Martial Peak
chapter-5609

Now, Qin Xue was no longer an inexperienced 20-year-old woman. At the very least, she was an Emperor Realm Master who had been living in the Myriad Monsters World for hundreds of years, so she was aware of many secrets that commoners did not know.

This expansive Universe had gone through three very long eras, which were the Primordial Era, the Early Ancient Era, and the Late Ancient Era. They were respectively ruled by the Divine Spirits, Monster Beasts, and finally the Humans.

In every era, the Heavenly Way favoured these different rulers.

In the Early Ancient Era, the Heavenly Way favoured the Monster Race, and as such, it was easier for the Monster Race to cultivate. Following the fall of the Early Ancient Era and the arrival of the Late Ancient Era, Humans rose to prominence; therefore, the preference was shifted from the Monster Race to the Humans.

In other words, the Humans were the current favourites in this Universe. Perhaps it had something to do with the Humans’ influence on the Heavenly Way due to their rise in power. However, even though Qin Xue was an Emperor Realm Master, she couldn’t form judgements of her own as she had only heard about such things from others.

The only thing she was certain of was that the current era wasn’t friendly to the Monster Race, making it more difficult for them to cultivate than the Humans.

The ancient cultivation techniques of the Monster Race had been lost to time, so most relied on the Humans’ Open Heaven Realm method to achieve an ascension. In other words, they had to assume Human Forms to shatter their shackles.

However, the Myriad Monsters World was a place which somehow preserved the aura of the Early Ancient Era quite well. It was said that when the Lord of the Star Boundary arrived at this place several hundred years ago, the Great Monsters here had not only lost the ancient cultivation techniques, but they had also never met Humans before. As such, how were they supposed to assume Human Forms and make use of the Humans’ Open Heaven Realm cultivation method to break their innate shackles? Therefore, in the past, the Great Monsters were unable to get rid of the World’s restrictions. Once they became Monster Kings, they were unable to improve any further.

The Lord of the Star Boundary did not only plant a World Tree clone here though, he had also taught the Great Monsters the Primal Art. It was thanks to him that the Great Monsters were able to continue cultivating.

Therefore, in the Myriad Monsters World now, there were two methods the Monster Race could use to cultivate. One was to use the Primal Art left behind by the Lord of the Star Boundary, and the other was the Humans’ Open Heaven Realm method. There were pros and cons to both, so neither could be said to be superior. The Monster Race members had to make their own decisions.

Many Monster Beasts became close to Humans when they were still very young, and were subsequently raised by them. Since these Monster Beasts quickly learned how to assume Human Form, they naturally chose the Human’s cultivation method.

However, a Monster Race member like the Shadow Leopard, who had always remained a beast, chose the Primal Art.

It had been over 10 years since Qin Xue last met the Shadow Leopard, and at that time, she already felt that the beast was on the brink of achieving a breakthrough. Nevertheless, she hadn’t heard any news from it since then.

Much to her surprise, she heard the noise of its breakthrough on this stormy night.

She had read a lot of ancient books and found out that Monster Race members who chose to achieve a breakthrough by using the Primal Art had to face a much greater risk than those who relied on the Open Heaven Realm method.

That was because Monster Race members cultivated the Primal Art by refining their Monster Cores, which were their very foundation. The stronger the Monster Core, the more powerful the Monster Race member was, but there were also a lot of uncertainties in this refining process.

Qin Xue couldn’t help feeling worried. She had spent the last few centuries with the Shadow Leopard, so she had already regarded it as her friend. In her heart, this Monster Race member was just as important as her husband and children.

Now that the Shadow Leopard was at the most critical moment of its ascension, it was only natural that she was anxious.

Just then, another roar reverberated across the sky.

Following the roar, thick Monster Qi permeated the area as though it had materialised. In an instant, the peak was surrounded by a layer of fog.

*Kacha…*

As though responding to the Shadow Leopard’s roar, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky.

Qin Xue could faintly see that on the peak, the Shadow Leopard spat out a round object that soon hovered above its head.

It was the Shadow Leopard’s Monster Core!

A bolt of lightning struck down at the small Monster Core like it was a long whip.

Qin Xue flinched as though she was the one being whipped. She widened her eyes and looked intently at the Shadow Leopard.

The originally still Monster Core started rotating around after being hit by the lightning. Threads of lightning whirled around the dark Monster Core and formed some cracks in it.

The Shadow Leopard growled as its Monster Qi surged to repair its Monster Core.

Just like how the Humans had to go through a World Baptism when achieving an ascension, Monster Race members experienced a similar trial. However, the current situation was more dangerous than the trials Humans had to face.

After all, the Heavenly Way was in favour of the Humans presently. If a Monster Race member relied on the Open Heaven method to achieve a breakthrough, they were essentially complying with the Heavenly Way. However, if they chose the Primal Art, they were defying the Heavens. As such, the wrath of lightning wasn’t just a trial, but a Heavenly Tribulation.

It was thanks to the primitive environment in the Myriad Monsters World that the tribulation was less severe. If a Monster Race member attempted a breakthrough in such a way in any other Universe World, it would face an even more ferocious attack.

Everything seemed frail beneath the Heavenly Tribulation. If the Shadow Leopard couldn’t persevere, it would be killed and its Monster Core would be destroyed; however, if it could survive, it would gain massive benefits.

Another even more powerful flash of lightning struck just then, causing Monster Core to spin even faster.

Seeing this, Qin Xue set her mind at ease. She had known the Shadow Leopard for years, so she was aware of its capabilities. This kind of Heavenly Tribulation supposedly wouldn’t cause the beast serious harm.

She secretly prayed that her friend would not get too greedy. If she had known what would happen, she would’ve looked for the beast and discussed with it earlier.

Nevertheless, given the Shadow Leopard’s temperament, she reckoned that it was useless to talk to the beast about it.

This fellow was obstinate. When it was still a little beast back then, it left Great Feather Pavilion without a word after it recovered.

As the bolts of lightning continued to strike, the Shadow Leopard remained unmoving. It only kept howling in response, as though it was trying to shatter the sky.

“Who goes there?” Qin Xue’s expression turned cold abruptly as she charged forward in a particular direction. While in mid-air, a sword appeared in her hand.

“Jade Moon Sword Arts, 3,000 Sword Lights!”

A rain of sword lights poured down like a storm as countless trees were instantly leveled; however, a momentary glint from within the chaos made Qin Xue’s heart sink.

Violent Monster Qi surged from below. The sword lights struck Monster Qi and disappeared, as though the latter was a mire.

Certainly, Qin Xue hadn’t fully unleashed her power, but it also showed how powerful the other party was.

Finally, Qin Xue realised who had been acting furtively in this nearby place.

It was a Monster King, not a Human.

A series of hisses were heard. From the thick Monster Qi, a snake head that was as large as a house emerged. The snake head was angular, as though it was carved from a rock, and its scales looked extremely robust. The snake glowered at Qin Xue, who was standing on a nearby branch. There seemed to be a sense of ruthlessness behind those eyes.

“Rock Snake King!” Qin Xue’s pupils dilated, but she soon calmed herself down, “Snake King, please withdraw!”

She secretly cursed, thinking that it indeed wouldn’t be easy for the Shadow Leopard to achieve an ascension.

Following the agreement between the Lord of the Star Boundary and the Great Monsters back then, the Human Race and Monster Race had been living together harmoniously in the Myriad Monsters World. However, the Monster Race still fought amongst themselves quite fiercely. Every living Monster King made a name for itself by killing many other Monster Race members.

The Shadow Leopard was no exception to this. When Qin Xue saw the Shadow Leopard for the first time, she felt that it was cute and adorable, but the truth was he was the most ferocious Monster Race member she was aware of. Moreover, it was quite arrogant.

This kind of Monster Race member naturally had a lot of enemies.

Qin Xue had saved the Shadow Leopard’s life before. As such, a grateful Shadow Leopard never showed its wild side in front of her over the years.

The Rock Snake King was one of the Shadow Leopard’s enemies as their territories were next to each other. The Shadow Leopard was bullied by the snake when it was weak, so when it grew stronger, it was determined to get its revenge.

Certainly, the Rock Snake King wouldn’t allow its enemy to grow in power. If the Shadow Leopard passed through the tribulation and ascended above the Monster King Realm, the Rock Snake King would be doomed.

Therefore, the moment it realised that the Shadow Leopard was attempting a breakthrough, it slithered over and approached the Shadow Leopard in secret, waiting for a chance to deal a fatal blow to its enemy. Nonetheless, Qin Xue managed to detect its presence.

The Rock Snake King was extremely powerful; furthermore, its skin was as hard as steel. The Shadow Leopard had exchanged moves with it several times but could never defeat it outright. Although Qin Xue was an Emperor Realm Master, she didn’t have the confidence to defeat the Snake King either. In fact, she might not even be able to protect herself.

Even though it was difficult for Monster Race members to cultivate, they were innately more powerful than the Humans when in the same Realm. That was because they had robust physiques and spent much longer accumulating heritage.

“You dare make a move against me, Human?” The Rock Snake King glared at Qin Xue as it hissed and spoke Human language.

Qin Xue frowned and cupped her fist, “Please forgive my earlier offence, Snake King.”

They had to comply with the agreement between the Lord of the Star Boundary and the Great Monsters, which was the very foundation of the Human Race’s survival in the Myriad Monsters World. Without this agreement, the Humans would find it hard to live in such a world.

The Rock Snake King snorted, “Scram. I don’t want to waste any time on you.”

Following that, its burly figure zigzagged towards the Shadow Leopard.

Certainly, Qin Xue couldn’t back down; otherwise, the Shadow Leopard’s ascension would be interrupted. Let alone break through to a higher Realm, it might even lose its life.

A hint of hesitation flashed across Qin Xue’s eyes, but she soon brought down her sword and sent a sword wave slashing across the route where the Snake King was heading, forming a crack on the ground.

“Please retreat, Snake King!”

Rain poured down from the dark sky as the small woman stood steadfastly on the tree branch in front of the Rock Snake King.

The eyes on the snake head beamed with an insidious glow as it hissed rapidly. Soon, a Human-like smile appeared on its face, “Good, this King has never eaten a Human before. I’ll devour you before dealing with that stupid leopard!”

The moment it finished speaking, its snake head appeared in front of Qin Xue all of a sudden and opened its hideous mouth, emanating a pungent breath. It was as though the snake wanted to swallow Qin Xue in one fell swoop.