<<Previous Chapter | Martial Peak | Next Chapter>>
Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
In the middle of the night in East Star City, only the sounds of dogs barking and babies crying could be heard from time to time.
Under the moonlight, Yang Kai was standing on top of a tower and looking down with a pair of eagle-like eyes.
Below the calm surface was a violent undercurrent.
The people from Grand Qi Temple and the disciples from White Lotus Sect had hidden themselves in this small city, but they seemed to be aware of each other’s presence.
An hour to midnight, the first conflict broke out. It ended just as quickly as it started though and nothing much had been affected.
However, the second and third conflicts soon followed.
An hour after midnight, the battle was in full swing and carnage could be seen on every street of East Star City.
All of the citizens shut their doors and wouldn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
Just then, a high-pitched sound was heard coming from a particular direction. Yang Kai’s eyes turned ferocious as he looked in that direction.
Booms were continuously heard coming from over there. As the World Energy surged, more than ten figures engaged in an intense battle. Lights flickered following the use of different Secret Techniques.
Despite the long distance, Yang Kai could immediately see a middle-aged woman who was clad in white robes.
She was none other than the White Lotus Matriarch!
White Lotus Sect was founded a long time before Grand Qi Temple. The current Sect Master of White Lotus Sect was this White Lotus Matriarch, who was known for her ruthlessness. Countless Sects had been destroyed on the continent because they had offended White Lotus Sect.
Although those from Grand Qi Temple had launched several attacks to kill White Lotus Matriarch, they hadn’t managed to achieve their goal so far as she was cunning and elusive.
Just like they had expected though, the White Lotus Matriarch had really appeared to host the sacrificial ceremony in East Star City.
At this moment, she was leading some of the powerful Masters from White Lotus Sect to break through the siege. Unfortunately, several Vice Temple Masters from Grand Qi Temple had joined forces to stop them, so they were unable to break free for the time being.
With that said, the White Lotus Matriarch was one of the most powerful cultivators on the continent. Although the Vice Temple Masters from Grand Qi Temple were fairly strong themselves, they were unable to keep her trapped for long.
After several exchanges of moves, one of the Vice Temple Masters was wounded by a sword. A violent force exploded in his body, rendering him powerless to fight. It wasn’t certain if he could survive.
Yang Kai leaped off from the top of the tower and flew towards them like an eagle.
While in mid-air, he lifted his spear.
In that instant, the White Lotus Matriarch felt cold all over her body. When she turned her head, her expression changed drastically. She threw the people around her away without any hesitation and as a glint flashed through her blade, a sword wave slashed at Yang Kai.
As Yang Kai flourished his spear, and the sword wave shattered. Blood started streaming out of a wound on his face that was caused by the remnant Sword Qi, yet he did not even bat his eyes as he continued with his attack.
The next moment, the White Lotus Matriarch was sent flying away while spraying out a mouthful of blood. She seemed to have lost all her strength.
Technically speaking, both Yang Kai and the White Lotus Matriarch were equally matched as they were some of the most powerful cultivators in the world. However, Yang Kai had basically launched a sneak attack while the White Lotus Matriarch was unsuspecting, which was why she suffered a serious setback.
Before the enemy even landed, Luo Ting He appeared right on the spot where she was falling.
No one knew when Luo Ting He had appeared. She was just as silent as a phantom, but a sword cry was heard coming from her weapon.
From the looks of it, it was as if the White Lotus Matriarch took the initiative to throw herself onto the sword.
At the most critical moment, the White Lotus Matriarch forcefully twisted her figure to make sure her vitals wouldn’t be pierced. Despite that, she was still greatly harmed by Luo Ting He as the sword penetrated her chest.
However, the White Lotus Matriarch had also managed to land a palm on Luo Ting He with all her might and sent her flying away. Luo Ting He crashed into a house, and it wasn’t certain whether she was dead or alive.
After getting struck by two powerful cultivators consecutively, the White Lotus Matriarch had managed to survive, but she was in a terrible state. Her face was as pale as a white sheet, and her white dress had been dyed red.
She stared fixedly at Yang Kai with a hideous grin. As she performed different hand seals, she said through clenched teeth, “Activate!”
The next moment, she crouched down and pressed her hands against the ground as a violent force burst forth.
It was too late for Yang Kai to stop her.
The entire East Star City shook as everyone found it hard to keep their balance.
The blood flowing on the ground seemed to have been infused with life as it squirmed and formed a gigantic Spirit Array.
An eerie red light engulfed the entire East Star City as everyone could hear the sounds of crying and howling and the cold wind which was whipped up made them shudder.
The expressions of the Vice Temple Masters changed drastically. Xia Hong Tao from Emerald Smoke Sect exclaimed, “The Ten Thousand Souls Array!”
Seizing the chance, the White Lotus Matriarch escaped and disappeared into the darkness. Her voice could be heard saying from a distance, “I’ll remember what all of you from Grand Qi Temple have done to me today. I’ll make you pay a price that’s a hundred times greater than this!”
After hesitating between chasing after the enemy and saving lives for a moment, Yang Kai made a decision as he ordered, “Break the array and save the people!”
If this Spirit Array was allowed to fulfil its purpose, all 100,000 innocents in East Star City would be sacrificed. The White Lotus Matriarch certainly shouldn’t be allowed to escape, but they still had a chance to kill her in the future. The most important thing for them now was to save lives.
There were other remnants of White Lotus Sect in the city who still steadfastly guarded the Array Nodes; however, since the White Lotus Matriarch had fled, the disciples from White Lotus Sect were now leaderless. On the other hand, those from Grand Qi Temple were still moving forward in an orderly manner following the Temple Masters’ instructions.
The Array Nodes were occupied by those from Grand Qi Temple one by one, causing the Spirit Array’s operation to become increasingly sluggish.
Yang Kai charged towards the centre of the Ten Thousand Souls Array on his own, where the most important Array Node of the Spirit Array was located. As long as it was destroyed, the Spirit Array’s efficacy would be halved.
To his surprise, no sounds of fighting could be heard coming from over there; instead, the place was in dead silence.
With that said, the stench of blood here was the strongest.
With the spear in his hand, Yang Kai arrived at the Array Node, only to see the corpses of White Lotus Sect’s disciples scattered across the ground. In front of the Array Node stood an alluring figure. As she performed different hand seals, she used some fairly powerful Secret Techniques at the Array Node.
She must have been at this for quite some time as she was soaked in sweat. Her damp clothes stuck close to her back.
Looking at the woman’s figure, Yang Kai fell into a dazed state.
He recognised this figure. The vague image that had appeared in his dream countless times perfectly overlapped with this woman’s back.
Sensing the man’s presence, the woman turned her head and revealed a strikingly beautiful face. With sweat still streaming from her forehead, she bit her lip and said, “Help me quickly! Otherwise, it’ll be too late!”
“Step aside!” Yang Kai came to his senses and shouted. The next moment, he thrust his spear towards the Array Node.
The woman hurriedly moved out of the way. As innumerable spear shadows surged out, a violent force exploded. In an instant, the Array Node that no one was guarding collapsed.
The next moment, the red light that had engulfed the entire East Star City turned dim.
Yang Kai let out a long breath as he could finally be at ease. He had been apprehensive for the entire night. Thinking of the woman beside him, he turned around as he wanted to ask which Sect she was from; however, he soon felt a pain in his chest.
Looking down, he saw that a sword had penetrated his chest while a fair hand was clenching the hilt. The owner of the sword sported a strange expression. It was a combination of excitement, guilt, and even a sense of agony.
The power in his body exploded as the muscles in his chest locked the sword in place. He raised his hand as his force gathered together on his palm before he pushed it towards the woman.
As the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple, it was expected that Yang Kai was extremely powerful. Even if there was a boulder in front of him, it would turn into dust following his attack.
The woman wanted to dodge the attack, but it was too late for her to do so.
The next moment, the hand that could shatter a mountain gently landed on the head of the sword’s owner, but no force could be felt bursting forth.
“Are you from White Lotus Sect?” Yang Kai asked gently, as though he was worried that he would frighten her if he spoke too loudly.
The sword’s owner sported an even stranger expression now. The moment she received her mission, she knew that she was bound to lose her life; after all, she was aware that the Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple was formidable. Even if she could achieve her goal, there was no way she could survive.
However, that was really what had happened. The Temple Master of Grand Qi Temple didn’t kill her.
In the meantime, the hand that rested on her head gave her a sense of warmth for some reason.
“What’s your name?” Yang Kai asked.
The sword’s owner pressed her lips together, “Qu Hua Shang!”
Yang Kai flashed a smile at her, “My name is Yang Kai.”
Upon finishing his words, he frowned and turned his head. Following that, he said to Qu Hua Shang, “Run quickly. Or else it will be too late.”
Qu Hua Shang had apparently noticed company was approaching as she looked in the same direction. The next instant, she released the hilt and ran away.
A short while later, a petite figure arrived with a sword in hand.
Luo Ting He could immediately see that Yang Kai was seated on some rubble while holding his spear. There was a sword that had jabbed into his chest.
She walked over and took a glance at him. Then, she grabbed the hilt with one hand and pressed her other hand on the man’s shoulder, “It may hurt a little.”
Yang Kai nodded.
The next instant, the sword was pulled out while blood spurted from the wound. Yang Kai’s figure shook a little.
A dextrous Luo Ting He struck some of the man’s acupoints to stop his blood from streaming out. Then, she said, “The White Lotus Matriarch escaped.”
The White Lotus Matriarch ran away after activating the Spirit Array. Luo Ting He chased after her, but despite her injuries, the White Lotus Matriarch was as agile as ever when fleeing.
After pursuing for more than a dozen kilometres, Luo Ting He realised that the enemy was nowhere to be seen. Left with no other choice, she could only return to the city.
Following that, she saw that Yang Kai was hurt.
“We’ll have another chance to kill her in the future.” Yang Kai nonchalantly nodded. Since the White Lotus Matriarch had been badly injured, it would take her about a year for her to recuperate. He then asked, “Have you heard of the name Qu Hua Shang?”
Luo Ting He shook her head, “No.”
She furrowed her brows while staring at the wound on the man’s chest.
Given her eyesight, she could see that Yang Kai was directly facing the opponent when he was hurt; however, she couldn’t think of anyone in the world who could harm this man while facing him head-on.
Even the White Lotus Matriarch wouldn’t be able to do that.
Nevertheless, she didn’t intend to ask him about what had happened. Yang Kai would tell her about it if he wanted to.
“Ask around,” Yang Kai ordered.
Luo Ting He said, “You’d better recuperate first.”
Yang Kai nodded, “There’s poison on the tip of that sword, so I’ll probably pass out soon. Before I wake up, the Vice Temple Masters will handle the affairs in the Temple while you’ll assist them from the side.”
“Got it,” Luo Ting He replied.
When she took a glance at Yang Kai, she realised that he had already lost consciousness. She let out a sigh and carried Yang Kai up before dexterously leaving the city at full speed. She intended to return to Grand Qi Temple first.
Interesting. Setting up not one but two red herrings.
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.