Martial Peak

Chapter 5458: Lord of the Star Boundary

It was not strange for the old man to have such thoughts. Too many rumours and misunderstandings about the Cave Heavens and Paradises had propagated over the years. Many had the same thoughts as the old man but did not dare to voice their opinions.

The old man continued, “Yan Yi! 1,800 years ago, the Former Temple Master of Golden Light Temple advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and was taken away by Golden Antelope Paradise. Have you heard from him since then!?”

A scholarly Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master stood on the large ship with a gloomy expression. He was none other than Yan Yi of Golden Light Temple, whom the old man had addressed.

The old man then shouted, “Bian Yuan Shan! 3,200 years ago, your Ancestor showed outstanding talent and advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. He was expected to advance to the Eighth Order one day, but more than 3,000 years have passed since he was ‘recruited’ by these people! Have you seen or heard from him even once!? The Bian Family has repeatedly gone to the Golden Antelope Paradise to request a meeting with him, but they were always refused, isn’t that right?”

A middle-aged man standing beside Yan Yi on the large ship looked bitter. He was Bian Yuan Shan, the person whom the old man had called out in his speech.

The Bian Family was not particularly outstanding in this Great Territory; nevertheless, it was true that an exceedingly talented Ancestor who was born to them around 3,000 years ago.

In addition to outstanding talent, that Ancestor was also blessed with great luck. He had managed to obtain a complete set of Sixth-Order materials from somewhere and advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. With the limited financial resources of the Bian Family, it would have been impossible for him to obtain a complete set of Sixth-Order materials for his advancement otherwise.

Unfortunately, he was taken away by the Masters of the Golden Antelope Paradise not long after he ascended to the Open Heaven Realm.

After that incident, the Bian Family had gone to the Golden Antelope Paradise on numerous occasions to meet their Ancestor; however, it was just as the old man had mentioned. Their attempts had been fruitless to date.

This incident had been a painful thorn in their hearts since then. The descendants of the Bian Family had never forgotten that a mighty individual, who had advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm with the expectation to one day become an Eighth-Order Master, had been born from their humble family.

Judging by the talent of their Ancestor, he should have advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm by now since more than 3,000 years had passed.

Bian Yuan Shan naturally felt bitter and depressed to be reminded of this incident. If the Bian Family had received the protection of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, they would not have fallen into such desolation.

The Seventh-Order old man had clearly lived for a very long time; therefore, he was extremely knowledgeable about the secrets of the nearby Great Forces. He called out to each person and mentioned various incidents that were related to them, causing many Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the large ship to become furious.

He called out to six people in quick succession, all of whom were similar to Yan Yi and Bian Yuan Shan. Their Ancestors or Elders had either shown outstanding talent or advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Consequently, they were taken away by Golden Antelope Paradise and disappeared without a trace.

The Second Class great forces had always harboured some resentment towards the Cave Heavens and Paradises. It was just that they buried these feelings in their hearts and did not dare to express them out loud. Now that the old man had flamed these resentments though, hostility began to bubble to the surface.

When the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fighting the old man saw where the situation was going, one of them shouted, “Jiu Yan, stop talking nonsense! We can still resolve this issue if you stop now! If you insist on being stubborn, then don’t blame us for showing no mercy!”

The old man called Jiu Yan coldly snorted, “This Old Master is speaking nonsense? You should know well just how many dirty things the Cave Heavens and Paradises have done over the years! This Old Master is simply revealing the truth! Don’t even think about capturing and imprisoning this Old Master! Now that this Old Master is in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, I can just kill you both here and then escape to the Shattered Heaven to live freely!”

The other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master shook his head, “Jiu Yan, the truth is different from what you believe. Golden Antelope Paradise has indeed acted a bit ambiguously over the years, but we had no other choice. If you wish to know the truth, then please stop resisting. The truth will naturally come to light once my Senior Brother guides you to a certain place!”

Jiu Yan sneered coldly, “This Old Master has lived for so many years. I am not a three-year-old child. How can I be deceived by such nonsense?”

While speaking, his attacks became more and more ruthless as he addressed the people on the ship once more, “Why aren’t you doing anything!? Are you truly planning to follow in the footsteps of your ancestors?”

The people on the large ship had seemingly been bewitched and were eager to take action. The expressions of the Golden Antelope Paradise disciples, who were tasked with the responsibility of guiding these people, changed drastically at those words and raised their vigilance significantly.

Needless to say, there were more than just the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among the Golden Antelope Paradise disciples here. There were several other Fifth-Order Masters on the ship, but their numbers were not high; after all, the battle in the Barren Territory was currently in an extremely dangerous state. The Cave Heavens and Paradises simply could not afford to spare much manpower. If it really came down to a fight, they might not be a match for the people gathered here. In the worst case, they might even lose their lives.

“Kill them all! This Old Master will bring you to the Shattered Heaven! We will never be controlled by others again!” Jiu Yan yelled. At this moment, he spotted an opening and slammed his palm towards one of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. World Force surged madly from the palm of his hand, enveloping it in an unstoppable force.

The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master turned pale with fright. He had been distracted for a moment just now, and that momentary distraction had given Jiu Yan an unexpected opportunity. That palm strike was not something he could bear. If he was struck by that blow, then he would either end up dead or heavily injured. At that point, his Junior Brother would be forced to confront Jiu Yan by himself, which was clearly impossible.

When the other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master saw that his Senior Brother was in danger, he tried to help; unfortunately, there was not enough time. In his desperation, he could only roar at the top of his lungs, “Jiu Yan, stop!”

Not only did Jiu Yan refuse to stop, but he channelled even more strength into his attack.

His palm was about to land on the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s forehead when all of a sudden, a hand appeared out of nowhere and lightly grabbed Jiu Yan by the wrist. Jiu Yan’s aura that was flaring madly suddenly withered like a deflated ball.

Jiu Yan was horrified, but when he tried to withdraw his hand, he discovered that he could not move a muscle. His body seemed to be imprisoned in place. Shifting his eyes, he saw a tall and handsome young man had appeared in front of him at some point. Although the young man was simply looking at him indifferently, those eyes seemed to contain a mysterious power that prevented him from shifting his gaze away. It felt as though his entire soul was sinking into the depths of those eyes.

In the blink of an eye, Jiu Yan’s arrogance and boldness vanished. His entire body trembled in fear under that gaze. Fortunately, the young man did not do anything to him and soon looked away, allowing him to feel a sense of relief, as though he had been granted mercy from the Heavens.

After a brief pause, the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from Golden Antelope Paradise recovered from their shock and realized that the young man in front of them had saved their lives.

Nevertheless, they exchanged an astonished glance with each other. Blocking Jiu Yan’s attack so easily was definitely not something a Seventh-Order Master could do. Moreover, the faint aura emanating from this young man indicated that he was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!

“Golden Antelope Paradise’s Fan Nan/Xi Yuan greets Ancestor!” They quickly bowed in unison.

Yang Kai nodded lightly before glancing over at the large ship. The people who were eager to take action after being incited by Jiu Yan’s provocation hurriedly lowered their heads, terrified of being singled out by the Master who appeared out of nowhere.

On the other hand, the Golden Antelope Paradise disciples on the boat were ecstatic. With the arrival of an Eighth-Order Ancestor, their troubles were no longer troubles. Their anxious feelings were finally relieved.

Fan Nan was the Eldest Senior Brother here, so he hesitantly asked, “From which Cave Heaven or Paradise does Ancestor hail?”

There were many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, and although he did not recognise all of them, he could recognise many of them. Even for the ones he could not recognise, he would have heard most of their names before. Be that as it may, none of those names or descriptions matched this young man. He couldn’t help feeling curious and quietly wondered to himself. [Could it be that the situation in the Barren Territory is so desperate that even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who had not come out for such a long time, are required to take action?]

Yang Kai waved dismissively, “I am not from any Cave Heaven or Paradise.”

Both Fan Nan and Xi Yuan were shocked.

[Is there an Eighth-Order Master who does not come from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises?] For a time, their heads buzzed with various thoughts and they couldn’t help forming many misunderstandings about the situation.

Fortunately, Yang Kai quickly added an explanation, “Lord of the Star Boundary, Yang Kai.”

He did not mention Void Land as although Void Land was the great force he established with his own hands, it could not compare with the fame of the Star Boundary thanks to the World Tree clone. Many people in the 3,000 Worlds had heard of Void Land, but absolutely everyone who had any form of strength knew about the Star Boundary.

Naturally, Fan Nan and Xi Yuan knew of the Star Boundary. They had even heard of Yang Kai; thus, they immediately looked surprised and asked, “Senior Yang, didn’t you head to… that place?”

The incident in Black Territory had caused a huge uproar back then. To deal with the Super Array that covered the entire Black Territory, the Cave Heavens and Paradises had dispatched many people to harvest the Ore Stars which made up the Array Nodes.

It was not a secret that Yang Kai had left Black Territory for the Black Ink Battlefield. Even Fan Nan and Xi Yuan were aware of his departure.

Yang Kai casually explained, “I just came back from there.” Then, he inquired further, “Are you escorting these people there?”

Fan Nan hurriedly said, “That’s right, but… we encountered some trouble. I apologise for troubling you with this.”

Yang Kai shook his head, “It is related to the survival of the 3,000 Worlds. You’ve worked hard.”

Upon receiving the affirmation of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai, their grievances immediately dissolved. They had not been able to explain anything even though Jiu Yan had been accusing them of many heinous crimes. Combined with the risk of life and death looming over them, the pressure and stress on their shoulders had been as heavy as a mountain.

Fortunately, Yang Kai had suddenly appeared and took control of the situation.

Yang Kai suddenly turned to look at one of the people on the ship, “Yan Yi!”

On the large ship, the person named Yan Yi, who was previously addressed by Jiu Yan, hastily bowed in greeting, “Golden Light Temple’s Yan Yi greets Senior.”

Yang Kai felt slightly speechless… Now that he had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, everybody immediately called him ‘Senior’; however, he was probably much younger than all the people in front of him.

Too lazy to correct them, Yang Kai simply continued indifferently, “I don’t know about what happened to Golden Light Temple. In fact, I’ve never even heard of this name before, but I do have a few questions for you. Did your Golden Light Temple suffer any harsh treatment after its Former Temple Master advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and was taken away by Golden Antelope Paradise?”

Yan Yi answered honestly, “Never.”

“Did you receive extra care?”

Yan Yi nodded, “After the Former Temple Master was taken away, Golden Antelope Paradise indeed provided our Golden Light Temple with generous compensation. They not only bestowed us with some Secret Arts and Techniques, but also deliver many precious cultivation resources to the Sect every year.”

Yang Kai stretched out a finger and pointed at Yan Yi, “Those are the rewards that the Former Temple Master of Golden Light Temple received in exchange for his life!”

Yan Yi’s expression changed slightly. It was obvious that he had misunderstood Yang Kai’s meaning.

Yang Kai was in no hurry to explain anything though and instead turned to look at the other person, “What about the situation in your Sect, Bian Yuan Shan? Is the situation similar to the Golden Light Temple? Or, has the situation remained unchanged?”

Bian Yuan Shan pursed his lips and shook his head, “Reporting to Senior, there have been no changes in our Family’s situation.”

He was now quite confused. Golden Light Temple had received increased protection and support from Golden Antelope Paradise after the Former Temple Master of the Golden Light Temple was taken away; however, his Bian Family had not received any kind of compensation at all even though the Ancestor had also been taken away. Was there some sort of difference between them?