Who would have known that cleaning up the battlefield would result in realising such an important plan that could change Blue Sky Pass’ future?
The four Army Commanders passed down orders, and men immediately swarmed out of the Inner Sanctum to the battlefield to rapidly clean it.
Only when the battlefield was fully cleaned could Yang Kai open the various portals to the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises. After that, they would let those who were proficient in the Dao of Spirit Arrays enter them and get to work.
Because the battlefield was so vast, it would take at least two or three months to clean it no matter how many people were helping, so Yang Kai had nothing to do in the meantime. He had to wait until the battlefield was cleaned up before he could start working.
Thus, he followed Feng Ying back to Blue Sky Pass.
It was only then that Yang Kai was registered at Blue Sky Pass and officially became one of the members of the Army. Yang Kai arrived here in the middle of a war, so no one was available to help him get registered. After the war, he went into retreat to break through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and then he was punished to clean up the battlefield; therefore, he only had the time to go through the registration procedures now.
Now that he had his own Identity Token, Yang Kai felt a weight on his shoulders. Throughout the ages, every Human Master on the Black Ink Battlefield had an Identity Token, yet so many had died and the only way to trace their existence was to search for this token.
He had witnessed how fierce the battles here were, and knew how difficult it was for an Open Heaven Realm Master to survive on the Black Ink Battlefield. The more he learned, the more he resented the Black Ink Clan.
While Yang Kai was lost in thought, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who had registered him suddenly handed over a jade slip with a smile, “Yang Kai, here is a Letter of Appointment authorised by the four Army Commanders. Please accept it.”
“Letter of Appointment?” Yang Kai took it curiously and was shocked when he used his Divine Sense to read it.
The content of the jade slip was very simple. It said he had performed well and worked hard during this battle, so he was being promoted to Squad Leader as a reward for his valour.
Also, the jade slip had Imprints from all four Army Commander, which no one could and would dare to fake.
[So, I’m a Squad Leader now?] Yang Kai was confused.
First, he was punished and made to clean up the battlefield, and now he was rewarded. What was this all about? Was this what they called a carrot-and-stick approach?
“Senior Sister Feng also has one.” The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master added while handing a jade slip to Feng Ying.
Feng Ying took it curiously and nodded lightly after checking its contents.
Yang Kai wanted to ask Feng Ying about her jade slip, but if it was something bad, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to ask, so he kept quiet. However, Feng Ying directly turned her head to look at him and said, “From now on, I am your Deputy.”
Yang Kai looked at her in astonishment.
After putting away the jade slip, Feng Ying reiterated, “You heard correctly. From now on, I am to serve as your Vice Squad Leader.”
Yang Kai was surprised, “But, aren’t you a Battalion Commander?”
A Battalion Commander ranked higher than a Squad Leader. Feng Ying also performed well in this battle, but not only wasn’t she rewarded, but she was demoted from Battalion Commander to Deputy Squad Leader. What were the Army Commanders up to?
But on second thought, Yang Kai figured it out.
The four Army Commanders made this arrangement to one, let Feng Ying protect him, and two, to keep an eye on him; after all, he had disobeyed their orders, disregarded his own safety, and ran straight to the battlefield, which greatly frightened the four Army Commanders. They weren’t certain if he would do it again, so they had Feng Ying stick close to him to make sure this didn’t happen a second time.
Among all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Masters, Feng Ying was one of the strongest, so even if they did get into a dangerous situation, she could protect him.
[All this happened because of me…]
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, “Martial Aunt, I’ll go talk to the four Army Commanders and ask them to rescind their orders.”
Feng Ying shook her head, however, and declared, “There’s no need. I have someone in mind to take over my place in the Battalion. Also, this decision was jointly made by the four Army Commanders, so they can’t change it at will. You, on the other hand, do need someone to watch over you.”
Her words meant that she didn’t mind monitoring Yang Kai, which made him blush.
Feng Ying frowned again and added, “But, there is something strange about this letter of appointment.”
“Is it a fake?” Yang Kai cheered. He didn’t care about being a Squad Leader, but it didn’t feel good to have someone watching him all the time.
While glaring at him, Feng Ying said, “There’s no way this is fake. What I mean is, the Army Commanders appointed us as Squad Leader and Vice Squad Leader, but they didn’t say which Army, Wing, Division, or even Battalion we would be joining.”
Only when she said this did Yang Kai realise what the problem was. It was true that the Letter of Appointment only said that he was promoted to Squad Leader, but it didn’t mention who he would be serving under.
He hadn’t been on the Black Ink Battlefield for long, but Feng Ying had been here for thousands of years, so she knew exactly what should be included in such letters. However, something vital was missing from both their letters, so both of them felt doubtful.
“I’ll ask them when I have time.” Feng Ying said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the Merit Hall and War Materials Hall. You’ve just broken through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so take advantage of this free time to consolidate your cultivation.”
The Merit Hall and War Materials Hall were in the same central building, so there were many cultivators coming and going.
This place was usually packed because one could check their Military Merits and exchange them for supplies here; thus, this was naturally a place that many cultivators would frequent.
Especially now that the war had just ended, the place seemed even more lively than normal.
The two first stopped at the Merit Hall to check out their Military Merits and soon received a detailed report. Yang Kai wasn’t clear on what the number of Military Merits represented; after all, he was new to Blue Sky Pass and didn’t know how such things were calculated, nor did he know how much they were worth.
After asking Feng Ying though, he found out that his Military Merits were quite high, and that the Military Merits received by Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders after a major battle would only be this much as well.
The Military Merits Feng Ying had earned after the last war were only about 20% of Yang Kai’s, but even so, it was already beyond her expectations.
According to her previous estimates, her Military Merits this time should not be this high.
After a moment of silence though, Feng Ying suddenly realised something and posited, “I think they’ve also taken the hundreds of people we brought back into their calculations.”
When they fought their way back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain, they saved hundreds of Black Ink Disciples, which was also a great merit.
Now that they had their Military Merits, they went to the War Materials Hall to exchange them for resources. The Manager in charge of this matter handed them two jade slips, which included all the materials they could exchange for Military Merits.
Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to look inside and saw that the first item on the list was a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit. The number of Military Merits needed was not too high, but it wasn’t too low either. However, there was a ‘Limited Supply’ note beside the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit.
Obviously, Blue Sky Pass was short of Profound Yin Spirit Fruit. Even taking all the Great Passes into account, Profound Yin Spirit Fruits were scarce.
During every battle, there were countless cultivators who had to sacrifice parts of their Small Universes. If they wanted to repair the damage, they needed a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, which could only be found in special Sealed Worlds on the Black Ink Battlefield. Whenever a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit appeared anywhere, it would be exchanged for immediately.
What Yang Kai found surprising was that the second item on the list was actually Profound Yin Bamboo. However, there was also a ‘Limit Supply’ label behind it.
He was planning to contribute a batch of Profound Yin Bamboo to Blue Sky Pass. Previously, he had accumulated too much heritage in his Small Universe, so he had to use up a large amount of World Force to grow Profound Yin Bamboo, which was of little use to him. He had the World Spring in his Small Universe, so there was no need for him to have Profound Yin Bamboo too.
It seemed Blue Sky Pass had gotten word that he would be contributing a batch of Profound Yin Bamboo, which was why they added it to the list of exchangeable materials to boost the Army’s morale.
The various resources following Profound Yin Bamboo were for cultivation. Additionally, among the materials that could be exchanged for were artifacts and even Secret Techniques from all the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Yang Kai searched through the list and found that among these Secret Techniques were the Demon Eye of Annihilation and the Black Purgatory Eye.
The amount of Military Merits required for these two Secret Techniques were enormous! Even with the Military Merits he had gained today, Yang Kai barely had enough to redeem for one of them.
Even so, Yang Kai was still a bit shocked.
Those two Eye Secret Techniques were the core secrets of Myriad Demons Heaven. In the 3,000 Worlds, only the most elite Core Disciples were qualified to cultivate them, with ordinary disciples never even having a chance to see them, let alone disciples of other Sects.
But here, on the Black Ink Battlefield, these two Secret Techniques were actually purchasable by all.
How could he not be shocked by this?
After thinking about it though, Yang Kai understood.
Such a different situation existed here because this was the Black Ink Battlefield. Since ancient times, Human Masters who stepped on into the Black Ink Battlefield never returned to the 3,000 Worlds, so even if they had exchanged their Military Merits for these two Secret Techniques, Myriad Demons Heaven wouldn’t have to worry about them leaking to the general public.
If someone did manage to cultivate these two Secret Techniques, it would benefit the Humans as well because they could at least improve the strength of said cultivator.
Yang Kai was still curious and asked the Manager while holding the jade slip, “If I exchange Military Merits for these two Eye Secret Techniques, how will I receive them?”
The Manager smiled and said, “We don’t provide the cultivation methods here in Blue Sky Pass. If you want to exchange for them, you will need to go to Myriad Demons Pass. The Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Cave Heaven resides there, and he will personally teach you the two Eye Secret Techniques.”
Yang Kai now understood the situation. He thought there was a prepared cultivation method here in Blue Sky Pass, but he did not expect that would need to head to Myriad Demons Pass to find the Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Cave Heaven.
It was obvious that all the procedures were the same if one wanted to practice the specialized Secret Techniques of all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Yet, to get a chance to be taught by an Old Ancestor was definitely a blessing.
Feng Ying looked at him curiously, “You want to exchange for these two Eye Secret Techniques?”
“I’m just asking,” Yang Kai shook his head. There was no need for him to exchange for them because he already possessed the Demon Eye of Annihilation and Black Pupils of Purgatory. Before coming to the Black Ink Battlefield, A Myriad Demons Heaven Ancestor, Mo Sha, had personally taught him those techniques.
If he had time to cultivate these two Eye Secret Techniques and reached the highest possible level of mastery, he would have another trump card to fight against the Black Ink Clan.
Feng Ying nodded and said from the side, “Those inside the Inner Sanctum exchange materials according to a principle. Only exchange for what you need. Resources are scarce, so don’t take anything you don’t plan to immediately make use of.”
Yang Kai nodded. He didn’t need to exchange for cultivation materials because he had already prepared enough of them before coming to the Black Ink Battlefield. The cultivation materials piled up in his Small Universe were enough for him to cultivate until the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and still have some to spare.
However, the War Materials Hall did have some good quality Spirit Pills, which would be used for quickly healing injuries, restoring strength, and accelerating cultivation.
Thus, Yang Kai exchanged a small amount of his Military Merits for some pills to try out their effects.
Meanwhile, Feng Ying also quickly exchanged for materials she needed.
In Blue Sky Pass, each cultivator had their own living space, and the higher their rank, the better the conditions of their accommodations and the more extensive the area. Since Yang Kai was promoted to the position of Squad Leader, he was entitled to a small courtyard.
Perhaps someone had forgotten about it or deliberately did it on purpose because though Yang Kai received a Letter of Appointment, he wasn’t actually assigned a place to stay.
Fortunately for him, Feng Ying had a spacious place, and she didn’t mind sharing it with him.
While Feng Ying returned to her place, Yang Kai went into retreat. Before he entered retreat, he took out most of the Profound Yin Bamboo from his Small Universe and gave it to Feng Ying so that she could hand it over for him.
Having just broken through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai needed some time to consolidate his cultivation and adapt to his new strength.
For the next few months, Yang Kai would be in retreat and refining cultivation materials of all Orders to enhance the heritage of his Small Universe.
When others cultivated, most of them would opt to use Open Heaven Pills. Even if there were some that chose to refine cultivation materials, their Orders wouldn’t be very high because they had to gather resources of all Seven Elements to be able to safely cultivate. If any of the seven materials were missing, there was a high chance of causing an imbalance in the cultivator’s Small Universe, which would lead to future dangers.
While materials from the Five Elements were easy to find, Yin and Yang Element materials of higher Orders were rare and difficult to acquire.
However, Yang Kai didn’t need to worry about this. The Yellow and Blue Crystals he obtained in the Chaotic Dead Territory were beyond count, and although they were essential for purifying and dispelling Black Ink Strength, it didn’t matter if he used a few of them for cultivation.
That way, the speed of Yang Kai’s cultivation would be incomparably faster than others.
In addition, he still had living beings inside his Small Universe, especially the countless Small Stone Race members, which were constantly enhancing the heritage of his Small Universe.
Also, because he had cultivated the Dao of Time, the flow of time in his Small Universe was four times faster compared to the outside world.
One year outside was equivalent to four years inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe. If he used that advantage well, it would save him a lot of time cultivating.
One could imagine that the time Yang Kai needed to advance from Seventh-Order to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future would be considerably shorter than average.
Now that he had advanced from the Sixth-Order to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, the volume of his Small Universe had increased dramatically, and the amount of heritage he could hold had increased proportionally. According to his estimation, the heritage of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was at least 10 times more than that of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and he had only just advanced. As time went by, his heritage would only grow stronger as he continued to cultivate.
At this point, he deeply appreciated the huge gap between the Sixth and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realms and was secretly glad that the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters he had conflicts with were not very strong. If he had made an enemy of someone on Feng Ying’s level, he wouldn’t be alive today.
Months later, the cultivation chamber’s seal was knocked on. Yang Kai woke from his meditation and opened the door with a wave of his hand.
Right then, Feng Ying stepped inside and reported, “The battlefield has been cleaned, and Martial Uncle Zhong is waiting for you.”
Yang Kai got up and said, “Let’s go.”
A short while later, the two of them exited Blue Sky Pass. While looking around, they saw that all the Black Ink Clouds were cleared from the surrounding battlefield, and even the Small Universe fragments were disposed of. The whole void was now clear and empty.
Only Zhong Liang was waiting for Yang Kai there.
When he saw them, he beckoned them over.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying approached him and saluted. Zhong Liang nodded lightly and said, “I’ll leave it to you to find those Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises that are not stained by Black Ink Strength. After you find one, leave the portal open and we’ll dispatch specialists to handle the rest.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and said, “Understood.”
Zhong Liang nodded, “Many thanks to you for your hard work. After you are done with this, there is another matter you’ll need to handle. You will be quite busy for some time and won’t have much left to cultivate. Take care and don’t overwork yourself.”
While saying so, he reached out and patted Yang Kai’s shoulder.
Feeling doubtful, Yang Kai asked, “What other matter?”
With his hands behind his back, Zhong Liang casually replied, “You’ll know eventually. There are still things I need to take care of in the Inner Sanctum, so I’ll be heading back now. Feng Ying will assist you. Let her know about anything you need.”
After that, with a flicker, Zhong Liang rushed back to Blue Sky Pass in a stream of light.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying watched him leave, and after his figure disappeared from view, Yang Kai turned his head to ask, “Martial Aunt, do you know what the other matter Senior Zhong was talking about is?”
Feng Ying shook her head, “I’m not sure, but it’s probably related to Black Ink Strength somehow.”
Although Yang Kai had advanced to the Seventh Order, there were many such Masters in Blue Sky Pass, so the matter Yang Kai needed to deal with was most likely related to Black Ink Strength.
“But I did ask about your promotion to Squad Leader,” Feng Ying quickly changed the subject.
“Really? What did the Army Commanders say?”
Feng Ying replied, “Martial Uncle Zhong said that your identity is special, so you won’t belong to a specific Army or Division. The team you’ll be leading will be a Special Operations Squad, and we are currently the only members in it. In the future, we will only answer to the four Army Commanders directly. In addition, you can recruit anyone in Blue Sky Pass that is under the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm up to a limit of 50 people!”
Hearing those words, Yang Kai raised his brow, “A Special Operations Squad?”
This was quite a surprise to him, but it also showed how much the four Army Commanders valued him. Whether it was in Blue Sky Pass, or the other Great Passes, the structure of the army was basically pre-determined. A Squad had about 10 to 15 soldiers, while a Battalion had up to 100.
The maximum number of personnel Yang Kai could have in his special squad was 50, which was equivalent to having half the strength of a Battalion.
In addition, the Army Commanders allowed him to pick soldiers with strength below the Eight-Order Open Heaven Realm at will. In other words, if Yang Kai wanted to, he could create a squad with a lineup of 50 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Such a lineup would be quite terrifying.
If such a squad were to fight on the battlefield, it was very likely that they would produce unexpected results. Along with the power of a Warship, they could even kill a Territory Lord if they encountered one.
Yang Kai questioned, “Didn’t the Army Commanders disagree with me entering the battlefield? What’s the point of having this special arrangement?” If they couldn’t fight, there would be no meaning for this Squad to exist.
Feng Ying said with a smile, “They don’t want you to risk your life, but after what happened before, they probably know that you are the impatient type. If another war breaks out, there’s no way you will just stay still on the sidelines, and it’s impossible for them to always keep an eye on you, so rather than letting you find a way to sneak out on your own, it’s better to give you enough power to protect yourself. Moreover, you have already proven your strength. There aren’t any weaklings on the Black Ink Battlefield. Everyone going into battle has braved through many difficulties.”
After listening to Feng Ying’s explanation, Yang Kai thought her words made sense.
If another big battle broke out, it was impossible for him to stay out of it. Of course he had to fight.
He even survived an attack from a Royal Lord, so there was almost nothing he needed to fear on the Black Ink Battlefield.
“You were in retreat back then so I didn’t have the chance to tell you about it. If you have any suitable candidates in mind, do tell me, and we’ll see about recruiting them.”
After thinking about it, Yang Kai said, “There were several Seventh-Order Masters who followed us back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain.”
Feng Ying nodded, “Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu. They are all quite strong.”
All three of them were corrupted by Black Ink Strength and degenerated into Black Ink Disciples. After being saved by Yang Kai though, they each consumed a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to repair their damaged Small Universes and fought their way back here. In a way, they were now companions who had braved life and death together. If Yang Kai and Feng Ying recruited the three of them, it would save them time familiarising themselves with each other.
“I’ll head back and ask for their opinions. If they are willing to join us, I’ll report to the higher-ups and register them into our Squad. But before that, you have to decide on a name.”
“A name?” Yang Kai asked.
“Since it’s a Special Operations Squad, it has to have a name; otherwise, we won’t be able to register it.”
“What do you have in mind?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Feng Ying smiled and said, “You are the Leader here, so you make the call.”
Yang Kai squinted and looked into the depths of the void. All he saw was endless darkness, so after a long while, he finally spoke, “Dawn!”
Feng Ying murmured, “Dawn, as in daybreak? I hope I can see that someday.”
“I’m sure you will.” Yang Kai grinned at her, “It might be late, but dawn will definitely come.”
After a pause, he urged, “Martial Aunt, I’ll have to trouble you with the recruitment of personnel for our Squad. Besides the three I just mentioned, if you have someone in mind, just ask them. Since we are a Special Operations Squad, we should focus on quality and not quantity. It’s better to have fewer elites than more troublemakers.”
“I understand.” Feng Ying nodded, “You can rest assured that I will strictly screen everyone that I recruit.”
Now that they had reached an agreement, Yang Kai began his search for Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises to open.
This was an extremely long process, and it took him almost half a year to get them all.
With Blue Sky Pass as the centre, he had opened portals to all the Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises hidden in the Void within a 500,000 kilometres radius.
However, many of the Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises had been stained by Black Ink Strength and could not be used, so Yang Kai had to re-seal them.
After careful counting, Yang Kai found that there were about 1,000 Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises that could be used.
Yang Kai felt his heart sink when he realized this.
One had to know that those who left these Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises behind were all High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, so 1,000 corresponded to the fall of at least as many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Countless years had passed, so it was impossible that only 1,000 High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had fallen outside of Blue Sky Pass.
There were even more High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who died with their Small Universes ruptured, leaving nothing behind.
Also, there were even more Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises that were completely stained with Black Ink Strength left behind but were resealed.
Yang Kai estimated that only about one in ten Small Universes that were preserved after a High-Rank Master’s death could be used; in other words, at least 10,000 High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had died outside Blue Sky Pass over the ages.
That was an enormous amount of casualties. One had to know that in the 3,000 Worlds, each of these High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters was at least an Inner Elder of a Cave Heaven or Paradise, a Master who was famous across the world.
Outside Blue Sky Pass, the 1,000 opened Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises had countless Spirit Array Grandmasters busy working on them. They were arranging Arrays in all of those Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises in hopes that they could give the Black Ink Clan Army a decisive blow in future battles.
However, this no longer had anything to do with Yang Kai. His sole task was to find and open these Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises, everything else would be taken care of by others.
But just as he was about to return to the Inner Sanctum with Feng Ying, Yang Kai suddenly saw two figures coming towards him.
Once they were in close proximity, Yang Kai hurriedly saluted, “Greetings, Elder Lu.”
One of the two men was Lu An of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, while the other was also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but his face looked unfamiliar, so Yang Kai didn’t greet him immediately.
Lu An smiled and stroked his beard, “Oh, Yang Kai. Are you done with your work here?”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and said, “Everything has been taken care of. I’m heading over to report to the Army Commander.”
“Many thanks for your hard work,” Lu An nodded lightly.
Yang Kai said, “It’s my job.”
“Is he Yang Kai?” The eyes of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master beside Lu An lit up as he swept them over Yang Kai, looking quite interested.
Nodding as a confirmation, Lu An said, “Exactly.” Then, he introduced this newcomer to Yang Kai, “This is Tang Qiu, my Senior Brother. By generation, you should address him as Grand Martial Uncle. He’s from Yin-Yang Pass.”
Yin-Yang Pass? Yang Kai’s heart stirred at those words. Judging by Lu An’s words, Tang Qiu was most likely also from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven.
As he thought of that, Yang Kai saluted again, “Greetings, Elder Tang!”
Tang Qiu smiled and nodded, “I’ve heard much about you. After meeting you today, I can indeed confirm you’re a talented young man. Not only are you faring well in the 3,000 Worlds, but also on the Black Ink Battlefield. Why can’t our Yin-Yang Cave Heaven produce a rising star like you? It seems like the old farts back at the Sect should give up their positions.”
Those words made Yang Kai break out in a sweat, “Elder Tang, you’re flattering me.”
Tang Qiu changed his tone, “Are you interested in coming back with me and joining Yin-Yang Pass?”
Yang Kai was stunned.
Feng Ying, who was standing beside him, put on a wary look and cupped her fist, “Senior, Yang Kai is now a member of Blue Sky Pass, so what you just said is inappropriate.”
Tang Qiu looked at her lightly, “What’s wrong with my words? He’s part of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. What’s wrong with him following me back to Yin-Yang Pass?”
With pursed lips, Feng Ying remained silent for a moment before saying, “I will report what you’ve said to the Army Commanders.”
Tang Qiu snorted, “They can’t do anything to me.” Then, he looked at Yang Kai, “All you need to do is say the word and I’ll go and negotiate with Zhong Liang and the others.”
Meanwhile, Lu An let out a bitter laugh, “Brother Zhong will definitely not let him go. Senior Brother, don’t make things difficult for the younger generation.”
Still feeling a little reluctant, Tang Qiu added, “Fine, fine. Go back and think about it. I’ll be staying in Blue Sky Pass for a while, so it won’t be too late to tell me your decision after you think about it.”
Lu An eyed Yang Kai, who cupped his fist and said, “Elders, I must take my leave.”
“Go on.” Tang Qiu waved his hand, but then suddenly seemed to remember something and said, “By the way, Xu Ling Gong came with me on this trip. He’s waiting for you back in the Inner Sanctum. Go and meet him.”
“Martial Uncle Xu is also here?” Yang Kai was surprised, and when he turned around to look, Tang Qiu and Lu An had already gone far away.
When we parted with Xu Ling Gong back at the Star Boundary, the latter said that he was going on a mission and had to leave. Later, when Yang Kai went to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven to look for Qu Hua Shang, he did not see Xu Ling Gong there and thought that his so-called mission had not been completed yet. It wasn’t until he gradually got to know about the matters of the Black Ink Clan and Black Ink Battlefield that Yang Kai found out that Xu Ling Gong had long since entered the Black Ink Battlefield.
At that time, Qu Hua Shang was still serving her 100 year confinement.
When Yang Kai came to the Black Ink Battlefield, the thing he wanted to do the most was to find Xu Ling Gong, because Xu Ling Gong was the only person he knew there.
By coincidence, Yang Kai ended up in Blue Sky Pass.
When Tang Qiu said he had heard of him and that he was faring well in the 3,000 Worlds, Yang Kai wondered how Tang Qiu even knew about such things when he was here, the Black Ink Battlefield.
Now, it seemed like Xu Ling Gong must have told him.
Knowing that Xu Ling Gong was waiting for him in the Inner Sanctum, Yang Kai quickly rushed back.
Halfway there, he suddenly remembered something and asked Feng Ying, “Martial Aunt, how do the Great Passes communicate with each other?”
Feng Ying replied, “If there aren’t many people to transport, we can use the Hyper Space Array. If there are a lot of people to transport, we can only fly slowly.”
Then, it suddenly dawned on Yang Kai, “So, there are indeed Space Arrays connecting the Great Passes.”
He had suspected as much before, but had not had the chance to confirm it. Now that he heard Feng Ying’s explanation, he confirmed he was right.
There were more than 100 Great Passes on the Black Ink Battlefield, so it was impossible to leave each one isolated from all the others; otherwise, every Great Pass would be like a lonely island, unable to remain secure for long. Thus, there had to be some method of communication between them.
As Feng Ying knew that he was still uninformed about the Black Ink Battlefield, she patiently explained, “You should know that though the distance between the Great Passes is not too great, they aren’t close either. Even with the help of a flight-type artifact, it would still take a few months to get from Blue Sky Pass to the nearest Great Pass, and it’s more or less the same situation for other Great Passes. Also, there might be dangers on the way, so we generally use the Hyper Space Array to transit between Great Passes.”
Yang Kai nodded his head.
Feng Ying continued, “The Human Race has more than 100 Great Passes, and each one is connected to several Great Passes nearby. Take Blue Sky Pass as an example. With Blue Sky Pass as the centre, we can be directly transported to a total of four Great Passes to our left and right. If you want to go to a further Great Pass, you would have to transit again. But as you know, it’s not easy to get supplies here in the Black Ink Battlefield, so under normal circumstances, the Hyper Space Array is only used to transmit information and supplies. We won’t easily transport people if the situation isn’t dire.”
“Why is that?” Asked Yang Kai.
After laughing bitterly, Feng Ying explained, “It only takes one jade slip to transmit information, or one Space Ring to transmit supplies, so it’s not resource-consuming to use the Hyper Space Array. The Black Ink Battlefield does not have anyone under the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm present, so every time we transport a person, it consumes a lot of energy and supplies. Who would have so many spare resources?”
It was then that Yang Kai remembered that when they were exchanging materials at the War Materials Hall, Feng Ying had said those from the Great Passes adhered to a strict principle of only exchanging for what they needed immediately. The reason for that was that cultivation materials were hard to come by, so no one dared to waste any.
Under such circumstances, who would be willing to use the Hyper Space Arrays to casually teleport people? Moreover, the higher the strength of the cultivator being transported, the more resources it would consume.
Yang Kai frowned slightly and said, “In that case, it is difficult for one Great Pass to reinforce another in large numbers.”
“En,” Feng Ying nodded, “Teleporting an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master consumes a lot of supplies, so we opt not to do so under normal circumstances. In dire situations, we can still support the other Great Passes in small batches of course; after all, a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe has materialized, so it can accommodate living beings. Sending a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters is akin to sending a whole Division.”
Yang Kai understood what she meant. They could let soldiers enter those Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ Small Universe and then use the Hyper Space Array to send them to the other passes. In such situations, the supplies consumed would only be for transporting the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters. Although they still had to consume a significant amount of resources to do this, it was acceptable in comparison with the potential loss of a Great Pass.
Nonetheless, even if they sent Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the total volume of their Small Universes had a limit. Thus, it was impossible to accommodate unlimited reinforcements, which was why Feng Ying said that they could only send small batches of troops.
If the situation did require large-scale reinforcements, their only option would be to fly by Warship, which was time-consuming.
The cost of sending an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master over to another Great Pass was not small; moreover, according to the Universe Chart, the distance between Yin-Yang Pass and Blue Sky Pass was of multiple Great Passes. In other words, people from Yin-Yang Pass had to transit four or five times just to get here!
This would cost a significant amount of resources.
Tang Qiu from Yin-Yang Pass had spent so much to come here, so it was impossible that he was just sightseeing.
Yang Kai vaguely understood why he was here though.
Also, he finally realised what Zhong Liang meant when he said there would be another matter to get to after finding and opening the Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises half a year ago.
The following task was not complicated or difficult, but it definitely was a matter that consumed time and energy. What’s more, he was the only one who could do it, so Yang Kai felt obliged to cooperate.
But before that, it was time to meet with Xu Ling Gong. Yang Kai was certain Xu Ling Gong would be interested to know the latest status of the 3,000 Worlds.
There was a reception hall in Blue Sky Pass; after all, there were occasional visitors to this place, so there had to be a place for guests to stay.
Feng Ying went to report to Zhong Liang and the others about the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises while personnel from Blue Sky Pass guided Yang Kai to the reception hall.
Many cultivators had gathered there, and all of them were in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. The lobby was full of long tables with groups of cultivators sitting together and talking.
After sweeping his gaze around the room, Yang Kai did not see Xu Ling Gong, but after listening to the conversations from the others, he realised that all these people were not from Blue Sky Pass. All of them had rushed here from various other Great Passes, which confirmed his suspicions.
After asking someone, Yang Kai learned that Xu Ling Gong had gone to his own residence to wait for him, so he didn’t stay at the lounge much longer and went straight to Feng Ying’s residence.
Not long after, Yang Kai reached Feng Ying’s courtyard and saw a man standing outside it with his hands behind his back, waiting quietly.
The man was stout, and he was wearing a large cloak while anxiously pacing back and forth in front of the door. Who else could it be beside Xu Ling Gong?
Noticing movement, Xu Ling Gong stopped and turned his head to look in Yang Kai’s direction. When he saw Yang Kai’s face, he had a complicated look in his eyes.
Yang Kai stepped forward, and when he got close, he bowed respectfully, “Junior greets Martial Uncle Xu!”
Xu Ling Gong reached out to hold Yang Kai’s arm and heaved a sigh, “It’s really you.”
When he heard that there was a boy named Yang Kai in Blue Sky Pass, he thought it was just someone who had the same name, but the information he got stated that the Yang Kai in Blue Sky Pass was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Son-in-Law of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. At that time, he thought it was too much of a coincidence.
So, when Tang Qiu asked Xu Ling Gong if he wanted to come to Blue Sky Pass, he agreed to come and see for himself if the Yang Kai here was the one he knew.
They had been at Blue Sky Pass for only a few days. Since Tang Qiu had Lu An accompanying him, Xu Ling Gong went to search for Yang Kai’s residence and soon arrived here. He waited for a few days, but didn’t see Yang Kai. After asking around, he found out that Yang Kai was busy with something outside of Blue Sky Pass.
He could not go to look for him, so he could only continue to wait here.
Now that the person he was waiting for was finally back, Xu Ling Gong was sure that Yang Kai was the brat he knew.
“Why did you come here?” Xu Ling Gong looked at him with some distress. This was the Black Ink Battlefield. How could he return to the 3,000 Worlds after coming here?
Over the past few days, he had been hoping that the Yang Kai from Blue Sky Pass was not the one he knew, but the more information he found out, the less hope he had. Now that he saw him, his hopes were immediately dashed.
Xu Ling Gong couldn’t understand why Yang Kai would come to the Black Ink Battlefield.
“It’s a long story,” Yang Kai let out a bitter laugh.
“Squad Leader, why don’t you invite the guest inside?” Feng Ying suddenly spoke up from the side.
Xu Ling Gong turned his head to look at her, “You are…”
Yang Kai introduced her, “This is Martial Aunt Feng Ying. She has been taking care of me since I came to Blue Sky Pass. Martial Aunt Feng, this is my Wife’s Honoured Master, Xu Ling Gong.”
Feng Ying smiled and greeted, “Greetings, Brother Xu!”
Xu Ling Gong greeted back, “Sister Feng is too polite. This brat is not very obedient, so I’m sure he has caused you a lot of trouble these days.”
After a short laugh, Feng Ying answered, “Brother Xu, you must be exaggerating. Squad Leader saved my life, and he made a number of great contributions during the previous battle. Also, he is deeply respected by the Army Commanders. Even the Old Ancestor has called him for a chat.”
Xu Ling Gong nodded lightly, “I heard about these things, but I don’t know the details. We came to Blue Sky Pass because of this as well.”
“Martial Uncle Xu, please come in.” Yang Kai gestured with his hand.
Feng Ying opened the door, and the three entered. When Yang Kai and Xu Ling Gong were seated, Feng Ying said, “I’ll make some tea. You can talk in the meantime.”
Xu Ling Gong thanked her politely, “Many thanks, Sister Feng.”
After Feng Ying’s figure disappeared, Xu Ling Gong suddenly leaned forward and lowered his voice to say, “Brat, why does she keep calling you Squad Leader?”
Yang Kai explained, “I earned a lot of Military Merits during the battle outside Blue Sky Pass, so the Army Commanders promoted me to Squad Leader and placed Martial Aunt Feng as my Deputy.”
Xu Ling Gong was dumbfounded, “You? A Squad Leader? But your cultivation is… No wait, you reached the Seventh Order?”
At that point, he suspiciously checked Yang Kai.
Yang Kai revealed some of his aura while calmly explaining, “I had a flash of enlightenment during the previous battle. Then, I went into retreat after the fighting ended and successfully broke through.”
Xu Ling Gong’s face suddenly twitched, “If I remember correctly, it hasn’t been long since you advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, right?
He knew a lot about Yang Kai’s background; after all, Yang Kai was the Husband of his treasured Disciple, so he naturally had to know more about this young man. The news of Yang Kai being forced to advance to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the Shattered Heaven had spread far and wide, so Xu Ling Gong had naturally heard about it.
How long ago was that though? After a rough calculation, it should have only been three to four hundred years.
These three or four hundred years might be a few lifetimes for a mortal who never cultivated, but for Open Heaven Realm Masters with a long lifespan, that was like a snap of the fingers.
It was unheard of for someone to advance from the Fifth Order to the Seventh Order in just a few hundred years, even taking a Mid-Rank World Fruit into account.
Xu Ling Gong had never heard of anyone spending only a few hundred years to achieve such a feat. To go from the sixth order to the Seventh alone required a long process of accumulating heritage in one’s Small Universe. Even with abundant cultivation resources, it would still take at least one to two thousand years at the minimum.
And that was under the premise that everything went smoothly for the cultivator. If anything happened, it wouldn’t be surprising if the cultivator had to spend a few thousand years to advance.
However, there was a living, breathing example right in front of his eyes, so even if Xu Ling Gong didn’t want to believe it, he had to.
After a long time, he calmed down, nodded lightly, and said, “A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is enough to serve as a Squad Leader!”
Yet, there was still an uncomfortable feeling rising in his heart.
He had also spent a couple hundred years on the Black Ink Battlefield and participated in battles with the Black Ink Clan, gaining some merits along the way. Also, because of his strength and performance, he was promoted to Vice Squad Leader a few years ago.
However, his Disciple’s Husband was already a Squad Leader… Wouldn’t that mean that Yang Kai was a rank higher than him?
It did feel bitter when comparing oneself to others.
However, on the Black Ink Battlefield, a higher position meant greater responsibilities, which was not necessarily a good thing.
Xu Ling Gong then raised his brow slightly and muttered, “Sister Feng is an interesting person.”
Yang Kai felt doubtful and asked, “What do you mean?”
With a wave of his hand, Xu Ling Gong said, “It’s nothing.”
He came here to find Yang Kai with a mission to persuade the latter to return to Yin-Yang Pass with him. His Legacy Disciple was Yang Kai’s Wife, so they already had a connection; therefore, Xu Ling Gong was the perfect candidate to persuade Yang Kai, which was also why Tang Qiu brought him in the first place.
However, as soon as they met, Feng Ying addressed Yang Kai as Squad Leader. It was an obvious sign for Xu Ling Gong to back down.
Blue Sky Pass thought so highly of Yang Kai that they directly promoted him to Squad Leader after just one battle, so of course they wouldn’t let him leave so easily.
“Tell me, why did you come here?” Xu Ling Gong looked at Yang Kai in confusion. This was what he was really curious about.
As Yang Kai had previously said, he had a flash of enlightenment during the previous battle and broke through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. In other words, he was only at the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm when he came to the Black Ink Battlefield.
He wasn’t directly from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises, so logically his cultivation wasn’t high enough for him to be sent to the Black Ink Battlefield.
Yang Kai kept silent for a good moment before saying, “Martial Uncle Xu, it’s a long story, and… inconvenient for me to tell you.”
Xu Ling Gong frowned slightly, “You can’t tell me?”
Cupping his fist, Yang Kai declared, “Martial Uncle Xu, please forgive me, but I have a compelling reason.” If he wanted to explain why he came to the Black Ink Battlefield, he would have to mention the Void Corridor. It wasn’t that Yang Kai didn’t trust Xu Ling Gong, but the words Meng Qi said before he died were true. Everyone besides the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Real Old Ancestors were at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Once the Black Ink Clan learned about the existence of the Void Corridor, it was bound to bring disaster to the 3,000 Worlds.
Although the Void Corridor had only been opened once and was now hidden and sealed, with the Small Sealed World containing it having been ruptured, it was still there. As long as it wasn’t destroyed, someone could still find it and reopen it.
Xu Ling Gong was silent for a moment before nodding, “You must have your reasons for not talking about it, so I won’t insist.”
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief, “Many thanks, Martial Uncle Xu.”
“How are things at home?” Xu Ling Gong changed the subject.
“Before I came here, everything was well. Martial Uncle Xu, you can rest assured that I have properly married Senior Sister Qu.”
After sighing, Xu Ling Gong asked, “As her Honoured Master, I did not attend her wedding. Xiao Hua Shang must have felt sad. I thought after I entrusted her to you, I would have nothing to worry about, but I didn’t expect that you would come here too. How would she cope with being alone there?”
Yang Kai said, “I have made all the necessary arrangements before I left home, Senior Sister Qu will not suffer any grievances.”
Xu Ling Gong suddenly glared at him, “Smelly brat, why do you have so many women for no good reason? The fights between women are the most troublesome.”
Faced with Xu Ling Gong’s reprimand, Yang Kai could only remain silent. Feng Ying came with tea just in time to ease the embarrassment.
After thanking her, Xu Ling Gong sipped on the tea and was very impressed.
Feng Ying smiled in response.
After drinking two cups of tea, Xu Ling Gong said, “Let’s get down to business. I came all the way from Yin-Yang Pass with Martial Uncle Tang because I heard that Blue Sky Pass has come up with a powerful weapon to deal with the Black Ink Clan. I believe that people from other Great Passes will gradually gather here.”
Though Yang Kai had already guessed the truth when he saw the many cultivators from other Great Passes in the reception hall, he was still surprised to hear the scope of things and asked, “All the Great Passes know about this already?”
Xu Ling Gong nodded, “Since ancient times, the Human Race was helpless against Black Ink Strength. The Purifying Black Ink Battleship that the Blue Sky Pass created is new, and is the sole method to deal with Black Ink Strength. All the Great Passes are allies, and if one suffers, all suffer, and if one prospers, all prosper. All the Great Passes would share good things with each other. Blue Sky Pass sent messages to all the Great Passes the day the first Purifying Black Ink Battleship was launched. We at Yin-Yang Pass were sceptical when we received the news. After confirming with Blue Sky Pass a few times to make sure the news was correct though, we immediately started constructing our own Purifying Black Ink Battleship according to the blueprint provided by Blue Sky Pass. We’ve managed to complete four Purifying Black Ink Battleships just a few days ago, and Master Uncle Tang has brought them here.”
Yang Kai nodded his head in understanding and suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility.
The composition of the Great Passes was basically the same, with each Great Pass being divided into four Armies. Just like Blue Sky Pass, each army needed a Purifying Black Ink Battleship to function optimally. In other words, each Great Pass needed four battleships.
With more than 100 Great Passes, they had to refine more than 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships!
They had to make 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships, all of which required Yang Kai to personally seal Purifying Light inside them and arrange Universe Arrays aboard.
Sealing Purifying Light was not a hard task as he only needed to trigger the two marks on the back of his hand to draw out the power of the Yellow and Blue Crystals, converge and fuse them together, and form Purifying Light. However, personally arranging a Universe Array on every Purifying Black Ink Battleship would be a huge project that Yang Kai estimated would take him three to five years to complete at best.
And that was just the start; he couldn’t rest easy after that.
Purifying Light would be consumed in battle, and if the Purifying Light of a Great Pass was depleted in the future, they would have to come to Blue Sky Pass to replenish it.
Even though Yang Kai had countless Yellow and Blue Crystals in hand, he was still a bit worried.
At this rate of consumption, no matter how many Yellow and Blue Crystals he had, they would eventually be used up. By then, what would happen to the Humans on the Black Ink Battlefield?
Maybe he could return to the 3,000 Worlds and find Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan in the Chaotic Dead Territory?
However, this wasn’t an urgent matter as he had enough Yellow and Blue Crystals to last for some time.
Yang Kai also asked about Qing Kui and Su Ying Xue, but Xu Ling Gong only said that they were staying at Yin-Yang Pass and did not come with him this time. After hearing that they were fine, Yang Kai felt reassured.
After chatting for a while, Xu Ling Gong left without mentioning that he wanted Yang Kai to accompany him back to Yin-Yang Pass.
The next day, Yang Kai was ordered to go to the central square with Feng Ying accompanying him.
When they arrived, they saw Ding Yao waiting for them there and beside him was a lofty middle-aged man wearing golden armour. His aura was as deep as the abyss, and he was clearly also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Judging from his looks, this man came from Great Battle Heaven.
Behind them were four brand new Purifying Black Ink Battleships lined up in a row, all of similar shape and size to those refined by Blue Sky Pass.
Yang Kai knew these were the Purifying Black Ink Battleships they had brought with them.
After Blue Sky Pass successfully built their first Purifying Black Ink Battleship, they sent a message to all the Great Passes, informing them of the purpose of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships along with the blueprints to build more.
When the Great Passes received the message, they paid a lot of attention to it and immediately began refining their own Purifying Black Ink Battleships after confirming that the message was accurate and authentic. Once they were done building the battleships, they used the Hyper Space Arrays to send an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with the completed Purifying Black Ink Battleships to Blue Sky Pass.
Yang Kai was the only one who could finish the refinement of these ships.
When they got close enough, Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Greetings, Senior Ding!”
Ding Yao nodded lightly and said, “Do you know what you are here for?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I do.”
“Good.” Ding Yao said flatly, “The Purifying Black Ink Battleships made great contributions in the previous battle, and proved their immense value. It is now a fundamental weapon for us to win this war against the Black Ink Clan, so you will have to work even harder in the future.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and said, “I will not disappoint you.”
“Very good!” Ding Yao gestured to the middle-aged man next to him and said, “This is Wei Jun Yang from Great Battle Pass, my Senior Brother from Great Battle Heaven. Great Battle Pass is currently engaged in a war with the Black Ink Clan Army, so he urgently needs these Purifying Black Ink Battleships to be readied for battle.”
Wei Jun Yang looked solemn and cupped his fist at Yang Kai while speaking quickly, “Martial Nephew, the safety of the 30,000 soldiers of Great Battle Pass depends on you.”
“Senior is exaggerating. I will do what I can as it is my duty,” Yang Kai said humbly, “Since Great Battle Pass is currently fighting the Black Ink Clan, we cannot delay this any further. May I begin now?”
“Very good!” Wei Jun Yang nodded his head hastily.
“Have you brought the necessary materials?” Yang Kai asked.
Hearing that, Wei Jun Yang hurriedly took out a Space Ring, “The materials for the Universe Array are all in here. If you need anything else, just let me know.”
Yang Kai reached out, took the Space Ring, checked it with his Divine Sense, and nodded, “I think this will be enough. I’ll let you know if I need anything more.”
After saying that, he moved to the nearest Purifying Black Ink Battleship and used the Space Array on the deck to teleport into the cabin.
Great Battle Pass had done a good job of preparing the Purifying Black Ink Battleships. Basically, everything that could be built had already been done. Now, all that was missing was the Universe Array and Purifying Light.
These were the things that Yang Kai had to add personally.
The moment Yang Kai dashed inside, Wei Jun Yang exhaled slightly and turned his head to look at Ding Yao, “Junior Brother, how long will it take to finish?”
The battle was raging over at Great Battle Pass, so he naturally wanted to return as soon as possible.
Ding Yao replied, “It shouldn’t take long. Though, I’m not exactly sure.” While saying so, he turned his head to look at Feng Ying who was standing to the side.
Feng Ying understood what Ding Yao wanted and spoke up after a moment of contemplation, “We can probably complete a Purifying Black Ink Battleship within six or seven days.”
Wei Jun Yang raised his brow, “One in six or seven days, so all four ships will take at most a month.”
One month was not too long for a battle that could take decades to end, so they could afford the wait.
Then, Ding Yao persuaded, “Senior Brother Wei, why don’t you head back and rest? You can return to collect them once they’re ready.”
Wei Jun Yang waved his hand, “No, I’ll wait here. I must return to Great Battle Pass as soon as the ships are ready.” If he could return even a moment sooner, he would be able to save more people. Moreover, he couldn’t bring himself to rest at such a moment.
Knowing his Senior Brother’s character, Ding Yao stopped trying to persuade him.
Wei Jun Yang said, “You may go if you have something to do. I’ll leave as soon as these are done.”
Ding Yao nodded, cupped his fist, and said, “Take care, Senior Brother!”
Wei Jun Yang returned the gesture without saying anything.
They had known each other for thousands of years and had entered the Black Ink Battlefield together, but since they came to the Black Ink Battlefield, they had met only a handful of times. After they parted today, there was no telling when they would see each other again, or if they ever would.
Such a situation was not uncommon on the Black Ink Battlefield.
As time passed slowly, Yang Kai didn’t leave the Purifying Black Ink Battleship while Wei Jun Yang and Feng Ying waited outside.
Perhaps news had spread around the Pass because someone sped over and stopped before them a few moments later.
“Brother Wei!” The visitor cupped his fist and greeted them.
“Brother Ma!” Wei Jun Yang recognised the identity of the man and returned the salute. The visitor, like him, was an Army Commander of one of the Great Passes, and his identity and cultivation were not inferior to his.
“Has it begun?” Brother Ma took a look at Purifying Black Ink Battleship and asked.
“En,” Wei Jun Yang nodded his head.
Brother Ma said, “I’ll go in and take a look.” While he said that, he dashed into the Purifying Black Ink Battleship from the Space Array.
Wei Jun Yang frowned, but he could not say anything more.
In fact, when they came to Blue Sky Pass, they had already seen the interior of a complete Purifying Black Ink Battleship. The pure white light inside was astonishing, and the Universe Array was even more exquisite.
The battleships they visited were already finished products, so none of them had been inside a semi-finished battleship like this one. It was natural that they would be curious.
After a few moments, Brother Ma came out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, nodded lightly at Wei Jun Yang, then rushed off again. He seemed to have only taken a short visit and then left, so both Wei Jun Yang and Feng Ying did not pay much attention to him.
However, this was just the beginning.
The news seemed to have spread quickly because the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the other Great Passes found out that Yang Kai had started to complete a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, so they ran to central square one after another to take a look.
Even though Wei Jun Yang had a straightforward personality and might even be considered simple-minded, he still noticed that something was amiss. These old fogies all wore solemn yet subtle expressions when they left the battleship like they were plotting something.
Yang Kai exited the Purifying Black Ink Battleship with a bitter face soon after one such guest left and stood on the deck while looking at Wei Jun Yang, “Senior Wei, I can’t focus with people constantly interrupting me. If I make a mistake, those from Great Battle Pass will not be able to use the Universe Array.”
Wei Jun Yang raised his brow at these words and came to the deck in a flash. Then, he announced, “From now on, I will stand guard here. Whoever dares to trespass will have to face my wrath!”
The man’s face looked murderous as he stood there.
His tone made Yang Kai break out in cold sweat, so he hurriedly waved his hands, “Of course, of course.”
After he said that, he glanced at Feng Ying and silently sent a message to her.
Feng Ying understood and nodded imperceptibly.
Yang Kai turned around and re-entered the cabin.
A few moments later, someone else arrived, but what they saw was a menacing Wei Jun Yang standing on the deck with his sword in hand.
The visitor cupped his fist and said with a smile, “Brother Wei, I heard that the completion of the battleships has started. I would like to take a look inside. Would you…”
Before the person could finish his words, Wei Jun Yang unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the newcomer, “You will have the opportunity to take a look when it’s your Purifying Black Ink Battleships’ turn to be completed, but right now, Great Battle Pass is in a difficult battle and urgently needs the support from these battleships. It’s a race against time, so no one is to disturb the process; otherwise, that person will face the entire Great Battle Pass!”
The man was stunned and didn’t say anything more. He just wanted to take a look at the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, not make an enemy of Great Battle Pass.
People from Great Battle Cave Heaven generally acted more fiercely than others. Also, they always stuck to their word. Judging by Wei Jun Yang’s attitude, it seemed like a fight would break out if he defied him.
Laughing sheepishly, the man said, “Brother Wei, you must be exaggerating. I just want to take a look at it.”
“You will have a chance to look at it later, but not now!”
The man looked at him for a moment, sighed, and turned to leave.
A few more people arrived one after another, but they were all stopped by Wei Jun Yang and reluctantly left.
Meanwhile, Zhong Liang, who was discussing important matters with Liang Yu Long, suddenly received a message. After reading it with his Divine Sense, he was furious, “Those ungrateful thieves! Blue Sky Pass kindly let them come over to complete their Purifying Black Ink Battleships, but now they try to poach one of our people!? This is going too far!”
Feeling shocked by the sudden outburst, Liang Yu Long asked, “Brother Zhong, What happened?”
Zhong Liang snarled angrily, “Those old bastards used ‘inspecting’ the half-complete Purifying Black Ink Battleship as an excuse to see Yang Kai and secretly offer him all kinds of benefits! They’re trying to poach him!”
After hearing what happened, Liang Yu Long was also furious. He smashed his fist on the table in front of him and snapped, “Shameless thieves! How dare they try to take advantage of us!?”
Zhong Liang pondered for a moment, turned his head, and ordered his adjutant, “Send a message to those old bastards and tell them to come to the Conference Hall. Just say that Blue Sky Pass has something to discuss with them.”
The adjutant received the order and quickly turned around and left.
Meanwhile, Liang Yu Long looked at Zhong Liang and said, “Are you going to…”
Zhong Liang grunted, “Since they’re being so shameless, is there any point in showing them respect?”
An hour later, two rows of seats inside the Main Conference Hall were filled with people, all of them Eighth-Order Masters from other Great Passes. The scene could be described as a gathering of talents and a luxurious lineup.
There were roughly 50 people gathered inside the hall, all of them representing one of the Great Passes. There were only these few because there were many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from other Great Passes who had not arrived yet. They were either in the middle of building Purifying Black Ink Battleships or were on their way here.
Although there weren’t many people, the hall was silent, and there were only Divine Senses flying back and forth as the Masters conversed with each other.
After everyone had arrived, the four Army Commanders of Blue Sky Pass came out from the back and took their seats in the front.
The scattered Divine Senses calmed down, and the group looked forward, wondering why the Army Commanders of Blue Sky Pass called them here.
As they had already discussed this prior to coming here, they didn’t spare any time after taking their seats, and Ding Yao, the Eastern Army Commander, spoke first, “I heard that many of you went to take a look at the Purifying Black Ink Battleship in progress today.”
The moment he said that, many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately understood. All of them were old foxes, so how could they not notice that the hidden annoyance behind Ding Yao’s tone was because word of their actions had spread to the ears of Blue Sky Pass’ Army Commanders? Some of them felt restless, some closed their eyes and pretended to be sleeping, and some smiled but didn’t say anything. No one spoke a word.
Noticing their silence, Ding Yao continued, “I also heard that you all have promised Yang Boy a lot of benefits and are trying to poach him for your own Great Passes.”
He slammed his hand on the table and roared, “Look at you! Is this something an honourable person would do? The day the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was created, Blue Sky Pass was still being besieged by the Black Ink Clan, and was in a precarious situation, yet we still immediately passed on word to all the Great Passes and told all of you about this wondrous news! We know that on the Black Ink Battlefield, if one of us suffers, we all suffer, and if one of us prospers, we all prosper! We share whatever advancements and advantages we have and never hoard them from other Great Passes! With the Purifying Black Ink Battleships supporting up our Armies, we Humans will no longer be at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength. This is a Heaven-sent blessing for all of us!”
He took a pause to glare around the room before continuing, “This was proven during the previous battle. Before Yang Kai arrived at Blue Sky Pass, our soldiers were still at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, but since his arrival, no one from Blue Sky Pass has suffered from Black Ink Strength anymore. This is especially true since the birth of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. We of Blue Sky Pass have always been open and honest, but what about you all? How could you think of poaching him away from Blue Sky Pass? Don’t you have any conscience at all?”
If it were a normal Open Heaven Realm Master, they would have been frightened by Ding Yao’s roar; however, the guests here were all Eighth-Order Masters, and none of them was afraid of him. Of course, many of them were showing guilty expressions. What they did was indeed unrighteous, so they couldn’t refute Ding Yao’s words.
Only one person chuckled and said, “Brother Ding, don’t be angry. I don’t know what the others are thinking, but Yang Kai belongs to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. As his Elder, I naturally want to bring him back to Yin-Yang Pass. He holds the Purifying Light, which is the only method we have to counteract Black Ink Strength. It is the key to breaking the stalemate between both races. Most importantly, we can better protect him after bringing him back to Yin-Yang Pass.”
The person who spoke was none other than Tang Qiu from Yin-Yang Pass.
Ding Yao turned his head to look at Tang Qiu and said indifferently, “Who says that disciples of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven must serve in Yin-Yang Pass? Blue Sky Pass also has disciples from Yin-Yang Heaven, and disciples of my Great Battle Cave Heaven are serving in Yin-Yang Pass. Since ancient times, once someone from the 3,000 Worlds is assigned to a Pass, they belong to that Pass. This is the rule, and it has nothing to do with the person’s Master Sect. Yang Kai came to Blue Sky Pass first, so he is a member of Blue Sky Pass, and he has already registered as a member here. Also, he is the Squad Leader of Blue Sky Pass’ Dawn Squad.”
Nodding slightly, Tang Qiu argued, “Of course I know that, but Brother Ding, you might have misheard me. What I said just now is that I want to bring him back to Yin-Yang Pass to better protect him. As for his Military Merits and his position as Squad Leader, we at Yin-Yang Pass can give him what Blue Sky Pass can give him as well.”
Those words angered Zhong Liang, and he roared, “What are you trying to say? Are you saying that Blue Sky Pass can’t protect him?”
Tang Qiu said slowly, “That’s not what I meant, but I heard that Yang Kai was only a Sixth-Order Master when he rushed out to the battlefield during the previous fight. Also, he was even attacked by a Royal Lord and almost lost his life. Is this true?”
The crowd was shocked at these words because most of them didn’t know about this. Even Tang Qiu only knew about this because he had overheard Lu An speaking about it.
Lu An did not mean to expose all this, he only spoke of how Yang Kai had excellent aptitude, braved life and death during the last battle, advanced to the next Order, and had his Purifying Light. He felt he would be of great use in the future.
When the crowd heard about this from Tang Qiu, they were greatly alarmed.
Everyone knew the importance of Yang Kai’s existence. He was the only one who could use Purifying Light, which was the only means to purify and dispel Black Ink Strength.
“Brother Ding, is this true?” Someone asked urgently.
Ding Yao was dumbfounded. There was no way to deny this, and Tang Qiu’s words had hit the nail on the head. Faced with stares from everyone, Ding Yao could only nod, “It is true, but Yang Kai also gained something from the disaster. He advanced from Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm to Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Shaking his head, Tang Qiu disagreed, “He was lucky this time, but he won’t always be lucky. He found an opportunity in the crisis this time, but who knows what might happen next? If he has an accident, the implications are unimaginable!”
Zhong Liang turned to look at him and asked, “Brother Tang, let me ask you this. If you take Yang Kai back to Yin-Yang Pass, how will you protect him?”
Tang Qiu replied, “I will place him in the Inner Sanctum. I will grant him anything he needs and won’t ever let him be in danger.”
Nodding, Zhong Liang retorted, “This was the same idea I had before, but… that brat might not agree with that. To tell you the truth, Brother Tang, he joined the battle last time by sneaking out onto the battlefield.”
“This is an important matter, and it doesn’t matter if he’s willing or not. Throughout the ages, how many elites from the Cave Heavens and Paradises shed blood on the Black Ink Battlefield? How many of them fell into this vast void? For the greater good of the Human Race, everyone must make sacrifices. He is in control of the Purifying Light, and he can determine the fate of the Human Race, so he must sacrifice his freedom.”
Zhong Liang smiled and said, “Why don’t you talk to Yang Kai about this and see if he will agree?”
Hearing that, Tang Qiu laughed, “How can we leave it to him to make the decision?” This meant that if Yang Kai was brought back to Yin-Yang Pass, he would not be able to leave the Pass under any circumstances ever again.
Zhong Liang frowned and said nothing.
Meanwhile, Shen Tu Mo, who had been keeping silent, suddenly spoke up, “To him, all of you here are highly respected Seniors. No matter whether it’s our seniority, strength, or status, we are all far better than him; yet we, the Seniors, are now placing the hope for our entire race on his shoulders. Don’t you think that is too cruel?”
The crowd was silent, and Tang Qiu frowned.
Shen Tu Mo continued, “The future of the Human Race cannot rely on just one person. For countless years, the Black Ink Clan has wanted to invade and conquer the 3,000 Worlds, but they are still being held back by us in this very Black Ink Battlefield. What did we do in the past when there was no Purifying Light? Did we just stand back and allow the Black Ink Clan to attack us with impunity? What would we do without Purifying Light in the future? Will we have no way of fighting the Black Ink Clan without such means? In my opinion, we can rely on Purifying Light to fight against the Black Ink Clan, but we cannot be fully dependent on it! Fellow Brothers, don’t put the cart before the horse.”
There was a silence in the hall as all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fell into deep thought.
They had to admit that Shen Tu Mo’s words made sense.
Seeing that everyone was quiet, Shen Tu Mo added, “In the past, we didn’t have Yang Boy and his Purifying Light, but all the Great Passes were firmly united; but now, you are all sitting here arguing over who gets to keep him? Won’t such an argument destroy our unity? Furthermore, as far as I know, Yang Kai’s Purifying Light requires two unique types of materials called Yellow Crystals and Blue Crystals, which are only produced in the Chaotic Dead Territory. I don’t know how many Yellow and Blue Crystals he has, but he has to seal his Purifying Light into 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships, which is a huge number. There will inevitably come a day when he runs out of these resources. When that happens, who will you ask for Purifying Light?”
“Yellow and Blue Crystals?”
“The Chaotic Dead Territory!?”
The others only knew about the wonders of the Purifying Light, but they did not know about the materials needed to create it or the source of those materials.
Shen Tu Mo was only repeating what Yang Kai had said to them before.
Many of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately frowned at those words.
If that were true, the Purifying Light was not inexhaustible, and there would be a day when it ran out. By then, the Human Race would return to their previous situation.
As Shen Tu Mo said, Purifying Light could be used as a tool in battle, but they couldn’t fully rely on it. On the Black Ink Battlefield, the unity of the entire Human Race was the key to confronting the Black Ink Clan. It would indeed be putting the cart before the horse if they only had their eyes on the Purifying Light.
“Brother Shen Tu has a point!” Someone nodded lightly.
Following that, another spoke up, “Brother Shen Tu has thought about this matter more thoroughly. We feel ashamed.”
Shen Tu Mo’s words dissuaded many people from the idea of poaching Yang Kai, which was already a bit unorthodox. They couldn’t argue with the others because they didn’t have a reason to, and their chances of succeeding were slim. Now that they heard Shen Tu Mo’s analysis of the pros and cons of this matter, they thought he was right and cancelled their current plans.
Meanwhile, Ding Yao and the others were observing the crowd, so they knew Shen Tu Mo’s words had persuaded them and immediately felt relieved. Zhong Liang looked toward Tang Qiu after a moment and asked, “What do you think, Brother Tang?”
Tang Qiu frowned and said, “I still insist on bringing Yang Kai back to Yin-Yang Pass. If he is willing to come back with me.”
Although he said that, his tone was not as insistent as before.
Smiling, Zhong Liang spoke up, “If you ask him in person, that brat might not be able to refuse; after all, you are also his Elder, so why force him to make a decision? I don’t think it’s necessary to ask him that, and I think his presence in Blue Sky Pass is just right.”
Tang Qiu raised his eyebrows, “How is it just right?”
Zhong Liang answered, “We have more than 100 Great Passes that form a barrier on the Black Ink Battlefield, blocking the Black Ink Clan’s invasion of the 3,000 Worlds. Blue Sky Pass just happens to sit at the centre of this barrier, so no matter which Great Pass you all come from, the distance to here does not vary much. But if Yang Kai goes to Yin-Yang Pass, the situation will be different. The distance between passes will vary greatly, so I believe it is best for him to stay in Blue Sky Pass. And, no matter which Great Pass he’s at, he will still be serving the Human Race, so why does it matter which Great Pass he belongs to?”
…..
One month later, the four Purifying Black Ink Battleships of Great Battle Pass were completed and delivered. Wei Jun Yang, who had been waiting at the central square the whole time, thanked Yang Kai and put the four Purifying Black Ink Battleships in his Small Universe. Then, he immediately left.
Great Battle Pass was engaged in battle with the Black Ink Clan and needed the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to aid them as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai had no time to rest before another four Purifying Black Ink Battleships from another Great Pass were ready and waiting for him to finish.
He had no idea how the others negotiated it, but every time Yang Kai finished the Purifying Black Ink Battleships from one Pass, he had to work on the ones from another.
After huge amounts of supplies were consumed, and all the Universe Arrays were arranged, the Purifying Black Ink Battleships that were filled with Purifying Light were taken away by their respective Great Pass representatives.
Once the Purifying Black Ink Battleships were introduced into the battlefield, they could greatly curb the problem of Black Ink Strength, and at the same time, the Universe Array inside each Purifying Black Ink Battleship could allow the Humans to return to their lines quickly.
Repeating this process day in and day out was incredibly dull, yet Yang Kai was meticulous because he knew that the tedium he endured today could save the lives of many tomorrow.
Gradually, he even forgot about the passage of time.
Except for resting for a few days after exhausting himself, he continued working in the central square.
Almost every month, one of the visitors to Blue Sky Pass would leave while feeling satisfied. The Purifying Black Ink Battleships that were brought back to the Great Passes blossomed like a beautiful flower, with Blue Sky Pass as its stem.
Finally, after Yang Kai delivered four more battleships and saw them off together with an Eighth-Order Master from one of the Great Passes, he suddenly realised that the square was empty.
In the past, before he finished his work, there would be four new Purifying Black Ink Battleships waiting here for him, and he had long gotten used to this kind of life, but there seemed to be something different today.
Soon after, Zhong Liang came over. He smiled and nodded when he saw Yang Kai looking at him, “You’ve worked hard these past few years. Go back and have a good rest.”
Yang Kai was slightly dazed, and only then did he respond, “Is that all?”
“Yes,” Zhong Liang patted Yang Kai’s shoulder, “Now, more than 100 Great Passes have their own Purifying Black Ink Battleships. In the future, we no longer have to be afraid of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength when facing the Black Ink Clan, and it’s all thanks to you.”
Yang Kai silently nodded before taking a moment and calculating things, soon realizing that some seven to eight years had passed.
In other words, he had been busy in this square for seven to eight years. Although a few years was nothing to an Open Heaven Realm Master, it was still surprising that time had passed so quickly.
“Go back to your residence. You’ve only recently advanced to the Seventh Order, so you need to stabilize your cultivation,” Zhong Liang waved his hand and said.
“Yes, Sir!” Yang Kai took orders and left.
When he returned to Feng Ying’s compound, Yang Kai opened the barrier and entered.
He sat alone in front of the porch steps and suddenly felt a little dazed. After being used to a busy life, he somehow felt like a fish out of water when it was all peaceful and quiet.
Zhong Liang had asked him to consolidate his cultivation, but he was not in a hurry to do so. Since his advancement to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, although he hadn’t had the time to cultivate properly, the special situation of his Small Universe made it possible for his heritage to continuously increase. Now that seven or eight years had passed, his cultivation had long since been stabilised.
However, after checking the situation of his Small Universe, Yang Kai let out a faint sigh.
Over the past seven or eight years, he had completed more than 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships. While he did not need to bother with the materials for the Universe Arrays as each Great Pass had prepared them, he had to consume Yellow and Blue Crystals to seal Purifying Light into each Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Finishing 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships had depleted roughly 10% of his Yellow and Blue Crystal stockpile.
Before he left the 3,000 Worlds, he had divided half of the Yellow and Blue Crystals he received in the Chaotic Dead Territory to be used by High Heaven Palace. Still, he retained an enormous amount.
Even after all the work he put in, he only consumed about 10% of it.
Although there were still huge amounts of Yellow and Blue Crystals left, they would be consumed sooner or later. By then, there would be no more Purifying Light for the Human Race to use on the Black Ink Battlefield.
When that day arrived, where would he find more Yellow and Blue Crystals?
Yang Kai looked up and saw a stream of light falling straight down towards him.
Once the light cleared, Feng Ying’s slender figure was revealed.
“You’re back?” Feng Ying was surprised to see him.
“En.” Yang Kai nodded his head.
“It’s good that you’re back. Come with me, I’ll show you something good.” Feng Ying beckoned with a mysterious expression.
Feeling curious, Yang Kai wanted to ask what it was, but Feng Ying had dashed away already, so he had no choice but to follow her.
Soon, they returned to the central square, and Feng Ying waved her hand. Then, a portal to her Small Universe flickered, followed by a large ship-like Warship that appeared in Yang Kai’s view. The ship was approximately 100 metres in length, 25 metres wide, and seemed to have three levels. It was much larger than the smallest Warships, but definitely smaller than the biggest ones Yang Kai had seen on the battlefield.
Yang Kai’s brow rose slightly as he asked curiously, “What’s this?”
Feng Ying smiled, “This is the Dawn Battleship!”
Astonishment filled him as he asked, “Dawn Battleship?”
Feng Ying nodded and explained, “Blue Sky Pass provided us with this. Each Squad has its own Warship, and since Dawn is also a Squad, and a Special Operations Squad at that, of course we have one.”
Yang Kai questioned, “Is that why this Warship has such an odd size?”
“A Battalion’s ship needs to accommodate 100 people, so it has to be bigger. This is a ship for a Squad, so it’s not comparable to a Battalion’s. In large-scale battles like the previous one, it’s safer if we move in Battalions, which is why you didn’t see many Squad Warships,” Feng Ying explained.
Yang Kai nodded in a daze, “So, that’s how it is.”
He looked at it with interest; after all, it belonged to Dawn and was considered a great weapon allocated to the Dawn Squad by Blue Sky Pass.
Feng Ying gestured to him, “Want to go up and take a look?”
“Indeed.” Yang Kai dashed up onto the Warship, followed by Feng Ying.
The large ship-like artifact was not too big as it was only 100 meters long, but it was not small either, and it had all the necessary features.
Feeling surprised, Yang Kai said, “The power of this thing seems to be a bit unusual.”
According to Feng Ying’s introduction, a Squad Warship only needed a few Open Heaven Realm Masters to control their direction and speed across the battlefield. This ship, however, had eight Offensive Arrays with an extremely powerful Array Artifact as a Core. It only took three Sixth-Order Masters working together to bring out the power of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with the help of one such Offensive Array.
Therefore, Eight Arrays were equivalent to, and could display, the power of eight Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!
There were also several Grand Arrays dedicated to defence, each one with outstanding Array Cores which required the combined efforts of three Sixth-Order Masters to bring forth the defensive strength of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
This Warship had incredible offensive and defensive capabilities.
Feng Ying explained, “The Warships of ordinary Squads are naturally quite different from this one. I went to ask someone from the Refining Hall to custom make this ship, and all of the Grand Arrays were specially designed to best suit it. If we have the proper amount of personnel on our ship, the power it can display will be far greater than average. With a few Seven-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with us onboard, we can confront a Territory Lord.”
Nodding incessantly, Yang Kai repeated, “Good, good, good! This is amazing!”
Then, Feng Ying added, “But this ship has cost a lot of Military Merits, your Military Merits in fact. They’ve basically been depleted.”
“My Military Merits?” Yang Kai was stunned, then suddenly remembered that a few years ago, Feng Ying had asked him for his Identity Token. Back then, he was so busy arranging Universe Arrays for the Purifying Black Ink Battleships and sealing Purifying Light in them that he gave it to her without asking any questions.
At that time, Feng Ying must have already had the plan to build such a powerful ship using his Military Merits.
Feng Ying explained, “The Inner Sanctum gives each Squad a ship, but that ship only has the most standard configuration. If you want to modify and enhance your Squad’s Warship, you need to spend Military Merits to get help from the Refining Hall.”
On the Black Ink Battlefield, Military Merits were extremely important. Not only could one exchange them for cultivation resources, artifacts, pills, or even techniques, one could also ask for guidance from powerful Masters. If one had enough Military Merits, they could even ask to be taught directly by an Old Ancestor.
Of course, the costs for such opportunities were basically unaffordable for the average cultivator.
A Warship like the one before Yang Kai naturally needed a massive amount of Military Merits to construct. Basically, every Squad and Battalion would slowly customize their Warship in order to best fit its members.
Moreover, the members of the Squad or Battalion were happy to spend their Military Merits on such things because a better Warship would give them a better chance of survival and make it easier to kill the enemy.
Since Yang Kai was new to Blue Sky Pass, of course he didn’t know about these things; however, Feng Ying knew them very well. Yang Kai was Dawn’s Squad Leader, so she had spent his Military Merits without batting an eyelid.
Yang Kai had no objection to this of course and nodded, “Good. My Military Merits aren’t of much use to me anyways, so this is just the right thing to use them on.”
While others might need to exchange Military Merits for cultivation materials, he didn’t as he had enough to cultivate until he reached the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm with extra left over.
After taking a few more looks at it, Yang Kai suddenly became serious, “But what are we going to do with this Warship? The Black Ink Clan has been driven back, and wasn’t it said that they wouldn’t return for at least 100 years?”
Feng Ying laughed, “It’s true that the Black Ink Clan has retreated, but they will definitely return, so we will need this Warship at that time. Moreover, after every battle, Blue Sky Pass will send out some personnel to collect cultivation resources and monitor the Black Ink Clan’s movements, which requires approaching, if not entering Black Ink Clan territory.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he parroted, “Gathering cultivation materials and spying on the Black Ink Clan?”
Nodding, Feng Ying added, “While you were busy with the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, others have been carrying out these tasks, generally with Squads as a unit; after all, the Black Ink Clan just suffered a serious defeat a few years ago and is still recuperating. As long as one doesn’t venture too deep into Black Ink Clan territory, there is basically no danger. On top of that, if you come across Black Ink Clansmen while gathering resources, you might even be able to earn more Military Merits.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel eager, so he quickly asked, “Are these tasks assigned to specific Squads or can anyone go?”
Glancing at him, Feng Ying immediately knew what he was thinking and she smiled and replied, “As long as you apply, you will not be rejected.”
Yang Kai suddenly said with excitement, “Have we applied?”
“Don’t we have to wait for you?” Feng Ying glared at him.
At that comment, Yang Kai nodded, “Good, very good. Martial Aunt, let’s go apply now.”
The smile on Feng Ying’s face slowly faded before she said with some concern, “We can apply, but I’m not sure if the Army Commanders will let us go.”
“Let’s give it a try, if they don’t let us go, I’ll find the Army Commanders and talk to them directly.” Yang Kai suddenly remembered one more thing, “By the way, how many people have you recruited for our Squad?”
Immediately after Dawn was ordered to be established, Yang Kai started to work on the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises outside of Blue Sky Pass. Later, he was busy with the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, so he didn’t have time to deal with this matter and instead left it in Feng Ying’s hands.
Therefore, he didn’t know how many members they had and who they were.
“I’m almost done recruiting members. I’ll have them meet with you later so we can all get to know each other better.” After she said that, she pointed at the cabin, “I left a space inside for you to arrange a Universe Array, and I have prepared the materials necessary, so you can work on that first. Also, you have to name this Warship.”
“Martial Aunt, you’re too thoughtful,” Yang Kai reached out and took the Space Ring from Feng Ying.
A few moments later, she left, probably to apply for the mission, while Yang Kai stayed in the square and entered the cabin to set up a Universe Array in the space that was left for him.
As he had been arranging Universe Arrays for 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships for a few years, Yang Kai was now traversing on a familiar path.
In just a few days, the Warship’s Universe Array was operational, and Yang Kai had branded the large ship’s bow with two large characters.
Dawning Light!
After putting the ship into his Small Universe, Yang Kai returned to Feng Ying’s place.
Half a day later, Dawn Squad’s members arrived and met with him.
Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu were the three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who fought their way back from the Black Ink Clan with Yang Kai and Feng Ying. As for the rest, there were 30 others who had been enlisted.
When Yang Kai was appointed as Dawn’s Squad Leader, Zhong Liang publicly announced to the Inner Sanctum that any cultivator under the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm that Yang Kai chose could join his Squad, and the limit for that Squad was 50 people. In other words, if Yang wanted to, he could create a Squad with 50 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
However, if he did that, it would be a waste of manpower because there was no need for a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to manipulate a Warship. Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would suffice for such roles.
Thus, under careful consideration, in addition to the three Yang Kai had previously mentioned, Feng Ying did not take in any more Seventh-Order Masters. The other 30 members were all in the Fifth and Sixth-Order.
The entire Dawn Squad’s configuration, including Yang Kai and Feng Ying, was 5 Seventh-Order Masters, 20 Sixth-Order Masters, and 10 Fifth-Order Masters.
Such a configuration was quite reasonable; not only would it not reduce Dawn’s combat power, but it also wouldn’t squander valuable human resources.
Moreover, the 5 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the team were enough to ensure Dawn Squad’s fighting capability.
Feng Ying kept the remaining 15 slots empty so they could recruit members they needed when suitable opportunities arose.
What’s more, everyone here was someone Yang Kai brought back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain; therefore, they were already quite familiar with each other.
In Feng Ying’s courtyard, a banquet was prepared, and the atmosphere was lively as everyone exchanged pleasantries and drinks.
If it hadn’t been for Yang Kai’s help in dispersing the Black Ink Strength within them, they would have still been working for the Black Ink Clan and would likely have died on the battlefield during the last war.
They thought about their future battles, like how they would kill the Black Ink Clan and spread Dawn Squad’s reputation far and wide. After a few rounds of drinks, some began to sing, which attracted cheers from the others.
At that moment, Feng Ying’s expression suddenly changed. She took out the communication artifact, looked at it, and looked at Yang Kai with a helpless expression.
Noticing her gaze, Yang Kai turned his head to look at her, “What is it?”
Feng Ying said, “Our request to sortie on a mission has been rejected.”
The noisy courtyard instantly fell silent. They were just chatting about Dawn Squad’s future fame, but now their request to go out mission was denied. How could they realise their dreams if they couldn’t even leave Blue Sky Pass?
Generally speaking, such requests wouldn’t be denied. In the years after the great battle, countless Squads would leave the Great Pass to go out on missions. As long as they were prepared, their applications would be accepted; after all, the Black Ink Clan had suffered a crushing defeat in the Blue Sky Theatre and were now busy recuperating. As long as they took great care and did not wander too deep into the Black Ink Clan’s territory or encounter a strong enemy by accident, they wouldn’t be in any danger.
However, everyone knew that the reason why Dawn’s request was denied was because of Yang Kai.
During the previous war, the Army Commanders did not dare to let Yang Kai freely set foot on the battlefield, but he snuck out and upended the entire situation alone, forcing Zhong Liang to borrow troops from the other three Armies. Although a series of lucky coincidences allowed them to expose the Royal Lord’s resting place and aided them in achieving a great victory, that was only a random bout of good fortune, not a carefully planned out strategy.
How many lucky coincidences could one person have?
The Army Commanders and the other higher-ups did not feel safe letting Yang Kai leave Blue Sky Pass. If they had a chance, they wouldn’t even want Yang Kai to take one step outside the Inner Sanctum.
While the crowd fell silent, Yang Kai drank his glass of wine in one gulp and coldly snorted, “I expected as much. I’ll go make my case to the Army Commanders!”
After saying that, he stood up and flew off into the sky.
A short while later, in front of Zhong Liang’s office, Yang Kai landed straight down from above. Someone was guarding the door and stopped Yang Kai.
Yang Kai explained his intention and asked the guard to report his arrival to Zhang Liang.
Moments later, the guard came out, cupped his fist, and said, “Brother Yang, the Army Commander is busy at the moment and won’t see any guests.”
Frowning, Yang Kai asked, “When will the Army Commander be finished?”
The guard shook his head and answered, “I don’t know. Why don’t you go back and wait?”
Yang Kai took a deep look at the hall in front of him, pondered for a moment, and then nodded, “Fine, many thanks.”
Then, he turned around and left.
Inside the hall, Zhong Liang sat behind the long table while perceiving the situation outside with his Divine Sense. Yang Kai was gone, but the direction he left in seemed to not be the way back to Feng Ying’s residence. It seemed like the way to the Eastern Army’s headquarters. Knowing that the brat was probably going to find Ding Yao after not seeing him, Zhong Liang snorted lightly and took out a communication artifact to send a message to Ding Yao.
A few moments later, Yang Kai arrived at Ding Yao’s office and asked to see him, but the guard there didn’t even go inside to inform Ding Yao. Instead, the guard told Yang Kai that Ding Yao was not in Blue Sky Pass and that he did not know where he had gone or when he would return.
Yang Kai was speechless. He went looking for Zhong Liang, but couldn’t see him because the latter was busy, and now he couldn’t find Ding Yao because he was out. Yang Kai began to suspect he wouldn’t be able to see the other two Army Commanders either.
As Yang Kai expected, when he went to see Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo, the guards at their doors also told Yang Kai that the Army Commanders were not in the Inner Sanctum, and their whereabouts and return dates were unknown.
At this point, Yang Kai knew they were intentionally avoiding him, and they wouldn’t give him any chance of meeting them. That realization made Yang Kai furious, and he thought that the tricks those four old men were playing were too shameless.
Shut out from all directions, he had no choice but to return to his residence.
The next day, Yang Kai asked to see Zhong Liang again, but he still failed.
On the following day, Yang Kai went to see Zhong Liang for a third time only to be told by the guard there that Zhong Liang had left the Great Pass as well…
Yang Kai was so angry he thought he was about to explode. After lingering in front of the door for a long time, he finally clenched his teeth, opened his mouth, and shouted, “Army Commander, I won’t do things more than thrice. Since you won’t see me after I’ve been asking to meet you so many times, I’ll gather my men now and leave the pass!”
After Yang Kai said what he had to say, he turned around to leave.
He had only taken a few steps when a furious shout came from behind though, “Brat, you dare leave the pass without authorization!?”
Yang Kai did not look back and stubbornly said, “Try me!”
He then walked forward with large strides.
Zhong Liang, who was pretending to have gone out, couldn’t sit still any longer and stormed out of the hall and stopped right in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked at him with a derisive expression, “Sir Army Commander, didn’t you leave the Great Pass on a mission?”
Shamelessly keeping his expression, Zhong Liang calmly declared, “I just came back. It’s just a coincidence.”
Yang Kai let out a chuckle, “What a coincidence. Since you’re here, I need to ask permission to lead my Squad…”
Before he could finish his words, Zhong Liang waved his hand, “Rejected!”
Feeling like half of his words were stuck in his throat, Yang Kai almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He took a deep breath, gazed helplessly at Zhong Liang, and pleaded, “Army Commander, I’ve fought my way up from my youth, and killed so many I have lost track of their number. I’m not some weak and delicate greenhouse flower.”
Zhong Liang answered flatly, “It has nothing to do with your strength or weakness. Your existence is of vital importance to the Human Race and cannot be treated carelessly. I understand your feelings, but Yang Boy, I hope you can put the big picture first.”
Hanging his head, Yang Kai said, “I’ve just advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and the bigger picture of the Black Ink Battlefield is too much for me to care about. I can only do what I can.”
Zhong Liang raised his brow and ordered, “Stay in the Inner Sanctum. That’s what you can do, and what we want the most.”
After Zhong Liang said that, Yang Kai fell silent. Of course he knew what Zhong Liang and others were thinking and understood why they had such thoughts. If he were in Zhong Liang’s shoes, he wouldn’t be willing to let himself be in danger by leaving the Pass either.
However, understanding their situation was one thing, but he still had his own insistence and plans.
With a World Spring, Yang Kai was not afraid of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, and he also had his Purifying Light which could safeguard those around him. He had just advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and his strength had increased greatly, so he should have been able to move freely around the Black Ink Battlefield.
If he were trapped inside Blue Sky Pass, he would lose his vigour in the long run, which would not be beneficial to his future growth.
If he wanted to keep striving for greater heights in the Martial Dao, the only option was to go out and fight.
“The Black Ink Battlefield has more than 100 Great Passes and millions of Masters. I am just one of them. I can do what others can and go wherever the others go. I don’t want to receive any special treatment, and I hope you all can realise my wish.” Yang Kai looked solemn and cupped his fist.
Zhong Liang sighed, “Life never goes the way you want it to. There are always people in this world who have abilities that others do not, so they have to bear the responsibilities that others cannot. You said you don’t want any special treatment, but you have a unique ability, so it’s impossible for you not to have special treatment.”
Feeling unresigned, Yang Kai argued, “They always say that the older a person gets, the more stubborn they become. I originally did not believe it, but seeing how you’re acting now, I have to believe it.”
A few guards nearby couldn’t help but laugh at those words.
Zhong Liang gave a light *tsk*, “Brat, you’re acting reckless again.” Then, he glared at the guards to shut them up.
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and shouted, “Army Commander, I am proficient in the Dao of Space!”
Zhong Liang nodded, “Yes, I know. What are you trying to say?”
“What I’m trying to say is that if I insist on leaving, you cannot stop me unless you lock down the entire Blue Sky Pass. Otherwise, I can easily leave at will.”
Zhong Liang felt his face twitch as he snarled, “Don’t forget that you are an official member of Blue Sky Pass. Disregarding orders is punishable by Military Law.”
Yang Kai snorted, obviously not taking his words to heart.
“How about this, Army Commander? Let’s make a bet.”
“What kind of bet?” Zhong Liang frowned at him.
“Using Blue Sky Pass’ interior as the boundary, if you can catch me before an incense stick burns out, I will stay, but if you can’t, you have to approve my application. How about that?”
Zhong Liang was immediately exasperated as he quipped, “Are you that confident in yourself?”
He did know that those who were proficient in the Dao of Space were good at escaping, and if it had been the limitless void outside, he wasn’t confident if he could catch Yang Kai within an incense stick; however, with the inside of Blue Sky Pass as the boundary, it would be a simple matter for an Eight-Order Master to catch a Seventh-Order Junior.
With his nostrils pointing up towards the sky, Yang Kai looked at Zhong Liang arrogantly, “I dare you to make a bet with me! It’s fine if you don’t, I won’t laugh.”
Even though Zhong Liang knew Yang Kai was trying to provoke him, he was still furious and said through clenched teeth, “Good, I’ll take that bet! But boy, if I catch you, it won’t be as simple as you staying in Blue Sky Pass. I’ll beat you black and blue until you beg for mercy!”
With a wave of his hand, Zhong Liang ordered, “Light up an incense stick!”
One of the guards who had been watching the fun hurriedly took out an incense burner from his Small Universe.
Yang Kai glanced at the half-human tall incense and incense burner, and he couldn’t help but snicker, “Army Commander, your methods continue to astound me. This incense is much, much bigger than any I’ve ever seen before.”
No matter how shameless Zhong Liang was, he couldn’t help but blush at this moment. A normal stick of incense was a bit longer than a palm’s length, so the time it took to burn through was naturally not too long. This giant incense stick was several times bigger and would probably burn for at least five times as long.
This was not something Zhong Liang had prepared in advance of course, it was something the guard had done of his own accord.
Although it felt like he was cheating, it was exactly what Zhong Liang had in mind, so he choked down his embarrassment and instead laughed and taunted, “If you think it’s inappropriate, we can stop the bet and you’ll have to obediently stay in the Inner Sanctum; otherwise, you would know the consequences of disobeying my orders.”
Taking a look at the big incense, Yang Kai knew that there was no room for him to retreat at this point, so he clenched his and said, “Let’s begin!”
Zhong Liang smiled even more cunningly than a fox as he raised his hand and shouted, “Light it up!”
The guard got the order and immediately prepared to burn the incense.
Zhong Liang smilingly looked at Yang Kai and said, “Boy, don’t blame me for not reminding you. You can start running now. Once the incense is lit, I’ll be making my move.”
While saying so, he stood in place and began to stretch and loosen his muscles.
Before he finished his sentence, Yang Kai turned around and ran.
Behind Zhong Liang, the incense was also lit at the same time.
The moment the incense filled the air, Zhong Liang rushed in Yang Kai’s direction like an arrow that had been shot from a bow. He wanted to take this smelly brat down in one fell swoop and cut off anything thought of leaving the Pass so Yang Kai would obediently stay inside the Inner Sanctum from now on.
Suddenly, Zhong Liang felt a sense of crisis, and when he looked up, he saw that Yang Kai, who should have been wildly fleeing, had actually turned around and was looking at him with a fierce grin. Yang Kai raised his hands high into the sky, and above him a Great Sun around with a Golden Crow was cawing rose. Above his other hand a shimmering Full Moon had manifested.
Both the Sun and Moon shone together!
The two celestial bodies began circling one another, radiating rich Time Principles as they orbited faster and faster. Yang Kai surged his Space Principles next and merged the two images together to create a new, mysterious force.
The rapidly rotating Sun and Moon enlarged and soon filled Zhong Liang’s field of vision. Even though he was an Eighth-Order Master, he couldn’t help but feel chills run down his spine at this moment. The power of this Divine Ability was beyond his imagination, and it was definitely not something that a Seventh-Order Master could perform.
With such a Divine Ability, even though he was at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he would not escape unscathed if he just stood there and took the hit from Yang Kai.
Zhong Liang never expected Yang Kai to turn around and attack him instead of fleeing, so he was caught completely off guard and didn’t have time to dodge.
In addition, under the influence of this strange Divine Ability, Time and Space around him distorted, and even his thoughts and perception became a little blurred.
This whole situation was too absurd!
Zhong Liang made an immediate decision, and with a loud shout, the power of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master exploded forth. World Force exploded from his body as he threw his fist out at Yang Kai.
A loud bang was heard, and violent energy surged throughout the space. The entire Blue Sky Pass was shaken by the shockwave and all the Humans inside the Inner Sanctum were so shocked that they thought the Black Ink Clan was attacking, so they all came out to investigate.
All of a sudden, the sky above Blue Sky Pass was filled with people.
Meanwhile, inside the Eastern Army’s Headquarters, Ding Yao leapt up into the air after noticing the movement. He looked around and frowned when he saw Zhong Liang suspended in mid-air. However, the current Zhong Liang looked a bit haggard. Although the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel didn’t injure him, it wasn’t easy for him to take the blow. His vitality was churning slightly, making it impossible for him to chase after Yang Kai immediately. Moreover, under the dazzling fallout from the clash, he had lost sight of Yang Kai, and didn’t know where to find him.
Frowning, Ding Yao flew over and soon arrived in front of the Western Army’s Headquarters.
Together with him were Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo, who were supposed to be ‘outside’ right now.
The three Army Commanders gathered together, and Zhong Liang’s adjutant hurriedly greeted them.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Ding Yao asked with a frown.
As soon as he spoke those words though, he turned his head up towards Zhong Liang. In his vision, Ding Yao clearly saw a ripple in the Void, followed by Yang Kai’s ghostly figure appearing less than 100 metres behind Zhong Liang. Yang Kai was holding his Azure Dragon Spear and fiercely thrust it out at Zhong Liang’s back.
Ding Yao’s eyes widened at Yang Kai’s action, but he also saw that Yang Kai did not have any killing intent. Moreover, Zhong Liang was at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so although this spear attack was unexpected and powerful, it couldn’t do much to Zhong Liang.
What Ding Yao didn’t know was that Zhong Liang’s senses had been scrambled somewhat after being struck by the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, so when Yang Kai launched this sneak attack, he was not able to detect it until the spear tip was almost touching his body. Only then did Zhong Liang sense danger and turn around to throw out a punch.
Yang Kai’s body flew out like a paper kite before plunging into the Void, disappearing between the ripples as his voice lingered in the air, “As expected of an Army Commander. My greatest respects to your strength….”
Zhong Liang grabbed at him, but missed. His face now as black as the bottom of a pot, he could not help but roar, “You Little Bastard! You better hide well and not let me catch you or I swear your end will be miserable!”
He was the Army Commander of the Western Army, one of the most important figures in all of Blue Sky Pass, only ranking below the Old Ancestor himself; but now, he was being played by Yang Kai, who had just advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, in front of everyone. What’s more, he actually suffered two losses because he was repeatedly caught off guard, furthering his humiliation.
Zhong Liang was angry, but he was also forced to admit that he admired Yang Kai’s boldness.
He simply did not expect Yang Kai would dare act so recklessly and decisively. If it had been an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, that person would have already died twice by now.
Meanwhile, in front of the Western Army’s Headquarters, the adjutant gulped and finally had the time to answer Ding Yao’s question.
After finding out about the bet between Yang Kai and Zhong Liang, Ding Yao then turned his head to look at the giant burning incense and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Such a large incense stick might take almost an hour or longer to burn through completely. Blue Sky Pass was not a small place, but with it as the boundary, even if Yang Kai, who just advanced to the Seventh Order, had his Space Secret Techniques, he might not be able to escape from the palm of Zhong Liang’s hand.
No wonder Zhong Liang agreed to the bet. If it had been him, it would have been difficult for him to refuse such a bet too.
Zhong Liang could have ignored this provocation completely, but Yang Kai was bound to not be convinced, and there would only be further disputes. Thus, it was better to take this opportunity to stop Yang Kai from having such thoughts and prevent any future problems.
However, the commotion had grown far too big, and the others in Blue Sky Pass were in turmoil at the moment as they didn’t know what had happened. Ding Yao thus issued a series of orders to control the situation.
Soon, the people floating around Blue Sky Pass came down and watched the show from the sidelines. It wasn’t a big deal for them as long as it wasn’t the Black Ink Clan’s invading.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the west of Blue Sky Pass, Yang Kai was running away in a hurry, pushing his Space Principles to the limit.
However, no matter how hard he fled, a Divine Sense was able to lock onto him from afar.
It was Zhong Liang!
If Yang Kai didn’t find a way to cut off this Divine Sense, no matter how exquisite his Instantaneous Movement was, he would never be able to escape from Zhong Liang. But with their difference in strength, how could he cut off Zhong Liang’s Divine Sense? Yang Kai’s repeated attempts failed to achieve his goal, so even as he ran using Instantaneous Movement, Zhong Liang followed close behind him.
Yang Kai knew that his two sneak attacks had pissed off Zhong Liang, and the Army Commander was now determined to teach him a painful lesson.
Instantaneous Movement was the pinnacle of escape techniques. There were thousands of Secret Techniques to increase one’s speed, but none of them could be compared to Instantaneous Movement.
Soon, Yang Kai’s figure could be seen in all corners of Blue Sky Pass, but he never stayed in one spot for more than three breaths because Zhong Liang, who was like a ravenous beast, was always hot on his tail.
With one chasing and one escaping, time gradually passed.
The incense in front of the Western Army’s Headquarters was now a third burned down.
Ding Yao and the others were now becoming a bit anxious!
Initially, they thought that Zhong Liang would capture Yang Kai on his own, but now it seemed that it would not be so easy. They had all heard how the Dao of Space was unparalleled when it came to escaping, but it was only now that they learned how difficult it was to deal with a Master proficient in it.
It was a good thing that this incense burned for a much longer time than a normal incense; otherwise, the time limit would have already been reached.
Even if Yang Kai was caught in the end, it would still be a hollow victory for their side.
On the other hand, seeing that he hadn’t captured the infuriating boy after so long, Zhong Liang was feeling quite annoyed. He intended for this to be a quick battle, but he did not expect that not only were things not going as he expected, but it was actually taking him so long to capture one little brat. Moreover, if he lost the bet, it would be a terrible conclusion.
Suddenly, Zhong Liang’s body stopped in mid-air.
Noticing that Zhong Liang was acting differently, Yang Kai quickly dodged away, but the Divine Sense locked onto him remained.
He didn’t know what Zhong Liang was up to, but he figured that the Army Commander was about to make some kind of big move, so he became alert.
As expected, a strong burst of Word Force came from Zhong Liang’s side, followed by ripples that started from Zhong Liang’s location and spread out in all directions. The speed of the ripples was not fast, but it wasn’t slow either. As the ripples passed through the air, the surrounding space was gradually undergoing a noticeable change. It was a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Technique.
When Yang Kai saw this scene from afar, his face paled as he cried out in anguish, “Army Commander! You shameless cheater!”
Zhong Liang was preparing to spread out his Small Universe and envelop the entire Blue Sky Pass.
Yang Kai had no doubt that Zhong Liang had such an ability; after all, Zhong Liang was a peak Eighth-Order Master, so once his Small Universe was manifested, it could easily encompass all of Blue Sky Pass.
If that happened, the entire Blue Sky Pass territory would be inside his Small Universe. By then, Zhong Liang would be the master of this space, and Yang Kai would have no way of escaping! He would become a fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of Zhong Liang.
Though it was a superb tactic, it was more akin to cheating than a clever strategy. It also showed how determined Zhong Liang was to take down Yang Kai.
Hearing Yang Kai’s shout, Zhong Liang’s face did not blush, he simply laughed wickedly and declared, “In battle, there is no such thing as cheating! Why don’t you try shouting at the Black Ink Clan that they’re being unfair in battle and see if they will let you go!?”
As he spoke, his Small Universe’s frontier spread in Yang Kai’s direction. Yang Kai retreated in haste, but he was limited to the inside of Blue Sky Pass, so there was no place to hide.
He could only watch as the ripples swept past his body and enveloped him.
Yang Kai’s face suddenly turned blue.
Zhong Liang laughed loudly and approached Yang Kai in a flash. He looked at Yang Kai calmly with his hands behind his back, “Are you going to admit defeat voluntarily, or will I have to capture you first? Let me make it clear, if you willingly admit defeat, you will be spared from a beating, but if you make me come and get you… I’m currently in a bad mood, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to control my strength very well.”
Yang Kai immediately gritted his teeth, “You’re quite brazen, Army Commander, but I’m not beaten yet!”
Saying so, Yang Kai’s fists flashed and began blasting towards Zhong Liang.
Smiling, Zhong Liang thought that although Yang Kai was quite strong, such an attack was nothing to him. He was wary of the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel Yang Kai used it as a sneak attack, and if Yang Kai had brought it out here and now, he would certainly be wary of him, but this kind of haphazard flurry of punches wouldn’t cause him any harm.
“You’re too arrogant. It seems you won’t regret it unless you see your coffin. Good, I’ll let you understand the consequences of your actions!” As Zhong Liang spoke, the palm of his hand reached forward, transforming the world around them into a seemingly solid projection as he moved to capture Yang Kai.
However, in the next moment, Zhong Liang’s face changed dramatically.
The attack that seemed so unthreatening to him suddenly felt like a heavy hammer pounding on his heart, shaking his entire Small Universe.
“Huh? What the?!” When Zhong Liang cried out in dismay as the power of his Small Universe was greatly disturbed. For a moment, his strength became disordered and his head became dizzy.
An Open Heaven Realm Master would not easily spread out their Small Universe when fighting because their Small Universe was their very foundation. Once their Small Universe was damaged, they would suffer grave consequences.
The only time Open Heaven Realm Masters would choose to use this method was when they were truly desperate.
When Yang Kai besieged Zuo Quan Hui in the New Great Territory, Zuo Quan Hui laid down his Small Universe in the final battle as he had no other choice.
Zhong Liang was also forced to take a risk today because he had no choice.
But he also had his own considerations. With the heritage of his Small Universe, a newly advanced Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai should not be able to do anything to him in short order. In other words, as long as he took him down swiftly, there shouldn’t be any danger.
How could Zhong Liang have expected that Yang Kai’s seemingly ordinary punches would be able to shake his Small Universe? Once his Small Universe became unstable, his World Force stopped flowing smoothly, leaving him essentially defenceless.
Zhong Liang, who had been hovering in mid-air, fell headlong to the ground.
Although he was able to stabilize his body and withdraw his Small Universe in a flash, even a moment of weakness would be enough to determine life or death in a fight between Masters.
Zhong Liang’s face suddenly became blacker than the bottom of a pot, for when he looked up, Yang Kai had disappeared without a trace. Worse, because he was temporarily dazed, his Divine Sense lock had been cut off.
[This is bad!]
Feeling his heart clench up, Zhang Liang became worried because he was only able to chase after Yang Kai because he locked him down with his Divine Sense. Now that Yang Kai had escaped this lock, how was Zhong Liang supposed to track him?
Turning his head towards the Western Army’s Headquarters, Zhong Liang saw the incense stick in front of the door was already half-burned.
Also, Ding Yao and the others looked at him with intrigued expressions while standing before the incense burner, making Zhong Liang blush.
Up until now, he still could not understand how Yang Kai shook his Small Universe. Those seemingly ordinary punches were definitely not as simple as they seemed. They should be some kind of Secret Technique that was used to directly target Small Universes.
He was right. Yang Kai did have a Secret Technique to deal with Small Universes.
That Secret Technique had worked wonders since he first discovered it, and it gave Yang Kai the ability to fight against Masters above his cultivation realm. If he tangled with the enemy for long enough, he could trace the opponent’s Internal Qi back to their Small Universe, and then, using Space Principles, he could bombard it directly. That was the essence of his Cow Punch.
Originally, Yang Kai didn’t have the chance to use this technique because of the wide gap between him and Zhong Liang, making him unable to hold off Zhong Liang long enough to use Cow Punch.
However, Zhong Liang took the initiative to spread out his Small Universe, which allowed Yang Kai to skip over the entire tracing process, so he immediately used Cow Punch. In the end, he was able to hit Zhong Liang and escape from him. He even had the strength left over to cut off the Divine Sense which was locked onto him.
Once all of that was done, Yang Kai was like a tiger that had returned to the mountains. It would be difficult for Zhong Liang to find him again.
In a few moments, Blue Sky Pass flew into an uproar.
Zhong Liang’s vast Divine Sense swept through the entire Blue Sky Pass but could not find any trace of Yang Kai. He even ran to each Army Headquarters and personally searched the Purifying Black Ink Battleships in case Yang Kai was hiding in them.
But he ended up empty-handed again.
After a few more moments, he had searched every Warship in Blue Sky Pass.
Seeing that the incense was getting shorter and shorter and would soon be finished, Zhong Liang could not help but feel a cold sweat on his forehead.
He had turned the entire Blue Sky Pass upside down and searched everywhere he could think of, but there were still no signs of Yang Kai. Just where was that little brat hiding?
What if he had left the Great Pass? But that would be like admitting defeat, and Yang Kai would never do that.
As he thought about it, Zhong Liang suddenly thought of something and looked in a certain direction.
“That fool finally figured it out!” In front of the Western Army’s Headquarters, Ding Yao reached up and rubbed his forehead.
When Zhong Liang’s Small Universe shook just now, he was dazed and unable to maintain his focus, so Yang Kai took the opportunity to escape. Though Zhong Liang had no idea where Yang Kai had gone, Ding Yao and the others saw it all clearly. However, it wasn’t their place to give Zhang Liang any hints, nor could they do that.