When troops of the Black Ink Clan died, the Black Ink Strength that escaped from their corpses would fill the void. When it reached a certain density, it would turn into Black Ink Clouds.
Such an environment caused great trouble to the Human Race. While the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could hide in their Warships and rely on them for protection, the Seventh-Order Masters had to roam around the battlefield to make the best use of their strength to kill the enemy. When the battlefield was filled with Black Ink Strength, they had to utilize their own strength to resist its corrosive effects.
The Black Ink Clan could also hide among the Black Ink Clouds to launch sneak attacks.
This was the biggest effect of the cannon fodder. Their deaths not only created a lot of potential problems for the Humans, but they also provided better conditions for the Black Ink Clan Army to fight in.
However, now that Blue Sky Pass not only had Purifying Light, but also Purifying Black Ink Pills, it was hard to say if the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder strategy would work this time.
“Senior Brother, your aim is off. You should target the denser crowds to kill more of the Black Ink Clan,” a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master said on the Western wall of Blue Sky Pass.
In front of him, Yang Kai sat within a Grand Array that had a giant crossbow-like artifact installed in it. His stirring World Force began to calm down slowly.
Yang Kai did not need to participate at this point; after all, this was only the early stages of the battle as each Black Ink Clan siege would generally drag on for a long time. Additionally, he had only just returned from a battle with the Western Army and should be spending this time recuperating.
A Master like him would only be required when the real battle began.
The Black Ink Clan attacked Blue Sky Pass with cannon fodder to create a favourable battlefield, and the Humans responded from behind Blue Sky Pass’ shields.
Such a fight would last at least a month or two until the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder was exhausted. Only then would the main enemy force attack. At that time, it would be difficult for Blue Sky Pass’ shields alone to resist the assault. They would need to go out to meet the enemy directly on the battlefield. Then it would become a back-and-forth fight for years to decades until the Black Ink Clan could not handle it anymore and retreated.
However, considering his current Artifact Refining mastery, which had recently reached the Grandmaster Rank, Zhong Liang had positioned Yang Kai at the Western wall.
Numerous artifacts, which were used as Array Cores, were set up here. When used in high-intensity battles, wear and tear became obvious. This would then require Artifact Refiners to maintain and repair them, while Array Masters had to be on standby to coordinate with them.
Yang Kai was now stationed on the Western wall and was performing repairs on a large artifact known as a Scattering Feathers Crossbow.
This artifact was specially made for such a battlefield scenario and needed to be paired with an appropriate Spirit Array to fully utilise its strength.
Of course, it was possible to use this giant Artifact all on its own, but even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai would find it hard to bring out its full power in a battlefield setting.
Thus, it was not quite the same as the normal artifacts used by a cultivator.
The Array Masters used this Scattering Feathers Crossbow as an Array Core for a Grand Array that defended this section of the wall. Yang Kai simply poured his own power into the Grand Array to stimulate the power of the Scattering Feathers Crossbow.
There were Artifact Refiners and Array Masters assigned to each section of Blue Sky Pass’ walls at regular intervals, all of them on standby to repair and maintain them. That was how each of the artifacts were kept functioning during battle.
This arrangement had the advantage of allowing lower-order Open Heaven Realm Masters to exert the killing power of High-Rank Masters. In short, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could exert the power of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master if he operated the Scattering Feathers Crossbows.
This was the same principle as the artifacts placed on Warships, where Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Humans could combine their might and launch attacks on par with Seventh-Order Masters against the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Master, and an extremely powerful one at that, but this was the first time he operated this artifact so he had to get used to it, and the best way to do so was to fire it.
With Yang Kai operating it, this Scattering Feathers Crossbow could launch an attack comparable in power to his Golden Crow Casts the Sun, which was quite astonishing.
The Array Master behind Yang Kai was called Lu Xing. He knew who Yang Kai was, but Yang Kai did not know him. This wasn’t a surprise though as, by now, Yang Kai was universally known throughout Blue Sky Pass.
As an Array Master, Lu Xing had never been involved in a head-on clash with the Black Ink Clan. Each time the Black Ink Clan attacked, he was responsible for the maintenance of this section of the wall. Artifact Refiners, Alchemists, and Array Masters were never allowed on the battlefield because, not only were their skills extremely valuable, but they had often immersed themselves in their respective Daos and were not proficient in fighting. Thus, they were not that useful in combat.
Lu Xing was thrilled to learn that he would be working with the famous Yang Kai to maintain this section of the wall. He secretly told himself that he would do his utmost to assist Senior Brother Yang to kill as many of the Black Ink Clansmen as possible.
He observed that Yang Kai’s attack had gone off the mark, and immediately gave his opinion.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, and as Lu Xing suggested, he adjusted his aim down a bit, and then pushed his own power into the artifact.
The Grand Array hummed, condensing power into the Scattering Feathers Crossbow, causing it to shine brightly.
Yang Kai did not rush to attack, wanting to test the limits of this weapon.
As World Force continued to pour into the Grand Array, the crossbow glowed brighter and brighter, and the energy arrow soon became as bright as the sun.
Lu Xing turned pale as he said nervously, “Senior Brother hold back a little, the Grand Array is about to reach its limit.”
Yang Kai did not know that the Grand Array was about to reach its limit; however, he could tell that the Scattering Feathers Crossbow was beginning to strain under the energy he channelled into it.
It was not surprising that this would happen when a cultivator poured in too much World Force. Furthermore, with the additive effects of the Grand Array, the power of the cultivator would be significantly enhanced.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense locked onto the place where the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder had gathered in the largest number in front of him, and, as he was about to launch his attack, Yang Kai suddenly he had a bout of inspiration and he lifted his hand slightly.
The array buzzed and the void shook, a dazzling light shot out, flying some 100,000 kilometres away.
Lu Xing thought that Yang Kai had missed again, and this time it was even more outrageous than before, but when he looked up, he saw the stream of light had reached the rear of the approaching Black Ink Clan Army before exploding into thousands of rays of light, just like a peacock opening its tail from afar!
“Hahaha!” Yang Kai laughed heartily.
Lu Xing might not be able to see the effect of the strike due to his limited strength, but Yang Kai could see clearly the full effect of the Scattering Feathers Crossbow. Not only did he manage to fire the weapon to the 100,000-kilometre mark, he managed to cause some casualties to the unsuspecting Black Ink Clan Army. At least 100 Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were turned into dust by that attack and even more were injured.
The Scattering Feathers Crossbow was meant to be an area-of-effect weapon, and it suddenly struck the rear of the Black Ink Clan Army, which no one was prepared for.
This artifact was more powerful than an ordinary full-powered attack from him, making it worthy of being an all-rounded weapon used for both offence and defence. With such artifacts, the Human Race didn’t need to worry that the Great Pass would fall.
However, such a move was only effective for the first strike and its effect was also limited. When repeatedly done, the Black Ink Clan would be able to guard against it, not to mention the distance his attack had to travel to hit its target made it easier to dodge for those paying attention.
Additionally, launching such powerful attacks would wear down the Scattering Feathers Crossbow and damage it in no time.
Yang Kai just wanted to test where the limits of this Array Artifact were. Dawning Light was also equipped with a Scattering Feathers Crossbow, but he was always roaming around the battlefield to kill the enemies while the Squad’s Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order members were the ones who operated this artifact.
With a plan in mind, Yang Kai once again poured in his power.
Lu Xing watched with trepidation as Yang Kai began channelling his energy; however, he did not do anything unconventional this time. He aimed the weapon and attacked the tidal wave of Black Ink Clan cannon fodder coming in front of him.
One after another, giant bolts of light cleared an area of the void without stopping.
Lu Xing was deeply impressed. He had seen people manipulate this artifact before, but they fired far less rapidly and with far less force than Yang Kai. He had finally seen for himself the reason why Yang Kai was so legendary.
The high intensity of the fight lasted for three days and nights. The Black Ink Clan cannon fodder seemed to be inexhaustible, so no matter how many were killed, more would show up. Furthermore, Black Ink Cloud began to block his view.
Yang Kai had stopped for a moment. The Grand Array formation and Scattering Feathers Crossbow needed to cool down and be repaired. Additionally, he had expended his energy and required some time to restore it.
The good thing was that there were many Grand Arrays and artifacts arranged on the walls; thus, they could take turns to rest and conduct maintenance on some while others were still active. Thus, the intensity of the bombardment would not drop.
After more than 20 days of fighting like this, the wave of cannon fodder finally came to an end. Almost all the cannon fodder that was put into the battlefield was dead.
This was the standard tactic of the Black Ink Clan. They had an endless supply of cannon fodder and could sacrifice them without any concerns. Creating a favourable battlefield with the death of some cannon fodder was well worth it.
Furthermore, in the days to come, the Black Ink Clan would continue to send a steady stream of troops against Blue Sky Pass, including a large number of cannon fodder which had been sent from the Black Ink Clan’s territory as reinforcements. Such attacks would continue throughout the duration of the war.
In between, it would be time for Black Ink Clan’s main forces to enter the battlefield.
The void was silent as Black Ink Strength accumulated and Black Ink Clouds enveloped Blue Sky Pass. The movement of the Black Ink Clan Army was not visible from 100,000 kilometres away anymore. From past experience, the Humans knew that the main force of the Black Ink Clan had begun to move, but they could not track them as they were still too far away.
The Human soldiers gathered to prepare for the impending attack.
Before they encountered the Black Ink Clan main force, they would continue to use the artifacts on the walls to launch harassing attacks. They were not just for eliminating the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder, but also a strong weapon to fight the Black Ink Clan main force.
A sense of anticipation permeated the entire Blue Sky Pass.
At the West Gate, Squads were assembled, and Dawn was among them.
Yang Kai had left his position on the wall days ago, leaving others to operate and maintain the Scattering Feathers Crossbows.
As they waited, they suddenly felt a wave of energy surging in from all directions and the whole Blue Sky Pass hummed loudly. Blasts of light from Array Artifacts were constantly sent out in all directions from the walls.
The battle had begun!
Large-scale army combat was not new to Yang Kai. He was once involved in a Blue Sky Pass battle 100 years ago, and more recently at Yin-Yang Pass.
The key point was to work with one’s own Squad, as well as other Squads, and try not to be surrounded by too many enemies. Fight and kill as many of the Black Ink Clansmen while constantly remaining on the move and not charging out recklessly on your own.
In terms of numbers alone, the Humans were always at a disadvantage, but they could win by relying on their flexibility, and their carefully designed Warships. The foundation of the Human Race’s ability to survive so long was that they knew how to advance and retreat when needed.
This was the first attack by the main force of the Black Ink Clan Army, and the two sides engaged in a fierce melee in the 100,000-kilometre zone around Blue Sky Pass for half a month before respectively withdrawing.
The Black Ink Clan lost a lot of troops and retreated beyond the 100,000-kilometre mark to regroup, while the Humans returned to the Pass to rest and recover.
The Territory Lords did not fight this time and only watched from afar. Likewise, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters did not participate. Each of these top Masters had their own opponents, and if they rushed rashly into the battlefield, they would only give the enemy the opportunity to find an opening for a breakthrough.
The two sides had fought for countless years and neither was stupid, which was why the previous ambush that killed four Territory Lords was a rare achievement for Blue Sky Pass.
Throughout the void, two powerful Wills were engaged in a heated confrontation. One from Blue Sky Pass and one hiding somewhere behind the Black Ink Clan Army.
These two Wills were from the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord.
The Royal Lord had naturally come to the battle. If he did not come, the Old Ancestor could act unconstrained and kill the Territory Lords at will. Thus, each time the Black Ink Clan Army surrounded the Pass, the Royal Lord would sit at the back of the army and act to constrain the Human Old Ancestor.
These two were also old enemies who had fought each other numerous times, so they knew each other’s methods very well.
However, generally speaking, these two would not fight directly. Their respective presence only served as a deterrent. They only utilized their Wills to confront one another while making their intent clear, ‘If you dare to come out to the battlefield, there will be bloodshed!’
It was very rare that the two would actually engage in a bitter battle. At their cultivation realm, it was almost impossible that one could kill the other, so a battle would only result in both of them being severely injured. The higher one’s cultivation, the more difficult it was for them to heal from injuries. Thus, they would rather sit back and face each other from afar.
The first major attack on Blue Sky Pass did not have the desired effect; however, the Black Ink Clan was not discouraged. They had learned of the resilience of the Human Race countless times. If it was really so easy to break through the Human defences, they would suspect that there would be some form of trap waiting for them.
After recuperating for a while, the battle resumed.
However, it was not as intense as the first battle. Only small groups of troops fought in minor skirmishes.
After that, it was basically a small fight once every five days, then a big battle once a month. This gave the Humans plenty of time to restore their strength. The Squads who were not involved in the battles could rest and recuperate while holding their positions.
Yang Kai led Dawn out several times, participated in many battles with the Black Ink Clan, and killed numerous enemies.
Two years later, the Black Ink Strength and the Black Ink Clouds outside of Blue Sky Pass began to diminish significantly. After all, no amount of Black Ink Strength and Black Ink Clouds could survive the clash of a large group of Open Heaven Realm Masters and powerful Black Ink Clansmen.
As usual, it would not take long for the Black Ink Clan to send another large number of cannon fodder and reinforcements to repeat their previous actions.
However, there would generally be a big clash before that happened.
Blue Sky Pass had been waiting for this battle.
Zhong Liang, the overall commander of the operation, summoned all the leaders to the Main Conference Hall. All the Division Commanders, Battalion Commanders, and even Squad Leaders were gathered on his orders.
With everyone’s attention on him, Zhong Liang swept his gaze around as he spoke solemnly, “In three to five days, or at the latest, half a month, the Black Ink Clan will definitely launch a strong attack. We have waited for this battle at Blue Sky Pass for two years. This is the situation we painstakingly prepared for and we must finish it in one decisive blow. Over the years, you must have heard many discussions that happened within the Inner Sanctum. Everything we’ve been arranging has been for this moment. If we win this battle, Blue Sky Pass will have 1,000 years of peace. It is incumbent on everyone to fight as hard as they can. Those who do not give their all, I will personally cut down!”
In this battle, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would handle the Territory Lords, while the Battalion Commanders and Squad Leaders would each provide support while clearing out the weaker opponents.
Zhong Liang straightened his back and declared, “I expect everyone to follow my orders and not try to show off. Don’t think that because you’ve killed one or two Territory Lords, they have suddenly become easy to kill.”
A group of people looked towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai awkwardly coughed, “Why are you looking at me?”
He was standing among a group of Squad Leaders and wondered why Zhong Liang specifically mentioned this and targeted him.
A Squad Leader next to him chuckled lightly, “Who else in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, besides you, has killed a Territory Lord?”
Yang Kai muttered, “I didn’t intend to. There were circumstances, mixed with some opportunities that I just happened to grasp.”
Zhong Liang glared at him from above, “What did you say? Louder. My hearing is impaired. I can’t hear clearly!”
Yang Kai braced himself and said loudly, “Army Commander, I would like to ask, how can you be sure that the Territory Lords will act this time? For the past two years, they have been content to sit back and watch.”
Zhong Liang growled, “It’s exactly because they haven’t done anything for the last two years that they are definitely going to fight this time. The Royal Lord sits as their absolute commander. Now that the Black Ink Clan losses are significant, it is even more important for these Territory Lords to enter the battlefield, even if it is just for appearances. Otherwise, why would they even be here? For sightseeing?”
“Junior understands,” Yang Kai responded loudly.
“Shut up if you understand!” Zhong Liang reached out and pointed at him, “If I find out later that you jumped out to try to block a Territory Lord, I’ll make sure you get the punishment you deserve!”
Yang Kai nodded obediently and shouted, “Junior will obey your orders!”
Zhong Liang was satisfied with Yang Kai’s response. He then raised a hand and rays of light shot out from it. One ray was sent to each Squad Leader and Battalion Commander.
“Each of you familiarize yourselves with these and make your preparations, but remember that the situation on the battlefield can change rapidly. Do not force yourselves if you can’t do it. Even if you can’t use this this time, there will be a next time as long as you survive, understand?”
“Yes!” Everyone answered loudly and immediately dispersed to their respective homes.
Zhong Liang distributed two items to the Seventh-Order Leaders, a jade slip and a jade pendant.
The jade slip was clearly marked with a location outside of Blue Sky Pass, while the jade pendant was a Control Jade. This was Blue Sky Pass’ special surprise for the Black Ink Clan Army.
Zhong Liang was right when he said that if this operation was successful, Blue Sky Pass would not see a big war for the next 1,000 years. Thus, everyone took it very seriously.
It took Yang Kai only two days to refine the Control Jade. Obviously, the other Squad Leaders and Battalion Commanders were not too far behind.
Everything was ready for the Black Ink Clan Army to attack.
The wait was torturous, but the situation was just as Zhong Liang had anticipated. 10 days later, the Black Ink Clan came out in force, and this time, the Territory Lords, who had been watching for more than two years now, finally joined the battle.
They could not help it. In the two years of fighting, the Black Ink Clan Army suffered a lot of losses. The Royal Lord was still their commander and the Territory Lords could not continue to loiter in the rear. Even though they knew that they could not take down Blue Sky Pass with their current force, they still had to put in the effort to gain something from this.
Naturally, they held no expectation to take Blue Sky Pass in this battle, they only aimed to inflict more damage to the Humans, while the follow-up Black Ink Clan reinforcements were on the way. It would not take long for their fallen troops to be replenished. Afterwards, they could continue to chip away at the Human’s defences and wear down their strength.
The fighting was fierce and intense.
However, this time the battle was obviously different than before. Previously, the Squads of the Western Army did not have a fixed position on the battlefield and basically roamed around freely within a certain range. They would proceed to wherever there were more Black Ink Clansmen to kill.
This time was different though. On close observation, one could see that a Squad was fixed in a certain area of the battlefield. They would not move out of their assigned region as they fought against the Black Ink Clan Army.
Not only the Squads, but also the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters began to lure their opponents to specific areas.
Yang Kai led Dawn to cut through the battlefield, using the Dao of Space to imprison the void and encircle a large area of space.
In this area, there were at least 3,000 to 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen, with the bulk of them being High-Rank Clansmen together with a number of Feudal Lords. These 3,000 to 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen were much more experienced and stronger than the initial Black Ink Clan cannon fodder.
This was natural; after all, the cannon fodder was all dead, and after more than two years of fighting, the number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen had decreased drastically.
Yang Kai was not satisfied and pushed his Space Principles to the limit, encircling more and more Black Ink Clansmen.
Dawn’s strength and domineering attitude finally caught the attention of the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen, who were going towards them.
There were many similar Squads who operated like Dawn, but each had their own way of doing things. Each Squad had a large number of Black Ink Clansmen gathered around them.
The situation was going well, but a few people had some comments.
“Brother Yang, why are you snatching so many?” The Leader of a nearby Squad suddenly sent a message via Divine Sense, sounding annoyed.
This could not be helped. There was a group of Black Ink Clan that was heading for his Squad, but they were trapped by Yang Kai’s Space Principles and immediately drawn towards Dawn.
Yang Kai smiled back and said, “Dawn has more people, so we have to kill more.
The Squad Leader was dumbfounded, “These are just small fry. Brother Yang, even if you want to eat the meat, at least share some soup!”
Yang Kai ignored the request and did not even respond to his request.
The Squad Leader yelled furiously, “You scoundrel! How can you be so selfish?”
The lights on Dawning Light flashed wildly. Even though the team members used the Warship to dodge flexibly, there was no way to avoid all the attacks of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen. With so many Secret Techniques hitting Dawning Light’s shields, they faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Miao Fei Ping reported nervously, “Martial Uncle, the Protective Array won’t last much longer.”
There were too many Black Ink Clansmen around Dawning Light, including many attacking Feudal Lords. Although Dawning Light’s performance was excellent, it could not withstand the intense bombardment of so many enemies. Miao Fei Ping began to sweat as the Black Ink Clansmen closed in.
“How much longer can it last?” Yang Kai asked.
Miao Fei Ping immediately replied, “10 breaths at most!”
After 10 breaths, the Protective Array would be broken, and Dawning Light would have no protection at all. His more than 30 Squad members would be exposed to the Black Ink Clan’s attacks, and it was difficult to say if they could survive such an onslaught.
“Understood!” Yang Kai replied, and instead of expanding the battle further, he quietly fished out the Control Jade, silently pushing his power in preparation to activate it.
Yang Kai was not the only one who did this; all the other Squad Leaders did the same.
Above the battlefield, the Royal Lord hid in a Black Ink Cloud and looked down from above.
As a Royal Lord, his senses were extremely sharp. He could sense that the Humans’ behaviour was a bit unusual. The other Black Ink Clansmen may not have noticed it since they were too focused on their own fights, but he did; after all, he had an overview of the whole situation.
The Human Squads seemed to be splitting the battlefield. Since the beginning of the battle, the Humans avoided moving around and did not seem eager to kill the enemy. This was very different from previous battles.
[The Humans must be up to something!] The Royal Lord had a bad feeling about the situation and felt that the Humans had some kind of scheme. Every Black Ink Clansman had experienced how sly and cunning these Humans were at some point in time.
He was not worried about himself. Before absolute power, all plots and schemes were futile; however, he could not act at will. The aura of the old ghost from Blue Sky Pass was locked on him. If he struck out, he might show an opening and would be hit hard by that old ghost. At their Realm, it would be a huge problem if that happened; therefore, he could not give the Human Old Ancestor this opportunity.
[Still, what are the Humans up to?]
The answer would soon be revealed.
Just as Dawning Light’s shields were about to fail, a Divine Sense transmission in the battlefield exploded in the ears of every Human, “Now!”
It was Zhong Liang’s voice!
Yang Kai, who had been prepared for this, did not hesitate. He pushed the power of the jade in his hand, and it shone with a profound light.
The light shot into empty space and dissipated; however, immediately afterwards, a huge black hole suddenly appeared and rapidly expanded.
In that area, whether it was Dawn or the Black Ink Clansmen, none of them had time to react. The black hole enveloped the surrounding area, and although the Black Ink Clan noticed something bad was happening and wanted to get away, they could not overcome the powerful suction force.
The black hole expanded to its limits in just three breaths of time; then, as quickly as it appeared, it collapsed in on itself and disappeared.
Also disappearing was Dawn Squad and the 3,000 or 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen nearby!
This not only happened to Dawn, but to every Human Squad on the entire battlefield outside Blue Sky Pass. Such scenes repeated one after another. Black holes appeared rapidly, expanded, and then disappeared with all the nearby Humans and Black Ink Clansmen.
As soon as these black holes appeared, the Royal Lord knew exactly why he felt so uneasy.
The Humans actually laid a large number of traps outside Blue Sky Pass. The origin of these traps was the Universe Paradises and the Universe Cave Heavens left behind after the death of the Humans Open Heaven Realm Masters over the years.
The Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens expanded into huge black holes when they were suddenly opened, and perhaps because of Spirit Arrays, they collapsed back and sucked in all the nearby Humans and Black Ink Clansmen.
The Royal Lord could never have imagined that something left behind by a dead person could still have such an effect.
The Black Ink Clan had never encountered such a tactic before, so it was certain that this was something new that the Humans set up in the last 100 years.
But if the Humans could do something like this, why hadn’t they done so before? Why wait until now? The Royal Lord could not figure it out. He only knew that he could still not act right now, even though the losses were most likely going to be catastrophic.
With his strength, he was capable of stopping this. From the appearance of the huge black holes to their disappearances, a few breaths of time would pass. Those who were caught were powerless to resist, but the Royal Lord could have saved them.
However, he did not dare to do so; after all, the Human Old Ancestor was intensely focused on him, like a predator that could lash out at any moment and deal him a fatal blow.
Thus, he could only watch as the Army under his command was devoured, one by one by the numerous black holes.
“Hmph!” In the Inner Sanctum, the Old Ancestor snorted in displeasure. The Royal Lord was truly tolerant. He would rather watch the Black Ink Clan Army suffer than risk his safety.
However, the overall situation had been decided. Blue Sky Pass would definitely usher in a long period of peace, and in the meantime, the Black Ink Clan could only cower in a corner.
The original battlefield suddenly became empty after the sudden appearance and collapse of the black holes. There were some lucky Black Ink Clansmen who did not get caught of course, but they were left confused and disoriented, not sure what to do now.
Without waiting for them to figure it out, powerful Secret Techniques and artifacts shelled them from the four walls, causing them to scurry for cover.
Dawning Light quietly hovered in the air while the thousands of Black Ink Clansmen that were gathered up by Yang Kai’s Space Principles had disappeared.
However, Yang Kai knew that all those Black Ink Clan troops were in this Sealed World, just scattered about. All Dawn needed to do was to find them and kill them one by one.
“Is this a Universe Cave Heaven?” Feng Ying looked around and began to ponder.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “En, it’s a Universe Cave Heaven. I don’t know which Senior left it.”
Feng Ying understood, “The 100-year plan is finally being used, huh? Is this what you guys were gathering for?”
The content of that gathering held by Zhong Liang was not revealed to Feng Ying and the others. The existence of such an important plan involving the peace of Blue Sky Pass for the next 1,000 years had to be kept a tight secret. Feng Ying certainly understood this.
Nonetheless, the existence of these traps was well known; after all, the Inner Sanctum had spent 100 years and a lot of resources creating them. Every Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise that could be used had a large number of Spirit Arrays arranged inside. Even then, it was still impossible to suck in all the Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield.
Not only that, but each Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise also had a Spirit Array at its entrance, which would send the Black Ink Clansmen being pulled in to random locations.
In other words, besides Dawn, which remained together, the Black Ink Clan that were brought in were scattered all over the place. Not only here, but also in the other Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens. Thus, this gave the Human Squads the opportunity to kill them off, one by one.
After being pulled into such a space, the Black Ink Clansmen’s fate was already sealed.
It was time to hunt!
Yang Kai pushed his power into the jade in his hand. With the power of the Control Jade, he looked in a certain direction and said, “There are many Black Ink Clansmen gathering over there.”
Upon hearing this, the team member in charge of Dawning Light immediately made a slight adjustment to their heading and sailed the ship in the direction Yang Kai had indicated.
Although the Black Ink Clansmen were randomly distributed within this Universe Cave Heaven, there would always be some that were lucky enough to quickly gather together. This was also because Yang Kai had rounded up some 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen this time.
Right now, there were several dozens of Black Ink Clansmen gathered together in the spot Yang Kai pointed out. They were naturally confused when they suddenly appeared in such a strange place and could not understand what had happened.
One Feudal Lord vaguely guessed that this place should be a Small Universe that was left behind when an Open Heaven Realm Human died in the past.
He was thinking that no matter what had happened, he should gather more of his clansmen first. Only if he gathered enough power would he have a chance to break out of the Humans’ plot.
At that moment, he suddenly felt something and turned his head to look in a certain direction. To his horror, he saw a Human Warship speeding towards them.
The Feudal Lord was shocked as he yelled, “It’s that Human Squad!”
On the battlefield, battles were mostly dominated by Human Warships. Now that both Humans and their Warship had been sucked into this place, it spelled their doom!
Hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield would find it hard to defeat a Human Warship, so now there were only a trivial few dozen of them, they would certainly be like appetizers served up on a platter.
The Feudal Lord was quick to understand what was going to happen, so as soon as he saw Dawning Light, he immediately fled in the opposite direction.
But, how could he escape? Dawning Light’s speed had been pushed to the limit in order to ruthlessly kill all the nearby Black Ink Clansmen as soon as possible.
Before the Warship even arrived, powerful attacks were launched and the Black Ink Clansmen fell in droves.
The Feudal Lord was still running wildly when he suddenly felt a figure flash by his side. He turned his head to look and saw a Human youth looking at him with a smile, who then said, “Die early and you’ll be reborn early, why struggle so much?”
As he spoke, the youth summoned a long spear into his hand and with a simple thrust, it swept towards him.
The Feudal Lord was frightened to death and wanted to resist, but no matter what he did, he could not avoid this spear tip as it seemed to seal off the space around him as it approached.
The huge figure exploded mid-air into a bloody black mist. Yang Kai then dashed back and pointed in another direction, “That way!”
With the Control Jade in his hand, the Black Ink Clansmen hiding in the Universe Cave Heaven were like fireflies in the dark night, unable to hide from his detection regardless of how much they tried.
Dawn swiftly hunted down and killed the scattered enemies, meeting little to no resistance.
If the 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen that were swept into this place could gather together, it would be difficult for the Dawning Light to deal with them; however, now that these Black Ink Clansmen were scattered, even if some managed to regroup, there were not many of them. Thus, it was difficult for them to resist Dawn’s assault.
One by one, the Black Ink Clan fell, with Dawning Light almost never stopping, simply killing as it flew around.
This Universe Cave Heaven was not small in area, but it only took Dawn an hour to ruthlessly slaughter all the Black Ink Clansmen that were rounded up by Yang Kai.
During this time, the auxiliary Killing and Trapping Arrays that Blue Sky Pass had set up in advance in this Universe Cave Heaven were not even used; otherwise, it could have been even easier.
After using the power of the Control Jade to search the entire Universe Cave Heaven and ensure that there were no more Black Ink Clansmen left, Yang Kai opened up the portal and led Dawn out.
After leaving the Universe Cave Heaven, the members of Dawn looked around and saw that the entire battlefield was empty and silent. In fact, except for their Squad, no one else was around.
This situation was to be expected though. Although the traps had been triggered, there would always be some enemies that got away; however, the walls and offensive artifacts were not for show and the remaining Black Ink Clansmen were too few to meaningfully attack Blue Sky Pass. If they stayed on the battlefield, they would become nothing more than target practice; thus, the only option for them was to escape.
Dawn was very fast in eliminating those that were sucked into the black hole with them. The other Squads were still in the midst of killing their enemies, so they were not out yet.
Yang Kai quickly took over the control of Dawning Light and sailed it in a certain direction. They soon came to a spot in the void, and after a brief survey, he waved his hand and manipulated Space Principles.
Ripples passed through the Void and a portal emerged before he drove Dawning Light through it.
This was a Universe Paradise where a 15-man Squad from the Western Army’s Fourth Division, Sky Battalion, was hunting the Black Ink Clansmen caught up in this place.
The Squad Leader was not as bold as Yang Kai, and it was impossible for the number of Black Ink Clansmen sucked into this place to be anywhere close to the 4,000 Dawn had faced; after all, the more Black Ink Clansmen that were sucked in, the more pressure they would be under. Thus, the number of Black Ink Clansmen sucked in was trivial, probably less than 1,000 in total.
The Black Ink Clansmen were scattered all over the Universe Paradise though, and the 15-man Squad were able to hunt with their Warship, so there was no risk.
After more than an hour of hunting, about half of their targets had been killed, and now this Squad was about to face a tough fight.
The size of a Universe Paradise was naturally no match for a Universe Cave Heaven. So, although only about 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen were sucked in, these enemies were still somewhat tricky to wipe out. They were scattered not far from each other and within an hour, more than 200 of them had gathered in one place, including 3 Feudal Lords.
Among the 15-man Squad, there were 2 Seventh-Order Masters while the rest were in the Fifth and Sixth-Order. With their Warship’s abilities, it was not impossible for them to take on these 200 Black Ink Clansmen, but there would certainly be some risk. After all, in order to ensure that the plan worked, each Squad Warship had suffered varying degrees of bombardment before the trap was sprung, and its Protective Array had been damaged already.
Thus, the Squad Leader of this Squad chose a more cautious approach to battle, which allowed these 200 Black Ink Clansmen to rally together and pursue them.
Nonetheless, in the direction the Squad was heading, there was a Grand Array set up by Blue Sky Pass, and with the power of the Grand Array, it would be much easier to eliminate these 200 Black Ink Clansmen.
In fact, each Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise had several Grand Arrays arranged for this exact purpose.
Dawn was extremely powerful, and had numerous Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so it didn’t need to rely on Spirit Arrays when it hunted down their targets.
However, not every Squad was as lucky as Dawn, and not every Warship was a match for Dawning Light.
As the Grand Array got closer and closer, and the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen were about to fall into the trap, a blinding light suddenly shone from up ahead.
The Squad Leader was shocked and thought that they were under attack, but when he stared forward, he saw another Warship.
It was a Warship that was very different from the usual Warships!
Instantly, the Squad Leader reacted and cursed, “Damn thieves, did they come here to compete for kills?”
The next instant, a violent energy wave burst from behind them, and the Black Ink Clansmen, who were chasing after them, screamed in agony.
“It’s Dawn!” Some members of the Squad reacted. Dawning Light was incredibly easy to identify, being much bigger and more powerful than standard Squad Warships. It was a Warship envied by many.
It must have cost an enormous amount of Military Merits to build.
“Squad Leader, what do we do?” Someone asked.
The corners of the Seventh-Order Squad Leader’s brow twitched as he growled through gritted teeth, “Turn us around! Attack!”
A short while later, the dust settled.
The two Squads were gathered in one place, and the two Warships were hovering side by side in mid-air, with a sea of bodies and blood below them.
The Squad Leader looked at Yang Kai helplessly as he protested, “Brother Yang, you’re too greedy. Never mind that you had snatched our prey on the battlefield, now you even came over here to rob us of our kills? Can’t you leave some soup for us?”
Yang Kai replied with annoyance, “Senior Brother, Dawn came to help you kill the enemy, but not only is Senior Brother unappreciative, you’re even complaining now?”
The Squad Leader was annoyed, but he did not know what to say in response. Although they could have killed their enemies without Dawn’s help, it would not have been easy, but after receiving their assistance, they did not even thank them and instead criticized Dawn.
The Squad Leader continued, “Brother Yang, why have you all come here? Have you finished killing the Black Ink Clansmen on your end?”
Yang Kai said with a smile, “We disposed of that trash long ago. As for why we came here… all the portals of the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens were found and opened by me, so I can enter them wherever I want.”
“I forgot about that,” the Squad Leader slapped his forehead. The entire plan Blue Sky Pass set up over the last century was only possible because of Yang Kai. Thus, he knew all the positions of all the hidden Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises.
Yang Kai asked, “Senior Brother, how many Black Ink Clansmen are there in this space? Let’s cooperate to kill them.”
The Squad Leader waved his hand and replied, “There are not many left, just a couple of stray dogs. I don’t need Brother Yang’s help. I saw a few Squads that drew in a significant number of enemies though. Perhaps they are in a bitter fight for their lives. They are the ones who need a team like Dawn to back them up.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and nodded, “If that’s the case, then I’ll leave you to it.”
“Good hunting!” The Squad Leader hastily cupped his fist.
After seeing Dawn leave, the Squad Leader sighed, “We’re both in the Seventh Order, but the difference is too great!”
He had witnessed Yang Kai cut down a Feudal Lord with only a few moves. It was impossible for him to do the same, so he could not help but feel inferior. He was determined that after this battle, he would enter retreat and intensely cultivate. He knew that he could not reach Yang Kai’s level of strength, but he should at least try not to fall too far behind.
A member of his Squad asked, “Squad Leader, there should be a lot more Black Ink Clansmen out there, right? Dawn is so powerful, why didn’t you let them help us kill the enemy?”
Squad Leader glared at him and replied angrily, “If I did that, what would be the point of us being here? To pick up the crumbs they left behind?”
Relying on his mastery over the Dao of Space, Yang Kai was able to easily find the hidden portals on the battlefield; after all, he opened them all by himself and knew the century-old layout of Blue Sky Pass.
However, not one team welcomed them, and they would often politely ask him to leave after an initial battle.
Aboard Dawning Light, Miao Fei Ping was scratching his head as he asked, “Martial Uncle, why are we being treated like pariahs? No one welcomes us.”
Qi Tai Chu slapped him on the back of his head, “You brat! Do you have to ask such an obvious question?”
Yang Kai said with a grin, “Of course no one likes us robbing their Military Merits. The way the Inner Sanctum set up the traps ensures that all Squads are able to handle the enemies that they sucked in. It does not matter if we help them or not. This is different from the previous battles and is a good opportunity for each Squad to harvest Military Merits; thus, they naturally don’t want other Squads to intervene. They also don’t want people to think that they are not strong enough and be ridiculed for nothing.”
Miao Fei Ping suddenly realized and then asked, “So, do we continue?”
“Of course we do,” Yang Kai nodded, “We are not robbing Military Merits, we are just inspecting the battlefield. If they don’t need our help, we will withdraw and go elsewhere. If they need our help, they will ask for it. Fei Ping, you have to remember that in this Black Ink Battlefield, every battle-hardened soldier has their own pride. They can be ungrateful, but we can’t just stand by and not help.”
Miao Fei Ping nodded and replied, “Junior understands.”
As he was talking, Yang Kai suddenly looked in a direction where there seemed to be an abnormal Space Principle fluctuation.
He immediately pushed Dawning Light in that direction and soon arrived at a certain spot. He focused his eyes, only to see that the Void in front of him was like a mirror with a crack in it. From the crack, there was actually the aura of a World flowing out.
He reached out towards the crack and manipulated Space Principles, penetrating the World Barrier to explore the details inside.
Moments later, his expression changed, and he shouted, “Brother Shen, stay here! If any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master appears, ask him to come here immediately to blockade this place. Everyone else, follow me inside!”
Shen Ao nodded and left Dawning Light to stand quietly in the void.
Feng Ying asked hastily, “What is it?”
Yang Kai opened the portal carefully using Space Principles, and said through gritted teeth, “There’s a big fish inside.”
Everyone in Dawn looked astonished. The big fish that Yang Kai mentioned must be a Territory Lord.
They never expected that there would be a Territory Lord inside!
Blue Sky Pass had been arranging these traps for 100 years with the Great Pass at the centre, splitting the battlefield into two distinct regions, the inner circle and outer circle. In the inner circle, there were Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens which required one Squad each to take control over. Furthermore, the Control Jades were used to pull only a certain number of Black Ink Clansmen inside to be hunted.
At the inner circle, there shouldn’t have been any Territory Lords, so the safety of the Squads could be assured.
The outer circle of the battlefield was meant for Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords. There were Universe Cave Heavens specially prepared for Territory Lords there as well, and the inside was arranged with very powerful Spirit Arrays that would be enough to threaten these enemy Masters.
No one had expected that a Territory Lord would slip into the inner circle. Yang Kai did not know which Squad was so unlucky as to encounter this Territory Lord, but it was obvious they were not in a good situation.
As they spoke, the portal was opened and Dawning Light entered like a streak of light. Yang Kai closed the portal again with a wave of his hand, but the cracks in the World Barrier could not be smoothed out no matter what. In fact, the cracks were continuing to increase in size, a sign that the Universe Paradise would not hold up for long.
As Dawning Light appeared in this Universe Paradise, it immediately became like a leaf in a violent storm under the violent surges of energy. The thick Black Ink Strength rushed around them and the Protective Barrier began to flash wildly.
Yang Kai stood at the bow of the ship and looked up, only to see a ragged Warship in front of him fleeing in their direction. A huge Black Ink Cloud was chasing after the failing Warship and it was rapidly closing in. The whole Universe Paradise was filled with a strong sense of foreboding.
Inside the Black Ink Cloud was a particularly fierce aura. It was obviously a Territory Lord and hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, including many Feudal Lords.
A Black Ink Clan Secret Technique blasted out from the cloud, hitting the fleeing Warship in front of Dawn, causing great damage.
Dawning Light arrived just in time to witness the Territory Lord attack. A huge palm emerged from the Black Ink Cloud and tried to grab the fleeing Warship.
On the Warship, the Human cultivators struggled to counterattack, but with little effect. The difference in strength was so great that they were helpless to repel the Territory Lord’s attack.
Seeing that the big dark hand was about to grab the Warship, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven standing at the stern of the Warship suddenly roared, “Rise!”
As he roared, a Grand Array was activated, and in an instant, it wrapped around the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen.
The Warship did not stop, but ran straight towards the portal. The Grand Array could not trap a Territory Lord for long, but it might be enough to delay him long enough for the Squad to escape this Universe Paradise.
Then, they saw Dawning Light rapidly approaching.
Feng Ying shouted, “Junior Brother Zhou!”
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who had just activated the Spirit Array, looked at them and exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Sister Feng, what are you doing here?”
Feng Ying said, “Junior Brother Yang noticed something unusual here, so he brought us here to have a look. Why is there a Territory Lord here?”
The Junior Brother Zhou looked annoyed as he replied, “He was hiding in the Black Ink Clan Army, concealing his aura. Clearly, he had some ill intentions. He was caught unaware, and pulled into this place before realizing what was happening.”
“Which Territory Lord is he?” Yang Kai asked.
The Junior Brother Zhou replied, “If I’m not mistaken, he should be Zhou Xing.”
Regardless of which Great Pass Theatre they were in, Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords were rare, with there generally being several dozen on each side. The number of Territory Lords was always higher, but not by a wide margin. The two Races had been fighting each other for so many years, so the identities and characteristics of the top Masters had been exposed a long time ago. Thus, the Humans had some knowledge of all the Territory Lords they faced.
Yang Kai silently recalled all the information the Inner Sanctum had published on the Blue Sky Theatre Territory Lords.
Among all of them, Zhou Xing’s strength was not the strongest. He was at most ranked in the middle somewhere, much worse than Hei Yuan for example.
Zhou Xing’s greatest skill was his ability to suppress his own aura. He could perfectly disguise himself as a Feudal Lord and hide within the regular Black Ink Amy. This skill allowed him to easily avoid the Eighth-Order Masters’ eyes, and by doing so, he could seek opportunities to conduct sneak attacks on high-value targets. In all the years of war, several Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been seriously injured by Zhou Xing’s sneak attacks.
This time, he hid in the Black Ink Clan Army, disguised as a Feudal Lord, obviously with malicious intentions, but ended up being trapped here by this Squad. It was yet to be determined if it was his bad luck or the Squad’s misfortunes.
“Junior Brother Zhao was killed by him. Subsequently, we relied on the various Grand Arrays to survive until now.” Junior Brother Zhou’s face was full of grief. It was inevitable that they suffered losses when they encountered a Territory Lord. Junior Brother Zhao was one of the two Seventh-Order Masters of this Squad.
“How much time do we have?” Yang Kai asked.
“Brother Yang, you know that the Spirit Arrays arranged in this Universe Paradise were not designed to deal with Territory Lords, not to mention that Zhou Xing has many helpers with him. The Grand Array will be broken in a dozen breaths at most,” reported Junior Brother Zhou.
“Are there any other Grand Arrays available?”
“No.” Junior Brother Zhou shook his head, “We’ve used up all three Spirit Arrays. If not for those three, I’m afraid none of us would have survived till now. Brother Yang, we need to go. Once Zhou Xing breaks free, it will be too late for us to escape.”
Yang Kai looked ahead and said firmly, “When we came in, there were no Eighth-Order Masters available outside, so they must all still be fighting with the other Territory Lords. If we leave now, Zhou Xing will surely follow us, and there will be no one to tie him down once we get outside.
Junior Brother Zhou asked, “What does Brother Yang intend to do?”
Yang Kai said as he summoned the Azure Dragon Spear, “Hold him back! Soon, there will be an Eighth-Order Master available. Even if he ultimately manages to break free from here, there will be someone outside to take care of him.”
Junior Brother Zhou did not hesitate and immediately agreed, “Good, we’ll do as Brother Yang suggests.”
He also knew that Yang Kai was powerful and Dawn Squad was very strong. His Squad alone had no chance to win against a Territory Lord, but together with Dawn, though they might not be able to kill such a Master, holding him down should not be too much of an issue.
As they discussed, the Grand Array began to crack. Yang Kai shouted, “Leave Zhou Xing to me and take care of yourselves. There’s no need to kill all of them, just delay them as long as you can!”
Immediately after, he lunged straight towards the enemy.
The Grand Array shattered, and Zhou Xing roared angrily from within the Black Ink Cloud. He was furious that a trivial Human Squad tried to toy with him with these few Spirit Arrays. The impudence! He resolved to kill these Humans ruthlessly in order to soothe the rage within him.
Since the Humans now had Purifying Black Ink Pills, Zhou Xing knew that he could not corrupt them with Black Ink Strength; thus, he could only kill them.
However, just as he was about to act, a dazzling light rushed towards him. Zhou Xing looked up and was momentarily bewildered.
He began to wonder how this Universe Paradise suddenly had a small round Sun. Above the Sun, was a three-legged bird squawking away. The small Sun was even travelling towards him at a high speed.
Behind the small Sun, there seemed to be a figure that glowed with a dazzling light.
Suddenly, he realized that it was not the Sun, but some ‘Secret Technique’ cast by a Human!
Even a Territory Lord as strong as Zhou Xing could feel the threat posed by this Secret Technique and knew he would suffer if he took it head-on without defending himself.
Therefore, Zhou Xing raised his hands and the dense Black Ink Clouds gathered to form a barrier to block the direction where the small Sun was coming from.
Violent sounds erupted as rampaging energy waves swept over Zhou Xing’s body. The Black Ink Cloud thinned noticeably under the blazing energy that was hot enough to incinerate everything in its path.
However, he was a Territory Lord, so although Yang Kai’s Golden Crow Casts the Sun was powerful, it could not harm the former in any way. On the other hand, the Black Ink Clansmen around Zhou Xing died immediately.
Before Zhou Xing could compose himself, a curtain of spear shadows enveloped him, causing black blood to splash out and drawing a roar from Zhou Xing’s lips.
At the same time, the two Warships launched a volley of attacks from their offensive arrays.
The Black Ink Clansmen were instantly thrown into confusion.
Under the leadership of Zhou Xing, they had continued to chase down the Human Warship until they had nowhere else to run, so how could they now turn around to attack them?
However, moments later, the Territory Lord saw what was happening. Originally there was only one Warship, but now, there were two. Apparently, reinforcements had arrived.
Moreover, the Warship that arrived was significantly larger and more powerful!
The Black Ink Clansmen, in spite of suffering many casualties in the initial attack, remained undaunted. Led by several Feudal Lords, they used their Secret Techniques to counterattack, forcing the two Warships to weave and dodge.
Both the Warship of Junior Brother Zhou and Dawning Light were damaged in the previous battle, particularly their shields which had been seriously drained; thus, they were focused on not being hit again.
This gave the Black Ink Clansman a respite as hundreds of them, led by the Feudal Lords, began to bombard the Warships relentlessly.
The two Warships were forced to constantly manoeuvre around, reducing the intensity of their attacks greatly.
On the other hand, Zhou Xing took hundreds of wounds to his body in a very short time. He tried to dodge the attacks but was unable to do so effectively. He was being attacked by Yang Kai’s Supreme Limitless Spear Art enhanced by his Space Principles, so dodging at such close range was all but futile.
The pain caused Zhou Xing to become increasingly furious and he responded ruthlessly. Since he could not dodge, he gave up trying and attacked instead. In his fury, he threw a punch forward with all his strength.
He wanted to trade wound for wound!
He could sense that the Human attacking him was only a Seventh-Order Master, and since he was a Territory Lord, if he traded wounds with his opponent, he would eventually come out on top.
His punch was very effective, as the Seventh-Order Human was blown far away, coughing up blood in mid-air. Zhou Xing continued with another punch to deliver another painful blow to his attacker.
The other party’s body suddenly flickered, then disappeared.
Zhou Xing’s punch hit nothing but air, causing him to be thrown off balance. Just as he was wondering where his target went, he felt a murderous intent coming from his side.
Turning his head to look, the Seventh-Order Master who had disappeared moments ago appeared right next to him somehow. The Human’s spear was thrust out sharply with a small round Sun at its tip.
Zhou Xing was taken aback but swiftly responded by throwing out his fist.
The small Sun was annihilated, but Zhou Xing was also forced backwards, his fists scorched as he grimaced painfully.
Although he was injured, his enemy was in a far worse state, spewing more fresh blood as he flew backwards for a second time.
The difference in their raw strength could not be compensated for by bravery and persistence alone.
Yang Kai had killed a Territory Lord previously; however, he managed to kill Zhu Feng only because Bai Yi joined forces with him. Both he and Bai Yi were seriously injured in that battle though, despite Zhu Feng having been seriously wounded from the start. Even back in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, Yang Kai was only able to chase after Hei Yuan and fight with him because the latter’s Soul was badly injured.
Although Zhou Xing was not as strong as Hei Yuan, or even Zhu Feng, he was currently at full strength; thus, Yang Kai’s current might was insufficient to kill him.
The good thing was that he only needed to stall for time and not really fight Zhou Xing to the death. A few injuries were not a big deal as long as they did not damage his foundation.
Focusing, Yang Kai kept up his attacks and fought back and forth with Zhou Xing.
Of course, he was frequently on the receiving end, but with his Space Principles, it was impossible for Zhou Xing to kill him with a single blow.
Time passed slowly.
Half an hour later, only one of the two Warships was left.
Junior Brother Zhou’s Warship was badly damaged from the start, and now that it was being attacked by hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, after taking several hits, it finally could not hold on and burst apart.
Before the Warship was destroyed, all the Squad members transferred over to Dawning Light, relying on Feng Ying and the others to cover them during the evacuation. Thankfully, there were no casualties.
The two Squads converged on Dawning Light, but their overall strength did not increase. The reason was that all the artifacts and arrays on Dawning Light were being actively used by their regular personnel. The additional hands allowed them to rotate more frequently to rest, but did not enhance the instantaneous lethality of Dawning Light.
Now, the whole Universe Paradise’s situation was not looking good.
This Universe Paradise was left behind after the death of a Seventh-Order Human Master, so although it had become an independent Sealed World now, it had its limits. Before Dawn entered, there were already cracks in the World Barrier of this Universe Paradise caused by the fallout of Zhou Xing’s attacks.
It was because of those cracks that Yang Kai could peek inside and detect that there was a Territory Lord within. That led to Yang Kai deciding to enter with Dawn to render aid.
Now that Yang Kai and Zhou Xing were engaged in a fierce battle, the violent energy surges caused the entire Universe Paradise to become increasingly unstable. Little cracks could be seen all over and this Universe Paradise would collapse soon.
If they remained within the Universe Paradise when it collapsed, then it was very likely that they would be pulled into the Void. When that happened, there was no telling where they would end up.
It was with this in mind that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to be sent into the Universe Cave Heavens, which were more stable. This way, the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and Territory Lords could fight for a longer time without worries. If they were in Universe Paradises, they would collapse not long after they started fighting.
This Universe Paradise was facing the risk of collapsing at any moment.
Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, and was not afraid of the impending collapse. Even if he was really sent to the Void, he would be able to find his way back fairly easily. There was even a chance that he could exile Zhou Xing to the Void and simply leave him trapped there to die alone.
However, there were still two Squads here, so he couldn’t do that.
Thus, after a few more exchanges with Zhou Xing, Yang Kai immediately dashed towards Dawning Light while using the Divine Sense to send a message, “Go! Now!”
After such a long delay, the situation outside should have been settled; thus, there should be a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters available.
Dawning Light had taken up position near the portal, so when Yang Kai’s order came, Junior Brother Zhou immediately took out his Control Jade and shot a light into the sky. The portal opened and Dawning Light sped out, followed closely behind by Yang Kai.
The hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen who were following Dawning Light saw this and followed after with Zhou Xing being the last to leave before the portal closed again.
However, before Zhou Xing could stabilize himself, a bright light came down on him, instantly destroying all his defences and inflicting a huge wound on his body.
Zhou Xing roared in pain and anger, turning his head to look at who had attacked him, only for his eyes to shrink as he shouted, “Zhong Liang!”
Not only was Zhong Liang there, but also Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long. The three of them surrounded him in a triangle. Zhou Xing’s heart sank into the abyss as he knew there was no escape for him.
These three Army Commanders were all peak Eighth-Order Masters.
When the Humans Squads took action, these Eight-Order Masters used their own Control Jades to pull a Territory Lord into their respective Universe Cave Heavens. Even though their strength was greater than the Black Ink Clan Territory Lords, it was impossible to kill their opponent so quickly in a fair fight.
However, Blue Sky Pass had arranged multiple Spirit Arrays in these Universe Cave Heavens, which gave the Eight-Order Masters a significant advantage.
Those Spirit Arrays all cost an enormous amount of resources and were arranged by the Array Great Grandmasters, so any Territory Lord who fell into them would see their strength suppressed.
With their superior strength, geographical advantage, and the assistance of several Spirit Arrays, it was not surprising that Zhong Liang and the others killed their opponents in short order.
The three of them had just emerged from their respective Universe Cave Heavens when they were informed by Shen Ao of what had happened. The only reason they didn’t force their way in was they weren’t certain what kind of repercussions that would cause for those inside the Universe Paradise.
When Dawning Light and Yang Kai appeared, followed by hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, the three Army Commanders swiftly slaughtered the mixed fish before turning their attention to Zhou Xing.
The strength of this Territory Lord was considered average at best, so how could Zhou Xing be a match for the three Army Commanders? Zhong Liang and the other two of them did not even utter a word before using their respective Secret Techniques to attack Zhou Xing from all sides.
Not far away, Yang Kai and others watched from afar aboard Dawning Light. Not only them, but many other Squads, who had already cleaned up their opponents, observed the show. These Squads had shown up one after another, surrounding the whole battlefield layer after layer.
“Zhou Xing is doomed,” Feng Ying said softly. Under the combined attacks of three Army Commanders, even the strongest Territory Lords would not be able to survive, so Zhou Xing’s fall was simply a matter of time.
Yang Kai’s attention was not on Zhou Xing and the three Army Commanders though, but instead focused on somewhere far away.
Hundreds of thousands of kilometres away, powerful explosions were taking place. For him to be able to sense the shockwaves this far away meant that the strength of those fighting was overwhelming.
Outside Blue Sky Pass, there were no forces close to where the battle was taking place; thus, it was obvious the fight in the distance was between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord.
It was unknown when and how the two began to fight. At least Yang Kai did not notice it before now. However, even Eighth-Order Masters could not intervene easily in this kind of battle. Thus, Yang Kai also did not think of going to watch.
The Royal Lord and Old Ancestor were old rivals, and this battle was likely to end in a mutual loss.
Portals continued to open around them, and from those portals emerged the victorious Squads. Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters also appeared one after another, while some Territory Lords appeared immediately after them.
It was not that these Territory Lords managed to kill the Eighth-Order Masters to get out of the trap; after all, there were Spirit Arrays arranged in the Universe Cave Heavens to make it impossible for them to escape even if they killed the Eighth-Order Division Commanders fighting against them. However, when the fight dragged on for too long, the Universe Cave Heaven itself would become unstable, making a collapse imminent.
Therefore, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had no choice but to open the portal to leave so as not to get caught up in the collapse. When that happened, the Territory Lord could naturally follow them out.
Those Territory Lords who were lucky to have survived all immediately used whatever means they had to escape. They knew that after the Humans had activated these traps, which took them 100 years to set up, the Black Ink Clan was done for. Sticking around was akin to courting death; thus, they had to escape. It was only by escaping that they stood a chance to survive and recover from this disaster; therefore, they held no desire to fight anymore and only sought the opportunity to flee.
Of course, those Eighth-Order Heaven Realm Masters who failed to kill their respective opponents inside their assigned Universe Cave Heaven would not let their prey go easily and continued to chase them across the void.
Under the attacks of the three Army Commanders, Zhou Xing was only able to last less than a half cup of tea’s time before Ding Yao smashed his head with his fist.
More and more Squads emerged from different portals, largely intact. Thankfully, Junior Brother Zhou Squad’s unlucky encounter was a unique case.
Also appearing were many lone Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, appearances of which meant the fall of a Territory Lord.
It was a glorious result.
The Human Race had been resisting the Black Ink Clan for so many years, and the two sides had fought countless times, but never had there been such a decisive victory.
They could see that about 20 Territory Lords had been killed, and that was not counting those who were still fighting and had not shown up. There would certainly be more as time passed.
In the past, killing more than 20 Territory Lords in one battle was simply unimaginable. The most Territory Lords that had been killed in a single battle was 5, and that was at the cost of 2 Eighth-Order Division Commanders.
Considering the strength of the Territory Lords, while it wasn’t too difficult for the Eighth-Order Masters to defeat them, killing them was a much more difficult task.
If not for the Universe Cave Heaven traps, which had been set up in advance, how could Blue Sky Pass achieve such overwhelming success?
Yang Kai was also overwhelmed. When he first helped Blue Sky Pass find the portals for the Universe Paradise and Universe Cave Heaven, he knew that they could give Black Ink Clan a nasty surprise, but he did not expect it to be to this magnitude.
If Blue Sky Pass had such great success, then Yin-Yang Pass would also have good results; after all, he also helped them to open up the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises around their Great Pass.
Even so, the news of this enormous defeat would certainly be circulated around the Black Ink Clan. Thus, it was unrealistic for Yin-Yang Pass to expect results of this magnitude.
With so many Territory Lords killed, there were naturally hundreds of times more dead and injured weaker Black Ink Clansmen.
One battle had changed the entire course of the war! The Black Ink Clan in the Blue Sky Theatre had suffered an enormous defeat. What awaited Blue Sky Pass, was a period of peace for at least 1,000 years or more, during which the Black Ink Clan would not be able to attack.
However, was this enough to satisfy Zhong Liang and the other higher-ups?
This was the best opportunity for them to add insult to injury to the Black Ink Clan.
Thus, two days later, Blue Sky Pass gathered 30 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and 20,000 troops led by several Army Commanders to advance deeper into the void towards the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
Blue Sky Pass did not go all out this time, still leaving behind a large contingent to watch over the Great Pass. Additionally, there were some Universe Cave Heaven fights that had not yet concluded that required a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to watch over.
30 Eighth-Orders and a 20,000-strong Army was almost half of the combat strength of Blue Sky Pass. They could not take out more soldiers.
Since Yang Kai had brought Purifying Light, Zhong Liang and the others had been planning for this crusade; however, any foray into the enemy’s territory was of great importance and would take time to prepare for.
Now that the opportunity had come, they were eager to push back against the enemy, who was seriously weakened, and aim for the Royal City!
Naturally, Blue Sky Pass held little expectation that this campaign would be enough to wipe out the Black Ink Clan entirely. As long as the Royal Lord was not dead, the Royal City would not fall. This was just a kind of experiment for the future. At the same time, it was also to establish a precedent and prove that it was possible to take the fight to the Black Ink Clan!
This was a long-established plan; however, except for the Eighth-Order Commanders, no one below them in rank knew about it. Thus, after hearing about the crusade, numerous Open Heavens Realm Masters were very excited.
The Human Race have been trapped in various Great Passes for years, and finally, they had the chance to launch a real counter-attack.
Blue Sky Pass had clearly planned this crusade for a long time. It was impossible to come up with such a plan in just two days.
The Expeditionary Force was led by two Army Commanders, Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long. Two Purifying Black Ink Battleships were deployed along with about 1,500 Warships of various Ranks.
The huge force set off from Blue Sky Pass as soon as preparations were completed.
Dawn was also part of the Expeditionary Force, its Squad members taking turns to operate Dawning Light while the ones off duty spent their time in their cabins to restore themselves.
The damage to Dawning Light had been repaired by the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners before they departed Blue Sky Pass, so it was as good as new.
However, for this crusade, they were not taking many Array Masters and Artifact Refiners with them; thus, if a Warship got damaged, it might not be able to be repaired in short order.
This crusade was very different from guarding the Great Pass. When backed by Blue Sky Pass, the Humans could fight with confidence and without fear. Even if their Warship was damaged, logistical support was close by. However, a crusade was not the same, as the supply lines and logistics to support the soldiers would be stretched out over a much larger area.
If this matter was not addressed, it would become a major constraint for this crusade.
However, this shortfall could not be satisfactorily resolved. If all the available Array Masters and Artifact Refiners were mobilized for the crusade, they would require a large contingent of soldiers to protect them, reducing the crusade’s overall fighting capability.
Meanwhile, this crusade was more of an attempt to make a statement rather than a concerted effort to eliminate the Black Ink Clan once and for all.
Half a month after the Expeditionary Force left Blue Sky Pass, it fought its first major battle with a Black Ink Clan Army of nearly 300,000!
The 700,000 Black Ink Clansmen that had previously attacked Blue Sky Pass were all basically dead or severely wounded, so these 300,000 were assembled from the Black Ink Clan’s reserves.
This was the Black Ink Clan’s modus operandi, sending in wave after wave of soldiers to fight a protracted battle. Each time a siege happened at a Great Pass, the Humans would have to endure many waves of attacks by the subsequent enemy reinforcements, and this time was no exception.
However, the collapse of the Black Ink Clan’s Main Army on the front line was too sudden. Blue Sky Pass’ 100-year plan was a huge trap that sucked the Black Ink Clan Army into numerous Universe Paradises and Cave Heavens, where they were mercilessly slaughtered.
The reinforcement army that came from the Black Ink Clan did not get the news in time and was led by a sole Territory Lord as they flew towards Blue Sky Pass.
When they encountered each other, the leading Territory Lord obviously was not aware of what had happened and was caught completely off guard.
Of the 300,000 reinforcements, nearly 200,000 were cannon fodder while only 100,000 were High-Rank or above. Besides the lone Territory Lord, the strongest Masters among the troops were the Feudal Lords.
Such a lineup was no match for the elite soldiers of the Expeditionary Force.
The Territory Lord quickly realized that something was amiss and immediately ordered all the Low-Rank cannon fodder to charge towards the Expeditionary Force while he fled at the first opportunity. He did not even bother about the rest of his 100,000 troops.
It was another great victory for the Humans. The 300,000 Black Ink Clan Army was overwhelmed. With no Territory Lords to lead and shelter them, there was no one to fight off the 30 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Thus, the Warships just sailed forward in a straight line and mowed down the scattered Black Ink Clansmen.
They took just one day to defeat this reinforcement army. The Expeditionary Force then continued to advance undeterred, with its sights set on the Royal City.
Along the way, any Black Ink Clansmen that they encountered were slaughtered.
After another month, they arrived at the first territory controlled by a Territory Lord.
This was one of the outermost Territory Lord territories, so the one assigned here was naturally not very powerful as he would be the first to bear the brunt of any Human attacks.
In fact, this Territory Lord’s domain had been attacked by Humans before. The last time the Old Ancestor led a large army to attack this territory, Yang Kai was living here with Nu Yan.
According to the limited information available to Blue Sky Pass, the owner of this territory was named Gou Wu.
Gou Wu was dead though, killed by an Eighth-Order Division Commander of the Southern Army in one of the Universe Cave Heavens outside of Blue Sky Pass.
Thus, Gou Wu’s territory was leaderless.
As the Expeditionary Force marched on, it was inevitable that news of their advance spread; however, they did not meet any real form of resistance. Even Gou Wu’s territory was essentially unprotected by the Black Ink Clan. There were some Black Ink Clansmen who were brave enough to attack the Expeditionary Force, but many realized that it was suicidal and simply fled deeper into Black Ink Clan territory.
It only took a few hours for the Expeditionary Force to capture Gou Wu’s home territory. Although they killed many, those were mostly Serfs and Low-Rank Clansmen.
This was only to be expected. Most of Gou Wu’s forces were deployed to participate in the siege of Blue Sky Pass and were thus already dead. When those who were left behind saw the advancing Expeditionary Force, they naturally knew that whoever was sent to Blue Sky Pass had been annihilated. Thus, those that could immediately turned around and ran for their lives.
The Expeditionary Force did not stop after they captured this area. Both Ding Yao and Zhong Liang knew that speed was of the essence, so only a small number of men were assigned to clean up the battlefield while the rest of the army continued on.
The so-called battlefield cleanup was nothing more than plundering resources.
It was just like what Yang Kai had done in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain. A Territory Lord’s home territory was the most prosperous place in every region. It usually had a lot of stores and cultivation resources that the Expeditionary Force would not want to miss out on.
Yang Kai also stayed behind.
However, he was not interested in plundering resources as they were not attractive to him anymore. The resources in his Small Universe were already inexhaustible to him.
The reason he stayed was to acquire a sub-nest.
Some time ago, he brought Miao Fei Ping to a Feudal Lord’s territory and moved the Low-Rank Black Ink Nest into his Small Universe, but it withered away soon after. It was obvious that a mature Black Ink Nest could not be moved easily. It was like a big tree, so cutting its roots to move it would kill it.
If he could get an unhatched sub-nest and nurture it in his Small Universe, it might be different.
Feng Ying also stayed and acted as his protector since Yang Kai was vulnerable when his consciousness was connected to the Black Ink Nest. There would be trouble if a hidden Black Ink Clansman jumped out and attacked him.
Feng Ying frowned as she watched Yang Kai enter the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
The aura inside the Black Ink Nest made her feel extremely uncomfortable and even a bit nauseous. If she did not have to stand guard for Yang Kai, she would never have gotten close to such a place.
As Yang Kai walked along, he soon came to the central chamber.
Yang Kai pondered and appeared hesitant to act.
To be honest, although he had been inside Black Ink Nests before, and had even taken advantage of their strange network to defeat many Feudal Lords by destroying their consciousnesses, he still did not understand how to hatch a sub-nest. After all, Zha Gu never told him about it.
Obviously, hatching a sub-nest was a function of a Territory Lord Black Ink Nest and required a certain amount of resources, but as to the exact process, Yang Kai was clueless.
In front of Yang Kai was the Black Ink Pool, where Black Ink Strength tumbled and surged as if it were an Ominous Beast.
Yang Kai opened his Small Universe and used his own World Force as a bridge to connect his consciousness with that of the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness to investigate a little.
To his surprise, he did not enter the strange space this time. It was as if his whole body was one with Black Ink Nest, and he could see the state of Black Ink Nest as if it were his own.
Yang Kai instantly understood that different locations of the Black Ink Nest had different purposes. This place, where the Black Ink Pool was located, was where the Black Ink Clansmen would be bred and sub-nests created.
[To think it’s this simple!]
With an idea in mind, Yang Kai immediately began to work, taking a large amount of resources from his Small Universe and injecting them into the Black Ink Pool.
The Black Ink Strength inside the Black Ink Pool tumbled more and more fiercely, and as the vast amount of resources disappeared, the abundant energy was greedily absorbed by the Black Ink Nest.
After a few moments, the walls of the chamber, which were fleshy, seemed to form a tumour. The tumour rapidly grew and the wall suddenly broke open, and a wet, beast-like Black Ink Clansman came out, trembling.
Pa pa…
More tearing sounds rang out as the chamber’s flesh walls soon hatched more than a dozen Black Ink Clansmen of different forms.
Feng Ying felt a stinging chill as she watched all this. Although she knew that the Black Ink Nest gave birth to Black Ink Clansmen, no Human had actually witnessed the process before.
These Black Ink Clansmen were not entirely hatched by Yang Kai. They had not been fully formed before he entered this place, and thus, had not hatched. After Yang Kai injected resources into the Black Ink Pool, their development was accelerated and they managed to hatch.
The newly hatched Black Ink Clansmen were not much of a threat, not even qualified to be cannon fodder, so Feng Ying flicked her longsword and the wave of Sword Qi killed them all on the spot. She then shouted, “Squad Leader!”
Yang Kai opened his eyes and saw the situation around him, and immediately responded, “I’ll change my approach.”
It was his first time trying to create a Black Ink Nest, and he was not sure how to do it, so he accidentally hatched a dozen Black Ink Clansmen.
However, after he made some adjustments, the fleshy tumour wall no longer broke open, and no more Black Ink Clansmen were born. Instead, the entire Black Ink Pool was filled with rich power and stirred more and more.
Feng Ying felt that it was a pity for such a large amount of resources to be sacrificed to the Black Ink Pool.
Blue Sky Pass had only become affluent in the recent several dozen years, after Yang Kai introduced the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors. In the past, cultivation resources were very tight in every Great Pass so they had to save as much as they could, whenever they could.
She was used to living in poverty, so she cringed when she saw Yang Kai throwing away resources in such a manner.
However, she also knew that Yang Kai had his own reasons. If he could get a Black Ink Nest, it would definitely be of great use. The interoperability between the Black Ink Nest and the Black Ink Clan might even allow them to spy on the Black Ink Clan without having to leave their own territory.
It was not certain how many resources were put into the Black Ink Pool, but after a few days, it suddenly trembled as the water swirled. Something was about to emerge from it.
Feng Ying looked over and a few moments later, a small and exquisite Black Ink Nest emerged from the churning water.
At the same time, Yang Kai also eased what he was doing and looked at the little Black Ink Nest that spawned from the Black Ink Pool. He exhaled gently when he realized that his efforts were not in vain.
Although he had succeeded in obtaining a sub-nest, Yang Kai was not sure if it would work given the special connection between the Territory Lord Black Ink Nests and the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests.
Even so, he had to try it out to be sure.
After putting the sub-nest into his Small Universe, Yang Kai did not rush to hatch it. He just temporarily placed it somewhere isolated.
A little while later, he, along with Feng Ying, left the place.
“Squad Leader, do you intend to destroy the Black Ink Nest?” Feng Ying asked.
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, I can’t leave it for the Black Ink Clan to use.”
Feng Ying flicked out her sword, sending out a flying slash that split the Black Ink Nest in half in an instant. Rich Black Ink Strength gushed out from the two halves and it began to wither away.
Yang Kai kept checking up on the sub-nest in Small Universe, and after a moment, he could not help but sigh, “I thought as much.”
The sub-nest that he had spent a lot of resources to obtain withered rapidly after the Territory Lord Black Ink Nest was destroyed. Although he had expected this outcome, he still felt disappointed.
It seemed that the connection between this Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest and the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests bred from it was unbreakable, and not even moving it to his Small Universe could isolate it. If the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest connected to it was destroyed, the Low-Rank Black Ink sub-nests would not be spared either.
It was only when the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest was left in place, that Yang Kai would be able to preserve the sub-nest.
However, this was obviously unrealistic. No matter how strong the Expeditionary Force was, they would not be able to fully eliminate all Black Ink Clansmen around Blue Sky Pass. As long as the Black Ink Clan here had not been completely annihilated, leaving any Black Ink Nest around would only benefit the Black Ink Clan.
After composing himself, Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to check the area and ascertained that this place was already empty. His allies who had stayed behind to collect resources had already left.
Thus, he and Feng Ying used the Universe Transference Law to return to Dawning Light.
For a time, the Expeditionary Force’s momentum was unstoppable. As it marched on, the Black Ink Clan was unable to form any effective resistance against its overwhelming power, and most fled before they even arrived.
Half a year after the Expeditionary Force’s initial sortie, they had captured four domains owned by Territory Lords. They had also destroyed four Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests and swept clean several dozen Feudal Lord Fiefs.
This was when the Expeditionary Force advanced in a straight path. It had to be said that they could have achieved much more if they were willing to take some detours.
After six months, the Expeditionary Force finally encountered a tough battle.
Three Territory Lord domains away from the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan once again gathered an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands. This army fought the Expeditionary Force with dogged determination.
The Black Ink Clan’s counterattack became fiercer as the Expeditionary Force marched deeper into their territory. This Human incursion was a huge insult to their pride. They had always been the ones to attack. This was the first time in countless years that the Humans had attacked them so close to the Royal City.
These three Territory Lord’s domains were all that was left before the Humans could assault the Royal City. It would be a great embarrassment for the entire Black Ink Clan if their Royal City was infringed upon.
Although many Territory Lords died during the most recent siege of Blue Sky Pass, they were not totally annihilated. The original number of Territory Lords was greater than the number of Eighth-Order Humans. Taking into account those who were not deployed, and those who had escaped from Blue Sky Pass though, there were at least 40 Territory Lords still alive.
The Black Ink Clan Army, led by more than 20 Territory Lords, stood in front of the Expeditionary Force.
The two sides fought nearly 100 battles in just three months. Each side incurred losses of varying degrees. The resilience and determination of the Expeditionary Force shocked the Black Ink Clan, and many were killed in this defensive battle. Still, they continued to regroup, attack, and suffer over and over again without any hesitation.
The Black Ink Clan had a huge advantage in terms of location. Their reinforcements did not have to travel far, so they could easily gather together from all sides and even look for opportunities to surround the Expeditionary Force.
The battle raged throughout this Territory Lord’s domain, and it was so bloody that this vast stretch of the void soon turned into a massive grave for the Black Ink Clan.
It was not until a year later that the Territory Lord’s domain was completely conquered. In that year of battle, more than a million Black Ink Clansmen died. The nearby void was literally covered in thick Black Ink Strength, and huge Black Ink Clouds blotted out the sky.
Other than the legions of Black Ink Clan cannon fodder that were killed, two more Territory Lords had fallen in this year-long battle.
As the remnants of the Black Ink Clan retreated to the next Territory Lord domain, and the Expeditionary Force continued to advance, it was only to be expected that the Humans would be greeted by fiercer counterattacks and resistance.
This was similar to the situation that Yang Kai encountered when he wreaked havoc in the Yin-Yang Theatre. The deeper he went into Black Ink Clan territory, the more concentrated the enemy resistance became.
The Expeditionary Force set up a temporary camp on a massive universe fragment in the domain of the recently conquered Territory Lord domain. The Array Masters arranged a massive Grand Array to isolate the surrounding Black Ink Strength so that the soldiers could rest and recuperate.
30 Eighth-Order Division Commanders, led by Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long, gathered in one of the largest tents.
Yang Kai was summoned and saluted before looking at the two men sitting in front, “What are your orders, Seniors?”
Ding Yao said, “How many Universe Arrays are needed to set up a direct link to Blue Sky Pass from here?”
The Universe Array was an extremely convenient tool that allowed cultivators to use the Universe Transference Law to return to it any time they wanted. As long as they were in the same World, there was, theoretically, no limit to the distance one could traverse. However, there were still limits to what individual cultivators could endure.
This place was very far away from Blue Sky Pass. Even so, those from Blue Sky Pass could still use the Universe Arrays aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to communicate with the Expeditionary Force. However, if a cultivator really tried to teleport back directly, not many of them would be able to survive the stresses of the transit through the Void. Even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master faced the risk of instant death if they attempted it. Perhaps only the Eighth-Order Masters could safely accomplish this.
Thus, there had to be a transit point set up using another Universe Array.
Yang Kai was the only one capable of doing this, which was why the Eighth-Order Masters summoned him.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before answering, “Considering the endurance limits of those in the Fifth Order, two should be enough.”
Ding Yao nodded and replied, “As expected.”
Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat as he asked, “Isn’t the Expeditionary Force continuing?”
Ding Yao shook his head, “We can’t. Although the Black Ink Clan suffered huge losses, we’ve also suffered casualties. The Expeditionary Force soldiers need to take Purifying Black Ink Pills every time they fight against the Black Ink Clan. After such a long crusade, the Purifying Black Ink Pill stock is running low. The Warships have also suffered varying degrees of damage, which could not be repaired in the heat of battle. Additionally, there are other considerations, so this crusade has to stop here.”
Yang Kai understood all these issues and had also anticipated this happening sooner or later. In fact, those in the Expeditionary Force with a little bit of foresight were aware that they were at the limit of what they could do so far away from Blue Sky Pass. Casualties would begin to rapidly climb if the Expeditionary Force advanced any further.
Additionally, the closer they got to the Royal City, the more intense the Black Ink Clan’s resistance would become. Blue Sky Pass’s forces could not bear such losses.
Although the crusade was not completely successful, it was still a great victory for the Humans to take the fight to the Black Ink Clan.
Privately, the soldiers were discussing when the Expeditionary Force would withdraw, but there were many different opinions and no definite conclusions; after all, only the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had the authority to decide such matters. A Seventh-Order Master like Yang Kai did not have the authority to discuss such matters with the Eighth-Order Masters.
However, what Ding Yao said seemed to indicate that he did not intend to withdraw. If they were to withdraw, why bother arranging more Universe Arrays?
Yang Kai suddenly realized something and asked, “Sirs, do you intend to permanently occupy the ground we’ve taken and reduce the territory controlled by the Black Ink Clan?”
Liang Yu Long smiled and said, “You’re a quick one. En, we intend to hold our position here, expanding our territory while reducing the Black Ink Clan’s. The Expeditionary Force has spent so much time and paid so much to gain such a large swath of territory, how could we give it up just like that? The Expeditionary Force will not move forward, but we will also not retreat. We will build a forward outpost here and repel any Black Ink Clansmen that dare to enter its range. The Black Ink Clan must be seething to have lost so much territory. Just by the losses of the Black Ink Clan after the battles, it would take them over 1,000 years to rebuild their forces. As long as the Expeditionary Force is here though, there is no way the Black Ink Clan can completely restore their foundation.
Yang Kai was shocked by the boldness of these Eighth-Order Masters.
By doing this, the Black Ink Clan would surely have hard times ahead. Not only would they lose almost half of their territories, but all the resources of those territories would be denied to them. Without those resources, rebuilding their army would take twice as long.
Thus, even if the Expeditionary Force was not as powerful as the whole of Blue Sky Pass, as long as they held their ground here, they would be able to restrict the restoration of the Black Ink Clan in this Theatre.
Yang Kai even predicted that the Expeditionary Force would continue to launch attacks from time to time in order to hamper the Black Ink Clan’s recovery efforts.
When the time was right, assaulting and conquering the Royal City was certainly a possibility. Such a glorious goal could not be accomplished overnight though and would take many years of effort.
Compared to a direct attack on the Royal City, this tactic was much slower, but it was more secure and assured. Furthermore, the current situation did not allow the Expeditionary Force to continue their march forward. Their logistics could not keep up and the soldiers of the Expeditionary Force needed to rest and recuperate just as much as the Black Ink Clan.
Blue Sky Pass only had some 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers, so building a forward outpost here would spread its forces thin. On top of that, the Universe Arrays that needed to be set up between the two had to be guarded, which would consume more manpower.
Even so, these were none of Yang Kai’s concern as the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be the ones working out the details.
What he needed to do now was find suitable locations for the two Universe Arrays, and then link the Expeditionary Force and Blue Sky Pass together, to ensure that they could support each other rapidly.
That was the reason the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had summoned him to the meeting.
A universe fragment inside a certain Territory Lord’s domain, which was captured, became the forward base of Blue Sky Pass.
Although the crusade was over for now, the great war with the Black Ink Clan would not stop anytime soon. The Expeditionary Force had advanced in a straight line, capturing any Black Ink Clan territories along the way; however, those on either side of their advance could not be ignored.
That meant that they had disregarded a lot of potential enemies, who were now technically behind their lines.
If the Expeditionary Force were to withdraw, they would not need to pay attention to these enemies; however, now that they wanted to hold their position here and establish a forward base, they had to go back and clear out those territories.
At the very least, the forward base had to be protected from a Black Ink Clan siege on all sides. The Black Ink Clan had lost a lot of resources and manpower in this battle, and with less than 40 Territory Lords left, which was basically half of their previous total, they had pulled back most of their forces to protect the Royal City and no longer dared to move around freely.
Thus, while the forward base was surrounded by Black Ink Clansmen, they were mostly stragglers and weaklings. The Humans only needed to spend a little time and effort to clear up all those Black Ink Clansmen behind them.
It was foreseeable that clearing the Black Ink Clansmen between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base would be the next big task required of Blue Sky Pass.
The forward base was soon bustling with activity.
Several Warships began to deploy to certain locations in the void and formed a defence perimeter.
Then, a remote area was selected and several Warships descended to ensure that it was safe.
After a few moments of searching around, a depression in a mountain valley was identified.
There were countless such places like this in the void and this valley was very well hidden, making it suitable for setting up a Universe Array. Obviously, even if the Black Ink Clan were to pass by this place, they would not be able to find anything without intentionally searching for it.
Furthermore, if the Universe Array was really set up here, it would be covered by Spirit Arrays and guarded by soldiers. Thus, if there was an attack, reinforcements would soon be able to come and provide support.
The Warships were led by Dawning Light, and two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Division Commanders went along just in case they were needed.
Yang Kai began arranging the Universe Array while the Array Masters who came along with him began to set up various Spirit Arrays around the mountain valley. Some for cover, some for protection, and various other kinds of support and auxiliary purposes.
In the past, Blue Sky Pass did not have the number of resources necessary to engage in such an endeavour; after all, Spirit Arrays of this size and quality required a huge amount of resources. The more powerful the Spirit Array, the more resources were needed. In the past, Blue Sky Pass was so poor that it could not do these things; but now, it was different. Apart from the resources collected from their previous conquests, they could now easily mine more from the vast territory they had occupied.
After the work was completed, everyone left their Imprints on the Universe Array and an Eighth-Order Master and a Battalion worth of soldiers stayed behind to guard it while the rest continued to the next location.
Taking into account the capacity of those Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, only two Universe Arrays were required.
A few months later, the second Universe Array was completely set up, connecting Blue Sky Pass to the forward base. Cultivators only needed to leave their Imprints in each Universe Array and they could quickly move between the two places.
Of course, this meant that all the soldiers had to first leave their Imprints in the two Universe Arrays in transit to facilitate future use. The easiest way to do this was to have the Eighth-Order Division Commanders leave their Imprints first, then for them to shuttle the weaker cultivators back and forth between the Universe Arrays.
An Eighth-Order Master’s Small Universe was large enough to carry a large amount of Open Heaven Realms Masters; thus, all the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass could quickly leave their marks on the new Universe Arrays.
Still, this was not something that Yang Kai needed to think about as it would be left to the Eighth-Order Masters to handle.
After completing the second Universe Array, Yang Kai returned to Blue Sky Pass.
This could not be helped. When Zhong Liang, who stayed behind at Blue Sky Pass, sent a message for Yang Kai to return, Yang Kai had already departed to set up the Universe Arrays. Thus, the message had not reached him until now.
Yang Kai hastily returned to Blue Sky Pass and reported to Zhong Liang, where he was then told about what had happened.
“Martial Uncle Lu has disappeared?” Yang Kai was extremely surprised.
The Martial Uncle Lu he was referring to was Lu An of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He was a Western Army Division Commander, and due to their shared background, he had taken care of Yang Kai since he came to Blue Sky Pass.
Although Lu An was old, his cultivation was high; thus, Yang Kai could not understand how he had just ‘disappeared’.
“Come with me,” Zhong Liang did not explain. He just waved for Yang Kai to follow him outside.
Soon the two of them left the gates.
The battlefield from the previous war had been cleaned up, and now the area outside Blue Sky Pass was empty. No one could have imagined from this scene that just two years ago the Black Ink Clan Army had come in full force and engaged Blue Sky Pass in a huge battle.
When he arrived, Yang Kai was immediately drawn to a small crack in the Void in front of him, and after a moment of observation, he could not help but frown.
Zhong Liang explained, “There was a Universe Cave Heaven here, I don’t know if you remember.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “I remember.”
All the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises outside of Blue Sky Pass were personally found and opened by him, and then filled with traps; thus, Yang Kai naturally had some memory of them.
Zhong Liang continued, “Your Martial Uncle Lu was responsible for this Universe Cave Heaven. We do not know who his opponent was, but he was likely quite strong. Their battle was still ongoing when the Expeditionary Force departed, but six months after the Expeditionary Force departed, this Universe Cave Heaven suddenly collapsed and a Void Crack formed. Thereafter, your Martial Uncle Lu and his opponent were nowhere to be seen.”
Yang Kai said with a frown, “Martial Uncle Lu and that Territory Lord must have been caught up in it and dragged into the Void.”
Zhong Liang nodded, “Exactly, that old fart is a stubborn one. Most likely, he was unwilling to let that Territory Lord escape, which is why they ended up in this situation. This Void Crack was quite spacious when it was first formed, so I went inside to investigate, but as you know, the Void is incredibly chaotic and I became disoriented the instant I entered. I could not find any trace of your Martial Uncle Lu, so I have no choice but to withdraw while I still could. After so long, and with the Void Crack here close to healing, I’m afraid that your Martial Uncle Lu might never come back.”
“I’ll go in to find him!” Yang Kai stepped forward.
“Are you sure?” Zhong Liang looked concerned.
Yang Kai grinned and said, “This Junior will be right back!”
Thereafter, he manipulated Space Principles and plunged into the small Void Crack.
In the Void, chaos and void turbulence raged.
Yang Kai silently pushed his Space Principles to swim against the currents, leaving a trail of his aura behind along the way.
At first, everything was calm, but as he swam deeper, disruptions in the turbulence began to appear. Yang Kai examined these traces carefully and realized that they should be remnants of a battle between Masters.
It was obviously the result of the fight between Martial Uncle Lu and a certain Territory Lord.
Zhong Liang had come in before and was confused at the sight, but to Yang Kai, these traces were the best clues to find his targets.
Following the traces, he began to search for them.
This section of Void was extremely dangerous because it had been greatly disturbed, making it even more chaotic than normal, with no semblance of direction or time. In this damned place, one would never know where he was or how much time he had spent there. Perhaps one could spend thousands of years inside the Void, only to emerge and find that but a brief moment had passed in the outside world. Changes within the Void were highly unpredictable.
Only someone like Yang Kai, who was well versed in the Dao of Space, could find some kind of order in this damned place.
Using Space Principles, he made use of his Divine Sense, and was able to monitor his surroundings as he searched.
After an unknown span of time, Yang Kai suddenly felt a disturbance and zoomed off in a certain direction.
In no time, he came to a Void turbulence and sensed a corpse floating and sinking into it.
The corpse was covered with wounds and there was a fatal wound in its head. The expression on its face looked like it was glaring in disbelief before its death.
It was the corpse of a Black Ink Clansman!
Yang Kai was relieved to see that this corpse was the Territory Lord’s who had fought against Lu An. The fact that his corpse was here meant that Lu An had won.
After carefully identifying the Territory Lord’s corpse, Yang Kai recognized that this guy should be one of the top five strongest Territory Lords in the Blue Sky Theatre, on par with Hei Yuan from the Yin-Yang Theatre.
Now, it made sense why Lu An, a senior Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, could not take him down quickly even with the geographical advantages.
In fact, Lu An did not have to be so determined to kill this Territory Lord. As early as when the plan was being implemented, Zhong Liang and others had explained that if they could not win the fight quickly, then should escape before the Universe Cave Heaven collapsed; otherwise, they would most likely be sucked into the Void.
Many Eighth-Order Division Commanders did this; otherwise, there would not have been so many Territory Lords escaping that day.
Lu An apparently did not heed those orders though. He was willing to die to make sure that the Territory Lord did not escape. As a result, the two were sucked into the Void.
If this corpse was here, then obviously Lu An should not be too far away; however, this whole place was directionless. Thus, if he got caught in one of the turbulent currents, there was no telling where he would drift to.
Yang Kai continued his search, his Divine Sense extended to its limit.
Yang Kai soon sensed a fluctuating life aura in the distance, this fluctuation was very unusual and obviously intentional to point out its location.
Quickly reacting, Yang Kai smiled and flew through the Void like a fish swimming upstream towards the unusual fluctuations.
A short while later, Yang Kai came to an old man who was sitting cross-legged. With a grin, he called out, “Martial Uncle, sorry for the long wait.”
Lu An apparently also knew that Blue Sky Pass would send someone to find him. Naturally, this person had to be Yang Kai; after all, he was the only person who could freely transverse through the turbulent Void.
Lu An had tried to get out of the Void; however, even if he was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he could not find his way back through the chaotic space. Worse, he was injured after the battle with the Territory Lord and was far from his peak state.
Thus, instead of blindly looking for a way out, he opted to sit and wait; after all, Yang Kai was sure to come and find him. Similarly, his sitting still also helped Yang Kai locate him.
Finding Lu An and returning was not hard for Yang Kai.
When he saw the two of them appear, Zhong Liang, who had been waiting outside, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Every Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was a pillar in the Human Race’s fight against the Black Ink Clan. Furthermore, since the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in each Great Pass was not large, each of their deaths greatly impacted the Human Race. Thus, he was gratified to see Lu An was alright.
Still, since Lu An’s injuries were not light, he quickly headed back to rest and recover.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai embarked on a journey to the forward base with the rest of Dawn.
The forward base had been nailed deep within the territory of the Black Ink Clan. In this recent war, Blue Sky Pass had achieved extremely brilliant results. The huge losses of the Black Ink Clan were enough for them to be unable to recover for at least 1,000 years. Furthermore, that timeframe was dependent on their ability to destroy Blue Sky Pass’ new forward base.
If Blue Sky Pass could gain a solid foothold and suppress nearly half of the Black Ink Clan’s territory here, then the Black Ink Clan might not ever be able to recover to its previous strength. However, if the Humans lost the forward base, their victorious outcome would be greatly diminished.
Therefore, the existence of the forward base was critical to both sides. However, they could not just defend their current position. They had to take the initiative or they would eventually be pushed back.
Blue Sky Pass deployed 20,000 soldiers from the previous crusade, but now more than 10,000 more have been deployed to provide support with the help of two transit Universe Arrays Yang Kai had set up.
Currently, in Blue Sky Pass, only the most basic personnel were left behind. The rest had been moved outside. They had been passively defending for so many years, so when they finally had a chance to take the initiative, the decisions those at the top made were all bold and aggressive.
Nonetheless, the movements of troops made sense; after all, there was no need to worry about Blue Sky Pass being attacked. Since they were now deep within the Black Ink Clan’s territory, the enemy would be too preoccupied with those forces close to their Royal City to target Blue Sky Pass itself.
The Black Ink Clan could also not expect reinforcements from other Theatres as each war zone had its own issues to deal with. It was no different for the Humans, who could not send large-scale reinforcements to each other; thus, for both sides, they were basically fighting an independent war.
While Yang Kai was arranging the Universe Arrays, the soldiers at the forward base had been recuperating. After Blue Sky Pass’s 10,000 reinforcements had arrived at the forward base, a slew of construction projects were implemented.
One by one, Squads patrolled around the forward base, clearing out any Black Ink Clansmen in the area. Even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were moving, trying to use this opportunity to suppress the Black Ink Clan as much as possible.
Naturally, the Black Ink Clan would not sit still and get attacked. Though they did not launch any large-scale battles, they continued with small-scale ambushes. In fact, almost every day, Squads that ventured even a little far from the forward base would be ambushed by the Black Ink Clan.
The Humans and the Black Ink Clan had been fighting for hundreds of thousands of years in the space between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base. It was just that this time, the Humans had the absolute advantage; thus, such ambushes were all but meaningless.
After all, most of the Territory Lords here would not dare to move easily; furthermore, Human Squads had their Warships, which held an absolute advantage when faced against a small number of Black Ink Clansmen. In fact, if a Squad found itself dangerously outnumbered, or facing a powerful, unbeatable foe, the Warships possessed defensive Spirit Arrays which would protect them. In the worst-case scenario, there was still the Universe Array aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleships anchored at the forward base, which enabled them to escape the battle if necessary.
Thus, as long as they still had some luck, and the situation was not that dire, there was no need for them to fear for their lives.
In the void, a Warship flew back and forth as rays of bright light shot out from its hull. Unable to resist the powerful attack, the Black Ink Clansmen burst into a mist of blood.
Around the Warship, several figures were moving around, eliminating whatever scattered Black Ink Clansmen were present using their own Secret Techniques.
Within a short time, hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen were killed.
Miao Fei Ping flashed and flew back to Dawning Light, looking indifferent, with no joy or surprise in his eyes. With the baptism of blood and war, he quickly matured and was no longer as helpless and nervous as he had been the first time he fought the Black Ink Clan.
Under normal circumstances, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him would not leave their Warship to kill the enemy directly. He should stay inside the protective Spirit Arrays on the Warship and use its offensive arrays to deal damage.
However, today’s battle was different from the usual. They encountered some scattered Black Ink Clansmen, so there was leeway for the Sixth-Order Masters to gain some direct combat experience.
The Black Ink Clan usually sent out massive armies, with powerful Masters leading them. Thus, even a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who could not be considered weak, would find it difficult to survive in that chaotic battlefield. As a result, those below the Seventh Order were generally tasked with controlling their Warship’s Arrays.
Of the hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen Dawn encountered today though, only one was a Feudal Lord, and he was swiftly killed by Feng Ying. Meanwhile, the rest scattered like sand. A few Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t help but rush out of the Warship to fight, and Yang Kai didn’t stop them.
Such skirmishes could be found everywhere in the void. The soldiers of the forward base also began to refer to this kind of mission as ‘hunting’. Furthermore, these hunts did not only occur with small groups of Black Ink Clansmen. Sometimes, bigger hunts were organized where several Squads would cooperate to deal large amounts of damage to the scattered Black Ink Clansmen. As a result, the Black Ink Clan began to worry that if this kept up, the Human Army would begin advancing towards the Royal City again.
With their situation being what it was, the Black Ink Clan was forced to concentrate the vast majority of its Masters into defending the Royal City. Naturally, that meant that the space between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base had no powerful Black Ink Masters at all.
“Squad Leader, it’s time,” Feng Ying reminded Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded, “Let’s head back, we’ve been at it long enough.”
In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of all soldiers, the forward base also established some rules, including time limits on each Squad’s ‘hunt’, and the range of activities that they could operate in.
This was done out of fear that the soldiers would get carried away in killing the enemy, which might reveal openings and cause unnecessary tragedies.
It had been half a year since Dawn last set out from the forward base, and the area they were active in had always been at the outermost reaches allowed by the rules. Naturally, it was because the further out they went, the larger the number of Black Ink Clansmen there were.
Half a year was the time limit stipulated by the forward base before they had to return. Beyond that, Military Merits would not be calculated, and there might even be penalties, such as sending them back to Blue Sky Pass. Naturally, such penalties were meant for the safety of the soldiers.
After all, establishing a fortified position was a long-term plan. It was impossible to achieve this overnight, so it is necessary to ensure the integrity and combat effectiveness of the soldiers at the forward base.
After half a year of battle, they would then rest for the next half a year, maintaining a balance.
At Yang Kai’s command, Dawn’s members began using the Universal Transference Law to return. In the end, Yang Kai was the only one remaining as he stored Dawning Light in his Small Universe. After that, he flickered and disappeared.
Back at the forward base, where the Universe Array was, those from the Dawn appeared, one after another. As soon as they appeared, they skillfully moved out of the way so as not to interfere with the transference of others who were also returning.
“Get some rest and cultivate. After half a year, we will gather again,” Yang Kai gave the order and the crowd immediately dispersed.
He then strolled towards the Merit Hall. Military Merits obtained by hunting for half a year had to be registered, and Dawning Light had also taken some damage, so it needed to be sent to the Refining Hall for repairs.
Yang Kai was traversing this familiar path at this point. It had been ten years since the Expeditionary Force established the forward base, and every time he came back from a hunt, as the leader of Dawn Squad, he needed to fulfil these duties.
Arriving first at the Merit Hall, registration of military contributions was recorded by Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Such positions didn’t involve directly fighting against the Black Ink Clan, so they were usually filled by the cultivators with the lowest Orders.
Registration of Military Merits was naturally very smooth. All Yang Kai needed to do was provide evidence for the kills.
Next, Yang Kai went to the Refining Hall and handed over Dawning Light. After that was done, he didn’t need to worry about his ship anymore. He would just need to get it after half a year, when Dawn went out on its next hunt.
The Refining Hall was now the busiest location in the entire forward base; however, this couldn’t be helped. One by one, Squads would go out, hunt down enemies, and then return with a damaged Warship that needed repairs. Since there was a limited number of Artifact Refiners, the Refining Hall was always kept busy.
In the past, when the Great Pass was under siege by the Black Ink Clan, the Artifact Refiners would be so busy they did not even have the time to breathe, but after the siege ended, they would have time to rest. However, that was in the past. Since the forward base was established, Artifact Refiners were now busy round the clock, with no time for rest at all.
When the forward base created the rules, limiting ‘hunting’ to only half a year and a minimum of half a year of cultivating afterwards, they did not really take into account the Artifact Refiner’s workload.
After all, half a year was barely enough for an Artifact Refiner to fix up a Warship.
Although Yang Kai was now an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, and he could patch up simple problems with Dawning Light, some of the damage was to its Spirit Arrays, and since he knew little about the Dao of Spirit Array, he had no choice but to ask for an Array Master to fix it, which was why he sent it to the Refining Hall.
Just as he was about to walk back to where he stayed, he heard a Divine Sense transmission.
He turned and then moved towards a particular direction.
He quickly entered a Grand Hall, where the Eastern Army Commander, Ding Yao, was talking to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. After briefly exchanging a few words, the Eighth-Order Masters turned and left, while Ding Yao turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Greetings, Sir!”
Ding Yao gave a light nod and said, “I have a task for you.”
Yang Kai looked solemn as he replied, “Please tell me.”
“I need you to return back to Blue Sky Pass and pick someone up.”
“Pick someone up?” Yang Kai frowned, puzzled and asked “Pick who up?” “
“You don’t have to know. You’ll understand when the time comes.”
Yang Kai was a little displeased with this strange order and couldn’t help but object, “Sir, wouldn’t it be better for an Eighth-Order Division Commander to act as a guard? I’m only in the seventh order, so even if I want to store someone inside my Small Universe, I at most can only bring those in the Sixth Order or below. How would I be of any help in this case?”
Ding Yao glanced at him, “I don’t need you to use your Small Universe to store this person, I just need you to show the way here. What’s more, this person is in the Eighth-Order, so other Eighth-Order Masters would not be able to store them either and would have to travel side by side.”
“Eighth-Order?” Yang Kai was surprised, “Since it’s someone in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, I believe that person has enough strength to ensure his own safety. Why do I need to fetch them here?”