Judging by the number of Black Ink Disciples there were on the battlefield now, it proved that not all of the Human soldiers who were part of the battle at Great Evolution Pass 30,000 years ago had been killed by the Black Ink Clan after the death of the Old Ancestor. The Black Ink Clan must have taken quite a number of them and turned them into Black Ink Disciples.
There was no other way of explaining why so many Black Ink Disciples with High-Orders would appear in the Great Evolution Theatre.
Why did all of the Cave Heavens and Paradises in the 3,000 Worlds classify everything that had to do with the Black Ink Clan? That was because Black Ink Strength was far too tempting for some people.
As it was, once a person’s body was corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they would undergo a drastic change and become someone who served the Black Ink Clan above all else. In other words, they would become an entirely different person, but at the same time, the power that Black Ink Strength provided was enough to enable a cultivator to not be affected by the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm. With enough luck and resources, one could continue to cultivate all the way to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
How many Ninth-Order Masters had there been throughout history? Too few that even the most prominent of Cave Heavens and Paradises could easily count them with their fingers.
With that being the case, it would be hard for cultivators who had reached the ceiling of their cultivation and failed to break through to not be swayed by the temptation of Black Ink Strength.
Yuan Du, a Vice Sect Master of Lang Ya Paradise, was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He knew very well the risks and dangers of Black Ink Strength, but even then, he could not overcome the temptation. In the end, he chose to become a Black Ink Disciple. Not only did he turn against his people but he even threatened the safety of his Sect. The Sect Master, Li Yuan Wang, had no choice but to kill Yuan Du himself.
The fact that even the Vice Sect Master of Lang Ya Paradise succumbed to the draw of Black Ink Strength proved how hard it would be for most people to resist the temptation as well if the powers of Black Ink Strength became public knowledge in the 3,000 Worlds.
Humans were always unpredictable.
30,000 years ago, the Great Evolution Old Ancestor died and the Great Pass was conquered. Most of the Human soldiers died on the battlefield, but a significant number of them must have been captured by the powerful members of the Black Ink Clan and turned into Black Ink Disciples.
30,000 years of peace was enough time for these Black Ink Disciples to cultivate and break through to a higher Order.
They made full use of the prolonged period of time, which was enough to let a Sixth-Order Black Ink Disciple advance into the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Still, this kind of cultivation came with its own set of dangers. One false move could lead to the cultivator’s death while trying to break through to a higher Order than they would normally be able to reach, and even if the cultivator succeeded, the process would leave visible marks on their body that would clearly indicate they were no longer Human.
This was the reason why Mi Jing Lun spotted so many Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples on the battlefield.
Although these Black Ink Disciples still had Human forms, most of them also had some abnormal characteristics that made them stand out. One of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had a large growth coming out of his shoulder, and from a distance, it looked as if he had two heads.
Yet another Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had two tiny, fleshy wings growing out of his back. With one long and one short, the wings looked like knobbly chicken feet.
One of the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples even had an extra arm growing out of his abdomen. He was creative enough to come up with a combat strategy that made use of his third arm and wielded three swords, one in each arm, making him quite a formidable force on the battlefield.
All of the Black Ink Disciples who had these abnormal traits were those who relied on Black Ink Strength to break through their innate limitations.
They would never have had the chance to advance any further, but after being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they were able to explore a higher Martial Dao.
The power that they exhibited was noticeably unstable though, and those around them could feel that it was frenzied and volatile.
However, it was exactly due to the efforts of these Black Ink Disciples that the Humans could not gain a decisive victory with their current strategy.
Originally, Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie assumed that since they had dozens of Eighth-Order Masters to deal with only slightly more than a dozen Territory Lords, the numbers would work in their favour and the Territory Lords would not be able to put up a fight.
As long as the Division Commanders could gang up on the Territory Lords, they would surely be able to kill all of them fairly quickly.
Once the Territory Lords were gone, the hundreds of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen would amount to nothing more than headless chickens, and the Humans could wipe them out with ease.
However, it was the presence of numerous Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples that foiled their plans.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were fearsome in their violent attacks, but the ferocity also proved that they did not have full control over their strength.
In other words, these Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were not on even footing with the true Eighth-Order Masters. Their powers did not come from proper cultivation, and as a result, they were even weaker than ordinary Territory Lords.
If it came down to a solo fight, any one of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders could easily defeat an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
Even so, it would not be as easy to kill one.
Furthermore, both the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples attacked without any restraint, not caring whether they injured or even killed their fellow Black Ink Clansmen in the process. On the other hand, the Eighth-Order Masters had to take great care not to harm their fellow Humans.
Thus, when it came to the battle between the two parties’ top Masters, although the Humans still had the advantage, it was not a significant one and could not produce the result they had hoped for.
As the fierce battle progressed, the casualties mounted on the side of the Black Ink Clan.
The Humans also began to suffer more casualties, and there were even signs of Seventh-Order Masters dying on the battlefield.
Mi Jing Lun frowned as this was not what he wanted to see. If things carried on like this, even if the Humans emerged victorious, it would still be at the cost of far too many lives, which would be a crushing blow to them.
[We must break the deadlock as soon as possible to achieve our goal today.]
After thinking in silence for a moment, his Divine Sense surged and in the next moment, five figures jumped out of the Battalion Class Warships around the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and joined the battlefield.
These five were all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Initially, their job was to stay with the Battalion Class Warships around the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and protect all of the non-combatants on board the ships; but now, it was time for them to make their move.
Five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters joining the battlefield was enough to change the tides of the battle between both parties’ apex cultivators. Once they found the opportunity to kill a few of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples or even some Territory Lords, they could create a snowball effect and create an overwhelming advantage for the Humans.
Still, this required time.
Mi Jing Lun’s eyes next fell onto a different side of the battlefield, away from the battlefield between the Eighth-Order Masters and the Territory Lords.
There was a solitary figure over there who was rampaging about. This person worked alone without teaming up with any of the Warships. All he had was a long spear in his hands, but wherever he passed, the Black Ink Clan would crumble. Even the Feudal Lords could not withstand a single blow from his spear.
Naturally, it was Yang Kai.
Ever since the battle started, Mi Jing Lun kept checking in on Yang Kai’s situation, yet the Eighth-Order Army Commander was shocked to find that despite his high regard for Yang Kai, he had still underestimated him.
Yang Kai was only a Seventh-Order Master, but he was exhibiting powers that vastly exceeded what someone in the Seventh-Order should be capable of. This was the reason why he could breeze through the battlefield without any difficulty with no one able to stop him.
Although Mi Jing Lun did not know much about Yang Kai, he had heard a lot of stories in the past. He knew that Yang Kai had made a name for himself across a number of battlefields, and he also knew that Yang Kai had a World Tree clone planted inside his Small Universe.
Apparently, the World Tree clone had the unbelievable effect of purifying and enhancing World Force.
From the looks of it now, the effects were even more astounding than Mi Jing Lun had expected as Yang Kai’s World Force was both dense and powerful enough that he could launch devastating attacks with great ease.
Meanwhile, the five Eighth-Order Division Commanders joined the battle among the top Masters of both Armies and worked together to shift the momentum in the Human’s favour, though their efforts would take time to produce real results.
Someone needed to break the stalemate that was happening between the two Armies’ forces that were below the Eighth Order. That way, by gaining an advantage in both the top and bottom ranks, the Humans would be able to decimate the Black Ink Clan in the shortest amount of time possible!
Yang Kai was the best person for that task!
As soon as the thought flashed across Mi Jing Lun’s mind, his Divine Sense surged once more.
Out on the battlefield, Yang Kai was immersed in the fervour of battle.
It had been so long since he could throw caution to the wind and not hold himself back.
Ever since the creation of Dawn, he would have to lead the Special Operation Squad into battle each time, and as the Squad Leader, he had to take a lot of concerns into account.
This time though, he did not need to worry about anything, all he had to do was kill the enemy. He rushed headlong wherever the enemy gathered without having to worry about others failing to keep up with him. He did not have to worry about leading his people into a risky situation with no way out.
With the use of Space Principles, his figure flitted about erratically, and as long as the Territory Lords did not get involved, no one among the Black Ink Clan was a threat to him.
Naturally, not needing to worry about others also meant that no one was there to help him.
Since the beginning of the battle, countless Black Ink Clansmen had died at his hands, but he also suffered a few injuries in the process. Regardless of how strong he was, Yang Kai could not avoid getting hit a few times in the chaos of the battlefield.
Still, such injuries did not affect him too greatly, and the pain only increased his bloodlust.
Just as the fighting was raging, a Warship suddenly approached. It did not look like the regular Squad Class Warship as it was a lot bigger and there were clear signs of numerous enhancements.
It was the Warship that belonged to a Special Operations Squad!
Dawn’s Dawning Light was an example of such a Warship.
8 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were gathered around the Warship, each of them radiating a formidable aura. They were covered in black blood and there was no telling how many Black Ink Clan soldiers they had killed.
The one who took the lead was a young man with a dignified appearance, and his voice rang out across the distance, “Brother Yang, the Army Commander has ordered the Profound Wind Squad and the Snow Wolves Squad to work together with you to break the enemy lines!”
Yang Kai thrust his spear out, and the resulting shadow pierced through a dozen of so Black Ink Clan soldiers in front of him. Once he withdrew his spear, he turned around and asked, “Where’s the Snow Wolves Squad?”
The young man, who seemed to be the Profound Wind Squad Leader, pointed with his finger, “Over there. They can’t get away just yet!”
“Follow my lead!” Yang Kai said before dashing in that direction with his spear sweeping through the enemies along the way.
After being on the battlefield for so long, Yang Kai had already sensed the peculiarity of this particular war.
The Black Ink Clan were not as weak as the Humans thought they were, and it was all due to the significant number of Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples!
Yang Kai was surprised by this too.
He had encountered numerous Black Ink Disciples before and knew what the benefits and consequences were for these Black Ink Disciples who relied on Black Ink Strength for cultivation. At first, he thought that it would be immensely difficult for a Black Ink Disciple to become an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Although Black Ink Disciples were unshackled from their innate constraints, the risk they faced during the ascension to a higher Order than they were naturally capable of reaching was far worse than the average Human cultivator’s. More often than not, Black Ink Disciples would fail to control the power within their body and end up exploding, so even though some might reach the Eighth Order, there shouldn’t be many.
Yet he saw so many Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples here.
It was hard for either party to gain the upper hand when it came to the fight between the top Masters, so the outcome of the battle was still undecided. Things would only get worse for the Humans if they did not break the stalemate.
Yang Kai was only in the Seventh Order, and although he managed to kill a Territory Lord before, it was still hard for him to join the battlefield of the stronger fighters.
The Army Commander seemed to have taken this into account and thus ordered him to lead two of the Special Operations Squads instead. He wished to have Yang Kai be the one who gave the Humans an opening when it came to the fight among those with lower cultivation.
Thus, when Yang Kai heard the order from the Profound Wind Squad, he did not have to dwell on it for long before he surmised what the Army Commander’s plan was.
A single Human charged forward with a mighty aura.
The battlefield was havoc as far as the eyes could see, but Yang Kai drifted through the chaos taking down enemies with great ease and single-handedly carving out a path behind him.
The Profound Wind Squad followed closely behind him. All 8 of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had looks of solemn respect on their faces, especially the young Squad Leader.
Only the best among the Seventh Order could become the Squad Leader of a Special Operations Squad.
Under the young Squad Leader’s leadership, the Profound Wind Squad had also achieved great success in their own Theatre. Initially, he did not understand why the Army Commander ordered the two elite Squads to work together with Yang Kai, but now that he saw just how unparalleled of a fighter Yang Kai was on the battlefield, he began to understand why the order came down.
Only an unstoppable force such as Yang Kai could lead the two Special Operations Squads to break the enemy on the battlefield in the shortest amount of time.
Yang Kai and the Squad charged straight forward, and soon, they arrived at a different part of the battlefield.
The area was filled with Black Ink Clansmen, including many Feudal Lords. They swarmed the area which made it impossible for anyone to get in or out, and at the very centre was a Warship that belonged to another Special Operations Squad that was currently being besieged on all sides.
This was the Snow Wolves Squad, which had about the same number of people as the Profound Wind Squad. Both Squads had roughly 50 members with 8 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters assuming command.
Special Operations Squads had a lot more members than regular Squads, and when combined with the numerous improvements made to the Squad’s Warship over the years, the Snow Wolves were undoubtedly a formidable force in combat.
Although there were only 50 of them, they had the power of the Warship and should easily be able to take on at least 1,000 to 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen at once as long as they did not have to face a Territory Lord as well.
Yet, at this very moment, the Snow Wolves Squad was surrounded by the Black Ink Clan and had no way of escaping. They were not in a dire situation due to the power of their custom Warship, but things were still looking pretty bad for them.
Among the 8 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, one was heavily injured and had to return to the Warship deck to recover. Under the command of the Snow Wolves Squad Leader, the remaining Seventh-Order Masters kept trying to find a way to break out of the encirclement, but every attempt was hindered by the Black Ink Clan’s frenzied attacks which forced them back.
The Snow Wolves were slowly losing ground and things were taking a turn for the worse.
Even so, the Squad Leader remained calm as he unleashed a series of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, all the while trying to find a way out for them.
A Special Operations Squad was sure to have its own trump cards, such as powerful arrays installed in their Warship. The Snow Wolves had such an array that was capable of unleashing an attack on par with an Eighth-Order Master’s all-out strike. It would not be hard for the Squad to escape after using this, but the array expended too much power, so once used, the entire Warship would lose over half of its combat power temporarily.
The battle began not too long ago, and the Snow Wolves were unwilling to pay such a heavy price in a situation such as this, especially since they were not pushed to the brink just yet.
Just as the Snow Wolves Squad Leader was trying to think of a good strategy, a commotion arose among the Black Ink Clan. All of a sudden, a spear breached through the ranks of the Black Ink Clansmen, and in an instant, a sliver of space was carved out as the siege was split into two like a ripped piece of cloth.
A solitary figure ploughed through the opening.
The Snow Wolves Squad Leader’s expression brightened at once and he quickly ordered his Squad to head towards the opening, and at the same time, he frantically called out, “Watch out, Junior Brother! Behind you!”
As soon as he said that, Yang Kai felt his heart clench and soon, he felt a wave of pain coming from his lower back.
Someone had indeed snuck up on him!
The one who launched the sneak attack had done it so quickly and surreptitiously that he had not noticed anything until he had been hit.
Yang Kai instinctively swept his spear out but hit nothing.
He spotted a silhouette brushing past him out of the corner of his eye, but when he tried to catch a proper glimpse, he could not find it anymore.
Still, he did not remain still. He kept charging forward and the Profound Wind Squad’s Warship pushed in through the breach in the Black Ink Clan’s lines behind him.
The two Squad Leaders of the Special Operations Squads knew each other, so they exchanged a light nod of greeting but skipped over the usual pleasantries. The Profound Wind Squad Leader informed the Snow Wolves Squad Leader of the Army Commander’s orders, and the latter chuckled bitterly before turning to Yang Kai, “Are you hurt, Junior Brother?”
[The Army Commander ordered both of our Special Operations Squads to work together with Junior Brother Yang, but he suffered a sneak attack just as soon as he showed up.]
One of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters under his command had suffered from a sneak attack as well. He was the one who was tending to his injuries on the Warship’s deck; thus, he knew just how insidious the ambusher who snuck up on Yang Kai was.
The Snow Wolves Squad would not have been blindsided by the Black Ink Clan and ended up getting sieged if it had not been for the fact that the attacker had hidden so well that none of them could locate him.
Although the Squad Leader asked Yang Kai if he was hurt, truth be told, he did not think they could rely on Yang Kai for much now.
Contrary to his assumptions, Yang Kai just shook his head, “I’m fine.”
The Squad Leader was taken aback for a moment before he kindly advised, “Junior Brother, don’t try to put up a strong front when you’re on the battlefield. If you need to tend to your injuries, then it’s best not to delay doing so.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “I’m fine, really. Perhaps you don’t know, Senior Brother, though this Junior Brother here may not have much else to boast about, my skin’s thicker and my flesh’s stronger than average!”
It was true that the one behind the sneak attacks was powerful and not to be underestimated. Such an attack on a regular Seventh-Order Master would at least result in serious injuries, if not worse; however, Yang Kai carried a potent Dragon Vein, which made his physique a lot stronger than that of a regular Human. Thus, something that would have heavily injured someone else was not so serious when it came to him.
Furthermore, his body’s restorative abilities were quite astonishing, so Yang Kai did not need to bother tending to such injuries. He would fully recover soon enough.
What got his attention now was the strength that was contained inside the attack from the one who snuck up on him.
Yang Kai could clearly sense the dense Black Ink Strength that lingered in his wound which was clearly trying to eat into his body and spread to his Small Universe.
This was the most troublesome aspect of this sneak attack.
Even if a Human could survive the initial blow, they would have to deal with the Black Ink Strength’s attempt to invade after.
However, Yang Kai was unbothered by Black Ink Strength, so he simply ignored it. So what if it managed to spread into his Small Universe? It was not as if he did not already have lots of Black Ink Strength sealed up within.
“Was it a Black Ink Disciple?” Yang Kai asked grimly.
“En, it was!” The Snow Wolves Squad Leader replied.
It was just as Yang Kai suspected. At the time, he had a feeling that the one who attacked him was not from the Black Ink Clan. From the looks of it now, it was indeed a Black Ink Disciple, and probably a Seventh-Order one.
The attacker was a master of concealment, so even though Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was stronger than average, he could not find any traces of the attacker. That Black Ink Disciple seemed to have vanished right after striking him.
It went without saying that Yang Kai knew the attacker would not have vanished and was simply hiding somewhere, eyeing them like a venomous snake.
[I need to get rid of that attacker or else the other Seventh-Order Masters might suffer a death blow if they were not careful.]
After teaming together, the two Squads did not come to a halt. Yang Kai and the Squad Leaders had a quick discussion and soon, the two Warships began their attack under Yang Kai’s leadership.
Initially, the Black Ink Clan here had managed to rely on the support of that Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciple to keep the Snow Wolves Squad cornered without any hope of escape, but now that the Profound Wind Squad had shown up as well, the Black Ink Clan was having a hard time dealing with the Humans.
In just a few moments, the enemy’s siege was breached yet again.
Two Feudal Lords had been overseeing the situation at the breakthrough spot, but Yang Kai easily cut them down with his spear as if they were nothing more than fish on a chopping block. The rest of the High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen did not amount to much. Wherever the Azure Dragon Spear swept, large swaths of them exploded into black blood mists.
This was the first time that the Snow Wolves Squad Leader ever saw a Seventh-Order Master killing a Feudal Lord with such ease, causing his eyes to nearly fall out of their sockets.
When comparing in terms of realm, a Feudal Lord was supposedly on par with a Seventh-Order Master; however, as the two Races cultivated in different ways, generally speaking, Feudal Lords tended to be weaker than Seventh-Order Humans.
However, despite being somewhat weaker, they were still Feudal Lords and not just random Black Ink Clansmen.
The Squad Leader had killed many Feudal Lords himself, but he never thought there would be a Seventh-Order Master who could cut down Feudal Lords as if they were helpless chickens.
[How the heck did he do that? Is he still Human?]
The Snow Wolves Squad Leader could not resist checking to see what Yang Kai’s Order was right now as he was beginning to suspect Yang Kai was secretly an Eighth Order Master who was hiding his true cultivation.
His actions did not escape the Profound Wind Squad Leader’s attention, and the latter chuckled as, just a short while ago, he had the exact same reaction. Before seeing the way Yang Kai slaughtered their enemy with great ease, never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would possess such terrifying strength in combat.
Regardless, the two Squad Leaders were relieved to find that Yang Kai did not seem to be affected by the sneak attack from earlier. Both of them spotted the trail of golden-coloured blood on Yang Kai’s lower back, but it did not seem to be much of a hindrance to him.
That being said, they were startled to see the golden-coloured blood as well. The blood of regular Humans would not be of that colour.
Nevertheless, they had no time to waste on such thoughts. The two Squads followed closely behind Yang Kai and boldly rushed towards the breach in the enemy lines.
However, before they passed through the opening, they saw a flicker of something right behind Yang Kai, and, in the very next moment, a shadowy silhouette appeared with an artifact in hand that was similar to a dagger. The silhouette was aiming straight for the back of Yang Kai’s neck.
The shadowy silhouette had appeared so abruptly that no one noticed anything until it was right there.
Evidently, it was the Black Ink Disciple who had snuck up on Yang Kai earlier. He had indeed been hiding nearby, waiting for his chance to attack once more. When he saw that Yang Kai was leading the two Special Operations Squads out of the encirclement, he evidently grew impatient and tried to attack again.
“Junior Brother, watch out!” The two Squad Leaders exclaimed in shock.
However, Yang Kai who was in the lead, did not seem to hear them at all. It was as if he had not noticed anything amiss.
The dagger-like artifact stabbed right into the back of Yang Kai’s neck, and everyone in both Squads, including the Squad Leaders, stared in grievous horror.
However, they did not see the spurt of golden blood and the sudden loss of a life that they expected, for the moment the dagger was about to cut into the back of Yang Kai’s head, Yang Kai’s figure became transparent and illusory.
A wave of Space Principles could be seen propagating out.
The attacker could not withdraw in time and he ended up stumbling through Yang Kai’s body.
It was Yang Kai’s Nihility Secret Technique!
A long time ago, Yang Kai had already comprehended a Space Principles Secret Technique that allowed him to exile his body to the Void to avoid certain attacks.
While in this state, Yang Kai’s body was no longer part of this world. Naturally, someone powerful enough would still be able to attack him by shattering the local space and thus affecting him even in the Void, but the Black Ink Disciple who snuck up on him did not seem to have expected Yang Kai to employ such a bizarre tactic and was thus unprepared.
Everything happened in a flash and Yang Kai reacted just as swiftly. When the attack failed, the shadowy silhouette faded away in such an uncanny way that it was almost as if the silhouette never existed in the first place. Even Divine Sense could not detect any traces; however, Yang Kai simply smirked, “Do you think you can use the same trick twice?”
By the time he finished speaking, the attacker had vanished.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai whipped his head about and reached out to grab something in that direction.
Once again, Space Principles rippled out and space was locked in from all sides.
By the time Yang Kai withdrew his hand, it was clenched around the neck of a figure. His World Force surged and crashed into the other person’s Small Universe, which made the person dazed and unable to use his strength.
“Attacking me twice, huh? You seem like a rather stubborn person,” Yang Kai remarked coolly as he stared at the person.
It was clear that the attacker had been highly trained in the art of assassination. When an attack failed, he retreated right away. That was why Yang Kai failed to detect him during the first sneak attack and could not find any traces of him after.
However, after taking into account the mystifying powers of concealment that this Black Ink Disciple had, Yang Kai was certain that the attacker would not give up so easily. He would strike again.
Yang Kai did not know who the attacker would strike against next, or if he would even show himself once more.
Still, the Black Ink Disciple did intend to strike again, and the best and final opportunity would be when Yang Kai led the two Squads out of the siege; therefore, Yang Kai kept his guard up the whole time. He stayed vigilant and aware of everything that was happening around him, including the goings-on near the two Squads behind him.
Sure enough, the attacker showed himself again and he even chose to make Yang Kai his target. Why would Yang Kai, who already had his guard up, allow himself to be attacked in a similar fashion twice?
To zero in on Yang Kai twice in a row meant that the attacker was stubborn and proud. As he failed to deal a heavy blow to Yang Kai on his first attempt, he did not hesitate at all to try again.
Unfortunately for him, he chose the wrong target. His first sneak attack had been successful due to his tactics and Yang Kai’s lack of vigilance.
That was not the case this time. On the battlefield, one had to pay the price for such wilful stubbornness.
The attacker could feel the terrifyingly powerful World Force that flowed out of Yang Kai’s hand and crashed into his Small Universe. His Small Universe quaked and the Black Ink Disciple was terror-stricken.
He could sense that Yang Kai was merely a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, just like him, but Yang Kai was now holding him by the neck as if he were a chicken waiting to be slaughtered. How could there be such a huge difference in strength between them?
What he found even harder to grasp was the way Yang Kai had managed to locate him. His Concealment Secret Technique was exceptional and in the heat of the moment, even an Eighth-Order Master might fail to notice him.
However, when he tried to conceal himself and vanish earlier after the second attack had failed, Yang Kai managed to capture him with just one hand.
As the Black Ink Disciple tried to struggle, he caught Yang Kai’s eyes and was shocked by the sliver of golden pupil he saw, “Demon Eye of Annihilation! Are you from Myriad Demons Heaven?”
Once the Black Ink Disciple spotted that intimidating golden pupil, he came to a realization.
He assumed Yang Kai was from Myriad Demons Heaven and had cultivated the Demon Eye of Annihilation, one of their core Secret Techniques, to a high degree of mastery.
[No wonder he knew exactly where I was…]
After working it all out, the Black Ink Disciple was filled with bitterness. He could not believe how terrible his luck was to encounter someone from Myriad Demons Heaven on the battlefield, and one who even cultivated the Demon Eye of Annihilation to such a high level to boot.
This mystical technique of the Myriad Demons Cave Heaven could see through all illusions and falsities. If cultivated to the apex, it was rumoured to be capable of seeing into a person’s past and future. All in all, it was the bane of his Concealment Secret Technique.
The Concealment Secret Technique that he relied on was nothing more than a joke before the Demon Eye of Annihilation.
Yang Kai had no intention of responding to the Black Ink Disciple’s question.
Had this taken place 200 years ago, Yang Kai might not have been able to capture the Black Ink Disciple so easily. Although he gained the Demon Eye of Annihilation a long time ago when he was still a fledgling cultivator, he did not actively cultivate it and thus could not utilise much of its powers.
Later on, when he left Black Territory and headed for the Black Ink Battlefield, an Eighth-Order Divine Monarch, Mo Sha, from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven passed the cultivation technique to him.
Throughout these years on the Black Ink Battlefield, Yang Kai kept cultivating the two Eye Secret Techniques of Myriad Demons Heaven, making some small progress.
This carried on until 200 years ago when he used an enormous amount of Military Merits to head to Myriad Demons Pass and personally sought guidance from the Myriad Demons Heaven Old Ancestor.
Ever since then, Yang Kai’s mastery of these two Eye Secret Techniques soared tremendously.
This was a good thing about the Battle Ink Battlefield. With enough Military Merits, a person could cultivate any Secret Technique of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. One could even ask an Old Ancestor for help in the process.
This was simply unthinkable in the 3,000 Worlds. These powerful Secret Techniques were the foundation upon which all Cave Heavens and Paradises built themselves, so who would ever readily allow an outsider to learn them?
However, when on the Black Ink Battlefield, none of the Cave Heavens and Paradises believed in selfishly safeguarding these Secret Techniques for self-preservation anymore. All of the old traditions and beliefs had been broken, and everyone from the Old Ancestors to the regular cultivators had one goal in mind, to eliminate the Black Ink Clan once and for all.
Anything that furthered that goal was acceptable, including teaching others these once carefully guarded Secret Techniques.
By now, Yang Kai’s understanding of the two Eye Secret Techniques far surpassed what it once was 200 years ago. Based on how the Myriad Demons Heaven separated the mastery level of both these Eye Secret Techniques, Yang Kai’s cultivation of the Demon Eye of Annihilation could be considered to be far above average now.
After all, receiving help from an Old Ancestor was no small matter.
Therefore, it was laughable that the Black Ink Disciple attempted to conceal himself in front of Yang Kai.
At this very moment, Yang Kai was holding the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciple by the neck and staring at the lump that came out of the latter’s forehead. Seeing it, Yang Kai let out a small sigh.
Not all Black Ink Disciples were alike.
If someone became a Black Ink Disciple because their body had been invaded by Black Ink Strength, then there was still a way to save them. All they would need to do was remove the Black Ink Strength with Purifying Light.
However, if a person chose to rely on Black Ink Strength to break through the innate barriers of their cultivation, there was no way of saving them anymore.
This was due to the fact that once the Black Ink Strength left their body, the person’s Small Universe would no longer be capable of containing their cultivation. The person would end up dying from the explosion of their Small Universe.
The Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciple in front of Yang Kai right now had a bulbous, sore-like mass on his forehead that was surging with Black Ink Strength. It was a clear sign that he had used Black Ink Strength to break through his natural limits.
In other words, this Black Ink Disciple could not be saved, and that was the reason why Yang Kai sighed.
His World Force, which had already been coursing fiercely to begin with, intensified even further as it rushed into the Black Ink Disciple’s Small Universe. In less than a breath, the Black Ink Disciple’s Small Universe began to rumble and quake as cracks started spreading across it like a spiderweb.
The Black Ink Disciple was visibly petrified.
Soon, his Small Universe split apart and shattered into a million pieces. As his Small Universe collapsed, a huge amount of World Force madly surged out, along with all of the Black Ink Disciple’s vitality.
By the time Yang Kai tossed the Black Ink Disciple aside, there was no longer any sign of life within him.
It had only been several breaths from the Black Ink Disciple’s appearance during his second assassination attempt on Yang Kai till the point where his lifeless body was cast aside. The surrounding Black Ink Clansmen did not even have time to register what was happening.
Suddenly, the screech of a Golden Crow reverberated across the void and a brilliant Great Sun rose into the sky. The Golden Crow kept awing in joy as the light shone out brilliantly. Yang Kai lifted his spar to the Great Sun as he shot forward as fast as lightning and roared, “Charge!”
Members of both the Profound Wind Squad and the Snow Wolves Squad were still dazed from the death of the Black Ink Disciple. Now that they saw a Great Sun rising and felt its glorious power spreading through the area, they became even more thunderstruck.
Following Yang Kai’s battle cry, the Great Sun flew across the immense battlefield like a huge ball, and everywhere it went, the Black Ink Clan helplessly fell aside. Those who touched the Great Sun died upon contact, and all others in its proximity were wounded.
Two Special Operations Squads trailed behind the Great Sun, the two Squad Leaders exchanging glances, seeing the astounded look in each other’s eyes.
Both of them could see that the Great Sun was a Divine Manifestation. High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had the power to create a Divine Manifestation of their own, and as Squad Leaders of Special Operations Squads, both of them were among the top talents among the Seventh-Other and naturally had their own Divine Manifestations.
However, they both realized that their Divine Manifestations were hopelessly weak in comparison to the one that Yang Kai displayed.
This Junior Brother Yang of theirs was wielding a Divine Manifestation of such astonishing strength. It did not have the power of an attack from an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master just yet, but it was very close.
Judging by how quickly the Great Sun was slaughtering the Black Ink Clansmen, it showed that those who were beneath the Feudal Lords were killed by the Great Sun’s blinding power before they could even get close.
However, after recalling the power that Yang Kai had exhibited earlier, it was not hard to understand why his Divine Manifestation was this strong.
It was hard to miss the sudden appearance of the Great Sun on the battlefield. It smashed through the enemy lines with unstoppable force, and it made its way through the battlefield without even slowing at all.
The two Squads stayed right behind Yang Kai, one on either side, acting as his wings as they worked together with him to reap as many of the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers’ lives as possible.
This was the benefit of having Squad members to work with. Previously, when Yang Kai acted alone, he did not have to worry about others, but his kill count did not stack up as quickly as it did now either when he did not have help.
Right now, Yang Kai could focus his attention solely on charging forward and killing all the enemies in his path. He did not have to care about anything else, for even if he failed to kill those that fell by the wayside, the two Special Operations Squads following him would finish them off. He also did not have to look over his shoulder or worry about being attacked from behind.
The Army Commander had ordered the two Special Operations Squads to join forces with him, and although there was no clear task communicated in the order, Yang Kai could tell that the appearance of numerous Black Ink Disciples of high Orders had most likely disrupted the North-South Army’s plans.
They were in a deadlock and they needed to break the stalemate.
He could not help with the battle between the Eighth-Order Masters and the Territory Lords, so what he could do was give the Humans an advantage in the fight among those of the lower Orders.
Since the Army Commander hoped that he could break the stalemate, his only choice was to give it all he had; thus, Yang Kai immediately summoned his Divine Manifestation.
The Army Commander did not say how he should break the deadlock, and under the circumstances, Yang Kai would not be receiving any advice from anyone else.
Therefore, his plan was very simple. He was going to rely on the strength of the two Special Operations Squads and rampage through the battlefield without holding back!
Once the Black Ink Clan’s morale fell far enough and they were routed, the Humans could naturally break the stalemate.
Amid the chaos, a Great Sun flew forward, and with the help of two Special Operations Squads, they cut a large swath right across the vast battlefield.
All of the Black Ink Clansmen who stood in their path were slaughtered.
The Seventh-Order Masters behind Yang Kai relentlessly cut down any enemies that managed to survive the initial impact of the Great Sun.
Though a large number of Black Ink Clansmen died from the Great Sun charging up ahead, many more managed to escape and began to launch frenzied attacks upon the source of the deadly attack. Yang Kai was under such heavy assault that his Word Force protection faltered and cracked. His skin split open and golden blood oozed out of the wounds all over his body.
If no one dealt with these Black Ink Clansmen, then they would be a huge hindrance to Yang Kai, and soon, he would not be able to fight as ferociously as he did now.
The task of getting rid of these Black Ink Clansmen fell onto the shoulders of the two Special Operations Squads. The only way to ensure that Yang Kai could continue pushing forward unyieldingly was to stop the Black Ink Clan from attacking him.
By now, the two Special Operations Squads trailing behind Yang Kai had already killed countless enemies, and Yang Kai who led the charge killed even more.
Yang Kai and his spear had stormed through over ten million kilometres of space, and the light of the Great Sun had now grown dim.
Once the light completely extinguished, the two Special Operations Squads behind Yang Kai who had been valiantly killing their opponents abruptly noticed that there was no one around them.
They had cut through the entire battlefield and rushed out into the open void beyond. Not too far behind them was the battlefield upon which tens of thousands of Humans and hundreds of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen were still clashing.
It seemed that all of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who moved around outside the Warship were injured.
They had traversed the entire length of the battlefield in such a short amount of time, and all the while, they had been surrounded by the enemy on all sides. It was not hard to imagine just how many attacks they had to endure, and even though they were Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with formidable strength, it was impossible for them to come out completely unscathed.
Even so, they were still spirited and full of vigour.
Despite belonging to Special Operations Squads and having earned glory in numerous battles against the Black Ink Clan, they had never done anything quite as reckless as this.
Two Special Operations Squads under the leadership of Yang Kai had carved out a straight path all the way through the entire battlefield.
No one had ever heard of anything like this being done before.
Their long-lost fervour for battle consumed them once more. They could not resist the urge to roar at the top of their lungs as they only wished to rush into the battlefield to do it all over again.
Yang Kai did not disappoint them.
As soon as he broke out of the battlefield, he turned around to face the immense battlefield once more. He raised his spear and pointed at the expansive killing field before shouting, “Take your pills! We’re going in again!”
After a brief moment of startlement, all of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately realized what Yang Kai meant. Without any further hesitation, they swiftly grabbed handfuls of pills, some to restore energy, some to aid in recovery, and even some to provide a temporary boost in strength, and stuffed them into their mouths.
Even the Fifth and Sixth-Order Masters aboard the Warships who were in charge of the arrays and the artifacts did the same.
Despite this being their first meeting and their first time working together with Yang Kai, his ferocity had been seared into their hearts and minds. At this moment, the young man who was covered in golden blood looked like a glowing torch in the dark that could lead them down the path of vanquishing all their enemies. They did not need to think about anything, all they had to do was follow him, and they would be able to wipe out all those whom they wished to exterminate.
The Golden Crow screeched yet again, and the blinding Great Sun rose once more. Just as before, Yang Kai’s spear lifted the Great Sun as he roared, “Kill!”
He led the charge as he stormed back into the colossal battlefield, the two Special Operations Squads following closely behind.
The brilliant Great Sun started rampaging through the battlefield for the second time!
An incense stick later, the light of the Great Sun went out once more as Yang Kai and the two Special Operations Squads appeared on the opposite side of the battlefield.
They were in dreadful states as all of them were covered in blood. Even the two Warships showed visible signs of damage.
“Again!” Yang Kai chose a different direction this time and charged into the battlefield once more. The light of the Great Sun blazed for the third time.
The fourth round started another incense stick later.
Then, the fifth round began…
With each summoning of Golden Crow Casts the Sun, Yang Kai and the two Special Operations Squads under his leadership were able to cut through the battlefield and eliminate their opponents from one end to the other.
By the time the sixth round ended, although the two Warships were still following closely behind Yang Kai, there were five or six fewer Seventh-Order Masters moving around outside the Warships.
Not every Seventh-Order Master could withstand such intense fighting with such a reckless strategy. Charging forward in such an unbridled manner also meant that they would constantly be confronted with new opponents.
After doing so repeatedly, five or six of the Seventh-Order Masters of the two Squads had become heavily injured and had to return to their Warships to recover.
The remaining Seventh-Order Masters were not doing too well either. Even though they consumed a lot of pills, it was still taking a toll on them and those with weaker heritage were beginning to look rather pale.
No one knew just how much longer they could keep this up and continue to weave through the battlefield. Perhaps at some point, they would be exhausted halfway through and all of them would end up dying together.
Compared to them, Yang Kai was likely the one who had used up the most strength as he unleashed his Divine Manifestation every single time they charged.
Although Divine Manifestations were powerful, they expended a lot of strength too.
The Squad Leaders of both the Snow Wolves and Profound Wind Squads had Divine Manifestations of their own, but even though they were in the Seventh Order, they could only use them five times at most before the strength within their Small Universes would completely dry up. All High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters considered their Divine Manifestations their trump cards and would not summon them easily.
However, Yang Kai had used his Divine Manifestation for the sixth time and it was still as powerful as before. It proved just how profound the heritage of Yang Kai’s Small Universe was.
The seventh, eighth, and ninth rounds soon followed…
In just over two hours, they had charged through the battlefield 10 times and killed countless Black Ink Clan soldiers.
By now, there were only seven Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters following behind Yang Kai. Three were from the Snow Wolves Squad and four were from the Profound Wind Squad. The rest had returned to their Warships to recuperate.
Next, the 11th and 12th rounds…
When Yang Kai broke out of the battlefield once again with the light of the Great Sun going out once more, all the colour had drained from his face, but his eyes still radiated a brilliant light.
All of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Masters who followed him out looked depleted. Even the two Warships were heavily damaged and flashing with sparks of light which meant that many of their arrays had broken. The Open Heaven Realm Masters within the Squad who were familiar with Spirit Arrays couldn’t help feeling forlorn.
Both Squads had used up an enormous amount of Military Merits on there Warships. They had requested the Artifact Refiners from their respective Great Passes to enhance the two Warships so that they could withstand more intense battles.
Yet, in a little over two hours, the Warships had been heavily battered and were now on the verge of falling apart. This proved just how violent and ruthless the attacks on them had been thus far.
Out of the 16 Seventh-Order Masters that belonged to both Squads, 13 of them were heavily injured. There were three of them remaining who could still put up a fight, but the strength within their Small Universes was nearly dried up as well.
They could no longer return to the battlefield.
Yang Kai was aware of this. He knew that they were at their limits, so he said, “Please head back to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.”
The Snow Wolves Squad Leader instantly caught what Yang Kai had left unsaid and had to ask, “What about you?”
Yang Kai grinned at him, “The battle is still undecided. I’m going to continue.”
The Profound Wind Squad Leader frowned, “Won’t it be too dangerous for you to go alone?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Since I’ve received my orders, I will continue in spite of the dangers, and besides, the situation’s different now. The Black Ink Clan Army has been seriously weakened, so it won’t be too dangerous even if I head back in alone.”
As veterans on the battlefield, everyone had the ability to make their own judgements and were persistent in their own ways too; therefore, upon hearing what Yang Kai had to say, neither one of the Squad Leaders tried to talk him out of it.
“It is a pity that I can’t stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you till the end of this fight, Brother Yang. I will buy you a drink once you come back victorious!” The Snow Wolves Squad Leader declared.
Yang Kai nodded and smiled, “I’ll look forward to it.”
The Profound Wind Squad Leader said nothing, but he bowed and saluted Yang Kai.
It was easy enough for the two Squads to return to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship from here since the Black Ink Clan were not around to stop them. After watching the two Squads’ Warships limp off into the distance, Yang Kai finally rejoined the battlefield.
The strength in his Small Universe had also almost dried up after using his Golden Crow Casts the Sun Divine Manifestation a dozen times.
However, this did not matter as he still had World Fruits to replenish himself.
He took out a Low-Rank World Fruit and stuffed it into his mouth. The medicinal efficacies were rapidly absorbed into his body and the pure and rich World Force swiftly filled his Small Universe.
Yang Kai tore off a scrap of his tattered, blood-soaked clothing and used it to tie back his dishevelled hair. He raised his Azure Dragon Spear and took a deep breath before pointing the spear in front of him and roaring, “Kill!”
The Great Sun that had gone out not too long ago once again filled the void with its brilliant light as it ploughed through the battlefield.
The two Squads had gathered on the decks of their Warships as they headed back to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and felt their hearts surging as they watched from afar.
Just as Yang Kai had said to the two Squad Leaders earlier, the situation on the battlefield now was no longer the same as at the start of the battle. The Humans relied on the strength of their Warships, their bravery and tenacity, and their collaborative efforts with one another, but the Black Ink Clan did not show the same unity. All of the respective Armies under the various Territory Lords did their own thing and rarely coordinated with each other.
Therefore, despite the huge difference in numbers, it was the Humans who had the advantage on the battlefield.
Furthermore, Yang Kai had led the two Special Operations Squads on a reckless rampage through the battlefield over and over again, and they had dealt the Black Ink Clan a devastating blow.
After weaving in and out of the battlefield over ten times, Yang Kai had successfully divided up the battlefield and helped the Human Race Army in various areas to eliminate all of the nearby Black Ink Clansmen in the most efficient manner possible.
The effects were not so noticeable after only one or two rounds, but after the seventh or eighth time, the advantage became clear.
When Yang Kai stepped back onto the battlefield alone, he was faced with a lot fewer obstacles. However, he did not have the two Special Operations Squads behind him now so he had to be in charge of making sure he eliminated all the threats around him. He was under a lot more pressure now than before.
Even so, Yang Kai showed no signs of trepidation. Relying on just his powerful heritage and the power of the World Fruit to restore his World Force, he continued to work his way through the battlefield over and over again.
At some point, there was suddenly the aura of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master dying somewhere on the battlefield.
All of the Humans felt a jolt.
The Humans had fought against the Black Ink Clan on the battlefield countless times, and rarely did they ever witness an Eighth-Order Master dying, but that did not mean that it never happened.
Each time they felt this sort of disturbance, it meant that an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had been killed.
And if an Eighth-Order Master died on the battlefield, it meant that the situation was incredibly dire for the Humans.
This explained why everyone in the Human Army was deeply shaken by the commotion that signified the death of an Eighth-Order Master.
However, the Humans soon realized that the Eighth-Order Master who died might not have been one of their Division Commanders, as there were many other Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples on the battlefield as well.
Perhaps the one who died was not one of the North-South Army’s Division Commanders, but one of their opponent’s Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples!
They could not confirm this for now as news and updates could not be transmitted easily in the chaos of the battlefield. In a situation such as this, no one would be going the extra length to ensure that such information was reported promptly.
The only thing the Humans could do was have faith in their Eighth-Order Masters and trust that they could gain the upper hand in the fight between the top Masters, which would influence the trend for the rest of the battle.
Not long after, they sensed the death of another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Master, followed by the last gleaming of a Territory Lord’s vitality.
Deaths among the top Masters meant that the battle was reaching its climax.
Yang Kai’s Divine Manifestation was still making its presence known as he zipped through the battlefield. He fought alone, but even so, he managed to segment out large swaths of the Black Ink Clan Army, which made it easier for the Humans to encircle and crush them.
All the while, countless Secret Techniques rained down on him like a torrential storm. At every given moment, he was straddling the lines between life and death. His senses were heightened like never before, but he could not afford to be distracted, not even for a single breath.
This carried on until it felt as if aeons had passed.
All of a sudden, something changed within the Black Ink Clan Army which had been ceaselessly fighting against the Humans.
Yang Kai, who was still rampaging across the battlefield, was perceptive enough to catch the change. It was a sign that the Black Ink Clan’s fighting spirit was beginning to crack.
Sure enough, it was not long before the Black Ink Clan Army began to move and gather towards a specific location.
They were retreating towards Great Evolution Pass.
The Territory Lords could not cope with the Humans’ strength and ferocity. Although they, too, had exhibited strength that surpassed the Humans’ expectations of them, from the start of the battle till now, they failed to gain the initiative in any way.
Throughout this relentless battle, the Black Ink Clan Army suffered heavy casualties and even lost numerous Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. Even though the Humans suffered losses as well, if the battle carried on in a similar fashion, the situation would only continue to worsen for the Black Ink Clan and they would run the risk of their Army’s total annihilation.
Therefore, the Territory Lords could not hold out any longer.
Given their current position, they could only retreat to Great Evolution Pass, which was several days’ worth of travel away. Once there, they could regroup with the Territory Lords who were standing guard at Great Evolution Pass, and rely on their combined strength to withstand the Humans’ dogged attacks.
Retreating to Great Evolution Pass was the Blank Ink Clan’s only choice right now. They were not in a position to act in accordance with the Royal Lord’s command.
How would they be able to carry out the Royal Lord’s orders if they were dead? Survival came first. There would still be other chances for them to serve the Royal Lord if they came out of this with their lives.
Inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Mi Jing Lun stood by the side of the ship and paid close attention to all the changes on the battlefield. When the Black Ink Clan Army started retreating, the Army Commander’s heart finally settled back into place.
If the Black Ink Clan stood their ground till the very end, then from the way the battle was going, the North-South Army would still win, but at a devastating cost. It was likely that they would be incapacitated as well, as an overwhelming majority of them would be sacrificed.
This was the first time the North-South Army went up against the Black Ink Clan, so what else could they achieve in the future if they suffered such alarming losses in this battle?
After all, their ultimate objective was to take back Great Evolution Pass.
Now that the Black Ink Clan showed signs of faltering, the tides turned in the North-South Army’s favour.
The North-South Army could now hunt down their enemy and gain an even more decisive victory while minimising casualties; thus, when it became clear that the Black Ink Clan was about to retreat, an order came down from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
All of the Humans who continued to clash with the Black Ink Clan immediately started executing the command as they imperceptibly began to provide opportunities for the Black Ink Clan to retreat.
Two hours later, most of the Black Ink Clan Army had regrouped and were withdrawing towards Great Evolution Pass under the leadership of their Territory Lords.
However, they were not fleeing outright as they kept fighting as they retreated.
The Black Ink Clan fought back just as fiercely when the Human Army pressed hard against them and waited until they managed to hold off the attack before they continued heading towards Great Evolution Pass.
Despite their massive numbers, they still managed to keep an orderly battle formation under the command of the Territory Lords.
Mi Jing Lun could feel a headache coming on as he found himself up against a worthy opponent this time!
He did not know which Territory Lord had command over the Black Ink Clan Army, but judging from the initial reaction to the clash between both factions, it was evident that this particular Territory Lord was a talented and insightful strategist.
Perhaps… the inordinately high number of defeats suffered on the battlefield had given the Black Ink Clan enough experience to strategize against the Humans. All of the Territory Lords who lived long enough would have gone through countless defeats at the hands of the Humans.
Thus, even though the Humans’ attempt to give chase had been effective, it did not accomplish as much as they hoped it would. Mi Jing Lun had planned to wipe out this entire Black Ink Army, but from the situation they were in now, this was unlikely to happen. All the Humans could do now was to try their best to weaken the enemy as much as possible.
The two Armies began to drift apart, while the Black Ink Clouds thickened over the battlefield and loomed over the void.
The Black Ink Clouds were full of broken limbs and scattered corpses from the deaths of both Humans and Black Ink Clansmen, along with the wreckage of Human Warships that had been destroyed.
In this battle, the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy casualties, but the Humans also suffered significant losses.
A few battered Warships hovered outside the Black Ink Cloud with Squad members gathered within, pale-faced and sporting serious injuries.
These Squads were the ones who suffered the most casualties during the battle.
Usually, a Squad consisted of 10 to 15 members, but these Squads had less than half of that.
Their Warships suffered serious damage during the battle; therefore, they were surrounded by danger at every corner without protection.
Although they survived, they were gravely injured in battle and could no longer join the fight.
When Mi Jing Lun gave the order for the Human Army to pursue the Black Ink Clan, he also ordered those who could no longer fight to stay behind and tend to themselves first before regrouping with the rest of the Army once they regained their strength.
Numerous Squads had no choice but to do so. The Human Army had to soldier on as they went after the Black Ink Clan and thus could not linger for long. If the Humans who had been injured managed to join one of the other Squads’ Warships, they could follow the rest of the Army, but if they missed that chance, their only option was to stay back and recuperate.
Once they regained some of their strength, they could use the Universe Transference Law and return to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, which would not hinder the Army in any way.
Yang Kai was one of the ones who received the order to stay back.
Even as Mi Jing Lun stood aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, he witnessed Yang Kai’s incredible feats on the battlefield. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Yang Kai’s presence contributed greatly to the Black Ink Clan Army’s drop in morale and decision to retreat back to Great Evolution Pass.
In the battle between both Armies’ top Masters, the Humans’ Eighth-Order Division Commanders gained the upper hand and eventually pressured the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples into retreating.
However, in the open battlefield, Yang Kai had led two Special Operations Squads in countless forays across the entire area. In doing so, they managed to slice through the Black Ink Clan Army and minimised the casualties suffered by the Humans. Furthermore, with each pass of the Great Sun, the Humans struck a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan’s morale.
As both their strongest fighters and their regular foot soldiers’ spirits dipped, the Black Ink Clan Army’s performance in battle dropped proportionally. Naturally, they had to retreat.
The light of the Great Sun that rose time and time again across the battlefield was probably the most blinding light that Mi Jing Lun had ever seen in his life.
Others might not know how many times Yang Kai had used his Divine Manifestation, but Mi Jing Lun knew the number very well.
19 times!
That was not an ordinary Divine Ability or Secret Technique, it was a Divine Manifestation which all High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters considered a trump card and expended a huge amount of energy with each use.
A Seventh-Order Master had used his Divine Manifestation 19 times to vanquish the dangers that loomed over the Human Race Army. In the past, Mi Jing Lun would not have believed this to be possible as Humans simply did not have endless energy. How could a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master possess such a remarkable heritage?
However, he had seen it happen with his own eyes today.
While he did not know what Yang Kai used to restore the strength he had expended throughout the battle, using his Divine Manifestation 19 times would still place an extreme burden on Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
Thus, Mi Jing Lun gave the order for Yang Kai to stay back.
He wanted Yang Kai to take this opportunity to recover, as well as look out for the other Humans who could not follow the rest of the Army for various reasons.
Yang Kai naturally obeyed the order.
As it was, he did need to take some time to restore himself. Even though he ate a Low-Rank World Fruit to replenish the World Force he had expended, repeated use of Golden Crow Casts the Sun had once again depleted his Small Universe.
If the Black Ink Clan Army had not begun its retreat, he might have had to consume another World Fruit to replenish his strength once more.
Even though it was quick and harmless enough to consume a World Fruit to restore his World Force, such miraculous treasures were meant to be saved for emergency situations. It was far better to take some time to recover his strength in the normal way.
In addition to that, Yang Kai was covered in injuries from the battle and was mentally drained as well.
Now that the Human Army was chasing after the Black Ink Clan Army, victory had been decided. What remained to be seen was how many Black Ink Clansmen the Humans managed to eliminate in the chase. Yang Kai’s participation would not make much of a difference in this situation.
Therefore, he agreed without protest when Mi Jing Lun’s order came down.
At this very moment, he was sitting cross-legged near the half-wrecked Warships and was silently adjusting his breathing.
The survivors gathered in these Warships did likewise. They did not have looks of grief and sorrow, but instead exhibited strength and determination.
From the moment these soldiers joined the Great Evolution North-South Army, they knew that this was going to be a highly dangerous mission. They would not be able to rely on a Great Pass the way they did in the past. In the Great Evolution Theatre, far from their homes, the only things they could rely on were themselves and their comrades-in-arms.
They knew very well that there would be countless casualties in the fight to reclaim Great Evolution Pass. If they were not the ones who died, then it would be their fellow soldiers beside them. Everyone was mentally prepared to die in this campaign.
Therefore, even though some of their fellow Squad members had died, no one spent time grieving over this. Dying in battle on the Black Ink Battlefield was a worthy sacrifice. The living did not have to mourn in regret, they only needed to kill even more of the Black Ink Clansmen and take back Great Evolution Pass. This was the best way for them to honour and pay their respects to their fellow soldiers who died in battle.
Even these Squads had fared a lot better than some. Although their Warships were heavily damaged and half of their ranks were either gravely wounded or died in battle, many other Squads had been wiped out entirely.
War was always brutal.
There were still Humans who stumbled out of the battlefield every now and then. Some came out alone, while others came in groups of two or three. All of them had one thing in common though, they were covered in blood and their auras were weak.
Attracted by the auras of Yang Kai and the others, these scattered, weakened soldiers soon gathered together and found a place to rest and recover.
As soon as Yang Kai had stabilized his condition, he rushed back into the Black Ink Clouds.
There were countless living beings within his Small Universe, including a World Tree clone, which was why his World Force recovered far quicker than others. The heritage of his Small Universe also continued to increase even without the need for him to actively cultivate.
The Black Ink Clouds were still looming over the battlefield, and while both of the Armies were gone, there could still be Human survivors.
Perhaps some of these Human soldiers still had a bit of vitality left to them but could not move due to the grave injuries they suffered. They would die if no one helped them.
Thus, Yang Kai decided to go and take a look.
The battlefield spanned over 10 million kilometres, so it took Yang Kai some time to scan the area for life auras.
He did end up finding some; however, these mostly came from heavily injured Black Ink Clansmen who were on the brink of death.
Yang Kai did not show any mercy, dispatching these survivors with swiftness and precision.
He carried on searching for two hours.
When Yang Kai emerged from the battlefield, he had a female Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with him.
He did not know her name, but by the time he found her, she was already unconscious. She had climbed on top of the wreckage of a Warship and was covered in wounds, so much so that her clothes were soaked in fresh blood.
Apart from this female Seventh-Order Master, Yang Kai had only spotted numerous dead bodies belonging to other Humans, along with the scattered remnants of Black Ink Clan.
The vast battlefield looked like the depths of hell.
This woman was the only survivor he found.
Yang Kai had joined the Black Ink Battlefield for hundreds of years now. He had started out as Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and was now in the Seventh-Order. Throughout all those years, he had been to numerous Theatres and taken part in countless battles, both small and large. However, none of his past battles had ever been as tough and fearsome as this one.
This could be chalked down to the fact that the Great Evolution Army had to travel so far away without anything they could rely on for help.
The situation was different from all the other battles near the various Great Passes. In the Great Evolution Theatre, the Human Race Army did not have any backup or safe harbour. Even if they were injured, they did not have a secure place to recover and tend to their wounds. The only thing they could do was win their battles so that they could continue working towards the ultimate goal of reclaiming Great Evolution Pass.
It was clear that the battle today would be repeated again and again in the future. How many more Humans were going to sacrifice their lives here in the Great Evolution Theatre in order to achieve victory?
When Yang Kai brought the woman back to where the other Humans were gathered, they glanced at him and nodded lightly without saying anything.
There were less than 30 of them gathered here to recuperate. It did not mean that less than 30 Humans had lost their ability to fight after the battle earlier. These were merely the ones who were too wounded to keep up with the rest of the Human Army which was pursuing the Black Ink Clan.
Most of the other soldiers had joined the rest of the Army despite their injuries.
After setting the woman down beside him, Yang Kai once again sat down cross-legged and adjusted his breathing.
However, at the very next moment, he opened his eyes and stared at the battlefield. He detected an unusual movement over there.
He had searched the battlefield for two hours and did not find anything noteworthy, apart from the female Seventh-Order Master who was still alive. Where were these unusual fluctuations coming from?
Just as Yang Kai pondered in confusion, the movements became even clearer. It was the result of a trace of vitality that was in rapid recovery. The vitality was strong and its recovery accelerated.
A strong aura suddenly emanated from the battlefield.
Yang Kai’s expression turned grim at once. He leaped to his feet as his Divine Sense blasted forth a message, “Use the Universe Transference Law and return to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, now!”
There were over 30 Open Heaven Realm Masters who also sensed the recovering vitality before Yang Kai said anything. They had been staring puzzledly at the battlefield, but upon hearing Yang Kai’s words, their expressions hardened as they realised the severity of the situation.
No one hesitated. Everyone jumped into action and used the Universe Transference Law.
Two hours of restoration was not enough for these heavily injured cultivators to heal completely, but it was enough time to let them regain the strength to cast this Secret Technique, which did not require too much of it.
The light of an Array glowed beneath all of their feet as they cast the Universe Transference Law and they connected with the Universe Array on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
In just a few breaths of time, everyone would be able to rely on the Universe Transference Law to teleport back to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Just then, as everyone focused on the commotion caused by the Universe Transference Law, a strong Divine Sense swept out from the recovering vitality on the battlefield.
Yang Kai turned pale.
That which he had been most concerned about became reality.
Earlier on, even though he sensed that the vitality was a powerful one, he could not confirm what cultivation this individual had. Just to be safe, he immediately ordered everyone to evacuate; however, now that this person’s Divine Sense burst forth, Yang Kai could instantly tell what cultivation they had.
The recovering vitality from the battlefield belonged to someone in the Eighth Order!
Yang Kai was fairly certain that the cultivator was not an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from the North-South Army, so there was a high chance that it was an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
Although he did not know whether any of the North-South Army’s Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters died in battle, he knew that even if they did, if their bodies were still intact, the other Eighth-Order Masters would not leave them just lying around. They would surely take the body back with them.
Only Territory Lords ignored the bodies of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples who died.
[There’s still an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple on the battlefield!] No one had seen this coming.
Yang Kai had not noticed anything when he searched the battlefield earlier. From the looks of it now, this Eighth-Order Master most likely cultivated some sort of Secret Technique that allowed him to fake his death; otherwise, he would not have escaped the notice of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders when they searched the battlefield.
The Human Army had left, and the remaining 30-odd Humans were weak and injured. Now that they were confronted with an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, things did not look good for them
Yang Kai’s heart caught in his throat.
One breath; two breaths; three breaths of time passed…
The light from the 30-plus Arrays grew brighter.
After the third breath of time, some of the lights flared up like an explosion, and the silhouette inside that light was enveloped around instantly disappeared.
Three of them were gone.
By the fourth breath of time, even more of them had left.
However, there were still over a dozen of them remaining.
The Universe Transference Law was incredibly useful, but it had its pros and cons.
By using the Universe Transference Law, Humans could swiftly return to nearby Universe Array, in this case, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, but the distance and the user’s cultivation both affected the time it took for the teleportation to be initiated.
In summary, the higher the person’s cultivation and the closer the Universe Array, the shorter time it took for the Universe Transference Law to take effect.
The three Humans who left after the third breath were all in the Seventh Order.
As for the dozen or so ones who left at the fourth breath, they were all in the Sixth Order. Their cultivation was slightly lower than the previous ones, so they left a little later.
The remaining ones were mostly those in the Fifth-Order, with a couple of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among them. They had the lowest cultivation and thus took the longest to be transported.
Under the usual circumstances, when Humans used the Universe Transference Law, they would do their best to ensure that the process would not be disrupted as any disturbance would result in the failure to be transported.
However, this crisis came upon them too suddenly. By the time they sensed that things were not looking good for them, they could only try to leave as quickly as possible without being able to care about anything else.
Two more breaths of time passed, and just as the remaining Humans were about to leave, a figure emerged from the battlefield and charged towards them.
Although the figure was still some distance away, a burst of World Force in the shape of a wispy hand grabbed at them.
Affected by the powerful force, the Arrays beneath the dozen or so remaining Humans began to shift and contort.
If the enormous hand managed to catch them, even if the Humans did not die, they would still fail to teleport away. If that happened, then a group of Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be left to face off against an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple. They had no hope of surviving the encounter.
Yang Kai had been on high alert all along, so as soon as he noticed what was happening, he roared and leapt forward with his spear.
The spear soared towards the hand, and at the same time, Space Principles flared madly.
As the spear shadows dissipated, the enormous hand enclosed Yang Kai within its grasp; however, at that very next moment, Yang Kai’s silhouette burst back out of the hand. Enveloped by the radiance of his spear, his body swiftly returned to where he had been earlier.
At last, flashes of light engulfed the remaining Humans. Thanks to the time that Yang Kai had bought for them, the dozen or so Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters managed to leave safely.
As they left, every single one of them stared at Yang Kai with shocked and worried expressions.
They knew that had it not been for Yang Kai’s interference, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple would have managed to keep them here. Yet, now that they were all gone, Yang Kai was left all by himself. How could he fight against an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple?
If they had known that this would happen, they would have chosen to remain behind and join forces to battle against the Black Ink Disciple. Even though all 30 or so of them were weakened and injured, they would still be able to put up a fight if they fought together.
Still, there was no point in dwelling on this now. When they noticed that the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s vitality was recovering, they all decided to leave. No one would have expected the Black Ink Disciple to recover so quickly.
In the silence of the void, Yang Kai raised his Azure Dragon Spear and watched as the figure emerged from the battlefield.
It was indeed an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
He was shrouded in Black Ink Strength and had a large mass growing out of his shoulder that made him appear as if he had two heads. The inky black strength within the mass was surging with great ferocity.
The fact that Yang Kai had managed to interrupt his attack and render it useless made him visibly furious. He glared darkly at Yang Kai and murderous intent swirled in his eyes, “You saved everyone else, but can you save yourself?”
“I won’t know until I try,” Yang Kai responded coolly.
While speaking, he secretly consumed a World Fruit.
Although some of his strength had been restored, he had to ensure that he was in his best condition in order to face off against an Eighth-Order Master.
Though, this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple… did not seem to be all that powerful…
During their earlier exchange, Yang Kai detected something strange.
This Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s attack appeared terrifying, but in reality, it seemed to lack true substance.
He was heavily injured as well. Even on the surface, he had a large wound along his abdomen, and even though he used his strength to seal it up, blood continued to trickle out. Furthermore, one of his eyes had been destroyed. The remaining, functional eye was glaring darkly at Yang Kai the same way a venomous snake stared at its prey.
It was understandable to find him in this state. Someone who needed to fake his death in order to survive the battlefield had to have been incapacitated at some point. The lingering injuries on him proved as much.
Plus, he was only an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple and not a true Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, which meant that he was a lot less powerful than a real Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even if he was at the peak of his current strength, he might not even be stronger than any of the Territory Lords.
If Yang Kai was alone, he might not have been willing to take this risk. With Instantaneous Movement at his disposal, this heavily-wounded Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple would most likely fail to do anything to him. Thus, even if Yang Kai could not win this fight, he could still escape just fine.
However, he was not alone right now.
He still had the unconscious female Seventh-Order Master that he brought back from the battlefield.
Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Master, and although his Small Universe could keep cultivators that were not High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, it could not do so with a Seventh-Order Master.
There was very little chance Yang Kai could escape from this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s attacks if he brought the woman with him, so his only option was to fight.
Back then, Yang Kai and Bai Yi joined forces and with great difficulty, they managed to kill a heavily injured Territory Lord, Zhu Feng.
It had been several hundred years since then, and Yang Kai was now up against a heavily injured Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple. He did not think it was an impossible fight for him as he was now a lot more powerful than before.
“Has the younger generation grown so arrogant?” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple snorted coldly. Yang Kai’s response clearly infuriated him.
“Even though you might not have done it willingly, since you’ve become one with the Black Ink Clan, you’re my enemy now. You have no right to consider yourself my Senior,” Yang Kai answered evenly.
As Yang Kai spoke, his hand shot out and a gentle force wrapped up the unconscious female Seventh-Order Master’s body that was situated nearby. In the next moment, Space Principles fluctuated and the woman’s body shimmered before disappearing and reappearing hundreds of thousands of kilometres away and continued drifting further off into the void.
A fierce battle was about to break out, and Yang Kai had no way of keeping the woman safe in the thick of the fight, so his only choice was to send her away.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple knew very well what Yang Kai was attempting to do, but he did not try to stop it. To him, he could easily go after the unconscious Seventh-Order woman once he dealt with Yang Kai. He would have all the time in the world to decide her fate then.
Still, he was deeply displeased by Yang Kai’s attitude. After glancing at the female Seventh-Order Master that Yang Kai sent away, he withdrew his gaze and extended his arm. A clear sword cry filled the battlefield, and immediately after, a ray of light shot out and was soon drawn to his hand.
Yang Kai’s expression turned grim as he subconsciously tightened his grip around his Azure Dragon Spear.
He had seen it very clearly. A longsword had flown out of the battlefield, one that most likely belonged to this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
From the looks of it now, this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple cultivated the Sword Dao. Yang Kai gritted his teeth at this realization, for those who cultivated Sword Dao were extremely well-versed in killing. In other words, Sword Dao cultivators all had a lot of experience in battle and were incredibly tough opponents.
Feng Ying was proof of this as she also cultivated the Sword Dao.
A longsword that was prized by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would not be an ordinary artifact. The long years of nurture were enough to bind the life of an Eighth-Order Master with his artifact.
The only thing that Yang Kai could rejoice at was the dimmed glow of the longsword artifact the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple summoned. Its spirituality was noticeably diminished and there were numerous dents and cracks along its length. It could be seen that during the clash with the North-South Army’s Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters, this Black Ink Disciple was so badly defeated that he not only had to fake his death, but even his artifact was damaged as well.
Once the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple retrieved his longsword, he created a Sword Array with a simple flick. However, bolstered by his powerful cultivation, a dangerous aura emanated from the Sword Array as it formed. This proved that he was indeed highly proficient in the Sword Dao.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple grasped his sword in one hand and held it out in front of him as he said, “The Royal Lord values talent, so this Old Master will ask you this, are you interested in serving the Royal Lord? If you agree to do so, I can spare your life today. Truth be told, this Old Master’s condition is less than satisfactory. I do not wish to fight against anyone else.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed with a hint of grievous melancholy, “You were born a Human, but you now serve the Black Ink Clan. Old Sir, have you forgotten your comrades-in-arms who fought alongside you 30,000 years ago and defended you with their lives? Have you forgotten the countless soldiers who died in battle at Great Evolution Pass?”
A hint of remembrance flickered in the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s eyes, but he quickly shook his head, “30,000 years was a long time ago. Who’d clearly remember anything that happened back then?”
Yang Kai’s lowered his eyes, “Old Sir, this means you must have also forgotten the sincerity of your goals and initial intent when you first stepped onto the Black Ink Battlefield!”
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple chuckled, “Young man, are you trying to advise this Old Master to turn back after straying down the wrong path? Don’t waste your breath. Ever since this Old Master was enlightened by Black Ink Strength, this Old Master ceased to be a Human. You don’t need to try and lecture this Old Master.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “In that case, I won’t say anything more.”
“Seems to me that you’ve made up your mind,” the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple remarked as he eyed Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s fighting intent surged as he pointed his spear forward and answered coolly, “Right here, right now, either you die or I perish!”
“Good, good, good!” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple nodded, “You know, this Old Master was just as proud and relentless as you at that age. It’s a pity… Age creeps up on everyone! Since you’ve made your choice, this Old Master will fulfil it for you. How’s that? Are you ready to die, young man? In the state that this Old Master is in right now, it’s one thing if I choose to stand down, but if we are to fight, I will do so with full force. I won’t hold back at all.”
He had only just finished his sentence when Yang Kai suddenly flickered and appeared beside him. The Azure Dragon Spear pierced out as he unleashed the full potential of his Supreme Limitless Spear Art, sending a storm of blows towards the enemy.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple clearly did not expect Yang Kai to be this treacherous. He was caught unaware and did not have his guard up. In his haste, he raised his sword to fend off the attack and unleashed scores of sword waves at Yang Kai.
The two figures immediately engaged in battle.
Spear shadows and sword waves filled the void in a constant cycle of disappearing and reemerging once more. Apart from the sparks from the spear shadows and sword waves colliding, bursts of World Force clashed against each other with such ferocity that the local space became unstable.
The look of surprise on the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple increasingly intensified.
Although he was heavily injured, this Seventh-Order Junior did not seem to be in a much better state than him. Both of them had just survived a bitter battle, so neither one of them was in good condition.
Thus, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple assumed that it would be fairly easy for him to kill this Seventh-Order Master. Yet, once the fight started, he realised that things were not as he had expected.
This Seventh-Order Junior had a mysterious Movement Skill that gave him a huge advantage of mobility. The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had no choice but to focus on defending himself and to try and regain the initiative.
Had his opponent been an ordinary Seventh-Order Master, then it would not have been hard for him to regain the advantage. He could easily exhibit to his opponent what the difference in Orders signified in terms of strength.
However, this young Seventh-Order Master was clearly not ordinary. Each time their World Forces clashed, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple could vividly sense the extreme density and purity of his opponent’s strength.
It was not the kind of strength that a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was supposed to have. Judging by the purity alone, it was comparable to his own.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple could not help but feel stunned by this. He could not figure out how this young Seventh-Order Master could cultivate the strength within his Small Universe to this extent.
He had encountered numerous Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in his life, but none were comparable to the young man in front of him now.
The higher the purity of the World Force, the more powerful the cultivator was. Moreover, the rigorousness of this young man’s World Force was also remarkable. It far surpassed what was to be expected from a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
[Where did this freak come from?] The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple was thoroughly perplexed.
Apart from that, he was also shocked by the young Seventh-Order Master’s accomplishments in the Spear Dao.
All his life, he focused on cultivating his Sword Dao. Even after becoming a Black Ink Disciple, he never stopped doing so; thus, after so many years, he had reached a very high state of attainment in it.
Yet, right now, a young man who was only a Seventh-Order Master managed to use his Spear Dao to fight against his own Sword Dao. Even though it required a fair amount of effort, he could still tell that the young man was highly accomplished in his cultivation of Spear Dao as well.
The young man’s Spear Dao was not as refined as his Sword Dao and was not of a domain as high as his, but it seemed to flow freely and effortlessly. The young man wielded his spear with such ease that it was impossible to discern any kind of pattern from his attacks, despite each of them being extremely sharp and precise.
A Spear Dao like this perfectly embodied the concepts of freedom and limitlessness. Even just the wielding of such a Spear Dao was enough to give those who witnessed it a sense of joy and satisfaction.
With pure and vigorous World Force and high attainment in the Spear Dao, this young man had every right to be arrogant. This was why the Black Ink Disciple failed to defeat him as quickly as predicted.
However, if this was all there was to it, then the outcome would not change in any way. After just a brief exchange of blows, the advantage that the young man gained earlier was beginning to slip away, and soon, he would slowly start to be disadvantaged in the fight.
Still, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple was a little reluctant to kill off such a fine talent.
Even when he was still Human, he had already exhibited great appreciation for talented people. Even though he had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength for 30,000 years now and prioritised the Black Ink Clan over all else, this part of his personality did not change very much.
Thus, the more talented Yang Kai seemed, the less inclined the Black Ink Disciple was to kill him.
Amid the chaotic battle, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple transmitted a message, “Little friend, this Old Master will ask you one last time. Are you willing to serve the Royal Lord? With your capabilities, if you gain the help of Black Ink Strength, you will one day become even stronger than this Old Master. Perhaps you might even be able to become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!”
Yang Kai did not stop attacking as he said, “So what if I can become a Ninth-Order Master? I will be enslaved by the Black Ink Clan and forced to kill my fellow Humans.”
“How would you know the joys of Black Ink Strength if you’ve never experienced its mysterious power for yourself?” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple argued back.
“If it is a joy that annihilates the self, then I’d rather not know it!”
“Do you persist down your misguided path, little friend?”
“Our beliefs differ. We will never see eye to eye on this!”
“Hah! Since you insist on doing things the hard way, don’t blame this Old Master for not showing you any mercy!”
True enough, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s attacks became a lot more ruthless.
He indeed had a great appreciation for talent, but Yang Kai’s staunch attitude dissuaded him from trying to convince him further. Furthermore, it would not be safe to linger too long here. Although the Human Army had left some time ago, several dozen Humans managed to flee earlier, so if the Human Eighth-Order Masters found out he survived by faking his death, they might send a Division Commander over and deal with him.
Considering the condition he was in right now, he would be doomed if an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master came.
With a flick of his longsword, the sword waves combined together and struck at Yang Kai’s head.
Under the crushing strength of the Black Ink Disciple’s blow, Yang Kai’s body shook violently. Even though he mustered all of his strength to withstand the blow, it was still too much. The piercing Sword Qi slashed through his clothes and his blood began to gush out of the wounds.
The force of that powerful blow sent Yang Kai flying back as if he had been launched from a cannon.
Even so, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple did not let up on the attacks. Again and again, he slashed his sword and sent flurry after flurry of relentless Sword Qi out.
From a distance, the endless waves of Sword Qi seemed to form a long river that ended where Yang Kai stood.
[Profound Sword Paradise’s Chasing Stars and Moon Sword Art!]
At last, Yang Kai realized what this Black Ink Disciple’s background was.
After fighting on the Black Ink Battlefield for many years, he became acquainted with many of the elites from various Cave Heavens and Paradises; thus, he knew a thing or two about the unique Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
It was clear that this Black Ink Disciple was using the Chasing Stars and Moon Sword Art, which was one of Profound Sword Paradise’s core Sword Arts.
However, this knowledge did nothing to influence the course of this sombre fight.
Both Yang Kai and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple were survivors of the brutal battle that took place earlier. Even though the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s injuries were a lot more severe than Yang Kai’s, he was still one Order higher than Yang Kai, and one Order’s difference was enough to give him a compelling advantage.
Any other Seventh-Order Master would have probably died at the hands of this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple by now, but as it was, the one up against him was Yang Kai.
Even so, Yang Kai seemed to have a hard time dealing with the never-ending storm of attacks. Despite unleashing his Supreme Limitless Spear Art to its fullest force, it was still hard for him to withstand the ferocity of his opponent’s sword skills.
The savage Sword Qi’s overbearing power left Yang Kai’s body littered with wounds.
As the Black Ink Disciple’s sword waves continued to wash over Yang Kai, the distance between them grew smaller, and the Black Ink Disciple’s Sword Intent grew colder.
Yang Kai’s instincts flared from the looming sense of danger. He did not know why, but he had a feeling that once the distance between them closed to a certain range, the Black Ink Disciple was sure to unleash a devastating Divine Ability. When that happened, it would be a life-or-death moment for Yang Kai.
But why would Yang Kai allow his opponent’s plans to come to fruition?
As the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s figure continued to approach, Yang Kai suddenly closed his eyes.
All at once, his right eye turned into an endless black abyss and the entire void seemed to be shrouded by a curtain of darkness.
At the same time, a piercing golden pupil appeared in his left eye.
The silhouette of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple was reflected in the golden pupil, and with the casting of Yang Kai’s Eye Secret Techniques, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s reflection mysteriously contorted.
It was as if the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple who had been launching a storm of attacks at Yang Kai was suddenly struck by lightning. It felt as if a powerful force had popped out of nowhere, struck him, leaving his body twisted up in pain as it instinctively stiffened.
After noticing Yang Kai’s pair of strange eyes, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple exclaimed in shock, “The Demon Eye of Annihilation and Black Purgatory Eye?”
[This young man is from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven?]
However, the Black Ink Disciple did not detect any hint of Demon Qi on Yang Kai.
Thus, there were only two possibilities. Either the young man had been hiding his background all along, or he was not a Myriad Demons Heaven disciple, but had instead used Military Merits he earned from the Black Ink Battlefield in exchange for these two powerful Secret Techniques.
It would not be as big of a deal if the former was true, but if the truth was the latter, then this young man was surely a lot more formidable than he assumed.
Anyone who gained the chance to cultivate core Secret Techniques by exchanging them for Military Merits had to be those who earned a vast number of them on the battlefield. They were all elites who would have the blood of countless Black Ink Clansmen on their hands.
However, even though the young man was accomplished in both of these Eye Secret Techniques, the effects were naturally dampened when he tried to use them against someone of a higher Order.
Thus, in the time it took the Black Ink Disciple to think this through, the effects of both the Eye Secret Techniques wore off.
What Yang Kai wanted was precisely this momentary lapse though.
The call of the Golden Crow rang out, and a Great Sun rose once again to illuminate the void.
Just as the Black Ink Disciple snapped out of his thoughts, the Great Sun had already broken through the torrent of sword waves and was charging towards him.
“Divine Manifestation!” The Black Ink Disciple frowned as he felt a sense of admiration for the young man. Although this youth was only in the Seventh Order, beneath his own realm, his combat sense was remarkable. He must have sensed something, which was why he used his Eye Secret Techniques and followed up with his Divine Manifestation in the hopes of disrupting his plans.
The Black Ink Disciple had to admit that it was an astute move to make.
Had it not been for the young man’s series of counterattacks, the Black Ink Disciple might have already used his trump card and taken the young man’s life.
This was the Divine Manifestation of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Master, so even he, an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, could not afford to take it lightly. He had no choice but to focus his attention on defending against the attack.
His finger swiped across the longsword and his World Force burst forth. The sword, which had been dim this whole time, suddenly lit up in a brilliant flare. He then slashed down with force and cut the Great Sun in half. Even the Golden Crow, which had been cawing inside the Great Sun, let out a seemingly mournful cry.
The Black Ink Disciple did not stop there. He cast another mysterious sword technique and a multitude of swords appeared in the Void.
When the final sword appeared, Yang Kai’s silhouette reappeared, and instantly, Yang Kai felt an enormous pressure weighing down on him. He was suppressed and sealed from all sides.
His expression turned grim.
As was expected of an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, he was able to decipher what his opponent was doing and act accordingly. Earlier on, after summoning Golden Crow Casts the Sun, Yang Kai charged towards the Black Ink Disciple to try to deliver a sneak attack. Yet, the situation now seemed like he was delivering himself into the lion’s den. His actions appeared incredibly foolish.
Strictly speaking, this was Yang Kai’s first time battling an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
Although his opponent was not a true Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was still close.
Yang Kai now knew how difficult and terrifying it was to deal with an Eighth-Order Master, and this was only a heavily injured Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple. What if he had been at his peak?
What would it be like up against the Eighth-Order Division Commanders?
Zhu Feng, the heavily injured Territory Lord from all those years ago, was a lot easier to take on by comparison.
As a former Human, this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple understood the way Humans thought a lot better than any Territory Lord ever could.
Thankfully, Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space. He did not know how the Black Ink Disciple’s mysterious sword techniques worked, or why it had the effect of suppressing and sealing space. That being said, while this effect would have proved useful against any other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the same did not apply to him.
With a flicker of Yang Kai’s Space Principles, the local space which had been sealed instantly broke apart. As he hastened to retreat, the Black Ink Disciple’s longsword was already slashing at him. The cutting sword waves crackled from the tip of the sword.
When Yang Kai came to a stop again, there was a trail of blood that ran from his forehead down to his abdomen. The cut was deep enough that his bones were visible.
Had he been the tiniest bit slower in retreating just now, the Black Ink Disciple might have managed to cut him in half. If that happened, then even if he had a powerful Dragon Vein, it would have been doubtful if he could have survived.
Despite the very recent brush with death, Yang Kai’s expression remained composed.
The Black Ink Disciple charged forward again. This battle was taking far longer than he thought it would, and the more it dragged on, the greater his fear of impending danger grew. He had to end this fight as soon as possible.
“Junior, you’re a difficult one to deal with!” The Black Ink Disciple’s World Force burst forth in a frenzy. Every single blow he sent at Yang Kai was suffused with a terrifying bloodthirst as he now seemed to be giving his all in every single attack.
Yang Kai had numerous strange and unpredictable methods up his sleeve, so his opponents had to keep their guards up at all times. Thus, the Black Ink Disciple decided to overwhelm Yang Kai with sheer force. No matter what kind of peculiar tricks Yang Kai had, his decisive weakness was the difference in Order. The Black Ink Disciple did not plan to rely on strategies anymore. He was going to fight with brute force and crush his opponent from the front.
“As are you!” Yang Kai grit his teeth and he defended himself against the Black Ink Disciple’s fevered attacks.
If a cultivator was hellbent on using his cultivation to overwhelm an opponent who was an Order lower, then there was not much the latter could do to overcome the situation. The only choice would be to try and withstand the assault.
However, there was a limit to what a person could withstand. Once the opponent was worn down, death would become inevitable.
In the span of several dozen breaths, Yang Kai gained over a dozen fresh wounds that cut right down to the bone. The most serious injury was the one on his neck. The Black Ink Disciple’s sword seemed to have cut through half of his neck, causing golden blood to pour out.
The more serious Yang Kai’s injuries became, the weaker his resistance grew.
This was to be expected. The Black Ink Disciple surmised that after being on the receiving end of his attacks for so long now, Yang Kai would not only be heavily injured, but even his Small Universe would no longer be able to take it anymore.
It was already shocking that Yang Kai managed to survive this long.
“Do you still insist on being so stubborn, young man?” The Black Ink Disciple roared.
Yang Kai clenched his jaw and refused to answer, but his dogged determination to carry on fighting was clear.
“You court death!” The Black Ink Disciple coldly snorted. His longsword swished in the air and aimed straight for Yang Kai’s heart.
This was going to be the final blow. From the young man’s earlier display, the Black Ink Disciple deduced that he would not be able to withstand this attack; however, at that very moment, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple saw Yang Kai raise his spear and throw it at him.
Even though it was just a careless throw, his opponent’s formidable strength was enough for the spear to break apart the void and fly straight towards him.
Naturally, the Black Ink Disciple would not allow such a crude attack to land and with a quick flick of his longsword, he deflected the Azure Dragon Spear and sent it flying.
At the same time, he saw the young man opposite him charging towards him with his fist raised to strike at him.
Instinctively, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had a feeling that something was amiss, but how could he mull this over at a time like this?
The longsword pierced right through Yang Kai’s chest and the savage Sword Qi poured into the wound.
Yang Kai’s fist did not touch the Black Ink Disciple, stopping less than a forearm’s length away.
The Black Ink Disciple eyed Yang Kai coolly, not showing any kind of emotion on his face.
He had given his opponent a choice, and since the latter chose death, he merely granted him passage.
However, just as the sword touched Yang Kai’s body, the Black Ink Disciple was able to detect that his opponent had shifted slightly, so the blow failed to hit his vitals.
Still, that did not matter. Even if the young man survived this attack, his condition would be dismal right now.
Just as all of this went through the Black Ink Disciple’s mind, all of a sudden, Yang Kai grinned at him and called out lightly, “Cow Punch!”
If Yang Kai had a choice between fighting against a Territory Lord or an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, he would definitely choose the latter.
Although an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple was the more unpredictable opponent between the two when it came to battle tactics and thus was harder to guard against, Yang Kai still preferred facing an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple over a Territory Lord.
After all, he had his Cow Punch Secret Technique that used Space Principles to specifically target the enemy’s Small Universe. It was a Secret Technique that enabled him to win even if his strength was lower than his opponent’s.
Among all the Cave Heavens and Paradises, there were several Secret Techniques that targeted the Small Universe of Open Heaven Realm Masters, but after all the years, Yang Kai had never found one with effects as superb as his Cow Punch.
Unfortunately, this Secret Technique of his relied on the use of Space Principles, so no one else apart from him could cultivate it.
Plus, as Purifying Light and Purifying Black Ink Pills were distributed to all the Great Passes, the number of Black Ink Disciples on the battlefield steadily decreased, and the Humans’ Secret Techniques that targeted the Small Universe lost their utility.
The Black Ink Clan did not have a Small Universe, so such Secret Techniques would be useless against them.
It had been years since Yang Kai last used his Cow Punch Secret Technique. If he recalled correctly, the last time he used it was back in the Shattered Heaven when he fought Blood Crow.
Several hundred years later, he was using it once more.
Although it had been a long while since he first created Cow Punch, the strength of this Secret Technique increased as he grew stronger.
From the moment Yang Kai noticed that his opponent was an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, he had counted on using Cow Punch to win the battle for him. As for his previous display of struggling to keep up in the fight, some of it could be chalked up to his genuine weakness against a stronger opponent, but some of it was on purpose as well. He wanted to lull his opponent into a false sense of security so that the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple would let his guard down.
While the Secret Technique was fairly powerful, it took time to implement.
The profoundness of the Cow Punch Secret Technique was in the way it traced back and targeted the core source of the opponent’s World Force, which was their Small Universe.
It was a time-consuming process to perform this trace. With his cultivation being in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai needed approximately an incense stick of time to accomplish this against an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
So, the battle between them thus far lasted for approximately that amount of time. Now was his chance!
It was nearly impossible for an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to survive an incense stick worth of time against an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, so this Secret Technique would become meaningless the moment they failed to continue holding out.
But once Cow Punch was successfully used, it meant that the battle outcome had been decided.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple wanted to use brute force in lieu of strategy, but Yang Kai chose to engage in a battle of wits, which was the real key for someone of a lower order than their opponent.
When the longsword pierced into Yang Kai’s chest, all the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had to do was ruthlessly flick his sword; then, he would be able to cut Yang Kai in half. However, he no longer had the chance to do so.
Just as the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple wanted to finish Yang Kai off, a wave of fierce and intense force exploded inside his Small Universe. All at once, his Small Universe was thrown into chaos and began shaking violently.
All of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s strength dissipated due to the instability of his Small Universe. In that instant, he could barely even hold onto his sword.
Yang Kai was not about to miss his chance. His fist swung out with great force and smashed it straight into the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s head.
With Yang Kai’s current cultivation, combined with the terrifying physical strength that his Dragon Vein bestowed upon him, as well as the proximity between him and his opponent, the Black Ink Disciple’s head would certainly explode if struck by such a blow.
However, his opponent was still an Eighth-Order Master, and in this life-or-death crisis, he still managed a response, causing the huge growth on his shoulder to explode and eject a concentrated mass of Black Ink Strength. The Black Ink Strength swiftly formed into a massive jaw that swallowed Yang Kai’s approaching fist.
The sudden disruption made Yang Kai freeze in shock for a moment.
He never thought that the abnormal growth on his opponent’s shoulder possessed such a strange ability. All along, he assumed that the growth was merely a malformity left behind when this Black Ink Disciple relied on Black Ink Strength to break through beyond his natural limits.
When Yang Kai’s fist entered the gigantic jaw formed by the Black Ink Strength, he immediately felt as if something sticky was clinging to it. The further his fist travelled, the more its strength was weakened.
By the time Yang Kai’s fist struck the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s head, the power behind it had been at least halved.
Even though it was a weakened blow though, it still managed to send the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple flying backwards. However, his head did not explode the way Yang Kai had predicted it would.
The sword was yanked from Yang Kai’s body just as the Black Ink Disciple flew backwards, drawing a grunt of pain and a splash of blood from him.
Even so, Yang Kai did not have the time to dwell on his injury. Now that he had finally managed to use his Cow Punch, everything he had done that led up to this would be wasted if he could not defeat his opponent before the latter was able to recover.
Yang Kai estimated that his Cow Punch’s effects would only last another three breaths of time!
Thus, when the Black Ink Disciple went flying backwards, Yang Kai stepped forward as well, and with a surge of Space Principles, he followed closely behind.
Drawing on the remaining World Force in his Small Universe, Yang Kai summoned a new Great Sun. The Golden Crow’s calls echoed.
Yang Kai raised the Great Sun and sent it crashing down on the Black Ink Disciple.
The moment the Black Ink Disciple flew backwards though, he was already wary of Yang Kai’s subsequent actions.
He was at the weakest he had ever been as his Small Universe continued to shake and rumble. Never would he have thought that a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could push back against an Eighth-Order Master like him to this extent.
It was humiliation beyond compare!
None of his previous admiration or appreciation for Yang Kai’s talents remained. All he wanted to do now was to take Yang Kai’s life to make up for the indignity he felt.
His opponent charged at him and once again used his Divine Manifestation that appeared like a Great Sun.
The Black Ink Disciple had to admit that this Divine Manifestation’s strength was formidable. Even an Eighth-Order Master like him dared not underestimate it; however, he had seen this move before and understood its power, so knew how to defend himself from it.
He could not wait until his Small Universe stabilized, so he bit down on his tongue and spat out a mouthful of Blood Essence onto his sword. The Blood Essence fully seeped into the sword, and suddenly, the dim artifact glowed radiantly.
With his sword empowered by his Blood Essence, the Black Ink Disciple slashed out at Yang Kai ferociously.
This attack was enough to deflect his opponent’s Great Sun Divine Manifestation. Although he would also suffer the aftereffects of using this attack, it was still better than dying on the spot.
All he needed was to buy himself a little more time. Once the shaking in his Small Universe calmed, he would easily be able to crush his gravely injured opponent.
However, just as he struck this blow, to his horror, yet another gust of force appeared all of a sudden.
If the Great Sun gave off scorching heat, then this force felt like a frigid winter.
Together with the dazzling Great Sun, a Full Moon rose up above his Seventh-Order opponent’s head.
The Sun and Moon appeared together!
In all the years that this Black Ink Disciple had lived, he had never seen such a mystifying scene; however, together with his awe, he felt an even greater sense of danger. With a loud roar, he forcefully channelled even more force into his attack, trying to execute it before it was too late.
He did not know what Divine Ability his opponent was using, but he could tell that in his current state, he could not defend against it.
All he could do was try to pre-empt his opponent for the chance of survival.
As the Black Ink Disciple’s sword slashed towards Yang Kai, he used the cover of the Great Sun to cast Water Reflects the Moon.
The Great Sun to his left, the Full Moon to his right. When the began to revolve around him, Yin and Yang intertwined, and the Sun and Moon combined into a spinning kaleidoscope as Space Principles erupted out.
In an instant, a mysterious force manifested. Formless and undetectable, this force seemed from the swirling Sun and Moon.
Space shattered, and time froze.
Terror filled the remaining eye of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple who had his longsword held out in front of him. At that moment, he could feel his thoughts coming to an abrupt halt as everything around him seemed to warp and distort.
He had never felt anything like this before, and the sensation left him petrified.
He watched as the Sun and Moon locked together and spiralled towards him, enveloping him in a kind of domain that he had no way of escaping.
That singular moment seemed to stretch out as if it lasted millions of years.
As the dazzling light of the Sun and Moon that had lit up the void slowly died out, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple stood frozen in place, his longsword still stretched out in front of him, barely a palm’s length away from Yang Kai’s forehead.
Yang Kai’s face was ghostly pale and his aura was completely depleted. Fresh blood continued to flow out of the wound in his chest where the longsword had previously impaled him. There was also a long wound that stretched from his forehead down to his abdomen. His body was a mangled mess of flesh and blood which made him look completely wretched.
“What Divine Ability was that?” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple suddenly asked.
Yang Kai’s eyelids hung low as he replied, “Sun and Moon Divine Wheel!”
“A manifestation of Space-Time Strength?” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple pressed further.
“Merely scratching the surface,” Yang Kai nodded.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple did not say anything else. He simply nodded lightly and withdrew his sword before sitting down cross-legged with a half-lidded eye.
“Black Ink Eternal!” He whispered.
As soon as he spoke, his entire being seemed to turn into a statue that had been exposed to the elements for thousands of millennia, crumbling apart and drifting away like dust scattered in the wind.
The only thing left was a dim longsword.
Corroded by the Space-Time Strength from the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, this longsword lost all spirituality. It was now nothing more than a weapon made out of somewhat decent quality material.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had managed to fake his death to survive the chaotic battlefield earlier, but now, he was well and truly dead.
Yang Kai was consumed by a level of exhaustion that he rarely felt before. He could not stop his body from growing weak as he crumbled down.
It was a narrow victory!
If Yang Kai had failed to kill his opponent with his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, he would not have been able to put up any further resistance as the Black Ink Disciple’s Small Universe would soon recover from the effects of his Cow Punch Secret Technique. Once that happened, the Black Ink Disciple would be able to access his full strength once more.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Disciple had miscalculated. After seeing the Great Sun, he assumed that Yang Kai was just using his Golden Crow Casts the Sun Divine Manifestation, he never expected that the Great Sun was only one half of an even greater Divine Ability.
He spat out his Blood Essence to deal with Golden Crow Casts the Sun, but he was caught off-guard by the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel.
How could the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple survive when his Small Universe had been rendered powerless and he was attacked with Yang Kai’s strongest trump card?
Yang Kai quietly lay in the void, not feeling any joy from this victory.
That was because even at the moment of death, that Black Ink Disciple still showed utmost loyalty to the Black Ink Clan, even though he was a Human by nature.
Perhaps Black Ink Strength might not change a Human’s personality, but the corrupted Black Ink Disciples would reject their own nature and willingly be servile to the Black Ink Clan.
How woeful and lamentable that was.
Yang Kai’s nearly dried-up Small Universe slowly began to restore its strength, but the progress was akin to water trickling into a bottomless well; thus, he mustered the energy to stuff a pill into his mouth to speed up the process.
The very next moment, he leaped to his feet and warily observed the surroundings.
He sensed the aura of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master somewhere out there, and it was swiftly approaching.
However, after realising which direction the aura was coming from, Yang Kai sighed in relief. The aura was coming from the direction of Great Evolution Pass, and if his guess was correct, the source was one of the North-South Army’s Eighth-Order Division Commanders.
From the looks of it, the 30 or so Humans who returned to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship via the Universe Array must have reported the news to the higher-ups. As a result, the North-South Army swiftly dispatched one of the Eighth-Order Masters to check on the situation.
Sure enough, just moments later, a short and slender Eighth-Order Open Heaven Master appeared in front of Yang Kai with a grim expression. He studied Yang Kai for a moment and was secretly shocked by the severity of his wounds. Although he did not know what happened earlier, from the state that Yang Kai was in now, he knew enough to tell that Yang Kai had just fought a desperate life-or-death battle.
After looking around and noticing that Yang Kai was alone, he asked, “This Old Master is Cha Pu, Northern Army, 4th Division Commander. I am here on a rescue mission under the orders of the Army Commander. Are you Yang Kai?”
“I am,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Where’s the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple?”
“Dead.”
“You killed him?” Cha Pu was visibly taken aback.
“That Black Ink Disciple was heavily injured and lost most of his combat ability. This Junior was fortunate enough to eke out a victory,” Yang Kai answered.
Cha Pu nodded lightly without asking further, “In that case, come with me. We’ll reconvene with the rest of the Army,” He did not ask Yang Kai how the latter managed to kill an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple. Even if the Black Ink Disciple was gravely injured, he was still an Eighth-Order Master.
However, since Yang Kai was still standing here and that Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple was missing, it meant that Yang Kai did emerge victorious, so there was no reason to continue probing.
“Please wait, Sir. There’s still one more person,” Yang Kai said as his figure flickered and disappeared all of a sudden.
Cha Pu raised his brow, “Space Principles!”
Naturally, Yang Kai left to find the female Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master he had pushed out into the depths of the void earlier. He was in no position to take care of anyone else while engaged in a battle against an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, so he had no choice but to send her far away before the fight began.
When he sent her away though, Yang Kai left a Space Beacon with her, so it was easy enough for him to locate her.
With a ripple of the Space Principles, he emerged beside the unconscious woman.
Yang Kai was slightly heartened to find that she was not harmed by the fight between him and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple. She was still unconscious and drifting through the void due to the force he exerted earlier.
He caught her and swiftly returned.
Soon, he was back with Cha Pu.
“You did well,” Cha Pu praised, “Do you have the strength left to trigger the Universe Transference Law?”
“Yes, I do,” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
“Excellent. Do it and return to the Army’s Purifying Black Ink Battleship,” Cha Pu took the woman from Yang Kai and placed her inside his Small Universe.
He then waited until Yang Kai had successfully left with the Universe Transference Law before using it himself.
Once the two of them walked out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s Universe Array and stepped foot on the deck, Yang Kai immediately sensed the constant fluctuation of unrelenting forces some distance away. It seemed as if life auras were being extinguished with every breath.
It seemed the North-South Army was still pursuing the Black Ink Clan Army which was fleeing back to Great Evolution Pass. From the way the situation looked now, the two Armies had been clashing for quite some time.
Mi Jing Lun was standing on the deck of the ship and staring off into the distance with a pair of gleaming eyes.
Upon noticing someone’s approach, Mi Jing Lun turned around and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Yang Kai was alive and well, albeit looking extremely miserable and exhausted.
The lower-order cultivators might not know of Yang Kai’s importance, but as an Army Commander, Mi Jing Lun was fully aware of the situation.
Although Yang Kai was merely in the Seventh Order, his presence had a direct correlation with the speed at which the Old Ancestor’s strength could be restored. In this campaign to reclaim Great Evolution Pass, the Old Ancestor had specifically requested for Yang Kai to come along with them in order to take advantage of his Small Universe to rapidly recover from her injuries.
If a sudden misfortune fell upon Yang Kai, the Old Ancestor would lose an important source of support. Would that not multiply the difficulty of reclaiming Great Evolution Pass?
Earlier on, Mi Jing Lun instructed Yang Kai to stay back and recover because he did not want Yang Kai to join the subsequent fight and endanger himself. How could he have known that there was an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple who had survived by faking his death back at the initial battlefield?
Mi Jing Lun had nearly jumped up in fright when he heard the news and had immediately sent Cha Pu over to rescue Yang Kai.
Thankfully, Yang Kai was safe.
Cha Pu came over to Mi Jing Lun and used his Divine Sense to give a summarised report of what he knew.
Mi Jing Lun’s expression became a little peculiar as he nodded lightly.
Cha Pu brought out the female Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master that he had placed inside his Small Universe and passed her to one of the nearby soldiers before he jumped back into the battlefield.
“You don’t need to join the rest of the fight. Just rest and tend to your injuries.” Mi Jing Lun eyed Yang Kai and added, “The sword wounds are going to be a little trickier to tackle. Remember to clear out the Sword Qi and Sword Intent when you tend to them.”
“Junior understands,” Yang Kai nodded and looked out into the distance. Although the battle was fierce, he could not tell what the situation was like for the two Armies, so he had to ask, “How are things going, Sir?”
Mi Jing Lun smiled faintly, “Reasonably well.”
“Can we take them all down?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
Mi Jing Lun shook his head, “That’s going to be a little tough. They still have quite a number of Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples among them. It’ll be hard for us to wipe them out.”
No one expected to find so many High-Order Black Ink Disciples here at the Great Evolution Theatre. That being said, Great Evolution Pass had been lost for 30,000 years, so it was obvious that the large number of Black Ink Disciples who had been corrupted all those years ago had enough time to grow in strength. No one knew what the situation would be like here, and now that they finally noticed this after going up against the Black Ink Clan, it was too late.
“If the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass don’t come over to rescue them, then it’s still possible for us to take them all down, but if they do send reinforcements, then we’ll just have to avoid the clash for now.”
The Black Ink Clan Army had acted quite strategically. When their commander realised that things were looking bad for them, he immediately ordered a retreat to Great Evolution Pass. Clearly, he wanted to rely on the strength of the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass to hold the North-South Army back. If fresh enemy troops came over to help, the North-South Army would be forced to back away.
After observing the battle from the deck for a little longer, Yang Kai bowed and took his leave, “This Junior will go and tend to the injuries now.”
“Go ahead,” Mi Jing Lun waved him off.
Someone led the way and helped him settle down in one of the rooms aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
The room had been reinforced with numerous Spirit Arrays that blocked out everything, so Yang Kai could tend to his injuries in peace.
His impressive restorative powers were now serving their ultimate function. In just a few days, Yang Kai had pretty much recovered from his injuries and cleared out all the Sword Intent and Sword Qi that had wreaked havoc within his wounds. All that was left now was for him to slowly continue restoring his depleted strength.
As such, Yang Kai did not continue tending to his injuries and opened the door and left.
All was quiet, with no discernable energy fluctuations nearby, nor any sound of battle. From the looks of it, the battle had come to an end at last, though he had no idea what the outcome was.
After figuring out the right direction, Yang Kai left his room and headed for the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s conference hall.
Along the way, he heard someone calling out to him. He turned to look and spotted a familiar face.
It was the Seventh-Order Squad Leader of the Profound Wind Squad.
“How are your injuries, Brother Yang?” The Squad Leader queried in concern.
“I’ve almost fully recovered now,” Yang Kai said.
The Profound Wind Squad Leader nodded and said, “That’s good. I heard that you stood guard at the battlefield when the rest of the Army left and encountered an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple who survived by faking his death. We were so worried about you. Later on, we heard that Martial Uncle Cha personally went over to bring you back.”
During the earlier fight on the battlefield, the Profound Wind Squad and Snow Wolves Squad, two Special Operations Squads, had worked closely with Yang Kai. Yang Kai took the lead, and the two Squads stuck close by him as they snaked through the battlefield slaughtering their enemies.
They had fought side-by-side and forged a connection through that. Furthermore, the strength of the heritage that Yang Kai exhibited on the battlefield left both Special Operations Squads deeply in awe of him.
Thus, despite this being only their second meeting, neither of the two men felt like they were strangers.
Such was often the case on the battlefield. Prior acquaintanceships or connections did not matter, just being comrades-in-arms was enough to bridge all distances between people.
During the main battle, the Profound Wind Squad and Snow Wolves Squad had drained themselves of all their strength and had no choice but to return to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. However, Yang Kai continued to weave his way through the battlefield alone and did so multiple times. The two Special Operations Squads stood aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and witnessed everything clearly. They sorely wished they could rush out to fight alongside Yang Kai, but they did not have any strength left in them. Not being able to stand with him till the end was an immense regret.
“Pardon me for asking, but may I know how I should address you, Senior Brother?” Yang Kai asked a little apologetically.
They had fought a life-or-death battle together, but Yang Kai still had no idea what the other man’s name was.
The Profound Wind Squad Leader chuckled heartily, “I forgot to tell you my name, Brother Yang. I am Ma Gao.”
“So it is Senior Brother Ma!” Yang Kai cupped his fist in greeting before asking a little solemnly, “Senior Brother Ma, what was the outcome of the battle? As you know, I’ve been tending to my injuries after my return so I don’t know what happened in the end.”
Yang Kai had intended to find out from Mi Jing Lun, but since he ran into Ma Gao, it was easy enough to ask him instead.
Ma Gao sighed when he heard the question.
Yang Kai’s heart lurched at Ma Gao’s response, “What’s the matter? Did things go badly for us Humans?”
Yang Kai felt this was unlikely having spoken to Mi Jing Lun before he went to recover from his injuries as the latter had said that things were going well for the Humans.
[Did something happen after that to turn the tides?]
“No, it didn’t go badly for us Humans. During the battle, our Great Evolution North-South Army managed to slaughter over 300,000 of the Black Ink Clan Army, along with 6 Territory Lords and over 20 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. You could say it was a great victory for us.” Ma Gao paused for a moment before continuing, “But, we suffered quite a number of casualties too.”
“How many?”
“4 Eighth-Order Division Commanders, and 3,000 of those beneath the Eighth-Order,” Ma Gao reported sorrowfully.
Yang Kai froze for a moment before sighing heavily.
Just by numbers alone, the Humans did not lose even a tenth of what the Black Ink Clan did, but this was not the way to quantify the battle casualties.
Ever since the Humans began standing guard on the Black Ink Battlefield of all the various Great Passes, there had never been a battle with this many casualties aside from the one where Great Evolution Pass had been lost. The loss of four Eighth-Order Division Commanders was particularly damaging to the Great Evolution Northern and Southern Armies.