With Yang Kai’s help, Xiao Xiao set up a funeral in her home. The hunters from the village came over and offered their condolences.
Three days later, there was a new tomb on the mountain.
Xiao Xiao knelt in front of the tomb as she was engulfed in a sense of melancholy. Her parents passed away peacefully. They had been a married couple for a long time, and they were buried in the same tomb. It could be said that they had been happier than most commoners in the world.
Regardless, they were gone.
Right then, an anomaly took place in the sky.
Yang Kai, who had been standing behind Xiao Xiao, looked up. As the owner of this Small Universe, he was acutely aware of all the changes going on in this World.
In front of the tomb, Xiao Xiao pressed her head against the ground three times to bid her parents a final farewell.
When she got to her feet, all the Bustling World Essence in the Small Universe streamed into her from all directions where she fully absorbed it.
In just 10 breaths of time, her aura changed drastically.
Yang Kai felt that his Small Universe was slightly shaking, which prompted his expression to turn solemn.
One had to know that his Small Universe had been spread out; moreover, with the presence of the World Tree’s clone, it was unlikely that his Small Universe would be impacted in any way, unless it was struck by a force that was significantly more powerful than his limits.
Fortunately, the tremor soon subsided.
Yang Kai cupped his fist and said solemnly, “Welcome back, Old Ancestor!”
Xiao Xiao remained unmoving. As she stared fixedly at the tomb, she spoke, “For all my life, it’s been smooth sailing since I started cultivating. I had my Honoured Master’s protection, and my Fellow Sisters and Brothers all took good care of me. My cultivation improved significantly day by day. From no cultivation, I ascended to the Emperor Realm, Open Heaven Realm, and eventually became an Old Ancestor. Others might not attain such achievements for all their lives, but to me, they were easy to come by.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think that the Old Ancestor was indeed confident of her abilities.
She went on to say, “However, there has always been a regret in my heart. Before I joined Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, I was an orphan who never knew my parents before. I didn’t know who or where they were, so I never got to spend time with them. This life is an experience I’ve never had before. It’s embarrassing of me to have taken advantage of this situation to live out that dream, but I have to thank you for that.”
Yang Kai promptly said that he didn’t deserve her gratitude.
Nevertheless, it was only then that he realised why the Old Ancestor had instinctively stopped him from concealing her whereabouts even though she had sealed off her memory.
She must have sensed something the moment the hunter approached her.
Her biggest regret was that she never got to spend time with her parents. To experience a life she never had before was clearly of great help to her recuperation and even her cultivation.
Although there was the Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass where a lot of Open Heaven Realm Masters could help her recover, everyone was aware of her identity; therefore, everything they did was meant to help her heal, and the way they treated her was not natural.
Nevertheless, it was different in Yang Kai’s Small Universe where she had lived for over 100 years.
The hunter and his wife were not aware that the child they had picked up from the log house on the mountain was a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. They had treated her with care and love. The Old Ancestor, who had sealed off her memory, spent time with the couple just like other children with their parents.
This life made up for the regret she had in her heart.
She was badly injured after the battle against the Royal Lord. It was because she had intended to be mutually wounded with her opponent, so she had not held back at all.
It could be said that it was the most severe injury she had ever suffered in her life. That was why she only awakened after she remained unconscious in the Small Universe for a long time.
Even if she were in the Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass, it would’ve required several hundred years before she could recover given her injuries.
Yang Kai’s Small Universe could help her recover quicker than if she were to stay in the Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass, but it still should have taken her 200 years at the very least.
However, barely more than 100 years had passed, but she had fully recovered. It was thanks to the experience in this life that she obtained such benefits.
In other words, she would be able to recover rapidly by experiencing a life she had never gone through before.
Upon that revelation, Yang Kai fell into his thoughts.
“From today forward, my name is Xiao Xiao,” the Old Ancestor announced, “No one has called me by my original name for so long that I’ve almost forgotten it, so it no longer carries any meaning to me.”
Yang Kai was startled for a moment, but he naturally wouldn’t dare to say anything, for she was the Old Ancestor.
By keeping this name that she had been using for 100 years, she did not only show her gratitude to the couple, but it was also a way for her to remember them. The couple had made up for the regret in Xiao Xiao’s heart with their love.
They were just ordinary mortals while Xiao Xiao was a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor; however, these two mortals in Yang Kai’s Small Universe played a key part in Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s recovery, thus having an impact on a war that involved countless lives.
Such a thing would never have crossed the simple couple’s minds.
With that said, given their temperaments, they would have just laughed joyfully even if they found out about it. They would be more than happy to know that their Daughter was such an important figure.
While Yang Kai was in a dazed state, he felt a Will penetrating the Small Universe’s barrier and returning to the outside world. It was the Old Ancestor’s Will.
At that moment, the Humans were getting some rest in the forward base.
In fact, they had been doing that since their arrival at this place that was just outside of the Royal City. Other than pretending to attack the Royal City following the leaders’ order, they had never directly clashed with the Black Ink Clan.
Nevertheless, none of them would complain about it. Although the Commander’s tactics were cunning and even a bit shameless, they were effective.
Every time they moved closer to the Royal City, they would successfully distract the Black Ink Clan, and the Universe Worlds would kill a lot of their enemies.
Many Human soldiers hoped that as they kept doing this, they would eventually destroy all 1 million Black Ink Clansmen; however, considering the fact that the dead Black Ink Clansmen would be replaced, such a situation seemed unlikely.
Both parties had been in a confrontation for the past 30 or so years. Other than taking turns to extract resources, the Humans would also spend the rest of their time cultivating; hence, their strength had improved slightly.
With that said, it took a long time for an Open Heaven Realm Master to grow their power, so this minor increase wouldn’t affect the current situation.
Presently, other than the soldiers, the leaders in the Army were also cultivating.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship was hovering in the void above the forward base as it faced the Royal City’s direction. The people on the battleship could constantly monitor the movements in the Royal City from here.
Although it was unlikely that the Black Ink Clan would launch an attack, they had to remain vigilant.
Inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan, Liu Zhi Ping, and the other Eighth-Order Division Commanders were cultivating in their respective rooms when suddenly, a Will swept across the entire Purifying Black Ink Battleship. All the leaders, who were cultivating, were shocked.
The next instant, they appeared elated. This couldn’t be helped, as this Will clearly belonged to the Old Ancestor.
After the battle against the Royal Lord back then, the Old Ancestor entered Yang Kai’s Small Universe to recover. There hadn’t been any news about her since then. Xiang Shan had asked Yang Kai about the progress in the Old Ancestor’s recuperation, but Yang Kai only told him that everything was going well.
Xiang Shan initially thought that it would take the Old Ancestor at least 40 to 50 years to recuperate, but she left the Small Universe barely less than 30 years later.
[Has the Old Ancestor fully recovered? That’s too quick!]
As the Will swept through the battleship, an order was passed down.
In an instant, the originally quiet Purifying Black Ink Battleship became bustling with noise as the Commanders promptly left their rooms and headed to the conference hall.
Soon, they all gathered together.
Xiang Shan turned to look at an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and asked, “Junior Brother Zhou, how many Universe Worlds are ready now?”
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Zhou was responsible for mobilising people to move Universe Worlds back from the void and organizing the Array Masters to fortify them.
He had been diligent since he was given such a task and immediately replied, “10 days ago, I was informed that five Universe Worlds are ready to be used. The sixth one is still being prepared.”
Xiang Shan nodded. It had only been four years since they last launched an attack on the Royal City. They were pretty efficient to have found five suitable Universe Worlds and finished setting them up during this period.
According to the plan of Xiang Shan and the others, they should prepare at least 10 to 15 Universe Worlds before they initiated an attack so that it would have a more devastating impact on the enemy; however, that plan had to be modified now.
“The Old Ancestor intends to attack the Royal City, so we’ll need those six Universe Worlds prepared now.”
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Zhou replied, “Six Universe Worlds might not be sufficient to have a meaningful impact. Should we discuss the matter with the Old Ancestor and postpone the attack?”
Xiang Shan shook his head, “Compared to causing a lot of casualties to the Black Ink Clan, disturbing the Royal Lord’s recuperation is more important. Since the Old Ancestor has recovered, she can make a move now. On the other hand, the Royal Lord might not be able to do so. If we don’t do anything now, the Black Ink Clan will only gain a more advantageous position.”
The man surnamed Zhou nodded, “You have a point, Senior Brother Xiang. I was too negligent.”
Liu Zhi Ping said, “Moreover, since the Old Ancestor can make a move now, the number of Universe Worlds we have no longer matters.”
The presence of an Old Ancestor was significantly more intimidating to the Black Ink Clan than a few more Universe Worlds; therefore, the lack of Universe Worlds shouldn’t be a concern.
“In that case, send the teams working on the Universe Worlds a message and tell them to start taking action,” Xiang Shan ordered.
Soon, the man surnamed Zhou left the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and activated the Universe Transference Law. With the help of the Universe Array, he headed to the other Purifying Black Ink Battleship that was about 10 days away from the forward base, where the Humans were setting up Universe Worlds.
As the Universe Worlds were propelled across the Void for 10 days, they would gain horrifying momentum by the time they arrived at the Royal City.
For the ease of communication between both sides, the East-West Army’s second Purifying Black Ink Battleship was anchored there.
As arrangements were being made in the East-West Army, the soldiers were soon mobilised. All of them stopped cultivating and started getting busy.
Inside the Small Universe, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao stood in front of the simple tomb and stared at it as she talked to Yang Kai.
With her memory unsealed and her injuries fully healed, she was at the peak of her strength; however, she would never forget the fact that she had lived in this village for over 100 years.
The couple in the tomb would always be her parents who had taken care of her for all their lives.
Basically, it was Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao who talked most of the time while Yang Kai simply listened.
All she talked about was her daily life with the couple. It was hard to imagine that a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor could wear such a sincere smile when she recounted such mundane affairs.
Nevertheless, this was truly who Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was. Yang Kai believed that this one point was where she significantly differed from the other Old Ancestors. She was a vivid, vibrant figure rather than a dispassionate and aloof powerhouse.
Yang Kai had come into contact with several Old Ancestors before. In comparison, he felt most at ease with Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. It could even be said that he didn’t feel pressured at all when he was with her.
Perhaps this had something to do with the uniqueness of her Secret Art. She needed the help of the Bustling World Essence when she recuperated, so her personality was more related to it as well.
Since she constantly immersed herself in the Bustling World, she naturally wouldn’t become aloof to mundane matters.
“Do you think reincarnation exists in this World?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao suddenly asked.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai replied, “Since I’ve never experienced it before, I wouldn’t dare to jump to an unfounded conclusion.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao chuckled and stopped asking. As she looked up at the sky, she said, “I’ll take my leave now.”
The next instant, she shot into the sky.
At this point, it had been an entire month since the hunter and his Wife’s death in the Small Universe.
Presently, many Territory Lords in the Royal City sported ugly expressions. This couldn’t be helped, as the Humans were mobilizing again.
They remembered each and every attack the Humans had launched on the Royal City, and with every mobilisation came the harassment of the weaponized Universe Worlds. Furthermore, the Humans would only approach the Royal City every time to pressure them, but the Black Ink Clan’s one million soldiers would all still have to respond as if a battle was imminent. They had no choice but to send forces to block those Universe Worlds and the Human Army.
Over the years, a staggering number of Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives to those Universe Worlds.
It was expected that all of the Black Ink Clansmen were vexed.
They were fine with being killed by the Humans on the battlefield. Dying in battle was as much an honour for them as it was for the Humans; however, their deaths were practically worthless as they were killed by the Spirit Arrays on those Universe Worlds. The Black Ink Clan defenders had never even made contact with the Humans.
The Humans had been shamelessly using this tactic for the past 20 to 30 years. They didn’t even bother with putting on a pretence now, and there were no signs of them changing strategy any time soon.
The Black Ink Clan didn’t have a way to solve this problem. They couldn’t ignore the Universe Worlds or the Human Army that simply pretended to attack the Royal City, for both of them could potentially cause catastrophic damage if left alone.
The Black Ink Clan had to deal with both sides, so they had been led by the nose over the years, falling into a completely passive position.
Presently, Che Kong was standing on the deck of a large ship as he looked towards the left side of the Royal City.
The fleet of Human Warships was menacingly coming at them, as though they were determined to destroy the Black Ink Clan.
Nevertheless, Che Kong wore a dispassionate expression.
The first two times when he saw such a sight, he gave a flurry of orders and mobilised the Black Ink Clan soldiers in preparation.
However, he had become somewhat desensitized after experiencing this same scene so many times.
That was because he knew that the Humans wouldn’t really try to invade the Royal City; they were just putting on a pretence by forming into a Battle Formation.
What they were trying to achieve was to tie 70% of the Black Ink Clan Army down.
Apart from Che Kong, the other Territory Lords and Black Ink Clan soldiers had become apathetic as well. They hadn’t directly clashed with the Humans for the past 30,000 years, and as soon as both parties came into contact, they realised that the Humans were more shameless and despicable than the stories that had been passed down from their ancestors.
As the Black Ink Clansmen watched intently, the fleet of Warships driven by Humans crept closer to the Royal City. Presently, the Warships were only a bit more than 10 million kilometres away.
Based on past experiences, the Universe Worlds would appear about now. When the Human soldiers reached a spot that was 10 million kilometres away from the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan would have to start attacking the incoming Universe Worlds.
By then, the Humans would either directly retreat or launch a round of attacks before running away. There wouldn’t be anything new.
“What’s the situation? How many Universe Worlds have they prepared this time?” Che Kong asked the Territory Lord beside him as he gazed at the fleet of Warships.
They had experienced the same thing many times before, so although they were unable to fully resolve it, they had come up with some tactics to deal with this situation.
They could make some arrangements in advance by sending out scouts to find out how many Universe Worlds were coming at them so that the soldiers around the Royal City could get psychologically prepared.
This wasn’t a difficult task for the Black Ink Clan.
Upon hearing Che Kong’s question, the Territory Lord, who looked like a female, replied, “I was just informed that the Humans have sent six Universe Worlds towards the Royal City this time.”
“Six Universe Worlds?” Che Kong frowned, “Are you sure?”
Other than the initial probing attack, the Humans had never used such a small amount of Universe Worlds to attack the Royal City. During the first real attack, they had used 10 Universe Worlds. If there were too few Universe Worlds, it wouldn’t pose a threat to the Black Ink Clan.
The female Territory Lords shook her head, “A single Feudal Lord might be mistaken, but it’s not likely for five Feudal Lords to all be mistaken.”
Che Kong fell into his thoughts.
Since several Feudal Lords had left to gather information at the same time, there was no way their information was inaccurate.
“It has only been a few years since they last launched an attack on the Royal City. They might not have enough resources to set up the Spirit Arrays. Six Universe Worlds might be their limit this time,” the female Territory Lord said.
Certainly, Che Kong understood that; however, if the Humans didn’t have enough resources, why didn’t they just wait a few more years? They could have prepared even more Universe Worlds by collecting sufficient resources first.
The Humans’ unusual approach this time made him feel ill at ease.
“Tell them not to let their guard down. The Humans’ behaviour is a little unusual this time. Perhaps they have some other plot.”
The female Territory Lord nodded and waved her hand, after which a Feudal Lord approached her. She spoke to the Territory Lord, who then left in a hurry and passed her order on to the right flank of the Royal City.
Meanwhile, the Black Ink Clan soldiers on the right side of the Royal City could see that the Universe Worlds were flying towards them from the void.
The Universe Worlds were rapidly moving across the void. Perhaps the Humans knew that they couldn’t hide the Universe Worlds from the Black Ink Clan, so they had stopped wasting any resources to arrange any Spirit Arrays to conceal them since the third attack. That way, all the Universe Worlds that were coming at the Royal City were as bright as the Great Suns. Although they were still millions of kilometres away, they were flying towards the Royal City in an intimidating manner.
Before those Universe Worlds even arrived, many of the Black Ink Clan soldiers gulped. Based on past experiences, every time the Humans attacked, a large number of the Black Ink Clansmen would lose their lives. Although dying to Humans on the battlefield was an honourable sacrifice, it didn’t mean they were willing to be slaughtered by these Universe Worlds covered in Spirit Arrays.
On the other hand, the Territory Lords in this place were at ease, for they had already successfully intercepted 18 Universe Worlds in a single attack before, thus ensuring the safety of the Royal City.
With that said, they had paid a huge price to achieve that victory.
Since there were only six Universe Worlds this time, it would be effortless for them to defend the Royal City.
On the left side of the Royal City, the Human Warships were only 12 million kilometres away.
The unease that Che Kong felt intensified.
This kind of unease came out of nowhere, be he was still deeply concerned.
He paid close attention to both sides of the Royal City so that he wouldn’t miss any anomalies; however, regardless of how hard he looked, he couldn’t detect anything unusual.
He was informed by the clansmen from the right flank that there were indeed only six approaching Universe Worlds. On the other hand, the Human Warships were inching closer to the left side of the Royal City. It was estimated that by the time the Universe Worlds struck, the Humans would have reached a spot that was 10 million kilometres away from the Royal City.
The Humans would always do this without fail, and their timing was annoyingly precise.
Since there were no anomalies on either of the sides, why did Che Kong feel ill at ease at this point?
Just then, he detected an anomaly from the corner of his eye. He promptly turned to look in the direction where the Humans’ forward base was located.
There seemed to be a ray of light that was coming at the Royal City at an unimaginable speed.
This kind of speed couldn’t be achieved by a mere Territory Lord or Eighth-Order Masters.
Che Kong detected that ray of light just as it emerged from the Humans’ forward base, but in the blink of an eye, it had moved across millions of kilometres and was growing closer at an astonishing rate.
In just several breaths of time, the ray of light became as dazzling as the Sun. At the same time, a terrifying pressure could be felt coming from the light.
Che Kong felt his chest tightening as he exclaimed, “It’s the Old Ancestor!”
By the time he finished speaking, the ray of light from the Humans’ forward base had turned into a gigantic blade. There seemed to be an invisible hand that was holding the blade and slashing at the Royal City.
Space trembled, and the universe destabilised.
Faced with this sudden attack, all the Black Ink Clansmen felt cold all over their bodies, as though they were about to lose their lives.
Time seemed to have frozen at that instant. Regardless of how bright the light was, it couldn’t conceal the stunning beauty within it.
At that moment, both the Black Ink Clan soldiers and the Human soldiers found their eyes drawn to that figure.
It was a figure who was wearing all-white clothes with a piece of white cloth wrapped around her forehead.
It was said that women looked best in white clothes. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, who was already astonishingly beautiful to begin with, stunned the Black Ink Clan the moment she appeared in the void with that outfit. Besides them, the Humans were dumbfounded as well.
At this moment, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was pointing two fingers at the Royal City, swinging the gigantic blade that was the manifestation of her power down towards it.
On the deck of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan, who had always been a calm and collected man, couldn’t help gawking.
Liu Zhi Ping covered her lips in disbelief.
The Eighth-Order Division Commander beside them felt the corner of his brow twitching as he muttered, “Why is the Old Ancestor wearing mourning robes?”
They were familiar with the clothes that the Old Ancestor was wearing as those were clearly mourning robes. One would only put on such clothes when their relatives passed away; however, no one in the world would be important enough to let the Old Ancestor wear mourning robes after they passed away.
The two Army Commanders, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and the other Human soldiers were all puzzled; after all, the Old Ancestor was already one of the most powerful cultivators in the entire Human Race. Be it her age, cultivation, or seniority, she was at the peak of everything. Even if a Junior from her Sect had passed away, she didn’t have to put on such clothes.
Certainly, the Old Ancestor didn’t have any Elders either as they should have all passed on by now.
The Eighth-Order Division Commander suddenly had an odd idea as he thought of a possibility, “Could it be that Yang Kai has lost his life?”
The Old Ancestor had been recuperating in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, so if he had perished due to an accident in the process, it was possible that the Old Ancestor would put on such clothes to express her regret.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Liu Zhi Ping glared at the Eighth-Order Division Commander.
Even if Yang Kai had really passed on due to an accident when the Old Ancestor was recuperating, it still couldn’t explain why she was wearing mourning robes.
It seemed something they couldn’t understand must have happened during the Old Ancestor’s recuperation.
Dawning Light was located on the far side of the fleet, so it could be said that the Warship was near the outer flank.
In such a location, once a battle broke out, they would be in a more perilous situation than the Warships closer to the centre because they could be attacked and encircled by the Black Ink Clan first.
Certainly, the leaders had intentionally made such an arrangement. Dawn was a Special Operations Squad and was exceptionally powerful, while Dawning Light was significantly sturdier than other Squad Class Warships. It was expected that they would be tasked with dealing with the Black Ink Clan first.
The moment the Old Ancestor appeared, the members of Dawn were dumbfounded and rendered speechless.
Just then, a fluctuation was felt coming from the Space Array on Dawning Light. Feng Ying turned her head and saw a familiar figure stepping out of the array.
“Squad Leader!” She exclaimed with joy. The other members greeted him as well.
Over the years, Yang Kai had been helping the Old Ancestor to recuperate, so he hadn’t shown up all this time. Although Feng Ying was there to lead Dawn, they just felt that something was missing.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai appeared that the feeling was gone.
Wherever Humans gathered together, they would need a pillar of strength, and to the members of Dawn, Yang Kai was that pillar.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and moved towards the deck. As he looked intently, he couldn’t help but give a nod.
It seemed that the Black Ink Clan had run out of luck this time. The Old Ancestor was going all out the moment she appeared. It was apparent that she was in a terrible mood, so she wanted to vent it all out.
Although her power had been restored and her memory had been unsealed, she would never forget the 100-year life she had experienced in Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
As Xiao Xiao, she naturally wouldn’t be in a good mood after her parents, who had taken care of her all their lives, passed away.
“What happened to the Old Ancestor? Has one of her relatives passed away?” Feng Ying voiced the doubts of those members on the deck.
“It’s a long story,” Yang Kai wasn’t even sure how to explain. What’s more, this matter was something deeply personal and intimate to the Old Ancestor, so he couldn’t just reveal it as he pleased.
“Has the Old Ancestor recovered?” Qi Tai Chu asked, as that was the most pressing issue for the Humans now.
They were aware that the Old Ancestor was recuperating, and they had already estimated how long it would take her to recover.
Although there wasn’t a clear answer, they all agreed that it would take her many decades to 100 years to recover. Some of the soldiers came from Yin-Yang Pass, so they knew better than the others about how the Old Ancestor healed.
They were the ones who speculated that it would take her up to 200 years to fully recover.
Therefore, everyone believed that it would be at least 50 years before the Old Ancestor made a move again.
None of them had expected that the Old Ancestor would finish her recovery barely 30 years later, or that the moment she showed up, she would launch a fierce attack on the Royal City.
“She’s fine,” Yang Kai replied.
Feng Ying’s eyes brightened, “Does that mean that it’s serious this time?”
Several tens of thousands of soldiers of the East-West Army had been mobilised many times over the past 20 years to attack the Royal City; however, they would only put on a pretence each time. There was no doubt that it was a clever tactic, and the Black Ink Clan had suffered a lot of hardship because of that, but the Humans yearned to clash with the Black Ink Clan on the battlefield to let the latter know their fury and strength.
They had been waiting for the war to really start for the past 30 years.
They had been waiting for this day since they stepped into Black Ink Clan’s territory in the Great Evolution Theatre.
Yang Kai nodded, “Since the Old Ancestor has made a move, there’s no way we’ll go home without achieving anything!”
They exchanged glances with excitement all over their faces.
Other than the members of Dawn, the soldiers on the other Warships were equally thrilled.
In fact, the moment the Old Ancestor showed up and attacked the Royal City, everyone knew that they weren’t going to just put up a pretence this time; they would be directly clashing with the Black Ink Clan.
All the soldiers made ready for battle.
Only a moment had passed as the gigantic blade solidified and slashed at the Royal City.
Before the attack even arrived, a terrifying pressure engulfed the entire Royal City. The Black Ink Clansmen on both sides of the Royal City were horrified. Covered in this pressure, the weaker Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were unable to resist and began bleeding black blood from all over their bodies, as if it was being squeezed out of them. In the blink of an eye, these weaker Black Ink Clansmen exploded into black mists.
The High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were in better condition, but they still found it hard to even move freely.
Only the Feudal Lords and the Territory Lords were able to resist the terrifying pressure.
The gigantic blade slashed towards the huge Black Ink Nest in the centre of the Royal City.
This was the foundation of the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre; as long as this Black Ink Nest was destroyed, the transmission of information between the Black Ink Clan would cease, and they would be unable to produce any new Black Ink Clansmen. If the Humans could destroy the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest first, victory would be assured. Then, by killing the remaining Black Ink Clansmen, they would be able to fully occupy the Great Evolution Theatre.
By then, the entire Theatre would fall into the Humans’ hands. Since the beginning of the war between the two Races, no Great Pass had ever achieved such a feat before. If Great Evolution Army could achieve this, it would be a turning point forever recorded in the annals of history.
As the soldiers of the two Races watched intently, the gigantic blade was forcefully brought down.
Just when it was about to come into contact with the Black Ink Nest, a roar reverberated across the void, “Impudence!”
Following the roar, a dark hand stuck out from the Black Ink Nest all of a sudden and grabbed the blade.
The gigantic hand was made of pure Black Ink Strength, and the veins on it were so clearly defined that it appeared completely real.
The moment the dark hand appeared, the Royal Lord’s Will permeated the void.
Since Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao wanted to destroy the Black Ink Nest, there was no way the Royal Lord, who was recuperating inside it, would be oblivious to the attack. He awakened in an instant and promptly reacted to the threat.
Ultimately, the blade didn’t manage to strike the Black Ink Nest as it was grasped by the dark hand. The powers of the Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor clashed as the dazzling light expanded.
Darkness and light were locked in confrontation above the Royal City. After a short deadlock, the dazzling light pressed down again while the dark hand was forced lower, as though it was unable to resist the blade as it inched closer to the Black Ink Nest.
All the Black Ink Clansmen felt their hearts leaping to their throats, for the sight suggested that the Royal Lord was at a disadvantage.
The Black Ink Clansmen were horrified, for if the Royal Lord couldn’t resist this attack, his Black Ink Nest would be destroyed. Once that happened, regardless of how many Black Ink Clansmen there were, they would be like a tree without roots, or a river without a source. All of them would die sooner or later, with no hope for the future.
Just as the Black Ink Clansmen were growing anxious, even more Black Ink Strength billowed from the Black Ink Nest and streamed into the dark hand.
With this new wave of Black Ink Strength’s help, the dark hand, which was originally being forced back, steadied itself. Not only did it get out of the disadvantageous position though, but it even started pushing the enemy back.
The Black Ink Clansmen were ecstatic.
This situation suggested that the Royal Lord was only temporarily at a disadvantage after the sneak attack. Since he had rallied his strength, there was no way the Old Ancestor was a match for him.
After all, a Royal Lord who was close to his Black Ink Nest could make use of the Black Ink Nest’s power and exhibit strength beyond what he normally could.
The clash between the blade and the dark hand soon ended. As the dark hand tightened its grip, the blade shattered and scattered into wisps of light.
As the blade disappeared, the Old Ancestor turned into a ray of light and charged towards the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
The enraged Royal Lord flew out, and the two figures, one big and one small, clashed above the Royal City, shaking the Heavens and shattering the Earth.
Unlike their previous exchange, the Royal Lord had gone all out right from the start.
This couldn’t be helped, as the Royal City was literally right behind him. He had to ward off the Old Ancestor at all costs and make sure that his Black Ink Nest was not damaged.
Thrown into this intense battle, the Royal Lord was infuriated.
He had never expected that the Old Ancestor would come spoiling for a fight so soon.
He had only exchanged moves with the other party once in the past. Although he had suffered a setback in that battle, he was generally fine. After obtaining some information from the Royal Lord in the Yin-Yang Theatre, he learned a lot about the female Old Ancestor. On the other hand, the Old Ancestor knew next to nothing about him.
Therefore, after the previous battle, he concluded that it would take this Old Ancestor at least 200 years to recuperate before she staged a comeback.
200 years was enough for him to fully recover with the help of his Black Ink Nest. By then, he would be able to catch the Old Ancestor off guard.
How could he have anticipated that the Old Ancestor came attacking him again barely 20 to 30 years later?
[Has she fully recovered? Wouldn’t it damage her foundation if she frequently makes a move without healing first?]
From what he had gathered, the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass cultivated a unique Secret Art, and it was extremely difficult for her to recuperate once injured. It seemed impossible that she could recover in such a short time.
However, their brief exchange just now had astounded him.
If not for him drawing on the Black Ink Nest’s strength, he wouldn’t have been able to block the Old Ancestor’s attack given his current state. As a result, the energy inside the Black Ink Nest, which was sufficient for him to use for the next 10 years, had been used up in just over 10 breaths of time.
Now, the Black Ink Nest was just an empty husk with no energy to spare.
But soon, he realised that his judgement was wrong as the Old Ancestor hadn’t fully recovered. That was because, during their subsequent clashes, he could sense that the Old Ancestor was occasionally sluggish when she activated her strength.
This was a sign that she was still injured. Although she had been trying her best to conceal it, he could still sense it.
This allowed him to feel slightly more at ease.
It would have been a catastrophe for the Black Ink Clan if this Old Ancestor could really recover so quickly. Now, she was just concealing her injury using some kind of Secret Technique. She was practically digging her own grave.
The backlash from using such a technique, on top of her own injuries would cause serious damage to her in the long run.
Both of them still hadn’t recovered from their injuries, so neither held an advantageous position.
It was just the Royal Lord’s speculation in the beginning, but as the battle dragged on, he became certain of his judgement.
There was no way that the Old Ancestor had fully recovered. Although she still fought as fiercely as the last time, she was unable to conceal the fact that she was not at the peak of her power.
In the beginning, the Royal Lord was at a disadvantage, but as time passed, they became equally matched. A while later, the Old Ancestor was at a disadvantageous position instead.
The Royal Lord acted relentlessly, for this was the best chance for him to injure or even kill his opponent, so he wouldn’t let it slip through his fingers.
Now, it seemed that the Old Ancestor was trying to suppress the injury she had previously suffered from. Her intention was to destroy the Black Ink Nest when the Royal Lord was recuperating, but she hadn’t expected that the latter would counterattack so quickly. At that moment though, it was impossible for her to just stop halfway.
With that said, even though the Royal Lord had gained the upper hand, he was unable to obtain a decisive advantage.
This couldn’t be helped, as these two most powerful Masters were fighting against each other above the Royal City. While the Old Ancestor had no qualms about unleashing all her power, the Royal Lord couldn’t do that. He had to protect his Black Ink Nest; therefore, not only did he have to deal with his opponent, but he also had to divert some of his strength and attention to block the fallout of their clash.
A Black Ink Nest was surprisingly fragile and defenceless, so even the fallout from a high-level battle could destroy it.
With such a restraint, it would be extremely difficult for the Royal Lord to expand his advantage.
However, he soon found a solution for it. He secretly gave an order, after which three Territory Lords led seven Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples to return from the right side of the Royal City and protect the Black Ink Nest.
With the presence of three Territory Lords and seven Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, 10 powerful Masters on par with Eighth-Order Division Commanders, they could easily ward off all the fallout and ensure the Black Ink Nest’s safety.
The reason the Royal Lord made such an arrangement was that he realised it didn’t require so many powerful Black Ink Clansmen to protect the right side of the city; after all, there were only six Universe Worlds this time, so it was fine to get ten of them to come over and protect the High-Rank Black Ink Nest. The rest of them could still deal with the Universe Worlds.
In the meantime, many Feudal Lords streamed into the Black Ink Nest and arrived at the Black Ink Pool. After fishing out all their materials from their Space Rings, they poured them into the Black Ink Pool.
Regardless of their Orders, the materials were directly absorbed by the Black Ink Pool and turned into pure Black Ink Strength.
That way, as long as the Royal Lord was still in the vicinity of the Royal City, he could make use of the Black Ink Nest to strengthen his power. As Black Ink Strength continuously billowed from the Black Ink Nest, the Royal Lord grew increasingly confident and was no longer flustered like he had been at the start of the battle.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao repeatedly attempted to break through his blockade and attack the Black Ink Nest, but he managed to block all her attacks.
As the Humans watched this sight, they secretly grew anxious.
None of them could have expected that the Old Ancestor would be at a disadvantage upon clashing with the Royal Lord. Despite that, the Human Race Army never stopped moving forward as they headed straight towards the Royal City.
On the deck of the Dawning Light, Yang Kai, who was intently watching the fight, furrowed his brow.
This scenario was playing out differently from what he had expected.
What puzzled him was that the Old Ancestor was slightly sluggish when she activated her power. Although they were far apart, he could still sense it as the Old Ancestor was extremely powerful to begin with.
He was very familiar with that kind of sluggishness, and knew it meant that a cultivator was injured.
Nevertheless, he was certain the Old Ancestor had fully recovered, so she hadn’t suffered a setback during the exchange of moves. How was it possible that she was suddenly injured again?
The only possibility he could think up was that the Old Ancestor was deliberately doing this to deceive her opponent.
Yang Kai wasn’t interested in speculating about the Old Ancestor’s intentions; however, since she was pretending to be injured, it suggested that everything was well within her control. Therefore, even though she appeared to be at a disadvantage, she must be secretly carrying out her plan.
Only a cup of tea’s time had passed since the Old Ancestor appeared and brought down her blade. The Royal Lord managed to intercept her attack in time, and they subsequently engaged in an intense battle.
Above the Royal City, the Old Ancestor was as menacing as ever, while on the other hand, the Black Ink Nest, which had been replenished with Black Ink Strength, continuously aided the Royal Lord, allowing him to act increasingly boldly.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao seemed to realize that the battle couldn’t be dragged out. If she wanted to destroy the Black Ink Nest, she had to circumvent the Royal Lord; however, she couldn’t ignore the Royal Lord, who was assisted by the Black Ink Nest’s power.
Hence, after a moment of deadlock, she decided to retreat.
The Royal Lord quickly chased after her, as though he was determined to stop her from fleeing.
The Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the Royal City were dumbfounded.
This couldn’t be helped, as these two most powerful Masters soon arrived at their location.
Earlier, these weak Black Ink Clansmen already felt immensely pressured when facing the fallout of the battle, but now that these two were fighting right above their heads, how were they supposed to cope?
The Royal Lord was furious as had figured out the Old Ancestor’s intention. It was apparent that she was trying to make use of the Black Ink Clansmen to force him to act cautiously lest the innocent be hurt.
Certainly, the Royal Lord wouldn’t grant her wish. As he chased after her, his attacks were still as violent as ever. The life or death of these Black Ink Clansmen didn’t concern him.
To him, the Old Ancestor was his only enemy, and as long as he could kill her today, it would be fine even if all of his subordinates perished in the process.
As their powers clashed, the 300,000 or so Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the Royal City were thrown into chaos. Many of them were injured or even killed. As the fallout of the epic clash swept across the void, even some of the unlucky Feudal Lords lost their lives, not to mention the High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
The Territory Lords were even more furious than the Royal Lord, for the deceased Black Ink Clansmen were their subordinates. Without those subordinates, they would be leaders without any followers.
Some of the Territory Lords ran away and led their subordinates to leave this area lest more casualties were caused while other Territory Lords charged towards Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao along with their Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
The battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord was intimidating, and the average person would never be able to have a hand in it; however, the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were powerful enough to do that.
The Old Ancestor had to take a huge risk by trying to restrain the Royal Lord with the Black Ink Clansmen. As she was all on her own now, she was destined to be surrounded by her enemies.
With that said, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had already expected this. Before the Black Ink Clansmen could close in on her, she raised her hand and took out a medallion, which rapidly expanded into an invisible shield that surrounded her.
The Royal Lord’s horrifying attack as well as the Secret Techniques of those Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples struck the shield, causing it to ripple and dim.
It was apparent that the medallion that the Old Ancestor had summoned was quite precious. Despite that, most of its spirituality was lost very quickly.
However, with the help of the momentary protection, she performed a set of hand seals and chanted, “From Chaos, Yin and Yang are Born!”
As World Force undulated, a gigantic Yin-Yang Fish pattern expanded and engulfed the surrounding 300,000 Black Ink Clansmen.
At that instant, Yin and Yang manifested.
At the same time, countless strange-looking silk threads spread across the Yin-Yang Fish. Those silk threads appeared as light as feathers, but the instant they penetrated the Black Ink Clansmen, they became razor-sharp, easily cutting them into innumerable pieces.
The aura of death engulfed the entire void.
In just three breaths of time, the shield around the Old Ancestor was shattered, and at that instant, she extended her hand and grasped something.
An Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, who had been eager to make a contribution, froze as though he had been clenched by an immense force, his face filling with horror.
When he looked down, he realised that his legs had been tied by the silk threads, which quickly cut into his body.
Terrified, he hurriedly pushed the power of his Small Universe in an attempt to resist the attack.
Nevertheless, what happened next astounded him. The moment he tried to access his Small Universe, he realised that it had fallen into chaos.
He immediately inspected himself, only to see that the silk threads had broken through the barrier of his Small Universe and slashed across it like countless sharp knives.
At that instant, he came to the realisation that this was a Secret Technique that specifically targeted one’s Small Universe.
No one had a better understanding of Small Universes than the Human Old Ancestors. Moreover, the Old Ancestor before his eyes was one already an Order above him, and she had used a Secret Technique that specifically targeted the Small Universe. How was he supposed to resist?
What was laughable was that when he saw that the Old Ancestor was at a disadvantage against the Royal Lord earlier, he wanted to seize the chance and attack her.
However, instead of achieving his goal, he would most likely lose his life here.
As soon as the thought flashed through his mind, his Small Universe was cut to pieces, and his vitality rapidly left him.
An Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple indeed had a right to have a hand in the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord, but in order to do so, they had to bear an enormous risk.
Apart from him, the other Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples faced the same situation. As they were engulfed in the Yin-Yang Fish, the silk threads broke through the barriers of their Small Universes and turned into attacks that could destroy the Heavens and shatter the Earth. Their Small Universes were soon devastated.
Faced with this attack, these Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had no other choice but to stop in their tracks and focused on resisting the invasive Secret Technique.
The Territory Lords didn’t have Small Universes, so they wouldn’t be targeted by the Secret Technique, but naturally the profound Secret Technique that the Old Ancestor had cast wouldn’t only work on Small Universes.
Those silk threads were plenty destructive in their own right.
The Territory Lords were soon wounded as their black blood scattered around the void. Regardless, they still relentlessly charged towards the Old Ancestor in an attempt to join forces and slay her.
The Royal Lord had never stopped his assault, and faced with the series of violent attacks, the Old Ancestor wouldn’t dare to be negligent.
Nevertheless, hovering within this Yin-Yang Fish, the Old Ancestor was evidently more agile and sensitive to her surroundings. She moved so elusively that even the Royal Lord found it hard to hit her.
10 breaths after the Yin-Yang Fish appeared, countless Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives, while all the Territory Lords were wounded and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were struggling to save themselves.
However, with the absolute advantage in numbers on their side, these powerful Black Ink Clansmen eventually joined forces with the Royal Lord and besieged the Old Ancestor.
Just then, the Old Ancestor, who was wearing mourning robes, flashed a cunning smile. The next instant, she sank into the Yin-Yang Fish and disappeared.
The Secret Technique that the Royal Lord sent out completely missed its target.
Stunned, he soon turned to look in a different direction and widened his eyes.
That was the left side of the Royal City where 70% of the Black Ink Clan Army was located.
The Territory Lords on the left side had watched as the Old Ancestor attempted to attack the Black Ink Nest and subsequently got into a fight with the powerful Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the city.
Although they wanted to help out, they could only remain in place as the Human soldiers were still creeping closer to the Royal City. They couldn’t do anything else other than stand their ground.
Little did they know that their inaction would soon bring them trouble.
The moment Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao appeared among the Black Ink Clansmen who were located on the left side of the Royal City, the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were horrified.
Earlier, they had witnessed the moves that the Old Ancestor had used, so they were acutely aware of how powerful she was; therefore, the moment she appeared, the Black Ink Clansmen around her promptly ran away.
However, it was too late.
The World Force swirled around her and turned into a violent storm. As it spread out, the Black Ink Clansmen around her collapsed.
Following her appearance, the Yin-Yang Fish, which was supposed to be on the right side of the Royal City, appeared and engulfed the Black Ink Clansmen in this place.
All the Black Ink Clansmen felt as though they were suffocating.
If not for the fact that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was under considerable strain trying to affect so many enemies across such a vast area, she would have been able to destroy all these 700,000 Black Ink Clansmen on her own given enough time. Even the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples wouldn’t be able to escape from her.
Fortunately for them, the Royal Lord arrived swiftly.
These two figures clashed again.
This was their third battlefield as they had been fighting against each other all around the Royal City.
The first battlefield was just above the Royal City where Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao attempted to destroy the Black Ink Nest. After her plan was foiled, she had no choice but to head to the right side of the Royal City where she devastated the Black Ink Clansmen stationed over there.
After she was done with that, she somehow slipped over to the left side of the Royal City and did the same thing to the Black Ink Clan Army here. Such roguish actions did not befit her status as the Old Ancestor.
The Royal Lord was so furious that he almost went mad.
He had previously battled Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. During the exchange of moves, his only impression of this Human was that she was insane, and this time, her insanity had gotten worse.
This woman was aware that she would be at a disadvantage by fighting against the Royal Lord near the Royal City, but she insisted on doing it just to destroy the Black Ink Clan Army.
The Royal Lord almost had the urge to leave her alone and head straight to the Human Warships. He wouldn’t be heartbroken regardless of how many Black Ink Clansmen lost their lives; however, if too many Humans were killed, the Old Ancestor wouldn’t be able to take it.
However, he did not dare act on this impulse, for if he did, this insane woman would surely seize the chance and head straight for the Black Ink Nest. When that happened, even though he could cause a massive number of casualties to the Humans, his Black Ink Nest would be gone forever.
He didn’t care how many Black Ink Clansmen were killed, but he could never let his Black Ink Nest be destroyed; therefore, he had to target the Old Ancestor no matter what. He could not allow her to move about freely.
This put him in a passive position.
Only 30% of the Black Ink Clansmen were located on the right flank of the Royal City, tasked with stopping the weaponized Universe Worlds from impacting the Royal City, so it didn’t require a lot of people. 30% would be enough.
On the other hand, 70% of the Black Ink Clansmen were stationed on the left side of the Royal City, which was more than two times the number on the right. It was only natural that there were also more Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples around here.
Now that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had shifted from the right side to the left side, the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples on the left side certainly wouldn’t sit back and do nothing. Just like what had happened earlier, they charged towards the Old Ancestor in order to assist the Royal Lord.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was in an increasingly perilous situation.
Given the strength she had exhibited earlier, she would still be at a disadvantage even if she was in a one-on-one fight with the Royal Lord in this place, not to mention that the Royal Lord had the assistance of these Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples now.
Barely 30 breaths of time later, the Yin-Yang Fish, which had come with the Old Ancestor, shattered and returned to Chaos.
This was a sign that the Old Ancestor no longer had sufficient energy to sustain her Secret Technique.
She had to focus on dealing with the Royal Lord and the powerful Black Ink Clansmen who had besieged her; however, she no longer had enough power to fend off all their attacks, which broke through her defences and struck her seemingly frail figure, causing the light around her to flicker.
Seeing that, the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples exerted more power with their attacks in an attempt to aid the Royal Lord in taking down the Old Ancestor once and for all.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy to defeat a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. The moment the Yin-Yang Fish fell apart, the void seemed to shake a little, and as the tremor spread, a shockwave was sent across the entire battlefield.
All the Black Ink Disciples temporarily fell into a dazed state.
The powerful Black Ink Clansmen were less impacted, but they still became sluggish for a moment.
The Old Ancestor charged through the Black Ink Army and broke through their blockade before dashing towards the depths of the void.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the Royal Lord decided to chase after her.
Just a moment later, the noise of the battle between these two most powerful Masters was heard coming from the distance.
The Black Ink Clansmen, who were originally in an orderly formation, were all scattered and bruised now. After Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao kicked up a storm, not only was their Battle Formation broken, but many of them had also lost their lives.
The lives of the Black Ink Clansmen below the Feudal Lords didn’t matter; however, it was heart-wrenching to know that a number of Black Ink Clansmen above the Feudal Lords were killed.
Even some of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had lost their lives. Just now, two of them were killed by the Old Ancestor, and including the one from the right flank, she had slain three Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples in total.
Such casualties should never have happened.
Regardless of how powerful the Old Ancestor was, as long as the Black Ink Clansmen coordinated properly, and with the restraint from the Royal Lord, the Old Ancestor would never have achieved such results.
However, the Royal Lord wasn’t concerned about the life or death of his subordinates at all. While the Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities used by the Old Ancestor were ferocious, those used by the Royal Lord were even more savage.
These Black Ink Clansmen not only had to deal with the Old Ancestor, but they also had to be cautious about getting impacted by the repercussions of the Royal Lord’s attacks.
Although the battle didn’t last a long time, the powerful Black Ink Clansmen all felt extremely weary.
Fortunately, these two sources of disaster had left.
This was the kind of situation that should have taken place since the beginning. These two powerful Masters should have gone to their exclusive battlefield and engaged in a life-and-death battle. Why did they drag the less powerful ones into their clash?
However, before the Black Ink Clan could take a breath, they were faced with a new crisis.
The fleet of Human Warships was now closing in. Xiang Shan’s towering figure stood at the bow of a Battalion Class Warship at the front of the fleet, and with a solemn expression, he reached out and summoned a hideous-looking saber that was taller than he was.
He pointed the tip of the blade forward and ordered, “Kill!”
At that instant, lights of Secret Techniques and artifacts flashed across the fleet of Warships behind Xiang Shan and rained down fire on the Royal City.
Every Human soldier of every Squad on every Warship silently took action at this moment.
In this silent atmosphere, all of them infused their World Force into the arrays and artifacts as they vent their burning fury on the Black Ink Clan.
The Humans were enraged.
They had witnessed what had happened to the Old Ancestor, and although they understood that everything she had done was to create a chance for them to launch an attack, when they saw that she had to deal with so many powerful Black Ink Clansmen on her own while they were unable to help, they inevitably blamed themselves for not being strong enough.
It wasn’t until they got close to the Royal City that they could vent their suppressed frustrations.
This was technically their first real battle since the East-West Army departed from Wind and Cloud Pass, so they had to succeed at all costs.
For this battle, they had been patiently waiting and getting prepared for the past several decades.
The Black Ink Clansmen still hadn’t regained their senses from the earlier chaos when they were engulfed from the Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering attacks.
Although Che Kong had already detected it, and he had been giving orders, the Black Ink Clan couldn’t form an effective resistance as their Army was currently still in chaos.
The powers of the Secret Techniques and the artifacts devastated the Black Ink Clan. Every attack was equivalent to an all-out move of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Every Warship could send out two to three such attacks at once, so with some 2,000 Warships around, it was akin to 5,000 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters making a move all at once.
The sight was truly magnificent.
The Black Ink Clansmen in the periphery were unable to resist such attacks.
Engulfed in the colourful lights, they were eternally laid to rest.
Before the two Races even clashed, a massive number of Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives.
After the series of attacks, there was a moment of silence.
Several breaths of time later, the attacks of the same intensity shot forth again.
After three rounds of intense attacks from the Warships, a large number of Black Ink Clansmen were either injured or killed.
The Black Ink Clansmen were terrified.
It had been 30,000 years since they last fought with the Humans, and over the past 30 years, although the Humans had repeatedly harassed them, they would run away after launching a single round of attacks and achieving some small success. Hence, the Black Ink Clan never had a taste of how horrible the Human Warships truly were.
It wasn’t until this day that they realised the Humans were truly powerful. Faced with the continuous attacks, many Black Ink Clansmen were consigned to oblivion without even the chance to resist.
With the help of the arrays and artifacts on the Warships, the Humans were able to launch attacks on the enemy while the Black Ink Clan was unable to respond on the spot.
That way, most of the Black Ink Clansmen were powerless to counterattack as they were struck by the barrage.
Although the Territory Lords and the Feudal Lords did counterattack, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters certainly wouldn’t sit back and allow the Black Ink Clan to make a scene.
While the fleet of Warships was still creeping closer to the Royal City, the powerful Masters from the two Races exchanged moves from a distance.
The battlefield on the left side of the Royal City was bustling with noise, while on the right side of the Royal City, the Black Ink Clansmen who had just endured the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord felt quite conflicted.
This couldn’t be helped, as the Humans had greatly changed their tactics this time.
In the past, when the Humans launched a round of attacks on them, the Universe Worlds would arrive at the same time.
But this time, while the Human soldiers had clashed with the Black Ink Clansmen on the left, the Universe Worlds still hadn’t arrived at the right side.
This forced 30% of the Black Ink Clan Army to remain idle as they had to stay there to prevent the Universe Worlds from destroying the Royal City. They could only watch as their clansmen on the left side were attacked, while there was nothing they could do to help.
This was apparently the plan that the Humans had come up with.
A moment later, the Human Warships had already closed to just 1 million kilometres from the Royal City. At such a distance, the two Armies could now engage in close quarters combat.
The continuous attacks from those Warships finally stopped.
This couldn’t be helped, as the cultivators responsible for controlling the offensive arrays and artifacts on the Warships were basically Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Although they were fairly strong, and they could cast Seventh-Order attacks with the help of the arrays and artifacts, their heritage wasn’t nearly as deep as real Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
They couldn’t possibly exert themselves to activate the powers of the arrays and artifacts continuously for an extended period of time. After such a long barrage, they had to slow down and restore their strength.
Che Kong, who was extremely vexed, raised his arm and ordered, “Stop them! Do not let them get any closer to the Royal City!”
Following his order, the Black Ink Clansmen behind him charged forward.
As the two Armies clashed, both parties had to be menacing and bold.
Certainly, neither the Humans nor the Black Ink Clan were less menacing or bold, especially when both parties were furious.
What happened to Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao enraged the Humans while her actions infuriated the Black Ink Clan.
As these raging Armies clashed, it was destined to be a brutal battle.
Faced with the Humans’ onslaught, the Black Ink Clansmen at the front were instantly killed. On the other hand, the defences around the Human Warships at the front flickered.
The Secret Techniques from both parties intertwined in the void and rained down on each other. For a battle of such scale, there was no need for specific targets, everyone simply attacked the enemy closest to them.
Both Armies engaged in an intense struggle as soon as they came into contact.
Such intense fighting was more than many Black Ink Clansmen could take, resulting in massive casualties on their side. Even the Human Warships couldn’t last forever under such wanton bombardment.
After just 10 breaths of time, the 300 Warships which formed the vanguard of the East-West Army’s force had their shields turning dim. It was a sign that their defences were on the verge of failing.
On such a battlefield, if the defensive barriers around a Warship were broken, the entire Squad inside would have to face the Black Ink Clan’s wrath without protection. When that happened, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might stand a chance to flee, but those below the Seventh-Order would be doomed.
Fortunately, they had already made arrangements.
Without the need for anyone to give orders, the moment the cultivators realised that their Warship was on the brink of breaking apart, they would retreat at full speed.
As one Warship withdrew, another would come forward to fill the gap.
There were several thousand Warships on the Humans’ side, so by cycling which ones were at the front of the assault, the East-West Army ensured they could deal the most damage while suffering the fewest losses as they crept closer to the Royal City.
As Warships retreated, the same amount of Warships would replace them from behind.
By using this method, there were rarely any casualties on the Humans’ side as the two Armies collided.
During the second round of replacement, Dawning Light made it to the forefront. The members responsible for controlling the defensive arrays and artifacts madly pushed their World Force and infused it into the arrays and artifacts so that their Warship could last even a little longer.
The ones in charge of the offensive arrays and artifacts quickly tried to restore their energy which they had exerted during the opening round of attacks.
Meanwhile, with Yang Kai in the lead, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters vented their powers on the Black Ink Clansmen in front of them.
The Secret Techniques they cast successfully killed many enemies.
Bai Yi’s skills in archery were especially intimidating in this kind of situation. Every arrow she shot could end a Feudal Lord’s life. As her petite figure stood at the bow of the ship, her eyes radiated an unusual glow. It was apparent that she had activated an Eye Secret Technique as she selected her targets.
The Warship of the Old Turtles Squad was not far from Dawning Light.
The Old Turtles were renowned for their defensive capabilities, so this kind of situation was where they could make the best use of their skills. The entire Warship radiated a glow which served as a barrier of defence like a thick tortoise shell, which could protect the soldiers beneath it.
When Dawning Light replaced a withdrawing Warship, the Old Turtles Squad had already been at the front, and even after some time had passed, their defences showed no sign of weakening.
It had to be said that even though the Old Turtles were slow, they were peerless when it came to their defence. Given such a characteristic, it would be hard for them to earn Military Merits in a search and destroy mission, but they could serve as the best shield for others around them in this kind of chaotic melee.
The Warships that had moved forward along with Dawning Light earlier had all been replaced. In fact, Dawning Light’s shields were also on the brink of failing.
Although the capabilities of Dawning Light were far greater than average Squad Class Warships, they were for all intents and purposes balanced. It was unlike the Warship of the Old Turtles Squad, which had outstanding defensive and offensive strength but greatly reduced speed and maneuverability. Dawning Light naturally reached its limit sooner than the Older Turtle’s Warship.
Fortunately, both Armies were already tangled up together, so Dawning Light didn’t have to fully retreat.
Like two torrents that collided, the universe seemed to have turned upside down as the void became destabilised.
After the exchange of moves, with the Battalion Class Warships leading the way, the Humans tore apart the defences of the Black Ink Clan Army.
The Warships from behind came forward and cast their attacks on the Black Ink Clansmen on both sides, further dividing up the enemy.
Like a sharp blade, the Human Warships cut across the Black Ink Clan’s lines and continued to move forward for several hundred thousand kilometres until the enemy Army had been split apart.
Upon arriving at this spot, the Battalion Class Warship in the lead suddenly changed directions and charged forward.
The other Warships all followed it closely.
The Battalion Class Warship was commanded by Xiang Shan. In order to carry out the plan on this day, this Battalion Class Warship was specially modified and its members were also carefully selected. Ordinary Squads were not comparable to it when it came to their offence and defence capabilities.
Such a Battalion Class Warship could serve as the tip of the spear.
Meanwhile, the other Battalion Class Warships, all commanded by the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, were located on the sides of the fleet. That way, with the protection of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, they could ensure that the fleet wouldn’t be broken up, allowing them to move together as a cohesive force.
However, the price that the East-West Army had to pay was that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had lost their freedom to move around.
It wasn’t hard for the Black Ink Clan to resolve this problem, they just had to gather enough power and specifically target one point of the fleet to break up the formation.
Therefore, the Humans had to bear some risk by using this tactic. With that said, in order to ensure the completeness of the fleet, they had no other choice.
Only by acting this way could they limit the losses that they might suffer.
The lives of the Black Ink Clansmen were valueless, but the Humans couldn’t afford to lose their men.
Several decades ago, Yang Kai had taken part in the North-South Army’s fight against the Black Ink Clan. During that battle, he led two elite Squads of the North-South Army, using his Golden Crow Casts the Sun to cut a swath through the enemy ranks. As they dashed around the battlefield, they destroyed many Black Ink Clansmen to tip the balance in the Humans’ favour.
What the East-West Army was doing on this day was basically the same.
With that said, the scale of things was significantly larger than back then.
At that time, Yang Kai led two Special Operations Squads on his own, but this time, all the soldiers of the East-West Army were taking action together, so it was tremendously more effective overall.
The Territory Lords were dumbfounded.
They initially thought that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would target them and head to another battlefield to engage in a life-or-death struggle; however, it now seemed that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters didn’t have such an intention as they steadfastly guarded the periphery of the fleet.
If the fleet of Warships sailed by the Humans was compared to a Grand Dragon, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were like its scales. All the Human soldiers had formed into a horrifying force.
After Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao stirred up chaos, the Black Ink Clan’s formation had already collapsed. Although they had tried to reorganise themselves, it was not effective.
Following the exchange of moves with the Humans, their formation was broken up again.
Wherever the Human Warships went, the Black Ink Clansmen were powerless to resist.
Although the powerful Black Ink Masters had repeatedly made a move, their attacks were blocked by the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and the Warships themselves. There was nothing they could do to achieve a breakthrough.
In just a while, the Grand Dragon formed from Human Warships had torn the battlefield apart. The body of the Grand Dragon had surrounded about two hundred thousand Black Ink Clansmen.
A bombardment of attacks rained from the Warships and struck the Black Ink Clansmen who had been isolated.
More and more of them continuously lost their lives.
Suddenly, there came a moment when a blade light slashed across the void from the head of the fleet. Upon impact, the aura of a Territory Lord soon dissipated.
The blade light came from Xiang Shan, who was leading the charge.
When the blade light slashed out earlier, both Humans and the Black Ink Clan felt a crawling sensation on their scalps.
On the deck of Dawning Light, Yang Kai was amazed.
He had already heard that Xiang Shan was significantly more powerful than other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. When Xiang Shan was still the Army Commander of Blue Sky Pass back then, the Territory Lords would have their expressions changed drastically upon hearing his name.
It was said that 7 Territory Lords were killed by him in the past.
Of course, that was just a rumour and Yang Kai had never seen Xiang Shan make a move like this before.
It wasn’t until this day that he finally witnessed the man’s full strength.
Xiang Shan could kill a Territory Lord with a single slash. Yang Kai didn’t think any other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were capable of doing that.
Although it clearly wasn’t easy for Xiang Shan to use such an attack, and the Territory Lord, who was surrounded by the fleet of Warships, must be flustered, it went to show that he was truly formidable.
After the attack, the Battalion Class Warship changed directions and led the fleet to break through the siege and head back to the forward base.
The other Warships had no choice but to follow. The arrangements they had made this time could only allow them to launch a lightning strike. If the battle dragged on, the Black Ink Clan would be able to reorganize and mount a proper counterattack. By then, the Human Army would be stuck in this quagmire.
More importantly, the powerful Black Ink Clan Masters could deal with their strategy just by targeting a specific spot of the fleet.
The enemy hadn’t thought of it because they were currently flustered, and the battlefield was in chaos, so it was hard for them to unite at the moment. However, as time passed, the Territory Lords would realise this easy method to hit back.
In fact, the Territory Lords had already regained their senses. Following Che Kong’s order, the Territory Lords were ready to rally together and launch an attack on the Human Warships.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the Royal City had already started intercepting the Universe Worlds, so their hands would soon be untied.
When the Black Ink Clansmen came over from the right side, the Humans would have to deal with even more enemies.
Therefore, Xiang Shan promptly decided that they had to retreat after gaining some advantage.
Perhaps the Territory Lords were wary of Xiang Shan’s power, so it was easier than what the Humans had imagined when they broke through the siege.
Nevertheless, the Black Ink Clan didn’t seem to have the intention of letting the Humans go so easily. As the Warships retreated, the Black Ink Clan relentlessly pursued them.
However, the Humans knew that they would be vulnerable when withdrawing, and after dealing such a blow to the Black Ink Clan, the latter would surely be out for blood.
The Black Ink Clan soldiers raced after the Humans and bombarded the Warships with a series of attacks.
Faced with the Black Ink Clan’s assault, the Battalion Class Warships circle back from the periphery to guard the rear of the fleet, forming a protective screen against the enemy’s assault.
It wasn’t until the Humans were 10 million kilometres away from the Royal City that the Black Ink Clan stopped pursuing them.
The Black Ink Clansmen wouldn’t dare to keep chasing after the Humans, for they were not certain if they had any hidden trump cards to play. If the Humans launched a sneak attack on the Black Ink Nest when the Black Ink Clansmen were not around, they would be doomed.
Therefore, despite his unwillingness, Che Kong still ordered them to stop their pursuit. As he watched the Human Warships leave, his face contorted with fury.
It was rare that a battle between the two Races of such a scale had ended so quickly.
The reason the Humans could achieve it was that they had to obey the leaders’ command no matter what.
Wherever Xiang Shan was, that was where the fleet of Warships would be heading; therefore, the moment his Battalion Class Warship started retreating, the other Warships followed suit without hesitation.
There hadn’t really been any grand strategies used in this battle, they simply relied on the excellent leadership of their Commanders, the collaboration between several tens of thousands of soldiers, and a bit of luck.
Only one hour had passed from the time the two Armies clashed to the time the Humans withdrew 10 million kilometres from the Royal City.
However, in just one hour, the Humans had managed to cause the same number of casualties to the Black Ink Clan as the total number of casualties for the past 20 years.
There were even more casualties if they included what the Old Ancestor had done to the Black Ink Clan earlier; after all, three Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were killed by the Old Ancestor, and even more of them were injured.
Although the Black Ink Clan had suffered immense losses, it didn’t mean no Humans were killed.
Under Xiang Shan’s leadership, the fleet of Warships had acted like a Dragon that swam across the battlefield in an imposing manner. Nevertheless, the Black Ink Clan was not weak.
The defences of some of the Warships were shattered, and when that happened, the soldiers inside were instantly exposed to danger.
While more and more Black Ink Clansmen were killed on the battlefield, the sound of Small Universes collapsing was also heard.
Casualties were inevitable, especially when one was trying to break through a siege and retreat.
Although the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had brought up the rear on their Battalion Class Warships, they couldn’t possibly ensure everyone’s safety. There were times when they were powerless to save some of the soldiers’ lives.
The Black Ink Clan hadn’t achieved their goal of breaking the Humans with a pursuit from behind, but to the Humans, it was already a huge loss.
It was a price they had to pay though, and the leaders of the East-West Army had already expected such an outcome when they were coming up with this plan.
Regardless, this plan had to be carried out. No war would end with no casualties.
The differences were how many of them were killed, and whether their deaths were meaningful.
The leaders had already done their best to minimise the number of deaths.
From beginning to end, the Battle Formation remained intact, though the shields of many Warships had turned dim and numerous arrays were flashing and flickering.
It was a sign that the arrays were on the verge of breaking.
Yang Kai, who was soaked in black blood, was standing on the deck of Dawning Light. As he looked around, he couldn’t help but feel sorrowful.
The peace in the 3,000 Worlds was in stark contrast to the brutality on the Black Ink Battlefield. The trillions of people back in the 3,000 Worlds didn’t know that so many of the brightest cultivators from the Cave Heavens and Paradises were constantly fighting against the Black Ink Clan on such a battlefield, silently defending their homeland.
Those who were killed on the battlefield would only have their names carved on the Monument of Heroes back in the Great Passes so that their comrades would remember them; however, when their friends and relatives all passed away, only the names would remain. No one would really remember them then.
Just then, Yang Kai caught a whiff of a bodily fragrance as Feng Ying appeared beside him.
He turned to look at her and asked with concern, “Is everyone alright?”
Feng Ying replied, “No one is fatally wounded. Junior Brother Yu suffered some damage to his Small Universe, so it will take him a few years to properly recuperate. One of Junior Brother Ning’s arms was torn off, but he managed to catch it and it’s now reconnected. He’ll be fine after he fully recovers. The others have only suffered some flesh wounds.”
Yang Kai nodded gently.
The Junior Brother Yu that Feng Ying had mentioned was Yu Zi You, who, along with Ren Bing Bai, were the new Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that had joined them when the Dawn was expanded before this campaign.
On the other hand, Junior Brother Ning, Ning Zhi Qi, who was from Red Sun Paradise, was a long-time member of Dawn who had been around since the founding of the Squad. He was also one of the Black Ink Disciples that Yang Kai had brought back from the Black Ink Clan’s territory back in the Blue Sky Theatre.
In this war, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were more severely impacted than the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters because they had to move around outside the Warships to directly deal with the enemies. As long as the defences of the Warships weren’t broken, those inside wouldn’t be in any danger.
However, even though the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had the Warships’ protection, once the Warships were damaged, they would be exposed to even greater danger. That was because they were weaker than the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Dawn was a Special Operations Squad; however, in the battle that lasted just one hour on this day, 8 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, including Yang Kai, were all injured. One of Ning Zhi Qi’s arms was even torn off. It went to show how truly perilous this clash had been.
With that said, it was because Dawn was located at the periphery of the fleet; hence, they faced a greater pressure than other Warships during the intense battle.
“I wonder how many people lost their lives,” Feng Ying sighed all of a sudden.
Yang Kai fell silent, for the dead couldn’t be resurrected. All the survivors could do was pay tribute to their sacrifice and move on.
Strictly speaking, the Humans had gained a massive victory today. That was because the number of Black Ink Clansmen was several dozen times greater, but the difference in casualties between both sides was of an even higher ratio.
Despite the landslide victory, no one felt elated when they returned. That was because this was the first real clash between the East-West Army and the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre and there would surely be even more brutal battles in the future. It wouldn’t be too late to celebrate their victory when they finally destroyed all the Black Ink Clan in this place and re-took Great Evolution Pass.
By then, they would also celebrate the occasion on behalf of the deceased.
When they returned to the forward base, the injured started recuperating while the damaged Warships were repaired.
Yang Kai said a few words to the members of Dawn, then headed to the mountain valley on his own. After spreading out his Small Universe, he waited for the Old Ancestor’s return.
This place was a Restricted Area in the forward base, so other than the two Army Commanders, even the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters wouldn’t come here. That was because this was the place the Old Ancestor would come to recuperate for many years to come. No one could disturb her.
Violent energy fluctuations were still felt coming from the depths of the void, and it was apparent that the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord were still fighting.
More than 10 days later, the fluctuations suddenly stopped.
Noticing this, Yang Kai just waited patiently.
As he had expected, a figure descended from the sky half a day later and touched upon his Small Universe.
A thought flashed through Yang Kai’s mind, and the next instant, the Old Ancestor entered his Small Universe and landed beside him.
The moment she landed on the ground, she almost lost her balance and fell.
Yang Kai promptly supported her weight, only to see that her face was horrifyingly pale, and her clothes were soaked in blood. Some of the blood was red, while some was black.
The red blood naturally belonged to the Old Ancestor, while the black blood was from the Royal Lord.
Needless to say, they were mutually wounded again this time. With that said, it was the outcome that the Old Ancestor had deliberately tried to achieve.
“Here again?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao looked up and saw the familiar log house in front of her.
100 years ago, she arrived here in this Small Universe when she turned into a three-year-old child. It was the hunter who picked her up from the log house.
Yang Kai grinned, “I was thinking that it might help with your recuperation when you recall the fond memories you had experienced here. That’s why I’ve chosen this place. If you think it’s not appropriate, we can go somewhere else.”
“It’s fine. I’ll stay here.” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao waved her hand.
“Alright. I’ll help you inside. Please relax your legs.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but shoot him a glare. Yang Kai’s words seemed to suggest that she was a frail old person.
Although she was indeed in a terrible state, she was still a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. Regardless of how horribly injured she was, she didn’t need him to carry her into the house.
As she secretly cursed at this smelly brat, she tripped over the threshold at the door.
After Yang Kai helped Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao take a seat on the bed, he hospitably walked to the side and poured her a cup of water.
The Old Ancestor took the cup and chugged down the water, then asked with a frown, “Don’t you have any tea leaves?”
Yang Kai shrugged, “I’m too lazy to prepare some tea. Please make do with it.”
The Old Ancestor certainly wouldn’t mind it. She tossed the cup back onto the table and let out a breath, “I was too negligent!”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai furrowed his brows, “Did you suffer a setback?”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shook her head, “Not really. It’s just that there’s something that surprised me.”
Yang Kai asked, “What do you mean?”
With a worried expression, the Old Ancestor replied, “The Royal Lord with wings on his back can make use of his Black Ink Nest to strengthen himself.”
The Humans were not aware of this.
Even Yang Kai, who had pretended to be a Black Ink Disciple and lived in the Black Ink Clan’s territory twice, was unaware of this.
Therefore, upon hearing what the Old Ancestor said, he was shocked, “The Royal Lord can make use of his Black Ink Nest not only to heal, but also to directly strengthen himself?”
The Old Ancestor nodded, “En. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let him off.”
According to her plan, she would make sure that the Royal Lord would be half-dead this time even if she couldn’t kill him, and she would do the same next time. By repeatedly harassing the Royal Lord, she would eventually take his life one day.
However, the moment they exchanged moves, she realised that the Royal Lord could make use of his Black Ink Nest’s power to increase his own strength, and not by just a small amount either.
Yang Kai soon realised something, “Is that why you suddenly fell into a disadvantage not long after you clashed with the Royal Lord, even though you initially had the upper hand?”
When the Old Ancestor exchanged moves with the Royal Lord, Yang Kai was on the deck of Dawning Light, so he could see what was going on above the Royal City. Although he couldn’t clearly see the battle as he was too far away from the Royal City, he was aware that the Old Ancestor was at an advantage at the start of the battle.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao nodded. Honestly, she was astounded when she realised that the Royal Lord’s power had surged all of a sudden, for such information was not available to them in the past.
Although the Humans had been at war with the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield for countless years, they knew very little about their enemy because the Black Ink Strength was irresolvable previously.
It was Yang Kai who found out that the transmission of information was convenient between the Black Ink Nests.
“Is that why you pretended that you hadn’t fully recovered and held back some of your power?” Yang Kai asked.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was slightly surprised, “You noticed?”
When Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was injured, she could make use of Yang Kai’s Small Universe to speed up her recuperation. On the other hand, the Royal Lord had his Black Ink Nest, so it could be said that both of them had an external aid in this regard.
However, in comparison, the Humans were already aware that the Royal Lords could use their Black Ink Nests to help with their recuperation, while the Black Ink Clan did not know that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had a similar advantage.
This simple disparity of information could be used to trick the Black Ink Clan.
From the Royal Lord’s perspective, it had only been some 30 years since he started using the Black Ink Nest to help with his recuperation, and he hadn’t fully recovered. Needless to say, the Old Ancestor had to be recuperating as well.
However, on this day, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao appeared out of nowhere and launched an attack on the Royal City; moreover, she appeared to be at the peak of her power. This made the Royal Lord feel puzzled as he wondered how the Old Ancestor managed to recover so quickly; therefore, the moment they exchanged moves, he was taken aback.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s plan was simple, which was to make use of the fact that she had fully recovered to continuously suppress the Royal Lord.
While she had fully recovered, the Royal Lord was still wounded. If nothing unexpected happened, she could exacerbate the Royal Lord’s wounds after the fight.
Then, she would come back and seek Yang Kai’s help. When her wounds had healed, she would look for the Royal Lord for their next fight.
By repeatedly doing so, she believed that the Royal Lord wouldn’t be able to take it anymore after 100 years as his wounds would never heal properly. In the middle of his recovery, he would be injured by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao again, which would exacerbate his condition as the days went by. In such a way, there would come a day when he would be defeated by her.
By then, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao could easily take him down without worrying that he would use some kind of Secret Technique that could drag her down with him; however, the moment she realised that the Royal Lord could make use of the Black Ink Nest to strengthen himself, she knew that her plan wouldn’t work.
The Royal Lord indeed hadn’t recovered, but with the Black Ink Nest’s help, he could still display stunning power.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao could even feel that as long as they fought near the Royal City, she would be at a disadvantage even if she went all out.
Hence, upon that realisation, she decided to hold back some of her strength and pretend that she was still wounded.
Such a sudden change might have exposed her real condition, but to the Royal Lord, that was the way it should be, so the risks were minimal.
After the previous battle, they were mutually wounded. Only 30 or so years had passed, and he was still recuperating, so how was it possible that the Old Ancestor had fully recovered?
Then, the Old Ancestor decided on the spot to raise chaos on both sides of the Royal City.
Since she was unable to kill the Royal Lord, she decided to deal with the Black Ink Clan soldiers to create a chance for the East-West Army to slaughter the enemy.
In fact, in order to make a scene on both sides of the Royal City, the Old Ancestor had to pay a huge price. When she was dealing with the third Black Ink Disciple, she was directly struck by the Royal Lord’s attack. For the rest of the battle, she had to suppress her pain to made sure that no one noticed.
Then, she decided to lure the Royal Lord away so that the latter couldn’t keep drawing energy from the Black Ink Nest.
When she reached the depths of the void and exchanged moves with the Royal Lord, she still held back some of her power to feign weakness and injury. In the end, the two top Masters fought an intense, but not life-threatening battle.
That was the reason she managed to retain her original form when she returned.
One had to know that when she came back to the forward base previously, she immediately turned into a three-year-old child, and it wasn’t until much later that she regained her consciousness.
It could be said that she was already in a better state this time.
“I thought I’d concealed it well. It never crossed my mind that you’d figured it out.” The Old Ancestor thought that it was such a shame.
Yang Kai chuckled, “I was fully aware of your condition because you recuperated in my Small Universe; however, the Royal Lord definitely wouldn’t have noticed, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“You have a point.” The Old Ancestor nodded lightly, “Now, it seems that the Black Ink Nests do not only help the Black Ink Clan cultivate and heal, but they can also empower them as long as they are nearby.”
Knowing what she was trying to say, Yang Kai asked, “Are you worried about Great Evolution Pass?”
The Old Ancestor nodded, “There are Black Ink Nests in Great Evolution Pass, so I suppose they might be able to help the Territory Lords strengthen themselves. Send a message to them and tell them to be careful and not invade Great Evolution Pass when they see an opportunity.”
Upon receiving the order, Yang Kai replied, “Understood. I will report it to the Army Commanders.”
“I’m exhausted, so I’ll start healing now.” Upon finishing her words, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao sat down on the bed with her legs crossed.
The next instant, her figure started shrinking. Barely several breaths of time later, she transformed from an adult to a young child that appeared some seven or eight years old.
She looked just like the young girl in the Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass when Yang Kai saw her for the first time.
It suggested that she was indeed in a better state than last time.
Since the Old Ancestor had to recuperate, Yang Kai left the log house respectfully.
At the entrance of the valley where Yang Kai had spread out his Small Universe, two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were responsible for standing guard, exchanged glances as they had received a message from Yang Kai via Divine Sense.
One of them nodded, “I’ll inform the Army Commanders about it now.”
A moment later, aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan, Liu Zhi Ping, and the others listened to the report from the Seventh-Order Master. It was only then that they learned that the Black Ink Clan could use their Black Ink Nests to strengthen themselves in combat.
Then, they promptly told someone to head to Great Evolution Pass to share this piece of information with the North-South Army.
Although the North-South Army wasn’t supposed to launch an attack on Great Evolution Pass, they still had to immediately share such information with them. However, since it was a long journey, it would be at least a month later when the North-South Army received this intel.
After the East-West Army’s first clash with the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre, they went on to coexist peacefully for the next 20 years.
During this period of time, the Humans never made a move. They had also stopped harassing the Black Ink Clan with Universe Worlds.
This silence only made the leaders of the Black Ink Clan feel ill at ease.
That was because it suggested that the Humans were trying to accumulate enough strength before launching an even more violent assault than last time.
The Territory Lords had the urge to take the initiative and launch an attack on the Humans; however, the Royal Lord had given an order, so they wouldn’t dare to make a rash move.
In the beginning, with Che Kong as the leader, some of the Territory Lords still thought that it was better to defend the Royal City than to launch an attack.
Nevertheless, as time passed, even Che Kong felt that he had made a mistake by being too conservative.
He should have derailed the Humans’ plan before they gained a strong foothold. Now that the Humans had set up a forward base, and the Royal Lord was badly injured, there wasn’t a chance for the Black Ink Clan to initiate an attack.
It was too late now though, so they could only obey the Royal Lord’s order and defend the Royal City at all costs.
No war broke out on the East-West Army’s side for 20 years.
On the other hand, over the past 20 years, the North-South Army had clashed with the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Pass on several occasions.
There were about 700,000 Black Ink Clansmen in Great Evolution Pass, including more than 20 Territory Lords and about 50 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. It was a force to be reckoned with.
The Black Ink Clan had made countless arrangements in Great Evolution Pass over the last 30,000 years, and given their collective power, it wasn’t hard for them to deal with a mere 30,000 Human soldiers.
The North-South Army had never shown any intention of attacking Great Evolution Pass. Be it the irritable Ou Yang Lie or the measured Mi Jing Lun, they both knew that it was no different from asking for death if they tried to assault Great Evolution Pass in such a situation.
The Humans had limited manpower, so they couldn’t afford to suffer any unnecessary losses; therefore, the North-South Army had set up camp about two days journey from Great Evolution Pass, just close enough to monitor the situation and ensure they could intercept any Black Ink Clansmen that tried to leave the Great Pass.
This made the Black Ink Clansmen feel vexed.
After the battle at the Royal City 20 years ago, the Black Ink Clansmen in Great Evolution Pass realised that they couldn’t keep hiding in this place to enjoy the temporary peace. Once the Royal City was destroyed, they couldn’t possibly stay safe in Great Evolution Pass.
Therefore, after the Black Ink Clansmen learned about the battle, they began trying to leave Great Evolution Pass and head to the Royal City to provide reinforcements.
Given the fact that there were 700,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers, more than 20 Territory Lords, and about 50 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, if they went all out, the Humans would not be able to stop them.
However, if they really did that, it would be akin to giving up Great Evolution Pass.
Certainly, Territory Lord Hong Di wouldn’t agree to it; after all, his Black Ink Nest was located in Great Evolution Pass, so this place was practically his domain.
As such, over the years, the Black Ink Clansmen had been trying to come up with a solution to this problem. On one hand, they had to retain control of Great Evolution Pass, on the other hand, they had to send some people to the Royal City to help their clansmen.
For this reason, these Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Pass would try to circumvent the North-South Army and head to the Royal City every few years.
Their first attempt took place half a year after the battle broke out in the Royal City.
That time, they had sent about 400,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers with more than 10 Territory Lords leading the way. They decided to set off on their journey from the back of Great Evolution Pass, even though that meant they had to make a large detour.
The number of the Black Ink Clansmen was the outcome of the Territory Lords’ discussion. This number was neither big nor small, but they would be of great help to their clansmen if they managed to reach the Royal City while those that had stayed back were sufficient to protect Great Evolution Pass.
However, the Humans discovered their plan.
Moreover, they seemed to have already expected it as they despicably set up a lot of Spirit Arrays on the universe fragments where the Black Ink Clansmen would have to pass by.
When the Black Ink Clan Army arrived at the area that was full of those universe fragments, they were caught off guard by the Spirit Arrays that exploded all around them.
The Human soldiers, who were supposedly two days journey from Great Evolution Pass, suddenly appeared from the depths of the void. The auras of dozens of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters formed into a horrifying pressure and made them feel suffocated.
Before both parties even clashed, the Black Ink Clansmen had lost their will to fight. That was because they had already suffered a huge setback in the previous battle with the Humans.
Their exchange of moves this time couldn’t be considered intense and the Black Ink Clansmen had no choice but to retreat back to Great Evolution Pass.
The North-South Army didn’t go all out or initiate a pursuit this time, so both parties didn’t suffer any major losses.
After that, the North-South Army and the Black Ink Clan skirmished on several occasions, each time only testing each other out as the leaders of both parties acted with restraint.
The longest fight they ever had only lasted for half a day, after which they respectively retreated. The shortest fight only lasted a cup of tea’s time.
During these clashes, perhaps 10,000 Black Ink Clansmen would lose their lives while it was rare of any Humans to be killed.
After years of confrontation, the Black Ink Clansmen finally came to the realisation that they could not leave Great Evolution Pass and head to the Royal City to help their clansmen before they could destroy the Human Army at their doorstep.
Given such a situation, they could only keep on confronting one another and wait for any turn of events in the Royal City.
That change soon happened.
20 years had passed in the outside world, but the Old Ancestor, who had recuperated in Yang Kai’s Small Universe for the past 80 years, had fully recovered once again.
The injury that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had suffered from was less severe this time, so it was easier for her to recover; however, this time, she only wandered around within Yang Kai’s Small Universe, unlike the previous time when she experienced a kind of life she never had.
Therefore, it took her 80 years before she could fully recover.
The moment the Old Ancestor was done recuperating, the Humans mobilised again.
20 years had passed in the outside world. Other than getting some rest, the East-West Army had also been preparing for the next battle so that when the Old Ancestor recovered, they could launch an attack on the Royal City.
Now, the time had come.
After an order was passed down, 16 Universe Worlds that had been properly set up began accelerating from somewhere deep in the void and headed straight to the Royal City.
In the meantime, the Human Warships started rising into the sky from the back of the forward base.
Meanwhile, the Old Ancestor flew out towards the Royal City on her own.
This time, she didn’t take action along with the Army; instead, she decided to take the initiative to leave the forward base first.
The same method wouldn’t work twice, so the Old Ancestor decided to do something different this time and catch the Black Ink Clan off guard.
The Black Ink Clansmen from the Royal City had been closely monitoring the Humans’ forward base; however, the enemy had not made a move for the past 20 years.
The Humans’ inaction made them feel ill at ease, as though there was an invisible blade hanging above their heads. The suspense made them feel distressed.
When the Human Warships circled around the forward base and appeared in the void, the Feudal Lords, who were responsible for monitoring the situation, instantly noticed it.
They promptly reported it to their higher-ups, and the news soon reached Che Kong.
He stepped out of the cabin of his large ship and looked out from the deck. The Human Warships were indeed approaching them from a distance.
Without hesitation, he said to the female Territory Lord, who had been following him, “Keep monitoring the Human soldiers. I’ll return to the Royal City to awaken the Royal Lord!”
The Royal Lord had previously suffered a loss because of the Old Ancestor’s sneak attack; therefore, when he returned, he told Che Kong that, when the Humans invaded the Royal City next time, the latter had to immediately wake him so that he wouldn’t be caught off guard again.
He wouldn’t have given such an order if he had a choice, as no Black Ink Clansman was willing to be forcefully awakened when they were recuperating, for this would be disruptive to their recovery. This was especially true for a Royal Lord.
Nevertheless, such drawbacks were inconsequential compared to the possibility of the Old Ancestor launching a sneak attack on him again; after all, when the Old Ancestor struck, the Royal Lord would immediately awaken anyway. Hence, he would rather let his subordinate wake him up first so that he could get prepared.
Certainly, Che Kong wouldn’t dare to disobey the Royal Lord’s order.
However, since the Human Warships had just taken off, it would take them at least half a day before they would reach the Royal City; therefore, he reckoned that he wouldn’t have to wake the Royal Lord in a hurry.
After he spoke to the female Territory Lord, Che Kong immediately headed to the Royal City.
Nevertheless, not long after he left, he abruptly turned around.
A dangerous aura was rapidly approaching, one that caused Che Kong and the female Territory Lord’s expressions to change drastically.
The Old Ancestor was already on her way!
This was something they had never anticipated as they all thought that the Old Ancestor would take action along with the Human Army, so it surprised them that she had made a move first. By the time they realised that the Human soldiers were mobilizing, the Old Ancestor had already arrived near the Royal City.
With no time to mull over what the Old Ancestor was up to, Che Kong roared, “Enemy attack!”
The next instant, a phantom-like figure crashed into the Black Ink Clan soldiers who were just outside the Royal City. As her violent World Force surged, the entire void seemed to be boiling as though a burning piece of iron had fallen into cold water.
When one of the most powerful Human cultivators flared up at the Black Ink Clan soldiers, ignoring her status completely, the damage she could cause was catastrophic.
It was because there was practically no one who could stop her. Without the Royal Lord around, even the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were at risk of losing their lives.
Thousands of Black Ink Clansmen lost their lives every breath. With the petite figure as the centre, the Black Ink Clansmen around her melted away like snowflakes under the scorching Sun.
Many Feudal Lords, and even some Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples lost their lives to this sneak attack.
In just 10 breaths, some 50,000 Black Ink Clansmen had been slaughtered.
The Black Ink Clan’s formation had descended into chaos as the Black Ink Clansmen instinctively cast their Secret Techniques at the figure, but their attempts were all futile. More often than not, they accidentally injured their own allies rather than hitting the enemy.
Some of the Black Ink Clansmen were killed by their own clansmen instead of the Old Ancestor, which was quite miserable.
10 breaths of time was all it took for many Black Ink Clansmen to be laid to rest forever.
Meanwhile, the same amount of time was sufficient for the Royal Lord to come to his senses.
The Old Ancestor’s power had burst forth just outside the Royal City; therefore, the Royal Lord could clearly sense it even though he was in a state of deep slumber.
Before the Old Ancestor could cause more chaos and casualties to the Black Ink Clan, the Royal Lord furiously shot out of the Royal City, his form engulfed in thick Black Ink Strength. Infuriated, he went all out and struck at Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, forcing her back.
A hint of redness flashed through her fair face, but it soon disappeared. Hovering in the void, she stared at the Royal Lord from a distance. Her alluring eyes seemed able to see through the Black Ink Strength and take in the fury and puzzlement behind the Royal Lord’s gaze.
The Royal Lord was indeed furious and puzzled.
He was furious because only 20 years had passed, but this insane woman came to harass him again, interrupting his healing just like last time.
On the other hand, he wondered if all Humans were so crazy. He was certain that this woman hadn’t fully recovered as during their exchange just now, he could clearly sense some fluctuations in her aura.
Certainly, he couldn’t exclude the possibility that the other party was hiding her true power; however, that was practically impossible.
With the help of his Black Ink Nest, he had only healed some 30% of his injuries over the last 20 years. This Old Ancestor, whose Secret Art was unique and had far harsher conditions to satisfy, had to be in an even more terrible state.
She had provoked him twice when she was still injured. Apparently, while she was in a horrible state, she also wouldn’t let her opponent enjoy any peaceful days. Why was she so crazy?
Although they were mutually wounded in the last two fights, that didn’t mean they couldn’t still fight. However, if she kept doing this, their foundations would be damaged even though they were respectively a Royal Lord and a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
As he looked at the woman before his eyes, the image of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who was in command of Great Evolution Pass 30,000 years ago, sprang to his mind.
That person was equally mad; otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to drag the previous Royal Lord down with him even after suffering a severe wound due to a sneak attack.
It seemed that the Humans were indeed a horrifying Race.
These two most powerful Masters stared at each other from a distance. Although there wasn’t an exchange of words or moves, the silent pressure made the Black Ink Clan soldiers too terrified to say anything.
Gazing at the Old Ancestor, the Royal Lord asked, “What’s the point of doing all this?”
Although his question lacked any kind of context, the Old Ancestor understood what he meant.
He felt that since both of them were injured, they should recuperate on their own and let the subordinates fight with one another. The result would be dependent on their subordinates’ strength, and they shouldn’t interfere.
That would be fairer for both sides.
What was the point of her provoking the Royal Lord when she was still injured? They would just end up being mutually wounded again, and none of them would gain any advantage.
Upon hearing that, Xiao Xiao put on a smile, “Humans are weak, so we have no choice but to act a little crazy. As an Old Ancestor, I naturally have to put in more effort.”
Including this time, she had exchanged moves with the Royal Lord thrice, but it was the first time they had spoken to one another. The previous times, they directly clashed with one another without any attempt to communicate.
The reason she was even willing to talk to him was that the East-West Army was still on its way. If she could stall for time, it would be helpful for the Humans who were planning to attack.
As long as she was around, the Black Ink Clansmen, whose formation had been disrupted, wouldn’t be able to effectively reorganise themselves.
The Royal Lord lowered his gaze, “Since you know that Humans are weak, why don’t you pledge loyalty to the Black Ink Clan? The Humans are destined to be ruled by the Black Ink Clan one day. You’re one of the most powerful of the Humans, so I’m sure you’re aware of it.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao snorted, “Stop boasting shamelessly! What makes you think the Black Ink Clan will rule over the Humans one day? Since time immemorial, the Black Ink Clan has never been able to step out of the Black Ink Battlefield. As long as Humans still live, we will never let you succeed.”
The Royal Lord shook his head, “How obstinate!”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao refuted, “We can never see eye to eye.”
The Royal Lord stopped persuading her as he turned to look at the Human Warships that were sailing towards the Royal City from a distance. He then suggested by saying, “For today’s war, why don’t we watch from the sides and not interfere?”
Honestly, even though he could derive energy from his Black Ink Nest, he wasn’t willing to fight with her today.
That was because he hadn’t recovered. Although he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage by making use of the Black Ink Nest’s power, it would slow down his recovery considerably. Moreover, he didn’t have the confidence to kill this woman, so the end result would only be a massive loss of resources and more wounds on his body.
If he had the confidence to win, he would have directly made a move instead of talking to her.
Although they had only exchanged moves a few times, he had come to realise that she was a difficult opponent to deal with.
Upon hearing his suggestion, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shook her head, “No. Since I’m here, I’ll not watch the fight and do nothing.”
The Royal Lord snapped, “Don’t go too far!”
He had already conceded quite a bit to her by suggesting that they wouldn’t have a hand in the battle on this day; after all, before he left the Black Ink Nest, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had killed several tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen, including some Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
He had decided not to settle accounts with her over this insult, but this woman still wouldn’t agree to it.
That was the reason he was enraged.
The next instant, a puff of Black Ink Strength appeared beside Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. The Black Ink Strength turned into a contorted face as it howled in silence.
Although the howl was silent, it was as though it could penetrate a person’s mind and cause them to fall into a state of restlessness. Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would freeze for a moment after getting struck.
It was apparently the Royal Lord’s move.
The instant the strange Secret Technique was cast, the Royal Lord charged towards Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and pushed his palm.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao sneered, “You said we should just watch from the sides, but you didn’t hesitate to make a move. You’re indeed a typical Royal Lord, aren’t you?”
The Royal Lord snorted, “Since you’ve already turned me down, all that’s left to do is fight!”
This Royal Lord was a decisive person.
He wasn’t lying when he suggested that both of them should not interfere in the battle today. If Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had agreed to it, both of them would have kept their word.
For powerful beings like them, even a simple promise could affect their fates; hence, it wouldn’t do them any good if they broke their word.
However, the moment the Royal Lord was rejected by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, he directly cast his Secret Technique. It was apparent that he was well-prepared from the start.
Just like what he had said, since his suggestion was rejected, there was no choice but to fight.
As the two clashed, Che Kong and the other Territory Lords felt extremely frustrated, for the same scenario that happened 20 years ago repeated itself.
Back then, the two top Masters clashed with one another among the Black Ink Clan soldiers, causing many deaths and throwing their formation into disarray. As a result, they were at a huge disadvantage when they were forced to deal with the Human Army immediately after.
20 years later, things were playing out exactly the same way.
Fortunately, after the previous experience, the Territory Lords had come up with a plan to deal with this situation.
After ordering their subordinates to back off, the more powerful Black Ink Masters gathered together and charged the Old Ancestor in order to assist the Royal Lord.
Again, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao cast the Secret Technique that brought forth Yin and Yang from Chaos. The next instant, the void was covered with a giant Yin-Yang Fish.
Even with the help of this Secret Technique though, her momentum still appeared weaker than 20 years ago.
Only a moment had passed since the beginning of the battle, but she had already been struck several times and her World Force trembled as a result.
Fortunately, those strikes were from the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, which was still bearable for the Old Ancestor. If she had been struck by the Royal Lord, she would have fallen into a terrible state.
This sight confirmed the Royal Lord’s suspicions. This woman indeed hadn’t recovered; in fact, her injuries had worsened after she repeatedly provoked him.
As a result, she appeared weaker than she was previously.
On the other hand, even though the Royal Lord was also still wounded, he could make use of his Black Ink Nest to strengthen himself as long as he was still close to the Royal City. Moreover, most of the burden had been lifted off his shoulders as he had the help of many Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
After exchanging moves for a while, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao concluded that this couldn’t drag on, or her situation would grow increasingly perilous; therefore, she launched a feint before dashing out of the battlefield and heading towards the depths of the void.
The Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples stopped in their tracks, but after hesitating for a moment, the Royal Lord decided to pursue her.
He hesitated to give chase at first because his only real goal was to drive the Old Ancestor away. Since he had achieved this, he could just stay near the Royal City.
However, he knew that if he didn’t keep an eye on that woman, she might launch a sneak attack on his Army.
To be safe, he decided to tie her down. That was because he was certain that if he didn’t do that, this shameless woman would definitely target his subordinates who were guarding the right side of the Royal City.
When that happened, he would still have to confront her, so he figured it was better to just keep an eye on her from the start.
Despite knowing that the Old Ancestor was intentionally trying to lure him away from the Royal City so that he couldn’t derive energy from his Black Ink Nest, the Royal Lord had no other choice but to play along.
In such a situation, he had the confidence to suppress the other party even without his Black Ink Nest’s help; after all, he had the advantage regarding recuperation.
Nevertheless, he was annoyed by the woman who repeatedly provoked him. He decided that he would teach her a lesson this time even if he had to pay a steep price.
Che Kong let out a breath, for the two menaces had finally left.
With that said, the matter wasn’t over. The Human Army was still closing in on the Royal City. Although there wasn’t any anomaly on the right side of the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan knew that Universe Worlds had to be coming at them based on past experiences.
Therefore, the Black Ink Clansmen on both sides of the Royal City could only reorganise themselves and stay alert.
When the Humans were close enough to the Royal City half a day later, the battle broke out.
The Humans still used the same tactic. With the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ protection, the fleet of Warships turned into a long Dragon as the Warships flew in tight formation. Under Xiang Shan’s leadership, the Dragon freely flew around the battlefield.
The Black Ink Clan soldiers performed better than the previous time.
Che Kong had a talent for leading an Army, especially when it came to defence. Although the Black Ink Clan had suffered a setback previously, Che Kong racked his brain and finally came up with a way to resolve this tactic.
In fact, he had already thought of this solution before the previous battle ended; however, before he could organize his troops, the Humans had retreated. Despite having a solution, he was unable to destroy the Human Army.
This was a good chance for him. If Che Kong could use this method to destroy the Dragon formed from Warships, the Humans would be the ones who suffered a loss this time.
The solution he had come up with exploited the biggest shortcoming of this tactic that the Humans used.
Because the fleet of Warships was in such a close formation, all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to scatter around the periphery, thus serving as the Scales to provide the best protection.
Since they were scattered around though, they were unable to gather their strength together.
The Black Ink Clan just had to come together and target a particular spot of this Dragon in order to break up this formation. As long as a part of the Dragon was cut off, the fleet of Warships would no longer be able to sail smoothly across the battlefield.
Just as the Human Warships cut across the battlefield as the Dragon entrapped over 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen and slaughtered them, several Territory Lords and more than 10 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples secretly moved to one side of the fleet, using thick Black Ink Clouds to cover their tracks.
Soon, the violent attacks from about 20 powerful Masters burst forth in an instant and struck the Battalion-Class Warship closest to them.
A clean-cut woman was standing on the deck of the Battalion Class Warship, a razor-sharp sword in her hand. As she wielded her weapon, the Black Ink Clansmen around her were instantly killed.
She was the Great Evolution Western Army’s Second Division Commander Army, Shu Yin.
Despite being a woman, she was just as powerful as any man of the same Order.
The Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had stealthily approached her ship, and on such a chaotic battlefield, even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Shu Yin was unable to detect them until they attacked.
As she turned her head, she saw the Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering attacks coming right at her.
Generally speaking, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was more powerful than a Territory Lord, but there wouldn’t be a huge gap between them. At this moment, Shu Yin was faced with attacks from nearly 20 Masters in the same Realm as her. Although she had the Battalion Class Warship’s protection, she was unable to ward off such an assault.
The Warship being destroyed and all the people aboard being killed would be the only outcome possible, unless she immediately escaped. If she disregarded the lives of the Human soldiers aboard the Warship, she would stand a chance to survive.
A Territory Lord might run away if they found themselves in such a situation, but an Eighth-Order Master would never do that.
With that said, Shu Yin remained unperturbed. Faced with the fatal attacks, she stabbed her sword down and shouted, “Bind!”
However, the sword didn’t penetrate the deck; instead, it had mysteriously disappeared into the Void. As the sword dissipated, a Grand Array suddenly appeared beneath her feet. The Grand Array almost covered the entire deck as its patterns lit up.
At the same time, all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters aboard the Battalion Class Warships around the long Dragon seemed to have detected something and they promptly formed different hand seals as World Forces surged around them.
Grand Arrays with the same patterns as those aboard Shu Yin’s Warship illuminated these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
All these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters shouted, “Set!”
At that instant, dozens of these Battalion-Class Warships around the Dragon became linked to one another through a mysterious force.
With a dispassionate expression, Shu Yin stood at the bow of the Warship like a flag. Faced with the horrifying attacks from the enemies, she remained calm and collected.
As the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples watched in shock, the attacks, which should have reduced the Battalion Class Warship to dust and torn apart the Human formation, did not yield any meaningful results.
A brilliant light barrier condensed around Shu Yin’s Battalion Class Warship, one that appeared delicate, as though it would be shattered with a single touch; however, the moment the attacks struck the barrier, only a series of ripples were formed while the shield held strong.
Three breaths of time later, the impact of the attacks dissipated. Shu Yin’s Battalion Class Warship left along with the Dragon, leaving behind the puzzled Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples as they exchanged glances.
“A Grand Array!” An Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple suddenly said, “They used some kind of Grand Array to synchronize and link all the Warships of those Eighth-Order Masters together so they could share the burden of our attacks together.”
Another Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple lamented, “It seems that the Humans have invented some new things over the past 30,000 years.”
Before they were corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they had never heard that the Humans could use such a Grand Array; this was clearly invented after they became Black Ink Disciples.
The defensive strength of this Grand Array was all but impenetrable. Although some 20 Masters had joined forces, they still couldn’t break this shield. It seemed that only the Royal Lord would be able to achieve that.
The Battalion Class Warships of those Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters already served as the Dragon Scales of the fleet, capable of fending off most of the Black Ink Clan’s attacks independently. With such a Grand Array connecting them now, their defence had become even sturdier.
Faced with such a fleet of Warships, the Black Ink Clansmen had no idea what they could do.
“Stop dawdling and come up with a solution!” A Territory Lord harshly snapped at them. Although Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were fairly powerful, they were no different than slaves in front of these Territory Lords.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple who was the first to speak earlier bent his back, “Don’t worry about it, Sir. The more powerful the Array is, the more restrictions it has. If I’m not mistaken, those Eighth-Order Masters are no longer able to easily make a move after activating such a Spirit Array. In other words, they can only defend, but not attack.”
“Are you serious?” The Territory Lord’s eyes brightened when he heard that. In that case, it would be very good news to the Black Ink Clan as a lot of casualties on their side could be avoided. One had to know that those Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could easily kill a massive number of Black Ink Clansmen.
As the Territory Lord looked up, he saw that the Eighth-Order Masters were indeed standing on the decks without showing signs of making another move.
He reckoned that the Black Ink Disciple didn’t lie to him. It seemed that the Humans couldn’t have the cake and eat it too, as there was a serious drawback to this new Grand Array.