In the centre of Blue Sky Pass, there was a tall solitary mountain, and on top of the solitary mountain stood a majestic palace.
For the tens of thousands of members of Blue Sky Pass, this solitary mountain was both a Restricted Area and a mental support. That was the place where the Old Ancestor would enter retreat, and no one was to disturb him without being summoned.
A stream of light swept in from below and soon arrived in front of the palace. The figure that landed was none other than the Western Army Commander, Zhong Liang.
He took a quick glance at the surroundings, but only saw a few familiar figures standing guard, with no traces of Yang Kai.
[Is he not here?] Zhong Liang was a bit stunned.
He had just turned almost the entire Blue Sky Pass upside down but still could not find Yang Kai’s whereabouts. The only exception was this solitary mountain, which he did not dare to pry into because it was not a place he could simply search at will.
If there was any place Yang Kai could hide, it was definitely here.
Who would have thought he still couldn’t find Yang Kai’s whereabouts after coming here?
The situation made his head spin. If Yang Kai was not hiding here, where else could he be?
After greeting Senior Brother Sun, who was guarding the front door, Zhong Liang turned around and was about to leave.
It was then that Senior Brother Sun suddenly said, “Junior Brother, are you here to find Yang Kai?”
Zhong Liang stopped and nodded, “Yes!”
Senior Brother Sun smiled wryly and said, “If that is the case, you can wait here.”
Zhong Liang was puzzled, “Huh?”
Senior Brother Sun said, “Yang Kai has been summoned by the Old Ancestor and is in the inner room. He will be out in a moment.”
The news made Zhong Liang’s jaw drop in shock as he was astonished and speechless.
The Old Ancestor summoned Yang Kai into the palace. How could he continue his search for Yang Kai? It was impossible for him to rush inside and catch Yang Kai now. In other words, as long as Yang Kai hid inside the palace until the time limit was up, he would definitely lose the bet.
[That Brat! He’s too shameless!]
But when Zhong Liang thought back on the act of him spreading out his Small Universe, he couldn’t help feeling he was just as shameless.
“Why did Old Ancestor suddenly summon him?” Zhong Liang asked with a bitter smile.
Senior Brother Sun laughed and said, “I don’t know. That brat suddenly came here in a hurry like he had some urgent business, and as soon as he landed, the Old Ancestor summoned him inside to talk.”
Those words made Zhong Liang gnash his teeth and secretly curse him for being so sneaky. [He must have run all the way here after cutting off my Divine Sense, which was locked onto him.]
Still, Zhong Liang had not expected that the Old Ancestor would summon Yang Kai at such a moment. The boy’s original intention should only have been to use the uniqueness of this place to hide for some time.
As for Senior Brother Sun’s description of Yang Kai being in a hurry, as if he had something urgent, Senior Brother Sun might have already learned the reason for that matter. Although his duty was to guard the Old Ancestor’s place of retreat, he must have known about what just happened because they had caused such a huge commotion; otherwise, he wouldn’t have laughed so mockingly.
Zhong Liang suddenly remembered one more thing and asked urgently, “Have Old Ancestor’s wounds fully healed?”
It had been eight years since the Black Ink Clan Army was defeated, and the Old Ancestor had been in retreat since then to heal his injuries, so there might be a chance that his injuries were all healed.
Senior Brother Sun unfortunately shook his head and said, “I don’t know, but this is the first time in recent years that Old Ancestor has sent a message to the outside world.”
After hearing those words, Zhong Liang immediately understood the situation. It seemed like the Old Ancestor had yet to make a full recovery; after all, it wasn’t easy for a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to heal his injuries. However, the Old Ancestor’s situation must have turned for the better, or else he wouldn’t have called for Yang Kai to head inside.
After taking a look at the big incense in front of the Western Army Headquarters, Zhong Liang noticed there was still about a fifth of it left, so there was still some time.
He didn’t want to leave just like that, and since there was still some time left, Zhong Liang could only stay here and wait to see if Yang Kai would come out before time was up.
Silence fell in front of the palace.
Meanwhile, inside, Yang Kai sat cross-legged in front of an old man with an all-white beard and hair.
The old man was thin and full of wrinkles. He wore a plain robe and was currently barefooted, not giving off the air of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at all. Yang Kai did not even feel any energy fluctuations from this old man. If they met without knowing each other’s identities, Yang Kai would definitely treat him like an ordinary old man and not a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor who stood at the very peak of the Martial Dao.
The Old Ancestor’s cultivation had probably achieved a state of serenity in the extraordinary; otherwise, he would never have given Yang Kai such an impression.
Yang Kai was very surprised to be summoned by the Old Ancestor. When he first came here, he had intended to meet the Old Ancestor, but since the latter was in the process of healing from his injuries, Yang Kai wasn’t able to meet him.
At this moment, Yang Kai was demonstrating the creation of Purifying Light in front of the Old Ancestor, which was naturally something the latter requested of him.
During the process, the Old Ancestor watched carefully and even reached out his hand to take the Purifying Light after it was formed to have a better look at it.
Yang Kai did not dare to say much and just quietly waited.
After a few moments, the Old Ancestor nodded lightly and instructed Yang Kai to stretch out his hands so that he could check the two marks.
Though Yang Kai couldn’t tell what the Old Ancestor had seen from the marks on the backs of his hands, the latter was clearly meticulously investigating them with an extremely serious expression.
Moments later, the Old Ancestor nodded lightly and suddenly smiled, “This Purifying Light is indeed profound and mysterious. The Burning Light and Serene Glimmer are truly worthy of being called ancient Great Experts. Their strength is far beyond my reach.”
Yang Kai was astonished by his words, “You’re too modest, Old Ancestor.”
According to the Old Ancestor’s words, he seemed to be admitting that he was inferior to the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer. How could Yang Kai not be surprised by that? The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm was already the peak a Human could achieve, and Yang Kai had always thought that such a Master could compete with the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
The Old Ancestor, however, shook his head, “I’m not being modest. I speak only the truth. When this Old Master first advanced to the Ninth Order, I went to the Chaotic Dead Territory to exchange moves with those two. I remember that experience well.”
He did not say what the result of the sparring match was, but Yang Kai had a vague feeling that the Old Ancestor had suffered some kind of loss.
“I know about what happened in the Inner Sanctum. This Purifying Light is a method to remove Black Ink Strength, so since you have gotten this opportunity, you should work hard to safeguard others well.”
Yang Kai said respectfully, “Junior will abide by your orders, Old Ancestor.”
After a pause, he added, “Old Ancestor, I have one more thing to report.”
“Go ahead.” Old Ancestor nodded lightly.
“This Junior did not enter the Black Ink Battlefield through the No-Return Pass. Instead, I came here through a Void Corridor!”
Once he said those words, the Old Ancestor’s eyes narrowed, “Tell me more.”
Yang Kai then went on to explain what happened in the Black Prison. He began his story after the death of the Royal Lord, then described how the Void Corridor was formed, how he went in alone and sealed the Void Corridor with Space Principles, and then found himself in a Sealed World which existed on the Black Ink Battlefield.
“I have sealed the corridor with my Secret Technique, and that Sealed World has probably ruptured by now, but the Void Corridor might still exist.”
“How many people know about this?” Old Ancestor asked in a deep voice.
Yang Kai answered, “I met a Black Ink Disciple named Meng Qi in that Sealed World, and after saving him with Purifying Light, he told me the importance of this matter, and that I must report it to you and no one else, so I haven’t told anyone else about it.”
“And Meng Qi?” Old Ancestor asked.
After sighing, Yang Kai explained, “I wanted to bring him with me, but he refused and immediately sacrificed his life after I left.”
The Old Ancestor was slightly stunned, but soon understood and sighed, “His loyalty to the Human Race is praiseworthy. His name will be recorded on my Blue Sky Pass Heroic Souls Monument.”
The Heroic Souls Monument was something Yang Kai knew about. One such monument was located in every one of the Great Passes and it recorded the names of all those who died in the war against the Black Ink Clan.
The Heroic Souls Monument in Blue Sky Pass, which was 1,000 meters high, had recorded countless names, each one representing a human life.
“The matter of the Void Corridor ends here. Do not mention it to anyone else,” The Old Ancestor declared.
“Junior understands.”
The Old Ancestor nodded before suddenly giving him a deep look, “You have done a great service to the Human Race by sealing the Void Corridor, saving the 3,000 Worlds from a catastrophe.”
Shaking his head, Yang Kai said, “Those who have been battling to the death with the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield are the real heroes. Countless ancestors gave their lives in exchange for peace in the 3,000 Worlds while this Junior is still alive and well. The names on the Heroic Souls Monument are the ones who deserved the credit.”
“The dead have merit, but so do the living,” as the Old Ancestor spoke, he suddenly lifted his hand and extended his finger towards Yang Kai’s forehead.
His movement was obviously very slow, but in Yang Kai’s eyes, it seemed incredibly fast. Before he could react, the finger was already on his forehead.
As soon as Old Ancestor’s finger touched his forehead, he smiled and said, “The incense outside has burned out, you can leave now.”
Yang Kai was stunned to realize that although the Old Ancestor was in retreat, nothing in Blue Sky Pass could escape his gaze. He must have known about his bet with Zhong Liang, or else he would not have said these words.
Perhaps the Old Ancestor had summoned him inside with the intention of helping him.
Yang Kai got up and said respectfully, “Many thanks, Old Ancestor.”
The Old Ancestor closed his eyes and said nothing while Yang Kai bowed and exited the palace.
After leaving the inner room, Yang Kai touched his forehead and fell into deep thought.
Just now, when the Old Ancestor’s finger touched him, he did not notice anything unusual. Though he didn’t know what that action meant, as an Old Ancestor, whatever he did must have a purpose. That was why Yang Kai was confused.
Outside the hall, Zhong Liang looked resigned as Yang Kai walked out. Just now, the incense in front of the Western Army Headquarters had completely burned out. According to his bet with Yang Kai, he had lost.
His heart was full of discontent. If the Old Ancestor had not intervened and summoned Yang Kai inside, he wouldn’t have lost. However, he did not dare to say this out loud because it was not his place to complain about the Old Ancestor’s actions.
Yang Kai first went to greet the Senior surnamed Sun before looking at Zhong Liang. With his nostrils pointing high up to the sky, he arrogantly declared, “Army Commander, I am going to gather my men and head out of the Great Pass. You have no objections, right?”
Feeling his face twitch, Zhang Liang wanted to slap Yang Kai half to death and force him to stay in the Inner Sanctum.
But that was impossible now.
Suddenly putting on a smile, Zhong Liang made another attempt at negotiation, “Oh, Yang Boy. Let’s sit down and have a good chat about this. Why do you want to head outside the Great Pass? What’s so good about the outside world anyway? Isn’t it more free-and-easy inside the Inner Sanctum?”
Hearing that, Yang Kai cracked his neck and retorted, “No, I want to go outside the Great Pass. Army Commander, you’re not going to go back on your word, are you?”
“Nonsense.” Zhong Liang blew his beard and glared, “This King is an Army Commander in charge of the Western Army and has never gone back on his word!”
“Good.” Yang Kai nodded.
Zhong Liang added, “But there’s no rush. Why don’t you stay in the Inner Sanctum for a few more days and I’ll tell you about the situation of the Black Ink Clan?”
Yang Kai glanced with askance at him, “Even though Army Commander has fought on the Black Ink Battlefield for countless years, I have also lived in Black Ink Clan’s territory for at least two years and understand them well. There is no need for me to trouble you, Army Commander.”
Saying so, he raised his foot and was about to step forward.
However, Zhong Liang caught him by the arm. Yang Kai turned around to look at them. Four eyes met, and Zhong Liang gritted his teeth, “Fine. This King won’t stop you if you want to leave, but this King must draw up some rules with you. If you do not agree, then I won’t let you leave no matter what.”
Yang Kai frowned and urged him on, “Go on.”
Zhong Liang reached his hand out to him, “Give me your Universe Chart.”
Yang Kai had no idea what he was going to do, but he still took his Universe Chart out for him. This Universe Chart was the same one that Meng Qi handed him back then. It was the Universe Chart of Black Ink battlefield.
Zhong Liang took it from him and seemed to do something with it before casually tossing it back to Yang Kai, “The first rule is that you must not go past the boundaries set by this King. Right now, the area within the boundary can only barely be considered safe. There are Feudal and Territory Lords beyond this boundary, so you will not be able to resist them with the current strength of your Dawn Squad.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai brought his Divine Sense into the Universe Chart and examined the boundaries that Zhong Liang had drawn. When he recalled his previous experiences living within the Black Ink Clan’s territory, and compared it to this line, he just about had an understanding of the limits where he could move around. Yang Kai nodded, “Rest assured, Army Commander. My life is my own, so I will cherish it more than anyone else.”
Seeing him agree, Zhong Liang relaxed a little and nodded, “The second rule is, unless you are completely out of options, you must never use Purifying Light against the Black Ink Clan. If you do use it, then you must make sure to leave no witnesses!”
Yang Kai frowned, “Why?”
Purifying Light had the ability to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength, and it was the only way to save Black Ink Disciples and cultivators who have been corrupted by Black Ink Strength, but it was also a sharp weapon to use against the Black Ink Clan!
When Yang Kai first arrived at Blue Sky Pass, it was the Purifying Light that he used to injure a Black Ink Territory Lord, allowing Feng Ying to seize the opportunity to kill him.
Zhong Liang said, “Since ancient times, Humans have had no means to effectively disperse the corruption of Black Ink Strength before your arrival, which was the biggest reason why we could only defend the Great Passes and not take the initiative to attack. If the Black Ink Clan were to find out that you hold such power, it would attract their attention, and perhaps even stir up a Royal Lord to act. How are you going to resist if that were to happen? So, it is fine if you do nothing, but once you show your cards, you must exterminate them in order to keep the information from leaking out.”
Yang Kai realized what he was trying to say and nodded, “I understand now. However, Army Commander, I have already shown that ability on the battlefield last time. Surely, the Black Ink Clan would have taken notice.”
Zhong Liang waved his hand, “One time won’t matter. Even if the Black Ink Clan noticed what you did, they may not pay too much attention to it. However, if you use Purifying Light repeatedly, and if they were to find out about it, then things would truly become troublesome. This is important. If it is exposed that you are able to wield Purifying Light, then you will never be able to leave as you please ever again.”
“What is the third rule?” Yang Kai asked.
Zhong Liang said solemnly, “The third rule is that you will escape alone if you are met with mortal danger! You are proficient in the Dao of Space and you are also in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. As long as a Royal Lord does not act personally, and as long as you do not fall into an inescapable trap, then there is nothing that the Black Ink Clan can do to stop you. Do you understand me?”
Yang Kai fell silent.
Zhong Liang stared at him, “If you are unable to accept these three rules, then I will not let you out of here no matter what.”
A long while passed before Yang Kai sighed, “In that case, I will agree to them.”
Zhong Liang patted him on the shoulder, “Remember, your existence is vital to the entire Human Race. Do not put yourself at risk.”
Yang Kai nodded and cupped his fist, “If Army Commander has no other orders, then this Yang will go now.”
Zhong Liang opened his mouth as if he were going to say more, but he ended up just waving his hand, “Go.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist again and took to the skies.
A few moments later, Yang Kai landed in Feng Ying’s courtyard, where she had long been waiting. When she saw him return, she asked, “How was it?”
Yang Kai smiled, “Gather the troops and prepare to leave.”
Feng Ying was surprised, “The Army Commander lost?”
Yang Kai and Zhong Liang made a lot of noise during their argument, so everyone in Blue Sky Pass knew about their bet. Feng Ying did not have high hopes since Zhong Liang had even spread out his Small Universe. As long as Yang Kai was inside of Blue Sky Pass, then he would be captured sooner or later no matter where he tried to hide. However, it seemed now that Zhong Liang had lost the bet.
“I just got lucky,” Yang Kai responded casually.
Feng Ying did not dwell on the matter and hastened to send word to the Squad.
In less than an incense stick of time, Dawn Squad’s members had all fully gathered in the courtyard. Including Yang Kai, there were 35 of them, no more, no less.
In front of the crowd, Yang Kai announced, “Everyone, I have obtained permission from the Army Commander for Dawn to depart today, so I hope that you will join me and work together to exterminate and destroy the enemy so that we can gain honour for the Human Race!”
Despite their suspicions, all of them were overjoyed to hear Yang Kai’s words.
Everyone present used to be a Black Ink Disciple who served the Black Ink Clan, lived in their lands for many years, and saw the miserable experiences that the other Black Ink Disciples of the Black Ink Clan endured. So, nobody hated the Black Ink Clan more than they did.
After being incorporated as members of Dawn Squad, they all longed for the day that they could march into the Black Ink Clan’s domain and save even more of their allies while avenging the deaths of their fellow comrades.
Unfortunately, the Army Commanders were unwilling to let them go due to Yang Kai’s special status.
Now that the day had finally come, all of them rolled up their sleeves and chanted, “Kill, kill, kill!”
The sound of their voices swept through the scene, and their morale rose to a crescendo!
Yang Kai was extremely satisfied with this reaction, and he waved his hand, “Depart!”
In a flash, more than 30 figures turned into streams of light, speeding to the main gates of Blue Sky Pass, identified themselves, and were allowed to pass, entering the void.
Yang Kai turned to Feng Ying, who nodded lightly before reaching out to the void in front of her. There was a small flicker and the aura of a Small Universe opening could be felt. Then, a Warship in the shape of a large ship appeared.
Dawning Light!
Dawning Light was originally just an ordinary Squad Warship, but after Feng Ying spent an entire ocean’s worth on Military Merits to have it modified at the Refining Hall, Dawning Light had become countless times stronger than other Warships. The number and quality of Dawn Squad’s members was also not something that an ordinary Squad could compare with.
There were typically 10 to 15 people in a Squad, and apart from the Squad Leader, who was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, there would at most be two other Seventh-Order members. Some Squads would even be limited to only having their Squad Leader as the sole Seventh-Order member.
However, Dawn had 5 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. With a line-up of this calibre, backed by the combat power of Dawning Light, it may not be impossible for them to put up a fight even if they were facing a Territory Lord.
This was also a reason why Zhong Liang eventually agreed to Yang Kai’s departure, as strength was the greatest guarantee for one’s safety.
The Squad members boarded the ship, and apart from the 5 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm members, the remaining 30 quickly took their positions in a coordinated manner.
It was clear that Dawn Squad’s members had already trained together while Yang Kai and Zhong Liang were arguing. They knew where they were supposed to go and what role they were in charge of.
However, as Dawn was only just established, they were not yet completely familiar with each other and had not built up a tacit level of understanding between them. So, the members still needed some time to get familiar with Dawning Light and its capabilities.
The best way to raise that familiarity was to gain experience in battle.
Out of such considerations, though Yang Kai was eager to slaughter his way into the Black Ink Clan’s domain, he ordered Dawning Light’s crew members to proceed at a steady pace and to not be hasty. That was all so they could break in their new Warship.
Inside the cabin, Feng Ying opened her Universe Chart, which turned into a field of light that appeared before everyone’s eyes, and the 5 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered around it.
Feng Ying pointed to a certain place, “Squad Leader, this here is Blue Sky Pass, and with Blue Sky Pass as the centre, the area surrounding it is Blue Sky Theatre. The Royal Lord who is garrisoned here is called Men Xie. He is the one you discovered and the one who fought against the Old Ancestor. There is a tacit agreement between all sides that we only need to take care of Blue Sky Theatre while not minding the adjacent Theatres. The Black Ink Clansmen of those two other war zones will not enter the Blue Sky Theatre either. They have their own opponents.”
Yang Kai nodded at her words. Naturally, he already knew about this basic information. On the Black Ink Battlefield, every Human Race Great Pass corresponded to a grand Theatre.
Feng Ying continued on, “Men Xie was found by you during the critical moment when he was recovering from his injuries, then he received further injuries from the Old Ancestor. He will have to go into seclusion in his Black Ink Royal City for at least 100 years in order to recover and will not come out again without reason. So, the greatest threat can be ignored. Additionally, after the last fight, there were many casualties among the Territory Lords. Based on the latest intelligence, there should be less than 60 Territory Lords under Men Xie Royal Lord remaining, many of whom are also busy trying to recover. They are all scattered across the huge war zone, so as long as we are careful enough, it should be unlikely for us to bump into any Territory Lords. As for Black Ink Clansmen under the Territory Lords, Dawn should have no issue dealing with them.”
“Very good,” Yang Kai nodded in satisfaction.
Feng Ying then pointed to a few specific areas, “These three locations around Blue Sky Pass are far enough that they can almost be considered the edge of the Black Ink Clan’s territory. The Inner Sanctum has set up forward camps in each of these three locations, each one overseen by an Eighth-Order Master. These forward camps will be able to provide supplies for our soldiers. There are also Artifact Refiners and Array Masters present there who can repair artifacts and Warships. We can also report Military Merits there.”
Yang Kai was surprised, “The Inner Sanctum even set up forward bases in these three places?”
It was the first he had heard of this, so it could not be helped that he was surprised.
He had imagined that Blue Sky Pass’ Squads would each fight on their own after exiting the Pass, but now it seemed that Inner Sanctum had already set up three forward camps on the frontlines, and their benefits were obvious. In the vast void of the battlefield, far away from Blue Sky Pass, forward bases provided a safe haven for the Human soldiers when they needed to resupply or recuperate.
And, there were also Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters garrisoned at these camps. If anyone did end up bumping into a Territory Lord, then they could flee back to the forward base to seek refuge.
“These are all temporary forward camps that are used whenever the Black Ink Clan’s Army is forced back. Once the Black Ink Clan have finished recuperating, these forward bases will be abandoned and taken over by the Black Ink Clan instead,” Feng Ying explained.
Yang Kai nodded. It was not hard to understand what was going on. Once the Black Ink Clan’s Army was defeated and lost a lot of strength, the Humans would take the opportunity to occupy these forward bases. And, once the Black Ink Clan had recuperated, they would naturally come to attack again. Then, they would have no choice but to abandon these forward bases and return to Blue Sky Pass. If they were to stay behind, they would only be swallowed up by the Black Ink Clan’s Army.
“These three forward bases also correspond to the three resource harvesting areas. In fact, the Black Ink Battlefield does not lack cultivation resources. You have lived within the Black Ink Clan’s domain, so you should know about this. Only, we Humans will rarely have the opportunity to mine for resources, causing the short supply of materials in the Inner Sanctum.”
Yang Kai nodded at these words. After having lived in Black Ink Clan’s hinterland for two years, he naturally knew this better than anyone else.
The Black Ink Battlefield was rich in cultivation resources, not to mention strange Sealed Worlds with rare and precious treasures. Even the Dead Stars in the void, Universe Worlds and Spirit Provinces that had lost their vitality because their World Force had been swallowed up, all were hiding cultivation resources and rare minerals of various Orders.
However, the Human Race had no way of harvesting these resources freely. Only when the Black Ink Clan was forced back would they barely have some time to do such things. And, the time that they had for this activity varied each time. It all depended on how long it took for the Black Ink Clan to restore their strength. It could be as short as a decade, but also as long as several decades.
Once the Black Ink Clan recovered their foundation, the Human Race would be forced to retreat again.
And, for the Black Ink Clan, these resources were also of great use. The Black Ink Nest that Yang Kai had seen previously needed to devour a large number of resources in order to create new Black Ink Clansmen and provide others with the energy to break through to higher realms.
So, that was the reason why the Black Ink Clan would send their members to these resource-harvesting areas to collect materials when the Humans retreated.
Throughout history, this was how the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had taken turns occupying the resource harvesting areas, going back and forth with each other innumerable times.
Many resource harvesting areas had already been abandoned as their resources had been exhausted. Right now, the closest resource harvesting area occupied by the Humans was some 6 billion kilometres away from Blue Sky Pass, with the farthest one being 10 billion kilometres away.
Feng Ying said, “Even though we Humans have taken over the resource harvesting area, the Black Ink Clan will not just sit still while we mine for materials. Even though there is no way for them to send armies to attack Blue Sky Pass when their foundations have been severely damaged, that doesn’t mean they can’t send smaller groups to harass these resource-harvesting areas. Firstly, they can use this opportunity to capture more Black Ink Disciples, and secondly, they can also interfere with the mining operations of our clansmen. So, no matter where we go, we must be ready to fight the Black Ink Clan at any moment as we mine and search for resources.”
Yang Kai nodded at her words. He was less knowledgeable about this than Feng Ying, so it was naturally better for him to listen to her suggestions. He thus asked, “Then, based on Martial Aunt’s thoughts, which location should we go to?”
Feng Ying looked at Yang Kai, “That will depend on whether you want to mine resources or fight with the Black Ink Clan.”
“What’s the difference?” Yang Kai asked.
Feng Ying explained, “These three locations are all basically occupied by us Humans right now. Even if there were Black Ink Clansmen around those places, their numbers wouldn’t be large. So, if we go to those three places, we will have a safer time mining, and the fights we encounter will also be less frequent. However, whether it be mining or fighting with the Black Ink Clan, there are still Military Merits to be gained. There is not much difference between them, they’re just different tasks.”
Yang Kai raised his brows, “From what Martial Aunt is saying, there seem to be other places we can go besides the three locations?”
Feng Ying smiled and pointed to another place on the Universe Chart, “Before our departure, I asked around and found out that Inner Sanctum has set up a fourth forward base here in order to take over this resource harvesting area. However, it has not been long since this campaign began, so they have not been able to fully occupy it yet. The Black Ink Clan is putting up a fierce fight over there. Half a month before we departed, the Inner Sanctum sent reinforcements over, including two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at that. He pointed to the last location, “Then let’s go here.”
With a look as if she had expected this response, Feng Ying nodded, “You are the Squad Leader, so we’ll follow your command.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Since we are a Special Operations Squad, I think Dawn should do things that other Squads can’t. Since other Squads do not have this ability, then we should naturally go and kill those Black Ink Clansmen and leave the resource collection to the others.”
Shen Ao and the others nodded, all showing eager expressions.
After the discussion, Dawning Light headed towards the fourth forward base. Other than those who were left in charge of steering and monitoring their surroundings, the rest of the Squad members went back into the cabin to meditate and prepare themselves.
The fourth forward base was the farthest one from Blue Sky Pass, so it would take at least a week for them to get to that location. What’s more, the Squad members were still in the process of familiarizing themselves with Dawning Light, so they weren’t travelling at full speed, which meant it would take them even more time to arrive.
The void was silent and filled with rubble, both large and small, drifting aimlessly about.
After about a week, Dawning Light was slowly approaching the fourth forward base. In two or three days, they would arrive.
Even though Yang Kai was in retreat, he would still come out every day to check on the situation; however, it had been uneventful all throughout their journey.
On this day, after he was done monitoring the Warship’s surroundings and was about to return to the cabin to cultivate, he suddenly felt a violent wave of power coming from the side, followed by the violent shaking of Dawning Light’s barrier, which sent an alarm all throughout the Warship.
“Enemy attack!” A loud cry resounded through the ship from one of the crew members in charge of monitoring the surrounding situation.
At the shout, the cultivator in charge of defence immediately activated the Warship’s shields. In the next instant, a milky white glow emerged, enveloping the entirety of Dawning Light.
However, since the enemy’s ambush had happened too suddenly, the barrier was a moment too slow and the first attack managed to impact the hull.
Under the violent shock, Dawn Squad’s members slid left and right, but Yang Kai stood firm without moving, his eyes immediately shooting towards the source of the attack.
There, behind the shattered fragments of destroyed Spirit Provinces, large ships in Black Ink Clan’s style emerged, each one a giant that dwarfed Dawning Light in terms of size.
There were three of these large ships in total, and on the decks stood many stalwart figures, obviously members of the Black Ink Clan.
The constant shaking continued, but before the Black Ink Clan’s next salvo hit, Dawning Light’s shields were fully raised. Ripples appeared on the surface of the white light barrier, blocking the attack.
However, no matter how strong the Defensive Arrays were, it was impossible for them to resist an incessant bombardment forever. What’s more, it took a lot of energy to maintain the shields.
The cabin door opened and one cultivator after another rushed in.
Feng Ying shouted, “What’s the situation?”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “The Black Ink Clan is blocking our path!”
“Here?” Feng Ying was surprised. She looked over and sure enough, there were the three Black Ink Clan ships blocking the way. She knew that the Black Ink Clan must have travelled around the fourth forward base primarily to lie in wait for the Human Race’s reinforcements to arrive.
As the two were speaking, Dawning Light engaged in a fierce battle with the three large ships.
The large ships of the Black Ink Clan were ordinary flight-type artifacts, so the attacks were all coming from the Black Ink Clansmen aboard. On the other hand, Dawning Light was a Warship with its own offensive capabilities.
The Squad members in charge of attacking activated the Arrays, triggering the power of the artifacts installed within the Array Core. In an instant, a spear-shaped attack, an awe-inspiring sword wave, and a bolt of lightning shot out in three different directions towards the enemy vessels.
The Black Ink Clan clearly did not expect Dawning Light to have such a wide range of attacks, so they were at a loss for a moment.
One of the large ships was too slow to dodge the lightning bolt and was instantly torn apart. Many of the less powerful Black Ink Clansmen were reduced to charred corpses under the power of the scattered lightning bolts.
It was easy to see from this attack alone just how terrifying the power of Dawning Light was.
The two remaining Black Ink Clan large ships were able to dodge the attacks in time, but it obviously frightened them and caused them to back away, putting distance between them and their enemy in case they met the same fate as their companions.
However, Dawning Light chased after them closely, sending out another barrage of attacks.
The two ships could no longer evade the attacks and were both smashed to pieces.
The figures of Black Ink Clansmen could be seen fleeing in disarray, their faces covered in ash and debris. The attacks just now had also killed and injured many of them. Most of the ones who survived were High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
Rather than retreat though, most of the enemy swarmed towards Dawning Light instead. The only exceptions were three Black Ink Clansmen who had exceptionally rich Black Ink Strength. These three were clearly Feudal Lords.
“There’s no Territory Lord!” Feng Ying immediately calmed down. When the enemy ambushed them, her greatest fear was that a Territory Lord may be among them. However, it was unlikely for that to happen as the number of Territory Lords under Men Xie was limited, so they would not come all the way here to interrupt Human Masters.
However, it was still better to be on one’s guard. She could only breathe a sigh of relief once the three large ships were destroyed and all the Black Ink Clansmen showed themselves.
For Dawn Squad, as long as no Territory Lord appeared, the rest could easily be disregarded.
Even though this thought might have seemed arrogant, it was the truth.
If any other ordinary Squad were to bump into three Black Ink Clan ships lying in wait to ambush them as they were making their way to the fourth forward base, they truly would not have been their opponents and would have had no choice but to flee.
Unfortunately for the Black Ink Clan, they ran into Dawn, who had 5 Seventh-Order Masters among their ranks.
“Leader…” Feng Ying called out and turned to look at Yang Kai, but she was stunned because he was long gone.
Brow twitching, she hurriedly looked around, and sure enough, she saw that Yang Kai had appeared on the deck like a ghost. Following that, he shot out to meet the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers in battle.
Though he was a lone figure, he seemed invincible and unstoppable.
Having seen the terrifying might of Dawning Light, the Black Ink Clan panicked and struggled to hold their ground while the three Feudal Lords were already in the process of escaping.
They thought that they could pick up a bargain here, but who knew that the Warship they encountered would be so abnormally powerful? The attacks that came from the Warship were truly terrifying, and anyone who was not careful enough and got hit would not meet a good end.
The Warships of the Human Race were all incredibly sturdy to begin with, and none was without at least one Seventh-Order Master. If they could not force a quick end to the battle, then they would have lost their advantage of launching a sneak attack.
It was at that moment that the three Feudal Lords suddenly saw a figure slaughter his way out from the Human Warship, cutting a path through the weaker Black Ink Clansmen in an instant.
The eyes of the tallest Feudal Lord flickered. Truly, there was a path to the Heavens, but the enemy refused to take it, crashing into Hell despite there being no door. From the aura fluctuations he could feel from this opponent, he judged the lone man to be a Seventh-Order Human, which put him on par with a Feudal Lord.
Obviously, he should be the Seventh-Order Master in charge of this Warship.
If this Seventh-Order Human had remained hidden in his Warship, then the Black Ink Clan may not have been able to do anything due to the defensive strength displayed by their vessel. However, for a Seventh-Order Human to rush out at them in such a bold manner was simply courting death!
At that thought, the Black Ink Feudal Lord stopped retreating and instead took a step forward, opening his mouth wide before spitting out a huge, dense cloud of Black Ink Strength that enveloped the surrounding void in an inky fog.
At the same time, a dagger-like weapon appeared in the Feudal Lord’s hand as he dove into the Black Ink Cloud, using it as cover.
Black Ink Strength had always been the Black Ink Clan’s most effective method when it came to dealing with the Humans. Unless they were at their wit’s end, Humans would never allow themselves to be tainted by Black Ink Strength. It had been that way throughout all of history.
This Feudal Lord was clearly very experienced when it came to fighting with the Human Race as the first thing he did was create a massive Black Ink Cloud. Not only did this conceal his actions, it also caused trouble for his opponent.
If his opponent showed the slightest hesitation, then they would have to withstand his violent rain of attacks. With these conditions, even a Seventh-Order Human Master would not be a match for him.
This Feudal Lord had done this before, and it worked wonders every time, so this time should be no different.
However, the unexpected always came unannounced. A figure shot straight through the inky mist without even hesitating and in an instant, he was in front of him.
The Feudal Lord jumped in fright, wondering to himself where this crazy bastard had come from. He never thought that any Human would actually play such a different hand than usual. However, without missing a beat, he lifted his dagger and unleashed a storm of attacks towards the arrogant Human.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and summoned the Azure Dragon Spear into his grip.
However, he did not thrust his spear out immediately. Instead, he looked over at the Feudal Lord with a cold and icy gaze, his right eye suddenly turning black. Even the whites of his eye could no longer be seen, giving him an extremely strange appearance.
Black Purgatory Eye! One of the two core Eye Secret Techniques of Myriad Demons Heaven.
Before setting off for the Black Ink Battlefield, Myriad Demons Heaven’s Eighth-Order Ancestor, Mo Sha, had personally instructed Yang Kai on the mysteries of this Eye Secret Technique and also passed onto him all his cultivation experiences with it. This allowed Yang Kai to develop this Eye Secret Technique much further than he had before, unlocking some of its hidden potential and power.
However, since then, Yang Kai had yet to use this Eye Secret Technique in battle; after all, there was no chance for him to use it during the large-scale war between the two races.
Now was a good time to test it out.
Recently, Yang Kai had been refining cultivation resources to increase the heritage of his Small Universe while also exploring the mysteries of the two Eye Secret Techniques, Demon Eye of Annihilation and Black Purgatory Eye, at the same time, and he managed to gain quite a lot of insight into their complexities.
Now that the Black Purgatory Eye was released, the stalwart figure of the Feudal Lord was reflected in Yang Kai’s pitch-black right eye.
All of a sudden, the Feudal Lord’s vision went dark, as if boundless darkness had swallowed him. All of his senses instantly became disordered, but that was not all. The reflection of the Feudal Lord in Yang Kai’s eyes distorted slightly. Alongside that barely discernible distortion, the Feudal Lord in front of him grunted as if he had received some sort of attack.
The Feudal Lord had rich combat experience and knew that he had been hit by some kind of Secret Technique by this Human in front of him. Human Secret Techniques came in all sorts of bizarre forms, and the Black Ink Clan knew that fact well. Based on their experience, they were able to classify the Secret Techniques of the Human Race into various grades and ranks.
Of them, several terrifyingly powerful Secret Techniques were well known among the members of the Black Ink Clan.
When he thought about the pitch-black eye, adding on what he was experiencing now, the words ‘Black Purgatory Eye’ immediately came to mind.
The Black Ink Clan knew that Myriad Demons Cave Heaven’s Black Purgatory Eye was definitely one of the most dangerous Secret Techniques in existence. Once, when a Black Ink Clan army stormed Myriad Demons Pass, the Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Pass came to meet them in battle. With a single look of his eye, hundreds of thousands of the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers were simply erased from existence, including many Feudal Lords.
It was that very battle that made the Black Purgatory Eye of Myriad Demons Heaven so famous among the Black Ink Clan.
However, as far as the Black Ink Clan knew, this Black Purgatory Eye Secret Technique was powerful, but it could not be cultivated by just anyone. Until now, in the entire Black Ink Battlefield, they knew that the only Humans who could use that Secret Technique, other than the Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Heaven, numbered no more than a few dozen people.
This Feudal Lord never expected that he would come across it here.
This was no trivial matter, so the Feudal Lord swung his dagger faster and faster while drawing back at the same time. Judging from how he felt after his opponent used his Secret Technique, this person must not have cultivated the Black Purgatory Eye for long and was not very skilled at using it, so he was unable to do too much harm to him with it directly.
However, the feeling of being enveloped by darkness still lingered, so he had no choice but to retreat for now before coming up with a new plan.
It had to be said that this was an extremely prudent decision. It would have been unwise to fight in a situation where all of your senses were cut off.
The darkness that enveloped him went as quickly as it came, solidifying the fact that this Human’s cultivation of this Secret Technique was not very profound.
As his vision was restored, the Feudal Lord saw the Human across from him sweep past. In a flash, he had dashed straight into the camp at the rear without even a glance at him.
Such contempt angered the Feudal Lord, yet boundless fear gripped him as the darkness dispersed.
His eyes widened as he felt his strength and vitality rapidly leaving his body. Black Ink blood flowed down from his forehead, blurring his vision.
Following where the blood was coming out of, the Feudal Lord could very clearly feel that a hole had been pierced straight through his head.
[When did…]
Screams erupted from behind him. The Human that dashed over was cutting down the other Black Ink Clansmen like melons and vegetables, taking hardly any time to slaughter them all, with none being able to put up a fight against him.
Then, even those screams subsided. The Feudal Lord’s large body slowly collapsed like a leaf being swept away by a violent wind, floating in the void, not knowing where he was going to end up.
At the same time, Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu rushed over, each one of them wearing a shocked expression on their face. Their brows were twitching as they passed by the Feudal Lord who had just been killed.
They had all followed Yang Kai and Feng Ying back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain, but even though Yang Kai’s performance on that journey was not bad, he was limited by his cultivation and was hardly as astonishing as he was now.
However, now that Yang Kai had broken through to the Seventh Order, he was able to show astonishing strength.
A Feudal Lord could not even withstand a single move from him and had his head pierced through, instantly killing him.
This was not something that Shen Ao and the others could compare to. Even Feng Ying would not be on par with Yang Kai, who was able to lift such a heavy load as if it was feather-light.
It had to be known that Yang Kai had only reached the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm a few years ago and was already this powerful. If the heritage of his Small Universe were to continue to grow, then how terrifyingly strong would he become?
Stowing away the shock in their hearts, the three of them rushed over to catch up with Yang Kai, slaughtering their way through the scattered Black Ink Clansmen. With each of them unleashing their own Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities, they were able to reduce the Black Ink Clan group to dead and dying within moments.
Feng Ying did not come out during the fight. Despite how powerful Dawning Light was, a Seventh-Order Master had to stay behind just in case something unexpected were to happen.
At this moment, Dawning Light was also following behind Shen Ao and the others. Offensive Arrays fired blasts of energy comparable to the full-powered attacks of Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in all directions.
The Black Ink Clansmen were all dumbfounded.
There were a few hundred Black Ink Clansmen present, along with three Feudal Lords from their three ships. They were a strong force that no Human Squad could compete with, but unfortunately for them, they had bumped into Dawn.
The strongest Feudal Lord, who had tried to take the lead, was killed by a single spear thrust from Yang Kai, who then rushed in alone and threw the enemy into disarray. With the addition of Shen Ao’s group and Dawning Light’s support, the Black Ink Clansmen had completely fallen into despair.
Some tried to escape, but how could they be able to?
Four Seventh-Order Masters spread out from Dawning Light, and in less than an incense stick of time, the Black Ink Clan group was completely wiped out without a single survivor left.
Dawn, on the other hand, had not suffered a single casualty, not even an injury. It was only in the very beginning when Dawning Light had been caught in the enemy ambush that the Warship suffered some damage.
However, the damage was negligible and did not affect the Warship’s performance at all.
There were a few hundred Black Ink Clansmen involved in this ambush, but Yang Kai alone killed more than half of them, including two Feudal Lords. The third one was killed by the joint efforts of Shen Ao and his other two companions.
This left Shen Ao and the others feeling a bit embarrassed. They had only managed to gain this kill because they acted quickly. If they had been just a little bit slower, then they may not have even been given the chance to fight that last Feudal Lord.
After the dust settled, the battlefield was cleaned up and records were kept, all of which had to be reported for Military Merits.
The Black Ink Clansmen also had some good things with them. If the artifacts that were tailored for the Black Ink Clan’s use were brought back to the Inner Sanctum and entrusted to someone else to be processed, then many useful materials could be extracted. Naturally, these things couldn’t be used for cultivation, but there was no problem with using them to create Human artifacts and to repair Human Warships.
They were also able to collect many Black Ink Coins from the bodies of the dead Black Ink Clansmen. Blue Sky Pass had been able to amass a great amount of Black Ink Coins already. Countless Black Ink Clansmen would die every time there was a battle, and even though the deceased Black Ink Clansmen weren’t very rich, over time, Blue Sky Pass was able to gather a terrifyingly large number of Black Ink Coins.
These coins were a common currency used within the Black Ink Clan. Black Ink Clansmen could use them to buy whatever they wanted, but they had no use at all in the hands of Humans.
The only unfortunate thing was that they did not see any Black Ink Disciples during that battle.
There were actually quite a lot of Black Ink Disciples in the Black Ink Clan’s territory, but many of them were lost after the previous war outside of Blue Sky Pass. Even though Yang Kai was able to save a few of these Black Ink Disciples with the Purifying Light that he possessed, not many had the energy left in them to capture Black Ink Disciples on a battlefield where swords have no eyes.
After being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, the Black Ink Disciples became merciless when it came to attacking their former Human compatriots. Unless there was a large difference in strength, capturing a Black Ink Disciple alive was almost impossible, so Blue Sky Pass had no choice but to kill them.
The fight many years ago shaved down the number of Black Ink Disciples in the Blue Sky Theatre by a large margin. Many Black Ink Clansmen also left behind their own Black Ink Disciples to bring up the rear while they were escaping, which was a possible reason why there were no Black Ink Disciples to be found in this Black Ink Clan group.
“Are you all right?” Feng Ying asked in the cabin as she looked at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai had taken the lead to rush into the enemy lines alone. Despite receiving no injuries, there was a trace of dried blood at the corner of his right eye, which was naturally a backlash of using the Black Purgatory Eye.
His cultivation of this Secret Technique was not yet perfected, so though he achieved great success when using it against one of the Feudal Lords, he also had to pay a small price for it.
“It’s nothing.” Yang Kai waved his hand, “I have gained some insight from this battle, so I will be entering retreat for now. Alert me when we arrive.”
With that said, Yang Kai left for his own cabin.
This was not the first time he was using the Black Purgatory Eye. Previously, he had used it at the Star Boundary, but it felt completely different from when he was using it back then. The power of this Eye Secret Technique had yet to be properly refined, but it had a boundless future ahead of it.
The battlefield was soon cleared and Dawning Light continued on its way.
After this encounter, Dawn Squad’s morale rose to new heights. This was Dawn’s first official battle. They faced several hundred Black Ink Clansmen and three Feudal Lords, but they were able to take them down with hardly any trouble and without any casualties. This was a feat that no ordinary Squad on the Black Ink Battlefield could possibly achieve.
All of Dawn’s members were raring to fight again after such a great start.
After experiencing an ambush, Dawn increased their vigilance; however, no more attackers jumped out to challenge them for the rest of their journey.
Two days later an asteroid appeared in the void. From a distance, they could see a large number of buildings on the bustling asteroid, as well as a constant stream of Squad Warships returning and departing.
This was Blue Sky Pass’s fourth forward base, and the area nearby was also a resource-rich zone.
Initially, this place was occupied by the Black Ink Clan, but several years ago, when the Black Ink Clan Army was driven back, the defences here were weakened enough for Blue Sky Pass to take advantage of the opportunity to seize it.
It had not been long since they took over this base, only several months. So, there were still many things waiting to be done.
When Dawning Light sailed in, it immediately drew the attention of the vigilant cultivators at the forward base. At once, several streams of light took to the air to block their path, all wary of their presence.
The man standing at the front shouted from afar, “Who goes there? Identify yourselves!”
It could be seen from a glance that Dawning Light was a large ship which was far different from a standard model. If this kind of Warship belonged to Humans, then they would naturally be happy; however, if it had been snatched by the Black Ink Clan, then that was not a good thing at all.
Yang Kai, who had already been informed of their arrival by Feng Ying, appeared on the deck in a flash and shouted, “Dawn Squad, here to provide support.”
“Dawn?” The man who shouted earlier raised his brow in surprise. Generally, every Squad had its own affiliation, such as which Army, Division, and Battalion it belonged to. These things were all clearly defined. However, Yang Kai only gave him the name ‘Dawn’, which took him by surprise.
But soon, he seemed to think of something and focused his eyesight over, speaking with pleasant surprise in his voice, “Could you be Brother Yang?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Is it truly you, Brother Yang?” Surprised, the man quickly came over to investigate and was overjoyed when he discovered that it really was Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not recognize him, but this man clearly recognized Yang Kai. Of course, there was basically nobody who did not know about Yang Kai in Blue Sky Pass. During the last battle between the two races, it was with the Purifying Light and the Purifying Black Ink Battleships that the Humans were able to reduce their casualties by an enormous amount. Countless people who had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength were able to be saved, lifting them out of a terrible crisis, and the one behind it all was Yang Kai.
It could be said that there was one person in almost every single Blue Sky Pass Battalion who had been saved by Yang Kai either directly or indirectly.
After that battle, Yang Kai’s name soared in Blue Sky Pass, and there was not a single person who did not know about him.
It was rumoured that in recognition of his service, the Army Commanders jointly promoted him to Squad Leader, forming a new Squad called Dawn that was not affiliated with any Army or Division and only reported directly to the Army Commanders themselves.
There were many who wished to join Dawn, but Feng Ying was the one who chose all the members, recruiting only a few dozen of those who followed them back from the Black Ink Clan’s hinterland back then. Not a single person outside of that group was accepted.
They would never have expected that Dawn Squad would come all the way here, or that Yang Kai would personally lead his Squad over.
After ascertaining that it was in fact Yang Kai and Dawn, there was no need for them to check further. The cultivator who spoke earlier immediately gave Dawn permission to land at the forward base situated on the asteroid and even helped settle them in.
“Was it by the Army Commanders’ orders that Brother Yang came here?” The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who welcomed them asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I came of my own volition. I heard that there was a lot of fighting going on here, so I thought I would come and earn some Merits.”
The Seventh-Order Master laughed at his words, “Can it be any easier for Brother Yang to obtain Military Merits? What need is there for Brother Yang to join the fight personally?” As he spoke, he noticed the battle traces left on Dawn’s hull and asked in shock, “Were you already attacked?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Two days ago, we encountered an ambush from the Black Ink Clan.”
The Seventh-Order Master was shocked to hear that, “The Black Ink Clan actually circumvented our base to set up an ambush? How many enemies were there, and how strong were they?”
Yang Kai gave him a basic rundown on the Black Ink Clan ambushers that they encountered.
The Seventh-Order Master narrowed his eyes, “That is a serious matter that must be reported to the Commanders overseeing the base. We must deal with it quickly; otherwise, another Squad may be ambushed on their way here from the Pass.”
Feng Ying cut in, “No need. The Black Ink Clan ambushers have been wiped out, and they should be the only ones. We did not encounter any other enemies on our way here.”
The Seventh-Order Master’s jaw dropped open, “Wiped out? All of them?”
To say that all of them were wiped out meant that not a single enemy had been able to escape. He could not help but look back at the light damage incurred by Dawn’s Warship, and at Yang Kai and the others, who were completely unharmed. He wondered what price Dawn had to pay in order to have wiped out an ambushing force of such a proportion.
With the configuration of Dawn’s Squad, those ambushers would have been unlucky to encounter them and would surely be no match for them, but looking at Dawn’s members, they all seemed utterly unscathed after that battle, which left him in a bit of a mystery.
However, when considering how strong Feng Ying was, he soon relaxed.
Even though Feng Ying was a Seventh-Order Master like him, her name was well known across Blue Sky Pass. With her overseeing the Squad, those Black Ink Clan ambushers should not have been a match for them.
Feng Ying did not dwell on the matter. Either way, the War Materials Hall would get all the information after they reported their Military Merits. She instead asked, “Which Sirs are currently overseeing this base?”
The Seventh-Order Master composed himself and replied, “There are four Eighth-Order Masters currently overseeing this forward base: Eastern Army Division Commander Xie Xiu Ping, Southern Army’s Division Commander Cha Hu, Western Army Division Commander Lu An, and Northern Army Division Commander Xu Bo Liang. However, other than Division Commander Cha, the others are not currently present.”
If they were not in the forward base, that meant they must have gone to the resource collection area. The Black Ink Clan’s remnants had not fully given up this area yet and were still locked in a struggle with the Humans, so there were still Territory Lords around.
If they were to deal with a Territory Lord, then an Eighth-Order Human Master had to be mobilized. This was also the reason why the three Eighth-Order Division Commanders were currently away from the forward base.
Yang Kai nodded, “In that case, bring us to Division Commander Cha.”
Once one arrived at a forward base, registrations had to be made. While they were stationed here, they had to obey the orders of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters overseeing the base.
The Seventh-Order Master was about to nod when a Warship suddenly flew in from the distance. From the meandering and crooked path that it was flying in, it was clear that its propulsion array was damaged, and the glow of its shield was also extremely faint.
Even though the Warship was not close, the eyesight of everyone present was so profound that they were able to see the battle scars all over its hull. From these marks alone, they could deduce just how fierce a fight it had been in.
Even though the hull of the Warship was still intact, practically all of the arrays had been smashed and would have to be repaired before it could rejoin the battlefield.
Despite the Warship swaying left and right, it was still charging towards the forward base at a tremendous speed without any intention of slowing down even as it approached. On the deck, a cultivator was shouting for them to make way. It seemed that the damage to the Warship’s propulsion array was greater than usual, so much so that it could not even stop on its own.
As the Warship was about to crash on the ground, a figure leapt from its deck and stopped in front of it. With a roar, he circulated his energy and used his own body to cushion the impact.
There was a grunt, and the man’s body shook as he was forced to step back.
Fortunately, many people from the forward base rushed over to help, eventually halting the Warship.
As soon as the Warship landed, many Artifact Refiners and Array Masters who had been waiting on standby rushed over and began the repair work.
There were constantly people flying down from the deck, all appearing to be in a miserable state. Many of them were covered in blood and their auras were weak, clearly arrows at the end of their flight.
Without the shelter of the Warship, this group of people would never have made it back from the battlefield alive, so it was fair to say that the Warships had saved the lives of many, many Humans over the years.
It was no wonder why the Black Ink Clan coveted and despised Warships so much. Without the Warships, it would have been impossible for the Humans to have been their opponents on the Black Ink Battlefield. The higher-order Open Heaven Realm Masters could put up a fair fight, but those Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were simply unable to withstand the corruption of Black Ink Strength for any appreciable amount of time. This often impeded them when they were fighting against Black Ink Clansmen of the same Order, making them unable to display their full potential.
However, these Warships were difficult to refine as not just any Artifact Refiner could make one. As such, Humans with special talents such as these Artifact Refiners, Array Masters, and Alchemists, were extremely well-guarded. Generally, these talents would never set foot on the battlefield directly, eliminating the possibility of them falling to the fate of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength and becoming Black Ink Disciples.
As far back as history went, the Black Ink Clan had never been able to refine their own Warships due to their lack of aptitude in this area.
“Please follow me,” the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master glanced at the scene before him before withdrawing his gaze and gesturing to Yang Kai and Feng Ying.
The two nodded and followed him while the rest stayed to watch over Dawning Light.
A short while later, inside a modest hall, Yang Kai and Feng Ying saw the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master overseeing this base, Cha Hu. This man was part of the Southern Army, and he was not very tall but displayed an awe-inspiring might. When Yang Kai and Feng Ying entered, someone was in the process of reporting to him.
Cha Hu listened quietly and gave an order before waving his hand, excusing this man.
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Dawn Squad Yang Kai greets Division Commander Cha!”
Cha Hu looked at him and smiled, “The Army Commanders let you out? I thought they would be more reluctant.”
Yang Kai responded with a serious expression, “This Junior made a bet with Army Commander Zhong Liang and won, so this Junior was allowed to go out.”
Cha Hu raised his brow, “Brother Zhong lost?” He did not ask what their bet was, but no matter what, it must have been difficult for Yang Kai to have gained a victory over Zhong Liang.
He tapped his fingers on the table for a moment before speaking, “My thoughts on this matter differ from the Army Commanders. Since you have come to this forward base, then this King will treat you the same as anyone else under my command. You are expected to do the same as all the others stationed here, and if you do not obey orders, I will punish you without favour.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “That is all this Junior would have wanted.”
“Very good,” Cha Hu nodded lightly, a glint of approval appearing in his eyes, “In that case, you may stand by and await further orders. However, you most likely will not have much time to rest as there’s still a big fight ongoing in the resource harvesting area. You may be needed there to provide support soon.”
“Yes!” Yang Kai responded. After a pause, he added, “Division Commander, is there a need for a Universe Array to be set up in this forward base?”
With a Universe Array, it would be much easier for the cultivators here in the forward base to come to and fro. It may even be able to life saving during critical moments.
If there was the need, Yang Kai could even store some Purifying Light here.
Cha Hu shook his head, “No. The Southern Army’s Purifying Black Ink Battleship is stationed here. You should all go and leave your Imprints there later.”
Yang Kai was surprised, but he and Feng Ying soon cupped their fists and withdrew.
Yang Kai was a little worried about what would happen if the cultivators at the forward base were corrupted by Black Ink Strength; after all, the chances of encountering the Black Ink Clan here were high, and if the nearly destroyed Warship they saw earlier was any indication, the fighting was quite intense.
It was only now that he found out that they had a Purifying Black Ink Battleship at this forward base.
So, it seemed that the other three forward bases should also have Purifying Black Ink Battleships available. This did make sense. If Yang Kai could make such considerations, then the Army Commanders and the Division Commanders would naturally be able to as well. There was no helping it in the past when they did not possess Purifying Black Ink Battleships, but now that they had such a weapon in their arsenal, they would naturally be put to good use.
Now that they had Purifying Black Ink Battleships available at each forward base, the losses on the Human side could be greatly diminished.
Once they left the hall, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master came forward to lead the way for them, telling them that they would bring Yang Kai and his Squad to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship to leave their Imprints.
Yang Kai immediately summoned Dawn’s members, and they all headed out together.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship was located in a secluded area that was surrounded by all kinds of barriers and even heavily guarded by powerful Masters. Unless a large-scale Black Ink Clan Army were to attack, this place would remain safe.
If in the event that they did encounter a battle and found themselves powerless to resist, then someone would naturally take the Purifying Black Ink Battleships back to Blue Sky Pass. Cha Hu was not only here to oversee and guarantee the safety of the forward base, but also to protect this vital war asset.
Within moments, Dawn Squad’s members left their Imprints on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. With that, as long as they were within a certain range, they could return to it by activating the Universe Transference Law.
However, although the Universe Transference Law was easy to perform, it did have some drawbacks.
Firstly, depending on the distance between the caster and the Universe Array, there were different levels of pressure exerted on them as they travelled across the Void. The further the distance, the greater the pressure. If the distance exceeded the limit which one’s body could withstand, then even if they were transported back, there was the great possibility that they could be injured or even killed by being crushed by the force of the Void.
Such events were not completely unheard of in the 3,000 Worlds.
Broken or crushed bodies had been transported back to Universe Temples in the various Great Territories after having been shredded and pulverized by the terrifying pressure of the Void. Such corpses were transported over vast distances that greatly surpassed the limits which they could withstand.
However, the Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Black Ink Battlefield were all in the Fifth Order at the very least, so they could withstand being teleported over 1 billion kilometres without much issue.
The other major issue with using the Universe Transference Law was the time required to activate it, and the fact that one could not be disturbed while trying to perform it.
This was also the biggest drawback of the Universe Transference Law. During a life-or-death battle, even a moment’s hesitation could be fatal, so who would have the time to perform the Universe Transference Law? Once activated, this Secret Technique would take at least three breaths of time to be fully executed, and the lower one’s cultivation was, the longer it would take to complete.
For that reason, even if a cultivator were to encounter danger, it was often the case that they would not be able to cast Universe Transference Law to successfully escape. The only way for them to escape from danger was to try and buy some time for themselves.
In contrast, Yang Kai’s Instantaneous Movement was a much more practical Secret Technique to use in combat, as there was no delay in activating it. However, Yang Kai was the only one who could use Instantaneous Movement, and the distance that he could move was incomparable to the Universe Transference Law, so there were advantages and disadvantages to both.
The Sixth-Order Master who led Yang Kai and his Squad to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship so they could leave their Imprints then brought them to an open space in the forward base and pointed to it, saying, “This place will be your camp from now on. When you are not assigned any tasks, you may rest here. I still have other matters to attend to, so I will excuse myself.”
Saying so, he turned and left.
Looking at the empty patch of land, Yang Kai and the others all looked at each other somewhat blankly.
However, Feng Ying was unperturbed and snapped, “What are you all staring at? Get to work!”
The group of Open Heaven Realm Masters who had come here burning with excitement to slaughter their enemies thus had no choice but to set up a temporary camp first.
Fortunately, none of their cultivations was low, so it only took less than half a day’s work for them to finish their work. During times of war, there was no point in getting hung up on quality of life. They just needed to have somewhere to live.
They had just finished setting up their camp when the Sixth-Order Master who led them here came rushing over. Before he even arrived, he began shouting, “Squad Leader Yang!”
Yang Kai was about to take a walk around the forward base to familiarize himself with the place when he heard the shout, so he turned around and called out, “What is it?”
The man hastily handed a jade slip to Yang Kai and said solemnly, “The Division Commander has given orders for Dawn Squad to rush to this location to provide support. The two Squads there were ambushed by the Black Ink Clan and are now engaged in battle with them. Given the disparity in strength, I’m afraid they may not be able to fight them off!”
Yang Kai frowned before turning his head and shouting, “Dawn, form up!”
The scattered Squad members all immediately flew over.
Yang Kai waved his hand and shouted, “Board the ship. We’re heading out to battle!”
Everyone’s eyes lit up as they swiftly boarded Dawning Light.
Yang Kai looked back at the messenger, “Does the Division Commander have any other instructions?”
The messenger responded, “Division Commander’s instructions are for Dawn to do their best to provide aid to the two Squads and return safely. As for the rest, act according to the circumstances!”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding, “We will definitely live up to the Division Commander’s trust!”
Then, he turned around and boarded Dawning Light as well. In the next moment, the ship took off and turned into a stream of light, speeding off in a certain direction.
On the deck, Yang Kai checked the contents of the jade slip before handing it over to the Squad member in charge of steering the ship.
Not much information was recorded on the jade slip, only the general direction, destination, number of enemies, and their approximate strength, but that was enough.
Any resource harvesting area would have a large number of Universe Worlds in its vicinity, and the fourth forward base was naturally no exception.
However, the World Force of these Universe Worlds had disappeared long ago. The Black Ink Clan fed on World Force to strengthen itself, so there was no vitality left in the Universe Worlds on the Black Ink Battlefield. All of these Worlds were surrounded by dense Death Qi.
Though the Worlds were dead though, the resources still remained. The Worlds closest to the forward bases were little more than fields of debris. Most of them were just remnants and asteroids. It was clear that they were all pretty much exhausted from extensive mining and did not have anything good left.
However, there were still plenty of resources to be found and mined in all directions around the forward bases.
This was also the reason why the Humans were fighting with the Black Ink Clan for control of them.
While the Humans could use these resources to cultivate and refine more Warships, the Black Ink Clan needed these resources in order to fill up their Black Ink Nests so they could breed new clansmen and enhance their war power.
The Black Ink Clan that possessed Black Ink Disciples had an even greater need for these resources as the Black Ink Disciples under their command could refine them and increase their strength.
Dawning Light was extremely fast, so within less than a day, they could already see dazzling light off in the distance, and they could feel violent energy fluctuations emanating from the bursting lights.
These were clearly the lights of Secret Techniques from Human cultivators.
As they watched the flickering lights, they were soon obscured by dense darkness that cut off their vision. It was apparent that whoever it was, they were currently engaged in battle with the Black Ink Clan.
After checking the information in the jade slip, Yang Kai knew that those had to be the two Squads who needed their support.
From what he could see, Yang Kai was relieved to learn that Dawn did not arrive too late, so he immediately ordered Dawning Light to accelerate to maximum speed.
In the next moment, Dawning Light’s propulsion array thrummed and the Warship’s speed increased as it shot towards the battlefield.
In the distance, the Black Ink Clan also seemed to have noticed Dawning Light’s arrival and immediately split off a part of their forces to intercept them. The number of Black Ink Clansmen surrounding the two Human Warships was huge. There were hundreds of them, including a number of Feudal Lords, so it was no wonder why they were outmatched. It had to be known that there were at most a dozen members in an ordinary Squad, so it was surprising enough for them to have lasted such a long time against such a large number of Black Ink Clansmen.
Currently, the two Warships were in shambles, their hulls warped and broken in numerous places. Without reinforcements, it would take less than an hour for these two ships to be completely blown apart. If that were to happen, then the members of both Squads would be exposed to the swarm of Black Ink Clansmen and they would lose all hope of surviving.
The Black Ink Clan troops that broke away from the fight numbered almost 100 strong, and their leader was a Feudal Lord who was stalwart in appearance. The imposing figure lifted a huge axe in his hands and swung it down at Dawning Light with great force before they even closed the distance with each other.
A wave of black light tore through space with a violent force towards Dawning Light.
There was a loud bang as Dawning Light shook slightly. Its momentum was even slowed for a moment; however, Dawn had already activated their defensive arrays and a transparent shield enveloped Dawning Light. So, the power of the axe was only able to dent the barrier, doing no damage to the ship itself.
The Black Ink Feudal Lord seemed slightly taken aback by this sight. It was apparent that he did not expect to see such a strong shield on this Human Warship, enough to render his attack completely ineffective. This Warship was clearly different from the Human Warships they had been fighting up until now.
Before he could think through the matter though, a figure had emerged from the Warship with a spear in hand, charging straight at him at a tremendous speed.
The Feudal Lord roared with fury and raised his axe again, leaping out from the Black Ink Army he was leading to meet this Human in battle.
In an instant, two figures, one big and one small, clashed in the void. Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent as his spear stabbed forward like a dragon.
The stalwart Feudal Lord instantly felt an overwhelming force bearing down on him from the front, and he could not help but reel back in response. Even his hand, which was clutching onto the handle of his axe, was trembling slightly.
This was a huge shock for him as with his large stature, this Black Ink Clansman’s strength was naturally not small. For a Human of the same Order, it was simply impossible to match him in terms of raw physical force.
However, he encountered an exception today.
The Feudal Lord was instantly enraged and, for some inexplicable reason, felt humiliated by what he had just experienced. The axe in his hand turned into a violent gust of wind which he struck down at the tiny Human.
His attack was met with a flurry of spear shadows!
Sparks flew everywhere as it was impossible to count how many times the two weapons clashed in that instant. The rage in the Feudal Lord’s eyes soon cooled and was swiftly replaced with a look of sheer horror.
The Human had already swept past him and did not even look back. Then, what entered his ears were the screams of many Black Ink Clansmen.
The Feudal Lord’s hand trembled hard as he held his axe. This was naturally the result expected when one was no match for one’s opponent, but the consequences were not the source of his horror.
He stood still, his strength stagnant, not daring to move even a muscle.
However, Dawning Light was closing in on him, so it was impossible for him to stay still any longer.
Only then did he move his body, forcefully pushing his strength, only for an eerie tearing sound to emerge from his figure.
In the next instant, black blood exploded from the Feudal Lord’s large body and his aura rapidly deflated.
During that brief clash, his opponent’s spear not only blocked all of his attacks, it even left numerous wounds on his body.
When he focused all his attention on suppressing these wounds, it was possible for him to keep his injuries sealed; however, the moment tried to move, all his injuries burst out at once.
[What kind of monster did I just face?] In all his years of fighting with Humans, he had never once crossed blades with such a terrifying opponent. From the aura his enemy gave off, he was indeed in the Seventh-Order Human Master, which was equivalent to his own cultivation as a Feudal Lord, yet their strengths were simply incomparable!
He would not have believed it if he had not experienced it for himself.
He had no time to think, though, before Dawning Light had drawn close to him. If he was in peak condition, he would naturally have no fear of a Human Warship, but as an arrow at the end of its flight, how would he be able to withstand it? With a roar, he tried to dodge aside.
However, at that moment, there was a loud rumble from Dawning Light, and a spear-like attack was shot out from the bow of the Warship, turning into a stream of light and piercing through the Feudal Lord’s waist, blasting off half of his body.
Still, this Feudal Lord had an innate savagery to him, so despite knowing that he was going to die for sure, he still swung his axe one last time before death took him, smashing it into Dawning Light. Unfortunately for him, the powerful defensive barrier rendered his attack useless.
Dawning Light sailed past the Feudal Lord’s broken body and crashed into the group of Black Ink Clansmen behind him.
The Black Ink Clansmen’s numbers had already been whittled down by Yang Kai’s rampage. He was like the sharp tip of a spear, cutting through the Black Ink Clan ranks while making his way towards the enemies who were besieging the two Human Warships.
Feng Ying and the others had no other choice but to follow close behind him, picking off the enemies Yang Kai missed along the way.
Soon, Dawning Light arrived at the main battlefield. In the distance, two ragged Human Warships were being besieged on all sides. Despite trying to break out to their left and right, they were unable to shake off this danger no matter how they tried. The surrounding Black Ink Clansmen sent attack after attack against those Warships, and the impacts caused the protective shields to grow dimmer, rippling violently as if it were about to collapse.
Thick Black Ink Clouds coated the battlefield!
In the midst of these clouds, a man and his spear passed through with unstoppable momentum, leaving a reign of terror in his wake. The masses of Low and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen seemed as weak as paper when faced with that spear, left either dead or critically injured with a mere sweep of it.
Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu rushed out from Dawning Light. Even Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like them would not dare to act alone on such a battlefield; otherwise, they could fall into danger at any moment. The three of them took up a triangle formation with each one of them in charge of one corner before crashing into the Black Ink Clan’s Army like a rolling stone.
Meanwhile, Dawning Light, which was following closely behind the three of them, released its attacks in full swing. One by one, the lights from the offensive arrays shot ruthlessly towards the places where the Black Ink Clan had converged.
Screams rang out unceasingly as ink-black blood filled the void. Black Ink Strength was also being spread like mad.
Cries burst forth from the two Warships that had been ensnared for so long, “Reinforcements have arrived! Fight!”
The Human cultivators who had been trapped on the two Warships had been holding in their anger all this while. Now that they had seen the reinforcements, their spirits were instantly lifted and they let out what little strength they had left, joining forces with their allies to strike down the enemy forces.
Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered rapidly in the ensuing frenzy. Though their numbers were many, they only had four Feudal Lords, one of whom had already been all but killed by Yang Kai earlier. The remaining three Feudal Lords were all caught up dealing with Dawning Light as well as Shen Ao and the others, unable to extricate themselves. Meanwhile, Yang Kai dealt with the rest of the Black Ink Clansmen weaker than the Feudal Lords.
After advancing to the Seventh Order, Yang Kai’s strength increased tremendously. These Black Ink Clansmen who were at most on par with Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Humans were no match for him. Everywhere he went, Black Ink Clansmen were cut down like weeds.
In just half an incense stick of time, more than half of the Black Ink Clansmen had been eradicated, and the void was filled with ink-black blood and severed limbs, creating a horrific scene.
As a result, a large gap opened up in the otherwise impenetrable encirclement.
The two Warships that had been trapped for so long saw their opportunity to escape, and with Dawning Light’s coordination, were able to retreat from battle and head back towards the forward base.
Yang Kai’s battle continued. He raced back and forth, killing Black Ink Clansmen, his body soaked in black blood. After witnessing the terror of his might, the surviving Black Ink Clansmen dared not engage him, scattering like birds and beasts before he could even get close.
After a few moments of this slaughter, Yang Kai turned his head and saw that there was no longer anyone else around him.
On the other hand, he saw Shen Ao fighting with a Feudal Lord not far away. Even though it seemed like he had the upper hand, their difference in strength was not great. It would be easy for Shen Ao to defeat this Feudal Lord, but killing him was another story entirely.
In an instant, Yang Kai appeared by Shen Ao’s side and thrust his spear towards the Feudal Lord.
The Feudal Lord had long seen Yang Kai’s terrifying strength and his heart froze when he saw him mysteriously appear. Raising the huge sword in his hand, he tried to parry Yang Kai’s thrust.
*Hong…*
The large body of the Feudal Lord trembled as he felt his hand almost being ripped apart. With a great roar, he concentrated all his strength into his weapon, trying to suppress the tiny human opponent in front of him.
Much to the contrary, there was only cold indifference in Yang Kai’s eyes. The spear in his hand remained steady and unmoving, but Space Principles rippled out, freezing the space around him in an instant.
The Feudal Lord’s roar was caught in his throat, while Shen Ao took the opportunity to swing his sword. With a cold flash, the sword cut towards the Feudal Lord’s neck.
The Feudal Lord was thoroughly shocked and he immediately tried to move back to avoid the fatal blow, but he still suffered a long gash that cut halfway through his neck.
Despite the terrible appearance of this wound, it was not a fatal blow. As long as he could safely return to the Black Ink Clan’s territory and enter a Black Ink Nest, he could recover completely given enough time.
But at that moment, his large body suddenly shook and a look of horror and unwillingness appeared in his eyes.
At the same instant, Young Kai’s heart clenched up tight. There seemed to be some sort of danger rapidly approaching him, but before he could react to the situation, he saw a golden light pierce through the Feudal Lord’s chest and fly straight at him.
In this critical life-or-death moment, Yang Kai shifted his body instinctively. Then, he felt a small prick in his chest, like an insect had just bitten him.
However, Yang Kai clearly felt a terrifying force pass through his body, entering from the front and piercing out the back.
His body flew backwards involuntarily, and a violent force shook his five viscera and six organs, causing him to cough up a mouthful of Golden Blood.
What they just encountered on this battlefield was so sudden that nobody expected it. Even Yang Kai, who had been attacked, did not notice the attack until it appeared right before him, and that was why he was caught unprepared and suffered a big loss.
The Feudal Lord whose body was pierced through by the golden bolt did not die immediately, but he no longer had the strength to continue fighting. He did not even have the strength to escape and could only turn his body back with difficulty to look in a certain direction, a look of hatred filling his eyes as he muttered, “Trivial Black Ink Disciple… You dare…”
Before he could finish his words, the nearby Shen Ao swung his sword again, cutting off his head.
On the other side, after spitting out a mouthful of Golden Blood, Yang Kai stabilized himself and his left eye was instantly filled with a golden light. The pupil of that eye transformed into a vertical golden slit that held infinite might.
With the Demon Eye of Annihilation, he could faintly see a dim golden light flickering between the asteroids several thousands of kilometres away.
That was where the attack had come from!
Taking in a deep breath, he pushed down the churning vitality in his chest and manipulated Space Principles. In an instant, Yang Kai disappeared from where he stood.
Several breaths later, Yang Kai had already appeared on top of a certain asteroid, and his Divine Sense spread out like a tidal wave; however, he found nothing. There was only Death Qi surrounding this asteroid without the slightest vitality.
Only a small trace of aura remained that was dissipating rapidly.
It was clear that the golden light that attacked him earlier had come from here, but as soon as the assailant sent out that attack, they made a quick retreat. So, even though Yang Kai had rushed over after discovering the attack, he was unable to catch the culprit.
Whoever it was had to be a veteran of many battles and knew to immediately flee after failing to kill his target. Such a cunning and cautious opponent would certainly be a great headache to deal with.
Even Yang Kai felt trepidations in his heart when he thought back to the haunting attack he just encountered.
His attacker had even used a Feudal Lord as cover. That attack had passed through the Feudal Lord’s chest before hitting Yang Kai; otherwise, there was no way that Yang Kai would not have noticed it until it was so close.
Fortunately, however, much of the attack’s power was diminished as it passed through the Feudal Lord’s body. If not, Yang Kai’s injuries would most likely have been even worse.
[Who was that?]
Yang Kai had a vague feeling that it had to be a rather important and impressive enemy in this resource-harvesting area.
If that person had been so cunning as to retreat immediately after that blow, then chances were that they were also skilled in the art of concealment. If Yang Kai was unable to find his traces quickly, then locating him again would prove to be difficult.
After standing in silence for a while, Yang Kai looked up into the depths of the void before letting out a grunt and turning back.
He had a hunch that that attack was not the end of it, and that he would definitely meet this enemy again, but the next time, he would definitely be prepared.
On the way back, he was met by Shen Ao and the others, and all of them quickly returned to Dawning Light.
The battle here was over. More than half of the several hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen had been killed. Out of the four Feudal Lords, Yang Kai killed one alone and teamed up with Shen Ao to kill another. While he was chasing the sneak attacker, Dawning Light worked together with Qi Tai Chu and Ning Qi Zhi to kill another.
When the last Feudal Lord saw how bad the situation had become, he immediately fled, along with some of the Black Ink Clan stragglers. However, their numbers were not that high, only around 100 or so in total.
Dawning Light did not pursue them. Even though they were capable of killing them all, their priority was to escort the two battered Warships back to the forward base. So, on Feng Ying’s orders, the three Warships ceased combat.
When Yang Kai returned, the commanders of the two Warships were thanking Feng Ying. These two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were both Squad Leaders, but their auras were both quite weak. They were clearly both extremely exhausted.
When they saw Yang Kai return, the two Squad Leaders naturally began another round of thanks. If it had not been Dawning Light’s quick arrival today, then the situation would have been disastrous for everyone aboard the two Warships.
In fact, with the strength of their two Squads, they were no match for the Black Ink Clan attackers. The reason why the Black Ink Clan had ensnared them but kept them alive was undoubtedly because they wanted to transform them into Black Ink Disciples, which also gave them some breathing room to persist until Dawn arrived.
“Squad Leader, are you all right?” Feng Ying asked anxiously when she saw Yang Kai return looking slightly pale.
Yang Kai waved his hand, “I’m fine.”
Even though it was not a light injury, it did not harm his foundation, so it couldn’t be considered serious.
“That should have been someone from Divine Feather Paradise,” Feng Ying said with a grave look on her face.
She had seen when Yang Kai was struck by the sneak attack earlier. A golden arrow made use of a Feudal Lord as cover in order to land the hit just as Yang Kai and the Feudal Lord were fighting. Whether it was the timing or the angle, everything was perfect. Such skill was something only achievable by someone from Divine Feather Paradise.
Yang Kai nodded, “I guessed as much.”
Many Cave Heavens and Paradises had their own unique characteristics. For example, Bright King Cave Heaven’s cultivators focused on Body Tempering, Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven was proficient in Artifact Refining. Divine Feather Paradise’s cultivators on the other hand were renowned for their archery.
The cultivators from this Paradise may not be very strong in close combat, but once they were given some distance from their opponents, they were basically invincible in the same realm. That was because they were extremely skilled in archery and also at concealing their auras and evading enemies.
There were some Divine Feather Paradise cultivators in Blue Sky Pass, and they accrued a lot of merits during the last war. Even though Yang Kai had never had any significant dealings with this Paradise before, he did know about them to a degree.
The golden arrow that pierced through that Feudal Lord and then through his own body was undoubtedly an extremely profound arrow technique and was an attack that came from several thousand kilometres away. It was truly unbelievable for an attack of this degree to be possible.
It had to be known that Yang Kai’s body was now so intrepid that ordinary attacks would not be able to hurt him in the slightest, but that golden arrow had pierced straight through him, even causing considerable injuries to his five viscera and six organs.
This was a result achieved with Yang Kai possessing a World Spring in his Small Universe. If it were any other person, then it was likely that even their Small Universe would have been severely shaken. And, if it were to happen on a chaotic battlefield, then it would have hindered their combat strength greatly. It would have taken only a single arrow to render them helpless.
“En, he was a really troublesome one.” One of the Squad Leaders who had come forward to thank them added, “If not for him lurking in the shadows, even if we were no match for the Black Ink Clan, we would’ve at least been able to escape. There would be no way that we would have fallen into such a desperate situation.”
The Warships on the Human side could still run away if they were to encounter superior enemy forces that they could not deal with, but only if they weren’t overly damaged. However, every time their Warships tried to escape, they would be stopped by that Black Ink Disciple hiding in the distance. Both of the Warships were damaged in many places from the attacker’s arrows, causing them to end up in the desperate situation they were in.
Fortunately, Dawn was able to arrive in time to provide them with support and resolve the dangerous situation.
Yang Kai frowned, “There’s something I don’t understand.”
“What is it?” Feng Ying asked him.
“If he attacked us, that meant that he was a Black Ink Disciple. However, if he was a Black Ink Disciple, how could he kill that Feudal Lord?”
The last blow passed through a Feudal Lord’s body before it hit Yang Kai.
Yang Kai had lived among the Black Ink Clan for two years, so he knew very well about the position of Black Ink Disciples in the Black Ink Clan. Generally, no matter how strong they were, Black Ink Disciples had an innate reverence towards the Black Ink Clan. A Low-Rank Black Ink Clansman could even beat and yell at a Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciple at will and the Black Ink Disciple would not even dare to make a single complaint.
And yet, the Black Ink Disciple from Divine Feather Paradise had done something completely unexpected.
Clearly, the Feudal Lord had not expected that to happen either, which was why he said those words before he died.
A look flickered in Feng Ying’s eyes, “That is usually true. Unless, the Black Ink Disciple had been specifically instructed by a higher ranking Black Ink Clansman to ignore the life of another Black Ink Clansman in order to kill their enemies at critical moments.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “In that case, he has to be a Black Ink Disciple under the command of a Territory Lord!”
That made sense. Judging by the power of that attack, that person definitely had to be in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Cultivators in that realm were not something that an ordinary Feudal Lords could capture or possess. Only a Territory Lord could achieve such a feat.
“That’s the only possibility,” Feng Ying nodded.
“We should be careful on our way back. I have a feeling that that person is not far away. If we let our guards down, then he might strike us again with that powerful attack,” Yang Kai said as he swept his gaze around the void. He had felt like he was being watched since he returned, but no matter how carefully he searched, he could not find anything out of the ordinary.
From that, he could tell that this person’s concealment skills were extremely profound.
Yang Kai’s injuries were not light this time. Even though it did not harm his foundation, he would still need time to properly recuperate. After giving out orders, he returned to his cabin to rest.
The three ships moved steadily towards the forward base with the two damaged ships out front while Dawning Light brought up the rear.
It was not until they could see the asteroid where the forward base was located that Yang Kai, who had been recuperating in his cabin the whole time, suddenly opened his eyes. Just now, the feeling of constantly being watched disappeared without a trace. It seemed like that Divine Feather Paradise Black Ink Disciple did not give up on finishing him off this whole time and had been following their Warship all along.
After returning to the forward base, the two Warships set down for urgent repairs. Even though Dawning Light was also hit, the damage was nothing major and only required some simple maintenance.
Feng Ying personally went to see Cha Hu in order to hand in their mission brief and report their Military Merits before returning.
At the camp, Dawn Squad’s members were all resting and restoring their strength.
Their first battle since arriving at the forward base was not very dangerous, but it was the first time that Dawn had fought together, so it revealed some of the flaws they had. Such flaws were not of much consequence in ordinary times, but they could be magnified during difficult situations and could have led to Dawn’s downfall if they weren’t careful.
So, Feng Ying decided to talk to Yang Kai about them after he recuperated.
At the moment, Yang Kai was healing in his own tent.
The most serious injury he sustained during that fight was the sneak attack from that Divine Feather Paradise cultivator. The rest of the injuries came from him charging into battle on his own.
The Black Ink Clan’s final struggle before death was not enough to harm him in any significant way, but it was not to be underestimated either. After the fight, dozens of wounds, both big and small, were left all over Yang Kai’s body.
In just three days though, Yang Kai had fully recovered and was as mighty as a Dragon and fierce as a Tiger.
This was the perk of having a powerful Dragon Vein. He had thick skin and strong flesh, so any non-critical injuries he incurred were basically ignorable.
When she saw Yang Kai come out of seclusion, Feng Ying immediately gathered up Dawn Squad’s members for a post-battle meeting.
35 people gathered together to discuss some of the problems they encountered during their last mission. Unlike the other Squads who had fought together for a long time and built up a tacit trust and understanding with each other, Dawn was considered brand new and a lot of work still had to be done for them to learn to coordinate with each other. Summing up their experiences after the fight would be greatly beneficial to them.
There was a lot of enthusiasm shared by the Squad and everyone eagerly spoke up. The flaws that would normally be overlooked were quickly exposed before everyone so that they could all take note of them. Then, the next time a similar problem arose, they would have a solution to deal with it.
And, when those problems stopped appearing, it would mean Dawn Squad’s coordination has gone up a level.
The post-battle meeting did not last long, only around half an hour.
Yang Kai then went to Cha Hu’s command post again. Since they were here, he naturally had to make Dawn useful. It wasn’t as if they could stay in the forward base forever to look at the scenery.
Not that there was any scenery to look at in this dead void.
After receiving permission, Yang Kai stepped into the tent and asked, “Division Commander Cha, Dawn has fully recovered after its last mission. Are there any tasks to be done?”
Cha Hu glanced at him, “You’ve all recuperated so quickly?”
Yang Kai smiled, “We did not suffer any losses last time.”
“Don’t push yourselves too hard.”
“Rest assured, Division Commander Cha. As Dawn’s Squad Leader, this Junior knows the extent of our abilities.”
Only then did Cha Hu nod, “In that case, I won’t stop you. There is work to be done, but why don’t you have a look and see what interests you?”
Yang Kai was surprised, “We can pick for ourselves?”
Cha Hu smiled, “We have three different types of missions here. The first one is to look for mineable resources; which, relatively speaking, is the safest kind of mission. There’s only a low possibility of encountering the Black Ink Clan, and there’s no need to fight them under normal circumstances.”
Seeing Yang Kai’s indifferent response, Cha Hu continued, “Secondly, we can assign you to defence duty. Your team only needs to patrol a certain area and protect those who are mining resources. If you encounter any Black Ink Clansmen, kill them all!”
Yang Kai nodded. The first type of mission was definitely unsuitable for Dawn Squad. Dawn possessed vastly superior strength and ability to other Squads, so it was impossible for them to go and mine resources. However, the second type of mission was somewhat more to his taste, though still a little bit lacking.
He asked, “What is the third type of mission?”
Cha Hu nodded, “The third type of mission is free hunting. The entire resource harvesting area will be your Dawn Squad’s patrol area. Wherever you find Black Ink Clansmen will be wherever you go. If there are no Black Ink Clansmen around you, you can actively seek them out. If another Squad calls for help and you are close, then you must go to their aid as soon as possible.”
Yang Kai answered decisively, “Then, we will take on a free hunting assignment.”
Compared to the second type of mission, there was certainly more freedom for them if they chose free hunting. They would not be limited to a certain region. However, it would also increase the chances of them meeting Black Ink Clansmen by a large margin, which was exactly the type of task that Yang Kai and Dawn were hoping to get.
Cha Hu seemed to have long expected this answer, so he took out something resembling a crystal orb and handed it to Yang Kai, “Bring this with you.”
“What is this?” Yang Kai asked in puzzlement.
“It is a specially refined communication artifact. Every Squad has one. Even in the midst of danger, this artifact can be relied on to send out messages, and one can also receive messages from other Squads requesting help using it, as well as identify their position and distance.”
Yang Kai raised his brow, “This is a good thing.”
“There are no restrictions on free hunting, but it can be dangerous as there are still Territory Lords active around the area. Even though we have Eighth-Order Division Commanders on our side to keep them in check, there is no guarantee that you will not run into one when you are alone. If you do encounter a Territory Lord, remember to put your own safety first and not act recklessly,” Cha Hu reminded him.
“This Junior will take note.”
“Go,” Cha Hu waved his hand.
Yang Kai took his leave.
A short while later, after returning to camp, Yang Kai told Dawn about the free hunting task he just accepted, and also handed the crystal orb-like artifact to Feng Ying before turning to everyone, “If there are no objections, let us depart.”
There was no objection from the crowd.
A moment later, Dawning Light lifted off from the forward base and sped off into the void.
After entering the open void, Feng Ying suddenly changed her hand seals. Then, a very faint energy wave rippled through the entirety of Dawning Light.
In that instant, it seemed to Yang Kai that there was some sort of change in Dawning Light, but when he looked carefully, he could not tell what had changed. Confused, he used his Divine Sense to figure out what happened, and only then did he gain a clear understanding.
An inexplicable energy was wrapped around Dawning Light’s hull, caused by a type of Illusion Array.
“What is this?” Yang Kai asked in surprise. He had no idea that there was actually an Illusion Array installed on Dawning Light.
Dawning Light was customized by Feng Ying, so even though the modifications cost a lot of Yang Kai’s Military Merits, he really did not know much about its capabilities.
Feng Ying explained, “Dawning Light is a specially refined Warship, and it’s distinctively different from the other Squad-level ships. So, once it enters the eyes of the Black Ink Clan, it might draw their attention. I had this Illusion Array set up when I first began modifying Dawning Light as a kind of camouflage. So, any Black Ink Clansman weaker than Feudal Lords would not be able to see through its disguise within 500 kilometres, and we can also take others by surprise. Otherwise, the enemy might run away if they spot Dawning Light from a distance, which would be troublesome.”
Yang Kai finally understood, “Martial Aunt has really thought of everything.”
Dawning Light and Dawn were not well known now, but it was conceivable that once they achieved enough success on the battlefield, the Black Ink Clan would learn about Dawn and Dawning Light. When that time came, the enemy would be able to recognize Dawning Light’s unique appearance from afar, and if they knew they were outmatched, they could still make a quick escape.
With the Illusion Array, Dawning Light would look just like any ordinary Squad’s Warship from afar, making it easier to catch their prey.
And that was in fact the case. Just a day after leaving the forward base, Dawning Light suddenly encountered a group of Black Ink Clansmen coming in from the side.
These Black Ink Clansmen were using the rubble nearby as cover. When they appeared, even Dawning Light was caught unprepared.
The many Black Ink Clansmen came together to form a tide that flooded in like a tsunami. Dense Black Ink Clouds made it impossible to tell how many enemies there were or how strong they were.
An ordinary Squad would have fled first to gain a better view of the situation before deciding how to act. However, the ones that these Black Ink Clansmen were confronting was Dawn.
Dawn was so eager at the sight of incoming enemies that the member in charge of steering the Warship was already charging towards them before Yang Kai and Feng Ying gave the order.
This uncharacteristic move clearly surprised the Black Ink Clansmen, stopping the incoming tide.
In just an instant, the distance between them had been closed.
As the offensive arrays buzzed, the Illusion Array was automatically broken, revealing Dawning Light’s fierce appearance to the Black Ink Clan.
The many Black Ink Clansmen were taken aback by the sudden change.
The offensive arrays on Dawning Light were already releasing their might at them, sending powerful attack after powerful attack right into the densest pockets of enemies.
In an instant, a large number of the Black Ink Clansmen were killed.
The ones that survived fled backwards when they saw what happened. This Human Warship that they were ambushing was different from what they expected. Even though it was just one salvo, the might displayed was truly terrifying. It was definitely not something that they could withstand.
Most of those who died were just Low-Rank and High-Rank clansmen. These were essentially the cannon fodder in every battle, and they were generally incapable of killing any Human Masters on their own. However, they were perfect to drain the stamina of the Humans.
When these cannon fodder died, they would also leave dense Black Ink Strength behind, which, when built up enough, would transform into thick Black Ink Clouds.
While the Human Race always shied away from the Black Ink Clouds, the Black Ink Clansmen were just like fish in water inside of them. With the help of the Black Ink Clouds, Black Ink Clansmen could often turn the tide of battle in their favour.
No matter how many Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen they lost, the Black Ink Clan would not feel any grief. As long as the Black Ink Nests remained and they had sufficient resources, then they could breed as many Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen as they wanted.
So, whether they were attacking Human territories or fighting for the resource harvesting areas, large numbers of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen could be found in every Black Ink Clan Squad. It seemed dying was the only thing they excelled at.
Dawning Light’s single round of fire had wiped out almost all of the Black Ink Clan Squad’s Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Those who survived were undoubtedly the stronger Masters, including the Feudal Lords.
The survivors moved back into the Black Ink Clouds, but they did not flee immediately. Rather, they waited to see whether they could find an opening to strike back.
It was at that moment that a figure crashed into the Black Ink Clouds like a raging storm, causing screams of misery wherever he passed. One by one, the Black Ink Clansmen were cut down like chopped vegetables, exploding into clouds of black blood.
The Black Ink Cloud rapidly grew even denser.
The heart of one of the Feudal Lords hiding inside of the Black Ink Cloud was pounding as he could sense that a Human had indeed charged into the Black Ink Cloud. According to Human strength classifications, this person should be in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, which corresponded to his own strength as a Feudal Lord, but the killing power this Human displayed frightened him greatly.
The auras of his companions faded one by one at an incredible speed. Even though those were not Feudal Lords, it was still terrifying how they were cut down so quickly.
He lurked in the Black Ink Cloud, remaining motionless but feeling anxious.
In the past, the Black Ink Clouds had always been an absolute Forbidden Zone for Humans and none of them would ever dare charge into them to fight.
However, during their last attack on the Human’s Great Pass, the Black Ink Clan discovered that the Black Ink Clouds which used to be their greatest source of protection had completely lost their deterrent effect.
Many of the Humans looked like they had hot chicken blood shot into their veins, rabidly chasing them into the Black Ink Cloud, happily accepting the corruption of Black Ink Strength as long as they could slaughter their enemies.
And, there was another great concern to the Black Ink Clan after the last war. It seemed that after a certain point in time, the Black Ink Clan had not been able to convert any more Black Ink Disciples. Many Black Ink Clansmen had personally seen many Humans being invaded by Black Ink Strength, which would have been enough to convert them in the past, but the results were less than satisfactory.
Combined with the loss of the Black Ink Cloud’s deterrent effect, the Black Ink Clan’s higher-ranking members came to a consensus that the Humans must have come up with some way of resisting the corruption of Black Ink Strength. Otherwise, how could this have happened?
However, the Black Ink Clan had yet to find out what this new method was.
Under Men Xie Royal Lord’s command, many Territory Lords had received orders to uncover the truth no matter the cost, and this struggle for the resource harvesting areas was a good opportunity to ascertain just that. If they could figure out how these Humans were stopping the encroachment of their Black Ink Strength, that would be a great merit which would allow any Black Ink Clansman the opportunity to return to the Royal City’s Black Ink Nest to cultivate and advance into the next realm.
The enthusiasm of countless of these Black Ink Clansmen was part of the reason why the resource harvesting area was so hotly contested.
The Feudal Lord continued lying still in wait inside of the Black Ink Cloud, having the vague feeling that this great merit was perhaps not far from him. That was because this Seventh-Order Master would definitely be corrupted by Black Ink Strength if he rushed into the Black Ink Cloud like that, and when that happened, he would surely be able to see how he resisted it.
Inside the Black Ink Cloud, a full-blown massacre was taking place when suddenly, all went silent.
The Feudal Lord who had been lying in wait inside of the Black Ink Cloud for his opportunity felt his heart clench and his instincts were screaming at him that something bad was about to happen.
In the next moment, he felt a huge suction power coming from where the Human was standing, and the dense Black Ink Cloud was being pulled in, converging towards him.
The Feudal Lord was delightfully surprised at first, but that surprise soon turned to shock.
He was delighted that this Seventh-Order Master had actually taken the initiative to open a portal to his Small Universe to suck in the Black Ink Cloud. Would that not mean that he was going to be converted into a Black Ink Disciple very soon?
But the Feudal Lord was soon anxious because once the Black Ink Cloud was swallowed up, he would have nowhere to hide and would instantly be exposed to the enemy.
Where did this Human come from, and how could he act so recklessly? He had been fighting with Humans for so many years, yet he had never seen anything like this before.
In no more than a dozen breaths, the dense Black Ink Cloud was completely gone, revealing all the bodies hiding in its midst.
And, at the centre of these bodies stood Yang Kai, a cold gaze on his face and a sharp spear in his hand.
Though he had culled many Black Ink Clansmen after charging into the Black Ink Cloud, there were obviously going to be fish who had slipped through the net. The Black Ink Clouds’ ability to interfere with a Human’s sense was so strong that he was unable to find all of the Black Ink Clansmen in a short amount of time.
Irritated, Yang Kai opened his Small Universe and swallowed all of the Black Ink Strength into his body.
The effect was remarkable, as all of the Black Ink Clansmen hidden inside of the Black Ink Cloud were instantly revealed.
Looking around, Yang Kai sneered. Even though many Black Ink Clansmen had ambushed them this time, their average strength was too low. There was one Feudal Lord among them, but the rest were all High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
At this moment, the Black Ink Clansmen who remained alive were all gawking at Yang Kai as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight. The Feudal Lord’s expression was especially shocked. He thought that Yang Kai would turn into a Black Ink Disciple soon, but now it seemed like this Human was completely unaffected by Black Ink Strength.
After all of the Black Ink Clouds were sucked into this Human’s body, he was still not corrupted in the slightest. At once, the Black Ink Clan Feudal Lord thought of something and called out in alarm, “Four Universe Pillars!”
The Four Universe Pillars were not only famous among the Human Race, but also among the Black Ink Clan; after all, it was a precious treasure that could perfectly resist Black Ink Strength. Humans who possessed a Four Universe Pillar simply had no need to fear being corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
The Black Ink Clan had a deep hatred for the Four Universe Pillars, and they were very much concerned about who held one of them. Any cultivator possessing one of the Four Universe Pillars would be noted on record by the Black Ink Clan, and if ever they were to meet any of these Humans, the Black Ink Clan would do whatever it took to kill them.
This Feudal Lord was not someone in a low position, so he had read that special list before; however, there were few people on the list, and all of them were in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
That was because only those in the Eighth Order had the ability to protect a Four Universe Pillar and keep them out of the hands of the Black Ink Clan.
And yet, he had encountered a Seventh-Order Master with a Four Universe Pillar here. This Human was definitely not on that list.
This was an extremely important piece of news, and if he could bring word of this back, it would definitely be a merit not much lower than finding out how the Humans were able to resist the corruption of Black Ink Strength now.
With that thought, the Feudal Lord opened his mouth, spitting out a cloud of inky blood, hoping to escape from here.
Judging from the power of this Seventh-Order Master’s rampage, he did not believe himself to be his match. If he wanted to live, then he had no choice but to flee immediately.
This was undoubtedly the most correct move to make; however, even after burning his Blood Essence and using a costly Secret Technique, his body remained stagnant. An inexplicable force had seemingly caused the space around him to become extremely viscous, as if he had fallen into a pool of quicksand, making it hard to move.
“Where do you think you’re going?” When that cold voice entered his ears, the Feudal Lord looked over just in time to see the tip of a spear enlarging before his eyes. There, at the tip of the spear, was a terrifying power that had yet to erupt. Once it did, it would surely send him to the next life!
The Feudal Lord roared in terror and his huge body swelled up, releasing his aura without reserve. By struggling with all his power, the confines of space finally grew loose.
But that was not all. He raised his large fist and slammed it in Yang Kai’s direction. With a single blow, he shattered the surrounding space, so it was clear how powerful that punch was.
However, Yang Kai showed no intention of dodging. With a flick of his spear, he pierced through the Feudal Lord’s fist like a hot knife through butter. The Azure Dragon Spear easily penetrated the Feudal Lord’s defence, and more than half of his spear was embedded into the Feudal Lord’s arm.
Expression changing dramatically, the Feudal Lord let out a pained roar.
Yang Kai shook his spear again, and the condensed power at its tip finally erupted, turning the pierced arm into a bloody mist. Fresh ink-black blood gushed from the Feudal Lord’s shoulder as his furious aura withered away.
Before he could do anything else, a towering shadow came down on him.
A few moments later, Yang Kai retracted his spear, but the Feudal Lord seemed frozen in place, motionless with only a shocked glint in his eyes remaining.
Waves of energy from the spear thrust rippled out, sweeping over the Feudal Lord’s body, shredding it into neat, tiny pieces in an instant, like he had been carefully carved up with a knife.
Yang Kai looked around and saw the figures of Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu’s bodies flitting about as Dawning Light’s attacks continued blasting out one by one, and the remaining Black Ink Clansmen were quickly wiped out.
Such a group of Black Ink Clansmen might have caused trouble if their ambush had caught another Squad, but they were hardly enough to hold up against Dawn.
After the end of the fight, it took them a bit of time to clean up the battlefield. These Black Ink Clansmen might not have many good things on them, but any resource was considered invaluable to the Humans on the Black Ink Battlefield.
After returning to Dawning Light, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged, contemplating the successes and failures of their latest skirmish.
His opponent was nothing worth mentioning, but since advancing into the Seventh Order, this was only the third time that Yang Kai had fought. He was able to somewhat familiarize himself with his increased strength now and was confident that he would do better the next time he encountered an opponent.
After recuperating in place for an hour, Dawning Light resumed its mission.
In the coming days, Dawning Light was able to get a catch every few days. With the help of the Illusion Array’s disguise, the Black Ink Clan mistakenly took Dawning Light as an ordinary Squad-level Warship; however, once they jumped out of hiding, it was too late for them to escape.
As many as 20 Feudal Lords died at Dawn’s hands.
After going through fight after fight, Dawn Squad became more adept at working with each other. Once they encountered an enemy, they would do what was necessary without needing someone to order them, and their achievements soon surpassed those of any ordinary Squad by far.
One day, Dawn was in the middle of cleaning up a fresh battlefield. Just an hour earlier, Yang Kai and his men had encountered another Black Ink Clan Squad. They were not considered weak as those in the Feudal Lord rank alone numbered 3, but as usual, they were completely wiped out after the fight.
It was at that moment that Feng Ying suddenly appeared and called out, “Leader, there is a nearby Squad that requires our assistance!”
Yang Kai turned his head towards her and saw that she was holding the crystal orb-like communication device that Cha Hu handed them. At that moment, the crystal orb was glowing crimson, and the light gathered into an arrow-like symbol that was pointing in a certain direction.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes. There was no way he could not tell that Squad had already reached the critical point between life or death after seeing this message; otherwise, the crystal ball would not react this way.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai immediately shouted, “Gather up! We have an emergency!”
Those who were still cleaning up the battlefield immediately converged towards Dawning Light, and within a few breaths, the Warship turned into a stream of light and sped towards the direction the arrow was pointing at.
Yang Kai had no idea whether any other Squads had picked up on the distress call, but the Squad that was calling for help clearly had to be in a bad situation. There might not be any other Squads nearby, so Dawn may be their only hope.
Their fellow clansmen were in grave danger, so Dawning Light pushed its speed to its limit without regard for power consumption.
Within an hour, a Universe Fragment came into Yang Kai’s view.
At that moment, bits of light could be seen flickering at a certain spot around the Universe Fragment. It was clearly the light coming from Human Secret Techniques.
Beyond that glow, dense Black Ink Clouds were threatening to envelop them.
There were seven or eight Human cultivators madly wielding their powers, trying to stop the Black Ink Clan’s advance, but no matter how hard they tried, the enemy’s momentum was unstoppable. Once the Black Ink Clouds fully enveloped them, they would surely be corrupted by the Black Ink Strength.
And, if they were to be corrupted by Black Ink Strength in such a place, they would undoubtedly be converted into Black Ink Disciples.
These cultivators must have been part of a Squad, but their numbers were clearly off. Some members must have been lost already, and Yang Kai did not see their Warship either.
In this case, there was only one possibility, and that was that the Squad’s Warship had lost its functionality, or simply been destroyed.
Without the Warship’s protection, the Human cultivators would surely be at a disadvantage as they faced off against the Black Ink Strength, and that was how they ended up in such a desperate state.
He did not see any Black Ink Clansmen, so they must be hiding inside of the Black Ink Clouds, constantly pushing their Black Ink Strength closer to the Humans.
Every now and then, attacks would appear, directed at the Humans, keeping them trapped here with no opportunity to use the Universe Transference Law to escape.