Martial Peak
chapter-4931

10,000 swords swept out all at once. It was an absolutely spectacular scene. Every single sword wave was as solid as a material object; moreover, their sharp and unstoppable aura placed heavy pressure on the onlookers.

Many of the Black Ink Clansmen were frightened by this scene, and for a time, nobody dared to act rashly. This woman had taken the initiative to leap out of the ship’s protective range and stand before it. Anybody could see from her actions that she was planning to put her life on the line. On top of that, the attack she unleashed was by no means an ordinary Secret Technique. It was… a Divine Manifestation!

Yang Kai frowned slightly at the sight. When he fought against this woman previously, he had noticed that she was extraordinarily powerful. She was definitely second to none in terms of strength among all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that he encountered in the past and judging by the current situation, it would seem that she truly had a strong capital to rely on.

Divine Manifestations were exclusive to High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Only a Seventh-Order or higher Master could comprehend a Divine Manifestation that belonged only to them. Furthermore, each person’s Divine Manifestation was different because these Divine Manifestations embodied the essence of their comprehension of their respective Dao. However, not every High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master had their own Divine Manifestation.

Take Zuo Quan Hui, who was killed by Yang Kai in the past, for an example. He was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and an Inner Elder of the Thousand Cranes Paradise. Although he held a respected position, he did not have a Divine Manifestation. Yang Kai might not have emerged victorious from the battle back then otherwise.

The gap in strength between Open Heaven Realm Masters in the same Order could be extremely disparate at times, and those who had Divine Manifestations were often the best among them. In any case, unleashing one’s Divine Manifestation could only mean that the person in question was prepared to go all out.

Yang Kai also had two Divine Manifestations, Golden Crow Casts the Sun and Towering Evergreen. Be that as it may, his situation was unique. Before he even advanced into the Open Heaven Realm, he had already comprehended a Divine Manifestation while still in the Emperor Realm and it had remained one of his trump cards even today.

Strictly speaking, Yang Kai’s Sun and Moon Divine Wheel could also be regarded as a Divine Manifestation because the power behind it far exceeded that of any ordinary Secret Technique or Divine Ability. It was just that nobody had ever explained the intricacies of Divine Manifestations to him before, so he could not be too sure on its classification.

The 10,000 swords roared in unison as the woman’s expression became even more solemn. Meanwhile, on the ship behind her, the people who quarrelled with her earlier looked on anxiously and constantly stomped their feet in frustration. Even so, they were powerless to do anything.

In the next moment, the ship abruptly shot out to forge an escape path. Transforming into a stream of light, the ship quickly fled into the distance. The woman was left alone to face the hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples, but she showed no fear whatsoever. Her courage and will were incredible indeed.

Yang Kai suddenly understood the reason for the dispute earlier.

The warship had been surrounded by enemies, so it was impossible for them to escape unless they killed the Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples in front of them. However, doing so would only further delay them. If more reinforcements for the Black Ink Clan arrived during that time, then they would lose their chance to escape forever.

The woman clearly wanted to stay behind and stop their pursuers so that the ship could escape. That was the reason behind their earlier argument. It was almost certain she was a stubborn and determined person, so without giving her comrades any chance to object, she had taken the initiative to leap off the ship and summon her Divine Manifestation.

In this way, the ship only had two options. Either they stayed behind and fought with her, or they took the chance to escape from the battle. The risk of them being wiped out if they chose to stay behind was high, while on the other hand, they would have a glimmer of hope to survive if they chose to escape. There were times when choosing to escape from battle was not an act of cowardice. Quite the opposite, their actions were taken to ensure their comrade’s sacrifice would not become meaningless. Besides, escaping while having to abandon one’s allies carried both a physical and mental burden that was not easy to alleviate.

As the saying went, ‘A strong man would make a prompt and resolute decision’. This woman had risked her life just to create an opportunity for her comrades to escape. It was for that reason that Yang Kai felt a sense of admiration and respect for her.

The warship was planning to escape, but how could the Black Ink Clan allow their enemy to flee so easily? Thus, they immediately rushed forward to intercept the ship.

Although the woman remained motionless, the sword waves behind her slammed forward with a roar. Fresh blood splattered across the void and severed body parts scattered everywhere as dozens of Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples who rushed forward to stop the ship died instantaneously!

Upon seeing this situation, Yang Kai became quite certain that the woman was only one step away from advancing into the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm! An ordinary Seventh-Order Master would never be as powerful as her.

It had to be said that the Black Ink Clansmen and the Black Ink Disciples who perished were in no way comparable to Seventh-Order Master, but many of them were High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen who were at least on par with Sixth-Order Masters. Be that as it may, they were totally powerless to fight back under the bombardment of those sword waves. The woman slaughtered them so effortlessly that it almost seemed as though she was chopping vegetables. It was extremely scary.

With just one strike, nobody else dared to act rashly again. All the Black Ink Clansmen could only watch helplessly as the warship disappeared from their field of vision. When their gazes turned towards the woman again, their eyes were filled with a mix of rage and fear.

“Attack together!” The Feudal Lord, whose arm had been cut off by the woman before, roared furiously. It would be far too embarrassing if they failed to take down a single Human opponent despite their overwhelming numbers.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he took the lead to charge towards the woman. Before he even arrived, he swung his remaining fist and a dense cloud of Black Ink Strength came crashing down on her.

In a battle against the Human Masters, the Black Ink Clan would naturally make use of their innate advantage. The Black Ink Strength that they wielded was extremely corrosive. As long as the Human Master was careless for even the slightest moment, their Small Universe would be corroded by the Black Ink Strength. If that were to happen, they would quickly degenerate into a Black Ink Disciple if they did not sacrifice a part of their Small Universe.

Although a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had a certain degree of resistance towards the Black Ink Strength, they could not withstand being in contact with it for extended periods of time. That was the reason why Meng Qi had been reluctant to escape with Yang Kai back then. He knew that he would never be able to escape from the depths of the Black Ink Clan’s territory without being contaminated again.

As long as he left the Sealed World with Yang Kai, it would only be a matter of time before he was corrupted by the Black Ink Strength and became a Black Ink Disciple once more. At that time, the existence of the Void Corridor would no longer be a secret. That was why he decisively committed suicide inside the Sealed World to keep the Void Corridor a secret.

Following the attack of the Black Ink Feudal Lord, many of the Black Ink Clansmen acted as well. It only took an instant for the entire region to be filled with Black Ink Clouds that enveloped the woman from all directions.

All of a sudden, a sword cry resounded, accompanied by numerous scraping sounds. Yang Kai focused his eyes and stared into the pitch-black Black Ink Cloud. The sight that entered his vision inadvertently caused him to narrow his eyes.

The thousands of sword waves that had been suspended behind the woman all this time almost seemed to come alive at this moment. They quickly gathered near her and wrapped around her entire body in the blink of an eye. At the same time, countless sword waves continued to gather. The scraping and clanging sounds that could be heard were caused by the continuous collision between the sword waves.

A sensational aura erupted from the depths of the Black Ink Cloud, giving off the feeling that the end was approaching. In the face of such a devastating catastrophe, no one had any hope of survival.

*Hou…*

A ferocious roar suddenly burst forth, like the furious howl of an Ominous Beast, before a shockwave swept out. As a consequence, the Black Ink Cloud enveloping the woman was instantly blown apart, as though struck by an unimaginable impact, and the enormous figure hidden within was revealed.

The woman had long disappeared from sight, and standing in her place was a 1,000-metre-long behemoth! The behemoth had a skeletal frame made from metal. Like a giant beast of steel, the surface of its body glowed with a sharp and cold light while the lines on its surface were hard and sharp. It was a Dragon! More specifically, it was a Sword Dragon composed from thousands and thousands of sword waves.

This sudden turn of events left the Black Ink Clan in shock. Even Yang Kai’s mouth fell open in astonishment.

[You can even do that with a Divine Manifestation!?] Everything that entered his eyes at this moment was completely beyond his imagination. The Sword Dragon that was 1,000 metres long was certainly incomparable to his 20,000 metres Grand Dragon Form, but the oppressive aura coming from the Sword Dragon was not something his Dragon Form possessed.

Although they could both manifest Dragon Forms, if it really came down to a battle, Yang Kai estimated that he would be defeated by this woman within ten moves. It was no wonder she dared to stay behind on her own to stop hundreds of the Black Ink Clansmen and Disciples. It turned out that she had something to rely upon.

Yang Kai took a closer look and discovered that the woman stood inside the head of the Sword Dragon. Her spotless white robes could vaguely be seen among the gaps in the sword waves. As long as the Sword Dragon was not destroyed, she would remain safe and sound; therefore, he felt his anxiety over her safety reducing slightly.

The changes occurred so suddenly that the many Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples rushing towards her were too stunned to change the direction of their movements. Under the leadership of several Black Ink Feudal Lords, they blasted out numerous Secret Techniques at the Sword Dragon.

In response, the Sword Dragon moved. The Dragon Head swayed from side to side, lunging forward at the nearby Black Ink Clansmen. The sword waves that formed the Dragon vibrated extremely fast, resulting in a sharp humming sound.

At the place where both parties collided, the Sword Dragon opened its mouth and swallowed up the one-armed Feudal Lord who stood at the forefront in a single gulp. Vague roars and screams of the Feudal Lord coming from the belly of the Sword Dragon rang out in the next instant, but the screams stopped abruptly not long after and a cloud of ink-coloured blood mist burst out from within the Dragon.

What followed could only be described as a massacre. Everywhere the Sword Dragon passed, Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples were practically powerless to fight back. They were wounded when touched, and some were even torn apart on contact!

Although countless attacks struck the body of the Sword Dragon, these attacks only destroyed some of the sword waves and could barely deal any damage to the woman’s true body.

Like cavalry charging through the front lines, the Sword Dragon swept through the hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen before immediately turning around and crashing through their ranks again.

Following the Sword Dragon’s first charge, the tight formation of the Black Ink Clan fell apart. They couldn’t help feeling terrified and escaping in a fluster when faced with such a brutal Divine Manifestation. However, their actions only gave the sword waves a chance to break through their defences once more.

Numerous Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques incessantly blasted towards the body of the Sword Dragon. On that chaotic battlefield, a life was lost with every passing moment. Pieces of flesh and pitch-black blood scattered across the void. Furthermore, the energy from the collapse of many Small Universes resounded violently.

The Sword Dragon swept back and forth, charging through the Black Ink Clan army seven or eight times in quick succession. Out of the hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, more than half died and the remaining half looked as terrified as wild beasts running from a flood.

The might of the Sword Dragon was truly awe-inspiring and the sight left Yang Kai sighing in amazement. There was only one thing that upset him slightly.

Nu Yan had no special ability to speak of, but his ability to stay alive was definitely first-class. Three or four Feudal Lords had already been killed by the woman, but despite harrowing odds, Nu Yan remained perfectly fine. He somehow managed to avoid the Sword Dragon’s attacks and survive every single time.

At this point, Yang Kai was tempted to just summon his Azure Dragon Spear and kill Nu Yan himself.

After such a high-intensity battle, the Sword Dragon was naturally not unscathed. The final resistance of the Black Ink Clansmen and the Black Ink Disciples before their deaths was particularly fierce. Coupled with their constant bombardment of Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities, the majestic Sword Dragon looked rather ragged at this moment. It was full of holes and missing pieces.

A large part of the Dragon Head where the woman was hiding had also been blasted apart by the constant attacks, revealing her figure to the world. Her complexion was pale and her aura was unstable. Activating her Divine Manifestation for such a long time must have been a great burden on her.

She had intercepted and slaughtered more than half of the Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Disciples here all by herself. Moreover, quite a few of them were Black Ink Feudal Lords who were equivalent to Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in strength.

Having such achievements was truly remarkable; however, for her, this was only the beginning of her struggle.