Within the Sealed World, following Zhu Feng’s envelopment by the bud-like Black Ink Nest, the battlefield was split into two, one side being Yang Kai facing off against two Feudal Lords on his own, and the other side being Bai Yi alone with the other Feudal Lord.
The Feudal lord who was holding down Bai Yi knew of the might of her archery skills, so he stuck to her like maggots on rotting bones, not giving her the opportunity to shoot any of her arrows. As long as they were in the same Order, if Bai Yi could put some distance between her and her enemy, then nobody could be her opponent.
At this moment, this Feudal Lord was wailing in anguish inside. Even though he knew all this while that Bai Yi was strong, it was not until he truly faced off with her that he realized that he had underestimated her all this while. Even in close quarters, and with her already being injured from their Territory Lord’s counterattack, he was still a little lacking compared to her.
He was both shocked and enraged by this. If things continued like this, he would not be able to last even half of a cup of tea’s time, and his fate would be in jeopardy.
Suddenly, Bai Yi drew her longbow, and a golden light emerged. Shocked, the Feudal Lord quickly lunged over and threw a fierce punch in her direction.
He had not expected his fist to do anything to Bai Yi, but she seemed unprepared for his punch and it sent her flying, fresh blood spewing from her mouth.
Rather than be pleased with his success, the Feudal Lord was shocked and exclaimed, “Not good!”
As he quickly looked back, a golden light had already broken through the barrier of space and hit one of the other Feudal Lords square in the chest, piercing through to the other side. Following the pained roar from the wounded Feudal Lord, a fierce force exploded a hole in his chest.
Bai Yi’s arrow was not aimed at him, but rather at his companion who was engaged in battle with the other Human!
This Feudal Lord could not understand why Bai Yi would act in such a way, preferring to take a direct hit from him in order to help take pressure off the other Human; however, before he could figure that out, his nerves suddenly clenched, and a great sense of crisis shrouded him.
When he looked up in haste, he was mortified by what he saw. Bai Yi, who had gained distance from him, was aiming her bow at him with a golden light that was pointed straight between his brow.
With a roar, the rich Black Ink Strength inside of the Feudal Lord’s body instantly turned into a Black Ink Cloud that covered his figure.
The golden light shot into the Black Ink Cloud, and then a muffled sound was heard.
At the same time, after receiving assistance from Bai Yi, who had heavily injured one of the Feudal Lords with her arrow, much pressure was alleviated from Yang Kai’s side. Originally, two Feudal Lords joining hands was enough to put up a fight with him, but now that one of them was severely injured, cracks immediately began showing in their defence.
Naturally, Yang Kai would not miss such a good opportunity. The Azure Dragon Spear transformed into a towering spear shadow. As he moved, the spear shadow passed through the centre of the two Feudal Lords’ large bodies.
*Chi…*
Following the sound, the head of the Feudal Lord who had been injured burst open, filling the air with his blood. His headless body swayed a few times before falling to the ground.
The remaining Feudal Lord was also battered and bruised, and when he saw his companion die just like that, he became frightened and tried to flee.
The space around him suddenly turned viscous, making each step excruciatingly difficult. A murderous intent hit him from behind, and he felt a slight pain in his back while his body shook. When he looked down, he saw that a spear had pierced through his body.
Horror filled his eyes and he reached out to grip the tip of the spear, hoping to pull it out of himself; however, in the next moment, a violent shockwave was released from the spear.
In an instant, the Feudal Lord’s five viscera and six organs turned to ash, and his entire body burst apart. Ink-black blood and gore showered down on Yang Kai, covering him in filth.
It was not an easy task, killing a Feudal Lord, especially with two of them joining forces. It was enough for them to put up a fight against Yang Kai. Even if Yang Kai was able to kill them off in the end, it would surely cost him and waste a lot of time.
However, with Bai Yi’s help, Yang Kai was able to kill the first Feudal Lord without much difficulty, and when the other Feudal Lord became timid and tried to flee, it gave him a good opportunity to strike.
Without stopping, Yang Kai pulled back his spear and turned around to see Bai Yi floating pale-faced in the air a short distance away, fresh blood staining the corners of her mouth and her chest. Her longbow was drawn slightly, pointing into the Black Ink Cloud.
There was still the aura of one Feudal Lord inside of the Black Ink Cloud.
The last Feudal Lord was wounded by Bai Yi and did not dare to fight her in the open, so he had no choice but to hide away in the Black Ink Cloud to drag things out. Due to the interference of the Black Ink Cloud, Bai Yi was unable to pinpoint his position exactly, so she merely kept her bow drawn as a deterrent.
Body shifting, Yang Kai dove straight into the Black Ink Cloud.
In the next moment, the Feudal Lord’s howl emanated from the Black Ink Cloud, and the sound of them clashing could be heard from within. World Force and Black Ink Strength collided together like a violent storm.
Another dozen breaths of time passed before the noise subsided.
Yang Kai shot out of the Black Ink Cloud with ink-black blood dripping from his spear. The aura of the Feudal Lord inside of the Black Ink Cloud had been extinguished. It was clear that he had been killed.
In a flash, he appeared next to Bai Yi. Stabbing his spear into the ground, Yang Kai’s left and right hands glowed in two different colors.
“Ignore me, hurry and kill Zhu Feng!” Bai Yi put down her longbow and mustered with difficulty, “It will be too late if we delay any longer.”
Yang Kai ignored her and said indifferently, “I don’t want to have to fight you again.” As his hands joined together, the two coloured lights transformed into a dazzling white light that enveloped Bai Yi.
At this moment, Bai Yi’s pale face was already covered in a layer of Black Ink Strength. Flashes of black even appeared in her eyes occasionally, a clear sign that she had been invaded.
In fact, she had been enduring the corruption of Black Ink Strength since they entered this Sealed World. By the time they were facing Zhu Feng, she had almost reached her limit on the amount of corruption she could endure and was about to turn into a Black Ink Disciple.
She held on desperately to the last shred of clarity in her senses, and only then was she able to keep herself sane.
When Yang Kai activated Purifying Light in front of Zhu Feng, it was able to deal heavy damage to the latter, but at the same time, it also helped Bai Yi to dispel some of the Black Ink Strength inside of her Small Universe, alleviating the pressure on her.
However, the Purifying Light was not directed at her that time, so it was unable to dispel all of the Black Ink Strength.
After that, the two of them were wounded by Zhu Feng’s counterattack and then fought with three Feudal Lords, further worsening her condition. If Yang Kai did not help her cleanse the Black Ink Strength in her Small Universe now, then it would take less than half an incense stick of time before she would turn back into a Black Ink Disciple.
Yang Kai could not let that happen; otherwise, if he were surrounded and attacked by both Bai Yi and Zhu Feng at the same time, even he would have to flee for his life.
As Purifying Light enveloped her, Bai Yi let out a slight grunt as the Black Ink Strength escaped from her body before turning into nothing, and the struggling look on her face gradually disappeared.
Several breaths later, Bai Yi opened her eyes, which had regained their clarity, and nodded lightly at Yang Kai. Her aura was still weak, obviously a sign of how severe her injuries were.
Yang Kai picked up his Azure Dragon Spear once more and turned around to look at the Black Ink Nest, which had closed up tight. Bai Yi stepped forward and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
The two figures, one tall and one short, were both battered and bruised, but their gazes were as determined as ever.
“Kill!” Yang Kai shouted as his body flickered. By the time he reappeared, he was already above the Black Ink Nest.
Descending like a meteor while pouring his strength into the Azure Dragon Spear, a great sun emerged and the sound of a Golden Crow’s cry echoed across the Sealed World.
Not far away where Bai Yi stood, one by one, golden lights like stars fanned out and shot towards the Black Ink Nest in a swarm.
The flower bud-like Black Ink Nest was like a living creature, and after wrapping Zhu Feng into itself, it began to beat like a heart. As the Black Ink Nest pulsed, Zhu Feng’s aura was gradually recovering.
At this moment, when Yang Kai and Bai Yi joined hands to launch their attacks, the Black Ink Nest pulsed even more rapidly, as if it could sense the impending danger.
The entire Black Ink Nest suddenly expelled large amounts of Black Ink Strength that practically dyed the entire area black.
In the darkness where one could not even see their fingers in front of them, the Great Sun shone brightly, dispelling the darkness.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
A series of violent bangs rang out.
The Black Ink Nest shook, and the fierce energy fluctuations caused the entire Sealed World to shake.
Yang Kai thrust his spear thirteen times in a row, each attack containing all of his strength. Supported by Bai Yi’s long-range attacks, the entire Black Ink Nest was blasted into a mess.
Inside of the Black Ink Nest, Zhu Feng’s aura rapidly weakened until it became nought.
Yang Kai retrieved his spear and stood in the void, staring down in amazement below him.
[Is it over?] It was simply unbelievable, but as far as his Divine Sense could tell, Zhu Feng’s aura had indeed become so weak that it was practically a candle in the wind that was about to die out at any moment.
Turning his head to look at Bai Yi, he saw that Bai Yi was similarly astonished, obviously not expecting such a situation.
But on second thought, this was not so strange. Zhu Feng had already suffered a huge loss from Xu Bo Liang that forced him to run all the way here in order to recover. Then, he was also struck by the Purifying Light.
It had to be known that Purifying Light was the natural enemy of Black Ink Strength. To have been hit at such a close distance while being severely injured to begin with, Zhu Feng’s foundation had to be damaged.
Even though Yang Kai had no idea what sort of technique Zhu Feng used to suck up the energy inside of the Black Ink Nest to heal himself, it had barely been half a cup of tea’s time since it began, so it must not have been too effective.
Even Zhu Feng may not have expected his three Feudal Lord subordinates to be killed so quickly by Yang Kai and Bai Yi. He was originally hoping that his three subordinates would be able to buy him some time.
Unexpectedly, the three Feudal Lords barely provided any help and were killed one after another.
With this, he had little time to heal and could not withstand the ferocious attacks of Yang Kai and Bai Yi.
Though extremely weak, Zhu Feng’s aura had not truly perished yet. As Yang Kai was about to make preparations to finish the job, he suddenly heard a soft *dong* from the ruined Black Ink Nest below.
It sounded like the beating of a heart, strong and powerful.
Following that sound, Yang Kai felt his own heart throb uncontrollably, and he was overtaken by dizziness for a moment.
A terrifying aura quickly resurfaced from the Black Ink Nest below.
By the time the aura was restored, Bai Yi’s astonished shout rang out, “Senior Brother, watch out!”
Yang Kai had already released a ferocious spear downwards.
*Hua la…*
A large hand suddenly emerged from the ruined Black Ink Nest and grabbed at Yang Kai.
The Azure Dragon Spear’s sharpness was unparalleled, and with Yang Kai pouring all his strength into it, it appeared even more unstoppable. The might of the spear pierced right through the hand, bringing ink-black blood out of it.
However, the hand did not flinch in the slightest and clenched fiercely.
With nowhere to escape, Yang Kai was shocked to find that he could not avoid the hand. In a moment of distraction, he and his spear were caught.
A terrifying force struck his body and all his bones creaked, forming countless cracks.
He tried his best to shake his spear and pushed all the World Force in his Small Universe, blowing a hole into the palm of the large hand. At the same time, a golden arrow of light flashed over, piercing into the wrist of the hand.
With the combined efforts of both Yang Kai and Bai Yi, the grip on Yang Kai finally loosened slightly, allowing him the chance to quickly break free and back away, putting some distance between him and the Black Ink Nest.
As he struggled to stabilize himself, Yang Kai’s face flashed red and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Even though his aura wilted a little, his general situation improved considerably.
Ever since the recovering aura inside the Black Ink Nest began to rise gradually, it surpassed the state that Yang Kai first saw Zhu Feng in, and he was now approaching his peak state.
Both Yang Kai and Bai Yi were shocked.
However, the rising power soon reached a plateau. Though it was powerful, it was not enough to cause them to lose hope.
As they looked over, a pair of large hands emerged from the tattered Black Ink Nest, pushing left and right, tearing it open. Zhu Feng’s giant body reemerged before their eyes.
At this moment, Zhu Feng’s entire body was soaking wet, as if he had just emerged from his mother’s womb as a newborn, and the sticky liquid was dripping down his body, converging into a puddle at his feet.
The ruined Black Ink Nest had already crumbled into dust. Clearly, all the power contained within it had been completely devoured by Zhu Feng.
After being pierced through in the palm by Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear, a large gaping hole had been left; however, the flesh around the wound writhed and began rapidly healing.
Zhu Feng gently clenched his fist before turning his dark eyes in Yang Kai and Bai Yi’s direction. A menacing voice rumbled, “Ants, you have succeeded in angering this Lord! I will let you taste a fate worse than death!”
As he spoke, a fist punched out towards the two of them.
Yang Kai and Bai Yi’s faces paled. One holding a spear and the other a bow, they joined forces to block the attack.
The overwhelming power coming from the front caused the two of them to be violently thrown back. Bai Yi’s petite body tumbled through the air as her bones audibly cracked. Even though Yang Kai had a sturdy physique, he still received the blow badly. It felt like his five viscera and six organs were all knocked out of place as he was blown backwards to a mountain more than a dozen kilometres away, embedding deeply into it and spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood as his face turned as pale as a sheet of paper.
It was merely one punch, but it enlightened Yang Kai to the enormous disparity between Zhu Feng and himself. This guy had used some kind of Secret Technique in order to squeeze out the power of the Black Ink Nest and rapidly heal himself, allowing him to return to almost peak condition.
Even if Yang Kai and Bai Yi were at their peaks, they still may not have been able to resist such an opponent, much less in their current state.
Yang Kai and Bai Yi were already bruised and battered from their previous encounters, greatly reducing their strength. In just a single exchange, the two of them suffered a huge loss.
In such a dangerous situation though, Yang Kai’s fighting spirit soared rather than withered. Even though his face was pale, his eyes were frighteningly bright.
He had no idea what sort of Secret Technique it was that Zhu Feng used to restore his energy, but the stronger the Secret Technique, the greater the backlash. That was common sense!
In other words, there was no way Zhu Feng could maintain this state for long. As long as he and Bai Yi could hold out, when the backlash of Zhu Feng’s technique hit him, his might would crumble on its own.
The two of them understood this in theory, but would they be able to hold on until then? Perhaps the two of them would be killed by Zhu Feng before that.
However, this was a rare opportunity; moreover, Yang Kai had already performed Purifying Light in front of Zhu Feng. Zhong Liang had warned him to never use Purifying Light in front of the Black Ink Clan, but if he did, he had to kill all the witnesses so that word of the technique would not leak out. If the Black Ink Clan knew about Yang Kai and his means to resist Black Ink Strength, he would surely become a target. When that time came, the Humans would no longer allow him to leave Blue Sky Pass for his own safety.
So, no matter the cost, Yang Kai felt that he had to fight. It would be for the best if he could kill Zhu Feng, but if that was truly impossible, then he would have to take Bai Yi with him and escape. As for whether or not they could successfully flee, he could only do his best and leave the rest up to fate.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Yang Kai freed himself from the mountain and with a flare of Space Principles, he arrived before Bai Yi in one step.
At the same time, Zhu Feng threw a punch at Bai Yi while she was still shaken and powerless to resist. She was certainly powerful and fought well in her previous exchanges with Yang Kai, making him expend a lot of effort to take her down; however, she did not have Yang Kai’s powerful heritage in the end, much less a World Spring to stabilize and protect her Small Universe.
Not only did Zhu Feng’s punch send her flying, but it also shook her Small Universe badly, leaving her strength in disarray. She was still dizzy, so she was simply unable to defend herself.
Zhu Feng seemed to hate Bai Yi even more for her betrayal, so he planned to take care of her first before going after Yang Kai.
When his fist came out, a figure suddenly appeared. It was Yang Kai, here to save her. Zhu Feng sneered as the might of his fist did not reduce, but instead turned even fiercer. Even if the Universe itself stood in his way, he would still blow it to pieces to exact his revenge.
A flurry of spear shadows came out, but they were no hindrance to the approaching fist.
Yang Kai was forced back again and again, with a mist of blood being beaten from his body with each step back.
After retreating a dozen steps, he hooked his leg up, swinging Bai Yi, who was by his feet, away into the distance. At the same time, he was unable to resist Zhu Feng’s punch any longer and was sent flying like a paper kite. He was seeing stars, and his right arm, which held his spear, had been bent out of shape, clearly a sign that it had been broken.
However, it was fortunate that Bai Yi had already been sent away and was temporarily out of harm’s way. Instead, he was now the one in danger.
“You like saving people, do you? Then I’ll kill you first!” Zhu Feng roared and spread his hand open, bringing it down on Yang Kai’s head.
All light in front of him was shrouded in darkness, and Yang Kai’s eyes were simultaneously covered in blood. At a time when he had no strength left, he was simply incapable of dodging that blow.
As the huge palm was about to slam down on him though, a golden light suddenly shot over from the side. Bai Yi had managed to stabilize herself and fired a series of arrows to save Yang Kai at the crucial moment.
These arrows were filled with her resolve, and their power was without question. If Zhu Feng was intent on killing Yang Kai, then Bai Yi’s attack would surely take advantage of it.
As a noble Territory Lord, Zhu Feng was obviously unwilling to trade lives with Yang Kai; so, without hesitation, he turned around and blocked the golden light.
Boundless Black Ink Strength poured out, and the might of the golden lights that were pushing forward with overwhelming momentum were greatly hindered. Zhu Feng quickly threw out several punches and shattered most of the golden lights, but he caught the last one and threw it back at Bai Yi.
The golden light flew even faster and carried more power than when it came, and it nailed Bai Yi directly in the shoulder, piercing through her body. As fresh blood flew out, Bai Yi grunted. Being carried by a huge force, her body tumbled uncontrollably before she fell heavily.
“Overconfidence!” Zhu Feng coldly snorted; then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the pure white light flashing over. When he turned around, a small white sun burst apart before his eyes.
Zhu Feng was immediately horrified. He had suffered a huge loss from this Secret Technique before and knew how powerful it was. It was simply the natural enemy of Black Ink Strength, so how could he dare to touch it again?
However, in order to attack Yang Kai, he had brought himself too close and was now unable to dodge in time.
As his body retreated, rich Black Ink Strength poured out of his body, forming a protective layer around him.
Zhu Feng’s roar resonated through the clouds as the white light burst open, dazzling the World and melting away the sea of darkness, purifying the rich Black Ink Strength.
Once the burst of Purifying Light dissipated, Yang Kai stood in place, panting heavily as he fought back the pain in his broken arm. Meanwhile, Zhu Feng, who was literally smoking where he stood, had an angry look on his face. His aura also seemed to have weakened slightly.
The Purifying Light had clearly done some damage to him.
Four eyes met as Zhu Feng’s rage almost materialized. There were flames burning in his gaze while Yang Kai gripped his Azure Dragon Spear tightly.
Dozens of kilometres away, Bai Yi’s small body lay motionless on the ground.
Only a short dozen breaths had passed since they began fighting with the recovered Zhu Feng and both Yang Kai and Bai Yi did everything they could, but at this moment, Yang Kai was badly injured, and it was not known whether Bai Yi was even alive, proving just how powerful Zhu Feng was.
This fight was truly a disaster!
During the critical point between life and death, Yang Kai’s mind was surprisingly clear. His eyes, blurred by his own Golden Blood, had only Zhu Feng reflected in them. His grip on the Azure Dragon Spear remained firm as he raised the tip slightly, pointing it forward.
“Fight!”
Zhu Feng was clearly angered by his provocation and shouted through his clenched teeth, “You lowly Humans never know how high the sky or how thick the earth are! Since you wish so much to die, this Lord will grant your wish!”
Taking a big step forward, his palm turned into a blade that chopped straight down.
The entire Sealed World seemed to split apart from that blow, and a huge gap suddenly opened up in the Void in front of Yang Kai. The gap ran from Zhu Feng’s hand blade, going all the way down and through where Yang Kai stood.
The Azure Dragon Spear struck out like a dragon. Whether it be the timing or the angle, this thrust was so perfect that Yang Kai had the illusion that he was the spear, and the spear was him.
As if something was shattering inside of himself, Yang Kai had suddenly gained a burst of enlightenment in the Spear Dao, breaking through to the next stage of comprehension.
Yang Kai actually made a breakthrough in the Spear Dao during this life-or-death moment, which was slightly surprising to him, but at the same time, it somewhat made sense. Fighting with one’s life on the line was really the best way to break through a bottleneck.
His Spear Dao was originally only at the fifth level, Attaining Mastery Through Comprehensive Understanding.
However, he had now broken through to the sixth level, Exceeding the Ordinary to Reach the Extraordinary, the same level he was at in his mastery over the Dao of Time.
Those who could break through to the sixth level of comprehension in any Dao could all be considered a Master of the Dao. It had to be known that Yang Kai was also only at the eighth level in the Dao of Space, Summiting the Peak, and the Dao of Space was something he had been cultivating since he was very weak.
It was a surprise that he was able to make a breakthrough in his Spear Dao at this moment, but Yang Kai had no time to rejoice as Zhu Feng’s fierce attack had completely enveloped him by now, and an aura of death was shrouding him from above.
At this moment, there was neither joy nor sadness in Yang Kai’s eyes.
Boundless Black Ink Strength unleashed itself wantonly while fresh blood spurt out.
Two figures passed each other. The hand which Yang Kai held his spear with was trembling violently and the pain in his chest was almost unbearable. When he looked down, he found a large wound cutting from his shoulder all the way to his waist. His skin was rolled up and he could almost see his organs writhing inside.
In the end, he failed to block or dodge Zhu Feng’s hand blade. Even with his strong Dragonkin physique, he was still almost cut in half by that blow.
But even though he was wounded, Zhu Feng was not completely unscathed either. During that exchange, the Azure Dragon Spear pierced a hole through Zhu Feng’s chest, so it was truly hard to say who came out on top.
Yang Kai did not even bother dealing with his injuries and turned around hastily, pointing his spear at Zhu Feng’s large body as he roared, “Die!”
As he forged ahead, his figure disappeared into the light of his spear. He and the Azure Dragon Spear instantly fused into one, turning into a stream of light that charged in Zhu Feng’s direction.
The battle today would only end when one of them perished!
Zhu Feng’s roar resonated through the clouds as he turned around to meet Yang Kai. Even though he was using only his fists without any artifacts, each blow was terrifyingly powerful.
Both sides instantly engaged in a tangled melee, and horrific wounds surfaced on both their bodies. Meanwhile, rich Black Ink Strength was constantly flowing out of Zhu Feng’s wounds, drilling into Yang Kai’s body.
This Black Ink Strength was just like an extension of Zhu Feng’s body. Not only was it constantly burrowing into Yang Kai’s flesh, it turned into sharp attacks that came one after another, damaging Yang Kai’s five viscera and six organs from the inside.
Yang Kai’s face was covered in blood and his appearance was truly miserable. His aura continued to weaken.
Zhu Feng’s aura was also weakening though. He had used a powerful Secret Technique in order to squeeze the power out of the Black Ink Nest so that he could heal himself. Even though he had obtained some strength to fight for a short amount of time, it was impossible for him to maintain this state for long. As time went on, the drawbacks of the Secret Technique gradually surfaced, hitting him with a severe backlash.
Adding onto the fact that Yang Kai’s attacks had also caused considerable damage to him, the rate at which the backlash came only accelerated.
If he could deal with Yang Kai before the backlash from the Secret Technique came fully, then naturally, everything would be fine. However, if not, he would be done for.
Zhu Feng himself would never have dreamed that a mere Seventh-Order Human could be so difficult to deal with. Even in his current state, no matter what Seventh-Order Human he faced, he was confident in killing them within ten breaths, yet this Human was not only not dead, but was even fighting back and causing serious damage to him.
This was a great humiliation to Zhu Feng’s noble status as a Territory Lord, and his attacks only grew fiercer as a result.
Both sides were weakening, but in comparison, Yang Kai’s situation was worse. If things were to continue this way, then it would not take long for Zhu Feng to kill him. It was clear that Zhu Feng realized this too as he did not give him any room to breathe, continuing this exchange of damage with Yang Kai.
Yang Kai retreated again and again. Blood was churning in his throat as he squeezed out the power of his Small Universe over and over again to put up a desperate fight to the death. However, his resistance was too weak in the face of the enemy’s imposing strength.
The time he spent exchanging blows with Zhu Feng was not long, but it was clear that the World Force inside of his Small Universe was about to dry up.
Such a situation had never happened before since Yang Kai advanced to the Open Heaven Realm. The heritage of his Small Universe was far greater than that of his peers. In fact, if the battle was not too fierce, then no matter what, the power in his Small Universe would never dry up.
However once a Small Universe ran empty, there would be no World Force to use, and his Open Heaven Realm cultivation would become a mere decoration.
Even though Yang Kai still had a trump card up his sleeve, it was his last one. Once he played that card, he had to decide the fight, otherwise, both he and Bai Yi would die here today.
So, without a suitable opportunity, and before he had reached a truly desperate point, Yang Kai would never play his final card.
He had a mind to use Purifying Light again, but with the intensity of their fight, the short delay he would need to condense enough Purifying Light would simply become an opportunity for Zhu Feng to take advantage of.
In the face of Zhu Feng’s frenzied attack, Yang Kai could only struggle to hold on and wait for the right opportunity.
All of a sudden, as he stabbed out with Azure Dragon Spear, it was caught in Zhu Feng’s grasp, causing the latter to grin ferociously and roar, “Die, ant!”
Clenching his other fist, he threw a punch at Yang Kai.
The huge fist rapidly expanded before Yang Kai’s eyes, carrying with it a Heaven-destroying, Earth-shattering power. Yang Kai hurriedly gave up his spear and crossed his arms in front of himself to protect his body.
However, a golden light suddenly came from the side at that moment, appearing between Yang Kai and Zhu Feng. Shining faintly, Bai Yi’s small figure was revealed from inside of the golden light.
This was obviously Bai Yi’s Movement Technique. When Yang Kai was chasing her, he realized that she could change places with the golden light that she shot, similar to his Instantaneous Movement. Such a technique was not exactly the same as Instantaneous Movement, but it was still extremely profound. It was by relying on that amazing Movement Technique that she was able to escape from Yang Kai’s grasp again and again.
Previously, when Bai Yi was wounded by Zhu Feng’s attack, she lay several dozen kilometres away, and whether she was alive or dead was unknown. Yang Kai was so focused on fighting Zhu Feng that he did not even have the time to check on her condition.
However, he never would have thought that she would use her special Movement Technique here to come between the two of them.
Yang Kai’s pupils shrank as he called out in alarm, “No!”
He knew how strong Zhu Feng’s attacks were. Relying on his sturdy Dragonkin physique he could still barely resist until now, but if a punch like that were to hit Bai Yi, she would surely die.
Yang Kai had no idea why Bai Yi would appear at this moment, but it was clear that she wanted to use her own body as a shield to absorb the unstoppable blow for him.
He reached out for Bai Yi, but it was too late.
Zhu Feng’s huge fist struck Bai Yi’s small figure so hard that Yang Kai could clearly hear the sounds of bones breaking in quick succession.
In the instant that she was about to be hit though, Bai Yi drew her longbow, and a feathered arrow in the form of a pair of unfurled wings entered Zhu Feng’s chest.
Zhu Feng’s roar and Bai Yi’s muffled grunt rang out at the same time.
In their clash of blows, Zhu Feng stumbled backwards while Bai Yi crashed into Yang Kai’s arms, sending the two of them tumbling through mid-air.
Before the two of them could land, they heard Zhu Feng roar again. The Azure Dragon Spear that he had snatched from Yang Kai turned into a beam of light that was shooting straight for Yang Kai and Bai Yi, reaching them almost instantly.
This attack was so powerful that space was torn apart in its wake. If they were hit by it, then even Yang Kai’s Dragonkin body would be pierced through.
However, at this moment, whether it be Yang Kai or Bai Yi, both of them were basically out of strength, rendering them powerless to resist.
Seeing as the two of them were about to be skewered like a bottle gourd, a dragon roar sounded and a glowing Dragon Head appeared dazzlingly behind Yang Kai.
In a flash, the Golden Dragon Head burrowed into Yang Kai’s body and disappeared from sight.
Following that, there was a crackling sound as a 20,000-metre behemoth appeared out of nowhere within the Sealed World.
Dragon Pressure filled the air!
The Grand Dragon curled up, wrapping Bai Yi in its body. The Azure Dragon Spear plunged directly into the Dragon’s belly and disappeared completely. At the wound, Dragon Scales flew out, and the violent pain that took the Great Dragon caused it to throw back its head and let out a mournful roar.
Yang Kai suffered a terrible wound, but Bai Yi’s life was saved.
The Grand Dragon suddenly turned around, and its giant Dragon Eyes glared in Zhu Feng’s direction. In the next instant, the Dragon swayed and its ferocious Dragon head lunged at Zhu Feng.
At first, Zhu Feng was taken aback when he felt the terrifying Dragon Pressure. Even the pain from the wound that Bai Yi just gave him had been forgotten.
Even though the Black Ink Clan knew of the existence of the Dragon Clan, they had essentially never encountered them on the Black Ink Battlefield. However, they had heard of a Grand Dragon showing itself during their attack on the Humans at Blue Sky Pass.
However, Zhu Feng was not present during that battle, so he was not able to see it for himself.
He did not expect to be able to see it today.
That meant that this Human was no Human, but rather a Grand Dragon that appeared in the Blue Sky Theatre!
Faced with the charge of a Grand Dragon, Zhu Feng roared and faced it head-on.
His figure seemed so large and tall in the eyes of ordinary Humans; however, he was as small as an ant in the face of this Grand Dragon. Still, one’s strength had never been determined by their size alone.
Zhu Feng felt that he was currently strong enough to slaughter this Grand Dragon, so he did not falter.
However, when they clashed, Zhu Feng realized he had underestimated his opponent.
A terrifying force descended upon him, and Zhu Feng lasted merely an instant before he was pinned down on the ground by a huge Dragon Claw.
A massive crater spanning several dozen kilometres appeared in the ground, with many deep cracks expanding out from it.
Zhu Feng was unable to resist his opponent’s fierce power.
Zhu Feng was furious. If he were not wounded, then he would naturally be able to withstand this amount of raw force; however, after the many injuries he suffered during the previous fight, and the peak he had reached by using that sacrificial Secret Technique also dissipating, his strength was rapidly weakening which allowed him to be held down on the ground in disgrace.
He struggled hard, trying to free himself from the confines of the Dragon Claw.
However, the Grand Dragon’s head dropped slightly and it opened its terrifyingly large mouth, spewing out a mouthful of Dragon Breath that enveloped Zhu Feng.
The Dragon Breath cut through Zhu Feng’s body and opened wounds all over his figure like a torrent of blades, causing ink-black blood to splash out.
With a raging roar, Zhu Feng threw his fist out, hitting the giant Dragon with fierce power. In a flash, Dragon Scales were sent flying into the air as a horrible gouge appeared on the giant Dragon that would not recover for a long time.
It was now a competition to see who could outlast the other.
There was a look of pain in the Grand Dragon’s eyes, as well as a small hint of hesitation.
However, those eyes soon turned resolute.
A round bead suddenly appeared in the midst of the Dragon Breath that was constantly being spewed out.
The round bead, wrapped in Dragon Breath, did not move very fast. It could even be described as exceptionally slow as it gradually pressed down on Zhu Feng, who was pinned to the ground.
Zhu Feng, who had not panicked even when he had been pinned to the ground by the Grand Dragon, instinctively felt a sense of fear rise in him the moment he saw the round bead.
The round bead that was pressing down on him gave off an extremely dangerous feeling, one that was no mere illusion, but a real threat to his life.
Without hesitation, Zhu Feng instantly directed his frenzied attacks at the Grand Dragon’s body to the round bead instead.
In the next moment, something happened that shocked Zhu Feng.
No matter what attacks he threw at the round bead, he could not make it budge in the slightest, let alone stop its descent.
It seemed like an instant, but also like millions of years.
When the round bead landed on Zhu Feng, his chest instantly caved in and a spurt of ink-black blood was forced out of his throat uncontrollably. Violent power rampaged through his limbs and bones, weaving through his body and wreaking havoc within.
At the same time, the Grand Dragon also roared in pain. Its 20,000-metre body suddenly shrank and Yang Kai returned to Human Form, drawing back the round bead into his mouth at the same time with a strong suction force.
Without the Dragon Claw to keep him down, Zhu Feng was free again. Enduring the pain ravaging his body, he suddenly threw out a punch.
Yang Kai, who was still dizzy and unable to stabilize himself was unprepared for this punch and was sent flying, spitting out a mouthful of golden blood as he tumbled through the air, his aura becoming extremely weak.
At this moment, Yang Kai was nearing complete exhaustion, not to mention the fact that he had squeezed every last drop of the heritage out of his Small Universe. As for the round bead that he had spat out earlier, that was his own Dragon Bead.
Back then, in the depths of the Shattered Heaven, in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, when Yang Kai progressed from a mere Dragonkin into a True Grand Dragon, a Dragon Bead was condensed in his body, crystallized from the Dragon bloodline’s essence and his Divine Dragon Source; it was the symbol of a Grand Dragon. Only Grand Dragons were capable of creating a True Dragon Bead.
This bead was the same as the Monster Cores found in Monster Beasts. A Monster Core was the foundation of a Monster Beast, and the Dragon Bead was the foundation of a Dragon. Nonetheless, a Dragon Bead was more concentrated than a Monster Core in terms of both power and purity.
When a Monster Beast encountered a powerful enemy, it would unleash its Monster Core and use it to attack or defend, as could those from the Dragon Clan.
This was a simple attack, but an immensely powerful one. However, it did have its drawbacks. Once done, the user would be taking a huge risk, whether it be for a Monster Core or a Dragon Bead. If it were destroyed, then it would immediately put one’s life in danger, and in the worst-case scenario, directly result in one’s death.
It was for this reason that Yang Kai would never unleash his Dragon Bead no matter what sort of enemy he faced; after all, he was a Master of the Dao of Space, so if he could not beat an enemy, he could always run away.
This time, however, he was truly forced into a desperate situation. The secret of the Purifying Light had already been exposed to Zhu Feng. If possible, Yang Kai naturally had to kill him here to avoid future problems.
The power inside of his Small Universe had dried up, so now the only power he had left to use was that of his Dragon Vein. Faced with a strong foe like Zhu Feng, unleashing his Dragon Bead was the strongest card Yang Kai could play.
Indeed, the Dragon Bead was able to injure Zhu Feng heavily. Even his chest had been caved in. However, Zhu Feng’s flurry of attacks had also left cracks on Yang Kai’s Dragon Bead and almost broke it apart on the spot. What’s more, that was the final trump card Yang Kai had.
With his Dragon Bead damaged, Yang Kai could not even maintain his Dragon Form.
He had exhausted his options and no longer had the power to fight.
In this match, he and Bai Yi were defeated!
Zhu Feng was heavily injured, but he was still not dead. The only thing Yang Kai could do now was hurry and bring Bai Yi away from here. Only, he had no idea whether he would have that opportunity.
Somehow forcing himself to stand, Yang Kai’s vision was blurry and his head was buzzing incessantly. Even as he stood there, he was shaking too much to maintain his stance.
Bai Yi was laying motionless not far away from him.
He stumbled over to Bai Yi, and when he arrived next to her, he could finally hang on no more and fell head-first on top of her.
The weight of his body caused a large amount of blood to spill from Bai Yi’s mouth, and her aura, which was already weak, became even weaker.
Yang Kai grabbed her arm and flipped her over, putting her on her back before struggling to stand up again. Every step he took left a bloody footprint on the ground. Following the direction in his memories, he made for the exit.
However, before he could even walk a few steps, Zhu Feng’s cold voice came from behind, “Where do you think you’re going?”
Yang Kai ignored the voice and was determined to keep going forward with faltering steps.
“Don’t even think you can…” Zhu Feng shouted in a cold voice as his aura quickly neared Yang Kai. He clearly had the intention to stop him from escaping, but before he could even finish speaking, he began coughing violently as a large amount of ink-black blood spilled from his throat.
As the blood came out, his aura rapidly deflated and became incredibly weak, almost disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The coughing sounds became even fiercer as large mouthfuls of blood poured out continuously.
Yang Kai stopped in his tracks and turned back to look. From his blurred vision, he could faintly see Zhu Feng’s miserable appearance.
At this moment, Zhu Feng was down on one knee not far away from them, ink-black face covering his face, almost pooling like a river at his feat. There were even bloody arrows squirting out from the wounds all throughout his body. It was clear that he could no longer suppress his wounds.
“Hah haa…” Yang Kai wanted to laugh, but the sound that came out of his throat was hoarse like a wheeze. He was truly reaching his limit.
He thought that the only thing left for him to do now was escape, but who knew that the situation could change so unpredictably? The roles of predator and prey swapped almost in an instant.
The backlash from Zhu Feng’s Secret Technique had finally manifested in full! This was the moment Yang Kai had been waiting for since he began the fight with Zhu Feng!
In fact, Zhu Feng’s aura had been constantly weakening all this while; otherwise, there was no way that Yang Kai could have held on for so long. Even so, Yang Kai had still paid an immense price to force this stalemate.
At the very last moment, Yang Kai even unleashed his Dragon Bead, but it was damaged and left him powerless to continue fighting. On the other hand, Zhu Feng still had energy remaining. The victor had already been decided, so if he did not leave, he would only be waiting for death.
In fact, Yang Kai did not have much confidence that he could bring Bai Yi out of here alive. He could only try and leave the rest to fate.
At the critical moment though, the Heavens smiled down on him as Zhu Feng finally fell. Perhaps it was not just luck. Bai Yi’s desperate strike, Yang Kai’s desperate attempt to summon his Dragon Bead, all of those compounded and accelerated the onset of the backlash of Zhu Feng’s Secret Technique.
Zhu Feng’s Secret Technique was very powerful, but now it seemed that the backlash he had to endure was just as terrifying.
At this moment, of the three living beings in this Sealed World, Bai Yi’s aura was the weakest. After taking Zhu Feng’s blow for Yang Kai, she was now in a comatose state.
Zhu Feng’s aura was almost non-existent as well, but it was still just slightly stronger than Bai Yi’s. Clearly, he was unable to bear the backlash of the Secret Technique in his current state.
In the end, it was the hobbling Yang Kai with his strength at the brink of being fully drained that had the strongest aura present. Life was truly filled with twists and turns.
Crouching down and gently laying Bai Yi on the ground, Yang Kai approached Zhu Feng step by step, still hobbling and swaying as he moved, almost as if a gust of wind could send him sprawling.
Halfway there, he summoned the Azure Dragon Spear into his hand. As the spear dragged across the ground, a harsh scraping sound could be heard.
Zhu Feng was still coughing up blood, and it seemed like he was going to vomit every last drop from his body. When he heard the scraping noise and looked up though, horror flashed across his eyes.
He stood up with great difficulty and turned around, moving step by step away from Yang Kai while trying to act strong by shouting, “Don’t come any closer!”
There was no way Yang Kai would listen to him of course. When he saw Zhu Feng in this state, power somehow welled up within him, allowing him to speed up as he shouted, “Stop running you coward! One quick spear thrust and it will all be over!”
[As if I’d listen to you!] Zhu Feng cursed in his heart. If he was caught here, then he would surely die; however, even though he wanted to get away from Yang Kai, his extremely weak condition left him moving even slower than a turtle’s crawl.
A noble Territory Lord like himself, being reduced to this state, Zhu Feng was desperate to cry but unable to shed any tears.
Similarly, Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; after everything that happened today, nobody would have imagined that the battle would end this way.
A Territory Lord and a Seventh-Order Human were now locked in a ridiculous chase that even ordinary Mortals would find slow and awkward. It was simply disgraceful.
At this point in time though, anyone with any achievement in cultivation would be able to kill both of them.
Fueled by his instinct to survive, Zhu Feng dragged his feet along step by step, leaving bloody footprints behind.
Yang Kai was doing the same.
The backlash from Zhu Feng’s Secret Technique was indeed strong, and after a few moments, Zhu Feng stumbled and fell headlong to the ground. Down on his hands and knees, he was now crawling forward little by little.
During his desperate moment, Zhu Feng heard a loud noise from behind him. Turning his head with great difficulty, he saw that Yang Kai, who was coming to kill him, had also fallen to the ground, crawling just like him.
“Why go through this trouble?” Zhu Feng said with a heavy voice, “Why don’t we both rest first then settle this?”
Yang Kai’s voice was weak, but he still snarled, “In your dreams. Once I’m close enough, I’ll stab you to death with my spear!”
Zhu Feng said, “Bai Yi is on her last breath. Why don’t you go and check on her? Don’t regret it when she dies!”
Yang Kai was unmoved, “Rest assured, if she still has a breath left in her, I will be able to bring her back. It will not be too late if I kill you first.”
Zhu Feng coldly snorted, “We are both in the same state now, we don’t know who’s going to die and who’s going to live yet.”
As they spoke, they continued pushing their bodies forward, but they were moving at a similar speed. The distance between them was neither increasing nor decreasing. From how things were, it seemed unrealistic for Yang Kai to catch up with Zhu Feng.
Realizing this, Yang Kai suddenly stopped and stared ahead.
Zhu Feng’s heart clenched. Even though he had no idea what Yang Kai was up to, he had a bad premonition about this, and the speed at which he crawled increased.
A short moment later, Yang Kai grinned, “I win!”
Saying so, the portal of his Small Universe suddenly opened up in front of him, and in the next instant, a figure instantly rushed out.
It was an elderly man holding a sharp blade in his hand. He was dazed when he first emerged, seemingly a bit dizzy, but soon he found his target and charged at Zhu Feng with sword drawn.
Zhu Feng was stunned. Frankly, even after fighting with the Humans for all these years, he had never met such a weak one before. The Humans on the Black Ink Battlefield were all at least in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but this old man who appeared out of nowhere was not even in the Open Heaven Realm.
[This is… the Emperor Realm?]
As a Territory Lord, Zhu Feng naturally knew much about Humans. He knew that the Open Heaven Realm for the Humans was separated into Nine-Orders, and under the Open Heaven Realm existed many other Realms, the most immediate of them being the Emperor Realm.
Zhu Feng had heard of Emperor Realm Humans, but he had never seen one with his own eyes; after all, an Emperor Realm Human would simply be incapable of staying alive on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Yet he saw one today.
If it were any normal day, a simple glance from Zhu Feng would have been enough to cause such a weak ant to explode and die; however, he was now heavily injured and suffering from severe backlash from his Secret Technique. He was completely devoid of the might that a Territory Lord should have, so much so that even the appearance of an Emperor Realm Human was life-threatening to him. And, it was clear that this Emperor Realm Human had been brought out from Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
The elderly man had clearly received orders from Yang Kai, and as soon as he appeared, he did not hesitate to brandish his sword in Zhu Feng’s direction.
Zhu Feng’s face paled. Barely squeezing out a last breath, he spat out a mouthful of ink-black aura that headed straight for the elderly man.
The aura was extremely thin, and it was quite apparent that Zhu Feng could not muster any more Black Ink Strength from his body.
However, the elderly man did not care. He protected his body with his strength and moved through the ink-black aura, slashing down and unleashing a sword wave.
His sword struck Zhu Feng’s huge neck. There was a deep wound there to begin with, so under the power of the sword, the wound instantly widened, going so deep that one could almost see bone. Fresh blood squirted out from the aggravated wound in an instant.
After that one strike, the elderly man immediately backed away. Forming a hand seal, he tapped his own body a couple of times then, without a word, he fell limp to the ground.
Before passing out, the elderly man looked in Yang Kai’s direction, speaking with difficulty, “Ancestor, I’ve done all I could…”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Zhu Feng, however, could not help but laugh loudly, “Even an ant thinks he can kill me? You’ll need more than one for that!”
Even though the elderly man’s sword had inflicted a serious wound on him, it was indeed not enough to kill him. The wound, horrible as it may seem, was merely a flesh wound to a Territory Lord.
The only regretful thing was that after the ant slashed down at him, he had sealed his strength and forced himself unconscious; otherwise, with his Emperor Realm cultivation, he would simply be unable to withstand the corruption of the Black Ink Strength. It would only take a few breaths before he transformed into a Black Ink Disciple, and when that time came, he would become a weapon for Zhu Feng to use against Yang Kai.
However, if Yang Kai dared to bring him out from his Small Universe, he must have realized this possibility and would naturally not allow it to happen.
The elderly man’s self-imposed seal must have been ordered by Yang Kai in advance.
Zhu Feng half wheezed, and half-laughed, but only for a moment because he soon saw Yang Kai looking at him with mockery and pity.
Instantly thinking of something, he drew a breath of cold air and muttered, “You still have more helpers?”
Yang Kai snorted, “I have thousands of them. Just lie down and accept death!”
Saying so, the portal to his Small Universe suddenly opened again, and another person came out of it. Just like the elderly man from before, this man had also only reached the Emperor Realm. In fact, he was not even as powerful as the elderly man from before.
Just like before, as soon as this man appeared, he charged at Zhu Feng and slashed his sword down fiercely right at the wound on his neck, immediately widening the gash, leaving a mark on his collarbone.
After getting one hit in, the man backed away and sealed himself like his predecessor, instantly falling unconscious on the ground.
Then, from the portal of the Small Universe, another man emerged…
Zhu Feng cried out in terror and crawled forward on his hands and knees. He was truly feeling the threat of death now.
One Emperor Realm Human was nothing to him, even two did not matter; however, if they kept coming one after another, sooner or later he would die.
With enough numbers on their side, even ants could kill an elephant. Zhu Feng had always laughed when he heard this saying in the past, but he was now experiencing it for himself. Sadly, he was the elephant that was being bitten to death by these ants.
One by one, Humans poured out from the Small Universe, all of them in the Emperor Realm, and all of them only having one chance to attack, yet all of them struck at the same spot.
Zhu Feng’s wound grew worse with each hit, and his neck was soon almost severed.
When the fifth person emerged from Yang Kai’s Small Universe, Zhu Feng’s head instantly separated from his body when his sword came down, rolling far away.
From the wound on his neck, only a small amount of ink-black blood gushed out. Clearly, the blood in Zhu Feng’s body had almost dried up already.
The last cut that killed Zhu Feng came from a young man in the Third-Order Emperor Realm. He was slightly surprised to have finished the deed in one hit, but he quickly imposed a seal upon himself. Before falling unconscious, he cupped his fist at Yang Kai, “Fortunately, I did not fail my mission!”
With that, he fell headlong to the ground.
Zhu Feng had been beheaded and he could not be any more dead than this, but his eyes still blinked with unwillingness.
To a Territory Lord such as himself, the only worthy opponents in this World were the Eighth-Order or Ninth-Open Humans. Yet, the demise of someone like him came under the combined strength of a few Emperor Realm Humans.
The light in Zhu Feng’s gaze gradually dissipated and eventually, he died with his eyes wide open.
Yang Kai was panting heavily. Rolling on his back, he lay with his limbs spread on the ground.
His victory had come with much difficulty in this battle. Neither he nor Bai Yi could have expected Zhu Feng to have a Secret Technique that would allow him to recover so quickly. They had almost fallen into a desperate situation with one mistake.
Now, Bai Yi was heavily injured and unconscious. He himself was also badly injured, with cracks having formed on his Dragon Bead, which was an unbelievable price to pay for this victory.
Zhu Feng was saved by his Secret Technique, but it also became his demise. Fortunately, the backlash of his Secret Technique broke out in full force at the critical moment; otherwise, Yang Kai felt that he may not have been able to escape with his life. By the end of the battle, he had become a dry oil lamp, completely exhausted.
Yang Kai had learned just how strong the Territory Lords were from this fight. They were not an opponent a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could take on by themselves. If he were to bump into a Territory Lord at his peak alone, then Yang Kai could only hope to escape with his life.
But no matter how difficult the process was, the outcome was still a happy one. Zhu Feng was finally dead.
On the Black Ink Battlefield, the winner was the King, the loser was the villain. There was nothing more to be said.
After consuming a healing Spirit Pill, Yang Kai silently refined it, and after a full cup of tea’s time, he finally struggled to his feet.
He was still dizzy and his Small Universe was still empty. If one were to look into his Small Universe at this moment, one would see that the world inside had gone grey and dull. Naturally, it was because he had consumed too much of his strength, and that consumption could only be slowly restored later.
Now though, the most important thing was to safely bring everyone back.
Step by step, he walked up to the unconscious Emperor Realm cultivators and took them into his Small Universe.
These Emperor Realm cultivators had all come from the Seven Stars Sect inside of his Small Universe. The first elderly man to emerge was Sect Master Shang Guan Ji. The rest were the Elders of Seven Stars Sect, such as Guan Qian Xing.
Many years ago, Yang Kai entered Seven Stars Sect with his Soul Avatar and became their Ancestor; it was also there that he accepted his two Legacy Disciples, Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya. Later, he even accepted a third Disciple from Seven Stars Sect, Xu Yi.
After sending Zhao Ye Bai, Zhao Ya, and Xu Yi back to the Star Boundary, Yang Kai no longer made an appearance in his Small Universe. This time, if his hand were not forced, then he would not have let these Emperor Realm cultivators take on such a risk.
The corruption of Black Ink Strength was too difficult for even an Open Heaven Realm Master to resist, much less for someone in the Emperor Realm. So, before Yang Kai borrowed their power to deal with Zhu Feng, he had given them repeated warnings that they had only once chance to strike, after which they should seal their bodies and consciousness. Otherwise, the consequences would be unpredictable.
The Emperor Realm cultivators of Seven Stars Sect were very obedient to his word; after all, Yang Kai was too profound an existence for them, and they naturally would not dare to disobey the word of their Ancestor. Each one of them made only one strike after emerging before sealing their bodies and falling unconscious.
This proved to be the right choice.
By now, these Emperor Realm cultivators had already been corrupted by the Black Ink Strength to their cores and transformed into Black Ink Disciples. Only, they were all unconscious; otherwise, they would have attacked Yang Kai.
Soon, Yang Kai arrived at the young man who appeared last. It was this youth who laid down a great achievement delivering the final blow that decapitated Zhu Feng.
The face of this youth looked vaguely familiar to him.
Yang Kai thought for a moment before recognising this guy as Mao Fei Ping.
He was slightly surprised. This was the little one who joined Seven Stars Sect together with Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya back then. Now, he had reached the Third-Order Emperor Realm.
If it had to be said, then Mao Fei Ping’s aptitude was quite good. The Emperor Qi in his body was also carefully cultivated. If not for him living in Yang Kai’s Small Universe all this while, he could have reached the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm by now based on his aptitude.
It was thanks to the help of these Emperor Realm cultivators that came out today that Yang Kai turned failure into a success. Perhaps he could give them some pointers and show them the way to greater heights in the Martial Dao.
After putting Mao Fei Ping back into his Small Universe, Yang Kai hurried over to where Bai Yi was.
Bai Yi was still unconscious, and her aura was extremely faint. Her body was marked with wounds and covered with blood. The wound on her shoulder was especially bad, having blown a significant portion of her chest open.
This wound was inflicted when Zhu Feng caught her feathered arrow and threw it back at her. Then, she sacrificed herself to act as a shield, protecting Yang Kai and sustaining a direct hit from Zhu Feng that broke a great number of the bones in her body.
These wounds were almost fatal, even for a Seventh-Order Master like Bai Yi. If she did not receive help, then she could die here.
She had been unconscious all this while, and she had also long been corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Just like the Emperor Realm cultivators from before, she had turned into a Black Ink Disciple.
Yang Kai first used Purifying Light in order to dispel the Black Ink Strength inside of her Small Universe. Only then did he use his Towering Evergreen Divine Manifestation. The illusory phantom of the Immortal Tree immediately appeared behind Yang Kai’s back, its branches dropping down, forming a half-circle of protection, allowing rich vitality to flow out and envelop Bai Yi.
Yang Kai then took out some Spirit Pills and pried open Bai Yi’s mouth, pouring them in and then using his power to help her refine them.
Even though the Sealed World was filled with Black Ink Strength, it was relatively safe; after all, this was Zhu Feng’s hidden base, so there was no worry about them being disturbed by anyone else.
With a combination of Spirit Pills and Towering Evergreen, Bai Yi gradually recovered her vitality, and the wounds on her body also began to heal.
It was the same for Yang Kai. The rate of his recovery was even greater than Bai Yi’s since he had a Dragon physique, so his restoration abilities had always been stronger than average.
However, while physical wounds were easy to heal, and the World Force of his Small Universe could also be replenished, the damage to his Dragon Bead would surely give him a headache for some time to come.
Yang Kai’s Dragon Bead was hidden under his maw, and when he looked inside now, he could clearly see the tiny cracks covering its surface and its lustre had also dulled.
Unleashing his Dragon Bead did succeed in causing great damage to Zhu Feng, but Zhu Feng’s counter-attack also led to his Dragon Bead being damaged.
This was also the reason why Yang Kai would not dare to simply bring out his Dragon Bead. Once it was brought out, its power was indeed awe-inspiring, but the dangers were equally immense. Once the Dragon Bead was destroyed, his life would immediately be put in danger. It was fortunate that the worst-case scenario did not happen.
However, now that his Dragon Bead had been damaged, Yang Kai had a vague feeling that he would not be able to use his Dragon Transformation anytime soon, much less assume his Grand Dragon Form.
He had spent some time in the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace inside the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land. During his seclusion there, following the refinement of his Bloodline purity, Yang Kai had also awakened some of his Dragon Clan Inheritance and knew that once a Dragon Bead was damaged, it was extremely difficult to repair.
It had to be gently nurtured with the power of one’s own Dragon Vein, and it was a slow process that could not be rushed.
So, while the problem with his Dragon Bead was not a big one for Yang Kai right now, it was by no means small either. Since he could only rely on his own Dragon Vein’s power to repair it though, there was no point in feeling anxious.
As the Towering Evergreen Divine Manifestation continued to do its job, Yang Kai inhaled a mountain of Open Heaven Pills before taking out a set of resources to silently refine and replenish his depleted World Force.
After two or three days of this, Bai Yi’s lashes suddenly fluttered, and she opened her eyes with a slightly laboured grunt.
“You’re awake?” Noticing her movements, Yang Kai quickly opened his eyes to check on her.
Bai Yi’s injuries were serious, and even though Yang Kai had already helped her recover from some of them, he was only an external aid in the end. It was good news that she had woken up on her own. Now, she could recover much faster if she focused on healing herself.
Bai Yi still looked disoriented, but she soon remembered what happened before she fell unconscious and was startled, “Where is this? Where’s Zhu Feng?”
Yang Kai explained, “We are still in Zhu Feng’s hideout, and he’s dead.” Saying so, he pointed to the side.
Bai Yi turned her head around and saw Zhu Feng’s large body lying on the ground a short distance away, his head separated from it. The eyes on his large head had widened into circles as they stared straight in their direction, almost as if he wanted to stare them down even in death.
Bai Yi could not help but feel shocked that Zhu Feng actually died! Before falling unconscious, Zhu Feng’s power was still close to its peak. Even though he had also been hurt through the combined efforts of Yang Kai and herself, a Territory Lord was still not an entity that two Seventh-Order Masters could hope to compete with.
She thought that she and Yang Kai would not be able to escape death, but who knew that she would wake up to see Zhu Feng’s headless corpse?
She had no idea what happened after she fell unconscious, but she knew that it had to have been an astonishing battle.
“Senior Brother saved me?” Bai Yi asked.
Yang Kai could not help but laugh, “There is no one here besides you and me. Naturally, it was I who saved you.”
Bai Yi had a complicated look in her eyes before she sighed, “There was no need to save me.”
Yang Kai frowned at her words. There was something not quite right with that sentence, but after pausing for a moment, he simply said, “First, heal your injuries. You were badly wounded, so if you don’t focus on recovering, you might suffer from lingering danger in the future.”
Bai Yi nodded slightly and struggled to sit cross-legged, silently circulating her strength.
There was silence inside of the Sealed World for a while as the two healed their wounds and restored their energy. With Towering Evergreen nourishing and shielding them, the lingering Black Ink Strength could not encroach upon their position in the slightest.
Another eight days passed, and Yang Kai had finally made a recovery. The injuries to his physical body were basically healed, and the emptiness inside of his Small Universe was also somewhat replenished. Even though he had not returned to full strength, he was not far from it.
Bai Yi was a little slower to recover than he was, but after noticing Yang Kai’s movements, she opened her eyes and slowly got up, elegantly saluting him, “Many thanks for your life-saving grace, Senior Brother.”
Yang Kai looked at her silently for a moment before speaking, “If you really want to thank me, then live on and kill more Black Ink Clansmen. You are strong, so it would be a great loss to the Human Race if you were to fall here.”
Bai Yi pursed her lips and nodded.
Yang Kai did not notice it previously, but he realized the problem with what Bai Yi said when she woke up now.
Bai Yi clearly had a death wish!
Perhaps she was determined to die when she stood in front of Yang Kai and blocked Zhu Feng’s ferocious blow for him.
Yang Kai had treated many Black Ink Disciples so he had seen this condition before. The hands of these Black Ink Disciples were all stained with the blood of their own people.
To Black Ink Disciples, the Black Ink Clan was supreme, and they would follow any order given to them without question, even if it meant murdering their own people. After being saved by Yang Kai, these events became something of a trauma for them.
It had to be known that those whom they killed used to be the allies whom they fought side-by-side with, so it was likely that these experiences would continue to haunt them for a long, long time.
This was particularly true for Bai Yi. With her incredible archery skills and her powerful Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, even Yang Kai suffered three serious losses at her hands, so how could ordinary cultivators even hope to survive when facing her?
Yang Kai had no idea how many Humans had died at Bai Yi’s hands, but he knew that it was far more than just one or two.
It was exactly for that reason that Bai Yi desired to die. She felt ashamed to return to the side of the Humans with her hands dripping in their blood and with their souls lingering behind her.
Her perfunctory reply seemed to suggest that she was not taking his words seriously, so Yang Kai frowned and scolded, “One Zhu Feng is not enough to make up for your sins. If you feel guilty, then for everyone you killed, you must take ten or a hundred from the Black Ink Clan! If you were to die so easily, then those who fell to you would truly have died in vain!”
He hadn’t been planning to be this blunt with her, but Bai Yi was clearly not in the right state of mind at the moment, so he had no choice but to use some sharp words.
The blood suddenly drained from Bai Yi’s face, turning her as pale as snow. Her body trembled and she gritted her teeth, “Senior Brother’s teachings are correct. I will definitely not let Senior Brother down!”
Yang Kai shook his head, “This isn’t about whether you let me down or not. It’s about your own conscience you have to clear.”
After thinking through his words, Bai Yi nodded again.
As Bai Yi steadied herself, Yang Kai followed up, “That’s all I have to say. You think about it on your own. I’m no good at consoling people so I may have spoken a little harshly, but I hope you don’t take it to heart. It would be inconvenient for us to stay here any longer, so let’s get out of here first.”
Bai Yi had no objections.
While helping Bai Yi heal, Yang Kai had used his Divine Sense to look through this Sealed World. It was not a large place, so he could naturally examine its entirety without much trouble. Unfortunately, he did not find anything valuable. The Black Ink Nest would have been an excellent specimen to be studied; however, after Zhu Feng used his Secret Technique, it had already withered completely and broken apart, rendering it useless.
In just a short moment, the two of them arrived at the exit which was blocked by some kind of Secret Technique; however, this was no problem for Yang Kai.
Using Space Principles, he pried open the World Barrier so the two of them could leave.
Once they were back in the void, Yang Kai immediately checked his surroundings, but found nothing unusual.
It had been almost a month since he had been separated from Dawn, so Yang Kai naturally wondered how they were doing.
Back then, Yang Kai had run off chasing Bai Yi; as a result, he ended up on a tumultuous ride that delayed him until now. However, there was no need for Yang Kai to worry too much about Dawn. Even without him, there were still 4 Seventh-Order Masters to take charge. And, Dawning Light was a far stronger Warship than normal. As long as they did not bump into a Territory Lord, they would basically be fine.
However, the last time that Yang Kai tried to use the Universe Transference Law, he was surprisingly unable to connect with the Universe Array on Dawning Light, which left him a bit puzzled.
He had no idea what happened.
Once again, Yang Kai used the Universe Transference Law in the silent void.
This time, the Universe Transference Law was able to resonate with the Universe Array on Dawning Light; in other words, as long as he was willing, he could return that instant.
However, though he could return, Bai Yi couldn’t. So, after confirming that he could connect with Dawning Light, Yang Kai dismissed the technique and turned to her, “Let’s go.”
After saying that, he led the way while Bai Yi followed in a somewhat depressed manner.
Even though neither of them was in peak condition, they were not existences with whom ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could compete to begin with, so they did not even bother trying to hide themselves. They had even killed a Territory Lord, so they were eager to meet some Black Ink Clansmen along the way to satisfy their appetites.
Unfortunately, they had an uneventful journey back. It was as if the Black Ink Clansmen in this region had all been ruthlessly killed off.
Not even a single Human was seen either.
Yang Kai found this very strange, as when he was pursuing Bai Yi, he would still occasionally bump into Human or Black Ink Clan Squads.
This was not a safe or peaceful area and soldiers from both sides had been fighting all over the place just a few days ago. Something was clearly not right about the current situation.
It seemed that something big had happened in this region during the time that he and Bai Yi were in Zhu Feng’s nest.
Realising this, Yang Kai increased his speed.
A few days later, the asteroid where the fourth forward base was located came into view, and Yang Kai led Bai Yi straight towards it. There were naturally Human Masters who stopped them in order to question them, only allowing them to pass after Yang Kai identified himself.
Yang Kai flew straight over to Dawn Squad’s camp and a figure rushed out from within one of the huts a moment later. It was Feng Ying.
Feng Ying’s eyes lit up the moment she saw Yang Kai and she breathed a sigh of relief, “Squad Leader, you’ve finally returned.”
They were naturally a bit worried when Yang Kai did not show his face for so long. They had no idea whether something had happened to him. As Yang Kai was a special member of the Human Race, then the loss they would be incurring would be far greater than the loss of an Eighth-Order Master if he were to die.
Yang Kai nodded and looked at her surprised, “Are you hurt?”
Feng Ying’s aura showed some signs of instability, which was a clear sign that she had been injured.
“It’s nothing major,” Feng Ying smiled casually.
Their conversation drew the attention of even more of Dawn’s members. One by one, they all came out of retreat and were all overjoyed to see Yang Kai.
But although all 35 of Dawn’s members were present, most of them were injured, especially the Seventh-Order Masters who seemed to be in serious condition.
Yang Kai was shocked at this sight; wondering what Dawn had encountered in his absence, he could not help but ask, “Was there some kind of great battle with the Black Ink Clan?”
With Dawn Squad’s heritage and the capabilities of the Warship, Dawning Light, they could easily crush any small group of Black Ink Clansmen that they bumped into. However, that the Squad’s members all had injuries proved that they had experienced a fierce battle. Perhaps they had bumped into some big Army from the Black Ink Clan.
Shen Ao answered, “We were unlucky and ran into a Territory Lord.”
[Territory Lord!] Yang Kai frowned slightly, “What happened?”
Shen Ao quickly gave him a rundown of what happened then.
When Yang Kai left to chase after Bai Yi, they stayed behind to clean up the battlefield; then, when they followed the direction Yang Kai left in, they failed to find any traces of him and had to give up.
There was a Universe Array set up on Dawning Light, so Yang Kai need only use the Universe Transference Law to return safely anytime he wished to. And, with Yang Kai himself being exceptionally strong, as well as a master of the Dao of Space, his life should not be in danger even if he were to run into a Territory Lord. So, Dawn didn’t need to worry much about him.
Dawning Light continued to roam the resource zone and hunt down Black Ink Clansmen as they waited for Yang Kai.
Unfortunately, they inadvertently ran into a Territory Lord. Naturally, Dawn was manned with elites, so they had a back-and-forth fight with the Territory Lord for a time and that was how their injuries came about. The battle had also left many of Dawning Light’s arrays damaged.
Even though the Territory Lord was fierce, Dawn was not defenceless, so it was difficult for even a Territory Lord to try to eliminate them.
At the critical moment, Xu Bo Liang appeared and engaged the Territory Lord.
Every one of Dawn’s members were injured, and even Dawning Light had sustained serious damage. Naturally, they couldn’t stay on the battlefield anymore and could only return to the forward base first.
As for the outcome of the battle between Xu Bo Liang and the Territory Lord, they had no idea.
However, within half a day of their retreat back to the forward base, Xu Bo Liang also returned. Now, he had replaced Cha Hu as the one assuming command here.
After Shen Ao finished his recounting, Feng Ying said, “Division Commander Xu must have sustained some injuries. When he returned, his aura was slightly unstable.”
Once he finished hearing everything they had to say, Yang Kai and Bai Yi exchanged glances, their expressions looking a little funny.
“What is it?” Feng Ying was confused.
Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s nothing. Coincidentally, I also met the Territory Lord who attacked you.”
Feng Ying was surprised, “You saw him too? Did you fight?”
Yang Kai nodded, “It was a big fight! I almost didn’t make it back.”
Feng Ying immediately chastised, “Foolishness! Even though that Territory Lord was hurt by Division Commander Xu, he was still a Territory Lord! He’s not someone that one or two Seventh-Order Masters can fight against!”
Yang Kai deeply agreed, “That’s right. Bai Yi and I had to expend a lot of effort in order to kill him.”
“K-Kill… Kill him?” Shen Ao and the others were dumbfounded. Feng Ying’s eyes also widened in surprise. If they had not heard those words from Yang Kai themselves, then they would not even dare to believe it.
“Luckily, I managed to ambush him with a point-blank strike of Purifying Light that greatly damaged his strength. Then, with Junior Sister Bai Yi’s help, it was a difficult fight, but we managed to come out of it with just a scare,” Yang Kai explained simply.
Everyone was shocked.
Feng Ying turned to look at Bai Yi, and Yang Kai hurried over to introduce them.
Feng Ying realized, “So, Junior Sister Bai was the one who left Squad Leader in a mess? Junior Sister Bai is powerful indeed.”
Bai Yi blushed, “I was corrupted by Black Ink Strength and was not in control of myself. I’ve made Senior Sister laugh. Now, with Senior Brother’s help, I’ve regained my senses.”
Feng Ying smiled, “You must have no idea, but besides me, everyone in Dawn was once a Black Ink Disciple that he saved.”
Bai Yi looked up in surprise, “All of them?”
Feng Ying nodded, “All of them!”
Bai Yi looked at each one of their faces and suddenly smiled, “Bai Yi is honoured to greet all my Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers!”
Shen Ao waved his hand and said, “Since you’ve returned, then you should kill more Black Ink Clansmen in the future. We should make them pay for our past frustrations.”
Bai Yi answered with a soft yes.
Yang Kai said, “I’ll bring her to see Division Commander Xu. You should focus on recovering first, we can talk later.”
Nobody had any objections.
Yang Kai then led Bai Yi to see Xu Bo Liang. On the way there, Bai Yi clearly looked nervous. Not to mention anything else, she was the one who hit Xu Bo Liang with her arrow back then and wounded him, even helping Zhu Feng to escape.
Even though Yang Kai noticed this, he did not try to comfort her. Some things had to be faced head-on.
However, after talking with Feng Ying and the others, Yang Kai finally understood what happened that day.
Dawn Squad first encountered Zhu Feng, and then both sides ended up in a large battle where Dawn was defeated, and even Dawning Light was damaged. Obviously, Zhu Feng had also eaten quite a loss from Dawn. Afterwards, Xu Bo Liang appeared and Zhu Feng was heavily injured during their fight. During the critical moment, Bai Yi ambushed him with an arrow which gave Zhu Feng the opportunity to escape.
Following that, Xu Bo Liang retreated, and Yang Kai managed to take down Bai Yi. Under her suggestion, the two of them then headed to Zhu Feng’s hidden nest.
Now, there was no way that Yang Kai did not understand why he failed to connect with the Universe Array on Dawning Light when he used Universe Transference Law that day. It was obviously because of the damage that Dawning Light sustained.
Now that the resonance was back, it meant that the Universe Array had been repaired.
Even though the Array Masters on the Humans’ side could not arrange new Universe Arrays, they could do simple repairs on them. Of course, that was on the premise that the Universe Array was not too damaged to begin with.
Soon, Yang Kai and Bai Yi arrived at where Xu Bo Liang was located and waited outside for a while as they asked someone to pass on the word for them. A while later, someone came to invite them inside.
Yang Kai thanked him and stepped inside with Bai Yi.
At the end of the long table sat a brave and heroic figure with a dignified look on his face. Yang Kai had seen Xu Bo Liang from afar, and though he did not see him too clearly, he could still tell that this face was about a seventy to eighty percent match to the face he saw before. It was Xu Bo Liang, no doubt about it.
Yang Kai quickly cupped his fist, “Dawn’s Yang Kai greets Division Commander Xu!”
Bai Yi also saluted him, “Bai Yi greets Division Commander Xu.”
Xu Bo Liang nodded gently and reached his hand out, and then the two of them were lifted by an invisible force.
He looked at Yang Kai first, then at Bai Yi. The next moment, his brow rose in surprise, “It was you who attacked me that day, right?”
Naturally, he was able to recognize Bai Yi the instant he saw her.
Bai Yi dropped her head, “I was not myself then, please forgive me, Division Commander Xu!”
Xu Bo Liang chuckled, “It doesn’t matter. You were a Black Ink Disciple back then, so it was only natural that you did what you did; however, your archery skills are indeed amazing. I have met many from Divine Feather Paradise, yet there are few who are on par with you. Have you cultivated the Sun Chaser Arrow Heart?”
Bai Yi answered respectfully, “Yes!”
Xu Bo Liang nodded lightly, “I heard that it is extremely difficult to cultivate the Sun Chaser Arrow Heart. Inside Divine Feather Paradise, it is rare to find even one each generation that achieves success with it. For you to have reached this level of mastery in the Seventh Order, you will surely become a great asset when your Order rises in the future!”
Bai Yi was humble, “Division Commander Xu is too polite.”
Yang Kai listened in confusion, but he could guess that the Sun Chaser Arrow Heart must be a type of Secret Technique from Divine Feather Paradise. Just like the Eye Secret Techniques of Myriad Demons Heaven, it was rare to find anyone who could successfully cultivate it.
After a few words of encouragement, Xu Bo Liang turned to Yang Kai, “You are not bad either. Saving a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is no small merit. On that topic, were you also hiding nearby on that day?”
Yang Kai was a little embarrassed, “Please forgive me, Division Commander Xu. I was so determined to capture Junior Sister Bai that I did not help, worrying that I would disturb the grass and alert the snake.”
Xu Bo Liang nodded lightly, “You made the right decision. It’s good that you have your own considerations, but it was also a shame that Zhu Feng was allowed to escape.”
“We were just about to speak to Division Commander about that.” Yang Kai cupped his fist, “After capturing Junior Sister Bai, this Junior received critical intelligence from her and was able to infiltrate Zhu Feng’s hidden nest. While he was trying to recover, we were able to kill him, as well as three of his subordinated Feudal Lords.”
Xu Bo Liang was surprised, “You were able to kill Zhu Feng?”
He had fought with Zhu Feng and knew just how powerful that guy was. Even though Zhu Feng was heavily injured, he was still not an easy target to take down, much less with three of his subordinated Feudal Lords present.
“Yes!”
Xu Bo Liang looked slightly spirited, “How did you kill him? Tell me in detail.”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before starting his account from when he and Bai Yi entered the nest, disguised themselves as Black Ink Disciples to get close to Zhu Feng, and then used Purifying Light to deal a heavy blow to him. Then, Zhu Feng used a Secret Technique to recover his strength while his three subordinated Feudal Lords came forward to buy time for him. The fight ended quickly, and after dealing with the three Feudal Lords, they laid down a flurry of attacks on the Black Ink Nest. As a result, Zhu Feng used some kind of sacrificial Secret Technique to rapidly recover. Yang Kai described their desperate fight at the end in great detail.
Xu Bo Liang’s expression kept on changing as he listened.
Even though Yang Kai and Bai Yi now stood before him unharmed, suggesting that the fight was less risky than it let on, he could almost feel just how perilous it had been. If the two of them were less fortunate that day, they would have died there.
When he heard that Zhu Feng was actually killed by the combined efforts of five Emperor Realm cultivators who beheaded him, Xu Bo Liang also didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
For a Territory Lord like Zhu Feng to die in such a manner was truly sad. Nobody would have expected that Emperor Realm cultivators would actually be able to achieve such a great feat on the Black Ink Battlefield.
However, if all had to be said, then Zhu Feng’s death was not only the result of Yang Kai and Bai Yi’s efforts. It had to also be attributed to his fights with Dawn and Xu Bo Liang.
Yang Kai and Bai Yi knew that they had only picked up a bargain at the end.
“So, the Black Ink Clan can actually use Black Ink Nests to recover rapidly. I have never heard of such a thing before. This is a very important piece of information you’ve brought back. This knowledge may be able to reduce unnecessary casualties on our side in the future.”
They had never encountered such a thing before, mainly because of how precious the Black Ink Nests were for the Black Ink Clan. They were all placed in the depths of the Black Ink Clan’s territory, so no Human had even seen a Black Ink Clan Master use one to recover their injuries like this.
Had it not been for a coincidental opportunity, then Yang Kai and Bai Yi would not have learned of this either. They had also paid a steep price because of their ignorance.
“In any case, the two of you have rendered a great service this time,” Xu Bo Liang looked approvingly at them.
Yang Kai smiled, “Division Commander Xu, if we did a great service, then does that mean we can ask for some benefits, too?”
Xu Bo Liang scolded while laughing at him, “Smelly brat, what sort of benefits do you want? Let’s hear it.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Junior Sister Bai has only just rid herself of her Black Ink Disciple Status. This Junior asks that Division Commander please register her and assign her to my Dawn Squad.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Bo Liang nudged him, “Brat, you’ve got quite the appetite. Already coveting your Junior Sister Bai? Do you have any idea how ordinary Squads are assigned and how your Dawn Squad is allocated? Yet, it’s still not enough for you, I see.”
Yang Kai nodded, “This Junior naturally knows. It would be extremely fortunate for a Squad to even have two Seventh-Order Master assuming command. Many Squads only have a single Seventh-Order Squad Leader while my Dawn has five Seventh-Order Masters. This is indeed a lot more than an ordinary Squad would have.”
Xu Bo Liang was brusque, “It’s good that you know.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “The Military Merits that Dawn has accumulated until now more than justifies this kind of distribution. If we include the merit of killing Zhu Feng, which happened with the combined efforts of this Junior and Junior Sister Bai, then we have far surpassed what should be required.”
Xu Bo Liang nodded, “That is true.”
Seeing that he did not object to what he said, Yang Kai struck while the iron was hot, “Since its inception, Dawn has been a Special Operations Squad. If those in Blue Sky Pass were to be described as a spear, then Dawn would be the tip of its blade, and the sharper the tip, the easier it would be for us to take down our foes. So, the stronger Dawn is, then the more it would benefit Blue Sky Pass. What does Division Commander think?”
“That’s a crooked argument,” Xu Bo Liang snickered again with laughter.
However, after pondering for a moment, he nodded, “En, so be it. Army Commander Zhong Liang also said in the past that you could recruit anyone under the Eighth Order into Dawn. Now that Bai Yi has caught your eye, then let her be included in your Squad.”
Yang Kai hurriedly cupped his fist, “Many thanks, Division Commander Xu.”
Xu Bo Liang turned to Bai Yi, “Bai Yi, I should still ask you for your opinion on this matter. If you are willing to join Dawn, then I will register you under their name; otherwise, you can also go to a different Squad. With your abilities, you are definitely qualified to become a Squad Leader yourself. There is no need to put yourself under this little brat.”
Bai Yi bowed elegantly to him, “This Junior is willing to be at Senior Brother Yang’s disposal.”
“Very well!” Xu Bo Liang nodded lightly and immediately registered Bai Yi, also noting Yang Kai and her military merits.
A short while later, the two of them left Xu Bo Liang’s office and returned to Dawn’s camp.
When they found out that Bai Yi had joined Dawn, everyone was overjoyed. They had not experienced Bai Yi’s strength for themselves, but anyone who could escape repeatedly while being chased by Yang Kai could not be weak. What was more, Bai Yi was also a disciple of Divine Feather Paradise. Her joining Dawn would bring their long-range fighting capabilities to a new level.
They believed that with her archery skills, they would surely have an even easier time when they encountered the Black Ink Clan in the future.
After arranging a place for Bai Yi to stay, she was told to meditate and recover since her injuries had yet to heal; after all, Zhu Feng’s nest was not exactly suited to proper healing.
As Yang Kai was about to return to his own place of rest, Feng Ying came over.
After allowing her inside, the two of them took their seats and Yang Kai asked, “What is it, Martial Aunt?”
Feng Ying hesitated for a moment before speaking, “You are already in the Seventh Order now. You and I are in the same Order, so there’s no need to call me Martial Aunt anymore.”
Yang Kai laughed, “Then what should I call you? Senior Sister?”
Feng Ying nodded, “That will do! You see, you call Bai Yi, Junior Sister Bai, and I also call her Junior Sister Bai, yet you call me Martial Aunt. It’s a bit confusing.”
Yang Kai was silent. He had also noticed this, and it was indeed a mess.
“For us cultivators, age has never been a criterion for how we address one another, our strength is. If you were from a Cave Heaven or Paradise, then that would be fine, but you are not, so there is no need to stick to the rules of seniority.”
“Then we will do as Senior Sister says,” Yang Kai nodded.
Feng Ying smiled, “That’s more like it.”
“Is that why Senior Sister is here?”
Feng Ying shook her head, “No. I have some other business.”
Yang Kai looked serious, “Please speak, Senior Sister.”
Feng Ying explained, “It’s like this, a new area with rich resources has been discovered near the forward base that used to be occupied by the Black Ink Clan; however, our people have the upper hand now and are pushing the battle line there little by little. The Black Ink Clan seems unwilling to give up that area, so they have gathered a lot of forces to hold the line. Most of the people from this forward base have gathered there already, and some days ago, I heard from Division Commander Xu that both the Black Ink Clan and the Humans intend to settle things there. In that case, it would become the final battle here, and if the Humans were to win, then we would fully occupy the resources in that area.”
Yang Kai finally understood, “No wonder we didn’t see any of our people or any Black Ink Clansmen on the way back. So they have all gathered there, have they?”
Feng Ying nodded, “On top of its strategic importance, it’s also a good place to gain merits. It is only natural that the Division Commanders don’t want to miss it. Even if we do get to seize that area, Blue Sky Pass would only be able to mine it for several dozen years at most before we will have to retreat. However, being able to mine for several dozen years is still enough to provide the Inner Sanctum with a great surplus of cultivation resources.”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded, “Has the fight there started already?”
Feng Ying said, “The skirmishes have never stopped, but the real battle has not begun yet. Still, it will not be long till it happens. What the Division Commanders were afraid of were the several Territory Lords standing guard in this area. The number of Territory Lords and their power is similar to that of our Division Commanders, so neither side can gain an advantage over the other. Now that you and Bai Yi have killed Zhu Feng though, the Black Ink Clan has one less Territory Lord. The Division Commanders will definitely seize this opportunity to deal a serious blow to the Black Ink Clan.”
Yang Kai raised a brow, “What is Dawning Light’s current status?”
Feng Ying told him, “I just went to check. Repairs will require seven or eight more days to fully complete.”
“Seven or eight days…” Yang Kai muttered, “Then we shall wait. During our last battle, Bai Yi and I also used up a lot of our strength. We are in need of time to recover.”
Feng Ying nodded, “Good.”
After sending Feng Ying away, Yang Kai immediately went into retreat to restore his energy. He took a large number of Open Heaven Pills and a set of Sixth-Order materials and began refining them, seeking to quickly restore the heritage of his Small Universe.
He was now in the Seventh-Order, so naturally, the fastest way to recover was to refine Seventh-Order materials; however, Seventh-Order materials were ten times more precious compared to Sixth-Order materials, and with the aid of Open Heaven Pills, Sixth-Order materials were sufficient.
Moreover, the many living beings he was rearing in his Small Universe were constantly providing him with more World Force.
Yang Kai had a lot of resources on hand, but any amount of resources was not easy to come by in this Black Ink Battlefield, so he had to use them sparingly.
After a few days, Yang Kai pushed open the door to his room, feeling refreshed.
Inside Dawn’s camp, Dawning Light hovered quietly in mid-air as Feng Ying led the Squad up and down the deck, examining its condition. When she saw Yang Kai’s reappearance, Feng Ying peered out of the deck and waved at him.
Yang Kai flew over and looked around, “How is it?”
Feng Ying nodded, “All the damaged arrays have been repaired and the Squad has just about recovered. We are ready to sortie.”
Yang Kai nodded and looked down towards Bai Yi’s room. Seeing the door closed, he said, “Call Bai Yi. She can continue restoring herself on the way. I will go and inform Division Commander Xu of our departure.”
Saying so, he sped off towards where Xu Bo Liang was.
A few moments later, he saw Xu Bo Liang and informed him of his plans.
Xu Bo Liang naturally had no intention of stopping him. It could even be said that he wanted Dawn to participate in the final fight there to begin with, it was just that he knew that Dawning Light was in repairs all this while, so he decided to wait for the repairs to complete before calling Yang Kai over and sending him off with the task. Now that Yang Kai had come to him himself with such intentions, naturally, he could ask for nothing better.
“Reports coming in from that side say that there are a lot of Black Ink Clansmen gathered there, at least 20,000 of them. For the Black Ink Clan, it’s enough to make up an entire Army. Even though there are definitely going to be a lot of High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, one still cannot take the situation too lightly.”
Yang Kai nodded earnestly and asked, “How many people are there on our side?”
“Less than 2,000!” Xu Bo Liang gave a concise answer.
2,000 versus 20,000, that was ten times the difference. These numbers could not be compared at all; however, Yang Kai knew that it was impossible for the Humans to deploy any more troops than this.
In the entirety of Men Xie Royal Lord’s territory, the Humans occupied four resource harvesting areas. If they had to assign 2,000 men in each of these areas, then four areas would require 8,000 soldiers combined. That was an entire Army from Blue Sky Pass.
Naturally, Blue Sky Pass could not send out so many clansmen to capture the resource-harvesting areas as they still needed to retain most of their strength around the Great Pass itself in case something went wrong.
However, all 2,000 of the Humans here were in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and above, and they could depend on the might of their Warships to further boost their strength. On the other hand, nobody could say how many of the weak Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen there were mixed into the Black Ink Clan’s 20,000-strong army.
So, despite the disparity in numbers, it was difficult to say which side would win in this battle. The only way to know was to fight.
“Dawn is strong, so if you perform well, you can play a decisive role on a battlefield like this; however, I have one order for you.”
Yang Kai said with a serious face, “Please speak, Division Commander Xu!”
“You are not allowed to use Purifying Light on the battlefield!”
Yang Kai nodded, “I understand.”
On a battlefield of such scale, it was impossible to slaughter every last Black Ink Clansman. If he were to use Purifying Light, then it would surely alert the Black Ink Clan. When that time came, there was a high chance that his existence would be exposed.
After a short hesitation, Yang Kai added, “What if there are people that need to be treated?”
Xu Bo Liang said, “We have the Purifying Black Ink Battleship at the forward base, and everyone has already left behind their Imprint. If they cannot hold on, then they can return here by using the Universe Transference Law.”
After bidding farewell to Xu Bo Liang, Yang Kai returned to Dawn’s camp where the Squad had already finished assembling. Bai Yi had also joined them.
On the deck stood the Squad’s 36 soldiers lined up in three lines and ready to go.
Yang Kai looked over at them for a while before waving his hand, “Depart.”
The members in charge of the Arrays immediately spread out and took their posts. A short while later, Dawning Light turned into a stream of light that took to the skies and left in a flash.
The final battlefield was a zone with rich resources, and also the last line of defence for the Black Ink Clan before their established territory. If this final line of defence was broken, then the Humans would be able to occupy this resource-harvesting area for the next several dozen years and mine in peace. Perhaps there would be some occasional harassment from the Black Ink Clan, but the regular patrol Squads could keep such interference at bay.
The two clans had been fighting each other for countless years, so they were already used to such situations.
The location of the final decisive battle was taking place a two or three days’ journey away from the forward base. During this time, other than the ones taking turns controlling Dawning Light’s speed and direction, everyone else was resting and preparing.
Yang Kai stood alone on the deck, keeping a lookout.
Two days later, before Dawning Light had even reached their destination, Yang Kai could already see the lights shining brightly ahead of them in the void. Even from such a great distance, occasional energy fluctuations could be felt coming from there.
[Have they already begun fighting?] Yang Kai’s face turned cold and he hurriedly sounded the alarm.
The cabin door opened and one by one, figures emerged onto the deck like a school of fish, gazing out at the war that was going on in full swing up ahead.
The decisive battle had indeed begun, but as they grew closer to it, Yang Kai realised that it must not have been long since the fight began, because the Black Ink Clan’s Army was still in formation and there were not many casualties.
It seemed like hostilities had broken out about an hour ago.
It could be said that Dawning Light had arrived just in time.
Looking over, they could see Human Warships shuttling through the large battlefield, unleashing powerful bursts of bright light towards the Black Ink Clan’s lines. These were clearly the abilities of the offensive arrays installed on the Warships.
Rarely would a cultivator leave the shelter of a Warship. Only the Seventh-Order Masters who were confident in their abilities would choose to fight exposed; after all, this was not Blue Sky Pass. In the last great battle that happened between the two clans, even if the Humans were to be corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they could quickly retreat to the Inner Sanctum or use the Purifying Light sealed within the Purifying Black Ink Battleships in order to dispel the encroaching Black Ink Strength.
Right now, there were no Purifying Black Ink Battleships here. If they really were invaded by Black Ink Strength, they would have no choice but to return to the forward base using the Universe Transference Law and then travel at least two or three days to return. The battle might even be over after such a period of time.
What was more, the fight had only just begun, so the Humans were trying to preserve their strength as much as possible, capitalizing on the advantage their Warships gave them to kill their enemies.
Opposite the Human battlefront, the tide of Black Ink Clansmen was blasting away at the Warships, causing the defensive arrays to flicker as they were hit.
The Warships of some of the less fortunate Squads had even lost the ability to continue fighting and had no choice but to retreat towards the forward base.
Dawning Light sped over, and as soon as they entered the battlefield, Yang Kai could feel several powerful Divine Senses enveloping them, facing off against each other from a distance. These Divine Senses clearly belonged to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Humans and the Territory Lords.
It was exactly because of the presence of the Eighth-Order Masters that the Territory Lords were deterred from intervening in the battle, and this was also true for the Humans. The ones at the top were all suppressing each other, so the victor of this fight could only be decided by those below the Eighth Order on both sides.
Yang Kai, who was standing on the deck, swept his eyes around and saw a weak point in the Human lines. The Black Ink Clan were attacking that point with such ferocity that even with a dozen Warships supporting each other, they were still in a shaky situation. The defensive array on one of those ships was even starting to fade. It was clear that it could not hold out much longer.
Yang Kai pointed in that direction, “Adjust our course!”
Dawning Light immediately turned and headed in that direction, and within a dozen breaths, it entered the fray.
As soon as they saw reinforcements appear, the Humans were overjoyed. Even though it was just a single Squad-level Warship like theirs, any help would be greatly appreciated at this moment. Perhaps the addition of another Squad would help them resist the Black Ink Clan’s offensive.
On the bow of one of the ships stood a bearded man with two large swords in each hand, looking mighty and imposing. He beckoned his Vice Squad Leader, “Go and greet them and have them coordinate with our movements.”
His Vice Squad Leader was a beautiful woman, and just as she was about to send a message, she saw Dawning Light sweeping past the defensive line formed by the dozen ships and charge straight into the Black Ink Clan Army.
The beautiful woman was dumbfounded, and the bearded man was jumping in rage as he scolded, “Where did this Squad come from? Are they courting death!?”
The combined power of a dozen Squads could barely stop the advance of the Black Ink Clan Army, but this Squad suddenly rushed straight into enemy lines, so how could they possibly survive? They were likely going to be turned into dust by the Black Ink Clan, then even their Squad members would be left without a corpse.
Though he was cursing, he was inwardly feeling pained by this situation. Those were the lives of a dozen Open Heaven Realm Masters. He had no idea which bastard of a Squad Leader was leading them, but if that bastard wanted to court death, he shouldn’t have dragged his entire Squad down with him.
As soon as those words left his mouth though, the bearded man looked shocked as a ripple suddenly formed around the new Squad’s ship and its image distorted greatly. In an instant, a Warship which was over twice as large as an ordinary Squad-level Warship took its place.
The Warship was almost as large as a Battalion-level Warship!
“Dawn!” The bearded man snapped to his senses. Dawn was the only Squad which possessed a Warship wish such features in Blue Sky Pass, and he had also seen Dawning Light in repairs back at the forward base with his own eyes. He deeply coveted the capabilities of this unique Warship.
The beautiful Vice Squad Leader asked curiously, “Are they Dawn?”
The bearded man nodded heavily, “No doubt about it!” With a sudden jolt, he called out, “Quickly, follow them! This is our chance to break the Black Ink Clan’s lines!”
The Vice Squad Leader was a little hesitant, but she still quickly passed the order down, and the Squad’s ship immediately followed after Dawning Light.
At the same time, the dozen or so other Squads who were struggling to maintain their positions made the same choice. All of them turned towards the Black Ink Clan and prepared to meet them in battle.
When Dawning Light swept in, the Black Ink Clan did not think much of it. It was just the arrival of another Human Squad after all. The Humans were completely overwhelmed in terms of numbers and were powerless to resist. However, when the Illusion Array on Dawning Light was lifted and revealed its true face, a commotion built up at the Black Ink Clan’s side.
Dawning Light had recently become famous among the Humans, and it was just as well-known among the Black Ink Clan. Many of the Black Ink Clansmen knew of the existence of this special Human Squad whose Warship and configuration of members were vastly superior to others on the battlefield.
It was unknown just how many Black Ink Clansmen had suffered losses at the hands of this special Squad, and many of their groups had even been completely wiped out by them.
In a battlefield where one’s life was on the line, one’s prestige could often be a powerful deterrent.
An overwhelming barrage of attacks rained down on Dawning Light, trying to halt its advance. A dazzling protective glow sparked up around Dawning Light like a beacon of light, dispelling the darkness and tearing a gaping hole straight through the Black Ink Clan Army.
In the next instant, Dawning Light rumbled and shook again and again as its offensive arrays were activated by the many Fifth and Sixth-Order Squad members on board. Sword waves like white silk, huge spear shadows, and light beams that were strong enough to swallow everything in their path, all of these were blasted towards the densest gatherings of Black Ink Clansmen.
Violent energies swept forth, killing or maiming the Black Ink Clansmen wherever they passed.
Each attack unleashed from the offensive arrays was comparable to the full-powered strike of a Seventh-Order Master, and the area of attack was also extremely wide. Any Low-Rank Black Ink Clanman touched by these attacks would be killed, while the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen would find it hard to resist.
That was the power of the Humans’ Warships. With the help of powerful arrays and the combined strength of several Fifth and Sixth-Order Masters, they were able to unleash power equivalent to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. And, as long as the Warship they were on was not damaged, they did not have to worry about being corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
With just one salvo, Dawning Light demonstrated power that greatly surpassed ordinary Squad-level Warships. Before the Black Ink Clansmen that survived could even catch their breaths, another dozen Squads sailed over on their ships, following closely behind Dawning Light while different coloured lights blossomed from each of them.
Naturally, the offensive arrays on these large ships were not as rich and varied as those on Dawning Light; after all, their numbers were incomparable to Dawn, so even if they had more arrays installed, there would be no one to power them, which would just be a waste; however, they had the advantage in numbers. Even if each ship carried just two offensive arrays, with a dozen or so ships it would mean almost 30 attacks.
These were the attacks comparable to 30 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters striking at full power.
More of the Black Ink Clan who had yet to catch their breaths were felled, and many of their Feudal Lords were also severely injured by this wave of attacks.
A hole immediately appeared in the Black Ink Clan’s Army that kept on growing in size. Everywhere that Dawning Light went, a clear path was cut into the Black Ink Clan’s defence line like a hot knife through butter.
“Squad Leader, the defensive array team won’t be able to hold up any longer,” Feng Ying suddenly warned.
It was thrilling for Dawning Light to charge into the fight like this, but the defensive needs of such a manoeuvre were too high. Though the defensive array was not damaged, the Squad members in charge of powering it were expending too much energy. They had to maintain the protective shield at all times; otherwise, Dawning Light would be damaged if it were hit directly.
In less than a few dozen breaths, the Squad members in rotation were all pale-faced.
Even without Feng Ying’s warning, Yang Kai had also noticed this as the protective barrier around Dawning Light had dimmed a lot. It was indeed true that they could not hold on for long.
“Swap with me!” Yang Kai appeared at one of the defensive arrays as he spoke and sat cross-legged, taking a deep breath before pouring the energy from his Small Universe into it.
In the next instant, the shield, which had been on the verge of collapse, glowed brightly again, instantly exploding dazzlingly like a rising sun.
Shen Ao and the others were astonished.
The strength of a defensive array was proportional to the depth of heritage of the one presiding over it.
At each defensive array was a defensive artifact acting as the Array Core, and all the one presiding over the array had to do was pour their energy into it and the array would activate, creating a defensive shield.
Normally, each defensive array would require the combined efforts of at least three members to operate; after all, the cultivation of these members were either at the Fifth-Order or the Sixth-Order.
This was the only way they could ensure that their defences remained sturdy.
Now, Yang Kai’s power alone fueled the arrays to greater heights than before. The attacks that came from all directions barely made a ripple on the light barrier before dispersing without a trace.
One could see just how rich Yang Kai’s heritage was from this.
The various arrays laid out on Dawning Light were the most advanced that Blue Sky Pass could produce.
Usually, if the defensive arrays could bring out 70% of their power under the combined efforts of several Squad members, then with Yang Kai personally powering the array, 100% of its effect burst out all at once.
In terms of its protective power, it was naturally different from before. The difference of 30% almost doubled the shield’s strength.
Feng Ying had originally been worried that Dawning Light would not be able to hold on for long, but when she saw the attacks causing only a ripple as they hit the light barrier before becoming completely useless, she swiftly shouted, “Charge through!”
Hearing this, the Squad member in charge of steering the ship manoeuvred Dawning Light so that it could crash straight through the Black Ink Clan Army, moving in whichever direction had the most enemies.
In an instant, Dawning Light cut a swath of destruction wherever it passed. The Black Ink Clansmen who were unable to dodge in time had all their bones shattered when they were hit by the large Warship, while those who reacted quickly enough to dodge were still annihilated by the glowing lights coming from the offensive arrays.
The other dozen or so Warships were following closely behind Dawning Light, and a barrage of powerful attacks was fired from them in all directions.
A deep gash soon appeared in the Black Ink Clan’s line of defence.
Once Dawning Light reached the other end of the enemy army, it quickly turned around and crashed back into it again. With Dawn taking point, the dozen other Squad-level Warships spread out like wings that proceeded into another deadly charge.
After three or four such sweeps, the Black Ink Clan’s troops on the defence line were all either killed or injured, completely collapsing, no longer able to maintain an effective formation.
On the Warship where the bearded man was, the beautiful Vice Squad Leader muttered in awe, “Dawning Light is so powerful!”
The bearded man licked his lips and chuckled, “You have no idea, the arrays on the Dawning Light are all top of the line. The Array Cores are also the top of the top, whether it be the offensive or the defensive artifacts; otherwise, how could they be this powerful? Heh, there even seems to be a Universe Array aboard Dawning Light as well as a stock of Purifying Light.”
The beautiful woman knitted her brow and grumbled, “Aren’t the Army Commanders a bit too biased? What, was Dawn born from the real mother and we were raised by the stepmother?”
The bearded man raised his hand and smacked her on the head, “Don’t talk nonsense!”
The beautiful woman covered her head, aggrieved.
The bearded man told her, “The Army Commanders are in charge of the four Army regiments, and all the soldiers under their command are their lifeblood. They won’t do something like play favourites. All the modifications on Dawning Light were commissioned for Military Merits.”
The beautiful woman was astonished, “How many Military Merits would that cost?”
The bearded man was a little deflated, “I quietly asked the Junior Brother at the Merit Hall last time, and he told me that the Military Merits that Dawn Squad’s Leader obtained on the last battle was…” He casually named a figure before continuing, “After commissioning Dawning Light’s construction, all those Military Merits were spent, and that was just his own. Senior Sister Feng Ying’s Military Merits were also basically exhausted as well.”
The beautiful woman looked even more shocked, “They really are generous, spending so many of their Military Merits on Dawning Light.”
The bearded man grinned, “You have to admire their boldness, but Dawning Light has now become an extraordinary weapon. After this battle, they may not be able to earn back all the Military Merits that they spent, but 30 or 40% shouldn’t be a problem. If they just fight a few more battles like this, then they would definitely be able to earn everything back and more.”
The beautiful woman pouted, “If we had as many Military Merits, then we could do the same.”
“But we don’t!” The bearded man guffawed, “So, we should follow Dawning Light. They eat the meat, but for us to have a share of some of the soup is still very good!”
Then, the bearded man’s face suddenly turned solemn, “The Black Ink Clan’s line of defence has been broken, so we’ll soon be facing their main force head-on. Remember, if you get corrupted by Black Ink Strength, head for Dawning Light, they have Purifying Light!”
The beautiful woman nodded heavily, “I understand!”
“Open the array!” The bearded man shouted. Then, he raised his hand, summoning his large wolf fang mace, a horrible-looking club that was covered in spikes.
A gap was opened in the ship’s shield and both the bearded man and his beautiful subordinate rushed out at once, charging straight for the Black Ink Clan. The wolf fang mace swung down hard and the few Black Ink Clansmen who were unable to dodge it were smashed into a mist of blood at once.
The bearded man laughed heartily, “Hahaha! Black Ink Clan brats, come and have a taste of your Grandfather’s big rod!”
The beautiful woman glared at him in disgust. One after another black flowers bloomed from the tip of her sword as she stabbed towards the Black Ink Clansmen who were fleeing in front of her. As the sword flowers faded, the Black Ink Clansman fell to pieces.
The ship they were from followed closely behind them while the offensive arrays continued unleashing their power. Clearly, this Squad had been together for a long time, allowing the two Seventh-Order Masters and the ship to work in perfect harmony.
This was not the only ship that was doing so; the rest of the dozen ships were also the same. Each one of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters aboard them had personally come out to join the battle, fighting around their Warships. This way of fighting was undoubtedly safer. Even if they were to encounter a strong enemy, they would still have the chance to return to their Warships so that they could recover; however, the number of Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in each of these Squads was not high. There were basically only two on each ship.
On the other hand, Dawning Light, which was leading the pack, had five Seventh-Order Masters rush out at once. Whether it was Yang Kai or Feng Ying, once they attacked, even Feudal Lords would find it hard to defend themselves.
On the deck of Dawning Light, there was even a small figure standing at the bow while a small gap had been opened up in the barrier in front of her. The figure was holding a powerful bow with its string pulled taut, a golden light at her fingertips.
With a whizz, a bolt of golden light flashed, and every time it did, a Feudal Lord would either be severely injured or would be felled directly.
Bai Yi, who came from Divine Feather Paradise and cultivated the Sun Chaser Arrow Heart, had achieved the eighth level of Mastery in the Archery Dao, so every arrow released from her fingertips was all but unstoppable.
With Dawning Light at the centre, any Feudal Lord who caught her eye within a 100-kilometre radius would either take a severe hit from her or be taken out entirely. There was no third possibility.
The power of such an archer on such a battlefield was simply too great.
Moreover, she never focused on any Black Ink Clansmen below the Feudal Lords, only those above them.
Originally, the Black Ink Clan had a huge advantage in this particular line of defence, pinning down a dozen Human Squads and forcing them back slowly. However, after Dawn’s arrival, the tide was instantly turned. Not only did the Humans gain the ability to fight back, they had successfully thrown the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers into chaos.
In the midst of the intense battle, a bloodied Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master suddenly rushed towards Dawning Light, a flash of unnatural Black Qi lingering about his pale face.
This Seventh-Order Human had obviously been invaded by Black Ink Strength.
Bai Yi immediately pointed her arrow at him and the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was instantly frozen in place, not daring to move.
Fortunately, Bai Yi quickly realized the situation and stepped aside, shouting, “Get in, quickly!”
The Seventh-Order Master cupped his fist, “Thanks are not enough for this kindness.”
In a flash, he dashed through the gap in the protective barrier and entered Dawning Light. At once, a member of Dawn came to lead him to a Space Array on the deck.
As a light flashed, the Seventh-Order Master’s figure disappeared.
A few moments later, the light reappeared, and the man reemerged on the Space Array. Even though he was still looking a little tired, the Black Ink Strength covering his face had disappeared.
The bearded man was not the only one who knew that there was Purifying Light sealed aboard Dawning Light. Previously, while Dawning Light was undergoing repairs at the forward base, the Seventh-Order Squad Leaders had basically all come over to see it, and all of them were in great admiration of its capabilities.
However, this was a Warship that Yang Kai and Feng Ying spent an enormous amount of Military Merits to modify so no one else could emulate it no matter how much they envied it.
It was not that Inner Sanctum was unwilling to do this for others, only that the cost of such a customization was so high that Blue Sky Pass was unable to bear it for every Squad, so they could only use Military Merits as a stopgap measure. What was more, the average Squad’s makeup was also lacking quite a bit when compared to Dawn, so they did not require this level of modification. To put it mildly, even if Dawning Light were given to another Squad, it would be difficult for them to even operate it properly.
Anyone who had visited Dawning Light naturally knew that there was Purifying Light sealed on it.
Now, if anyone were to be corrupted by Black Ink Strength on this battlefield, their best choice was to seek help from Dawning Light; otherwise, they would have to head back to the forward base using the Universe Transference Law.
The Seventh-Order Master cupped his fist again in thanks before rushing out of Dawning Light, going back to slaughtering more enemies.
On the battlefield, even the slightest mishap could trigger a chain reaction of changes.
Here, Black Ink Clan’s defensive line had collapsed with Dawn’s entrance, and this collapse was now rapidly spreading throughout the battlefield.
It had been less than an hour since Dawn entered the fray, but almost all of the Black Ink Clansmen on this defensive line had been annihilated. Those who were still alive were either fleeing or had fled long ago.
Yang Kai did not stop there though, leading the Seventh-Order Masters and Dawning Light under him towards the nearest Black Ink Clan Army.
A dozen Warships followed in their wake.
With Dawning Light at the front, the dozen Warships quickly plunged into the Black Ink Clan’s Army like a sharp blade.
Immediately, another commotion broke out.
In the void above the battlefield, powerful Divine Senses were confronting each other from a distance.
The defeat of the Black Ink Clan Army had angered several Territory Lords. Even though they were in confrontation with the Eighth-Order Humans, they were still paying attention to the battle below.
Undoubtedly, they were disappointed by the performance of their subordinates.
One of the Territory Lords had his gaze fixed on Dawning Light. Murderous intent was surging and he had a mind to completely ignore everything else, enter the battle, and blast that Warship to pieces.
He saw everything clearly. The Black Ink Clan had a slight advantage over the Humans before, but after this Warship appeared on the battlefield, the situation began to spiral out of control.
This Warship was definitely the Humans’ sharpest weapon. If he could slaughter its members, it would be a huge loss for the enemy.
However, as soon as this thought surfaced in his mind, he was caught by the Eighth-Order Masters hiding in the void, and a warning rang out in his ears, “Why don’t you try and see what happens?”
At the sound of the voice, the Territory Lord could finally be sure which Eighth-Order Master it was that had his eyes on him and coldly snorted, “Cha Hu!”