Martial Peak

Chapter 2540 – Why Me

The cultivations of the people in the cave ranged from First-Order Dao Source Realm to the Third-Order. After determining that none of them were Emperor Realm Masters, Yang Kai stopped paying them much heed.

They also looked at Yang Kai when he entered and didn’t show much reaction other than some bright eyes when Zhang Ruo Xi followed him in.

“Little Brother, Young Lady, come over here! There’s space here!” Old Ban beckoned them over.

There was space in a corner where three people could sit down cross-legged and quietly wait for the howling wind to pass.

The other people in the cave seemed to be acting alone, each of them silent as a stone. The entire cave was quiet for some time as only the sound of the wind outside could be heard, making it feel as though they had plunged into the cold winter.

After a while, the wind grew louder and several more people rushed in from the outside, taking up the rest of the place.

The cave was truly small, barely able to accommodate over ten people, so the cultivators who came in later had no choice but to stand near the cave entrance. They were all extremely nervous, praying that the Astral Wind wouldn’t blow in, because they would be the first ones to suffer if it did.

“Old Ban, how long will the wind last?” Yang Kai observed for a while and asked upon noticing that the wind was only growing stronger.

“It’s difficult to say. It could be over in just half a day, or it could take up to six days to cease. The Astral Wind usually comes and goes without pattern, although it always rages right after a thunder tide. You must remember this for when you return from the Ancient Lands, Little Brother,” Old Ban replied.

Yang Kai nodded, “Many thanks for your reminder, Old Ban!”

“However, you don’t have to worry too much. Although the Astral Wind is fearsome, you can rest easy as long as you find a cave like this before it arrives,” Old Ban continued with a smile.

Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “You mean… there are other caves like this in the passageway?”

“Naturally,” Old Ban nodded and continued, “The Ancient Lands Passageway is enclosed on both sides, and numerous caves exist along those cliff-faces. Don’t take this old man’s word for it, but I believe there are always around ten spots to take in each shelter. Moreover, the caves seem to have been formed naturally in this special environment, so they’re extremely sturdy and can’t be destroyed by ordinary attacks. You must find one before it’s too late, or there’ll be no more space left. We were lucky this time. Every year, countless cultivators die in this passageway because they can’t find shelter. Even if they do find one, getting here before the Astral Wind starts is a whole other matter.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruo Xi couldn’t help but stick out her tongue, “No wonder when we got here, we saw so many bones at the entrance of the cave.”

Old Ban shook his head and sighed, “No, not all of those corpses are due to the Astral Wind. Most of them were caused by humans.”

She frowned, but before she could ask what he meant, he continued, “You will see what this old man means soon, Young Lady.”

Although sceptical, she didn’t ask anymore.

Just then, a figure suddenly approached from the outside and rushed fiercely towards the cave.

However, without waiting for the figure to draw near, a thin cultivator standing by the entrance suddenly raised his hand and unleashed an attack.

The figure didn’t show any weakness and returned the attack with his own.

A loud bang rang out in the next moment, and both cultivators remained unmoved. They seemed to be equally matched.

In the next moment, a sorry figure landed at the entrance of the cave, his eyes filled with hatred and impatience towards the man who was blocking him from entering the cave.

“There is no space left here. Please go elsewhere, friend,” the skinny cultivator coldly snorted and said with a displeased look.

“Where else can I go?” The newcomer gnashed his teeth. He had run all the way here and looked like he had suffered a lot from the Astral Wind. Evidently, his energy was rapidly depleting, as the protective halo around his body was flickering. Now, he was being denied entry after finally finding shelter, so naturally he was infuriated.

However, the thin cultivator wasn’t an easy opponent. If they really were to start fighting, it would be impossible to tell who would win. The newcomer was in no mood to do that when his most pressing concern was finding shelter before the Astral Wind arrived with full force.

His gaze swept past the thin cultivator into the cave.

Since there were no spots, he just had to snatch one.

As a First-Order Dao Source Realm Master, Old Ban was one of the weakest cultivators inside and was undoubtedly the easiest target.

However, before the newcomer could open his mouth to drive Old Ban out, he suddenly noticed Yang Kai and frowned.

Although Yang Kai was just sitting cross-legged and didn’t release his aura, he was still an Emperor Realm Master. The newcomer couldn’t see through his cultivation, and Yang Kai and Old Ban were clearly companions. Regardless of what Yang Kai’s cultivation really was, the newcomer didn’t want to risk getting into more trouble.

With barely any hesitation, the newcomer’s eyes moved away from Old Ban’s body to a different corner of the cave. He stretched out a finger and shouted, “Boy, get out of here. I want your spot.”

He was pointing at a young man who looked to be in his early thirties. The young man had been hiding in the dark and shrinking into himself the entire time, as if he didn’t want anyone to notice his existence.

His cultivation, like Old Ban, was only First-Order Dao Source Realm.

Upon hearing the newcomer’s demand, the young man shuddered and pretended that he didn’t hear anything.

The newcomer sneered seeing this, “I’ll give you three breaths of time to get out. If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but drag you out myself. Whether you live or die will be entirely up to you.”

Seeing that he had no choice, the young man raised his head and wailed, “Why me? Why is it me?!”

He was the first to enter the cave after the thunder tide and had even hidden deep inside to avoid encountering a situation like this, yet he was still called out.

The Astral Wind was approaching, and there was no other place to take shelter. If he went out now, he would surely die. The newcomer was about two times stronger than him, so he wouldn’t be able to resist if it turned into a fight. Therefore, despite his rage, the young man was also helpless.

The newcomer sneered, “A weakling like you shouldn’t have tried to enter the Ancient Lands. However, since you did anyway, you should’ve been prepared to die here! Now, scram!”

“I won’t! If I go out now, I’ll die! Don’t push me. If you do, I… I’ll self-detonate and drag everyone here down with me!”

As soon as this threat came out, several people’s faces darkened. They were evidently displeased with his threat; however, the stronger ones didn’t mind at all. After all, even if this young man wanted to self-destruct, he would need to find an opportunity first.

Out of the many people present in the cave, at least half of them could subdue him if he actually tried to blow himself up.

“Hahaha!” The man burst out laughing and stared at the young man mockingly, “If you want to self-destruct, go ahead! Let’s see if you can!”

He appeared confident and fearless, which made the young man panic. The young man could only look around and plead, “Sirs, please help me! I don’t want to go out and die. Please, Sirs, stand and uphold justice here!”

As he spoke, he cupped his fists and held them against his chest, just one step away from kneeling down to beg.

However, everyone here was a stranger, so who would bother to help him in this type of situation? Thus, no one answered him.

Zhang Ruo Xi couldn’t bear it and glanced at Yang Kai, but seeing that he wasn’t going to respond either, she could only grit her teeth.

A look of impatience appeared on the newcomer’s face and he snapped, “I’ll give you one last chance to get out yourself, otherwise… Don’t blame me for using force!”

As the words fell, he reached out and grabbed the young man.

Although the cave was small and crowded, the newcomer was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master, so he was able to grab the young man without accidentally touching anyone else. Judging from his action, he planned to just grab the young man and throw him out to make room for himself.

The young man suddenly became dazed. Facing the attack of a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master, he had no way to defend at all, nor did he really have the courage to detonate himself, so all he could do was stand there and wait for his demise… Until, just then, there was a gleam, and Source Qi burst forth.

With a slight grunt, the newcomer staggered back a few steps.

When he regained his balance, he was furious, “Who did that?! Who dares to interfere in my business?!”

It was obvious that someone had stopped his attack just now, and their cultivation was not low, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been pushed back.

His gaze swept over everyone in the cave before locking onto Zhang Ruo Xi, then his expression changed, “It was you!”

“Yes, it was me!” She readily admitted.

The newcomer’s expression was a little ugly as he glared at her.

It wouldn’t be an issue if she had been alone, but this young woman was together with Yang Kai. Once they began to fight, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t stand by. The newcomer was bound to eat a loss if he went against the two of them with just himself.

Therefore, he pondered for a bit and then cupped his fists together, “The Astral Wind is approaching, Young Lady. This one just wants to find shelter from it and has no other choice. This one would be very grateful if you could make an exception in this one’s favour, but if you insist on meddling in this one’s business, then… this one will have to take necessary countermeasures. Even a rabbit will bite if forced into a corner.”

Although he said this to Zhang Ruo Xi, he was looking at Yang Kai’s face.

However, to his disappointment, Yang Kai continued to sit silently without showing any reaction, as if it had nothing to do with him. It made him really uncertain whether Zhang Ruo Xi and Yang Kai were together.

“There’s no problem with wanting to find shelter, but it’s first come first serve! There is no room left here. How could you try to drive someone away? Your life may be precious, but are not other people’s lives as well?” Zhang Ruo Xi looked at the man angrily.

In the past, the Zhang family was bullied because it was small and weak, so she couldn’t stand this kind of wanton oppression. She had tried to hold it in, but she just couldn’t.