Martial Peak

“Regardless of what the test is, I’ll fail eventually,” Yang Kai said solemnly, “In that case, I’ll be a phoney, and you’ll have to kill me; however, when I was entering the city, countless disciples cto welcme, and I gained the people’s support. When everyone finds out that I’m not the Holy Son, the city will descend into chaos. By then, the Spirit Religion can introduce the Holy Son they’ve been hiding from the public to appease everyone. The disciples need a Holy Son, who that person is doesn’t matter.”

The Saintess nodded, “The Order Lords have been wanting to make that person known to the public, but I haven’t agreed to it since I was always doubtful.”

Yang Kai continued, “The Holy Son’s appearance is a big event, so the Spirit Religion can make use of this incident to launch a war against the Black Ink Cult. It also matches the prophecy.”

The Saintess soon realised his intentions, “That’s a good idea. It’s decided, then.”

The two of them then discussed sdetails, after which the Saintess put on her mask and left in a hurry.

Mu had only been listening to them in silence the entire time.

After the Saintess was gone, she finally spoke up, “As a True Element Boundary Master, you’re indeed not powerful enough to play a decisive role in the fight against the Black Ink Cult.”

Yang Kai said helplessly, “I’ve tried to break through, but there seems to be an invisible shackle stoppingfrom doing that. It must have something to do with the Principles here. Is this also a part of your trump card?”

Mu replied with a smile, “You’re the saviour, after all. Your existence in this independent World will easily arouse the hostility of Mo’s Source pieces; therefore, you’re not supposed to be too powerful when entering this world. However, it will be easier for you to take action at this point by having increased power.”

Following that, Yang Kai’s figure shook all of a sudden. He felt that the shackle that had been restraining his cultivation shattered in an instant. His cultivation rapidly rose from the True Element Boundary to the Immortal Ascension Boundary. Soon, it reached the peak of the Immortal Ascension Boundary before stabilising.

Since he was a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Master before, being at the peak of the Immortal Ascension Boundary still felt quite weak to Yang Kai; nevertheless, it was the limit in this World. If his power continued to increase, it would cause an unwanted response from the World Principles.

Yang Kai felt the increased power and soon adapted to it. He then looked at Mu and asked, “Senior, can you lenda helping hand as I deal with the Black Ink Cult?”

He initially thought that Mu would agree to it, but she shook her head, “There’s only so much I can do. You only have yourself to rely on from here.”

A perplexed Yang Kai asked, “Why is that?”

Although Mu’s shadow looked like an ordinary person, Yang Kai knew that she was pretty powerful as she was able to use such amazing methods. If he could get her help, it would be easy to destroy the Black Ink Cult and settle the problems in this independent World.

Much to his surprise, Mu rejected his request.

She simply explained, “I’m only a shadow, after all. There isn’t much power I can use, and after waiting and planning for so many years, the power in this shadow is about to run out.”

“I see,” Yang Kai didn’t doubt her, “I’m sorry for making such a request.”

He rose from the chair and cupped his fist, “I’ll take my leave now, Senior.”

Mu got up and saw him off.

Yang Kai suddenly recalled something when he reached the door, so he asked, “Senior, what’s the Spirit Religion’s test about?”

Mu replied with a smile, “Well, it’s just a simple thing. I had collected sBlack Ink Strength and sealed it in that place back then. Anyone who isn’t the Holy Son will be corrupted by Black Ink Strength and turned into a Black Ink Disciple after entering that place, so whoever is acting as the current Holy Son naturally couldn’t have passed. Only the person I’ve acknowledged will get a Secret Technique before entering, so he’ll be immune to Black Ink Strength and be able to leave safely.”

Only then did Yang Kai understand what the test was about.

Mu was fully aware of who the real Holy Son was. As soon as the Holy Son appeared, she would contact him and let the current Saintess teach him the Secret Technique. By then, they could put on an act in front of the Spirit Religion’s Order Lords and get their acknowledgement.

“What about the fake, then? How did he pass the test?” Yang Kai frowned. Since one would need the Saintess to teach the Secret Technique to pass the test, how did that person manage to resist the invasion of Black Ink Strength?

Mu knew what was on his mind, so she shook her head, “It’s not like what you think.”

Yang Kai asked meditatively, “Have you been hiding something, Senior?”

After hesitating for a bit, Mu said, “The previous Saintess got together with the Thunder Order Lord and gave birth to a daughter in secret. Before her death, she passed down the Secret Technique to the Thunder Order Lord!”

Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was astounded, “Have you always been aware that the Thunder Order Lord is the mastermind?”

Mu nodded gently, “Although I stay here most of the time, I’ve been paying close attention to the Spirit Religion’s affairs since I founded it. Just as you suspected, the Thunder Order Lord didn’t side with the Black Ink Cult, he did everything to gain greater power. Even if he manages to take control of the Spirit Religion, he’ll still oppose the Black Ink Cult. Of course, there’s also another reason that makesreluctant to expose him.”

“What puts you in a tight spot, Senior?”

Mu glanced at him and replied, “The child that the previous Saintess gave birth to is the current Saintess!”

Yang Kai was startled for a moment before shaking his head, “Does her father want to take the power from her? That’s truly cruel.”

“No, he has no idea,” Mu said gently, “He doesn’t even know that he has a daughter. Of course, the current Saintess has no idea that the Thunder Order Lord is her father either.”

Yang Kai smiled helplessly, “Why is that? Didn’t the previous Saintess tell him about it?”

Mu explained, “I founded the Spirit Religion as the first Saintess. Although there isn’t any doctrine to speak of, they’ve developed many rules over the years. One of them is that the Saintess has to abstain from all forms of intimacy with men. The fact that the previous Saintess fell in love with the Thunder Order Lord was against the rules, and therefore, she was supposed to be executed. Even her child shouldn’t have been allowed to live. As such, she didn’t dare to let anyone find out about it, including that man.”

“I see,” Yang Kai put on a helpless expression, “Many people really have nothing better to do with themselves, so they like to set up a bunch of rules to show how important they are.”

Since the Thunder Order Lord was the current Saintess’ father as well as the mastermind behind the scenes, Mu wasn’t willing to expose him. Once he was exposed, the current Saintess would be put in a tight spot, and she might even have to step down from her position.

“So, after the previous Saintess passed down the Secret Technique to the Thunder Order Lord, he found a young man to pretend to be the Holy Son and let him appear in front of the Wind Order Lord, Si Kong Nan, at the right place and time. Then, Si Kong Nan brought the young man back to the Spirit Religion, and the Thunder Order Lord taught him the Secret Technique so that he could pass the test and becthe Holy Son.”

“That’s not what happened,” Mu shook her head, “As far as I know, Si Kong Nan cacross that young man by chance, it wasn’t the Thunder Order Lord’s doing. However, after the young man arrived at the Spirit Religion, they realised that he had excellent aptitude; therefore, Yu Dao Chi decided to teach him the Secret Technique. The young man was weak at that time, so he wasn’t aware of anything.”

After a pause, she continued, “Yu Dao Chi didn’t act solely for his own vested interests of course. Even though the prophecy has been around for many years, the Holy Son still hadn’t appeared. The people were starting to lose hope; therefore, he did such a thing to create a false sense of hope for the people.”

Yang Kai rubbed his forehead, “That’s ridiculous.”

He initially thought that it was a plot, but it turned out to be a series of coincidences mixed with scalculations and greed.

“Human nature has always been complicated, which is why Mo can grow so rapidly. If we had allowed it to derive power from the darkness in all Humans’ hearts instead of suppressing it with the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction over the years, Black Ink Strength would’ve filled the entire void by now.”

Mu then warned, “Now that you’re aware of this secret, you mustn’t tell anyone else about it.”

Yang Kai replied with a smile, “I understand.”

He wasn’t interested in the petty conflicts and plots in this independent World. Now, he just wanted to find the Profound Source Gate and refine it so that he could suppress and seal Mo’s Source piece permanently.

“Good, I will take my leave,” Yang Kai cupped his fist and turned around to leave.

Just then, a young boy around the age of five or six years old ran towards him.

Yang Kai didn’t pay any attention to him; after all, when he was talking with Mu inside the house earlier, there were already many kids playing around outside.

Just as he was ready to step aside, the kid charged towards him with a furious expression.

Yang Kai raised a hand to stop the kid from crashing into him with his head. He then said with a smile, “Watch where you’re going, kid.”

The kid clenched his teeth and exerted more force, but he was unable to move forward. He then glared up at Yang Kai and yelled, “Let go of me!”

Yang Kai took a look at him and exclaimed, “It’s you!”

The kid was the one who blocked his way when he entered the city earlier today. He said that Yang Kai must not be the Holy Son because he loathed him.

Yang Kai was already aware of the kid’s audacity in the morning, and he experienced it again tonight.

“Let go of me!” Growled the kid. Due to his short arms though, he was unable to even reach Yang Kai, so he snapped, “Why are you in my house instead of sleeping in the middle of the night!?”

Hearing that, Yang Kai was shocked, “Do you live here?”

He turned to look at Mu, who smiled helplessly, “He’s an orphan, so I brought him back and took care of him.”

Yang Kai coughed and released him.

The kid immediately crashed into Yang Kai’s abdomen with his head before fleeing to hide behind Mu. Finding a reliable protector, he stuck out his head confidently and pulled a face at the evil intruder.

Yang Kai rubbed his abdomen and recalled what happened when he saw the kid in the morning.

At that time, the kid said something to him and ran away, after which a woman was heard chiding him.

In truth, Mu had seen Yang Kai from afar in the morning, but he didn’t pay attention to her.

It was at that moment that Mu beccertain about Yang Kai’s identity, so she sent a faint guidance to Wu Kuang, who was in charge of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, leading Yang Kai here.