Martial Peak

Chapter 3540 – Escape

As a Half-Saint from the Blood Demon Clan, Yue Sang was the most proficient at using the various Secret Techniques of the Blood Demon Clan; however, he no longer dared to use them easily. That was because the Embodiment could refine and devour whatever Secret Techniques he utilized. Hence, his situation was becoming more and more unfavourable with the passing of time.

[Damn it! It was a foolproof ambush! How could things develop into this!?] There was no point in time when he was not trying to escape from this trap. Unfortunately, the bell-shaped artifact had an unimaginable force of suppression. Combined with the Embodiment making things difficult for him, Yue Sang was completely powerless to resist. It was humiliating that he had been held up by a trivial Mid-Rank Demon King for so long.

At that moment, he suddenly felt a flaw in the aura that had been suppressing the surrounding area. This discovery left him feeling overjoyed. He did not know why Yang Kai would make such a fatal mistake at such a time, but he guessed that the latter had reached his limits. After all, the other party’s cultivation was obviously much lower than his own. It was exceptional that Yang Kai could persist for such a long time already.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yue Sang spouted a cloud of blood mist. He had to stop the Embodiment for a moment, even if he had to sacrifice some of his Blood Essence to do so. Then, his figure transformed into a ray of blood light and rushed towards that gap in the defence.

The Embodiment could not stop Yue Sang in time and could only watch as Yue Sang dashed out of the suppression range of the Mountains and Rivers Bell.

At the same time, Yang Kai turned his head and looked in a certain direction. He had suddenly experienced an inexplicable sense of turmoil for a moment just now. It felt as though something terrible had happened. It was precisely because of this sliver of unease that his control over the Mountains and Rivers Bell had stopped for a moment and the gap that allowed Yue Sang to escape appeared. He instinctively knew that something had happened to Bright Moon, because he could no longer sense Bright Moon’s aura!

Although he had been fighting Yue Sang within the Blood Light Array all this time, Yang Kai could still sense the aura of a Great Emperor outside, albeit faintly. At that moment, however, the aura that belonged to Bright Moon became non-existent. It had thoroughly been extinguished from this world.

Yue Sang’s escape drew his mind back to the present in a panic, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could do at this point and his temper instantly flared to the extreme as a result.

To Yang Kai’s surprise, the counterattack he was expecting did not come. Likewise, Yue Sang vanished completely into the Blood Sea after escaping the trap. Yang Kai could not tell whether Yue Sang had fled or was hiding in ambush somewhere nearby.

The Blood Sea then began to churn, shrinking towards a certain direction.

At the same time, Yue Sang was fleeing into the distance with the help of the cover provided by the Blood Sea. His expression was full of hatred. He was also gnashing his teeth and cursing at something under his breath. A Blood Demon Half-Saint like him had ambushed Yang Kai only to end up in this miserable situation. Thus, the rage in his heart grew exponentially. Nevertheless, he did not dare to confront Yang Kai any longer due to his fear of the Embodiment’s power. He only wanted to escape, the further the better, lest Yang Kai used the Mountains and Rivers Bell to trap him again. He would most likely lose his life if he was caught again. On the other hand, he believed that he could still escape alive with the protection of the Blood Light Array. As for his grudges against Yang Kai… he could only leave that for later.

A ray of bright light suddenly tore through the boundless Blood Sea and the Moonlight Sword silently came slashing down. Yue Sang was heavily wounded and the expression on his face froze completely at that moment.

…..

Yang Kai retrieved the Mountains and Rivers Bell above the Blood Sea, but before he could catch his breath, he suddenly heard the Embodiment shouting, “Watch out!”

At the same time, a feeling of horror spread throughout his body. His eyes widened abruptly as he turned to look in that direction. Yue Sang was rushing directly at him with a blazing murderous intent.

Without the slightest hesitation, he forced himself to take a deep breath and punched out. Space collapsed in the path his fist took, but contrary to his expectations, Yue Sang, who was lunging at him, didn’t put up any resistance whatsoever when he threw this punch. Instead, Yue Sang opened his arms wide to accept it, even showing a small smile of relief. The murderous intent, which had been so dense that it practically felt tangible at that point, also vanished without a trace.

Yang Kai’s heart clenched violently and he instinctively realized that something was wrong, but it was too late to stop.

*Puchi...*

The punch that Yang Kai threw made a hole in Yue Sang’s chest. He had punched right through the body and the explosive power from his fist formed a wide hole. The rampant strength of his fist had shattered Yue Sang’s organs and meridians in an instant.

Yang Kai’s expression was one of utter shock. He was not feeling the triumph of annihilating his enemy. On the contrary, he felt an indescribable pain ripping through him. It felt as though a large, invisible hand was gripping his heart and that his body would collapse to pieces in the next moment.

[No! No! This can’t be…]

When their gazes met, Yue Sang smiled gently and softly muttered, “Everything is up to you now.”

While saying that, Yue Sang’s appearance distorted and transformed to become a heavily injured Bright Moon, covered in still wet blood…

“Senior!” Yang Kai shouted through gritted teeth, his eyes looking like they were about to break, “Why… Why…”

He could not accept what he was seeing before him, he had ended the life of Bright Moon Great Emperor with my own hands!

Yang Kai’s mind was a mess, and he could hardly think.

That punch had destroyed any chance Bright Moon had of survival. He no longer had any chance of escape from this ordeal.

[The person I wanted to kill was Yue Sang. Why did I end up killing Bright Moon instead!?]

Of course, it was not hard for a Great Emperor to deceive Yang Kai’s perception and make him mistakenly think that he was looking at Yue Sang; moreover, that realistic murderous intent was the key that forced him to act so decisively.

“This is what I wanted. The whole of the Star Boundary will thank you for this!” Bright Moon clearly understood Yang Kai’s feelings at the moment, so raising his hand, he grabbed Yang Kai’s wrist and looked straight into his eyes while speaking earnestly, “So, please don’t feel guilty.”

At that moment though, Yang Kai couldn’t hear what Bright Moon was saying. His mind had been filled with a chaotic buzzing ever since he saw the Great Emperor’s pale face.

A mysterious power flowed out from Bright Moon’s body and into his own along his arm right then, flooding his mind and body. This sensation finally brought Yang Kai back to his senses and the muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably. He wanted to take his hand out of Bright Moon’s chest, but Bright Moon gripped his arm tightly so that he couldn’t move.

“The Star Boundary’s Will cannot be taken by the Demon Race!” Bright Moon shouted, gritting his teeth. Blood flowed out from the corners of his mouth, dampening the shredded clothes on his chest. The warm blood flowed over Yang Kai’s arms, scorching like molten iron, “Only you can bring this Will back. This is also the reason Heaven’s Revelations sent you to the Demon Realm!”

Yang Kai looked startled and thought back on something Heavens Revelations Great Emperor had once said to him, “In the Demon Realm, you will face both an opportunity and a crisis…”

In the past, he had been unable to figure out the meaning behind ‘an opportunity and a crisis’. It wasn’t until now that he finally understood those words. Was there any greater opportunity than to obtain a Great World’s Will from a Great Emperor? Did Heavens Revelations predict this would happen back then? If that was the case, the reason he asked Yang Kai to come to the Demon Realm was never to rescue Bright Moon Great Emperor, but rather to inherit the Great World’s Will from him… But if this opportunity came at the cost of a Great Emperor’s life… Yang Kai didn’t want it!

Whilst in his dazed state, the mysterious power filled his entire body. The power did not make him stronger immediately; instead, it gave him an inexplicable and indescribable sense of clarity. It made his perception countless times sharper than before and he instantly understood that this was the Will of the Great World known as the Star Boundary.

“This King… is sorry!” Bright Moon forced a smile at Yang Kai, “But, this King had no other way. Please don’t resent me for this.”

Although such an opportunity was being fought over by hundreds of Demon Half-Saints, it was actually nothing but a massive burden for a Human. After all, Yang Kai had personally killed a Great Emperor, that was a truth that would never change.

This was also the first time in history that a Great Emperor died at the hands of an Emperor Realm cultivator. Rather than saying that Yang Kai had killed Bright Moon though, it was more accurate to say that Bright Moon had killed himself with Yang Kai’s hands.

“You must go now!” Bright Moon’s expression suddenly changed. He killed Yue Sang, and thus the Blood Light Array fell apart on its own. At this moment when the Blood Sea collapsed, the Half-Saints who had been chasing Bright Moon began appearing from all directions.

Many of the Half-Saints were dumbfounded by the sight of Yang Kai and Bright Moon’s current situation. Then, they immediately became angry out of shame. They had paid such a heavy price, with more than ten of them dying at Bright Moon’s hands. They went to great lengths just to force the Great Emperor of the Star Boundary into a desperate situation, and all that was left was to harvest the fruits of their labour. Who could have known that a mere Human brat would take advantage of their efforts? How could they tolerate this?

The Demons Saints had mentioned that no matter who killed Bright Moon, no one else could attempt to snatch away the Great World’s Will. As long as they could bear the weight of the Great World’s Will, that person would have a great chance of becoming the thirteenth Demon Saint of the Demon Realm in the future. That was the lifelong pursuit of all Half-Saints. The capacity of the world was limited, so with the opportunity to reach the summit so close at hand, they did not hesitate even if they had to put their life on the line in the attempt.

Following a burst of rage, the Half-Saints actually began sneering. Was it really an opportunity when a trivial Mid-Rank Demon King was the one to obtain this opportunity? Without the power to protect himself, that opportunity would become nothing more than a catastrophe. They would rather face a Mid-Rank Demon King than attack a Great Emperor on the verge of death.

Many Divine Senses locked on Yang Kai in an instant. Nearly a hundred Half-Saints fell silent at that moment. Nobody took the lead in attacking. Instead, their gazes swept around their surroundings warily. Yang Kai was nothing to them, it was the other Half-Saints that were the real obstacles in their climb to reach the summit.

Yang Kai stood in the centre of this mob with an expression that was extremely solemn. He glanced around in a circle, and by the time he looked down again, Bright Moon had closed his eyes and his vitality had dissipated.

Yang Kai’s expression shifted slightly, as he felt incredibly heartbroken. Before he could say his goodbyes to Bright Moon, before he could apologize, the Great Emperor had passed away.

He took a deep breath and forcibly restrained his chaotic state of mind. Then, he slowly pulled his hand out of Bright Moon’s chest in front of everybody and carefully placed Bright Moon’s body next to the medicine garden in the Small Sealed World.

Grief was stuck in his chest. He couldn’t bear not letting it out. Thus, he howled up into the sky. His howling gradually became louder, transforming into a thunderous Dragon Roar that resounded throughout the world.

As though being summoned at that moment, Zhui Feng’s mighty figure came galloping from a distance and arrived in front of Yang Kai in the blink of an eye. He reared up, practically standing on his two hind legs. By the time he landed on all fours, Yang Kai was already seated on his back. Yang Kai lightly patted the mane on his neck and ordered, “Run!”

Silavin: Original Title - The Fall of a Great Emperor

Ah! My kokoro!