In just a short moment, the Pseudo-Royal Lord trapped in the Yin-Yang Fish lost all vitality and died on the spot.
As the attention of the Black Ink Clan’s many Masters was drawn over, Wu Qing’s figure appeared like a ghost on the other side of the battlefield. With World Force surging, he aimed his halberd at a chosen target.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord he selected had an unstable aura and was clearly injured. Having barely escaped from the attack of the Giant Spirit God, this Pseudo-Royal Lord didn’t even sense this silent ambush.
It wasn’t until the danger was upon him that he noticed, but it was already too late.
Unable to mount a proper defence, he presented an opportunity that Wu Qing seized, and with a single strike, the halberd split him in half.
Black blood gushed out, and Black Ink Strength dissipated.
The two Ninth-Order Masters who just escaped were like tigers in a flock of sheep, seeking out targets to slaughter. The powers of Yin and Yang surged, and the long halberd swept out endless sharp edges.
Mo Na Ye was furious as he had brought a considerable number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, but he had already lost six, with four killed by the Giant Spirit God earlier while two more were brought down by Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing in such a short time.
These Pseudo-Royal Lords were the backbone of the Black Ink Clan’s forces against the Humans, and though they had not suffered significant losses on the real battlefield, significant casualties had been taken here, causing Mo Na Ye great distress.
This operation was supposed to be foolproof. If they had succeeded, not only would they have killed two Ninth-Order Masters, but they would also have assisted the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in breaking free from its bindings, killing two birds with one stone.
Unfortunately, this seemingly perfect plan had been blown apart after Yang Kai’s hidden hand was revealed.
Mo Na Ye roared in anger and charged towards Wu Qing.
After the initial panic, the Pseudo-Royal Lords hastily formed Battle Formations against the two Ninth-Order Masters and barely managed to hold their ground.
Upon noticing Mo Na Ye’s movements, Wu Qing immediately flew towards Xiao Xiao’s position, ignoring Mo Na Ye’s attack from behind. With a fierce blow, he pierced through another Pseudo-Royal Lord who was suppressed by Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao understood Wu Qing’s intention and fully cooperated. Grand Dao Strength surged, suppressing the Pseudo-Royal Lord and rendering him immobile.
With two Ninth-Order Masters joining forces, the lone Pseudo-Royal Lord was no match at all. In a state of extreme shock, he could only watch as Wu Qing pierced him with a single strike.
At the same time, Wu Qing’s figure shook as he spurted fresh blood. It was a result of Mo Na Ye’s attack.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords, who had just regained their footing, gathered together in their Battle Formations from all directions while Mo Na Ye also charged over with haste.
On the other hand, Xiao Xiao grabbed Wu Qing’s shoulder as the Yin-Yang Fish rolled back, wrapping around them while they withstood the relentless attacks of their enemies as they carved a bloody path out.
Powerful Secret Techniques bombarded them, but they were all dissolved by the Yin-Yang Fish. The shield Xiao Xiao was manipulating trembled, costing her a great deal of energy to maintain.
After a moment, the chaotic battle suddenly calmed down as the two sides stood across from each other in the void, facing off from afar. In the eerie and quiet stalemate, only the fierce residual waves of the two Giant Spirit Gods battling each other in the distance could be felt.
Xiao Xiao’s chest heaved, and Wu Qing’s face was pale with a hint of fresh blood at the corner of his mouth. On the opposite side, Mo Na Ye and the Pseudo-Royal Lords looked at them coldly with eyes full of resentment and anger.
However, even with all the rage they felt, it was useless in this situation.
Their plan had completely failed!
Although the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had managed to escape, the Humans gained another Giant Spirit God to assist them. These two were now mutually restraining each other, making the Black Ink Clan’s plan to use the Black Ink Giant Spirit God to sweep away the Human Race completely useless.
In addition, the two Ninth-Order Masters were also not dead and could escape at any time because their location was right at the entrance to the Wind Mist Territory passage.
In the end, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was still contained, while the two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were now free!
Mo Na Ye clenched his fists tightly as his heart bled.
Originally, in terms of Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Masters, the Black Ink Clan was inferior to the Human Race. The Black Ink Clan only had two Royal Lords left, while the Humans had four available in the 3,000 Worlds.
The advantage that the Black Ink Clan could occupy was mainly due to the many Pseudo-Royal Lords on their side.
Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing had been trapped in Wind Mist Territory for so many years, so though they could restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, they were of no use on the battlefield.
But now, they were freed…
On the main battlefield, there would be two more Human Armies led by veteran Ninth-Order Masters. This was a disaster for the Black Ink Clan.
And the reason for this outcome was a hidden hand left behind by Yang Kai millennia ago!
Mo Na Ye could not understand why Yang Kai had kept such a hidden hand until now instead of using it earlier.
Regardless, the Black Ink Clan had lost this battle. They thought that Yang Kai, who was trapped in the Universe Furnace, would no longer cause them any trouble, and that they could completely rid themselves of this heart demon. But who would have thought that they were still shrouded in his shadow…
“Mo Na Ye,” before reaching the entrance to the passage, Xiao Xiao smiled coldly and said, “When I see you on the battlefield, I’ll be sure to take your head!”
Standing beside her, Wu Qing gestured threateningly with a fierce look on his face.
Then, the two turned around simultaneously and leapt towards the passage that was connected to Wind Mist Territory, disappearing in an instant.
Mo Na Ye simply watched without trying to stop them.
In fact, he couldn’t stop them. The two had already planned their escape. Even if Mo Na Ye had set up an ambush on the other side of the passage in advance, that might not be enough to contain them.
In the previous situation, he believed that victory was already assured and thus there was no need to waste troops by setting up ambushes. But after Xiao Xiao summoned the World Bead that sealed the Giant Spirit God, chaos ensued. Under the frenzied attack of the Giant Spirit God, he had no choice but to react in the moment.
Now, pursuing the enemy was meaningless as they could potentially be ambushed by them.
It was a complete and utter defeat, with heavy casualties.
Seven Pseudo-Royal Lords died while all the others were injured. Mo Na Ye didn’t know how to explain this to Mo Yu when he returned.
Throughout the years, Mo Yu had trusted him a lot; otherwise, he would not have granted him so much control. But looking back on the various plans he had presided over through the years, it seemed that none had progressed as he had envisioned…
In a previous action against Yang Kai before the appearance of the Universe Furnace, many Innate Territory Lords died. But, due to the sudden appearance of the Universe Furnace, Mo Na Ye had ultimately failed and allowed Yang Kai to escape. During the battle between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan inside the Universe Furnace, the Black Ink Clan suffered the loss of a new Royal Lord and several Pseudo-Royal Lords. If Mo Na Ye hadn’t quickly escaped in the end, he might have also been killed.
Initially, he thought he had successfully prevented Xiang Shan from advancing to the Ninth-Order, which was a small consolation, but in the end, Xiang Shan still succeeded. This time, the plan that was thought to be foolproof resulted in the loss of seven Pseudo-Royal Lords from the Black Ink Clan and allowed the two strongest living Ninth-Order Masters to break free.
Mo Na Ye felt discouraged all of a sudden.
[In the end, the Human Race is still favoured by Heaven.]
“Hou!” Suddenly, a roar shook the void from deep within, and Mo Na Ye snapped back to attention. He turned his head in the direction of the commotion and saw a massive figure floating in the distance.
He understood immediately that it was coming from the two Giant Spirit Gods that had been entangled for many years.
These two Giant Spirit Gods had been locked in combat for almost a millennium, their limbs intertwined like children in a playground scuffle. For years, they remained stuck in this stalemate.
Suddenly, there was a commotion, indicating that the fighting had drawn attention.
Soon, clashes could be heard from the depths of the void.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed as he quickly regained his composure and shouted, “Let’s go!”
The Barren Territory was vast enough to accommodate two Giant Spirit Gods as they wreaked havoc on the battlefield, but if all four were to start an all-out fight, there would be no safe place in this entire Great Territory left.
A battle of this level was beyond the ability of mere Pseudo-Royal Lords to interfere with. Even Mo Na Ye himself didn’t want to get involved; therefore, as soon as he realised what was about to happen, he decisively led the Pseudo-Royal Lords to retreat.
Shortly after they returned to the No-Return Pass through the Territory Gate, two huge figures finally appeared in the void. They were entangled with each other as they approached that from the side and soon arrived near Ah Da’s battlefield with his opponent.
“Brother!” Ah Da’s eyes lit up when he saw Ah Er’s figure while engaged in a fierce battle with his opponent.
The Giant Spirit Gods, a unique Race, had always been rare, and due to their innate behaviour, they spend most of their time either traveling or hibernating, so they rarely cross paths.
Ah Da had clearly not met his clansmen in years, so seeing one now was quite exciting.
Soon after though, he became enraged and shouted, “How dare you hit my Brother? I’ll kill you!”
With those words, he disregarded his own opponent and charged straight towards Ah Er.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God, who had been entangled with Ah Er, was slightly stunned, but quickly gave chase. Though their movements seemed clumsy, every strike shook the Heavens and the Earth.
Meanwhile, Ah Er faced off against the opponent who had originally belonged to Ah Da. When Ah Da threw his opponent aside, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God naturally pursued and joined the chaotic fray.
In an instant, the four Giant Spirit Gods began wreaking havoc in the Great Territory, causing chaos and destruction. With each clash, the Great Territory was like a pond that had boulders tossed into it, sending ripples outwards in all directions.
Wherever the ripples were, space became unstable and countless Void Cracks tore open. It was as if the entire Barren Territory was on the verge of collapsing.
Several months later, a notice was sent from the Supreme Headquarters to the various front-line battlefields. Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, who had both been stationed in Wind Mist Territory for thousands of years, had returned. The Humans gained two more Ninth-Order Masters with Xiao Xiao assuming command of the Soaring Cloud Army, while Wu Qing led the Purple Feather Army.
Furthermore, the Humans had an additional Giant Spirit God as an ally, which restrained the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that was trapped for many years.
The news spread and the morale of the Humans soared. The boost in momentum allowed them to easily seize several Great Territories on various fronts.
“500 years. It has already been 500 years. Do you know how I managed to make it through these 500 years?” The low voice was full of repression, helplessness, and a hint of anger, revealing the speaker’s inner unrest.
But there was no response.
On the Soul Warming Lotus, Fang Tian Ci looked at Thunder Shadow as if he was an idiot. Thunder Shadow immediately lost his composure and complained, “You should have replied by asking me how…” [If you don’t ask, how am I supposed to continue?]
“Childish!” Fang Tian Ci threw out a comment casually.
Upon hearing that, Thunder Shadow became deeply hurt and looked helpless, “It’s so boring to be with someone like you, surely no woman has ever liked you.”
Fang Tian Ci chuckled, “I have many descendants!”
“Big Brother, how’s this Universe World?” Ignoring him, Thunder Shadow turned his head and asked Yang Kai.
Soon, Yang Kai’s response came, “The World Principles here are close to perfection, and there are signs of simple life. This can be considered a newly born Universe World. Perhaps in a few years, real living creatures will appear.”
Thunder Shadow immediately became excited, “Doesn’t that mean we are getting closer to the 3,000 Worlds?”
According to Yang Kai’s previous speculation, by exploring the Universe Worlds along the way and observing the completeness of their World Principles, one could determine whether the direction of travel was correct.
The closer they got to the 3,000 Worlds, the more complete the World Principles in the Universe Worlds would be. Yang Kai had been constantly correcting their direction and rushing forward during these last 500 years. The Universe Worlds they encountered along the way indeed had more complete World Principles as predicted.
This Universe Word had its World Principles fully taken shape, and there were now some of the simplest forms of life emerging.
If there was life, it meant that this Universe World had the conditions for life to exist. Perhaps after another million years of evolution, some unique creatures specific to this Universe World would emerge.
They were heading in the right direction so all that was left was time.
Yang Kai had been returning from the edge of the Universe, and it did indeed take a lot of time. It had been 500 years, yet he still couldn’t find his way back.
500 years had passed since the Universe Furnace closed. Since Yang Kai was unsure of the state of the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, he had to hurry back.
Without staying much longer in this Universe World, he continued on his journey.
100 years later, when Yang Kai descended to another Universe World to investigate the situation, he discovered that there were indeed living creatures in it.
Most of the living creatures lived in the vast seas, with few living on land. The entire Universe World was covered with green vegetation, giving it a lush appearance. With the emergence of living creatures, it meant that the Universe World was now fully alive and had the potential to give rise to sentient creatures like Humans in the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai once again attempted to connect with the World Tree but to no avail.
The various Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds were interdependent with the World Tree, with each World Fruit on the World Tree reflecting the state of each Universe World; if one died, its corresponding World Fruit would wither away as well.
This Universe World was vibrant with vitality, but it had no connection to the World Tree at all. Ultimately, it was because the power of the World Tree had not yet reached this place.
After all, this place was just too far away from the 3,000 Worlds.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but recall his previous speculations after hearing Thunder Shadow’s casual remark that left him with much to ponder.
[Was the Universe Furnace the thing that created the 3,000 Worlds and the Black Ink Battlefield? What about beyond? Is there truly only one Universe? Are there more unknown Universes beyond this one?]
[Perhaps the 3,000 Worlds is one Universe, and the Black Ink Battlefield is another?]
At his current location, Yang Kai believed he was in a much deeper part of the Black Ink Battlefield, a place that neither the Humans nor Black Ink Clan had ever set foot in. If it were truly the same Universe though, why couldn’t the power of the World Tree reach this place, where the World Principles were already fully established, and living beings had even emerged?
Yang Kai found himself deep in thought.
[Perhaps… I can find a way to connect this Universe World to the World Tree? If I succeed, I could use the Old Tree’s power to return to Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary without wasting any more time and energy on the journey.]
The road ahead was clearly still quite long, and though Yang Kai used Space Secret Techniques to speed up his travel, it still took him 600 years with no sign of the end. At this point, he was uncertain when he would finally see the familiar landscape again.
Then, Yang Kai had an idea. He had an item that he could use to test his theory. Without hesitation, he soared into the air and found a mountain valley filled with the fragrance of flowers. Then, he opened the portal to his Small Universe and moved a towering tree out of it.
It was a World Tree Clone!
This was not the one that belonged to him, but to Fang Tian Ci.
During the union of the three Selves, Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe merged completely with Yang Kai’s, strengthening the size of his Small Universe and adding to his heritage. Naturally, the World Tree clone was brought into Yang Kai’s Small Universe as well.
Yang Kai already had one, so a second one was redundant. He had intended to find a suitable person to give it to and help them grow quickly, but he had never expected to be needing to use it in the current situation.
Surging his World Force, Yang Kai dug a large pit in the mountain valley and planted the World Tree clone in it. He wasn’t worried about it not surviving as the World Tree was a mystical and unparalleled entity. The simple root planted in the Star Boundary by Yang Kai previously had grown into a towering tree, so a complete tree would naturally thrive.
After completing this, Yang Kai did not continue on his journey but instead sat down under the tree and waited quietly. He didn’t know if his plan would work, and even if it did, he didn’t know how many years it would take.
Quietly resigning himself to the possibility of wasting another 100 years, Yang Kai hoped that his plan would bear fruit within that time frame. If it didn’t, he would dig up the World Tree clone and continue his journey.
It would only be 100 years, so it wasn’t too bad.
Moreover, he wasn’t planning to just sit and wait.
Although he had advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and had even taken a big step forward in his cultivation by merging Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe with his, it did not mean he would be satisfied with that.
He still had room for improvement! His future enemies would no longer be limited to the Territory Lords and Royal Lords of the Black Ink Clan. He might even have to face Mo, who was in the Creation Realm, so he needed to be stronger.
The Martial Dao was a long journey of exploration, accumulating strength and experience bit by bit.
He had a lot of cultivation materials on hand and could refine them to continuously strengthen his own heritage.
As time passed, sets of material turned into dust in Yang Kai’s hands.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the World Tree stood majestic and grand as a precious treasure born along with Heavens and Earth. When the Heavens and Earth split, it had already come into existence at almost the same time as the first Primordial Light.
Its birth was rooted in the numerous Universe Worlds of the 3,000 Worlds, and its existence was intimately linked with the life or death of those Universe Worlds.
The peak World Tree was covered in World Fruits, and every branch was bent under the weight of the fruits. But, as the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, one by one the Universe Worlds were corrupted by the Black Ink Strength, causing them to die, which resulted in the withering of World Fruits in droves.
Until today, there were only slightly over 2,000 fruits left on its branches…
Thankfully, Yang Kai was able to save a large number of Universe Worlds by refining them in the past; otherwise, the World Tree would have already withered away completely.
Despite this, the World Tree still appeared old and feeble.
The loss of so many Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds had drained the World Tree of its vitality so it spent most of its time standing in silence apart from when Yang Kai visited it. It could do nothing to stop the calamity befalling the 3,000 Worlds, and if the Human Race were to lose, the World Tree would perish with them.
Suddenly, an old face appeared on the thick trunk with a look of surprise and doubt showing on its brow. It vaguely felt that something in a very distant place seemed to have a faint resonance with itself, but this feeling flashed by, making it difficult to determine its authenticity.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the old face on the trunk gradually disappeared. The withering and falling of World Fruits caused its vitality to plummet, leaving it with little energy to think about minor issues. Most of the time over the years, it had been asleep, only waking when Yang Kai contacted it.
In the distant void, Yang Kai sat cross-legged under the tree in that Universe World, constantly refining various materials to enhance his strength.
The towering tree behind him danced in the wind, while the massive roots began to intertwine deep in the earth in a place invisible to the naked eye, madly devouring the power of this Universe World and merging with it.
Years later, in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Old Tree suddenly woke up from its slumber and the old face appeared once again on its thick trunk.
It clearly carried a puzzled look this time as it felt that something strange had happened to itself, but because it had just awakened, it was difficult to determine what this change was.
Only after carefully examining itself did the Old Tree suddenly realize.
A branch trembled and drooped down, and on the trunk, the old face of the Old Tree showed a look of pleasant surprise and doubt, changing alternatively.
This was all because, on that branch, a little flower bud had sprouted.
The Old Tree was shocked.
It actually bloomed!
This had never happened before. It was born with Heaven and Earth and had hung with World Fruits since its birth with each World Fruit corresponding to a Universe World in the 3,000 Worlds.
But it had never experienced something like blooming, and for a moment, the Old Tree was a bit confused.
The blooming of the Old Tree was an unprecedented event that had never happened before.
It wanted to understand what had happened to itself, so after careful examination, it sensed a very distant location through the flower bud.
Suddenly, it understood that the sensation that had arisen several years ago was not just a figment of its imagination.
Although the sensation was still vague and intermittent, it did actually exist.
[Why do I have this strange connection with a place so far away?] Old Tree was completely baffled.
Because of the unusual occurrence, Old Tree remained vigilant and did not fall into a deep sleep in the following years, occasionally investigating the situation of the flower bud.
As time passed, the little flower bud gradually bloomed, and with the falling of the petals, a tiny World Fruit appeared!
Old Tree was completely shocked. For countless years, it had only experienced the withering and falling of its World Fruits and it had never given birth to a new one. Furthermore, it did not understand what caused this sudden change.
The only thing it knew was that the birth of this World Fruit was not harmful to itself, because, with the birth of this new fruit, a weak vitality was injected into its old body.
Several dozen years later, when the World Fruit grew to the size of a fist and became completely solidified, it suddenly felt a faint call from it.
It had experienced this many times before, it was like when Yang Kai needed to borrow its strength to arrive before it.
Under the World Tree clone in this Universe World, Yang Kai was overjoyed.
He had finally made contact with the Old Tree, and although it seemed a bit unstable, the current result confirmed his previous speculation.
Over the past several dozen years, the World Tree clone had undoubtedly grown significantly and had already completely merged with this Universe World. After devouring a large amount of World Force in this place, the World Tree clone began to nourish this land too.
Over the years, Yang Kai tried connecting with the World Tree every once in a while but made no progress. That made him think that his previous idea was wrong.
It wasn’t until this moment that he finally made contact with the World Tree in the faraway Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
This made him feel delighted.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Old Tree understood roughly what was happening. The World Tree clone planted was technically also its Soul Clone. It was not aware of the situation before because the World Tree clone had not fully merged with the Universe World it was planted on, but now that it had, despite being separated by the endless void, the Old Tree could vaguely sense the situation through the World Tree clone now.
It couldn’t help but marvel at what was happening as it had never experienced anything like it before.
Although their connection was not very clear, Yang Kai’s intentions were crystal clear to Old Tree. Over the years, every time Yang Kai connected to it, it meant that he needed to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. So, Old Tree immediately exerted its power, causing its massive body to start shaking.
In the next moment, Old Tree’s aged face suddenly changed.
Under the World Tree clone in that Universe World, Yang Kai’s figure abruptly disappeared as soon as the Old Tree began to act; it was as if Yang Kai had entered an unpredictable and indescribable space in an instant.
He had experienced this many times before, so he was already used to it; however, Yang Kai quickly realised that something was wrong.
Every time he used the power of the World Tree to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it was basically an instantaneous thing, but this time, it seemed to be taking a long time!
After travelling for a long time in that strange space, Yang Kai still hadn’t emerged, not to mention, the connection between him and the World Tree became very vague, almost to the point of being non-existent.
Yang Kai was shocked. He was only able to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary by borrowing the power of the World Tree because he had saved and refined more than 2,000 Universe Worlds in the past. Later, he placed these Universe Worlds on the corresponding World Fruits on the Old Tree. It could be said that these Universe Worlds and their corresponding World Fruits all had his imprint on them.
It was precisely because of these marks that he had an unbreakable connection with Old Tree, which allowed him to use the latter’s power to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Having a connection was the reason why they could sense each other.
Now that their connection was almost about to be cut off, it became a nightmare for Yang Kai. If the connection was truly cut off, he didn’t know what he would encounter.
It was highly likely that he would be trapped on the way of trying to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and it would be difficult for him to find his way out.
Thankfully, the blurry connection was re-established again when it was on the verge of cutting off, clearly because Old Tree had also sensed it and was exerting all its efforts.
Without daring to delay, Yang Kai immediately used his Space Secret Technique to move forward quickly; however, it was in vain…
The road ahead was long and the end was nowhere in sight. Despite Old Tree’s best efforts, their connection was rapidly weakening again.
It made Yang Kai frantic, realising that he was still too far away from the Old Tree to be easily guided into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, even with the Old Tree’s power.
If their connection was completely lost, he might never find his way back.
At this critical moment, Yang Kai quickly immersed himself in thought to figure out a plan while rushing forward. He had weathered many storms over the years, so he developed a calm demeanor in the face of crises.
Suddenly, Yang Kai lit up as he thought of a solution. He quickly opened a portal to his Small Universe and a towering tree appeared in it, it was his own World Tre clone.
By planting a World Tree clone in a newborn Universe World, he was able to establish a connection with the Old Tree. If a planted World Tree clone had such an effect, then his own World Tree clone must also have it.
Sure enough, when Yang Kai did this, the blurry connection between him and the Old Tree instantly became strong. At the next moment, Yang Kai felt the power of his Small Universe uncontrollably flowing out like a dam breaking, gushing like a raging river…
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Old Tree’s old face was full of hardship, obviously nearing its limit. The giant World Tree was also shaking constantly until at a certain moment, ripples appeared on the newly formed World Fruit, followed by a figure breaking out of it and falling in front of the Old Tree.
Subsequently, the shaking trunk gradually calmed down, and on the tree’s surface, the Old Tree’s aged face looked even more withered and old. Looking at the familiar figure that suddenly appeared, it couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
[I’ve really overexerted myself…]
Yang Kai was also gasping for breath, half kneeling on the ground, his face slightly pale. He had just gone through a very dangerous journey. If he hadn’t thought of using his own World Tree clone at the last moment, he would have had no way to return to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Though he managed to return, the World Force in his Small Universe had been greatly depleted. He was currently at the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and the heritage of his Small Universe was extremely rich; however, this one action had consumed nearly half of his strength. If it weren’t for his World Tree clone isolating and protecting his Small Universe, Void World would have been in turmoil.
After calming down a bit, Yang Kai stood up and looked up at the familiar World Tree, feeling joy in his heart. He had finally returned!
“Where did you go?” Old Tree suddenly spoke up. He had guided Yang Kai here many times before, and although it did take a toll on it, it was still within an acceptable range. But this time, the guidance had severely damaged its foundation, and almost failed.
Old Tree was very curious about where Yang Kai went as in its perception, its clone had been left in a very, very distant place.
Yang Kai sat in front of the Old Tree and sighed, “It’s a long story…”
He recounted his experiences simply, and upon hearing how the Universe Furnace created the Universe Worlds from Chaos and how Yang Kai returned from the edge of the Universe, even Old Tree, who had existed since ancient times, was flabbergasted.
It knew about the Universe Furnace, but had no idea that Universe Worlds were created from the sea of Chaos beyond the Universe. If that were true, then its own birth could also be said to have originated from the Universe Furnace as it was the Universe Furnace that gave birth to the Universe Worlds, which were symbiotic with the World Tree.
After telling his story, Yang Kai couldn’t help but complain, “Old Tree, why didn’t you tell me earlier about the wonders of your clones?”
If he had known, he might have been able to return even sooner.
But on second thought, even if he did know about it, it would probably be useless. His return this time was already the extreme limit. Even if Yang Kai planted the clone at the furthest reaches of the Universe and someone made a connection with the Old Tree, he might not have been able to use its power to return to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Old Tree fell silent for a moment before saying, “I too had no idea until now!”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was speechless. It made sense though, given the countless ages that passed. Perhaps Old Tree had given away some of its clones before, but all of them had undoubtedly been refined by those Masters.
No Master before Yang Kai was willing to plant the clone in a Universe World as they had all used them for their own purposes.
Although Yang Kai had planted World Tree clones in both the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World previously, those two Universes World already had World Fruits corresponding to the World Tree; thus, the true use of the clones could not be fully realised.
This time, Yang Kai had a sudden inspiration and planted a World Tree clone in a very remote location, which created an inseparable connection between that Universe World and the World Tree.
It could be said that from ancient times to the present, no one had ever done what Yang Kai did, so of course, Old Tree did not know about it, becoming surprised when a branch suddenly bloomed and bore fruit.
Though the World Tree existed for a long time and saw and experienced many things, it didn’t mean it was all-knowing and all-powerful. At the very least, it was not aware of the creation of the Universe Worlds by the Universe Furnace from Chaos.
Common people, and even Old Tree, only thought of the Universe Furnace as an opportunity, but the true mystery of the Universe Furnace was only known to Yang Kai.
“Old Tree, I have your clone in my Small Universe too. Doesn’t that mean that in the future, no matter where I am, you can guide me here?” Yang Kai asked, only realising this after experiencing today’s events.
If that were the case, then his actions would be much easier in the future. Even if he encountered the same situation as before, he wouldn’t have to spend too much time rushing around since he could simply open up his Small Universe, borrow the connection between his World Tree clone and the World Tree, and return at will when needed.
That was what he thought, but Yang Kai couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. The situation seemed more complicated than he had imagined.
Old Tree didn’t directly answer the question, but instead said, “Think about it. What is the source that helps me to guide you to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and the many Universe Worlds from here?”
“Source?” Yang Kai mused.
Upon closer inspection, he realised that he was able to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary through the power of the World Tree because he had refined over 2,000 Universe Worlds in the past. Each of those Universe Worlds reflected the World Fruits on Old Tree’s body, creating an inseparable connection between them.
Therefore, regardless of where Yang Kai was, he only needed a living Universe World as a medium in order to use the power of the Old Tree to enter the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
It was also for this reason that he specially refined a Universe World from the 3,000 Worlds and brought it to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so that he could easily investigate the situation there at any time.
And every time he left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he needed a World Fruit as a medium. For example, if he wanted to go to the Star Boundary, he needed to find the corresponding World Fruit. If he wanted to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he just had to find the World Fruit that corresponded to the Universe World he had left behind previously…
Yang Kai suddenly realised, “The source is the World Fruit.”
The face on the trunk of the tree nodded, “You can also say it’s the still living Universe Worlds.”
“So, my plan won’t work.”
His Small Universe didn’t have a corresponding World Fruit. When he returned just now, he only strengthened the connection between himself and the Old Tree using his World Tree Clone; after all, each clone was a part of the Old Tree, and there was an inseparable connection between each clone and the Old Tree.
Realising this, Yang Kai became slightly disappointed.
Then, Old Tree suddenly said, “I may not be able to guide you to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in the future at all.”
Yang Kai was taken aback as he realised the problem, “Was the consumption too great this time?”
He had just noticed that Old Tree’s condition was worse than the last time he saw it; the leaves on the huge tree crown were slightly yellowed and showed signs of withering.
Old Tree responded with a grunt, “The distance was too great. Although my clone did establish a connection, my power has not completely radiated to that range. I’m afraid I will fall into a deep sleep soon.”
“What can I do to help?” Yang Kai asked. With Old Tree sleeping, he would definitely lose a means of quick travel. At the very least, he would not be able to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction whenever he wanted.
Old Tree pondered for a moment and then shook its trunk, “You probably can’t help much unless there are more Universe Worlds that can establish a connection with me like this time.”
However, that was unrealistic. All the remaining Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds had already been corrupted by Black Ink Strength and had died. Where could there be more Universe Worlds?
On Yang Kai’s return journey, he did see many newly born Universe Worlds, but Old Tree’s power could not cover such a far distance; though he could use the World Tree clones, Old Tree could not give him any more of those either.
The three World Tree clones back then were already Old Tree’s limit.
It could be said that it might never wake up after this deep sleep. Only when the Human Race completely defeated the Black Ink Clan and after the 3,000 Worlds went through generations of recuperation might there be a chance for it to restore its vitality.
Yang Kai fell silent. Since he had established a connection with Old Tree years ago and received Old Tree’s assistance, he felt quite helpless not being able to provide it with any help this time.
“Where do you want to go now?” Old Tree asked, “Before I fall asleep, I can still send you there for the last time.”
“The Star Boundary,” Yang Kai slowly stood up, cupped his fist, and looked at Old Tree’s aged face on the trunk, “Please rest assured and recuperate. I will take care of the matter with the Black Ink Clan. When you wake up, it will be after the disaster has passed!”
Old Tree chuckled, “I’ll be waiting for that day!”
Hopefully, that day would come soon.
Yang Kai nodded then quickly headed towards the World Fruit corresponding to the Star Boundary. At the same time, Old Tree exerted its last bit of strength. In an instant, the world turned upside down and it rapidly enlarged in Yang Kai’s vision.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Old Tree used its last bit of power, and its face slowly dissipated. In the moment of its consciousness falling asleep, it suddenly realised something.
This time, Yang Kai seemed to have already reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm… It was so weak before that it had not noticed it.
Somewhere close to the Star Boundary, Yang Kai broke through Space and appeared. As always, the moment he showed up, a powerful Divine Sense probed from somewhere in the Star Boundary to investigate the situation. This was the Master who was in charge of the Star Boundary, using his Divine Sense to check the situation.
Open Heaven Realm Masters in general were not so sensitive, even those who reached the Eighth Order would not have sensed Yang Kai while he was concealing himself. However, the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary were capable of such feats. As Great Emperors, they were intimately tied to the Star Boundary and recognised by its Will. With their hearts set on it, they could not miss any suspicious situations with their Divine Sense in the range of the Star Boundary.
With a touch of his Divine Sense, the other party clearly perceived Yang Kai’s identity and quickly withdrew it.
The next moment, a figure soared into the sky from somewhere in the Star Boundary, appearing soundlessly and swiftly before Yang Kai.
Looking at the visitor, Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Senior Iron Blood, it’s been a while!”
The visitor was none other than Iron Blood Great Emperor, Zhan Wu Hen. He looked at Yang Kai with suspicion before nodding, “You’re back?”
When the Universe Furnace closed and Yang Kai disappeared without a trace, not only did the Black Ink Clan speculate that he was trapped inside, but some of the high-ranking authority figures of the Human Race did too. Although they didn’t know why Yang Kai would be trapped inside, they had no way to rescue him, so they could only let it be.
However, a small number of people still firmly believed that even if Yang Kai was trapped in the Universe Furnace, he wouldn’t be stuck for too long. They believed that he would break free and return eventually without needing to wait until the next opening of the Universe Furnace.
Therefore, when Zhan Wu Hen saw Yang Kai, he wasn’t too surprised since he had watched Yang Kai grow up from when he was still a young man. Yang Kai could do what ordinary people couldn’t, so escaping from the Universe Furnace shouldn’t be anything to him.
“Are you injured?” Yang Kai frowned.
Zhan Wu Hen clearly had quite severe injuries on his body. At this moment, his face was pale and his aura was unstable. With his cultivation at the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it was evident how intense his war had become.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was not surprised that Zhan Wu Hen had ascended to the Eighth Order, given that the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary had all directly broken through to the Sixth-Order Realm. Additionally, with their unique advantages when cultivating in the Star Boundary, they had all already advanced to the Eighth Order many years ago.
At this moment, Zhan Wu Hen was already at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but because of the innate limitations of the Open Heaven Realm Method, he couldn’t make another breakthrough.
He did not enter when the Universe Furnace opened. In fact, Yang Kai did not see any Masters from the Star Boundary inside.
Zhan Wu Hen said lightly, “I was injured while fighting outside. It’s nothing special.”
If it weren’t for his serious injuries, he wouldn’t have come back to the Star Boundary to recuperate. To him, battles were the essence of life.
After a moment of silence, Zhan Wu Hen continued, “Ice Feather and Heavens Revelations died.”
Upon receiving the news, Yang Kai’s expression trembled as he closed his eyes and sighed.
There was never a war with no casualties. In the countless years of battle against the Black Ink Clan, there were naturally countless deaths. Whether it was on the Black Ink Battlefield or later on the Great Territory Battlefields, the reaping of life had become a norm of war.
Even Yang Kai’s own Dawn Squad, which he had led back then, had lost several members under his watch.
Ice Feather and Heaven’s Revelations were Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, who already ascended to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm for a long time, but in this catastrophic war that swept across the Universe, what use was it being in the Eighth-Order? Many times, it was difficult to even protect oneself from the Black Ink Clan with such a cultivation.
Frankly speaking, Yang Kai was not that familiar with these two Great Emperors. It was only because they were fellow people from the Star Boundary, which gave him a sense of kinship compared to those Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Even so, when he heard the news of their deaths, his heart sank.
“Is the war that intense?” Yang Kai furrowed his brows and asked.
Zhan Wu Hen nodded, “You’ll have to ask the Supreme Headquarters for the specifics. They have a better grasp of the situation.” He paused then continued, “Their sacrifice was not in vain. The Star Boundary’s reputation was not tarnished, and their deaths also made room for successors. There are a few new Great Emperors who have emerged, all who directly ascended to the Seventh Order, with the potential to reach the Ninth Order in the future.”
Every Universe World had a limit to the number of Great Emperors it could sustain. The Star Boundary’s limit was 10 many years ago, but with the continuous nourishment of the World Tree clone, its capacity had increased, and now it can support 12 Great Emperors. However, as long as the older generation Great Emperors remained, it was difficult for newcomers to rise to power.
With the fall of Ice Feather and Heaven’s Revelations, two Great Emperor positions were vacated in the Star Boundary. Currently, there were many talents in the Star Boundary who had already directly ascended to the Seventh Order, so they should be able to gain recognition from the Star Boundary’s Will and become Great Emperors in the future, achieving twice the result with half the effort when they cultivate in the Star Boundary.
But, Yang Kai shook his head, “There isn’t much time left for them to grow.”
The time it took to advance from Seventh-Order to Ninth-Order was incredibly long. Even if they became Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, it would take thousands of years for them to fully mature.
It was better to rely on the many Eighth-Order Masters than them at present.
The good seedlings who directly advanced to Seventh-Order in the first generation were now all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Perhaps in a short time, they could advance to the Ninth Order.
As for the Human Race, as long as the first new generation of Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters finally arrived, there would be an endless stream of Ninth-Order Masters emerging. Over the past thousands of years, the accumulation of the Human Race’s power had already reached a point where they were ready to soar. Once a certain critical point was reached, the Human Race would inevitably produce countless elites.
This was the power that the Human Race could rely on in the future, and it was also due to the Open Heaven Realm Cradle, the Star Boundary.
As Yang Kai spoke, he connected his mind with Void World and projected it into the Void Dao Temple. Soon, the portal to his Small Universe opened, and figures poured out of it one after another.
Over the years, Void Dao Temple had accumulated a large number of good seedlings who could ascend to the Open Heaven Realm.
In Yang Kai’s Small Universe, time flowed at a different pace from the outside world, and this flow rate only increased as his mastery over the Dao of Time and his strength grew.
At present, with his cultivation at the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and his mastery of the Dao of Time at the Eighth-Level, the flow rate in his Small Universe had reached a 10:1 ratio compared to the outside world.
In other words, while one day passed outside, 10 days had already elapsed in his Small Universe.
It had been many years since Yang Kai last brought out talents from the Void Dao Temple. In terms of the passing of time in his Small Universe, it had been over 10,000 years. Over such a long time, a considerable number of outstanding talents had naturally accumulated in the Void Dao Temple.
These people had already reached their limits within the Void Dao Temple and would generally ascend to the Open Heaven Realm shortly after leaving Void World, requiring a Master to guide and protect them.
However, Yang Kai always left this matter to his Head Manager to handle, and since Hua Qing Si was not present today, he handed the task to Zhan Wu Hen.
When all the Emperor Realm Masters gathered, Yang Kai said, “I’m entrusting these people to you. Manager Hua knows how to handle them.”
Zhan Wu Hen nodded and asked, “Are you not going back?”
Yang Kai looked towards the Star Boundary and shook his head, “No need!”
He had just returned, and knowing how intense the war had become, he needed to head to the Supreme Headquarters right away.
Saying so, he waved his hand and took a step forward, immediately disappearing.
The group of disciples who just left the Void Dao Temple didn’t understand what was going on and simply watched the Dao Lord disappear far off into the distance. They could only bow and send him off.
Meanwhile, in High Heaven Palace’s Pill Room, in front of a huge Alchemy Furnace, Xia Ning Chang, who had her face veiled, was using different techniques to control the furnace’s fire and refine Spirit Pills.
The process of refining these Spirit Pills was not difficult as it was a standard kind of healing pill that was in high demand on the battlefield. With her being an Alchemy Great Grandmaster, she naturally had no difficulty in refining them.
Suddenly, Xia Ning Chang paused for a moment and looked up at the sky outside. Although thick walls and heavy barriers were blocking her view, her clear eyes seemed to ignore all obstructions and she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure that was already far away.
The flames in the furnace of the Alchemy Furnace flickered slightly.
Then, Xia Ning Chang quickly focused her mind and controlled the heat, continuing to refine the Spirit Pills. Her eyes instantly became crescent-shaped as she became extremely happy and joyful upon seeing that figure. Her techniques changed constantly, and the Alchemy Furnace echoed with the sound of the Spirit Pills forming, a clear and pleasant sound.
Previously when Mi Jing Lun came to the High Heaven Palace to talk to her about Yang Kai’s disappearance, Xia Ning Chang had acted calm and not worried about Yang Kai’s safety, but in reality, how could she not be concerned at all? She simply had enough confidence in her Husband to one day return.
She believed that no matter what difficulties and dangers he faced, no matter where he was, he would definitely come back because this was his home, and there were still people waiting for him there.
Now that he had finally returned, Xia Ning Chang could finally put down the worry that had been weighing on her heart.
Outside of the Star Boundary, Hua Qing Si urgently led a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters over after receiving Zhan Wu Hen’s message. When she saw the many Emperor Realm Masters gathered around, she was slightly startled, but quickly realised what was happening and exclaimed in delight, “Palace Master has returned?”
This was not the first time she had seen such a scene of many Emperors who were about to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm gathered together, and she knew exactly where these Emperor Realm Masters came from. Zhan Wu Hen nodded and pointed to those Emperor Realm Masters, saying, “I’ll leave this to you.”
After speaking, he flashed back to the Star Boundary. He was seriously injured and needed to continue healing. If he had not sensed Yang Kai’s aura, he would not have ventured out of seclusion so rashly.
Originally, Hua Qing Si wanted to ask more about Yang Kai’s condition, but Zhan Wu Hen left too quickly, giving her no chance to speak. She was annoyed, but the Palace Master’s return was good news. For years, there had been rumours that their Palace Master was trapped in the Universe Furnace, and many people were worried about him. Now that the Palace Master had returned though, those people should be able to rest assured.
“S-Senior… I can’t hold on much longer…” A weak voice suddenly came from the side.
Hua Qing Si turned her head and saw a Dao Temple disciple with a strained expression, his aura fluctuating violently, clearly on the verge of a breakthrough.
They had been cultivating in Void Dao Temple for many years and had already reached the limit of their cultivation with their condensed Dao Seal and refined Element Powers, but because of the suppression of Yang Kai’s Small Universe, they were unable to break through. Now that they had left his Small Universe and the suppression was gone, they were basically ready to burst forth.
Not only the speaker, but many others showed signs of imminent breakthrough. Hua Qing Si was used to this kind of situation already and immediately ordered these disciples to spread out and find suitable positions. Afterwards, she had the Open Heaven Realm Masters she brought to stand guard for the disciples.
She personally distributed Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilising Pills to the Dao Temple disciples, which drastically increased the success rate of their breakthrough.
It should be noted that those selected from Void Dao Temple were all talented individuals. At the very least, they could directly ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and many among them could directly ascend to the Sixth-Order. Every now and then, there were even a few who directly ascended to the Seventh Order.
Without the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilising Pill, it was likely that some would fail in their breakthrough; however, over the years, there had not been a single disciple from Void Dao Temple who suffered such a fate. This was largely thanks to the efficacy of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilising Pills.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had arrived at the Territory Gate of High Heaven Territory. Security was extremely tight here, with several Eighth-Order Masters personally guarding the portal with a Purifying Black Ink Battleship sealed with a large amount of Purifying Light on standby.
High Heaven Territory and the New Great Territory were now the most important rear bases for the Human Race and the foundation of their existence. Their importance was equivalent to the control of the No-Return Pass by the Black Ink Clan.
As the only gateway in and out of these Territories, this Territory Gate naturally received the highest level of attention and was highly guarded. The Purifying Black Ink Battleship stationed there could prevent any Black Ink Disciples from infiltrating, and all soldiers returning from the front lines, regardless of their cultivation, had to pass through it.
Yang Kai walked over without hiding his tracks. The Eighth-Order Masters guarding the area naturally noticed his aura, and each of them became suspicious and uncertain.
There were only a few Ninth-Order Masters among the Human Race, and all of them were well-known and usually leading an Army to fight the Black Ink Clan. Therefore, it was natural for them to be puzzled by the sudden appearance of another Ninth-Order Master in the rear area.
The group of Eighth-Order Masters quickly gathered together and waited attentively.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai’s figure appeared in their sight that one of the Eighth-Order Masters suddenly realised, “It’s him!”
Saying so, he showed a happy expression and took the initiative to welcome Yang Kai.
As he approached, he cupped his fist and said, “Yang… I suddenly don’t know how to address you…”
He was much older than Yang Kai in terms of age and was also a seasoned veteran Eighth-Order Master. They had met each other a few times before, and he had always addressed Yang Kai as Junior Brother. But now that Yang Kai had advanced to the Ninth Order, calling him Junior Brother seemed inappropriate…
Besides, his seniority was much higher than Yang Kai’s, so calling him Sir was also quite inappropriate. After a moment of consideration, this Eighth-Order Master called out, “Army Commander Yang!”
In terms of titles, Yang Kai was still Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army, though currently, Ou Yang Lie was taking charge of it. However, as long as the Supreme Headquarters didn’t issue a clear transfer order, Yang Kai would always be the Army Commander of Profound Nether Army.
Yang Kai recognized the person and greeted him, “Senior Brother Hai!”
After all, they did meet each other a few times, so Yang Kai had some impression of this veteran Eighth-Order Master before him.
Qi Hai’s heart warmed as Yang Kai addressed him as Senior Brother, obviously trying to avoid the awkwardness of addressing him according to their cultivations. In the past, there was no need for such a thing as all Ninth-Order Masters had lived for countless years, with intimidating seniority and status, so the title of Old Ancestor was appropriate.
But now, the situation was different. Yang Kai had just ascended to the Ninth-Order Realm, and in the future, there would be more rising stars reaching that height as well. The title of ‘Old Ancestor’ would no longer be suitable for the new generations.
At this moment, many Eighth-Order Masters had gathered around. Whether they knew Yang Kai or not, they had already guessed his identity and bowed respectfully. The eyes of the younger-generation Eighth-Order Masters were full of admiration and awe when they looked at Yang Kai.
Even as they took their first steps on their Martial Dao, Yang Kai’s name had been famous, and many aspired to become like him. Now, he stood before them as a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, causing them all to secretly marvel that legends were indeed legends…
Yang Kai was just passing through, and he wasn’t familiar with the many Eighth-Order Masters here, so there wasn’t much to talk about. After being routinely questioned by Qi Hai, he quickly departed.
Passing through the Territory Gate, he arrived at the nearby Great Territory and headed straight for the Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters was located.
Soon, the Universe Fragment was in sight. At a glance, there were figures on it, and many Masters gathered around, busy doing who knew what.
In the Main Conference Hall, Mi Jing Lun was studying the situation of the various battlefields and discussing corresponding plans with many staff members. The staff members had different thoughts and often argued over some details, but ultimately, Mi Jing Lun was the one to make the final decision. The entire hall was bustling like a crowded marketplace.
Suddenly, Mi Jing Lun turned and looked outside.
The staff members who were arguing were immediately silenced, looking at him with surprise and suspicion.
“This is…” Mi Jing Lun frowned and took a few steps forward, coming outside the Main Hall. As he looked up, he saw a stream of light swiftly approaching from the void, appearing before him in the blink of an eye. Then, the stream of light dispersed, revealing a familiar figure.
Looking at the person who had suddenly appeared before him, Mi Jing Lun couldn’t help but blink his eyes, thinking he was imagining things.
Yang Kai smiled and cupped his fist, “Senior Brother Mi!”
Following Mi Jing Lun, the other staff members became slightly shocked as well and then began to stir, with low cries ringing out.
“It’s Yang Kai!”
“Senior Yang has returned!”
Yang Kai was thought to be trapped in the Universe Furnace and there had been no contact from him for over 600 years, so whether he was alive or dead was unknown. This was undoubtedly a blow to the Human Race, especially with the ongoing war between them and the Black Ink Clan. While there were a few Ninth-Order Masters among the Human Race now, none of them had the total suppressive advantages over the Pseudo-Royal Lords in battles, not even the veterans like Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing.
In Mi Jing Lun’s understanding, the only one who could possibly achieve this was Yang Kai! Back when the Black Ink Clan was holding their ground in the Great Territory Battlefields, the war would not have been this difficult if Yang Kai was around.
Mi Jing Lun originally thought that he might have to wait until the next opening of the Universe Furnace for Yang Kai to have a chance to escape, but unexpectedly, he appeared before him right at this moment.
Mi Jing Lun was extremely surprised and couldn’t help but ask, “How did you escape from the Universe Furnace?”
“Universe Furnace?” Yang Kai was taken aback at first but quickly realised that Mi Jing Lun must have misunderstood something. It was understandable since he had been out of contact for so many years, so the logical assumption was that he was trapped in the Universe Furnace.
He couldn’t hold back his laughter as he explained, “I wasn’t trapped in the Universe Furnace. Rather, it took me to the edge of the Universe, and I had to spend quite some time returning.”
“The edge of the Universe?” Mi Jing Lun looked puzzled.
“It’s a long story,” Yang Kai waved his hand, not wanting to talk about it as the war between the two Races was the more crucial issue now. Even if others knew the Universe Furnace created all Universe Worlds from Chaos, it was of no use to them. It could at most broaden their horizons, but hearing about it second-hand was not nearly as shocking as witnessing it personally.
Though Mi Jing Lun didn’t ask any further, he had doubts in his mind. Where exactly was the edge of the Universe, and how far away must it have been for Yang Kai to take hundreds of years to return even with his abilities?
After composing himself, Mi Jing Lun said, “You’re back just in time. There are some things that I need you to do.”
He and many of his staff members were discussing a battle in a certain Great Territory that was in a worrying state as they didn’t have enough manpower to mobilize to support it. As such, Yang Kai’s return was quite timely.
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Just give me the order, Senior Brother.”
“Come inside and we’ll talk,” Mi Jing Lun held Yang Kai’s arm and led him into the Main Hall.
After a while, everyone took their seats.
“Let me tell you about the current war situation,” Mi Ling Jun spoke.
Yang Kai nodded, as he urgently needed to understand what was going on right now. The two sides had been at war since the Universe Furnace appeared, and it had been over 600 years since its closure. Yang Kai had no idea how the war had progressed during this time, or what the situation was like currently.
He did ask Zhan Wu Hen before, but the latter’s understanding was not comprehensive enough so they did not talk about it in detail.
Naturally, the Supreme Headquarters had the most in-depth understanding of the situation.
Mi Jing Lun then gave a brief account of the hundreds of years of war.
It was only now that Yang Kai learned that the Human Race had regained not just the dozen or so original Great Territory Battlefields, but an additional 200 or so Great Territories.
However, Yang Kai immediately felt that something was wrong. Even if the Human Race had produced several Ninth-Order Masters and many Eighth-Order Masters in the Universe Furnace, increasing their strength greatly, that shouldn’t have been sufficient to produce such outstanding results.
With his previous understanding of the Black Ink Clan’s background and forces, Yang Kai initially believed that the battle between the two sides would still be raging on the various Great Territory Battlefields. After all, the Black Ink Clan must now have dozens of Pseudo-Royal Lords, so it should have been impossible to reclaim so many Great Territories even though there were quite a number of Ninth-Order Masters in the Human Race.
Yang Kai didn’t understand until he heard Mi Jing Lun mention Mo Na Ye.
The Black Ink Clan retreated to advance, lengthening the Human Race’s battle lines and dispersing their Army’s strength. Losing 200 or so Great Territories was not a significant detriment to the Black Ink Clan while the Human Race Army had to leave some troops behind to defend these places in order to prevent the Black Ink Clan from reoccupying them and cutting off the front lines from the rear.
This was open intrigue by the Black Ink Clan, but Mi Jing Lun could do nothing even if he saw through their intentions. As a result, he could only try his best to keep the various Human Race Armies steady and not reveal any vulnerabilities.
Over the years, the Black Ink Clan had taken many actions against the recovered Great Territories; however, they were mostly minor skirmishes that did not make much of an impact and were ultimately quashed by the stationed soldiers.
Mi Jing Lun also informed Yang Kai that Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were finally freed, and his hidden hand had been played. In the Barren Territory, four Giant Spirit Gods were currently engaged in a brutal deathmatch.
This was not surprising to Yang Kai. The Black Ink Clan couldn’t keep their trapped Black Ink Giant Spirit God unused. For them, the power that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God provided was simply too great.
So, once the two sides went to war, the Black Ink Clan would find a way to release their trapped deity. Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing’s strength was not enough to restrain a Master of that calibre, but the hidden hand that Yang Kai left behind happened to be able to counter it.
“Speaking of which, the great battle in the Barren Territory has caused quite a lot of trouble for the Black Ink Clan.” A grin appeared on Mi Jing Lun’s face, “Since the Black Ink Clan captured the No-Return Pass, that place has been their foundation. In the past, the Black Ink Clan had a large number of troops and resources transported from the No-Return Pass to the frontlines on a near-daily basis, but now that the great battle of four Giant Spirit Gods has affected the entire Barren Territory, the troops passing through that area often suffer losses from the fallout. Although it’s not a significant attrition, in recent years, the Black Ink Clan has lost at least 20% of their troops in the Barren Territory, which has eased some of the pressure on us.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but raise his brow, “There’s such a fortunate event?”
He didn’t expect this turn of events. Initially, he only wanted to leave Ah Da to deal with the trapped Black Ink Giant Spirit God; however, now he realised that he had stumbled into some additional good fortune.
It made sense once he thought about it, though. The battle between Giant Spirit Gods was Heaven-shaking and Earth-destroying, and as the Black Ink Clan’s Army set out from the No-Return Pass, they would inevitably have to pass through the Barren Territory. Anyone caught in the aftermath of such a battle would definitely not have a good end.
It was only natural that the Black Ink Clan were troubled by this, but since it was a Giant Spirit Gods’ battle, it was doubtful anyone could intervene.
Now, the Human Race had 12 main Armies, but only six of them had a Ninth-Order Master leading them. Luo Ting He led the Azure Sun Army, Xiang Shan the Blood Flame Army, Ou Yang Lie the Profound Nether Army, Wei Jun Yang the Lang Ya Army, Xiao Xiao the Soaring Cloud Army, and Wu Qing the Purple Feather Army. The remaining six Armies were Shocking Thunder, Red Flame, Burning Moon, Twin Instrument, Azure Dawn, and Jade Cicada.
“Although I had dispatched many Divine Spirits to assist the latter six Armies, they are still lacking in comparison to the others, especially the Red Flame Army, which is now in a standoff with the Black Ink Clan in the E-5 Great Territory.”
Saying so, Mi Jing Lun pointed his finger casually, and the huge Universe Chart in front of him suddenly expanded, presenting a map of the void with the E-5 Great Territory on it.
Not every Great Territory in the 3,000 Great Territories had a distinct namesake. Just like High Heaven Territory, it used to only have a code name because there were no powerful Sects present, nor did the people inside have the ability to break free from the constraints of their Universe Worlds. It was not until the Star Boundary rose to fame, and because Yang Kai was from it, that the Territory hosting the Star Boundary was re-named High Heaven Territory.
Similarly, the New Great Territory was also just a code name in the Universe Chart. However, the Myriad Monsters World in the New Great Territory now had the qualifications to represent it. Perhaps in the future, when the Universe Chart was updated, the New Great Territory would be christened the Myriad Monsters Territory.
Only when a Great Territory had a powerful Great Force as a hegemon would it be named after that force.
E-5 Territory was a barren Great Territory. Although there were a few Universe Worlds, there were no Second Class Great Forces. The cultivation of the top Masters in the few Universe Worlds there was not even comparable to that of the Star Boundary in its early years.
Back when the Black Ink Clan invaded E-5 Territory, the living beings in those few Universe Worlds were almost all butchered. Now, the Red Flame Army had arrived and was fighting for control of this Great Territory while the Black Ink Clan was deploying their troops to resist.
Looking at the Universe Chart, red and black light occupied roughly half of the Territory each. The red represented the Red Flame Army, and the black represented the Black Ink Clan.
“The Black Ink Clan has clearly been waiting for this moment after giving up so many Great Territories. We suspect they are preparing a full counterattack against the Red Flame Army. In recent years, the Black Ink Clan has been mobilising their Masters to E-5 Territory, and in the last war, the Red Flame Army was already having a difficult time holding on while suffering many casualties. If we continue like this, without more support, the Red Flame Army won’t hold on for much longer.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and asked, “Senior Brother Mi, do you want me to assume command of the Red Flame Army?”
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “Originally, we planned to retreat from E-5 and re-distribute the Red Flame Army into the other 11 if we couldn’t hold on. But since you’re back, it would be better to hand the Red Flame Army over to you.”
After Yang Kai pondered about it for a moment, he said, “I don’t have any objections, but I have some ideas of my own.”
Mi Jing Lun gestured for him to continue, “Please share.”
“When I led Profound Nether in Profound Nether Territory, there were no Black Ink Clansmen who dared to cause trouble. If I take over the Red Flame Army, obviously the Black Ink Clan won’t dare to provoke us anymore. In this way, wherever Red Flame goes, the Black Ink Clan will surely retreat and avoid it. Even so, if we can’t kill more Black Ink Clan Masters, it would be meaningless to occupy more Great Territories.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded and responded, “Our goal now is to kill, especially the Pseudo-Royal Lords. The number of Pseudo-Royal Lords is limited, so if we can kill enough of them, they won’t have the capital to fight us anymore.”
“If that’s the case, it would be better for me to act alone.”
Mi Jing Lun was momentarily taken aback before considering carefully and then nodded, “That’s true.”
Yang Kai taking command of the Red Flame Army would undoubtedly allow it to soar like a Dragon diving into the sea, leaving the Black Ink Clan no room to act recklessly in front of them. However, managing an Army would also be a drag on Yang Kai. If he acted alone, it would undoubtedly be more convenient. Unlike the other Ninth-Order Masters, Yang Kai was proficient in Dao of Space, so even if he travelled from one battlefield to the next, the amount of time spent in transit would actually be quite small.
As the two conversed, the rest of the staff sat quietly to the side, listening in amazement.
Among the numerous Ninth-Order Masters, the person in front of them was probably the only one who could laugh and treat the Black Ink Clan as if they were insignificant. But, everyone knew that this was not arrogance but extreme self-confidence.
In the Main Conference Hall, Mi Jing Lun looked at Yang Kai with a hint of apology, “I know it’s been tough for you to rush around, but we don’t have much time to spare. We’re counting on you to take care of the Red Flame Army’s situation.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “I haven’t been in a fight for so many years. It’s time to go and stretch my muscles.”
As he spoke, he stood up and walked out. When he reached the door, he suddenly threw something back that flew straight towards Mi Jing Lun.
Mi Jing Lun caught it as he heard Yang Kai say, “I brought a small gift for Senior Brother. Please accept it.”
By the time he looked up, Yang Kai had already disappeared.
Watching Yang Kai leave, the staff members, who had been anxious for a long time, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Since Yang Kai had returned and was headed towards the E-5 Territory, it was quite likely that things there would soon be under control.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan had no idea that he had returned, and they would surely suffer a big loss once caught off guard.
“Supreme Commander Mi, since Sir Yang has returned, why not gather all the Ninth-Order Masters and directly attack the No-Return Pass?” Someone suggested.
The Black Ink Clan’s advantage lay not only in the number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, but also in the steady stream of troops. As long as they had enough Black Ink Nests and supplies, they could continually spawn large Armies.
If they attacked the No-Return Pass and destroyed the High-Rank Black Ink Nests, they could completely cut off the Black Ink Clan’s supply of troops. Then the pressure on the Human Race would be greatly reduced.
Currently, the Black Ink Clan Army seemed endless, but without the Black Ink Nests, they would eventually be eradicated completely.
Roughly 500 years ago, the Humans had attempted this, but at that time, there were only four Ninth-Order Masters and unfortunately, the Black Ink Clan was on guard, so the attempt failed.
But now, with Yang Kai’s return, there were seven Ninth-Order Masters in total, almost twice as many as before. If they made another attempt, there was a high chance of success.
Mi Jing Lun held the box tightly and shook his head, “It’s too risky. Even if it succeeds, we may not be able to destroy all the High-Rank Black Ink Nests. If we can’t cut off the roots once and for all, this move would be meaningless and would only put all the Armies at unnecessary risk.”
Today was different from the past. The 12 Armies of the Human Race were all fighting far from the rear lines and from each other, and the Black Ink Clan had their own countermeasures in place. If the Ninth-Order Masters suddenly disappeared, the Black Ink Clan would surely take advantage of the situation. Without the Ninth-Order Masters’ assuming command, the previously evenly matched situation could strongly tilt in the Black Ink Clan’s favour. By that time, the Human Race would undoubtedly suffer countless deaths and injuries, and the previously accumulated achievements might all be lost at once.
The staff member who spoke thought about it and then nodded lightly, “What Supreme Commander Mi said is true. I was thinking too simply.”
“At present, the situation of the two Races is such that our Human Race can only steadily fight while not showing any openings to the Black Ink Clan. You must all remember this,” Mi Jing Lun replied.
“Yes,” everyone responded in unison.
Mi Jing Lun withdrew his gaze and casually opened the box that Yang Kai threw to him before leaving. Since Yang Kai said it was a small gift he had brought back, Mi Jing Lun didn’t give it much thought, but the moment he opened the box, his expression froze stiff.
Not only him, but all the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Main Hall were instantly attracted to the object in the box.
Lying in the box was a multi-coloured light pill, with a wondrous aura emanating from it that made both Mi Jing Lun and the Eighth-Order staff feel as if the bottlenecks that had bound them for millennia were showing signs of loosening.
Although they had never seen this kind of pill before, the Eighth-Order Masters who felt the abnormality at this moment recognised its origin at a glance.
“A Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill!” Someone exclaimed.
Mi Jing Lun became even more shocked as the words passed through his ears.
[The ‘small gift’ Yang Kai brought back is actually a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill?] He couldn’t believe his eyes.
But only something like the mysterious energy of such a pill could loosen the shackles of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Master; in this world, there was probably nothing else that could do this except for a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill.
This was a priceless treasure that all peak Eighth-Order Masters dreamed of. It was an opportunity to break through the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm Method. This Spirit Pill also represented the birth of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
With Mi Jing Lun’s many years of accumulation and heritage, if he were to refine it, he would surely advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in short order.
Instantly, Mi Jing Lun understood.
This Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was probably snatched by Yang Kai from the Chaos Spirit King.
Years ago, he had talked to many Masters who had returned from the Universe Furnace to find out about Yang Kai’s whereabouts.
Some had reported feeling Yang Kai’s aura from afar, but also that he disappeared quickly. It seemed that Yang Kai was being chased by the Chaos Spirit King at that time.
At that time, Mi Jing Lun speculated that Yang Kai had probably gone to trouble the Chaos Spirit King again and snatch the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill he lost in the great battle against the Black Ink Clan. However, as Yang Kai had been missing for so many years, there was no way to verify this.
It wasn’t until now, with the Spirit Pill in his hand as proof, that Mi Jing Lun’s guess was confirmed; Yang Kai had indeed snatched the Spirit Pill back. No wonder the Chaos Spirit King had been chasing after him all that time.
Encountering Yang Kai was bad luck for the Chaos Spirit King, who had to fight for the Spirit Pill several times.
Gently closing the wooden box in his hand, Mi Jing Lun momentarily pondered before saying, “I need to enter retreat for a while. You guys can handle things here on your own. If it’s not an emergency, feel free to consult amongst yourselves.”
The others nodded in agreement.
After that, Mi Jing Lun stepped out of the Main Hall, holding the box tightly in his hand.
At present, there were many Masters at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, many of whom had made great contributions to the Human Race on the battlefield. These individuals were commendable, having risked their lives for the greater cause. They too required Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills to break through their current bottlenecks; however, there was only one pill.
Mi Jing Lun was not a selfish person. If it were peacetime, he might not have cared about the Spirit Pill because he was not someone who was obsessed with reaching the Ninth Order.
But this was war! He was the Supreme Commander of the Human Race’s 12 Armies. These Armies had made continuous progress over the past 600 years, reclaiming more than 200 Great Territories. However, with such a long and distant front line, it was no longer appropriate to have the Supreme Headquarters set up in this location; after all, feedback from the front lines couldn’t be timely, and would often affect decision-making and responses.
Mi Jing Lun had also thought about relocating the Supreme Headquarters to a position closer to the battlefield, but he didn’t dare to do so because he was only an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and the number of people left behind at the Supreme Headquarters was not enough to deal with a surprise attack if led by Pseudo-Royal Lords or Royal Lords.
If the Black Ink Clan found the location of the Supreme Headquarters and launched an attack, it would be disastrous.
Mi Jing Lun’s death alone wouldn’t matter much, but if the Supreme Headquarters was wiped out, it would definitely affect the morale of the Human Race Army. Without the central coordination of the Supreme Headquarters, the various Armies would also not be able to coordinate with one another.
In terms of information transmission, the Humans were not as efficient and fast compared to the Black Ink Clan. So, losing the Supreme Headquarters would be extremely detrimental to the overall situation.
Mi Jing Lun knew that if he could advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, all his past plans could be put into action. The Supreme Headquarters could be deployed towards the direction of the battlefield and receive frontline information in a more timely manner.
When he saw the Spirit Pill, Mi Jing Lun hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to use it to break through to the Ninth Order.
After Mi Jing Lun left, the group of staff members gradually regained their calm. Although they might never have the chance to reach the Ninth Order, and the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill would not be for them, they couldn’t help but feel happy that another Ninth-Order Master was soon to be born in the Human Race.
An Eighth-Order Master spoke in a low voice, “Supreme Commander Mi’s breakthrough is classified information and should not be leaked under any circumstances.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The Black Ink Clan now had a thorough understanding of the Human Race, with six Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters leading six Armies. Keeping in mind that they were probably unaware of Yang Kai’s return, it wouldn’t be long before the E-5 Territory plunged into a reign of terror.
If Mi Jing Lun were to break through to the Ninth-Order Realm, the Human Race would have a total of eight Ninth-Order Masters, so concealing Mi Jing Lun’s breakthrough could potentially be used to their advantage in the future. Everyone here was smart enough to understand this.
It was tacit even if Mi Jing Lun did not give any orders about it.
…..
The E-5 Territory was a Great Territory with a designated code rather than a name. It had always been barren, with only a few Universe Worlds with Martial Daos even inferior to the Star Boundary before it flourished.
Despite its lack of distinction, there were still quite a number of such Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds.
When the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, they effortlessly took over this Great Territory, and the living beings on the few Universe Worlds here had no idea what had happened, falling victim to the disaster.
After capturing this Great Territory, the Black Ink Clan did not leave too many forces here, as neither they nor the Human Race paid much attention to such a Great Territory.
However, 10 years ago, the E-5 Territory had become the battlefield where the Red Flame Army and the Black Ink Clan fought.
As Mi Jing Lun said, over the years, the Black Ink Clan had intentionally and unintentionally abandoned more than 200 Great Territories, forcing the Humans to extend their battle lines, which gave them a chance to strike at the Red Flame Army.
Retreating at the right time would not be considered a failure; but rather, a forward-thinking plan to make for a better counterattack. Under the leadership of Mo Na Ye, despite losing many Great Territories and some troops, the Black Ink Clan’s top combat power was well-preserved.
The string of losses had caused the Black Ink Clan’s anger to boil for hundreds of years, and once this kind of anger erupted, it would be unstoppable. As long as they could defeat the Red Flame Army, the Black Ink Clan’s years of forbearance would be worthwhile. That was why Black Ink Clan was determined to win this war.
The reason why they chose the Red Flame Army was because it did not have a Ninth-Order Master leading it, making them easier to deal with. There were only a few Ninth-Order Masters, but the Humans were divided into 12 Armies, making it impossible for each one to have a Ninth-Order Master.
In the E-5 Territory, a massive battle was in full swing.
More than a decade ago, the Red Flame Army had been on a winning streak, liberating numerous Great Territories one after another, until they advanced into the E-5 Territory where the Black Ink Clan had long made their preparations, resulting in the two great Armies engaging in a fierce struggle in the vast and boundless void.
Over the last 10 years, large-scale battles occurred regularly, with both sides suffering losses each time. Despite the Red Flame Army’s overwhelming momentum, they could no longer easily recapture this Territory as they had done with so many before.
After hundreds of years of retreating, the Black Ink Clan Army finally displayed an unimaginable fighting spirit and resilience. For the first time in hundreds of years, they began to push back against the Red Flame Army, holding them at bay. In addition, the continuous involvement of many Pseudo-Royal Lords put enormous pressure on the Red Flame Army’s Masters.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were almost equivalent to Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Masters, beings no lone Eighth-Order Master was a match for. At the very least, they needed to form a Five Elements or even a Six Paths Formation to contend with a Pseudo-Royal Lord head-on.
And there were a total of almost 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords in the E-5 Territory!
This was a terrifying number as there would not be this many Pseudo-Royal Lords participating at the other fronts in the war unless there was a Ninth-Order Master present.
The Black Ink Clan’s intentions were clear, they intended to use these Pseudo-Royal Lords to deliver a crushing blow to the Red Flame Army to serve as a warning to all other Human Race Masters!
Though faced with such a strong opponent, the Red Flame Army demonstrated remarkable determination. In each battle, many Eighth-Order Masters gave their all, sacrificing their blood and even their lives in those battles against the Pseudo-Royal Lords. Countless were those who had burnt out and faded away.
They did all of this for only one purpose, to weaken the strength of these Pseudo-Royal Lords, even if they couldn’t kill them!
The Black Ink Clan took advantage of the large number of Innate Territory Lords who had escaped from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to create a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords, which was an advantage that the Humans could not match for the time being.
However, the Black Ink Clan had a weakness that was difficult to resolve; once they were injured, it was hard to restore themselves.
The injuries were not severe at first, as the Pseudo-Royal Lords were strong, so it hardly affected them; however, once the injuries became serious, their strength would greatly decline which also meant they had to enter a Black Ink Nest to restore themselves.
With each sacrifice made by the many Eighth-Order Masters, the injuries of the Pseudo-Royal Lords accumulated, forcing them to leave the battlefield and return to the No-Return Pass to heal.
If it weren’t for the continuous dispatch of new Pseudo-Royal Lords from the No-Return Pass to assist in the battle in E-5 Territory, the war would not have been so fierce and the Red Flame Army might even have had a good chance of defeating the enemy.
However, all of this was at the cost of a large number of Eighth-Order Masters dying.
Furthermore, to balance the power gap between the various Armies, the Supreme Headquarters intentionally transferred Divine Spirits to the Armies without Ninth-Order Masters leading them. The Red Flame Army was no exception. Although they didn’t have many Divine Spirits, there were more than 30 with them; even the Ancient Dragon Elders of the Dragon Clan, the Phoenixes, and other Divine Spirits were here with them, lending their aid.
These Divine Spirits had lived for countless years and were undoubtedly stronger than the average Eighth-Order Master. Although there was still a power gap between them and the Pseudo-Royal Lords, their unique Innate Divine Abilities made up for this to a large extent. Often, just two or three Divine Spirits working together could compete with a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
It was precisely because of these factors that the Red Flame Army had been able to persist.
The situation was still very unfavourable, though, as the Black Ink Clan had targeted the Red Flame Army as their primary enemy. Naturally, they would not let the Red Flame Army off so easily. In recent years, the Black Ink Clan had continuously increased their military forces, putting tremendous pressure on all parts of the Red Flame Army.
Any astute person could see that the war in E-5 Territory would ultimately end with the defeat of the Red Flame Army.
The Human Race Masters wanted to kill Masters from the Black Ink Clan, but wasn’t it the same for the Black Ink Clan? There were still many Pseudo-Royal Lords waiting in the No-Return Pass, ready to enter the battlefield at any time. If Mo Na Ye were to throw caution to the wind and dispatch all the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Red Flame Army would have no way to fight back.
The reason he didn’t do so was to slowly grind down the Humans’ strength like a blunt knife cutting meat. Although the Pseudo-Royal Lords had suffered serious injuries over the past decade, not a single one died, while countless Eighth-Order Masters had.
But even if the Humans knew this, what could they do? The Red Flame Army could not retreat, so all they could do was grit their teeth and persist. Seeking external assistance was also impossible as all the other Armies were dealing with their own opponents and no one had spare power to lend.
If it had been a few hundred years ago, when the Human Race was only defending the dozen or so original Great Territory Battlefields, they could have requested reinforcements from nearby Great Territories. Because at that time, the distance between the various battlefields was not too great, so they could quickly go help and then withdraw.
But now, with the Human Race’s battle lines stretched out so thin, while the various Armies were certainly coordinating their operations, it was difficult to form a situation where they could support each other.
Mo Na Ye’s plan finally came to fruition, and the constant retreat of the Black Ink Clan proved that it was not all for nought.
In the void, a standard Warship charged forward, surrounded by countless Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, who were nothing more than cannon fodder. Although there were occasional High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, they posed no significant threat.
However, in the vast void, this Warship was always at risk of being destroyed, as the number of Black Ink Clan Soldiers was simply too great to defeat. To make matters worse, there were also several Feudal Lords hiding and striking from the shadows when they saw openings.
Trapped here were 11 soldiers from the Red Flame Army Fourth Division, led by Squad Leader Wang Qian and Vice Squad Leader Zhao Li. Only one other member was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, while the rest were only of the Fifth-Order or Sixth-Order.
Although the Human Race now had the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World as Open Heaven Realm Cradles, not everyone possessed remarkable aptitude; most had an average talent. Only those highly talented ones received a lot of attention.
Furthermore, even geniuses required time to grow and ascend step by step from lower Orders to higher ones; therefore, the majority of the large Armies of the Human Race were still made up of Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Masters.
However, the average cultivation among the Human Race Masters had increased by at least one or two Orders compared to several thousand years ago.
On the Black Ink Battlefield, having only one Seventh-Order Master per Squad as its Squad Leader was normal. While there was not a shortage of Seventh-Order Masters, there were not too many of them either. Only those who had reached the Seventh Order were eligible for the role of Squad Leader.
But this particular Squad was unique as it had not one or two, but three Seventh-Order Masters, highlighting the general growth of power. In the Red Flame Army, such Squad compositions were considered standard, and it could be said that it was rare for a Squad to have just one Seventh-Order Master in this Army.
Currently, some elite Squads even had Squad Leaders who were Eighth-Order Masters!
The number of Eighth-Order Masters among the Human Race was now quite significant. This was not only due to the accumulation over the years but also because of a surge in Eighth-Order Masters thanks to the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills harvested from the Universe Furnace.
The overall increase in average cultivation also greatly enhanced the strength of various Human Race Armies.
Even so, Wang Qian’s Squad was currently in a tricky situation. During a previous large-scale clash with the Black Ink Clan Army, they got separated from their Division. This was not uncommon during clashes between the two Armies as soldiers could easily get lost in the vast and boundless battlefield.
Normally in such situations, the aim was to return quickly to one’s Division and reunite with one’s comrades; otherwise, being left stranded could make one an easy target for the enemy.
Wang Qian also wanted to lead his Squad back to their Division, but they had the misfortune of encountering a group of the Black Ink Clansmen along the way, forcing them to fight and flee.
With the Black Ink Clan’s overwhelming numbers, the situation for the Squad became even more precarious. The three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Masters took up positions on different sides of the Warship and continually unleashed the power of their Secret Techniques and artifacts, blasting away at the Black Ink Clan soldiers.
Suddenly, a cry rang out from the Sixth-Order Master responsible, “Squad Leader, the Defensive Array is about to collapse! We can’t hold on much longer!”
Another team member shouted, “The Tiger Roar Cannon is overheating! We can only use it three more times at most!”
The Tiger Roar Cannon was the primary Offensive Artifact of their Warship, and every standard Squad Class Warship was equipped with one. When combined with pre-arranged arrays, three Sixth-Order Masters could infuse their power into the artifact to unleash an attack equivalent to a Seventh-Order Master’s full power strike.
However, artifacts and arrays were ultimately lifeless objects, and using them too frequently in a short period could easily exceed their limits.
The Warship’s primary armament was about to overload, and the defensive shields were on the verge of collapse. For the entire Squad, this was adding insult to injury, as the former would greatly reduce the Squad’s might, and the latter would directly decide the safety of the Squad members.
Squad Leader Wang Qian shouted angrily while fighting the enemy, “Zhong Wu Yu!”
“Don’t shout, I’m already working on it!” Came the response quickly from the Warship. He was the last third Seventh-Order Master of the Squad. In a hurry, he ran to the Tiger Roar Cannon and inspected the artifact. He then quickly took out some supplies and activated his power to repair it.
Zhong Wu Yu was not only a Seventh-Order Master, but also an Artifact Refiner. He was no Grandmaster, or even a Great Master, but generally, small damage to the Warship did not need to be sent to the logistics department for repair as he could patch it himself.
On the other side, Vice Squad Leader Zhao Li had a face painted with fresh blood, looking quite dishevelled. He had just charged out into the enemy’s lines and killed a lot of them, easing the pressure on the Squad. But he had also been injured and was now cursing out loud, “That damn Mi Jing Lun! Are we, the Red Flame Army, their forgotten stepchildren? Why don’t we have Ninth-Order Masters leading us like the Soaring Cloud Army or Purple Feather Army?”
As the saying went, ‘Unequal distribution of resources is worse than scarcity.’ Currently, there were six Ninth-Order Masters among the Human Race, but there were a total of 12 frontline Armies.
In the beginning, Luo Ting He was in charge of Azure Sun Territory and managed the Azure Sun Army. Similarly, Wei Jun Yang managed the Wolf Fang Army, so it was understandable that these two Armies could have Ninth-Order Masters leading them. At most, it made people a little envious, but no one would say anything about it.
After the Universe Furnace closed, Ou Yang Lie and Xiang Shan returned as Ninth-Order Masters and took over the Profound Nether Army and Blood Flame Armies respectively. No one said anything about it since they had entered the Universe Furnace from Profound Nether Territory and Blood Flame Territory previously. It could only be said that Profound Nether and Blood Flame had been lucky.
The Red Flame Army also had many Eighth-Order Masters entering the Universe Furnace at that time, but they were unable to ascend to the Ninth-Order.
When Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were freed, all the Armies watched them expectantly, hoping that these two Ninth-Order Masters would lead them to strengthen their forces.
However, there were only two Ninth-Order Masters and eight Armies hoping to get them. In the end, it was decided by the Supreme Headquarters that Xiao Xiao would lead the Soaring Cloud Army and Wu Qing would lead the Purple Feather Army.
Some had considered consolidating the twelve Armies into six, in which case six Ninth-Order Masters would be enough, but currently, each Army had a massive number of troops. If two were to be combined, the number of troops would increase drastically, making it difficult to manage and coordinate.
Furthermore, there would be more Ninth-Order Masters in the future, did they have to split the Armies once again when that happened?
With these considerations, the Supreme Headquarters decided to maintain the status quo of having 12 Armies; however, half of them would not have a Ninth-Order Master in command, so the Supreme Headquarters could only send Divine Spirits to provide assistance and maintain the balance.
Upon hearing Zhao Li’s complaints, Wang Qian could not help but scold, “The Supreme Headquarters also has its own difficulties! What are you complaining about!?”
“I know,” though Zhao Li was hot-tempered, he was not ignorant of the situation. He wouldn’t usually bring up such issues, but the situation was dire and they were likely to perish soon. When a person was about to die, they couldn’t care less about anything else.
“If you have the ability, then you ascend to the Ninth Order yourself and take charge of the Red Flame Army!” Wang Qian cursed.
Upon hearing that, Zhao Li became furious, “Ascend my ass! I will reach my limit at the Eighth Order in this life… What’s more, those bastards in the logistics department… I wanted to use my military merits to exchange for materials to upgrade the Warship, but they refused. My military merits are hard-earned, why can’t I upgrade my Warship? If I had done so earlier, would we have fallen into this situation? I won’t let those bastards off the hook even after I die!”
Wang Qian remained silent and focused on killing the enemy.
Their Warship was produced by the artifact refiners from the logistics department, and was the standard model that 99% of Squads used. Even if it was a generic Warship, each one cost a lot of resources to refine.
In earlier years, soldiers were not prohibited from using their military merits to exchange for materials to modify their Warships. Since military merits were earned at the cost of their lives, there were no restrictions on how they could use them. As a result, many preferred to upgrade their Warships, believing that a well-equipped Warship would not only help them survive on the battlefield but also increase their chances of killing enemies.
Millennia ago, when Yang Kai led Dawn on the Black Ink Battlefield, their Warship Dawning Light was heavily modified at the cost of a vast amount of military merits. Yang Kai invested most of his military merits in Dawning Light, greatly enhancing its various capabilities and allowing the Dawn Squad to thrive in numerous bloody battles.
However, in recent years, soldiers were no longer allowed to modify their Warships in that manner. The higher-ups were not ignorant of the benefits of modifying Warships, but now that the Human Race faced a scarcity of resources, each resource had to be carefully accounted for and allocated. How could there be any extra resources to give to troops for modifying their Warships?
Only some elite Squads, through a lengthy application process, could exchange military merits for resources to modify their Warships. Even then, the number of military merits required was far more than before.
At this moment, it was unreasonable for Zhao Li to curse the logistics department as they were only executing orders from the higher-ups; however, with everyone facing harsh circumstances and potential death, venting his anger by cursing was understandable.
“Squad Leader, the Defensive Array is about to collapse!” A Squad member shouted.
Wang Qian looked up and saw the shield surrounding their Warship had already dimmed and was on the verge of cracking.
Taking a deep breath, he shouted, “Prepare for a final fight! Xiao Wu, activate the self-destruct array of the Warship! Set it for 10 breaths!”
“Yes!” Responded the Fifth-Order Master who had been called out.
Even if they had to die, they would kill as many enemies as possible!
On the other hand, Zhong Wu Yu, who had been repairing the Tiger Roar Cannon, stopped. There was no point in wasting any more time. He took out his sword and leapt to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Wang Qian, staring resolutely at the densely packed Black Ink Clansmen surrounding them.
One by one, the Squad members summoned their artifacts and gathered around Wang Qian. Their momentum was soaring, and their aura was surging as they formed their Battle Formations.
Even facing thousands of enemies, they advanced fearlessly.
They would fight to the bitter end!
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the enemy Army. In the next moment, Wang Qian and others’ faces changed slightly as they sensed a vast number of auras disappearing in the surrounding area as if an endless number of Black Ink Clansmen had died in an instant.
But, due to the overwhelming numbers of Black Ink Clansmen surrounding the Warship, they were unable to see what was happening beyond them, leaving them bewildered.
Just as they were in a state of confusion, they suddenly noticed ripples in the void ahead of them. As the ripples passed through, space shook and then shattered, causing countless Void Cracks to spread out like a school of fish swimming over them.
The countless Void Cracks almost enveloped all of the Black Ink Clansmen, yet somehow avoided where their Warship was located, which fortunately remained unscathed.
In the next instant, the Black Ink Clan Army that had cornered them, regardless of their strength or location, all spewed out black blood as they were sliced into pieces by the Void Cracks. Many of them died with bewildered expressions on their faces, not understanding what just happened.
“Wha…” Wang Qian was stunned by the scene.
Although he still didn’t know exactly what had happened, the only thing he could understand was that a powerful allied Master had intervened and instantly killed those Black Ink Clansmen.
[What incredible power…] He didn’t even notice any energy fluctuations, just a layer of ripples, followed by the formation of Void Cracks that enveloped all of the Black Ink Clansmen surrounding their Warship, including the Feudal Lords who had been hiding nearby.
The next moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the sea of corpses and blood. That figure locked eyes with Wang Qian and said nothing before nodding lightly as he confirmed that they were safe. Then, he took a step forward and disappeared.
“Xiao Wu!” Wang Qian suddenly snapped out of his trance, turned his head, and shouted, “Stop!”
He had just given this Squad member the command to activate the self-destruct array after 10 breaths, and he didn’t know if he could stop it now.
At a glance, Wang Qian breathed a sigh of relief as Xiao Wu seemed to have been stunned by what just happened and was standing there motionless.
“Squad Leader, who was that? The Division Commander?” After a moment of silence, one of the team members spoke up and asked.
“Division Commander?” Zhong Wu Yu turned his head and glanced at the person, snorting softly, “Division Commanders don’t have that kind of power.”
What they just witnessed was not something an Eighth-Order Division Commander could accomplish. How could they possibly annihilate such a large number of Black Ink Clansmen in an instant, including several powerful Feudal Lords. Although an Eighth-Order Master could indeed destroy such an enemy force, it would not have been this swift and effortless.
“Not an Eighth-Order Master?” The person who spoke was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in shock, “Could it be…”
“It’s Senior Yang!” Zhao Li’s eyes shone brightly. Although Yang Kai had only appeared for a moment, Zhao Li recognized him.
Zhao Li had always regarded Senior Yang as his goal to strive for. Previously, he ascended straight to the Sixth Order, so the Eighth-Order Realm was the limit of his life, and the Ninth Order was out of his reach.
However, Senior Yang directly ascended to the Fifth Order in the past and was now in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, giving many people like Zhao Li hope that he might just still be able to grow to that height one day.
Therefore, Zhao Li had done a lot of research on Yang Kai and even personally went to High Heaven Palace to pay homage to his statue.
Not only Zhao Li, but Wang Qian also recognised Yang Kai and was full of excitement.
He muttered to himself, “Wasn’t Senior Yang trapped in the Universe Furnace?”
It wasn’t a secret that Yang Kai was trapped in the Universe Furnace. Anyone who paid attention to him knew about it. How could he disappear for hundreds of years if he wasn’t trapped there? So, Wang Qian couldn’t figure out how Yang Kai appeared there.
Zhao Li chuckled and said, “For that Senior, being trapped in the Universe Furnace is nothing. He must have found a way out on his own.”
Zhong Wu Yu nodded and continued, “Heroes arise in troubled times. With Senior’s return, the Black Ink Clan is in deep trouble. In any case, we owe him a lot this time. We would have been doomed without his intervention.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Haven’t you guys thought of something else?” Zhao Li smiled.
“What else?”
“Senior’s appearance here means that the Red Flame Army now also has a Ninth-Order Master leading us!”
Only then did everyone realize this!
The Red Flame Army had always hoped to have their own Ninth-Order Master leading them, like the other six Armies. Unfortunately, there were only so many Ninth-Order Masters around, so how could their wish come true?
Now that Yang Kai had appeared in E-5 Territory, did it not mean that the Red Flame Army would have a Ninth-Order Master assuming command as well? Their long-cherished wish was finally about to come true!
For a moment, everyone became ecstatic…
After being uplifted, Wang Qian quickly gave orders, and the Warship swept in an arc towards the direction of their Division.
At the same time, Yang Kai’s figure flickered and moved rapidly towards the vast battlefield in the void.
Setting out from Supreme Headquarters, he had been hurrying all the way and arrived at E-5 Territory in less than half a month. After ascending to the Ninth Order, his control over Space Principles had become more proficient, making his travel time shorter than before. If it was before, it would have taken at least a month or two to travel such a distance.
When he encountered Wang Qian’s Squad being besieged on the way, he casually rescued them. For him, it was not a big deal, but he didn’t expect that Wang Qian’s Squad would have some misunderstandings after he showed up.
The intense main battlefield was in sight, and Yang Kai used Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to conceal his figure and aura.
For over 600 years, there had been no news of him. Not only did the Human Race think he was trapped in the Universe Furnace, but so did the Black Ink Clan. Not even Mo Na Ye could imagine that he would suddenly appear at this moment.
Since that was the case, then he would announce his return with a giant slaughter!
Amid the vast void, the massive armies of both the Humans and the Black Ink Clan were engaged in a bloody fight. Warships flew about as Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities were shot in all directions.
Between the unleashing of Evil Purging Divine Spears and the spread of the Black Ink Clouds across the void, countless lives were constantly lost in the chaos of the battlefield.
One warship could no longer hold up against the Black Ink Clan’s fervent attacks. The Defensive Array shattered, and breaths before the warship was annihilated, numerous silhouettes shot out into the enemy lines with the determination to go out fighting.
Wherever the Black Ink Clan gathered, the Human Race Masters made sure to target the area with the strength of their artifacts, and they managed to carve large swaths into the enemy lines.
Ever since the Red Flame Army started sieging E-5 Territory, brutal battles had broken out countless times.
The fighting was most intense on the main battlefield, but outside the main battlefield, many other areas had been turned into smaller battlefields too.
This was a feverish battle between the Masters from both sides.
The Eighth-Order Masters, the Divine Spirits, the Territory Lords and the Pseudo-Royal Lords were clashing across the many smaller battlefields as well. Now and then, Dragon Roars and Phoenix Cries echoed across the void, the strong, sonorous roars reaching the ears of both allies and enemies alike, shaking the hearts of all.
The death toll soared on every single battlefield.
The Red Flame Army did not have a Ninth-Order Master assuming command, so to face off against the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Eighth-Order Masters had to use Battle Formations. Most of the time, a single Pseudo-Royal Lord was able to keep five or six Eighth-Order Masters occupied.
Even the Divine Spirits formed groups of twos and threes to deal with the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Fortunately, the Humans had benefited greatly from the Universe Furnace. Many new Eighth-Order Masters had emerged over the years already, and the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills that the Humans brought out from the Universe Furnace led to the birth of even more Eighth-Order Masters. Had that not been the case, the number of Eighth-Order Masters in the Red Flame Army would not have sufficed for them to keep the enemy at bay.
Many factors went into deciding the victory of a battle as significant as this. Although the fight had been going on for quite some time now, both parties were still at a stalemate.
On some of the battlefields, the Humans had the advantage, but on others, the Black Ink Clan were in a better position. Achieving victory would depend on which side was able to make the most of their advantage and widen the gap to eventually make it snowball into a decisive win.
But, for the time being, both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan lacked the means to enable them to achieve such an effect.
For the past decade, the Red Flame Army had fought similarly intense battles with the enemy numerous times, but they were never able to gain a decisive edge, though they were never on the losing end of the fight either. All in all, the situation remained a stalemate between both sides.
However, as time passed and the number of battles increased, the situation began to look bad for the Humans.
This was because the Pseudo-Royal Lords that the Red Flame Army were up against were far too decisive and ruthless.
The Black Ink Clan’s large numbers of Pseudo-Royal Lords imposed a heavy burden on the Red Flame Army. None of the Eighth-Order Masters or the Divine Spirits could face off against the Pseudo-Royal Lords alone after all.
Yet, the Black Ink Clan had sent nearly 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords to E-5 Territory, which ended up occupying a sizable portion of the Red Flame Army’s top combat power.
To hold their ground, the Eighth-Order Masters fought valiantly with no regard for their lives as they confronted the Pseudo-Royal Lords. They figured that even if they could not kill the Pseudo-Royal Lords, they were still going to do their best to injure them. As long as the injuries kept mounting, they would have a chance to kill the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Therefore, though the Pseudo-Royal Lords were injured time and time again, many of the Eighth-Order Masters had been sacrificed as well.
In the last 10 years, nearly 200 Eighth-Order Masters had died at the hands of these Pseudo-Royal Lords, but right up till their deaths, these Eighth-Order Masters had given their all to inflict wounds that would make it hard for their enemies to recover.
200 Eighth-Order Masters was not a number that could be overlooked. Back on the Black Ink Battlefield, no Great Pass would even have 100 Eighth-Order Masters in total.
The Humans were only able to withstand such heavy losses because their heritage had strengthened and more Eighth-Order Masters kept rising.
While the Humans used this method to fight against the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Black Ink Clan’s strategy to counter them was just as simple. They sent the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were too injured to fight back to No-Return Pass to recuperate and deployed unscathed ones to join the battle.
This meant that the Pseudo-Royal Lords the Red Flame Army was dealing with had changed throughout the last 10 years, though the total number on the field remained the same.
There was still a large group of Pseudo-Royal Lords hanging around at the No-Return Pass. That being said, Mo Na Ye did not send all of them out. Firstly, it was because there had to be Masters standing guard at No-Return Pass, and secondly, it was feeding into the strategy he had in mind.
This was the best way to consistently deplete the Human Race’s strength.
In this way, Mo Na Ye actually shared Mi Jing Lun’s stance. The current battle between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan was not for the sake of claiming Great Territories for themselves, but to weaken the enemy’s forces. The fact that both parties had the same idea led to the devastating battle at E-5 Territory.
Aboard a Purifying Black Ink Battleship in the Red Flame Eastern Army’s possession, the Eastern Army Commander Zuo Qiu Yang Hua was going through the reports he received from the battlefield and giving out orders as needed. His expression was grave, and the atmosphere inside the Warship was tense as well.
The Humans’ 12 Armies had all fought against the Black Ink Clan on the Great Territory Battlefields for thousands of years, so without enough Ninth-Order Masters available, Armies were still under the command of experienced Eighth-Order Masters like Zuo Qiu Yang Hua.
All 12 Armies had massive numbers, so it was hard for an Eighth-Order Master to take control over the entire situation alone. Thus, the Armies mimicked the system of the Great Passes of the past, splitting into Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern Armies which formed a single Grand Army when combined. Naturally, each Army had a Master leading them.
Doing so made things a little more complicated as the four Army Commanders would have disagreements along the way, but there was no other choice. Without a Ninth-Order Master to take the lead, the Humans had to rely on the veteran Eighth-Order Masters’ battle experience and perceptiveness to make appropriate arrangements.
Thankfully, they had spent several millennia getting into the right mindset, and the four Army Commanders of the Red Flame Army had formed an impossibly close relationship. They were able to work as one to command the entire Army smoothly.
Their rapport and mutual understanding after so many years of working together enabled the Red Flame Army to display their maximum strength at all times and fend off the Black Ink Clan’s attacks time and time again. The Black Ink Clan failed to gain any upper hand in their fights so far.
Out on the battlefield, things could change at any moment. Amid the intense fighting, everyone was focused on their immediate vicinity and it was difficult for them to pay attention to the situation happening elsewhere. Thus, it was easy to get into the situation of having great success on one battlefield while losing miserably on another. Masters could break through the enemy lines and slaughter their troops or suddenly be under siege and in need of rescue with little to no warning.
The Red Flame Army’s Masters were only able to maintain an equilibrium across all the fights because the Commanders kept moving them around as necessary.
Inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua had only just given out an order when the observer who was keeping an eye on the situation out on the battlefields called out in alarm, “Sir, a group of Black Ink Clan members have broken through the lines and are charging straight at us. They’re coming over now with two Pseudo-Royal Lords in the lead…” He checked the Monitoring Array and was able to quickly confirm their identities.
His voice trembled as he exclaimed, “It’s Jiang Chi and Hu Yu!”
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua’s eyes flashed as he scoffed, “Here I was wondering why they’d gone into hiding. So, this is what they were up to!”
After clashing all these years, the Red Flame Army knew full well who the Pseudo-Royal Lords they were facing were. Although the Pseudo-Royal Lords were rotated in and out a lot more than the Territory Lords, there were a few Pseudo-Royal Lords that the Red Flame Army considered their biggest threats.
Jiang Chi and Hu Yu were two such Pseudo-Royal Lords. Though they were not necessarily stronger than other Pseudo-Royal Lords, they were more cunning and harder to anticipate.
The Eastern Army had fought against these two Pseudo-Royal Lords many times. The Eighth-Order Masters had formed Battle Formations to try and injure the two of them, but they never succeeded and a few Eighth-Order Masters had been sacrificed along the way.
Ever since the start of the current battle, the Eastern Army had paid close attention to the Pseudo-Royal Lords’ movements, but they never found any trace of these two; thus, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua, who was in command here, was not surprised that they showed up now.
The fact that they were charging over so openly made it clear what the two Pseudo-Royal Lords’ goal was. They wanted to defeat the enemy by slaughtering the leader first. As long as they killed Zuo Qiu Yang Hua, the Eastern Army would be left without a Commander. Even though someone else could take over the task of giving out orders to the Eastern Army, that would take time to organize, and would leave an opening to strike at.
Thus, the Black Ink Clan would have the chance to overwhelm the Eastern Army.
The Black Ink Clan’s determination was seen from the fact that they were sending two Pseudo-Royal Lords to accomplish this goal; furthermore, they also brought a large group of Territory Lords with them.
As the Black Ink Clan assault team surged forward, the Eighth-Order Masters moved to intercept them, but the two Pseudo-Royal Lords did not even bother to look at the Humans. Instead, the Territory Lords broke off to keep these Eighth-Order Masters occupied.
Black Ink Strength kept spreading out wherever they went, and with the strength of the many Black Ink Clan members, they were able to clear a bloody path through the Human Army and charge towards the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
“We can’t hold them back, Sir!” The Master who was reporting on the situation cried out in alarm. With the way things were going, their enemies would soon be able to fly right up to them, and when that happened, everyone inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship would meet a disastrous fate.
Zuo Qiu Yang Hua eyed the two figures in the distance with a cold gaze. Despite not being their equal in terms of combat strength, he showed no sign of wavering as he commanded, “Execute Operation Jade!”
His voice was steely and left no room for objections.
Everyone was shocked and some wanted to advise against it, but they could not bring themselves to do so. They had been under Zuo Qiu Yang Hua’s leadership for many years now as they fought against the Black Ink Clan all this time. They had killed countless enemies and received immeasurable glory. They had a deep reverence for Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and knew what kind of person the Eastern Army Commander was.
Thus, once he gave the command, all of the Masters inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship jumped into action.
Human silhouettes whizzed about as the other Warships began breaking off from the massive Purifying Black Ink Battleship and flying off into the distance. Meanwhile, Zuo Qiu Yang Hua and a few other Eighth-Order Masters stayed behind. Not only did they not leave, but they even began flaring their auras.
It was obvious what they were doing.
[I’m right here!]
When the two Pseudo-Royal Lords who were charging over saw the Warships leaving the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and flying off with many Human Race Masters onboard, they thought that Zuo Qiu Yang Hua had fled; however, when they sensed his aura, they no longer had that worry.
In fact, they chuckled to themselves, [Is he trying to let his subordinates escape because he knows he’s doomed to die?]
They did not mind. Their goal was to kill Zuo Qiu Yang Hua. Once they killed the Army Commander here, they were confident that the Black Ink Clan would be able to slaughter the entire Red Flame Eastern Army before swallowing up the rest of the three Armies. By doing so, they could deal a catastrophic blow to the Humans.