Inside the body of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, an Army of millions of Small Stone Race Soldiers were scattered about. If they had been ordinary Small Stone Race members, they might not be able to withstand the corruption of the thick Black Ink Strength, but these Small Stone Race Masters had grown by consuming the extremely pure Yin or Yang Energy of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, so they had a natural resistance to it.
Moreover, they were extremely sensitive towards Black Ink Strength and viewed it as their absolute enemy. As soon as they were released, they began attacking the Black Ink Giant Spirit God from inside its body, causing it to experience what the pain of being devoured by countless ants was like.
No matter how indestructible the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was outside, its internal defences were naturally much weaker.
Yang Kai’s original plan was to summon all of the Small Stone Race Soldiers from his Small Universe, which amounted to around 30 million, but he had no choice but to stop because of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s Secret Technique.
The longer such an intense battle dragged on, the greater the variables became.
As soon as he sensed the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s unusual move, Yang Kai decisively activated the Great Sun and Moon Marks. The next moment, the tens of millions of Small Stone Race each shone brightly. Yellow and blue lights began to flow and blend in the extremely dark environment, turning it pure white, creating a mystical scene.
In the void, Ah Da once again swung down his opponent’s severed arm, smashing it fiercely towards the Black Ink Giant Spirit God and hitting it squarely in the neck until its head was slightly bent out of shape.
At the same time, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s face distorted in extreme pain, as if it was being subjected to unbearable torture. Then, a bright white light overflowed from its mouth and nose.
It howled in pain, and its roar echoed throughout the Universe, frightening all Black Ink Clansmen who heard it.
The bright white light was not only overflowing from its mouth and nose now, but also from the stumps of its severed limbs and even from the wounds all over its body, creating columns of light like ten thousand swords piercing through its flesh!
As the columns of light emerged, so did a figure covered in black blood, rushing out with his spear. It was none other than Yang Kai. He turned his head to look at the pitiful appearance of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God and could clearly sense that its aura had weakened greatly.
This eruption of Purifying Light had an even more profound effect than the sacrifice of 2,000 Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters from before!
It made sense; after all, the previous blast of Purifying Light only enveloped the Black Ink Giant Spirit God from the outside, making it a purely external attack; but now, the Purifying Light was created by the fusion of an Army of tens of millions exploding inside its body, meaning almost all of the impact was absorbed by it without any escaping. So, despite the fact that the quality was somewhat lacking, the quantity made up for it, and the damage to the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was even greater than before.
Ah Da charged forward once again. Even though his intelligence was lacking, he was still a member of the Giant Spirit God Clan whose battle instincts were incredibly strong. Seeing his enemy in such a miserable state, there was no way he would miss this perfect opportunity. In just a few steps, he reached the Black Ink Giant Spirit God and, wielding its severed arm and leg, unleashed a flurry of attacks that left a bloody spectacle wherever they struck.
Following the weakening of its aura and the damage to its foundation, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s defence also became weaker.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God roared and struggled to resist, but it was simply no match for Ah Da at this moment. Faced with this barrage of attacks, it could only defend while being forced back step by step.
A Dragon Roar sounded abruptly and a golden light burst forth as a 100,000 metres Divine Dragon appeared. The Dragon shot forward, taking advantage of when the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was already overwhelmed, and wrapped around its neck, looping itself around it. Then, the Divine Dragon lifted his large head and looked the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in the eye right in front of him.
Despite his large form, the Dragon still appeared small compared to the massive Black Ink Giant Spirit God. From a distance, it was like a small snake wrapped around a person’s neck.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God loathed Yang Kai deeply. Knowing that this situation was likely to be disastrous, it directly abandoned its defence against Ah Da and reached out its one remaining hand to grab the Divine Dragon.
Yang Kai had taken on his Dragon Form, which allowed him to control his Time Dao Strength much better than when he was in his Human Form; after all, the Dao of Time was the Innate Grand Dao of the Dragon Clan. As such, the hand that was trying to grasp him was instantly surrounded by a profound field which made it become extremely sluggish.
Opening his Dragon Maw, a Dragon Breath spewed forth and smashed into one of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s eyes. In the next instant, the giant eye burst apart.
Repeating the same thing on the other side, Yang Kai quickly destroyed the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s other eye as well.
With both eyes gone, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God let out another miserable cry before unleashing all its power, breaking through the Time Principle blockade, allowing its stalled hand to regain its freedom.
However, its attack was interrupted by a fierce blow from Ah Da before it could reach Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took advantage of this opportunity to unleash one Dragon Clan Secret Technique after another, bombarding the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s face at close range.
Every Secret Technique was as powerful as an all-out attack of a peak Ninth-Order Master, and in just a short amount of time, the face of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had been turned into a bloody mess.
Despite that, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God still refused to die, displaying a tenacious vitality that Yang Kai couldn’t help but marvel at.
Since the war between Humans and Black Ink Clan began, the Humans had only managed to kill a single Black Ink Giant Spirit God, which happened during the battle in the Barren Territory several thousand years ago. However, they also paid a huge price for that success with more than a dozen Ninth-Order Masters dying in battle. Furthermore, Ah Er was there to provide assistance and that Black Ink Giant Spirit God was already injured and had been prepared to be sacrificed.
It could be said that the reason why the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was killed in that battle was partly because the Black Ink Clan was willing to pay any price to breach the Barren Territory and invade the 3,000 Worlds. Nevertheless, the Humans had also paid a high price to slowly wear down their opponent and kill it.
As to what they were supposed to do in order to quickly kill a Black Ink Giant Spirit God now, the Humans still lacked experience and ideas.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God in front of them had almost no ability to resist as it was attacked by Yang Kai in his Divine Dragon Form and Ah Da, but its extraordinary vitality still basically made it immortal and indestructible.
Seeing this, Yang Kai had no choice but to act ruthlessly. When his Dragon Jaws opened, a golden round bead emerged; it was his Dragon Bead.
The moment the Dragon Bead appeared, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was able to sense that something was amiss despite losing both its eyes. It opened its mouth and roared, trying to wriggle its neck free from Yang Kai’s hold; however, the force applied to it rendered it completely immobile.
The Golden Dragon Bead shook faintly before turning into a golden light and blasting into the hole where the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s left eye used to be, then bursting out through the back of his head!
As the residual energy swept into the depths of the void, a golden beam of light spanning 100 million kilometres was created.
Such a fierce blow caused the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s neck and head to be flung back as it lost all strength in the hand it was waving around.
Thus, the aura of a powerful being, powerful enough to shake the Universe, crumbled and dissipated.
However, Yang Kai still could not be rest assured. A loud Dragon Roar echoed across the battlefield, and the Dragon coiled around the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s neck tightened its grip once again before soaring up into the void.
The immense pulling force ripped into the neck of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, directly separating its huge head from its body. At the wound, black blood erupted like a volcano, instantly dyeing a vast expanse of the void completely black.
Another endless flurry of attacks from Ah Da landed immediately after, smashing the Black Ink Giant Spirit God until its body broke into pieces.
It wasn’t until this moment that the aura belonging to the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was completely extinguished.
The Black Ink Giant Spirit God had fallen!
From the moment Ah Da restrained this Black Ink Giant Spirit God, to when Yang Kai ripped its head off, only a short dozen breaths had passed.
In such a short period of time, a powerful Black Ink Giant Spirit God was killed by the joint efforts of Yang Kai and Ah Da.
Regardless of how tenacious its vitality was, regardless of how profound Mo’s creations were, there was no way it could have any vitality left after its body was literally smashed into paste.
Thousands of years ago, this Black Ink Giant Spirit God emerged from the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land and laid the foundation for the Black Ink Clan’s victory in the war in the Barren Territory. Its strength had been looming over the hearts of all the Humans all that time, almost like a towering mountain pressing down on their heads. After all it was an indomitable and powerful existence.
Today, when its aura finally dissipated, and its body shattered into pieces, that shadow was at last dispelled.
The Human Race Army, which already had the momentum advantage against the Black Ink Clan, erupted into cheers at this moment and their attacks became even fiercer.
The Black Ink Clan Army, which was already at a disadvantage, deflated even further at this sight.
This was especially so for the Masters from the Black Ink Clan. No matter what, they couldn’t believe that a Soul Clone of the Supreme One would be killed in such a short time. When the aura of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God dissipated, their minds all fell into disarray.
The Human Race Masters fighting against them took advantage of this opportunity to expand their advantages even further, while those who were in disadvantageous positions quickly stabilized their situations.
It could be said that the death of one of the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods was not just a loss of one of the Black Ink Clan’s top Masters, but it also had a clear and direct effect on the situation of the entire battlefield.
All the Black Ink Clansmen realised that all hope had just died and there was no way they would survive the battle for the No-Return Pass no matter what they did. All of them would be slaughtered ruthlessly here!
This was a matter concerning the life or death of both Races, a blood feud spanning so many years that no one could even say how long it was. It was impossible for them to show any mercy.
This decisive battle that had broken out hastily would eventually end in victory for the Human Race.
On the battlefield, Ah Da threw back his head and roared to the Heavens, his voice filled with joy and victory. After he was done, he looked around the battlefield with sharp eyes like an eagle or wolf filled with bloodlust.
Yang Kai saw this and shouted, “Go and help Ah Er!”
After receiving the message, Ah Da rushed over to the other side of the battlefield with the severed arm and leg still in hand. Ah Er was fighting on equal grounds with his opponent there, but when his enemy naturally saw its peer being killed and immediately tried to escape.
There was not much Ah Er could do against a Black Ink Giant Spirit God intent on escaping; nevertheless, he did his best to keep it pinned as long as possible. Fortunately, Ah Da arrived quickly, and with the united strength of two Giant Spirit Gods, they instantly trapped their opponent, making it all but impossible for it to flee.
To have killed a Black Ink Giant Spirit God while hardly sustaining any injuries was a feat that nobody could achieve, not just for the people of today, but even their Ancestors of the past eras.
It had to be known that when a single Black Ink Giant Spirit God invaded the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land in the Early Ancient Era, countless powerful Divine Spirits had inhabited those lands, but even then, the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress of the time still had to use the 16 Sacred Treasures of the strongest Clans and sacrifice themselves to lay a Grand Array just to suppress and seal it. It was only after hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years of erosion from the Ancestral Land’s Ancestral Strength that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s vitality was finally ground down.
Such a huge price was paid, yet they were only able to trap their foe, not directly kill them.
In comparison to that, today’s fight was an astonishing feat unequalled before in history.
Of course, it was mainly thanks to the two explosions of Purifying Light that greatly damaged the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s foundation. Even though the Ancestral Strength in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land provided some suppressive power against Black Ink Strength, it was far less potent than Purifying Light.
Even though he did not sustain much damage, Yang Kai expended a lot of his strength, especially when he summoned his Dragon Bead at the end, so he was basically a dry oil lamp right now!
The Dragon Bead was the culmination of a Dragon’s cultivation. Just like a Monster Beast’s Monster Core, one would never summon it unless it was absolutely necessary, for once it was brought out, either one’s enemy died or the owner perished. It was a desperate final move.
Since he became a Grand Dragon and obtained his own Dragon Bead, Yang Kai had summoned this final weapon a few times in the past, and it was exhausting each time he did; this time was no different. It was hard for Yang Kai to even maintain his Dragon Form after using his Dragon Bead to attack, so he quickly transformed back into his Human Form. Not only was his face extremely pale, he looked completely deflated.
That was especially true for his Dragon Vein. Usually, he could circulate the might in his Dragon Vein without issue even in his Human Form; but now, the power in his Dragon Vein was almost still. Looking inside himself, Yang Kai could see that even his Dragon Bead was dim and grey, not bright and golden as before.
It seemed like he would need to recuperate for a long time before his Dragon Vein and Bead could be restored. Before then, it would be difficult to even use any techniques related to the Dragon Clan.
After directing Ah Da to help Ah Er, Yang Kai stuffed some recovery pills into his mouth and swallowed them before turning back and rushing over to the No-Return Pass.
The defence line of the Black Ink Clan had long been riddled with holes, and Humans had the advantage in most of the positions across the battlefield. As they were enveloped by the dazzling lights of both Secret Techniques and artifacts, the Black Ink Clansmen were being wiped out in great numbers every breath.
The Human Race’s victory here was set, all that was lacking to resolve this war now was time.
In an instant, Yang Kai had passed over the defence line where the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan Armies were fighting and went straight into the No-Return Pass. As Space Principles surged, his figure swiftly passed through each area of the No-Return Pass.
Everywhere he went, large numbers of Black Ink Nests were destroyed.
When Ah Da and Ah Er were first rushing over from the Barren Territory, they had already caused significant damage to the Black Ink Nests in the No-Return Pass, but due to how many Black Ink Nests there were to begin with, many still remained.
With Yang Kai to clean up the rest, all the surviving Black Ink Nests would soon be destroyed.
If the Pseudo-Royal Lords were still guarding this place, they might have been able to hinder him somewhat, but all of them had left of the inner region of the No-Return Pass to fight under Mo Na Ye’s order, so how could there be any Masters left to stop Yang Kai?
Within an incense stick of time, the No-Return Pass became a chaotic mess. All of the Black Ink Nests, whether they were High-Rank, Mid-Rank, or Low-Rank, were all destroyed without exception. Even the Black Ink Clansmen that had escaped back to the pass for shelter, suffered heavy casualties.
Without pause, Yang Kai disappeared in a flash.
Somewhere in the battlefield, Mo Na Ye and Mi Jing Lun’s fight was still going on with the situation being extremely disadvantageous for the former. It was reasonable to say that since Mo Na Ye had become a Royal Lord a few hundred years earlier than Mi Jing Lun had advanced to the Ninth Order, he should have a stronger heritage, yet in reality, he was completely suppressed by Mi Jing Lun.
Naturally, such a situation arose because of the various changes that happened on the battlefield, causing Mo Na Ye’s thoughts to be disrupted. This was especially so with Yang Kai’s sudden surge in strength and the death of a Black Ink Giant Spirit God, which had an immense impact on him. The shrewd and cunning Mi Jing Lun naturally seized this opportunity to expand his advantage bit by bit until they reached the current state of affairs.
Of course, with Mi Jing Lun’s current cultivation, killing Mo Na Ye would be difficult even with such an advantage as he had to be extremely cautious against a final counterattack. In a fight between Masters like them, the slightest carelessness could drastically change the outcome.
That was why Mi Jing Lun did not dare to be careless in the slightest and kept a steady hand from the beginning, never taking risks in a rush for success!
But at a certain point, his attacks grew more violent. At the same time, Mo Na Ye keenly caught onto an opening in his defence and, after a moment of hesitation, his originally retreating figure suddenly rushed forward, taking advantage of the gap in Mi Jing Lun’s Secret Techniques to throw a punch-out.
Mi Jing Lun’s face immediately showed an expression of panic, and he instinctively tried to block it, but it was too late.
As Mo Na Ye’s fist was about to hit Mi Jing Lun’s head though, Mo Na Ye’s body suddenly shook as if he had been hit by a binding technique, freezing in place.
His fist was less than a forearm’s length away from Mi Jing Lun, and the violent force from it caused the opponent’s clothes to flutter.
In the face of imminent death, the panic in Mi Jing Lun’s eyes disappeared and was instead replaced by an indifferent gaze.
“As expected!” Mo Na Ye laughed bitterly at Mi Jing Lun, but those words weren’t meant for him.
Behind Mo Na Ye, Yang Kai’s figure had appeared at some point, and the Azure Dragon Spear pierced through Mo Na Ye’s chest. Dao Strengths lingered on Yang Kai’s spear as Space Principles surged, solidifying the surrounding space. Even someone as strong as Mo Na Ye was unable to break free for a time.
The three Masters were arranged in a straight line in the void with Yang Kai at the back, Mo Na Ye in the centre, and Mi Jing Lun in the front. For a while, nobody spoke.
The silence went on for a time before Mi Jing Lun finally said, “You realized that I was baiting you.”
It was not a question, he was just stating a fact.
When Yang Kai rushed over from the No-Return Pass, he sent a message to Mi Jing Lun, which was why he suddenly revealed an opening. It was to lure Mo Na Ye into attacking him and creating a favourable opportunity for Yang Kai’s ambush.
Everything went smoothly and Yang Kai’s ambush was extremely successful.
“So what if I saw through it?” A bitter smile appeared at the corners of Mo Na Ye’s lips.
Mi Jing Lun’s eyes flickered, and he nodded lightly, “En, you had no choice but to take it.”
Even if he did see through the plan to lure the enemy out, Mo Na Ye could only make his move, hoping to severely injure or even kill Mi Jing Lun before being hit by Yang Kai. That way, it wouldn’t be a loss even if he died.
Of course, he could also choose to evade Yang Kai’s ambush, but all that would follow would be a joint attack from both Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun together, which would still be difficult for him to resist.
So, he didn’t have a choice at all from the start.
Yang Kai tilted his head, his gaze passing Mo Na Ye by to look at Mi Jing Lun as he commented, “Senior Brother, that was too dangerous.”
He had communicated with Mi Jing Lun to coordinate their actions, but he never expected the latter to use such a dangerous method. Even Yang Kai’s heart was racing with fear for a moment. If he had moved just a bit slower, Mi Jing Lun would have undoubtedly suffered serious injuries.
Mi Jing Lun responded indifferently, “Fortune favours the bold.”
Yang Kai sighed, not knowing what to say in reply. He had no doubt that Mi Jing Lun trusted him, but he had no idea that Yang Kai had already exhausted too much of his strength in the previous battle. Even though he recovered some of it while destroying the Black Ink Nests, the time was too short and he couldn’t recover much of his strength. For example, Yang Kai could only use the same set of Secret Techniques he just used twice more before all his energy ran out again.
If Mo Na Ye really managed to avoid his surprise attack, things would have become difficult.
“Brother Yang, I have a question to ask before I die!” Mo Na Ye spoke to Yang Kai behind him as he stood still, showing no intention to resist.
Yang Kai raised a brow, “You may ask, but I may not necessarily answer.”
Mo Na Ye laughed bitterly, “You Humans… How did you discover reinforcements were coming?”
Mo Na Ye had speculated the reason the Humans were so eager to take down the No-Return Pass, even at the cost of greater sacrifices, was because they must have discovered reinforcements were rushing over from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t figure out how they managed to learn about them.
It had to be known that the reinforcements were still more than 10 years away at best, a distance so great that it would have been difficult for the Black Ink Clan to even contact them without the help of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s Divine Ability and the Black Ink Nests.
Mo Na Ye had thought that the reinforcements would be the No-Return Pass’ Black Ink Clan’s ticket to survival, allowing them to pincer the Humans from the front and back, catching them off guard.
Who would have thought that it would become a death decree in the end?
“Reinforcements? What do you mean reinforcements?” Yang Kai asked in a surprised tone.
Mo Na Ye turned his head with difficulty so he could see his expression, but as he moved, the Azure Dragon Spear shook slightly, forcing him to keep still.
Yang Kai continued, “Where can your Black Ink Clan get reinforce… the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, is it? What happened over there!?” Mo Na Ye’s brow furrowed. Unable to see Yang Kai’s face, he could only stare at Mi Jing Lun, who had a look of sudden realization.
“The thing you mentioned earlier was about the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements?”
There was a moment of confusion for Mo Na Ye…
Before the war started, he tried to probe Mi Jing Lun for clues but failed to get any answers. He had been confident that the Humans must have known about their reinforcements, which was why they launched such a decisive attack, but now, judging from Mi Jing Lun and Yang Kai’s reactions, it seemed that they actually knew nothing about it.
[Do the Humans really have no idea?]
“Speak! Are Black Ink Clan reinforcements from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction on the way here now? How is that possible!?” Yang Kai’s shout sounded from behind while at the same time, the spear that penetrated his chest pulsed with Dao Strengths, causing Mo Na Ye to groan in pain.
Even in such a critical situation, he was still closely observing Mi Jing Lun’s expression, and he could see that those eyes were full of worry and anxiety.
“Ha… haha… hahahaha!” Mo Na Ye could not help but break out in fervent laughter.
“What are you laughing at!?” Yang Kai shouted and shook his spear, interrupting Mo Na Ye’s laughter.
The immense pain distorted Mo Na Ye’s features, but he gritted his teeth, “I laugh at you Humans for being so ignorant in the face of the Supreme One’s power. No matter how hard you struggle, it is all meaningless, all your efforts will ultimately be in vain!”
He spoke as if he were stating a fact, or laying a malicious curse, but it also seemed like a prediction of the future.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “You have a big mouth for someone with little skill.”
Mo Na Ye frowned, “Brother Yang…”
Yang Kai shook the spear in his hand, interrupting his words as a strongly disgusted look emerged on his face, “Who is your Brother Yang? Do you even have the qualifications to call me your Brother?”
Mo Na Ye looked surprised and stammered, “I thought…”
Yang Kai interrupted him again, “We have been fighting each other for many years, and we each have our own victories. So, you think that as opponents, we should be sympathetic to each other?”
“Shouldn’t we?” Mo Na Ye tossed the question back.
The disgust on Yang Kai’s face deepened, “It’s you who knows nothing! I, Yang Kai, have been cultivating for thousands of years and encountered many powerful opponents. Indeed, there are some worth sympathizing with, because it was the pressure they gave me that enabled me to forge ahead step by step until this day, but that does not include you or any other Black Ink Clansmen! We are mortal enemies! Only by killing you can we Humans find peace!”
Mo Na Ye was silent for a moment before suddenly realising, “Only opponents are sympathetic to each other, not enemies.”
“It seems you understand now. So answer me, where did the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements come from? Did something happen at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction? You only have one chance to tell me the truth!” Yang Kai’s icy words were biting like the cold chills of winter.
Smirking, Mo Na Ye looked at Mi Jing Lun across from him, “Black Ink Eternal!”
A violent force suddenly erupted from Mo Na Ye’s chest. Yang Kai’s 10,000 Dao Strengths surged. This Royal Lord, who had been commanding the situation in the Black Ink Clan for thousands of years, was blasted into pieces with blood and severed limbs flying everywhere.
Mo Na Ye had fallen!
Yang Kai gave him only one chance to speak, but he had no intention of revealing any valuable information. Yang Kai naturally would not show mercy, and regardless of what answer Mo Na Ye gave, he still would not escape death today.
Yang Kai would never give him another chance to escape. 700 years ago, he failed to kill Mo Na Ye when the Universe Furnace appeared, which had been a source of regret for him. Later, when the Universe Furnace closed, he thought he would have another chance to kill Mo Na Ye, but unexpectedly, he was brought to the edge of the Universe by the Universe Furnace, allowing this guy to escape by some stroke of luck.
Mo Na Ye knew it well, and Yang Kai had also expected this.
All along, Mo Na Ye’s biggest threat to the Human Race was not his strength, but his superior intellect that far surpassed all his other clansmen. If he hadn’t been the Commander of the Black Ink Clan’s war effort, this battle at the No-Return Pass would not have been as hard-fought. Almost 30% of the Human Race’s casualties in the war could be attributed to Mo Na Ye alone.
Now, this Royal Lord had finally reached the end of his fate!
Mi Jing Lun reached out and grabbed a severed arm, the limb left behind by Mo Na Ye after his death. He pried open the large, tightly-clenched fist and took out an unhatched Black Ink Nest from his palm.
Glancing over at Yang Kai, he asked, “So this is the reason you tricked him?”
With the help of the Void Guard’s investigation, the Humans learned of the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements, which was why they launched this battle so decisively.
Mo Na Ye had suspected this, but he couldn’t be completely sure, that was why he wanted to get confirmation before his death.
Logically, it wouldn’t matter even if Mo Na Ye knew the answer since he was going to die regardless. There was nothing a dying man could do about it, but when he asked the question and Yang Kai acted like he didn’t know, Mi Jing Lun quickly played along, pretending to know nothing.
In the end, even when Mo Na Ye was killed, he couldn’t figure out whether the Humans knew about the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements in advance or not.
Yang Kai nodded, “It was just in case!”
Though admitting it wouldn’t make much of a difference, nobody could know what kind of changes it would bring to the situation if they did; therefore, Yang Kai always upheld a principle of not telling the enemy anything if at all possible.
However, judging from the fact that Mo Na Ye was still holding onto the miniature Black Ink Nest before he died, what happened here must have spread to the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements. The reinforcements must have found out that their presence had been exposed and that a Black Ink Giant Spirit God had died in battle.
Yang Kai was somewhat helpless about this. After he and Ah Da had teamed up to kill the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, he immediately rushed into the No-Return Pass and destroyed all the Black Ink Nests to prevent the news from leaking, but the fact of the matter was, he couldn’t completely prevent it.
Black Ink Nests were just too convenient in terms of transmitting information.
The only fortunate thing now was that the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements did not know about the existence of the Void Guard or the Space Arrays, nor would they have any idea what was going to happen next on the battlefield.
The reinforcements travelling through the void had two options now. One was to speed up their march and rush to the No-Return Pass, hoping that the battle would not be over before their arrival. Then, they could assist their fellow clansmen on this side and maybe turn the tide.
The second option was naturally to hold their position, get into formation and lay in ambush. They could then slowly start to build up their strength and prepare for the Human Race Army to approach. Under the assumption that the Humans knew nothing, it would only be natural for them to lay some sort of gigantic trap.
But no matter which option they chose, they could not stop the fate of the Black Ink Clan’s destruction at the No-Return Pass!
With the fall of a Black Ink Giant Spirit God, the outcome of the battle at the No-Return Pass has already been determined.
Clenching his fist, Mi Jing Lun crushed the Black Ink Nest before gently waving his feather fan, “Junior Brother, you should rest for now. I’m afraid we may need your help to deal with the remaining Black Ink Giant Spirit God as well. As for the rest, you don’t have to worry about them. You’ve already done enough.”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment and nodded lightly, “En!”
After slaying the Black Ink Giant Spirit God and Mo Na Ye one after another, Yang Kai had exhausted too much energy and needed time to properly recover. Even though the outcome of the battle had already been determined, it was necessary to deal with the remaining Black Ink Giant Spirit God to end things completely. That thing was not easy to deal with. If the first Black Ink Giant Spirit God had not been too careless, it would not have fallen in such a short time.
After Mi Jing Lun left, Yang Kai focused on his recovery. Without setting up any defences, he sat cross-legged in the void without any fear of being attacked by the Black Ink Clan…
When Mo Na Ye, a Royal Lord, was killed, the already fragmented Black Ink Clan defence line worsened even further.
Especially for those Masters from the Black Ink Clan who were fighting against Human Race Masters. Witnessing the fall of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had already shaken their minds. Now, with Mo Na Ye’s death, the hearts of every Territory Lord, and even the Pseudo-Royal Lords were filled with great fear and loss.
Before the start of this war, everything had been under control, but once the fighting broke out, everything began to develop in a direction that the Black Ink Clan did not hope to see, pushing them step by step towards the abyss.
The fall of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God and Mo Na Ye has also caused a series of unpredictable chain reactions. On every battlefield, the auras of Black Ink Clan Masters constantly disappeared.
And, with the fall of so many Black Ink Clansmen, more Humans were now free and were able to head over and support the tougher battlefields, quickly outnumbering and overpowering their enemies.
The advantages of the Humans on the battlefield quickly accumulated like a snowball.
Seeing that the situation was going from bad to worse, many from the Black Ink Clan couldn’t help but think of escaping, but how could they possibly run away under these circumstances?
Half a day later, as Di Ya Luo’s aura swelled up before dissipating, the Black Ink Clan collapsed completely. An aura of despair enveloped every last Black Ink Clansman, and in such a hopeless situation, many were forced into adopting the determination to make one last stand before their deaths. However, as things had fallen to this point, even if they had this determination, it was impossible to reverse the situation.
Somewhere on the battlefield, Mo Yu fought alone against Luo Ting He, Wei Jun Yang, and Xiang Shan. Even though he was individually stronger than any one of these three, he was still struggling to take them all on at once.
Originally, Luo Ting He was his only opponent, but as the battle progressed, Wei Jun Yang and Xiang Shan gradually dealt with their own opponents and came to support her.
Not only that, but Mo Yu clearly felt that other Ninth-Order Masters had also directed a wisp of Divine Sense over to keep an eye on their battle.
Under this situation, even if Mo Yu could defeat the three Ninth-Order Masters, he was likely to be surrounded by even more Ninth-Order Masters soon after.
What was more, he didn’t have such ability!
Knowing that death was inevitable, Mo Yu let go of all his restraints and fought with the mindset that if even one was killed, it would make his death worth it. Thus, he ignored his own injuries and bombarding Xiang Shan with attacks, giving him a hard time.
Fortunately, neither Luo Ting He nor Wei Jun Yang were inexperienced weaklings. Together, the three of them prevented Mo Yu from trying to take Xiang Shan down with him.
This fierce battle lasted for almost half a day, and in the end, Xiang Shan endured a hit from his opponent but managed to counterattack and decapitate Mo Yu. Endless Sword Qi then tore Mo Yu’s corpse into pieces.
With that, all three of the Royal Lords had perished.
From a couple hundred at their peak, now only a few dozen Pseudo-Royal Lords remained, all of them struggling to survive and at risk of dying at any moment.
As for the massive Black Ink Clan Army whose troops used to number in the hundreds of millions, most of them had been cut down, and their corpses could be seen littering the vast battlefield. Even at the heart of the No-Return Pass, Humans were shuttling back and forth, killing off the remaining Black Ink Clan Soldiers.
Xiang Shan was seriously injured, so he withdrew to heal while Luo Ting He and Wei Jun Yang rushed to other battlefields without stopping. With the Royal Lords all wiped out, how could the remaining Pseudo-Royal Lords withstand the slaughter of the Human Race’s top Masters?
One by one, the auras of the Pseudo-Royal Lords began to disappear…
When the last one had his body burst apart with black blood splattering everywhere, the fiery-haired Ou Yang Lie took a deep breath and clenched his fist.
A peaceful silence washed over the vast battlefield. The chaotic war had long since stopped and the soldiers were looking around at each other, smiling.
In the next moment, thunderous cheers erupted, the sound shaking the vast void itself.
The Humans had won!
I actually kinda like him as a character. Not sure about you guys. He was like a roach. But, not horrendously written. Wish to we got to know him more than just fights and schemes.
Around 4,000 years ago, the Black Ink Clan Army swept through and captured the No-Return Pass, then the fight moved to the Barren Territory, which they used as a springboard to invade the 3,000 Worlds.
This was the prelude to the fall.
Since then, the original inhabitants of the 3,000 Worlds, the Human Race, had been trapped in a corner. Enveloped in despair and darkness, the only Human Race’s dogged determination allowed them to survive and develop over the past several thousand years. Countless had fallen in the unceasing battles until today when they finally reclaimed the No-Return Pass.
In this battle, practically all the Black Ink Clansmen in the No-Return Pass were ruthlessly killed!
This battle also signified that the Human Race had regained the ability to fight back against the Black Ink Clan.
It was a battle worthy of being recorded in history to be admired by all future generations!
The humiliation and oppression of many years had been fermenting in the hearts of every member of the Human Race, so when the final Black Ink Clansman fell, the warriors could no longer suppress the joy in their hearts, tearing the void apart with the sounds of their cheers.
However, the fight was not completely over yet.
One last Black Ink Giant Spirit God was still stubbornly resisting.
But anyone could see that it was on its last legs.
With Ah Da and Ah Er of the Giant Spirit God Clan to restrain it, this Black Ink Giant Spirit God couldn’t escape. After this, the Humans need only cooperate with the Giant Spirit Gods to take down the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
The Human Race Army, despite having just achieved a great victory, did not delay for long. They did not even have time to tally their losses before their soldiers marched on with their weary bodies under orders from the Supreme Headquarters.
The 12 Armies of the Human Race were like 12 unstoppable torrents, blockading the void in all directions around the battlefield of the two Giant Spirit Gods and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
The remaining Warships of each Army were woven into one large fleet, and the power of the various arrays and artifacts on them began silently accumulating power. Their target was the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
Under this situation, even a being as strong as the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would not be able to help itself from feeling depressed as if it had come to the end of its life.
It knew that nothing it could do would help it survive today.
In fact, it had already felt the urge to run away immediately after Yang Kai and Ah Da killed the first Black Ink Giant Spirit God together. However, Ah Er kept on getting in its way and it couldn’t get away in time. In the short window Ah Er bought, Ah Da rushed over to provide support, sealing its fate.
Currently, the Human Race Army has formed a siege with tens of millions of soldiers. This was the entire military strength that they could mobilize at present. If this was still not enough to deal with a single, cornered Black Ink Giant Spirit God, then what was the point of even talking about a grander crusade?
On Pure Yang Pass, Mi Jing Lun and the other Ninth-Order Masters were waiting silently. Ripples suddenly emerged in the Void, and Yang Kai’s figure appeared.
Everyone turned over and nodded lightly at him, and not one person was looking at him without eyes filled with admiration.
When it came to both age and experience, Yang Kai may not be able to compare with many of his peers here. Other than Shi Da Zhuang and Tang Tao who had only recently broken through to the Ninth Order, all the others had lived thousands, if not tens of thousands of years longer than he had.
However, in terms of ability, he undoubtedly stood as the strongest among them all!
If Mi Jing Lun was to be called the wisest strategist of the Human Race Army, then Yang Kai was undoubtedly its sharpest blade. Yang Kai’s merits accounted for at least 70% of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s death, while the remaining 30% was made up by Ah Da.
“Are we ready?” Yang Kai asked.
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “We were just waiting for you.”
Yang Kai gazed deeply at the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, “Then, let’s begin.”
Mi Jing Lun immediately made a gesture, and when the messenger behind him, covered in blood, saw the sign, he immediately conveyed the order in all directions.
At the same time, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged and he transmitted a few words over.
On the battlefield sealed by the Human Race Army, three giant beings were fighting unceasingly, world shattering shockwaves spreading out with each of their clashes. Ah Da and Ah Er held the advantage fighting two against one, leaving the Black Ink Giant Spirit God into a sorry state, covered in wounds all over its body. One of its legs even looked twisted, most likely from a broken bone.
The Giant Spirit Gods and Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods hardly differed in strength, so in a one-on-one fight, it was basically impossible for either side to gain an advantage over the other. This was evident from all the clashes these Supreme Masters had fought in the past. Ah Er and his opponent had literally fought non-stop for thousands of years in the Barren Territory, but let alone deciding a victor, even who had the upper hand was never determined.
However, in such an even conflict, if another Master of the same level was to join in, it would form an absolute advantage for the side with greater numbers.
Even so, wanting to kill their opponent wouldn’t be easy. Even Ah Da and Ah Er had to be cautious when facing the final struggle of such a powerful opponent.
Fortunately, they had reinforcements from the Human Race to help them.
Ah Da was slightly taken aback for a moment when Yang Kai’s voice was transmitted over, but Ah Er reacted immediately and shouted at his Brother, “Go!”
Saying so, he kicked the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in the chest.
That kick sent the Black Ink Giant Spirit God tumbling, and Ah Er used the momentum of the kick to back away. Even though Ah Da was a bit slower to react, he had two good things going for him.
Firstly, he listened to his Brother.
Secondly, he listened to Yang Kai.
At this moment, he naturally followed suit and quickly retreated while the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was staggering.
After the two Giant Spirit Gods had created enough distance between them, the void suddenly trembled and countless powerful auras rose up.
In the next instant, tens of millions of streams of light swept over from all directions, covering the massive body of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God like a storm, their multi-coloured lights interweaving to form a blinding tapestry.
At this moment, the power of the Arrays and artifacts on the Warships was activated, and the Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities of the Masters were also being fully unleashed. They continuously bombard the Black Ink Giant Spirit God without end.
At the centre where their attacks were focused, the angry roar of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God rang out.
For a powerful being like a Black Ink Giant Spirit God, ordinary attacks had little to no effect on it. Even the Divine Abilities of the Ninth-Order Masters wouldn’t deal much damage to it.
However, when the number of these attacks reached a certain threshold and all struck at the same time, the accumulated power was something that no living being could ignore.
With numbers, even ants could kill an elephant, let alone the elite soldiers of the Human Race who have survived countless life-and-death battles.
The burst of light lasted for a long time, and before it even faded, a second volley arrived.
The roars of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God stopped abruptly, and at the same time, everyone felt a strong aura suddenly flare up in the centre of the interwoven lights before it faded away.
On Pure Yang Pass, all the Ninth-Order Masters had looks of astonishment on their faces. Even Yang Kai was surprised.
After being taken aback for a moment, Mi Jing Lun raised his hand.
With the signal given, the attacks of the Human Race Army quickly subsided.
Even though the attacks stopped, the dazzling lights persisted for several dozen breaths before gradually dissipating.
All eyes were locked on the space in front of them, and what they saw was not the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s figure, but only large and dense Black Ink Clouds and remnants of a broken corpse.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but raise his brow.
[This second one died just like that? Just two rounds of concentrated attacks from the Army were enough to kill it?]
After a moment of silence, Mi Jing Lun said, “It seems we overestimated its strength.”
The plan was originally to weaken the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s power first before slowly grinding it down; after all, the 12 Armies had already tightly sealed the entire region of the void while the two Giant Spirit Gods and the Ninth-Order Masters were also standing by. There was no escaping for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God here.
Death was the only fate awaiting it!
Who would have thought that before all their follow-up arrangements could come into play, the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God would be smashed to pieces? It made it seem as if they had made a big fuss over nothing.
The pale-faced Xiang Shan commented from the side, “There’s nothing wrong with being careful.”
It was not that the Human Race had overestimated the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s strength, just that such a good opportunity to set up and concentrate their attacks on it had never existed before.
This was an attack powered by every Master below the Ninth Order in the entire Human Race; the fact that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God could withstand the first volley without dying alone was enough to show its astonishing strength.
The battlefield fell into an eerie silence once again…
This sudden change left everyone feeling incredulous.
Until Mi Jing Lun’s voice rang through the entire battlefield
“Today, we have won a great victory for the Human Race!”
After a few breaths of silence, cheers that were even louder than before spread out like waves.
Slaughtering the Black Ink Clan and taking back the No-Return Pass essentially secured their victory, but there was still the last Black Ink Giant Spirit God to be dealt with, so the battle hadn’t ended at that point.
It wasn’t until this moment when the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God was defeated that victory truly belonged to the Human Race.
From this moment on, the Humans had fully regained control of the No-Return Pass and once again secured the 3,000 Worlds. No longer would they have to worry about the Black Ink Clan invading.
Feelings of joy and exhilaration were transmitted among all the soldiers. Many of the survivors wept, not because they were happy to survive, but because they had to mourn those who died in battle and could not see the glory of the Human Race’s victory.
The soldiers expressed their emotions freely…
“Hm?” Yang Kai suddenly turned in a certain direction with joy in his eyes.
In that direction, among the soldiers cheering in excitement, one person’s aura was fluctuating violently. As his aura shook, his momentum soared rapidly.
That person clearly realized what was about to happen and looked up towards Pure Yang Pass.
Beside him, all the soldiers noticed the situation, and many showed envy in their eyes.
Ou Yang Lie laughed heartily, “That’s Zheng Wu You of my Profound Nether Army. I’ll go and give him some pointers.”
Saying so, he flew over to that side with a big smile on his face without any care for his tired and battered body.
This couldn’t be helped. The person named Zheng Wu You was showing signs of breaking through his peak Eighth-Order bottleneck, which meant that he was about to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
It was exciting news for everyone.
Since about 30 years ago, when Shi Da Zhuang and Tang Tao successively broke through into the Ninth Order, there had been no new Ninth-Order Masters among their people.
But, everyone knew that Shi Da Zhuang and Tang Tao’s breakthroughs were just the beginning. After them, more Ninth-Order Masters were sure to be born, and it was bound to be an endless process because the World Tree clone’s feedback in the Open Heaven Realm Cradles was just about to demonstrate its greatest effect.
There had been a continuous stream of promising seedlings that had advanced directly to the Seventh Order over the past few thousand years; thus, it was only a matter of time before these seedlings reached their final destination, the Ninth Order!
As the first rising star to advance to the Ninth Order, Shi Da Zhuang’s advancement could be seen as a sign that the Humans had finally passed through the difficult times of stagnation where new Masters were lacking to replace the old. Now, more Ninth-Order Masters would undoubtedly be born in the future.
However, after Shi Da Zhuang and Tang Tao broke through into the Ninth Order, no new breakthroughs existed.
Until this moment, when the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God fell and the Humans recaptured the No-Return Pass, becoming the final victors of this war, Zheng Wu You, an Eighth-Order Master, finally showed signs of a breakthrough!
“They can finally vent the feelings of oppression that have long been brewing within them. As their moods surged for the better, and their aura stirred, coupled with sufficient accumulation of heritage, breaking through their bottlenecks is a matter of course as the conditions are ripe,” Mi Jing Lun spoke softly as he looked in that direction.
Yang Kai was thoughtful, “If that’s the case, more than one person may break through this time!”
In terms of time, many rising stars were qualified to break through to the Ninth Order and had already reached their current limits in the Eighth Order. However, breaking through was not that easy. Oftentimes, it depended on opportunities, which could be an epiphany or a sudden event, or maybe even a journey that comes by chance…
Among these opportunities, any one of them would trigger one’s heart to be moved and then stir up their aura into a state of making a breakthrough.
It was thanks to the great victory they gained in this battle that Zheng Wu You could touch upon this opportunity.
If he could do it, then the other good seedlings with sufficient heritage accumulated could do it as well.
That was what Yang Kai thought.
As if to confirm his guess, similar aura fluctuations came from another direction just as soon as he finished speaking.
A second Eighth-Order Master who sensed an opportunity for a breakthrough appeared!
Luo Ting He looked over in that direction and said happily, “It’s from the Red Flame Army. Please excuse me!”
Breaking through from the Eighth Order to the Ninth Order was a hurdle that once crossed, would give one the qualification to stand at the peak of their Martial Dao and overlook all others. However, crossing that hurdle wasn’t easy. At this time, the guidance of Elders was very important; therefore, when Zheng Wu You’s aura surged, Ou Yang Lie rushed over in a hurry.
As the Profound Nether Army’s Commander, this was his responsibility.
Meanwhile, the Red Flame Army never had a Ninth-Order Master among their members, so Luo Ting He took the initiative to take on this responsibility.
But that was not the end yet. During the next incense stick of time, various movements continued to appear among the 12 Armies, all of them indicating that Eighth-Order Masters were about to break through.
This final battle with the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass was like a miraculous medicine for them, bringing opportunities for breakthroughs to those rising stars with the victory that they had won.
Yang Kai and nine other Ninth-Order Masters shuttled back and forth, each of them taking responsibility for several Eighth-Order Masters, imparting their experiences of breaking through and pointing out the things they had to pay attention to.
All of their charges naturally took note of what they said. This moment could be said to be the most important moment in their lives, and nobody dared to be careless.
Even though all of them had expended a lot of energy in the previous battle, it was fortunate that all of them had made sufficient preparations for this moment, so as long as they recovered slightly, they could give their all in breaking through.
After a while, on Pure Yang Pass, the Ninth-Order Masters gathered once again, looking towards various directions in the void with solemn expressions. In every direction was an Eighth-Order Master who was about to make a breakthrough at their own designated position to ensure they wouldn’t disturb others or be disturbed themselves.
Everything was ready, so whether they could successfully advance to Ninth Order or not was up to them now.
Breaking through to the Ninth Order was no easy task and many of their Ancestors had stopped at this juncture throughout history. The fact that there were only over 100 Ninth-Order Masters at the peak of the Human Race was proof of that. In these past 100,000 years or so, there couldn’t have only been that many Humans who had the qualifications to break through.
However, not everyone qualified to advance to the Ninth Order could break through successfully.
But compared to their Ancestors, these rising stars had advantages that their predecessors never had, such as the feedback from the World Tree clones, the profound powers of which greatly improved their aptitude and strengthened their Small Universes. Thus, the risks of breaking through also became smaller for them.
In recent years, there had been no instance of an Eighth-Order Master failing to break through to the Ninth Order. Without mentioning Xiang Shan and Ou Yang Lie, who had broken through with the help of Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills, Wei Jun Yang and Luo Ting He had both broken through by themselves while Shi Da Zhuang and Tang Tao’s breakthroughs also happened smoothly.
“23!” Mi Jing Lun’s face was glowing despite his exhaustion, and his eyes were filled with excitement, “The Heavens have truly blessed the Human Race!”
Originally, recapturing the No-Return Pass, slaughtering the Black Ink Clan, and killing two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods was already the best consolation for all the soldiers who died in battle over the past few thousand years, but no one could have expected that as many as 23 Eighth-Order Masters would sense an opportunity to break through to the Ninth-Order at the end of this battle.
This would in turn raise the overall strength of the Human Race significantly, which would be of great help to them in the upcoming crusade.
Overall, the Human Race was not weak by any definition, but the number of Ninth-Order Masters they had was relatively small. However, now it seemed that this disadvantage could also be compensated for.
Four of the 12 Armies of the Human Race had always been without a Ninth-Order Masters to lead them, so even though they had more Divine Spirits to make up for this, the absence of a Ninth-Order Master had always been a disadvantage for them.
Now, once these Eighth-Order Masters broke through to the Ninth-Order, each Army would have at least three Ninth-Order Masters assuming command.
The strength of each Army would then usher in a burst of explosive growth.
Mi Jing Lun was even considering whether to split the 12 Armies up; after all, the number of soldiers in each Army was indeed quite large and a little bloated. If they were split, then they could better utilize the strength of the soldiers.
Of course, that was just an idea that sprang up. It would require the Ninth-Order Masters to discuss and decide if they wanted to put such a plan into action before changes could be made.
During the war, Mi Jing Lun was able to command the entire Army with a single word, but he would not act alone on important matters that might affect the future of the Human Race when they were not actively in combat.
“I hope everything goes smoothly,” Ou Yang Lie, who was standing nearby, muttered. For so many Ninth-Order Masters to break through at once was something that had never happened even in the Late Ancient Era, when the Humans first grasped the essence of the Open Heaven Realm Method. There would inevitably be failures today, and the only possible outcome of failure here was death; therefore, while everyone is celebrating, Ou Yang Lie was somewhat worried
Every one of these 23 people was an elite among elites, so it would be heartbreaking to lose any of them.
While the 23 Masters were accumulating strength and attempting a breakthrough, the rest of the Army was either resting, cleaning up the battlefield, or counting the spoils of war.
Over the years of fighting, the Humans had basically used up every resource they gathered, spending every material as soon as it was collected. Yang Kai’s huge demand for his cultivation was especially astonishing, almost equalling the amount invested in an entire Army.
So, even with 3 million cultivators scattered throughout the Black Ink Battlefield, mining resources, they did not have much surplus on hand.
It was fortunate that they captured the No-Return Pass where the Black Ink Clan must have some reserves. For thousands of years, the Black Ink Clan had occupied most of the 3,000 Worlds and the entire Black Ink Battlefield where they had been constantly mining resources and breeding more clansmen. Despite the immense expenditures, they should still have a large amount of resources in reserve.
Soon, news was coming in from each direction.
Mi Jing Lun investigated the extent of the damages first. Even though he had a rough idea about it already, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the results.
The Army’s losses were much lower than he expected!
Originally, when Yang Kai returned from the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield and they decided to launch the final battle, they had mentally prepared themselves to face severe damage to the Human Race Army’s foundation.
This was unavoidable though. The Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements were on their way, and if the Humans did not capture the No-Return Pass quickly, they would have to face the fate of being caught in a pincer attack, which could very well destroy their entire Army.
But when the fight was actually done and over with, the extent of the damage was still within an acceptable range, and their losses were not as severe as had been expected.
The greatest reason for that was because the battle had not dragged on too long!
The critical moment was the fall of the first Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Together, Yang Kai and Ah Da were able to kill him in just a few dozen breaths, which greatly shook the morale of the Black Ink Clan.
Following that, Mo Na Ye’s fall dropped the morale of the Black Ink Clan even further while also greatly disrupting their ability to coordinate and organize themselves.
As they acted decisively and were able to settle the fight quickly, the losses to the Human Race Army were naturally kept to a minimum.
Of course, the Purifying Light that erupted from the sacrifice of the 2,000 Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters was also indispensable. At that time, the Purifying Light not only severely damaged the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, but almost instantly wiped out a large swath of Black Ink Clansmen while all the Black Ink Clansmen over the entire battlefield were affected by it somewhat, lowering their strength to a certain extent.
All these unexpected events laid the foundations for their grand victory.
After looking through the battle report, Mi Jing Lun handed it over to Yang Kai, who couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as he swept his Divine Sense over it.
The losses were not small, but weren’t too large either. They still had the strength necessary to continue their crusade! If the casualties of this battle had exceeded 30%, they may have lost that ability.
It should be noted that there were still the Black Ink Clan reinforcements waiting for them, which was another difficult hurdle they had to jump through.
All they had to do now was wait for the 23 Eighth-Order Masters to break through and stabilize their cultivation. After the Armies were reorganized, they could finally embark on the final crusade!
Yang Kai looked out into the depths of the void with deep worry creasing his brows.
Even now, he had no idea what had happened at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction nor what the situation was with the Suppressing Black Ink Army.
His Family and Disciples were all over there, and it would be a lie to say that he wasn’t worried about them. If he could, he would have rushed to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction as soon as he found out about the movements of the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements.
But he couldn’t go earlier or even now.
As the strongest Ninth-Order Master, the battle at the No-Return Pass would not have ended so easily if he wasn’t here.
Between Family and the survival of the entire Human Race, a choice had to be made.
The only thing Yang Kai could be sure of now was that even if something did happen at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it was still in progress; otherwise, it would be impossible for there to not be a single true Royal Lord in the reinforcements.
Though it was partly wishful thinking, this conclusion was the only comfort Yang Kai had in his heart.
As time passed, the auras of the 23 people in the void continued to fluctuate, and each of them had an illusory phantom of their own Small Universe appear behind them. As their auras continued to fluctuate and their momentums rose continuously, their bottlenecks were gradually broken, and the boundary walls of their Small Universes that had reached their limit began expanding again!
In the midst of the gruelling wait, an aura belonging uniquely to Masters in the Ninth Order rippled out, and as their Small Universe burst out in expansion, everyone knew that the first successful Ninth-Order Master had appeared.
It was not Zheng Wu You, but instead another rising star from the Burning Moon Army.
Everyone who was watching the situation closely couldn’t help but reveal joyful expressions.
The birth of the first Ninth-Order Master seemed to trigger a chain reaction. Within the coming half day, a second and a third success appeared. After the day was over, the number had grown to as many as seven.
By the next day, there were 11.
By the third day, 14.
The fourth day, 17!
The success rates of the rising stars who have received feedback from the World Tree clones and possessed unparalleled talent were incredibly high. Until now, none of them had shown too many problems with advancing.
However, there were still six who were struggling to break through, which Yang Kai and the others couldn’t help but worry about.
Breaking through as a result of sudden enlightenment had to be done in one fell swoop. The longer it dragged on, the worse the situation would become.
Four days have already passed. Those who were able to break through successfully had already broken through. The remaining six would likely experience some setbacks, which made the others worry and also feel helpless at the same time.
Nobody could help another person break through, everything depended on their own hard work and accumulations. If their accumulation was enough and their luck was not bad, then they would naturally be able to succeed, just like the 17 before them, but fate was a tricky thing that nobody could perfectly predict…
Yang Kai suddenly turned his gaze towards a certain direction. There, a person was pushing their aura hard. The illusory phantom of their Small Universe was constantly expanding and contracting behind them as if it were a living being that was breathing. If everything went smoothly, then once the illusory phantom of the Small Universe expanded to its limit, it would break through and expand greatly.
However, Yang Kai clearly sensed that this cultivator was somewhat lacking in strength, and he couldn’t help but sigh, knowing that it would be difficult for them to succeed with their current heritage.
This was inevitable. Throughout history, the path from the Eighth Order to the Ninth Order had always been full of obstacles. If there existed those who succeeded, then it was only natural for some to fail as well.
At a certain moment, when the illusory phantom of the Small Universe expanded again, there was an obvious sound of something breaking.
This caused the expressions of all the Ninth-Order Masters who were paying attention to this person to change, and the cultivator who was trying to break through also had a panicked look on his face. He then opened his eyes with a bitter expression.
The cracking sounds grew more and more intense, and the illusory phantom of his Small Universe was becoming difficult to maintain. His Small Universe seemed to be on the brink of rupturing. The person turned their head to Yang Kai, and after a moment of anxiety, his expression calmed down. He smiled, ready to accept his final fate.
The next moment, his vision suddenly blurred, and Yang Kai, who had been observing from a distance, appeared in front of him and raised his hand to touch the top of his head.
A river flowed and waves roared. The Space-Time River enveloped everything, and Space-Time Strength suppressed and sealed the local space. Everything seemed to turn still, including the rupturing of the Small Universe.
The man looked up at Yang Kai in surprise and asked, “Dao Lord?”
Yang Kai lowered his head to look at him and smiled, “Are you in such a hurry to die?”
The man felt a little ashamed and lowered his head, unable to meet Yang Kai’s gaze directly, “I did my best, but I still failed to live up to Dao Lord’s expectations.”
Yang Kai was silent for a moment before he spoke in a commanding voice, “Look at me, Wang Chang!”
The man raised his head abruptly, feeling extremely surprised, “Dao Lord remembers me?”
Even though he was born in the Void Dao Temple, he never interacted much with Yang Kai after being brought out of the Void Dao Temple and meeting him for the first time. He was proficient in neither the Dao of Time nor the Dao of Space, but cultivated the Spear Dao instead. He was also not qualified to be selected to be a Void Guard, and over the years, he had never received any more attention or care from Yang Kai.
He thought that someone as great as the Dao Lord, the one who shouldered the fate of his people, would only be concerned about the survival of the Human Race. Even though he came from the Void Dao Temple, the only connection they had was in name. The Dao Lord had also never given special treatment to any of the disciples who came from the Void Dao Temple.
He never thought that he would be called out by the Dao Lord by name today.
“I remember every one of you,” Yang Kai began, “The survival of the 3,000 Worlds was not really your concern to begin with, yet I brought you out of the Void Dao Temple and threw you into this cruel and bloody battlefield to sacrifice yourselves for the survival of a group of Humans you have never met before. If anyone should feel guilty, it should be me.”
Wang Chang was anxious to respond, “It is the honour of us disciples to serve you, Dao Lord.”
“Even so,” Yang Kai nodded gently, “You are all excellent, and have never let me down.”
Wang Chang’s expression turned grim, “This disciple cannot break through to the Ninth Order, and my Small Universe is about to rupture…”
“So what if you reach the Ninth Order? So what if you’re in the Eighth Order? You slaughtered many of our enemies from the Black Ink Clan. It is the same when you were in the Eighth-Order. You still killed our enemies and pushed them back. You also protected your allies behind you. Your Eldest Senior Brother Miao’s aptitude is limited. Unless he can obtain a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, he will never be able to reach the Ninth Order, but isn’t he still living a fulfilling life? You didn’t fail to break through because you have not worked hard enough. Destiny simply didn’t favour you today, that is all,” Yang Kai reassured him.
Turning the conversation around, Yang Kai raised his voice, “I only ask you one thing. Even if you cannot reach the Ninth Order in this lifetime, can you still hold on to your original convictions and sacrifice yourself for the Human Race? Will you fight and slay our enemies to eradicate this evil?”
Wang Chang answered meekly, “Naturally, I am willing, but Dao Lord… my Small Universe is about to rupture, can I still survive?”
The Small Universe was the foundation of every Open Heaven Realm Master. If the Small Universe ruptures, the cultivator would perish.
Yang Kai grinned, “Are you dead now?”
“Not yet.” Wang Chang shook his head. Even he himself thought his answer was ridiculous after saying it.
“If you are willing to live, then you can live. If you are not willing, no one can save you!”
Wang Chang seemed to understand something and his dark eyes lit up again, “Dao Lord, please save me!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. Looking up at the Small Universe behind Wang Chang, he contemplated for a moment before extending a finger. At the same time, the Space-Time River that suppressed and sealed this space began to surge wildly.
In the far-off void, Mi Jing Lun and others were watching the situation attentively. Everyone was heartbroken. After 17 out of the 23 cultivators eligible to break through to the Ninth Order successfully advanced, a failure still appeared in the end.
At such a critical moment, failure was equivalent to death!
However, just as everyone was silently waiting for fate to carry out its judgement, the Space-Time River suddenly appeared, surrounded by the fluctuation of the Space Principles.
It wasn’t until this moment that everyone realised that Yang Kai had rushed over.
No one knew why Yang Kai had gone over at this time, but before anyone could see what was happening, the Space-Time River suddenly disappeared. Following that, Yang Kai returned to his original position.
It was as if he had never left.
Only his face was slightly paler than before.
“Junior Brother, you…” Mi Jing Lun was shocked.
“Huh? What just happened?!” Ou Yang Lie suddenly exclaimed, scaring Mi Jing Lun so much that he choked on his words.
Following his gaze, all the Ninth-Order Masters were shocked by what they saw. The rupturing of Wang Chang’s Small Universe had mysteriously been reversed, leaving the illusory phantom behind him completely intact. The only differences were there was no longer any sign of a breakthrough going on and Wang Chang’s aura had become weaker, as if his foundation had been damaged.
Many thoughts flashed through Mi Jing Lun’s mind as he turned to Yang Kai in astonishment, “Junior Brother, what did you do?”
Regardless of what Yang Kai did, they could tell from the results in front of them that Wang Chang, who was doomed to die, had been saved while his breakthrough had failed.
Compared to dying and fading away, this was undoubtedly a good result. At the very least, Wang Chang had survived and could still contribute to the war.
Yang Kai said, “I crippled hundreds of years of his foundation.”
“Is that also possible?” Ou Yang Lie couldn’t stop his eyes from widening in surprise. This was an incredible event that was simply unheard of, but bizarre things seemed to happen around Yang Kai often.
Xiang Shan furrowed his brow, “Even if you have crippled hundreds of years of his foundation, how did you save his life when his Small Universe was about to rupture?”
“Many things can be done in a frozen space-time. I just gave it a try and it somehow worked,” Yang Kai gave a casual explanation.
Everyone finally understood.
Just now, they only saw Yang Kai rushing to Wang Chang’s side for an instant before returning. In reality, the time Yang Kai spent in that frozen space-time was not just a moment. He must have made a lot of preparations and used many means to suppress Wang Chang’s breakthrough to save his life.
What he did was nothing short of a miracle.
But manipulating Space-Time on any level was not an easy task. Whether it be the Dao of Space or the Dao of Time, both were extremely profound and esoteric. Yang Kai was perhaps the only person capable of such means in this universe.
“What are the drawbacks?” Mi Jing Lun asked excitedly. He was originally worried that they would have to see their people fading away among those who were breaking through to a higher realm, but seeing that Yang Kai had such a technique, he could save their lives. These warriors have served the Human Race for thousands of years, so even if they had to die, it should be on the battlefield. It was the honour they deserved. They should not be dying on the path of breaking through!
The only thing to worry about now was whether there were any drawbacks to this method of saving people.
“He will never be able to break through this bottleneck again in his lifetime. If he’s lucky, he may return to the peak of the Eighth Order, but if he’s unlucky, he will only be able to maintain his current cultivation,” Yang Kai explained.
Crippling several hundred years of Wang Chang’s cultivation had brought him down directly from the peak of the Eighth Order, and this kind of destruction caused by external forces had undoubtedly damaged Wang Chang’s foundation.
That was also the reason why Yang Kai had spoken so much with Wang Chang earlier. For a favoured son of Heaven who had the potential to stand at the pinnacle of Martial Dao, lingering on and barely surviving might not be considered a blessing. The greatest pain and torment for a cultivator was to have one’s Martial Dao being cut off.
If Wang Chang was unable to accept such a fate, he would still perish. Only by letting go of his obsession could Yang Kai’s rescue become meaningful.
The cost was undoubtedly high, but for those who wished to remain among the living, it was nothing.
After Wang Chang, two more people failed to advance, and Yang Kai stepped in to save their lives one after another.
Fortunately, while the other three encountered some obstacles in their breakthrough, they all safely advanced in the end.
At this point, a total of 20 out of the initial 23 had successfully broken through to the Ninth Order, which meant that the Human Race had seen the birth of 20 new Ninth-Order Masters in one go. Including Yang Kai and the others, there were now 30 Ninth-Order Masters among their ranks!
This number was still not comparable to the Human Race at their peak, but it was a good start.
The Grand Army was now resting as almost everyone had injuries to recover from.
Conquering the No-Return Pass was only the beginning. In their original plans, the next step would be a crusade against the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
The Human Race had suffered a crushing defeat outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction before, resulting in countless deaths and the eventual invasion of the 3,000 Worlds. Nobody wanted to experience that failure again.
Even after that defeat, the Humans had the strength to fight on.
But now, the Human Race had gathered all their strength. If they were to lose this time, they were likely to be doomed to extinction.
However, even the best-laid plans could never keep up with reality.
The appearance of the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements disrupted the original strategy.
Before they could embark on their crusade to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, an elite Black Ink Clan Army of 10 million had to be disposed of. Without breaking through this obstacle, there was no point in thinking about a crusade to the Grand Restriction.
The only good news was that the reinforcements had emerged from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, and a lifetime of isolation left them with very limited knowledge of the current situation of the Human Race. They did not know about the existence of the Void Guard, nor were they aware that their movements were being monitored by the Humans, something which could be exploited.
Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun held several discussions and finally came up with a feasible plan.
While the Grand Army was recuperating, some confidential items were rapidly being developed, consuming a massive amount of resources.
Half a year after the Humans conquered the No-Return Pass, Pure Yang Pass, inside the Main Conference Hall, the Ninth-Order Masters were gathered.
In front of the 20 Ninth-Order Masters who had only just broken through after the last war, people like Yang Kai were already considered veterans. Everyone couldn’t help but lament how the newcomers were replacing the old members, and the back waves of the river were pushing the front waves on.
A total of 30 people were gathered here. It had been thousands of years since the Humans had seen such a luxurious lineup.
After half a year, the new Ninth-Order Masters had just barely stabilised their cultivation. Though they have yet to fully consolidate their newfound strength, there was simply no time to let them slowly adjust their conditions. After the last battle, they had taken a full half year to recover, which was a luxury for the current Human Race.
Mi Jing Lun raised his hand, and jade slips flew out to everyone one by one. As they examined these slips, Mi Jing Lun spoke, “After that major battle half a year ago, the Void Guard scouting ahead reported that the reinforcements from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction have stopped and are now waiting to ambush us when we set out. They are currently located around the junction of the Black Ink Battlefield and the Late Ancient Era battlefield, though much closer to the latter.”
Listening to his briefing, the Ninth-Order Masters checked the jade slips and found this basic information was listed inside.
Mi Jing Lun continued, “From the intelligence we have now, the Black Ink Clan reinforcements have found out about the war here at the No-Return Pass as well as the outcome of the battle. That’s why they are lying in wait for our Army to fall into their trap ourselves.”
“This is good news! Since they have no idea that their actions have already been exposed, we can use their plan against them. Since they have chosen to ambush us, we can take advantage of their inaction to surround them and wipe them out in one fell swoop! If we are to go against the Black Ink Clan at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, these reinforcements must be eliminated first.”
“While you were all recovering from your injuries, Junior Brother Yang and I have formulated a plan. Please look it over. If there are any issues, please speak up as soon as possible so that we can discuss and solve them together.”
The group silently looked through the jade slips. The newly advanced Ninth-Order Masters remained silent, not because they felt that they lacked the qualifications to express their opinions, but because they felt that the plan was indeed feasible and there was nothing that had to be changed. They knew that while they were recovering and stabilizing their cultivation in retreat, Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun were still working hard.
Xiang Shan on the other hand asked, “Other than the fact that they have no true Royal Lords among their ranks, the number of Masters they have is not inferior to the No-Return Pass when it was at its peak. Can we confirm there are no true Royal Lords among them?”
Mi Jing Lun looked at Yang Kai, “Junior Brother Yang personally went to investigate and can confirm this. Of course, we will survey the area again to ensure that our intelligence is correct before we begin our operation.”
Xiang Shan nodded lightly, “Then there’s no problem.”
Even though the forces of this reinforcement Army were not much different in terms of strength from the forces the Black Ink Clan had during their peak at the No-Return Pass, the situation they were facing now was quite different.
At the very least, these reinforcements did not have any true Royal Lords or Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods among them. Meanwhile, the Humans had not only gained 20 more Ninth-Order Masters, but they also had the support of Ah Da and Ah Er.
The advantages brought by the two Giant Spirit Gods alone were immeasurable. Furthermore, there was a big difference between trying to siege a fortified position and conducting a field battle.
Even if they had to face an Army of millions of elites, the Humans were confident that they could defeat the Black Ink Clan with minimal losses as long as careful preparations were made.
“Since there are no issues, let’s proceed according to plan! We have been preparing for this battle for the past six months, so all Armies should be ready to depart in three days!”
All the Ninth-Order Masters stood up to answer before dispersing.
After capturing the No-Return Pass half a year ago, the new Ninth-Order Masters were divided among the various Armies. Ultimately, it was decided to keep the configuration of the 12 Armies, so each Army now had two or three Ninth-Order Masters assuming command, avoiding the awkward situation of anyone lacking a Ninth-Order Master.
Once everyone left, Mi Jing Lun turned to Yang Kai and asked, “Junior Brother, how are your injuries?”
Yang Kai replied, “Nothing to be concerned about, but I won’t be able to use my Dragon Vein powers for a short period.” The drawbacks of using his Dragon Bead could not be restored quickly. It would have to take at least a decade of uninterrupted rest for him to properly recover, something the Humans could not afford right now.
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “We still need Junior Brother to work hard in the coming battles.”
“I know, it is my duty,” Yang Kai nodded and stood up, “If Senior Brother has no other orders, I will go and cultivate now.”
Mi Jing Lun laughed, “Go ahead.”
As soon as Yang Kai left the Main Hall, a face appeared in the void that blocked out the sky, revealing an ingratiating smile.
Yang Kai was speechless and threw a World Bead to Ah Da as he told him, “Eat less and don’t fall asleep. We’re going into battle soon!”
While chewing loudly on the World Bead, Ah Da answered him casually.
Not long after, the Space-Time River appeared outside of the No-Return Pass. Plunging inside, Yang Kai began refining resources and cultivating.
Time waited for no one, and Yang Kai was now using every moment he could to improve his heritage, trying to reach the peak of the Ninth Order as soon as possible.
After teaming up with Ah Da to slay a Black Ink Giant Spirit God last time, Yang Kai realised that he was still too weak. The Black Ink Giant Spirit God was only one of Mo’s creations, a mere Soul Clone. If he had to face Mo someday, what would he do?
Open Heaven Realm Masters were undoubtedly no match for Mo. According to Cang, Mo had already reached the legendary Creation Realm.
However, with Yang Kai’s increasing progress and enlightenment in his Grand Daos, in recent years, he faintly felt that something was off about the belief that Mo was in the Creation Realm.
Of course, he had no idea what exactly the Creation Realm was, but he knew that he needed to cultivate hard to bring his own cultivation to its peak before he could gain the qualifications to explore the mysteries of the next Realm.
He was still lacking in many ways.
Every moment of free time was extremely precious for Yang Kai in the current situation.
Three days passed in a flash.
Outside Pure Yang Pass, the Grand Army were fully armed and ready to go. The mood was solemn, and killing intent filled the air.
After preparing for half a year, the soldiers had still not lost their momentum or fighting spirit. All of them knew that taking the No-Return Pass was only the beginning, and winning a single battle did not mean the end of the war. Only when the Human Race conquered the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and vanquished Mo could they truly call themselves victorious.
In this situation, letting their guard down in any way would mean death.
12 Universe Fragments had already been prepared and lay across the outside of the No-Return Pass. These Universe Fragments were recently moved back from the depths of the void by the Humans, and each one corresponded to an Army.
At a certain moment, following the commands of the Army Commanders, the soldiers gathered on these Universe Fragments.
“Junior Brother, it’s up to you now.” Inside the No-Return Pass, Mi Jing Lun turned his head and said to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded and took a step forward, arriving at the closest Universe Fragment. Summoning his Space-Time River, Yang Kai quickly turned it into a torrent which wrapped around the Universe Fragment in front of him.
Looking from afar, the surging river was just like a giant snake, coiling and enveloping the Universe Fragment.
Dao Strengths surged, and with the shaking of the Space-Time River, a section of the void was stripped away and compressed while the Universe Fragment within shrank rapidly.
In less than an hour, Yang Kai retrieved the river and reached out, grabbing a newly formed World Bead. After a quick investigation, he tossed it to Xiang Shan, who was standing next to him.
Even Xiang Shan, who was used to seeing the strong winds and waves, caught it in a panic as he cradled the World Bead in his palms.
There was no helping this as the entire Blood Flame Army was currently inside this World Bead. Heavens know what damage it would cause to the Army if the bead was to shatter.
At this moment, Xiang Shan could only sigh and marvel at the profundity of Space Secret Techniques!
He had never imagined that Yang Kai could do such a thing, refining an entire Universe Fragment where an Army of millions of Human Masters were located into a single bead…
“If you had such a technique, why didn’t you use it during the previous crusade?” Xiang Shan couldn’t help but ask.
When the Humans set out from Black Territory, they had to trek through a long and arduous journey. At that time, they used the method of taking Low and Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters into the Small Universes of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters to reduce the cost and risk of transmission. Even though it was still considered convenient, it was far inferior to the current method Yang Kai was displaying.
In response to Xiang Shan’s question, Yang Kai explained, “This technique requires a suitable vessel, so it wasn’t possible for me to do so at the time.”
A Universe Fragment or Universe World that had been refined into a World Bead was one such suitable vessel. The Black Ink Clan had destroyed essentially all suitable bodies in the 3,000 Worlds during their many millennia of occupation, so they were unsuitable for him to use in such a situation.
He did have a few World Beads from the Myriad Monsters Territory, but those were meant as rations for Ah Da and Ah Er.
Xiang Shan nodded in understanding as he carefully put away the World Bead that contained the entire Blood Flame Army.
Yang Kai was already refining the second one and soon turned the various Universe Fragments, each with one of the 12 Armies on it, into World Beads and gave them to the appropriate Ninth-Order Masters for safekeeping.
Finally, Pure Yang Pass was the only object remaining outside the No-Return Pass. The Supreme Headquarters staff gathered in the central square with the two Giant Spirit Gods who shrank themselves down.
Once Yang Kai used his Space-Time River to envelope and refine Pure Yang Pass into a type of World Bead, all that was left of the Grand Army was a group of Ninth-Order Masters.
Mi Jing Lun turned around and gazed in the direction of the No-Return Pass as he called out, “Those of you who remain in the No-Return Pass must do your best to safeguard the entrance to the 3,000 Worlds. If the Army returns one day, it will be in glorious triumph. If… however…” He paused, “If you receive unfavourable news from the frontlines, seal the Territory Gate, return to the 3,000 Worlds, and make the necessary preparations.”
Though the majority of the Army was setting out, there were still some who remained at the No-Return Pass to stand guard; after all, this was the primary Territory Gate that led to the 3,000 Worlds! They could not leave it undefended.
Nevertheless, the ones who stayed back were the ones who had been severely injured during the previous battle. Every single one of them sported grave injuries, from severed limbs to damaged Small Universes. There were only a few tens of thousands of them.
When Mi Jing Lun gave the order for them to remain at the No-Return Pass, their protests made it all the way to the Supreme Headquarters. Despite their injuries, they were still fueled by their desire to slaughter the enemy, and even though they were not as strong as they once were, they were willing to fight to the bitter end.
Mi Jing Lun had to spend a lot of time persuading them with both reason and emotion until they finally agreed to watch over the Territory Gate.
It was always wise to plan for all possibilities. Although they were able to kill off seemingly all of the Black Ink Clan Army when they besieged the No-Return Pass, there were bound to be some who managed to slip past them due to the vastness of the battlefield. While these remnants of the Black Ink Clan Army might not be all that powerful, they could still wreak havoc on the Humans who remained behind in the 3,000 Worlds if they were given free reign.
Furthermore, the ones who stayed behind were not all powerful Masters.
It was for this very reason that Yang Kai left behind a Sealing Secret Technique. If the Humans fell in the coming battle, the ones who remained at the No-Return Pass were to retreat and use the Sealing Secret Technique he left to permanently close the Territory Gate! Once that was done, the 3,000 Worlds would no longer be connected to the Black Ink Battlefield.
Only a very large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords or Royal Lords would be able to break the Sealing Secret Technique Yang Kai left behind.
If that many powerful Masters from the Black Ink Clan did return to the No-Return Pass, it meant that the Human Army had lost, which would also mean the end of the Human Race.
Once Mi Jing Lun finished giving his instructions, those who were to remain behind cupped their fists and chorused, “Yes, Sir!”
The Ninth-Order Masters took one last look at the No-Return Pass. Their eyes flitted over the Territory Gate that led back to the 3,000 Worlds before they hardened their hearts and abandoned all wistfulness as they headed deeper into the void.
No one knew how many of them would make it back alive.
Behind them, a loud voice bellowed out from the No-Return Pass, “May your valiant efforts be rewarded and your return victorious!”
The other voices rang out in unison, “May your valiant efforts be rewarded and your return victorious!”
…
With the help of the Universe Temples and Space Arrays that the Void Guard had set up beforehand, the 30 Ninth-Order Masters took only a few days to traverse across the vast void and arrive at the boundary between the Black Ink Battlefield and the Late Ancient Era battlefield.
They had made their calculations beforehand and gathered at the last of the Universe Temples where they convened with the Void Guard who were standing guard here. They wanted to hear the reports regarding the situation further ahead.
Soon, the Void Guard finished reporting everything they knew.
After taking it all in, Yang Kai said, “That means the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements plan on ambushing us on the Late Ancient Era battlefield.”
The Void Guard who spoke nodded and added, “That seems to be their plan. During the final battle at the No-Return Pass half a year ago, the reinforcement Army that had been rushing over suddenly stopped. We didn’t know what happened at the time, but later on, we figured that they must’ve received word from the No-Return Pass.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “Before Mo Na Ye died, he was still busy sending out dispatches. He must’ve been the one who arranged this.”
After Yang Kai killed Mo Na Ye with his spear, Mi Jing Lun retrieved a small Black Ink Nest from Mo Na Ye’s hand. It was clear that the latter had been using the power of the Black Ink Nest to send messages to the reinforcements.
“It’s all clear now. The Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements realised that their existence had been exposed and that the No-Return Pass had been seized, so in compliance with Mo Na Ye’s arrangements, they found a suitable battlefield to lay in wait to attack us, but they would not have expected us to arrive this quickly.”
Considering the pace of a regular Army, it would take the Humans about a decade to cross such a distance, even if they left as soon as they emerged victorious at the No-Return Pass.
By then, no matter how strong the Human Race Grand Army was, they would still be exhausted from travelling and caught off-guard by the Black Ink Clan’s well-prepared ambush.
However, the Human Race only spent half a year recuperating after taking back the No-Return Pass before reaching this place a couple of days later.
It had indeed been a wise decision to form the Void Guard as they managed to help the Humans avoid a catastrophic situation.
This was their chance to make use of the intel they had while their opponents remained in the dark.
After mulling it over in silence, Yang Kai raised his head and said, “Senior Brother, all of you can rest here for now. I’ll go on ahead and scout the situation.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “We will have to trouble you with that, Junior Brother.”
A Void Guard swiftly stepped forward with a Space Beacon which Yang Kai took and channelled his power into.
Once the Space Beacon flashed, Yang Kai disappeared.
The next instant, he appeared somewhere in the void. There was a figure beside him. It was Li Wu Yi, who was in charge of tracking the movements of the Black Ink Clan reinforcements.
This was the same way Yang Kai dropped in on Li Wu Yi the last time.
Li Wu Yi let out a small exhale of relief when he spotted Yang Kai. He did feel rather pressured by his task of keeping an eye on things alone, but thanks to Yang Kai’s presence, he now felt as if some weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Did we retake the No-Return Pass?” Li Wu Yi asked.
Even though Li Wu Yi received the news about the results of the battle at the No-Return Pass, he could not resist checking anyway.
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.
“That’s good to hear,” Li Wu Yi smiled at the confirmation; but soon, his expression turned grim as he asked quietly, “The casualties?”
“Not as bad as it could’ve been. It is still bearable for us.”
Li Wu Yi nodded without asking any further. All he would get was a cold, emotionless number, but every single number represented the sacrifice of a person. The price of war was far too heavy.
“How are things over there?” Yang Kai looked out in front of him, but to his puzzlement, he did not see any sign of the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements.
“I knew you were coming so I retreated a little to avoid letting them sense anything. You can’t see them from here.” Li Wu Yi explained. “They stopped moving half a year ago; since then, they’ve been preparing themselves and building defensive structures.”
“Defensive structures?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Li Wu Yi nodded, “They dragged over many of the lifeless Universe Worlds and Fragments to act as barriers. It seems to me that they intend to build up a base.”
“It sounds as if they plan on having a full-on confrontation with us instead of ambushing us,” Yang Kai thoughtfully mused.
“That’s very much within their means!” Li Wu Yi’s expression was grim. There were several hundred Pseudo-Royal Lords and over 10 million High-Rank or higher Black Ink Clansmen. Even though they don’t have any true Royal Lords or Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods with them, they are still a force to be reckoned with.
“It’s undoubtedly Mo Na Ye’s doing,” Yang Kai remarked in realisation, “Their goal was never to stop our crusade, they simply hope to weaken us. As long as we’ve been weakened enough, continuing with the crusade will become meaningless. Thus, instead of trying to set up an ambush, they are better off fighting an all-out battle. They probably want us to discover their tracks.”
Li Wu Yi gave it some thought before nodding in agreement, “That seems to be the case.”
“How vigilant are they?” Yang Kai checked.
“Only somewhat, I’d say,” Li Wu Yi replied, “They don’t seem to expect us to arrive anytime soon, so they haven’t sent out scouts or set up any strict patrols. Furthermore, the scouts they have deployed are only monitoring a small area. Still, it’s enough to stop me from getting too close.”
Six months ago, Li Wu Yi had been able to observe the Black Ink Clan Army from up close, but ever since they began setting up their base, he had to stay further back to avoid detection.
“I’ll go and take a look,” Yang Kai said. After confirming the direction, he shot off into the void.
Though he did not discover any true Royal Lords the last time he checked, there was no harm in being cautious. It was best to do a thorough check once more as inaccurate information could very well lead to unnecessary casualties in battle.
After travelling for a while, Yang Kai caught sight of the Black Ink Clan Army.
He used Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability to mask his figure and aura as he continued making his approach.
It was just as Li Wu Yi had said. The Black Ink Clan Army was building a base here. They dragged many Universe Worlds and Fragments from all over the void to create barriers and barricades in an otherwise empty territory.
This area was still a part of the Late Ancient Era battlefield. During the Late Ancient Era, the Humans and the Black Ink Clan fought fiercely on this vast expanse. Countless Great Experts died in battle, leaving behind numerous traps in the form of barriers, seals, and restrictions. There were even Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques that had yet to be used up.
These were all things that the Black Ink Clan could use to their advantage.
Yang Kai scrutinised the surroundings as he made his way closer to the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcement Army.
Soon, he arrived at the nearest spot he could reach and began studying the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcement Army closely. Once he was certain that they did not have any true Royal Lords amongst them, his worries eased. Though they were a sizable force, and powerful as well, their lack of military intelligence when compared to what the Humans knew made them little more than turtles hiding in their shells.
Around half a day later, Yang Kai returned to the Universe Temple and the Ninth-Order Masters gathered around him to get an update.
Once Yang Kai filled them in on everything he witnessed, Mi Jing Lun nodded, “It’s fairly similar to what we expected.”
“In that case, should we proceed according to plan?” Xiang Shan asked.
Mi Jing Lun turned to Yang Kai, “What do you think, Junior Brother?”
“It won’t be a problem,” Yang Kai answered.
Mi Jing Lun’s expression was serious as he declared, “Let’s stick to the plan then.”
Soon, everyone left the Universe Temple, save for two Void Guards who remained behind to stand guard there.
After a day’s worth of travelling, they arrived in a part of the void that was neither too far nor too near the base of the Black Ink Clan’s reinforcements. Yang Kai held his hand out to Xiang Shan who brought out the World Bead he had been keeping with him the whole time.
Space Principles surged as Yang Kai’s hands moved swiftly. He gently patted the World Bead before tossing it into the void.
Once the tiny World Bead left Yang Kai’s grasp, it started expanding at great speed. It looked as if a stone had been tossed into a calm lake, causing ripples to spread out in all directions.
In just a few moments, the World Bead had been restored to its original form, and on the lifeless Universe Fragment, the Blood Flame Army was busy preparing themselves.
“Senior Brother Xiang, I’ll leave things here to you and Junior Brother Sun,” Yang Kai said.
Xiang Shan nodded in response, as did Sun Ke, one of the new Ninth-Order Masters.
“You all will remain here as well and cooperate with me later when we strike,” Yang Kai spoke to a few members of the Void Guard accompanying them.
“Yes, Sir!” They quickly replied.
“Let’s go to the next spot,” Yang Kai called out as he led the rest of the Ninth-Order Masters and Void Guard onwards.
Yang Kai kept releasing World Beads at specific spots and leaving each of the Human Race Armies there.
This carried on for a couple of days until everything was in place.
They were done with all their preparations!
The last Army to be released was the Profound Nether Army, which presently had three Ninth-Order Masters among their ranks. One was Ou Yang Lie, a more seasoned Ninth-Order Master, while the other two were newly promoted with a lot of room for growth.
The atmosphere was tense as the Army stood ready for battle.
Ou Yang Lie was in the lead, his eyes closed.
Approximately a quarter hour later, the time that had been agreed upon earlier arrived. Ou Yang Lie whipped his eyes open, raised his hand, and shot off. The Profound Nether Army that had been waiting eagerly for this moment heard him roar, “Charge!”
This scene played out in 12 different areas of the void as the 12 Armies marched on the enemy from 12 different directions at the same time, heading straight towards the Black Ink Clan reinforcements’ base.
No sound was made, but their steely resolve and murderous intent permeated the void, causing space itself to shudder in their presence.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was hovering above the base with his eyes closed as he quietly counted down…
The base was made up of over 100 Universe Fragments and Worlds that had been gathered together. The Black Ink Clan had gone through painstaking efforts to drag all of these over from the neighbouring areas of the void to use as a defence line.
Some of the Pseudo-Royal Lords were gathered in a corner of the base, communicating via Divine Sense, their expressions grim as they were worried about the future.
This could not be helped. Six months ago, they suddenly received word from the No-Return Pass that the Humans had launched a frenzied, all-out attack. Not only did they lose one of the Supreme One’s Soul Clones in the battle, but the entire Black Ink Clan Army there had been routed and was at risk of being annihilated.
They had no way of knowing the outcome of the battle as they stopped receiving updates from the No-Return Pass after the Royal Lord named Mo Na Ye transmitted some final information to them.
Nevertheless, they could hazard a guess that the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass must have met their doom and all the Black Ink Nests were destroyed. If that was not the case, it was impossible for them to not get any further news.
Initially, they stormed out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to help the Black Ink Clan Army at the No-Return Pass, but now that the Humans had captured it, was there any point in heading over as reinforcements?
In the end, they chose to follow Mo Na Ye’s directions. They remained in place to await the arrival of the Human Race Army with the intent to block their path.
The Human Race Army was so powerful that they could even slaughter a Soul Clone of the Supreme One; thus, the reinforcements knew they would surely lose any war they fought against them, but they had no choice.
Fortunately, they were quite a distance away from the No-Return Pass and thus had sufficient time to prepare for the confrontation.
Just as the Pseudo-Royal Lords were in the middle of their discussion though, a Feudal Lord flew over and stood by the side as he greeted them.
“What is it?” A Pseudo-Royal Lord that looked like a giant spider turned to him and asked. It was an extremely peculiar sight as the spider-like Pseudo-Royal Lord had a Human face.
However, the Black Ink Clan came in all manner of strange and peculiar forms, so he was not unique by any means.
“I have something to report, Sirs,” the Feudal Lord respectfully said.
“Go on.” It was a Pseudo-Royal Lord who looked like a small giant with four arms who spoke this time.
The Feudal Lord swiftly reported his findings. It did not count as anything serious. A few of the teams who had been sent out to collect resources should have returned as early as two weeks ago, but had failed to show up, and now even the scouts sent out to check on them could not be contacted anymore.
After hearing the reports, the spider-like Pseudo-Royal Lord frowned and snapped, “You don’t need to interrupt us with such inconsequential matters. Just send out a few more scouts to investigate.”
They were on the Late Ancient Era battlefield where there were a myriad of powerful traps in the form of barriers, seals, and restrictions left in the void. Many of their mining teams and scouts had already gone missing as well prior to this news, so the Pseudo-Royal Lords did not pay much attention to these things.
Therefore, they ignored the Feudal Lord’s concerns.
The Feudal Lord had more to say, but in the end, he feared the Pseudo-Royal Lords too much to continue, so he respectfully took his leave.
He could only do as the Pseudo-Royal Lord had commanded, so once he got back, he sent out a few more scouts and instructed them to investigate the places where the previous teams had gone missing, though he still felt uneasy.
Even though there had been instances where their scouts or teams in charge of collecting resources went missing in the past, it happened far less frequently than it did recently.
At the same time, Yang Kai, who was hidden above the base, slowly opened his eyes.
[It’s time!]
Yang Kai looked down at the base and the Universe Fragments filled with the resting Black Ink Clan Army; then, he opened his palm.
The Space-Time River was circling atop his palm like a snake biting its tail, and in the middle of it was a piece of the Void that had been cut out.
A tiny Great Pass was sealed up inside that piece of the Void, and two figures sat cross-legged inside of it. They looked quite adorable in their miniature state.
As Yang Kai looked at them, the two figures noticed his gaze and looked up at him before rising to their feet.
Yang Kai nodded lightly at them before flicking his hand, causing the Space-Time River to fly out.
In a similar fashion to what had happened when Yang Kai released the World Beads, the Space-Time River began rapidly expanding the moment it left Yang Kai’s grip.
The sudden commotion instantly drew the attention of all from the Black Ink Clansmen.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords, Territory Lords, and Feudal Lords, all sensed that something was happening and quickly looked up.
The sight they saw shocked them to no end.
A large river appeared out of nowhere and rapidly expanded until a massive Great Pass appeared before their eyes. A Pseudo-Royal Lord saw the characters etched into the Great Pass and had to rub his eyes before taking another look to ensure he was not hallucinating.
[Pure Yang Pass!]
They had never seen Pure Yang Pass before, but the intelligence Mo Na Ye sent them before he died mentioned the existence of such a Great Pass.
It was the only Great Pass the Humans had right now and had greatly contributed to their invasion of the No-Return Pass.
[Why would Pure Yang Pass be here? And, why does that strange river that cuts across the void look so familiar?]
After giving it some thought, [Isn’t that great river the exclusive Divine Ability of Yang Kai, the killing star from the Human Race!?]
They were gobsmacked by the sudden turn of events and had not figured out what was happening, but there were always going to be smarter ones in their midst. As such, a voice soon roared so loudly that it echoed in the void.
“The Humans have come! We’re under attack!”
That was enough to shock all from the Black Ink Clan into action.
Although they did not know how the Humans managed to arrive so soon, now was not the time for them to dwell on this conundrum; however, before they could do anything, the massive Pure Yang Pass came crashing down on the Universe Fragments in the centre of their base.
Technically, Pure Yang Pass was many times smaller than even a single Universe Fragment, but when the two met, it was the Universe Fragments that exploded into pieces.
It looked as if someone used a hammer on a watermelon.
The sudden, forceful attack turned the first Universe Fragment into shattered pieces, and the Black Ink Clansmen atop it were thrown into chaos. The unlucky ones were killed upon impact, but most of them were stumbling around and coughing up blood as they had been heavily injured in the collision.
Only those who were at least a Feudal Lord could survive the fallout of such a collision.
At least 100,000 High-Rank Black Ink Clan soldiers died from just this attack alone, and it was only the beginning.
Without the Humans to wield the strength of Pure Yang Pass to its maximum, it was simply an inanimate object that could not do much; however, just as Pure Yang Pass smashed that Universe Fragment to pieces, two figures shot up and swiftly expanded. They instantly turned into giant silhouettes that flanked the Great Pass on either side.
The immense pressure that emanated from the enormous figures made the Black Ink Clan feel as if their souls were shaking and chills ran down their spines.
“Giant Spirit Gods!”
Terror-stricken screams rang out from all directions.
None of them expected to see a Giant Spirit God suddenly appear amidst their ranks, let alone two!
Pure Yang Pass, which was supposed to be back at the No-Return Pass, had shown up here, and two Giant Spirit Gods came with it. The Pseudo-Royal Lords could not fathom how the Humans managed to cross such a vast distance in such a short amount of time, or how they managed to ensure that the Black Ink Clan was completely blindsided by this sudden, fearsome attack.
Secret Techniques shot out at the two Giant Spirit Gods from all directions as the Black Ink Clan reacted instinctively while in panic.
Thus, Ah Da and Ah Er had only just resumed their original forms, but they were already under fierce attack.
Ah Da roared as fury coloured his simple, honest face.
[Ah Da didn’t do anything. Ah Da just showed up here, but everyone is attacking Ah Da! Ah Da knew the Black Ink Clan was bad!]
His roar seemed to form an invisible wall that blocked all the Secret Techniques from the Black Ink Clan, and in the very next moment, he stepped towards them.
Though his massive size made his movement seem rather clumsy, one step was all it took for him to reach the nearest Universe Fragment where he threw out his fist.
Ah Da was much bigger than Pure Yang Pass, almost the same size as the Universe Fragment in front of him, so when his fist struck, the Black Ink Clansmen who were hit directly instantly vaporized, regardless of how powerful they were. There had even been a Pseudo-Royal Lord present, yet he did not manage to escape this fate.
Pseudo-Royal Lords were undeniably strong, but they were still ants compared to a Giant Spirit God’s fist!
Countless others died as well.
Ah Da’s blow created a huge crater initially, and as the force of his punch reverberated out, the entire Universe Fragment soon exploded into dust.
The Black Ink Clansmen cried out as they tried to escape, but they were still affected by the shockwave of Ah Da’s punch and were now either heavily injured or at least dazed, making their struggles almost futile.
An Eighth-Order Master could destroy a Universe Fragment with a single punch, but there was still an enormous difference in destructive force when compared to a Giant Spirit God.
This was the strength of a Giant Spirit God! Right now, apart from Mo, whose power remained enigmatic to all, the Giant Spirit God Clan were the most powerful beings fighting in this war.
Although they were not proficient in the use of Secret Techniques or Divine Abilities, and seemed to be of lower sentience in some ways, they had immense strength.
While Ah Da was busy destroying that Universe Fragment, Ah Er did not stand around idle either. He charged at the defensive barrier the Black Ink Clan had worked so hard to create, and with each kick or punch he landed, lands were destroyed and countless Black Ink Clan soldiers died.
In just a few breaths of time, the void was littered with broken Universe Fragments and Black Ink Strength that had leaked out of the dead Black Ink Clan soldiers.
It was only then that the Pseudo-Royal Lords managed to recover themselves and take action, ordering their Armies to try and stop the two Giant Spirit Gods.
Soon, their attacks started taking effect. Although Giant Spirit Gods were terrifyingly powerful, there were only two of them and their enormous size made them easy targets. The Black Ink Clan reinforcements numbered over 10 million, and as long as they properly coordinated, their combined strength could not be underestimated.
The attacks poured in from all directions. Ah Da and Ah Er’s silhouettes began to look a little unsteady and they could not move as freely either, but that only served to infuriate them even more.
When the Human Race Army attacked the No-Return Pass, they were able to kill the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God by gathering all their strength together. The Black Ink Clan would probably be able to accomplish the same feat if they could group up and arrange themselves the way the Humans had.
Though it had to be said that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God the Humans killed had already been through an intense battle with Ah Da and Ah Er, and thus was already seriously injured. Furthermore, its movement had been restricted as well and it could not dodge the combined assault from the Human Race Army. Even a Black Ink Giant Spirit God could not withstand that level of bombardment.
Ah Da and Ah Er’s situation was a lot better than that Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s. Though the Black Ink Clan kept attacking from all directions, the two Giant Spirit Gods would not be in any mortal danger if the Black Ink Clan failed to unleash a combined assault that was strong enough to overpower them in one blow.
However, considering the heritage of the Black Ink Clan reinforcements, it was within their means to force Ah Da and Ah Er to retreat if they were willing to make some sacrifices.
That would only be possible if nothing unexpected happened, however, and alas, it soon did.
All of a sudden, those on the battlefield detected the fall of a Pseudo-Royal Lord!
An intense fight had broken out on the battlefield and the death of a Pseudo-Royal Lord was not something surprising. The unluckiest of them all had died from the Giant Spirit God’s first strike.
However, what caught the Black Ink Clan’s attention was the fact that the Pseudo-Royal Lord who just died did so a great distance away from the Giant Spirit Gods at a place that did not seem to be under attack.
Furthermore, even if the fallout from the Giant Spirit Gods’ blows had managed to travel that far, how was it possible for a Pseudo-Royal Lord to not be able to block that level of attack?
Before the Black Ink Clan managed to figure out what had just happened, the aura of yet another Pseudo-Royal Lord vanished.
A third and a fourth soon followed…
At last, the Pseudo-Royal Lords realized the situation they had on their hands.
Apart from the two Giant Spirit Gods, there was also a third Master they did not know about who was lurking on the battlefield and assassinating the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords were alarmed.
“It’s Yang Kai! He’s here!” One of the smarter Pseudo-Royal Lords roared.
A strange river had cut through the void when Pure Yang Pass and the two Giant Spirit Gods abruptly appeared, and several of the Pseudo-Royal Lords recognised what it was. According to the information Mo Na Ye provided before his death, the river was made out of Dao Strengths and belonged to Yang Kai, the killing star.
He was the most powerful Ninth-Order Master and the one that Mo Na Ye warned them to guard against, for he was an even bigger threat to the Black Ink Clan than the Giant Spirit Gods!
When the Pseudo-Royal Lords in the reinforcement army heard this report, they found it hard to believe that a lone Human, no matter how strong, would pose an even bigger threat to the Black Ink Clan than the Giant Spirit Gods.
Nevertheless, Mo Na Ye was a true Royal Lord and they had to pay serious attention to the last warning he gave them just before he died.
It was only now that the Pseudo-Royal Lords realised Mo Na Ye could have been right.
Though the Giant Spirit Gods were powerful, they were extremely overt in the way they did things. It was much easier to guard against a spear in the light than an arrow in the dark.
As soon as that Pseudo-Royal Lord’s roar rang out, it was followed by an agonising shriek.
The Black Ink Clan were drawn by his cries and quickly looked over, only to find a silhouette fading away behind the Pseudo-Royal Lord who was now sporting a large hole in his chest. Dao Strengths surged from his wound and ate away at his vitality.
“Don’t let him escape!” A Pseudo-Royal Lord yelled as he unleashed his aura and smashed it towards that part of the void.
Many Pseudo-Royal Lords jumped into action and followed suit.
Space rippled and a silhouette which was about to completely fade away reappeared once more. It was a Human who had a long spear in his hand. He looked perfectly at ease despite being surrounded by his enemies.
“You’ve got pretty quick reflexes,” the Human coolly remarked, but the Pseudo-Royal Lords did not hear any semblance of a complimentary tone in his voice.
“Quick! Keep him occupied!” The Pseudo-Royal Lord who shouted earlier was smarter than the others and knew that this was a rare opportunity for them. If they allowed Yang Kai to hide once more, even more of their Masters would meet their doom. Their best option now was to pin him down and stop him from finding a chance to sneak up on any other Pseudo-Royal Lords.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords nearest to Yang Kai swiftly lunged at him from their respective directions, trying to gang up on him.
They attacked as speedily as they could in an impressive display of cooperation for the frantic state they were in.
If it had been any other Ninth-Order Master, they would have been caught in a difficult battle.
However, Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent as he made a grabbing motion and Dao Strengths rippled in the air as the sound of water echoed.
He summoned his Space-Time River, and it snaked around him like a whip.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords who were charging at him were taken by surprise and ended up plunging into the river, just like children who drowned by a sudden surge of water. They struggled on the surface of the river for a few moments before sinking in and disappearing.
The river grew fierce as Dao Strengths surged. A few figures could vaguely be seen inside the river, clearly fighting for their lives.
Soon, the commotion died down.
Yang Kai flicked his wrist and a few figures flew out of the river.
When the Black Ink Clan saw this, their hearts sank and their expressions hardened.
The figures that fell out were the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had been swept up just now, but they were all now covered in mortal wounds and their auras had vanished.
All it took was a few moments and all those Pseudo-Royal Lords had been killed!
It was an unbelievable display of power!
The Pseudo-Royal Lords who were still charging towards Yang Kai immediately halted, thanking the Supreme One for being further away as they had not been dragged into the strange river. Otherwise, they would have numbered among the dead Pseudo-Royal Lords as well.
All of the Pseudo-Royal Lords began to hesitate.
Although all the information from Mo Na Ye about Yang Kai had warned them not to underestimate him, none of them had imagined he would be this terrifying.
“Good, good!” The Pseudo-Royal Lords were terrified and uncertain, but Yang Kai felt spirited.
He had been hiding his true strength all these years, which meant he could not unleash his full power whenever he joined the attacks on the No-Return Pass, and he hated every moment of it.
Even though he no longer tried to conceal his ability during the last battle, he had been facing off against a Black Ink Giant Spirit God and he did not manage to have a true face-off with it, so he did not get to experience the rush of displaying his full strength.
He killed Mo Na Ye by concealing himself with the help of Thunder Shadow’s Divine Ability, and ever since then, he had been patiently waiting…
Until today…
The death of these Pseudo-Royal Lords enabled him to see just how much stronger he had become.
In the past, whenever he used the Space-Time River, Yang Kai was able to capture multiple Pseudo-Royal Lords at once but he could not kill them off so easily. He had to enter the river personally to finish off his prey.
But he no longer had to do so. He now had complete control over the life and death of Pseudo-Royal Lords who entered the Space-Time River!
This was the change that happened when one’s heritage grew stronger. It was an intoxicating feeling.
“Kill him!” The Pseudo-Royal Lord who gave the command was retreating as he roared.
An endless stream of Secret Techniques shot out at Yang Kai, but they all hit nothing as his figure simply faded away.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords pushed their Divine Senses wildly, but they could not detect any trace of Yang Kai. The chaotic battlefield was filled with all kinds of fluctuating forces and energies, so the Pseudo-Royal Lords completely lost track of predator among them.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai soon reappeared behind the Pseudo-Royal Lord who had given the command, his long spear casually piercing through the latter’s head.