Martial Peak

The Lan River ran through the Great Han Dynasty like a long sleeping dragon, dividing the country into two parts.

On the river’s surface, which was more than a few thousand meters in breadth, rapids and eddies were frequently seen and ferocious waves splashed at its banks.

When Yang Kai’s group of five arrived at the Lan River, they gazed across it for a moment in admiration.

“We’re almost there, after crossing the Lan River and passing through Feng Province, we’ll reach the Central Capital!” Tu Feng seemed to fear that Yang Kai, who had been away from home for several years, wouldn’t remember such landmarks, “How about we let the Cloud Treading Colts take a rest, they’ve been running for almost three days straight now.”

“En.” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

“Little Lord, you rest while I go find a boat to cross the river!” Tu Feng grinned while releasing his Divine Sense and a moment later turned towards a certain direction and flew off.

This group all had cultivations above the True Element Boundary, so even though the Lan River was a few thousand meters wide, it wouldn’t be an issue for them to fly over it.

But although they could fly, the Cloud Treading Colts obviously couldn’t, so it was still necessary to find a boat that could ferry these Monster Beasts across the river.

A short time later, a modest sized boat sailed up the river towards Yang Kai and his group with Tu Feng standing at its bow, waving towards them.

Seeing this, Tang Yu Xian grinned and led her and Tu Feng’s Cloud Treading Colts forward, “Let’s go.”

Four people and five Monster Beasts walked up to the shore and were trying to board the boat when the boatman frowned slightly and said to Tu Feng, “Great warrior, why didn’t you tell this old man that you also had five horses?”

Luo Xiao Man couldn’t help laughing when she heard this.

The Cloud Treading Colt really did look similar to an ordinary horse, but even though the two appeared similar, they were very different. Only an ordinary person wouldn’t notice the difference, naturally there was nothing wrong with this though.

Qiu Yi Meng and Tang Yu Xian also giggled softly.

Tu Feng quickly replied, “So what if we have horses? Is there a problem?”

“No no,” The boatman, who appeared to be an old man in his fifties, quickly shook his head, “It’s just that if you want to take these horses across the river, you’ll need to pay extra.”

Tu Feng suddenly rolled his eyes, “Fine fine, we’ll pay.”

Hearing these words, the boatman suddenly looked happy, “If Milord says so, then there’s no problem, everyone come up.”

Yang Kai’s group all shook their heads lightly, each of their statuses was quite profound and all of them were powerful cultivators in their own right, so even though the boat was a little cramped, they were obviously disinclined to argue with this ordinary old man who used this ferry to maintain a meager life.

The boat was small, but it was still big enough to handle five people and five Monster Beasts at once.

With the boatman securing the sails and casting off, the boat set out towards the opposite shore.

Standing on the deck, Tang Yu Xian laughed and said, “I’ve never actually been on a boat before, with how it rocks back and forth, if an ordinary person were to try standing atop it for a long time I’m sure they’d start feeling sick.”

Tu Feng nodded in agreement, “True, true, it’s probably not easy making a living on this river.”

Although Qiu Yi Meng and Luo Xiao Man didn’t say anything, they both nodded to express their approval. The two of them had also apparently never ridden a boat like this, so they were obviously intrigued by the experience. As the ship swayed back and forth and the water lapped up against the hull, the two young ladies seemed to be greatly enjoying themselves.

“If it’s already so rough on a river, just what must it be like on the Endless Sea?” Tu Feng said with a bit of wonderment. Though he was an Immortal Ascension master and possessed a wealth of knowledge, he had never actually been to the sea before, so he obviously knew nothing about it; turning to look at the boatman, Tu Feng asked, “Old man, have you ever been to the sea before?”

The old boatman could only grin and shake his head when he heard this question. “This old man has spent his whole life on the Lan River, how would I have time to visit the sea? Although I have never seen one before, I’ve heard that the boats that sail the Endless Sea are extremely large and powerful, some of them reaching over a thousand meters in length! Such boats, even on the rough Endless Sea, are apparently very stable, enough so that one can pour a glass of water and set it down on a tabletop yet it won’t spill a drop.”

“Is that true?” Tu Feng smiled faintly, obviously not convinced.

“What can’t it be true? Great warriors just need to think about it, with such a big ship, even if the sea is rough and stormy, how could it be shaken so easily?”

The two Blood Warrior, Qiu Yi Meng and Luo Xiao Man suddenly became interested. Although they knew that this boatman was just telling stories of things he had never seen, so it was quite possible what he was saying was false, they still couldn’t help listening to pass the time.

Seeing his audience full of interest in his stories, the boatman not only wasn’t frightened but instead became even more enthusiastic.

Yang Kai sat quietly to the side, smiled silently while casually glancing around.

Of everyone on the scene, only he had been to the Endless Sea, and he had even sailed far away from shore, almost unable to ever return. Of course, Yang Kai was disinclined to correct the boatman’s exaggerations.

Several stories later, the boat had arrived at the center of the Lan River.

As Yang Kai stared off across the water, he suddenly felt that something was out of place. Following his instincts, he couldn’t help staring straight towards the boatman.

The old man, who was still talking about the Endless Sea, was suddenly interrupted when Yang Kai said, “Old man, the way your paddling seems to be wrong.”

Hearing this strange comment, everyone onboard turned to look at Yang Kai.

The old boatman even laughed and said, “What exactly does little brother mean?”

Yang Kai grinned and replied, “People who paddle all year round will synchronize the rhythm of their paddling with their breath, especially on such a big river where the rapids cause more resistance. If they don’t do so, it will cost them twice as much effort for only half the result, greatly consuming their strength! Old Man, since you’ve lived your whole life on the water, why don’t you understand something so simple?”

Digesting these words, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian’s face suddenly became dark as they stared towards the boatman cautiously.

In the eyes of the boatman, there was a flash of shock and panic, but it quickly faded as he smiled and said, “Little brother, what you said does makes sense, it’s just that this old man has been paddling like this my whole life, so I’m afraid I’m just used to it. When I have time, I’ll try the method you mentioned to see if it really is easier.”

Yang Kai’s grin only became deeper though, “We’ve already crossed half of the river this way yet you don’t even seem to be out of breath and... if you’ve always lived near this river, shouldn’t fish be a regular part of your diet? If so, why do I not smell the scent of fish on you at all... hahaha!”

His voice becoming cold and a sharp glint entering his eyes, Yang Kai said firmly, “Old man, you’re not an average person, are you?”

Before Yang Kai had finished speaking, Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian both rushed towards the boatman.

It was at that moment that the Silver Blood Golden Feather Eagle hovering in the sky let out a series of rapid cries, a clear warning sign that danger was approaching.

Qiu Yi Meng and Luo Xiao Man’s pretty faces also paled as they quickly circulated their True Qi to protect themselves.

*Bang!*

On the surface of the river, several water columns suddenly emerged, and each one of them concealed a person within.

All of a sudden, a tremendous suction suddenly welled up from beneath the hull, causing the boat to feel like it had fallen into a quagmire, unable to advance or retreat, before cracking under the pressure and quickly sinking.

Yang Kai, Qiu Yi Meng, and Luo Xiao Man all hastily flew up into the air but were suddenly met with a huge pressure pressing down on them. Suffering such a sudden attack, the three of them were forced back down towards the boat.

A huge vortex appeared, instantaneously swallowing the boat, and everyone onboard it was pulled down into the river.

The Five Cloud Treading Colts were also caught up in this attack and disappeared instantly.

The moment he fell into the water, Yang Kai felt a shocking burst of power from nearby, obviously the two Blood Warriors had already engaged the boatman in combat.

From all around, numerous figures rapidly swam towards Yang Kai’s group, like sharks swarming towards their prey.

Yang Kai quickly sized up the situation.

But what he saw only caused his expression sink further.

Both Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian had been dragged into the river and were currently fighting against three people. The three were all Immortal Ascension Boundary masters and none of them were weak, one Eighth Stage, one Seventh Stage, and one Fifth Stage. Even though the two Blood Warriors were definitely stronger than these three masters, it would still take them some time to deal with them.

The nearest enemy to Yang Kai was less than a thirty meters away. Yang Kai clearly saw him sneer towards him before sending out a palm strike, a pale blue light shooting forth, breaking through the water as it raced towards him.

Yang Kai also struck out, sending forth a glowing fist pressure that smashed into the approaching palm.

There was a muffled thud and a flash of light but the palm strike’s strength wasn’t completely exhausted, so all Yang Kai could do was turn away and swiftly move towards the surface.

While he was surfacing, Yang Kai glanced around and saw that Qiu Yi Meng and Luo Xiao Man were not far from him, but their situations were undoubtedly safer than his own, because these attackers, in addition to the three masters tying down Tu Feng and Tang Yu Xian, were almost all gathering towards him.

[They’re here for me!]

Yang Kai quickly became aware of this fact, but he had no time to ponder over it right now. A moment later he managed to reach the surface and fly up into the sky. Immediately after, a figure burst out of the river and shot towards him. It was precisely the same person who had attacked Yang Kai just now. This man was now staring coldly at Yang Kai with a vicious expression on his face. Waving his arms, he prepared to send another palm strike towards Yang Kai.

At that critical moment, the Golden Feather Eagle actually dove towards this attacker, releasing a countless number of golden lights towards him.

These golden lights took the man by surprise and knocked him back down into the water.

Using this opportunity, Yang Kai turned towards the shore and quickly flew off.

“Shua shua shua...” A series of splashes rang out as six or seven figures shot out of the water and hovered midair. All of them quickly searched their surroundings before turning and pursing Yang Kai. Among them, Qiu Yi Meng and Luo Xiao Man were all present, obviously they wanted to help Yang Kai.

“Block them!” A middle-aged man in the lead ordered, quickly following up, “Don’t kill them!”

Immediately, two of the attackers responded, separating from their teammates and intercepted Qiu Yi Meng and Luo Xiao Man, as a sneer appeared on both their faces.

Qiu Yi Meng expression was ice cold as she whispered to Luo Xiao Man, “They’re here to deal with Yang Kai, so they’ll only try to impede us, don’t hold back, they won’t dare try to kill us.”

“En.” Luo Xiao Man nodded heavily, her wet clothes were stuck to her body, further highlighting her voluptuous figure.

“Shua...” Another set of splashes resounded as the two Blood Warriors and the three Immortal Ascension Boundary masters emerged from the water. Tu Feng’s body was wrapped in a brown glow as he displayed a fierce assault, completely not caring whether he was injured in the process.

Tang Yu Xian also pushed her True Qi to the limit, and her graceful figure rapidly moved between the three enemy masters as she unleashed various Martial Skills, clear signs of anxiousness were on her face.

“Who are you!? You dare attack the Central Capital’s Yang Family!?” Tu Feng roared as struck towards the nearest enemy.