Martial Peak
chapter-5543

Life and death became apparent in an instant!

The Soul Rending Thorn was a double-edged sword that harmed both the enemy and the user. The impact of the attack was enormous, but Yang Kai had experienced the same pain many times before, so he had gotten somewhat accustomed to his Soul being torn apart. Any enemy who was struck by the Soul Rending Thorn would instantly suffer pain worse than death.

In the next instant, the targeted Territory Lord died! The moment his powerful aura swelled up before withering into nothing, the abrupt change was felt in all directions.

The little ones aboard the second Bi Xi Battleship, who were secretly but rapidly approaching the battlefield, were shocked.

After they were told to assist Yang Kai in killing the enemy by Bi Xi’s Soul Clone, they prepared themselves for a difficult, possibly life-threatening battle. Contrary to their expectations though, a Territory Lord was slain as soon as the confrontation began in earnest!

The burst of power that erupted from that direction was too fierce and profound and contained a myriad of Dao Strengths like the Dao of Time, Dao of Space, and Spear Dao. How could Yang Xiao and the others fail to perceive these energy fluctuations?

Many of them were experiencing Yang Kai’s true strength for the first time in their lives! Even if they only perceived the burst from afar and did not witness the scene with their own eyes, that level of strength was enough for them to admire and worship him!

On the battlefield, the Territory Lord who made the first move lost his life on the spot. Similarly, Yang Kai grunted in pain and spat out a mouthful of blood.

To kill the first Territory Lord in a single blow, he had abandoned all forms of defence during his attack. As a result, his flesh was pierced by the black light that the second Territory Lord spat in his direction. Dense Black Ink Strength lingered around his wound, quickly corroding his flesh.

The Territory Lord was filled with a mixture of astonishment and delight. He had known that his companion would suffer a miserable fate. Being ambushed by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at such a close distance, even an Innate Territory Lord would suffer grave injuries if he survived at all. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help feeling taken aback to see how easily his companion was slain.

It was fortunate that he had injured the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with his counterattack.

Taking advantage of Yang Kai’s vulnerability, he threw his palm out at Yang Kai once more. He was merciless in his attack since he had no intention of trying to corrupt an Eighth-Order Master with Black Ink Strength.

An Eighth-Order Human was not easy to corrupt. During all the years of war between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race, the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were corrupted by Black Ink Strength could be counted on one hand. Moreover, most of them were only successfully corrupted because a Royal Lord had personally used the Royal Lord Secret Technique on them.

The Territory Lords might be powerful, but they could not corrupt an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with their Black Ink Strength unless they continuously used it to corrode a Human that was completely restrained.

[I have to kill this Eighth-Order Human quickly!] Losing a fellow Territory Lord was not a glorious thing, but killing this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be enough to make up for the loss.

At the same time that the Territory Lord attacked, the other Humans aboard the first Bi Xi Battleship sent out a barrage of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, accompanied by the momentary emergence of Dragon and Phoenix phantoms. The imposing Dragon Roar and striking Phoenix Cry sliced through the void with unparalleled speed and momentum.

One such attack might be nothing to a Territory Lord, but 10 was another story. Even an Innate Territory Lord would not dare to look down on the combined attacks of 10 Seventh-Order Human Masters, much less if there were several powerful Divine Spirits among them.

[These Humans… were feigning weakness earlier!] The Territory Lord suddenly had a realization.

He previously felt that these Seventh-Order Humans were ridiculously weak, far more so than he had anticipated, but at this moment, he suddenly realised the truth. It was not that these Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were weak, they were just acting on purpose so that he and his dead companion would drop their guard.

This was a trap all along!

The Territory Lord felt a chill shoot up his spine. Faced with the 10 Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities blasting towards him, he did not dare to be negligent in his defence and hastily took action to intercept these attacks. He had no time to bother about the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master whom he injured earlier as, in reality, he did not know whether he could kill the other party even if he attacked again.

That was because the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s expression did not change in the slightest even though his flesh had been pierced by a bolt of Black Ink Strength. There was only a look of cold indifference on his face. In the next moment, the spear in the Eighth-Order Humans’ hands transformed into a barrage of spear shadows that covered the entire sky as they rained down on the Territory Lord.

Under normal circumstances, an Innate Territory Lord would be strong enough to defend against the joint attack of 10 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; however, defending would be difficult if there were several powerful Divine Spirits among those 10 Masters.

If an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master were to join in, then even the strongest Innate Territory Lord would panic.

A violent force spread out in all directions, causing the void to distort and eventually shatter. Following the brief moment of confrontation, the 10 figures aboard the Bi Xi Battleship were brutally shaken and even the Bi Xi Battleship itself was thrown backwards by the impact.

Yang Kai was also forced back, blood spurting wildly from his wounds.

Likewise, the Territory Lord was in no better condition. After the violent barrage of attacks, his tall figure was left in tatters with countless wounds all over his body and Black Blood trickling from his wounds.

His expression was terrified.

The strength of these Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters exceeded his expectations, and the strength of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was extremely tyrannical.

This Human was no ordinary Eighth-Order Master, but instead one of their peak Masters!

Despite it being such a brief confrontation, the Territory Lord realized that he might not be able to defeat his opponent in a one-on-one battle, much less when the other party had 10 powerful Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters assisting him.

[I have to flee as soon as possible. If not, I will definitely suffer a disastrous fate!] The Territory Lord turned and sped towards his three other companions who were chasing after the other Warship. Only by joining up with them as soon as possible could he escape his imminent death and retaliate against the enemy.

In that fleeting moment, the Territory Lord decided to flee. Taking advantage of the moment when the Bi Xi Battleship and Yang Kai were thrown backwards by the clash, he transformed into Black Ink Cloud with a shift of his body and tried to escape.

“Solidify!” Yang Kai’s gaze remained cold, and following his shout, the surrounding space solidified, causing the speed of the Black Ink Cloud to plummet, as if the Territory Lord was now trying to trudge through a quagmire.

At the same time, aboard the Bi Xi Battleship, the shadow of an enormous spider appeared behind Shan Qing Luo. Moreover, there was a conspicuous crescent Moon on the spider’s forehead.

Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!

When she opened her mouth, a spider web spewed forth to cover the Territory Lord. Numerous bursts of energy that were invisible to the naked eye simultaneously emerged in the surroundings. The energy radiated in all directions and quickly formed a shockingly large net with the Territory Lord in the centre.

The Territory Lord was already being restrained by Space Principles, so stuck in the spider web, he instantly felt excruciating discomfort as he struggled to escape with all his might. Before he could break free from the shackles though, several figures charged towards him from different directions. Meanwhile, the Dragon Roar and the Phoenix Cry became louder!

…..

At the same time, a battle broke out on Dawning Light’s side as Dawn couldn’t escape with three Territory Lords pursuing them.

The reason why three Territory Lords had split chased after Dawning Light was because there was an Eighth-Order Master aboard this Warship.

At this moment, Feng Ying had left Dawning Light to engage one of the Territory Lords in a one-on-one battle. Unfortunately, she had only advanced to the Eighth Order recently, so her heritage was not very strong. A short battle was already enough to push her into a dangerous situation.

Dawning Light was in an even more perilous state. With the strength of Dawn and the abilities of Dawning Light, they would stand a chance of repelling a single Innate Territory Lord, but that was still nothing more than a chance. Now that two such Territory Lords were besieging them, they were no match whatsoever.

The light of the Warship’s shields was becoming increasingly dim, and without its protection, Dawn would immediately be exposed to the attacks of the Territory Lords. The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might be able to flee, but those below the Seventh-Order were doomed to die.

Fortunately, Dawn knew that they were not the main force in this operation, so there was no need for them to fight the Territory Lords in desperation. They only needed to buy some time. The speed of the Warship had already been pushed to its limits. Controlled by a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Warship was as agile as a fish in water, constantly changing directions to avoid the incoming attacks. Nevertheless, they could not escape the fate of being pummelled by the enemy.

30 breaths!

That was the maximum amount of time that Dawning Light could hold out against the pursuit of two Innate Territory Lords. Once 30 breaths were up, Dawn would be at risk of total annihilation.

At the 15-breath mark though, the commotion caused by the death of a Territory Lord spread out without warning. The members of Dawn were overjoyed knowing that Yang Kai had made his move.

On the other hand, the expressions of the two Territory Lords chasing after Dawning Light changed drastically and they turned to look in the direction where their companion had fallen, giving Dawning Light some time to catch their breath.

The same was true for Feng Ying. She was at a complete disadvantage, so she had been struggling just to preserve her life. She even had the feeling that the time she could last against her enemy was shorter than Dawning Light. For an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her who advanced less than 600 years ago, the gap in strength between her and an Innate Territory Lord was simply too great. Although she would not be killed instantly, she was bound to die in a one-on-one battle.

When Yang Kai made his first kill though, the Territory Lord attacking Feng Ying was also affected.

The three Territory Lords were shocked as they all wondered, [What is happening over there?]

It had not been long since they split up, so how did one of their companions die? Immediately after that, they detected the fallout of a fierce battle coming from that direction and the aura of another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.

But… Even if it was another Eighth-Order Master that made a move, it should have been impossible for them to slaughter a Territory Lord in such a short time. Even an ambush would not work!

[What waste!]

Be it Feng Ying’s opponent or the two Territory Lords chasing after Dawning Light, they cursed soundly in their hearts and after a brief moment of shock, their subsequent attacks became more ruthless.

Their companion was dead, so there was nothing they could do even if they rushed over. If their other companion wasn’t a fool, then he would now be making his way towards them, there was no need to go and meet up with him. Besides, it was more important to deal with the Humans before them.

Just 10 breaths later though, the fallout caused by the death of another Territory Lord appeared.

The three surviving Territory Lords were now completely stunned.

The death of their first companion might have been caused by carelessness, but what did the death of their second companion signify? What’s more, the time between the deaths of their two companions was too short.

Just who could have such impressive strength? Was it a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master? But, they did not detect the aura of a Ninth-Order Human, only a single Eighth-Order Master.

A powerful enemy!

When Mo Na Ye asked them to come to Acacia Territory as reinforcements, he mentioned that he was planning to deal with a ‘powerful enemy’.

The five Territory Lords had not paid much attention to the issue, believing that the so-called ‘powerful enemy’ was most likely just one of the strongest Eighth-Order Human Masters. After all, it was not like they had never fought such enemies before. They believed that Mo Na Ye was just worrying for nothing. There were already five Territory Lords in Acacia Territory, so how could they not deal with a single Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?

It was not until this moment that the three surviving Territory Lords understood the gravity of the situation. This was truly a powerful enemy indeed, one that could even frighten Territory Lords like themselves!

[Should we fight? Or, should we flee?]

This new Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had slaughtered two Territory Lords in a very short time, so it was obvious that he was far stronger than any other Eighth-Order Human they had ever met. However, he was bound to have paid a heavy price to achieve this; hence, now might be the best time for them to eliminate him.

Before the three Territory Lords could come to a decision, the Territory Lord fighting Feng Ying suddenly felt the space in front of him turning hazy for a moment as a blood-stained young man with a cold expression emerged before him!