Martial Peak

Zi Mo hurriedly led Yang Kai and Shui Ling out of the jungle and then rushed towards the Abandoned Earth, seemingly afraid that her master would change his mind.

Half a day later, her speed gradually eased up, gently gasping, she turned to look at Yang Kai and Shui Ling helplessly, “You two... haa...”

“Your master is quite interesting,” Yang Kai commented.

“Master isn’t someone who doesn’t distinguish between right and wrong. He is also quite grateful to you for killing those people, so he decided to let you go.”

“Grateful?” Yang Kai shook his head, “I doubt that, as to why he let us go, he seems to have his own considerations.”

“Considerations?” Zi Mo asked suspiciously.

Yang Kai smiled slightly before swiping the back of his hand lightly, opening a small cut out of which blood oozed. Staring for a moment, Yang Kai swiftly pinched a small object that seemed to be crawling out of the wound.

“A Tracing Insect?” Zi Mo’s expression changed greatly, turning her gaze back to Yang Kai and asking, “Did master plant it on you?”

“What do you think?” Yang Kai asked with a sly expression on his face.

Zi Mo immediately felt embarrassed. Secretly planting a Tracing Insect on Yang Kai, only her master could accomplish something like that. Moreover, the grade of this insect wasn’t low; at first glance it was obvious it belonged to her master.

“Don’t worry about it, your master doing this really indicates he didn’t want to kill us; after all, we took some revenge for your Imperial Insect Faction and I also saved your life once. He probably did this so he can have an excuse to calm your Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master’s anger.” Yang Kai analyzed, as if seeing through all of Zi Mo’s master’s thoughts, quickly returning the Tracing Insect to his body.

“You...” Zi Mo was dumbfounded, “Why did you put it back?”

“If I kill it, how would your master explain himself to Sen Luo Temple?” Yang Kai smiled, “If I haven’t guessed wrong, this little bug can be used to locate my position, yes?”

“En, Tracing Insects come in male, female pairs. Right now, the female has been planted on you so as long as one has the corresponding male, they can easily seek you out,” Zi Mo nodded lightly.

“This things male partner must be in the hands of Sen Luo Temple’s Sect Master by now.”

Yang Kai’s clear understanding of the situation caused Zi Mo to nod in admiration.

“You’re not worried?” Zi Mo stared at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai shook his head, “If he dares to come, I’ll make sure he never goes back.”

“You’re as crazy as ever.”

“Enough about that. What’s going on with Sen Luo Temple?” Yang Kai finally couldn’t help but ask.

Yang Kai had intentionally acted ignorant before because he was worried about getting caught up in some unforeseen trouble, but now that he was already involved, naturally he wanted some more information.

Zi Mo gently breathed a sigh of relief, “Sen Luo Temple is the only Super Force in Tian Lang Dynasty, but within the Temple itself there are five different factions and our Imperial Insect Faction is the smallest and weakest of those factions. Every ten years, one person from each of the five major factions will be elected to compete for the position of Sect Master. The current Sect Master is the father of that bastard Xing Bao. Meanwhile, Xing Zong, the current Sect Master is a competent leader and a strong master, but his thirst for authority and power is too strong, so with the end of his term approached, he used some means to win the support of the other four factions. However, my master was not willing to compromise and insisted on following the teachings of our ancestors. As a result, our Imperial Insect Faction was thoroughly suppressed by Xing Zong and over the past year or so we’ve steadily been pushed out of Sen Luo Temple and forced to live in that mountain’s jungle.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly, now having at least a basic understanding of Sen Luo Temple’s situation.

There were only a hundred or so people in the Imperial Insect Faction, so although there was a Transcendent Realm master leading them, facing the suppression of all of Sen Luo Temple’s other factions, it was obviously impossible for them to resist, leading to their exile from the Sect.

“Although we have temporarily left Sen Luo Temple and have done our best to distance ourselves from the Sect’s internal disputes, they still aren’t willing to let us live in peace. Xing Bao often brings people to trouble us or apply pressure, trying to force us to compromise and submit to his father’s authority, but so far Master has stubbornly refused.”

“No wonder when I first arrived you said those words to me.” Yang Kai smiled.

Zi Mo smiled faintly, “I didn’t know it was you; after all, it’s been so many years since we separated, how was I to know you were even still alive?”

Suddenly letting out a sigh, Zi Mo grumbled, “Well, the situation is like that.”

Yang Kai nodded silently. If Zi Mo had been a cultivator from the Great Han Dynasty, he could easily invite her to go to the Central Capital, but since she belonged to Tian Lang Dynasty, it wasn’t convenient for Yang Kai to interfere too much, even if Zi Mo was willing to move to the Central Capital, her master definitely would not be.

Judging from his uncompromising attitude towards Xing Zong, that old man obviously had a stubborn personality; such people were generally not willing to leave their homelands behind.

Yang Kai was unwilling to intervene in another Sect’s matters, but if they decided to find trouble with him, he would respond in kind.

At the same time, above a lush jungle fifty kilometers outside Sen Luo Temple.

A tall man with a stern face who appeared to be in his forties suddenly flew over.

Staring down at several piles of minced meat and dried blood, the stern faced man’s breath became ragged as a violent True Qi began surging from his body, turning towards a nearby mountain and roaring angrily, “Liu Yun, get out here!”

“Sect Master, I’ve been waiting for you,” Zi Mo’s Master appeared and calmly greeted.

“Who killed Xing Bao?” Xing Zong furiously interrogated, his aura fluctuating wildly as he was on the verge of erupting, staring at Liu Yun with an expression that seemed to say ‘if you can’t give me a satisfactory answer I’ll kill you where you stand’.

“It was two cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty.”

“Cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty?” Xing Zong fumed, “Why would cultivators from the Great Han Dynasty appear here? Are you saying you colluded with outsiders to attack my son?”

“Sect Master must be joking, if I wanted to act against your son, Xing Bao would have been dead many times over by now, it is only because of Sect Master’s face that this old master tolerated his arrogance,” Liu Yun coldly snorted, clearly not afraid of Xing Zong’s threatening posture.

In response to these ruthless words, Xing Zong’s anger slightly abated, but he still refused to let the issue drop, “What exactly happened?”

Liu Yun’s tone also became more temperate as he narrated the course of events, shrugging his shoulders indifferently, “This old master didn’t expect the two of them to kill so decisively, by the time I realized it was already too late.”

“Where are they now?” Xing Zong asked, “Did you capture them already and were just waiting for me to arrive?”

Liu Yun slowly shook his head, “They’ve fled.”

Xing Zong’s aura became dangerous once more, “With you here, they still managed to escape? Could it be you just stood by and watched them leave?”

“You could say that; after all, I have no enmity with them, so why would I attack them for no reason?” Liu Yun calmly retorted.

Hearing this, Xing Zong’s anger fully erupted, a thick killing intent burst forth from his body as he coldly shouted, “If you don’t give me an explanation right now, I’ll personally exterminate your Imperial Insect Faction.”

To this naked threat, Liu Yun simply sneered, “This old master just thought that seeking revenge for the death of one’s child should be solved by Sect Master himself. Therefore, this old master decided to take a step back so as not to interfere in this important affair.”

Saying so, he took out a small insect and held it up, “Sect Master should know what this is, correct?”

“A Tracing Insect?” Xing Zong’s eyes flashed brilliantly.

“Indeed,” Liu Yun nodded gently, “This male Tracing Insect’s female partner has been planted on the person who killed Xing Bao. As long as Sect Master has this, it should be easy for him to track down the murderer.”

“Give it to me,” Xing Zong hastily put his hand out.

However, Liu Yun shook his head once more, “It’s not impossible for this old master to hand this Tracing Insect over to Sect Master, but I have some conditions.”

“You dare discuss conditions with me?” Xing Zong grinned fiercely, “You think that without that Tracing Insect I can’t find those two? Laughable, as long as they’re still in Tian Lang Dynasty, I will find them eventually!”

“If Sect Master knew where those two were going, you may not be so confidant,” Liu Yun sneered.

Xing Zong’s brow furrowed for a moment before he asked, “Where did they go?”

“The Abandoned Earth!”

Xing Zong’s expression immediately became ugly. Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he asked, “Your conditions, let’s hear them!”

The Abandoned Earth, even if it was Xing Zong, he couldn’t guarantee that he could find one or two people inside that Forbidden Zone. The energy inside that place was far too chaotic and dangerous, without some kind of reliable guidance, it was even possible that he could lose his way and never be able to leave.

“The Imperial Insect Faction returns to Sen Luo Temple, and the ten year tradition of electing a new Sect Master is restored according to our ancestral teachings! If Sect Master refuses, this old master will immediately crush this insect!”

“You dare!” Xing Zong roared as he flew into a rage.

Liu Yun sneered dismissively, gathering his True Qi into his palm, calmly waiting, exhibiting a completely uncompromising stance towards Xing Zong.

After rampaging for a moment, Xing Zong grit his teeth and nodded, “Good, I swear to you, as long as I can take revenge for my son’s murder, I will fulfill all of your conditions.”

“I hope Sect Master will honour his words!” Liu Yun said coldly. Although he did not have much faith in Xing Zong, right now this was the best he could hope for, so he decisively tossed the male Tracing Insect over.

Reaching out and grabbing the Tracing Insect, Xing Zong coldly snorted before turning and flying towards the Abandoned Earth.

............

Two days later, at the periphery of the Abandoned Earth, Yang Kai’s trio came to a stop.

Looking at the barren wasteland that stretched out before them, completely devoid of all life, Yang Kai and Shui Ling were both somewhat amazed.

The aura surrounding this place was extremely odd, giving them a truly ominous feeling, no wonder it had become Tian Lang Dynasty’s most dangerous Forbidden Zone.

“We’re here,” Zi Mo said with a tinge of panic apparent in her voice, apparently quite unwilling to go any further.

“Thank you,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, over the past two days, Zi Mo had told Yang Kai everything she knew about the Abandoned Earth in the hopes that it would at least somewhat useful to him.

“Do you really want to go in?” Zi Mo stared at Yang Kai anxiously, wondering just what he was going to do in the Abandoned Earth.

“I have to.”

“Then I’ll wait here for you to come out,” Zi Mo sighed and no longer tried to dissuade him.

“No need,” Yang Kai shook his head, “After we go in, I’m afraid we won’t see each other for a very long time; at the very least, I don’t plan on ever coming out from this place again. You should return to Sen Luo Temple.”

Zi Mo was dumbstruck.

“Go back and tell your master, if he dares plot against me again, even if he is your master, I’ll still kill him!” Yang Kai grinned fiercely, his face filled with an evil light, laughing recklessly as he led Shui Ling into the Abandoned Earth.

Zi Mo stood silently for a moment before quickly coming to her senses, shouting out, “Yang Kai, be careful. Don’t you dare die.”

Yang Kai didn’t look back, just waving his hand casually as he continued forward.

Soon, both his and Shui Ling’s figure disappeared from Zi Mo’s view.

Seeing him vanish, Zi Mo suddenly felt an odd sense of loss.

In truth, her friendship with Yang Kai wasn’t too deep; it was just that when she was together with him in that Isolated World, his various performances and achievements had left a deep impression on her. This time, when they reunited after all these years, the shock Yang Kai brought here was even greater.

Unknowingly, this bastard of a man had actually become an Immortal Ascension Boundary Sixth Stage master.

Perhaps because he was the most outstanding man she had ever met, Yang Kai’s departure had made her feel a little regretful.