Martial Peak
chapter-4470

Chapter 44

Chapter 4470 – In for a Copper, in for a Gold

Ning Dao Ran’s expression darkened and he stepped forward and said, “Aren’t you making too much out of a small matter? I believe in Brother Yang’s character. If not for Brother Yang’s help, this Ning would have died at the hands of the Prison League! I would not be alive to stand here today!”

Zhao Xing shook his head, “Brother Ning, it’s not that I’m trying to make trouble. It’s just better to be safe than sorry. There’s nothing wrong with being cautious. What do you think, Brother Lin?”

Zhao Xing turned to look at Lin Feng, clearly trying to force Lin Feng into taking a side; after all, Lin Feng was a huge factor behind the reason why everybody was gathered in this place. He had the most say in the organisation formed against the Prison League.

Lin Feng quietly said, “Yang Kai and I share a life-and-death friendship.”

Zhao Xing and the others were stunned by Lin Feng’s answer. After seeing the uncongenial interaction between Lin Feng and Yang Kai earlier, they mistakenly assumed that there was some animosity between those two. Who could have expected this answer from Lin Feng?

Although it was not a direct answer, Lin Feng’s meaning was obvious enough. He trusted Yang Kai. Unable to imagine what kind of experience those two had gone through together, their expressions were rather ugly.

“Alright then. Let’s vote on whether Brother Yang and Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch should remain. There are hundreds of our comrades standing behind me after all. This is related to everybody’s safety. This is no small matter, so they should also have the right to express their opinions.” Zhao Xing suggested.

“No need.” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively, “I only came here to escort Brother Ning to this place. Since I’ve brought him here, I’ll be taking my leave now!”

Cupping his fist slightly, he turned around and walked out. Since the people here did not welcome him, then there was no point in staying. The Prison League might be powerful, but he had nothing to worry about thanks to his Space Secret Techniques.

Hui Gu and Lu Jing naturally immediately followed.

Ning Dao Ran sighed, “Why do so many people in the world only care about profits and try to cheat each other?” After saying that, he cupped his fist at Lin Feng and turned around to leave.

Before Zhao Xing and the others had time to reveal their shock, a petite figure slipped past them. It turned out that Gu Pan had run forward. She didn’t take many steps before she turned back to look at Lin Feng, “What about you, Senior Brother Lin?”

“You go first!” Lin Feng nodded lightly.

Gu Pan understood and rushed out without another word.

“Are you satisfied now?” Lin Feng looked at Zhao Xing and the others coldly.

“What do you mean?” The expressions of Zhao Xing and the others were extremely ugly. They only wanted to chase Yang Kai and Hui Gu away, how could they have known that Ning Dao Ran and Gu Pan would leave with Yang Kai?

[Do those two have such a good relationship with Yang Kai?]

Lin Feng coldly snorted, “You’re on your own. This Lin is leaving too!”

After saying that, he strode out with his hands behind his back.

Zhao Xing inquired, “Brother Lin, where are you going?”

However, there was no response.

Yang Kai led Hui Gu and Lu Jing back the way they came and it only took a short while for them to arrive on the surface.

Yang Kai was just getting his bearings when he heard Ning Dao Ran shouting from behind him, “Brother Yang, wait for me!”

He turned to look behind him in surprise, “Brother Ning, you…”

Ning Dao Ran smiled, “The values of those short-sighted people are not in line with my own.” He looked behind him and added, “I’m not the only one.”

Gu Pan came out from behind and nodded lightly at the two of them.

Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling, but before he could say a word to her, he saw Lin Feng appearing behind her.

“What’s with that look?” Lin Feng glared at Yang Kai scornfully, “Did you think this Lin is an ungrateful person?”

Yang Kai restrained the look of surprise in his eyes and laughed softly, “This is great. Other than Senior Sister Qu and Brother Xu, we’ve all gathered together again.”

Lin Feng replied lightly, “In any case, we’re leaving it all to you for the next three months. If we encounter anybody from the Prison League, you’re responsible for our escape!”

The others might not know about Yang Kai’s methods, but they knew his abilities very well. Back in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he had escaped the pursuit of dozens of Divine Spirits even though he was only in the Emperor Realm at the time. Now that he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it would be impossible for something as trivial as the Prison League to capture him.

Yang Kai roared with laughter, “Rest assured! I will guarantee your safety!”

“Let’s go. We need to find a new hiding place so that we can wait out the last three months in peace.” Lin Feng suggested.

Gu Pan chimed in, “I know a place that is very well hidden. We can head there.”

“Then, we shall trouble you to lead the way, Junior Sister.” Ning Dao Ran stretched out his hand in a polite gesture.

…..

There was a huge uproar back inside the karst cave. In particular, those below the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were at a loss for what to do. When they started huddling together, a total of nine Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had gathered. It had not been long since these Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters advanced into the Open Heaven Realm, but their numbers were not few. It was just enough to defend against the Prison League so that they stood a fighting chance even if they encountered the enemy.

Unfortunately, things had taken a sharp turn. Two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had left all at once, leaving only seven behind. Even Lin Feng, one of the people responsible for organizing this group, had left. It was only natural that the people were unsettled.

Most people did not know what happened just now. All they knew was that a group of outsiders had arrived. Following that, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters seemed to have disagreed about something and caused this situation.

Whispered discussions and countless Divine Sense conversations spread out throughout the cave.

“Why are you all chattering away!? Shut up!” Zhao Xing shouted furiously, his complexion red with rage.

He never imagined that things would end up in this situation either. His original intention was only to force Yang Kai and Hui Gu to leave. Who could have known that Lin Feng and Gu Pan would leave too? It was humiliating that his actions had caused the strength of his faction to weaken considerably.

The other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were all looking at him, some of them clearly having a measure of blame in their eyes, which only made his anger flare higher. He looked up and coldly snorted, “Don’t think I don’t know what kind of ideas were going through your heads. You were planning to force Yang Kai to leave and then find an opportunity to kill him to obtain the achievements that he had accumulated! Now that things have gone sour, you’re turning around to blame me instead. How is that reasonable!?”

All the people who spoke up to reject Yang Kai earlier looked embarrassed when he exposed their initial plans. They might not have communicated with each other, but it was undeniable that some of them were eager to act after seeing the abundant number of stars on Yang Kai’s wrist.

If Yang Kai hailed from one of the Cave-Heavens or Paradises, they would never have had such thoughts; however, Yang Kai was from Void Land, so what consequences would befall them even if they actually killed him?

“Brother Zhao, there’s no point talking about this now. We should think about what to do in the future. Now that Brother Lin and Junior Sister Gu have left, we no longer have enough strength to completely resist the Prison League. Don’t forget; the Prison League has eight veteran Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!” Somebody said.

“That’s right! Why don’t we ask Brother Lin and Junior Sister Gu to come back? As for Yang Kai and Grey Bones Heavenly Monarch, there isn’t a big problem with them joining.” Somebody proposed.

If they allowed Yang Kai and Hui Gu to join them, then they would have twelve Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on their side, including Ning Dao Ran. They would have strength comparable to the Prison League even if they encountered their enemies.

A dark light flashed through Zhao Xing’s eyes as he coldly said, “So what if you invite them back? It’s not like you didn’t see the achievements that Yang Kai has accumulated so far. If my guess is correct, he will definitely win the Dao Theory Assembly. If that happens, what would happen to the pride of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises?”

“Brother Zhao, do you mean…”

...

He grimaced for a moment before he ruthlessly said, “In for a copper, in for a gold…”

All of them were astonished. They never imagined that Zhao Xing would be so ruthless; however, thinking about it again, there didn’t seem to be a better solution to their problems. If they could get rid of Yang Kai, then the winner of the Dao Theory Assembly would definitely be one of them. If that was the case, it was acceptable no matter who won the Dao Theory Assembly.

“But, in this case, we will have to confront Brother Lin and the others,” somebody said worriedly.

“This matter is related to the pride of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises. Brother Lin and the others will understand! We cannot afford to delay in this matter. We have to move now, or else it will be too late. After we succeed in this matter, we will find a place to hide. The Prison League might be powerful, but the Prison Star is vast. Moreover, the Dao Theory Assembly will end in three months. We only need to hole up until then!”

Even the people who hesitated earlier were tempted by his words. The seven of them quickly came to an agreement. Following that, they hurriedly set off together.

Outside the cave, Zhao Xing quietly studied the traces left behind in the surroundings before turning to look in a certain direction. After that, he took to the sky, “This way!”

The other six quickly followed him.

An hour later, Yang Kai was following Gu Pan to her hiding place when he suddenly frowned. He looked back and saw numerous figures wrapped in light chasing after them from behind.

Likewise, Lin Feng and Ning Dao Ran soon noticed and turned to look back, surprised by what they saw.

“What do they want?” Lin Feng frowned. Although they were still quite far apart, he was very familiar with those figures. It was obvious that they were his former comrades. They were the newly-advanced Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises.

“Brother Lin, please wait! Everything just now was a misunderstanding! Please listen to our explanation.” Zhao Xing, who was in the lead, shouted loudly.

...

Lin Feng did not doubt Zhao Xing; thus, he stopped and turned to look back.

When he stood there motionless, Yang Kai and the others had no choice but to stop as well.

Behind them, Zhao Xing and the others were overjoyed at the sight. They exchanged glances with each other and put more effort into rushing over. As the distance between both parties closed, their Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm auras climbed steadily.

Ning Dao Ran furrowed his eyebrows slightly, “Something’s wrong…”

Even Lin Feng had noticed that something was strange. It felt like these people came chasing after them for a fight, not to make peace. Before he could ask them anything though, he heard a shout from the leader, Zhao Xing, “Attack!”

In an instant, those seven people turned into seven separate streams of lights. They acted in accordance with the strategy they discussed before, rushing towards Yang Kai and the others. Before they even arrived, the power of various Secret Techniques and artifacts blasted out in front of them.

*Hong hong hong…*

Figures shuttled about and the power of their Small Universes collided with each other. A moment later, the violent forces died down abruptly, almost as though everything earlier was nothing but an illusion. However, the chaotic situation immediately became apparent. The twelve Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the two sides had been separated into five different battlefields.

Lin Feng, Gu Pan, and Ning Dao Ran were each held up by one person in a face-to-face confrontation. On the other hand, two people blocked Hui Gu from left and right.

Similarly, there were two people standing in front of Yang Kai. One was Zhao Xing and the other was a young man with a jade-like complexion.

Although everybody remained motionless as the auras of their respective Small Universes flared. Their auras silently collided and suppressed each other, causing the surrounding space to become slightly distorted.

As for Lu Jing, he was thrown 1,000 kilometres away by Yang Kai and was now watching the battle from afar, shivering in fear.