Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain

Beast Sea Jungle, it was Yang Kai’s second time coming here.

Cai Die led the way without saying a word, her seven coloured wings fluttered softly yet her speed lightning quick.

However, Yang Kai was still able to easily follow her, not even seeming out of breath.

This fact surprised Cai Die. She was a Second-Order Saint so out of consideration for Yang Kai, who was still just a Transcendent Realm cultivator, she had initially flown slowly.

Seeing how he had no trouble keeping up though, Cai Die gradually increased her speed, hoping to get back to Thunder Tree Palace earlier so as not to keep Great Senior waiting.

But now, even though she was flying at nearly her top speed, Yang Kai was still able to keep up.

Cai Die was surprised, but due to her naturally cold disposition, she showed nothing on her face and simply continued flying forward.

[This little brat… he’s really quite strange!] Cai Die secretly thought to herself as she knew that no ordinary Third-Order Transcendent could possess speed nearly equal to her own.

No wonder he could become the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land and subdue so many Demon Race masters.

Originally Cai Die had thought Yang Kai had just gotten lucky, but now it seemed he possessed some real skill.

Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled slightly as he constantly looked around.

His movements naturally did not escape Li Rong’s notice so she quickly asked, “Master, did you discover something suspicious?”

“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “The aura here is a bit weird!”

“If something is concerning Master, we can turn back,” Li Rong couldn’t help proposing nervously.

Yang Kai lightly chuckled and shook his head, “It’s not that the aura here feels ominous, it’s just that it is somewhat different from the last time I came to the Beast Sea Jungle, as for how it is different, I can’t say specifically…”

There was indeed something different about the ambient aura here, but even as he continued examining it, Yang Kai couldn’t determine exactly what had changed since before.

“Don’t worry too much, Great Senior is quite easy to get along with and a man of his word. The change in this place’s aura is probably related to why he suddenly wants to see me. As long as we see him, we should be able to get the answers we’re looking for.”

“En,” Li Rong didn’t say much but still urged, “If any danger appears, Master must not leave my side.”

“En en,” Yang Kai replied in a nonchalant tone.

He had many life-saving methods now: the ability to tear space, the Flying Heavens Shuttle, his Wind and Thunder Wings, his Saint Grade Top Rank artifact, even his dragon transformation and Demon God Transformation as well. If someone wanted to harm him, unless they could instantly disable him in one shot and rendering him powerless, Yang Kai was confident that no matter what level of master he was facing, he could at least escape.

Therefore he didn’t concern himself as much as Li Rong.

Flying forward all the way, after just two days, the trio arrived at the base of Thunder Tree Palace.

After arriving here, Yang Kai discovered that, as usual, countless Monster Race masters had gathered around, some of them in their beast forms, lying amongst the great tree’s roots while others in their human form were sitting atop the lower branches, closing their eyes in meditation.

“This is Thunder Tree Palace?” Li Rong raised her head towards the sky as she stared at the massive ancient tree before her, a clear look of awe apparent in her beautiful eyes.

Just like Yang Kai when he first came here, she was stunned by this ancient tree.

In order to grow to such a height, this ancient tree had to be at least ten thousand years old, in other words, it was from an era that even pre-dated the Ancient Demon Clan’s imprisonment.

This ancient tree seemed to naturally contain Lighting Qi, and from time to time a white arc of extremely pure lightning would leap from its trunk. The Monster Race masters who were meditating in the lower canopy were unaffected by this though and simply turned their eyes to Yang Kai and Li Rong.

Many of them nodded, indicating their goodwill.

When Yang Kai came here last time, he had resolved the problem with the Beast Transformation Pond, winning him their unanimous approval.

“Come with me,” Cai Die said before soaring up.

Yang Kai and Li Rong hurried to keep up.

Inside a treehouse standing atop the clouds, Yang Kai met the Great Senior again.

Great Senior grinned and welcomed Yang Kai’s arrival, motioning to him to sit down so they could talk.

At the same small table as before, Yang Kai sat opposite Great Senior while Cai Die and Li Rong both stood behind their respective leaders.

“You didn’t bring my Monster Race any practical commodities this time?” Great Senior asked with a smile.

“Do you need any? The Crystal Stone mineral lodes in the nine peaks were almost mined dry by you,” Yang Kai rolled his eyes. During the three years or so the Monster Race were occupying the Holy Land, they had unscrupulously mined the Crystal Stone lodes, all but killing the geese that laid golden eggs.

This was something Yang Kai was still quite annoyed about, like he had lifted a stone only to drop it on his foot.

“We don’t need them right now, but that doesn’t mean we won’t need them in the future. Crystal Stones are good things you can never have enough of. Also, my Monster Race’s territory doesn’t have any natural deposits, that’s why we have to obtain them from your Human Territory,” Great Senior slowly shook his head, “In any case, I heard that your Holy Land has recently acquired a massive amount of wealth, so much that you couldn’t possibly use it all up!”

“You even know about that,” Yang Kai was speechless, “That was all from refining pills… Forget it, next time I come I’ll bring some Crystal Stones and pills.”

“Good, I’m looking forward to it,” Great Senior grinned, thinking it was quite refreshing to speak with someone so straightforward like Yang Kai.

“What important matter does Great Senior have to discuss that required me to specifically come here?” Yang Kai suddenly wore a serious expression and asked.

“There really is something important I need to discuss with you,” Great Senior’s expression also became dignified. After taking a moment to arrange his thoughts, he first asked, “Kid, have you ever heard of Void Corridors?”

Yang Kai’s face went black, “Great Senior, are you messing with me?”

Great Senior’s mouth twitched slightly but still maintained his light grin, “I had to ask; then, have you encountered one before?”

Yang Kai nodded. Although he didn’t know about how it was for others, Yang Kai felt that he actually encountered Void Corridors quite frequently.

“Then this will be easier to explain,” Great Senior nodded and continued, “Recently, my Beast Sea Jungle has experienced a strange change, and that change is related to a certain Void Corridor!”

Yang Kai stared at him, not planning to interject.

“About three to five days journey from my Thunder Tree Palace, an unstable Void Corridor entrance has appeared! In fact, I have also encountered a Void Corridor before when I was young, it was connected to a Mysterious Small World that I spent some time exploring; however, the Void Corridor that appeared in my Beast Sea Jungle is very different from the one I previously saw…”

“How is it different?” Yang Kai asked.

“It’s very big, and it also gives off a strange aura,” Great Senior’s brow furrowed, “After its appearance, the aura of the entire Beast Sea Jungle changed. Did you notice it on the way here?”

“I noticed, I just didn’t know why this change occurred.”

“It’s all because of that Void Corridor!” Great Senior nodded, “Generally speaking, Void Corridors remain hidden and are difficult to find. Even if someone manages to find one and open it, it normally closes after some time. However, this particular Void Corridor’s entrance is very different. It suddenly appeared all on its own, and although it seems quite unstable, there are no signs of it closing.”

“Oh? That really is quite strange.”

“That Void Corridor is located on the border of this King and another Monster Race Great Senior, Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s, territories, so after it appeared the two of us investigated it together…”

“Earth Splitting Divine Ox?” Yang Kai called out in a slightly strange tone.

“What’s wrong, do you know him?” Great Senior asked.

Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t know him, but I once studied a Martial Skill related to him.”

Saying so, Yang Kai used the Beast Soul Skill he hadn’t displayed in quite some time.

Along with a tiger roar and ox bellow, a glowing golden tiger seal and ox seal appeared.

With these two beast phantom’s appearance, the treehouse instantly filled with sweltering heat.

The two beast phantoms were completely condensed of Yang Kai’s pure True Yang Yuan Qi but seemed incredibly lifelike, their eyes containing a light of intelligence as if they were truly alive.

Great Senior was shocked and quickly waved his hand to put up a field to isolate this hot aura lest it burn down his treehouse.

“Heaven Shaking White Tiger, Earth Splitting Divine Ox?” Cai Die exclaimed in shock as she and Great Senior stared dumbfounded towards Yang Kai.

“This is a Beast Soul Skill I cultivated a long time ago,” Yang Kai explained.

“This isn’t just a simple Martial Skill… These are really Beast Souls!” Great Senior whispered, thinking for a moment before asking, “Did you encounter the remains of these two Monster Beasts?”

“En, they seemed to have fought a great battle and in the end mutually killed one another, the only thing left behind was their Beast Cores. When I absorbed and refined the power remaining in those cores, I was shown the scene of their battle. It was from that remnant memory that I managed to comprehend this Martial Skill.”

“Is that so,” Great Senior nodded in agreement, muttering, “There are true Souls contained within your Beast Soul Skill. There are some extremely powerful Monster Beasts who, when facing their death, condense their essence, Soul, and will into their cores. It seems like the two you encountered were my Monster Race’s Seniors. It’s a pity… The Heaven Shaking White Tiger and Earth Splitting Divine Ox have extremely noble pedigree amongst my Monster Race, even more so than this King’s. The White Tiger family seems to have become extinct while Old Ox is the last of his family, similar to This King.”

After listening to Great Senior’s remarks, Yang Kai understood just how rare and unusual his Beast Soul Skill was. Because he had not used it much recently, Yang Kai hadn’t discovered that the beast phantoms summoned by his Beast Soul Skill actually possessed their own unique strength and killing intent.

“Let’s set this matter aside and get back to the main topic,” Great Senior said, putting his expression back in order, “The Void Corridor is quite strange, so Old Ox and myself went in to investigate, hoping to find some benefits, but after we entered, we realized that it was actually far more dangerous than expected and a number of our subordinates were quickly killed… In the end, Old Ox and I decided to collaborate. But even with the two of us working together, we were unable to explain the mysteries hidden inside.”

“Was it so difficult?” Yang Kai was stunned.

“More than you can imagine. We did find some ancient writings inside, but you should know that my Monster Race does not use written words.”

“Were they Human characters?”

Great Senior shook his head and said, “They were Demon characters!”

Yang Kai’s brow furrowed while Li Rong, who was standing behind him, couldn’t help revealing a look of interest.

“Neither Old Ox or I could read those characters so we didn’t dare act rashly; right now, he is guarding the entrance while I came here to find reinforcements.”

“So you came looking for me?” Yang Kai grinned, “Or rather, you were looking for Li Rong?”

“It’s good you catch on quick kid. The strange power that surrounds that place even causes Old Ox and I to feel nervous, what could you, with your strength and cultivation, add on? The lady behind you, though, may be the key to unravelling this mystery.”

Saying so, Great Senior directed his gaze towards Li Rong.