afterimage.

[Damn it!] Zu Hong’s heart sank as he did not have the time to escape or turn around. Pushing his Emperor Qi madly, he roared as a bright layer of light filled his surroundings.

The light was particularly blinding, especially at his back, and it could be seen that he had pushed his protective Emperor Qi to his limit.

A violent impact hammered him in the next moment, and Zu Hong only felt that his internal organs were shaken hard, making him extremely uncomfortable. An unstoppable aura sliced through his protective Emperor Qi and struck directly at the back of his body.

With a cry, Zu Hong spat a mouthful of blood. Using the force of the impact, he immediately rushed forward and distanced himself away from Yang Kai.

“An Artifact Armour?” Yang Kai raised his brow and stared intently at the spot where he landed the blow on Zu Hong’s back, seeing a light cyan scale armour underneath his damaged robes.

It was a high-grade Artifact Armour, and with Zu Hong’s mighty cultivation, Yang Kai’s ambush failed to achieve its desired effect.

“How dare you backstab this City Lord!” Zu Hong turned around and bellowed at Yang Kai with an angry glare, his face pale.

If he was not wearing his Artifact Armour, he would have been seriously injured even if he did not die.

[What the hell is this brat!?] Fear grew in his heart after the incident as he did not understand how Yang Kai could have such strength when he had just recently broken through to the Emperor Realm. The Secret Technique Yang Kai had used to escape had caught both Ju Tian Qing and him off guard.

“Brother Zu, fall back. This King will teach this boy a lesson,” seeing that Zu Hong was injured again and his aura was unsteady, Ju Tian Qing advised him to stand aside instead of joining the fight with him. After a shout, his sword once again produced multiple blades of light that splashed towards Yang Kai like sea waves.

Zu Hong nodded heavily, but the anger in his heart was still erupting like a volcano, so while withdrawing he quietly surged the power of the Ten Thousand Beasts Seal and controlled the Monster Beast Souls to charge towards Yang Kai again.

It was shameful for him to be ambushed by a newly promoted Emperor, and if he did not get revenge now, he would not have the face to call himself a man.

The combined force of the two Emperor Realm Masters was monstrous and powerful, as if they had maddened deities.

Gao Xue Ting, who just had a moment of relief, grew worried again.

Previously, Yang Kai’s reversal surprised her and she realized that she had underestimated Yang Kai just like Ju Tian Qing and Zu Hong did, but still, now he was going to face two enemies in the same Realm alone; how could he possibly fight against them?

Gao Xue Ting gritted her teeth, flipped her hand, and took out a jade bottle. She uncapped the bottle and poured out a scarlet Spirit Pill filled with a bloody aura.

She hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand in an attempt to put the Spirit Pill into her mouth.

“Elder Gao, stop!”

Yang Kai hurriedly shouted to stop Gao Xue Ting.

Gao Xue Ting was stunned and she lifted her head and looked at Yang Kai in confusion.

“You’re already heavily injured. If you take that Mad Blood Pill now and forcefully stimulate your potential, I’m afraid it will damage your foundation beyond repair. Please don’t take it. What’s more, the quality of this Mad Blood Pill is extremely poor and there will definitely be harsh side-effects from taking it. I don’t know which Alchemist refined this for you but he is one hell of an irresponsible bastard.”

As she looked around, Gao Xue Ting saw Yang Kai flickering about as he engaged in a melee against the combined force of two Emperor Realm Masters, but even so, he still had enough leeway to pay attention to Gao Xue Ting and advise her in clear terms. Gao Xue Ting was utterly shocked by his capability when seeing this.