However, after Yang Kai cast the Soul Rending Thorn earlier, Che Kong was only momentarily affected and soon regained his composure.
Yang Kai didn’t think the other party was powerful enough to ignore the Soul Rending Thorn’s impact; after all, he had sacrificed quite a bit of his Soul to power that Soul Rending Thorn. Since it was also damaging to him, there was no way it wasn’t harmful to a Territory Lord.
Even though the Soul Rending Thorn wasn’t as effective in the outside world as it was inside the Black Ink Nest Space, it couldn’t be completely ineffective.
The only explanation was that Che Kong had used a Secret Technique to suppress the damage to his Soul.
The Black Ink Clan had suffered a huge setback because of the Soul Rending Thorns a while back, so they must have been vigilant against these strange artifacts now.
Since it was just a suppressed injury, it was easy for Yang Kai to target this weakness.
In the battle against Che Kong earlier, Yang Kai didn’t target his Soul at all. He hadn’t forgotten about it, but instead wanted to numb the other party’s sense of wariness.
When they were circling around Great Evolution Pass earlier, Cha Pu had sent a Divine Sense transmission and said that he could help, but Yang Kai had told him to wait.
Cha Pu was badly wounded, so even if he made a move at that point, it wouldn’t have been impactful.
Only after Yang Kai destroyed Che Kong’s Black Ink Nest would there be an opening for Cha Pu to make a move.
A sneak attack from a heavily wounded Eighth-Order Master might not be enough to kill Che Kong, but what about a series of attacks on his Soul?
At this moment, Yang Kai could clearly feel that Che Kong’s Soul was being shredded.
The Soul of a top Territory Lord was just as powerful as any Eighth-Order Master.
Although Yang Kai’s Soul was essentially on par with an Eighth-Order Master’s, his current actions would only lead to mutually assured death under normal circumstances. No one could gain the upper hand in such a fight.
Nevertheless, it was different now. After their Divine Senses clashed several times, Che Kong was clearly in a disadvantageous position. He kept roaring in pain while his gigantic body trembled.
He could no longer even exert enough force with his hand to hold Yang Kai in place. It was apparent that the damage to his Soul that he had been suppressing finally broke out and the Soul Rending Thorn was madly digging in.
Yang Kai didn’t bother to shake off the other party’s grasp as he just continued to pummel Che Kong with his Spiritual Energy. The invisible force exploded in Che Kong’s head, causing his seven orifices to bleed.
“Just die already!” Yang Kai roared and exerted more force with his Dragon Claws before pulling Che Kong’s arms off, causing blood to spurt out from the fresh wounds.
Che Kong howled and staggered backwards. While his vision had turned blurred, he saw Yang Kai charging towards him and was consumed with fear.
He didn’t panic when the Royal Lord Black Ink Nest was destroyed, but now that his life was at risk, he could no longer keep his cool.
The instant he felt the murderous intent flooding through him, his mind became a mess and he couldn’t summon his strength at all. He turned around and attempted to flee.
The void around Che Kong became viscous all of a sudden as Yang Kai raised his hands and two marks appeared. The powers of Blue and Yellow Crystals were drawn from his Small Universe as they gathered together between his palms and turned into the purest white light.
All the surrounding darkness was driven off.
Before the war began, all of the Seventh-Order Masters had received a certain amount of Evil Purging Divine Spears, including those from Dawn.
However, Yang Kai received none of those.
Evil Purging Divine Spears damaged and killed Black Ink Clansmen with Purifying Light, but Yang Kai was the one who sealed all the Purifying Light inside the Evil Purging Divine Spears, which was why he didn’t need any for himself.
If he wanted to deal with the Black Ink Clan, he could just directly activate Purifying Light.
When he arrived at Blue Sky Pass after escaping from the Black Ink Clan’s territory back then, he had used Purifying Light on a wounded Territory Lord. After that, he had not openly shown the white light in front of any Black Ink Clansmen again for the past several hundred years.
It wasn’t that he did not want to, but that he had been warned not to.
A long time ago, Zhong Liang had told him not to activate Purifying Light in public. At that time, Zhong Liang explained that this power was the best weapon against the Black Ink Clan; however, Yang Kai was still too weak. If this power was revealed too soon, he would surely be targeted by the Black Ink Clan.
Zhong Liang even wanted him to stay in Blue Sky Pass and never enter the battlefield, but Yang Kai soon snuck out of the Great Pass to join the fight.
Now, it seemed that those at the top were already getting prepared for the crusade back then.
Purifying Light was a secret weapon that could catch the Black Ink Clan off guard during the crusade.
Now that the Evil Purging Divine Spears proved to be a great success, Yang Kai no longer needed to hide his ability to use Purifying Light.
The bright light soon engulfed Che Kong. If he were still at the peak of his power, he could have dodged it easily; however, his Soul had been damaged and he couldn’t think straight, so it was too late when he realized he was in danger.
The pure white light cast the darkness away and covered a large area in the void, including Che Kong.
The thick Black Ink Strength seemed to have come across its arch nemesis, and as it clashed with the pure light, it was rapidly vaporized.
On the other hand, Che Kong seemed to be going through the most horrible torture imaginable as he screamed in agony, his facial features contorting uncontrollably.
In the blink of an eye, this powerful Territory Lord looked like a dilapidated house as a large amount of Purifying Light entered his body through his pores and seven orifices and eroded the source of his power.
Che Kong had never expected that he would one day be invaded by a corrosive power just like the Humans had suffered for so long.
This was no different from the Black Ink Strength’s effects on Humans.
While Che Kong’s energy was in a mess, Yang Kai reached him and fiercely thrust his spear through his opponent’s head.
Yang Kai had channelled all his strength into the weapon and, with a clever use of Space Principles, the spear ignored any form of distance and directly penetrated Che Kong’s head.
Yang Kai’s World Force exploded, and before Che Kong could even think about defending himself, his head exploded.
Swinging his spear down, Yang Kai cut the other party’s body in half, finally causing the Territory Lord’s aura to dissipate and vanish. He had managed to kill a Territory Lord.
Moreover, Che Kong wasn’t just any Territory Lord, he was one of the most powerful Territory Lords. The Territory Lord that Yang Kai and Bai Yi had joined forces to kill all those years back wasn’t even comparable.
Blood mist spread out as thick Black Ink Strength exploded and turned into a sea of darkness. The undulations were more violent than when Yang Kai destroyed those Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests.
However, the sea of darkness was soon wiped away by the Purifying Light.
The bright light contracted soon after and left Yang Kai standing in the void all on his own with the spear in hand. His entire figure was soaked in blood and his murderous intent still hadn’t subsided.
All the soldiers in Great Evolution Pass stared intently at him.
They had watched the life-and-death battle from start to finish, and although Yang Kai had made use of Great Evolution Pass’ power and Cha Pu had made a move to shock the enemy, Yang Kai still pulled off a stunning feat by killing a powerful Territory Lord despite being just a Seventh-Order Master.
There was never such a brave and fearless Black Ink Clansman. Only the Humans could succeed at defeating enemies stronger than themselves in one-on-one battles.
All the soldiers in Great Evolution Pass broke into a fit of cheers and even more attacks soon sent out to the rest of the battlefield.
“Che Kong is dead…”
Initially, Yang Kai wanted to loudly announce Che Kong’s death to boost the Humans’ morale, but right after Che Kong’s demise, an even more powerful aura swelled up like a final blaze of glory.
Following that, the Royal Lord roared, “You think you’ve won just by killing this King? The Human Race will forever be our slaves! That day will surely come! Black Ink Eternal!”
On the battlefield, both the Humans and the Black Ink Clansmen turned to look at the source of the voice.
In fact, they couldn’t see anything because the battlefield was too chaotic, especially in the region where Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Mo Zhao had fought. The moment these eyes turned to look at the battle, all they could see was an endless region of darkness explode all of a sudden.
At the same time, the Royal Lord’s aura vanished.
Mo Zhao was dead!
It wasn’t the first time the Humans managed to kill a Royal Lord in history, but Mo Zhao’s death had a profound impact on the Great Evolution Theatre. It meant the end of an era, and the arrival of another.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shot out from the cloud of darkness, and despite her petite figure, she appeared incredibly imposing against the weltering darkness.
There were blood stains on her clothes, and her face was slightly pale.
Although she had successfully killed the Royal Lord, she was also wounded. When the Royal Lord was still able to draw energy from his Black Ink Nest in the beginning, they could be considered equally matched.
The reason she could kill Mo Zhao so quickly was that his Black Ink Nest had been smashed.
Mo Zhao was badly wounded to begin with, and without his Black Ink Nest’s support, his strength instantly plummeted.
Even in such a condition though, he couldn’t be considered a weakling. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao couldn’t kill him without suffering wounds in the process.
However, she didn’t have time to recuperate at this moment. After killing Mo Zhao, she headed straight towards the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
She had not forgotten that there was still a powerful foe on the battlefield. Only by killing him could the Humans seize victory in this war. If such an enemy managed to flee, there wouldn’t be any peaceful days for the Great Evolution Army.
The Black Ink Disciple was initially bogged down by six Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; however, after a prolonged fight, only five of them remained as one had been killed.
The fallen Eighth-Order Division Commander had already been seriously injured to begin with, so when the Royal Lord was in a perilous situation earlier, the Black Ink Disciple flared up in an attempt to save Mo Zhao. It was that Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who sacrificed his life to stop him from leaving the fight.
Although the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple managed to kill the Eighth-Order Division Commander, the latter’s sacrifice bought enough time for the other five to re-engage.
After such a long time, the Black Ink Disciple and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were all exhausted and wounded. With five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters joining forces, it wasn’t easy for the Black Ink Disciple to break through their siege.
That was why the deadlock persisted.
Nevertheless, the instant Mo Zhao passed away, this Black Ink Disciple knew he was doomed.
He had just broken through recently, so he was certainly not Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s match. Although the Old Ancestor was wounded and exhausted, he wasn’t in any better shape.
Therefore, the moment Mo Zhao fell, this Black Ink Disciple grit his teeth as a red light radiated from him and his Blood Essence surged.
He started burning his own Blood Essence and the ferocity with which he wielded his sword increased sharply.
All five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were taken aback; however, one of them charged forward instead of backing down. A red light also shone from his body as it seemed that he was determined to make the enemy remain even at the cost of his life.
The Black Ink Disciple wasn’t the only one who could burn his Blood Essence. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could also do that.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao knew that they couldn’t let this Black Ink Disciple flee, and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were also aware of that.
However, there was a huge price to pay to stop a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple who was determined to flee.
Although five of them had joined forces, four of them retreated at this moment while the remaining one dashed forward.
Those who backed down sported sorrowful expressions.
As the sword light subsided, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master lost his life.
“Bastard!” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao roared. The Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple killed an Eighth-Order Master right in front of her, so she had a good reason to be enraged.
From a distance, she pushed out her palm and struck the Black Ink Disciple’s back, causing him to cough up blood.
At the same time, the surviving four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters surged their World Force and charged towards the enemy.
As the Secret Techniques landed, the Black Ink Disciple was tossed about like a rag before exploding into pieces.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were startled for a moment, but before they could celebrate their victory, the pieces of flesh all turned into sword waves and penetrated their defence before gathering together in a place that was several hundred thousand kilometres away.
In the blink of an eye, the sword waves condensed into the Black Ink Disciple’s figure; however, his aura was much weaker than before, and his face was pale.
“Gathering Ten Thousand Sword Body!” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao sported a solemn expression as she directly identified the Black Ink Disciple’s Secret Technique.
Great Evolution Paradise was destroyed 30,000 years ago, but just like any of the 72 Paradises, they had their unique Secret Techniques.
Gathering Ten Thousand Sword Body was one such technique. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might not be aware of it, but Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was someone who had lived long enough to witness what had happened back then. Certainly, she knew of this Secret Technique.
Even in the Cave Heavens and Paradises, not everyone was allowed to cultivate this kind of Secret Techniques. Only the brightest talents with exceptional aptitudes were able to comprehend and master them.
Since this Black Ink Disciple was able to master Gathering Ten Thousand Sword Body, it showed that he had an outstanding aptitude. If not, he wouldn’t have ascended to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm after being corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
Gathering Ten Thousand Sword Body was an extremely powerful Secret Technique and it was rumoured that when a person had fully mastered it, they could transform themselves into 10,000 Swords Waves and slash out at the world around them.
The reason the Black Ink Disciple had used this Secret Technique, however, wasn’t to kill, but to escape.
Mo Zhao was killed, so Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was able to deal with him now. If he did not escape, he would certainly perish as well.
After his figure took shape, the Black Ink Disciple turned into a sword light and madly broke through the battlefield with his indestructible Sword Qi. Wherever the sword light went, the powerless Human soldiers directly exploded into blood mists. Even Warships were cut in half by the sword light.
Although Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao gave chase, she was unable to catch up quickly.
As time passed, the Black Ink Disciple’s lead would surely shrink and the Old Ancestor would be able to pin him down, but for the moment, he was unstoppable.
“Dodge him!” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao ordered.
However, the Humans in the way might not be able to run away.
The next instant, the colour drained from Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s face as she roared, “I’ll let you off if you spare his life! But if you dare to kill him, I’ll hunt you down and rip you to pieces slowly no matter how long it takes!”
Right after the Old Ancestor shouted, Yang Kai, who was still ecstatic over having just killed Che Kong, felt his skin tightening and a crawling sensation on his scalp.
At this moment, he was planning to lend the Old Turtles a hand.
With the help of their custom Warship’s power, the Old Turtle Squad had trapped a Territory Lord. It wasn’t clear what was going on inside the barrier, but Yang Kai was still worried.
If the Territory Lord was pushed into a corner, the Old Turtles might not survive.
Nevertheless, before he could move, Yang Kai felt a ferocious aura locking onto him. The owner of the aura was so powerful that even Che Kong paled in comparison.
It was the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple!
Yang Kai had never expected that the Black Ink Disciple would charge towards him after breaking the siege, and judging from the Black Ink Disciple’s actions, it was apparent that this was an intentional move.
The battlefield was vast, and there were still a lot of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were tangled up in battles against the Territory Lords. If this Black Ink Disciple wanted to kill some Eighth-Order Masters at this point, he could easily do so.
Nonetheless, he didn’t target any of the Eighth-Order Masters and instead set his sights on the Seventh-Order Human named Yang Kai.
Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t believe that the other party wasn’t doing this intentionally.
Had the Purifying Light caught his attention? The Black Ink Disciple must have realised that Yang Kai was the source of the Purifying Light.
Therefore, even though he was currently running for his life, he was still determined to end Yang Kai’s life.
The moment the Black Ink Disciple heard Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shouting at him from afar, he hesitated for a moment, but soon he became determined and flew at Yang Kai with even greater speed.
The Old Ancestor’s action suggested that his judgement was right; this Seventh-Order brat must be important to the Human Race.
This kind of chance was hard to come by, so he had to contribute by killing Yang Kai.
Seeing this, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was infuriated and hastened her pace. However, the Black Ink Disciple had turned into a sword light so he temporarily had the advantage in speed. The Old Ancestor was unable to catch up in time, so she shouted at Yang Kai, “Run!”
In the closest battle against a Territory Lord to Yang Kai, an Eighth-Order Master had gained the upper hand after a prolonged struggle. The Territory Lord kept coughing up blood and was almost powerless to counterattack.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had the confidence to kill this Territory Lord within an incense stick.
However, at this moment, he directly gave up the Military Merits he would soon acquire and darted towards Yang Kai without feeling concerned that he was facing away from the Territory Lord.
Fortunately, the Territory Lord just wanted to run for his life after escaping from death’s door and didn’t have the intention to launch an attack.
On this chaotic battlefield, a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s murderous intent was raging while an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master tried to come to the rescue.
Yang Kai slowly put away his Azure Dragon Spear. When he was targeted by the Black Ink Disciple’s aura earlier, he was flustered at first, but at this moment, he had regained his composure.
He didn’t intend to run away.
Since he had been locked onto by the Black Ink Disciple’s aura, there was no way he could use Instantaneous Movement as the moment he manipulated Space Principles, the other party could disturb the Void and force him to remain.
It was unrealistic to rely on the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to save him either. Even though he was nearest to Yang Kai and he had immediately come to the rescue, he wasn’t as fast as the Black Ink Disciple. The Black Ink Disciple would most likely kill Yang Kai before the Eighth-Order Division Commander arrived.
In such a critical situation, Yang Kai could only save himself.
The average Seventh-Order Master would be doomed if he was targeted by such an enemy; however, Yang Kai believed that he could survive. After all, he possessed a powerful Dragon Vein, so his body was much sturdier than the average Seventh-Order Human.
The other party might not achieve his goal if he underestimated Yang Kai.
Seeing that Yang Kai didn’t move away, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao widened her eyes. With that said, she knew that Yang Kai probably wasn’t able to escape, so she could only quicken her speed. For that reason, she even started burning her Blood Essence so that she could intercept the Black Ink Disciple before he made a move.
The Black Ink Disciple had clearly detected the Old Ancestor’s aura surge from behind, but he remained unfazed. The bright sword light left a trail in the void as he crossed a million kilometres in the blink of an eye. His speed wasn’t any slower than Yang Kai’s Instantaneous Movement.
Although Yang Kai didn’t seem to move a muscle at all, he activated his Dragon Vein the instant he felt the sword light prickling his skin.
His Dragon Vein undulated in his body like a surging ocean as thick Dragon Scales appeared and covered his entire figure, including his face.
He was ready to use his Ancient Dragon Form to fend off the attack.
By doing so, his defence would be much stronger than in his Human Form. The other party wasn’t at their peak, so he might not be able to kill Yang Kai with one slash.
As long as Yang Kai could survive the initial hit, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao could intercept the Black Ink Disciple and kill him.
Just as Yang Kai was preparing to transform into an Ancient Dragon, his eyes flashed all of a sudden. He gave up on his original plan and slowly pushed out his fist.
The attack was slow and seemingly light. Even a three-year-old kid could dodge such a blow with ease, but the instant he extended his fist, Space Principles undulated violently together with his World Force.
Cow Punch!
If the other party was a Royal Lord, Yang Kai might not have had any way to fight back; however, since this person was a Black Ink Disciple, he didn’t mind giving him an unpleasant surprise.
Since he developed his Cow Punch Secret Technique, it had helped Yang Kai against many opponents in higher realms, allowing him to defeat enemies who were much stronger than he was. When he was still a Sixth-Order Master back then, he was able to deal with Blood Crow in the Shattered Heaven. Outside of Great Evolution Pass a while back, he was even able to defeat an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple. It was all thanks to his Cow Punch Secret Technique.
Although Cow Punch was incredibly effective, it had a serious constraint. It would take Yang Kai a long time to trace the other party’s aura back to its source, and the length of time was uncertain, depending on the integrity of the enemy’s Small Universe. If their Small Universe was sturdy and well-guarded, Yang Kai would probably die before he had a chance to use this Secret Technique.
With that said, he hadn’t come across an opponent with a Small Universe who could make him unable to use Cow Punch so far.
Regardless of how robust an Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe was, they had to draw out World Force in order to attack, defend, or even move. For that reason, Yang Kai would always have a chance to trace the opponent’s power back to its source.
When the Black Ink Disciple made a move just now, Yang Kai instantly realised he was able to trace the opponent’s World Force back to his Small Universe with ease.
This came as a shock to him and was the reason he gave up on his original plan and decided to use Cow Punch instead.
He wasn’t sure if this Secret Technique was effective on a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, but he wasn’t willing to just wait for death or bet everything on not dying to the other party’s attack.
It wouldn’t have mattered if there wasn’t a chance, but since the chance had presented itself, he had to fight back even if he might lose his life. Since time immemorial, countless Humans on the Black Ink Battlefield had sacrificed their lives to prevent the 3,000 Worlds from being destroyed.
That was also the reason Yang Kai didn’t immediately turn into an Ancient Dragon. Although his defence would be stronger being an Ancient Dragon, it would be harder for him to use his Cow Punch.
Only in his familiar Human Form could he fully unleash this Secret Technique’s power.
The next instant, Yang Kai’s entire figure shook as all his Dragon Scales fell apart and half of his body turned numb. Following that, he felt a sharp pain in his Knowledge Sea. At the same time, his Small Universe was cut across by an immense force.
A huge crack instantly appeared above the sky in his Small Universe.
At that instant, Yang Kai’s body, Soul, and Small Universe were struck at the same time.
There was no denying that the Black Ink Disciple’s attack was horrifying.
Yang Kai really felt like he was dying. His mind was a mess, his vision had turned dark, and he couldn’t even support his own weight.
He was no longer able to perceive the outside world or even his Small Universe’s condition.
This was a terrible feeling he had gone through before.
He couldn’t help but recall the moment when his body was destroyed by Great Demon God Mo Sheng back in the Star Boundary.
That was the exact feeling that he was going through at that moment.
Yang Kai was ‘killed’ in the final battle against the Great Demon God Mo Sheng. It was thanks to the Immortal Tree that he was able to rebuild his body and return from the dead.
If he was killed this time though, there wouldn’t be another Immortal Tree for him to refine. He would be gone for good.
Right after he sent out his Cow Punch Secret Technique, the sword light that had slashed across him started shaking violently, as though it had been struck by an immense force. Following that, the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple separated from the sword light and collapsed.
At this moment, he sported a horrified expression. His World Force and his Black Ink Strength had become incredibly unstable.
Even the sarcomas on his body started swelling and exploded, causing the black pus to scatter everywhere.
His robust restorative power quickly healed the sarcomas, but they soon exploded again, creating a kind of gruesome cycle.
The Black Ink Disciple seemed to be going through excruciating pain.
A dark illusory phantom of his Small Universe appeared behind the Black Ink Disciple. As someone in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, there was no denying that his Small Universe was vast and magnificent. His ample World Force suggested that he indeed had the heritage of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm; however, his Small Universe seemed to be in chaos right now.
The entire Small Universe seemed to be enduring a violent storm and on the verge of collapse, with the balance of the Seven Elements in a complete mess.
Seeing that, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who was rushing over to save Yang Kai, became startled.
The Humans and the Black Ink Clansmen around them were perplexed as well.
Soon, the cycle of the Five Elements in the Black Ink Disciple’s Small Universe broke with Yin and Yang descending into chaos.
“No!” The sarcomas on the Black Ink Disciple’s body continued to explode and his expression twisted in disbelief and despair. He couldn’t believe that instead of being killed by the Old Ancestor, or even an Eighth-Order powerhouse, his life was ended by a mere Seventh-Order brat’s punch.
If he knew this would be the outcome, he wouldn’t have sent himself to Hell. If he had run away the moment Mo Zhao passed away, he would have stood a chance to escape.
He blamed himself for being too greedy as he wanted to kill Yang Kai before he left.
While he roared in agony, the illusory phantom behind him could no longer remain stable. The entire Small Universe looked like a weathered shack with holes in the walls and roof out of which his abundant World Force and rich Black Ink Strength leaked.
As his strength dissipated and his aura plunged rapidly. In the blink of an eye, his aura dropped to the Eighth Order. Following that, he plunged to the Seventh Order, and then he was dead.
This person had made use of Black Ink Strength to break through his own innate limits and ascend to the Ninth Order; therefore, his Small Universe couldn’t actually bear Ninth-Order might. Once punctured, his Small Universe could not maintain integrity which caused his aura to drop to the Seventh Order before the extreme stress finally caused a complete collapse.
The Black Ink Disciple’s face withered all of a sudden, and his originally black hair turned grey. As a violent force swept across him, all his hair fell off.
His body dried up, and all his vitality faded. He was originally a powerful Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, but he had turned into a desiccated corpse in a short moment.
His dead body was not even able to bear Seventh-Order World Force and under the eyes of the Humans and the Black Ink Clansmen alike, he exploded into dust.
The Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple could not be more dead.
A tremendous force swept across the place as Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao swiftly arrived in front of the dazed Yang Kai. She waved her hand and fended off all the repercussions for him.
The Eighth-Order Division Commander, who was ready to assist, was still dumbstruck, unable to believe his eyes. [What did I just see? Did Yang Kai casually throw out his fist and kill a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple?]
Although the person was a Black Ink Disciple, he was still a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, not a First-Order or Second-Order one.
Even if the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had been the target of such a Master instead, he wouldn’t have been able to counterattack. How did Yang Kai, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, achieve this?
Was it because the Black Ink Disciple was on his last legs? It didn’t seem like that was the case as his imposing attack earlier suggested that he still had the strength to fight.
Although the Black Ink Disciple was clearly badly wounded, no one could underestimate his power, so how did Yang Kai manage to kill him?
Unable to figure out the reason behind it, this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master fell into a daze.
On the other hand, after giving it some thought, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao soon realised what had happened. In fact, she too was astonished to see Yang Kai killing a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple with just a light punch. Nevertheless, she soon understood the whole chain of events.
Previously, the Black Ink Disciple made a move to kill some Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters following Mo Zhao’s order. Unfortunately, the Humans already had some arrangements. Five Eighth-Order Masters appeared from their hiding place and joined forces with an injured Eighth-Order Division Commander to engage in a life-and-death battle with the Black Ink Disciple.
During the intense battle, the Black Ink Disciple managed to kill an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and after Mo Zhao’s death, he killed another one while attempting to flee.
In other words, two Eighth-Order Masters had lost their lives because of him.
Despite just breaking through to the Ninth Order, this Black Ink Disciple was able to fight with six Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on his own and even killed two of them in a short time, which went to show how powerful he was.
With that said, he had to pay a huge price for these results and was badly wounded during the fight.
The second Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who passed away had even burned his Blood Essence to stop him from fleeing. Even though the Black Ink Disciple killed him on the spot, he was still held down for a moment, which gave Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao a chance to hit him with her palm strike from a distance, causing him to spit blood.
That palm strike wasn’t just an ordinary attack though; it was a Secret Technique that targeted an enemy’s Small Universe.
All the Cave Heavens and Paradises had at least one such Secret Technique that had varying degrees of effect. The fundamental source of an Open Heaven Realm Master’s power was their Small Universe, so these sorts of Secret Techniques were extremely powerful. If one’s Small Universe wasn’t sturdy enough, it would most likely be shaken if hit by such a technique, not to mention it was Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao who had acted this time.
This kind of Secret Technique was useless on Mo Zhao as the Black Ink Clan physiology was different from that of Humans. They didn’t have Small Universes, so the Secret Technique was harmless to them.
However, when dealing with a Black Ink Disciple, this type of Secret Technique was especially lethal.
The Old Ancestor’s attack had caused the Black Ink Disciple’s Small Universe to descend into chaos and brought it to the brink of collapse.
While running away, the Black Ink Disciple made a move to attack Yang Kai with his sword light, but it never crossed his mind that Yang Kai would seize the chance and use his Cow Punch.
It could be said that without the Old Ancestor’s attack which broke holes in the Black Ink Disciple’s Small Universe, Yang Kai couldn’t have immediately found an opening to strike at.
It was thanks to the Old Ancestor’s attack from afar that the Black Ink Disciple’s Small Universe was exposed.
Yang Kai had developed Cow Punch based on his mastery over the Dao of Space and it was the very pinnacle of Secret Techniques that targeted an enemy’s Small Universe, superior to any technique the Cave Heavens and Paradises possessed.
His all-out attack was just enough to be the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
Of course, it also had something to do with the fact that the other party was a Black Ink Disciple.
If the other party had been a true Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, with a firm and robust Small Universe, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to kill him even if he managed to land his Cow Punch.
It could be said that many reasons and coincidences came together to allow a Seventh-Order Master like Yang Kai to kill a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
However, at this moment, Yang Kai didn’t even know what he had done. His mind was still a mess, and the Sword Qi was still eating away at his body and Soul.
It was only a while later that the Sword Qi was dispersed from his Soul, allowing Yang Kai to regain his senses, though his head was in so much pain that he felt like he was dying.
At the most critical moment, the Soul Warming Lotus had once again saved him from certain death.
All of a sudden, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was heard announcing, “Yang Kai has killed the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple! The Black Ink Clan is destined to die!”
It wasn’t that the Old Ancestor wanted to give him credit by proclaiming his contribution at this point, she just wanted to shatter what remained of the Black Ink Clan’s morale.
Mo Zhao and the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple were dead, so the Black Ink Clan was leaderless and unable to resist the Humans any longer.
After Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao made the announcement, she tossed Yang Kai at the Eighth-Order Division Commander and ordered, “Send him back to the Pass.”
The next instant, she charged towards the Old Turtles.
The Old Turtle Squad had sealed off a large area of void through their Warship’s unique Arrays, but given the Old Ancestor’s eyesight, she could clearly see the situation within.
At this moment, 10 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Old Turtles were locked in an intense battle with a Territory Lord with support from the rest of their Squad, but all of them were injured. Of course, the Territory Lord wasn’t in good shape either.
It had come to a point where there was no turning back for both parties, unless the Old Turtles were willing to open up the barrier.
Since they had no idea what was going on in the outside world, they wouldn’t dare to open up the barrier. There were bound to be some people who would lose their lives soon.
The moment Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao arrived, she extended her hands and tore the barrier apart. As her World Force surged, she condensed a giant hand from it and grasped the Territory Lord before clenching her fist.
All of the wounded Territory Lord’s bones were crushed in an instant, leaving him more than half-dead.
Having done enough, the Old Ancestor tossed the barely breathing Territory Lord to the Old Turtles before flying towards her next target.
Now that both the Royal Lord and the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple were dead, there was no one capable of matching her on the battlefield. It was the best time for her to deal the death blow to the remaining Black Ink Clansmen.
Chai Fang and his Squad members were going all out and were prepared to sacrifice themselves to kill the Territory Lord when their opponent was suddenly crippled by the Old Ancestor. After a moment of astonishment, they broke into a state of ecstasy, “The Old Ancestor is peerless! The Old Ancestor is the most powerful!”
All the Old Turtle Squad members started cheering as their morale soared.
Since the Old Ancestor had arrived to lend them a hand, it was apparent that the Royal Lord was dead. Previously, they had been tangled up in a battle with the Territory Lord within the barrier, so they were unaware of what was going on in the outside world.
While they were shouting, Chai Fang pushed out his fist and smashed the Territory Lord to pieces. The opponent’s vitality soon dissipated. He was really dead now.
Chai Fang guffawed, for he had also killed a Territory Lord now.
He had been envious of Yang Kai who had killed Territory Lords before; however, being less powerful, he was unable to replicate this feat. Therefore, he was ecstatic about having his wish granted now.
Although it was largely thanks to the Old Ancestor’s help, he was the one who dealt the final blow.
All the Old Turtles were elated as well.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was still in a dazed state. First of all, he had become sluggish after he was badly wounded. Secondly, he was astounded by the Old Ancestor’s words earlier.
He silently digested it and turned to look at the Eighth-Order Master, who had been supporting his weight and bringing him to Great Evolution Pass, “Old Liu, what did the Old Ancestor say just now?”
He suspected that he had misheard it. Was he really the one who killed the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple?
There were only several dozen Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Great Evolution Pass, so Yang Kai could recognise all of them. Therefore, he was grateful that this Eighth-Order Master had immediately tried to come to his rescue earlier, even though the latter didn’t manage to arrive in time.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Liu smiled, “Don’t you know what you did?”
Yang Kai thought that he certainly knew that, but he had no idea what happened after he pushed out his fist. He thought he was dead, so it surprised him that he had survived; moreover, he was astounded by the Old Ancestor’s words.
Both nervous and expectant, he asked, “Old Liu, did I really kill the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple?”
Old Liu chuckled, “It’s a lot of Military Merits. Why would the Old Ancestor joke about it? Yes, you killed the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple with a punch!”
Yang Kai gulped, [I’ve killed someone in the Ninth Order with a punch!?]
Even though the Ninth-Order Master was a Black Ink Disciple and severely wounded, he was still an extremely powerful being.
Yang Kai still couldn’t believe that he had ended the life of someone in the Ninth Order.
Since his arrival at the Black Ink Battlefield, he had killed quite a number of Territory Lords; however, he didn’t even have the qualifications to stand before Masters like the Royal Lords or a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple. But now, he had managed to kill an enemy in the Ninth Order.
Yang Kai grinned as he wanted to guffaw, but his action irritated his wounds, especially the one on his abdomen which was caused by the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple. Golden Blood spurt from various places all over his body.
Old Liu took a look at the sword wound and said, “Recuperate with peace of mind when you go back to Great Evolution Pass. It might be difficult to treat your wound.”
After all, it was an attack from someone in the Ninth Order. At this moment, there was a big cut that ran from Yang Kai’s shoulder to his abdomen. His flesh had rolled up, which revealed the golden bones in his body.
Horrifying Sword Qi still lingered around the cut and eroded his flesh.
Despite having incredible restorative abilities as a 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon, this wound wouldn’t just heal by itself like most others.
Beyond just the visible wound, there were a lot of hidden injuries as well. In fact, Old Liu was surprised that Yang Kai had survived the attack at all.
As they spoke, they arrived at Great Evolution Pass. The barrier opened up, and Old Liu set him down on the wall as the soldiers in the Pass watched them with admiration and respect. Old Liu said with a smile, “Get some rest and watch us kill all those bastards.”
Young people like Yang Kai had done a lot, so the older generation couldn’t fall behind on the battlefield.
After finishing his words, Old Liu returned to the fight.
Yang Kai didn’t protest. In fact, he had lost all combat strength now and would only be a burden if he insisted on returning to the battlefield.
It was a shame that he was unable to fight until the end of the war, but the joy of killing a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple soothed his dejectedness.
Noticing the admiring stares around him, Yang Kai wore a faint smile while warning himself to be low-profile instead of showing off. It was pure luck he was able to kill the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, not a result of his own hard work and effort. Nevertheless, he could hardly contain his excitement.
Soon, Yang Kai managed to figure out how the Black Ink Disciple died. The Black Ink Disciple really could only blame himself for being unlucky. He had made the wrong decision by targeting Yang Kai instead of just fleeing. In fact, he would have dealt significant damage had he just set his eyes on the Eighth-Order Masters instead.
Then, Yang Kai turned to look at the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master beside him and smiled modestly. After a nod, he called out, “Senior Cha.”
The person seated beside him was none other than Cha Pu.
When the Division Commander saw Yang Kai’s expression, the corners of his brow twitched as he muttered, “Just laugh to your heart’s content if you want.”
While Yang Kai was still drowned in the joy of killing a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, this Division Commander was understandably frustrated.
This couldn’t be helped, as he had hardly participated in this final battle.
As a veteran Eighth-Order Master, he should have been charging around the battlefield and slaughtering the enemy instead of nursing his wounds inside Great Evolution Pass.
However, there was nothing he could do. Just like Yang Kai, he had lost the strength to fight.
Previously, when the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters simultaneously used the Evil Purging Divine Spears, he had done the same. However, he didn’t manage to achieve anything because his opponent was the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
At that time, Cha Pu thought that the other party was unusually powerful as the latter was able to dodge the Evil Purging Divine Spear, but he didn’t read too much into it. It wasn’t until the other party revealed his Ninth-Order aura that Cha Pu realised why he felt a sense of incongruity.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Disciple’s target was the Old Ancestor, so the moment he flared up, his attack was aimed at the Old Ancestor. Despite that, Cha Pu was still wounded and almost lost his life.
It was thanks to Yang Kai who arrived just in time and saved him from the calamity before sending him back to Great Evolution Pass that he was still alive.
After that, to launch a sneak attack on Che Kong, Cha Pu forcefully suppressed his injuries and made a move. Unfortunately, this exasperated his wounds and he was forced to withdraw. After the enemy was killed by Yang Kai, Cha Pu could only drag himself back to Great Evolution Pass and recuperate.
In other words, he hadn’t killed a single Territory Lord in the entire battle.
He was one of the most powerful and experienced Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had made tremendous contributions in the previous wars; however, things just didn’t go well for him this time.
It wouldn’t have mattered if there was no comparison, but after Yang Kai made such huge contributions, it was expected that Cha Pu was frustrated. He would rather have been killed on the battlefield than been forced to sit idly here and watch.
“Senior Cha…”
“Don’t!”
Yang Kai was rendered speechless.
It seemed that Cha Pu was in a terrible mood. Yang Kai initially wanted to ask him about his injury, but he could only keep his mouth shut now.
Yang Kai then turned his head and saw that the Black Ink Clansmen were thoroughly routed now. All the Territory Lords and Feudal Lords were running for their lives and wherever the Old Ancestor went, she slaughtered all the enemies around her. Even the Territory Lords were dying at a steady rate.
There was no doubt that the Humans had won the war.
The Old Ancestor was basically peerless as there were no more powerful enemies on the battlefield. None of the Territory Lords could survive once she set her eyes on them and within just a few breaths, she had managed to kill five of them.
The Human Race was victorious!
Now, they just had to mop up the rest. There were still about 300,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers, including a number of Territory Lords and Feudal Lords. Hence, it wouldn’t be easy to wipe them all out and it was likely that some of them would manage to flee.
It was difficult for the Humans to chase after them. After such a prolonged fight, while many Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives, the Humans had suffered immense losses as well. Those who survived were all soaked in blood and thoroughly exhausted.
Now, the Humans could only seize the chance to kill as many enemies as possible.
Yang Kai saw Dawn, the Profound Wind Squad, several powerful Army Commanders, and a lot of other familiar faces.
However, Huang Si Niang was nowhere to be found. The Territory Lord who had dealt with her was missing as well. It wasn’t certain if he had been killed or had run away.
[Was her Soul Clone destroyed?]
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel apologetic. In order to shake off the Territory Lord a while ago, he summoned Huang Si Niang’s Soul Clone using her feather. However, the Soul Clone’s power was only equivalent to a peak Seventh-Order Master. She had done a great job holding that Territory Lord back, but it was expected that her Soul Clone would not have survived.
Yang Kai wondered if the destruction of the Soul Clone would have any impact on Huang Si Niang’s true body. It seemed he would have to head to the No-Return Pass and apologise to her when the dust settled.
After letting out a breath, he set himself at ease. It had taken the Humans a lot of effort to come to this point.
Countless millennia had passed with the Humans enduring hardship all this time, devising plans and seeking an opportunity to act. Today, they finally managed to completely uproot the Black Ink Clan from an entire Theatre.
After this great war, everything should come to an end on the Black Ink Battlefield. The soldiers from the Great Passes could return to the 3,000 Worlds. None of them had returned to their homes for far too long. Perhaps many of them had even forgotten about what the 3,000 Worlds looked like.
After pulling himself together, Yang Kai started examining himself. There was a big cut that ran from his shoulder to his abdomen. Sword Qi was seen swirling around the horrifying wound.
His Soul had been damaged as well. To kill Che Kong, Yang Kai clashed with the other party using his Divine Sense and injured himself. After that, the Black Ink Disciple’s slash exacerbated the injury in his Soul.
His Small Universe was affected as well. Upon examination, Yang Kai realised there was a terrifying crack above the sky in his Small Universe.
Yang Kai was horrified at the sight.
One had to know that there was a World Tree clone, which was more powerful than the Four Universe Pillars, in his Small Universe. With the World Tree clone’s protection, his Small Universe had always remained impenetrable with even attacks from Territory Lords not being able to shake it.
If not for the fact that he felt assured with the World Tree clone in possession, he wouldn’t have dared to raise so many living creatures in his Small Universe.
Nevertheless, one attack from the Black Ink Disciple left a gash running across the entire length of his Small Universe, manifesting itself as a huge crack in the sky. It went to show how devastating that slash was.
Yang Kai reckoned that if not for the World Tree clone’s presence, his Small Universe would have been cleaved in two.
The enemy’s slash injured Yang Kai’s body, Soul, and Small Universe all at once.
The average cultivator would have died after suffering such an attack. Even an Eighth-Order Master would have been doomed.
However, this kind of injury didn’t really matter to Yang Kai.
There was no denying that his body was horribly wounded, but as long as he could get rid of the Sword Qi gnashing at his flesh, his Dragon Vein would eventually restore the rest of the damage.
As for his Soul, Yang Kai didn’t even bother thinking about it, for the Soul Warming Lotus was already beginning to ease his pain and mend the damage.
As for the huge crack in the Small Universe, it was already closing slowly.
The World Tree clone was extremely powerful. The reason Yang Kai’s Small Universe was broken was that he wasn’t strong enough; there was no problem with the clone.
With the clone’s presence, it was just a matter of time before the crack healed.
It could be said that these injuries, which would be fatal to any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, didn’t matter to Yang Kai.
After he was done with the examination, he realised that he just had to get rid of the Sword Qi and the damage would heal on its own.
Then, he gave it a try and became dejected, for he realised that he was unable to get rid of the powerful Sword Qi on his own.
Now, he couldn’t even restore his body. Left with no choice, he could only wait for the Old Ancestor’s return so he could ask for her help.
At the thought of this, Yang Kai stopped trying and just sat on the wall and watched the unfolding battle.
Noticing his movement, Cha Pu turned around and saw Yang Kai looking all battered. His flesh had rolled up, and his Golden Blood continued to leak out of his wound. However, he still stared fixedly at the battlefield as though he was just bored.
Cha Pu felt speechless as he wondered why this Brat was still in the mood to watch the fight instead of recuperating.
A dilapidated Warship moved across the battlefield and entered Great Evolution Pass. A figure jumped out of the Warship and directly landed on the wall. Then, he brusquely sat down beside Yang Kai and panted.
He looked just as battered as Yang Kai.
However, he flashed a smile at Yang Kai and teased, “You look terrible, Brother Yang. Are you alright?”
Despite his caring tone, Yang Kai could see the smugness behind his gaze.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai soon realised why the other party behaved in such a way, so he replied with a smile, “I’m fine. The injury doesn’t matter. You look badly wounded as well, so you’d better focus on recuperating now, Brother Chai.”
The person was none other than Chai Fang, Squad Leader of the Old Turtles.
The Warship that had returned from the battlefield belonged to the Old Turtle Squad.
The Old Turtles’ Warship was extremely robust, and all the members had specially cultivated defensive Secret Techniques. Usually, they had enough stamina to last for the entire war.
However, in order to hold down a Territory Lord previously, they activated a powerful barrier on the Warship and entrapped the enemy. In that area of sealed void, they engaged in a life-and-death battle with the Territory Lord.
By the time that battle ended, the Old Turtles had suffered immense damage. Their Warship was almost destroyed, so they had no choice but to leave the battlefield.
In fact, many Human soldiers had retreated from the battlefield as they were no longer able to fight. If they insisted on staying on the battlefield, they wouldn’t be useful at all and instead would be a burden.
Even though Chai Fang was severely wounded, he was energetic. Hearing Yang Kai’s words, he waved his hand, “I’m fine. This kind of injury doesn’t matter.”
Perhaps his movement had irritated his wounds though, so blood started leaking out of his wounds again. As a result, his face turned pale and his aura weakened.
Yang Kai and Cha Pu glanced at him, speechless.
Chai Fang coughed and hurriedly activated his power to seal the wounds. Pretending to be nonchalant, he remarked, “The Territory Lord was indeed powerful. It’s hard to heal these wounds, so I guess it’ll take me a long time to recuperate.”
While Yang Kai remained silent, Cha Pu didn’t bother to respond to him.
Chai Fang went on to say, “There were originally around 80 Territory Lords in Great Evolution Theatre, but after this war, only a small number of them will be able to escape alive. I hope the Old Ancestor and the others can kill them all. If any one of them survives, it will be troublesome for us in the future.”
Yang Kai grunted, “You have a point.”
Chai Fang added, “However, the Eighth-Order Division Commanders have to be careful when chasing after them. Even though the Territory Lords are less powerful than our Eighth-Order Masters, they’re not easy to deal with. This Chai’s Squad suffered tremendous losses this time.” He sighed.
Cha Pu was annoyed at the fact that Chai Fang kept mentioning the Territory Lords, so he glared at him and snapped, “What do you want to say?”
Chai Fang was rendered speechless. The reason he came all the way here despite being injured was that he wanted to hear some compliments; however, Yang Kai and Cha Pu were like two logs and they didn’t even bother with him.
Therefore, he decided to stop beating around the bush. He winked at Yang Kai and asked, “Did you see me killing a Territory Lord earlier, Brother Yang?”
Cha Pu was growing increasingly frustrated at the fact that Chai Fang was so blatantly fishing for compliments.
He knew that there was a reason why this brat came all the way here to have a chat with them instead of recuperating. [So, he’s trying to show off here!]
Of course, it couldn’t really be considered bragging. As a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he had indeed pulled off a magnificent feat by killing a Territory Lord. Although it was the Old Ancestor who had crippled the Territory Lord at the end, Chai Fang was the one who delivered the killing blow.
Usually, Cha Pu would’ve praised him and given him some words of encouragement. Nevertheless, he was in a terrible mood, so he couldn’t bear to see anyone bragging in front of him and directly said, “Yang Kai also killed a Territory Lord. A guy named Che Kong.”
An unfazed Chai Fang batted his eyes, “Isn’t it normal that he managed to kill a Territory Lord? It’s not like it’s the first time he did so.”
All the soldiers in Great Evolution Pass knew that Yang Kai was an anomaly whose power couldn’t be gauged by his Order.
Chai Fang didn’t intend to compare himself with Yang Kai. The fact that Yang Kai had killed a Territory Lord wouldn’t water down his joy of pulling off the same feat.
Cha Pu let out a grumble. He wasn’t willing to shatter the other party’s confidence, but he was upset at how smug Chai Fang looked, so in a muffled voice, he said, “He also killed the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple with one punch.”
Hearing that, Chai Fang widened his eyes in disbelief and dazedly stared at Cha Pu as though he was trying to find out if the other party was pulling his leg.
Chai Fang wasn’t aware of this fact. When the Royal Lord and the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple were killed, he and the rest of the Old Turtles were still battling against the Territory Lord in a sealed space, so he had no idea about what was going on in the outside world.
It wasn’t until the Old Ancestor made a move and injured the Territory Lord that Chai Fang seized the chance to kill the enemy. Only then did the sealed space fully open up.
Cha Pu ignored him as he didn’t bother to explain anything. Regardless of whether Chai Fang believed him or not, there were a lot of eyewitnesses to prove his claim.
It was then that Chai Fang turned to look at Yang Kai and gulped, “Brother Yang, did you… did you really kill the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple?”
The Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s aura could no longer be felt on the battlefield, so Chai Fang thought that the Old Ancestor had killed him. If Cha Pu wasn’t lying though, the truth of the matter was far more shocking.
Yang Kai smiled modestly, “I was just lucky. The Old Ancestor had already brought him up to the gates of death, all I did was push him in.”
Since Yang Kai had acknowledged it, there was no denying it was indeed the truth. He wouldn’t have taken the credit if he hadn’t made such a contribution.
Chai Fang fell into a dazed state. Was it possible that Yang Kai had killed a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple with a punch?
Even though Yang Kai was indeed an outlier and the Black Ink Disciple had been wounded by the Old Ancestor, the enemy was still a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Chai Fang placed his hand on his forehead as he felt dizzy all of a sudden.
Beside him, Cha Pu snorted. Chai Fang shouldn’t have bragged about his achievement in front of Yang Kai, it was the epitome of showing off meagre skill before a Master.
With that said, he understood Chai Fang’s feelings. It wasn’t news anymore that Yang Kai had killed quite a number of Territory Lords despite being a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so it was pointless for him to brag about such achievements. It seemed that Chai Fang just wanted to get Yang Kai to acknowledge his win this time.
However, this usually tremendous contribution paled when compared to the fact that Yang Kai had managed to punch a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple to death.
All of a sudden, Chai Fang turned to look at Cha Pu and asked caringly, “You’re badly wounded as well, Senior Cha. How many Territory Lords did you kill?”
He didn’t intend to irritate Cha Pu, it was simply meant to be a random question.
However, the moment these words were spoken, Cha Pu’s eyes went bloodshot as he landed a kick on the braggart and yelled, “Scram!”
An unsuspecting Chai Fang was sent flying away. While in mid-air, he groaned in pain as blood spurted from his wounds.
Yang Kai almost failed to stifle his laughter.
Cha Pu glowered at him before straightening up and turning around.
[Damn it! I can’t stay in this place anymore! These little brats are just too full of themselves! Both of them had killed Territory Lords and Yang Boy even executed a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple! As an Eighth-Order Master, I haven’t made any contributions so far! I can’t let this stand!]
The next moment, he roared and charged towards the battlefield despite being injured while Yang Kai watched him leave in shock.
…
While it was peaceful in Great Evolution Pass, the chaos on the battlefield didn’t last long.
After Mo Zhao and the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple were killed, all the Black Ink Clansmen knew that the war was lost. The Humans would soon occupy the entire Great Evolution Theatre.
The surviving Territory Lords and Feudal Lords all attempted to run for their lives.
Nevertheless, the Eighth-Order Masters and the surviving Squads would never let them go. The battlefield, which was already vast to begin with, rapidly expanded.
Within just one hour, the void around the Royal City and Great Evolution Pass was cleared out. Only debris from Warships and the corpses of the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen floated about, an illustration of how brutal the war had been.
It would take the Human Masters some time to hunt down the remaining Black Ink Clansmen, so the matter couldn’t be resolved quickly.
Yang Kai had been recuperating on the wall for the past two days, and while the injuries to his Soul and Small Universe were on the mend, his flesh wounds had exacerbated instead of getting better because of the Black Ink Disciple’s Sword Qi.
This didn’t really bother him as he had a Dragon Vein, so although he wasn’t in peak condition, there were no powerful Black Ink Clansmen left, so he wasn’t required to fight.
Gradually, more and more Squads returned. Despite being soaked in blood, they all appeared energetic. It was apparent that they had made a lot of contributions.
When Yang Kai regained some strength two days later, he flew out towards the original battlefield and wandered around the wreckage and corpses. Soon, he found a dim-looking feather which belonged to Huang Si Niang.
As he examined the feather, he let out a sigh.
Just like what he had expected, Huang Si Niang’s Soul Clone had been destroyed as this feather had lost all spirituality. The feather now looked tattered and had almost broken in half.
The power of Huang Si Niang’s Soul Clone was equivalent to a peak Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Although she could exert more power than others in the same relative Realm as a Divine Spirit, this was just a Soul Clone after all. Holding back a Territory Lord was already the best she could achieve.
Yang Kai had no idea what happened to the Territory Lord who dealt with her Soul Clone as, at that time, he was focused on fighting with Che Kong, so he couldn’t pay attention to other things.
After Che Kong was killed, Mo Zhao was subsequently felled. Following that, Yang Kai was attacked by the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, so he didn’t have time to find out what happened to the Soul Clone.
Now, the Black Ink Clan had lost the war and the Eighth-Order Masters and the Old Ancestors had left to hunt down the surviving enemies. Even if those Territory Lords had survived for now, their fate was essentially sealed.
Yang Kai stored the feather and decided that he would pass it back to Huang Si Niang when he visited the No-Return Pass in the future.
He wondered if she would reprimand him. The Soul Clone hadn’t stayed with him for long before he summoned it to fight an enemy it couldn’t hope to defeat. It indeed wasn’t righteous of him to do so.
As he recalled Huang Si Niang’s temperament, he knew that he would inevitably be given a harsh lecture.
As some returned to Great Evolution Pass, others departed.
The ones leaving had initially remained in Great Evolution Pass to make use of the emplacements on the walls. Now that the Black Ink Clan had fled from the local battlefield, they no longer had to remain here. Therefore, many drove their Warships out to hunt down the enemies, leaving only several hundred people behind to guard the Great Pass.
Great Evolution Pass still needed to be guarded, so it wasn’t like all of them could just leave. After all, many people were still recuperating in the Inner Sanctum.
Many people also silently moved around the battlefield and collected the corpses of their fallen Brothers and Sisters.
Many of the Human soldiers who died in the war didn’t even leave behind a corpse, so it could be said that other than their names on the Monument of Heroes, there was nothing left to remember them by.
It was because of these Humans who were willing to sacrifice their lives that the survivors were finally able to occupy the entire Great Evolution Theatre.
The Humans had won this war, and the victory belonged to all the soldiers who had made contributions on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Yang Kai composed himself before sweeping a glance over this vast battlefield and letting out a sigh.
He hoped that there would be no more war on the Black Ink Battlefield after this, and the 3,000 Worlds would finally be able to enjoy eternal peace.
After wandering around the battlefield for a while, Yang Kai arrived somewhere near the Royal City.
The Royal City had been around for several hundreds of thousands of years. It could be said to be the foundation of the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre. But now, the Universe World where the Royal City was located had shattered, and the city itself was ruined.
The gigantic Black Ink Nests had either fallen to the ground or been destroyed. Only a small number of them were intact.
There wasn’t a hint of vitality in the Universe World where the Royal City was located.
The Black Ink Clan had lost the war, and those who had survived were running for their lives now. The large Royal City was completely empty and desolate.
Yang Kai didn’t even spare a glance at those surviving Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests and instead headed straight to the High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
He initially thought he had smashed this Black Ink Nest with his strike, but the truth was that it wasn’t completely destroyed.
That was because there were still some remaining Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. If the High-Rank Black Ink Nest had been completely destroyed, these Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests would have withered as well.
Once the higher rank Black Ink Nest was destroyed, the lower rank Black Ink Nests would die as a chain reaction.
Although the High-Rank Black Ink Nest had collapsed to the floor, it was still a magnificent sight to behold.
Yang Kai stared silently at the damaged Black Ink Nest for a while. As an idea flashed across his mind, he stepped forward. Soon, he found the entrance and entered.
Following that, he could feel an immense force surging within the flesh walls of the Black Ink Nest. It was imaginable that the Royal Lord must have stored a huge amount of power in this Black Ink Nest so that he could draw energy from it at any moment while dealing with Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao.
If not for the fact that Yang Kai had damaged this Black Ink Nest, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao to kill the Royal Lord.
Now, the power stored in this Black Ink Nest was no longer useful. Since the Royal Lord was dead, who else could make use of it?
It certainly was useless to the Humans.
[How wasteful!] Yang Kai thought. He wondered how many resources had the Black Ink Clan wasted to build up the energy reserves in this place. Those resources could have greatly benefited the Human soldiers.
Since the Black Ink Nest had collapsed, it wasn’t easy to move around the passageways as many places had been blocked. With that said, it took Yang Kai little effort to clear the way forward.
Soon, he arrived at the Black Ink Pool.
The internal structures of all Black Ink Nests were similar, the only real difference being their size. Yang Kai had seen the Black Ink Pools of Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests, but in comparison, the Black Ink Pool within this High-Rank Black Ink Nest was undoubtedly larger.
If a Black Ink Pool inside the Low-Rank Black Ink Nest was like a puddle, then a Black Ink Pool inside a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest was like a pond. On the other hand, the Black Ink Pool inside the High-Rank Black Ink Nest was like a lake.
Black Ink Strength could be felt surging in the Black Ink Pool.
Many sarcomas that nurtured new Black Ink Clansmen were squirming on the flesh walls, like they would hatch at any moment.
Yang Kai wasn’t bothered at all. Even if these Black Ink Clansmen were born, they would be extremely weak and pose no threat to the Humans. Any Open Heaven Realm Master could easily kill them.
He wanted to look for the Black Ink Nest’s centre and make use of it to find out what was going on in other Theatres.
The Humans had routed the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre, but no one knew what was going on in the other Theatres. Although the Humans had made a lot of preparations for this final battle and the Evil Purging Divine Spears were finally revealed, the battlefield was an ever-changing environment. Before there was any verified news, no one could guarantee the Humans had gained the upper hand on every battlefield.
Certainly, there was transmission of information between the Great Passes, but that was the communication between the Humans.
Yang Kai wanted to find out what the Black Ink Clansmen were talking about so that he could have a clearer picture of the situations in the different Theatres.
Perhaps he could gather some useful information by making use of the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
At this moment, he was glad that he never decided to completely destroy the Black Ink Nest during the battle; otherwise, he wouldn’t have such an opportunity now.
Soon, he found the Black Ink Nest’s centre. As the Black Ink Strength undulated, Yang Kai selected a spot and sat down with his legs crossed.
Although he had entered the Spaces of Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests on several occasions, it was the first time he had done such a thing in a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
In fact, there wasn’t any difference. He just had to open his Small Universe and let the Black Ink Nest absorb his World Force. With the World Force as a bridge, he could connect to the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness.
The next instant, Yang Kai found himself inside a huge space.
He didn’t reveal his Soul Avatar. He was a Human after all, so his Soul Avatar would be quite conspicuous. In this place where everyone was a Black Ink Clansman, his identity might be exposed.
At this moment, his consciousness looked like a kind of cloud. This type of form wasn’t peculiar as many Black Ink Clansmen existed in similar shapes in the space that connected the Black Ink Nests.
The instant Yang Kai entered this space, he felt the chaotic fluctuations of Divine Senses all around him. At the same time, he could read a lot of messages.
“The Humans have gone all out this time! They have developed an artifact that emits a very pure light that can restrict Black Ink Strength. The Territory Lords under Mo Bu Royal Lord have suffered immense losses.”
“We need help in the Xuan Yuan Theatre. Many of the soldiers are dead. Can any Royal Lord lend us assistance?”
“The Humans have arrived at the Royal City. We might lose it at this rate…”
“The Humans have gone mad! They’ve even driven their Great Pass to this place. The Azure Nether Theatre is at risk of falling…”
…..
As the Divine Senses communicated in this space, they revealed the fact that the Black Ink Clan was in a state of despair. Most of the Divine Senses were flustered and it was apparent that the Black Ink Clan were in perilous situations in various different Theatres. Numerous Royal Cities even seemed to be on the verge of destruction.
Only a small number of Divine Senses remained calm and collected; however, affected by the atmosphere, they still appeared a little uneasy.
The Humans had launched an all-out crusade this time. There were over 100 Great Passes in an equal number of Theatres. Several million Human soldiers had made a move, so there was no turning back.
The Humans’ stance was clear; they would either win this war or die trying.
With the help of the Great Passes and the Evil Purging Divine Spears, and coupled with the advantage they had accumulated over the past several hundred years, the Humans marched forward in these Theatres and rendered the Black Ink Clan powerless to counterattack.
The Evil Purging Divine Spears had been widely employed, causing a large number of Feudal Lords and Territory Lords to lose their lives. Without the Feudal Lords and the Territory Lords to take charge, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could let loose. As long as they managed to gain the upper hand on the battlefield, they could assist the Old Ancestors and join forces to deal with other Territory Lords. They could also try to destroy the High-Rank Black Ink Nests to cripple the enemy forces.
On the battlefield, one party could gain the upper hand by achieving a breakthrough, and the Humans had found a way to do that.
Therefore, the Black Ink Clan was in danger in every Theatre. In the weaker Theatres, the Royal Cities were on the brink of being occupied, so they had no choice but to ask for help.
However, at this point, none of the Theatres could lend a hand to other places, for they couldn’t even save themselves.
Even if they still had the power to offer help, it was unrealistic to do so as there was a long distance between the Theatres.
These pieces of bad news were like music to Yang Kai’s ears. Even though there was some transmission of information between the Great Passes and the higher-ups in Great Evolution Theatre must be aware of what was going on in the other Theatres, such information was still restricted for now.
Therefore, when Yang Kai found out about such information in this Black Ink Nest Space, he was thrilled.
The Humans were on the winning side!
These flustered Divine Senses continued to share distressing news in this space that connected the Black Ink Nests, filling the atmosphere with a sense of despair.
Yang Kai was secretly pleased. The Black Ink Clan had suppressed the Humans for millennia and repeatedly invaded their Great Passes. Now, they finally had a taste of their own medicine. It seemed that the Humans were bound for victory.
However, there was no news of any Royal City being conquered or any Royal Lord being killed so far.
It seemed that the progress in Great Evolution Theatre was the quickest.
It wasn’t hard to figure out the reasons behind this. When the Great Evolution Army re-took Great Evolution Pass 200 years ago, they had managed to significantly weaken the Black Ink Clan. To achieve that goal, they had lost almost 40% of their forces.
At that time, many Territory Lords had lost their lives, and even the Royal Lord was severely wounded.
200 years had passed, but the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Theatre still hadn’t restored their foundation when the Humans arrived with Great Evolution Pass and launched an all-out assault.
In such a situation, it was only natural that the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Theatre would be the first to fall.
Although the progress was slower in other Theatres, it shouldn’t be too difficult for them to win. Everything depended on their own powers to make contributions that were similar to those in Great Evolution Theatre.
Yang Kai wondered how these Black Ink Clansmen would react if he shouted that Mo Zhao was dead at this point.
While he was pondering on this though, he suddenly noticed something and shifted his attention to another place in the vast space.
When he entered this space earlier, he was drawn to those chaotic Divine Senses, so he never paid attention to the silent side. As he looked intently now, an odd feeling rose within him.
There were more than 20 Soul Avatars that remained completely silent over there. They were not flustered or worried at all. These 20-plus Soul Avatars were so quiet that it was as though they were sleeping, a stark contrast to the Soul Avatars who were actively exchanging information with their Divine Senses.
It was because of their silence that Yang Kai didn’t immediately notice them.
This Black Ink Nest Space seemed to have been divided into two parts.
On one side, there were these anxious Soul Avatars who were spreading information and asking for help. On the other hand, there were those eerily silent Soul Avatars.
The moment Yang Kai noticed them, he felt his chest tightening as a feeling of incongruity rose within him.
The next instant, he realised why he had this feeling all of a sudden; the number wasn’t right.
There were 108 Cave Heavens and Paradises in total. Every Cave Heaven or Paradise corresponded to a Theatre.
However, the actual number was fewer than that because the Dragon Clan’s Dragon Pool and the Phoenix Clan’s Phoenix Nest had occupied two places that belonged within the Cave Heavens.
Meanwhile, the two Clans stayed in the No-Return Pass.
In other words, there should be 106 Theatres on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Although Yang Kai hadn’t counted, he believed that there were over a hundred Soul Avatars, whose Divine Senses were communicating with each other, that had gathered together.
Since these Soul Avatars were able to enter this space, it meant that they had made use of a High-Rank Black Ink Nest in the respective Theatres.
The number of the Soul Avatars and the number of Theatres should have matched; however, what about these extra 20 or so Soul Avatars? Where were they from?
Yang Kai initially thought that those Soul Avatars came from some other Theatres. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had told him that not every Theatre only had one Old Ancestor and one Royal Lord.
In some Theatres, there was more than one Old Ancestor and Royal Lord. If there were two or three Royal Lords in a given Theatre, then it was reasonable that there were more than 20 extra Soul Avatars here.
However, the moment he realised how formidable those Soul Avatars were, he knew something was amiss.
Despite being restrained, those silent Soul Avatars were extremely powerful. Even Yang Kai was no match for them.
Although he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, his Soul was equivalent to that of an Eighth-Order Master’s. Other than the Old Ancestors, only the Royal Lords were more powerful than he was when it came to their Souls.
These more than 20 Soul Avatars belonged to Royal Lords!
Yang Kai was shocked, [Why are there so many Royal Lords here?]
This was quite unusual. One had to know that the Humans had launched attacks on all the Royal Cities with their Great Passes, so the Royal Lords definitely had to take command of the war. Perhaps they also had to fight with the Old Ancestors, so why would they even have time to let their Soul Avatars sit idly here?
It might be understandable if there were just one to two of them, but there were over 20 Royal Lords here now.
With the intense battle against the Humans raging, even a single Territory Lord was indispensable on the battlefield, let alone a Royal Lord. There was no way they would just sit back and do nothing in their Black Ink Nests.
On the other hand, those over 100 flustered Soul Avatars were not powerful. All of them were just Feudal Lords, which was considered normal.
[What’s going on?] Yang Kai was unable to figure it out.
Regardless, he didn’t have time to ponder on it as he must have alerted those Royal Lords, causing a Divine Sense to probe him.
Faced with immense pressure, Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar trembled and almost dissipated. He still hadn’t recovered from the injury caused by the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, so he was unable to bear such a forceful impact. Fortunately, he pulled his Soul together at the most critical moment.
There was a new message in his Divine Sense, “Which Theatre are you from?”
It was apparently a question from the other party.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai replied, “I’m from Great Evolution Theatre, Sir.”
“What is the situation in Great Evolution Theatre?”
Yang Kai lied to him by saying, “The situation is dire. Sir Royal Lord is locked in a life-and-death battle with the Human Old Ancestor, but he’s in a disadvantageous position. We need assistance right away.”
As soon as Yang Kai finished speaking, the other party was startled for a moment before asking doubtfully, “Isn’t Mo Zhao supposed to be dead?”
[Damn it!] Yang Kai felt his chest tightening. Only then did he realise the information in Great Evolution Theatre must have already spread through this space.
After giving it some thought, he realised it wasn’t so surprising. So many Divine Senses from different Theatres had gathered together in this space and were constantly communicating with one another. One of them had to have been from Great Evolution Theatre.
It was pretty violent and showy when Mo Zhao was killed, so the Black Ink Clansmen in the Royal Lord Black Ink Nest at that time must be able to detect it.
“A Territory Lord? No! You’re a Human!” The Divine Sense suddenly realised Yang Kai’s identity. The next instant, a tremendous force surged in this space.
In fact, Yang Kai was ready to leave the moment the other party’s suspicion was aroused because of what he had said. Since the other party realised he was a Human, he definitely couldn’t stay in this space any longer.
Yang Kai successfully left the space the moment the power of the other party’s Divine Sense burst forth, so he was only lightly impacted.
Even so, he still felt an excruciating pain in his head when he regained his senses. It seemed that his Soul had been damaged.
His Soul still hadn’t recovered from the injury caused by the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple when he was attacked by another Royal Lord. If not for the Soul Warming Lotus’ protection, he would have lost his life by now.
Ignoring his pain, Yang Kai left and shot into the sky in a hurry.
As Space Principles undulated, he arrived at Great Evolution Pass in the blink of an eye and headed straight to the Space Array.
At this moment, it was actually quite busy around the Space Array. Usually, there would only be a few Open Heaven Realm Masters in charge of this place, but there were more than ten of them now.
The light of the Space Array kept flickering, and every time it happened, a jade slip would appear out of thin air, containing reports from another Great Pass.
When Yang Kai arrived, he realised that these Open Heaven Realm Masters appeared thrilled. This couldn’t be helped, as the information they received indicated that the Humans had gained the upper hand in every Theatre. In some of the Theatres, the Royal Cities would be conquered soon.
When a Seventh-Order Master saw Yang Kai rushing over with a worried expression, he quickly greeted him and asked, “What’s wrong, Junior Brother Yang?”
Enduring the excruciating pain, Yang Kai clenched his teeth and replied, “Quickly inform the other Great Passes that apart from the Royal Lords we already know of, there are still over 20 Royal Lords hiding somewhere in the dark. Please tell the Old Ancestors to be on guard!”
Hearing that, the Seventh-Order Master was flabbergasted, “Where did you get the information? Is it accurate?”
Yang Kai explained, “Just now, I entered the High-Rank Black Ink Nest Space and saw over 20 Soul Avatars that belonged to the Royal Lords there. The reason they haven’t participated in the war must be that they’re waiting for a chance to deal a fatal blow to the Old Ancestors.”
On the battlefield, the threat of hidden Royal Lords was lethal.
The reason Great Evolution Pass was lost 30,000 years ago was that Mo Zhao appeared all of a sudden after hiding in the dark all along. When the Old Ancestor from Great Evolution Pass was engaged in battle with the veteran Royal Lord, Mo Zhao suddenly appeared and joined forces with the Royal Lord to kill the Old Ancestor.
Previously, the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple had wanted to do the same by concealing himself; however, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao became vigilant after receiving a warning from the Snow Wolves Squad before their demise, which was why the Black Ink Disciple failed to achieve his goal.
It could be said that the message sent from the Snow Wolves Squad in their last moments had been critical to the war. If not for their warning, those from Great Evolution Pass wouldn’t have been on guard for a second Royal Lord, and things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly for them.
Just one hidden Royal Lord had caused the loss of Great Evolution Pass 30,000 years ago. Now, there were over 20 such Royal Lords. If the Black Ink Clan managed to achieve their goal, many Old Ancestors would lose their lives.
Once some of the Old Ancestors were dead, the Human soldiers would be in danger.
Therefore, the expressions of these Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were still elated a moment ago, changed drastically when they heard what Yang Kai had said. The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who spoke to Yang Kai just now, yelled, “Quickly spread this information around!”
Jade slips were soon engraved with such information and sent to the other Great Passes as the light of the Space Array repeatedly flickered.
It wasn’t until one hour later that all 105 jade slips were sent out.
Everyone in the Grand Hall held their breath. They were no longer as joyful as before and the atmosphere had instead turned solemn. They stared fixedly at the Space Array as they were worried that they would receive some bad news.
However, Yang Kai furrowed his brows at this moment.
His head was in pain as his Soul had been struck twice and even his ability to think critically had been affected. When he saw those 20-plus Royal Lords in the Black Ink Nest Space earlier, the first thing that came to his mind was that the Black Ink Clan had plotted an ambush, so he hurriedly returned to Great Evolution Pass and informed everyone about it.
Nevertheless, after the ache in his head calmed down and he was able to think more clearly, he realised that something was off. The truth might be different from his speculation.
Before he could figure out what was wrong though, a powerful aura approached from a distance and hovered above Great Evolution Pass in the blink of an eye.
The aura’s owner didn’t try to conceal herself, so the soldiers in Great Evolution Pass easily detected her presence.
Yang Kai dashed out of the hall and looked up, only to see Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao hovering in the void with her hair flapping in the non-existent wind. Even though her clothes were stained with blood, she still looked high-spirited.
Noticing his stare, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao looked down and nodded at Yang Kai, declaring gently, “We have won.”
[We won the war!]
Behind her brief words were the fierce resistance over the years, the sacrifices of countless lives, and the hard work of the Humans over countless generations.
The Humans had won the war!
They had no idea what was going on in the other Theatres, but at the very least, the Humans in the Great Evolution Theatre were the winners.
The soldiers were all ecstatic upon learning the news.
The Humans who gradually returned from the battlefield also roared euphorically, as though they were trying to vent the vexation accumulated over all the years.
The entire Great Evolution Pass seemed to shake as the soldiers cheered in ecstasy.
Just then, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao disappeared from her spot. A moment later, Great Evolution Pass, which had been rotating slowly, finally stopped.
Inside the Great Pass’ core, the last five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were exhausted beyond words. Their faces were pale, and their auras were unstable.
Just like what Yang Kai had expected, these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were the bare minimum required to keep the core operating. Unless the Old Ancestor took over the core from them, they were unable to leave.
Now that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had returned and given them a hand, they could finally stop letting the core absorb their energy.
The cheers in the Inner Sanctum never stopped.
The next instant, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao appeared in front of Yang Kai and asked, “What happened?”
She immediately noticed there was something off about Yang Kai’s expression when she returned earlier, and it wasn’t because of his injury, so something must have happened.
Yang Kai told her about his discovery in the Black Ink Nest Space and that he had returned in a hurry to ask the ones manning the Hyper Space Array to spread the news to the other Great Passes.
Hearing this, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao frowned, “Do you think those Royal Lords are trying to ambush the other Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “That was what I thought before, but it now seems to me that if they wanted to ambush the Ninth-Order Masters, they should have hidden themselves on the battlefield instead of staying in their Black Ink Nests.”
That was what he found odd about his discovery.
It was pointless for those Royal Lords to stay in their Black Ink Nests. If they wanted to deal with the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the best choice would have been to hide themselves on the battlefield and then strike when they saw an opening.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement, “You have a point. 20 Royal Lords is a force to be reckoned with. They would be powerful enough to destroy the Human Army in any Theatre with ease, but if they’re not trying to ambush the Ninth-Order Masters, what are they doing in their Black Ink Nests?”
“That’s something I’m unable to figure out.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao couldn’t make sense of the situation either. Yang Kai’s discovery in the Black Ink Nest Space was indeed strange.
A moment later, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao raised her hand and shot a thread of World Force into the void. Soon, that flash exploded and shone brightly.
Yang Kai took a look and speculated that she was trying to gather all the soldiers together.
It had been two or three days since the Human soldiers started hunting down the fleeing Black Ink Clansmen. They had killed all the Black Ink Clansmen that they could kill, so it was pointless to continue chasing after those they were unable to catch.
After Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was done with this, she said, “Let’s wait. Since we’re not intelligent enough, we’ll just wait for Big Head Xiang and Big Head Mi to come back and see what they think of this matter.”
In the Great Evolution Army, Xiang Shan and Mi Jing Lun had the sharpest strategic minds. In such a situation, the best solution would be to wait for their return.
Soon, the Old Ancestor shouted another order, “Prepare the Space Array to send out Eighth-Order Masters to different Theatres so that they can assist as needed.”
“Yes!” All the Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Grand Hall replied at the same time.
Everything was ruined in Great Evolution Pass.
When they launched an attack on the Royal City previously, the Great Pass was faced with a counterattack of unprecedented intensity. Even though the Old Ancestor was in charge of their defence, a lot of cracks still appeared in the shields after the heavy bombardment.
The attacks from the Black Ink Clan rained down on the entire Great Evolution Pass and shattered all the buildings.
Besides the most important places in Great Evolution Pass like the Grand Hall where the Space Array was located, only the Monument of Heroes and the cemetery remained intact.
Although the Humans had won the war, they had paid a huge price.
Two days after Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao sent a signal to gather all the soldiers together, the Humans, who had left to chase after the fleeing Black Ink Clansmen, gradually returned. After the war, all of them were in high spirits.
The courtyard that belonged to the Dawn was a mess, but Yang Kai didn’t bother to clean up and just sat down on the floor and started recuperating.
The damage to his Soul had a huge impact on his ability to think clearly so he still couldn’t make sense of what he had seen in the Black Ink Nest Space.
He felt that he had neglected something.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had helped him resolve the Sword Qi that lingered in his flesh wound and he felt much better after two days of recuperation. As he had a powerful Dragon Vein, such a flesh wound didn’t bother him.
There came a moment when Yang Kai opened his eyes and looked in a particular direction as a group of familiar people came into his sight.
The Dawn Squad members had returned!
However, some people were missing. There were 50 members of Dawn before they set off. Excluding Yang Kai and Feng Ying, who had just ascended to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, there should have been 49 people now.
Nevertheless, only 31 people returned at this moment.
Among the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, only Shen Ao, Yu Zi You, Bai Yi, Blood Crow, and Miao Fei Ping survived. Ning Qi Zhi and Ren Bing Bai were nowhere to be seen. Those who had returned were soaked in blood with varying degrees of injuries.
Yang Kai’s pupils shrank at this sight. He knew it was impossible that all of the Dawn would come back unscathed because it was the final battle in the Great Evolution Theatre. Dawn had to engage a Territory Lord and pin him down, so it was inevitable that some of them would lose their lives. However, when he saw that so many familiar faces were missing, Yang Kai felt a sharp pain in his heart.
Ning Qi Zhi, who was one of the founding members of Dawn, had escaped from death’s door in the previous war, but he couldn’t come back alive this time.
Since the founding of Dawn, they had experienced countless battles, but other than the war in the Royal City two hundred years ago where Qi Tai Chu had lost his life, there had never been any other deaths.
However, some 30% of Dawn’s members were gone for good now.
The fact that the Dawn could always come back unscathed in the previous wars had something to do with Yang Kai. He was far more powerful than cultivators in the same Order, so with him around, the risk that Dawn faced on the battlefield would be minimised.
Before they were even hit with a crisis, it would be resolved by Yang Kai.
Nevertheless, he wasn’t by their side during this war, for he had a more important role to play. He was the one who damaged the High-Rank Black Ink Nest and destroyed the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. He was also the one who killed Che Kong and the Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
Without Yang Kai, a pillar of strength in Dawn Squad, their collective power had weakened, and on such a chaotic battlefield, they couldn’t ensure everyone’s safety.
With Shen Ao leading the way, over 30 people stood in front of Yang Kai and cupped their fists. Shen Ao said solemnly, “We’ve returned, Squad Leader. Fortunately, we did not fail our mission. We managed to kill one Territory Lord, 34 Feudal Lords, and about 5,000 mixed Black Ink Clansmen.”
Just like the Territory Lord who fought with the Old Turtles, the one held up by Dawn ended up getting crippled by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. Shen Ao and the others took advantage of that opening to kill him on the spot.
Then, as the Black Ink Clan routed and ran, Dawn pursued them and killed many. It wasn’t until they saw the Old Ancestor’s signal that they returned.
Yang Kai nodded gently, “Many thanks for your hard work. The Human Race has won this war, and peace has come to the Great Evolution Theatre. All of you should get some rest and recuperate.”
“Yes!” All of them responded and sat down in different places to treat their wounds.
None of them mentioned the deceased. It wasn’t that they had forgotten about them, but it was unnecessary to bring it up. All the soldiers on the Black Ink Battlefield were prepared to sacrifice their lives if need be. As they went through repeated wars, they knew that they might lose their lives at any moment.
Death wasn’t something to be afraid of for the Human soldiers, dying without making a difference was.
It was silent in the courtyard as over 30 people recuperated in silence. However, Yang Kai gently let out a sigh. While he had expected it to be a tragic war, it surprised him that so many had lost their lives.
Even a Special Operations Squad like Dawn suffered such immense losses, so what about the ordinary Squads? How many from the Great Evolution Army had survived this war?
The Great Evolution Army was founded over 300 years ago when two groups of soldiers departed from Wind and Cloud Pass and Azure Void Pass and headed to Great Evolution Pass.
At that time, all of them were equipped with the finest arms and armaments. There were 60,000 soldiers and 120 Eighth-Order Division Commanders in total.
200 years ago, they managed to re-take Great Evolution Pass, but they had suffered tremendous losses. Only some 70 Eighth-Order Masters and 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers remained.
How many of them were still alive now?
Previously on the battlefield, while the auras of the Territory Lords withered, Yang Kai could also detect the deaths of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
There were bound to be casualties in any war, especially when it was a war that would determine the future of the two Races. It was expected that a lot of people would lose their lives.
With that said, all the sacrifices were worth it. Their deaths could be traded for peace in the future. The reason the Humans had been toiling away over the millennia was to ensure that future generations wouldn’t have to trod down the same path.
The survivors could cheer for their victory while the dead would be remembered forever.
Yang Kai emptied his mind and focused on his recovery. It wasn’t until Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao summoned him that he opened his eyes.
The Main Conference Hall had been impacted during the war, and it was nothing but ruins now, so a temporary one had been put up on the same spot.
When Yang Kai arrived, the four Army Commanders had gathered together in the hall, with the Old Ancestor present as well.
Among the four Army Commanders, Xiang Shan and Mi Jing Lun didn’t seem to be injured at all. On the other hand, Liu Zhi Ping’s face was pale and her aura was unstable. It was apparent that she was wounded.
Ou Yang Lie was the most severely wounded among them. He must have gotten into a fierce battle with the Territory Lords as his head had clearly been smashed in. Yang Kai could even see several cuts on his forehead and some cracks on his skull.
It could be said that he was just a step away from being killed.
As Yang Kai looked at his injury, he was secretly astounded, thinking that this Army Commander was really too reckless.
Noticing his stare, Ou Yang Lie glared at him and snorted, “I killed two Territory Lords, so some degree of injury is inevitable.”
Yang Kai didn’t know what to say as he saluted all of them.
Mi Jing Lun cut to the chase, asking, “Did you enter the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I was curious, so I decided to find out what the Black Ink Clan’s reaction in the other Theatres was. I was surprised to discover something else.”
Xiang Shan ordered, “Tell us what you saw in detail.”
Yang Kai quickly narrated his experience in the Black Ink Nest Space.
Upon hearing his story, all of them exchanged solemn glances.
Liu Zhi Ping frowned, “You said there were over 120 Soul Avatars that had gathered together in that Black Ink Nest Space?”
“Yes.”
Each Royal Lord Black Ink Nest corresponded to a Soul Avatar. In other words, there were at least over 120 High-Rank Black Ink Nests spread across the entire Black Ink Battlefield.
“Do you think they’re trying to ambush the Old Ancestors?”
Yang Kai frowned, “That was the first thought that came to my mind, but after giving it some consideration, I realised that shouldn’t be the case. If they wanted to ambush the Old Ancestors, they should have hidden themselves on the battlefield instead of staying in their Black Ink Nests.”
He had told Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao the same thing before, but he still couldn’t figure out why things had been that way.
“The Humans from all the different Theatres began the crusade at the same time. When we clashed with the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre, wars had also broken out in the other Theatres. Regardless of which Theatres the 20 Royal Lords you saw were hiding in, they shouldn’t have just loitered about in their Black Ink Nests even if they didn’t hide themselves on the battlefield. What are they trying to achieve?” Mi Jing Lun scowled. Even though he was quick-witted, he was unable to see through this strange incident.
He didn’t ask if Yang Kai was mistaken, for the latter couldn’t be so negligent when it came to such an important matter.
Moreover, Yang Kai’s Soul cultivation was basically on par with an Eighth-Order Master’s. If he could have made such a basic error in observation inside the Black Ink Nest Space, his cultivation over the years would have been in vain.
Therefore, they didn’t doubt Yang Kai’s statement. What they were unable to figure out was the intention of those over 20 Royal Lords and their whereabouts.
Furthermore, were there only 20 additional Royal Lords? That was the number of Royal Lords that Yang Kai could detect, but was that really all? Could there be even more Royal Lords hiding in the dark?
Xiang Shan was unable to make sense of the situation as well.
Just then, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao spoke up, “Regardless, we’ve shared this piece of information with the other Great Passes, so the Ninth-Order Masters will keep their guard up. Even if those Royal Lords really want to launch a sneak attack, they might not achieve their goal.”
All of them nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Xiang Shan turned to Yang Kai, “What else did you see in the Black Ink Nest Space?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “There was nothing else that was worth my attention. The Soul Avatars of those Royal Lords were silent, so they were different from the rest of the Soul Avatars that belonged to the Feudal Lords…”
As he spoke, he furrowed his brows all of a sudden. While trying to recall what he had seen, he sported an awkward expression, “Now that you’ve mentioned it, I realise that the Royal Lords’ reaction was also odd.”
“What do you mean by that?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao asked.
“The Souls of those over 100 or so Feudal Lords corresponded to the various Theatres they were in, and the numbers matched. The Territory Lords would have all needed to fight, so only Feudal Lords could be stationed in the Black Ink Nests. It was apparent that they were flustered while communicating with one another.”
That was understandable, for the crusade came as a surprise to the Black Ink Clan, and the Humans had even sailed their Great Passes to the Royal Cities. Furthermore, they had developed lethal weapons such as the Evil Purging Divine Spears. The Black Ink Clan had suffered immense losses in different Theatres after being caught off guard, so it was expected that they were flustered. At that time, many Feudal Lords were trying to seek help from other Theatres; however, the Humans had gone all out for the crusade, and wars broke out in all the Theatres. It was pointless for the Black Ink Clan to ask for help.
“Compared to those anxious Feudal Lords, those Royal Lords were unusually calm. It almost felt as though they were just watching a show.”
After two days of recuperation, the damage to Yang Kai’s Soul had healed to a certain degree, which allowed him to think more clearly. As he went through the details he didn’t pay attention to at that time, he found some clues.
“It was like they were watching a show?” Mi Jing Lun was astounded.
“Yes.” Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “It was like the war between the two Races had nothing to do with them. If I hadn’t examined them out of curiosity, they wouldn’t have shifted their attention to me.”
At that time, he felt that something was off, so he examined the place where the Royal Lords had come together. It was at that moment when he caught the attention of one of the Royal Lords.
His Eighth-Order Divine Sense exposed his identity. Before he even entered the Black Ink Nest Space, the fact that Mo Zhao was killed had been spread among the Black Ink Clan. If he hadn’t run away as soon as possible, he would’ve been more severely injured if not killed.
Xiang Shan and the others fell silent, for they were unable to figure out the Black Ink Clan’s intention after hearing what Yang Kai had said. Regardless, this piece of information had been shared with the other Great Passes, so the Ninth-Order Masters were on guard. Even if those hidden Royal Lords really intended to ambush the Old Ancestors, it would be hard for them to succeed now.
It was unrealistic to let Yang Kai enter the Black Ink Nest Space again as his identity had been exposed. If he still entered the space, he would be targeted by those Royal Lords and perhaps he would even lose his life.
After a moment of silence, Yang Kai said, “There was something else that bothered me.”
“What was it?” Xiang Shan asked.
“It’s the Black Ink Nest Space itself!” Yang Kai turned solemn, “From what we’ve gathered, there’s a strict hierarchy between Black Ink Nests. The High-Rank Black Ink Nests give birth to Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests, which then give birth to the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests. The consciousness of a High-Rank or Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest can form into a space which serves as a platform for the lower-rank Black Ink Nests to communicate with each other. In that case, what about the space that I entered through the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest? Is it formed from a Black Ink Nest’s consciousness as well? Does that mean that there’s a higher-rank Black Ink Nest above the High-Rank Black Ink Nests?”
As he spoke, he observed the expressions of Xiang Shan and the others. Realising something, he asked, “Do you have a speculation, Seniors?”
He saw that the others remained unfazed. It was apparent that they were not surprised by his hypothesis.
Xiang Shan nodded, “We do have a speculation, but we can’t verify it. We have never gathered enough information about the Black Ink Nests to make a judgement. It was you who entered the Black Ink Clan’s territory and found out some useful information. In fact, we had such a speculation a long time ago. The High-Rank Black Ink Nests can give birth to the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests, which can then give birth to Low-Rank Black Ink Nests. Where do the High-Rank Black Ink Nests come from, then? It’s not like they had appeared out of thin air. There has to be a source.”
Mi Jing Lun then said, “The way the Black Ink Clan named the Black Ink Nests is also interesting, and there’s a trail to trace. Since the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests were born from the High-Rank Black Ink Nests, they are the latter’s sub-nests. Similarly, the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests are the sub-nests of Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. Since there are sub-nests, shouldn’t there be a Mother Nest? However, the term ‘Mother Nest’ has never been mentioned among the Black Ink Clan; therefore, we have a speculation that the High-Rank Black Ink Nests are also the sub-nests of a Black Ink Nest, which is supposedly the Mother Nest of the Black Ink Clan. It is also the source of everything!”
“The Mother Nest!” Yang Kai arched his brow.
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “However, this is just our speculation and we have no way to verify it. From what you experienced though, we can conclude that there’s indeed some kind of Mother Nest. The space you entered has to be the Mother Nest Space. Only the Mother Nest’s power could connect all the High-Rank Black Ink Nests together.”
Yang Kai fell into his thoughts for a moment, then said, “In that case, could those over 20 Royal Lords be the… Mother Nest’s guards?”
Xiang Shan and Mi Jing Lun exchanged glances before nodding, “That’s possible.”
Since the Mother Nest was the source of the Black Ink Clan, it must be extremely important to them. In that case, there had to be a heavy level of protection around it.
20 plus Royal Lords was a force to be reckoned with, and with such protection, the Mother Nest’s safety could be ensured under most circumstances.
It was a similar case for the Small Stone Race in Yang Kai’s Small Universe. The strongest Small Stone Race members would always stay inside the nests, not leaving unless absolutely necessary.
That explained why the 20 or more Royal Lords didn’t seem concerned about the war between the two Races.
Their job was to protect the Mother Nest, so they would never leave that place. Regardless of how perilous the situation was for the Black Ink Clan’s outer forces, it had nothing to do with them.
“We know too little about the Black Ink Clan, so we don’t know if the truth is just like what we’ve speculated. Regardless, as long as the Human Race wins the war in all the Theatres, we’ll get to the truth.”
It was ironic that even though the Humans had been entangled with the Black Ink Clan for countless aeons and millions had lost their lives on the Black Ink Battlefield, they still knew so little about the Black Ink Clan.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan was able to corrupt Open Heaven Realm Masters, so they understood the Humans pretty well.
Everything they had said was giving Ou Yang Lie a headache so he snapped, “Stop worrying too much. If there’s really a Mother Nest, we’ll just find it and smash it. It’s not like a mere 20 Royal Lords is enough to stop us. We have more than 100 Old Ancestors on our side, why should we be afraid of them?”
It was a wonder why he had the confidence to say 20 Royal Lords was not a lot when he was just an Eighth-Order Master.
With that said, he had a point. Even if there was indeed a Mother Nest, they just had to find and destroy it. At the end of the day, they had the power to do so.
During the discussion, a voice reverberated across the entire Great Pass all of a sudden.
“Blue Sky Pass has won! The Royal Lord has been killed! Most of the Territory Lords fell in battle! The Royal City has been ruined!”
“Blue Sky Pass has won! The Royal Lord has been killed! Most of the Territory Lords fell in battle! The Royal City has been ruined!”
“Blue Sky Pass has won! The Royal Lord has been killed! Most of the Territory Lords fell in battle! The Royal City has been ruined!”
…
The person repeatedly made the announcement.
Great Evolution Pass had originally fallen silent, but when they heard the announcement, they started cheering so loudly that the entire Great Pass seemed to be shaking.
Blue Sky Pass had won. The Royal Lord was dead. The Royal City was destroyed. There was no denying it was good news for the Humans.
Even though the dust had settled in the Great Evolution Theatre, the average soldiers knew nothing about the situations in the other Theatres.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had returned were doing their best to restore their strength so that they could head out to other Great Passes through the Space Array to provide reinforcements.
The victory in Great Evolution Theatre wasn’t much of a surprise as the Black Ink Clan here had basically been defeated 200 years ago and were forced to hide inside their Royal City. They even used thousands of Low-Rank Black Ink Nests to build a defence line made of Black Ink Strength around the Royal City.
Faced with a battered and cowering Black Ink Clan, there was no way Great Evolution Army wouldn’t win given all the advantages they had.
Even though they were surprised by the sudden appearance of a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple, it wasn’t enough to turn the situation around.
It could be said that before the crusade started, the Great Evolution Army had the confidence that they would definitely win this war. Although they were ecstatic about the victory, they were not surprised.
However, the news they had just received was different. In addition to the Great Evolution Theatre, the Human Race had conquered another Theatre.
Everyone believed that it was just the beginning. As the war continued to unfold, more and more good news would come from the other Theatres.
The voice had come from the Space Array Hall, and as the announcement was made, a messenger was also coming over in a hurry.
A moment later, a Seventh-Order Master dashed into the Main Hall. He was a member who was responsible for protecting the Space Array. With an excited expression, he said, “Blue Sky Pass has won! The news has been spread to all the Great Passes!”
Xiang Shan laughed, “Give it to me!”
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master stepped forward and respectfully held out a jade slip.
After taking the jade slip, Xiang Shan scanned it with his Divine Sense and smiled brightly.
Mi Jing Lun and the others took turns to read the content in the jade slip, and they were all elated.
The good news from Blue Sky Pass had diminished their worries about the Mother Nest. Furthermore, it was pointless to worry about it now. If the Black Ink Clan really had hidden arrangements, they would be revealed soon enough.
Three days later, more good news arrived.
The same Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s voice reverberated across the entire Great Evolution Pass again, “Yin-Yang Pass has won! They killed 87 Territory Lords and the Black Ink Clan survivors are on the run. The Royal City has been shattered!”
A few days later, there was another piece of good news.
“Azure Void Pass has won! The Old Ancestor single-handedly beheaded the Royal Lord with his sword!”
…
“Wind and Cloud Pass has won!”
“Myriad Demons Pass has won!”
…
Over the next half a month, good news arrived almost every single day. Sometimes, there were two to three announcements in a day. All of the news showed that the Humans had managed to destroy the Black Ink Clan in those Theatres.
Many Royal Lords were killed, and countless Territory Lords had lost their lives in battle, not to mention the Feudal Lords.
Some of the announcements didn’t mention Royal Lords, so it was obvious that the Royal Lords in those Theatres were still alive.
It wasn’t easy to kill a Royal Lord. Over the years, the Old Ancestors in all the Theatres had clashed with the Royal Lords frequently, with both parties repeatedly being wounded after exchanging moves. However, rarely would any Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master or Royal Lord lose their life.
The fact that they were able to kill so many Royal Lords this time was largely thanks to the Evil Purging Divine Spears.
The Old Ancestors were not equipped with Evil Purging Divine Spears because these artifacts were not harmful to the Royal Lords. The Ninth-Order Old Ancestors’ had to depend on their own heritages if they wanted to kill the Royal Lords.
Even though the Old Ancestors didn’t have Evil Purging Divine Spears, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were all given these weapons. The unsuspecting Territory Lords were struck by the spears and became easy targets. Once enough Territory Lords were killed, some of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were able to assist the Old Ancestors.
As long as there were five or six Eighth-Order Masters who fearlessly assisted, the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors would have a chance to kill the Royal Lords.
However, these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might lose their lives during the fight, which was the price they had to pay.
Only good news was mentioned in the announcements, with no details about the casualties on the Humans’ side. Nevertheless, everyone knew that behind the good news were the sacrifices and blood of many Human Race Masters.
It was also apparent to everyone that the Theatres where the wars were won in the shortest time all had something to do with Yang Kai.
Blue Sky Pass, which was the first to share the good news, needed no introduction. Yang Kai had first arrived in Blue Sky Pass and stayed there for centuries until he was transferred to the Great Evolution Army.
It was a similar case for Yin-Yang Pass, which was the second to share the good news. Yang Kai had been to Yin-Yang Pass to carry out an important mission and not only provided them with great assistance but also managed to do serious damage to the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
It was the same case for Myriad Demons Pass. Yang Kai had stayed there for a while to study the two Eye Secret Techniques under the Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Heaven. He had paid quite a bit of Military Merits for that opportunity.
In these three Theatres, Yang Kai had found the entrances to the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises outside of those Great Passes, which the Humans then used to set up different traps to slaughter large numbers of Black Ink Clansmen, especially Territory Lords.
It could be said that the Black Ink Clan had suffered immense losses in these three Theatres before the crusade even began. Blue Sky Pass’ forward base was built halfway to the Royal City, and was connected to the Great Pass by a pair of Universe Arrays. If the Humans wanted to attack the Royal City, they could transfer people around with far more convenience than any other Theatre.
As such, it was natural for Blue Sky Theatre to be the second to destroy the Black Ink Clan after their counterparts in the Great Evolution Theatre.
It was also understandable that those from Azure Void Pass and Wind and Cloud Pass could also pull off similar feats immediately after them.
When the Great Evolution Army was founded some 300 years ago, they initially departed from these two Great Passes. The Great Evolution Army had participated in the wars against the Black Ink Clan in those Theatres before they set out towards Great Evolution Pass.
At that time, there were respectively 60,000 soldiers and more than 200 Eighth-Order Masters in those two Great Passes. During those wars, they managed to deal severe damage to the Black Ink Clan forces and kill a large number of Territory Lords.
It could be said that the Black Ink Clan in the Azure Void Theatre and Wind and Cloud Theatre had suffered immense losses at that time which laid the foundation for their victory today.
More and more good news arrived from the other Great Passes, and of course, Great Evolution Pass wasn’t the only receiver of such good news. The Great Passes would spread the news to other places upon receiving the information.
After Great Evolution Pass won their war a while back, they immediately sent the news to other Great Passes in the vicinity so that they could boost the Human soldiers’ morale. That way, the Human soldiers in the different Theatres would be increasingly assertive.
10 days after the dust settled in Great Evolution Theatre, over 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from Great Evolution Pass were deployed to other Theatres where the Humans were in deadlocks with the enemies to provide assistance.
It wasn’t smooth sailing for all the Theatres like in the Great Evolution Theatre. In some of the Theatres, the Black Ink Clan had ample heritage, so it wasn’t easy for the Humans to win the war.
With that said, those leading the Armies had naturally made some arrangements for these Theatres.
They didn’t have to fight with the Black Ink Clan head-on; they just had to deal with them with patience and stall for time.
When victory was obtained in the other Theatres, there would be powerful Masters who could be sent as reinforcements. For example, those in Great Evolution Theatre had won their war fairly early on, so they were able to sent aid to those Theatres that were caught in stalemates.
A dozen or so Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was a force to be reckoned with; moreover, many Seventh-Order Masters were carried along inside their Small Universes.
Although only a dozen or so Eighth-Order Masters were deployed from the Great Evolution Theatre, they were accompanied by some 200 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Furthermore, this was just the support from Great Evolution Pass.
The other Great Passes from different victorious Theatres were able to help out as well. When the wars were settled in those Theatres, even more Human Masters would be free to render assistance in the Theatres where wars were still ongoing. This kind of support would only increase like a rolling snowball. How was the Black Ink Clan supposed to fend off the Humans under such circumstances?
As long as there were two or three Great Passes that could send reinforcements, any Theatre could easily break the stalemate they found themselves in.
This kind of large-scale support operation had never been seen before. At the very least, not before Yang Kai’s arrival at the Black Ink Battlefield.
The Great Passes were far away from each other, so even though they were connected by Space Arrays, it was expensive to transfer Humans around. Given the scarcity of resources, they couldn’t afford to do so.
Furthermore, the more powerful a person was, the more expensive it was to send him or her to another Great Pass through the Space Array.
In the past, even if they just wanted to send over 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to the nearest Great Pass, all the reserve resources from a Great Pass would be used up.
Without any resources left, how were the Humans supposed to cultivate? How would they treat their wounds if they were injured? How would they repair the damaged Warships?
Therefore, even though the Humans had a method to send assistance to other Theatres, they were unable to do so due to the lack of resources.
But it was different now, for the Great Passes had all accumulated a massive amount of resources over the past few centuries. Moreover, they had acquired a lot of resources after conquering the Royal Cities. Therefore, they had sufficient resources to transfer people around freely.
The Humans’ plan was that they would support their neighbours whenever they could.
In simple terms, they would only try to support the Great Passes nearest to them. That was because the longer the distance was, the more resources would be required to power the Hyper Space Arrays. Although the Humans were not short on resources, it was not like they could easily squander them all away either.
As such, Great Evolution Pass only needed to send out a small number of people because the neighbouring Azure Void Pass and Wind and Cloud Pass had mostly destroyed the enemies, so help wasn’t really needed.
The Great Passes nearest to the Theatres where the Humans were in deadlocks with the enemies spared no effort to lend their counterparts a hand. As long as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was still able to fight, they would be re-deployed as soon as possible.
Even some of the Old Ancestors headed to different Theatres to help out.
It was no different from a nightmare to the Black Ink Clan.
They were initially able to hold back the Humans and even counterattack in some Theatres, but with the sudden influx of Eighth-Order and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the situation instantly became treacherous. When the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors began appearing in other Theatres, the deadlocks instantly turned into massacres where the Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered.
On the other hand, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao remained in Great Evolution Pass.
The information Yang Kai had discovered in the Black Ink Nest Space made her feel a little uneasy, so she didn’t dare to leave this place at this point. She was worried that something terrible would happen in the Great Evolution Theatre if she wasn’t around.
Furthermore, she had been forced to overexert herself in order to kill Mo Zhao as quickly as possible, so she had suffered some serious injuries as well.
This went to show that it wasn’t easy to kill a Royal Lord no matter the condition they were in. Mo Zhao had never managed to heal from his wounds over the years while Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was at peak strength, but it still took her a great deal of effort to swiftly kill the enemy. It was expected that it was even harder for the other Old Ancestors in the Theatres where the Royal Lords were perfectly healthy.
Yang Kai didn’t leave the Great Evolution Theatre either. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to lend a hand, but rather he couldn’t.
When they came up with a list of people that would be sent to other Theatres, Yang Kai ranked first among the Seventh-Order Masters because he was far more powerful than those in the same Order and was even able to fight with Territory Lords after transforming into an Ancient Dragon. No one would neglect him.
If he was sent to another Theatre, he would prove to be just as useful as an Eighth-Order Master.
However, when Xiang Shan tried to keep him inside his Small Universe, he realised he was unable to do so. When he tried to forcefully do so, he realised that his Small Universe was on the brink of bursting.
It didn’t take long to figure out that because Yang Kai was so much more powerful than others in the same Order, with a Small Universe that was significantly bigger and heavier than an ordinary Seventh-Order Master’s, trying to carry him inside another’s Small Universe just wasn’t feasible.
Moreover, the damage to Yang Kai’s Soul hadn’t healed, and Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao also needed him to remain so that he could help with her recuperation.
The wars in the other Theatres were still raging, while it was peaceful in Great Evolution Pass. The injured could finally get some rest and recuperate.
Yang Kai had spread out his Small Universe to help with Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s recuperation while he tended to his own injuries.
Good news still kept coming from other Great Passes and more and more soldiers headed out to help out. The deadlocks in the Theatres were resolved and the advantage the Humans had accumulated continued to increase with time.
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters responsible for guarding the Space Array meticulously informed everyone about the good news.
Initially, everyone was excited upon hearing each piece of good news, but as time passed, it became almost routine.
They had been preparing for centuries to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy, so it shouldn’t surprise them that they eventually won the war.
Along with a certain piece of good news, another piece of information was delivered. A Seventh-Order Master passed it to Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao without disclosing it to everyone.
Yang Kai didn’t ask her about it, nor did she intend to tell him. He believed that the information contained the number of casualties on the Humans’ side.
If they talked about Great Evolution Theatre alone, the casualty rate was quite shocking.
Before the crusade, there were some 40,000 soldiers and over 70 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Great Evolution Army.
But now, Yang Kai could only detect the auras of about 30,000 soldiers and fewer than 40 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
If he included the dozen or so Eighth-Order Masters who had left to help other Great Passes, that was still only about 50. Where were the rest?
After the war, Yang Kai had scanned the battlefield and helped retrieve a number of corpses, so he knew the answer.
It could be said that the losses that the Great Evolution Army had suffered this time were just as great as what they had experienced 200 years ago.
When the Great Evolution Army was founded, there were 60,000 soldiers and 120 Eighth-Order Division Commanders. In just 300 to 400 years, half of them had perished in battle.
Even the Great Evolution Army, which had the finest arms and armaments as well as a huge advantage over the enemy, suffered such tremendous losses. The situations in other Theatres could only be worse.
More and more good news came from the other Theatres. The support system they had for each other proved to be useful.
Two months later, there came a moment when a familiar voice reverberated across the entire Great Evolution Pass again.
“The Humans have won the war in the Great Battle Theatre! The Royal Lord has fallen and all the Black Ink Clan soldiers were killed!”
…
As he ran around the Great Pass, he loudly announced this piece of good news to everyone.
Everyone in Great Evolution Pass started cheering again. All of them danced excitedly as howls of joy spread across the entire place.
In the Small Universe, Yang Kai let out a breath.
Even though he had already expected this day to come, he still couldn’t stop his ecstasy from rising within him when he heard about this particular piece of good news.
The reason these soldiers, who had been silent for quite a while, became excited again was that the Great Battle Theatre was the last place where the Humans were still fighting.
In the past two months, they had received good news from over 105 Theatres, with the latest report coming from the Luo Sheng Theatre three days ago.
Three days later, good news from the Great Battle Theatre arrived.
At this point, the Humans had gained total victory on the Black Ink Battlefield as they had occupied all the Theatres.
Furthermore, according to the good news, all the Black Ink Clansmen had been wiped out. It was a very rare statement as only three out of over 100 reports had used such wording.
It wasn’t easy to wipe out all the Black Ink Clansmen in a given Theatre. Even Great Evolution Pass was unable to achieve this.
The Great Battle Theatre was the last place where the Humans managed to achieve it. It certainly had something to do with the fact that they had a lot of reinforcements from the other Theatres. There was no way the Black Ink Clan could fend off hundreds of Eighth-Order and thousands of Seventh-Order Open Masters who arrived at the battlefield from different Great Passes.
Recalling something, Yang Kai turned to look at Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and asked, “Old Ancestor, you told me before that there were two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and two Royal Lords in the Great Battle Theatre.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao nodded, “It seems that one of them escaped.”
Only one Royal Lord was mentioned in the good news, so it was apparent that the other one had run away.
Doing a quick count, aside from the ones he had seen inside the Black Ink Nest Space, Yang Kai reckoned that about 50 to 60 Royal Lords had fled.
That was indeed a worrying number, for they were not Feudal Lords or Territory Lords. If those Royal Lords gathered together, no Great Pass would be a match for them.
In the past, they were in charge of their Royal Cities where they had many subordinates and their own Black Ink Nests to worry about, so they wouldn’t easily leave. In this way, the Human Old Ancestors were able to pin them down.
But now, their Royal Cities had been shattered, their Armies killed, and their Black Ink Nests destroyed. Even though they appeared to be in a sorry state, they had actually broken free from their restraints.
Now, they were able to move around freely.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel worried. Those surviving Royal Lords would surely prove to be a threat to the Human Race in the future.