Martial Peak
chapter-5219

If Yang Kai had a choice between fighting against a Territory Lord or an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, he would definitely choose the latter.

Although an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple was the more unpredictable opponent between the two when it came to battle tactics and thus was harder to guard against, Yang Kai still preferred facing an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple over a Territory Lord.

After all, he had his Cow Punch Secret Technique that used Space Principles to specifically target the enemy’s Small Universe. It was a Secret Technique that enabled him to win even if his strength was lower than his opponent’s.

Among all the Cave Heavens and Paradises, there were several Secret Techniques that targeted the Small Universe of Open Heaven Realm Masters, but after all the years, Yang Kai had never found one with effects as superb as his Cow Punch.

Unfortunately, this Secret Technique of his relied on the use of Space Principles, so no one else apart from him could cultivate it.

Plus, as Purifying Light and Purifying Black Ink Pills were distributed to all the Great Passes, the number of Black Ink Disciples on the battlefield steadily decreased, and the Humans’ Secret Techniques that targeted the Small Universe lost their utility.

The Black Ink Clan did not have a Small Universe, so such Secret Techniques would be useless against them.

It had been years since Yang Kai last used his Cow Punch Secret Technique. If he recalled correctly, the last time he used it was back in the Shattered Heaven when he fought Blood Crow.

Several hundred years later, he was using it once more.

Although it had been a long while since he first created Cow Punch, the strength of this Secret Technique increased as he grew stronger.

From the moment Yang Kai noticed that his opponent was an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, he had counted on using Cow Punch to win the battle for him. As for his previous display of struggling to keep up in the fight, some of it could be chalked up to his genuine weakness against a stronger opponent, but some of it was on purpose as well. He wanted to lull his opponent into a false sense of security so that the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple would let his guard down.

While the Secret Technique was fairly powerful, it took time to implement.

The profoundness of the Cow Punch Secret Technique was in the way it traced back and targeted the core source of the opponent’s World Force, which was their Small Universe.

It was a time-consuming process to perform this trace. With his cultivation being in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai needed approximately an incense stick of time to accomplish this against an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.

So, the battle between them thus far lasted for approximately that amount of time. Now was his chance!

It was nearly impossible for an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to survive an incense stick worth of time against an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, so this Secret Technique would become meaningless the moment they failed to continue holding out.

But once Cow Punch was successfully used, it meant that the battle outcome had been decided.

The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple wanted to use brute force in lieu of strategy, but Yang Kai chose to engage in a battle of wits, which was the real key for someone of a lower order than their opponent.

When the longsword pierced into Yang Kai’s chest, all the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had to do was ruthlessly flick his sword; then, he would be able to cut Yang Kai in half. However, he no longer had the chance to do so.

Just as the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple wanted to finish Yang Kai off, a wave of fierce and intense force exploded inside his Small Universe. All at once, his Small Universe was thrown into chaos and began shaking violently.

All of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s strength dissipated due to the instability of his Small Universe. In that instant, he could barely even hold onto his sword.

Yang Kai was not about to miss his chance. His fist swung out with great force and smashed it straight into the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s head.

With Yang Kai’s current cultivation, combined with the terrifying physical strength that his Dragon Vein bestowed upon him, as well as the proximity between him and his opponent, the Black Ink Disciple’s head would certainly explode if struck by such a blow.

However, his opponent was still an Eighth-Order Master, and in this life-or-death crisis, he still managed a response, causing the huge growth on his shoulder to explode and eject a concentrated mass of Black Ink Strength. The Black Ink Strength swiftly formed into a massive jaw that swallowed Yang Kai’s approaching fist.

The sudden disruption made Yang Kai freeze in shock for a moment.

He never thought that the abnormal growth on his opponent’s shoulder possessed such a strange ability. All along, he assumed that the growth was merely a malformity left behind when this Black Ink Disciple relied on Black Ink Strength to break through beyond his natural limits.

When Yang Kai’s fist entered the gigantic jaw formed by the Black Ink Strength, he immediately felt as if something sticky was clinging to it. The further his fist travelled, the more its strength was weakened.

By the time Yang Kai’s fist struck the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s head, the power behind it had been at least halved.

Even though it was a weakened blow though, it still managed to send the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple flying backwards. However, his head did not explode the way Yang Kai had predicted it would.

The sword was yanked from Yang Kai’s body just as the Black Ink Disciple flew backwards, drawing a grunt of pain and a splash of blood from him.

Even so, Yang Kai did not have the time to dwell on his injury. Now that he had finally managed to use his Cow Punch, everything he had done that led up to this would be wasted if he could not defeat his opponent before the latter was able to recover.

Yang Kai estimated that his Cow Punch’s effects would only last another three breaths of time!

Thus, when the Black Ink Disciple went flying backwards, Yang Kai stepped forward as well, and with a surge of Space Principles, he followed closely behind.

Drawing on the remaining World Force in his Small Universe, Yang Kai summoned a new Great Sun. The Golden Crow’s calls echoed.

Yang Kai raised the Great Sun and sent it crashing down on the Black Ink Disciple.

The moment the Black Ink Disciple flew backwards though, he was already wary of Yang Kai’s subsequent actions.

He was at the weakest he had ever been as his Small Universe continued to shake and rumble. Never would he have thought that a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could push back against an Eighth-Order Master like him to this extent.

It was humiliation beyond compare!

None of his previous admiration or appreciation for Yang Kai’s talents remained. All he wanted to do now was to take Yang Kai’s life to make up for the indignity he felt.

His opponent charged at him and once again used his Divine Manifestation that appeared like a Great Sun.

The Black Ink Disciple had to admit that this Divine Manifestation’s strength was formidable. Even an Eighth-Order Master like him dared not underestimate it; however, he had seen this move before and understood its power, so knew how to defend himself from it.

He could not wait until his Small Universe stabilized, so he bit down on his tongue and spat out a mouthful of Blood Essence onto his sword. The Blood Essence fully seeped into the sword, and suddenly, the dim artifact glowed radiantly.

With his sword empowered by his Blood Essence, the Black Ink Disciple slashed out at Yang Kai ferociously.

This attack was enough to deflect his opponent’s Great Sun Divine Manifestation. Although he would also suffer the aftereffects of using this attack, it was still better than dying on the spot.

All he needed was to buy himself a little more time. Once the shaking in his Small Universe calmed, he would easily be able to crush his gravely injured opponent.

However, just as he struck this blow, to his horror, yet another gust of force appeared all of a sudden.

If the Great Sun gave off scorching heat, then this force felt like a frigid winter.

Together with the dazzling Great Sun, a Full Moon rose up above his Seventh-Order opponent’s head.

The Sun and Moon appeared together!

In all the years that this Black Ink Disciple had lived, he had never seen such a mystifying scene; however, together with his awe, he felt an even greater sense of danger. With a loud roar, he forcefully channelled even more force into his attack, trying to execute it before it was too late.

He did not know what Divine Ability his opponent was using, but he could tell that in his current state, he could not defend against it.

All he could do was try to pre-empt his opponent for the chance of survival.

As the Black Ink Disciple’s sword slashed towards Yang Kai, he used the cover of the Great Sun to cast Water Reflects the Moon.

The Great Sun to his left, the Full Moon to his right. When the began to revolve around him, Yin and Yang intertwined, and the Sun and Moon combined into a spinning kaleidoscope as Space Principles erupted out.

In an instant, a mysterious force manifested. Formless and undetectable, this force seemed from the swirling Sun and Moon.

Space shattered, and time froze.

Terror filled the remaining eye of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple who had his longsword held out in front of him. At that moment, he could feel his thoughts coming to an abrupt halt as everything around him seemed to warp and distort.

He had never felt anything like this before, and the sensation left him petrified.

He watched as the Sun and Moon locked together and spiralled towards him, enveloping him in a kind of domain that he had no way of escaping.

That singular moment seemed to stretch out as if it lasted millions of years.

As the dazzling light of the Sun and Moon that had lit up the void slowly died out, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple stood frozen in place, his longsword still stretched out in front of him, barely a palm’s length away from Yang Kai’s forehead.

Yang Kai’s face was ghostly pale and his aura was completely depleted. Fresh blood continued to flow out of the wound in his chest where the longsword had previously impaled him. There was also a long wound that stretched from his forehead down to his abdomen. His body was a mangled mess of flesh and blood which made him look completely wretched.

“What Divine Ability was that?” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple suddenly asked.

Yang Kai’s eyelids hung low as he replied, “Sun and Moon Divine Wheel!”

“A manifestation of Space-Time Strength?” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple pressed further.

“Merely scratching the surface,” Yang Kai nodded.

The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple did not say anything else. He simply nodded lightly and withdrew his sword before sitting down cross-legged with a half-lidded eye.

“Black Ink Eternal!” He whispered.

As soon as he spoke, his entire being seemed to turn into a statue that had been exposed to the elements for thousands of millennia, crumbling apart and drifting away like dust scattered in the wind.

The only thing left was a dim longsword.

Corroded by the Space-Time Strength from the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, this longsword lost all spirituality. It was now nothing more than a weapon made out of somewhat decent quality material.

The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had managed to fake his death to survive the chaotic battlefield earlier, but now, he was well and truly dead.

Yang Kai was consumed by a level of exhaustion that he rarely felt before. He could not stop his body from growing weak as he crumbled down.

It was a narrow victory!

If Yang Kai had failed to kill his opponent with his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, he would not have been able to put up any further resistance as the Black Ink Disciple’s Small Universe would soon recover from the effects of his Cow Punch Secret Technique. Once that happened, the Black Ink Disciple would be able to access his full strength once more.

Fortunately, the Black Ink Disciple had miscalculated. After seeing the Great Sun, he assumed that Yang Kai was just using his Golden Crow Casts the Sun Divine Manifestation, he never expected that the Great Sun was only one half of an even greater Divine Ability.

He spat out his Blood Essence to deal with Golden Crow Casts the Sun, but he was caught off-guard by the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel.

How could the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple survive when his Small Universe had been rendered powerless and he was attacked with Yang Kai’s strongest trump card?

Yang Kai quietly lay in the void, not feeling any joy from this victory.

That was because even at the moment of death, that Black Ink Disciple still showed utmost loyalty to the Black Ink Clan, even though he was a Human by nature.

Perhaps Black Ink Strength might not change a Human’s personality, but the corrupted Black Ink Disciples would reject their own nature and willingly be servile to the Black Ink Clan.

How woeful and lamentable that was.