Martial Peak

Since the Heavenly Tribulation started, bolts of lightning had never stopped striking down mercilessly at the spinning Monster Core.

The flashes of lightning were the manifestation of the Heavens’ might, and they were horrifyingly destructive.

Whenever lightning struck, it would form a new crack in the Monster Core. The Shadow Leopard continuously activated its power to repair its Monster Core, and as long as it could do so faster than the lightning could damage it, the beast would successfully achieve an ascension.

Moreover, this kind of uninterrupted destruction and repair would purify and strengthen the Monster Core while it absorbed part of the power of the lightning.

Usually, it wasn’t too risky for a Monster King to attempt a breakthrough, only a bit more than an Emperor Realm Master trying to make it to the Open Heaven Realm. As long as he had accumulated enough heritage, it wouldn’t be hard for a Monster King to succeed.

Since the Lord of the Star Boundary left behind the Primal Art in the Myriad Monsters World back then, no Monster King had failed to break through their limits; however, their strengths varied greatly after their breakthroughs.

Nevertheless, the Shadow Leopard was different. Compared to the long years of accumulation the older generation Monster Kings possessed, it had only cultivated for a relatively short time.

The Shadow Leopard managed to become a Monster King after just several hundred years because it had devoured many other Monster Beasts. In doing so, it had offended many Monster Kings.

Half of the Rock Snake King’s offspring had been eaten by the Shadow Leopard; therefore, it was only natural that it hated the Shadow Leopard to its core.

In just several hundred years, the Shadow Leopard grew from a little cub to a powerful Monster King by devouring many others, which naturally resulted in its power being mixed with many others.

The Heavenly Tribulation was a crisis, but also an opportunity. The flashes of lightning could dispel any impurities from its Monster Core, greatly strengthening its foundation and heritage.

Any other Monster King would have successfully achieved a breakthrough after such a long time; however, the Shadow Leopard was still making use of the Heavens’ power to purify its strength. It already had a high level of sentience, so it knew that this was a rare opportunity. If it didn’t seize the chance to temper its Monster Core fully, its future would be limited even if it became a Monster Emperor.

Bolts of lightning continued to strike and form even more cracks in the Monster Core, indicating that it had already reached its limit.

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The Shadow Leopard was ambitious, so it wasn’t content with only becoming a weak Monster Emperor in the Myriad Monsters World. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that it had been friends with Qin Xue for years, but it had learned from her that there were extremely powerful Humans. Even the current Monster Emperors were no match for those Seventh-Order, Eighth-Order, and Ninth-Order Human Masters.

The moment Qin Xue turned her head, she saw the Monster Core was full of cracks and that some lightning whirled around it.

It seemed to her that the Monster Core would shatter at any moment, which was why she was anxious. More importantly, the Shadow Leopard appeared to be running out of power.

Unlike how upstanding its figure was when the Heavenly Tribulation started, it had now crouched down. Under Heaven’s power, even the hardest backbone would shatter eventually.

“That’s enough, Leopard King!” Qin Xue exclaimed.

If the Shadow Leopard forcibly attempted a breakthrough at this moment, it would most likely succeed; however, if this dragged on, the situation would get worse.

“You should worry about yourself first!” The Rock Snake King said insidiously as a glint flashed across its hideous teeth.

The storm seemed to have intensified.

Another flash of lightning struck just then. The Shadow Leopard seemed unable to persevere any longer as its knees came into contact with the ground. Blood streamed out of its wounds. The Monster Core above its head appeared ruined as lightning flashed out through the cracks.

“Got you!”

A yell was heard all of a sudden as a gigantic figure shot out from the side of the peak and attempted to assault the Shadow Leopard with its huge hand.

A flash of lightning revealed that this gigantic figure was a white-haired ape. More importantly, before it flared up, no one had detected its aura. It seemed to possess a method to conceal its aura.

Monster Qi undulated wildly around the huge hand. Even if the Shadow Leopard was at the peak of its power, it would be instantly killed after getting struck by such an attack, not to mention in its current, powerless state.

“White Hair Ape King!” Qin Xue exclaimed as her heart sank.

Just like the Rock Snake King, the White Hair Ape King’s territory was adjacent to the Shadow Leopard’s. Since they were neighbours, conflicts were inevitable. While a lot of the Rock Snake King’s offspring had been eaten by the Shadow Leopard, the same thing had happened to the White Hair Ape King.

Since the Snake King had appeared, there was no way the White Hair Ape King would stay put.

However, the Ape King had been hiding in the dark and waiting for a suitable chance, so it was even more insidious than the Rock Snake King. Following the bolt of lightning earlier, the Shadow Leopard’s aura plunged. As such, the White Hair Ape King instantly appeared as it felt it was the best chance to make a move.

Its strong hand struck the Shadow Leopard dead on, but the latter’s skull was not shattered, nor was there any blood at all. The huge hand simply slipped through the Shadow Leopard’s skull directly.

At that moment, the Shadow Leopard seemed to be just an illusory figure.

“Huh?” The White Hair Ape King’s Human-like face appeared doubtful, but before it could figure out what happened, it met the Shadow Leopard’s amber eyes, which were tinged with mockery.

[A trap!]

The White Hair Ape King’s heart was filled with trepidation. Although he had no idea what kind of Divine Ability the Shadow Leopard had used just now, the latter must have hidden it for such a moment.

Both Monster Kings were so close they could feel each other’s breath.

The Shadow Leopard’s aura appeared weak just moments ago, but now it surged all of a sudden. Its sharp claws accurately ripped open the White Hair Ape King’s abdomen, causing blood to splash out wildly.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been possible for the Shadow Leopard to kill the White Hair Ape King in such a way, not to mention that it was exhausted. However, the White Hair Ape King thought that the Shadow Leopard was doomed, so it had put down all its defences when assaulting the latter. That was how the Shadow Leopard succeeded in one blow.

A single moment was long enough to determine the White Hair Ape King’s fate.

The instant the Shadow Leopard retracted its claws, a fist-sized Monster Core was pulled out. Without hesitation, the Shadow Leopard stuffed the Monster Core into its mouth and gulped it down.

“You…” The White Hair Ape King wasn’t dead yet, but since its Monster Core was lost, around 90% of its cultivation was gone for good. Nonetheless, it was a Monster Race member, so it had intrepid vitality. If it could escape and spend some time recuperating, it might just survive. However, it would take a very long time for it to become a Monster King again, if that was even possible.

*Kacha…* 

Another bolt of lightning struck.

The White Hair Ape King’s face filled with terror. The Shadow Leopard didn’t have the spare time to finish its opponent off, but the Ape King couldn’t possibly resist the Heavenly Tribulation in its current state.

As lightning hit the Ape King, it exploded and turned into ash.

The Shadow Leopard was at the most critical moment of its ascension and it was initially running out of power, but after it devoured a Monster King’s Monster Core, its power had been significantly replenished.

Some of the Monster Core’s power was of course wasted since the Shadow Leopard didn’t have time to absorb it properly; nevertheless, it was the last of the beast’s concerns. Presently, it surged its Monster Qi to repair its Monster Core, healing the old cracks just as more were formed under the Heavenly Tribulation.

The Shadow Leopard knew that if this dragged on, it would lose its life, so without hesitation, it swallowed the Monster Core in front of it.

At that instant, lightning swirled around its figure. Beams of lightning were seen shooting out of its wounds, making it look like a lightning leopard.

“Not enough! It’s still not enough!” The Shadow Leopard roared as its amber eyes had been dyed red. It turned its head and glared at the two nearby Monster Kings who were fighting with the two Emperor Realm Masters.

Both the Rock Snake King and Iron Wing Eagle King shuddered when they met the Shadow Leopard’s gaze.

They were already flabbergasted by the White Hair Ape King’s death. They initially thought that the Shadow Leopard was doomed, so it stunned them when they realised the latter had been concealing its power. The Divine Ability that helped its figure turn illusory didn’t seem like something a Monster Race member could master. Instead, it looked more like a Human Secret Technique.

The White Hair Ape King could never have expected that it would be killed in such a way.

Presently, the two Monster Kings were shaken to the core since the Shadow Leopard had targeted them.

“Snake King, many thanks for everything that has happened today! I must give you something in return!” The moment the Shadow Leopard finished speaking, it disappeared from the peak.

[Damn!] The Rock Snake King secretly cursed. If it had known this would be the outcome, it wouldn’t have tried to interrupt the Shadow Leopard’s breakthrough today.

The White Hair Ape King was a fool, letting himself be killed so easily by the Shadow Leopard. The Snake King was certain that the Shadow Leopard was on its last legs, so all the Ape King had to do was wait patiently and the Heavenly Tribulation would have taken care of everything.

Nevertheless, the Ape King’s Monster Core had become the Shadow Leopard’s source of power now.

Without hesitation, the Rock Snake King turned around and shot off. It had given up on the idea of avenging its offspring’s death. It stuck its head close to the ground and quickly retreated to its territory.

Meanwhile, the Iron Wing Eagle King was doing the same. However, unlike how flustered the Snake King was, the Eagle King was still calm and collected. It was a Monster King that specialized in flight, after all, so its speed was far greater than average. Furthermore, it didn’t have a blood feud with the Shadow Leopard. If the Shadow Leopard chased after the Snake King, the Eagle King could flee with ease.

While it was still thinking so though, it felt a figure approaching it in the sky.

The Eagle King was shocked, wondering why the Shadow Leopard had targeted it instead of its archnemesis, the Snake King.

Just then, it felt a weight on its back as the Shadow Leopard landed. The next moment, a flash of lightning struck.

Both Monster Kings quivered.

Unlike when its Monster Core was out there withstanding the Heavenly Tribulation earlier, the Shadow Leopard had swallowed it now. As such, the Heavenly Tribulation now directly struck the Shadow Leopard, putting it in a more dangerous situation.

However, the Shadow Leopard wasn’t bothered.

If it couldn’t overcome the Heavenly Tribulation, it would lose its life.

Both Monster Kings stiffened when they were struck by the Heavenly Tribulation, after which they fell from the sky. The Shadow Leopard had become somewhat adapted to the lightning and was prepared for its onslaught unlike its opponent, so it was the first to recover as it extended its claws and tore the Eagle King’s back apart. After digging its Monster Core out, the Shadow Leopard directly gobbled it up.

Then, the Shadow Leopard landed on the ground as lightning swirled around its burly figure. It looked in the direction the Snake King was fleeing and roared, “Since you’ve come today, don’t even think about leaving!”

Following that, it streaked across the land like a flash of lightning and reached the Snake King in the blink of an eye before pressing its claws against the snake and forcing its head down, “Why are you running off so quickly, Snake King?”

“I… No!” Following a shriek, another Monster King’s Monster Core was dug out.