Time flew by quickly, and two months passed in the blink of an eye. The war had gotten more and more intense during this period. Although the Black Ink Clan had suffered countless casualties, a steady stream of reinforcements continued to arrive from the rear as though their numbers were infinite.
On the other hand, the Human Race relied on Blue Sky Pass’s sturdy defences in order to repel the Black Ink Clan’s repeated onslaught. There were not many casualties on their end. Blue Sky Pass itself was an enormous Mobile Palace Artifact, so it had its own defensive mechanisms. Furthermore, warships and Masters were frequently sent into battle to break through and disrupt enemy lines. As long as the Blue Sky Pass and the various warships remained intact, the lives of those hiding inside would not be endangered.
Be that as it may, the number of people who were corroded by Black Ink Strength every single day remained very high. Knowing that they now had the means to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength, the Human Masters no longer had any scruples when fighting the Black Ink Clan. If they had the chance to kill an enemy, they would not pass up on the opportunity even if they would be corroded by Black Ink Strength as a result.
In the beginning, the Black Ink Clan had been happy to see these changes. That was because many Black Ink Disciples corrupted by Black Ink Strength would voluntarily defect to their side every time the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan clashed. Contrary to their expectations though, they were surprised to discover that not a single Black Ink Disciple was born from the Human Race after a certain point in time. This phenomenon was extremely unusual, and this matter soon attracted the attention of the higher-ups in the Black Ink Clan. They tried to learn more about this phenomenon, but were powerless to do anything about the situation.
In the Central Square of Blue Sky Pass, Yang Kai cast Purifying Light to help those infected dispel and purify the Black Ink Strength in their bodies. All of a sudden, he heard the sound of something travelling through the air at a high speed. It did not sound like the arrival of another infected person though; thus, he took a moment out of his busy schedule to glance in that direction and was promptly astonished by the sight.
Over there was a ship which by no means could be called small. Judging by its appearance, the ship did not seem to be a simple flight-type artifact but a warship. Yang Kai had seen many of the warships belonging to the Human Race during the time he spent on the battlefield previously. While there were various shapes and sizes to them, the vast majority of them seemed to adopt the appearance of a large ship.
There were evident traces of an assault marring the surface of this particular warship, so it was clear it had seen action on the battlefield. Nevertheless, what surprised Yang Kai was the people standing on the deck of the ship. They were none other than Dong Guo An Ping, Fan Xun, and the others.
As soon as he saw them, Yang Kai became excited and hurriedly finished the tasks he had on hand. Only then did he soar into the sky and land on the deck of the large ship. After greeting Dong Guo An Ping and the others, he examined the large ship with interest.
Dong Guo An Ping smiled, “This old girl was taken out of the storehouse. Since you needed a finished product in a hurry, there was no time to refine a new one. The other functional warships are already in use by others, so although this one was badly damaged in the past, it has been patched up since then. You can use it with peace of mind.”
Yang Kai nodded and asked suspiciously, “Does it work?”
Dong Guo An Ping laughed, “Whether it can be used or not, you will know once you’ve tested it out. Since you wanted to seal the Purifying Light while also having a convenient method for entry and exit, this was the only solution that I could come up with. Fan Xun and the others also made many modifications during this period before they finalised the design. We brought this here for you to make the final verification. Come, follow me.”
While saying that, he beckoned and guided Yang Kai towards the cabin inside.
Upon entering the cabin, Yang Kai discovered that ship’s interior had undergone a lot of changes. The entire hull had basically been hollowed out, so the entire cabin was nothing more than a huge empty space. The surrounding walls of the cabin were engraved with complex patterns, and a Space Array had also been prepared in the centre of the cabin.
Dong Guo An Ping explained, “Those who were corrupted by Black Ink Strength can be teleported into this room via the Space Array on the deck. In addition, they can be teleported out in the same manner after the Black Ink Strength has been dispelled from their bodies.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Your arrangements are very thorough, Senior.”
Dong Guo An Ping waved his hands dismissively, “That was Fan Xun’s suggestion. He claimed that you have tried implementing this method in the past. If this method becomes feasible, then it will certainly be inconvenient to constantly open and close the Grand Array. To prevent any wastage of the Purifying Light, the existence of the Space Array is necessary. I also heard from Fan Xun that you’ve been experimenting for several months but have failed to solve this problem. In any case, this should be enough to satisfy your requirements. I’ve refined the interior of the large ship specifically for that purpose. On the other hand, Fan Xun and the others have supplemented the rest with the Dao of Spirit Arrays. You can think of this cabin as a space similar to the interior of your bottle gourd. It has a strong gathering and sealing effect. Even if an occasional connection is formed between the Space Arrays, the Purifying Light sealed in this place will not escape.”
After he finished his explanation, he turned to look at Yang Kai, “Do you want to test it?”
“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded.
The space in the cabin was rather spacious. If he wanted to perform an experiment on its effectiveness, he would need to fill it with a large amount of Purifying Light to check its effects. That was why he drew upon the energy from a huge number of Yellow and Blue Crystals all at once. At that moment, an extremely blinding white light bloomed in his hand and illuminated the entire cabin. The space inside the cabin was so huge that the Purifying Light seemed weak and scattered in comparison; hence, Yang Kai cast Purifying Light several more times in succession so that it would become a little denser.
After careful inspection, he confirmed that the Purifying Light showed no signs of escaping. The Purifying Light was perfectly sealed inside this cabin, allowing Yang Kai to breath a sigh of relief.
It could be said that they had taken the first step forward; however, even when he was experimenting with Fan Xun and the others, there were no issues during the first step. Their troubles only came in the next step. If they could not resolve the issue of wastage caused whenever somebody entered or exited the Grand Array, then this matter could not be considered to be completely solved; therefore, he couldn’t help feeling slightly nervous. This matter was simply far too important to him.
His ability to cast Purifying Light to dispel Black Ink Strength had certainly brought great fortune to the Human army in Blue Sky Pass, but at the same time, he was constrained by his ability. Due to his ability, Yang Kai had to remain inside Blue Sky Pass at all times. It was impossible for him to go anywhere else. The reason he had been so enthusiastic about solving this issue during this period was so that he could regain some of his freedom. The problem of reducing the Purifying Light’s wastage was secondary.
Yang Kai stepped onto the Space Array, breathed out lightly, and immediately manipulated Space Principles. The world spun around him and his vision blurred for a moment, then he appeared on the ship’s deck.
Fan Xun, Feng Ying, and the others had been waiting above while paying close attention to the movements of the Space Array. As soon as they saw Yang Kai appear, they carefully observed the Space Array with solemn expressions.
“How is it?” Yang Kai anxiously asked. Although he had not felt the loss of the Purifying Light when he was transported out of the cabin, it was better to ask the outside observers about such matters.
Fan Xun stroked his beard and said, “It worked. I didn’t see any signs indicating that the Purifying Light had escaped.”
“Really?” Yang Kai raised his brow in surprise.
Feng Ying nodded as well, “There was none.”
“Come, come. You should all come and give it a try then,” Yang Kai gave up his spot.
Feng Ying and the others did not refuse. They immediately took turns using the Space Array and teleported themselves into the cabin. A short while later, they used the same method and returned to the deck from inside the cabin. Meanwhile, Yang Kai watched them intently. His Divine Sense inspected the movements of every single person entering and exiting the Grand Array. In the end, he found that there were indeed no signs of the Purifying Light leaking.
He rejoiced, knowing that his goal had been accomplished. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help sighing slightly. It had not been easy. Despite joining efforts with Fan Xun and the others for several months, they had failed to produce satisfactory results. On the contrary, the matter was accomplished as soon as Dong Guo An Ping intervened in this matter.
It was not to say that the Dao of Artifact Refining was better than the Dao of Spirit Arrays, it was just that the Dao of Artifact Refining was simply more suitable for what he wanted to accomplish. Besides, the many Spirit Arrays inside the cabin were clearly constructed through a careful blending of Artifact Refining and Spirit Arrays. That was why they could produce such effects.
“Many thanks for your help, Senior Dong Guo,” Yang Kai sincerely thanked Dong Guo An Ping when the latter walked out to the deck.
Dong Guo An Ping waved his hand nonchalantly, “You are too polite. There’s no need to be so stiff, Martial Nephew.” He paused for a moment before he continued, “Actually, I would like to ask you for a favour.”
Yang Kai turned solemn, “Please speak freely, Senior.”
Dong Guo An Ping replied, “I originally planned to create an artifact specifically for the Purifying Light. It was only because of your idea that I changed my mind and modified this warship instead.”
While he was speaking, he suddenly glanced outside the great pass. The Human Race and the Black Ink Clan were fighting fiercely outside the great pass with every passing moment. The sounds of their battle came from afar, accompanied by the violent fluctuations that came from the collision of energies. It was obvious that the Masters of both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan were clashing with one another.
“Humans have suffered from the Black Ink Clan’s attacks since time immemorial. The Cave Heavens and Paradises would often send a large amount of manpower to the Black Ink Battlefield at regular intervals. Countless elite disciples have died on the battlefield for this cause; even so, we have been unable to eliminate the Black Ink Clan completely. The main reason was that we were powerless to invade the Black Ink Clan’s domain and eradicate them once and for all. Although the Old Ancestor occasionally leads a team into the Black Ink Clan hinterland in person, such measures are nothing more than a temporary solution. It does not strike at the root of the issue. These invasions might even incite the wrath of the Black Ink Clan, provoking a stronger retaliation in return.”
He turned to look at Yang Kai, “The existence of Black Ink Strength is a huge deterrent for us; however, your arrival and the appearance of the Purifying Light has greatly reduced the deterrence of the Black Ink Strength and given the Human Race the capital to launch a crusade against the Black Ink Clan.
“Looking at the current situation, in order to dispel Black Ink Strength, those infected have to withdraw from the battlefield and come to you for treatment. But, what if we deployed this ship to the battlefield instead? If someone is corrupted by Black Ink Strength in battle, they will no longer need to return to the Inner Sanctum. On the contrary, they can quickly resolve the issue and return to the fight without delay. That will greatly preserve the manpower on the battlefield.
“Looking at things from a long-term perspective, if we refine more ships that contain the sealed Purifying Light and dispatch them along with the army, won’t we be able to assault the Black Ink Clan’s core and finally eradicate them completely?”
His words were delivered calmly, but anybody could hear the anticipation and excitement hidden in his tone. Following his speech, everybody else’s eyes also began to light up with excitement.
That was right. They had been fighting the Black Ink Clan for so many years, and the main reason they could not completely eradicate the Black Ink Clan was that Black Ink Strength posed too much of a danger to the Human Race. They were powerless to invade deep into the Black Ink Clan’s domain as a result. Most of the time, they could only wait passively for the Black Ink Clan to attack. Even if they ultimately repelled the Black Ink Clan’s forces, they could not eliminate the Black Ink Clan from the roots up. They could only watch the remnants of the Black Ink Clan army withdraw from the battlefield. The Black Ink Clan would slowly accumulate their strength and make another comeback after several dozen or hundreds of years.
In that way, the cycle would repeat over and over again. Naturally, that was because they had no means to dispel the Black Ink Strength. Now that they had the means to do so though, shouldn’t they utilise this advantage to the fullest?
When it came down to it, Dong Guo An Ping was an Eighth-Order Ancestor; standing higher allowed him to see further. While Yang Kai and the others were focused on solving the issue regarding the Purifying Light’s wastage, he had already considered using it to launch a crusade.
It was precisely due to his considerations that one of the damaged warships had been brought out from the storehouse and modified. The reason Dong Guo An Ping did that was so that the artifact used to seal the Purifying Light would not only be suitable for a crusade but also come equipped with a strong defence. In this case, a warship in the shape of a large ship was undoubtedly the most suitable choice for such an endeavour.
This matter was extremely important; therefore, it was not something Dong Guo An Ping could decide on his own. They had to wait until the Old Ancestor fully recovered and returned from retreat before they could make a full report and plans could be made.
Even if they prepared for a crusade against the Black Ink Clan, this endeavour would involve more than just Blue Sky Pass. All the great passes would have to contribute to the crusade. The troops from each great pass would need to march forward together in order to eliminate and eradicate the Black Ink Clan completely. The advance preparations for the crusade would not be something that could be accomplished in a short time. Nevertheless, such a glorious future filled their imaginations vividly.
“To see whether or not this Old Master’s idea is feasible, the battlefield around Blue Sky Pass is the perfect place to experiment.” Dong Guo An Ping retracted his gaze, “I have already contacted the four Army Commanders, so they should be arriving soon. This Old Master will explain this matter to them later, but the final decision on how to proceed will ultimately depend on them. In any case, we will need you to work hard when the time comes, Yang Kai.”
“This Junior will do his utmost!” Yang Kai cupped his fist.
When the results of the experiment came out and the application of the remodelled warship was confirmed earlier, Dong Guo An Ping immediately sent a message to the Army Commanders. Four figures quickly arrived one after another before the people on the ship had even waited for a stick of incense worth of time.
The Eastern Army’s Army Commander, Ding Yao, came from Great Battle Heaven; the Southern Army’s Army Commander, Liang Yu Long, came from Crape-Myrtle Cave Heaven; the Western Army’s Army Commander, Zhong Liang, came from Blue Sky Paradise; and the Northern Army’s Army Commander, Shen Tu Mo, came from Azure Clouds Paradise.
Every one of them was an Eighth-Order Ancestor; moreover, they were considered the best of the best among the Eighth-Order Masters. The war was currently ongoing, and these four were in charge of guarding the East, South, West, and North directions around Blue Sky Pass respectively; therefore, they would not carelessly leave their positions before the war ended.
The last time they left their positions, it had been because Zhong Liang claimed that he had an important matter to discuss. This time around, Dong Guo An Ping had summoned them for another matter of great importance. It was something that required the Army Commanders to come forward in person; otherwise, he would not have dared to disturb them so easily.
They did not have much time, so they immediately inquired about the situation as soon as they arrived. Zhong Liang was well aware of Yang Kai’s recent activities. Feng Ying, who had been serving beside Yang Kai all this time, would periodically send messages to him about the situation; however, the other three did not know much.
Upon listening to Dong Guo An Ping’s outlook on the war in the future, their eyes involuntarily lit up with hope. If that was truly the case, then Yang Kai’s arrival would not only give Blue Sky Pass the means to resolve Black Ink Strength, but also give the Human Race the power to launch a crusade against the Black Ink Clan’s domain. Such a matter was extremely important.
Ding Yao was dressed in golden armour, looking absolutely imposing. All the cultivators from Great Battle Heaven generally dressed in this manner. After he entered the large ship and inspected the interior, he turned to the side and asked, “Does it work?”
“It should work fine,” Yang Kai nodded in response.
Ding Yao frowned, “We cannot afford to be negligent in this matter. We need to take careful measures to ensure that this endeavour is feasible.”
While he was talking, he suddenly noticed a figure flying over at a high speed. It was a Human cultivator who had been corroded by Black Ink Strength and came here to seek treatment. As soon as he saw the four Army Commanders standing there, he visibly jumped in surprise and hurriedly cupped his fist in greeting.
The four men waved their hands dismissively, indicating that there was no need for such courtesy.
Yang Kai smiled, “Whether or not it works, we will know after this.”
There was no need to prepare anything on his part since people would come to him for help with dispelling Black Ink Strength every single day. In fact, he was waiting for this very moment in the first place.
The four Army Commanders immediately understood. Nodding lightly, they waited quietly. Meanwhile, Yang Kai stepped forward and guided the cultivator corroded by Black Ink Strength to the Space Array. Despite activating the Spirit Array and transporting that person into the cabin, he did not follow along.
A short while later, that person came out of the cabin again. He looked slightly dazed and in shock. Although he had heard about the person in the Inner Sanctum who had the mysterious ability to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength from his allies, those were merely rumours that he had heard. He had not experienced such miracles himself, so he did not have much understanding regarding the matter.
Now that he had experienced the situation for himself, he finally understood what the word ‘incredible’ meant. The Black Ink Strength inside his body had been dispelled cleanly in such a short period of time. Furthermore, not the slightest trace remained. He was no longer at risk of becoming corrupted by it. On the contrary, the gentle white light in the cabin had been as comfortable as the spring breeze.
[This is a true life-saver!] He was extremely grateful to Yang Kai
Nevertheless, the four Army Commanders were not reassured just yet. They carefully inspected that person’s Small Universe and confirmed that he was perfectly fine before they released him.
During this interval, Yang Kai took the chance to enter the cabin and check on the loss of the Purifying Light. The Black Ink Strength had been brought into the cabin to be dispelled and purified, so the Purifying Light was bound to have been consumed to a certain extent. However, the results were as expected. The loss was almost negligible. He had drawn upon the power of many Yellow and Blue Crystals in the cabin previously, so the Purifying Light sealed in the cabin remained quite dense.
Dong Guo An Ping said, “Brothers, this method is feasible.”
The method had been verified, so there was no need to harbour further doubts. There was a faint sense of excitement burning in their hearts now. Had the Human Race finally gained the means to support a crusade? If they could perfectly end the war on the Black Ink Battlefield one day, then those trapped here for so long would finally have hope of going home.
Liang Yu Long nodded, “This matter is extremely important, so we shouldn’t reveal anything for the time being. We should limit this knowledge to the people present here.”
Needless to say, everybody understood what he meant. It was impossible to hide the existence of this ship. All the people who sought help would eventually need to enter the large ship in order to dispel and purify the Black Ink Strength in their bodies. Therefore, what Liang Yu Long had been referring to was the matter regarding the future crusade. The Human Race was not ready for such an enormous campaign yet. What’s more, the Old Ancestors had yet to make a decision regarding this matter. If news about the crusade were to spread, it would only give the people hope and expectations; however, their hope and expectations would turn into disappointment if their plans failed to materialize.
Yang Kai and the others naturally accepted the order.
Zhong Liang patted Yang Kai’s shoulder with a chuckle, “You’ve worked hard recently, Martial Nephew.”
Yang Kai truly was a treasure! How many losses had been prevented since he arrived at Blue Sky Pass!? If nothing else, he had rescued all those who were corrupted by Black Ink Strength recently; otherwise, those people would either have been forced to sacrifice a part of their Small Universe and suffer a decline in their strength or have been converted into Black Ink Disciples and defected to the Black Ink Clan. However, such incidents no longer occurred after Yang Kai came to Blue Sky Pass. Not a single Black Ink Disciple had been converted by the Black Ink Clan.
The more Zhong Liang looked at Yang Kai, the more he approved of this boy. It was fortunate that Feng Ying had encountered Yang Kai back in the Black Ink Clan hinterland and brought him to the great pass. Blue Sky Pass would not have been blessed with such great fortune otherwise.
“It is this Junior’s responsibility,” Yang Kai replied humbly.
“Old Ancestor!?” Ding Yao’s expression suddenly changed, and he glanced in a certain direction.
Startled by his words, everybody else turned to look in that direction only to see that there was nothing there. The Old Ancestor was nowhere to be seen. While they were caught up in their confusion though, a surging force suddenly erupted from Ding Yao’s body. The force immediately sent Yang Kai and the others flying backwards. Since they never expected to be attacked here, they were completely caught off-guard and could not react in time; hence, all of them were sent drifting in all directions like fallen leaves in the middle of a storm.
Suspended in mid-air, Yang Kai heard Zhong Liang shouting furiously, “Ding Yao, what are you doing!?”
His heart sank abruptly, wondering why Ding Yao had committed such an outrageous act. [Could it be that Ding Yao was a Black Ink Disciple? Now that the Purifying Light has been revealed, is he planning to kill me? But, something doesn’t add up. His actions might have been forceful, but there was no intention to harm. At the very least, I didn’t sense any danger. I’ve only been sent flying by the impact.]
After he finally managed to stabilise his body, Yang Kai looked over and felt his face twitching at the sight.
In the sky above the Central Square, Ding Yao was standing alone on the deck of the new ship. Moreover, the warship had been turned around and was currently facing the eastern defence lines. Looking at the situation, it would seem that Ding Yao had taken control of the ship and was trying to fly it towards the East. It was just that his path forward had been blocked, so he was forced to stop.
Combined with Ding Yao’s position as the Eastern Army’s Army Commander, Yang Kai had a vague idea about the current situation.
At this moment, Liang Yu Long, Zhong Liang, and Shen Tu Mo were standing in front of the large ship and blocking the path forward. Like Yang Kai, these three had been caught off-guard and sent flying backward by the impact just now. It was just that they were Eighth-Order Masters, so not only was their foundation strong, but their reflexes were also quick. The sudden attack only stunned them for a moment before they immediately adapted.
“Ding Yao, your actions are dishonourable,” Liang Yu Long’s expression darkened.
Shen Tu Mo frowned, “What are you doing?”
Zhong Liang was polite and roared furiously, “Do you even need to ask!? As soon as this hooligan made his move, I already knew what he had in mind! This old fart is planning to steal the ship!”
Ding Yao did not deny his actions. His intentions had been seen through anyway, so he cheerfully said, “From now on, this ship will belong to the Eastern Army.”
“On what basis!?” Liang Yu Long yelled inquiringly.
Ding Yao looked down condescendingly from above, “Based on the fact that I’m standing on it while the three of you aren’t.”
Shen Tu Mo chuckled, “What does that prove? That only happened because you made a sudden move and we were caught unprepared. If it really came down to it, this ship should belong to the Northern Army! Take a look at the emblem on the ship. Don’t you see that the emblem belongs to the Thunder Battalion of the Northern Army’s Left Wing Third Division? Disembark, Ding Yao. I’m bringing this ship back to the Northern Army!”
The ship was something Dong Guo An Ping had taken out of the storehouse. It had originally been severely damaged and was barely usable after he made some repairs to the ship. Upon a closer look though, it turned out that the ship once belonged to the Thunder Battalion of the Northern Army’s Right Wing Third Division.
Ding Yao sneered coldly and responded with three words, “In your dreams!”
Zhong Liang persuaded earnestly, “Ding Yao, why don’t you come down first? Let’s talk things out peacefully.”
Ding Yao snorted, “I’m not coming down. You will definitely board the ship as soon as I come down!”
Zhong Liang was speechless. [Senior Brother, you’re not a child anymore, why are you acting like a little brat fighting over a toy!? What would others think if they learned about this!?]
Nevertheless, he could understand Ding Yao’s motives in snatching the ship. Bringing this warship back to the battlefield might not directly increase the army’s combat ability, but it would greatly cut down on the travel time needed to purify Black Ink Strength. Furthermore, the existence of the ship itself would be a tremendous stabilising force. The morale of the army would be greatly improved as a result. It wasn’t just Ding Yao who wanted the large ship, he wanted it too!
“We all belong to Blue Sky Pass. Although we are the Army Commanders of our respective armies, we cannot only think about ourselves. Ding Yao, if you take this ship away today, what will happen to the Southern Army, the Western Army, and the Northern Army?” Zhong Liang asked gravely.
Ding Yao snorted and motioned to the side, “Isn’t Yang Boy here? You can just go to him. The Eastern Army is having a difficult time on the battlefield. The presence of this ship might be able to change the war situation.”
“Don’t exaggerate,” Liang Yu Long clicked his tongue, “The Eastern Army is having a hard time on the battlefield, but so is the Southern Army! Why are you only focusing on the Eastern Army and ignoring the lives of the disciples in the three other Armies? Ding Yao, you are an Army Commander. How can you be so selfish!?”
Ding Yao curled his lips into a sneer, “Don’t try to push such nonsense onto me. There are Great Battle Heaven disciples serving under your armies. How can I possibly disregard their lives? It’s just that there is only one ship right now, so the Eastern Army will use it first. If you are truly selfless, then you shouldn’t stop me.”
Liang Yu Long’s expression was dark, but he said nothing in response. Instead, he shot a look at Zhong Liang and Shen Tu Mo. They could not allow Ding Yao to take the ship away today. If the news were to spread that only the Eastern Army had a ship while the Southern Army, the Western Army, and the Northern Army did not, wouldn’t their subordinates criticize them for being useless?
Shen Tu Mo frowned and said, “Ding Yao, this warship will not be the only one. Now that we have a prototype, we are bound to have a second, third, and so on. Why are you being so anxious? There will come a day when every one of us has a ship.”
Nevertheless, Ding Yao remained stubborn in the face of their persuasion. He retorted, “Since you’re not anxious, then stop wasting my time. The army is still fighting outside, and the disciples are struggling desperately. This Old Master is not in the mood to waste my energy on you. Make way.”
The three of them naturally refused to move aside.
On the other side, Dong Guo An Ping sighed as he muttered, “Highly improper!”
At this moment, the Army Commanders were squabbling over the ownership of a ship. Their actions were extremely detrimental to their dignity. It was fortunate that no disciples had seen their squabbling; otherwise, they would quickly become laughingstocks.
“This ship was created by Yang Boy. Why don’t we ask him for his opinion? The army he chooses will have the rights to use the large ship. What do you think?” Zhong Liang suggested. While speaking, he secretly gave Yang Kai a wink. Among the four Army Commanders present, he was the closest to Yang Kai. He was certain that he held a great advantage if he asked Yang Kai to step forward.
The other three could not object to this suggestion. Yang Kai’s ability had been proven in the recent period and many of the disciples serving under their respective armies had received help from him. More importantly, they would still need to rely on his ability to solve the problem of the Black Ink Strength in the future. Rejecting this suggestion would simply cause problems for themselves; therefore, Yang Kai had a great say in this matter even though he was only in the Sixth Order.
Seeing the gazes of the four men turning towards him, Yang Kai felt speechless. He had seen the wink Zhong Liang gave him, but how could he be partial at a time like this? Besides, he could not be biased in this matter. After pondering in silence for some time, he cupped his fist and said, “Seniors, although this ship can be used, I’m afraid it will not last for long if you bring it out to the battlefield.”
Ding Yao frowned, “What do you mean by that?”
Yang Kai explained, “The Purifying Light is the foundation that dispels and purifies Black Ink Strength. Although a large amount of Purifying Light has been sealed in the cabin, according to this Junior’s estimate, it is only enough for 100 people at most. In other words, the Purifying Light will be exhausted after 100 people come and go. After that, this large ship will be nothing more than a decoration.”
The Army Commanders exchanged a glance with each other.
Meanwhile, Ding Yao blinked his eyes. He suddenly realised that he had been overly eager after seeing the effects of the Purifying Light ship with his own eyes. Although he had heard rumours about the Purifying Light recently, he did not actually know much about the specifics of the situation. He originally thought that he could kick back and relax once he obtained the large ship. It was not until he heard Yang Kai’s explanation that he learned that the Purifying Light would be consumed with each use. If it could only be used for 100 people, then what was the point?
“Can’t more Purifying Light be sealed inside?” Ding Yao asked.
“Of course, that is possible,” Yang Kai nodded, “But, this Junior has yet to run thorough experiments on how much Purifying Light can be sealed in this ship. That is why I have to ask you to leave the ship here, Seniors. This ship has only just been completed, after all, so nobody knows if there are any hidden faults with it. If you leave the ship here for further observation, this Junior will be able to check on and resolve its flaws more easily.”
Since a single bowl of water could not be split evenly, there was no need to split it at all. The large ship would remain here, and nobody could take it away. His words were not meant as a polite refusal either; rather, checking the ship was really something that needed to be done. Yang Kai could not guarantee that the ship could withstand the test of time or the rigors of battle. That was something he would need to observe carefully to be certain of. By determining these flaws earlier, he would have an easier time working on them in the future.
Ding Yao and the others looked at each other. Yang Kai had already spoken, so how could they not know that nobody was allowed to set their sights on the ship today? Ding Yao came down from the ship following a period of silence.
Meanwhile, Zhong Liang turned to look at Yang Kai and asked, “Approximately how long will it take for you to perform the necessary inspections and verifications?”
“It will definitely take a few months; after all, many issues will not come to light if the time is too short.”
Zhong Laing nodded lightly and said, “Once you verify that nothing is wrong with the ship, we will proceed with mass-producing them. At the very least, we will need four so that each Army will receive one.” He turned to look at Dong Guo An Ping, “Many thanks, Brother Dong Guo.”
Dong Guo An Ping nodded, “Please rest assured, Brother Zhong. Artifact Refining is the duty of Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven. I will live up to your trust.”
“Then, it’s settled.” While speaking, Zhong Laing glanced at the other three Army Commanders. Naturally, nobody had any objections.
Now that the discussion was over, there was nothing that required their attention anymore. In any case, they needed to preside over the battle faced by their respective Armies at the moment and could not stay for much longer. After reminding the others not to reveal the matter regarding the crusade, they hurriedly left the scene.
Likewise, Dong Guo An Ping, Fan Xun, and the others also departed soon afterwards to work on a new warship.
The ship in the Central Square had been dragged out of the storehouse, so it was severely damaged and only just managed to meet the requirements after some patching by Dong Guo An Ping. If they planned to refine a similar artifact for each of the Armies, then they would need to refine brand-new warships designed specifically for this role. More than anything, they would need to focus on defence. This new class of warship could probably do without any offensive abilities, but its defensive abilities would need to be top-notch; otherwise, the losses would be massive if such a warship was damaged or destroyed in battle.
It didn’t take long before only Yang Kai and Feng Ying remained in the Central Square.
“If anybody comes here for help in dispelling Black Ink Strength, just let them in directly,” Yang Kai instructed before he stepped onto the Space Array and teleported into the cabin.
It was just as he had explained to the Army Commanders earlier. The large ship was newly completed, so there were many things that needed to be tested and verified. At the very least, Yang Kai needed to know the limits of how much Purifying Light could be sealed within the cabin. It was easy enough to verify this fact though as he simply needed to cast Purifying Light without stopping until the Grand Array was saturated.
Inside the cabin, yellow and blue lights bloomed continuously from Yang Kai’s hands and immediately transformed into a pure white light. At the same time, he silently calculated the consumption rate of the Yellow and Blue Crystals while paying close attention to the changes in the Spirit Array. He was testing the limits of the Grand Array’s sealing effect, a little bit at a time.
A huge amount of the Yellow and Blue Crystals had been consumed, and it was not until half a day later that he finally stopped his actions. Yang Kai could vaguely sense that the Grand Array in the cabin was about to reach its limits. In other words, it could not accommodate any more Purifying Light.
Looking around, the interior of the cabin was filled with a blanket of white at the moment. The Purifying Light was so dense that it almost felt solid to the touch. In fact, that was not that far from the truth.
Yang Kai calculated the number of Yellow and Blue Crystals consumed and immediately had a grasp on the situation. The Purifying Light sealed inside the cabin was enough for nearly 2,000 Sixth-Order cultivators. The outcome of his experiment satisfied him greatly. 2,000 was quite a big number after all. Based on the information he received from Feng Ying, during the previous wars between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, the total number of people who got corrupted by Black Ink Strength throughout the war did not exceed this number.
The reason why so many people had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength recently was that they were relying on Yang Kai’s support. They knew that it did not matter even if they were corroded by Black Ink Strength, so they fought freely without any scruples. As a result, the number of cultivators corrupted increased dramatically.
Thanks to Yang Kai’s existence, the cultivators corrupted by Black Ink Strength would not suffer from a decrease in combat power as long as they returned in time for treatment. It was unlike before when they would have to sacrifice a part of their Small Universe in order to escape danger.
If a single ship could be used for 2,000 people, and each army would have its own ship, that meant there was enough Purifying Light for 8,000 people at full capacity. That would be enough even for extended use, such as on a long crusade.
While he was busy working, Yang Kai would occasionally sense others entering the cabin through the Space Array. These people had undoubtedly come to him for help, but now that they had the ship, there was no need for him to personally cast Purifying Light on each person. They only needed to teleport into the cabin, wait for a while, and teleport out of the cabin again for all their worries to be removed. That had saved Yang Kai a lot of time and energy.
After confirming the limits of how much Purifying Light could be sealed in the Grand Array, Yang Kai returned to the deck. Feng Ying had been paying close attention to the Space Array, so she quickly came to greet him as soon as he appeared.
“Were there any problems?” Yang Kai asked.
Although he had verified that the Purifying Light would not escape from the Grand Array, the concentration of the Purifying Light had not been very high at the time. The current situation was no longer the same as before. The Purifying Light sealed inside the cabin was extremely dense, so nobody could guarantee that no losses would occur during entry and exit.
“There were no problems,” Feng Ying shook her head.
Yang Kai immediately felt relieved. It would seem that the ship which integrated both the Artifact Refining and the Spirit Array Daos could perfectly meet the requirements of his original plan. In that case, he could continue with the next step.
After pondering for some time, Yang Kai asked, “Martial Aunt, does the Inner Sanctum contain a Universe Temple?”
Feng Ying was slightly taken aback by his words before replying, “I’ve heard that they exist.”
“You’ve heard?” Yang Kai raised his brow in surprise.
She nodded, “That’s right. It’s because I’ve never seen them myself. It is said that each pass possessed a Universe Temple when they were first constructed. As you know, a Universe Temple makes travelling around very convenient. Even when our people were scattered across great distances, they only needed to activate the Universe Transference Law to return to the Universe Temple. That was why each great pass had its own Universe Temples in the beginning. Unfortunately, the Black Ink Battlefield is different from the 3,000 Worlds. The situation here is rather special, and the existence of the Universe Temples may give the Black Ink Clan a strategic advantage over us; hence, the Universe Temples of each great pass were sealed after several incidents.”
Yang Kai immediately understood after listening to her explanation, “If Black Ink Disciples were to suddenly appear inside the Universe Temple, they would surely cause devastating damage to the Inner Sanctum.”
“That’s right. Aside from the Old Ancestor, who can guarantee that they will not be corrupted by Black Ink Strength? What if they became corrupted by Black Ink Strength and were converted into Black Ink Disciples? They would not be able to disobey the orders of the Black Ink Clan. If they teleported back here, forget how much destruction they could cause to us, even if they merely self-destructed, they could spread Black Ink Strength around and incite panic. That is why, even if there was a Universe Temple in the Inner Sanctum, it would have been sealed a long time ago. No one would be allowed to use it.”
He nodded, “That’s true.”
“Why did you suddenly ask about the Universe Temple?” She looked at him curiously.
Yang Kai smiled and pointed at the cabin, “Martial Aunt, what effect do you think will occur if we arrange a Universe Array inside this ship’s cabin?”
Feng Ying was initially stunned by his words, but her expression immediately changed in the next moment. Whilst she was deep in thought, various ideas flashed through her mind as she murmured to herself, “The reason the Universe Temples were sealed was to prevent Black Ink Disciples from infiltrating and causing havoc, but if we added a Universe Array to the ship’s cabin, then we wouldn’t need to worry about such occurrences. Even if a Black Ink Disciple teleports into this place, the Black Ink Strength in their bodies will instantly be dispelled and purified to restore their true nature.”
With the Purifying Light, all the previous issues that troubled them were no longer a problem.
Feng Ying’s eyes lit up, “Your idea might just work! But…” After saying that, she furrowed her brow, “I don’t think anyone here can arrange a Universe Array. At the very least, there are no such talents in Blue Sky Pass.”
The Universe Temples in the various great passes were as ancient as the great passes themselves. There might have been people who could prepare a Universe Array and construct a Universe Temple in ancient times. Unfortunately, with the closure of the Universe Temples, the means and the knowledge disappeared with the passing of time.
That was intentionally done by the Human Race in order to prevent the relevant personnel from becoming corrupted by Black Ink Strength and the Black Ink Clan from obtaining the creation method of the Universe Temples. The Black Ink Clan was hard to deal with in the first place. If they were allowed to master the mysteries of the Universe Temples, then they would truly be invincible.
“I can do it!” Yang Kai quickly said.
Feng Ying was astonished, “You can arrange a Universe Array!? Aren’t you…”
Yang Kai laughed, “It’s true that I’m completely clueless about the Dao of Spirit Arrays, but Space Arrays and the Universe Arrays are related to the Dao of Space after all. That’s why I dabbled in them slightly.”
Back in the 3,000 Worlds, he had spent over 30 years comprehending the mysteries of the Universe Array. His attainments in the Dao of Space soared as a result, and he ultimately comprehended his Cow Punch Secret Technique from his efforts.
Afterwards, Yang Kai also constructed some Universe Temples in the New Great Territory adjacent to High Heaven Territory so that his disciples could conveniently travel back and forth to investigate the New Great Territory. That was why preparing a Universe Array was not a difficult task to him.
“Do you need me to do anything? Should I gather some helpers?” Feng Ying asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t need any assistance, though I am lacking a few resources. I will need you to help me gather these materials, Martial Aunt.”
“Good!” She quickly nodded in agreement.
A short while later, Yang Kai handed a list of resources to Feng Ying and asked her to procure them for him. This was not a difficult task for her. Blue Sky Pass had its own storehouse, which contained large amounts of cultivation resources and other materials. Most of the items that Yang Kai needed could be found there.
Nevertheless, she would need to inform Zhong Liang and the others regarding this matter and obtain their permission to proceed before she could enter the storehouse to retrieve the corresponding resources.
Upon learning that Yang Kai was not only capable of preparing a Universe Array but was also planning to set one up inside the cabin of the purification ship, Zhong Liang could be said to be both surprised and delighted.
Only less than half a year had passed since Yang Kai first arrived at Blue Sky Pass, but he had brought about numerous miracles in that short time.
The biggest surprise was his means to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength. Other than that, he also worked with Dong Guo An Ping and the others to create a warship that was suitable for a large-scale expedition. In addition, he was planning to prepare the Universe Array in said warship.
As an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it was only natural that Zhong Liang could see the endless prospects for this method.
If they could feasibly carry out this plan, then the Humans scattered around would have a much easier time returning to Blue Sky Pass in the future. They would only need to activate the Universe Transference Law within a suitable range to return to the ship immediately. Furthermore, the ship contained Purifying Light, so there was no need to worry about a Black Ink Disciple infiltrating their ranks. It could even be said that the addition of a Universe Array to the ship made it more suitable for crusading.
Needless to say, Zhong Liang was in full support of the idea. He also gave Feng Ying nearly unlimited authority so that she was free to choose from the resources stored within the storehouse. In short, he was willing to cooperate with Yang Kai completely.
Half a day later, Feng Ying returned with all the materials that Yang Kai needed.
With the required resources in hand, Yang Kai plunged right into work inside the cabin.
Arranging a Universe Array was undoubtedly much harder than setting up a simple Space Array. Although the nature of both Spirit Arrays was essentially the same, the Universe Array was ultimately more profound compared to a Space Array. Not to mention, the layout of the Universe Array was subjected to certain restrictions due to the limited space within the cabin.
The Universe Temples that Yang Kai previously constructed in the New Great Territory were not small in size. Now that he had to operate the Universe Array in a limited space, it became necessary for him to make some minor changes to its Array Chart.
Yang Kai was busy for two whole months. During this period, he made several major changes through repeated trial and error before he finally completed his task. It was fortunate that the ship already contained large amounts of the Purifying Light, so when those corroded by Black Ink Strength came over, he had no need to treat them personally. Otherwise, his task would have taken even more time to complete.
Afterwards, Feng Ying personally tested and confirmed that the Universe Array was functional. Zhong Liang couldn’t help being overjoyed when he received the report on this matter.
Following a delay of two months, Dong Guo An Ping also delivered the first newly constructed warship.
Under normal circumstances, it would have taken at least half a year for Blue Sky Pass to construct a brand-new warship. That was not something that could be refined carelessly after all. The construction of a warship not only required a large amount of manpower, but also an extremely skilled Artifact Refiner to oversee the process.
It was just that Dong Guo An Ping knew the importance of this project. The war was raging fiercely, and the sooner they completed this project, the bigger the role the warship could play for the Human Race. For that reason, he had mobilised the elite disciples of Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven from various places and assembled a workforce of over 100 people. That was how they constructed a brand-new warship in the short span of two months.
The warship was brought to the Central Square, and Yang Kai immediately entered the cabin. He did not begin filling it with Purifying Light immediately and chose to arrange the Universe Array first. It was not until he finished preparing the Universe Array that he sealed a massive amount of Purifying Light inside its hull.
Another month later, this new warship was ready for the defence lines of the Eastern Army.
In the end, Zhong Liang and the others ultimately agreed to give the first warship to Ding Yao. It was not because they could not compete with him for it, but because the battle on the Eastern Army’s side was indeed the most intense. The other three Army Commanders couldn’t be bothered to squabble over such trivial matters either. Since Ding Yao came forward in person to make the request, it was only right for them to show him some respect. Naturally, the most important reason was that each Army would soon obtain a new warship of their own, so there was no need for them to quarrel among themselves.
For both Yang Kai and Dong Guo An Ping, constructing these new warships was equivalent to traversing a familiar path; hence, they could take advantage of parallel production to speed up the process.
Half a year passed by in the blink of an eye, and all three other Armies gained their own Purifying Black Ink Battleship
‘Purifying Black Ink Battleship’ was the class designation Dong Guo An Ping had given this special warship. The name soon spread far and wide, receiving the recognition of the public.
The four Purifying Black Ink Battleships were stationed at the rear of the four armies. Anyone corroded by Black Ink Strength could be rescued immediately, so it was much more convenient compared to the past. Thanks to these four Purifying Black Ink Battleships, the battle between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan became even more intense.
Meanwhile, in the Central Square, Yang Kai suddenly had nothing to do… It used to be very lively here. At least a dozen infected people used to come to ask for help every single day; however, ever since the four Purifying Black Ink Battleships were introduced, nobody came to visit this place anymore. Even if they were corrupted by Black Ink Strength, there was no need for them to come here or for Yang Kai to take action in person either. Each of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships contained enough Purifying Light for 2,000 people to use; therefore, there was enough to last for a long time.
After spending so much time and energy, Yang Kai finally reached his goal. It was time for him to focus on his own affairs now.
On the deck of the original Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Feng Ying was cultivating with her eyes closed when a figure appeared in a flash before her. Yang Kai had teleported out of the cabin.
She opened her eyes to look at him. Although nobody came looking for help during this period, Yang Kai had remained extremely busy. She did not know what he had been working on. She had asked once, but he had not replied to her question; thus, she did not ask further questions.
At this moment, Yang Kai took the initiative to speak, “Martial Aunt, I’ve made some adjustments to the Universe Array. I don’t know what kind of effect there will be, so I’m going to test it out.”
“Good!” She nodded lightly without doubting him.
When he was testing the effects of the Universe Array, he had also personally taken on the task. His reasoning was that it would be easier for him to discover any issues if he performed the tests himself. It would indeed be somewhat inconvenient to leave such tasks to other people; therefore, Feng Ying had no reason to feel suspicious about how he planned to test the Universe Array himself.
“Martial Aunt, please wait for a moment,” After saying as such, he turned and left.
Since Yang Kai planned to test the effects of the Universe Array, it stood to reason that he could not experiment from nearby. He had to go much further for the experiment to be effective.
Once he was out of Feng Ying’s sight, Yang Kai spun around and rushed towards one of Blue Sky Pass’ main gates.
During this period, he had investigated quite a lot about the situation at Blue Sky Pass; hence, he was not unfamiliar with the route.
Not long after he left, Yang Kai saw many people up ahead of him. It was very lively here with a warship moored in a small docking area, and cultivators dressed in the uniforms of the Divine Cauldron Heaven working on it. A series of clanging sounds came from within the large ship, occasionally accompanied by flashing lights. The warship had clearly been in battle as its hull had been damaged.
There were several other similar warships in the docking bay, and several hundred people were scattered around the area. They sat down cross-legged in small groups, each silently circulating their Secret Arts to recover their strength.
Yang Kai observed the scene before him, vaguely guessing that these people were those who had just withdrawn from the battlefield. During this period, he had gleaned a lot of information from Feng Ying and gained a rough understanding of the situation in Blue Sky Pass. Although he had not experienced the fighting for himself, he had no trouble understanding the situation when he saw it.
His sudden arrival did not attract much attention. To these people, time to rest was extremely precious and should not be wasted frivolously. Besides, there were many people coming and going from this area, which provided a great cover for him.
Looking around, Yang Kai discovered that the main gate was shrouded by a barrier and guarded by several elites. They would not release the barrier easily without an explicit order. The sight made him frown slightly. He originally planned to sneak out of the great pass, but it would seem that his plans were not feasible. There was no way for him to leave as long as the barriers around Blue Sky Pass remained sealed.
Turning his head to look around him, Yang Kai decided to wait and see what happened. He found a corner and sat down cross-legged, pretending to be adjusting his breathing. Truthfully, he was feeling extremely anxious inside. This was a rare opportunity, and if he failed, he would never be able to leave Blue Sky Pass again.
Luckily, fortune seemed to be on his side. After waiting for less than an incense stick worth of time, the Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven disciples in charge of repairing a certain warship, had apparently completed their repairs.
A Seventh-Order Master immediately leapt onto the ship and activated it to check its condition. Once he confirmed that there were no problems with the ship, he yelled loudly, “Mountain Battalion, get on board!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, 100 people stood up in a flurry and flew towards the ship. Yang Kai quickly grasped the opportunity at hand. He hurriedly stood up and followed the large batch of people onto the ship.
The Seventh-Order Master swept his gaze over the people on the ship and nodded lightly; then, he turned to look in a certain direction, cupped his fist, and shouted in a clear voice, “Western Army Right Wing Fourth Division Mountain Battalion is prepared to sortie. We request permission to depart for battle!”
A guard glanced over from the top of the inner wall, and Yang Kai quickly hid behind the crowd to conceal himself.
This couldn’t be helped. The person he saw was one of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders who arrived at the Conference Hall when Zhong Liang convened all the higher-ups. Although Yang Kai didn’t know his name, if he encountered this Master, he would undoubtedly be identified.
He would never want to be caught sneaking out.
With a solemn expression, the Eighth-Order Division Commander said, “Launch!”
The shield opened at his command, allowing the warship to slowly set sail.
The moment they sailed out of Blue Sky Pass, the atmosphere turned chilly immediately. Yang Kai, who was standing on the deck, peered upward and noticed a massive void. Numerous warships scurried back and forth and occasionally, a profound light erupted from their weapon ports, blasting towards the Black Ink Clan’s Army.
There were Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who had profound cultivations out on the battlefield battling against the Black Ink Clan.
Black Ink Clouds of all sizes were dispersed around the battlefield, forming something akin to an ocean of murky darkness. The battlefield was also littered with shattered Spirit Provinces.
The Black Ink Clouds were composed of Black Ink Strength that escaped and condensed after the death of a Black Ink Clansmen. And undoubtedly, the shattered Spirit Provinces were pieces of Small Universes that had been left behind after the death of High-Rank Open Heaven Masters. Some might even be pieces of Small Universes that the High-Rank Masters sacrificed during battle.
Explosions and screams of death rang out as fresh blood dyed the void red and black, and every now and then, powerful life auras would disappear.
This battlefield was where countless Black Ink Clan members and Humans were buried. The number of Masters from both sides who had passed away here throughout the war was unknown.
Yang Kai’s blood steadily boiled as he saw the sight in front of him, and a raging fighting spirit began to rise in his chest. He desperately wanted to rush to the Black Ink Clan Army and fight to the death.
But he was also aware of the limitations of his ability on such battlefields, no matter how powerful he may be. The two Races were at odds with one another, and this war involved countless lives. Even the Eighth-Order Division Commanders would not survive charging into the enemy’s army all alone, not to mention a mere Yang Kai.
Additionally, he had his own purpose this time when he snuck out.
He wanted to advance to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm!
His cultivation had been stagnant at the peak of the Sixth Order for many years now. For the time being, secluded retreat appeared useless. There was now only one option left, and that was to seek an opportunity to break his own shackles during a juncture of life and death.
Yang Kai had long intended to do this, and the ongoing war gave him the ideal opportunity.
He was aware that it was impossible for those overseeing Blue Sky Pass to let him accomplish this, though. No one would be concerned if he was simply a typical Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The life or death of an average Sixth-Order Master wasn’t of much concern as there were literally thousands of other Sixth-Order Masters in the Inner Sanctum. Everyone had been in a brutal battle with the Black Ink Clan and only those with enough strength and good fortune survived.
However, the fact was that Yang Kai’s very existence was extremely important to Blue Sky Pass and, by extension, to the whole Human Race. He wasn’t just another Sixth-Order Master.
Yang Kai had brought the Purifying Light with him, and was capable of arranging Universe Arrays.
It was precisely because Zhong Liang realised Yang Kai’s importance, that he had asked Feng Ying to guard him. Feng Ying was also not an ordinary Seventh-Order Master; she was one of the strongest among them.
There was no doubt that it was a waste of talent now that she could only tightly protect Yang Kai, but it was still an important and essential duty.
Zhong Liang even wanted to assign an Eighth-Order Master to protect Yang Kai, but that was impossible, so a Seventh-Order Master was the next best choice and Feng Ying was the best option.
This alone showed how much importance Zhong Liang attached to Yang Kai.
If Yang Kai told him that he wanted to go to the battlefield and look for a chance to break through by risking his life, Zhong Liang would definitely disagree. Not only would he disagree, he would even ask Feng Ying to keep a closer eye on Yang Kai and prevent him from entering the battlefield.
If Yang Kai was killed, the cost to the Human Race would be too high; after all, he was just a Sixth-Order Junior, meaning his strength wasn’t particularly high.
Countless Sixth-Order Masters had died on this battlefield as one tiny mistake could spell death.
Because of this, Yang Kai kept his desire to join the battle a secret from the beginning, and even Feng Ying, who had been with him for six months, failed to notice any such signs.
After waiting for so long, Yang Kai finally found a good opportunity.
If he succeeded, he would become a Seventh-Order Master, if not, he would have to cultivate patiently in the future and simply wait for an opportunity to break through to come.
However, before leaving, Yang Kai still waited until the four Purifying Black Ink Battleships were delivered, so that even if anything went wrong in the battle, the Purifying Black Ink Battleships in Blue Sky Pass side could last for a while, enough to support everyone until the end of the current battle at least.
If he was still in the 3,000 Worlds, Yang Kai might not be this anxious.
But this was the Black Ink Battlefield. The stronger he was, the higher his chances of survival. The Sixth-Order was too weak, while the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was barely enough, so he had to give it a try.
Yang Kai went without leaving even a Space Beacon for himself in order to prevent himself from having an escape route, thus increasing the pressure he felt. He did all this only to improve the chances of him making a life-or-death breakthrough.
The Western Army Right Wing Fourth Division Mountain Battalion was a unit under Zhong Liang’s command. Each Army had a total strength of around 8,000 troops with 15 Divisions in total, each of which had 8 or so Battalions.
The Eastern Army was currently engaged in the fiercest combat, while the Western Army was somewhat better off. The Black Ink Clan Army had attacked frequently in the West, but had been repelled each time. They had left many dead bodies after those battles, but they were evidently unconcerned about them.
Yang Kai, who had spent the two years residing in the Black Ink Clan’s hinterland, knew that the Black Ink Nests served as the Black Ink Clan’s foundation. The Black Ink Clan would continue to exist so long as the Black Ink Nests remained standing. Although the Black Ink Clan’s casualties were not small, they weren’t sufficient to force the enemy to retreat either.
The Western Army’s defence line was constructed in the void, some 10,000 kilometres from Blue Sky Pass. This was where warships laid out a tightly defended barrier that would never be broken through by the Black Ink Clan.
The warship of the Mountain Battalion was only a few thousand kilometres away from its destination and sailed swiftly, so it arrived at the battleground soon after it departed Blue Sky Pass.
The Seventh-Order Master at the prow of the warship should be the Mountain Battalion’s Commander, and with his menacing gaze and deep voice, he ordered, “Everyone, follow me to kill the enemy!”
When that was said, the 100 or so members of Mountain Battalion immediately got busy, each of them performing their own duties.
Yang Kai was suddenly caught off guard and didn’t know what to do.
He was able to board this ship, but he was unaware of Mountain Battalion’s distribution of duties. With no other choice, Yang Kai followed a random pair of people to the deck after realising that everyone else had gone to their respective positions to prepare to repel the enemy.
Suddenly, the two ahead of him turned their heads to look at him, and one of them suddenly said in shock, “Senior Brother Yang, why are you here?”
It wasn’t that no one saw him when he followed everyone on the boat earlier, but rather that those who saw him didn’t seem to pay much attention to him. After all, it wasn’t odd for people to be transferred around when manpower needed to be replenished.
Those who were unfamiliar with Yang Kai automatically viewed him as a newcomer.
Who would have thought that at this moment, he met someone who knew him?
As the words fell, Yang Kai raised his head and became speechless.
The man in front of him looked familiar, and although Yang Kai didn’t know his name, it was certain that he was someone who he had treated before.
Before the advent of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, there were at least hundreds of people treated by Yang Kai personally. Each of these people was grateful to him and made a point of remembering his face, even if Yang Kai didn’t remember their names.
Yang Kai had been afraid of encountering such a situation, but he also knew that there was no way to avoid it. He had saved so many people after all and being exposed was basically inevitable.
“What happened?” The Battalion Commander turned his head towards them and immediately saw an unfamiliar face. He stared at Yang Kai and frowned vigilantly, “Who are you?”
The person who knew Yang Kai said, “Sir, this is Senior Brother Yang,” while hastily cupping his fist.
The Battalion Commander raised his brow. Despite not having returned to the Inner Sanctum to meet Yang Kai personally, he had lately heard the name a lot and asked in shock, “That Yang Kai?”
The person who replied nodded quickly, “Indeed.”
The Battalion Commander was immediately shocked and asked, “Why are you here?”
If this was the Yang Kai he had heard of, he should be in Inner Sanctum at the moment, so how did he get on his ship? He hadn’t received orders to replace any lost manpower as the Mountain Battalion was currently at full strength.
Furthermore, even if manpower had to be replaced, Yang Kai would never have been deployed to the battlefield. The Battalion Commander understood the significance of Yang Kai when he learned about his extraordinary methods. It only made sense for such a valuable asset to be well-protected. How could Yang Kai be sent to the front lines?
It was no small matter that Yang Kai actually appeared on his ship.
Yang Kai quickly thought of an excuse, cupped his hand, and murmured, “Sir, I was ordered by the Army Commander to perform a secret mission. Travelling with you is mainly to conceal my involvement!”
“A secret mission!” The Battalion Commander frowned, wondering what secret mission actually required this man to visit the battlefield in person. He had also heard that, in order to ensure this man’s safety, Army Commander Zhong had entrusted Feng Ying to remain at his side at all times. However, after screening his surroundings, he could find no sign of Feng Ying.
The Battalion Commander was no fool, so it was obvious to him that there was something wrong with this matter.
However, now that his ship had already arrived on the battlefield, and the front line was in urgent need of support, he couldn’t just turn back because of some small doubt.
Without asking more, the Battalion Commander nodded lightly and said, “If that’s the case, you can do what you need to.”
“Many thanks, Sir.” Yang Kai cupped his fist thanking him, turned his head, and spoke a few words to the two men who had first noticed him.
When the Battalion Commander saw this, he tilted his head slightly and ordered another Seventh-Order Master under his command in a stern voice, “Go back and ask the Army Commander what is happening here.”
He sensed that something was off, and since the issue involved Yang Kai, he had to inform Zhong Liang and ask for instructions. Naturally, he had no reason to believe Yang Kai was acting maliciously as this man would never do something to harm the Human Race after saving so many of them already.
“Yes,” The Seventh-Order Master responded and took out a communication artifact.
Back in the Inner Sanctum, Feng Ying stood up and scowled as she scanned the area around the prototype Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Yang Kai said that he had made some changes to the Universe Array and needed to run some tests, but even after waiting here for half an hour, he had yet to return.
As a result, she became doubtful and wondered if he had perhaps already returned.
This was not impossible, for even the prototype Purifying Black Ink Battleship was equipped with a Universe Array. If Yang Kai really came back, he would be inside the cabin.
With that in mind, Feng Yin teleported in through the Space Array on the deck.
However, all she could see was white in the cabin; the gentle Purifying Light flowed around her body like warm water, but there was no sign of Yang Kai in this empty space.
He obviously had not returned.
Feng Ying left the cabin, now more suspicion than ever. She was perplexed when she unexpectedly noticed a stream of light that had abruptly fallen on the deck from a distance. She fixed her eyes upon him and hurriedly bowed, “Martial Uncle Zhong!”
The person who came was Zhong Liang.
“Where is Yang Kai?” Zhong Liang questioned nervously with an ashen face.
Feng Ying replied, “He said that he made some modifications to the Universe Array and needed to test it out, so he left.”
“How long has he been gone?” Zhong Liang’s expression sank.
“Less than an hour,” As soon as she said that, Feng Ying understood that something was off. Similar experiments were conducted by Yang Kai in the past, but each time he returned quite quickly. He was experimenting with the Universe Array after all, so all he needed to do was to distance himself a little from here and perform the Universe Transference Law to return. How was it even possible for him to take this long this time? The Inner Sanctum had nothing to delay him either.
“Damn it, it really is him!” Zhong Liang exclaimed. He had hurried back from the front line immediately to investigate the matter himself as soon as he received a message from the Fourth Division Mountain Battalion, wondering whether there had been a mistake; after all, why would Yang Kai suddenly sneak out? But after he arrived here, he realised that there was no mistake, Yang Kai had indeed snuck out.
Upon hearing that, Feng Ying asked, “Martial Uncle, is something wrong?”
Zhong Liang ground his teeth in frustration for a moment before sighing in exasperation and muttering, “That brat went out to the battlefield.”
“What?” Feng Ying was shocked when she heard his words, “Why would he go out to the battlefield?”
“How would I know!?” Zhong Liang looked over at the main gate, worried, “I hope we’re not too late.”
After receiving the call from the Fourth Division Mountain Battalion, Zhong Liang rushed to the Inner Sanctum to investigate the matter while also ordering Mountain Battalion to turn back. Before making sure whether the person was Yang Kai, he preferred to err on the side of caution.
However, the battlefield was always in chaos, and Zhong Liang was unsure if the Mountain Battalion would be able to carry out his orders; after all, returning from the front lines was not always simple. If they were surrounded by the Black Ink Clan Army, they would have to kill their way out.
Feng Ying stood there dumbfounded. Yang Kai actually entered the battlefield. What did this brat intend to do? Furthermore, he didn’t even let her know beforehand. It was just truly absurd.
Since Yang Kai was really with the Mountain Battalion, Zhong Liang had no reason to stay here any longer. He had to go and bring Yang Kai back, so he instantly sprang into the air and shot towards the perimeter.
Feng Ying followed closely behind. Zhong Liang had assigned her to protect Yang Kai at all times, but the latter had deceived her and escaped. She needed to be responsible for this.
“He didn’t bring this up to you previously, did he?” As they soared by, Zhong Liang abruptly turned his head to inquire.
“No,” Feng Ying shook her head. She was also perplexed by this series of events, but it was clear that Yang Kai had planned this whole thing out; otherwise, he wouldn’t have to lie and claim that he wanted to go test the Universe Array to get past the gates.
“Has there been anything unusual about his recent behaviour?” Zhong Liang asked again.
Feng Ying responded in shock, “Martial Uncle are you suspecting that he… “
“He has the ability to cleanse and remove Black Ink Strength, and he has a World Spring. He has helped thousands over these past few months, and he led the effort to build the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, which is of great significance to us. I don’t think it’s possible to doubt his loyalty. He should not intend any harm by his action towards Blue Sky Pass or the Human Race. I simply don’t understand why he had to quietly leave. You spent months with him. Didn’t you notice anything?”
Suddenly recalling something, Feng Ying scowled, “Martial Uncle, if I’m not mistaken, he is trying to break through to the Seventh Order!”
“What?”
“When he initially arrived at Blue Sky Pass, he inquired about advancing to the Seventh Order. Later, after treating several Seventh-Order Masters, he would ask them about their breakthrough experiences. I asked whether he was getting ready for his own breakthrough and he frankly admitted that he had reached the peak of the Sixth Order and was just looking for an opportunity to reach the Seventh Order. You are also aware that advancing to the Seventh Order is different for everyone. There are some who retreat to cultivate in seclusions, there are some who have accumulated over a long period of time and simply break through naturally, and then there are those who break through in life-or-death crises in battle. Yang Kai said that he tried entering retreat, but failed. He also said only the Heavens would know when he would succeed using the accumulation method. Since these two methods are useless to him, I’m afraid that he wants to try using the last one to make a breakthrough. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even have to go to the battlefield at a moment like this.”
When Zhong Liang heard the words, his face twitched, “That must be it!”
Judging by his actions, that brat must have had this idea for a long time now. He also understood that Blue Sky Pass placed an extremely high value on his own existence; therefore, he had to sneak out because he knew that they would never allow him to go to the battlefield.
After working hard to build the Purifying Black Ink Battleships and leaving enough Purifying Light to support the four Armies for this war though, Yang Kai clearly decided it was his chance to go out and seek battle.
As he began to understand this, Zhong Liang suddenly thought of something and gasped, “Oh no…”
“What’s wrong, Martial Uncle?”
“That brat is probably mentally prepared to not return; otherwise, there would be no need for him to leave so much Purifying Light behind. He’s made up his mind to succeed or die trying and cut off all responsibilities to ensure he doesn’t hesitate!” Zhong Liang replied with an ashen expression.
Feng Ying’s heart clenched. If this was the case, then she would surely be punished for failing her duties, because she didn’t even notice the signs despite being with Yang Kai for such a long time.
Zhong Liang abruptly halted their conversation and pulled out a communication artifact. After swiftly exchanging a few messages, he cursed, “That little bastard!”
Feng Ying turned to look at him.
Zhong Liang ground his teeth and said, “That brat is too slippery. He must have realised that Mountain Battalion was suspicious of him, so he actually escaped from their warship before it could retreat! Mountain Battalion currently can’t locate him either!”
“Ah!” Feng Ying’s face suddenly paled. Yang Kai was just a Sixth-Order cultivator, yet he plunged into the battlefield alone. He would definitely be in grave danger if he did not receive support soon!
“I’ll tan that boy’s hide red once I drag him back!” Zhong Liang angrily roared. Yang Kai knew that he was vital to the Human Race as a whole, yet he dared to take such a risk. How would he explain to the Old Ancestor if anything happened to him?
The Old Ancestor was still recovering in retreat, totally unaware of Yang Kai’s existence, but this incident would definitely have to be reported to him afterwards. Zhong Liang would also be blamed if the key to victory for the entire Human Race over the Black Ink Clan encountered an accident right under his nose. At the very least, he would be stripped of his position as the Western Army’s Commander.
“Martial Uncle, Yang Kai… he’s not weak.” Having worked with Yang Kai to fight their way back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain, Feng Ying knew that Yang Kai’s strength was far beyond that of a typical Sixth-Order Master, and he could even assume his Grand Dragon form, which put him on par with a Seventh-Order Master.
“It makes no difference how powerful he is, how could one man stand against the Black Ink Clan army!?” Even Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters perished on the battlefield, not to mention Yang Kai, a Junior in the Sixth-Order. Zhong Liang also knew about Yang Kai’s ability to transform into a Grand Dragon, which at the time, would give him Seventh-Order strength. However, Yang Kai wanted to seize this chance to break through in a life-and-death struggle, so he would certainly not use his Dragon Clan strength as doing so would become a mental crutch, leaving no possibility for him to use this method to achieve a breakthrough again in the future.
In other words, Yang Kai would only use his Sixth-Order strength while in battle.
Zhong Liang was now merely praying that Yang Kai would not approach the Black Ink Clan Army’s core or show off his Purifying Light Secret Technique.
The last time Yang Kai used Purifying Light offensively, he instantly injured a Black Ink Territory Lord, giving Feng Ying an opportunity to kill him.
The Black Ink Clan wouldn’t think too much of it if it was only used once; but, if Purifying Light was used repeatedly, the Black Ink Clan would eventually become aware that it was the nemesis of their Black Ink Strength. Once they realized that, they would spare no effort to eliminate Yang Kai and would almost certainly succeed.
The Black Ink Clan would take whatever necessary measures to execute Yang Kai.
The both of them had hurried out of Blue Sky Pass while they were conversing, but once they were outside, all they saw was the raging battle between the two Races, with thousands of figures flying about everywhere. How were they to locate Yang Kai in this tangled mess?
Zhong Liang’s expression turned dark, and he quickly sent out a message.
Meanwhile, aboard the warship belonging to the Fourth Division Mountain Battalion on the front lines of the battlefield, the Battalion Commander frowned.
After rushing out to the battlefield to confront the Black Ink Clan, Yang Kai used the excuse of performing his secret mission to open the ship’s shields and instantly escape.
Naturally taken by surprise, Mountain Battalion hastily closed the shield to stop any Black Ink Strength on the battlefield from flowing in.
The Battalion Commander also received an order from the Fourth Division’s Commander shortly after, asking him to keep Yang Kai under strict supervision for the time being and immediately return to the Inner Sanctum.
But this message was received too late. Yang Kai had already left and was nowhere to be seen.
There was no other option than to report this issue. As a result, the Division Commander reprimanded him severely, which aggrieved the Seventh-Order Battalion Commander.
Full of grievances and nowhere to vent, he could only let it out on the Black Ink Clan. The warship shuttled back and forth, beams of light blasting out as they rammed into the Black Ink Clan Army, killing many as they went.
Soon after, a group of Seventh-Order Masters from the Battalion leapt out of the ship, activated their Secret Techniques and artifacts, and cut a swath through the surrounding enemies.
This was how the Human Race and Black Ink Clan fought.
Seventh-Order Masters were free to enter the battlefield at their own discretion, while those below the Seventh-Order had to rely on the might of their warships. Both Battalions and Squads worked in this fashion to attack and defend on the battlefield.
Meaning, elsewhere on the battlefield, Yang Kai wielded his Azure Dragon Spear recklessly, slaughtering Black Ink Clansmen wherever he went.
One reason he was currently invincible against his opponent was due to his own strength, but the more important point was that the strength of those in the Black Ink Clan Army was really quite diverse, with many Black Ink Clansmen simply being too weak for Yang Kai to have any trouble with.
This was much unlike the Cave Heavens and Paradises, who only sent Sixth-Order Masters or above to the Black Ink Battlefield. In fact, the only reason there were Fifth-Order Human Masters present at all is because their cultivation had regressed from the Sixth-Order after they repeatedly sacrificed parts of their Small Universes.
The Black Ink Clan was different. Anyone from their army could freely roam the battlefield. There were the Territory Lords and Feudal Lords, who were the strongest in the Black Ink Clan besides the Royal Lords, but there were also Black Ink Clansmen who were only as strong as First-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators. How could such weaklings be Yang Kai’s opponent?
Therefore, even though there was a huge disparity in numbers between the two clans, with the Black Ink Clan Army always being many times larger than the Human Race Army, the latter had not yet been defeated. Each time, the Black Ink Clan Army would be forced to retreat. With their army diminished, they had to return to their territory to recover, and then made a comeback after dozens or hundreds of years.
Thus, the cycle repeated.
World Force shook wherever Yang Kai’s spear passed, and several Black Ink Clansmen would die. The death of each Black Ink Clansman would cause Black Ink Strength to leak out, which would condense on the battlefield, eventually forming Black Ink Clouds.
Black Ink Clouds would not do any harm to the Black Ink Clan; in fact, they provided them with a tactical advantage as they served as both a form of protection and deterrent.
Before Yang Kai came to Blue Sky Pass, the Human Masters would normally avoid the Black Ink Clouds on the battlefield, both to avoid being ambushed and to avoid being corrupted by the Black Ink Strength.
This sort of ambush happened quite frequently on the battlefield, as the Black Ink Clan would often attack passing Humans while sheltering in the Black Ink Clouds.
However, after the arrival of Yang Kai and his Purifying Light Secret Technique became well known, the Human Masters became unconcerned with the Black Ink Clouds.
When a Black Ink Clansman was injured in the past, he would look for a way to flee into nearby Black Ink Clouds in order to survive as no human would have the audacity to follow him in.
But things had changed now. Even if they took cover inside the Black Ink Clouds, the Human Race Masters would still pursue and attack, catching many Black Ink Clansmen off guard and increasing the number of their losses greatly.
The Black Ink Clan was also confused by this sudden change and couldn’t understand why the Humans from Blue Sky Pass had suddenly become so aggressive.
As Yang Kai fought, attacking all the enemies he encountered, he saw a group of Human Masters fighting nearby. These Masters were all in the Seventh Order, as only such Masters could effectively play a role without the protection of a warship.
He had arrived here immediately after rushing out of the Mountain Battalion’s warship and received little attention from these nearby Seventh-Order Masters as they were all engaged in battle and could not spare him too much thought at the moment. If one was careless in this place, they could end up dead, so who would not focus all their attention on the enemies in front of them?
However, the Seventh-Order Masters in the area soon took notice of Yang Kai. This was unavoidable though, as it was clear from Yang Kai’s aura that he was the only Sixth Order.
It was not that Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would not appear on the battlefield, but in most cases when they did, it indicated that a warship had been destroyed, exposing the Sixth-Order and Fifth-Order Open Masters who were sheltering inside it.
So, after realising Yang Kai’s cultivation, the Seventh-Order Masters assumed that he belonged to that scenario and began to move to protect him.
However, the Seventh-Order Masters were a little taken aback when they witnessed the might of Yang Kai’s spear thrusts. No ordinary Sixth-Order Master could possess such strength.
There were a total of four Seventh-Order Masters close to Yang Kai. The leader of this small group seemed to be an elderly man as his cultivation was clearly the strongest of the four. As for the other three Masters, they were a lanky middle-aged man, a young man who appeared to be around Yang Kai’s age, and a beautiful woman.
A warship followed closely behind this group of four, assisting them from the rear.
These four Masters and the warship which was accompanying them must have belonged to a certain Battalion. Yang Kai, who was already familiar with the distribution of forces in Blue Sky Pass, quickly determined this.
This spot was also where the fighting was the most intense on the front lines of the battlefield.
“Little Brother, which Battalion are you from? Why did you come here?” The lanky middle-aged man slashed out a shocking sword wave, dispersing the Black Ink Clan Army in front of him and giving him a moment to ask Yang Kai amidst the chaos.
“Fourth Division Mountain Battalion!” He simply said.
Technically he wasn’t lying as he indeed came out of Blue Sky Pass with the Fourth Division Mountain Battalion.
The middle-aged man sighed, subconsciously believing that the Fourth Division Mountain Battalion’s warship had been destroyed. Due to this, the boy in front of him was forced onto the battlefield alone, so he said, “Get back on board. You’re not qualified to be out here.”
Coincidentally, their Battalion’s warship was coming up on them. Although Yang Kai did not belong to their Battalion, they were all fighting for the same cause; therefore, taking him aboard their ship was not an issue.
Yang Kai turned to look at this man, raised his spear, and began condensing a scorching power that filled the surrounding void. The cry of the Golden Crow rang out as a Great Sun appeared.
The surrounding void was suddenly illuminated as this Great Sun rose.
The Golden Crow cried out ecstatically as it circled around the Great Sun.
The Great Sun perched itself atop the long spear and Yang Kai thrust it out into a nearby mass of Black Ink Clansmen.
A massive halo suddenly erupted within the Black Ink Clan Army and ignited a region 1,000 kilometres in radius. The blazing force of the light blanketed the landscape, the space itself began warping under the force. A great number of Black Ink Clansmen yelled and wailed before disintegrating into ash under the light of the Great Sun.
With a single strike, at least 10,000 Black Ink Clansmen were obliterated.
The nearby old man’s brow rose as he and the young man looked at Yang Kai in great shock while the beautiful woman exclaimed, “Divine Manifestation?”
They had witnessed the Great Sun’s brilliance, and they knew that it was no ordinary Divine Ability or Secret Technique. It was undoubtedly a Divine Manifestation.
But… how could a Sixth-Order Master have a Divine Manifestation? How was that possible? The four of them almost thought they had seen wrong.
Only Seventh-Order Masters were capable of using Divine Manifestations, and not every Seventh-Order Master had comprehended one. Despite the fact that all four of them were Seventh-Order Masters, only the old man and the middle-aged man who spoke to Yang Kai just now had their own Divine Manifestations, the other two had yet to fully comprehend one.
The young man and the lovely woman exchanged glances as they both noticed the astonishment in each other’s eyes and simultaneously felt somewhat ashamed.
Unlike the two of them, this Sixth-Order Junior could cast a Divine Manifestation, which was simply unprecedented in their opinion.
Although Yang Kai didn’t say anything, his message was clear as he cast a quick glance at the middle-aged man who spoke to him earlier on. [Though I’m an Order lower than you, I’m not that weak. There’s no need for me to fall back.]
The middle-aged man instantly understood as he grinned, though his brow twitched slightly as he spoke, “Since that’s the case, do as you please. Just be careful, kid. On the battlefield, you can only rely on yourself, don’t count on anyone saving you if you find yourself in trouble.”
With that said, he re-focused his attention on his own battle.
Although the Great Sun eliminated a large number of enemies, the Black Ink Clans soon regrouped. These enemies, surrounded by Black Ink Strength, seemed almost inexhaustible.
Back near Blue Sky Pass’ defence line, Zhong Liang and Feng Ying strained their eyes as they scanned the battlefield.
As the Western Army Commander, Zhong Liang had issued an order to all the Battalions to search for Yang Kai, but due to the chaotic nature of the battlefield, the actual number of people who could seek out Yang Kai was quite limited.
As a result, Zhong Liang had gotten no useful information up to this point. He only knew that after Yang Kai escaped the Fourth Division Mountain Battalion, he flew off into the battlefield alone. Nobody knew his whereabouts now.
Suddenly, somewhere out on the battlefield several tens of thousands of kilometres away, a distinctive explosion of light occurred.
Zhong Liang’s expression changed as he immediately looked over.
He remembered the first time he saw Yang Kai casting Purifying Light on the battlefield; the bright and pure white light was a sight never before seen in this war.
With the eruption of that white light, the Black Ink Territory Lord who battled against Zhong Liang was badly injured and subsequently killed by Feng Ying.
Right now, what caught their eyes was not a pure white light though, but a dazzling orange-red light like a small Sun.
Zhong Liang felt both relieved and disappointed.
He was relieved that it wasn’t the Purifying Light as he was concerned that Yang Kai might reveal it again in the heat of battle. It would be too obvious that it could suppress the Black Ink Clan once that happened, and the leaders of the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t naturally not ignore such a threat, putting Yang Kai into a risky position.
However, he was disappointed as it didn’t provide any clues about Yang Kai’s whereabouts.
On the other hand, Feng Ying’s eyes lit up as she shouted, “Martial Uncle, over there!”
She pointed to where the little Sun erupted.
“That was created by Yang Kai?” Zhong Liang frowned.
“Golden Crow Casts the Sun! That’s his Divine Manifestation!” Feng Ying said, nodding.
“Divine Manifestation? He has a Divine Manifestation?”
“Although it is unbelievable, he does. I saw him use it once as we were making our way back here,” Feng Ying confirmed.
Due to this event, Feng Ying was able to locate Yang Kai, making it a stroke of luck in this chaotic battlefield.
Zhong Liang gaped, unsure what to say.
A Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master possessed a Divine Manifestation? This was something never heard of or seen before. What sort of Heaven-defying aptitude did it require for Yang Kai to possess a Divine Manifestation in the Sixth Order? But the words came from Feng Ying, so it shouldn’t be a mistake.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Zhong Liang raged.
[Well, you never asked…]
Everyone was drawn to Yang Kai’s Purifying Light when he arrived at Blue Sky Pass; they knew he had mastered the means of restraining Black Ink Strength and thus had great hopes for this method.
Who would have paid attention to Yang Kai’s own strengths and aptitude at that point?
Forget about if Yang Kai was a Heaven-defying talent, even if he was a mediocre individual, Purifying Light was all that was necessary to make him critical to the Human Race and someone who had to be protected at all cost.
“Adjutant!” Zhong Liang abruptly yelled.
A Seventh-Order Open Heaven young woman rushed over, cupped her fist, and shouted, “Sir!”
“What’s the situation with the Eastern, Northern, and Southern Armies?” Zhong Liang asked anxiously.
The woman quickly replied, “The Three Army Commanders have responded and agreed to cooperate with the operations here!”
“Good! It appears that they are also aware of the severity of the situation and will not be a hindrance,” Zhong Liang replied solemnly, “Pass down my order. With the reinforcements from the other three armies, we will launch a full offensive!”
The four armies of Blue Sky Pass were organised into four defensive lines. This was a traditional formation that had not changed in hundreds of thousands of years. There were of course instances where one Army would require help from another, but in general, each Army functioned separately in order to hold their own defence line and repel the Black Ink Clan.
This time, however, in order to save Yang Kai from the chaotic battlefield, Zhong Liang couldn’t care less. So, he notified Ding Yao, Liang Yu Long, and Shen Tu Mo to send some of their forces here to assist him so he could bring Yang Kai back.
The other Army Commanders were shocked when they heard the news. They cursed Yang Kai for being so foolish to sneak out to the battlefield. Worse, no one knew where he was, or even whether he was still alive or not.
Still, as the only user of Purifying Light, his existence was critical to the entire Blue Sky Pass and even the Human Race as a whole. He could not be allowed to die.
The other three Army Commanders severely reprimanded Zhong Liang as they responded to him, blaming him for his lack of supervision. They then immediately made adjustments to their forces to send a portion of them back to the Inner Sanctum so that they could rush from there to the Western Army defence line to rescue Yang Kai, who was on the Western Army’s battlefield.
This was the safest option; otherwise, it would be too tough for reinforcements from the three Armies to fight their way to the Western front.
There were always more than 30,000 people in Blue Sky Pass, and each army contained around 8,000 each. The size of the force was more than enough to deal with the Black Ink Clan’s siege, but as a result of the Army being split up, the battle at the other three fronts grew increasingly tense.
The three Army Commanders did not hesitate to send around 30% of their forces to provide reinforcements, which essentially doubled the amount of troops there were on the Western front.
These Masters, who had returned, were presently gathered in Blue Sky Pass’ main square. The mission was unknown to them, but each Division Commander had already been given instructions.
‘Do whatever it takes to locate Yang Kai on the battlefield and ensure that he is brought back safely!’
In the meantime, the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Armies all gave up on their advantages on the battlefield and pulled back to the area around Blue Sky Pass. By shrinking their outer perimeter, they ensured that even with fewer forces, they could hold the line, especially with the assistance of Blue Sky Pass’ own defensive armaments. However, this mission had to be completed quickly to avoid any accidents taking place.
The Black Ink Clan saw what happened, and the Territory Lords in charge of the Black Ink Clan Army were perplexed by this. They had no idea why the Human forces had abruptly reduced by so much; however, given this opportunity, they would undoubtedly make the most of it. In mere moments, Blue Sky Pass was tightly surrounded on three fronts.
As for the Western Army, Zhong Liang, who had already ascertained Yang Kai’s whereabouts, instantly killed his way out of the Inner Sanctum, directing Feng Ying in that direction.
But, as soon as Zhong Liang emerged, he was met by a Black Ink Clansman with a powerful aura. The tall and imposing figure was obviously a Territory Lord with immense Black Ink Strength.
Because Zhong Liang foresaw this scenario, he had borrowed men from the other three Armies.
The lethality and deterrent of Eighth-Order Masters was outstanding on the battlefield, so the Territory Lords would obviously not remain silent once such a Master appeared. Those with weaker cultivations would have no means to intervene in a battle between such powerhouses.
Similarly, the Eighth-Order Masters on the Human side would do the same once a Territory Lord was sent out by the Black Ink Clan. The two parties had essentially come to an unspoken agreement about such things after battling for so long.
“Go!” Zhong Liang commanded Feng Ying as he cast a gaze across the battlefield and fixed a glare on the Territory Lord who was heading in his direction.
Feng Ying nodded. Though she had killed a Territory Lord once before, that was only because that Territory Lord was already seriously exhausted and injured, and had been further wounded by Yang Kai’s Purifying Light. If she really encountered a Territory Lord herself, she would definitely not be his opponent. Furthermore, she had something more important to do, which was to bring Yang Kai back safely.
“Be careful, Martial Uncle!” Holding a razor-sharp sword, Feng Ying charged into the battle. From behind her came a powerful clash of power as Zhong Liang engaged the Territory Lord somewhere in the void.
As soon as the two Masters clashed, a radius of several thousand kilometres around them was evacuated as neither side dared to approach them. This was a battlefield solely for the two of them!
Warships and Masters surged towards the Black Ink Clan’s lines as a dozen Eighth-Order Masters also rushed out from behind the surging Western Army.
The Humans became increasingly aggressive, stunning the Black Ink Clan. For many months now, the Humans had been entirely on the defensive and never launched counter-attacks unless they had a decisive advantage.
This was certainly not the situation right now, though, so the Black Ink Clan were quite confused about the Human Master’s thinking.
The Black Ink Clan still responded swiftly when they noticed several Division Commanders being sent out against them. Territory Lords from the Blank Ink Clan’s rear appeared one after another to meet the enemy.
Eyes from the two sides of Great Experts clashed in the void, unleashing endless murderous intent.
Only a moment later, the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and the Territory Lords clashed. Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques bloomed, and the universe trembled as figures transformed into streams of light and surged towards one another.
However, the Human side was undoubtedly at a disadvantage due to the imbalance in the numbers, with some Division Commanders having to engage two Territory Lords at once. Zhong Liang experienced a similar situation. He was quickly met by a Territory Lord as soon as he stepped onto the battlefield, but it was not long before another Territory Lord emerged and joined the fight.
The Human side had always had a disadvantage when it came to numbers against the Black Ink Clan though, so all the Eighth-Order Masters had experienced fighting two enemies at once.
Deep into the battlefield, Yang Kai silently slaughtered enemies around him.
He came to advance to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and for this reason, he deliberately made up an excuse to deceive Feng Ying and used others to sneak out of Blue Sky Pass.
However, when he arrived on the battlefield and became completely immersed in the fight, he had no time to ponder on his breakthrough. All he could do was focus and give it his all in battle.
He cooperated with the four Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters nearby and it was not long before the number of Blank Ink Clansmen that died at his hands became countless.
Initially, the old man was worried that Yang Kai couldn’t keep up with their pace and intensity, but as time passed, he surprisingly found that though Yang Kai was a mere Sixth-Order Master, his headcount was not lesser than theirs. Moreover, he seemed to have no trouble keeping up with and even coordinating with them.
They worked together as if they had been comrades for years.
This realization made the old man and others feel relieved, and soon they simply considered him another Seventh-Order Master.
Yang Kai, fighting on this battlefield, soon discovered a peculiarity. Under the premise of them being in the same realm, the average strength of a Black Ink Clansman was weaker than that of a Human Master.
Yang Kai, for instance, easily butchered many High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen that were equivalent to Sixth-Order Masters; however, none of these enemies was on par with the Sixth-Order Masters he knew.
In Void Land, there were plenty of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with varying depths of heritage. As a result, their strength varied greatly as well. Nevertheless, none of the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen here would be a match for even the weakest Sixth-Order Master in Void Land.
In fact, Yang Kai first became aware of this issue when he was following Feng Ying back to Blue Sky Pass; however, at the time, he paid little attention to it. Back then, before he could even take action, the majority of Black Ink Clansmen would be dealt with by Feng Ying and the others while he focused on saving Black Ink Disciples. Thus, at that time, he only at best cleaned up the leftovers.
Prior to that, Yang Kai had pretended to be a Black Ink Disciple for two years, so he had not fought any of them during that time.
It was only now that Yang Kai was able to confirm his original suspicions.
Even so, until now, he had only fought those below the Black Ink Feudal Lords, so he did not know whether this trend was consistent among the stronger Black Ink Clan Masters.
“Watch out, the Feudal Lords are going to launch an attack!” A cry was heard from the beautiful woman.
Yang Kai’s heart clenched upon hearing that. Wasn’t this the moment he had been looking for?
This was the first time he participated on the defensive side of the war between the two races, so he didn’t know much about the situation on the battlefield. On the other hand, the old man and his comrades were very clear that the higher ranking a Black Ink Clansman was, the less they cared about their lower clansmen’s life or death.
Every time the two races fought, the Black Ink Clan would send forth its weaker members to wear down the Human Army. Only after grinding down the Human’s strength would the real Masters from the Black Ink Clan show up in an attempt to catch the enemy off guard.
The old man and the others had been fighting for about two hours already, yet they had not encountered a single Feudal Lord during this time. It was clear what the enemy was up to.
As soon as the word came out, a figure suddenly rushed out from a dense Black Ink Cloud close to the old man.
The old man frowned before extending his hand and directly charging towards the approaching enemy.
The Feudal Lords, who had been hiding all this while, all took action simultaneously, emerging from the Black Ink Clouds to launch an ambush. The middle-aged man, young man, and beautiful woman were instantly pinned down. To top it all off, the middle-aged man was actually caught between two powerful enemies.
Several Feudal Lords rushed towards the warship and began bombarding it. However, the Humans had long gotten used to dealing with such tactics. Furthermore, warships were all refined with this exact situation in mind, so even without any High-Rank Master on board, with the aid of powerful defensive and offensive artifacts, the weaker Human Masters could still hold off such an assault.
The Black Ink Clan immediately became fiercely entangled with the Battalion, Yang Kai was accompanying.
Suddenly, a rather slender female Black Ink Clansman leapt out of a large group of enemies and sent a palm strike out at Yang Kai.
Caught off guard, Yang Kai was sent tumbling by this sudden attack. The next moment, he frowned as he realised that this female Black Ink Clansman was actually a Feudal Lord!
Apparently, she had hidden in the group of Black Ink Clansmen previously while concealing her strength, causing Yang Kai to not notice her until she struck.
The female Feudal Lord resembled a typical Human in terms of her physical form. She even wore revealing clothing, and the black lines that covered her exposed flesh gave her entire figure a bewitching appearance.
She glanced at Yang Kai with cold eyes and was surprised that he survived her sudden assassination attempt.
Since the two races had been at war for so long, they had a fair understanding of each other’s strengths. While she was hiding in the Black Ink Clan Army, she noticed that Yang Kai was only a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, whereas she was a Feudal Lord on par with a Seventh-Order Human Master. It didn’t make sense that he had survived her sneak attack.
However, she soon began to giggle, her long, crimson, forked snake-like tongue licking her lips seductively.
Her figure then flickered and transformed into a black cloud of smoke.
Yang Kai’s heart clenched as he instinctively thrust his spear forward.
Subsequently, the figure of the female Feudal Lord was revealed, avoiding the deadly spear and appearing directly to his left. She patted him lightly with her seemingly soft little hand, but her palm strike contained a Heaven-destroying, Earth-shattering power.
Yang Kai just barely managed to block the blow with his spear.
*Hong hong hong..*
Yang Kai countered three successive palms but was forced to retreat several hundred metres before somehow stabilizing himself. At that moment, he could feel the vitality in his chest roiling and fresh blood threatened to leak from his lips. With nothing more than stubborn will, he forcefully choked back down the metallic liquid.
The female Feudal Lord was now genuinely stunned, to the point where she didn’t use this opening to kill Yang Kai. Rather, she gasped slightly as she stared at him.
[This Human seems different from the others. He’s clearly in the Sixth-Order, but he’s considerably stronger than any other Sixth-Order Human I’ve killed before.]
On the opposite side, Yang Kai brandished his spear, sweeping clean all the Blank Ink Clansman that were charging towards him, reducing them to a cloud Blank Ink Strength. He then aimed his spear at the female Feudal Lord and smirked, “You really are quite weak.”
He had now confirmed his earlier hypothesis. Under the premise that they were in the same relative realm, the Black Ink Clan Masters were indeed weaker than their Human counterparts. Yang Kai had not been certain about this before; after all, he had not faced a Feudal Lord alone before now. It was only after he traded blows with this female Feudal Lord that he was able to verify his speculations.
It was also at this moment that Yang Kai figured out why this odd dichotomy was.
In order to reach the Open Heaven Realm, Humans needed to cultivate for a very long time. There were no shortcuts to this process, even if the person wanted to only make an initial breakthrough to the First Order. What’s more, after reaching the Open Heaven Realm, it required a lot of time and effort to advance to the next Order; therefore, no matter which Order a Human Master was in, their foundation and heritage would be much stronger compared to those from the Black Ink Clan, whose cultivation was fundamentally different. The Black Ink Clan were born from the Black Ink Nests, and their advancement also depended on it. As a result, while they needed less time to develop than Human Masters, their strength was not acquired through personal effort and comprehension, thus it was not as refined.
Unfortunately, Black Ink Strength was incredibly corrosive and a strong deterrent to Humans, restricting them in combat to a great extent, which compensated for the Black Ink Clan’s lack of raw strength.
In that sense, even if there was a one-on-one battle between a Feudal Lord and a Seventh-Order Master, it was impossible to predict who would prevail.
Of course, this was all before Yang Kai appeared.
With his arrival, the Humans possessed the means necessary to purify and disperse Black Ink Strength; thus, it no longer posed as much of a threat to them. It didn’t matter if their Small Universe got unintentionally contaminated as long as they weren’t fully corrupted by the Black Ink Strength. They simply had to return to a Purifying Black Ink Battleship before losing themselves entirely, and the issue would be instantly resolved.
This was also the reason why Zhong Liang and the other Army Commanders put so much importance on Yang Kai’s existence, to the point that they actually re-assigned thousands of Masters just to rescue him and bring him back from the battlefield.
In addition to boosting morale, the ability to purify and dispel Black Ink Strength also increased the battle efficiency of the Human Army, enabling them to go all out without fear.
Regardless, a Feudal Lord was still a Feudal Lord, a Master on par with a Seventh-Order Human. Yang Kai would never lower his guard against such an opponent.
Although his words were provocative, his expression remained solemn.
The provocation proved to be successful. Possibly as a result of her own attack failing twice, the female Feudal Lord was completely furious. Not only did she fail to kill Yang Kai, but there weren’t even any signs she had been able to seriously injure him. She immediately let out a piercing scream and rushed towards him.
The Feudal Lord released a massive cloud of Black Ink Strength, which was so dense it instantly turned into a gigantic Blank Ink Cloud, engulfing Yang Kai inside of it.
She now believed it would be too kind to simply kill this arrogant Human who was looking down on her despite being weaker. Thus, she made the decision to turn him into her own Black Ink Disciple, so she could torture him for a long time to come.
Deep inside the Black Ink Cloud, Yang Kai put on a guileful expression as he instantly understood his enemy’s plan. Unfortunately for her, she had chosen the wrong target.
The female Feudal Lord swam freely through the Black Ink Cloud, believing Yang Kai must be feeling flustered as all Humans so far would struggle to perform well in such a situation.
She didn’t assault Yang Kai immediately; instead, she wanted to enjoy the misery of her enemy, a rare interest she had on the battlefield.
To her astonishment though, what came next was a sharp flying blade. This attack shocked the female Feudal Lord, who quickly dodged to the side as soon as she sensed it approaching.
Followed by a slight pain in the cheek, where it had been injured by the attack, black blood stained the palm of her hand as she reached up to wipe it.
The female Feudal Lord was truly incensed now. How could she have allowed such a weakling to injure her? Unfortunately, the next moment, her fury turned to panic as a storm of attacks flew at her incessantly.
Realizing she had greatly underestimated her opponent, the female Feudal Lord knew that dodging here would only cause her to fall into a disadvantage, losing any opportunity to counterattack.
With no other choice, she clenched her teeth and hurled herself at her attacker, sending out a flurry of palm strikes to meet the enemy head-on.
The Black Ink Cloud roiled turbulently as violent energy fluctuations and deafening rumbling sounds continuously erupted from it.
Yang Kai pushed his Supreme Limitless Spear Art without restraint. Every thrust, sweep, and slash carried with them the essence of his lifetime of cultivation.
Likewise, the female Feudal Lord refused to back down. She found Yang Kai’s behaviour irritating, and she wished for nothing more than to make him submit before her.
Inside the dense Blank Ink Cloud, the pair engaged in a deadly melee.
At some point, Yang Kai was sent tumbling, his eyes reddening as he panted hard and stared at the hazy figure in front of him. His clothes were shredded and fresh blood was dripping from hundreds of wounds that covered his body. Even his face was stained with golden blood, showing how mercilessly he had fought.
The female Feudal Lord’s palms were not her real weapons. After engaging several hundred blows with her, Yang Kai had deeply understood that it was actually her razor-sharp claws that she was using to deal damage. Her nails were so hard and sharp that it really made him wonder how she cultivated them.
At that same time, her claws were imbued with dense Black Ink Strength that acted like a kind of poison. Whenever he was wounded, Black Ink Strength would seep into his body.
If a normal cultivator suffered such injuries, they would quickly be corrupted by Black Ink Strength and degenerate into a Blank Ink Disciple.
Of course, Yang Kai had no such worries. He had a World Spring in his Small Universe that could perfectly suppress and seal Black Ink Strength, making him practically immune to its corrosive effects.
The battle between the two had only lasted a dozen breaths or so, yet Yang Kai was already looking quite ragged.
He wasn’t the only one struggling though, as the female Feudal Lord was not feeling much better than him. She had underestimated Yang Kai’s strength greatly and had fallen into an unfavourable position. Despite the fact that she made a concerted effort to regain control of the battle, the Azure Dragon Spear had left its mark on her, especially on her lower abdomen where the spear had almost pierced right through her, drawing a thick stream of black blood from a grievous wound.
Her clothes, which were originally quite revealing, were now completely torn, leaving her practically naked.
Still, she licked the fresh blood from her lips with her long tongue and glared at Yang Kai with hatred in her eyes. Wiping her hand across the wound on her abdomen, she snarled, “Just you wait, once you’re my Black Ink Disciple, I will make you beg for dea…”
From the thick black cloud, a fist suddenly emerged in front of her eyes and slammed hard into her pretty face. The female Feudal Lord instantly felt as though she had been hit by the entire Universe World, as the immense force sent her flying.
“You talk too much!” Yang Kai ripped off his torn shirt and revealed his chiselled muscles. As he stretched himself slightly, his body made a cracking sound, after which all the cuts he suffered stopped bleeding and closed up.
Contrastingly, flashes of golden stars appeared before the female Feudal Lord’s eyes. That punch left her in a bad state as she felt her nose being broken and tears were now streaming down her face.
If it had been a weaker Black Ink Clansman who took that punch, their head would have exploded on the spot.
Fortunately for her, she had responded quickly when she realised something was off and condensed her Black Ink Strength to defend herself. Even so, she had been badly injured.
The power of that punch genuinely frightened her.
What was more unbelievable was the fact that her Black Ink Strength didn’t seem to have any effect on Yang Kai at all. Forget about corrupting him, he didn’t even seem to notice its existence at all.
Somehow managing to stabilize herself inside the Black Ink Cloud, she gasped to steady herself.
The hazy figure in front of her quickly approached though, as a menacing voice rang in her ears, “Come! This fight is just getting started! I won’t take advantage of you, so bring out all your skills! Today, either you die, or I perish!”
The female Feudal Lord’s brow furiously twitched and she involuntarily took a step backwards. Her instincts were telling her to turn around and flee, but what face would she have left if she really did that? She was only facing a Sixth-Order Human Master, if she ran from such an opponent, she wouldn’t have a place in the Black Ink Clan in the future.
The female Feudal Lord quickly realised what Yang Kai meant when he said that he ‘wouldn’t take advantage of her’.
He actually put away his artifact and then leapt towards her, throwing out his fists as he flew.
She dodged the attack by diving to the side as rage began surging within her. She was even angrier now that she was being looked down upon and mocked by a mere Sixth-Order Human. With a fierce cry, Blank Ink Strength erupted from her and she assailed Yang Kai, her razor-sharp claws serving as her weapons as she slashed wildly.
Ignoring her attack entirely, Yang Kai raised his fist and punched out, engaging in a deadly melee.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
Black and golden blood splattered out. The pair even began coughing up blood onto each other’s faces as their bodies trembled fiercely.
In just a short time, the female Feudal Lord’s ferocity was quickly dulled, as the momentum she had collapsed.
She hadn’t met a Human like this before. Everyone in the Human Race had viewed death slightly differently in critical situations and there were indeed times when her enemies would choose to drag Black Ink Clansman down with them in death. However, Yang Kai was the first Human she had encountered who was so vicious.
[How is he Human? He’s more like a ravenous beast!]
What made her even more terrified was that the erosion of Black Ink Strength seemed to have no effect on him. Even with the help of her sharp claws, there was no evidence of Black Ink Strength corrupting him.
She was quite hopeful that it would still take effect. If it did, she could take him down with ease once her Black Ink Strength had completely corrupted him. She might even be able to obtain a powerful new Black Ink Disciple. It had to be noted that capturing a Black Ink Disciple on the battlefield was something to be proud of in the Black Ink Clan. However, even now, this man’s consciousness remained crystal clear.
Not only that, the power from each of his punches was heavier than the previous one. There were no signs of him weakening at all.
She was well-versed in regards to Humans and was aware that their Small Universes served as a foundation of their cultivation. If the Small Universe was disrupted, it would affect their strength.
Logically speaking, after all these violent clashes, Yang Kai’s combat ability should have been reduced.
But it was the complete opposite for him!
Additionally, close combat was not her forte.
The dreadful thought that she would perish at the hands of this strange Human slowly crept into the female Feudal Lord’s mind. She was terrified when this notion crossed her thoughts, and she seriously considered fleeing.
After another clash, the female Feudal Lord suddenly tried to shake off Yang Kai and retreat.
“Want to run?” Yang Kai glared fiercely. He did not immediately chase after her, but rather his body shook and the Void stretched infinitely as Space Principles surged.
Near Distant Horizon!
The female Feudal Lord was shocked to discover that no matter how hard she tried to escape, she was unable to move away from Yang Kai due to some strange power engulfing her.
[What is this Secret Technique?!] Despite the fact that she had no idea what the mystery of this Secret Technique was, her fingers were moving as swiftly as the wind, and she immediately broke free of its restraints by disrupting the space around her.
In the end, she was still stronger than Yang Kai in terms of realms; thus, Near Distant Horizon couldn’t trap her for long.
But thanks to this moment of delay, Yang Kai successfully caught up to her, and the fierce battle continued.
Outside, on the battlefield, Feng Ying wielded her long sword. She was one of the strongest Seventh-Order Masters in Blue Sky Pass, so no one other than a Black Ink Territory Lord could stop her.
All around her, Sword Qi flashed as Blank Ink Clansmen died before Feng Ying even approached them. Even a Black Ink Clan Feudal Lord could hardly resist three strikes from her sword. They could either flee or fight on knowing they would die.
She had not used her Divine Manifestation, but if she did her strength would only increase further.
Feng Ying once killed a Territory Lord, even if she did so with Yang Kai’s assistance, so it was clear she had an incredibly strong heritage.
She kept moving forward, with many allies helping her clear the way, and eventually reached the front lines of the battle. At the spot where Golden Crow Casts the Sun had previously erupted, she turned around and looked in all directions. Her Divine Sense surged, but she was unable to locate Yang Kai at all.
Her face suddenly sank. Could it be that she was too late and Yang Kai had already been killed?
Two Feudal Lords were besieging a Seventh-Order Master nearby, and he was in danger of dying at any moment. Even though Humans were somewhat stronger than those from the Black Ink Clan in the same Realm, two fists could not block four strikes. Once two Feudal Lords joined forces, most Seventh-Order Masters would not be their opponent.
Slashing out with her sword, Feng Ying struck the two Feudal Lords and forced them to retreat temporarily.
“Have you seen Yang Kai?” She urgently questioned, grabbing the collar of the Seventh-Order Master before he re-engaged the two Feudal Lords.
The old man who was caught by her, was stunned and asked, “Who’s Yang Kai?”
Suddenly, Feng Ying remembered that not everyone knew who Yang Kai was, or what he looked like. She realised that she might not be able to learn anything by asking this question, so she instantly changed the question to, “Have you seen a strange Sixth-Order youth?”
“You’re looking for him?” The elderly man instantly knew who she was referring to.
This old man was one of the four Masters that Yang Kai had been cooperating with before. There were innumerable Sixth-Order youths on the battlefield, but Feng Ying must have her reason for asking, so the old man recalled a certain Sixth-Order Master right away.
“Where is he?” Feng Ying was nervous about the response she would receive; she was afraid the answer was not what she wanted to hear.
The old man’s expression suddenly darkened, and he pointed to a specific area, saying, “In there, dealing with a Feudal Lord.”
Looking in the direction he was pointing, Feng Ying noticed a sizable gathering of Black Ink Clouds.
Feng Ying’s heart clenched.
“That brat was very strong, but unfortunately…” The old man let out a small sigh. He would have liked to look after Yang Kai on the battlefield if it were possible, but unfortunately, he was entirely preoccupied with dealing with the two Feudal Lords who surrounded him and couldn’t render any aid.
The old man didn’t know how Feng Ying was related to Yang Kai, so he simply blurted out, “My condolence!”
He was almost positive that the Feudal Lord had already killed the boy; after all, even if it was him, his fate would not be pleasant if he were to fight inside those Black Ink Clouds.
“He won’t die so easily!” Feng Ying gritted her teeth. She had witnessed Yang Kai’s abilities. What’s more, Yang Kai still had a World Spring, and would not be corrupted by Black Ink Strength. He could even transform into a Grand Dragon…
But she was also aware that Yang Kai would not simply transform into his Grand Dragon Form even if his life was in danger solely because he entered the battlefield this time to seek an opportunity to break through. Transforming into a Grand Dragon simply meant he failed to accomplish his goal.
Feng Ying sped towards the Black Ink Cloud as soon as the words were spoken.
The very next moment though, a sudden change occurred.
Two entwined figures suddenly burst out of an enormous Black Ink Cloud. The two were so close to each other, it was as if they were one person. The murderous aura emanating from the two figures made one’s blood run cold.
Feng Ying’s eyes lit up as soon as she recognized that one of the figures was Yang Kai.
[He’s still alive! He can still be saved!] Just when Feng Ying prepared to rush to his rescue, she stopped abruptly, her expression odd.
The old man was also shocked when he looked over.
It was the previous female Feudal Lord who was entangled with Yang Kai, with his arms tightly encircled around her body like chains.
This was only possibly because her figure was quite small. If she was like most Black Ink Clansmen, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to use his arms to tie her up like this.
It was possible to imagine the intensity of the power of Yang Kai’s physique as fresh blood continued to spew forth from the mouth of the female Feudal Lord. The bones in her upper body had been crushed, and it was clear that her chest had caved in slightly. Her pain was visible in the twisted expression on her face.
Yang Kai’s shirt was gone, leaving him half-naked, while the female Feudal Lord was also almost completely naked in her shredded clothing.
Feng Ying and the elderly man were at a loss for words as they observed this scene.
Naturally, this had not been part of Yang Kai’s original plan, it was just that the female Feudal Lord was constantly trying to escape. Even though he once used Near Distant Horizon to stop her, he might not be able to do so if she tried again.
In order to prevent his opponent from fleeing, Yang Kai had to resort to this.
Although his cultivation was one Minor Realm lower than his opponent, the ferocity of Yang Kai’s strength was enough to battle against this female Feudal Lord. As she was struggling to escape, more of her bones broke and stabbed into her organs, causing her immense pain.
With her life on the line, she held nothing back, but because she was unable to use her arms as they were currently bound, she used her knees to kick and struggle against Yang Kai’s lower half. Fortunately, Yang Kai was prepared for this as well, and as a result, he managed to wrap his legs around hers and lock them in place. It was this scene that appeared in front of Feng Ying and the others.
Yang Kai unleashed a vicious headbutt, causing him to see stars while knocking the female Feudal Lord’s head back. A large bump even formed on Yang Kai’s forehead as a result, but he couldn’t care less at the moment. The female Feudal Lord, of course, didn’t just lay there waiting for death and fought back with everything she had. The sound of their battle echoed all around.
All the Open Heaven Realm Masters gasped when they saw this scene. It was the first time they had witnessed such a scene even after fighting against the Black Ink Clan for so long. Yang Kai’s brutality was simply shocking.
[Where did this guy come from…]
Predicting that Yang Kai was going to headbutt her again, the female Feudal Lord stretched her slender neck, resulting in his attack missing its mark.
The next instant, her stretched-out head abruptly bounced back. Her cherry lips parted to reveal the fangs in the corners of her mouth as she bit towards the nearest exposed target.
Feng Ying had come to help immediately after recognizing Yang Kai’s figure, but she was too late, as she had to witness the female Feudal Lord’s teeth sinking into Yang Kai’s neck with her own eyes.