Martial Peak
chapter-4458

Chapter 44

Chapter 4458 – The Winner Is the King, the Loser Is the Villain

“I can get five stars from killing someone in the Sixth-Order?” Yang Kai raised his brow slightly at the sight. He was starting to get a vague understanding of how the achievements in the Dao Theory Assembly were calculated.

Along the way here, Lu Jing had killed several insignificant parties. Combined with the achievements that Yang Kai obtained from slaughtering the 13 Open Heaven Realm Masters from earlier, the correlation between the Order and the number of achievement points became clear.

The achievements in the Dao Theory Assembly were most likely calculated with Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters as the base; in other words, killing a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would fully light up one star on the golden wristband. Accordingly, it would take ten Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters or five Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to fully light up one star on the golden wristband.

Meanwhile, killing a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would give five times the achievement accrued from killing someone in the Fifth-Order. It would seem that killing a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would provide the highest gains. Be that as it may, how could someone in the Sixth-Order be so easy to kill?

Apart from Yang Kai, all the other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters participating in the Dao Theory Assembly were young rising stars, each of them having broken through less than 100 years prior. Even if their starting points were extraordinary, they could not compare with the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Prison Star who had undergone millennia of cultivation to strengthen their foundations. Therefore, they could only manage to kill a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master if two or three of them worked together!

There weren’t many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the entire Prison Star, but there were still about 20 of them. If Yang Kai could kill all of them, then he was bound to firmly occupy first place in the Dao Theory Assembly. Unfortunately, it was far too troublesome to search for them one by one. The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were scattered across the Prison Star and the area covered by the Prison Star was vast. Under the premise of being suppressed by the Grand Array, he might not find many of them even if he searched non-stop for the next year!

Yang Kai gathered his thoughts and turned to look to the side. Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch, who had been standing there and watching the fight, had disappeared at some point. Even Bai Mo was gone. It was obvious that they had fled hastily when he sank into contemplation.

“Senior Brother Yang, they escaped in that direction!” Lu Jing loudly called out to Yang Kai while pointing in a certain direction.

“They won’t be able to escape,” Yang Kai broke out into a savage grin. His enormous figure shrank rapidly and returned to his original appearance. Manipulating Space Principles, he then vanished from the spot.

Trying to escape from a person who was proficient in the Dao of Space was nothing more than a fool’s dream. It didn’t matter how capable Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch was, as long as the slightest traces remained, he would never escape from Yang Kai’s pursuit. In this regard, Yang Kai had absolute confidence.

10,000 kilometres away, Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch brought along his one and only subordinate Bai Mo as he escaped as swiftly as the wind. There was a layer of blood mist around his body and it was obvious that he had activated some sort of Secret Technique that had a heavy consumption rate. It seemed he was burning his own Blood Essence to flee with all his strength.

The sight of Giant Clam Heavenly Monarch being killed had frightened him out of his wits. Before today, he could never have imagined that Giant Clam Heavenly Monarch would be so vulnerable. [No. It’s not that Ju Xian is incompetent. The strength of that guy from the Dragon Clan is just too tyrannical and outrageous.]

Despite both parties being in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Giant Clam Heavenly Monarch was killed effortlessly, completely incapable of fighting back against Yang Kai.

Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch was on par with Giant Clam Heavenly Monarch in terms of strength, so seeing as Giant Clam Heavenly Monarch was no match for Yang Kai, neither was he. That was why he decided to run away when Yang Kai was distracted; after all, that man was an existence akin to a living nightmare. If he did not flee, then all that awaited him would be death.

*Shua…*

All of a sudden, his figure that had been speeding forward came to an abrupt stop. Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch’s expression was extremely solemn as he stared forward, a drop of cold sweat sliding from his forehead to his cheek.

“Master?” Bai Mo looked at Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch hesitantly.

Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch did not respond. He simply continued to stare hard into the space straight ahead. This place was shrouded in a fog so dense that he could barely see ten metres in front of him, and even his Divine Sense was suppressed to the limit. Nevertheless, he could clearly sense that there was an extremely ferocious gaze upon him from up ahead. It felt like an evil Dragon was hiding there!

[How… How can he be so fast!?] Hui Gu was filled with disbelief. He had fled with all his might, so how could that monster have gotten ahead of him?

Realisation seemed to hit Bai Mo at that moment. Although he could not see anything ahead, it did not stop him from inferring something from the expression on Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch’s face. A hint of panic filled his expression, but that panic soon turned into determination. His power surged with a loud roar, “Master, go! I’ll stop him for you! You have to remember to avenge me, Master!”

After shouting those words, he charged straight ahead.

Two bright crimson rays of light shone from within the fog, like two red lanterns in the dark night.

*Pa…*

A thud was accompanied by a miserable scream. Bai Mo was mid-charge when he was slapped to the ground by a palm that seemingly stretched out of nowhere, his life or death uncertain.

“Foolish loyalty!” The two crimson rays of light swayed and slowly loomed closer. Then, the figure of that Dragon Clan member gradually entered Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch’s vision.

Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch glanced towards Bai Mo and discovered that the latter had simply been smacked to the ground and he was in no life-threatening danger. Only then did Hui Gu look back at Yang Kai, who was approaching him one step at a time, and solemnly asked, “Are you going to kill me?”

Yang Kai stopped and stood 30 metres away from Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch. Tilting his head to the side, he said lightly, “That will depend on whether you wish to live or die.”

“What if I choose to live?” Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch asked. Who would willingly choose to die if the option to live existed? Unfortunately, he did not have the confidence to defeat such a terrifying opponent. If it came down to a fight, the fate that awaited him would be no different from what happened to Giant Clam Heavenly Monarch.

*Pa…* An ancient book was thrown at his feet.

“Use your Blood Essence to write down your name. Then, you can live!”

“This is…” Hui Gu frowned deeply and picked up the ancient book. Flipping through it, he saw that each page contained the name of a different person written in blood. There were six people whose names were written in total, while the book itself had nine pages in all. Seeing as there were six people’s names written in the book so far, there were only three pages left blank.

The first three names were nothing special, so Hui Gu was not too bothered by them; however, the dried bloodstains that made up the last three names clearly revealed the residual aura of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. In other words, the last three people who wrote down their names were also in the Sixth-Order like himself!

“May I ask a question? The six people whose names are written in this book… Are they still alive?” He looked up at Yang Kai.

“They’re alive and well. It’s just that the moment you write your name down in that book, your life or death will be under my control!”

“So, it is the Loyalty List!” A look of understanding flashed through Hui Gu’s eyes. He had a slight guess when he first saw this item and his conjecture had just been confirmed.

“Oh? You know about the Loyalty List?” Yang Kai looked at Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch in surprise.

“It is rumoured that an ancient Master known as Loyalty Demon refined the skin, flesh, and bones of Xie Zhi to produce this item. I have only heard of it and have never seen it for myself. So, this is what it looks like.”

Yang Kai grinned, “Since you already know about it, then that saves me the effort of explaining how it works. Choose. Do you submit or meet your death!?”

Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch sighed, “The winner is the King, the loser is the villain. Do I really have a choice?”

While saying so, he decisively turned to the seventh page. He then bit the tip of his tongue and forced out his Blood Essence before leaving his name on the page.

Yang Kai immediately felt a vague connection forming between himself and Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch; thus, he immediately broke out into a big smile, “A wise man will submit to the circumstances. A talented person chooses his Master. Hui Gu, you will not regret the decision you made today.”

Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch remained silent. Although he had been captured and thrown into the Prison Star, he was still free to a certain extent. As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, there was nobody who could force him to submit in this place. At most, there were some who were slightly stronger than him. Now though, his life lay in the hands of another. This feeling was very difficult to accept in such a short time.

Bai Mo, who had been smacked to the ground earlier, crawled up and ran over to Yang Kai, speaking with a flattering smile, “Sir, this one is also willing to write his name down in the book. I will serve you faithfully from now on!”

His Master had been subdued by the other party, so he didn’t really have much of a choice.

Yang Kai glanced at Bai Mo coldly and put the Loyalty List away, “You are not qualified.”

There were only nine pages in the Loyalty List and he had used up seven of them. The pages contained the names of Chen Tian Fei, Hei He, Yun Xing Hua, Mao Zhe, Geng Qing, Zhou Ya, and the newly subdued Hui Gu. Hence, there were only two pages left. There was no way Yang Kai was going to waste one of the pages on someone only in the Fourth-Order.

Bai Mo’s face paled and he quickly began to beg for his life, “Sir, have mercy! Please have mercy, Sir!”

Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch spoke up from the side, “Sir, Bai Mo is loyal to me. His cultivation might be on the weaker side, but it is better than nothing. I hope you will show him some mercy.”

The fundamental essence of the Dao Theory Assembly was to hunt. It did not matter whether it was the criminals on the Prison Star or the cultivators participating in the Dao Theory Assembly, both parties considered the other’s existence to be worth a certain amount of stars. Therefore, Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch was worried that Yang Kai might kill Bai Mo for those points.

Yang Kai replied lightly, “Since you’ve said as much, then he can continue working by your side.”

...

Bai Mo was overjoyed and quickly said, “Many thanks, Sir!”

He hurriedly ran to stand beside Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch, gazing at Yang Kai with awe. He had watched Giant Clam Heavenly Monarch being killed with his own eyes. For a man who could effortlessly kill such a powerful figure, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like himself was probably no different from an ant.

“Wait here for me.” Yang Kai said before he vanished from the spot with a flash.

“This is…” Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch’s expression suddenly became focused. He carefully perceived his surroundings and exclaimed in understanding, “A Space Secret Technique! So, that’s how it is!”

No wonder he was overtaken by the other party, it turned out this extraordinary young man was proficient in the Dao of Space! His loss was truly not undeserved.

Yang Kai returned a short while later with Lu Jing, whom he left behind at Ju Xian’s Palace earlier.

Lu Jing couldn’t help feeling shocked to see Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch standing there. When he heard how Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch addressed Yang Kai, his shock grew even greater. He simply could not understand what had happened during the short time he separated from Yang Kai that could make a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master submit to another one so easily.

On the other hand, Bai Mo cheerfully walked over to greet Lu Jing. He probably wanted to create a good relationship with the latter.

“Sir, where are we going now?” Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch asked.

Yang Kai replied, “We’ll return to your tree cave.”

Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch’s expression scrunched in confusion as he asked, “Return to my tree cave?”

...

Yang Kai asked, “You’ve been on the Prison Star for a long time, right? How many of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters here do you know?”

Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch answered, “I know seven or eight of them. The rest live too far away, so I don’t have much contact with them.”

Yang Kai nodded, “Send a message to them saying that you and Ju Xian are discussing countermeasures for the Dao Theory Assembly. Invite them to come over and join you.”