The Black Ink Clan’s method of classification was different from that of the Human Race. The Human Race had distinct names for each cultivation Realm, and although the Black Ink Clan’s classification was also based on strength, the divisions below the Feudal Lords were quite rough and broad.
For instance, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen included all the Black Ink Clansmen who were equivalent to Open Heaven Realm Humans at or below the Third-Order. High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen corresponded to Humans from the Fourth Order to the Sixth-Order. Only when they became Feudal Lords would they be differentiated separately, which corresponded to the Human’s Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Territory Lords were equivalent to the Eighth-Order, and Royal Lords to the Ninth Order.
As Black Ink Clansmen below the Low-Rank, they were all just lumped together as Black Ink Serfs! Generally speaking, such Black Ink Clansmen were just born recently from Black Ink Nests and had not had much time for growth. In every battle between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan, these Serfs were basically just sent out to die. They were the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder, and their deaths would consume the strength of the Human Race while spreading Black Ink Strength to create an advantageous environment for the main Black Ink Clan Army.
Li Wu Yi had no idea how strong the Black Ink Clan Army of 10 million that had rushed over from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was; after all, he couldn’t get too close to investigate, but from the information he had gathered, the overall strength of this Black Ink Clan Army was probably the strongest that the Human Race had ever seen, because he could clearly feel terrifying auras coming from within this Army, even from such a huge distance.
This was undoubtedly the auras of the Pseudo-Royal Lords!
“Is there a Royal Lord?” Yang Kai asked via Divine Sense.
Li Wu Yi shook his head, “I’m not sure.”
Because the Pseudo-Royal Lords couldn’t control their own strength, they couldn’t restrain their auras. Royal Lords, on the other hand, could do precisely that. So, even if there were Royal Lords in the midst of this Army, Li Wu Yi wouldn’t be able to detect them.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai suggested, “You stay here, I’ll go take a look.”
Li Wu Yi immediately nodded, “Be careful.”
He was well aware of Yang Kai’s capabilities, so there was nothing to worry about. In addition, with the help of Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, it could be said that no one was more suited for scouting than Yang Kai.
The next moment, Yang Kai activated Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, concealing his figure and aura as he flew towards the rapidly advancing Black Ink Army.
Even from afar, this surging Black Ink Army was extremely vast, and after approaching it, one could further feel its oppressiveness.
A moment later, Yang Kai arrived near the Black Ink Clan Army, closing to a distance of just 1 million kilometres away. This was quite close, but also had a decent safety margin.
Before confirming whether there was a Royal Lord present in this Black Ink Clan Army or not, this was already the limit. If Yang Kai moved any closer, even with the support of Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, he might arouse the Black Ink Clan’s suspicion.
The billowing Black Ink Tide rapidly flowed across Yang Kai’s field of vision, and upon closely investigating, Yang Kai was secretly shocked.
From a distance, Yang Kai only knew that there were many Pseudo-Royal Lords in this Army, but it was difficult to estimate exactly how many there were. However, Yang Kai could clearly feel them at such a close distance.
There were almost 300 Pseudo-Royal Lords!
An Army of 10 million with 300 Pseudo-Royal Lords, such a lineup was comparable to the entire Black Ink Clan in the 3,000 Worlds when it was at its peak!
Not only were there Pseudo-Royal Lords, but there were also quite a lot of Innate Territory Lords and even ordinary Territory Lords, as well as an astonishing number of Feudal Lords.
Yang Kai didn’t find a single Low-Rank Black Ink Clansman. Even the weakest soldiers here were High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen!
This discovery made his heart a little heavy.
The Black Ink Clan Army in front of them could only be described as an elite force, the most powerful Army the Human Race had ever encountered.
Even the Black Ink Clan Army currently defending the No-Return Pass was inferior to this Army.
[Are there any true Royal Lords?] Yang Kai continued to observe. The reason he had personally come here to investigate was to find out about this matter as it was of utmost importance to the future of the Human Race!
Although the auras radiating from the Pseudo-Royal Lords were almost the same as those of the real Royal Lords, if one observed carefully enough, they would still be able to distinguish the two.
The auras of the Pseudo-Royal Lords and the Royal Lords were almost the same in terms of the strength, but the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s auras fluctuated quite a lot, unlike true Royal Lords.
Someone like Yang Kai, who often dealt with Royal Lords and Pseudo-Royal Lords, could tell the difference at a glance.
Maintaining a distance of 1 million kilometres, Yang Kai kept pace with the huge Black Ink Clan Army while constantly observing.
It took about half a day for Yang Kai to finally conclude his observation.
He did not find any trace of a true Royal Lord.
Still not at ease, Yang Kai closed the distance between himself and the Black Ink Clan Army and deliberately released a trace of his aura, ensuring that even if a Royal Lord noticed it, he could immediately conceal himself again.
After a while, Yang Kai finally relaxed.
He could conclude that there were no Royal Lords in this Black Ink Clan Army, allowing him to breathe a long sigh of relief.
From the looks of it, the situation was not as bad as he had thought. The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had not completely collapsed.
If the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been completely broken, the Black Ink Clan would not be sending Pseudo-Royal Lords, but true Royal Lords!
The fact that there wasn’t a single true Royal Lord amongst the Black Ink Clan Army of 10 million here was incontrovertible proof of this
Be that as it may, it was an undeniable fact that there must be something wrong with the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, something similar to when the Innate Territory Lords had escaped last time but on a much bigger scale…
Looking at the massive Black Ink Cloud passing by, Yang Kai suppressed the murderous intent in his heart and quietly withdrew.
Although he could launch an attack right now and catch this Black Ink Clan Army off guard, he was still just one man. Even if the nearby Li Wu Yi and the others of the Void Guard came to support him, they would not be able to do much damage to this force.
Furthermore, once Yang Kai made a move here, word would definitely spread to the No-Return Pass. At that time, the Human Race would lose the intelligence advantage of having discovered the Black Ink Clan reinforcements.
The Black Ink Clan reinforcements would take at least 10 years to reach the No-Return Pass, so there was no need to disturb them yet.
Returning to Li Wu Yi’s side, Yang Kai ordered, “Setting up the Space Array is temporarily postponed. The Void Guard’s new mission is to monitor the movements of these Black Ink Clan reinforcements.”
“Yes!” Li Wu Yi replied solemnly.
“Also, leave a few people here to continue monitoring this place.”
Li Wu Yi quickly understood Yang Kai’s worries, “Are you worried that there are other Black Ink Clan reinforcements on their way?”
Right now, the Human Race had only discovered one batch of Black Ink Clan reinforcements, but no one could guarantee that there wouldn’t be more. Leaving behind some people here to monitor was a necessity to not be caught off-guard.
Yang Kai agreed with a nod, “That’s right, other than that… I need you to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and investigate the situation there.”
If possible, Yang Kai wanted to personally investigate the situation, but even though the Void Guard had already travelled about 75% of the way there, they were still quite far from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Even with Yang Kai’s top speed, a round trip would probably require several months.
The battle in the No-Return Pass was still ongoing. Mi Jing Lun could still cover his disappearance if it was limited to a few days, so he had some time to return yet, but a few months would be too long. It was hard to say if Mo Na Ye wouldn’t be able to guess some things if that much time elapsed with no sign of Yang Kai showing up.
If it was just a few days, even someone as smart and shrewd as Mo Na Ye might not be able to imagine that Yang Kai had run to this position and met the Black Ink Clan reinforcements.
After all, the existence of the Void Guard was a secret to the Black Ink Clan.
“Understood,” Li Wu Yi nodded.
“Be extremely careful on the way there,” Yang Kai exhorted.
Li Wu Yi lightly chuckled, “Although your current cultivation is higher than mine, I’ve lived longer than you. Don’t underestimate me.”
Yang Kai was speechless, “I don’t mean that.”
“I know,” Li Wu Yi casually smiled, “Then I’ll take my leave first.”
Saying so, he activated his own Instantaneous Movement Technique and disappeared.
After Li Wu Yi left, Yang Kai gave a few more instructions to the remaining Void Guard before returning to the nearest Universe Temple.
The Void Guard there promptly came to greet him, after which Yang Kai informed them of their new mission which they all accepted in unison.
After everything was settled, Yang Kai used the Space Array to teleport back to the No-Return Pass.
The battle was still raging at the No-Return Pass as Mo Na Ye was paying close attention to every subtle change in the battlefield as lingering doubts built up in his heart.
The Human Race had launched an attack on the No-Return Pass just four months after their previous assault, which had broken their established pattern greatly. He was unable to figure out what the Human Race was up to, but judging by the current situation, everything was proceeding normally.
The Human Race was attacking the No-Return Pass as usual, and the Black Ink Clan was defending as usual, just like the previous several battles. However, Mo Na Ye always had a nagging feeling that a layer of fog was clouding his vision, and behind this fog was a truth he couldn’t figure out. Nonetheless, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t dispel this fog.
The reason behind this was the lack of information. The Human Race had already sighted the Black Ink Clan reinforcements and the Void Guard were now closely monitoring them. The Black Ink Clan, on the other hand, believed that they had hidden themselves well. Even if Mo Na Ye was incredibly shrewd, it would have never occurred to him that the Human Race would actually have a special organization like the Void Guard that was setting up Space Arrays leading to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction since 10 years ago.
It would also not have occurred to him that the Human Race had launched the seventh attack only because Mi Jing Lun wanted to get Yang Kai’s attention to warn him of the Void Guard’s discovery. There was simply no other hidden meaning behind it.
Mo Na Ye’s thoughts were clouded by first impressions. From beginning to end, he believed that the Human Race was up to something, so the more he thought about it, the more he spiralled in worry rather than simply assuming the simplest answer was the correct one.
The only thing he got right was that it must have something to do with Yang Kai.
Because after this battle had begun, Yang Kai disappeared without a trace after killing his way out of the No-Return Pass. At first, many of the Pseudo-Royal Lords were still on guard against Yang Kai’s sneak attacks, but since then the latter never appeared even when many good opportunities had appeared.
The Black Ink Clan had no idea where he had gone!
Mo Na Ye had also been paying close attention to the situation at Pure Yang Pass. In the past, whenever there was a big battle, Yang Kai would run over to Mi Jing Lun’s side and communicate with him, but this time, even that did not happen…
Of course, if Yang Kai was intentionally hiding, Mo Na Ye would not be able to find his trace from such a distance.
But Yang Kai was still nowhere to be seen even after several days of fighting.
[What is he doing?] From Mo Na Ye’s point of view, the more he could not spot Yang Kai, the more suspicious things became.
At this time, Yang Kai had already returned to Pure Yang Pass after a series of Space Array teleportations.
Hiding near Mi Jing Lun, Yang Kai began to give him a summary of what he had discovered on this trip and his own conjectures.
Mi Jing Lun’s expression became extremely solemn after hearing Yang Kai’s account of the situation.
According to the information Yang Kai had gathered, once the elite Black Ink Clan reinforcements reached the battlefield and coordinated with the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass, the Human Race Army would not be able to resist. If the Black Ink Clan attacked the Human Race from two sides at that time, the Human Race would neither be able to advance or retreat.
Fortunately, the reinforcements were still far off and would take a decade or so to reach this place at their current pace.
What made Mi Jing Lun even happier was the absence of true Royal Lords in the Black Ink Clan reinforcements. In light of this, Yang Kai’s speculation that the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction hadn’t completely collapsed must be correct.
But that begged the question, how much longer could the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction remain standing…
Originally, the assault on the No-Return Pass was going quite well, but at this moment, Mi Jing Lun could feel a dark storm brewing on the horizon.
Rubbing his forehead, Mi Jing Lun asked, “Junior Brother, what are your thoughts?”
Yang Kai looked towards the frontline that kept being pushed by both sides before slowly speaking his thoughts, “We have to end this battle as soon as possible!”
Mi Jing Lun’s brow couldn’t help but furrow as he muttered, “But… many people will die.”
Yang Kai looked down, “The longer this battle drags on, the greater the hidden dangers of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction will become. Moreover, the number of deaths over these years… has already reached an astonishing number, hasn’t it?”
Mi Jing Lun remained silent. He was well aware of the current circumstances, and what the most sensible decision was; nonetheless, he still felt reluctant to give the order because he knew that once he did, many soldiers would have to pay for it with their lives.
As the saying goes, there is no place for kindness in leading an Army. Mi Jing Lun knew he was not a benevolent person. Over the years, there had been many instances where he had no choice but to issue cruel and merciless orders, but if not for those orders, the Human Race would not be able to create the greatest results with the least cost. Every soldier who had died on the battlefield had died a worthy death.
As the Supreme Commander of the Army who was ultimately responsible for issuing orders, Mi Jing Lun always felt guilty towards these dead soldiers, but he never felt guilt towards the Human Race as a whole.
But the current situation was different.
If he issued this order, millions of brave Human soldiers would surely die!
That was an enormous number! The weight of this was so heavy that even someone like Mi Jing Lun found it difficult to bear.
However, the Source of the Black Ink Clan disaster was not the No-Return Pass, but the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!
Although the Human Race could maintain this kind of offence and take down the No-Return Pass in a decade or so with only minimal sacrifices, who could say that nothing would happen to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction within those 10 years?
If something irreversible happened at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction over the next decade, even if the Human Race managed to capture the No-Return Pass, it would prove meaningless. At that time, the losses would be even greater.
Mi Jing Lun clearly understood all of this, but… he could not get over the fact that all they needed was another 10 years.
The war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had raged for millions of years. Compared to that, 10 years was a blink of an eye; however, at this critical juncture, 10 years became an unbearable delay.
Even Mi Jing Lun, who had always appeared as a cultured and scholarly gentleman in front of the world, couldn’t help but curse in his heart to alleviate his frustration.
Right now, the only silver lining for the Human Race Army was that the Black Ink Clan had been greatly weakened after having fought six battles over the past decade. Not to mention anything else, just the number of Pseudo-Royal Lords who had fallen in this decade had already crossed the 100 mark, while the number of Feudal Lords and Territory Lords who had perished was many times that number.
The main reason for this was because the Black Ink Clan had suffered massive casualties in the first two battles. In the later battles, the Black Ink Clan had always been on defence, so their losses weren’t as significant, but they still suffered some.
As such, if the Human Race really decided to launch an all-out attack, throwing all caution to the wind, it shouldn’t be a problem to take down the No-Return Pass.
“How do we deal with the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods?” Mi Jing Lun asked, suppressing his chaotic thoughts.
If they wanted to occupy the No-Return Pass, they would ultimately have to confront the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods; they could not avoid this hurdle. During these past 10 years, whether it was the Human Race or the Black Ink Clan, both sides had never fully committed their forces to the battle, always holding back their trump cards.
The Black Ink Clan needed to stall for time for their reinforcements to arrive. The Human Race, on the other hand, wanted to minimize their casualties as much as possible, but at the same time, they didn’t want to expand the scale of the battle to the point where the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods would be dragged in. With their mutual interest aligned, the strongest Masters acted with restraint.
Because of their geographical advantage, the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods would occasionally provide timely but limited assistance to the Black Ink Clan. Ah Da and Ah Er, on the other hand, simply watched from across the Territory Gate.
“I’ll cooperate with Ah Da and Ah Er. I can’t say that I can kill them, but it’s possible to pin them down,” Yang Kai replied.
Mi Jing Lun nodded his acknowledgement upon hearing this. If Yang Kai really managed to accomplish this feat, the Human Race’s casualties would be significantly reduced. After the Humans had routed the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass, they could easily take care of the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
“Senior Brother… have you made your decision?” Yang Kai asked.
Mi Jing Lun stared at the battlefield for a long time before aguishly lamenting, “How did things develop to this point?”
Yang Kai remained silent.
A moment later, Mi Jing Lun stated in a grim and heavy voice, “Now that it has come to this, we can only go all out!”
Fortunately, he had not remained idle and unprepared these years. In a battle, a qualified commander could anticipate all scenarios and make preparations for every contingency.
Of course, Mi Jing Lun had never expected reinforcements to be on their way from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, so he had devised what to do if the Human Race was forced to take down the No-Return Pass in a short time.
Having been forced to this step, all he needed to do was to put the appropriate strategy into action. Of course, just because Mi Jing Lun had planned for this, didn’t mean things would go as he anticipated.
No one had expected that the curtains to the final battle of the Human Race’s attack on the No-Return Pass would open this way!
Yang Kai stated, “Since that’s the case, I will go and try to eliminate as many Pseudo-Royal Lords as possible. Senior Brother, please give the order!”
Mi Jing Lun imperceptibly nodded his affirmation.
The next moment, Yang Kai’s aura vanished, whereupon Mi Jing Lun raised his hand slightly. The messenger standing behind him instantly stepped forward and respectfully greeted, “Supreme Commander Mi!”
Mi Jing Lun’s low voice rang out, “Relay my Orders to all Armies…”
The messenger’s expression became serious as perked up his ears, attentively listening; however, Mi Jing Lun remained silent for a long time before the messenger finally heard Mi Jing Lun’s firm and determined voice, “Prepare to storm the No-Return Pass!”
As one of Mi Jing Lun’s trusted aides who had been following him all this time, the messenger naturally understood what this order meant. His expression immediately became stern, and although he was filled with shock, he didn’t hesitate to relay this order to every Commander on the battlefield.
As a qualified messenger, he didn’t need to question the decisions of the Supreme Commander, he just needed to convey the orders he was given without error…
Having finished relaying Mi Jing Lun’s order, the Seventh-Order messenger raised his head and looked towards the battlefield. The next thing reflected in his eyes was the Human Race Warships nimbly shuttling back and forth on the battlefield, as well as a sky alight with the brilliance of various Secret Techniques and artifacts.
He cupped his fists and requested in an earnest voice, “Supreme Commander Mi, I want to participate in the battle!”
All this time, he had been responsible for relaying Mi Jing Lun’s orders. He witnessed with his eyes the Human Race’s soldiers desperately fighting on the battlefield because of the orders he had passed down. He had witnessed the death of so many; too many to keep count of, but was powerless to do anything about it.
He also knew that their deaths had nothing to do with him. He was just a messenger. He was only relaying Supreme Commander Mi’s orders. As for the ensuing casualties and consequences of the orders, it was totally unrelated to him.
Be that as it may, not everything in this world could be convinced with logic, such as… the Human heart.
On the eve of the worst battle to have been fought in history, the messenger decided to follow his heart and make his request to the Supreme Commander.
Mi Jing Lun didn’t even turn his head, and only spewed a single word, “Granted!”
The messenger bowed in gratitude.
Within the walls of the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye was observing the battlefield with a furrow on his brow. His powerful cultivation and vast Divine Sense allowed him to clearly perceive the situation of the entire battlefield with a single flash of thought. He had seldom left the No-Return Pass to join the fighting over the years, but it was thanks to his leadership that the Black Ink Clan Army had managed to repel the Human Race at the smallest cost on every occasion.
This battle was no different from the previous ones. The Human Race’s attacks were tepid, which clearly indicated that they wanted to gradually wear down the Black Ink Clan’s strength. So, although it had been several days since the battle began, the losses suffered by the Black Ink Clan were still within acceptable limits. As for the Human Race… ever since the third battle, the price paid by the Humans in each battle could only be considered insignificant.
This was because the Black Ink Clan had never thought of making any move on the Human Race. Under Mo Na Ye’s command, all the Black Ink Clan’s forces were focused on defence; as such, it was very difficult for them to deal much damage to the Humans.
There were only two unusual points about this battle. Firstly, the Humans had launched this battle far ahead of their usual schedule, breaking the pattern which had been maintained for the past 10 years.
And secondly, Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen.
After Yang Kai had killed his way out of the Barren Territory, there had been no sightings of him. This was a very strange and unprecedented event.
In the previous battles, Yang Kai would always run out to attack the Pseudo-Royal Lords, forcing Di Ya Luo and his team of 12 Pseudo-Royal Lords to rush to rescue, which was quite annoying.
But this time, Yang Kai had not made a move even after so many days.
Mo Na Ye couldn’t even figure out what Yang Kai was doing at this moment. This kind of unknown variable had caused Mo Na Ye’s heart to be filled with anxiety; after all, this was Yang Kai, who had always used extraordinary means to do unbelievable things.
Just as he was thinking so, a powerful aura suddenly erupted at a certain spot on the battlefield. This instantly caused Mo Na Ye’s heart to clench as he turned his head to look in that direction, only to see a massive river flowing across the void, sweeping towards the battlefield like a whip.
Sensing this powerful yet familiar aura, Mo Na Ye was first overjoyed, but was immediately taken aback.
What made him happy was that Yang Kai had finally appeared. He had been hiding in the shadows all this time and hadn’t done anything at all, so contrary to what might seem reasonable, his absence put a great deal of pressure on the Black Ink Clan. If he made a move, the Black Ink Clan could respond appropriately; so, when he noticed Yang Kai’s aura, Mo Na Ye was finally relieved.
What surprised him was that the target Yang Kai had chosen this time was actually Mo Yu, a veteran Royal Lord!
Yang Kai had made several moves throughout several battles, but each time he did so, his target had always been the Pseudo-Royal Lords. Due to his unpredictable means and the eerie Grand Dao River, the Pseudo-Royal Lords he targeted rarely escaped, unless Di Ya Luo managed to come to their rescue in time.
It could be said that half the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had fallen on the battlefield over the past 10 years had died directly or indirectly because of Yang Kai! He had almost single-handedly killed so many Pseudo-Royal Lords to the point they were unable to lift their heads.
Yet in all that time, Yang Kai had never taken the initiative to attack a true Royal Lord before, least of all Mo Yu as the most experienced Royal Lord in the Black Ink Clan.
The corners of Mo Na Ye’s brow immediately twitched as he felt that Yang Kai had gone crazy to make such a crazy move. He thus immediately shouted, “Di Ya Luo!”
There was no verbal response, but the moment Yang Kai appeared, Di Ya Luo led a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords towards him at astonishing speed.
Di Ya Luo had already become quite familiar with rushing to the rescue. In every battle, he would lead a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords to pin down Yang Kai, so there was no need for Mo Na Ye to give him any detailed instructions.
On the other side, Mo Yu was obviously taken aback by the sudden ambush. Just now, he had been fighting Luo Ting He alone. This was the third Ninth-Order Master he had fought in the past 10 years.
Unlike Xiang Shan’s relentless onslaught or Wei Jun Yang’s boldness, Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Luo Ting He’s attacking style was more calculated and meticulous. She would execute exquisite Secret Techniques in a seemingly endlessly chain, making her like a never-ending storm, leaving Mo Yu extremely frustrated. Even though his foundation was better than Luo Ting He’s, it was difficult for him to gain the upper hand. From the beginning of their fight until now, they were evenly matched.
A Royal Lord’s senses were extremely sharp, so even if Yang Kai had used Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, it was difficult for the latter to completely hide his traces. Pseudo-Royal Lords might not be able to guard against Yang Kai’s sneak attack, but Mo Yu could.
In fact, Mo Yu already had a vague premonition before Yang Kai even launched his attack; therefore, he was only shocked for a moment when Yang Kai appeared and instantly reacted appropriately. He promptly collected the copious amount of Black Ink Strength around him and created a shield to defend himself. Right then, Luo Ting He’s attack struck the barrier, but it only caused his body to violently sway and was unable to cause any damage.
Yang Kai’s Space-Time River swept in just at that moment, gushing straight from above and engulfing him.
Mo Yu used the tried and tested strategy of fighting back with everything he had, bombarding Yang Kai’s Dao Strength River with everything he had in an attempt to force him back.
The raging waves crashed against Mo Yu’s barrage again and again, while the Dao Strengths fluctuated non-stop. At the same time, Luo Ting He unleashed her strength. The combined assault of two Ninth-Order Masters proved too much, however, and quickly caused Mo Yu to sink into the Space-Time River.
The undercurrents inside the river instantly started surging. Surprisingly, it was Mo Yu who was using his own strength to stir up trouble and bombard Yang Kai’s Dao Strengths.
The best way to deal with this situation was naturally for Yang Kai to enter the Space-Time River and use the environment to his advantage to engage in a fierce battle with Mo Yu. With his current strength, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to kill the trapped Mo Yu.
But he didn’t do this.
If he wanted to kill a Royal Lord, he would have already done so 10 years ago, but killing a Royal Lord would not have done any good to the overall situation.
The key Masters in the Black Ink Clan right now were still the Pseudo-Royal Lords!
“They’re here!” Yang Kai completely ignored the turmoil of his Dao Strengths and lightly shouted.
“Leave them to me!” Luo Ting He replied as she gently pointed her finger towards the void. The next moment, Yin-Yang Dao Strength rapidly filled the surroundings before an enormous Yin-Yang Fish manifested, enveloping Di Ya Luo and the dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords who were rushing over to help Mo Yu.
The Yin-Yang Fish slowly started rotating, like it had a life of its own. Immediately, an inexplicable pull appeared in the void, causing the group of Black Ink Clan powerhouses to lose their footing.
Di Ya Luo and the other Black Ink Clan powerhouses immediately launched numerous Secret Techniques together, trying to break free from this inexplicable force. But before they could escape, Yang Kai was already upon them. No one saw how he moved, but when he appeared behind a Pseudo-Royal Lord with his Azure Dragon Spear, the latter didn’t even notice.
Thrusting the spear with one hand, and executing a palm strike with the other, Yang Kai mercilessly attacked the Pseudo-Royal Lord. Immediately, an inexplicable burst of energy appeared in the void, as if something had been cut off.
This Pseudo-Royal Lord’s expression immediately changed, because the moment Yang Kai threw out his palm, his aura connection with the other two Pseudo-Royal Lords in his Battle Formation was severed.
With the aura connection severed, the Three Fortunes Formation instantly collapsed.
“Be careful!” When Di Ya Luo roared at him, the Pseudo-Royal Lord finally realized that a great disaster had befallen him. He promptly turned around and threw a punch, but all that filled his vision was a rapidly enlarging spear tip.
Regardless of his dire situation, he was still a Pseudo-Royal Lord. Facing such a crisis, he didn’t panic and instead changed his punch to a palm, smacking it towards the oncoming Azure Dragon Spear. At the same time, he tilted his head to avoid this fatal blow.
However… that was where things ended for him.
Caught inside the Yin-Yang Fish, his movements were significantly restricted, and to top it off, he was being targeted by Yang Kai; how could things possibly end well for him? The last thing this Pseudo-Royal Lord saw was the long spear he dodged transform into multiple spear shadows that rained down on him!
By the time the blood splashed out, the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s aura had vanished.
Then a second, then a third…
The other two Pseudo-Royal Lords who had formed the Battle Formation with the first followed in his footsteps almost immediately after.
Only then did the Secret Techniques from all directions rain down on the spot where Yang Kai was standing. Unfortunately, all that was left there was his afterimage, and by the time it faded away, Yang Kai had already arrived on the opposite side.
He had teleported to another three Pseudo-Royal Lords in Battle Formation and was about to launch a similar attack!
“In your dreams!” Di Ya Luo furiously roared again as he used all his strength to try and rescue the three Pseudo-Royal Lords; however, another figure suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path. A jade white palm flew out at him, carrying an Earth-Shattering power with it. Di Ya Luo’s expression became grave and without hesitation, he immediately met this palm with an attack of his own.
Luo Ting He’s foundation was lacking compared to a veteran Royal Lord like Mo Yu, but she was still stronger than Di Ya Luo who had only become a Royal Lord a few years ago. As such, it was relatively easier to fight him.
With her restraining Di Ya Luo, Yang Kai was able to act unhindered. Immediately, Space Principles surged as the surrounding space froze and a large number of Small Stone Race Soldiers appeared out of nowhere, surrounding this area.
In a flash, a look of horror appeared on the faces of all the Black Ink Clansmen, including Di Ya Luo.
The next instant, the Great Sun and Moon Marks on the back of Yang Kai’s hand glowed brightly before yellow and blue lights began flowing out of the Small Stone Race Soldiers, rapidly fusing into a dazzling Sun which exploded soon after!
When the dazzling white light faded a few breaths later, a few Pseudo-Royal Lords had disappeared from the battlefield, leaving clouds of blood mist in their place. As for the surviving Pseudo-Royal Lords, they had clearly become much weaker after suffering this blow.
Yang Kai promptly charged at them with his spear in hand. Immediately, an aura of death enveloped these Pseudo-Royal Lords.
On the other side, Luo Ting He looked surprised, staring at a fleeing figure with a frown. “He is quite fast!”
The moment Di Ya Luo saw Yang Kai summon the Small Stone Race Army, he decisively used his Secret Technique to escape. Luo Ting He didn’t even have time to stop him. However, executing this Secret Technique obviously cost Di Ya Luo a great deal of strength, so his figure looked quite miserable afterwards.
Luo Ting He no longer paid any attention to the fleeing Di Ya Luo, promptly turning around and joined forces with Yang Kai to kill the remaining Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been injured by the burst of Purifying Light.
How could the Pseudo-Royal Lords be their opponents under these circumstances? Their auras vanished one after another, though the counterattacks of these Pseudo-Royal Lords before their deaths could not be scoffed at. Knowing that they were doomed to die, each Pseudo-Royal Lord displayed suicidal determination in their final moments, causing both Yang Kai and Luo Ting He to suffer some injuries.
In particular, Yang Kai’s Daos Strengths were fluctuating in a wild manner, not because he was using his own Dao Strengths to kill his enemies, but because the Space-Time River was under attack.
After dealing with all the Pseudo-Royal Lords, Yang Kai shouted, “I’ll leave him to you!”
A moment after he shouted, a figure rushed out from the Space-Time River. It was none other than Mo Yu, who had been swallowed by the Space-Time River earlier. Although he had been trapped inside, Mo Yu had not suffered any physical injuries. His aura, on the other hand, was a little weaker than before, though this did not affect his combat strength much.
When Mo Yu saw the tragic sight before him, a cold and frigid look took over his face, but before he could do anything, Luo Ting He rushed him and the two resumed their original battle.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, didn’t even spare Mo Ya a glance. He raised his hand towards the Space-Time River, grabbing it like it was a whip, then used Instantaneous Movement, disappearing into the Void. He didn’t attack Mo Yu with Luo Ting He. Unless Yang Kai exposed his true strength, it wouldn’t be easy to kill a veteran Royal Lord; furthermore, it was more convenient to sneak attack the Pseudo-Royal Lords than to kill a tough nut like Mo Yu.
At the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye’s face turned ashen. He had never expected that his strategy against Yang Kai would be broken so easily.
Yang Kai sneak attacked Mo Yu, but clearly he never had any intention of fighting him. His true goal was the Pseudo-Royal Lords led by Di Ya Luo!
These were the stumbling blocks that had been pestering Yang Kai all this time, making it difficult for him to display his full strength.
With a simple move of besieging the enemy’s stronghold in order to attack their reinforcements, everyone in Di Ya Luo’s team, apart from Di Ya Luo himself who had managed to escape, had been slaughtered by Yang Kai and Luo Ting He!
[The situation has changed!] Mo Na Ye could keenly sense this.
Yang Kai had never done something like this before.
The team of Pseudo-Royal Lords led by Di Ya Luo had successfully managed to restrain Yang Kai in the previous battles, hindering him from displaying his full strength, but by the looks of it, Yang Kai had always had the ability to break free of Di Ya Luo and the Pseudo-Royal Lords’ restraint. It was just that he did not want to, that was all.
[What the Hell made him reveal his fangs today?]
“Sir!” Di Ya Luo, who had fled back to the No-Return Pass, arrived in front of Mo Na Ye, his face filled with shame. He didn’t dare to face Yang Kai alone, so he didn’t know what to do now.
Even now, Mo Na Ye had not associated the turn of events in the situation to the fact that Yang Kai’s strength had experienced a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering increase to another level.
That was because he knew just how difficult it was for a Human Race Master to cultivate. The stronger the cultivator, the more time they had to spend accumulating heritage to grow their power.
Since ancient times, there had never existed anyone like Yang Kai who was able to grow to such an extent in less than 1,000 years after advancing to the Ninth Order.
Ever since the Humans attacked the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai had been concealing his ability by feigning weakness. In each battle, he only ever revealed strength as should be expected from a newly advanced Ninth-Order Master like himself while trying to avoid head-to-head battles with any of the Royal Lords.
From Mo Na Ye’s perspective, Yang Kai may be stronger than when he just advanced back then in the Universe Furnace World, but such growth was still acceptable. Moreover, it was well known that Yang Kai’s abilities were greater than other cultivators in the same Realm to begin with, so it was difficult to understand Yang Kai’s bottom line without a proper fight with him.
Even if someone told Mo Na Ye about Yang Kai’s true strength now, he probably wouldn’t believe it. Such a thing was simply nonsensical.
The situation had changed subtly since Yang Kai showed up on the battlefield.
Though the attack of the Humans was still as tepid as before, the various Armies had already completed their secret deployments, getting all their forces into position.
Yang Kai soon reappeared, this time next to Xiang Shan.
Xiang Shan’s opponents were three Pseudo-Royal Lords who had formed a Battle Formation, which should make them strong enough to take on this newly promoted Ninth-Order Master.
In the first two battles, Xiang Shan fought two bloody battles with Mo Yu, which resulted in losses on both sides. Mo Yu had a unique method of healing, so he could recover quickly through the sacrifice of a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but Xiang Shan could not recover as easily. Even with the use of healing pills, it would still take him some time, so his injuries have not been restored completely even until now, causing him to fall into a disadvantage against the three Pseudo-Royal Lords from time to time as they fought.
This was especially noticeable during the days when Yang Kai had disappeared as Xiang Shan was almost one-sidedly suppressed by these three Pseudo-Royal Lords without having any ability to fight back.
But since Yang Kai’s emergence, the situation had turned around. These three Pseudo-Royal Lords now had to hold back 30% of their strength in preparation to deal with the event of a surprise attack launched by Yang Kai, which gave Xiang Shan some room to breathe.
When Yang Kai’s figure entered their circle of battle, Xiang Shan, who had received a heads-up prior, burst out with the power he had been accumulating and wielded a fierce blade towards the three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
His murderous intent spread almost palpably, and even the space around the three Pseudo-Royal Lords seemed to freeze, horrifying them all.
They had constantly been on guard against Yang Kai, but they never thought that this killing star would target them on such a vast battlefield! Their luck was simply the worst!
When the killing star attacked, Xiang Shan suddenly burst out once more, instantly disrupting the rhythm of the three Black Ink Clan Masters. In merely a moment of their panic and loss, life or death had been decided!
The long spear was like a Dragon, whereas the blade light was biting cold. Yang Kai and Xiang Shan’s figures passed by each other like the blades of a pair of shears, instantly cutting through the aura of the three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
When the powerful auras extinguished, Xiang Shan spat out a mouthful of blood and looked much weaker than before, Yang Kai’s body also incurred a few wounds, obviously from the Pseudo-Royal Lords’ final struggle before death!
At around the same time on the other side of the battlefield, an amazing aura burst out, accompanied by the annihilation of several powerful auras.
It was not the fall of Black Ink Clan Masters, but Eighth-Order Humans!
Yang Kai’s head snapped over, only to see a turbulent Black Ink Cloud moving about. More than a dozen figures had gathered in a large black tide that slaughtered everything in its way. Even in their Battle Formations, the Eighth-Order Masters could hardly put up a fight.
The reason for that was that there were traces of Mo Na Ye and Di Ya Luo’s involvement in this tide, whereas the rest were all Pseudo-Royals.
Almost at the same time as when Yang Kai looked over, Mo Na Ye turned his head over as well. Their gazes suddenly met, and they could both see the coldness in each other’s eyes.
Yang Kai instantly understood Mo Na Ye’s intention and praised him inwardly, [What a cruel and determined heart this guy has!]
Moments ago, when Di Ya Luo fled back to the No-Return Pass and returned crestfallen to Mo Na Ye’s side, Mo Na Ye made a snap decision at that moment. An extremely radical one at that.
On his command, a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords, who were standing by to defend the Black Ink Nests, flew out in a group under Di Ya Luo’s lead, heading straight towards the battlefield.
Mo Na Ye gave up the idea of tracking Yang Kai since he knew that he would only end up being pulled around by the nose by him that way. This fellow was a Master in the Dao of Space who could appear and disappear like a ghost. Trying to pin down his tracks would only waste time. The only way to change their passive position to an active one was to give up on defending and attacking instead!
[If you want to kill our Pseudo-Royal Lords, then I’ll go and kill your Eighth-Order Masters! Let’s see who will give in first and go to stop the other!]
This was Mo Na Ye’s decision.
Nobody could stop Yang Kai if he wanted to sneak up on them and stir trouble; Mo Na Ye deeply recognized that he lacked that ability now. Di Ya Luo had already failed, so in that case, he would just ignore Yang Kai for now and eliminate opponents he could kill.
He would slaughter until the Humans ached and despaired, then even if they were to lose some Pseudo-Royal Lords in battle, their deaths would have been worth it. At the very least, it was better than losing them to Yang Kai’s sneak attacks while gaining nothing in return.
The result was remarkable. With two Royal Lords personally leading the charge and a team of a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords behind them, they could easily break up the battle which had reached a stalemate, and within just a few breaths, at least 20 Eighth-Order Masters on the Human Race’s side fell.
This was not enough to make up for the loss of three Pseudo-Royal Lords, but it was enough to make the Humans reel.
[What will you choose?]
Mo Na Ye looked at Yang Kai from a distance, waiting quietly to see his response, but his hands did not stay idle. He continued leading his men towards the next battlefield, moving with momentum like splitting bamboo wherever they went.
Very soon, Yang Kai’s answer was revealed to them. That was because Yang Kai’s figure suddenly disappeared from his vision, and Xiang Shan, who had been standing together with Yang Kai before, also came flying in their direction.
All of them were alerted at this change, and their powerful Divine Senses were swiftly extended in all directions to guard against a possible sneak attack that could come at any moment.
However, rather than Yang Kai, whom they had expected to come, they were met with another person instead.
“As the Supreme Commander of the Army, it’s not a prideful thing to attend a battle personally.” Following the emergence of that voice, a figure stopped in the middle of the void. With a light raise of his feather fan, a fierce wind suddenly rose up, turning into a sharp blade that could even cut through space.
Mi Jing Lun!
Almost at the same time that Mo Na Ye moved, Mi Jing Lun moved as well, but he had arrived late since Pure Yang Pass was outside of the battlefield.
Even after so many years of war, Mi Jing Lun had barely stepped onto the battlefield. Compared to his abilities as a Ninth-Order Master, he was needed more by the Human Race to coordinate the overall situation.
However, after seeing through Mo Na Ye’s intentions to exchange lives with lives, Mi Jing Lun had no choice but to join the fray. That was because every single Ninth-Order Master had their own opponents to deal with on the battlefield and could not easily extricate themselves, so he was the only one who could subdue these Masters for now.
However, in the face of Mi Jing Lun’s provocations and attack, Mo Na Ye chose to ignore them and simply deflected the attack with the other Masters from the Black Ink Clan without getting caught up with him at all, immediately flying towards the next battlefield after that.
Mi Jing Lun paled slightly. Mo Na Ye’s single-mindedness was something he had not anticipated. Just as it was difficult for the Black Ink Clan to restrain Yang Kai, Mi Jing Lun alone could not stop such a group of Masters either.
Fortunately, Xiang Shan had also rushed over to join him, so they could at least harass their opponents.
The slaughter continued. Everywhere these Masters went, large numbers of Eighth-Order Masters would fall. Most of these Masters were already in Battle Formations formed alongside people that they were familiar with and were in the midst of fighting other enemies. When a large number of powerful enemy reinforcements rushed over, the original balance was broken, resulting in a disaster.
While this endless killing was taking place, Mo Na Ye was keeping a close eye on Yang Kai’s movements. Xiang Shan had already rushed over, but Yang Kai was still nowhere to be seen. This caused his heart to sink. Despite culling so many Eighth-Order Masters, he found it difficult to feel happy about this situation; instead, he was starting to feel worse and worse.
Under normal circumstances, Yang Kai should have come out to stop them, but now he seemed happy to continue showing off his strength even if it meant continuing this exchange of lives, which was undoubtedly a worrying issue.
As expected, Yang Kai’s aura appeared on another side of the battlefield, followed by three Pseudo-Royal Lords’ auras extinguishing.
“Has it come to this?” Mo Na Ye’s heart ran cold. He was even beginning to wonder whether the Humans had sensed something. [But, if not, how could Yang Kai have made this choice? How could they have possibly noticed? This makes no sense at all!]
In the void, Yang Kai pursed his lips, his body constantly flickering, cutting through one battlefield after another. When his Space-Time River came out, one by one the Pseudo-Royal Lords fell, freeing up one Ninth-Order Master after another, without daring to delay for even a heartbeat. In such a situation, various Eighth-Order Masters would fall for every breath that passed.
The only way to stop Mo Na Ye was to free up more Ninth-Order Masters so that they could go forth and contain the group of enemy Masters led by Mo Na Ye.
Of course, Yang Kai could have taken on the task himself, but without revealing his true strength, using Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to launch sneak attacks from the shadows was simply more efficient.
Yang Kai could clearly feel the fall of the Eighth-Order Masters. Each one of them was a rare talent of the Human Race, and each of them had gone through at least thousands of years of cultivation to reach such heights, but on this cruel battlefield, their fall would become nothing more than a cold statistic in the records of history.
[Has Mo Na Ye noticed something? Otherwise, why would he have joined the battlefield himself?]
Before the battle, Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun had expected great losses on their side, but seeing it happen with their own eyes still left their hearts bleeding.
Yang Kai tried his best to suppress the urge to stop Mo Na Ye and turned all his resentment and pent-up displeasure into powerful attacks, unleashing them from the spear in his hand.
[Kill! I need to kill more! Kill them all!]
The originally uneventful battle suddenly heated up into a tragic scene following the sudden appearance of Yang Kai and the movements of Mo Na Ye, Di Ya Luo, and the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
At this point, even lower level officers on both sides had noticed that the situation had changed. The top Masters on both sides seemed to be competing on who could kill faster and who could kill more. All over the battlefield, the fall of Pseudo-Royal Lords and Eighth-Order Masters could be felt.
In terms of killing efficacy, the Black Ink Clan was undoubtedly better.
A Killing Squad led by 2 Royal Lords with a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords in tow was extremely powerful. The Battle Formations that the Eighth-Order Masters had were simply incapable of defending against such a lineup. As soon as their Battle Formations were broken, the Eighth-Order Masters would quickly be killed.
And, no matter how fast Yang Kai was, the most he could deal with was three Pseudo-Royal Lords at a time…
In a short cup of tea’s time, as many as 20 Pseudo-Royal Lords had been eliminated. Yang Kai’s body was covered in black blood from his killing spree, and the fierce murderous intent surrounding him made him seem like a God of Death returning from purgatory, leaving all the Pseudo-Royal Lords in the entire battlefield in fear.
However, the Humans had also paid an extremely heavy price on their side. As many as 100 Eighth-Order Masters had been reduced to nothing more than cold dead bodies.
It wasn’t until the Ninth-Order Masters had their hands freed one by one to join the encirclement against the Black Ink Clan’s group of Masters that the situation finally eased up.
Yang Kai wasn’t just cutting down Pseudo-Royal Lords aimlessly, he was specifically targeting the opponents of the Ninth-Order Masters. His Space Techniques brought him to each side of the battlefield, where he worked together with the Ninth-Order Masters to deal with their enemies.
Once the last Ninth-Order Master swept over, the top Masters on the Human Race’s side formed an encirclement around the mighty Black Ink Clan Killing Squad!
It was only now that Mi Jing Lun could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
In the void, Mi Jing Lun, Xiang Shan, Ou Yang Lie, Wei Jun Yang, Xiao Xiao, Wu Qing, Shi Da Zhuang, and Tang Tao all stood. Eight Ninth-Order Masters were sealing the Black Ink Clan team from all directions.
It could be said that all Ninth-Order Masters, excluding Yang Kai, who was roaming around and picking off enemies, Luo Ting He, who was facing off against Mo Yu alone, as well as Yang Xue and Wu Kuang, who were all the way over at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, had all come together.
This was the heritage accumulated by the Human Race over thousands of years. It was not very strong and very much lacking when compared to them at their peak, but this was a sign of hope for the rise of the Human Race.
The fierce battle stopped at some point. The eight Ninth-Order Masters circulated their auras to suppress and seal this zone to ensure that regardless of where their opponents tried to escape from, they would be met with a fierce flurry of attacks. However, they were in no hurry to attack. The Humans may occupy the absolute upper hand on the surface, but the slightest mistake in a fight of this level could bring about dire consequences.
Both sides were constantly probing each other, looking for a breakthrough point.
“You’re not running away?” Mi Jing Lun gave Mo Na Ye a strange look.
Before the Ninth-Order Masters gathered in turn to surround them, this group had taken every opportunity to escape, but clearly, Mo Na Ye showed no such initiative and allowed the Humans to encircle them, which puzzled Mi Jing Lun.
“Run away? Where?” Mo Na Ye answered his question with another question as he looked askance at him. Even though he knew that he was on the weaker side right now, his attitude remained firm.
Mi Jing Lun did not answer.
Mo Na Ye went on, “There’s something that I can’t understand, so I will appreciate it if Supreme Commander Mi can explain it to me.”
On the battlefield, Yang Kai’s aura was constantly appearing and disappearing, and every time that happened, a number of Pseudo-Royal Lords would face unfortunate ends.
Mo Na Ye’s team was restrained, yet Yang Kai could freely go on a slaughter spree. From the Human’s perspective, stalling for some time seemed to be a good idea. That way, Yang Kai could better weaken the Black Ink Clan’s side; thus, Mi Jing Lun obliged, “So there exists something that puzzles you in this world?”
These words were not just meant to ridicule. As the Supreme Commanders of their respective sides, the fight between Mi Jing Lun and Mo Na Ye was not just something that played out over the past year or two. Both of them had a thorough understanding of each other. Putting aside where they stand and seeing him merely as an opponent, Mi Jing Lun thought highly of Mo Na Ye in that regard.
Mo Na Ye did not answer his question; instead, he asked what he had on his mind, “How did you find out?”
“Find what out?” Mi Jing Lun answered casually while putting on a confused look at the right moment.
Mo Na Ye kept a firm gaze on him, “Even though you are able to conceal it well, Supreme Commander Mi, Brother Ou Yang here is not as good at pretending, so why ask me that question when you already know the answer?”
Next to them, Ou Yang Lie bristled, “What did I do?”
[If you want to talk, just talk, why drag me into it?] Ou Yang Lie was displeased.
Mo Na Ye turned to look at him, “Your expression changed when I was asking my question earlier. That proves you know what I’m talking about.”
“Am I not allowed to be nervous during such a critical moment!?” Ou Yang Lie roared.
Mo Na Ye could not be bothered to answer, so he turned back to Mi Jing Lun, “Over the years, the Human Race’s attacks on the No-Return Pass have maintained the same frequency, but this time, your attack happened far before the expected time. Moreover, Brother Yang has ignored us so openly. He could have saved those Eighth-Order Masters, yet he continued culling our Pseudo-Royal Lords instead. Even though you can clearly achieve the same goal with minimal cost if you had spent a dozen years more, you chose the risky method instead. It’s… as if you’re all in a hurry to reclaim the No-Return Pass.”
Meanwhile, everything that was said was just flying over the heads of Di Ya Luo and the many Pseudo-Royal Lords. None of them had any idea what Mo Na Ye was talking about. All they knew was that things were likely to be disastrous this time. The Black Ink Clan had two Royal Lords and a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords in this group, but the Humans had eight Ninth-Order Masters. In terms of true strength, the Black Ink Clan was at a complete disadvantage.
They were curious to know the answer to Mi Jing Lun’s earlier question. Why didn’t they run away when they could’ve? As a result, they were now surrounded in this place. Each one of them was feeling uneasy about this situation, and it was inevitable that a sense of dissatisfaction arose against Mo Na Ye.
“Why is that?” Mo Na Ye spoke, but he did not mean it as a question. He answered, “There’s only one possibility, and it is that you Humans have found out about it. That’s why, you’re in a hurry to end the battle at the No-Return Pass, and you’d rather pay a heavy price now to make that happen! Am I right, Supreme Commander Mi?”
Mi Jing Lun shook his head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Mo Na Ye sighed, “So be it. If Supreme Commander Mi does not wish to answer, then I will refrain from asking. This should be the deciding battle, right? I admit this came as quite a surprise, and our side is not prepared yet, but it seems you are not either. Heh, who would have thought that this battle would end up this way? But Supreme Commander Mi, even though my Black Ink Clan is in decline right now, claiming the No-Return Pass won’t be that easy. I hope that the losses incurred on your side are within your comfort zone at the end of this battle!”
Ou Yang Lie was impatient, “What are you blabbering on for? Your funeral is already here, Mo Na Ye!”
Mo Na Ye turned to him with an icy look in his eyes. The casual look from before was gone, and he spoke in a stern voice, “Are you really so sure that you’ve defeated me?”
Almost at the same time as those words were spoken, dozens of powerful auras that shook the void rose up within the No-Return Pass and swept out.
It was the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had remained in the No-Return Pass all this while, guarding the High-Rank Black Ink Nests.
These Pseudo-Royal Lords had been stationed in the No-Return Pass since the Humans began attacking it, but there was no helping it. It was mainly because they had to guard against the annoying Yang Kai.
This fiend was constantly appearing out of nowhere, always coming out of the Barren Territory every battle. Without these Pseudo-Royal Lords to protect the Black Ink Nests, Yang Kai would long have destroyed them all, and without them, the Black Ink Clan will have no way to replenish their forces or heal from their injuries.
And, during Yang Kai’s repeated fights with the Pseudo-Royal Lord team led by Di Ya Luo, it was they who fended against the fallout from their battle to keep the High-Rank Black Ink Nests safe.
These Pseudo-Royal Lords had never left the No-Return Pass since the Humans began their attack!
However, all of them had left at this moment without a single one remaining behind.
Without their protection, the No-Return Pass was practically defenceless at this moment!
Even though there were still two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods standing on either side of the No-Return Pass, if Yang Kai had wanted to, he could easily take advantage of this opportunity to charge in and destroy all the Black Ink Nests. If the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were to attack him at that point, it would only speed up the destruction of the Black Ink Nests.
Noticing the unusual movement from the No-Return Pass, the Ninth-Order Masters all looked astonished.
Mo Na Ye grinned at Mi Jing Lun, “Since it’s the final battle, I won’t be standing on ceremony!”
The Humans were willing to pay a huge price if it meant taking the No-Return Pass, so how could the Black Ink Clan hold back? If this battle was lost, would there still be any Black Ink Nests left? In such a situation, there was no longer any need to guard the No-Return Pass. In a fight with their lives on the line, the winner would be the King, and the loser would be the villain.
“Kill!” Mo Na Ye suddenly shouted as he led his team towards Wei Jun Yang, which caught the latter off guard. Even with the other Ninth-Order Masters responding promptly, he was still immediately forced back.
Like Xiang Shan, Wei Jun Yang was also wounded and was obviously seen as a breakthrough point by Mo Na Ye, which made him very angry.
But fortunately, the Ninth-Order Masters were all top Masters and soon stabilized the situation.
As Mi Jing Lun’s Divine Sense surged, three of the eight Ninth-Order Masters left to confront the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had come charging out of the No-Return Pass while the remaining five teamed up to fight Mo Na Ye and his team in an evenly matched situation.
However, how could three Ninth-Order Masters stop the charge of several dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords? The Pseudo-Royal Lords have formed their own Battle Formations, and a single Three Fortunes Formation was enough to hold back a single Ninth-Order Master.
In an instant, the advantage gained from Yang Kai killing off a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords was levelled, and the damage which the Humans were able to stem began to snowball.
At that moment, a huge Great Pass entered the battlefield. Pure Yang Pass, which had always remained outside of the conflict zone, finally joined the fight!
The huge Great Pass slowly rotated, and the many large artifacts set up on it were constantly releasing rays of light that were as dazzling as a thunder Dragon, striking the enemy lines and clearing out large areas of the void with each attack.
The Black Ink Clan’s defence line, which was targeted by Pure Yang Pass, instantly fell into a shaky situation!
Pure Yang Pass was the only Great Pass of the Human Race left. It was currently the command centre of their Grand Army. Its symbolic and strategic significance was greater than its role as a weapon.
Other than the first battle for the No-Return Pass, where the majestic, impregnable Great Pass battled the Black Ink Clan Army, it had always stayed outside of the battlefield during the fights happening over the years.
It wasn’t until now that the Great Pass rushed over and the lights coming from its various artifacts were released, bombarding indiscriminately into the Black Ink Clan’s defence line. Its fierce and unceasing attack quickly tore a gap into the defence line and the Azure Sun Army nearby immediately took advantage of the situation to charge in.
The Masters from the Black Ink Clan quickly noticed the situation and immediately, more than a dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords rushed over. At the same time, over 100 figures flew out from Pure Yang Pass to meet them. These were the Eighth-Order Masters who were responsible for standing by on Pure Yang Pass and maintaining it all this while.
100 Eighth-Order Masters definitely would not be able to stop this number of Pseudo-Royal Lords alone, but they had Pure Yang Pass behind them to act as reliable support. Holding back and delaying their enemies was still something they could manage.
The exchange between both sides soon began and the light of both the Secret Techniques and artifacts blossomed incessantly.
On one side of the huge battlefield, the front the Burning Moon Army was in charge of, both sides were constantly exchanging blows. However, the Burning Moon Army were unable to break through the tight defence line of their opponent from beginning to end, so it did not matter how intense the fight became. Only by ripping a gap in that tight line of defence could the Humans gain some ground and charge in and slaughter more of their enemy.
In the fierce exchange, the Black Ink Clan managed to repel the attacking Humans time and time again, and both sides were suffering great casualties.
At a certain point, the Black Ink Clan on this front suddenly noticed that the Human Race’s attack had inexplicably become much weaker, and while they were confused, they saw the dense forces of the Human Race Army suddenly split up, moving to the left and right while a dozen Warships that were clearly different from the usual ones came forward. Moreover, there was a giant Warship following right behind them.
A Purifying Black Ink Battleship!
The Masters from the Black Ink Clan on this front instantly recognized the Warship as one of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships created by the Humans.
Their eyes showed puzzlement at this move as they had never seen a Purifying Black Ink Battleship on the frontlines of a battlefield in all the times they battled each other. After all, this Warship itself was not meant for charging into battles, it was a support craft used as a fallback point.
What was the purpose of the Humans bringing in this Purifying Black Ink Battleship?
The next moment, those from the Black Ink Clan seemed to have thought of something and a look of great horror emerged on their faces. Divine Sense surging, as someone roared, “Don’t let them get close! Sink them!”
A heavy barrage of attacks that covered the sky rained down on the Warships, and even though the defensive arrays of the dozen Warships in front of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship were activated to their limits, they were still destroyed in a very short time with the Warships being blasted to pieces as well, alongside the members of their Squads.
Even more attacks came towards the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. The defensive arrays glowed brightly, but it quickly dimmed down and was shattered.
In the next moment, the massive Purifying Black Ink Battleship was also completely destroyed.
However, there was no hint of joy in the face of those from the Black Ink Clan, especially from the one who was commanding the battle. Instead, he appeared greatly shocked and hurried to pull back almost as soon as the Purifying Black Ink Battleship exploded.
Like a great sun shining in all directions, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship exploded, its dazzling light illuminating the void like daylight.
The light gradually dissipated, and a large circular area in the battlefield, which was originally filled with Black Ink Strength, was now presented clearly in everyone’s vision. All of the Black Ink Strength there had been purified, and the Black Ink Clansmen struck by the light were all howling in pain. Some of the weaker ones had even died on the spot.
Even those who quickly retreated earlier still failed to escape being struck by the Purifying Light in the end, and now the rich Black Ink Strength their bodies was leaking out uncontrollably as if they had been tossed into a wok of hot oil. The pain was so intense that their expressions became distorted. Even more to their horror was the fact that their strength was dropping sharply as their Black Ink Strength leaked out.
When the Black Ink Clan Commander turned his head and looked back, he saw the Human Race’s Army charging in and his heart went cold. He knew that this defence line was as good as gone…
The same scene of a Great Sun exploding was playing out in every corner of the battlefield. The continuous bursts of light were the greatest nightmare of all Black Ink Clansmen.
This was the final battle to conquer the No-Return Pass. Even Mo Na Ye dared to go all in on this fight, so as the attackers, how could the Humans not rise to meet the occasion?
As soon as Mi Jing Lun gave the order to attack the No-Return Pass, a secret directive was sent out to every Army.
Use the Purifying Light sealed in the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to force open the Black Ink Clan’s defence line!
The Humans had many Purifying Black Ink Battleships in their arsenal, with each Division having at least one of its own. The total number of such Warships they had with Purifying Light sealed in them had already exceeded 1,000.
The Black Ink Clan’s defence was indeed solid. Even if the Humans could break through it with a forceful attack, they would still have to pay a heavy price. But with the Purifying Black Ink Battleships leading the way, the casualties incurred by the Humans could be greatly reduced.
The soldiers were gone if they died, but they could produce more Purifying Black Ink Battleships if they were destroyed. There was no way Mi Jing Lun couldn’t recognize such a simple thing.
This was a tactic that he had thought of long ago, but he would not use it simply before his hand was forced. Building 1,000 Purifying Black Ink Battleships was not exactly an easy task.
However, if they wanted to launch an attack on the No-Return Pass when they had not made full preparations, this was the only method they could employ.
Over 1,000 Purifying Black Ink Battleships exploded in less than a half cup of tea’s time, each one purifying a vast area. No matter how strong the Black Ink Clan’s defences were, they were helpless against this power that perfectly restrained them.
The once tight defence line was now filled with wide gaps, and the various Armies of the Humans, who had long been preparing for this moment, rushed forward at the opportune moment. They fortified their positions, increased their troops, expanded their advantage, and slaughtered their enemies!
In less than half an hour, the Black Ink Clan was in clear decline!
It was practically a miracle that they were able to achieve such immense results in such a vast battlefield, and within only a short time, but time was running out for the Humans now.
The explosion of such a large number of Purifying Black Ink Battleships meant that the Humans can no longer rely on the Purifying Light sealed within those battleships to disperse Black Ink Strength that invaded their bodies. Now, the soldiers could only rely on the Purifying Black Ink Pills they brought in advance to protect their Small Universes.
But the Purifying Black Ink Pills had limited medicinal efficacies, so this battle had to be fought and won quickly.
Many factors could affect the outcome in war, including the determination of the soldiers on both sides and the strength of their forces. However, the most significant determining factor was still the top Masters of both sides, the Giant Spirit Gods and Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods!
Even if the Humans could wipe out the Black Ink Clan Army entirely, it would be useless if they could not take down the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods. A creation of Mo was a threat to the Humans that the Pseudo-Royal Lords could not compare with.
Yang Kai continued his endless slaughter on the battlefield, his figure swift and elusive. Everywhere he passed, the auras of Pseudo-Royal Lords vanished. Since the start of the battle, as many as 30 Pseudo-Royal Lords had already died at his hands.
This was the battle where he killed the most Pseudo-Royal Lords!
The high-intensity battle left his body covered in blood and his aura unstable. The final struggle made by the Pseudo-Royal Lords before their deaths was not something that could be ignored.
However, his efforts were able to reduce the casualties for his people by a great margin.
Mo Na Ye burned all bridges when he realized that this was going to be the final, decisive fight, commanding all the Pseudo-Royal Lords standing by at the No-Return Pass to come out as well, completely giving up on defending the No-Return Pass. Despite how many Eighth-Order Masters the Humans had, they were still somewhat powerless when faced with these groups of Pseudo-Royal Lords in Battle Formations. Many Eighth-Order Masters suffered miserable fates under their hands.
However, as Yang Kai continued to slaughter the Pseudo-Royal Lords, the situation finally took a turn for the better. At this moment, the Eighth-Order Masters also gradually stabilized their positions, got into their own Battle Formations, divided their opponents, and clashed with the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
And with Yang Kai continuing his hunt, the Humans could slowly gain an advantage when it came to top combat power.
However, Yang Kai was not satisfied because the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods had not made a single move from beginning to end. They were still just guarding the No-Return Pass.
If the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods did not make a move, Yang Kai did not dare to reveal his true strength either. If they continued fighting like this, their casualties would continue to increase, and even if they captured the No-Return Pass in the end, it would be difficult to make the cost of the fallen Masters worth it.
Fortunately, after the total collapse of the Black Ink Clan’s defence line and further expansion of casualties, the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods who had been standing by finally could not sit still any longer.
A deep sigh seemed to come from the void, causing every living being on the battlefield to tremble.
Immediately afterwards, the two enormous creatures guarding the left and right sides of the No-Return Pass moved. They each arrived at the forefront of the battlefield with just a single step, and with a casual wave of their hands, both Humans and Black Ink Clansmen were silently reduced to paste.
It was not that they didn’t want to avoid Black Ink Clan members, but their bodies were simply too large. Once they launched their attacks, the area it passed through was too wide to achieve precise control.
In an instant, both the Human Race and Black Ink Clan Armies scattered wherever the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods went.
At the same time, in the Barren Territory, Ah Da and Ah Er, who had been paying attention to the situation here, became excited.
Ah Da pointed to the Territory Gate, “Do we go now?”
Ah Er stood up and quickly nodded, “En!”
Before leaving, their little friend had told them that if those two big guys dared to move, they should rush in.
Previously, those two big guys had been remaining motionless, so Ah Da and Ah Er could only stare at them. Now, it was undoubtedly time for them to descend the mountain.
“Beat them up!” Ah Da’s face was full of killing intent. After his declaration, he took a deep breath and suddenly shrunk his towering and massive body, transforming into a small giant.
Next to him, Ah Er did the same.
Within 10 breaths of the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods taking action, the two Giant Spirit Gods stepped out of the Territory Gate connecting the Barren Territory and the Black Ink Battlefield.
After the Giant Spirit Gods, shrunken to the size of small giants, stepped out of the Territory Gate, their body expanded rapidly back to their original size. Then, they charged and crashed thunderously into the No-Return Pass.
The massive remnant Great Passes shook and the aftershocks swept out in all directions. The Black Ink Nests, which the Black Ink Clan had been carefully tending to all these years, instantly shattered into dust.
If this scene had occurred a few days ago, it would have undoubtedly been a great heartache to the Black Ink Clan, but at this moment, none of them had the heart to care about such things anymore.
The Black Ink Clan had brought out all their strength and the entire No-Return Pass had become an empty shell. This battle was the one to decide the life or death of the Black Ink Clan in the No-Return Pass. If they won, they could continue to survive, but if they lost, everything would end for them, so who would still care about the Black Ink Nests?
The two Giant Spirit Gods raised their feet and started running through the No-Return Pass; however, it only took two or three steps before they reached the battlefield where they flew straight towards the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
The Black Ink Clan Army that tried to stop them suffered catastrophic losses, and the defence line that they were able to maintain through gruelling effort was smashed apart by Ah Da and Ah Er, creating two unimpeded passageways right to the heart of their lines. Countless casualties occurred in an instant.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, who were in the midst of mercilessly slaughtering the Humans, naturally noticed the situation. They immediately assumed defensive positions, but in the next moment, they were each hit squarely by Ah Da and Ah Er and tumbled over with them.
Ah Da tackled his opponent’s waist and swung his fist fiercely. His opponent was also unwilling to appear weak and smashed down with his elbow, fiercely hammering Ah Da’s back. He even grabbed Ah Da’s neck with his other arm and squeezed tight as if he were trying to twist Ah Da’s head off.
The battle between the two Giant Spirit Gods was extremely simple and crude, making it look almost like two children fighting, but every one of their strikes caused space to shake and become unstable. Terrifying shockwaves that were visible to the naked eye rippled out in all directions.
All living beings nearby, regardless of whether they were Human or Black Ink Clan, ran and cleared a space large enough for these behemoths to fight.
Even though Ah Er’s side was not as explosive, it was still extremely rough. He and his opponent exchanged punches, each first reaching the other’s body, causing both sides to stumble.
These two were old rivals who had fought for thousands of years in the Barren Territory, but neither had ever defeated the other. This battle was simply a continuation of their previous struggle.
If nothing out of the ordinary happened, it was unlikely that there would be a clear winner in the fights between the Giant Spirit Gods.
The Masters from either side could not interfere with a fight of this level. More than that, simply being caught in between these four would have dire consequences.
Only Yang Kai waited in the shadows as he watched on from the sidelines, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were finally moving, something which he had been eagerly anticipating. Ah Da and Ah Er also arrived promptly to restrain them, so there was no need to worry about them posing a threat to the Human Race Army. Now, all Yang Kai had to do was look for a suitable opportunity to strike.
However, when this opportunity would rear its head, or if it would even arise to begin with, was uncertain.
Even though Yang Kai had carefully instructed Ah Da and Ah Er beforehand, Giant Spirit Gods were simple-minded, so there was no guarantee they would do as they were asked.
Rather than getting between the Giant Spirit Gods’ fight, Yang Kai continued to roam the battlefield while keeping an eye on them. With Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, the Pseudo-Royal Lords could hardly even sense his presence before he launched an attack on them. By the time they did notice, danger was already upon their heads.
After reaching this point in the battle, Yang Kai was not content to just kill Pseudo-Royal Lords. If the opportunity presented itself, Territory Lords were not spared either. Several dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords had died at his hand, and there were likely more than 1,000 Territory Lords dead even as a conservative estimate, and that was because they were killed merely out of convenience. Yang Kai hadn’t deliberately targeted them.
Thanks to the gap in the defences created by Ah Da and Ah Er’s charge, the Wolf Fang Army and Twin Instrument Army had already breached the Black Ink Clan’s main forces. The two Human Armies cooperated smoothly as they constantly expanded the gap in the defence line. Although the Black Ink Clan tried their best to retreat and regroup, they were unable to do so.
Victory seemed to be within grasping range for the Human Race. In this chaotic and brutal battlefield, despite the constant reaping of lives, the soldiers did not stop throwing themselves in.
To Yang Kai’s surprise, the opportunity he was waiting for came quickly.
From the battlefield, a roar suddenly erupted. It was Ah Da’s shout mixed with a hint of excitement, “Little friend, come quick, I’ve got him!”
Almost at the same time he shouted these words, Yang Kai, who had been keeping an eye on their movements, had already arrived at Ah Da’s side.
At this moment, Ah Da had managed to pin his opponent in the void. Ah Da’s arms had constricted one of his opponent’s arms, stopping it from moving. His legs were also like ropes, wrapped around one of his opponent’s thighs. In this posture, two of the opponent’s limbs were completely immobilized and unable to break free.
However, this situation was extremely unfavourable for Ah Da because in order to tightly restrain his opponent, all four of his limbs were tied up, whereas his opponent still had one arm and one leg free for his use. When Yang Kai arrived, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was punching and kicking Ah Da viciously. The force of each attack sent shockwaves through Ah Da’s body, and rubble-like pieces were constantly smashed from his body, each piece the size of an ordinary city.
Since he had been keeping a close eye on the four Giant Spirit Gods, Yang Kai witnessed everything clearly.
After Ah Da rushed out of the Barren Territory, he directly grappled his opponent and went all out to restrain him. After some wrestling, they finally reached the current situation.
This was something he had repeatedly instructed Ah Da and Ah Er on before the battle. No matter what, they had to find a way to restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods!
Yang Kai originally thought that Ah Er would do a better job at this since Ah Er had clearly shown more intelligence than Ah Da throughout the many years of Yang Kai knowing them. Therefore, when Yang Kai instructed them on this matter, he focused more on Ah Er and also placed his hopes on him.
But in fact, it was Ah Da who achieved it first.
This was something Yang Kai did not expect, but it still made some sense when he thought about it.
Due to his lower intelligence, his thoughts were simpler, so he just did everything within his power to do what he was told.
It was not the first time that a Giant Spirit God and Black Ink Giant Spirit God had wrestled like this before. Previously, when Ah Er was fighting his opponent in the Barren Territory, a similar scene had appeared. Yang Kai had seen them entangled like this many times when he passed by the Barren Territory.
In the end, this struggle had developed into a stalemate, so the Black Ink Giant Spirit God did not feel the need to act defensive against Ah Da’s actions. After being restrained, it instead rained attacks down on Ah Da as it pleased.
Unlike the Giant Spirit God, which lacked sentience, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was Mo’s Soul Clone with a clear cleverness to it. Ah Da’s actions were seen as foolish in its heart. Even though it was caught off guard for a moment, the one at a loss here was not itself.
That was why it had no fear.
That was until Yang Kai suddenly showed up!
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God who was punching and kicking Ah Da instantly realized something and stared fiercely at the ant-like figure in front of it.
“Well done!” Yang Kai shouted and instantly opened the portal of his Small Universe while surging his Space Principles to the fullest at the same time.
Countless residual images appeared at once as if countless Yang Kais had appeared in that instant.
In just a short three breaths, the residual images dissipated and Yang Kai returned to his original position; however, where the residual images were located, stone giants with powerful auras appeared.
They were the Small Stone Race, and from the powerful aura that was flowing out of them, each one was comparable to an Eighth-Order Master.
The Black Ink Giant God who was being firmly restrained by Ah Da finally paled at this sight. It had previously eaten a similar loss before when it was restrained by Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing in the Barren Territory.
So, when these Small Stone Races Masters appeared, it knew that something terrible was about to happen.
But what puzzled it was where Yang Kai had amassed so many powerful Small Stone Race Masters from.
Not only had Yang Kai taken in a massive Army of hundreds of millions of them from the Chaotic Dead Territory, a large number of them were even in the Eighth-Order.
Even though he gave some Eight-Order Small Stone Race Masters to the other Humans, their numbers were not many. He had kept most of them for himself.
In all these years of war, Yang Kai had never used these Eighth-Order ones, and that was because they were the trump card he was saving to use against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God; he could not easily reveal them.
Now, at this moment, that trump card was finally going to be played.
As many as 2,000 Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters suddenly appeared on the battlefield, which shocked all those who were fighting here.
All eyes were instantly fixed on this side, and when they realized that the source of the surging aura was from this Small Stone Race Army, the Human Race Masters breathed a sigh of relief while those from the Black Ink Clan began panicking.
Especially Mo Na Ye, who instantly understood Yang Kai’s intentions. His pupils shrank in shock.
A sharp aura suddenly struck him and left a bone-deep injury on his body. Mi Jing Lun lightly waved the feather fan in his hand as Dao Strength surged, instantly engulfing his opponent in his attack, “You still have the heart to be distracted at such a critical moment? That’s not a good habit to have.”
Mo Na Ye gritted his teeth while defending against Mi Jing Lun’s attack, “Has he been hiding his trump card just for this very moment?”
“Who knows?” Mi Jing Lun gave a casual reply, but his attacks grew more and more aggressive.
Normally, Mo Na Ye wouldn’t suffer much against such attacks, but his mind was distracted at the moment, so his body became covered in wounds in just a short while.
Mo Na Ye thought at first that even if they lost this fight and subsequently the No-Return Pass, they would still be able to deal a heavy blow to the Humans; after all, the Supreme One’s Soul Clones were so powerful that no one could oppose them. Worst comes to worst, they would disappear into the depths of the void and meet up with the reinforcements that were rushing this way, then they would still be able to stop the Human Race Army.
However, when a large number of Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters appeared, Mo Na Ye was shaken. He had no idea whether or not the Supreme One’s Soul Clone would still be able to protect itself in the face of such a tactic.
Unfortunately, he could not afford to think more about the situation at this moment as he had already fallen completely into a disadvantage in his fight against Mi Jing Lun. It would be disastrous if he were to allow himself to get distracted any further, so he had no choice but to push down his worries and focus on the battle at hand.
On the other side, more than 2,000 Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters pounced on the Black Ink Giant Spirit God on Yang Kai’s command. Though they had large, stalwart bodies, all of them were still as tiny as ants compared to the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
This scene was just like a colony of ants attacking an elephant. Each scrambled up onto every part of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s body and clung on tight with their hands and legs.
Yang Kai stretched out both hands and the Great Sun and Moon Marks glowed with an unprecedentedly dazzling light. As he clenched his fists, he roared, “Explode!”
Under the influence of the Great Sun and Moon Marks, all of them Small Stone Race Masters exploded into yellow and blue lights, which seemed to gush out from within their bodies, leaving behind an extraordinarily rich and pure Yin and Yang Element Power.
Each point of light was like a droplet of water collecting into a giant pool, turning into a halo that melted into and connected with each other to envelope a vast space.
In just three short breaths, the yellow and blue lights melted away, replaced by a pure white light.
The white light was not too dazzling at first, but after contracting for an instant, it spread out violently.
The entire battlefield was covered by the light in an instant. Both Armies on the battlefield, regardless of their cultivation realm, even the Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Masters, had their vision filled with white. Everything disappeared and nothing could be seen.
The noisy and horrific battlefield went eerily silent for a moment, as if time had stopped flowing.
The light that was of utmost purity exploded, penetrating the barriers of the void and shining far into the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield.
Even the detonation of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships was like a firefly next to the bright moon when compared to this scene.
Never once had an explosion of Purifying Light of this magnitude been seen since the Humans began using it to restrain Black Ink Strength.
Even Yang Kai had not predicted the terrifying power that was brought about by the sacrifice of 2,000 Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters.
Around the origin of the explosion of Purifying Light, there had been a large number of Black Ink Clansmen holding the defence line, but after the eruption, the vast majority of those auras evaporated. Those who were lucky enough to survive still suffered a large drop in their strength.
The explosion of Purifying Light brought about by the sacrifice of 2,000 Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters had completely collapsed an entire segment of the Black Ink Clan’s defences with just its after-effects.
Almost every Black Ink Clansman in and around the No-Return Pass was affected by the Purifying Light to some degree, compromising their strength to a certain extent.
After more than a dozen breaths, the dazzling light finally dissipated, and the eerie tranquillity was disturbed by the noise of death and slaughter. As countless numbers of Black Ink Clansmen howled in pain, Black Ink strength was constantly escaping uncontrollably from their bodies, as if they had accidentally fallen into a wok of hot oil…
Seeing this situation, the Human Race Army attacked with all their might. They would never miss such a good opportunity. The Purifying Light was a great danger to the Black Ink Clan, but it had no effect on the Humans. Originally, the Black Ink Clan Army were fighting hard to resist the Humans so it was difficult to break through their defences, but every front was given a good opportunity now to strike. In a matter of breaths, they easily broke through each defence line and routed the Black Ink Clan’s forces.
Yang Kai himself did not expect that his trump card against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would fundamentally alter the tide of war and save countless numbers of Human Race Soldiers.
At this moment, he did not pay attention to the battlefield of the Armies and instead turned his head towards a certain place in the void. Standing there was a huge creature, one of the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
This Black Ink Giant Spirit God had originally come out from the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, the same one who was restrained by the combined efforts of Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing for thousands of years. Yang Kai had dealt with it several times in the past.
It had never properly looked at Yang Kai since from its standpoint, Yang Kai was nothing more than an ant, no matter how powerful he was. Whether it was a strong ant or a weak ant, there was no difference to it.
But now, it finally had to face this ant that it had been ignoring, and it was because this ant actually had the power to wound it, even if it was through borrowing an external force.
Yang Kai’s gaze swept over the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s figure, especially the two stumps where its arm and leg had been torn off from. Thick, viscous black blood spurted out of the huge wounds like two black fountains. It was a spectacular sight to behold.
The arm that he lost was in Ah Da’s arms while the missing leg was wrapped between Ah Da’s two legs.
The moment when the Purifying Light erupted, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had decided to act like a lizard and sacrifice its tail to save its body!
Yang Kai’s brows knitted into a frown. From the wounds on the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s arm and leg, it was evident that they were severed voluntarily. Unable to break free from Ah Da’s grip, it had no other choice but to regain its freedom through such a decisive method.
Yang Kai was glad that he made the Small Stone Race Masters cling to the Giant Spirit God’s body when he summoned them; otherwise, it might have actually been able to evade a direct hit from the Purifying Light.
Even though Yang Kai wasn’t able to fully unleash the Purifying Light’s might against his foe, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God still lost an arm and a leg. Moreover, Yang Kai could clearly sense that its aura had weakened significantly.
It managed to break free from Ah Da’s grip by sacrificing an arm and leg, but the Purifying Light still played a significant role, which could be seen from the Black Ink Strength leaking endlessly from its body.
This Black Ink Giant Spirit God was no longer the same Master that inspired fear and despair in people’s hearts from before.
Yang Kai raised his hand and summoned his Azure Dragon Spear. Dao Strengths shook and the Space-Time River manifested. The long river coiled around the spear, giving the Azure Dragon Spear an indescribable sense of spirituality.
“Ah Da, let’s go!” Yang Kai shouted. Lifting his spear, his aura rose steadily. After feigning weakness for so many years, he could finally unleash his full power without any restraint. Yang Kai was cheering in joy inwardly. It felt like he had finally broken free of the shackles that bound him and regained his freedom.
“Yeah!” Ah Da responded with a resounding voice.
Immediately, Ah Da grabbed the arm and leg that his opponent discarded and began using them as weapons, swinging and smashing them fiercely, creating violent shockwaves and displaying his imposing power!
Yang Kai turned his head with difficulty and saw Ah Da getting further and further away, causing his battle aura, which had risen to a peak, to nearly collapse.
“Where is it? I can’t see it!” Ah Da’s thunderous voice shook the void, his vision still completely white.
Though being enveloped by the Purifying Light at such a close range did not cause any real damage to Ah Da, it temporarily blinded him, so how could he still see where his opponent was?
Before Yang Kai could call out to him, he was already engulfed in a sense of great crisis. When Yang Kai turned around, he saw that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had already raised its remaining hand and swung it down in the direction where he was located.
The hand that covered the void appeared slow, but it was actually extremely fast. The moment when this giant hand was about to smash him, Yang Kai could even feel space solidifying around him.
The power of this attack was absolutely terrifying and Yang Kai could clearly see the void shattering wherever it passed.
With no way to escape, Yang Kai let out a roar and thrust his spear out. Around his spear, the Space-Time River shook and myriad Dao Strengths burst forth, breaking through the confines of space. Yang Kai became one with his spear, transforming into a stream of light and rushing straight towards the approaching hand.
Before he even truly collided with the palm, Yang Kai was met with an overwhelming force. Yang Kai felt like he had run into an invisible blockade that was as sturdy as any metal. His body shook violently as he blocked the thunderous attack, coughing up Golden Blood in the process.
In the next instant, the large hand that covered his whole vision suddenly closed, seemingly trying to squash him to death.
The palm closed into a fist, but a stream of light emerged from between the cracks of its fingers. It was Yang Kai who was able to escape in time before disaster struck.
World Force surged and Dao Strengths shook. Yang Kai turned into a thunderbolt, sweeping upwards along his opponent’s extended arm like a Thunder Dragon.
Yang Kai had not exerted his full power since cultivating with the help of the Star Boundary and Myriad Monster World. He had been hiding his true power all this while so as to keep Mo Na Ye from catching any clues about him. Thus, even he himself had no idea just what would happen if he were to use his full power.
Today, the world would bear witness!
Facing off against a Black Ink Giant Spirit God alone, Yang Kai no longer held any reservations.
From his Small Universe, a majestic power began pouring out endlessly. The rise in cultivation seemed to make it even easier for him to manipulate his Dao Strengths, and he had never felt such a powerful force before. This power even gave him the illusion that if Mo was standing in front of him, he would still be able to punch its body full of holes…
Yang Kai was fast, so fast that it was hard to say just how fast it was.
In an instant, Yang Kai had already reached the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s neck by flying up its arm. After a moment of hesitation between deciding on transforming into his Dragon Form or remaining in his current state, Yang Kai chose the latter. Thrusting out the spear in his hand, a towering spear shadow came down on the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s neck.
An angry howl erupted and the pain in the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s eyes grew even more intense.
It was already in great agony from being wounded by the Purifying Light and sacrificing its arm and leg. To receive Yang Kai’s frenzied attack now made it even more unbearable.
When the spear shadow dispersed, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s neck was covered in countless wounds. Black blood was flowing out of each wound and its flesh was completely flayed. Dao Strengths even lingered in its wounds, making it a miserable sight to watch.
However, Yang Kai could not help but click his tongue. His attack was in no way weak. Any Royal Lord would likely have been killed on the spot if they were to receive such a blow, but for a behemoth like the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, it was simply not enough.
There were pros and cons to having a large body. First of all, there was the difficulty in moving around in a fight and the lack of dexterity, but a large size also allowed one to take much more damage without being critically wounded. Fatal attacks could often become just mere scratches from the size difference alone.
Yang Kai had a deep understanding of that fact as he had experienced it himself many times in the past through fighting using his Dragon Transformation Secret Art.
In terms of size, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God surpassed even his Divine Dragon Form, and thus the advantages that came with his massive size would also be amplified to the extreme.
The flayed wounds on its neck that were spouting black blood may look horrific, but in truth, it was nothing much for a Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
Despite its strength being greatly weakened by the Purifying Light, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was still undoubtedly worthy of being the so-called Supreme One’s Soul Clone. The flesh at the wound writhed and rich Black Ink Strength poured out, then the injury was quickly stabilized. Only Yang Kai’s Dao Strengths were not that easy to disperse and remained stuck to its wound, constantly changing and evolving, continuing to cause damage.
Seeing this, Yang Kai made an instant decision to retrieve his spear and escape. Before the Black Ink Giant Spirit God could swing its palm over again, Yang Kai stuck to its shoulder and rushed in the opposite direction.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai reached the stump of its severed arm, which was still oozing thick black blood, but in just a short moment, the terrifying wound was greatly relieved. It would likely take no more than a couple dozen more breaths for the severed arm to scab over just like its neck, leaving only a closed wound behind without black blood oozing out anymore.
Its regenerative abilities were truly shocking.
Yang Kai raised his spear, and as World Force surged, his body moved with his weapon, turning into a spiral that drilled into the wound at his arm.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God was instantly overtaken by an immense pain that caused it to hiss in shock and anger, “What are you doing?!”
Yang Kai did not answer. He had brought out his full strength and merged with his spear, turning into an unstoppable blade that broke through the thick blockade of Black Ink Strength, trying to penetrate into the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s body from its wound.
“Don’t even dream of it!” The Black Ink Giant Spirit God knew what was coming. No matter how strong it was, it still could not anticipate what would happen to it if it allowed Yang Kai to succeed. Its huge eyes were filled with fear and panic. It never thought that it would fall into such a situation in such a short amount of time since the fight began.
As soon as it finished speaking, it raised its hand and slapped it down at Yang Kai, as if swatting at a mosquito that was biting it. If that palm connected, then Yang Kai would die even if he were to transform into his Divine Dragon Form.
At the same time, it also exerted all of its power to form a viscous yet sturdy defence around the wound to stop Yang Kai’s invasion. As long as it could swat its opponent to death before he had a chance to invade its body, then the crisis would be easily resolved.
Yang Kai felt an unprecedented crisis fall upon him and as the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s palm descended. He could keenly feel death enveloping his body and mind, causing him to feel suffocated. Not a single part of him, both inside and outside, was not trembling in fear. Even though he had encountered many life-or-death crises throughout his cultivation journey, he had never encountered one as strong as this one. Death was so certain that it almost gave him the illusion that he had already died.
The defence that was formed out of Black Ink Strength at the wound was extremely sturdy. Even though Yang Kai attacked with full force, he was not able to break through it instantly. Moreover, his opponent did not just lay out a single defence; instead, it was constantly repairing and strengthening it.
Naturally, the best option here would be to just give up and escape in order to ensure his safety then search for another opening to exploit; however, after such an experience, it would not be so easy to get another opportunity like this as the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would definitely be on its guard.
In this life-or-death moment, Yang Kai’s lips curved into a fierce smirk, and his already terrifying aura climbed to even greater heights, causing the surrounding space to tremble in unrest.
“You court death!” The Black Ink Giant Spirit God roared furiously and swung its palm down even more fiercely. Everywhere its palm passed, space crumbled like a shattered mirror.
The huge palm suddenly stopped when it was only a dozen or so kilometres away from Yang Kai, as if it had encountered a huge resistance.
It was a severed arm extended across the void that suddenly blocked its fierce attack, an arm no different from its intact arm in terms of length and shape.
Ah Da had finally returned!
He had blocked the fatal blow for Yang Kai at this most critical moment.
Yang Kai had also seen Ah Da rushing over from the corner of his eye, which was what made him put his all into this decisive move.
Holding a severed arm in one hand and a severed leg in the other, Ah Da was furious, almost face to face with the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, and shouted fiercely, “What do you think you’re doing to my little friend!”
In this era of endless Black Ink Strength, as members of the Giant Spirit God Clan, it was difficult to even find food to eat. Their little friend was now his and Ah Er’s only source of food. If their little friend were killed, wouldn’t they have to starve in the future?
The simple-minded Ah Da had long realized that only his little friend could provide them with delicious food, so no matter what happened, he would not allow his little friend to be harmed in any way! Anyone who dared to hurt his little friend must die!
Faced with Ah Da’s fury, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God could only respond with a pained howl.
Because the moment when its attack was blocked by Ah Da, a violent shockwave hit Yang Kai’s back like an invisible wall. In that instant, the bones in Yang Kai’s body could be heard cracking, but it was also that force that allowed him to break through the blockade of Black Ink Strength. Body and spear united as one as he plunged into the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s severed arm.
All light disappeared and boundless darkness engulfed him. Yang Kai felt like he had fallen into a pitch-black ocean, but he moved forward without hesitation, breaking through layers of physical barriers and diving straight into the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s body.
As his spear travelled through the body of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, it encountered significant resistance at first, but in a few breaths, the resistance suddenly weakened.
Ah Da who had launched a fierce flurry of attacks on the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, forcibly diverted its attention to protecting itself, which naturally meant that it could not fully focus on Yang Kai, who had invaded its body.
In the vast void, the battle between the two Giant Spirit Gods was extremely brutal, but Ah Da clearly had the upper hand. Wielding the severed limbs of his opponent as weapons, every blow caused the injured Black Ink Giant Spirit God to stagger and stumble in a pitiful state.
When the other Black Ink Giant Spirit God saw what was happening, it tried to come over and support its ally, but how could Ah Er allow him to do so? With everything he had, he kept it firmly tied down.
On a different battlefield, Mo Na Ye’s eyes trembled violently, his face filled with disbelief.
In fact, when Yang Kai unleashed his full strength, Mo Na Ye had already sensed that something was amiss and an unlikely scenario sprang in his heart.
His intelligence made him doubt this thought, but now it seemed that his unbelievable suspicions were confirmed.
“He has been hiding his strength all this time?” Mo Na Ye asked while defending against Mi Jing Lun’s furious attacks.
“What do you think?” Mi Jing Lun replied casually while searching for his opponent’s weakness. Naturally, he would not be kind enough to answer his enemy’s question.
However, this response only made Mo Na Ye more certain of his own judgment,
“Why?” He muttered in disbelief.
Yang Kai had been concealing a massive army of Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters. He must have possessed them for many years, yet hid them all so he could use them against the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, which was understandable since they could not be exposed easily as it would alert the Black Ink Clan, then it would be difficult for them to play their part as a hidden weapon.
But why would Yang Kai also conceal his true strength? Judging from the aura erupting from Yang Kai earlier, his true strength was absolutely terrifying. If he had such strength, then why had he been hiding it for so long? If he revealed his true strength during the previous 10-year war, how many Pseudo-Royal Lords would have suffered? Even he, a Royal Lord, might not have survived.
“Why do you think?” Mi Jing Lun gave an equally generic answer, his fan sweeping out fiercely, sending a violent wind blade that cut a deep wound into Mo Na Ye’s abdomen. He had finally found an opening. Perhaps it was because Yang Kai’s performance distracted Mo Na Ye, but the Royal Lord had truly lost his bearings at this moment.
Mo Na Ye reeled back as black blood spurted out, but Mi Jing Lun’s unending attacks followed him closely. Suddenly, Mo Na Ye gave a weary scoff, “I understand now!”
It was the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods. Yang Kai concealed his strength and hid his Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Army all so he could use it against the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods. Because whether it be the two Giant Spirit Gods of the Human Race or the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods of the Black Ink Clan, they were the key to determining the outcome of the war. Only by finding a way to deal with the opponent’s strongest Masters could they truly bring this war to an end.
Mo Na Ye had seen through that fact even before this war even began, so how could Yang Kai not be aware of it?
Moreover, his attempt to conceal his ability by feigning weakness was indeed effective. The Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods had not paid any attention to Yang Kai, only considering the true Giant Spirit Gods as opponents. As old rivals who had fought each other for thousands of years, they knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but they never would have expected to suffer such a big loss at Yang Kai’s hands.
Defeat was now inevitable, and Mo Na Ye’s heart was filled with sadness. He could not figure out just how Yang Kai gained such power in such a short amount of time!
Only about 700 years had passed since he ascended to the Ninth-Order in the Universe Furnace World, a paltry number that hardly amounted to anything in the eyes of Ninth-Order Masters. 700 years was barely enough time for a new Ninth-Order Master to consolidate their cultivation and make a little bit of progress.
But the momentum that Yang Kai displayed at this moment was basically no different from the strongest Ninth-Order Masters that Mo Na Ye had witnessed all those years ago.
If he considered that the abilities that Yang Kai showed had always been far superior to his peers to begin with, perhaps even the most senior and experienced veteran Ninth-Order Masters from back then would be inferior to him in terms of combat effectiveness.
When the Human Race was at its peak, the Ninth-Order Masters struggled to deal with the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods even though there were 100 of them. There was only a single time where they managed to kill a Black Ink Giant Spirit God, but that was only with Ah Er’s help and at great cost.
But now, with only Yang Kai and a single Giant Spirit God, the Humans were able to force a Soul Clone of the Supreme One into a desperate situation.
Fierce battles were taking place everywhere on the vast battlefield, but the most intense and shocking one was undoubtedly the fight between the Giant Spirit Gods and the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
Ah Er and his opponent were fully entangled, their powerful clashes causing space itself to shatter. Void Cracks appeared one after another and clung onto their large bodies like spider webs, and from those cracks, an extremely strong aura of chaos and nihility was spilling out.
Only two fates awaited ordinary creatures in such an environment. One was to fall in and become lost in the Void. If they were very lucky, they might find a way out, but if not, they would be forever trapped.
The second outcome was to simply be sliced to pieces and die.
Each Void Crack was a tear in space, so it naturally possessed immense power. Nothing good could come to those who came into contact with these torn and displaced cracks.
However, the two massive beings confronting each other in this dangerous environment at this very moment were not ordinary by any definition. The Void Cracks, which would normally be a death sentence, merely left slight scratches on their skin, barely able to cut them at all.
Looking from afar, these two Supreme Masters were surrounded by endless cracks, making it look as if they were fighting in another space-time.
On the other hand, Ah Da’s battle with the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God was a completely different situation.
Thanks to Yang Kai’s sudden attack and the sacrifice of 2,000 Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters, this Black Ink Giant Spirit God had only battled Ah Da for a short time before losing an arm and a leg, which could be said to have greatly damaged its foundation. Now, with Yang Kai wreaking havoc inside its body, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had to divert some of his attention to defend against him, so it had completely fallen into a disadvantage in the face of Ah Da’s furious beating.
With each strike that landed, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God staggered and was sent flying back, whereas Ah Da only became stronger as the fight went on. Though the severed limbs of the opponent didn’t possess any kind of divine power, they were incredibly tough and displayed tremendous power in Ah Da’s hands.
In no more than a few dozen breaths, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was in a miserable state covered in black blood; the panic in its eyes gradually deepened.
At this moment, it was facing not only Ah Da’s flurry of attacks, but also what Yang Kai was doing inside its body, which was the true source of its fear. It could keenly feel that as Yang Kai moved within its enormous body, the auras of countless life forms were being left behind…
Even though it had no time to examine what was happening, it knew very clearly just what those living creatures were.
Realizing that its death was inevitable if it did not act, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God roared and forcibly blocked Ah Da’s ferocious attacks before suddenly, its body shook and it snarled, “The Universe shall be covered in Black Ink!”
As soon as those words were spoken, the Black Ink Strength lingering outside its body, which was like a dense fog, solidified for a moment before being drawn into its body by an invisible force.
The price it paid for this was being struck fiercely on the forehead by Ah Da’s attack, causing a part of its skull to cave in.
At that moment, Yang Kai, wielding the Azure Dragon Spear, was still drilling his way through the thick Black Ink Strength blockade as he shuttled around inside of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s body. The portal to his Small Universe had been opened, and as he swam about, a massive number of Small Stone Race Soldiers poured out of his Small Universe and took up positions inside of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
Yang Kai had brought some 400 million Small Stone Race Soldiers from the Chaotic Dead Territory and handed quite a large percentage of them to the Ninth-Order Masters to distribute to the Human Army in order to enhance its forces; however, he still left some behind as reserves. Besides the numerous Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters that were sacrificed earlier, Yang Kai still had a large Army of at least 30 million below the Eighth-Order.
These Small Stone Race Soldiers were constantly charging out of his Small Universe and invading the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s body.
When the Black Ink Giant Spirit God finished speaking though, Yang Kai clearly felt the boundless darkness in this place become even darker.
It was a very strange feeling as there was supposedly no way a darkness where an ordinary person could not even see their fingers in front of them could get even darker, but that kind of feeling did arise in Yang Kai.
In the next instant, he realized that his Small Universe was shaking violently, and the open portal also closed involuntarily.
Shocked, Yang Kai quickly examined himself and was aghast to find the World Tree clone swaying violently while propping up the invisible boundary wall around his Small Universe. Outside of the boundary wall was Black Ink Strength of a purity he had never seen before, and it was trying to break into his Small Universe.
With the World Tree clone to isolate and protect his Small Universe, it remained flawless and undamaged for thousands of years, invulnerable to external forces. It had a similar effect to the Four Universe Pillars, but even stronger.
Since obtaining the World Tree clone, Yang Kai had never been worried that his Small Universe would be stained by Black Ink Strength. That was because Black Ink Strength could not break his Small Universe’s boundary wall nor corrupt his Small Universe with the World Tree clone shielding it.
Currently, the Black Ink Strength’s attack and the World Tree Clone’s protection were like a spear and a shield. If the protective shield was strong enough, it could ignore the attack of the sharp spear.
In the past, the protective shield of the World Tree clone could easily block the corruption of Black Ink Strength regardless of its source. Yang Kai had never felt affected by it before, and he could even recklessly enter environments full of Black Ink Strength. It was an act other Open Heaven Realm Masters were fearful of, yet he could do so without worrying about being corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
But this time, Yang Kai clearly felt that the protective shield of the World Tree clone was under pressure!
This was undoubtedly an indication that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was using a powerful technique against him.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think of the Royal Lord Secret Technique.
The Humans had never been able to figure out how the Royal Lords cast their Secret Technique. Yang Kai had also endured this Secret Technique head-on more than once, but with the World Tree Clone and the Soul Warming Lotus’ protection, it had never affected him.
The Humans had very limited information on the Royal Lord Secret Technique, but what they did know was that this technique could only be performed by a true Royal Lord, and that it can be activated silently. Those targeted by the Royal Lord Secret Technique could not resist unless they were in the Ninth Order. Even the most experienced veteran Eighth-Order Masters would be corrupted instantly by Black Ink Strength when this move was unleashed.
Back when the Human Race Army first clashed with the Black Ink Clan in the Barren Territory, it was through a use of the Royal Lord Secret Technique that three Eighth-Order Masters were corrupted, allowing them to infiltrate the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land in the depths of Shattered Heaven and awaken the Black Ink Giant Spirit God there. As a result, the Human Race was routed and had no choice but to give up the Barren Territory.
But despite how powerful the Royal Lord Secret Technique was, it was rarely used as once it was activated, the user’s foundation would be greatly damaged, causing a significant decline in strength. Therefore, Royal Lords generally did not use this technique unless they were in absolute control of the situation.
The first Royal Lord that Yang Kai killed was the one he fought just after advancing to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. That Royal Lord had wanted to get rid of Yang Kai for good by using the Secret Technique. This was due to him being angry out of shame from being unable to catch him after chasing him for several dozen years. It severely damaged his foundation as a result, providing an opportunity that Yang Kai took advantage of.
If Royal Lords could use such a bizarre Secret Technique, how could the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, who were Soul Clones of Mo, not be capable of something similar?
Therefore, when Yang Kai sensed that something was amiss, he knew that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had to have used a technique similar to the Royal Lord Secret Technique, and that was why even the World Tree clone’s protective shield was feeling pressured.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think back to Cang’s words. Despite knowing he had a World Tree clone to isolate and protect his Small Universe, Cang had specifically warned him to be wary of Mo. In other words, even with the World Tree clone, he could still fail to resist Mo’s Black Ink Strength.
Inside his Small Universe, the swaying of the World Tree clone became more and more violent. Yang Kai could clearly feel the pressure on his last line of defence, which finally made him realize that what Cang warned him about back then was not an exaggeration!
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God was already pressuring the World Tree clone, so what if he were to face Mo itself? The World Tree clone really might not be able to protect him then.
Moreover, trouble never arrived alone. As his Small Universe was bearing enormous pressure, Yang Kai can clearly feel his Knowledge Sea being invaded as well.
Boundless Black Ink Strength gushed over, staining his originally colourful Knowledge Sea completely black.
The corruption of Black Ink Strength on cultivators had always been both a physical and spiritual affair.
Inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, on the small seven-coloured island formed by the Soul Warming Lotus, two figures sat idly across each other, playing chess. One of them had a humanoid form while the other had a beast form.
These two figures were naturally Yang Kai’s two other Selves. Since his three Selves united, Yang Kai advanced into the Ninth Order, but Thunder Shadow’s and Fang Tian Ci’s consciousnesses were preserved and had been staying in the Soul Warming Lotus all these years. This was the best place for them to remain as without the Soul Warming Lotus’ nurturing, they might have perished with the loss of their physical bodies over time.
When the boundless Black Ink Strength surged in, Fang Tian Ci immediately noticed that something was amiss. When he looked over, there was a look of surprise in his eyes.
Thunder Shadow also stood up in a panic, knocking over the chessboard in the process and exclaiming, “Black Ink Strength? What is Big Brother doing? How could Black Ink Strength reach this place? Big Brother isn’t going to be corrupted, is he? Oh, no! What do we do?!”
He made a scene, looking extremely worried.
Fang Tian Ci, however, looked at him speechlessly. Reaching out, he restored the knocked-over chess pieces back to their original positions, “Don’t try to shift focus. You’re about to lose!”
Thunder Shadow turned its head to look at him, shouting, “Who has the heart to play chess with you at such a critical moment!? If Big Brother is stained by Black Ink, we’re done for! When that happens, Big Brother will definitely pull us out and eat us one by one.”
Fang Tian Ci’s brow couldn’t help but twitch, “Firstly, if the true body is corrupted by Black Ink Strength, we will also be corrupted by it! Secondly, this is the Soul Warming Lotus, a Supreme Treasure of the Universe that can shield and nurture the Soul better than any other item in existence. With the Soul Warming Lotus, even if Black Ink Strength were to invade the true body, Big Brother would still be able to hold on to a trace of clarity and will not be completely corrupted by Black Ink Strength!”
“Is that so?” Thunder Shadow sat down with a clueless expression on its face.
Fang Tian Ci couldn’t endure it any longer, “Drop the pretentious act! You’re not a sore loser, are you?”
Thunder Shadow scoffed, “Chess isn’t fun. Let’s play something else.”
“So, you finally admit that you’re not my opponent,” Fang Tian Ci looked at it scornfully with his nose in the air.
Thunder Shadow bellowed, “Who’s not your opponent?! Don’t think that I have to endure your provocations just because you’re the Second Brother! You better watch your mouth!”
“Then, let’s continue. It’s your turn!” Fang Tian Ci gestured to the board.
Thunder Shadow hesitated for a moment before gritting its teeth, “Just watch as I destroy you until you don’t even have a single piece of armour left!”
As Black Ink Strength surged in, the only pure land in Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea was a chess game where one man and one leopard unceasingly exchanged moves…