Yang Kai had opened Void World and brought him to the Black Ink Battlefield as Miao Fei Ping’s aptitude was enough to advance to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm directly. Although there were many Emperor Realm Masters in Void World, according to what he knew, there was not a single one who could refine Sixth-Order material except him. There were a few who could refine Fifth-Order materials, but they had obviously not met Yang Kai’s requirements.
As such, they would probably never be able to leave Void World.
Only the disciples chosen by the Void Dao Temple would be able to leave Void World in the future and advance to the Open Heaven Realm because all of them had outstanding aptitudes. The Order of the Open Heaven Realm they could reach would definitely be higher, so most of them should be able to meet Yang Kai’s requirements.
Miao Fei Ping’s strength had greatly increased after entering the Open Heaven Realm; also, he had suddenly arrived at an unfamiliar and dangerous place like the Black Ink Battlefield. He had many things he needed to learn, but the most important thing right now was to stabilize his cultivation.
After parting ways with Yang Kai, he returned to his new residence and began refining resources.
Recently, the Black Ink Clan was a little restless. It had been almost a century since the last war between the two Races concluded in the Blue Sky Theatre. The Black Ink Clan had recovered its strength after so many years, so they were obviously looking to start another war.
The Black Ink Clan was not afraid of their loss in strength, but the lives of every Human were extremely precious. So, the Black Ink Clan had been employing the strategy of sending an Army to besiege the Great Passes as long as they had the strength to fight for countless years. Nonetheless, they failed to conquer it after so many attempts.
The Human Race might not have many soldiers, but each and every one of them was an elite. They were able to rout the Black Ink Clan every single time, relying on their Warships and the unique advantages of the Great Pass.
After countless cycles of offence and defence, countless millennia had gone by.
Now that the war was about to begin again, Blue Sky Pass was preparing. Blue Sky Pass was bustling with the activities of the Open Heaven Realm Masters. All those who were in retreat all year round were undoubtedly preparing for war.
Blue Sky Pass had no clue where and when the Black Ink Clan army would strike, and it had always been like this.
Mostly, the initiative of the war was in the hands of the Black Ink Clan while the Human Race could only passively defend.
Of course, there were times when the Humans also attacked. For instance, the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass attacked the Black Ink Clan’s territory last time under the leadership of their Old Ancestor, which resulted in the Black Ink Clan’s retaliation, and a war breaking out. If it weren’t for that war, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to escape the Black Ink Clan so easily and arrive at Blue Sky Pass.
Another example was the recent battle at Yin-Yang Pass, where the Humans were the first to attack, but that was mainly to coordinate with Yang Kai’s actions.
Most of the time, the Human Race’s situation was quite passive.
Although they were forced into a passive position, Blue Sky Pass was still trying to gain the upper hand. At the very least, they needed to understand the timing and direction of the Black Ink Clan’s attack.
One Squad after another was sent out to serve as scouts to investigate the movements of the Black Ink Clan army and obtain intelligence on them.
In the past, Blue Sky Pass had also taken similar measures, but the scope of the scouting parties’ movements were limited because they didn’t have the Universe Arrays as a safeguard. By the time they discovered something, the Black Ink Clan Army would usually only be a day or two away from Blue Sky Pass.
If the scouts were slow, they would be at risk of being wiped out.
But now, things were different, owing to the existence of the Universe Arrays. The Scouts were able to move more freely, and their safety was guaranteed.
The effective range of the Universe Array became the range of the scouts’ movements. This way, they would be able to predict the enemy’s movements and make early preparations.
As a Special Operations Squad, Dawn had many members and elites, so it was naturally the most suitable for such a mission.
A year after Miao Fei Ping broke through to the Open Heaven Realm, he received Yang Kai’s summon and promptly came out to report.
The over 30 members of Dawn Squad were assembled together. Out of these, six were Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, including Yang Kai, Feng Ying, and Bai Yi.
Such a lineup was exemplary, even considering the entire Black Ink Battlefield.
Under everyone’s attention, Yang Kai spoke, “It’s been almost a century since the last war. The Black Ink Clan is making a comeback. Dawn has received orders from the Army Commander to temporarily act as a scout and keep an eye on the Black Ink Clan’s movements. We won’t engage the Black Ink Clan army this time, we’re only responsible for collecting intelligence. Nonetheless, the battlefield is full of dangers and uncertainty, so I hope everyone will remain vigilant. I expect every one of us who sorties to return alive!”
Everyone nodded.
With everyone’s morale raised high, Yang Kai nodded slightly, signalling to Feng Ying. Feng Ying stepped forward and handed out a jade bottle to each Squad member.
While she was distributing the pills, Yang Kai explained, “These are Purifying Black Ink Pills that were developed a few years ago. I believe I don’t need to explain much about the effects of these pills, everyone knows that if you are accidentally invaded by Black Ink Strength, you must take this pill as soon as possible to ensure your safety. Of course, you can also use the Universe Transference Law to return to Dawning Light. The Purifying Light can also disperse Black Ink Strength, but we can’t always account for sudden accidents. If you are unable to activate the Universe Transference Law in time and become invaded by Black Ink Strength, this Purifying Black Ink Pill can be used to save your life. Although the materials to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills aren’t particularly rare, there aren’t many Alchemists inside the Pass who can refine this pill, so the supply is limited. Each of you will receive two pills, and each one of them is extremely rare and precious.”
While Yang Kai was explaining, many members were examining the jade bottles in their hands.
They had naturally heard of the Purifying Black Ink Pill before. When it was first developed, it had caused quite a stir in Blue Sky Pass.
The corruption of Black Ink Strength had always been a thorn in the Human Race’s side that could never be removed before Yang Kai came to Blue Sky Pass. Yang Kai’s appearance had brought the Purifying Light that could dispel Black Ink Strength, which had played a huge role in the last war against the Black Ink Clan, greatly reducing the Human Race’s casualties.
Be that as it may, the Purifying Light was sealed inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, so it was necessary to use the Universe Transference Law to return to the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to be treated. Because of the importance of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, they were usually placed inside the Pass or in the rear of the battlefield.
As such, once one used the Universe Transference Law to return to a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, they would need to travel a great distance to return to the battlefield. Furthermore, when they used the Universe Transference Law, they couldn’t be disturbed for several breaths.
But the Purifying Black Ink Pill was different. They could take the pill even if they were locked in battle against a Black Ink Clansman; thus, they would not need to disengage and find a safe spot or rush back to the battlefield after they were treated.
It could be said that the Purifying Black Ink Pill and Purifying Light both had their own pros and cons. With the combination of both though, the problem of the Black Ink Strength corruption had been almost completely solved, allowing the Humans to relax and fight against the Black Ink Clan without restraint.
After ensuring that every member of the Squad was given their Purifying Black Ink Pills, Yang Kai raised his hand and ordered, “Move out.”
Ordering so, he took the lead and flew out, closely followed by the rest.
When Yang Kai led his Squad to the west gate of Blue Sky Pass, hundreds of other Open Heaven Realm Masters were already gathered here in groups of ten or so. Clearly, all of them were members of Squads.
Seeing Yang Kai’s arrival, many people came up to greet him. These people had either received Yang Kai’s life-saving grace or had heard of him. Yang Kai naturally responded and greeted them one by one.
There were also some arrogant fellows who nitpicked at them from afar, but none of them came forward. The main reason was that Dawn Squad was too eye-catching. Compared to the dozen or so members of their Squad, Dawn had over thirty people, six of whom were Seventh-Order Masters.
Other Squads only had three Seventh-Order Masters at most. Dawn Squad’s lineup made many Squad Leaders drool.
A moment later, a figure descended from the sky. It was none other than the Western Army Commander, Zhong Liang!
Zhong Liang’s dignified gaze swept over them before he spoke, “The mission this time is to gather intelligence. If you are outnumbered or think you can’t defeat the enemy, avoid engaging the Black Ink Clan.”
Suddenly, one of the Squad Leaders grinned and asked, “What if we can?”
Zhong Liang glared at him, obviously blaming him for speaking out of turn, but he still responded, “If you can wipe them out, you should naturally thrash those bastards.”
Everyone immediately burst into laughter, dispelling the tense atmosphere before the expedition.
Zhong Liang continued, “The Black Ink Clan also has scouts, so be careful and avoid them. If you find any traces of the Black Ink Clan army, report back immediately!” After he was finished speaking, he raised his hand and shouted, “Open the gates!”
At the west gate Spirit Array barrier, the Array Masters changed their hand seals and opened a gap.
A solemn expression took over Zhong Liang’s face as he cupped his fist and shouted, “This Zhong wishes all of you a prosperous Martial Dao and a triumphant return!”
Hundreds of soldiers cupped their fists in return before rushing out of the exit under the leadership of their Squad Leaders, painting a spectacular scene.
Outside the pass, the Squad Leaders summoned their Warships one after another before their respective Squads boarded them. After everyone had boarded, the Warships left streaks of dazzling light as they scattered in all directions.
On the Dawn Squad’s side, Feng Ying had also taken out Dawning Light. The Squad members skillfully boarded the Warship and took to their respective positions.
Yang Kai, gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar Dawning Light, couldn’t help but furrow his brow and ask, “Senior Sister, did you spend your Military Merits to modify Dawning Light again?”
The last time Yang Kai had gone to Yin-Yang Pass for a mission, so he had handed Dawning Light over to Feng Ying for safekeeping. By the looks of it, Dawning Light had undergone a lot of modifications and had become even more powerful.
Especially the spear artifact at the front section of Dawning Light. It was incomparably large and radiating an extraordinary aura. At a glance, it was quite obvious that it was the work of some Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster.
If this thing was activated with the power of the Array, its might would definitely be quite fearsome. It could even pose a threat to a Black Ink Clan Territory Lord. If it was powered by the Seventh-Order Masters of Dawn, they might even be able to put up a fight against a Territory Lord.
Feng Ying agreed with a nod, “That’s right, only a stronger Dawning Light can ensure the safety of its Squad members. The upgrades are worth their price.”
Yang Kai helplessly sighed, “You’re about to break through to the Eighth Order, so you should at least leave some Military Merits to exchange for cultivation resources. I also heard that you could use the Military Merits to exchange for some pointers and insights from the Eighth-Order Division Commanders. Senior Sister, you should be a little more selfish.”
Feng Ying smiled and waved her hand, “I’ve made my preparations already, you don’t need to worry about me breaking through to the Eighth Order. Besides, the Military Merits spent on modifying Dawning Light were yours. In any case, you have a lot of Military Merits.”
Yang Kai rolled his eyes at her as he laughed, “Fine, fine.”
After the two boarded the ship, the Open Heaven Realm Masters responsible for controlling Dawning Light poured their energy into the Spirit Array. The next moment, the Warship shot out into the void, leaving behind a dazzling streak of light.
Dawning Light eventually stopped in their designated area. This place was already quite far from Blue Sky Pass and even a Seventh-Order Master like Yang Kai would take about 10 days to return if he flew alone.
This place was basically the limit of Blue Sky Pass’s Universe Array’s range. This distance was extremely suitable for scouting. If they discovered the Black Ink Clan army, they could instantly return to Blue Sky Pass, allowing the Humans time to make preparations. Even if they encountered any danger, they would still have a chance to use the Universe Transference Law to escape. It could be said that they could safely fight or retreat from this location.
Yang Kai landed Dawning Light on a universe fragment before ordering his Squad members who were proficient in Spirit Arrays to set up some Concealment and Defensive Arrays.
This way, even if the Black Ink Clan were to pass by, as long as they didn’t carefully investigate, they would likely miss them. This place was now the temporary headquarters of Dawn Squad.
This arrangement could be considered perfect. They could secretly hide here and monitor the movements of the surrounding forces.
In fact, this mission wasn’t too dangerous. All they needed to do was investigate the movements of the Black Ink Clan Army.
Be that as it may, Dawn was different from the other Squads. Not only was the arrangement of its members luxurious, but Dawning Light was also special.
Dawning Light also had the Universe Array personally arranged by Yang Kai, as well as some Purifying Light sealed within its hull. Strictly speaking, Dawning Light was equivalent to a smaller-scale Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Dawning Light provided Dawn with a far greater degree of mobility and freedom. It exponentially increased their range of activity. Other Squads simply could not match this.
After completing some basic arrangements, Yang Kai handed down a series of orders, having the Seventh-Order Masters in the Squad lead two or three Sixth-Order members further in different directions. This way, if the Black Ink Clan army were to mobilize in this region, they would be able to discover them sooner.
No one had any objections, so the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters each chose two or three aids and dispersed.
Dawning Light’s side still needed someone to stand guard, someone powerful, so Bai Yi was left in charge. With someone as strong as Bai Yi assuming command, along with the other Dawn Squad members and Dawning Light itself, so long as they did not encounter a large number of powerful Black Ink Clansmen, dealing with them would not be a problem.
Yang Kai himself then led Miao Fei Ping and ventured in a certain direction.
As his main objective was scouting, Yang Kai didn’t choose to just rush ahead as fast as he could. If he did that, he would just be painting a target on his back. Only by flying at a moderate pace could he conceal his presence.
There were only two inconspicuous figures in this vast void, so if one didn’t carefully search for them, they wouldn’t be noticed.
“Are you nervous?” Yang Kai looked at Miao Fei Ping, who had a mix of anxiety and excitement on his face ever since they left Blue Sky Pass. It had been over 10 days since then, but he still wore the same expression.
“Ah?” It wasn’t clear what Miao Fei Ping was thinking, but when he suddenly heard Yang Kai’s question, he quickly replied, “No, I’m not nervous… but I’m curious about one thing. Some of the Senior Brothers told me that the Black Ink Clan is full of strange creatures. Disciple is very curious about what the Black Ink Clan looks like.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Just as your Senior Brothers said, there are all kinds of strange creatures among the Black Ink Clan!”
Yang Kai had taken out Miao Fei Ping from his Small Universe to advance to the Open Heaven Realm, and it had only been a year or so since then. So, the latter’s understanding of the Black Ink Battlefield, the Great Passes, and even the Black Ink Clan was extremely limited. Although Miao Fei Ping had fought many people in Void World over the years, all his opponents were Human. Naturally, he was a little unsettled after being thrown into this kind of battlefield to fight against an alien Race, especially after listening to some information about the Black Ink Clan from his Senior Brothers in the Squad. He imagined that all of the Black Ink Clansmen had three heads and six arms and were extremely sinister and violent.
“Martial Uncle,” Miao Fei Ping humbly asked, “The Senior Brothers said that if those from the Black Ink Clan and those from the Human Race are in the same Order, the Black Ink Clansmen are generally somewhat weaker than us. And the lower the cultivation, the more obvious the gap is; is that really so?”
“En,” Yang Kai slightly nodded his agreement, “The reason why there is such a difference is because the way the two Races grow is different. Our growth is a result of many years of accumulation and hard cultivation, but the same is not true for the Black Ink Clan. They are born from the Black Ink Nests, and as long as they have enough resources and time, they can continue to grow endlessly. Although their growth does require a certain amount of time and experience, in general, it is much shorter than the time required for Humans to grow. Essentially, they rely on external forces to increase their strength.”
Miao Fei Ping suddenly came to realize, “Then their foundation should be unstable, right?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before replying, “You can think of it that way, but it’s not comprehensive. The gap between the two races’ Masters in the same Realm grows smaller with the increase in strength. For example, the gap between a Royal Lord and an Old Ancestor is basically non-existent, while the gap between an Eighth-Order Division Commander and a Territory Lord isn’t very large. Of course, if they were to fight one-on-one, any Eighth-Order Division Commander would have the advantage over any Territory Lord.”
Miao Fei Ping became very concerned, “Although that’s the case, the Black Ink Clan has Black Ink Nests, and from the moment they are born, their strength is comparable to the Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Human Race, so how will we be able to eliminate all of them?”
Yang Kai asked with a smile, “Who told you that the Black Ink Clan Members are as strong as Open Heaven Realm Masters since birth?”
“Isn’t that so?” Miao Fei Ping was greatly surprised.
Yang Kai shook his head in response, “Of course not.” He had more say in this matter than anyone else; after all, no one had spent as much time among the upper echelons of the Black Ink Clan or had a deeper understanding of the Black Ink Nests than him.
“The Black Ink Clansmen we encounter on the battlefield are at least Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. They are equivalent to our Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and are basically used as cannon fodder by the Black Ink Clan. Every time the Black Ink Clan Army goes out, Low-Rank Clansmen make up the majority of their forces on the battlefield. Any Human Master can easily wipe out a large number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen with a single move. But after the deaths of these Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, the Black Ink Strength in their body will disperse and condense into Black Ink Clouds, which create an advantageous battlefield for the Black Ink Clan. In contrast, Humans are quite cautious of Black Ink Strength and Black Ink Clouds. Even so, we have no choice but to kill these Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. When the two Races fight, they will take the vanguard and charge at us, so if we don’t kill them, they will charge into our formations. So, their cannon fodder tactic is extremely effective.”
Miao Fei Ping lightly nodded and listened attentively.
“The High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen are stronger than the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, equivalent to our Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. They can be considered as the backbone of the Black Ink Clan’s Army. Although they might not be a majority, like the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, their numbers are definitely not small. They pose the biggest threat to the Human Race.”
Miao Fei Ping asked in surprise, “Aren’t the greatest threats to the Human Race the Feudal Lords and Territory Lords?”
Yang Kai nodded with his assumption before explaining, “Feudal Lords and Territory Lords are indeed powerful, but how many Territory Lords do you think there can be on a single battlefield? They are often the deciding factor in battle, so they do not act recklessly. As for Feudal Lords, there are many of them, at least more than Seventh-Order Humans, but Feudal Lords cherish their lives dearly. It’s not easy for them to become Feudal Lords, so none of them want to die. They may be brave and fierce in battle, but only if the wind is blowing in their favour. Once things turn south, they run faster than anyone else.”
“So, that’s the case!” Miao Fei Ping was absorbed in his thoughts.
“These are the ones that you can see on the battlefield, but the Black Ink Clan actually has many lower-ranking clansmen who are known as Black Ink Serfs.”
“Black Ink Serfs?”
“Those who have just been born in the Black Ink Nest and cannot even be classified as Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen are called Black Ink Serfs. They are equivalent to the Human cultivators before they reach the Open Heaven Realm. These Black Ink Serfs aren’t of much use even on the battlefield, so they are never brought to war by the Black Ink Clan. Basically all of them stay in the various territories of the Black Ink Clan and absorb ambient Black Ink Strength to strengthen themselves.”
No Human could surpass Yang Kai in terms of the understanding of the Black Ink Clan; after all, no one had been able to disguise themselves as a Black Ink Disciple and live in the Black Ink Clan’s territory for so many years. Even other Black Ink Disciples who were saved later rarely knew much about the Black Ink Clan as during their time, they were treated as servants and slaves, never trying to gather intelligence for the Human Race.
“It seems that the growth of the Black Ink Clan is not easy,” Miao Fei Ping sighed.
“Why do you say so?”
Miao Fei Ping explained, “Martial Uncle, you see, the Black Ink Clan must first be born from the Black Ink Nests becoming the weakest Black Ink Serfs. And when they somehow grow into a Low-Rank Black Ink Clansman, they are dragged to the battlefield to serve as cannon fodder. Perhaps they survive long enough to grow into a High-Rank Black Ink Clan after experiencing a few life-and-death situations, but even if they grow into a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman, if they are down on their luck, they might lose their lives on the battlefield at any moment. If they are lucky enough to survive many wars, they will finally have a chance to become a Feudal Lord.”
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement, “That’s right, but does that mean that our growth as Humans is easy? Which Open Heaven Realm Master hasn’t walked a thorny path and painstakingly cultivated before they could reach their current Realm? Forget about others, you yourself have gone through much trouble to reach here, haven’t you?”
Miao Fei Ping respectfully replied, “Martial Uncle is right.” He then asked again, “Martial Uncle, where are we going?”
Yang Kai stated, “Don’t ask, just follow me.”
“En,” Miao Fei Ping obediently responded.
With Dawning Light as a transit point, the Dawn Squad’s range of activity was much larger than the other Squads’. It could be said to be twice as large or even more. Naturally, this made them even more suitable for scouting missions as they could venture deeper and obtain more information.
Of course, Yang Kai also had another plan. Since Miao Fei Ping had just arrived here, he knew nothing about the Black Ink Clan. So, Yang Kai wanted to find him a few suitable opponents to practice with so that he wouldn’t become flustered on the battlefield. Although Miao Fei Ping would not be directly engaging the Black Ink Clan owing to his Sixth-Order cultivation, mostly remaining inside Dawning Light to power Spirit Arrays to kill the enemy, it did not hurt having a few exchanges with the Black Ink Clan and understand their characteristics a little.
On top of that, Miao Fei Ping had just advanced to the Open Heaven Realm not long ago, so he needed to fight to properly consolidate his cultivation.
It had been 100 years since the last war between the two Races in the Blue Sky Theatre, and the Black Ink Clan had been showing signs of deploying troops recently. In light of this, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a few Black Ink Clansmen to practice on.
The reason they hadn’t met one before was because the scattered Black Ink Clansmen didn’t dare to casually approach the Great Pass. But now, they were basically in the territory of the Black Ink Clan, so it was natural to run into them.
As expected, Yang Kai found a suitable target less than a day later.
His powerful Divine Sense allowed him to detect the approach of the nearby Black Ink Clansmen. There were several hundred of them, and their leader was a Feudal Lord.
“That’s the Black Ink Clan!?”
Hiding on an inconspicuous asteroid, Miao Fei Ping’s eyes widened as he stared at the group of Black Ink Clansmen flying across the void before his eyes, thinking to himself, [it’s just as the Senior Brothers said, the Black Ink Clan is filled with all kinds of strange creatures.]
He saw giant figures in the group of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, some of whom were humanoid, but most had parts that looked like they were from Monster Beasts. To his surprise, there were some Black Ink Clansmen who looked exactly like a Monster Beast.
However, no matter what form they took, the bodies of these Black Ink Clansmen were all surging with Black Ink Strength. The places they passed by were stained with Black Ink Strength, as if they left spilling ink that could not be removed.
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t help but gulp as he turned to look at Yang Kai.
There were quite a lot in this Black Ink Clan team, so he didn’t know how Yang Kai was planning on dealing with them. Was he going to attack them or wait and watch?
Had Mao Fei Ping been alone, he probably wouldn’t have been able to conceal his aura at this close a distance and might have been discovered by the Black Ink Clan; however, with Yang Kai by his side and with his help, his aura had been completely concealed. Furthermore, as there was a certain distance between them, the Black Ink Clan didn’t notice two pairs of eyes watching them from the shadows.
“This should be a Feudal Lord’s private troops,” Yang Kai whispered. From his observations, he could clearly tell that there were four or five Feudal Lords in this group of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, while the rest were High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
This was in line with the intelligence he had obtained about Black Ink Clan Fiefs Zha Gu had shared with him.
“Where are they going?” Miao Fei Ping asked, a little puzzled. Judging by the direction this Black Ink Clan army was heading, they weren’t travelling towards Blue Sky Pass.
“They should have received some kind of order from this region’s Territory Lord to assemble with the other Feudal Lord forces before attacking Blue Sky Pass,” Yang Kai explained.
Miao Fei Ping understood, “Martial Uncle, I heard from the Senior Brothers that each Territory Lord has dozens to a few hundred Feudal Lords under their command, is that correct?”
This piece of information was brought back by Yang Kai and had long since spread throughout the various Great Passes, so it wasn’t strange for Miao Fei Ping to have learned about it from the other members of Dawn Squad.
Yang Kai affirmed, nodding, “Correct.”
Miao Fei Ping was slightly surprised, “In that case, a Territory Lord can easily gather tens of thousands of troops during a battle?”
The Feudal Lord’s troops in front of him numbered in the hundreds, so if there were one or two hundred such troops, naturally, the total would easily surpass 10,000.
Yang Kai nodded again, “If not, where do you think the millions of troops during the Black Ink Clan sieges come from? It comes from the gathering of all these Feudal Lord troops.”
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
How many soldiers were there in each of the Great Passes? Forget about the other Great Passes, just Blue Sky Pass only had some 30,000 cultivators in total. It was probably the same for other Great Passes too, but the Black Ink Clan had an army of at least a million strong in every Theatre.
Although he knew that most of the Black Ink Clan army was composed of cannon fodder made up of Low-Rank Clansmen, the difference in numbers was still too great.
For a time, Miao Fei Ping found it difficult to imagine just how the Human Race had managed to resist the Black Ink Clan for so many years.
If Yang Kai wanted to, he could have charged forward and killed this army of Black Ink Clansmen, but as he had Miao Fei Ping accompanying him, it wasn’t convenient for him to act; after all, he couldn’t protect Miao Fei Ping in such an environment.
As such, after watching the Feudal Lord’s troops leave and noting their direction, Yang Kai gently patted Miao Fei Ping’s shoulder, “Let’s go.”
Miao Fei Ping quickly followed after him.
Soon, he discovered that Yang Kai was moving in the opposite direction of the Feudal Lord’s troops.
He was quite sharp and guessed where they were going, “Martial Uncle, are we going to that Feudal Lord’s Fief?”
Yang Kai looked at him in surprise, “Why do you think so?”
Miao Fei Ping replied, “The Feudal Lord’s troops came from this direction, so his territory must be in this direction. Since Martial Uncle hasn’t changed directions, do you want to take advantage of his absence to storm the enemy’s den?”
Yang Kai stated meaningfully, “Not me, you!”
“Me?” Miao Fei Ping was beside himself in shock.
Yang Kai suddenly raised his head and grinned, looking towards a direction, “Just our luck, there are two Black Ink Clansmen alone, go practice with them first.”
Saying so, he reached out and grabbed Miao Fei Ping’s collar before tossing him forward while he was unprepared.
Miao Fei Ping let out a strange cry as he was instantly thrown far away. By the time he managed to stabilize himself, the two Black Ink Clansmen in front of him were staring at him with shock and ferocity.
“Human!”
“Sixth-Order!”
“Corrupt him!”
After a brief exchange, the two Black Ink Clansmen attacked Miao Fei Ping from both sides.
Miao Fei Ping’s face went pale in fright and he quickly summoned his long sword as he mobilized his strength, creating a sword curtain to ward off the attackers.
As soon as they clashed, Miao Fei Ping fell into a disadvantageous position. He discovered that these two were High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, and each of them was comparable to a Sixth-Order Human Master.
Miao Fei Ping believed that he could easily take care of either of them in a one-on-one fight, but with both of them attacking him together, it would be difficult for him to handle. After all, he had just advanced to the Sixth Order and had only been an Emperor Realm a year ago. As such, he wasn’t very proficient in utilizing his Open Heaven Realm strength yet.
The two Black Ink Clan Masters didn’t employ any tactics, they just kept bombarding him with Secret Techniques using their Black Ink Strength, aiming to overwhelm him. What caused Miao Fei Ping even more pressure was that the Black Ink Strength was actually invading his Small Universe, forcing him to divert some of his attention and strength to resist its corrosion.
No matter what others had told Miao Fei Ping about the Black Ink Clan, facing them first-hand was far more informative than any evaluations he had heard before.
Miao Fei Ping finally understood what kind of enemies the Human Race had been fighting for countless years.
He couldn’t sense his Martial Uncle’s aura, nor could he find his figure, but he knew that his Martial Uncle was definitely hiding somewhere close by, so he knew that his life was not in danger.
Thinking so, Miao Fei Ping became more daring.
Taking advantage of one of the Black Ink Clansman’s mistakes in coordination, the sword in Miao Fei Ping’s hands flashed as he rushed forward, his figure wrapped in sword light. His momentum was unstoppable, as if he wanted to perish together with this Black Ink Clansman.
The targeted Black Ink Clansman was shocked. He had never imagined Miao Fei Ping would suddenly become so fierce, as if he had turned into a completely different person. Unable to react in time, he was stabbed in the head by the sword and died on the spot.
However, the other Black Ink Clansman’s attack was already upon Miao Fei Ping, who was now completely powerless to defend himself. The sudden death of his companion had enraged this Black Ink Clansman, so he didn’t show any mercy.
A Black Ink Disciple might be precious, but he still needed to be alive to enjoy having him. Basically, he was not completely sure that he would be able to corrupt Miao Fei Ping without his companion’s help.
Since he was not 100% certain, he could only send Miao Fei Ping to his grave.
However, the space around him suddenly solidified, causing his massive body to freeze on the spot. Although it was only a brief moment, he had missed the opportunity to kill his opponent.
Miao Fei Ping had already steadied himself and the sword in his hand glowed with an exquisite aura as his figure moved, flying up and down around the Black Ink Clansman, drawing blood with every strike.
He knew that his Martial Uncle must have secretly taken action just now; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to block the attack of the second Black Ink Clansman.
Be that as it may, his Martial Uncle clearly had no intention of interfering further, and this was exactly what he wanted. Flowers grown in a greenhouse could not withstand the harsh winds and rain of the outside world and were destined to not live long. Only after experiencing real storms would they be able to thrive.
Although he was only a newly promoted Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Miao Fei Ping’s confidence had greatly increased after his first kill. Moreover, he was quickly adapting to his strength during this life-and-death struggle.
As such, an incense stick after the death of the first Black Ink Clansman, the second followed in his companion’s footsteps.
Miao Fei Ping stood in the void with his sword in hand, his face slightly pale and his aura a little unstable.
Killing two High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen who were comparable to Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was quite exhausting, and it took a clear toll on him.
Yang Kai suddenly appeared in front of him and lightly nodded his acknowledgement, “Not bad.”
Miao Fei Ping withdrew his sword and humbly stated, “Martial Uncle is too kind. If it weren’t for Martial Uncle secretly taking action, this Disciple would have already died. However, Martial Uncle, this Disciple seems to have been invaded by Black Ink Strength and is unable to suppress it.”
“I know,” Yang Kai slightly nodded. Miao Fei Ping’s entire body was shrouded in a thick layer of Black Ink Strength and the dark look in his eyes could not be hidden, “There’s no need to suppress it, just open yourself and allow it in.”
Miao Fei Ping was slightly startled, but he still complied.
In less than a dozen breaths of time, Miao Fei Ping suddenly let out a shout before thrusting his sword at Yang Kai with a flick of his wrist.
Yang Kai smiled lightly and caught the longsword between his fingers. Miao Fei Ping roared as he tried to pull his sword back, but it didn’t budge in the slightest. He decisively let go of the sword and rushed forward like a madman, punching at Yang Kai, fist images blotting out the void before he even reached his target.
Yang Kai simply waved his hand and the fist shadows filling the void disappeared like the Moon’s reflection in the water.
Surprisingly, Miao Fei Ping had disappeared from Yang Kai’s sight. He had already fled into the distance the moment he swung his fists. His speed was extremely fast. It appeared his fierce attack was just a cover for his escape.
Yang Kai grinned and muttered, “Smart choice!”
Be that as it may, trying to escape from him was destined to be futile.
Yang Kai used his Space Principles, and under the effects of Near Distant Horizon, Miao Fei Ping suddenly froze in place, seemingly unable to escape even half a step further.
Yang Kai slowly strolled over to Miao Fei Ping’s back. His palms glowed with two different colours before he brought them together, releasing a burst of Purifying Light.
Under the Purifying Light, the Black Ink Strength started dispersing with sizzling sounds as Miao Fei Ping’s expression changed from pained to calm.
When the Black Ink Strength was finally dispersed completely and Miao Fei Ping regained his sanity, he found that his clothes were drenched in sweat.
“How do you feel?” Yang Kai asked.
Miao Fei Ping had a look of lingering fear on his face, “Like I’ve awoken from a bad dream!”
Yang Kai nodded, “Every Black Ink Disciple says so when they wake up. Remember this feeling, this is what it’s like to be corrupted by Black Ink Strength. In the Black Ink Disciples’ hearts, the Black Ink Clan is supreme, and the Human Race is nothing to them.”
Miao Fei Ping broke into a cold sweat, “Disciple will remember this lesson well. In the future, I will definitely not let myself be corrupted into a Black Ink Disciple and become a slave to the Black Ink Clan.” Pausing for a moment, he apologized, “Disciple was disrespectful to Martial Uncle just now, please forgive me.”
Yang Kai waved off in response, “It would have been stranger if you hadn’t attacked me.”
The two of them continued on their way.
The Feudal Lord’s Fief wasn’t far away. A dark and gloomy Universe World appeared in Yang Kai’s field of vision a day later. This Universe World wasn’t big, but the entire world was shrouded in a thick layer of Black Ink Strength, which happened to be particularly dense in one spot.
Through the obstruction, one could vaguely see a Black Ink Nest standing in that direction.
There were many Black Ink Clansmen near the Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai led Miao Fei Ping straight towards the Black Ink Nest. Before reaching the Black Ink Nest, Miao Fei Ping took out a Purifying Black Ink Pill and stuffed it into his mouth, holding it under his tongue so that he could crunch it at any moment, after receiving Yang Kai’s signal.
Although Yang Kai could cure him with Purifying Light, Yang Kai had his own plans. He couldn’t take care of Miao Fei Ping all the time, so preparing a Purifying Black Ink Pill in advance was the better choice.
Yang Kai didn’t try to hide himself. He broke straight through the thick Black Ink Clouds and crashed into the ground near the Black Ink Nest as if he had fallen from the sky. His powerful landing sent the ground quaking. The impact caused the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen to be blown away while the weaker Black Ink Serfs even suffered heavy casualties.
The two Feudal Lords who had been guarding this Fief noticed this and immediately flew out from their respective residences.
These two Feudal Lords were not necessarily the Masters of this place. The Black Ink Clan might have many Feudal Lords, but not all of them actually had their own Fiefs. At most a few dozen Feudal Lords had the qualifications to own their own Fiefs under each Territory Lord. The Feudal Lords who owned these Fiefs were undoubtedly rich and powerful.
Those without Fiefs would either find a place to live in the territory of some Territory Lord or seek refuge with those with Fiefs.
This way, they could become stronger using the Black Ink Strength spilling from the Black Ink Nest.
Such a situation was common in the Black Ink Clan, so a mature Feudal Lord’s Fief did not just have one Feudal Lord. Of course, the Master of a Black Ink Nest would always be the one who hatched it.
When the two Feudal Lords guarding the Black Ink Nest rushed out and spotted Yang Kai and Miao Fei Ping, they were stunned.
[Humans!?]
[Humans are actually here!?]
[What’s going on?]
Although it wasn’t as if the Humans had never attacked the Black Ink Clan’s territory before, every time the Humans did so they had sent a massive army, never just two of them.
Therefore, when they saw Yang Kai and Miao Fei Ping, these two Feudal Lords worried that the Human Army had arrived. However, after carefully examining their surroundings, they failed to find any traces of other Humans. There were just these two.
The Feudal Lord on the left immediately shouted, “You arrogant Humans, how dare you disdain us!”
The one on the right was relatively quiet, but his movements were as swift as the wind. As his companion shouted, he rushed towards Yang Kai and Black Ink Strength surrounded his giant palm as he ruthlessly slapped down.
Miao Fei Ping hurriedly dodged. Although he had killed two High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, he knew that this kind of battle was not something he could interfere with.
After fleeing 1,000 metres, when Miao Fei Ping looked back, what he saw next shook him to the core.
He saw his Martial Uncle holding a spear in one hand, while its other end was stabbed into the Feudal Lord’s head. The imposing Feudal Lord happened to be completely stiff and a look of disbelief had blanketed his face.
With a flick of his spear, the Feudal Lord’s head exploded into mist as his massive body fell to the ground, blood gushing out from his severed neck like a fountain.
An instant kill!
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t believe his eyes. A Feudal Lord had been instantly slain by his Martial Uncle!
He didn’t even notice his Martial Uncle using some mighty Secret Technique, as if just a casual spear thrust had deprived the Black Ink Clansman of his life. The Feudal Lord, who he thought was strong and imposing, was as weak as a chicken in front of his Martial Uncle.
On the way here, the members of Dawn Squad had told him that their Squad Leader’s strength was far superior to an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and he had even cooperated with others to kill Territory Lords.
But hearing it was one thing and seeing it with his own eyes was completely different.
Miao Fei Ping finally understood the gravity of this evaluation.
His Marital Uncle wasn’t just stronger than normal, his strength was simply unparalleled!
In terms of Order, a Feudal Lord was equivalent to a Seventh-Order Human. Although they would be somewhat weaker than a Seventh-Order Master under normal circumstances, a Feudal Lord was still a Feudal Lord. Even so, this Feudal Lord was instantly killed by his Martial Uncle.
[Just what kind of height has Martial Uncle’s combat strength reached?]
Miao Fei Ping had no idea, but he couldn’t afford to think too much about it at this moment. Many Black Ink Clansmen were rushing towards him, so he summoned his sword and activated his Movement Technique, turning around and charging at them.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Clansmen attacking him weren’t very strong. Even if there were High-Rank Clansmen among their ranks, their strength was only equivalent to a Fourth-Order or Fifth-Order Human Master. With his current Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation, even if Miao Fei Ping were to fight one against many, he was barely able to hold out. Of course, if the battle dragged on, it would be difficult to say what the outcome would be.
It wasn’t surprising for such a situation to occur. Most of the forces capable of fighting in this territory had been taken away by the Master of this Fief, so the ones left behind were naturally younger, or weaker, so how strong could they be?
He understood his Martial Uncle’s intentions. Obviously, Yang Kai wanted to use this opportunity to sharpen him and familiarize him with the battle against the Black Ink Clan so that he wouldn’t falter or become flustered on the real battlefield.
This was a rare opportunity, so Miao Fei Ping treasured it greatly. Furthermore, he didn’t want to disappoint his Martial Uncle’s expectations, so he put his heart into it, attentively applying everything he had learned in his life.
On the other hand, when Yang Kai killed the charging Feudal Lord with a single thrust, it shocked the other Feudal Lord to the core!
After becoming a Feudal Lord, their understanding of the Human Race was no longer something that those cannon fodder could compare with. He had participated in the siege of Blue Sky Pass several times and had witnessed various Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ methods and Secret Techniques on the battlefield.
However, there had never been a Seventh-Order Master who gave him such an ominous feeling. This must be one of those Seventh-Order Human elites, and judging from the casual way he killed his comrade, probably only a Territory Lord could take him down.
Therefore, after seeing his companion die, this Feudal Lord decisively released a burst of Black Ink Strength before transforming into seven or eight identical figures that rushed out in all directions. One of them even rushed straight towards Yang Kai, wanting to stall for time.
Yang Kai looked around, slightly taken aback.
The Secret Technique of this Feudal Lord was quite interesting. It was obviously derived from some kind of escape technique of the Human Race. In fact, many of the Black Ink Clan’s tactics and Secret Techniques could be traced back to the Humans. After all, during the countless years of war between the two races, the Black Ink Clan had been learning and improving.
If it were any other Seventh-Order Master, he or she might not have any idea what to do in the face of this escape technique. But unfortunately, this kind of trick was useless against Yang Kai.
With a flick of his spear, Yang Kai dispersed the figure that was pouncing towards him. The figure immediately transformed into a thick wave of Black Ink Strength that enveloped Yang Kai, attempting to corrupt his Small Universe. Be that it may, Yang Kai didn’t care about this kind of attack at all. A golden vertical eye suddenly appeared in his left eye. The Demon Eye of Annihilation immediately allowed him to see through all illusions.
Most of the figures were created using Black Ink Strength to divert Yang Kai’s attention, but only one of them was the true body of the Feudal Lord.
This Feudal Lord’s Secret Technique wasn’t bad, but he had not perfectly mastered it, so his flaws became obvious under the Demon Eye of Annihilation’s gaze.
Space Principles surged and a certain figure suddenly froze before an extremely dangerous aura shot towards it from behind.
The Feudal Lord hurriedly looked back and was frightened out of his wits! Much to his surprise, the Human was still standing in the same spot, but had hurled the long spear in his hand at him. The long spear seemed to ignore the limits of space and arrived instantly at its target.
To his dismay, the Feudal Lord discovered that no matter how he tried to dodge this attack, he was unable to. The spear seemed to have locked onto him.
In his panic, he roared as a tangible sound wave swept out in all directions. It seemed to have some kind of repulsive effect, but the spear still did not slow down at all and easily broke through his Black Ink Strength defences, leaving a hole in his chest.
The Feudal Lord went stiff, as if struck by lightning.
The next moment, the long spear flew back into Yang Kai’s hand. Yang Kai did not even spare the Feudal Lord a glance and just walked towards the Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai’s contemptuous attitude made the Feudal Lord feel both sad and angry. He raised his hand, trying his best to grab Yang Kai, but as soon as he used his Black Ink Strength, his entire body exploded into a blood mist, leaving not even his bones behind.
The two Feudal Lords had only taken a single attack from Yang Kai each before dying on the spot, a testament to the latter’s great strength.
Although Yang Kai could also do this over twenty years ago, it was even easier for him to do so now.
After returning from Yin-Yang Pass and entering retreat for so many years, not only had his cultivation improved, but he had also gained a deeper understanding of the Spear Dao and the Dao of Space. Now, he was able to integrate these two Grand Daos into a single spear strike. When he attacked with the Azure Dragon Spear, space around it froze, making it impossible to avoid. This was the biggest reason why the two Feudal Lords were so vulnerable.
His comprehension of his own Grand Daos allowed Yang Kai’s combat strength to rise to a whole new level.
Once the two Feudal Lords who had remained behind in the Fief died, the remaining Black Ink Clansmen fell into a panic. Although there were still some who were attacking Miao Fei Ping, most of the Black Ink Clansmen were now fleeing as fast as they could, afraid that they would be buried together with the Feudal Lords if they were too slow.
Yang Kai casually killed some of them who were in his way, but didn’t pursue the ones who fled.
These lower Black Ink Clansmen were simply too massive in number, so he could not kill them all in short order. There was no need to waste time here.
His goal was the Low-Rank Black Ink Nest.
The Void Dao Temple had already been founded for over 100 years, and all of the talented seedlings in Void World had been sent there to cultivate. In the future, these people would definitely be able to break through to the Open Heaven Realm and become a force that would resist the Black Ink Clan.
Miao Fei Ping’s performance was undoubtedly excellent. Although he had only come into contact with the Black Ink Clan for a short time, he had become familiar with how to fight them after killing the previous two High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen and was now chasing after the fleeing Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
However, circumstances and environment affected one’s temperament greatly. Perhaps the disciples of the Void Dao Temple were talented in terms of cultivation, but if they really faced the Black Ink Clan, it was difficult to say how each of them would fare.
Perhaps many people would be intimidated when they first came face to face with this kind of fiendish and hostile alien race. So, how could they have the courage to fight them?
Yang Kai wanted to let them familiarize themselves with how to fight the Black Ink Clan while they were still in their early growth period, so that when they advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, they could directly enter the war on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Since Yang Kai wanted these young disciples to familiarize themselves with how to fight the Black Ink Clan, he naturally had to have some kind of control over the situation. The Black Ink Clan was born from Black Ink Nests, so Yang Kai figured all he needed to do was get his hands on one. Yang Kai now only hated himself for not having enough foresight and simply destroying so many Black Ink Nests in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain.
Fortunately, he could still salvage the situation.
The reason he had come to this area under the Black Ink Clan’s control was because he had set his eyes on this Black Ink Nest. As for whether he could take it into his own Small Universe, Yang Kai wasn’t certain.
Back then, he had personally witnessed Zha Gu hatching a Black Ink Nest and had some understanding of its various characteristics; so, he knew that it would be difficult to implement this plan.
There were still some Black Ink Clansmen inside the Black Ink Nest, but Yang Kai quickly cleaned them up.
He then opened his Small Universe, allowing the Black Ink Nest to devour his World Force. Then, using the Black Ink Nest’s Will as a medium, Yang Kai’s consciousness instantly entered a strange space.
This space was formed by the Will of this region’s Territory Lord Black Ink Nest, and at this moment, there were no less than 30 consciousnesses gathered in this space. These consciousnesses were surging, obviously communicating with one another.
The Black Ink Clan of the Blue Sky Theatre had not experienced the tragedy in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, so they were completely unaware of what would happen next. So, when Yang Kai used his Spiritual Energy to attack them, they didn’t even have time to react.
The consciousnesses were destroyed in an instant; after all, Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy was on par with a Territory Lord’s, meaning none of these Black Ink Clansmen were a match for him.
When the commotion started, the remaining consciousnesses immediately sensed that something was wrong and naturally pushed their strength to attack Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not fear this counterattack. The situation he had encountered in the Mu Guang’s Royal Domain could not be compared with what he was experiencing now. At that time, Hei Yuan’s Will had also been lying in ambush for him, together with over 30 Feudal Lords, but in the end, Hei Yuan failed to kill him and his Soul had even been severely wounded, forcing him to retreat.
If it weren’t for this, Hei Yuan wouldn’t have been chased down by a mere Seventh-Order Human Master.
As a result, after Yang Kai’s rampage, the consciousnesses here suffered heavy casualties, and as many as 8 Feudal Lords had their consciousnesses destroyed, with those of several other High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were also wiped out.
The destruction of these consciousnesses also signified the fall of these Black Ink Clansmen.
The surviving consciousnesses realized that something was horribly wrong and no longer dared to remain. They quickly scattered like birds and beasts in a wildfire, only thinking of escaping.
Yang Kai was unable to chase them all down and could only helplessly sigh as they fled.
Destroying the consciousnesses of a few Feudal Lords was just a matter of course, but that was not Yang Kai’s original plan. After a while, he withdrew his consciousness and exited the Black Ink Nest.
His Divine Sense surged like a tide as he probed the foundation of the Black Ink Nest.
The Black Ink Nest in front of him was thousands of metres tall, like a giant flower bud planted in the ground. It was the typical size of a fully mature Low-Rank Black Ink Nest, but under Yang Kai’s investigation, he realized that its foundation stretched far further.
The entire Universe World was enveloped in the power of this Black Ink Nest. If the Black Ink Nest before him was like a giant tree, then its roots were spread across the entire World.
If Yang Kai wanted to take this Black Ink Nest into his Small Universe, he would have to take this entire Universe World.
This Universe World was not big, but even Yang Kai was unable to take it into his Small Universe.
He already knew this would be the case though and had no intention of taking away the entire Black Ink Nest.
As Space Principles surged and the Void shattered, the roots of the Black Ink Nest were severed one by one, and with the Black Ink Nest as a centre, an area with a radius of over a dozen kilometres was excised from the Universe World.
The next moment, a gateway opened as Yang Kai’s Divine Sense enveloped the landmass with the Black Ink Nest on it, forcefully dragging it into his Small Universe.
This sudden change quaked the entire Universe World.
Yang Kai immersed his consciousness into his Small Universe, but almost immediately, a disappointed look appeared on his face.
He had indeed moved the entire Black Ink Nest into his Small Universe, but perhaps because its roots had been cut off, or perhaps because of some other reason, the Black Ink Nest began to show signs of withering. Even when Yang Kai poured his World Force into it, the Black Ink Nest showed no signs of devouring it.
This was unusual, as Black Ink Nests devoured World Force almost instinctively.
The World Force was a powerful tonic for the Black Ink Nest, but since it was not even devouring a bit of World Force, it undoubtedly meant that it had ceased functioning and was doomed to die.
In fact, after the entire Black Ink Nest was pulled into his Small Universe by Yang Kai, it started collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye. In less than the time one takes to drink half a cup of tea, it completely withered.
This situation caused Yang Kai to frown. It seemed that taking a Black Ink Nest wasn’t going to be an easy task.
But if he could obtain an unhatched Black Ink Nest, he might be able to hatch it in his Small Universe. There wouldn’t be any problems then.
Be that as it may, unhatched Black Ink Nests were extremely precious even to the Black Ink Clan, so how could Yang Kai obtain one? Unless he could find a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest and provide it with a massive quantity of materials, it was impossible to get an unhatched nest.
However, this place was not Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, so searching for and entering a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest would be extremely risky.
The reason Yang Kai had been able to stir up so much chaos in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain last time was firstly because the bulk of the Black Ink Clan Army was engaged in battle with the Human Army, and secondly, the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor had made a move and forced all the remaining Territory Lords who had stayed behind to rush to the Royal Lords’ aid, leaving just Hei Yuan to deal with Yang Kai. Once Yang Kai heavily damaged Hei Yuan’s Soul, he basically had free reign.
The right time, right place, and right conditions made it possible for Yang Kai to act recklessly in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain without anyone to stop him. If even one point was different, he would not have been able to act so brazenly. Even so, in the end, he was unable to destroy more than 10 Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest.
In the Blue Sky Theatre, the Black Ink Clan Army was currently gathering, so there were definitely Territory Lords guarding this place. If Yang Kai tried to wreak havoc, he would attract the attention of those Territory Lords. Not many Territory Lords needed to take action, just two would be enough to threaten him. Once two Territory Lords came at him, even if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he might not be able to escape unscathed.
Yang Kai could not bear such a risk; therefore, he didn’t insist on sticking to his plan of plundering a Black Ink Nest after this attempt failed.
There was still time before the young talents in his Small Universe matured, so he was in no rush for now. It wouldn’t be too late to think of a solution later.
Miao Fei Ping had already returned with his body covered in multiple wounds. Apparently, he had killed many Black Ink Clansmen in this short period of time. His appearance might have been miserable, but he was still filled with zeal and vigour. Furthermore, because of the Purifying Black Ink Pill, he didn’t have to worry about being corrupted by Black Ink Strength for a short time.
“Martial Uncle, since the Black Ink Clan has fled, should we pursue them?” Miao Fei Ping asked eagerly. Obviously, he still did not have enough of the slaughter.
“There’s no need for that, they’re all Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. It’s useless to kill them, we will only be wasting time,” Yang Kai indifferently replied.
“Oh, then where are we going?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before turning his eyes in the direction they had come from, “You should return to Dawning Light to rest.”
“What about Martial Uncle?” Miao Fei Ping asked.
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “I’m going fishing.”
“Fishing?” Miao Fei Ping was puzzled.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai didn’t pay any heed to it and just stuffed something into his hand, “Take this with you, don’t put it into your Space Ring.”
Miao Fei Ping grabbed it and found that it was a bead, but he had no idea what it was for. So, he asked, “Martial Uncle, what is this?”
“A Space Beacon! With this bead, I can send messages back to you at any time.”
Miao Fei Ping nodded before carefully pocketing the Space Beacon.
“Go.” Yang Kai waved at him.
Miao Fei Ping stated, cupping his fist, “Disciple will go now, Martial Uncle. Please be careful.”
While speaking, he activated the Universe Transference Law. The next moment, a giant Spirit Array glowed beneath his feet before his figure disappeared with a blinding flash.
By the time he reappeared, Miao Fei Ping had already returned to Dawning Light. Walking out of the Universe Array, Bai Yi, who had already sensed the movements, immediately came forward to meet him. However, after seeing Miao Fei Ping alone, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Where’s Squad Leader?”
Miao Fei Ping scratched his head, “Martial Uncle said he was going fishing.”
“Fishing?” Bai Yi was puzzled, “Fishing for what?”
Miao Fei Ping shook his head, “I don’t know either, Martial Uncle didn’t explain in detail and only told me to return here.”
Bai Yi slightly furrowed her brow. She faintly felt that Yang Kai was going to cause trouble again; however, since Yang Kai didn’t say anything, he probably had his own considerations. Seeing Miao Fei Ping’s miserable appearance, she couldn’t help but ask, “Did you run into the Black Ink Clan?”
Miao Fei Ping immediately replied in an excited tone, “Martial Uncle brought me to take a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest.”
Speaking of this, he was quite enthused. This was the first time he had gone on a mission with his Martial Uncle, yet he had accomplished such a great feat. It was not something just anyone could easily encounter.
As expected, the other Squad members also became interested after hearing this and began asking questions. Miao Fei Ping didn’t try to hide anything and told them everything about his short trip with Yang Kai, causing all the Squad members to look at him with envy. When they heard that two Feudal Lords were unable to resist the might of Yang Kai’s spear and were instantly killed, all the remaining Squad members felt their spirits soar.
Having a powerful Squad Leader was extremely important on the Black Ink Battlefield. Whether it was the success rate of the mission or the survival rate on the chaotic battlefield, a powerful Squad Leader greatly increased these chances.
The Squad Leader was the core of the entire Squad, and also the basis for Human Squads to work together on the Black Ink Battlefield.
While Dawn Squad’s members were getting all excited, Yang Kai’s lonesome figure flickered as he sped through the void in the direction of the Feudal Lord troop he had discovered earlier.
Being alone, Yang Kai no longer had any scruples. He used Space Principles as his figure flickered across the void.
In less than half a day, Yang Kai found a large group of Black Ink Clansmen gathered on a giant universe fragment.
Standing and observing from afar, Yang Kai found that there were more than 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen gathered on this universe fragment.
This place could basically be considered the periphery of the Black Ink Clan’s territory, not far from the Human Race’s territory. With so many Black Ink Clansmen gathered here, the situation was quite obvious.
This should be one of the mustering points of the Black Ink Clan Army. The Feudal Lords had converged here with their troops under a Territory Lord’s orders; otherwise, it would have been impossible for such a large group to be assembled together.
The Black Ink Clan had indeed become restless. Nearly 100 years of rest and recuperation had given them plenty of time to recover from their losses suffered in the last war. Since they had gathered an army here, it was obvious that they were planning to stage a comeback.
Over 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen were gathered on a universe fragment. It was quite a magnificent sight. Not only that, but Black Ink Clansmen kept coming from all directions in groups of hundreds to thousands.
Obviously, each group was a Feudal Lord leading his troops.
There was no doubt that this place was one of the rally points of the Black Ink Clan Army. And judging by the scale of the Black Ink Clan army in front of him, it was definitely gathered under the command of several Territory Lords.
In fact, Yang Kai could faintly sense that there were at least five Territory Lords in this Army even from this distance.
Of course, this was not the entirety of the Black Ink Clan Army. Armies were definitely being gathered at other places even now.
Every time the Black Ink Clan attacked, it had millions of soldiers in its Army. If they didn’t have so many, the Humans wouldn’t have to fight so hard.
As a scout, Yang Kai naturally carried out his mission faithfully. Very soon, he sent a jade slip detailing everything he had seen back to Dawning Light via the Space Beacon, and with Dawning Light as a relay point, this information was sent back to Blue Sky Pass, allowing the Army Commanders to obtain the information right away.
Yang Kai remained completely still, paying close attention to the movements of the 100,000-strong Black Ink Clan Army.
Since there was such a large rally point here, there wouldn’t be a second one nearby. The other rally points of the Black Ink Clan Army would be the other scouting Squads’ concern.
The size of the Army continued to increase with time, gradually approaching 200,000. If one Territory Lord could gather twenty to 30,000 soldiers, the number of Territory Lords gathered here would be close to 10.
This was also in line with the current situation. Every time the Black Ink Clan launched a siege, at least four Armies would attack from four different directions at the same time, forcing the Human Race to defend the Great Pass in all cardinal directions. Any negligence in any direction could lead to a complete loss.
Gradually, fewer and fewer Black Ink Clansmen arrived. Apparently, most of them had already gathered. Nonetheless, the Black Ink Clan Army didn’t seem to have any intention of immediately setting out and instead remained stationed on the universe fragment.
Yang Kai presumed that they were waiting for the other Armies to act together.
Although there were over 200,000 of them, if they were to attack the Great Pass with just this much force, they would not be able to cause any real damage. As such, the Black Ink Clan had to prepare all of their forces and attack from all sides in order to overwhelm the Humans.
After sending the last message to Dawning Light, Yang Kai flew out of his hiding place, heading straight for the universe fragment.
After observing for some time, Yang Kai concluded that the size of the Black Ink Clan Army at this rally point wouldn’t increase much further. Presumably, it wouldn’t be long before they attacked Blue Sky Pass; hence, there was no need to continue observing.
He didn’t try to conceal himself, so the Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment soon discovered his tracks. The streak of light cutting through the void was extremely eye-catching, so it immediately sent the Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment into an uproar.
Some of the impatient Feudal Lords had already rushed out, leading their subordinates straight at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai suddenly stopped, quickly turned around and fled, acting like a Human cultivator who had accidentally run into the Black Ink Clan Army and was fleeing in panic.
How could the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen let this matter go so easily? They chased after him like a shadow, hot on his tail, soon disappearing together with Yang Kai.
Many Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment saw this scene from afar, but most of them remained indifferent, while a few of them even sneered. In their opinion, things were not going to end well for the Human cultivator who had rashly ventured here alone.
However, what surprised them was that the seemingly lost Human cultivator once again flew towards them after half an hour or so, leaving a dazzling trail as he cut through the void. It was quite eye-catching.
On the other hand, the several hundred Black Ink Clansmen who had chased after him were nowhere to be seen.
This shocked the Black Ink Clansmen who witnessed this scene. They were unable to understand how this Human had managed to escape unscathed. And where did their fellow clansmen who had pursued him go?
What was even more hateful was that when the Human came over, he would first fly straight and then saunter left and right like he was enjoying the view. His movements had a thick sense of provocation.
How could they tolerate this?
In the blink of an eye, an army of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen surrounded the Human under the leadership of their respective Feudal Lords.
Just like before, the Human fled, while several Black Ink Clan teams gave chase, gradually disappearing into the distance.
At a certain spot on the universe fragment, a Territory Lord stared deeply in the direction Yang Kai had fled in, “The Human Race must have set up some kind of ambush over there. These idiots are probably dead.”
The Territory Lords weren’t fools. Yang Kai had tried to provoke them at close range twice, so how could they not see through his intentions?
Another Territory Lord coldly snorted, “The Humans have become quite bold recently. They wouldn’t have acted like this in the past. What gives them the confidence to dare come here and provoke us like this?”
Another Territory Lord added, “Regardless of the reason, the Humans seem to have undergone great changes in the last 100 years. You should have heard the news of what happened at Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, right?”
A Territory Lord agreed with a nod, “I heard that the Human Race has developed something called Purifying Black Ink Pills that can dispel the corrosion of Black Ink Strength. That is not good news.”
“However, this also explains why there haven’t been any new Black Ink Disciples for so long! Although the Human Race’s Purifying Black Ink Pills are troublesome, their disadvantage in numbers will never change. For the Human Race to dare set up an ambush so far outside their Pass in these conditions is extremely stupid.”
“You mean…” One of the Territory Lords thoughtfully looked at him.
The Territory Lord who had just spoken chuckled, “Unlike my Black Ink Clan, if any of the Human cultivators were to die, the Humans would feel the loss. Since they dared to set up an ambush outside the Pass, we might as well beat them at their own game and try to eat them up.”
“But do you know how many Masters the Human Race has there?”
The Territory Lord stated, “This place is about a dozen days away from their Great Pass, so how many people could the Humans have sent here? And since our Black Ink Clan Army is preparing to attack, they are definitely preparing to defend as well. Even if they have sent a team to ambush us, it shouldn’t be too big. If I’ve to guess, there should be a number of elites, but would our Army of 200,000 not be able to handle such a small number of people?”
Many Territory Lords were moved by his words.
Even though it should only be a small team of Human Masters, if they could really kill these Masters here, it would be enough to make the Humans’ hearts bleed for a long time. In fact, after every war between the two Races, the casualties on humanity’s side might not even be as great as this. Furthermore, just as the Territory Lord had said, since the Humans dared to set up an ambush outside the Pass, they must have sent quite a number of elites. If they took this opportunity to eliminate them, the Humans would suffer a huge loss.
“There must be an Eighth-Order Division Commander among them. If we can kill one or two Eighth-Order Humans, heh heh… we’ll have avenged the Royal Lord and cleansed ourselves of our most recent shame!”
All the Territory Lords nodded in agreement.
One of the Territory Lords stated, “If we are really going to take action, we need to figure out the position and strength of the Human ambushers. Any volunteers?”
A short, humanoid-looking Territory Lord stood up and smiled, taking the initiative to volunteer, “I’ll go.”
One of the Territory Lords added, nodding, “You’re perfect for this job. That Human should not have gone far, so you’ll be able to catch up to him without much effort. However, you must be careful not to fall into a trap.”
“Rest assured, how could this Lord die before the Humans are destroyed?”
Saying so, he soared into the sky. Who knows what kinds of Secret Technique he cultivated, but his Territory Lord aura had been suppressed to the extreme. Coupled with his humanoid form, it would be difficult for ordinary people to find him.
He was really fast. After chasing the fleeing Human for a while, he soon felt violent energy fluctuations coming from the front. Obviously, someone was fighting up ahead.
Combined with the previous scene, this Territory Lord had already guessed this would be the case and immediately restrained his aura further to stealthily approach the battlefield.
A moment later, when he finally arrived at the periphery of the battlefield and gazed ahead, he couldn’t help but stare in shock.
All the Territory Lords had come to the conclusion that the Humans must have set up an ambush; otherwise, they could not explain why the several hundred troops that had chased after the Human had disappeared so quickly.
He had chased after the Human because he wanted to check up on the position and size of the Humans lying in ambush so that he could formulate a corresponding strategy.
But he did not find a Human ambush. Rather it was just that one Human who had lured the Black Ink Clan troops away before killing everyone who chased him with his spear.
This Human might have been alone, but he was like a reaper of death, slaughtering the Feudal Lord troops like they were nothing.
[How could this Human be so strong?]
The Territory Lord clearly saw a Feudal Lord quietly approaching this Human from behind, attempting to launch a sneak attack, but in the end, he was pierced by a spear before he could even react.
In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, nearly 30% of the Feudal Lord troops had been killed. The Human was covered in blood and radiating intense killing intent, but the blood was all black. The long spear in his hands had reached the acme of perfection. Every time he thrust out, the lives of several Black Ink Clansmen would be reaped.
At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before he had finished all of them.
This person is definitely an elite among elites of the Human Race!
For a moment, the Territory Lord couldn’t help but have an intent to kill. This Human couldn’t be allowed to grow anymore. He was already so strong in the Seventh Order, so if broke through to the Eighth Order, none of the Territory Lords could resist him.
But just as he was about to act, he couldn’t help but recall his mission.
He still had not discovered the location and number of the Human Race ambushers, and rashly attacking this Human would only alert the enemy. Furthermore, he could not figure out what was going on in this Human’s mind. Since he had lured out a few Feudal Lord troops, why was he fighting them alone instead of surrounding them?
[Does he think that he alone can take care of this, so he decided not to lure the enemy any further?]
With this thought in mind, the Territory Lord withdrew his killing intent and turned his eyes towards the distance. A moment later, he silently retreated just as he had silently arrived.
On the battlefield, Yang Kai’s spear was dancing like a Dragon. Suddenly, he relaxed as the feeling of being secretly observed by someone finally disappeared.
When Yang Kai parted ways with Miao Fei Ping and said he wanted to go fishing, he really meant to go fishing.
As a scout, Yang Kai had already completed his mission. He had basically figured out the location and deployment of the 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen in this region. After he had sent their location to Blue Sky Pass, the higher-ups would naturally make plans to deal with them.
His original plan was to lure some of the Black Ink Clansmen out and kill them. Although alone, he could only kill a limited number of them and it would not affect the overall situation, it was still better than doing nothing.
But after seeing over 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen, Yang Kai formulated a bigger plan.
If he kept provoking them, maybe he could lure this Black Ink Clan Army into attacking in advance. In that case, this Black Ink Clan Army would definitely be separated from the other forces, which would be quite advantageous for Blue Sky Pass.
However, the chances of this happening weren’t high. The Black Ink Clan weren’t fools. After besieging the Great Passes so many times, they knew that they couldn’t accomplish much just by relying on this army alone. So, they had been waiting for the other armies to gather so that they could advance together. Only by doing so would they be able to put pressure on Blue Sky Pass.
Be that as it may, it was still worth trying.
If he couldn’t achieve it in one try, he could give it couple more tries. Even if he couldn’t achieve his goal, he could still take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate some of the Black Ink Clansmen and relieve some pressure on the battlefield.
With his mastery over the Dao of Space, and Blue Sky Pass being just behind him, Yang Kai could fight or flee at will. Even if a Territory Lord took action, he could escape at any time he wanted.
The first attempt at luring the enemy had undoubtedly been a success. He drew off a troop of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, out of which three were Feudal Lords. The rest were all High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, not enough to threaten him.
The second time, the number of Black Ink Clansmen he had lured was quite high, almost 2,000 in total. Nonetheless, the situation was still under his control. Even if he couldn’t kill them all, it didn’t matter.
But right as he was about to begin his slaughter, Yang Kai suddenly felt as if he was being watched from the shadows. This immediately made his heart clench and he silently split his attention to guard against any unexpected situations. He didn’t know where this spy was hiding, but since he was able to evade his detection, the opposite party had to be a Territory Lord.
[They couldn’t hold back, huh?] Yang Kai was a little taken aback.
Yang Kai wasn’t afraid. Since this Territory Lord was hiding in the shadows, perhaps he wanted to make a move on Yang Kai. Nonetheless, as long as he made a move, he would definitely show some signs, which would allow Yang Kai to escape in time.
So, Yang Kai pretended to not have noticed even though he had. He continued to slaughter more Black Ink Clansmen while giving the impression that he was prepared to leave as soon as things turned south.
To his surprise, the feeling of being watched soon disappeared.
[What are they planning? Since I was distracted, why did he not attack and instead left so quickly?] Yang Kai could not understand what the Black Ink Clansman observing him was planning, but he could not care less about it at the moment. With the Territory Lord gone, he became even more unscrupulous.
Many of the 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered by Yang Kai, while a handful managed to escape. Yang Kai had also suffered some injuries; after all, it was hard on him to fend off so many all alone. However, his injuries weren’t serious and he recovered after half a day of rest.
While Yang Kai was recuperating, a ghost-like figure slowly flew by the place where Dawning Light was hiding. This figure was none other than the Territory Lord who had volunteered to scout for the Human ambush.
Dawning Light’s concealment was quite good. Owing to the advantageous terrain and powerful Concealment Arrays, and with the void being so vast, even if a Territory Lord passed nearby, he might not be able to discover anything if he didn’t carefully investigate.
Along the way, this Territory Lord had noted about eighty to hundred shattered universe fragments, but he only did a quick inspection, so how could he have discovered anything?
Coincidentally, just as he was preparing to investigate further, several large ships flew over from the direction of Blue Sky Pass.
The Territory Lord immediately stopped and carefully observed.
After a short while, his expression changed as he hurriedly flew back the way he came, only stopping when he was at a safe distance.
He could not judge the exact situation from afar, but he was certain that the Human Race was laying an ambush.
[How cunning!] The Territory Lord cursed in his heart. Although he still had not found the exact deployment of the Humans, he didn’t dare to approach them at this moment because he could sense a familiar aura from the lead ship.
The Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Humans were quite familiar with each other after having fought for so many years. So, this Territory Lord was able to determine the identities of the enemy even from a great distance.
[A big fish!] The Territory Lord was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to return to the camp to deliver this news.
At the same time, Bai Yi, Feng Ying, and the others also noticed the movements and hurriedly flew up to check it out. They were all quite surprised when they saw several Warships flying towards them.
A short while later, the ships arrived at Dawning Light’s location before a figure jumped down from the lead ship.
Feng Ying stepped forward and respectfully greeted, “Martial Uncle!”
Zhong Liang slightly nodded before he started looking left and right, “Where’s Yang Boy?”
Feng Ying replied, “Squad Leader is still out scouting for information and has yet to return.”
Zhong Liang snorted, “I knew that brat would be up to no good. What bullshit information gathering, he must be off getting into all kinds of trouble.”
Feng Ying didn’t know how to respond to this, so she chose to remain silent and turned her attention towards the figures coming down from the ships. Slowly, her expression became solemn, “Martial Uncle, you…”
She couldn’t help but be shocked, because the figures coming down from the ships were all Seventh-Order and above Masters. Other than the Army Commander Zhong Liang, there were also over a dozen Eighth-Order Division Commanders. Feng Ying originally belonged to the Western Army, so how could she not recognize the Division Commanders of the Western Army?
[Is the Western Army really going all out?]
In addition to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, there were nearly 1,000 Seventh-Order Masters.
Zhong Liang chuckled, “We didn’t have such conditions in the past. Except for the attacks launched under the Old Ancestor’s leadership, all we could do was passively defend inside the Pass. It was quite frustrating, but now that things are in our favour, we naturally have to give the Black Ink Clan a big surprise and vent all our frustrations.”
Saying so, he suddenly took out something and threw it. The object resembled a ball of chiffon that suddenly expanded, enveloping the entire universe fragment. Feng Ying immediately felt as if a mysterious force had enveloped the entire universe fragment, isolating it from the outside world.
At this moment, even if someone were to observe from the outside, they wouldn’t be able to see what was happening inside this place.
Afterwards, everyone scattered about, searching for an empty spot.
Immediately afterwards, portals to Small Universes opened one after another, even Zhong Liang opened a portal to his Small Universe. Soon, figures emerged from these portals one after another.
Feng Ying, Bai Yi, and the others were all dumbfounded. The other members of Dawn were also tongue-tied.
In the blink of an eye, roughly 8,000 people had appeared on the universe fragment. Furthermore, these people immediately converged with their respective Squads and started setting up Spirit Arrays in a skilful manner, concealing their auras.
Feng Ying’s brow twitched as she stared blankly at this scene unfolding before her eyes. She could not help but ask, “Martial Uncle, has the entire Western Army been mobilized?”
At first, she thought that only the Seventh and Eighth-Order Masters of the Western Army had come, but to her surprise, the entire Western Army was here.
Blue Sky Pass only had about 30,000 soldiers, that’s all. And when they were divided into various Armies, each one made up between 8,000 and 9,000 soldiers. The number of soldiers gathered on this universe fragment was almost the same.
Zhong Liang stated in a heavy voice, “How could it be so easy to take down an Army of over 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen? It would take an Army to end this battle quickly, but if we win, our Western Army would have made a great contribution!”
Feng Ying could only sigh, “Martial Uncle, you are really amazing!”
Zhong Liang proudly smiled, “Of course.”
However, she didn’t know that in order to grab this chance from the other three Army Commanders, Zhong Liang was nearly beaten to a pulp. In the end, it was the Old Ancestor who stepped in and gave the final verdict, allowing this good opportunity to fall into the Western Army’s hands.
But if he wanted to devour this Army of 200,000 enemies, there was a prerequisite.
And that was that the Royal Lord should not be anywhere nearby. Even if the Western Army had the ability to defeat the Black Ink Clan army of 200,000, they would still suffer heavy casualties if the Royal Lord made an appearance.
Because of this, the Old Ancestor had personally set out to investigate the current whereabouts of the Royal Lord to implement this plan.
“Contact Yang Boy somehow and ask him about the situation there. If the Black Ink Clan army moves, tell him to immediately report!” Zhong Liang ordered.
Feng Ying accepted the order, “Yes, Martial Uncle!”
Zhong Liang wasn’t worried about not being able to ambush the Black Ink Clan Army. If the Black Ink Clan wanted to attack Blue Sky Pass, they would have to pass through this area. Even if there was a slight change in their route, they would not deviate too far, and so long as they passed through here, the Western Army had the confidence to devour them all.
Naturally, Yang Kai was completely oblivious to Blue Sky Pass’ grand plan.
At this moment, he was considering whether to join up with Dawn or continue to act alone.
In the last battle, he had killed over 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen, while less than half had fled back. Presumably, the Black Ink Clan Army was already aware of his abilities, so if he were to provoke them again, he might not be able to gain anything. Also, the fact that a Territory Lord had secretly been spying on him made Yang Kai a little uneasy.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai soon made up his mind.
He decided to continue provoking them.
It would be great if he could enrage the 200,000-strong army into attacking Blue Sky Pass in advance, but even if he could not, it was not a big deal. Even if the Territory Lords made a move, he could use the Space Beacon to return to Dawning Light in an instant.
At the very least, he would have reaped something, thought Yang Kai.
However, by the time he arrived at the place where the Black Ink Clan army was stationed, the situation had changed far beyond his expectations.
At this moment, the giant universe fragment was shrouded in thick Black Ink Clouds, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.
[What the Hell is the Black Ink Clan doing?]
Yang Kai was filled with confusion. These Black Ink Clouds were obviously created by the Black Ink Clan on purpose. Had it been there before, it could be said that the Territory Lords were trying to conceal their troop numbers, but since he had already obtained intelligence about the Black Ink Clan Army, it was pointless to conceal it further.
[Isn’t this equal to taking off pants just to fart? Is this really necessary?]
Yang Kai couldn’t guess the Black Ink Clan’s intentions, so all he could do was continue provoking them.
“That Human really came again!”
As soon as Yang Kai appeared, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen immediately reported to their higher-ups; thus, the Territory Lords quickly learned of this.
“Follow the plan! The Humans have been treating us like idiots, let’s teach them a harsh lesson this time!”
Yang Kai had thought that his little provocation wouldn’t have much of an effect; after all, his strength had been exposed, so no matter how stupid the Black Ink Clan was, they wouldn’t fall for it again and again.
The Black Ink Clan might have even laid some kind of ambush here for him. Furthermore, the Territory Lords might also make a move.
But contrary to his expectation, his provocation actually succeeded this time as well! A few Feudal Lords rushed out from the universe fragment with their troops and chased after him.
Just like last time, when Yang Kai reached a suitable position, he turned around and began fighting with the 2,000 or so Black Ink Clansmen.
Nonetheless, he never lowered his guard. According to his estimate, a Territory Lord should be hiding nearby, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to him. So, he had to be on guard against possible sneak attacks from tricky directions.
Just as Yang Kai was luring Feudal Lords’ troops away, the 200,000-strong Black Ink Clan Army hiding in the Black Ink Clouds on the universe fragment split into three forces under various Territory Lords, rushing towards Dawning Light’s location from different directions. The Black Ink Clan was planning to launch a surprise attack on the enemy forces.
The Black Ink Clan had a total of four armies prepared to besiege Blue Sky Pass with nearly 1 million soldiers in total. This was just one of those four armies.
Although it was not yet time for them to act, the temptation of the Humans lying in ambush on the universe fragment was simply too great.
Not to mention anything else, that one person among the ambushers was sufficient for these Territory Lords to take some risks. Furthermore, after their recent discussion, they had come to the conclusion that there would not be that many Humans lying in ambush as this place was quite far from Blue Sky Pass. 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen and over a dozen Territory Lords would be more than enough to squash them. So, according to them, there wasn’t much risk involved.
They could still move together with the three other armies after eliminating these Humans.
“Wu Ying, are you sure Zhong Liang is also there?” Along the way, one of the Territory Lords asked.
The one called Wu Ying was the Territory Lord who had volunteered to investigate the Human Race’s ambush. Hearing this, he immediately gnashed his teeth as he rebuked, “How could I mistake Zhong Liang’s aura? That old dog severely wounded me back then. I almost lost my life. I would recognize him even if he is reduced to ashes!”
The Territory Lord, who had just asked the question, nodded and continued, “Good. In that case, we’ve caught a big fish this time. Zhong Liang is the Army Commander of the Western Army and holds a high position. If he dies, the morale of Blue Sky Pass will definitely plummet. Perhaps we can capture Blue Sky Pass this time.”
Wu Ying fiercely stated, “I want to kill him myself!”
“Don’t worry, you will get your chance!”
…
[Something’s wrong!]
Yang Kai keenly felt this during the battle. This was the third time he had lured the snakes out of their hole. The first time he had done so, he had managed to kill hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen. The Feudal Lord troops were simply unable to escape from him.
The second time, he was unable to kill all of them as there were just too many and he had no choice but to let a portion of them go.
The third time, he was able to lure the same number as he had lured the second time. At first, he had thought that a Territory Lord was hiding nearby, waiting for an opportunity to sneak attack him, but after killing so many Black Ink Clansmen and deliberately showing a few flaws, he still didn’t encounter any sneak attacks. He didn’t even notice the aura of any Territory Lords.
Was there no Territory Lord here from the start?
This wasn’t the most puzzling thing though. What made Yang Kai even more confused was that these Black Ink Clansmen were actually fighting him to the death!
This was very unusual. The Black Ink Clansmen here were clearly in a panic after witnessing their fellow comrades being mercilessly slaughtered and ordinarily, this would be the time for them to escape, but not a single one of them fled.
After some time, Yang Kai managed to kill nearly half of the 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen. If the remaining half didn’t flee, they would be wiped out sooner or later.
Yang Kai faintly felt that he had fallen into some kind of trap, but he could not worry about it at this point. Since there was no Territory Lord hiding nearby, he simply started a bloodbath!
After another hour or two, only 100 or so Black Ink Clan soldiers remained. These Black Ink Clan soldiers were extremely terrified and moved as far away from Yang Kai as possible whenever he approached. Nonetheless, none of them showed any intention of escaping.
Suddenly, a boiling Sword Intent appeared not far behind Yang Kai. The next moment, a sword cry reverberated through the void as a figure clad in sword aura came rushing in, shredding every Black Ink Clan soldier in its path into pieces.
The sword aura suddenly split into several directions before converging the next moment, killing or injuring most of the Black Ink Clansmen.
When the figure wrapped in sword aura rushed towards the last Feudal Lord, Yang Kai hurriedly shouted, “Keep him alive!”
Yang Kai had deliberately not killed this Feudal Lord, so how could he allow someone else to kill him?
Fortunately, Feng Ying’s reaction was extremely fast. She immediately changed directions and slaughtered the remaining small fries after Yang Kai’s shout. By the time she turned around, Yang Kai had already used Space Principles to imprison the wounded Feudal Lord.
“Why are you here?” Yang Kai turned to Feng Ying.
Feng Ying instead asked back, “Why can’t your Space Beacon transmit messages in reverse? Martial Uncle Zhong Liang asked me to ask you about the situation here, but since I couldn’t reach you, I had no choice but to come here personally.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “You sent me a message? I kept the Space Beacon in my Space Ring, so naturally you couldn’t reach me.”
After sending the last message, he had put away the Space Beacon because he was afraid that someone would send him a message, which would expose his whereabouts. He had never thought that Dawn Squad would really want to contact him.
“Did something happen?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
Feng Ying shook her head, “Nothing like that. What about here?”
Yang Kai replied, furrowing his brow, “It’s a bit strange.”
Saying so, he turned to the imprisoned Feudal Lord and asked, “What are you plotting?”
The Feudal Lord was imprisoned and unable to move. He had been beaten black and blue by Yang Kai, and if it weren’t for Yang Kai intentionally keeping him alive to extract information, he would not have survived till now. Although he was captured though, he just sneered and kept his mouth shut.
“If you tell me, I’ll give you a quick death, otherwise I’ll make you suffer a fate worse than death!” Yang Kai warned.
The Feudal Lord turned away his head. The expression on his face said that he was prepared to die.
Yang Kai pushed his spear into the Feudal Lord’s chest, gently stabbing it in, avoiding his vitals. The Black Ink Clansman’s face twisted in pain as he roared, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Yang Kai frowned. It had been a long time since he had heard these words. Judging by the Feudal Lord’s attitude, it was impossible to get anything from him. This Feudal Lord knew that he would not survive, so he stubbornly kept his mouth shut.
What’s more, he had no idea about the higher-ups’ plans. He was just following orders to restrain Yang Kai here at all costs.
Yang Kai tried several other methods, but the Feudal Lord still remained silent. Yang Kai knew that he could not get anything from him and decided to finish him off.
Although he could not get anything, the Feudal Lord’s reaction gave him an eerie feeling. These Black Ink Clansmen clearly knew that they were no match for Yang Kai, but they had still chosen to fight to the death, seemingly stalling for time.
Right then, Yang Kai seemed to have realized something and immediately shouted, “Damn it!”
Saying so, his figure flickered as he disappeared from the spot.
Feng Ying anxiously shouted, “Squad Leader!” But Yang Kai had already disappeared from sight. All she could do now was follow the residual fluctuations of Space Principles and chase after him.
Yang Kai soon arrived at the periphery of the universe fragment where the Black Ink Clan army was stationed. The universe fragment was still shrouded in Black Ink Clouds, making it impossible to see the situation inside.
When he first saw these clouds, he found it a bit strange. Why would the Black Ink Clan waste so much effort to create these Black Ink Clouds? But if they were using it to conceal the movements of their army, it would make sense.
If his guess was correct, then this universe fragment was probably empty!
The Territory Lords had sent 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen to occupy him, while covertly mobilizing their forces. The Black Ink Clan was not stupid.
Although he had some guesses, Yang Kai still wanted to personally verify them, so he dove straight into the Black Ink Clouds.
The facts proved that his guess was right, there really wasn’t a single Black Ink Clansman on this universe fragment. The 200,000-strong Army stationed here had disappeared. Presumably, the Black Ink Clan Army had set out just after he left.
[Is it because they had discovered a Human scout and wanted to take Blue Sky Pass by surprise?]
[Fortunately, things are not that bad. I can instantly return to Dawning Light and report this back to Blue Sky Pass.]
Just as Yang Kai flew out of the universe fragment in a hurry, he ran into Feng Ying who was chasing after him.
Yang Kai hurriedly ordered, “Quickly return to Dawning Light, the Black Ink Clan army has already set out.”
Saying so, Yang Kai took out his Space Beacon and activated it, disappearing the next moment.
Feng Ying didn’t even have time to say anything before Yang Kai had disappeared on her again. She immediately stomped her foot in anger, “That impulsive bastard!”
Left with no choice, she could only activate the Universe Transference Law and return to Dawning Light as well.
On the universe fragment where Dawning Light was concealed, Yang Kai’s figure suddenly appeared next to Miao Fei Ping. The moment he appeared, he hurriedly shouted, “Fei Ping, quickly return to Blue Sky Pass and inform the Army Commanders that the Black Ink Clan’s 200,000-strong Army has started moving… Eh? Martial Uncle Zhong, why are you here? What’s everyone doing here?”
Yang Kai’s face was filled with shock, staring at the figures around him. He was unable to comprehend what was happening.
Zhong Liang asked, furrowing his brow, “You didn’t meet Feng Ying?”
“I met her, she should be back soon,” Yang Kai subconsciously replied.
While they were talking, Feng Ying walked out from Dawning Light’s cabin, obviously having teleported back through the Universe Array; however, she arrived a few breaths later than Yang Kai.
“What’s going on?” Upon looking around, Yang Kai noticed that there were 8,000 people on this universe fragment, preparing for battle. Although everyone was silent, there was a murderous aura lingering in the air. This sight caught Yang Kai by surprise, “Is this… the entire Western Army?”
Feng Ying explained, angrily glaring at him, “When Martial Uncle learned that there were 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen gathered here, he led the Western Army here to ambush them. He plans to eliminate one of the Black Ink Clan Armies before the battle to reduce the pressure on the Great Pass.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Yang Kai looked at her.
Feng Ying rebuked him with a glare, “Did you give me a chance to speak?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but scratch his nose in embarrassment. It was a mess caused by him.
Zhong Liang asked, “Is there any movement on the Black Ink Clan’s side?”
Yang Kai quickly reported, “I don’t know where the Black Ink Clan Army has gone, but this Junior’s actions must have made them cautious. The Black Ink Clan used Black Ink Clouds to conceal their movements. I don’t know their current location.”
“They’re gone?” Zhong Liang was speechless. The Western Army had come here with such great fanfare, but now the Black Ink Clan Army had disappeared. [What the Hell? If I returned empty-handed, wouldn’t I be laughed to death by Ding Yao and the other old farts?]
Right then, he suddenly turned his head, looking towards a certain direction in the void. Not just him, but all the other Eighth-Order Division Commanders also sensed something and looked around.
Yang Kai also seemed to have sensed something, but at the end of the day, his foundation wasn’t as deep as the Eighth-Order Division Commanders so his perception wasn’t as strong.
Feng Ying was confused, seeing this, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Zhong Liang happily clapped his hands, “They didn’t run away, they actually delivered themselves to us. Interesting!”
An Eighth-Order Division Commander nodded lightly, “They split up into three groups. Are they trying to surround this place?”
Another Eighth-Order raised his brow, “Judging by the way they are acting, it seems they are aware of our ambush. Since they know there’s an ambush here, why are they being so rash?”
The Eighth Order who had spoken earlier postulated, “Perhaps they only know that there is an ambush, but they don’t know the extent of our deployment. Maybe they think that their Army of 200,000 is enough to take us down?”
“I think that’s the case; otherwise, there’d be no reason for them to willingly fall into this trap.”
Yang Kai’s expression changed as he reported, “Martial Uncle Zhong, not long ago, when I was in a skirmish with the Black Ink Clan, I vaguely felt a Territory Lord spying on me, but that Territory Lord didn’t do anything and soon disappeared. This Junior was still puzzled, but now that I think about it, that Territory Lord must have come here to investigate and noticed something.”
Zhong Liang nodded in agreement, “We are 10 days away from Blue Sky Pass, a considerable distance by all accounts. The Black Ink Clan would have never thought that we would have sent so many people here. They must be thinking that even if there is an ambush, there wouldn’t be too many of us, which is why they are acting so rashly.”
He chuckled happily, “In any case, this situation is advantageous to us. Since the Black Ink Clan wants to see Hell so badly, how can the soldiers of our Western Army not grant their wishes? Division Commanders, have the Squads on standby. When I give the order, you will attack the enemy with me!”
All the Eighth-Order Masters readily accepted the order before dispersing.
While they were speaking, the three groups of Black Ink soldiers had already arrived by the universe fragment and very soon, finished surrounding it. The Western Army soldiers on the universe fragment had naturally noticed this and this surprised them. They were here to ambush the Black Ink Clan Army, yet, suddenly, it looked like they were surrounded.
Be that as it may, they were not afraid. The Western Army deployed more than 8,000 troops for this operation. The Eighth-Order Division Commanders alone numbered over a dozen. Although the Black Ink Clan occupied the advantage in overall numbers, most of them were High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. The Human Masters had nothing to fear.
Realizing that a great battle was about to break out, all of them palmed their fists in excitement. In their eyes, the Black Ink Clan Army of 200,000 was just a pile of Military Merits up for grabs.
“Is this the place?” On the deck of a large ship, a Territory Lord looked down at the universe fragment while standing at the bow.
Wu Ying, who was standing beside him, affirmed with a nod, “En, this is it.”
The Territory Lord carefully looked around before lightly nodding, “There are indeed traces of Spirit Arrays, which only Humans use. It seems they are all hiding inside. Apparently, they are too afraid to show their faces.”
Wu Ying slightly furrowed his brow, voicing his concerns, “There were no Spirit Arrays when I first came here, so how come there are Arrays here now?”
The Territory Lord, who had just spoken, sneered, “The Humans are like that; they like to rely on external forces, but this is not Blue Sky Pass, so how powerful can hastily arranged Spirit Arrays be? With our army of 200,000, we can break them with a snap of our fingers! Pass the order, we should end this battle quickly so as to avoid delaying the attack on Blue Sky Pass.”
Wu Ying nodded and just as he was about to send a message to the Territory Lords of the other two groups the universe fragment below glimmered.
Suddenly, a gap appeared in the barrier that was covering the entire universe fragment in their direction before a large Battalion Rank Warship charged out from inside. A figure stood at the head of this Warship with his hands behind his back, staring ahead with a cold gaze. That sharp gaze immediately caused Wu Ying’s old wounds to ache.
He was all too familiar with that figure. It was none other than Zhong Liang.
Wu Ying was extremely taken aback by the fact that the Humans actually took the initiative to attack, but soon, his surprise turned into shock as he looked closely behind the Battalion Rank Warship. Smaller, but more manoeuvrable Squad Rank Warships appeared one after another.
One ship, two ships, three ships…
In an instant, an enormous number of Squad Rank Warships and Battalion Rank Warships filled his vision as the auras of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters spread across the void.
Wu Ying was shocked, “Have… have the Humans gone crazy?”
The number of Human ambushers on this universe fragment far exceeded his expectations. After having fought the Humans so many times, Wu Ying could instantly tell from the size and number of these Warships that the Humans had mobilized an entire Army for this operation.
Blue Sky Pass only had a total of four Armies, and one of them had come all the way here? Were the Humans not worried that they would not be able to return to Blue Sky Pass if they got tied down?
Regardless of what his thoughts on the matter were, Wu Ying had no time to ponder on them right now, because Zhong Liang’s figure swiftly rose from the ship and shot straight towards him, leaving a streak of light in his wake. Before he even arrived, he fired a fearsome Divine Ability at him.
Wu Ying and the Territory Lord beside him both turned pale in shock and quickly dodged. They could dodge, but the ship they were standing on couldn’t. It was directly smashed to pieces, and the Black Ink Clansmen aboard suffered heavy casualties.
One after another, figures rushed out from the Human Army, all of them in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The next moment, bursts of World Force swept through the void as each Territory Lord was targeted. In the blink of an eye, an earth-shattering battle had broken out and the shockwaves from the clash instantly killed many of the nearby Black Ink Clansmen.
Immediately after the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters engaged the enemy, the Warships began firing dazzling beams of light straight into the Black Ink Clan camp. Each beam warped space along its path, and every Black Ink Clansman that was even close to the attacks were either reduced to mist or severely injured.
In the blink of an eye, the Black Ink Clan had suffered huge losses.
Wu Ying was in an extremely tight spot as he suddenly found himself fighting three Eighth-Order Human Masters by himself! He was already not an opponent of Zhong Liang alone, but now there were two others with Zhong Liang. He fell into mortal danger after just a few breaths.
There was not that big of a gap in the strength between the average Eighth-Order Master and an ordinary Territory Lord. Even if an Eighth-Order Master was slightly stronger than a Territory Lord, this gap was still limited. Only a selected few had the prowess to kill a Territory Lord alone. These people were all top Eighth-Order Masters.
Originally, the number of Territory Lords was about the same as the number of Eighth-Order Masters on the Human Race side, with the Black Ink Clan generally having a few more.
But the Black Ink Clan Army of 200,000 had split into three groups in order to completely surround this universe fragment. Correspondingly, the dozen or so Territory Lords had split into three groups, leaving just five or six Territory Lords in each. They mainly did this to prevent the Humans from escaping.
But contrary to their expectations, the distribution of their forces had become the biggest flaw in their encirclement, giving the Humans an opportunity to take them down one by one.
The Western Army had convened its entire force and commenced the attack without warning. Wu Ying’s group was the first to bear the brunt of this assault, and it was already in full swing before the other two groups could even react.
Right now, the Western Army was facing only 70,000 or so Black Ink Clan soldiers. Although the other two groups of Black Ink Clansmen were rapidly moving to assist, it would still take them some time to arrive. The Western Army was clearly planning to slaughter as many as possible in this short time where they held the absolute advantage.
All the Territory Lords were fighting one-against-many battles, and Wu Ying’s situation wasn’t even the worst fighting three Eighth-Order Masters; for instance, the one who was standing beside him just now was actually fighting five Eighth-Order Masters alone. For a moment, Wu Ying wondered whether he should be thankful that his luck wasn’t the worst.
Obviously, the Humans had attacked with full force in order to finish off a few Territory Lords and decide the trend of the battle!
The battle had already broken out, and naturally, this had not gone unnoticed from the other two Back Ink Clan groups, but even though they responded immediately, it would still take them a dozen breaths to arrive and provide assistance.
A dozen breaths was enough to decide life and death.
Suddenly, one of the Black Ink Clan Territory Lord’s auras vanished!
From the corner of his eye, Wu Ying watched the giant figure of his comrade, who was fighting five against one, sway and fall. His head was nowhere to be seen and black blood was gushing out of his neck.
His comrade may be dead, but he simply didn’t have the time to grieve, because under the siege of the three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters led by Zhong Liang, he too was in imminent danger.
In the distance, some of the Territory Lords who had a good relationship with Wu Ying were rushing over to try to help, their faces filled with anxiety and anger. Wu Ying also tried his best to move in their direction, but every step he got closer came at the expense of several serious injuries.
After just three steps, Wu Ying felt his body lighten and the world spin around him. The concealment technique he had been relying on to survive on the battlefield was completely useless here.
[The Humans… are truly treacherous!]
Turmoil was the best portrayal of the current Black Ink Clan Army’s situation.
They had tried to besiege the Human Race’s ambushers, and every Territory Lord felt that they would be able to make a great contribution today; after all, there was a big fish like Zhong Liang among the ambushers.
But at the last moment, they realized that the fish they were after was actually a giant shark.
The Black Ink Clan Army was caught completely off guard and had lost three Territory Lords in less than a dozen breaths. They were finally able to prevent any other Territory Lord from dying after the other two teams joined the battle. As the Humans were already prepared, and the Black Ink Clan had been taken by surprise, the momentum of the battle had already been set.
Now, all that was left was to see how many of the 200,000 could escape.
Still, fleeing from the fully prepared Western Army was not an easy task. It was quite easy to be injured and even lose their lives in such situations.
The Territory Lords were well aware of this, so they didn’t immediately think to flee; instead, they ordered the various Feudal Lords to gather as many forces together as possible while they were battling with the Eighth-Order Masters.
A fleet of squad-rank and battalion-rank Warships quickly appeared on the battlefield, each of them protected by several Seventh-Order Masters. On the Warships, the glimmer of Spirit Arrays activating lit up the void. Every time an Array was triggered, it would reap the lives of many Black Ink Clan soldiers.
Needless to say, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were nothing more than cannon fodder in every battle between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race, so they suffered the most casualties as they were unable to resist the might of the Human Warships.
Although the situation of the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen was better, it wasn’t by much. The entire void seemed to have transformed into a millstone of flesh and blood, constantly grinding away the lives of the Black Ink Clan.
Dawning Light sailed through the battlefield. Yang Kai, Feng Ying, and several other Seventh-Order Masters floated around the Warship, each of them using their respective Divine Abilities to kill the surrounding enemies. Bai Yi stood at the prow, shooting down Feudal Lords at will. From time to time, she would even harass the Territory Lords who were fighting with the Eighth-Order Masters, causing them great frustration.
A Seventh-Order Human who was proficient in archery was a great deterrent on the battlefield, especially for those Territory Lords who were caught in the heat of battle and had to divert some of their attention to guard against Bai Yi’s sneak attacks.
Their strength was already inferior to the Eighth-Order Humans, and now they had an extra concern while locked in battle.
Yang Kai did not try to hit the Territory Lords when they were down, instead focusing on the Feudal Lords, which gave him brilliant results. Which Feudal Lord could block his spear? Furthermore, Dawn’s configuration was incomparable with any ordinary Squads. Not only were there more Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but Dawning Light’s capabilities were far superior to other Squad Rank Warships.
Wherever Dawning Light passed, it instantly emptied a large area of Black Ink Clansmen.
The great battle entered a fever pitch soon after it began. The Western Army wanted a quick, decisive victory, so they did not hold back in the slightest.
Although they were far away from the support of Blue Sky Pass, the Black Ink Clan Army was caught by surprise by the Western Army and was dealt a heavy initial blow that they were unable to recover from. It was obvious they could not hold out much longer.
Even though the Territory Lords knew that a disorderly retreat at this time would increase their casualties, if they did not flee, there was a great possibility that the entire army would be destroyed. If they could sacrifice their 200,000 troops for some Human lives, then it would not be considered a total loss; however, all the Fifth and Sixth-Order Humans were hiding in their Warships and would remain safe until their Warship was destroyed. Meanwhile, although there were some Seventh-Order Masters roaming the battlefield, they did not move far from the protection of their own Warships and would retreat to safety as soon as things became dangerous.
Many Black Ink Clansmen were killed or wounded in a fierce battle that lasted half a day, while the casualties on the Human side were quite low.
In such a situation, the choice was clear.
Since the Black Ink Clan Army had been defeated and was retreating, the Humans naturally would not let this good opportunity go to waste. Under the leadership of the many Eighth-Order Masters, they began chasing down and eliminating as many Black Ink Clansmen as possible.
They did not stop until two days later.
The result of the battle was spectacular, but it was impossible to know the exact numbers. The Black Ink Clansmen who escaped shouldn’t have numbered more than 50,000, which meant that at least 150,000 Black Ink Clansmen were killed in this engagement. Although it was not a total annihilation, it was still an enormous success.
Among the 150,000 Black Ink Clan casualties, less than half were killed in the initial battle while the majority were slaughtered as they fled.
150,000 casualties was not a big deal for the Black Ink Clan though as each time they laid siege to Blue Sky Pass with a huge army numbering in the millions. 150,000 troops worth of losses would not impact the overall situation much, only alleviate some of the pressure on the Humans in the initial stages of the war.
What was hard for the Black Ink Clan to accept was that in this battle, they had lost four Territory Lords.
Three of them were killed by the Eighth-Order Masters at the beginning of the battle, and the fourth was killed during the subsequent battle.
This was the loss that really hurt the Black Ink Clan.
As long as there were Black Ink Nests and available resources, they could easily replenish their 150,000 lost troops; however, four Territory Lords were not so easy to replace.
It took a very long time to cultivate even one Territory Lord. In the past, every time the two Races fought, there would be very few fallen Territory Lords. Almost all the dead were the Black Ink Clansmen under the Territory Lord Rank.
Thus, it could be said that the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy losses this time.
Warships of different sizes stopped in the void as the Western Army soldiers abided by the order to halt their pursuit.
Firstly, continued pursuit of the Black Ink Clan would not change the results of the battle significantly; secondly, they had to guard against being ambushed by the other Black Ink Clan armies. After all, if they were to be led into a trap by another fleeing Black Ink Clansmen, they would be at serious risk so far from Blue Sky Pass.
Thus, the Western Army decided to stand down and accept their victory.
The 200,000 Black Ink Clan Army had basically been beaten half to death, and the remaining stragglers could only rally together with the other armies.
The Western Army’s losses were negligible by comparison. Not many fell during this battle as the Warship’s all-encompassing protection allowed them to remain safe during critical situations. However, it was inevitable that the Western Army still incurred numerous casualties in such a large engagement.
“All Squads regroup. We’re heading back to Blue Sky Pass!” Zhong Liang gave an order that echoed across the void.
All abided by the order and one by one, the Squad Leaders and Battalion Commanders collected their Warships by placing them into their Small Universes. Then, huge flashing arrays of light appeared at the feet of the Western Army officers and soldiers one after another. Each flashing light represented an Open Heaven Realm Master returning to Blue Sky Pass through the Universe Array there.
The withdrawal was large, but orderly.
More than ten Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master guarded the four directions while those in the Fifth-Order were the first to transport back to the Great Pass, followed by those in the Sixth-Order, and then the Seventh-Orders.
Batch after batch of Open Heaven Realm Masters used the Universe Transference Law in a spectacular scene.
In the past, before Yang Kai had arrived on the Black Ink Battlefield, Blue Sky Pass did not dare to let their troops use the Universe Arrays at will, even though they possessed them.
If a Black Ink Disciple infiltrated the Universe Array, then there might be serious consequences.
Things were different now that they had Purifying Light sealed in each Universe Array. Even if a Black Ink Disciple managed to sneak in, they would be instantly purified; thus, there was no risk of being infiltrated via the Universe Array like before. Not to mention that before this battle began, everyone had received a Purifying Black Ink Pill for safety.
Now that there was a way to resist invasion by Black Ink Strength and a swift method to withdraw from the battlefield, the Humans would naturally have the means to take the fight to the enemy.
This was also the first time in countless years that the Human Race conducted this kind of action. It was considered a bold attempt with better-than-expected results. With the success of this initiative, there would surely be more such battles in the future.
The Black Ink Clan no longer held the initiative to wage war.
Once all the Western Army soldiers had re-grouped at Blue Sky Pass, the remaining Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters each activated the Universe Transference Law.
With the return of the Western Army soldiers, the victory of the battle quickly spread throughout the Inner Sanctum, and the entire Blue Sky Pass was in high spirits.
However, this was not the end of it.
The Black Ink Clan countered with another three 200,000-strong armies that approached from three different routes. Perhaps they had already learned what happened to the army that had branched out and lost their men. Either way, within two days of the Western Army’s return to the Pass, Human scouts from afar reported that the enemy armies were advancing towards Blue Sky Pass.
The entire Blue Sky Pass had been in a state of readiness for battle for countless years, so everyone knew exactly what they needed to do.
This time, however, Blue Sky Pass had a pleasant surprise in store for the Black Ink Clan Army.
Half a month later, the three Black Ink Clan Armies finally arrived at the million kilometres mark outside the Pass. The gathering heads looked spectacular from afar, and with Black Ink Strength emanating from them, it was as if a dark storm cloud was rolling in.
However, the Black Ink Clan did not attack immediately. After two or three days of gathering, they finally divided their forces into four groups and surrounded Blue Sky Pass from all four cardinal directions.
The Black Ink Clan Army surrounded the Great Pass just as they had for countless years.
The Black Ink Clan could not be blamed for using the same tactics as usual. With a huge Army numbering in the hundreds of thousands gathered in one place, there was really no need for original thinking. If they split up further that would only provide the Humans the opportunity to pick them off one group at a time.
The troops were divided into four groups so that the Humans could only deal with them head-on. In terms of numbers, the Humans were always at a disadvantage.
The two or three days of delay was most likely due to reorganizing the troops.
The three Armies were similar to the original Army that fled and had about 200,000 troops each. The original Fourth Army was beaten half to death and could not just rely on the 50,000 or so remnants to organize a counterattack. It would be suicide if they tried.
They had no choice but to divide part of the three groups into four so that they could have an effective siege.
With nearly 700,000 troops, it was still not the smallest number of troops the Black Ink Clan had used to surround their enemy. There had been times when their numbers had been much smaller.
After all, most of their troops were just cannon fodder, used to absorb the opening blow and create a favourable battlefield for the stronger Black Ink Clansmen.
When the Black Ink Clan got into position, they did not hesitate at all and immediately attacked Blue Sky Pass.
An endless number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen attacked from all four directions towards Blue Sky Pass, shouting and screaming with no regard for their lives.
Once they reached a certain distance, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen used their powers to attack Blue Sky Pass; however, their attacks were destined to be futile. The entire Blue Sky Pass could be considered a massive Mobile Palace Artifact. Through the countless years of operation by the Humans, there were countless shield and barrier Spirit Arrays arranged to deal with the Black Ink Clan’s attacks.
This was not only true for Blue Sky Pass, but for every Great Pass.
The walls of the Great Pass were unfazed by the Low-Rank Black Ink Clan’s Secret Techniques. The walls of Blue Sky Pass were protected by an outer layer light barrier, and the attacks only created ripples on its outer surface.
The Black Ink Clan was not discouraged and kept attacking.
It took energy to maintain such a barrier, and one of the tasks of the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, who were just cannon fodder, was to consume the power of the Humans.
100,000 kilometres… 80,000 kilometres… when the Black Ink Clan was within 50,000 kilometres of Blue Sky Pass, huge pillars of energy suddenly surged from the walls. As those pillars of energy blasted into the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen it was like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. Blasting out attacks of different shapes and sizes.
Under the terrifying bombardment, large numbers of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen instantly turned into dust.
At 50,000 kilometres, they were basically right under the nose of Blue Sky Pass, and the Secret Techniques from any Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with the support of offensive Arrays could reach such a distance.
So every time the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder attacked, many would be killed at this 50,000-kilometre line.