Yang Kai first concentrated on the battle between the Human Old Ancestor and the Black Ink Royal Lord.
The two figures clashed with one another several hundred thousand kilometres away, and the intense fallout from their attacks generated shockwaves that were visible even from Blue Sky Pass’ outer walls. No one dared to go near them and both armies had intentionally shifted away.
Even though they were hundreds of thousands of kilometres away, Yang Kai could still feel the frightening fallout of their battle.
This was the power of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Royal Lord, it was simply astonishing.
With his current ability, Yang Kai couldn’t tell which side had the advantage. He only felt that they were evenly matched.
Within a short period of time, the two figures gradually drifted away, eventually fading out of sight entirely.
It was a pity that he wouldn’t get to watch these two Masters battle it out till the end; nonetheless, Yang Kai could tell from what just happened that the Old Ancestor had the upper hand.
After all, only when the Old Ancestor had the upper hand would their battlefield be brought far away to avoid involving others.
On the contrary, if the Royal Lord had the upper hand, he would have brought the battle closer to the Human Armies, so that the Old Ancestor’s movements would be restricted.
This outcome was no surprise once he thought about it though.
Although Yang Kai personally verified on the battlefield that the Black Ink Clansmen were noticeably weaker than Humans in the equivalent realm, the discrepancy seemed to get smaller the higher one’s strength was, to the point where it was basically indistinguishable for Old Ancestors and Royal Lords. After all, all Royal Lords endured countless years of accumulation and combat to achieve their strength, effectively eliminating the drawbacks from their prior rapid cultivation.
In the previous battle, both the Royal Lord and Old Ancestor had been injured, so it was already clear that they were roughly equal in strength.
In fact, the battle between the Royal Lord and Old Ancestor had repeated itself over and over again as the Black Ink Clan repeatedly launched attacks against the great pass. Under normal circumstances, such battles would persist for years, if not longer.
However, an accident had happened that disrupted the normal rhythm of these battles.
Yang Kai snuck out of Blue Sky Pass, intending to break through to the Seventh Order in battle. When Zhong Liang became aware of this, he hastily borrowed men from the other three Armies in order to gain complete control of the Western front and force Yang Kai to return. As a result, the Black Ink Clan’s Western forces collapsed and were swiftly forced to retreat.
This put the Black Ink Cloud, where the Royal Lord was hiding to heal, in danger.
Coincidentally, Yang Kai’s Divine Manifestation revealed the Royal Lord’s whereabouts and interfered with the latter’s recovery at a critical moment. As a result, not only did the Royal Lord’s injuries not heal, they worsened.
The Old Ancestor’s injuries had definitely not fully healed either. Once a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was injured, it would be difficult for them to recover. Nonetheless, it was far better to interrupt one’s own healing than to be interrupted by someone else while healing.
In this way, the two peak Masters, who were initially on par with each other, now had a small gap between them. This showed when the Old Ancestor managed to shift their battlefield away from Blue Sky Pass.
If nothing went wrong, the Old Ancestor would certainly win this battle. As to whether the Royal Lord could be killed, it was impossible for Yang Kai to judge.
When the battle between the strongest Masters left his range of perception, Yang Kai shifted his gaze to the wider battlefield.
The situation here was even more lopsided.
The Black Ink Clan had essentially given up trying to hold their group and were in full retreat. As a result, casualties continued to pile up on the Black Ink Clan’s side as the Human Armies pursued them relentlessly, creating a one-sided slaughter.
Although the battle was not finished, victory had essentially been decided.
Yang Kai had been on the front lines of the Western Front for a day or so now; thus, he had no idea what was going on in the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Fronts. He had no idea that his revelation of the Royal Lord’s location had forced the Black Ink Clan to abandon their advantage on the other three battlefields to provide assistance, resulting in them being pursued by Ding Yao’s, Liang Yu Long’s, and Shen Tu Mo’s Armies. In this process the Black Ink Army suffered huge losses, laying the groundwork for Blue Sky Pass’ victory.
The injured Human cultivators constantly returned to the Inner Sanctum, carrying news from the front lines. Within one day, the Black Ink Clan Army had been forced to retreat 300,000 kilometres, and this increased to 1 million kilometres by the end of the next day. Yet, the Human Armies continued to pursue and destroy them.
It wasn’t until the third day of pursuit that the Human Armies disengaged and returned from battle. The Black Ink Army had suffered nearly 50% casualties in this battle, so it was not an exaggeration to say their foundation had been severely damaged. Since ancient times, the number of such overwhelming victories could be counted with one’s fingers.
This was a true victory that filled Blue Sky Pass with a joyous atmosphere.
Everyone understood that this battle would lead to at least 100 years of peace and stability.
In the next 100 years, the Black Ink Clan would not have the power to launch another large-scale attack.
The Old Ancestor had yet to return, and it was unknown how the battle with the Royal Lord had gone. The Eighth-Order Masters gathered briefly to discuss and came to the conclusion that half of them would stay back to take charge of the great pass while the rest would seek out two peak Masters.
It wasn’t that they were worried that the Old Ancestor would lose, but rather that they wanted to seek an opportunity to help the Old Ancestor slaughter the Royal Lord. If this could be achieved, the Blue Sky Theatre on the Black Ink Battlefield would be stilled for at least 1,000 years.
After all, only when another Royal Lord was born from the Black Ink Clan could they afford to launch an offensive against Blue Sky Pass again.
It wasn’t easy for a Royal Lord to appear. Similar to Ninth-Order Old Ancestors, it would be a thousand to several thousand years between the appearance of such a Master. Both Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were the strongest of both races.
A few days later, the Old Ancestor returned, accompanied by the Eighth-Order Masters who had gone to assist him. Most were unaware of the outcome of the battle between the two strongest Masters; however, with a deliberate announcement, everyone quickly learned the truth. The Black Ink Royal Lord was seriously wounded by the Old Ancestor and had fled to the depths of the Black Ink Clan’s territory, where he would not be able to completely recover for at least 100 years.
When the news broke, Blue Sky Pass celebrated.
This was not the best result, but it was still quite welcome. Everyone knew that a Royal Lord could not be killed so easily.
There had never been such a fierce battle in the Blue Sky Pass. During all previous battles, it took a long period of time to gradually wear down the Black Ink Clan until they were forced to retreat.
This process might take a few years, a few dozen years, or perhaps even 100 years, but this time it only took them half a year, and the Black Ink Clan Army did not voluntarily retreat but were forced to.
The Masters of Blue Sky Pass were all complimenting the wisdom and heroism of the four Army Commanders, especially Western Army Commander Zhong Liang who received compliments like snow falling from the sky.
If he hadn’t borrowed men from the three other fronts to sweep clean the Western Front, it wouldn’t have been possible to expose the Royal Lord’s whereabouts and ensure their great victory.
In the eyes of those who were unaware of what actually happened, they thought that Zhong Liang’s decision was a brilliant tactical move, gathering troops on the Western Front and forcing the Black Ink Clan to abandon the other three fronts to provide reinforcements, giving Ding Yao and the rest a chance to pursue them from behind.
There were also rumours in the Inner Sanctum that Zhong Liang had long predicted that the Royal Lord was hiding somewhere on the Western Front to recover, which was why such a decision was made.
Receiving this flurry of compliments and praise, Zhong Liang’s face flushed brighter each day. Others assumed that he was in high spirits, but those who knew what actually happened understood that he was just embarrassed.
Talk of brilliant strategy and decisive commands were all just crap. If Zhong Liang really had such ability, he would have already led the whole Army to destroy the Black Ink Clan once and for all.
But, Zhong Liang could not explain to them, so he had to endure these compliments which caused his cheeks to burn every single day.
After the battle, Blue Sky Pass could not rest though. There was a lot to do, including cleaning the battlefield. Due to the deaths of so many Black Ink Clansmen, innumerable Black Ink Clouds of all shapes and sizes had appeared all over the battlefield. Those had to be cleaned up, or they would have difficulty moving about. In addition, the clouds would serve as a cover for the Black Ink Clan Army in their next attack, so they had to be dealt with.
Some specialised individuals would count the casualties and record Military Merits. Each Army Commander was naturally also quite busy.
Many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters assembled in the Main Conference Hall to address a variety of issues after the war.
Other than the few that were injured and needed immediate treatment, all other Eight-Order Masters were present.
None of them liked to procrastinate, so they only spent half a day finishing their discussion.
“There is one last thing to discuss. Please share your views freely,” Zhong Liang cleared his throat and said.
The others turned to look at him.
“All of you know the reason why this battle experienced such rapid changes,” Zhong Liang continued as he rubbed his nose.
“Of course, it was because of Brother Zhong’s incredible insight and brilliant strategy, redeploying our forces so wisely to corner the enemy!” Ding Yao opined enthusiastically, “This Ding is truly impressed. The main credit for the victory of this battle belongs to the Western Army. The Northern, Southern, and Eastern Armies were just supporting characters.”
The crowd burst into laughter.
As the saying goes, never air your dirty laundry in public. Zhong Liang glared at Ding Yao and knocked on the table, “You’re not young anymore. Stop joking around.”
Ding Yao chuckled lightly before falling silent.
Zhong Liang then continued, “Whether Yang Kai caused trouble or helped gain victory in the battle, please share your views.”
Everyone became quiet as soon as the words were said. Blue Sky Pass was the centre of a massive battlefield. It was not like the Sects of the 3,000 Worlds, where merits and demerits were subject to opinion. Rewards and penalties here were a military matter, so there was no room for favouritism and strict adherence to rules and regulations was necessary to maintain discipline.
Seeing that no one was talking, Zhong Liang turned to one of them and spoke, “Brother Lu, Yang Kai can be considered part of Yin-Yang Heaven. Please offer your opinion.”
Lu An, who got called out, laughed wryly before replying, “Brother Zhong, as you’ve just said, Yang Kai can be considered part of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. If I were to speak my opinion, I would definitely stand on his side. So, I don’t think I should say anything.”
“It’s fine for you to speak. If you have a point, it’s alright even if you take his side,” Zhong Liang insisted.
Seeing his persistence, Lu An pondered for a while before stating, “Before Yang Kai came, the corruption of Black Ink Strength had always been a problem that troubled the Human Race. But after he came here, he easily solved it, and according to what I know, the number of people who were personally rescued by him was no less than 3,000. This action alone has preserved the life and strength of 3,000 of our Blue Sky Pass’s soldiers. Is that not a tremendous merit?”
Everyone nodded in agreement, as this was an undeniable truth. Yang Kai had treated nearly people from all four Armies, from every Division, and almost every Battalion.
“Subsequently, he helped create the Purifying Black Ink Battleships together with Brother Dong Guo from Divine Cauldron Heaven, Fan Xun of Mo Sha Heaven, and several others. Besides that, he arranged Universe Arrays on each of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships and filled them with a large amount of Purifying Light. Which of the four Armies did not receive great boons from this Purifying Light during the latest battle? This can also be considered a huge merit!”
It was not difficult to achieve merits on this Black Ink Battlefield; however, it was difficult to gain large ones. Many might not even be able to obtain one outstanding merit throughout their life.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, had gained two large merits in less than a year after arriving at Blue Sky Pass, which was simply unprecedented.
With this, even if he made any mistakes, his merits were enough to outweigh them.
Lu An stated that he intended to favour Yang Kai, which he did, but the favouritism was reasonable and others could not argue with it because what he said was agreed upon by everyone present.
“He is just a Sixth-Order brat, yet he raced to the frontline of the battle. Though unintended, he accidentally discovered the hiding place of the Royal Lord, which interfered with his recovery and prompted the Black Ink Clan armies from the other three fronts to rush over as reinforcements. This provided an excellent chance for our armies to pursue and slaughter them. In addition, it also established the groundwork for the Old Ancestor to cause great harm to the Royal Lord. It could be said that this huge victory was all due to Yang Kai. The battle Blue Sky Pass faced might not have been as easy if he hadn’t snuck out. This was another huge merit!” Lu An added.
Now, Yang Kai had accomplished three great merits.
In one war, he had gained three great merits. This was never heard nor seen of.
When Zhong Liang heard that, he chuckled, “According to what Brother Lu stated, we have to reward Yang Kai properly. Brother Lu, even if Yang Kai is part of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, your favouritism is too obvious.”
“Of course, after talking about his merits, naturally, he has demerits too. Not to mention that he disobeyed orders on the battlefield and insisted on doing things of his will, because of him, the three fronts had to send out a portion of their men to aid him, putting countless lives at risk,” Lu An said with a slight smile.
Zhong Liang had to endure large risks as well when he borrowed men from the other three fronts. If the war on the Western Front did not conclude in time, then the battle on the Southern, Northern, and Eastern Fronts would have become unsustainable. In the worst-case scenario, their defence lines would be broken through, resulting in massive casualties.
Although this did not occur, it was highly probable that it would have if the Royal Lord’s location had not been revealed, and his recovery had not been interfered with.
“It’s a big demerit to disobey orders, and it’s another to put others in danger as a result. For the time being, although his merits outweigh his demerits, I’d say we should neither punish nor reward him,” Lu An concluded.
Everyone in the Main Hall was silent. Lu An previously stated that he would side with Yang Kai, but how was this considered favouritism? Three great merits and two big demerits. There was still one great merit to be rewarded, but Lu An suggested not doing so. This obviously was not favouritism, on the contrary, it had the notion of repression.
However, everyone understood that Lu An was from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, and so was Yang Kai. Him only stating this was to avoid suspicion of being too biased. Although they were from the same Sect, that was of little importance on the Black Ink Battlefield; his relationship with those in the Inner Sanctum was far more critical. Only when Blue Sky Pass was one, cohesive force could they continue to repel powerful foes.
“No,” Ding Yao remarked, waving his hand, “If you’ve gained a merit, you will be rewarded, and if you gained a demerit, you will be punished. This is the rule. If merits and demerits can be cancelled out, it would become a mess in the future.”
Zhong Liang glanced at him and said, “Brother Ding, what’s your opinion?”
Ding Yao said softly, “That Brat has indeed accomplished a lot in this battle, so the punishment can’t be too severe. How about this? Since the battlefield needs to be cleaned, we’ll delegate him an area to be responsible for.”
“Can that even be counted as punishment?” Zhong Liang laughed.
Ding Yao replied nonchalantly, “We just need to do it for show. That boy is now extremely popular in the Inner Sanctum, if the punishment is too harsh, even our own subordinates won’t agree to it!”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Yang Kai held the key to purifying and eliminating Black Ink Strength. Who hadn’t heard of his name in the Inner Sanctum? Any one of them might need his help in the future, so it was only natural that they would try to get on his good side.
It was said that people were constantly going to Yang Kai’s residence with fine wine, wanting to pay him a visit.
There were also those who received his help while on the battlefield; in fact, many said at the time that if they were able to return alive, they would invite him to have a drink. They had all come to fulfil their promises now that the battle was over.
It was a pity that Yang Kai seemed to be in retreat and not meeting anyone.
Shen Tu Mo gave a light nod and said, “That’s a good idea. When that kid arrived at Blue Sky Pass for the first time, he was informed of the Inner Sanctum’s rules. Now that his punishment is settled, what about this reward? He still has some massive accomplishments, so his rewards can’t be ignored, can they?”
Ding Yao responded with a smile, “Since it is a small punishment, the reward should be minimal as well. His Military Merits cannot be erased, so note them down for him for now, and he can exchange them for anything in the War Materials Hall at a later date. As for his position going forward… that’s a bit more complicated.”
When Ding Yao mentioned ‘complicated’, everyone knew what he meant. According to what Yang Kai accomplished, even promoting him to Battalion Commander was less than what he deserved.
However, this boy was only a Sixth-Order Master, so how could he take on the role of Battalion Commander? Which Battalion Commander in Blue Sky Pass was not a peak Seventh-Order Master?
If his ability was insufficient, he would be unable to convince his subordinates.
“I propose that he be promoted to Squad Leader for now!” Ding Yao stated while glancing at the crowd.
Someone instantly objected, saying, “I heard he’s only a Sixth-Order Master. His cultivation isn’t sufficient to be a Squad Leader, right?”
Although there were only a dozen or so people in in a Squad, as the Squad Leader, Yang Kai would be responsible for all of their lives. Being in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm was indeed too low.
Ding Yao smiled and replied, “He is indeed in the Sixth Order, but which of you has seen a Sixth-Order Junior fight on par with a Seventh-Order Master before? His performance on the battlefield this time was more dazzling than many established Seventh-Order Masters. With the cooperation of Feng Ying, they killed no less than a dozen Feudal Lords, and don’t forget that this Brat can also transform into a Grand Dragon. In that form, his strength is comparable to a peak Seventh-Order Master. Strength is also something that can be improved with time. That brat advanced to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm initially and, after taking a Mid-Rank World Fruit, advanced to the Sixth-Order. So, he is also expected to reach the Eighth Order in the future.”
Hearing what he said, everyone agreed.
“Then, according to what Brother Ding said, we’ll let him be promoted to Squad Leader, but one thing must be made clear. Whose Army will he be joining?” Liang Yu Long remarked.
Zhong Liang replied, “Of course, he will belong to my Western Army! Feng Ying brought him here in the first place.”
Shen Tu Mo grinned meaningfully, “He is from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, and Brother Lu An is part of my Northern Army, shouldn’t he join us instead?”
Ding Yao chimed in immediately, “It’s not right for you to put it like that. No matter your background, we’re all one family on the Black Ink Battlefield. There’s no such thing as Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. I’d say that it’s preferable for him to come to the Eastern Army.”
The four Army Commanders glanced at each other; no one wanted to back down, obviously wanting to get Yang Kai to work under them.
Although each Army had a Purifying Black Ink Battleship and could utilize the Purifying Light stored inside of it, every Army still wanted a gifted talent like Yang Kai to join them.
As for the fact that his cultivation was not enough to be a Squad Leader, it was not mentioned anymore.
For a long time in the Main Conference Hall, the four Army Commanders argued back and forth while the many Division Commanders glanced around at each other helplessly.
The four Army Commanders going all out to recruit a single Sixth-Order Junior was unprecedented.
However, everyone knew of Yang Kai’s significance, so they could understand their motivations.
Nevertheless, there was no conclusion following the argument, and in the end, the problem could only be put on hold for the time being, with the decision being made to go back and let Yang Kai decide.
When the meeting finished, everyone left.
The four Army Commanders walked at the back, seemingly as friendly as if they had not just argued.
“Brother Ding, don’t you need to check in on the Eastern Army? Why are you walking in this direction?” Zhong Liang suddenly looked at Ding Yao.
“Just taking a stroll. Why do you care?” Replied Ding Yao, his hands folded behind his back.
Having said so, he indeed strolled off.
“Brother Liang, why are you walking this way too?” Zhong Liang looked at Liang Yu Long with a darkening expression.
Liang Yu Long laughed and said, “I have something to discuss with Brother Ding,” After that, he followed Ding Yao and left.
Then, Zhong Liang turned to Shen Tu Mo, who said with no courtesy, “These legs are attached to my body. Why does it concern you where they’re leading me?”
He then left with the other two.
“Bastards! A bunch of shameless old dogs who want to snatch what’s mine!” Muttered Zhong Liang.
A short while later, four figures arrived one after another at a certain courtyard.
There were a lot of residences in Blue Sky Pass for those in the Inner Sanctum. Blue Sky Pass could accommodate tens of thousands of people easily, and everyone had their own residence.
The higher the position, the better the benefits. This was Feng Ying’s home. As a Battalion Commander, she lived in her own courtyard. Though it wasn’t particularly big, it was clean and well-kept.
Yang Kai hadn’t had time to register, so he didn’t have a distinct identity in Blue Sky Pass, nor a permanent residence; therefore, he followed Feng Ying here after the battle.
Feng Ying swiftly emerged after sensing someone approaching. When she saw the four Army Commanders though, she couldn’t help but be shocked and greeted hurriedly, “Greetings, Sirs.”
Zhong Liang nodded lightly, cast a wary glance at the other three, and inquired, “Where is Yang Boy?”
“In retreat,” Feng Ying said, glancing in the direction of a private chamber.
Zhong Liang frowned, “How are his injuries?”
He remembered Yang Kai and Feng Ying’s miserable state when he carried them back from the battlefield. Feng Ying was even unconscious at the time.
“His injuries are fine, but…”
“But what?” Zhong Liang anxiously asked.
Feng Ying quickly answered, “But he said that he felt like he had the chance to break through. If his retreat this time is successful, he could advance to the Seventh Order after leaving seclusion.”
Zhong Liang and the rest were both shocked and pleasantly surprised.
One of the Division Commanders in the conference hall mentioned that Yang Kai’s cultivation was too low for him to be promoted to Squad Leader, but it seemed this was no longer an issue. Since the chance for advancement had been recognised, reaching the Seventh Order should be a given.
For a Squad Leader, being in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was the most suitable.
The fact that Yang Kai suddenly entered retreat to advance to the Seventh Order made Zhong Liang extremely excited.
[This brat could already exert such power while just in the Sixth Order. If he advances to the Seventh Order, how strong would he be?]
Thinking about it again, it was no surprise that Yang Kai felt an opportunity to break through.
Yang Kai snuck out of Blue Sky Pass and onto the battlefield this time, hoping to break through while facing death in battle, but events unfolded far differently than he had anticipated.
The battlefield was dangerous, and even the best of plans could never keep up with ever-changing circumstances. Feng Ying arrived just in time to find Yang Kai, and with her watching over him, he had been safe.
Yang Kai himself understood this too, so when he met Feng Ying, he abandoned his initial plan and joined forces with her to defeat as many enemies as possible.
However, the Royal Lord’s location was unintentionally exposed by Yang Kai, disrupting the former’s recovery. As a result, the Royal Lord became annoyed and attacked the two of them.
It was a casual blow for the Royal Lord, but to Yang Kai and Feng Ying, it was a death sentence.
Facing certain death, Yang Kai had no time to think and could only go all out. It was only with the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel and Feng Ying’s Myriad Swords Dragon that the pair managed to barely survive and hold out until Zhong Liang arrived.
At the moment of critical danger, it was when under overwhelming pressure that something seemed to have shattered inside Yang Kai.
He didn’t notice it at that time, but when Yang Kai was back in Blue Sky Pass, safe from the ongoing war, he realised that the shackles that he had been trying to break through during his previous retreat snapped under the immense pressure.
It truly was a great fortune that was stumbled upon by accident.
Yang Kai would naturally not let go of this fantastic opportunity now that he had grasped it. When the battle was over, he returned with Feng Ying, informed her about his situation, and then entered retreat to break through.
Naturally, when Zhong Liang and others came to look for him, he was not available.
However, the four Army Commanders were overjoyed when they heard that Yang Kai was advancing to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Yang Kai’s existence was too important to the Human Race; so obviously, the greater the strength he had, the better. The Black Ink Battlefield had a lot of dangers, so if Yang Kai was stronger, he would have a better ability to protect himself. The fifth order was too low and the Sixth Order was the bare minimum. If Yang Kai advanced to the Seventh Order though, he could play a much larger role.
“Very good! If this little brat can break through, it will be good for all of us,” Zhong Liang nodded repeatedly.
Ding Yao and the others agreed.
But breaking through to the Seventh Order from the Sixth Order was a long and arduous task. The Proprietress took over 100 years in retreat in order to break through this same barrier.
Zhong Liang and others had also gone through this experience, so they were very clear about the process.
The four of them set aside their desires to win over Yang Kai after knowing that they could not see him for the time being. Then, Zhong Liang instructed, “You stay here to look after him. Notify me as soon as possible once he’s done.”
Feng Ying nodded.
“Let’s go,” Zhong Liang said. There were still a lot of post-battle tasks to attend to and each of them had their own responsibilities, so it was impossible to keep waiting here.
However, just as the four of them were preparing to leave, they heard a faint creaking sound.
Zhong Liang followed the sound and turned his head to look, “What’s that?”
“My seclusion chamber opened…” Feng Ying replied as her expression changed.
Zhong Liang and the others were startled at first, but that was soon followed by a change in their expressions.
The seclusion chamber was a place for cultivators to enter retreat and it wouldn’t be easily opened once sealed. If Yang Kai chose to enter retreat here at Feng Ying’s place, he would undoubtedly be using this room.
Unless the one using it chose to, opening a seclusion chamber could only be done through force, and obviously that was not the case here.
It’s just… why would the seclusion chamber open for no reason?
Yang Kai only entered retreat a few days ago, so could he have encountered an accident?
As they thought of this possibility, Zhong Liang and the others were no longer able to remain calm. They all strode over to the seclusion chamber in a hurry.
Soon after, Yang Kai emerged from the chamber, still topless, with many of his wounds from the previous battle not even healed yet. Of course, he seemed to have recovered significantly all the same.
Zhong Liang and the others suspected something went wrong with his retreat; otherwise, why would he come out on his own? But, when they laid eyes on him, there didn’t seem to be anything amiss. In fact, he seemed invigorated and revitalised.
There was something odd about his aura too. It was not a Sixth-Order aura, but rather a Seventh-Order one!
Having just broken through, Yang Kai seemed to be somewhat unfamiliar with the power of Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and could not control his World Force adeptly, causing some of his aura and power to leak out.
Zhong Liang and the others immediately widened their eyes in surprise as they stared at him in shock.
Yang Kai noticed them as well and pondered why these four were here. Still, he quickly composed himself and saluted, “Greetings, Seniors.”
Zhong Liang and others remained silent, their four pairs of eyes examining Yang Kai from top to bottom.
Yang Kai was feeling uneasy when these four were scrutinizing him in such a manner. It felt like there was something odd with their gaze but he could not understand what it was. As such, he cautiously asked, “Seniors, what brings you here today?”
“Don’t move!” Zhong Liang commanded in a deep voice, took a step forward and reached out to Yang Kai’s dantian, touching it with his palm before investigating it thoroughly.
Ding Yao and the rest stood back and waited quietly.
A few moments later, Zhong Liang withdrew his hands; his expression odd.
“So?” Ding Yao asked.
“Strange. He’s reached the Seventh Order without a doubt!” Zhong Liang shook his head and glanced at Ding Yao and the others.
Under his inspection, he confirmed that Yang Kai had indeed advanced to the Seventh Order, which was completely unbelievable.
“You’re sure you’re not mistaken?’ Liang Yu Long inquired, agitated.
Zhong Liang rolled his eyes, “You can check for yourself if you don’t believe me. His foundation doesn’t even seem to be unstable.”
“Interesting,” Shen Tu Mo grinned.
Yang Kai became even more confused, turning to Zhong Liang and asking, “Senior, what happened?”
“If you ask me, who am I supposed to ask?” Zhong Liang turned to face him, “How did you advance to the Seventh Order?”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow for a moment before replying nonchalantly, “I sensed an opportunity to break through, so I entered retreat for a while and broke through.”
The way he spoke about it was like he had been hungry, decided to eat, and was now full.
Feng Ying finally pulled herself together and commented, “That’s the problem.”
“What’s the problem?” Yang Kai frowned. This advancement had gone unexpectedly well, so he didn’t suspect anything was wrong.
Feng Ying sighed and said, “Let’s put it this way. It took 40 years from the time I sensed the opportunity to break through to the Seventh Order until I finally succeeded. Not only me, but every Seventh-Order Master experiences something similar. It takes a long time to break through because the Seventh Order is a massive watershed where one’s Small Universe must undergo the process of materializing. This is an extraordinarily long and difficult process that cannot be completed overnight.”
As she spoke though, Feng Ying abruptly came to a realization, “Ah! Your Small Universe had already materialized, so you could skip over that step in your breakthrough… Still, it all happened so fast, and there were no major signs of a breakthrough as well.”
It had only been a few days, yet Yang Kai actually broke through to the Seventh Order. If they had not witnessed it themselves, they would never have been able to believe it.
Zhong Liang recalled this fact once Feng Ying reminded them.
They had all checked Yang Kai’s Small Universe before, and unlike other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realms Masters, his Small Universe had already transformed from immaterial to material; therefore, Yang Kai did not have to go through arduous process of materializing his Small Universe to advance to the Seventh-Order.
What concerned Zhong Liang the most before, was Yang Kai feeling his opportunity for a breakthrough on the battlefield. If he did, he would be forced to break through while in battle, which would sap him of all his strength during the transforming process, which would place him in a precarious state.
Fortunately, that did not happen.
After hearing Feng Ying’s explanation, Yang Kai finally understood everyone’s earlier odd reaction.
He also had some idea of what happened when others advanced to the Seventh Order; still, this realization took him aback. But since his special Small Universe had saved him a huge amount of time, as far as he was concerned, it was something to celebrate.
This time, his retreat went rather smoothly. After a few days of effort, his bottleneck was shattered, and he naturally advanced from the Sixth Order to the Seventh Order, moving up to join the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Additionally, he was now just one step away from his upper limit, the Eighth Order.
“Your circumstances are unique,” Zhong Liang stated after some thought, “Please pay more attention over the course of the next few years. Make sure you report to us if you sense any abnormalities.
“Yes,” Yang Kai replied, then asked again, “So, what brought you here today, Seniors?”
“The Old Ancestor wants to see you!” Zhong Liang turned serious.
When the Old Ancestor returned, Yang Kai was already in retreat, but the former had been greatly intrigued by the existence of a person like Yang Kai in the Inner Sanctum. So, he instructed Yang Kai to pay him a visit as soon as possible.
“When?” Yang Kai asked. He also desired to meet with the Old Ancestor, but previously, the Old Ancestor was in the midst of recovering from his injuries, so he could not meet him.
The issue of the Void Corridor had to be reported, but in accordance with Meng Qi’s instructions before his death, Yang Kai never disclosed the issue to anyone else, only planning to explain everything when he met the Old Ancestor.
Zhong Liang suddenly turned awkward, “Maybe in a few years. The Old Ancestor should be recovering right now. Although he instructed you to meet him, nobody expected you to be out of retreat so quickly.”
According to the Old Ancestor’s previous estimation, Yang Kai would need at least a few dozen years to advance to the Seventh Order. By that time, he would have completed his recovery and could meet this interesting Junior.
Who knew in just a few days, Yang Kai had already successfully advanced to the Seventh Order.
Besides, the Old Ancestor hadn’t fully recovered from his previous injuries when he went out to battle the Royal Lord again. They really should not interfere with him this time when he returned to recover.
Yang Kai nodded without objections.
“Good. Get some rest. We’ll take our leave,” Zhong Liang said as he signalled to Ding Yao and the others.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying bowed and watched them leave.
After exiting the courtyard, Liang Yu Long suddenly asked, “Brother Zhong, what are you up to?”
The four of them hurried over here, hoping to recruit Yang Kai into their respective Army, but no one spoke about this matter, and Zhong Liang even motioned them to leave quickly. Of course, Liang Yu Long wanted to ask why.
Zhong Liang then replied, “I considered it thoroughly. We old fogies should not trouble the little ones. How do you want him to choose if all four armies try to recruit him? It’s not appropriate for him to promise any one of us. We are all part of Blue Sky Pass anyways, so let’s let things drift for now and we can talk about it after he has become more familiar with things here.”
Ding Yao answered with a nod, “Good. It will indeed make things difficult for him if we force him to choose now. The future is still far, so let’s not be in such a hurry.”
Since they had said so, Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo could not object either, thus the subject was put on hold for the time being.
Just after Zhong Liang and the others left Feng Ying’s courtyard, someone else came for a visit.
Yang Kai didn’t know them, but after Feng Ying’s introduction, he learned that the visitor was from Blue Sky Pass’ Merit Hall. The Merit Hall was a very important organisation in Blue Sky Pass, as its main responsibility was to document everyone’s Military Merits in each battle.
The Military Merits could be exchanged for cultivation resources at the War Materials Hall.
Now that Yang Kai knew who this person was, he naturally wouldn’t show him any disrespect. It was fine when he didn’t know who he was before, but now that he knew the identity of the person before him, he was curious to know what Military Merits he had obtained in this battle.
However, to his shock, the visitor hadn’t come to announce his Military Merits. Instead, that person came here under the order of the Army Commanders of the Four Armies to announce his punishment.
He had defied orders from the Western Army Commander, disregarded the overall situation, and put himself and others in danger. After a discussion, the four Army Commanders decided to punish Yang Kai by making him clean up the battlefield.
The punishment left Yang Kai dumbfounded.
The man from the Merit Hall laughed sheepishly, handed Yang Kai the jade slip, and cupped his fist while saying, “Brother Yang, I’m only following orders, so please don’t be upset with me. Cleaning the battlefield is not difficult, but it’s time-consuming. This isn’t really much of a punishment. Oh, right, the area you will be responsible for cleaning is demarcated inside this jade slip. Just take a look and you’ll know what I mean.”
There was nothing Yang Kai could say, so he accepted the jade slip.
The man from the Merit Hall left without saying anything else.
Then, as Yang Kai stood in the same spot, he looked at the jade slip and noticed that a basic map of Blue Sky Pass and its surroundings was engraved into it. Also, the area he was assigned to clean up was also highlighted on the map.
He turned to look at Feng Ying and asked, “What should I do?”
Feng Ying answered, “There’s not much to do, actually. The main thing is to clean up any leftover Black Ink Clouds and Black Ink Strength. If those are left near Blue Sky Pass, they will become something the Black Ink Army can use when they attack us again. Come with me.”
Saying so, she walked forward to lead the way.
A few moments later, the two arrived at the War Materials Hall. Inside the hall, everyone was bustling like busy bees, and there was a continuous stream of people heading in and out. There were many who recognised Yang Kai and nodded or smiled at him. Some even came forward and greeted him so that they could have a chance to get to know him.
Yang Kai politely responded to all of them.
When Feng Ying finally found someone from the War Materials Hall, she asked for a set of tools used for cleaning the battlefield before leading Yang Kai away.
Leaving Blue Sky Pass, moved towards the region indicated in the jade slip and soon arrived at a certain area of the battlefield. As they looked ahead, they saw the whole area was filled with Black Ink Clouds of various shapes and sizes, as well as some dead Black Ink Clansmen.
Though Blue Sky Pass also suffered casualties during this battle, the dead and injured had all been carried away by their companions; therefore, only the corpses of the Black Ink Clan were left.
The area Yang Kai was responsible for was about 100,000 kilometres in length, breadth, and width. It wasn’t particularly big, but it wasn’t small either.
At this moment, there were already many others cleaning up in other areas of the battlefield. Looking from where they stood, they saw most of the cleaning crews working in groups of two, each person holding one end of a net that they dragged across the void. As these nets passed through the void, the Black Ink Clouds would be gathered into them and then brought somewhere else.
Once the clouds in the net were dealt with, those with nets would return to another part of their area and repeat the process.
Yang Kai came to the realization that these nets were special artifacts the Human Masters had come up with because Black Ink Strength was very difficult to deal with. Up till this point, besides his Purifying Light, there was nothing that could disperse and purify it.
Therefore, if they wanted to clean up the battlefield, they had to find another method. These nets were something they came up with through countless years of research and testing.
“This is the Black Ink Trawling Net,” While Feng Ying spoke, she took out something that looked like a net that was about as long as a forearm. However, when she channelled World Force into the net, it rapidly enlarged, “This is the only thing we can use to clean up the battlefield, so we generally refer to cleaning up the battlefield as fishing.”
Hearing that made Yang Kai laugh. The scene before him did resemble fishermen working with their nets. The only difference was that instead of fish, there were only Black Ink Clouds here.
The Black Ink Trawling Net had no other use besides collecting Black Ink Clouds that were from battle.
“Where are the Black Ink Clouds being sent to?” Yang Kai asked.
Feng Ying replied, “We move them about 1 million kilometres away from here.”
It was no wonder that the man from the Merit Hall said being on the cleanup duty was not difficult but time-consuming. The Black Ink Clouds had to be sent 1 million kilometres away at minimum, so moving back and forth alone would be quite time-consuming.
After a rough estimation, Yang Kai concluded that cleaning up this 100,000-kilometre area might take at least one or two months.
He had just advanced to the Seventh Order, and what he needed now was to consolidate his cultivation. He didn’t have time to waste on fishing for clouds.
Once he had a decision in mind, he immediately waved his hand, “That’s too much trouble.”
After he finished his words, Yang Kai approached the Black Ink Clouds, opened the portal to his Small Universe, and generated a suction force that began drawing everything towards it.
In just a matter of breaths, the massive Black Ink Cloud was sucked inside his Small Universe.
Feng Ying watched speechlessly and worriedly from the side while Yang Kai’s figure dashed to and fro, gathering Black Ink Clouds of various sizes.
Though Yang Kai had a World Spring with him, it was uncertain if he would experience any complications from taking in so much Black Ink Strength.
Nevertheless, she relaxed after seeing that Yang Kai was doing fine.
It only took Yang Kai two days to clean up the 100,000 kilometres area; yet, he didn’t return to the Inner Sanctum after he finished. Instead, he stopped somewhere in the void and stared fixedly ahead.
Feng Ying approached him and asked, “What’s the matter?”
After faintly sighing, Yang Kai suddenly reached out his hand. Space Principles surged and his hand disappeared, as though it had passed through an invisible curtain of some kind.
Feng Ying’s brow rose, feeling confused as to what had just happened.
Space Principles continued to undulate for a while before Yang Kai suddenly shouted, “Open!”
Once he said that, his hand rotated sharply and the place where it had disappeared was now replaced by a vortex-like phenomenon. The vortex was like a whirlpool, and as it swirled, the aura of a Small Universe emerged from it.
Feng Ying was shocked, “Is that…”
“A Universe Paradise.” Yang Kai’s eyes looked a little dim as he replied, “I’m not sure who left this behind though.”
When a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master passed away, there was a chance for their Small Universe to remain intact and merge with the Void. If one didn’t know the exact location, it would be very difficult to find these Sealed Worlds, and even if one knew the exact location, they would have to know how to open the portal leading to it.
These Sealed Worlds that were left behind after the death of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master were known as Universe Cave Heavens or Universe Paradises.
A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would leave behind a Universe Paradise, while an Eighth or Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would leave behind a Universe Cave Heaven.
The Blood Monster Cave Heaven which Yang Kai had explored once before was the Universe Cave Heaven left behind by Blood Monster Divine Monarch.
Later, when he and Bright Sun Divine Monarch Cheng Yang worked together in the Shattered Heaven, they found and opened a total of five Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises. With his mastery over the Dao of Space, Yang Kai was adept at finding and then forcing open Universe Cave Heavens or Paradises.
These Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises were left behind by powerful Masters, and if one were lucky, one might be able to inherit the previous owner’s legacy.
Therefore, among the 3,000 Worlds, Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises represented fortune and opportunity. Once one was found, people would swarm over to seize a piece of the pie.
Every time Blood Monster Cave Heaven was opened, it would attract many elite disciples to enter and explore it, which showed how precious these Sealed Worlds were.
However, they were on the Black Ink Battlefield now, and just outside Blue Sky Pass.
Throughout the ages, countless Human Masters fought the Black Ink Clan right here, painting the void in blood.
The number of Human Masters that died here must have been too many to count.
When the armies were locked in battle, there were bursts of energy everywhere, so Yang Kai wasn’t able to sense anything. While he was cleaning up the battlefield though, he could feel slight, almost imperceptible, spatial fluctuations coming from certain points around him.
No matter how strong he was, if he were not proficient in the Dao of Space, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to discover anything. But due to his experience of discovering and opening so many Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises before, coupled with the special conditions here, he naturally knew what these space fluctuations meant.
After giving it a try, just as he predicted, he easily opened up a portal to a Universe Paradise.
Though it seemed easy for Yang Kai, it was mind-blowing for Feng Ying.
Many knew that countless Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises were located outside of Blue Sky Pass; after all, an uncountable number of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had died here over the millennia.
To this point though, there had been no one besides Yang Kai who could easily find and open those lost Small Universes.
If he could open one, he could open a second, third…
What did that mean? It meant the legacies of the owners of those Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises could be found and retrieved. Though there might not be much, even retrieving some memorial items of these Masters who had fought and died to stop the Black Ink Clan would have meaning.
“Do you want to head inside?” Yang Kai nudged his head towards the portal.
Nodding, Feng Ying added, “I just need to report about this first.”
As she spoke, she took out her communication artifact and notified the higher-ups. Once she did that, she followed Yang Kai through the portal.
Their vision blurred for a moment; then, they were inside. As Yang Kai predicted, this was a Universe Paradise that was left behind by a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
However, this Universe Paradise was dilapidated and barren, and some places looked like parts had been cut away. Yang Kai could guess that the owner of this Small Universe had been invaded by Black Ink Strength and was forced to cut out a part of his Small Universe to continue fighting.
Unfortunately, the owner still died in battle.
After the owner died, his Small Universe didn’t rupture and was preserved to create an incomplete Universe Paradise.
This Universe Paradise wasn’t very big, nor did there seem to be anything of value.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying explored the place but couldn’t find anything. Yang Kai was puzzled by this because the owner of this Small Universe was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and such people would normally keep all their important belongings inside their Small Universe, so whatever they had would end up here after they died.
However, they couldn’t find anything of value even after performing a careful exploration.
Seeming to have noticed Yang Kai’s doubts, Feng Ying explained, “Every time a war breaks out, everyone in Blue Sky Pass leaves everything of value they possess in the Inner Sanctum. Everything beside their important artifacts and pills which can restore energy and heal their wounds is left behind. That way, if they die, the resources left in the Inner Sanctum can be used by others.”
On the chaotic battlefield, no one could be certain if they could come back alive, which was why they would carry the mentality that they were heading to the last battle of their lives and had to fight to the death.
That was also the reason why they couldn’t find anything of value in this Small Universe. The belongings of the owner had been collected by others in Blue Sky Pass after his death and became materials for others to become stronger.
Yang Kai stood in awe.
If that was true, there was no reason to continue exploring.
A while later, Yang Kai and Feng Ying left the Universe Paradise. When they came out, the four Army Commanders were waiting for them.
Feng Ying had contacted Zhong Liang, who then contacted Ding Yao and the others. The four arrived at almost the same time.
Four pairs of eyes were instantly attracted to the portal that led to the Universe Paradise, and Zhong Liang even swept his eyes over Yang Kai while asking, “Did you do this?”
Yang Kai nodded. There was no need to hide that fact.
“Do you know who left this behind?” Zhong Liang asked another question. This time, it wasn’t directed at Yang Kai, but at Feng Ying.
Shaking her head, Feng Ying answered, “I’m not sure. Unless it’s someone who knows the owner going in to have a look, I’m afraid it will be hard to determine who it belonged to.”
Zhong Liang stayed silent. Unless the Small Universe left by the cultivator had special characteristics, it was difficult to determine who its former owner was. Moreover, countless Masters had been killed outside Blue Sky Pass over the ages, and so much time had passed it was almost impossible to determine who these Small Universes belonged to.
Suddenly, Ding Yao looked at Yang Kai and questioned, “Did you find this by chance, or do you have the ability to open portals to all these Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises?”
Yang Kai replied, “As long as they aren’t hidden too deeply, I can find and open them.”
Hearing this, the four Army Commanders frowned. Ding Yao nodded and said, “Very good. If it’s true, then you might be making a huge contribution.”
Yang Kai was confused. What huge contribution? If what Feng Ying said was true, there wouldn’t be many valuable things in the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises hidden outside Blue Sky Pass. Even if he found and opened them, what good would they bring to Blue Sky Pass?
Nevertheless, since Ding Yao had spoken, it must be something important.
On the other hand, Yang Kai also found the arrival of all four Army Commanders a little fishy. He didn’t expect all four to come when Feng Ying said she had to make a report.
Also, judging by the expressions on Zhong Liang’s and the others’ faces, Yang Kai was clear that it might be something important.
As he was still confused, he simply decided to ask, “Are these Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises very important? There aren’t many valuables inside.”
Ding Yao explained, “Those who went into battle naturally wouldn’t bring much with them. They fought to the death against the Black Ink Clan when they were alive, and the Small Universes they left behind after they died can also become a weapon to kill the Black Ink Clan. We’ve had such plans for a long time, but we didn’t have the ability to open these hidden Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises. Who would have thought you were capable of this.”
Then, Zhong Liang continued, “Think of it this way. The Universe Paradise before you has little value on its own. Though it has World Force and the owner’s Dao Essence, it is essentially useless to us Humans. However, what if we make it into a trap?”
“A trap?” Yang Kai frowned.
Zhong Liang’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he elaborated, “The Black Ink Clan Army repeatedly besieges Blue Sky Pass. If we convert this Universe Paradise into a trap, when the Black Ink Clan Army approaches, we can trigger it and all nearby Black Ink Clansmen will be drawn inside.”
Liang Yu Long continued, “We can arrange Killing Arrays in this Universe Paradise in advance. After the Black Ink Clan is trapped inside, the Killing Array will activate and weaken the Black Ink Clan without us having to fight them directly.”
Shen Tu Mo agreed, “One Universe Paradise may not make much of a difference, but there are so many Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises outside of Blue Sky Pass. If we activate 1,000 of them at once, we may be able to win the next war in one fell swoop!”
After listening to their explanation, Yang Kai felt his pulse accelerate. A magnificent sight came into his mind where the Black Ink Clan Army besieged Blue Sky Pass from all sides in full momentum and then fell into the traps set up using the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises. Then, in a flash, they triggered the Killing Arrays and slaughtered the enemy.
If this could be achieved, Blue Sky Pass could win a large battle effortlessly. Had the Humans set up such traps in previous battles, they would have had another sharp weapon with which to repel the enemy.
People from Blue Sky Pass clearly had such an idea long ago; unfortunately, although the idea was good, it was difficult to put it into action. They had no way to find and open up these hidden Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises, so how could they use them as traps?
Therefore, after hearing that Yang Kai could find and force open these Small Universes, Zhong Liang immediately realised the importance of the matter and summoned Ding Yao and the others to come and assess the situation.
This time, the Black Ink Clan Army suffered heavy losses and severely damaged their foundation, so Blue Sky Pass was safe for the time being. But the Black Ink Clan Army would return someday, and there would be another fierce battle when they did.
While the Black Ink Clan were recuperating, there was enough time for them to set up a Grand Killing Array here at Blue Sky Pass. If their plan was executed well, the next time the Black Ink Clan Army arrived, there would be a huge unpleasant surprise waiting for them.
The key to this plan relied on Yang Kai’s ability to find and open these long-lost Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises.
If he could do this, then everything else would fall into place, but if he couldn’t, then they couldn’t even begin.
The four Army Commanders looked at Yang Kai with complicated expressions. Originally, because Yang Kai disobeyed orders, they decided to punish him by having him clean up the battlefield, but who would have thought that cleaning up the battlefield could earn him another great merit?
They also heard from Feng Ying that Yang Kai was going to contribute a large batch of Profound Yin Bamboo to Blue Sky Pass…
Each Profound Yin Bamboo was a precious treasure, especially for the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Black Ink Battlefield. If they did get their hands on those Profound Yin Bamboo, they would have a huge advantage in both resisting the corruption of Black Ink Strength and improving their own cultivation.
This was another great merit that could be awarded to Yang Kai.
That realization gave Zhong Liang and others a headache. A Junior with too many merits wasn’t something to celebrate, because it made it difficult to force him into line when the time came.
Once all his merits were converted into Military Merits, Yang Kai would have accumulated a considerable amount of wealth. With these potential merits, and the ones he earned in the last battle, he now had more than most Eighth-Order Division Commanders.
“Yang Kai, this matter is of great importance. Are you sure you can find and open those Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises?” Zhong Liang put aside the many thoughts in his head and asked solemnly. This was a matter related to the situation of future wars, so he had to confirm everything carefully.
Yang Kai answered respectfully, “I wouldn’t dare to make any wild claims.”
Ding Yao retorted indifferently, “Seeing is believing!”
Naturally, he meant he wanted Yang Kai to do a demonstration for them. Yang Kai didn’t refuse and immediately nodded, “Follow me, please.”
When he was cleaning the battlefield, he found several suspicious places, so it was not difficult to open another portal.
A short while later, the crowd stopped at a certain place, and under everyone’s watchful gaze, Yang Kai, like before, stretched his hand out into the Void.
There seemed to be a faint burst of Space Principles before Yang Kai’s hand immediately disappeared without a trace before everyone’s eyes.
Zhong Liang and others immediately raised their brows.
The next moment, Yang Kai twisted his hand and manipulated the Space Principles. Then, a slowly rotating vortex appeared in everyone’s field of vision. Also, there was an aura of a Small Universe gradually diffusing outward from that vortex.
Ding Yao and others watched with widened eyes. They knew Yang Kai wouldn’t deceive them about such matters, and they believed that he had such abilities, but wasn’t this too easy for him?
It felt like opening a hidden Universe Cave Heavens or Universe Paradises for him was as easy as eating a snack or drinking a glass of water.
They had the idea of converting the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises outside Blue Sky Pass into traps, but even after many attempts, they couldn’t open any because they had too few people who were proficient in the Dao of Space! Even if they had Masters who had cultivated the Dao of Space, their attainments were quite low and they could not find and open these hidden Small Universes.
On the other hand, Yang Kai could open a portal just by stretching out his hand. How great were his attainments in the Dao of Space for this brat to accomplish this? But, when they recalled that this kid could even arrange Universe Arrays, they didn’t feel surprised anymore.
In the meantime, Yang Kai was frowning at the portal. The aura coming from it gave him a feeling that something was not right.
“What happened?” Zhong Liang asked.
Yang Kai said, “This Universe Paradise seems to be stained by Black Ink Strength.”
“Stained by Black Ink Strength?” Zhong Liang frowned.
Yang Kai nodded before he fiercely extended his hands, and the vortex greatly expanded. The hazy centre of the vortex revealed a scene that was as black as ink. It was obvious that the scene before them was the scene inside the portal.
With the opening of the portal, the Black Ink Strength inside wanted to gush out, but under Yang Kai’s suppression, it remained sealed inside the Universe Paradise.
Zhong Liang sighed slightly, “Seal it up. This Universe Paradise can’t be used anymore.”
To set up an Array inside a Universe Paradise, the Spirit Array Grandmasters had to enter it; however, they couldn’t enter a Universe Paradise if it was suffused with Black Ink Strength. The Spirit Array Grandmasters didn’t have Yang Kai’s ability to resist the corruption of Black Ink Strength.
This Universe Paradise was completely stained with Black Ink Strength, so it was conceivable that its owner was already corrupted by Black Ink Strength while he was alive. Before the owner died, he still fought hard, but eventually died, leaving this Small Universe behind.
There had to be more than one Small Universe like this. There were likely many in fact.
Furthermore, not every High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master would leave behind a Small Universe after their death.
There were also many who had given their lives for the sake of the Human Race but couldn’t even leave a trace of their existence behind. It was pitiful.
Even so, the Cave Heavens and Paradises were still fighting against the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield, not allowing the Black Ink Clan to set foot into the 3,000 Worlds, which was a sacrifice worthy of respect.
Who would have known that cleaning up the battlefield would result in realising such an important plan that could change Blue Sky Pass’ future?
The four Army Commanders passed down orders, and men immediately swarmed out of the Inner Sanctum to the battlefield to rapidly clean it.
Only when the battlefield was fully cleaned could Yang Kai open the various portals to the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises. After that, they would let those who were proficient in the Dao of Spirit Arrays enter them and get to work.
Because the battlefield was so vast, it would take at least two or three months to clean it no matter how many people were helping, so Yang Kai had nothing to do in the meantime. He had to wait until the battlefield was cleaned up before he could start working.
Thus, he followed Feng Ying back to Blue Sky Pass.
It was only then that Yang Kai was registered at Blue Sky Pass and officially became one of the members of the Army. Yang Kai arrived here in the middle of a war, so no one was available to help him get registered. After the war, he went into retreat to break through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and then he was punished to clean up the battlefield; therefore, he only had the time to go through the registration procedures now.
Now that he had his own Identity Token, Yang Kai felt a weight on his shoulders. Throughout the ages, every Human Master on the Black Ink Battlefield had an Identity Token, yet so many had died and the only way to trace their existence was to search for this token.
He had witnessed how fierce the battles here were, and knew how difficult it was for an Open Heaven Realm Master to survive on the Black Ink Battlefield. The more he learned, the more he resented the Black Ink Clan.
While Yang Kai was lost in thought, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who had registered him suddenly handed over a jade slip with a smile, “Yang Kai, here is a Letter of Appointment authorised by the four Army Commanders. Please accept it.”
“Letter of Appointment?” Yang Kai took it curiously and was shocked when he used his Divine Sense to read it.
The content of the jade slip was very simple. It said he had performed well and worked hard during this battle, so he was being promoted to Squad Leader as a reward for his valour.
Also, the jade slip had Imprints from all four Army Commander, which no one could and would dare to fake.
[So, I’m a Squad Leader now?] Yang Kai was confused.
First, he was punished and made to clean up the battlefield, and now he was rewarded. What was this all about? Was this what they called a carrot-and-stick approach?
“Senior Sister Feng also has one.” The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master added while handing a jade slip to Feng Ying.
Feng Ying took it curiously and nodded lightly after checking its contents.
Yang Kai wanted to ask Feng Ying about her jade slip, but if it was something bad, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to ask, so he kept quiet. However, Feng Ying directly turned her head to look at him and said, “From now on, I am your Deputy.”
Yang Kai looked at her in astonishment.
After putting away the jade slip, Feng Ying reiterated, “You heard correctly. From now on, I am to serve as your Vice Squad Leader.”
Yang Kai was surprised, “But, aren’t you a Battalion Commander?”
A Battalion Commander ranked higher than a Squad Leader. Feng Ying also performed well in this battle, but not only wasn’t she rewarded, but she was demoted from Battalion Commander to Deputy Squad Leader. What were the Army Commanders up to?
But on second thought, Yang Kai figured it out.
The four Army Commanders made this arrangement to one, let Feng Ying protect him, and two, to keep an eye on him; after all, he had disobeyed their orders, disregarded his own safety, and ran straight to the battlefield, which greatly frightened the four Army Commanders. They weren’t certain if he would do it again, so they had Feng Ying stick close to him to make sure this didn’t happen a second time.
Among all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Masters, Feng Ying was one of the strongest, so even if they did get into a dangerous situation, she could protect him.
[All this happened because of me…]
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, “Martial Aunt, I’ll go talk to the four Army Commanders and ask them to rescind their orders.”
Feng Ying shook her head, however, and declared, “There’s no need. I have someone in mind to take over my place in the Battalion. Also, this decision was jointly made by the four Army Commanders, so they can’t change it at will. You, on the other hand, do need someone to watch over you.”
Her words meant that she didn’t mind monitoring Yang Kai, which made him blush.
Feng Ying frowned again and added, “But, there is something strange about this letter of appointment.”
“Is it a fake?” Yang Kai cheered. He didn’t care about being a Squad Leader, but it didn’t feel good to have someone watching him all the time.
While glaring at him, Feng Ying said, “There’s no way this is fake. What I mean is, the Army Commanders appointed us as Squad Leader and Vice Squad Leader, but they didn’t say which Army, Wing, Division, or even Battalion we would be joining.”
Only when she said this did Yang Kai realise what the problem was. It was true that the Letter of Appointment only said that he was promoted to Squad Leader, but it didn’t mention who he would be serving under.
He hadn’t been on the Black Ink Battlefield for long, but Feng Ying had been here for thousands of years, so she knew exactly what should be included in such letters. However, something vital was missing from both their letters, so both of them felt doubtful.
“I’ll ask them when I have time.” Feng Ying said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the Merit Hall and War Materials Hall. You’ve just broken through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so take advantage of this free time to consolidate your cultivation.”
The Merit Hall and War Materials Hall were in the same central building, so there were many cultivators coming and going.
This place was usually packed because one could check their Military Merits and exchange them for supplies here; thus, this was naturally a place that many cultivators would frequent.
Especially now that the war had just ended, the place seemed even more lively than normal.
The two first stopped at the Merit Hall to check out their Military Merits and soon received a detailed report. Yang Kai wasn’t clear on what the number of Military Merits represented; after all, he was new to Blue Sky Pass and didn’t know how such things were calculated, nor did he know how much they were worth.
After asking Feng Ying though, he found out that his Military Merits were quite high, and that the Military Merits received by Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders after a major battle would only be this much as well.
The Military Merits Feng Ying had earned after the last war were only about 20% of Yang Kai’s, but even so, it was already beyond her expectations.
According to her previous estimates, her Military Merits this time should not be this high.
After a moment of silence though, Feng Ying suddenly realised something and posited, “I think they’ve also taken the hundreds of people we brought back into their calculations.”
When they fought their way back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain, they saved hundreds of Black Ink Disciples, which was also a great merit.
Now that they had their Military Merits, they went to the War Materials Hall to exchange them for resources. The Manager in charge of this matter handed them two jade slips, which included all the materials they could exchange for Military Merits.
Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to look inside and saw that the first item on the list was a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit. The number of Military Merits needed was not too high, but it wasn’t too low either. However, there was a ‘Limited Supply’ note beside the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit.
Obviously, Blue Sky Pass was short of Profound Yin Spirit Fruit. Even taking all the Great Passes into account, Profound Yin Spirit Fruits were scarce.
During every battle, there were countless cultivators who had to sacrifice parts of their Small Universes. If they wanted to repair the damage, they needed a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, which could only be found in special Sealed Worlds on the Black Ink Battlefield. Whenever a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit appeared anywhere, it would be exchanged for immediately.
What Yang Kai found surprising was that the second item on the list was actually Profound Yin Bamboo. However, there was also a ‘Limit Supply’ label behind it.
He was planning to contribute a batch of Profound Yin Bamboo to Blue Sky Pass. Previously, he had accumulated too much heritage in his Small Universe, so he had to use up a large amount of World Force to grow Profound Yin Bamboo, which was of little use to him. He had the World Spring in his Small Universe, so there was no need for him to have Profound Yin Bamboo too.
It seemed Blue Sky Pass had gotten word that he would be contributing a batch of Profound Yin Bamboo, which was why they added it to the list of exchangeable materials to boost the Army’s morale.
The various resources following Profound Yin Bamboo were for cultivation. Additionally, among the materials that could be exchanged for were artifacts and even Secret Techniques from all the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Yang Kai searched through the list and found that among these Secret Techniques were the Demon Eye of Annihilation and the Black Purgatory Eye.
The amount of Military Merits required for these two Secret Techniques were enormous! Even with the Military Merits he had gained today, Yang Kai barely had enough to redeem for one of them.
Even so, Yang Kai was still a bit shocked.
Those two Eye Secret Techniques were the core secrets of Myriad Demons Heaven. In the 3,000 Worlds, only the most elite Core Disciples were qualified to cultivate them, with ordinary disciples never even having a chance to see them, let alone disciples of other Sects.
But here, on the Black Ink Battlefield, these two Secret Techniques were actually purchasable by all.
How could he not be shocked by this?
After thinking about it though, Yang Kai understood.
Such a different situation existed here because this was the Black Ink Battlefield. Since ancient times, Human Masters who stepped on into the Black Ink Battlefield never returned to the 3,000 Worlds, so even if they had exchanged their Military Merits for these two Secret Techniques, Myriad Demons Heaven wouldn’t have to worry about them leaking to the general public.
If someone did manage to cultivate these two Secret Techniques, it would benefit the Humans as well because they could at least improve the strength of said cultivator.
Yang Kai was still curious and asked the Manager while holding the jade slip, “If I exchange Military Merits for these two Eye Secret Techniques, how will I receive them?”
The Manager smiled and said, “We don’t provide the cultivation methods here in Blue Sky Pass. If you want to exchange for them, you will need to go to Myriad Demons Pass. The Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Cave Heaven resides there, and he will personally teach you the two Eye Secret Techniques.”
Yang Kai now understood the situation. He thought there was a prepared cultivation method here in Blue Sky Pass, but he did not expect that would need to head to Myriad Demons Pass to find the Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Cave Heaven.
It was obvious that all the procedures were the same if one wanted to practice the specialized Secret Techniques of all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Yet, to get a chance to be taught by an Old Ancestor was definitely a blessing.
Feng Ying looked at him curiously, “You want to exchange for these two Eye Secret Techniques?”
“I’m just asking,” Yang Kai shook his head. There was no need for him to exchange for them because he already possessed the Demon Eye of Annihilation and Black Pupils of Purgatory. Before coming to the Black Ink Battlefield, A Myriad Demons Heaven Ancestor, Mo Sha, had personally taught him those techniques.
If he had time to cultivate these two Eye Secret Techniques and reached the highest possible level of mastery, he would have another trump card to fight against the Black Ink Clan.
Feng Ying nodded and said from the side, “Those inside the Inner Sanctum exchange materials according to a principle. Only exchange for what you need. Resources are scarce, so don’t take anything you don’t plan to immediately make use of.”
Yang Kai nodded. He didn’t need to exchange for cultivation materials because he had already prepared enough of them before coming to the Black Ink Battlefield. The cultivation materials piled up in his Small Universe were enough for him to cultivate until the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and still have some to spare.
However, the War Materials Hall did have some good quality Spirit Pills, which would be used for quickly healing injuries, restoring strength, and accelerating cultivation.
Thus, Yang Kai exchanged a small amount of his Military Merits for some pills to try out their effects.
Meanwhile, Feng Ying also quickly exchanged for materials she needed.
In Blue Sky Pass, each cultivator had their own living space, and the higher their rank, the better the conditions of their accommodations and the more extensive the area. Since Yang Kai was promoted to the position of Squad Leader, he was entitled to a small courtyard.
Perhaps someone had forgotten about it or deliberately did it on purpose because though Yang Kai received a Letter of Appointment, he wasn’t actually assigned a place to stay.
Fortunately for him, Feng Ying had a spacious place, and she didn’t mind sharing it with him.
While Feng Ying returned to her place, Yang Kai went into retreat. Before he entered retreat, he took out most of the Profound Yin Bamboo from his Small Universe and gave it to Feng Ying so that she could hand it over for him.
Having just broken through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai needed some time to consolidate his cultivation and adapt to his new strength.
For the next few months, Yang Kai would be in retreat and refining cultivation materials of all Orders to enhance the heritage of his Small Universe.
When others cultivated, most of them would opt to use Open Heaven Pills. Even if there were some that chose to refine cultivation materials, their Orders wouldn’t be very high because they had to gather resources of all Seven Elements to be able to safely cultivate. If any of the seven materials were missing, there was a high chance of causing an imbalance in the cultivator’s Small Universe, which would lead to future dangers.
While materials from the Five Elements were easy to find, Yin and Yang Element materials of higher Orders were rare and difficult to acquire.
However, Yang Kai didn’t need to worry about this. The Yellow and Blue Crystals he obtained in the Chaotic Dead Territory were beyond count, and although they were essential for purifying and dispelling Black Ink Strength, it didn’t matter if he used a few of them for cultivation.
That way, the speed of Yang Kai’s cultivation would be incomparably faster than others.
In addition, he still had living beings inside his Small Universe, especially the countless Small Stone Race members, which were constantly enhancing the heritage of his Small Universe.
Also, because he had cultivated the Dao of Time, the flow of time in his Small Universe was four times faster compared to the outside world.
One year outside was equivalent to four years inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe. If he used that advantage well, it would save him a lot of time cultivating.
One could imagine that the time Yang Kai needed to advance from Seventh-Order to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future would be considerably shorter than average.
Now that he had advanced from the Sixth-Order to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, the volume of his Small Universe had increased dramatically, and the amount of heritage he could hold had increased proportionally. According to his estimation, the heritage of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was at least 10 times more than that of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and he had only just advanced. As time went by, his heritage would only grow stronger as he continued to cultivate.
At this point, he deeply appreciated the huge gap between the Sixth and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realms and was secretly glad that the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters he had conflicts with were not very strong. If he had made an enemy of someone on Feng Ying’s level, he wouldn’t be alive today.
Months later, the cultivation chamber’s seal was knocked on. Yang Kai woke from his meditation and opened the door with a wave of his hand.
Right then, Feng Ying stepped inside and reported, “The battlefield has been cleaned, and Martial Uncle Zhong is waiting for you.”
Yang Kai got up and said, “Let’s go.”
A short while later, the two of them exited Blue Sky Pass. While looking around, they saw that all the Black Ink Clouds were cleared from the surrounding battlefield, and even the Small Universe fragments were disposed of. The whole void was now clear and empty.
Only Zhong Liang was waiting for Yang Kai there.
When he saw them, he beckoned them over.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying approached him and saluted. Zhong Liang nodded lightly and said, “I’ll leave it to you to find those Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises that are not stained by Black Ink Strength. After you find one, leave the portal open and we’ll dispatch specialists to handle the rest.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and said, “Understood.”
Zhong Liang nodded, “Many thanks to you for your hard work. After you are done with this, there is another matter you’ll need to handle. You will be quite busy for some time and won’t have much left to cultivate. Take care and don’t overwork yourself.”
While saying so, he reached out and patted Yang Kai’s shoulder.
Feeling doubtful, Yang Kai asked, “What other matter?”
With his hands behind his back, Zhong Liang casually replied, “You’ll know eventually. There are still things I need to take care of in the Inner Sanctum, so I’ll be heading back now. Feng Ying will assist you. Let her know about anything you need.”
After that, with a flicker, Zhong Liang rushed back to Blue Sky Pass in a stream of light.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying watched him leave, and after his figure disappeared from view, Yang Kai turned his head to ask, “Martial Aunt, do you know what the other matter Senior Zhong was talking about is?”
Feng Ying shook her head, “I’m not sure, but it’s probably related to Black Ink Strength somehow.”
Although Yang Kai had advanced to the Seventh Order, there were many such Masters in Blue Sky Pass, so the matter Yang Kai needed to deal with was most likely related to Black Ink Strength.
“But I did ask about your promotion to Squad Leader,” Feng Ying quickly changed the subject.
“Really? What did the Army Commanders say?”
Feng Ying replied, “Martial Uncle Zhong said that your identity is special, so you won’t belong to a specific Army or Division. The team you’ll be leading will be a Special Operations Squad, and we are currently the only members in it. In the future, we will only answer to the four Army Commanders directly. In addition, you can recruit anyone in Blue Sky Pass that is under the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm up to a limit of 50 people!”
Hearing those words, Yang Kai raised his brow, “A Special Operations Squad?”
This was quite a surprise to him, but it also showed how much the four Army Commanders valued him. Whether it was in Blue Sky Pass, or the other Great Passes, the structure of the army was basically pre-determined. A Squad had about 10 to 15 soldiers, while a Battalion had up to 100.
The maximum number of personnel Yang Kai could have in his special squad was 50, which was equivalent to having half the strength of a Battalion.
In addition, the Army Commanders allowed him to pick soldiers with strength below the Eight-Order Open Heaven Realm at will. In other words, if Yang Kai wanted to, he could create a squad with a lineup of 50 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Such a lineup would be quite terrifying.
If such a squad were to fight on the battlefield, it was very likely that they would produce unexpected results. Along with the power of a Warship, they could even kill a Territory Lord if they encountered one.
Yang Kai questioned, “Didn’t the Army Commanders disagree with me entering the battlefield? What’s the point of having this special arrangement?” If they couldn’t fight, there would be no meaning for this Squad to exist.
Feng Ying said with a smile, “They don’t want you to risk your life, but after what happened before, they probably know that you are the impatient type. If another war breaks out, there’s no way you will just stay still on the sidelines, and it’s impossible for them to always keep an eye on you, so rather than letting you find a way to sneak out on your own, it’s better to give you enough power to protect yourself. Moreover, you have already proven your strength. There aren’t any weaklings on the Black Ink Battlefield. Everyone going into battle has braved through many difficulties.”
After listening to Feng Ying’s explanation, Yang Kai thought her words made sense.
If another big battle broke out, it was impossible for him to stay out of it. Of course he had to fight.
He even survived an attack from a Royal Lord, so there was almost nothing he needed to fear on the Black Ink Battlefield.
“You were in retreat back then so I didn’t have the chance to tell you about it. If you have any suitable candidates in mind, do tell me, and we’ll see about recruiting them.”
After thinking about it, Yang Kai said, “There were several Seventh-Order Masters who followed us back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain.”
Feng Ying nodded, “Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu. They are all quite strong.”
All three of them were corrupted by Black Ink Strength and degenerated into Black Ink Disciples. After being saved by Yang Kai though, they each consumed a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to repair their damaged Small Universes and fought their way back here. In a way, they were now companions who had braved life and death together. If Yang Kai and Feng Ying recruited the three of them, it would save them time familiarising themselves with each other.
“I’ll head back and ask for their opinions. If they are willing to join us, I’ll report to the higher-ups and register them into our Squad. But before that, you have to decide on a name.”
“A name?” Yang Kai asked.
“Since it’s a Special Operations Squad, it has to have a name; otherwise, we won’t be able to register it.”
“What do you have in mind?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Feng Ying smiled and said, “You are the Leader here, so you make the call.”
Yang Kai squinted and looked into the depths of the void. All he saw was endless darkness, so after a long while, he finally spoke, “Dawn!”
Feng Ying murmured, “Dawn, as in daybreak? I hope I can see that someday.”
“I’m sure you will.” Yang Kai grinned at her, “It might be late, but dawn will definitely come.”
After a pause, he urged, “Martial Aunt, I’ll have to trouble you with the recruitment of personnel for our Squad. Besides the three I just mentioned, if you have someone in mind, just ask them. Since we are a Special Operations Squad, we should focus on quality and not quantity. It’s better to have fewer elites than more troublemakers.”
“I understand.” Feng Ying nodded, “You can rest assured that I will strictly screen everyone that I recruit.”
Now that they had reached an agreement, Yang Kai began his search for Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises to open.
This was an extremely long process, and it took him almost half a year to get them all.
With Blue Sky Pass as the centre, he had opened portals to all the Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises hidden in the Void within a 500,000 kilometres radius.
However, many of the Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises had been stained by Black Ink Strength and could not be used, so Yang Kai had to re-seal them.
After careful counting, Yang Kai found that there were about 1,000 Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises that could be used.
Yang Kai felt his heart sink when he realized this.
One had to know that those who left these Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises behind were all High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, so 1,000 corresponded to the fall of at least as many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Countless years had passed, so it was impossible that only 1,000 High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had fallen outside of Blue Sky Pass.
There were even more High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who died with their Small Universes ruptured, leaving nothing behind.
Also, there were even more Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises that were completely stained with Black Ink Strength left behind but were resealed.
Yang Kai estimated that only about one in ten Small Universes that were preserved after a High-Rank Master’s death could be used; in other words, at least 10,000 High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had died outside Blue Sky Pass over the ages.
That was an enormous amount of casualties. One had to know that in the 3,000 Worlds, each of these High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters was at least an Inner Elder of a Cave Heaven or Paradise, a Master who was famous across the world.
Outside Blue Sky Pass, the 1,000 opened Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises had countless Spirit Array Grandmasters busy working on them. They were arranging Arrays in all of those Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises in hopes that they could give the Black Ink Clan Army a decisive blow in future battles.
However, this no longer had anything to do with Yang Kai. His sole task was to find and open these Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises, everything else would be taken care of by others.
But just as he was about to return to the Inner Sanctum with Feng Ying, Yang Kai suddenly saw two figures coming towards him.
Once they were in close proximity, Yang Kai hurriedly saluted, “Greetings, Elder Lu.”
One of the two men was Lu An of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, while the other was also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but his face looked unfamiliar, so Yang Kai didn’t greet him immediately.
Lu An smiled and stroked his beard, “Oh, Yang Kai. Are you done with your work here?”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and said, “Everything has been taken care of. I’m heading over to report to the Army Commander.”
“Many thanks for your hard work,” Lu An nodded lightly.
Yang Kai said, “It’s my job.”
“Is he Yang Kai?” The eyes of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master beside Lu An lit up as he swept them over Yang Kai, looking quite interested.
Nodding as a confirmation, Lu An said, “Exactly.” Then, he introduced this newcomer to Yang Kai, “This is Tang Qiu, my Senior Brother. By generation, you should address him as Grand Martial Uncle. He’s from Yin-Yang Pass.”
Yin-Yang Pass? Yang Kai’s heart stirred at those words. Judging by Lu An’s words, Tang Qiu was most likely also from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven.
As he thought of that, Yang Kai saluted again, “Greetings, Elder Tang!”
Tang Qiu smiled and nodded, “I’ve heard much about you. After meeting you today, I can indeed confirm you’re a talented young man. Not only are you faring well in the 3,000 Worlds, but also on the Black Ink Battlefield. Why can’t our Yin-Yang Cave Heaven produce a rising star like you? It seems like the old farts back at the Sect should give up their positions.”
Those words made Yang Kai break out in a sweat, “Elder Tang, you’re flattering me.”
Tang Qiu changed his tone, “Are you interested in coming back with me and joining Yin-Yang Pass?”
Yang Kai was stunned.
Feng Ying, who was standing beside him, put on a wary look and cupped her fist, “Senior, Yang Kai is now a member of Blue Sky Pass, so what you just said is inappropriate.”
Tang Qiu looked at her lightly, “What’s wrong with my words? He’s part of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. What’s wrong with him following me back to Yin-Yang Pass?”
With pursed lips, Feng Ying remained silent for a moment before saying, “I will report what you’ve said to the Army Commanders.”
Tang Qiu snorted, “They can’t do anything to me.” Then, he looked at Yang Kai, “All you need to do is say the word and I’ll go and negotiate with Zhong Liang and the others.”
Meanwhile, Lu An let out a bitter laugh, “Brother Zhong will definitely not let him go. Senior Brother, don’t make things difficult for the younger generation.”
Still feeling a little reluctant, Tang Qiu added, “Fine, fine. Go back and think about it. I’ll be staying in Blue Sky Pass for a while, so it won’t be too late to tell me your decision after you think about it.”
Lu An eyed Yang Kai, who cupped his fist and said, “Elders, I must take my leave.”
“Go on.” Tang Qiu waved his hand, but then suddenly seemed to remember something and said, “By the way, Xu Ling Gong came with me on this trip. He’s waiting for you back in the Inner Sanctum. Go and meet him.”
“Martial Uncle Xu is also here?” Yang Kai was surprised, and when he turned around to look, Tang Qiu and Lu An had already gone far away.
When we parted with Xu Ling Gong back at the Star Boundary, the latter said that he was going on a mission and had to leave. Later, when Yang Kai went to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven to look for Qu Hua Shang, he did not see Xu Ling Gong there and thought that his so-called mission had not been completed yet. It wasn’t until he gradually got to know about the matters of the Black Ink Clan and Black Ink Battlefield that Yang Kai found out that Xu Ling Gong had long since entered the Black Ink Battlefield.
At that time, Qu Hua Shang was still serving her 100 year confinement.
When Yang Kai came to the Black Ink Battlefield, the thing he wanted to do the most was to find Xu Ling Gong, because Xu Ling Gong was the only person he knew there.
By coincidence, Yang Kai ended up in Blue Sky Pass.
When Tang Qiu said he had heard of him and that he was faring well in the 3,000 Worlds, Yang Kai wondered how Tang Qiu even knew about such things when he was here, the Black Ink Battlefield.
Now, it seemed like Xu Ling Gong must have told him.
Knowing that Xu Ling Gong was waiting for him in the Inner Sanctum, Yang Kai quickly rushed back.
Halfway there, he suddenly remembered something and asked Feng Ying, “Martial Aunt, how do the Great Passes communicate with each other?”
Feng Ying replied, “If there aren’t many people to transport, we can use the Hyper Space Array. If there are a lot of people to transport, we can only fly slowly.”
Then, it suddenly dawned on Yang Kai, “So, there are indeed Space Arrays connecting the Great Passes.”
He had suspected as much before, but had not had the chance to confirm it. Now that he heard Feng Ying’s explanation, he confirmed he was right.
There were more than 100 Great Passes on the Black Ink Battlefield, so it was impossible to leave each one isolated from all the others; otherwise, every Great Pass would be like a lonely island, unable to remain secure for long. Thus, there had to be some method of communication between them.
As Feng Ying knew that he was still uninformed about the Black Ink Battlefield, she patiently explained, “You should know that though the distance between the Great Passes is not too great, they aren’t close either. Even with the help of a flight-type artifact, it would still take a few months to get from Blue Sky Pass to the nearest Great Pass, and it’s more or less the same situation for other Great Passes. Also, there might be dangers on the way, so we generally use the Hyper Space Array to transit between Great Passes.”
Yang Kai nodded his head.
Feng Ying continued, “The Human Race has more than 100 Great Passes, and each one is connected to several Great Passes nearby. Take Blue Sky Pass as an example. With Blue Sky Pass as the centre, we can be directly transported to a total of four Great Passes to our left and right. If you want to go to a further Great Pass, you would have to transit again. But as you know, it’s not easy to get supplies here in the Black Ink Battlefield, so under normal circumstances, the Hyper Space Array is only used to transmit information and supplies. We won’t easily transport people if the situation isn’t dire.”
“Why is that?” Asked Yang Kai.
After laughing bitterly, Feng Ying explained, “It only takes one jade slip to transmit information, or one Space Ring to transmit supplies, so it’s not resource-consuming to use the Hyper Space Array. The Black Ink Battlefield does not have anyone under the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm present, so every time we transport a person, it consumes a lot of energy and supplies. Who would have so many spare resources?”
It was then that Yang Kai remembered that when they were exchanging materials at the War Materials Hall, Feng Ying had said those from the Great Passes adhered to a strict principle of only exchanging for what they needed immediately. The reason for that was that cultivation materials were hard to come by, so no one dared to waste any.
Under such circumstances, who would be willing to use the Hyper Space Arrays to casually teleport people? Moreover, the higher the strength of the cultivator being transported, the more resources it would consume.
Yang Kai frowned slightly and said, “In that case, it is difficult for one Great Pass to reinforce another in large numbers.”
“En,” Feng Ying nodded, “Teleporting an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master consumes a lot of supplies, so we opt not to do so under normal circumstances. In dire situations, we can still support the other Great Passes in small batches of course; after all, a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe has materialized, so it can accommodate living beings. Sending a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters is akin to sending a whole Division.”
Yang Kai understood what she meant. They could let soldiers enter those Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ Small Universe and then use the Hyper Space Array to send them to the other passes. In such situations, the supplies consumed would only be for transporting the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters. Although they still had to consume a significant amount of resources to do this, it was acceptable in comparison with the potential loss of a Great Pass.
Nonetheless, even if they sent Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the total volume of their Small Universes had a limit. Thus, it was impossible to accommodate unlimited reinforcements, which was why Feng Ying said that they could only send small batches of troops.
If the situation did require large-scale reinforcements, their only option would be to fly by Warship, which was time-consuming.
The cost of sending an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master over to another Great Pass was not small; moreover, according to the Universe Chart, the distance between Yin-Yang Pass and Blue Sky Pass was of multiple Great Passes. In other words, people from Yin-Yang Pass had to transit four or five times just to get here!
This would cost a significant amount of resources.
Tang Qiu from Yin-Yang Pass had spent so much to come here, so it was impossible that he was just sightseeing.
Yang Kai vaguely understood why he was here though.
Also, he finally realised what Zhong Liang meant when he said there would be another matter to get to after finding and opening the Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises half a year ago.
The following task was not complicated or difficult, but it definitely was a matter that consumed time and energy. What’s more, he was the only one who could do it, so Yang Kai felt obliged to cooperate.
But before that, it was time to meet with Xu Ling Gong. Yang Kai was certain Xu Ling Gong would be interested to know the latest status of the 3,000 Worlds.
There was a reception hall in Blue Sky Pass; after all, there were occasional visitors to this place, so there had to be a place for guests to stay.
Feng Ying went to report to Zhong Liang and the others about the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises while personnel from Blue Sky Pass guided Yang Kai to the reception hall.
Many cultivators had gathered there, and all of them were in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. The lobby was full of long tables with groups of cultivators sitting together and talking.
After sweeping his gaze around the room, Yang Kai did not see Xu Ling Gong, but after listening to the conversations from the others, he realised that all these people were not from Blue Sky Pass. All of them had rushed here from various other Great Passes, which confirmed his suspicions.
After asking someone, Yang Kai learned that Xu Ling Gong had gone to his own residence to wait for him, so he didn’t stay at the lounge much longer and went straight to Feng Ying’s residence.
Not long after, Yang Kai reached Feng Ying’s courtyard and saw a man standing outside it with his hands behind his back, waiting quietly.
The man was stout, and he was wearing a large cloak while anxiously pacing back and forth in front of the door. Who else could it be beside Xu Ling Gong?
Noticing movement, Xu Ling Gong stopped and turned his head to look in Yang Kai’s direction. When he saw Yang Kai’s face, he had a complicated look in his eyes.
Yang Kai stepped forward, and when he got close, he bowed respectfully, “Junior greets Martial Uncle Xu!”
Xu Ling Gong reached out to hold Yang Kai’s arm and heaved a sigh, “It’s really you.”
When he heard that there was a boy named Yang Kai in Blue Sky Pass, he thought it was just someone who had the same name, but the information he got stated that the Yang Kai in Blue Sky Pass was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Son-in-Law of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. At that time, he thought it was too much of a coincidence.
So, when Tang Qiu asked Xu Ling Gong if he wanted to come to Blue Sky Pass, he agreed to come and see for himself if the Yang Kai here was the one he knew.
They had been at Blue Sky Pass for only a few days. Since Tang Qiu had Lu An accompanying him, Xu Ling Gong went to search for Yang Kai’s residence and soon arrived here. He waited for a few days, but didn’t see Yang Kai. After asking around, he found out that Yang Kai was busy with something outside of Blue Sky Pass.
He could not go to look for him, so he could only continue to wait here.
Now that the person he was waiting for was finally back, Xu Ling Gong was sure that Yang Kai was the brat he knew.
“Why did you come here?” Xu Ling Gong looked at him with some distress. This was the Black Ink Battlefield. How could he return to the 3,000 Worlds after coming here?
Over the past few days, he had been hoping that the Yang Kai from Blue Sky Pass was not the one he knew, but the more information he found out, the less hope he had. Now that he saw him, his hopes were immediately dashed.
Xu Ling Gong couldn’t understand why Yang Kai would come to the Black Ink Battlefield.
“It’s a long story,” Yang Kai let out a bitter laugh.
“Squad Leader, why don’t you invite the guest inside?” Feng Ying suddenly spoke up from the side.
Xu Ling Gong turned his head to look at her, “You are…”
Yang Kai introduced her, “This is Martial Aunt Feng Ying. She has been taking care of me since I came to Blue Sky Pass. Martial Aunt Feng, this is my Wife’s Honoured Master, Xu Ling Gong.”
Feng Ying smiled and greeted, “Greetings, Brother Xu!”
Xu Ling Gong greeted back, “Sister Feng is too polite. This brat is not very obedient, so I’m sure he has caused you a lot of trouble these days.”
After a short laugh, Feng Ying answered, “Brother Xu, you must be exaggerating. Squad Leader saved my life, and he made a number of great contributions during the previous battle. Also, he is deeply respected by the Army Commanders. Even the Old Ancestor has called him for a chat.”
Xu Ling Gong nodded lightly, “I heard about these things, but I don’t know the details. We came to Blue Sky Pass because of this as well.”
“Martial Uncle Xu, please come in.” Yang Kai gestured with his hand.
Feng Ying opened the door, and the three entered. When Yang Kai and Xu Ling Gong were seated, Feng Ying said, “I’ll make some tea. You can talk in the meantime.”
Xu Ling Gong thanked her politely, “Many thanks, Sister Feng.”
After Feng Ying’s figure disappeared, Xu Ling Gong suddenly leaned forward and lowered his voice to say, “Brat, why does she keep calling you Squad Leader?”
Yang Kai explained, “I earned a lot of Military Merits during the battle outside Blue Sky Pass, so the Army Commanders promoted me to Squad Leader and placed Martial Aunt Feng as my Deputy.”
Xu Ling Gong was dumbfounded, “You? A Squad Leader? But your cultivation is… No wait, you reached the Seventh Order?”
At that point, he suspiciously checked Yang Kai.
Yang Kai revealed some of his aura while calmly explaining, “I had a flash of enlightenment during the previous battle. Then, I went into retreat after the fighting ended and successfully broke through.”
Xu Ling Gong’s face suddenly twitched, “If I remember correctly, it hasn’t been long since you advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, right?
He knew a lot about Yang Kai’s background; after all, Yang Kai was the Husband of his treasured Disciple, so he naturally had to know more about this young man. The news of Yang Kai being forced to advance to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the Shattered Heaven had spread far and wide, so Xu Ling Gong had naturally heard about it.
How long ago was that though? After a rough calculation, it should have only been three to four hundred years.
These three or four hundred years might be a few lifetimes for a mortal who never cultivated, but for Open Heaven Realm Masters with a long lifespan, that was like a snap of the fingers.
It was unheard of for someone to advance from the Fifth Order to the Seventh Order in just a few hundred years, even taking a Mid-Rank World Fruit into account.
Xu Ling Gong had never heard of anyone spending only a few hundred years to achieve such a feat. To go from the sixth order to the Seventh alone required a long process of accumulating heritage in one’s Small Universe. Even with abundant cultivation resources, it would still take at least one to two thousand years at the minimum.
And that was under the premise that everything went smoothly for the cultivator. If anything happened, it wouldn’t be surprising if the cultivator had to spend a few thousand years to advance.
However, there was a living, breathing example right in front of his eyes, so even if Xu Ling Gong didn’t want to believe it, he had to.
After a long time, he calmed down, nodded lightly, and said, “A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is enough to serve as a Squad Leader!”
Yet, there was still an uncomfortable feeling rising in his heart.
He had also spent a couple hundred years on the Black Ink Battlefield and participated in battles with the Black Ink Clan, gaining some merits along the way. Also, because of his strength and performance, he was promoted to Vice Squad Leader a few years ago.
However, his Disciple’s Husband was already a Squad Leader… Wouldn’t that mean that Yang Kai was a rank higher than him?
It did feel bitter when comparing oneself to others.
However, on the Black Ink Battlefield, a higher position meant greater responsibilities, which was not necessarily a good thing.
Xu Ling Gong then raised his brow slightly and muttered, “Sister Feng is an interesting person.”
Yang Kai felt doubtful and asked, “What do you mean?”
With a wave of his hand, Xu Ling Gong said, “It’s nothing.”
He came here to find Yang Kai with a mission to persuade the latter to return to Yin-Yang Pass with him. His Legacy Disciple was Yang Kai’s Wife, so they already had a connection; therefore, Xu Ling Gong was the perfect candidate to persuade Yang Kai, which was also why Tang Qiu brought him in the first place.
However, as soon as they met, Feng Ying addressed Yang Kai as Squad Leader. It was an obvious sign for Xu Ling Gong to back down.
Blue Sky Pass thought so highly of Yang Kai that they directly promoted him to Squad Leader after just one battle, so of course they wouldn’t let him leave so easily.
“Tell me, why did you come here?” Xu Ling Gong looked at Yang Kai in confusion. This was what he was really curious about.
As Yang Kai had previously said, he had a flash of enlightenment during the previous battle and broke through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. In other words, he was only at the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm when he came to the Black Ink Battlefield.
He wasn’t directly from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises, so logically his cultivation wasn’t high enough for him to be sent to the Black Ink Battlefield.
Yang Kai kept silent for a good moment before saying, “Martial Uncle Xu, it’s a long story, and… inconvenient for me to tell you.”
Xu Ling Gong frowned slightly, “You can’t tell me?”
Cupping his fist, Yang Kai declared, “Martial Uncle Xu, please forgive me, but I have a compelling reason.” If he wanted to explain why he came to the Black Ink Battlefield, he would have to mention the Void Corridor. It wasn’t that Yang Kai didn’t trust Xu Ling Gong, but the words Meng Qi said before he died were true. Everyone besides the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Real Old Ancestors were at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Once the Black Ink Clan learned about the existence of the Void Corridor, it was bound to bring disaster to the 3,000 Worlds.
Although the Void Corridor had only been opened once and was now hidden and sealed, with the Small Sealed World containing it having been ruptured, it was still there. As long as it wasn’t destroyed, someone could still find it and reopen it.
Xu Ling Gong was silent for a moment before nodding, “You must have your reasons for not talking about it, so I won’t insist.”
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief, “Many thanks, Martial Uncle Xu.”
“How are things at home?” Xu Ling Gong changed the subject.
“Before I came here, everything was well. Martial Uncle Xu, you can rest assured that I have properly married Senior Sister Qu.”
After sighing, Xu Ling Gong asked, “As her Honoured Master, I did not attend her wedding. Xiao Hua Shang must have felt sad. I thought after I entrusted her to you, I would have nothing to worry about, but I didn’t expect that you would come here too. How would she cope with being alone there?”
Yang Kai said, “I have made all the necessary arrangements before I left home, Senior Sister Qu will not suffer any grievances.”
Xu Ling Gong suddenly glared at him, “Smelly brat, why do you have so many women for no good reason? The fights between women are the most troublesome.”
Faced with Xu Ling Gong’s reprimand, Yang Kai could only remain silent. Feng Ying came with tea just in time to ease the embarrassment.
After thanking her, Xu Ling Gong sipped on the tea and was very impressed.
Feng Ying smiled in response.
After drinking two cups of tea, Xu Ling Gong said, “Let’s get down to business. I came all the way from Yin-Yang Pass with Martial Uncle Tang because I heard that Blue Sky Pass has come up with a powerful weapon to deal with the Black Ink Clan. I believe that people from other Great Passes will gradually gather here.”
Though Yang Kai had already guessed the truth when he saw the many cultivators from other Great Passes in the reception hall, he was still surprised to hear the scope of things and asked, “All the Great Passes know about this already?”
Xu Ling Gong nodded, “Since ancient times, the Human Race was helpless against Black Ink Strength. The Purifying Black Ink Battleship that the Blue Sky Pass created is new, and is the sole method to deal with Black Ink Strength. All the Great Passes are allies, and if one suffers, all suffer, and if one prospers, all prosper. All the Great Passes would share good things with each other. Blue Sky Pass sent messages to all the Great Passes the day the first Purifying Black Ink Battleship was launched. We at Yin-Yang Pass were sceptical when we received the news. After confirming with Blue Sky Pass a few times to make sure the news was correct though, we immediately started constructing our own Purifying Black Ink Battleship according to the blueprint provided by Blue Sky Pass. We’ve managed to complete four Purifying Black Ink Battleships just a few days ago, and Master Uncle Tang has brought them here.”
Yang Kai nodded his head in understanding and suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility.
The composition of the Great Passes was basically the same, with each Great Pass being divided into four Armies. Just like Blue Sky Pass, each army needed a Purifying Black Ink Battleship to function optimally. In other words, each Great Pass needed four battleships.
With more than 100 Great Passes, they had to refine more than 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships!
They had to make 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships, all of which required Yang Kai to personally seal Purifying Light inside them and arrange Universe Arrays aboard.
Sealing Purifying Light was not a hard task as he only needed to trigger the two marks on the back of his hand to draw out the power of the Yellow and Blue Crystals, converge and fuse them together, and form Purifying Light. However, personally arranging a Universe Array on every Purifying Black Ink Battleship would be a huge project that Yang Kai estimated would take him three to five years to complete at best.
And that was just the start; he couldn’t rest easy after that.
Purifying Light would be consumed in battle, and if the Purifying Light of a Great Pass was depleted in the future, they would have to come to Blue Sky Pass to replenish it.
Even though Yang Kai had countless Yellow and Blue Crystals in hand, he was still a bit worried.
At this rate of consumption, no matter how many Yellow and Blue Crystals he had, they would eventually be used up. By then, what would happen to the Humans on the Black Ink Battlefield?
Maybe he could return to the 3,000 Worlds and find Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan in the Chaotic Dead Territory?
However, this wasn’t an urgent matter as he had enough Yellow and Blue Crystals to last for some time.
Yang Kai also asked about Qing Kui and Su Ying Xue, but Xu Ling Gong only said that they were staying at Yin-Yang Pass and did not come with him this time. After hearing that they were fine, Yang Kai felt reassured.
After chatting for a while, Xu Ling Gong left without mentioning that he wanted Yang Kai to accompany him back to Yin-Yang Pass.
The next day, Yang Kai was ordered to go to the central square with Feng Ying accompanying him.
When they arrived, they saw Ding Yao waiting for them there and beside him was a lofty middle-aged man wearing golden armour. His aura was as deep as the abyss, and he was clearly also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Judging from his looks, this man came from Great Battle Heaven.
Behind them were four brand new Purifying Black Ink Battleships lined up in a row, all of similar shape and size to those refined by Blue Sky Pass.
Yang Kai knew these were the Purifying Black Ink Battleships they had brought with them.
After Blue Sky Pass successfully built their first Purifying Black Ink Battleship, they sent a message to all the Great Passes, informing them of the purpose of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships along with the blueprints to build more.
When the Great Passes received the message, they paid a lot of attention to it and immediately began refining their own Purifying Black Ink Battleships after confirming that the message was accurate and authentic. Once they were done building the battleships, they used the Hyper Space Arrays to send an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with the completed Purifying Black Ink Battleships to Blue Sky Pass.
Yang Kai was the only one who could finish the refinement of these ships.
When they got close enough, Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Greetings, Senior Ding!”
Ding Yao nodded lightly and said, “Do you know what you are here for?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I do.”
“Good.” Ding Yao said flatly, “The Purifying Black Ink Battleships made great contributions in the previous battle, and proved their immense value. It is now a fundamental weapon for us to win this war against the Black Ink Clan, so you will have to work even harder in the future.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and said, “I will not disappoint you.”
“Very good!” Ding Yao gestured to the middle-aged man next to him and said, “This is Wei Jun Yang from Great Battle Pass, my Senior Brother from Great Battle Heaven. Great Battle Pass is currently engaged in a war with the Black Ink Clan Army, so he urgently needs these Purifying Black Ink Battleships to be readied for battle.”
Wei Jun Yang looked solemn and cupped his fist at Yang Kai while speaking quickly, “Martial Nephew, the safety of the 30,000 soldiers of Great Battle Pass depends on you.”
“Senior is exaggerating. I will do what I can as it is my duty,” Yang Kai said humbly, “Since Great Battle Pass is currently fighting the Black Ink Clan, we cannot delay this any further. May I begin now?”
“Very good!” Wei Jun Yang nodded his head hastily.
“Have you brought the necessary materials?” Yang Kai asked.
Hearing that, Wei Jun Yang hurriedly took out a Space Ring, “The materials for the Universe Array are all in here. If you need anything else, just let me know.”
Yang Kai reached out, took the Space Ring, checked it with his Divine Sense, and nodded, “I think this will be enough. I’ll let you know if I need anything more.”
After saying that, he moved to the nearest Purifying Black Ink Battleship and used the Space Array on the deck to teleport into the cabin.
Great Battle Pass had done a good job of preparing the Purifying Black Ink Battleships. Basically, everything that could be built had already been done. Now, all that was missing was the Universe Array and Purifying Light.
These were the things that Yang Kai had to add personally.
The moment Yang Kai dashed inside, Wei Jun Yang exhaled slightly and turned his head to look at Ding Yao, “Junior Brother, how long will it take to finish?”
The battle was raging over at Great Battle Pass, so he naturally wanted to return as soon as possible.
Ding Yao replied, “It shouldn’t take long. Though, I’m not exactly sure.” While saying so, he turned his head to look at Feng Ying who was standing to the side.
Feng Ying understood what Ding Yao wanted and spoke up after a moment of contemplation, “We can probably complete a Purifying Black Ink Battleship within six or seven days.”
Wei Jun Yang raised his brow, “One in six or seven days, so all four ships will take at most a month.”
One month was not too long for a battle that could take decades to end, so they could afford the wait.
Then, Ding Yao persuaded, “Senior Brother Wei, why don’t you head back and rest? You can return to collect them once they’re ready.”
Wei Jun Yang waved his hand, “No, I’ll wait here. I must return to Great Battle Pass as soon as the ships are ready.” If he could return even a moment sooner, he would be able to save more people. Moreover, he couldn’t bring himself to rest at such a moment.
Knowing his Senior Brother’s character, Ding Yao stopped trying to persuade him.
Wei Jun Yang said, “You may go if you have something to do. I’ll leave as soon as these are done.”
Ding Yao nodded, cupped his fist, and said, “Take care, Senior Brother!”
Wei Jun Yang returned the gesture without saying anything.
They had known each other for thousands of years and had entered the Black Ink Battlefield together, but since they came to the Black Ink Battlefield, they had met only a handful of times. After they parted today, there was no telling when they would see each other again, or if they ever would.
Such a situation was not uncommon on the Black Ink Battlefield.
As time passed slowly, Yang Kai didn’t leave the Purifying Black Ink Battleship while Wei Jun Yang and Feng Ying waited outside.
Perhaps news had spread around the Pass because someone sped over and stopped before them a few moments later.
“Brother Wei!” The visitor cupped his fist and greeted them.
“Brother Ma!” Wei Jun Yang recognised the identity of the man and returned the salute. The visitor, like him, was an Army Commander of one of the Great Passes, and his identity and cultivation were not inferior to his.
“Has it begun?” Brother Ma took a look at Purifying Black Ink Battleship and asked.
“En,” Wei Jun Yang nodded his head.
Brother Ma said, “I’ll go in and take a look.” While he said that, he dashed into the Purifying Black Ink Battleship from the Space Array.
Wei Jun Yang frowned, but he could not say anything more.
In fact, when they came to Blue Sky Pass, they had already seen the interior of a complete Purifying Black Ink Battleship. The pure white light inside was astonishing, and the Universe Array was even more exquisite.
The battleships they visited were already finished products, so none of them had been inside a semi-finished battleship like this one. It was natural that they would be curious.
After a few moments, Brother Ma came out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, nodded lightly at Wei Jun Yang, then rushed off again. He seemed to have only taken a short visit and then left, so both Wei Jun Yang and Feng Ying did not pay much attention to him.
However, this was just the beginning.
The news seemed to have spread quickly because the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the other Great Passes found out that Yang Kai had started to complete a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, so they ran to central square one after another to take a look.
Even though Wei Jun Yang had a straightforward personality and might even be considered simple-minded, he still noticed that something was amiss. These old fogies all wore solemn yet subtle expressions when they left the battleship like they were plotting something.
Yang Kai exited the Purifying Black Ink Battleship with a bitter face soon after one such guest left and stood on the deck while looking at Wei Jun Yang, “Senior Wei, I can’t focus with people constantly interrupting me. If I make a mistake, those from Great Battle Pass will not be able to use the Universe Array.”
Wei Jun Yang raised his brow at these words and came to the deck in a flash. Then, he announced, “From now on, I will stand guard here. Whoever dares to trespass will have to face my wrath!”
The man’s face looked murderous as he stood there.
His tone made Yang Kai break out in cold sweat, so he hurriedly waved his hands, “Of course, of course.”
After he said that, he glanced at Feng Ying and silently sent a message to her.
Feng Ying understood and nodded imperceptibly.
Yang Kai turned around and re-entered the cabin.
A few moments later, someone else arrived, but what they saw was a menacing Wei Jun Yang standing on the deck with his sword in hand.
The visitor cupped his fist and said with a smile, “Brother Wei, I heard that the completion of the battleships has started. I would like to take a look inside. Would you…”
Before the person could finish his words, Wei Jun Yang unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the newcomer, “You will have the opportunity to take a look when it’s your Purifying Black Ink Battleships’ turn to be completed, but right now, Great Battle Pass is in a difficult battle and urgently needs the support from these battleships. It’s a race against time, so no one is to disturb the process; otherwise, that person will face the entire Great Battle Pass!”
The man was stunned and didn’t say anything more. He just wanted to take a look at the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, not make an enemy of Great Battle Pass.
People from Great Battle Cave Heaven generally acted more fiercely than others. Also, they always stuck to their word. Judging by Wei Jun Yang’s attitude, it seemed like a fight would break out if he defied him.
Laughing sheepishly, the man said, “Brother Wei, you must be exaggerating. I just want to take a look at it.”
“You will have a chance to look at it later, but not now!”
The man looked at him for a moment, sighed, and turned to leave.
A few more people arrived one after another, but they were all stopped by Wei Jun Yang and reluctantly left.
Meanwhile, Zhong Liang, who was discussing important matters with Liang Yu Long, suddenly received a message. After reading it with his Divine Sense, he was furious, “Those ungrateful thieves! Blue Sky Pass kindly let them come over to complete their Purifying Black Ink Battleships, but now they try to poach one of our people!? This is going too far!”
Feeling shocked by the sudden outburst, Liang Yu Long asked, “Brother Zhong, What happened?”
Zhong Liang snarled angrily, “Those old bastards used ‘inspecting’ the half-complete Purifying Black Ink Battleship as an excuse to see Yang Kai and secretly offer him all kinds of benefits! They’re trying to poach him!”
After hearing what happened, Liang Yu Long was also furious. He smashed his fist on the table in front of him and snapped, “Shameless thieves! How dare they try to take advantage of us!?”
Zhong Liang pondered for a moment, turned his head, and ordered his adjutant, “Send a message to those old bastards and tell them to come to the Conference Hall. Just say that Blue Sky Pass has something to discuss with them.”
The adjutant received the order and quickly turned around and left.
Meanwhile, Liang Yu Long looked at Zhong Liang and said, “Are you going to…”
Zhong Liang grunted, “Since they’re being so shameless, is there any point in showing them respect?”
An hour later, two rows of seats inside the Main Conference Hall were filled with people, all of them Eighth-Order Masters from other Great Passes. The scene could be described as a gathering of talents and a luxurious lineup.
There were roughly 50 people gathered inside the hall, all of them representing one of the Great Passes. There were only these few because there were many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from other Great Passes who had not arrived yet. They were either in the middle of building Purifying Black Ink Battleships or were on their way here.
Although there weren’t many people, the hall was silent, and there were only Divine Senses flying back and forth as the Masters conversed with each other.
After everyone had arrived, the four Army Commanders of Blue Sky Pass came out from the back and took their seats in the front.
The scattered Divine Senses calmed down, and the group looked forward, wondering why the Army Commanders of Blue Sky Pass called them here.
As they had already discussed this prior to coming here, they didn’t spare any time after taking their seats, and Ding Yao, the Eastern Army Commander, spoke first, “I heard that many of you went to take a look at the Purifying Black Ink Battleship in progress today.”
The moment he said that, many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately understood. All of them were old foxes, so how could they not notice that the hidden annoyance behind Ding Yao’s tone was because word of their actions had spread to the ears of Blue Sky Pass’ Army Commanders? Some of them felt restless, some closed their eyes and pretended to be sleeping, and some smiled but didn’t say anything. No one spoke a word.
Noticing their silence, Ding Yao continued, “I also heard that you all have promised Yang Boy a lot of benefits and are trying to poach him for your own Great Passes.”
He slammed his hand on the table and roared, “Look at you! Is this something an honourable person would do? The day the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was created, Blue Sky Pass was still being besieged by the Black Ink Clan, and was in a precarious situation, yet we still immediately passed on word to all the Great Passes and told all of you about this wondrous news! We know that on the Black Ink Battlefield, if one of us suffers, we all suffer, and if one of us prospers, we all prosper! We share whatever advancements and advantages we have and never hoard them from other Great Passes! With the Purifying Black Ink Battleships supporting up our Armies, we Humans will no longer be at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength. This is a Heaven-sent blessing for all of us!”
He took a pause to glare around the room before continuing, “This was proven during the previous battle. Before Yang Kai arrived at Blue Sky Pass, our soldiers were still at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, but since his arrival, no one from Blue Sky Pass has suffered from Black Ink Strength anymore. This is especially true since the birth of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. We of Blue Sky Pass have always been open and honest, but what about you all? How could you think of poaching him away from Blue Sky Pass? Don’t you have any conscience at all?”
If it were a normal Open Heaven Realm Master, they would have been frightened by Ding Yao’s roar; however, the guests here were all Eighth-Order Masters, and none of them was afraid of him. Of course, many of them were showing guilty expressions. What they did was indeed unrighteous, so they couldn’t refute Ding Yao’s words.
Only one person chuckled and said, “Brother Ding, don’t be angry. I don’t know what the others are thinking, but Yang Kai belongs to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. As his Elder, I naturally want to bring him back to Yin-Yang Pass. He holds the Purifying Light, which is the only method we have to counteract Black Ink Strength. It is the key to breaking the stalemate between both races. Most importantly, we can better protect him after bringing him back to Yin-Yang Pass.”
The person who spoke was none other than Tang Qiu from Yin-Yang Pass.
Ding Yao turned his head to look at Tang Qiu and said indifferently, “Who says that disciples of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven must serve in Yin-Yang Pass? Blue Sky Pass also has disciples from Yin-Yang Heaven, and disciples of my Great Battle Cave Heaven are serving in Yin-Yang Pass. Since ancient times, once someone from the 3,000 Worlds is assigned to a Pass, they belong to that Pass. This is the rule, and it has nothing to do with the person’s Master Sect. Yang Kai came to Blue Sky Pass first, so he is a member of Blue Sky Pass, and he has already registered as a member here. Also, he is the Squad Leader of Blue Sky Pass’ Dawn Squad.”
Nodding slightly, Tang Qiu argued, “Of course I know that, but Brother Ding, you might have misheard me. What I said just now is that I want to bring him back to Yin-Yang Pass to better protect him. As for his Military Merits and his position as Squad Leader, we at Yin-Yang Pass can give him what Blue Sky Pass can give him as well.”
Those words angered Zhong Liang, and he roared, “What are you trying to say? Are you saying that Blue Sky Pass can’t protect him?”
Tang Qiu said slowly, “That’s not what I meant, but I heard that Yang Kai was only a Sixth-Order Master when he rushed out to the battlefield during the previous fight. Also, he was even attacked by a Royal Lord and almost lost his life. Is this true?”
The crowd was shocked at these words because most of them didn’t know about this. Even Tang Qiu only knew about this because he had overheard Lu An speaking about it.
Lu An did not mean to expose all this, he only spoke of how Yang Kai had excellent aptitude, braved life and death during the last battle, advanced to the next Order, and had his Purifying Light. He felt he would be of great use in the future.
When the crowd heard about this from Tang Qiu, they were greatly alarmed.
Everyone knew the importance of Yang Kai’s existence. He was the only one who could use Purifying Light, which was the only means to purify and dispel Black Ink Strength.
“Brother Ding, is this true?” Someone asked urgently.
Ding Yao was dumbfounded. There was no way to deny this, and Tang Qiu’s words had hit the nail on the head. Faced with stares from everyone, Ding Yao could only nod, “It is true, but Yang Kai also gained something from the disaster. He advanced from Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm to Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Shaking his head, Tang Qiu disagreed, “He was lucky this time, but he won’t always be lucky. He found an opportunity in the crisis this time, but who knows what might happen next? If he has an accident, the implications are unimaginable!”
Zhong Liang turned to look at him and asked, “Brother Tang, let me ask you this. If you take Yang Kai back to Yin-Yang Pass, how will you protect him?”
Tang Qiu replied, “I will place him in the Inner Sanctum. I will grant him anything he needs and won’t ever let him be in danger.”
Nodding, Zhong Liang retorted, “This was the same idea I had before, but… that brat might not agree with that. To tell you the truth, Brother Tang, he joined the battle last time by sneaking out onto the battlefield.”
“This is an important matter, and it doesn’t matter if he’s willing or not. Throughout the ages, how many elites from the Cave Heavens and Paradises shed blood on the Black Ink Battlefield? How many of them fell into this vast void? For the greater good of the Human Race, everyone must make sacrifices. He is in control of the Purifying Light, and he can determine the fate of the Human Race, so he must sacrifice his freedom.”
Zhong Liang smiled and said, “Why don’t you talk to Yang Kai about this and see if he will agree?”
Hearing that, Tang Qiu laughed, “How can we leave it to him to make the decision?” This meant that if Yang Kai was brought back to Yin-Yang Pass, he would not be able to leave the Pass under any circumstances ever again.
Zhong Liang frowned and said nothing.
Meanwhile, Shen Tu Mo, who had been keeping silent, suddenly spoke up, “To him, all of you here are highly respected Seniors. No matter whether it’s our seniority, strength, or status, we are all far better than him; yet we, the Seniors, are now placing the hope for our entire race on his shoulders. Don’t you think that is too cruel?”
The crowd was silent, and Tang Qiu frowned.
Shen Tu Mo continued, “The future of the Human Race cannot rely on just one person. For countless years, the Black Ink Clan has wanted to invade and conquer the 3,000 Worlds, but they are still being held back by us in this very Black Ink Battlefield. What did we do in the past when there was no Purifying Light? Did we just stand back and allow the Black Ink Clan to attack us with impunity? What would we do without Purifying Light in the future? Will we have no way of fighting the Black Ink Clan without such means? In my opinion, we can rely on Purifying Light to fight against the Black Ink Clan, but we cannot be fully dependent on it! Fellow Brothers, don’t put the cart before the horse.”
There was a silence in the hall as all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fell into deep thought.
They had to admit that Shen Tu Mo’s words made sense.
Seeing that everyone was quiet, Shen Tu Mo added, “In the past, we didn’t have Yang Boy and his Purifying Light, but all the Great Passes were firmly united; but now, you are all sitting here arguing over who gets to keep him? Won’t such an argument destroy our unity? Furthermore, as far as I know, Yang Kai’s Purifying Light requires two unique types of materials called Yellow Crystals and Blue Crystals, which are only produced in the Chaotic Dead Territory. I don’t know how many Yellow and Blue Crystals he has, but he has to seal his Purifying Light into 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships, which is a huge number. There will inevitably come a day when he runs out of these resources. When that happens, who will you ask for Purifying Light?”
“Yellow and Blue Crystals?”
“The Chaotic Dead Territory!?”
The others only knew about the wonders of the Purifying Light, but they did not know about the materials needed to create it or the source of those materials.
Shen Tu Mo was only repeating what Yang Kai had said to them before.
Many of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately frowned at those words.
If that were true, the Purifying Light was not inexhaustible, and there would be a day when it ran out. By then, the Human Race would return to their previous situation.
As Shen Tu Mo said, Purifying Light could be used as a tool in battle, but they couldn’t fully rely on it. On the Black Ink Battlefield, the unity of the entire Human Race was the key to confronting the Black Ink Clan. It would indeed be putting the cart before the horse if they only had their eyes on the Purifying Light.
“Brother Shen Tu has a point!” Someone nodded lightly.
Following that, another spoke up, “Brother Shen Tu has thought about this matter more thoroughly. We feel ashamed.”
Shen Tu Mo’s words dissuaded many people from the idea of poaching Yang Kai, which was already a bit unorthodox. They couldn’t argue with the others because they didn’t have a reason to, and their chances of succeeding were slim. Now that they heard Shen Tu Mo’s analysis of the pros and cons of this matter, they thought he was right and cancelled their current plans.
Meanwhile, Ding Yao and the others were observing the crowd, so they knew Shen Tu Mo’s words had persuaded them and immediately felt relieved. Zhong Liang looked toward Tang Qiu after a moment and asked, “What do you think, Brother Tang?”
Tang Qiu frowned and said, “I still insist on bringing Yang Kai back to Yin-Yang Pass. If he is willing to come back with me.”
Although he said that, his tone was not as insistent as before.
Smiling, Zhong Liang spoke up, “If you ask him in person, that brat might not be able to refuse; after all, you are also his Elder, so why force him to make a decision? I don’t think it’s necessary to ask him that, and I think his presence in Blue Sky Pass is just right.”
Tang Qiu raised his eyebrows, “How is it just right?”
Zhong Liang answered, “We have more than 100 Great Passes that form a barrier on the Black Ink Battlefield, blocking the Black Ink Clan’s invasion of the 3,000 Worlds. Blue Sky Pass just happens to sit at the centre of this barrier, so no matter which Great Pass you all come from, the distance to here does not vary much. But if Yang Kai goes to Yin-Yang Pass, the situation will be different. The distance between passes will vary greatly, so I believe it is best for him to stay in Blue Sky Pass. And, no matter which Great Pass he’s at, he will still be serving the Human Race, so why does it matter which Great Pass he belongs to?”
…..
One month later, the four Purifying Black Ink Battleships of Great Battle Pass were completed and delivered. Wei Jun Yang, who had been waiting at the central square the whole time, thanked Yang Kai and put the four Purifying Black Ink Battleships in his Small Universe. Then, he immediately left.
Great Battle Pass was engaged in battle with the Black Ink Clan and needed the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to aid them as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai had no time to rest before another four Purifying Black Ink Battleships from another Great Pass were ready and waiting for him to finish.
He had no idea how the others negotiated it, but every time Yang Kai finished the Purifying Black Ink Battleships from one Pass, he had to work on the ones from another.
After huge amounts of supplies were consumed, and all the Universe Arrays were arranged, the Purifying Black Ink Battleships that were filled with Purifying Light were taken away by their respective Great Pass representatives.
Once the Purifying Black Ink Battleships were introduced into the battlefield, they could greatly curb the problem of Black Ink Strength, and at the same time, the Universe Array inside each Purifying Black Ink Battleship could allow the Humans to return to their lines quickly.
Repeating this process day in and day out was incredibly dull, yet Yang Kai was meticulous because he knew that the tedium he endured today could save the lives of many tomorrow.
Gradually, he even forgot about the passage of time.
Except for resting for a few days after exhausting himself, he continued working in the central square.
Almost every month, one of the visitors to Blue Sky Pass would leave while feeling satisfied. The Purifying Black Ink Battleships that were brought back to the Great Passes blossomed like a beautiful flower, with Blue Sky Pass as its stem.
Finally, after Yang Kai delivered four more battleships and saw them off together with an Eighth-Order Master from one of the Great Passes, he suddenly realised that the square was empty.
In the past, before he finished his work, there would be four new Purifying Black Ink Battleships waiting here for him, and he had long gotten used to this kind of life, but there seemed to be something different today.
Soon after, Zhong Liang came over. He smiled and nodded when he saw Yang Kai looking at him, “You’ve worked hard these past few years. Go back and have a good rest.”
Yang Kai was slightly dazed, and only then did he respond, “Is that all?”
“Yes,” Zhong Liang patted Yang Kai’s shoulder, “Now, more than 100 Great Passes have their own Purifying Black Ink Battleships. In the future, we no longer have to be afraid of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength when facing the Black Ink Clan, and it’s all thanks to you.”
Yang Kai silently nodded before taking a moment and calculating things, soon realizing that some seven to eight years had passed.
In other words, he had been busy in this square for seven to eight years. Although a few years was nothing to an Open Heaven Realm Master, it was still surprising that time had passed so quickly.
“Go back to your residence. You’ve only recently advanced to the Seventh Order, so you need to stabilize your cultivation,” Zhong Liang waved his hand and said.
“Yes, Sir!” Yang Kai took orders and left.
When he returned to Feng Ying’s compound, Yang Kai opened the barrier and entered.
He sat alone in front of the porch steps and suddenly felt a little dazed. After being used to a busy life, he somehow felt like a fish out of water when it was all peaceful and quiet.
Zhong Liang had asked him to consolidate his cultivation, but he was not in a hurry to do so. Since his advancement to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, although he hadn’t had the time to cultivate properly, the special situation of his Small Universe made it possible for his heritage to continuously increase. Now that seven or eight years had passed, his cultivation had long since been stabilised.
However, after checking the situation of his Small Universe, Yang Kai let out a faint sigh.
Over the past seven or eight years, he had completed more than 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships. While he did not need to bother with the materials for the Universe Arrays as each Great Pass had prepared them, he had to consume Yellow and Blue Crystals to seal Purifying Light into each Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Finishing 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships had depleted roughly 10% of his Yellow and Blue Crystal stockpile.
Before he left the 3,000 Worlds, he had divided half of the Yellow and Blue Crystals he received in the Chaotic Dead Territory to be used by High Heaven Palace. Still, he retained an enormous amount.
Even after all the work he put in, he only consumed about 10% of it.
Although there were still huge amounts of Yellow and Blue Crystals left, they would be consumed sooner or later. By then, there would be no more Purifying Light for the Human Race to use on the Black Ink Battlefield.
When that day arrived, where would he find more Yellow and Blue Crystals?
Yang Kai looked up and saw a stream of light falling straight down towards him.
Once the light cleared, Feng Ying’s slender figure was revealed.
“You’re back?” Feng Ying was surprised to see him.
“En.” Yang Kai nodded his head.
“It’s good that you’re back. Come with me, I’ll show you something good.” Feng Ying beckoned with a mysterious expression.
Feeling curious, Yang Kai wanted to ask what it was, but Feng Ying had dashed away already, so he had no choice but to follow her.
Soon, they returned to the central square, and Feng Ying waved her hand. Then, a portal to her Small Universe flickered, followed by a large ship-like Warship that appeared in Yang Kai’s view. The ship was approximately 100 metres in length, 25 metres wide, and seemed to have three levels. It was much larger than the smallest Warships, but definitely smaller than the biggest ones Yang Kai had seen on the battlefield.
Yang Kai’s brow rose slightly as he asked curiously, “What’s this?”
Feng Ying smiled, “This is the Dawn Battleship!”
Astonishment filled him as he asked, “Dawn Battleship?”
Feng Ying nodded and explained, “Blue Sky Pass provided us with this. Each Squad has its own Warship, and since Dawn is also a Squad, and a Special Operations Squad at that, of course we have one.”
Yang Kai questioned, “Is that why this Warship has such an odd size?”
“A Battalion’s ship needs to accommodate 100 people, so it has to be bigger. This is a ship for a Squad, so it’s not comparable to a Battalion’s. In large-scale battles like the previous one, it’s safer if we move in Battalions, which is why you didn’t see many Squad Warships,” Feng Ying explained.
Yang Kai nodded in a daze, “So, that’s how it is.”
He looked at it with interest; after all, it belonged to Dawn and was considered a great weapon allocated to the Dawn Squad by Blue Sky Pass.
Feng Ying gestured to him, “Want to go up and take a look?”
“Indeed.” Yang Kai dashed up onto the Warship, followed by Feng Ying.
The large ship-like artifact was not too big as it was only 100 meters long, but it was not small either, and it had all the necessary features.
Feeling surprised, Yang Kai said, “The power of this thing seems to be a bit unusual.”
According to Feng Ying’s introduction, a Squad Warship only needed a few Open Heaven Realm Masters to control their direction and speed across the battlefield. This ship, however, had eight Offensive Arrays with an extremely powerful Array Artifact as a Core. It only took three Sixth-Order Masters working together to bring out the power of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with the help of one such Offensive Array.
Therefore, Eight Arrays were equivalent to, and could display, the power of eight Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!
There were also several Grand Arrays dedicated to defence, each one with outstanding Array Cores which required the combined efforts of three Sixth-Order Masters to bring forth the defensive strength of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
This Warship had incredible offensive and defensive capabilities.
Feng Ying explained, “The Warships of ordinary Squads are naturally quite different from this one. I went to ask someone from the Refining Hall to custom make this ship, and all of the Grand Arrays were specially designed to best suit it. If we have the proper amount of personnel on our ship, the power it can display will be far greater than average. With a few Seven-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with us onboard, we can confront a Territory Lord.”
Nodding incessantly, Yang Kai repeated, “Good, good, good! This is amazing!”
Then, Feng Ying added, “But this ship has cost a lot of Military Merits, your Military Merits in fact. They’ve basically been depleted.”
“My Military Merits?” Yang Kai was stunned, then suddenly remembered that a few years ago, Feng Ying had asked him for his Identity Token. Back then, he was so busy arranging Universe Arrays for the Purifying Black Ink Battleships and sealing Purifying Light in them that he gave it to her without asking any questions.
At that time, Feng Ying must have already had the plan to build such a powerful ship using his Military Merits.
Feng Ying explained, “The Inner Sanctum gives each Squad a ship, but that ship only has the most standard configuration. If you want to modify and enhance your Squad’s Warship, you need to spend Military Merits to get help from the Refining Hall.”
On the Black Ink Battlefield, Military Merits were extremely important. Not only could one exchange them for cultivation resources, artifacts, pills, or even techniques, one could also ask for guidance from powerful Masters. If one had enough Military Merits, they could even ask to be taught directly by an Old Ancestor.
Of course, the costs for such opportunities were basically unaffordable for the average cultivator.
A Warship like the one before Yang Kai naturally needed a massive amount of Military Merits to construct. Basically, every Squad and Battalion would slowly customize their Warship in order to best fit its members.
Moreover, the members of the Squad or Battalion were happy to spend their Military Merits on such things because a better Warship would give them a better chance of survival and make it easier to kill the enemy.
Since Yang Kai was new to Blue Sky Pass, of course he didn’t know about these things; however, Feng Ying knew them very well. Yang Kai was Dawn’s Squad Leader, so she had spent his Military Merits without batting an eyelid.
Yang Kai had no objection to this of course and nodded, “Good. My Military Merits aren’t of much use to me anyways, so this is just the right thing to use them on.”
While others might need to exchange Military Merits for cultivation materials, he didn’t as he had enough to cultivate until he reached the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm with extra left over.
After taking a few more looks at it, Yang Kai suddenly became serious, “But what are we going to do with this Warship? The Black Ink Clan has been driven back, and wasn’t it said that they wouldn’t return for at least 100 years?”
Feng Ying laughed, “It’s true that the Black Ink Clan has retreated, but they will definitely return, so we will need this Warship at that time. Moreover, after every battle, Blue Sky Pass will send out some personnel to collect cultivation resources and monitor the Black Ink Clan’s movements, which requires approaching, if not entering Black Ink Clan territory.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he parroted, “Gathering cultivation materials and spying on the Black Ink Clan?”
Nodding, Feng Ying added, “While you were busy with the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, others have been carrying out these tasks, generally with Squads as a unit; after all, the Black Ink Clan just suffered a serious defeat a few years ago and is still recuperating. As long as one doesn’t venture too deep into Black Ink Clan territory, there is basically no danger. On top of that, if you come across Black Ink Clansmen while gathering resources, you might even be able to earn more Military Merits.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel eager, so he quickly asked, “Are these tasks assigned to specific Squads or can anyone go?”
Glancing at him, Feng Ying immediately knew what he was thinking and she smiled and replied, “As long as you apply, you will not be rejected.”
Yang Kai suddenly said with excitement, “Have we applied?”
“Don’t we have to wait for you?” Feng Ying glared at him.
At that comment, Yang Kai nodded, “Good, very good. Martial Aunt, let’s go apply now.”
The smile on Feng Ying’s face slowly faded before she said with some concern, “We can apply, but I’m not sure if the Army Commanders will let us go.”
“Let’s give it a try, if they don’t let us go, I’ll find the Army Commanders and talk to them directly.” Yang Kai suddenly remembered one more thing, “By the way, how many people have you recruited for our Squad?”
Immediately after Dawn was ordered to be established, Yang Kai started to work on the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises outside of Blue Sky Pass. Later, he was busy with the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, so he didn’t have time to deal with this matter and instead left it in Feng Ying’s hands.
Therefore, he didn’t know how many members they had and who they were.
“I’m almost done recruiting members. I’ll have them meet with you later so we can all get to know each other better.” After she said that, she pointed at the cabin, “I left a space inside for you to arrange a Universe Array, and I have prepared the materials necessary, so you can work on that first. Also, you have to name this Warship.”
“Martial Aunt, you’re too thoughtful,” Yang Kai reached out and took the Space Ring from Feng Ying.
A few moments later, she left, probably to apply for the mission, while Yang Kai stayed in the square and entered the cabin to set up a Universe Array in the space that was left for him.
As he had been arranging Universe Arrays for 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships for a few years, Yang Kai was now traversing on a familiar path.
In just a few days, the Warship’s Universe Array was operational, and Yang Kai had branded the large ship’s bow with two large characters.
Dawning Light!
After putting the ship into his Small Universe, Yang Kai returned to Feng Ying’s place.
Half a day later, Dawn Squad’s members arrived and met with him.
Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu were the three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who fought their way back from the Black Ink Clan with Yang Kai and Feng Ying. As for the rest, there were 30 others who had been enlisted.
When Yang Kai was appointed as Dawn’s Squad Leader, Zhong Liang publicly announced to the Inner Sanctum that any cultivator under the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm that Yang Kai chose could join his Squad, and the limit for that Squad was 50 people. In other words, if Yang wanted to, he could create a Squad with 50 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
However, if he did that, it would be a waste of manpower because there was no need for a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to manipulate a Warship. Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would suffice for such roles.
Thus, under careful consideration, in addition to the three Yang Kai had previously mentioned, Feng Ying did not take in any more Seventh-Order Masters. The other 30 members were all in the Fifth and Sixth-Order.
The entire Dawn Squad’s configuration, including Yang Kai and Feng Ying, was 5 Seventh-Order Masters, 20 Sixth-Order Masters, and 10 Fifth-Order Masters.
Such a configuration was quite reasonable; not only would it not reduce Dawn’s combat power, but it also wouldn’t squander valuable human resources.
Moreover, the 5 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the team were enough to ensure Dawn Squad’s fighting capability.
Feng Ying kept the remaining 15 slots empty so they could recruit members they needed when suitable opportunities arose.
What’s more, everyone here was someone Yang Kai brought back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain; therefore, they were already quite familiar with each other.
In Feng Ying’s courtyard, a banquet was prepared, and the atmosphere was lively as everyone exchanged pleasantries and drinks.
If it hadn’t been for Yang Kai’s help in dispersing the Black Ink Strength within them, they would have still been working for the Black Ink Clan and would likely have died on the battlefield during the last war.
They thought about their future battles, like how they would kill the Black Ink Clan and spread Dawn Squad’s reputation far and wide. After a few rounds of drinks, some began to sing, which attracted cheers from the others.
At that moment, Feng Ying’s expression suddenly changed. She took out the communication artifact, looked at it, and looked at Yang Kai with a helpless expression.
Noticing her gaze, Yang Kai turned his head to look at her, “What is it?”
Feng Ying said, “Our request to sortie on a mission has been rejected.”
The noisy courtyard instantly fell silent. They were just chatting about Dawn Squad’s future fame, but now their request to go out mission was denied. How could they realise their dreams if they couldn’t even leave Blue Sky Pass?
Generally speaking, such requests wouldn’t be denied. In the years after the great battle, countless Squads would leave the Great Pass to go out on missions. As long as they were prepared, their applications would be accepted; after all, the Black Ink Clan had suffered a crushing defeat in the Blue Sky Theatre and were now busy recuperating. As long as they took great care and did not wander too deep into the Black Ink Clan’s territory or encounter a strong enemy by accident, they wouldn’t be in any danger.
However, everyone knew that the reason why Dawn’s request was denied was because of Yang Kai.
During the previous war, the Army Commanders did not dare to let Yang Kai freely set foot on the battlefield, but he snuck out and upended the entire situation alone, forcing Zhong Liang to borrow troops from the other three Armies. Although a series of lucky coincidences allowed them to expose the Royal Lord’s resting place and aided them in achieving a great victory, that was only a random bout of good fortune, not a carefully planned out strategy.
How many lucky coincidences could one person have?
The Army Commanders and the other higher-ups did not feel safe letting Yang Kai leave Blue Sky Pass. If they had a chance, they wouldn’t even want Yang Kai to take one step outside the Inner Sanctum.
While the crowd fell silent, Yang Kai drank his glass of wine in one gulp and coldly snorted, “I expected as much. I’ll go make my case to the Army Commanders!”
After saying that, he stood up and flew off into the sky.
A short while later, in front of Zhong Liang’s office, Yang Kai landed straight down from above. Someone was guarding the door and stopped Yang Kai.
Yang Kai explained his intention and asked the guard to report his arrival to Zhang Liang.
Moments later, the guard came out, cupped his fist, and said, “Brother Yang, the Army Commander is busy at the moment and won’t see any guests.”
Frowning, Yang Kai asked, “When will the Army Commander be finished?”
The guard shook his head and answered, “I don’t know. Why don’t you go back and wait?”
Yang Kai took a deep look at the hall in front of him, pondered for a moment, and then nodded, “Fine, many thanks.”
Then, he turned around and left.
Inside the hall, Zhong Liang sat behind the long table while perceiving the situation outside with his Divine Sense. Yang Kai was gone, but the direction he left in seemed to not be the way back to Feng Ying’s residence. It seemed like the way to the Eastern Army’s headquarters. Knowing that the brat was probably going to find Ding Yao after not seeing him, Zhong Liang snorted lightly and took out a communication artifact to send a message to Ding Yao.
A few moments later, Yang Kai arrived at Ding Yao’s office and asked to see him, but the guard there didn’t even go inside to inform Ding Yao. Instead, the guard told Yang Kai that Ding Yao was not in Blue Sky Pass and that he did not know where he had gone or when he would return.
Yang Kai was speechless. He went looking for Zhong Liang, but couldn’t see him because the latter was busy, and now he couldn’t find Ding Yao because he was out. Yang Kai began to suspect he wouldn’t be able to see the other two Army Commanders either.
As Yang Kai expected, when he went to see Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo, the guards at their doors also told Yang Kai that the Army Commanders were not in the Inner Sanctum, and their whereabouts and return dates were unknown.
At this point, Yang Kai knew they were intentionally avoiding him, and they wouldn’t give him any chance of meeting them. That realization made Yang Kai furious, and he thought that the tricks those four old men were playing were too shameless.
Shut out from all directions, he had no choice but to return to his residence.
The next day, Yang Kai asked to see Zhong Liang again, but he still failed.
On the following day, Yang Kai went to see Zhong Liang for a third time only to be told by the guard there that Zhong Liang had left the Great Pass as well…
Yang Kai was so angry he thought he was about to explode. After lingering in front of the door for a long time, he finally clenched his teeth, opened his mouth, and shouted, “Army Commander, I won’t do things more than thrice. Since you won’t see me after I’ve been asking to meet you so many times, I’ll gather my men now and leave the pass!”
After Yang Kai said what he had to say, he turned around to leave.
He had only taken a few steps when a furious shout came from behind though, “Brat, you dare leave the pass without authorization!?”
Yang Kai did not look back and stubbornly said, “Try me!”
He then walked forward with large strides.
Zhong Liang, who was pretending to have gone out, couldn’t sit still any longer and stormed out of the hall and stopped right in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked at him with a derisive expression, “Sir Army Commander, didn’t you leave the Great Pass on a mission?”
Shamelessly keeping his expression, Zhong Liang calmly declared, “I just came back. It’s just a coincidence.”
Yang Kai let out a chuckle, “What a coincidence. Since you’re here, I need to ask permission to lead my Squad…”
Before he could finish his words, Zhong Liang waved his hand, “Rejected!”
Feeling like half of his words were stuck in his throat, Yang Kai almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He took a deep breath, gazed helplessly at Zhong Liang, and pleaded, “Army Commander, I’ve fought my way up from my youth, and killed so many I have lost track of their number. I’m not some weak and delicate greenhouse flower.”
Zhong Liang answered flatly, “It has nothing to do with your strength or weakness. Your existence is of vital importance to the Human Race and cannot be treated carelessly. I understand your feelings, but Yang Boy, I hope you can put the big picture first.”
Hanging his head, Yang Kai said, “I’ve just advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and the bigger picture of the Black Ink Battlefield is too much for me to care about. I can only do what I can.”
Zhong Liang raised his brow and ordered, “Stay in the Inner Sanctum. That’s what you can do, and what we want the most.”
After Zhong Liang said that, Yang Kai fell silent. Of course he knew what Zhong Liang and others were thinking and understood why they had such thoughts. If he were in Zhong Liang’s shoes, he wouldn’t be willing to let himself be in danger by leaving the Pass either.
However, understanding their situation was one thing, but he still had his own insistence and plans.
With a World Spring, Yang Kai was not afraid of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, and he also had his Purifying Light which could safeguard those around him. He had just advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and his strength had increased greatly, so he should have been able to move freely around the Black Ink Battlefield.
If he were trapped inside Blue Sky Pass, he would lose his vigour in the long run, which would not be beneficial to his future growth.
If he wanted to keep striving for greater heights in the Martial Dao, the only option was to go out and fight.
“The Black Ink Battlefield has more than 100 Great Passes and millions of Masters. I am just one of them. I can do what others can and go wherever the others go. I don’t want to receive any special treatment, and I hope you all can realise my wish.” Yang Kai looked solemn and cupped his fist.
Zhong Liang sighed, “Life never goes the way you want it to. There are always people in this world who have abilities that others do not, so they have to bear the responsibilities that others cannot. You said you don’t want any special treatment, but you have a unique ability, so it’s impossible for you not to have special treatment.”
Feeling unresigned, Yang Kai argued, “They always say that the older a person gets, the more stubborn they become. I originally did not believe it, but seeing how you’re acting now, I have to believe it.”
A few guards nearby couldn’t help but laugh at those words.
Zhong Liang gave a light *tsk*, “Brat, you’re acting reckless again.” Then, he glared at the guards to shut them up.
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and shouted, “Army Commander, I am proficient in the Dao of Space!”
Zhong Liang nodded, “Yes, I know. What are you trying to say?”
“What I’m trying to say is that if I insist on leaving, you cannot stop me unless you lock down the entire Blue Sky Pass. Otherwise, I can easily leave at will.”
Zhong Liang felt his face twitch as he snarled, “Don’t forget that you are an official member of Blue Sky Pass. Disregarding orders is punishable by Military Law.”
Yang Kai snorted, obviously not taking his words to heart.
“How about this, Army Commander? Let’s make a bet.”
“What kind of bet?” Zhong Liang frowned at him.
“Using Blue Sky Pass’ interior as the boundary, if you can catch me before an incense stick burns out, I will stay, but if you can’t, you have to approve my application. How about that?”
Zhong Liang was immediately exasperated as he quipped, “Are you that confident in yourself?”
He did know that those who were proficient in the Dao of Space were good at escaping, and if it had been the limitless void outside, he wasn’t confident if he could catch Yang Kai within an incense stick; however, with the inside of Blue Sky Pass as the boundary, it would be a simple matter for an Eight-Order Master to catch a Seventh-Order Junior.
With his nostrils pointing up towards the sky, Yang Kai looked at Zhong Liang arrogantly, “I dare you to make a bet with me! It’s fine if you don’t, I won’t laugh.”
Even though Zhong Liang knew Yang Kai was trying to provoke him, he was still furious and said through clenched teeth, “Good, I’ll take that bet! But boy, if I catch you, it won’t be as simple as you staying in Blue Sky Pass. I’ll beat you black and blue until you beg for mercy!”
With a wave of his hand, Zhong Liang ordered, “Light up an incense stick!”
One of the guards who had been watching the fun hurriedly took out an incense burner from his Small Universe.
Yang Kai glanced at the half-human tall incense and incense burner, and he couldn’t help but snicker, “Army Commander, your methods continue to astound me. This incense is much, much bigger than any I’ve ever seen before.”
No matter how shameless Zhong Liang was, he couldn’t help but blush at this moment. A normal stick of incense was a bit longer than a palm’s length, so the time it took to burn through was naturally not too long. This giant incense stick was several times bigger and would probably burn for at least five times as long.
This was not something Zhong Liang had prepared in advance of course, it was something the guard had done of his own accord.
Although it felt like he was cheating, it was exactly what Zhong Liang had in mind, so he choked down his embarrassment and instead laughed and taunted, “If you think it’s inappropriate, we can stop the bet and you’ll have to obediently stay in the Inner Sanctum; otherwise, you would know the consequences of disobeying my orders.”
Taking a look at the big incense, Yang Kai knew that there was no room for him to retreat at this point, so he clenched his and said, “Let’s begin!”
Zhong Liang smiled even more cunningly than a fox as he raised his hand and shouted, “Light it up!”
The guard got the order and immediately prepared to burn the incense.
Zhong Liang smilingly looked at Yang Kai and said, “Boy, don’t blame me for not reminding you. You can start running now. Once the incense is lit, I’ll be making my move.”
While saying so, he stood in place and began to stretch and loosen his muscles.
Before he finished his sentence, Yang Kai turned around and ran.
Behind Zhong Liang, the incense was also lit at the same time.
The moment the incense filled the air, Zhong Liang rushed in Yang Kai’s direction like an arrow that had been shot from a bow. He wanted to take this smelly brat down in one fell swoop and cut off anything thought of leaving the Pass so Yang Kai would obediently stay inside the Inner Sanctum from now on.
Suddenly, Zhong Liang felt a sense of crisis, and when he looked up, he saw that Yang Kai, who should have been wildly fleeing, had actually turned around and was looking at him with a fierce grin. Yang Kai raised his hands high into the sky, and above him a Great Sun around with a Golden Crow was cawing rose. Above his other hand a shimmering Full Moon had manifested.
Both the Sun and Moon shone together!
The two celestial bodies began circling one another, radiating rich Time Principles as they orbited faster and faster. Yang Kai surged his Space Principles next and merged the two images together to create a new, mysterious force.
The rapidly rotating Sun and Moon enlarged and soon filled Zhong Liang’s field of vision. Even though he was an Eighth-Order Master, he couldn’t help but feel chills run down his spine at this moment. The power of this Divine Ability was beyond his imagination, and it was definitely not something that a Seventh-Order Master could perform.
With such a Divine Ability, even though he was at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he would not escape unscathed if he just stood there and took the hit from Yang Kai.
Zhong Liang never expected Yang Kai to turn around and attack him instead of fleeing, so he was caught completely off guard and didn’t have time to dodge.
In addition, under the influence of this strange Divine Ability, Time and Space around him distorted, and even his thoughts and perception became a little blurred.
This whole situation was too absurd!
Zhong Liang made an immediate decision, and with a loud shout, the power of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master exploded forth. World Force exploded from his body as he threw his fist out at Yang Kai.
A loud bang was heard, and violent energy surged throughout the space. The entire Blue Sky Pass was shaken by the shockwave and all the Humans inside the Inner Sanctum were so shocked that they thought the Black Ink Clan was attacking, so they all came out to investigate.
All of a sudden, the sky above Blue Sky Pass was filled with people.
Meanwhile, inside the Eastern Army’s Headquarters, Ding Yao leapt up into the air after noticing the movement. He looked around and frowned when he saw Zhong Liang suspended in mid-air. However, the current Zhong Liang looked a bit haggard. Although the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel didn’t injure him, it wasn’t easy for him to take the blow. His vitality was churning slightly, making it impossible for him to chase after Yang Kai immediately. Moreover, under the dazzling fallout from the clash, he had lost sight of Yang Kai, and didn’t know where to find him.
Frowning, Ding Yao flew over and soon arrived in front of the Western Army’s Headquarters.
Together with him were Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo, who were supposed to be ‘outside’ right now.
The three Army Commanders gathered together, and Zhong Liang’s adjutant hurriedly greeted them.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Ding Yao asked with a frown.
As soon as he spoke those words though, he turned his head up towards Zhong Liang. In his vision, Ding Yao clearly saw a ripple in the Void, followed by Yang Kai’s ghostly figure appearing less than 100 metres behind Zhong Liang. Yang Kai was holding his Azure Dragon Spear and fiercely thrust it out at Zhong Liang’s back.
Ding Yao’s eyes widened at Yang Kai’s action, but he also saw that Yang Kai did not have any killing intent. Moreover, Zhong Liang was at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so although this spear attack was unexpected and powerful, it couldn’t do much to Zhong Liang.
What Ding Yao didn’t know was that Zhong Liang’s senses had been scrambled somewhat after being struck by the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, so when Yang Kai launched this sneak attack, he was not able to detect it until the spear tip was almost touching his body. Only then did Zhong Liang sense danger and turn around to throw out a punch.
Yang Kai’s body flew out like a paper kite before plunging into the Void, disappearing between the ripples as his voice lingered in the air, “As expected of an Army Commander. My greatest respects to your strength….”
Zhong Liang grabbed at him, but missed. His face now as black as the bottom of a pot, he could not help but roar, “You Little Bastard! You better hide well and not let me catch you or I swear your end will be miserable!”
He was the Army Commander of the Western Army, one of the most important figures in all of Blue Sky Pass, only ranking below the Old Ancestor himself; but now, he was being played by Yang Kai, who had just advanced to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, in front of everyone. What’s more, he actually suffered two losses because he was repeatedly caught off guard, furthering his humiliation.
Zhong Liang was angry, but he was also forced to admit that he admired Yang Kai’s boldness.
He simply did not expect Yang Kai would dare act so recklessly and decisively. If it had been an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, that person would have already died twice by now.
Meanwhile, in front of the Western Army’s Headquarters, the adjutant gulped and finally had the time to answer Ding Yao’s question.
After finding out about the bet between Yang Kai and Zhong Liang, Ding Yao then turned his head to look at the giant burning incense and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Such a large incense stick might take almost an hour or longer to burn through completely. Blue Sky Pass was not a small place, but with it as the boundary, even if Yang Kai, who just advanced to the Seventh Order, had his Space Secret Techniques, he might not be able to escape from the palm of Zhong Liang’s hand.
No wonder Zhong Liang agreed to the bet. If it had been him, it would have been difficult for him to refuse such a bet too.
Zhong Liang could have ignored this provocation completely, but Yang Kai was bound to not be convinced, and there would only be further disputes. Thus, it was better to take this opportunity to stop Yang Kai from having such thoughts and prevent any future problems.
However, the commotion had grown far too big, and the others in Blue Sky Pass were in turmoil at the moment as they didn’t know what had happened. Ding Yao thus issued a series of orders to control the situation.
Soon, the people floating around Blue Sky Pass came down and watched the show from the sidelines. It wasn’t a big deal for them as long as it wasn’t the Black Ink Clan’s invading.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the west of Blue Sky Pass, Yang Kai was running away in a hurry, pushing his Space Principles to the limit.
However, no matter how hard he fled, a Divine Sense was able to lock onto him from afar.
It was Zhong Liang!
If Yang Kai didn’t find a way to cut off this Divine Sense, no matter how exquisite his Instantaneous Movement was, he would never be able to escape from Zhong Liang. But with their difference in strength, how could he cut off Zhong Liang’s Divine Sense? Yang Kai’s repeated attempts failed to achieve his goal, so even as he ran using Instantaneous Movement, Zhong Liang followed close behind him.
Yang Kai knew that his two sneak attacks had pissed off Zhong Liang, and the Army Commander was now determined to teach him a painful lesson.
Instantaneous Movement was the pinnacle of escape techniques. There were thousands of Secret Techniques to increase one’s speed, but none of them could be compared to Instantaneous Movement.
Soon, Yang Kai’s figure could be seen in all corners of Blue Sky Pass, but he never stayed in one spot for more than three breaths because Zhong Liang, who was like a ravenous beast, was always hot on his tail.
With one chasing and one escaping, time gradually passed.
The incense in front of the Western Army’s Headquarters was now a third burned down.
Ding Yao and the others were now becoming a bit anxious!
Initially, they thought that Zhong Liang would capture Yang Kai on his own, but now it seemed that it would not be so easy. They had all heard how the Dao of Space was unparalleled when it came to escaping, but it was only now that they learned how difficult it was to deal with a Master proficient in it.
It was a good thing that this incense burned for a much longer time than a normal incense; otherwise, the time limit would have already been reached.
Even if Yang Kai was caught in the end, it would still be a hollow victory for their side.
On the other hand, seeing that he hadn’t captured the infuriating boy after so long, Zhong Liang was feeling quite annoyed. He intended for this to be a quick battle, but he did not expect that not only were things not going as he expected, but it was actually taking him so long to capture one little brat. Moreover, if he lost the bet, it would be a terrible conclusion.
Suddenly, Zhong Liang’s body stopped in mid-air.
Noticing that Zhong Liang was acting differently, Yang Kai quickly dodged away, but the Divine Sense locked onto him remained.
He didn’t know what Zhong Liang was up to, but he figured that the Army Commander was about to make some kind of big move, so he became alert.
As expected, a strong burst of Word Force came from Zhong Liang’s side, followed by ripples that started from Zhong Liang’s location and spread out in all directions. The speed of the ripples was not fast, but it wasn’t slow either. As the ripples passed through the air, the surrounding space was gradually undergoing a noticeable change. It was a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Technique.
When Yang Kai saw this scene from afar, his face paled as he cried out in anguish, “Army Commander! You shameless cheater!”
Zhong Liang was preparing to spread out his Small Universe and envelop the entire Blue Sky Pass.
Yang Kai had no doubt that Zhong Liang had such an ability; after all, Zhong Liang was a peak Eighth-Order Master, so once his Small Universe was manifested, it could easily encompass all of Blue Sky Pass.
If that happened, the entire Blue Sky Pass territory would be inside his Small Universe. By then, Zhong Liang would be the master of this space, and Yang Kai would have no way of escaping! He would become a fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of Zhong Liang.
Though it was a superb tactic, it was more akin to cheating than a clever strategy. It also showed how determined Zhong Liang was to take down Yang Kai.
Hearing Yang Kai’s shout, Zhong Liang’s face did not blush, he simply laughed wickedly and declared, “In battle, there is no such thing as cheating! Why don’t you try shouting at the Black Ink Clan that they’re being unfair in battle and see if they will let you go!?”
As he spoke, his Small Universe’s frontier spread in Yang Kai’s direction. Yang Kai retreated in haste, but he was limited to the inside of Blue Sky Pass, so there was no place to hide.
He could only watch as the ripples swept past his body and enveloped him.
Yang Kai’s face suddenly turned blue.
Zhong Liang laughed loudly and approached Yang Kai in a flash. He looked at Yang Kai calmly with his hands behind his back, “Are you going to admit defeat voluntarily, or will I have to capture you first? Let me make it clear, if you willingly admit defeat, you will be spared from a beating, but if you make me come and get you… I’m currently in a bad mood, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to control my strength very well.”
Yang Kai immediately gritted his teeth, “You’re quite brazen, Army Commander, but I’m not beaten yet!”
Saying so, Yang Kai’s fists flashed and began blasting towards Zhong Liang.
Smiling, Zhong Liang thought that although Yang Kai was quite strong, such an attack was nothing to him. He was wary of the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel Yang Kai used it as a sneak attack, and if Yang Kai had brought it out here and now, he would certainly be wary of him, but this kind of haphazard flurry of punches wouldn’t cause him any harm.
“You’re too arrogant. It seems you won’t regret it unless you see your coffin. Good, I’ll let you understand the consequences of your actions!” As Zhong Liang spoke, the palm of his hand reached forward, transforming the world around them into a seemingly solid projection as he moved to capture Yang Kai.
However, in the next moment, Zhong Liang’s face changed dramatically.
The attack that seemed so unthreatening to him suddenly felt like a heavy hammer pounding on his heart, shaking his entire Small Universe.
“Huh? What the?!” When Zhong Liang cried out in dismay as the power of his Small Universe was greatly disturbed. For a moment, his strength became disordered and his head became dizzy.
An Open Heaven Realm Master would not easily spread out their Small Universe when fighting because their Small Universe was their very foundation. Once their Small Universe was damaged, they would suffer grave consequences.
The only time Open Heaven Realm Masters would choose to use this method was when they were truly desperate.
When Yang Kai besieged Zuo Quan Hui in the New Great Territory, Zuo Quan Hui laid down his Small Universe in the final battle as he had no other choice.
Zhong Liang was also forced to take a risk today because he had no choice.
But he also had his own considerations. With the heritage of his Small Universe, a newly advanced Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai should not be able to do anything to him in short order. In other words, as long as he took him down swiftly, there shouldn’t be any danger.
How could Zhong Liang have expected that Yang Kai’s seemingly ordinary punches would be able to shake his Small Universe? Once his Small Universe became unstable, his World Force stopped flowing smoothly, leaving him essentially defenceless.
Zhong Liang, who had been hovering in mid-air, fell headlong to the ground.
Although he was able to stabilize his body and withdraw his Small Universe in a flash, even a moment of weakness would be enough to determine life or death in a fight between Masters.
Zhong Liang’s face suddenly became blacker than the bottom of a pot, for when he looked up, Yang Kai had disappeared without a trace. Worse, because he was temporarily dazed, his Divine Sense lock had been cut off.
[This is bad!]
Feeling his heart clench up, Zhang Liang became worried because he was only able to chase after Yang Kai because he locked him down with his Divine Sense. Now that Yang Kai had escaped this lock, how was Zhong Liang supposed to track him?
Turning his head towards the Western Army’s Headquarters, Zhong Liang saw the incense stick in front of the door was already half-burned.
Also, Ding Yao and the others looked at him with intrigued expressions while standing before the incense burner, making Zhong Liang blush.
Up until now, he still could not understand how Yang Kai shook his Small Universe. Those seemingly ordinary punches were definitely not as simple as they seemed. They should be some kind of Secret Technique that was used to directly target Small Universes.
He was right. Yang Kai did have a Secret Technique to deal with Small Universes.
That Secret Technique had worked wonders since he first discovered it, and it gave Yang Kai the ability to fight against Masters above his cultivation realm. If he tangled with the enemy for long enough, he could trace the opponent’s Internal Qi back to their Small Universe, and then, using Space Principles, he could bombard it directly. That was the essence of his Cow Punch.
Originally, Yang Kai didn’t have the chance to use this technique because of the wide gap between him and Zhong Liang, making him unable to hold off Zhong Liang long enough to use Cow Punch.
However, Zhong Liang took the initiative to spread out his Small Universe, which allowed Yang Kai to skip over the entire tracing process, so he immediately used Cow Punch. In the end, he was able to hit Zhong Liang and escape from him. He even had the strength left over to cut off the Divine Sense which was locked onto him.
Once all of that was done, Yang Kai was like a tiger that had returned to the mountains. It would be difficult for Zhong Liang to find him again.
In a few moments, Blue Sky Pass flew into an uproar.
Zhong Liang’s vast Divine Sense swept through the entire Blue Sky Pass but could not find any trace of Yang Kai. He even ran to each Army Headquarters and personally searched the Purifying Black Ink Battleships in case Yang Kai was hiding in them.
But he ended up empty-handed again.
After a few more moments, he had searched every Warship in Blue Sky Pass.
Seeing that the incense was getting shorter and shorter and would soon be finished, Zhong Liang could not help but feel a cold sweat on his forehead.
He had turned the entire Blue Sky Pass upside down and searched everywhere he could think of, but there were still no signs of Yang Kai. Just where was that little brat hiding?
What if he had left the Great Pass? But that would be like admitting defeat, and Yang Kai would never do that.
As he thought about it, Zhong Liang suddenly thought of something and looked in a certain direction.
“That fool finally figured it out!” In front of the Western Army’s Headquarters, Ding Yao reached up and rubbed his forehead.
When Zhong Liang’s Small Universe shook just now, he was dazed and unable to maintain his focus, so Yang Kai took the opportunity to escape. Though Zhong Liang had no idea where Yang Kai had gone, Ding Yao and the others saw it all clearly. However, it wasn’t their place to give Zhang Liang any hints, nor could they do that.
In the centre of Blue Sky Pass, there was a tall solitary mountain, and on top of the solitary mountain stood a majestic palace.
For the tens of thousands of members of Blue Sky Pass, this solitary mountain was both a Restricted Area and a mental support. That was the place where the Old Ancestor would enter retreat, and no one was to disturb him without being summoned.
A stream of light swept in from below and soon arrived in front of the palace. The figure that landed was none other than the Western Army Commander, Zhong Liang.
He took a quick glance at the surroundings, but only saw a few familiar figures standing guard, with no traces of Yang Kai.
[Is he not here?] Zhong Liang was a bit stunned.
He had just turned almost the entire Blue Sky Pass upside down but still could not find Yang Kai’s whereabouts. The only exception was this solitary mountain, which he did not dare to pry into because it was not a place he could simply search at will.
If there was any place Yang Kai could hide, it was definitely here.
Who would have thought he still couldn’t find Yang Kai’s whereabouts after coming here?
The situation made his head spin. If Yang Kai was not hiding here, where else could he be?
After greeting Senior Brother Sun, who was guarding the front door, Zhong Liang turned around and was about to leave.
It was then that Senior Brother Sun suddenly said, “Junior Brother, are you here to find Yang Kai?”
Zhong Liang stopped and nodded, “Yes!”
Senior Brother Sun smiled wryly and said, “If that is the case, you can wait here.”
Zhong Liang was puzzled, “Huh?”
Senior Brother Sun said, “Yang Kai has been summoned by the Old Ancestor and is in the inner room. He will be out in a moment.”
The news made Zhong Liang’s jaw drop in shock as he was astonished and speechless.
The Old Ancestor summoned Yang Kai into the palace. How could he continue his search for Yang Kai? It was impossible for him to rush inside and catch Yang Kai now. In other words, as long as Yang Kai hid inside the palace until the time limit was up, he would definitely lose the bet.
[That Brat! He’s too shameless!]
But when Zhong Liang thought back on the act of him spreading out his Small Universe, he couldn’t help feeling he was just as shameless.
“Why did Old Ancestor suddenly summon him?” Zhong Liang asked with a bitter smile.
Senior Brother Sun laughed and said, “I don’t know. That brat suddenly came here in a hurry like he had some urgent business, and as soon as he landed, the Old Ancestor summoned him inside to talk.”
Those words made Zhong Liang gnash his teeth and secretly curse him for being so sneaky. [He must have run all the way here after cutting off my Divine Sense, which was locked onto him.]
Still, Zhong Liang had not expected that the Old Ancestor would summon Yang Kai at such a moment. The boy’s original intention should only have been to use the uniqueness of this place to hide for some time.
As for Senior Brother Sun’s description of Yang Kai being in a hurry, as if he had something urgent, Senior Brother Sun might have already learned the reason for that matter. Although his duty was to guard the Old Ancestor’s place of retreat, he must have known about what just happened because they had caused such a huge commotion; otherwise, he wouldn’t have laughed so mockingly.
Zhong Liang suddenly remembered one more thing and asked urgently, “Have Old Ancestor’s wounds fully healed?”
It had been eight years since the Black Ink Clan Army was defeated, and the Old Ancestor had been in retreat since then to heal his injuries, so there might be a chance that his injuries were all healed.
Senior Brother Sun unfortunately shook his head and said, “I don’t know, but this is the first time in recent years that Old Ancestor has sent a message to the outside world.”
After hearing those words, Zhong Liang immediately understood the situation. It seemed like the Old Ancestor had yet to make a full recovery; after all, it wasn’t easy for a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to heal his injuries. However, the Old Ancestor’s situation must have turned for the better, or else he wouldn’t have called for Yang Kai to head inside.
After taking a look at the big incense in front of the Western Army Headquarters, Zhong Liang noticed there was still about a fifth of it left, so there was still some time.
He didn’t want to leave just like that, and since there was still some time left, Zhong Liang could only stay here and wait to see if Yang Kai would come out before time was up.
Silence fell in front of the palace.
Meanwhile, inside, Yang Kai sat cross-legged in front of an old man with an all-white beard and hair.
The old man was thin and full of wrinkles. He wore a plain robe and was currently barefooted, not giving off the air of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at all. Yang Kai did not even feel any energy fluctuations from this old man. If they met without knowing each other’s identities, Yang Kai would definitely treat him like an ordinary old man and not a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor who stood at the very peak of the Martial Dao.
The Old Ancestor’s cultivation had probably achieved a state of serenity in the extraordinary; otherwise, he would never have given Yang Kai such an impression.
Yang Kai was very surprised to be summoned by the Old Ancestor. When he first came here, he had intended to meet the Old Ancestor, but since the latter was in the process of healing from his injuries, Yang Kai wasn’t able to meet him.
At this moment, Yang Kai was demonstrating the creation of Purifying Light in front of the Old Ancestor, which was naturally something the latter requested of him.
During the process, the Old Ancestor watched carefully and even reached out his hand to take the Purifying Light after it was formed to have a better look at it.
Yang Kai did not dare to say much and just quietly waited.
After a few moments, the Old Ancestor nodded lightly and instructed Yang Kai to stretch out his hands so that he could check the two marks.
Though Yang Kai couldn’t tell what the Old Ancestor had seen from the marks on the backs of his hands, the latter was clearly meticulously investigating them with an extremely serious expression.
Moments later, the Old Ancestor nodded lightly and suddenly smiled, “This Purifying Light is indeed profound and mysterious. The Burning Light and Serene Glimmer are truly worthy of being called ancient Great Experts. Their strength is far beyond my reach.”
Yang Kai was astonished by his words, “You’re too modest, Old Ancestor.”
According to the Old Ancestor’s words, he seemed to be admitting that he was inferior to the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer. How could Yang Kai not be surprised by that? The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm was already the peak a Human could achieve, and Yang Kai had always thought that such a Master could compete with the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
The Old Ancestor, however, shook his head, “I’m not being modest. I speak only the truth. When this Old Master first advanced to the Ninth Order, I went to the Chaotic Dead Territory to exchange moves with those two. I remember that experience well.”
He did not say what the result of the sparring match was, but Yang Kai had a vague feeling that the Old Ancestor had suffered some kind of loss.
“I know about what happened in the Inner Sanctum. This Purifying Light is a method to remove Black Ink Strength, so since you have gotten this opportunity, you should work hard to safeguard others well.”
Yang Kai said respectfully, “Junior will abide by your orders, Old Ancestor.”
After a pause, he added, “Old Ancestor, I have one more thing to report.”
“Go ahead.” Old Ancestor nodded lightly.
“This Junior did not enter the Black Ink Battlefield through the No-Return Pass. Instead, I came here through a Void Corridor!”
Once he said those words, the Old Ancestor’s eyes narrowed, “Tell me more.”
Yang Kai then went on to explain what happened in the Black Prison. He began his story after the death of the Royal Lord, then described how the Void Corridor was formed, how he went in alone and sealed the Void Corridor with Space Principles, and then found himself in a Sealed World which existed on the Black Ink Battlefield.
“I have sealed the corridor with my Secret Technique, and that Sealed World has probably ruptured by now, but the Void Corridor might still exist.”
“How many people know about this?” Old Ancestor asked in a deep voice.
Yang Kai answered, “I met a Black Ink Disciple named Meng Qi in that Sealed World, and after saving him with Purifying Light, he told me the importance of this matter, and that I must report it to you and no one else, so I haven’t told anyone else about it.”
“And Meng Qi?” Old Ancestor asked.
After sighing, Yang Kai explained, “I wanted to bring him with me, but he refused and immediately sacrificed his life after I left.”
The Old Ancestor was slightly stunned, but soon understood and sighed, “His loyalty to the Human Race is praiseworthy. His name will be recorded on my Blue Sky Pass Heroic Souls Monument.”
The Heroic Souls Monument was something Yang Kai knew about. One such monument was located in every one of the Great Passes and it recorded the names of all those who died in the war against the Black Ink Clan.
The Heroic Souls Monument in Blue Sky Pass, which was 1,000 meters high, had recorded countless names, each one representing a human life.
“The matter of the Void Corridor ends here. Do not mention it to anyone else,” The Old Ancestor declared.
“Junior understands.”
The Old Ancestor nodded before suddenly giving him a deep look, “You have done a great service to the Human Race by sealing the Void Corridor, saving the 3,000 Worlds from a catastrophe.”
Shaking his head, Yang Kai said, “Those who have been battling to the death with the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield are the real heroes. Countless ancestors gave their lives in exchange for peace in the 3,000 Worlds while this Junior is still alive and well. The names on the Heroic Souls Monument are the ones who deserved the credit.”
“The dead have merit, but so do the living,” as the Old Ancestor spoke, he suddenly lifted his hand and extended his finger towards Yang Kai’s forehead.
His movement was obviously very slow, but in Yang Kai’s eyes, it seemed incredibly fast. Before he could react, the finger was already on his forehead.
As soon as Old Ancestor’s finger touched his forehead, he smiled and said, “The incense outside has burned out, you can leave now.”
Yang Kai was stunned to realize that although the Old Ancestor was in retreat, nothing in Blue Sky Pass could escape his gaze. He must have known about his bet with Zhong Liang, or else he would not have said these words.
Perhaps the Old Ancestor had summoned him inside with the intention of helping him.
Yang Kai got up and said respectfully, “Many thanks, Old Ancestor.”
The Old Ancestor closed his eyes and said nothing while Yang Kai bowed and exited the palace.
After leaving the inner room, Yang Kai touched his forehead and fell into deep thought.
Just now, when the Old Ancestor’s finger touched him, he did not notice anything unusual. Though he didn’t know what that action meant, as an Old Ancestor, whatever he did must have a purpose. That was why Yang Kai was confused.
Outside the hall, Zhong Liang looked resigned as Yang Kai walked out. Just now, the incense in front of the Western Army Headquarters had completely burned out. According to his bet with Yang Kai, he had lost.
His heart was full of discontent. If the Old Ancestor had not intervened and summoned Yang Kai inside, he wouldn’t have lost. However, he did not dare to say this out loud because it was not his place to complain about the Old Ancestor’s actions.
Yang Kai first went to greet the Senior surnamed Sun before looking at Zhong Liang. With his nostrils pointing high up to the sky, he arrogantly declared, “Army Commander, I am going to gather my men and head out of the Great Pass. You have no objections, right?”
Feeling his face twitch, Zhang Liang wanted to slap Yang Kai half to death and force him to stay in the Inner Sanctum.
But that was impossible now.
Suddenly putting on a smile, Zhong Liang made another attempt at negotiation, “Oh, Yang Boy. Let’s sit down and have a good chat about this. Why do you want to head outside the Great Pass? What’s so good about the outside world anyway? Isn’t it more free-and-easy inside the Inner Sanctum?”
Hearing that, Yang Kai cracked his neck and retorted, “No, I want to go outside the Great Pass. Army Commander, you’re not going to go back on your word, are you?”
“Nonsense.” Zhong Liang blew his beard and glared, “This King is an Army Commander in charge of the Western Army and has never gone back on his word!”
“Good.” Yang Kai nodded.
Zhong Liang added, “But there’s no rush. Why don’t you stay in the Inner Sanctum for a few more days and I’ll tell you about the situation of the Black Ink Clan?”
Yang Kai glanced with askance at him, “Even though Army Commander has fought on the Black Ink Battlefield for countless years, I have also lived in Black Ink Clan’s territory for at least two years and understand them well. There is no need for me to trouble you, Army Commander.”
Saying so, he raised his foot and was about to step forward.
However, Zhong Liang caught him by the arm. Yang Kai turned around to look at them. Four eyes met, and Zhong Liang gritted his teeth, “Fine. This King won’t stop you if you want to leave, but this King must draw up some rules with you. If you do not agree, then I won’t let you leave no matter what.”
Yang Kai frowned and urged him on, “Go on.”
Zhong Liang reached his hand out to him, “Give me your Universe Chart.”
Yang Kai had no idea what he was going to do, but he still took his Universe Chart out for him. This Universe Chart was the same one that Meng Qi handed him back then. It was the Universe Chart of Black Ink battlefield.
Zhong Liang took it from him and seemed to do something with it before casually tossing it back to Yang Kai, “The first rule is that you must not go past the boundaries set by this King. Right now, the area within the boundary can only barely be considered safe. There are Feudal and Territory Lords beyond this boundary, so you will not be able to resist them with the current strength of your Dawn Squad.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai brought his Divine Sense into the Universe Chart and examined the boundaries that Zhong Liang had drawn. When he recalled his previous experiences living within the Black Ink Clan’s territory, and compared it to this line, he just about had an understanding of the limits where he could move around. Yang Kai nodded, “Rest assured, Army Commander. My life is my own, so I will cherish it more than anyone else.”
Seeing him agree, Zhong Liang relaxed a little and nodded, “The second rule is, unless you are completely out of options, you must never use Purifying Light against the Black Ink Clan. If you do use it, then you must make sure to leave no witnesses!”
Yang Kai frowned, “Why?”
Purifying Light had the ability to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength, and it was the only way to save Black Ink Disciples and cultivators who have been corrupted by Black Ink Strength, but it was also a sharp weapon to use against the Black Ink Clan!
When Yang Kai first arrived at Blue Sky Pass, it was the Purifying Light that he used to injure a Black Ink Territory Lord, allowing Feng Ying to seize the opportunity to kill him.
Zhong Liang said, “Since ancient times, Humans have had no means to effectively disperse the corruption of Black Ink Strength before your arrival, which was the biggest reason why we could only defend the Great Passes and not take the initiative to attack. If the Black Ink Clan were to find out that you hold such power, it would attract their attention, and perhaps even stir up a Royal Lord to act. How are you going to resist if that were to happen? So, it is fine if you do nothing, but once you show your cards, you must exterminate them in order to keep the information from leaking out.”
Yang Kai realized what he was trying to say and nodded, “I understand now. However, Army Commander, I have already shown that ability on the battlefield last time. Surely, the Black Ink Clan would have taken notice.”
Zhong Liang waved his hand, “One time won’t matter. Even if the Black Ink Clan noticed what you did, they may not pay too much attention to it. However, if you use Purifying Light repeatedly, and if they were to find out about it, then things would truly become troublesome. This is important. If it is exposed that you are able to wield Purifying Light, then you will never be able to leave as you please ever again.”
“What is the third rule?” Yang Kai asked.
Zhong Liang said solemnly, “The third rule is that you will escape alone if you are met with mortal danger! You are proficient in the Dao of Space and you are also in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. As long as a Royal Lord does not act personally, and as long as you do not fall into an inescapable trap, then there is nothing that the Black Ink Clan can do to stop you. Do you understand me?”
Yang Kai fell silent.
Zhong Liang stared at him, “If you are unable to accept these three rules, then I will not let you out of here no matter what.”
A long while passed before Yang Kai sighed, “In that case, I will agree to them.”
Zhong Liang patted him on the shoulder, “Remember, your existence is vital to the entire Human Race. Do not put yourself at risk.”
Yang Kai nodded and cupped his fist, “If Army Commander has no other orders, then this Yang will go now.”
Zhong Liang opened his mouth as if he were going to say more, but he ended up just waving his hand, “Go.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist again and took to the skies.
A few moments later, Yang Kai landed in Feng Ying’s courtyard, where she had long been waiting. When she saw him return, she asked, “How was it?”
Yang Kai smiled, “Gather the troops and prepare to leave.”
Feng Ying was surprised, “The Army Commander lost?”
Yang Kai and Zhong Liang made a lot of noise during their argument, so everyone in Blue Sky Pass knew about their bet. Feng Ying did not have high hopes since Zhong Liang had even spread out his Small Universe. As long as Yang Kai was inside of Blue Sky Pass, then he would be captured sooner or later no matter where he tried to hide. However, it seemed now that Zhong Liang had lost the bet.
“I just got lucky,” Yang Kai responded casually.
Feng Ying did not dwell on the matter and hastened to send word to the Squad.
In less than an incense stick of time, Dawn Squad’s members had all fully gathered in the courtyard. Including Yang Kai, there were 35 of them, no more, no less.
In front of the crowd, Yang Kai announced, “Everyone, I have obtained permission from the Army Commander for Dawn to depart today, so I hope that you will join me and work together to exterminate and destroy the enemy so that we can gain honour for the Human Race!”
Despite their suspicions, all of them were overjoyed to hear Yang Kai’s words.
Everyone present used to be a Black Ink Disciple who served the Black Ink Clan, lived in their lands for many years, and saw the miserable experiences that the other Black Ink Disciples of the Black Ink Clan endured. So, nobody hated the Black Ink Clan more than they did.
After being incorporated as members of Dawn Squad, they all longed for the day that they could march into the Black Ink Clan’s domain and save even more of their allies while avenging the deaths of their fellow comrades.
Unfortunately, the Army Commanders were unwilling to let them go due to Yang Kai’s special status.
Now that the day had finally come, all of them rolled up their sleeves and chanted, “Kill, kill, kill!”
The sound of their voices swept through the scene, and their morale rose to a crescendo!
Yang Kai was extremely satisfied with this reaction, and he waved his hand, “Depart!”
In a flash, more than 30 figures turned into streams of light, speeding to the main gates of Blue Sky Pass, identified themselves, and were allowed to pass, entering the void.
Yang Kai turned to Feng Ying, who nodded lightly before reaching out to the void in front of her. There was a small flicker and the aura of a Small Universe opening could be felt. Then, a Warship in the shape of a large ship appeared.
Dawning Light!
Dawning Light was originally just an ordinary Squad Warship, but after Feng Ying spent an entire ocean’s worth on Military Merits to have it modified at the Refining Hall, Dawning Light had become countless times stronger than other Warships. The number and quality of Dawn Squad’s members was also not something that an ordinary Squad could compare with.
There were typically 10 to 15 people in a Squad, and apart from the Squad Leader, who was in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, there would at most be two other Seventh-Order members. Some Squads would even be limited to only having their Squad Leader as the sole Seventh-Order member.
However, Dawn had 5 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. With a line-up of this calibre, backed by the combat power of Dawning Light, it may not be impossible for them to put up a fight even if they were facing a Territory Lord.
This was also a reason why Zhong Liang eventually agreed to Yang Kai’s departure, as strength was the greatest guarantee for one’s safety.
The Squad members boarded the ship, and apart from the 5 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm members, the remaining 30 quickly took their positions in a coordinated manner.
It was clear that Dawn Squad’s members had already trained together while Yang Kai and Zhong Liang were arguing. They knew where they were supposed to go and what role they were in charge of.
However, as Dawn was only just established, they were not yet completely familiar with each other and had not built up a tacit level of understanding between them. So, the members still needed some time to get familiar with Dawning Light and its capabilities.
The best way to raise that familiarity was to gain experience in battle.
Out of such considerations, though Yang Kai was eager to slaughter his way into the Black Ink Clan’s domain, he ordered Dawning Light’s crew members to proceed at a steady pace and to not be hasty. That was all so they could break in their new Warship.
Inside the cabin, Feng Ying opened her Universe Chart, which turned into a field of light that appeared before everyone’s eyes, and the 5 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered around it.
Feng Ying pointed to a certain place, “Squad Leader, this here is Blue Sky Pass, and with Blue Sky Pass as the centre, the area surrounding it is Blue Sky Theatre. The Royal Lord who is garrisoned here is called Men Xie. He is the one you discovered and the one who fought against the Old Ancestor. There is a tacit agreement between all sides that we only need to take care of Blue Sky Theatre while not minding the adjacent Theatres. The Black Ink Clansmen of those two other war zones will not enter the Blue Sky Theatre either. They have their own opponents.”
Yang Kai nodded at her words. Naturally, he already knew about this basic information. On the Black Ink Battlefield, every Human Race Great Pass corresponded to a grand Theatre.
Feng Ying continued on, “Men Xie was found by you during the critical moment when he was recovering from his injuries, then he received further injuries from the Old Ancestor. He will have to go into seclusion in his Black Ink Royal City for at least 100 years in order to recover and will not come out again without reason. So, the greatest threat can be ignored. Additionally, after the last fight, there were many casualties among the Territory Lords. Based on the latest intelligence, there should be less than 60 Territory Lords under Men Xie Royal Lord remaining, many of whom are also busy trying to recover. They are all scattered across the huge war zone, so as long as we are careful enough, it should be unlikely for us to bump into any Territory Lords. As for Black Ink Clansmen under the Territory Lords, Dawn should have no issue dealing with them.”
“Very good,” Yang Kai nodded in satisfaction.
Feng Ying then pointed to a few specific areas, “These three locations around Blue Sky Pass are far enough that they can almost be considered the edge of the Black Ink Clan’s territory. The Inner Sanctum has set up forward camps in each of these three locations, each one overseen by an Eighth-Order Master. These forward camps will be able to provide supplies for our soldiers. There are also Artifact Refiners and Array Masters present there who can repair artifacts and Warships. We can also report Military Merits there.”
Yang Kai was surprised, “The Inner Sanctum even set up forward bases in these three places?”
It was the first he had heard of this, so it could not be helped that he was surprised.
He had imagined that Blue Sky Pass’ Squads would each fight on their own after exiting the Pass, but now it seemed that Inner Sanctum had already set up three forward camps on the frontlines, and their benefits were obvious. In the vast void of the battlefield, far away from Blue Sky Pass, forward bases provided a safe haven for the Human soldiers when they needed to resupply or recuperate.
And, there were also Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters garrisoned at these camps. If anyone did end up bumping into a Territory Lord, then they could flee back to the forward base to seek refuge.
“These are all temporary forward camps that are used whenever the Black Ink Clan’s Army is forced back. Once the Black Ink Clan have finished recuperating, these forward bases will be abandoned and taken over by the Black Ink Clan instead,” Feng Ying explained.
Yang Kai nodded. It was not hard to understand what was going on. Once the Black Ink Clan’s Army was defeated and lost a lot of strength, the Humans would take the opportunity to occupy these forward bases. And, once the Black Ink Clan had recuperated, they would naturally come to attack again. Then, they would have no choice but to abandon these forward bases and return to Blue Sky Pass. If they were to stay behind, they would only be swallowed up by the Black Ink Clan’s Army.
“These three forward bases also correspond to the three resource harvesting areas. In fact, the Black Ink Battlefield does not lack cultivation resources. You have lived within the Black Ink Clan’s domain, so you should know about this. Only, we Humans will rarely have the opportunity to mine for resources, causing the short supply of materials in the Inner Sanctum.”
Yang Kai nodded at these words. After having lived in Black Ink Clan’s hinterland for two years, he naturally knew this better than anyone else.
The Black Ink Battlefield was rich in cultivation resources, not to mention strange Sealed Worlds with rare and precious treasures. Even the Dead Stars in the void, Universe Worlds and Spirit Provinces that had lost their vitality because their World Force had been swallowed up, all were hiding cultivation resources and rare minerals of various Orders.
However, the Human Race had no way of harvesting these resources freely. Only when the Black Ink Clan was forced back would they barely have some time to do such things. And, the time that they had for this activity varied each time. It all depended on how long it took for the Black Ink Clan to restore their strength. It could be as short as a decade, but also as long as several decades.
Once the Black Ink Clan recovered their foundation, the Human Race would be forced to retreat again.
And, for the Black Ink Clan, these resources were also of great use. The Black Ink Nest that Yang Kai had seen previously needed to devour a large number of resources in order to create new Black Ink Clansmen and provide others with the energy to break through to higher realms.
So, that was the reason why the Black Ink Clan would send their members to these resource-harvesting areas to collect materials when the Humans retreated.
Throughout history, this was how the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had taken turns occupying the resource harvesting areas, going back and forth with each other innumerable times.
Many resource harvesting areas had already been abandoned as their resources had been exhausted. Right now, the closest resource harvesting area occupied by the Humans was some 6 billion kilometres away from Blue Sky Pass, with the farthest one being 10 billion kilometres away.
Feng Ying said, “Even though we Humans have taken over the resource harvesting area, the Black Ink Clan will not just sit still while we mine for materials. Even though there is no way for them to send armies to attack Blue Sky Pass when their foundations have been severely damaged, that doesn’t mean they can’t send smaller groups to harass these resource-harvesting areas. Firstly, they can use this opportunity to capture more Black Ink Disciples, and secondly, they can also interfere with the mining operations of our clansmen. So, no matter where we go, we must be ready to fight the Black Ink Clan at any moment as we mine and search for resources.”
Yang Kai nodded at her words. He was less knowledgeable about this than Feng Ying, so it was naturally better for him to listen to her suggestions. He thus asked, “Then, based on Martial Aunt’s thoughts, which location should we go to?”
Feng Ying looked at Yang Kai, “That will depend on whether you want to mine resources or fight with the Black Ink Clan.”
“What’s the difference?” Yang Kai asked.
Feng Ying explained, “These three locations are all basically occupied by us Humans right now. Even if there were Black Ink Clansmen around those places, their numbers wouldn’t be large. So, if we go to those three places, we will have a safer time mining, and the fights we encounter will also be less frequent. However, whether it be mining or fighting with the Black Ink Clan, there are still Military Merits to be gained. There is not much difference between them, they’re just different tasks.”
Yang Kai raised his brows, “From what Martial Aunt is saying, there seem to be other places we can go besides the three locations?”
Feng Ying smiled and pointed to another place on the Universe Chart, “Before our departure, I asked around and found out that Inner Sanctum has set up a fourth forward base here in order to take over this resource harvesting area. However, it has not been long since this campaign began, so they have not been able to fully occupy it yet. The Black Ink Clan is putting up a fierce fight over there. Half a month before we departed, the Inner Sanctum sent reinforcements over, including two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at that. He pointed to the last location, “Then let’s go here.”
With a look as if she had expected this response, Feng Ying nodded, “You are the Squad Leader, so we’ll follow your command.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Since we are a Special Operations Squad, I think Dawn should do things that other Squads can’t. Since other Squads do not have this ability, then we should naturally go and kill those Black Ink Clansmen and leave the resource collection to the others.”
Shen Ao and the others nodded, all showing eager expressions.
After the discussion, Dawning Light headed towards the fourth forward base. Other than those who were left in charge of steering and monitoring their surroundings, the rest of the Squad members went back into the cabin to meditate and prepare themselves.
The fourth forward base was the farthest one from Blue Sky Pass, so it would take at least a week for them to get to that location. What’s more, the Squad members were still in the process of familiarizing themselves with Dawning Light, so they weren’t travelling at full speed, which meant it would take them even more time to arrive.
The void was silent and filled with rubble, both large and small, drifting aimlessly about.
After about a week, Dawning Light was slowly approaching the fourth forward base. In two or three days, they would arrive.
Even though Yang Kai was in retreat, he would still come out every day to check on the situation; however, it had been uneventful all throughout their journey.
On this day, after he was done monitoring the Warship’s surroundings and was about to return to the cabin to cultivate, he suddenly felt a violent wave of power coming from the side, followed by the violent shaking of Dawning Light’s barrier, which sent an alarm all throughout the Warship.
“Enemy attack!” A loud cry resounded through the ship from one of the crew members in charge of monitoring the surrounding situation.
At the shout, the cultivator in charge of defence immediately activated the Warship’s shields. In the next instant, a milky white glow emerged, enveloping the entirety of Dawning Light.
However, since the enemy’s ambush had happened too suddenly, the barrier was a moment too slow and the first attack managed to impact the hull.
Under the violent shock, Dawn Squad’s members slid left and right, but Yang Kai stood firm without moving, his eyes immediately shooting towards the source of the attack.
There, behind the shattered fragments of destroyed Spirit Provinces, large ships in Black Ink Clan’s style emerged, each one a giant that dwarfed Dawning Light in terms of size.
There were three of these large ships in total, and on the decks stood many stalwart figures, obviously members of the Black Ink Clan.
The constant shaking continued, but before the Black Ink Clan’s next salvo hit, Dawning Light’s shields were fully raised. Ripples appeared on the surface of the white light barrier, blocking the attack.
However, no matter how strong the Defensive Arrays were, it was impossible for them to resist an incessant bombardment forever. What’s more, it took a lot of energy to maintain the shields.
The cabin door opened and one cultivator after another rushed in.
Feng Ying shouted, “What’s the situation?”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “The Black Ink Clan is blocking our path!”
“Here?” Feng Ying was surprised. She looked over and sure enough, there were the three Black Ink Clan ships blocking the way. She knew that the Black Ink Clan must have travelled around the fourth forward base primarily to lie in wait for the Human Race’s reinforcements to arrive.
As the two were speaking, Dawning Light engaged in a fierce battle with the three large ships.
The large ships of the Black Ink Clan were ordinary flight-type artifacts, so the attacks were all coming from the Black Ink Clansmen aboard. On the other hand, Dawning Light was a Warship with its own offensive capabilities.
The Squad members in charge of attacking activated the Arrays, triggering the power of the artifacts installed within the Array Core. In an instant, a spear-shaped attack, an awe-inspiring sword wave, and a bolt of lightning shot out in three different directions towards the enemy vessels.
The Black Ink Clan clearly did not expect Dawning Light to have such a wide range of attacks, so they were at a loss for a moment.
One of the large ships was too slow to dodge the lightning bolt and was instantly torn apart. Many of the less powerful Black Ink Clansmen were reduced to charred corpses under the power of the scattered lightning bolts.
It was easy to see from this attack alone just how terrifying the power of Dawning Light was.
The two remaining Black Ink Clan large ships were able to dodge the attacks in time, but it obviously frightened them and caused them to back away, putting distance between them and their enemy in case they met the same fate as their companions.
However, Dawning Light chased after them closely, sending out another barrage of attacks.
The two ships could no longer evade the attacks and were both smashed to pieces.
The figures of Black Ink Clansmen could be seen fleeing in disarray, their faces covered in ash and debris. The attacks just now had also killed and injured many of them. Most of the ones who survived were High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
Rather than retreat though, most of the enemy swarmed towards Dawning Light instead. The only exceptions were three Black Ink Clansmen who had exceptionally rich Black Ink Strength. These three were clearly Feudal Lords.
“There’s no Territory Lord!” Feng Ying immediately calmed down. When the enemy ambushed them, her greatest fear was that a Territory Lord may be among them. However, it was unlikely for that to happen as the number of Territory Lords under Men Xie was limited, so they would not come all the way here to interrupt Human Masters.
However, it was still better to be on one’s guard. She could only breathe a sigh of relief once the three large ships were destroyed and all the Black Ink Clansmen showed themselves.
For Dawn Squad, as long as no Territory Lord appeared, the rest could easily be disregarded.
Even though this thought might have seemed arrogant, it was the truth.
If any other ordinary Squad were to bump into three Black Ink Clan ships lying in wait to ambush them as they were making their way to the fourth forward base, they truly would not have been their opponents and would have had no choice but to flee.
Unfortunately for the Black Ink Clan, they ran into Dawn, who had 5 Seventh-Order Masters among their ranks.
“Leader…” Feng Ying called out and turned to look at Yang Kai, but she was stunned because he was long gone.
Brow twitching, she hurriedly looked around, and sure enough, she saw that Yang Kai had appeared on the deck like a ghost. Following that, he shot out to meet the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers in battle.
Though he was a lone figure, he seemed invincible and unstoppable.
Having seen the terrifying might of Dawning Light, the Black Ink Clan panicked and struggled to hold their ground while the three Feudal Lords were already in the process of escaping.
They thought that they could pick up a bargain here, but who knew that the Warship they encountered would be so abnormally powerful? The attacks that came from the Warship were truly terrifying, and anyone who was not careful enough and got hit would not meet a good end.
The Warships of the Human Race were all incredibly sturdy to begin with, and none was without at least one Seventh-Order Master. If they could not force a quick end to the battle, then they would have lost their advantage of launching a sneak attack.
It was at that moment that the three Feudal Lords suddenly saw a figure slaughter his way out from the Human Warship, cutting a path through the weaker Black Ink Clansmen in an instant.
The eyes of the tallest Feudal Lord flickered. Truly, there was a path to the Heavens, but the enemy refused to take it, crashing into Hell despite there being no door. From the aura fluctuations he could feel from this opponent, he judged the lone man to be a Seventh-Order Human, which put him on par with a Feudal Lord.
Obviously, he should be the Seventh-Order Master in charge of this Warship.
If this Seventh-Order Human had remained hidden in his Warship, then the Black Ink Clan may not have been able to do anything due to the defensive strength displayed by their vessel. However, for a Seventh-Order Human to rush out at them in such a bold manner was simply courting death!
At that thought, the Black Ink Feudal Lord stopped retreating and instead took a step forward, opening his mouth wide before spitting out a huge, dense cloud of Black Ink Strength that enveloped the surrounding void in an inky fog.
At the same time, a dagger-like weapon appeared in the Feudal Lord’s hand as he dove into the Black Ink Cloud, using it as cover.
Black Ink Strength had always been the Black Ink Clan’s most effective method when it came to dealing with the Humans. Unless they were at their wit’s end, Humans would never allow themselves to be tainted by Black Ink Strength. It had been that way throughout all of history.
This Feudal Lord was clearly very experienced when it came to fighting with the Human Race as the first thing he did was create a massive Black Ink Cloud. Not only did this conceal his actions, it also caused trouble for his opponent.
If his opponent showed the slightest hesitation, then they would have to withstand his violent rain of attacks. With these conditions, even a Seventh-Order Human Master would not be a match for him.
This Feudal Lord had done this before, and it worked wonders every time, so this time should be no different.
However, the unexpected always came unannounced. A figure shot straight through the inky mist without even hesitating and in an instant, he was in front of him.
The Feudal Lord jumped in fright, wondering to himself where this crazy bastard had come from. He never thought that any Human would actually play such a different hand than usual. However, without missing a beat, he lifted his dagger and unleashed a storm of attacks towards the arrogant Human.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and summoned the Azure Dragon Spear into his grip.
However, he did not thrust his spear out immediately. Instead, he looked over at the Feudal Lord with a cold and icy gaze, his right eye suddenly turning black. Even the whites of his eye could no longer be seen, giving him an extremely strange appearance.
Black Purgatory Eye! One of the two core Eye Secret Techniques of Myriad Demons Heaven.
Before setting off for the Black Ink Battlefield, Myriad Demons Heaven’s Eighth-Order Ancestor, Mo Sha, had personally instructed Yang Kai on the mysteries of this Eye Secret Technique and also passed onto him all his cultivation experiences with it. This allowed Yang Kai to develop this Eye Secret Technique much further than he had before, unlocking some of its hidden potential and power.
However, since then, Yang Kai had yet to use this Eye Secret Technique in battle; after all, there was no chance for him to use it during the large-scale war between the two races.
Now was a good time to test it out.
Recently, Yang Kai had been refining cultivation resources to increase the heritage of his Small Universe while also exploring the mysteries of the two Eye Secret Techniques, Demon Eye of Annihilation and Black Purgatory Eye, at the same time, and he managed to gain quite a lot of insight into their complexities.
Now that the Black Purgatory Eye was released, the stalwart figure of the Feudal Lord was reflected in Yang Kai’s pitch-black right eye.
All of a sudden, the Feudal Lord’s vision went dark, as if boundless darkness had swallowed him. All of his senses instantly became disordered, but that was not all. The reflection of the Feudal Lord in Yang Kai’s eyes distorted slightly. Alongside that barely discernible distortion, the Feudal Lord in front of him grunted as if he had received some sort of attack.
The Feudal Lord had rich combat experience and knew that he had been hit by some kind of Secret Technique by this Human in front of him. Human Secret Techniques came in all sorts of bizarre forms, and the Black Ink Clan knew that fact well. Based on their experience, they were able to classify the Secret Techniques of the Human Race into various grades and ranks.
Of them, several terrifyingly powerful Secret Techniques were well known among the members of the Black Ink Clan.
When he thought about the pitch-black eye, adding on what he was experiencing now, the words ‘Black Purgatory Eye’ immediately came to mind.
The Black Ink Clan knew that Myriad Demons Cave Heaven’s Black Purgatory Eye was definitely one of the most dangerous Secret Techniques in existence. Once, when a Black Ink Clan army stormed Myriad Demons Pass, the Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Pass came to meet them in battle. With a single look of his eye, hundreds of thousands of the Black Ink Clan’s soldiers were simply erased from existence, including many Feudal Lords.
It was that very battle that made the Black Purgatory Eye of Myriad Demons Heaven so famous among the Black Ink Clan.
However, as far as the Black Ink Clan knew, this Black Purgatory Eye Secret Technique was powerful, but it could not be cultivated by just anyone. Until now, in the entire Black Ink Battlefield, they knew that the only Humans who could use that Secret Technique, other than the Old Ancestor of Myriad Demons Heaven, numbered no more than a few dozen people.
This Feudal Lord never expected that he would come across it here.
This was no trivial matter, so the Feudal Lord swung his dagger faster and faster while drawing back at the same time. Judging from how he felt after his opponent used his Secret Technique, this person must not have cultivated the Black Purgatory Eye for long and was not very skilled at using it, so he was unable to do too much harm to him with it directly.
However, the feeling of being enveloped by darkness still lingered, so he had no choice but to retreat for now before coming up with a new plan.
It had to be said that this was an extremely prudent decision. It would have been unwise to fight in a situation where all of your senses were cut off.
The darkness that enveloped him went as quickly as it came, solidifying the fact that this Human’s cultivation of this Secret Technique was not very profound.
As his vision was restored, the Feudal Lord saw the Human across from him sweep past. In a flash, he had dashed straight into the camp at the rear without even a glance at him.
Such contempt angered the Feudal Lord, yet boundless fear gripped him as the darkness dispersed.
His eyes widened as he felt his strength and vitality rapidly leaving his body. Black Ink blood flowed down from his forehead, blurring his vision.
Following where the blood was coming out of, the Feudal Lord could very clearly feel that a hole had been pierced straight through his head.
[When did…]
Screams erupted from behind him. The Human that dashed over was cutting down the other Black Ink Clansmen like melons and vegetables, taking hardly any time to slaughter them all, with none being able to put up a fight against him.
Then, even those screams subsided. The Feudal Lord’s large body slowly collapsed like a leaf being swept away by a violent wind, floating in the void, not knowing where he was going to end up.
At the same time, Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu rushed over, each one of them wearing a shocked expression on their face. Their brows were twitching as they passed by the Feudal Lord who had just been killed.
They had all followed Yang Kai and Feng Ying back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain, but even though Yang Kai’s performance on that journey was not bad, he was limited by his cultivation and was hardly as astonishing as he was now.
However, now that Yang Kai had broken through to the Seventh Order, he was able to show astonishing strength.
A Feudal Lord could not even withstand a single move from him and had his head pierced through, instantly killing him.
This was not something that Shen Ao and the others could compare to. Even Feng Ying would not be on par with Yang Kai, who was able to lift such a heavy load as if it was feather-light.
It had to be known that Yang Kai had only reached the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm a few years ago and was already this powerful. If the heritage of his Small Universe were to continue to grow, then how terrifyingly strong would he become?
Stowing away the shock in their hearts, the three of them rushed over to catch up with Yang Kai, slaughtering their way through the scattered Black Ink Clansmen. With each of them unleashing their own Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities, they were able to reduce the Black Ink Clan group to dead and dying within moments.
Feng Ying did not come out during the fight. Despite how powerful Dawning Light was, a Seventh-Order Master had to stay behind just in case something unexpected were to happen.
At this moment, Dawning Light was also following behind Shen Ao and the others. Offensive Arrays fired blasts of energy comparable to the full-powered attacks of Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in all directions.
The Black Ink Clansmen were all dumbfounded.
There were a few hundred Black Ink Clansmen present, along with three Feudal Lords from their three ships. They were a strong force that no Human Squad could compete with, but unfortunately for them, they had bumped into Dawn.
The strongest Feudal Lord, who had tried to take the lead, was killed by a single spear thrust from Yang Kai, who then rushed in alone and threw the enemy into disarray. With the addition of Shen Ao’s group and Dawning Light’s support, the Black Ink Clansmen had completely fallen into despair.
Some tried to escape, but how could they be able to?
Four Seventh-Order Masters spread out from Dawning Light, and in less than an incense stick of time, the Black Ink Clan group was completely wiped out without a single survivor left.
Dawn, on the other hand, had not suffered a single casualty, not even an injury. It was only in the very beginning when Dawning Light had been caught in the enemy ambush that the Warship suffered some damage.
However, the damage was negligible and did not affect the Warship’s performance at all.
There were a few hundred Black Ink Clansmen involved in this ambush, but Yang Kai alone killed more than half of them, including two Feudal Lords. The third one was killed by the joint efforts of Shen Ao and his other two companions.
This left Shen Ao and the others feeling a bit embarrassed. They had only managed to gain this kill because they acted quickly. If they had been just a little bit slower, then they may not have even been given the chance to fight that last Feudal Lord.
After the dust settled, the battlefield was cleaned up and records were kept, all of which had to be reported for Military Merits.
The Black Ink Clansmen also had some good things with them. If the artifacts that were tailored for the Black Ink Clan’s use were brought back to the Inner Sanctum and entrusted to someone else to be processed, then many useful materials could be extracted. Naturally, these things couldn’t be used for cultivation, but there was no problem with using them to create Human artifacts and to repair Human Warships.
They were also able to collect many Black Ink Coins from the bodies of the dead Black Ink Clansmen. Blue Sky Pass had been able to amass a great amount of Black Ink Coins already. Countless Black Ink Clansmen would die every time there was a battle, and even though the deceased Black Ink Clansmen weren’t very rich, over time, Blue Sky Pass was able to gather a terrifyingly large number of Black Ink Coins.
These coins were a common currency used within the Black Ink Clan. Black Ink Clansmen could use them to buy whatever they wanted, but they had no use at all in the hands of Humans.
The only unfortunate thing was that they did not see any Black Ink Disciples during that battle.
There were actually quite a lot of Black Ink Disciples in the Black Ink Clan’s territory, but many of them were lost after the previous war outside of Blue Sky Pass. Even though Yang Kai was able to save a few of these Black Ink Disciples with the Purifying Light that he possessed, not many had the energy left in them to capture Black Ink Disciples on a battlefield where swords have no eyes.
After being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, the Black Ink Disciples became merciless when it came to attacking their former Human compatriots. Unless there was a large difference in strength, capturing a Black Ink Disciple alive was almost impossible, so Blue Sky Pass had no choice but to kill them.
The fight many years ago shaved down the number of Black Ink Disciples in the Blue Sky Theatre by a large margin. Many Black Ink Clansmen also left behind their own Black Ink Disciples to bring up the rear while they were escaping, which was a possible reason why there were no Black Ink Disciples to be found in this Black Ink Clan group.
“Are you all right?” Feng Ying asked in the cabin as she looked at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai had taken the lead to rush into the enemy lines alone. Despite receiving no injuries, there was a trace of dried blood at the corner of his right eye, which was naturally a backlash of using the Black Purgatory Eye.
His cultivation of this Secret Technique was not yet perfected, so though he achieved great success when using it against one of the Feudal Lords, he also had to pay a small price for it.
“It’s nothing.” Yang Kai waved his hand, “I have gained some insight from this battle, so I will be entering retreat for now. Alert me when we arrive.”
With that said, Yang Kai left for his own cabin.
This was not the first time he was using the Black Purgatory Eye. Previously, he had used it at the Star Boundary, but it felt completely different from when he was using it back then. The power of this Eye Secret Technique had yet to be properly refined, but it had a boundless future ahead of it.
The battlefield was soon cleared and Dawning Light continued on its way.
After this encounter, Dawn Squad’s morale rose to new heights. This was Dawn’s first official battle. They faced several hundred Black Ink Clansmen and three Feudal Lords, but they were able to take them down with hardly any trouble and without any casualties. This was a feat that no ordinary Squad on the Black Ink Battlefield could possibly achieve.
All of Dawn’s members were raring to fight again after such a great start.
After experiencing an ambush, Dawn increased their vigilance; however, no more attackers jumped out to challenge them for the rest of their journey.
Two days later an asteroid appeared in the void. From a distance, they could see a large number of buildings on the bustling asteroid, as well as a constant stream of Squad Warships returning and departing.
This was Blue Sky Pass’s fourth forward base, and the area nearby was also a resource-rich zone.
Initially, this place was occupied by the Black Ink Clan, but several years ago, when the Black Ink Clan Army was driven back, the defences here were weakened enough for Blue Sky Pass to take advantage of the opportunity to seize it.
It had not been long since they took over this base, only several months. So, there were still many things waiting to be done.
When Dawning Light sailed in, it immediately drew the attention of the vigilant cultivators at the forward base. At once, several streams of light took to the air to block their path, all wary of their presence.
The man standing at the front shouted from afar, “Who goes there? Identify yourselves!”
It could be seen from a glance that Dawning Light was a large ship which was far different from a standard model. If this kind of Warship belonged to Humans, then they would naturally be happy; however, if it had been snatched by the Black Ink Clan, then that was not a good thing at all.
Yang Kai, who had already been informed of their arrival by Feng Ying, appeared on the deck in a flash and shouted, “Dawn Squad, here to provide support.”
“Dawn?” The man who shouted earlier raised his brow in surprise. Generally, every Squad had its own affiliation, such as which Army, Division, and Battalion it belonged to. These things were all clearly defined. However, Yang Kai only gave him the name ‘Dawn’, which took him by surprise.
But soon, he seemed to think of something and focused his eyesight over, speaking with pleasant surprise in his voice, “Could you be Brother Yang?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Is it truly you, Brother Yang?” Surprised, the man quickly came over to investigate and was overjoyed when he discovered that it really was Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not recognize him, but this man clearly recognized Yang Kai. Of course, there was basically nobody who did not know about Yang Kai in Blue Sky Pass. During the last battle between the two races, it was with the Purifying Light and the Purifying Black Ink Battleships that the Humans were able to reduce their casualties by an enormous amount. Countless people who had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength were able to be saved, lifting them out of a terrible crisis, and the one behind it all was Yang Kai.
It could be said that there was one person in almost every single Blue Sky Pass Battalion who had been saved by Yang Kai either directly or indirectly.
After that battle, Yang Kai’s name soared in Blue Sky Pass, and there was not a single person who did not know about him.
It was rumoured that in recognition of his service, the Army Commanders jointly promoted him to Squad Leader, forming a new Squad called Dawn that was not affiliated with any Army or Division and only reported directly to the Army Commanders themselves.
There were many who wished to join Dawn, but Feng Ying was the one who chose all the members, recruiting only a few dozen of those who followed them back from the Black Ink Clan’s hinterland back then. Not a single person outside of that group was accepted.
They would never have expected that Dawn Squad would come all the way here, or that Yang Kai would personally lead his Squad over.
After ascertaining that it was in fact Yang Kai and Dawn, there was no need for them to check further. The cultivator who spoke earlier immediately gave Dawn permission to land at the forward base situated on the asteroid and even helped settle them in.
“Was it by the Army Commanders’ orders that Brother Yang came here?” The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who welcomed them asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I came of my own volition. I heard that there was a lot of fighting going on here, so I thought I would come and earn some Merits.”
The Seventh-Order Master laughed at his words, “Can it be any easier for Brother Yang to obtain Military Merits? What need is there for Brother Yang to join the fight personally?” As he spoke, he noticed the battle traces left on Dawn’s hull and asked in shock, “Were you already attacked?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Two days ago, we encountered an ambush from the Black Ink Clan.”
The Seventh-Order Master was shocked to hear that, “The Black Ink Clan actually circumvented our base to set up an ambush? How many enemies were there, and how strong were they?”
Yang Kai gave him a basic rundown on the Black Ink Clan ambushers that they encountered.
The Seventh-Order Master narrowed his eyes, “That is a serious matter that must be reported to the Commanders overseeing the base. We must deal with it quickly; otherwise, another Squad may be ambushed on their way here from the Pass.”
Feng Ying cut in, “No need. The Black Ink Clan ambushers have been wiped out, and they should be the only ones. We did not encounter any other enemies on our way here.”
The Seventh-Order Master’s jaw dropped open, “Wiped out? All of them?”
To say that all of them were wiped out meant that not a single enemy had been able to escape. He could not help but look back at the light damage incurred by Dawn’s Warship, and at Yang Kai and the others, who were completely unharmed. He wondered what price Dawn had to pay in order to have wiped out an ambushing force of such a proportion.
With the configuration of Dawn’s Squad, those ambushers would have been unlucky to encounter them and would surely be no match for them, but looking at Dawn’s members, they all seemed utterly unscathed after that battle, which left him in a bit of a mystery.
However, when considering how strong Feng Ying was, he soon relaxed.
Even though Feng Ying was a Seventh-Order Master like him, her name was well known across Blue Sky Pass. With her overseeing the Squad, those Black Ink Clan ambushers should not have been a match for them.
Feng Ying did not dwell on the matter. Either way, the War Materials Hall would get all the information after they reported their Military Merits. She instead asked, “Which Sirs are currently overseeing this base?”
The Seventh-Order Master composed himself and replied, “There are four Eighth-Order Masters currently overseeing this forward base: Eastern Army Division Commander Xie Xiu Ping, Southern Army’s Division Commander Cha Hu, Western Army Division Commander Lu An, and Northern Army Division Commander Xu Bo Liang. However, other than Division Commander Cha, the others are not currently present.”
If they were not in the forward base, that meant they must have gone to the resource collection area. The Black Ink Clan’s remnants had not fully given up this area yet and were still locked in a struggle with the Humans, so there were still Territory Lords around.
If they were to deal with a Territory Lord, then an Eighth-Order Human Master had to be mobilized. This was also the reason why the three Eighth-Order Division Commanders were currently away from the forward base.
Yang Kai nodded, “In that case, bring us to Division Commander Cha.”
Once one arrived at a forward base, registrations had to be made. While they were stationed here, they had to obey the orders of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters overseeing the base.
The Seventh-Order Master was about to nod when a Warship suddenly flew in from the distance. From the meandering and crooked path that it was flying in, it was clear that its propulsion array was damaged, and the glow of its shield was also extremely faint.
Even though the Warship was not close, the eyesight of everyone present was so profound that they were able to see the battle scars all over its hull. From these marks alone, they could deduce just how fierce a fight it had been in.
Even though the hull of the Warship was still intact, practically all of the arrays had been smashed and would have to be repaired before it could rejoin the battlefield.
Despite the Warship swaying left and right, it was still charging towards the forward base at a tremendous speed without any intention of slowing down even as it approached. On the deck, a cultivator was shouting for them to make way. It seemed that the damage to the Warship’s propulsion array was greater than usual, so much so that it could not even stop on its own.
As the Warship was about to crash on the ground, a figure leapt from its deck and stopped in front of it. With a roar, he circulated his energy and used his own body to cushion the impact.
There was a grunt, and the man’s body shook as he was forced to step back.
Fortunately, many people from the forward base rushed over to help, eventually halting the Warship.
As soon as the Warship landed, many Artifact Refiners and Array Masters who had been waiting on standby rushed over and began the repair work.
There were constantly people flying down from the deck, all appearing to be in a miserable state. Many of them were covered in blood and their auras were weak, clearly arrows at the end of their flight.
Without the shelter of the Warship, this group of people would never have made it back from the battlefield alive, so it was fair to say that the Warships had saved the lives of many, many Humans over the years.
It was no wonder why the Black Ink Clan coveted and despised Warships so much. Without the Warships, it would have been impossible for the Humans to have been their opponents on the Black Ink Battlefield. The higher-order Open Heaven Realm Masters could put up a fair fight, but those Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were simply unable to withstand the corruption of Black Ink Strength for any appreciable amount of time. This often impeded them when they were fighting against Black Ink Clansmen of the same Order, making them unable to display their full potential.
However, these Warships were difficult to refine as not just any Artifact Refiner could make one. As such, Humans with special talents such as these Artifact Refiners, Array Masters, and Alchemists, were extremely well-guarded. Generally, these talents would never set foot on the battlefield directly, eliminating the possibility of them falling to the fate of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength and becoming Black Ink Disciples.
As far back as history went, the Black Ink Clan had never been able to refine their own Warships due to their lack of aptitude in this area.
“Please follow me,” the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master glanced at the scene before him before withdrawing his gaze and gesturing to Yang Kai and Feng Ying.
The two nodded and followed him while the rest stayed to watch over Dawning Light.
A short while later, inside a modest hall, Yang Kai and Feng Ying saw the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master overseeing this base, Cha Hu. This man was part of the Southern Army, and he was not very tall but displayed an awe-inspiring might. When Yang Kai and Feng Ying entered, someone was in the process of reporting to him.
Cha Hu listened quietly and gave an order before waving his hand, excusing this man.
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Dawn Squad Yang Kai greets Division Commander Cha!”
Cha Hu looked at him and smiled, “The Army Commanders let you out? I thought they would be more reluctant.”
Yang Kai responded with a serious expression, “This Junior made a bet with Army Commander Zhong Liang and won, so this Junior was allowed to go out.”
Cha Hu raised his brow, “Brother Zhong lost?” He did not ask what their bet was, but no matter what, it must have been difficult for Yang Kai to have gained a victory over Zhong Liang.
He tapped his fingers on the table for a moment before speaking, “My thoughts on this matter differ from the Army Commanders. Since you have come to this forward base, then this King will treat you the same as anyone else under my command. You are expected to do the same as all the others stationed here, and if you do not obey orders, I will punish you without favour.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “That is all this Junior would have wanted.”
“Very good,” Cha Hu nodded lightly, a glint of approval appearing in his eyes, “In that case, you may stand by and await further orders. However, you most likely will not have much time to rest as there’s still a big fight ongoing in the resource harvesting area. You may be needed there to provide support soon.”
“Yes!” Yang Kai responded. After a pause, he added, “Division Commander, is there a need for a Universe Array to be set up in this forward base?”
With a Universe Array, it would be much easier for the cultivators here in the forward base to come to and fro. It may even be able to life saving during critical moments.
If there was the need, Yang Kai could even store some Purifying Light here.
Cha Hu shook his head, “No. The Southern Army’s Purifying Black Ink Battleship is stationed here. You should all go and leave your Imprints there later.”
Yang Kai was surprised, but he and Feng Ying soon cupped their fists and withdrew.
Yang Kai was a little worried about what would happen if the cultivators at the forward base were corrupted by Black Ink Strength; after all, the chances of encountering the Black Ink Clan here were high, and if the nearly destroyed Warship they saw earlier was any indication, the fighting was quite intense.
It was only now that he found out that they had a Purifying Black Ink Battleship at this forward base.
So, it seemed that the other three forward bases should also have Purifying Black Ink Battleships available. This did make sense. If Yang Kai could make such considerations, then the Army Commanders and the Division Commanders would naturally be able to as well. There was no helping it in the past when they did not possess Purifying Black Ink Battleships, but now that they had such a weapon in their arsenal, they would naturally be put to good use.
Now that they had Purifying Black Ink Battleships available at each forward base, the losses on the Human side could be greatly diminished.
Once they left the hall, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master came forward to lead the way for them, telling them that they would bring Yang Kai and his Squad to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship to leave their Imprints.
Yang Kai immediately summoned Dawn’s members, and they all headed out together.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship was located in a secluded area that was surrounded by all kinds of barriers and even heavily guarded by powerful Masters. Unless a large-scale Black Ink Clan Army were to attack, this place would remain safe.
If in the event that they did encounter a battle and found themselves powerless to resist, then someone would naturally take the Purifying Black Ink Battleships back to Blue Sky Pass. Cha Hu was not only here to oversee and guarantee the safety of the forward base, but also to protect this vital war asset.
Within moments, Dawn Squad’s members left their Imprints on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. With that, as long as they were within a certain range, they could return to it by activating the Universe Transference Law.
However, although the Universe Transference Law was easy to perform, it did have some drawbacks.
Firstly, depending on the distance between the caster and the Universe Array, there were different levels of pressure exerted on them as they travelled across the Void. The further the distance, the greater the pressure. If the distance exceeded the limit which one’s body could withstand, then even if they were transported back, there was the great possibility that they could be injured or even killed by being crushed by the force of the Void.
Such events were not completely unheard of in the 3,000 Worlds.
Broken or crushed bodies had been transported back to Universe Temples in the various Great Territories after having been shredded and pulverized by the terrifying pressure of the Void. Such corpses were transported over vast distances that greatly surpassed the limits which they could withstand.
However, the Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Black Ink Battlefield were all in the Fifth Order at the very least, so they could withstand being teleported over 1 billion kilometres without much issue.
The other major issue with using the Universe Transference Law was the time required to activate it, and the fact that one could not be disturbed while trying to perform it.
This was also the biggest drawback of the Universe Transference Law. During a life-or-death battle, even a moment’s hesitation could be fatal, so who would have the time to perform the Universe Transference Law? Once activated, this Secret Technique would take at least three breaths of time to be fully executed, and the lower one’s cultivation was, the longer it would take to complete.
For that reason, even if a cultivator were to encounter danger, it was often the case that they would not be able to cast Universe Transference Law to successfully escape. The only way for them to escape from danger was to try and buy some time for themselves.
In contrast, Yang Kai’s Instantaneous Movement was a much more practical Secret Technique to use in combat, as there was no delay in activating it. However, Yang Kai was the only one who could use Instantaneous Movement, and the distance that he could move was incomparable to the Universe Transference Law, so there were advantages and disadvantages to both.
The Sixth-Order Master who led Yang Kai and his Squad to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship so they could leave their Imprints then brought them to an open space in the forward base and pointed to it, saying, “This place will be your camp from now on. When you are not assigned any tasks, you may rest here. I still have other matters to attend to, so I will excuse myself.”
Saying so, he turned and left.
Looking at the empty patch of land, Yang Kai and the others all looked at each other somewhat blankly.
However, Feng Ying was unperturbed and snapped, “What are you all staring at? Get to work!”
The group of Open Heaven Realm Masters who had come here burning with excitement to slaughter their enemies thus had no choice but to set up a temporary camp first.
Fortunately, none of their cultivations was low, so it only took less than half a day’s work for them to finish their work. During times of war, there was no point in getting hung up on quality of life. They just needed to have somewhere to live.
They had just finished setting up their camp when the Sixth-Order Master who led them here came rushing over. Before he even arrived, he began shouting, “Squad Leader Yang!”
Yang Kai was about to take a walk around the forward base to familiarize himself with the place when he heard the shout, so he turned around and called out, “What is it?”
The man hastily handed a jade slip to Yang Kai and said solemnly, “The Division Commander has given orders for Dawn Squad to rush to this location to provide support. The two Squads there were ambushed by the Black Ink Clan and are now engaged in battle with them. Given the disparity in strength, I’m afraid they may not be able to fight them off!”
Yang Kai frowned before turning his head and shouting, “Dawn, form up!”
The scattered Squad members all immediately flew over.
Yang Kai waved his hand and shouted, “Board the ship. We’re heading out to battle!”
Everyone’s eyes lit up as they swiftly boarded Dawning Light.
Yang Kai looked back at the messenger, “Does the Division Commander have any other instructions?”
The messenger responded, “Division Commander’s instructions are for Dawn to do their best to provide aid to the two Squads and return safely. As for the rest, act according to the circumstances!”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding, “We will definitely live up to the Division Commander’s trust!”
Then, he turned around and boarded Dawning Light as well. In the next moment, the ship took off and turned into a stream of light, speeding off in a certain direction.
On the deck, Yang Kai checked the contents of the jade slip before handing it over to the Squad member in charge of steering the ship.
Not much information was recorded on the jade slip, only the general direction, destination, number of enemies, and their approximate strength, but that was enough.
Any resource harvesting area would have a large number of Universe Worlds in its vicinity, and the fourth forward base was naturally no exception.
However, the World Force of these Universe Worlds had disappeared long ago. The Black Ink Clan fed on World Force to strengthen itself, so there was no vitality left in the Universe Worlds on the Black Ink Battlefield. All of these Worlds were surrounded by dense Death Qi.
Though the Worlds were dead though, the resources still remained. The Worlds closest to the forward bases were little more than fields of debris. Most of them were just remnants and asteroids. It was clear that they were all pretty much exhausted from extensive mining and did not have anything good left.
However, there were still plenty of resources to be found and mined in all directions around the forward bases.
This was also the reason why the Humans were fighting with the Black Ink Clan for control of them.
While the Humans could use these resources to cultivate and refine more Warships, the Black Ink Clan needed these resources in order to fill up their Black Ink Nests so they could breed new clansmen and enhance their war power.
The Black Ink Clan that possessed Black Ink Disciples had an even greater need for these resources as the Black Ink Disciples under their command could refine them and increase their strength.
Dawning Light was extremely fast, so within less than a day, they could already see dazzling light off in the distance, and they could feel violent energy fluctuations emanating from the bursting lights.
These were clearly the lights of Secret Techniques from Human cultivators.
As they watched the flickering lights, they were soon obscured by dense darkness that cut off their vision. It was apparent that whoever it was, they were currently engaged in battle with the Black Ink Clan.
After checking the information in the jade slip, Yang Kai knew that those had to be the two Squads who needed their support.
From what he could see, Yang Kai was relieved to learn that Dawn did not arrive too late, so he immediately ordered Dawning Light to accelerate to maximum speed.
In the next moment, Dawning Light’s propulsion array thrummed and the Warship’s speed increased as it shot towards the battlefield.
In the distance, the Black Ink Clan also seemed to have noticed Dawning Light’s arrival and immediately split off a part of their forces to intercept them. The number of Black Ink Clansmen surrounding the two Human Warships was huge. There were hundreds of them, including a number of Feudal Lords, so it was no wonder why they were outmatched. It had to be known that there were at most a dozen members in an ordinary Squad, so it was surprising enough for them to have lasted such a long time against such a large number of Black Ink Clansmen.
Currently, the two Warships were in shambles, their hulls warped and broken in numerous places. Without reinforcements, it would take less than an hour for these two ships to be completely blown apart. If that were to happen, then the members of both Squads would be exposed to the swarm of Black Ink Clansmen and they would lose all hope of surviving.
The Black Ink Clan troops that broke away from the fight numbered almost 100 strong, and their leader was a Feudal Lord who was stalwart in appearance. The imposing figure lifted a huge axe in his hands and swung it down at Dawning Light with great force before they even closed the distance with each other.
A wave of black light tore through space with a violent force towards Dawning Light.
There was a loud bang as Dawning Light shook slightly. Its momentum was even slowed for a moment; however, Dawn had already activated their defensive arrays and a transparent shield enveloped Dawning Light. So, the power of the axe was only able to dent the barrier, doing no damage to the ship itself.
The Black Ink Feudal Lord seemed slightly taken aback by this sight. It was apparent that he did not expect to see such a strong shield on this Human Warship, enough to render his attack completely ineffective. This Warship was clearly different from the Human Warships they had been fighting up until now.
Before he could think through the matter though, a figure had emerged from the Warship with a spear in hand, charging straight at him at a tremendous speed.
The Feudal Lord roared with fury and raised his axe again, leaping out from the Black Ink Army he was leading to meet this Human in battle.
In an instant, two figures, one big and one small, clashed in the void. Yang Kai’s expression remained indifferent as his spear stabbed forward like a dragon.
The stalwart Feudal Lord instantly felt an overwhelming force bearing down on him from the front, and he could not help but reel back in response. Even his hand, which was clutching onto the handle of his axe, was trembling slightly.
This was a huge shock for him as with his large stature, this Black Ink Clansman’s strength was naturally not small. For a Human of the same Order, it was simply impossible to match him in terms of raw physical force.
However, he encountered an exception today.
The Feudal Lord was instantly enraged and, for some inexplicable reason, felt humiliated by what he had just experienced. The axe in his hand turned into a violent gust of wind which he struck down at the tiny Human.
His attack was met with a flurry of spear shadows!
Sparks flew everywhere as it was impossible to count how many times the two weapons clashed in that instant. The rage in the Feudal Lord’s eyes soon cooled and was swiftly replaced with a look of sheer horror.
The Human had already swept past him and did not even look back. Then, what entered his ears were the screams of many Black Ink Clansmen.
The Feudal Lord’s hand trembled hard as he held his axe. This was naturally the result expected when one was no match for one’s opponent, but the consequences were not the source of his horror.
He stood still, his strength stagnant, not daring to move even a muscle.
However, Dawning Light was closing in on him, so it was impossible for him to stay still any longer.
Only then did he move his body, forcefully pushing his strength, only for an eerie tearing sound to emerge from his figure.
In the next instant, black blood exploded from the Feudal Lord’s large body and his aura rapidly deflated.
During that brief clash, his opponent’s spear not only blocked all of his attacks, it even left numerous wounds on his body.
When he focused all his attention on suppressing these wounds, it was possible for him to keep his injuries sealed; however, the moment tried to move, all his injuries burst out at once.
[What kind of monster did I just face?] In all his years of fighting with Humans, he had never once crossed blades with such a terrifying opponent. From the aura his enemy gave off, he was indeed in the Seventh-Order Human Master, which was equivalent to his own cultivation as a Feudal Lord, yet their strengths were simply incomparable!
He would not have believed it if he had not experienced it for himself.
He had no time to think, though, before Dawning Light had drawn close to him. If he was in peak condition, he would naturally have no fear of a Human Warship, but as an arrow at the end of its flight, how would he be able to withstand it? With a roar, he tried to dodge aside.
However, at that moment, there was a loud rumble from Dawning Light, and a spear-like attack was shot out from the bow of the Warship, turning into a stream of light and piercing through the Feudal Lord’s waist, blasting off half of his body.
Still, this Feudal Lord had an innate savagery to him, so despite knowing that he was going to die for sure, he still swung his axe one last time before death took him, smashing it into Dawning Light. Unfortunately for him, the powerful defensive barrier rendered his attack useless.
Dawning Light sailed past the Feudal Lord’s broken body and crashed into the group of Black Ink Clansmen behind him.
The Black Ink Clansmen’s numbers had already been whittled down by Yang Kai’s rampage. He was like the sharp tip of a spear, cutting through the Black Ink Clan ranks while making his way towards the enemies who were besieging the two Human Warships.
Feng Ying and the others had no other choice but to follow close behind him, picking off the enemies Yang Kai missed along the way.
Soon, Dawning Light arrived at the main battlefield. In the distance, two ragged Human Warships were being besieged on all sides. Despite trying to break out to their left and right, they were unable to shake off this danger no matter how they tried. The surrounding Black Ink Clansmen sent attack after attack against those Warships, and the impacts caused the protective shields to grow dimmer, rippling violently as if it were about to collapse.
Thick Black Ink Clouds coated the battlefield!
In the midst of these clouds, a man and his spear passed through with unstoppable momentum, leaving a reign of terror in his wake. The masses of Low and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen seemed as weak as paper when faced with that spear, left either dead or critically injured with a mere sweep of it.
Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu rushed out from Dawning Light. Even Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like them would not dare to act alone on such a battlefield; otherwise, they could fall into danger at any moment. The three of them took up a triangle formation with each one of them in charge of one corner before crashing into the Black Ink Clan’s Army like a rolling stone.
Meanwhile, Dawning Light, which was following closely behind the three of them, released its attacks in full swing. One by one, the lights from the offensive arrays shot ruthlessly towards the places where the Black Ink Clan had converged.
Screams rang out unceasingly as ink-black blood filled the void. Black Ink Strength was also being spread like mad.
Cries burst forth from the two Warships that had been ensnared for so long, “Reinforcements have arrived! Fight!”
The Human cultivators who had been trapped on the two Warships had been holding in their anger all this while. Now that they had seen the reinforcements, their spirits were instantly lifted and they let out what little strength they had left, joining forces with their allies to strike down the enemy forces.
Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered rapidly in the ensuing frenzy. Though their numbers were many, they only had four Feudal Lords, one of whom had already been all but killed by Yang Kai earlier. The remaining three Feudal Lords were all caught up dealing with Dawning Light as well as Shen Ao and the others, unable to extricate themselves. Meanwhile, Yang Kai dealt with the rest of the Black Ink Clansmen weaker than the Feudal Lords.
After advancing to the Seventh Order, Yang Kai’s strength increased tremendously. These Black Ink Clansmen who were at most on par with Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Humans were no match for him. Everywhere he went, Black Ink Clansmen were cut down like weeds.
In just half an incense stick of time, more than half of the Black Ink Clansmen had been eradicated, and the void was filled with ink-black blood and severed limbs, creating a horrific scene.
As a result, a large gap opened up in the otherwise impenetrable encirclement.
The two Warships that had been trapped for so long saw their opportunity to escape, and with Dawning Light’s coordination, were able to retreat from battle and head back towards the forward base.
Yang Kai’s battle continued. He raced back and forth, killing Black Ink Clansmen, his body soaked in black blood. After witnessing the terror of his might, the surviving Black Ink Clansmen dared not engage him, scattering like birds and beasts before he could even get close.
After a few moments of this slaughter, Yang Kai turned his head and saw that there was no longer anyone else around him.
On the other hand, he saw Shen Ao fighting with a Feudal Lord not far away. Even though it seemed like he had the upper hand, their difference in strength was not great. It would be easy for Shen Ao to defeat this Feudal Lord, but killing him was another story entirely.
In an instant, Yang Kai appeared by Shen Ao’s side and thrust his spear towards the Feudal Lord.
The Feudal Lord had long seen Yang Kai’s terrifying strength and his heart froze when he saw him mysteriously appear. Raising the huge sword in his hand, he tried to parry Yang Kai’s thrust.
*Hong…*
The large body of the Feudal Lord trembled as he felt his hand almost being ripped apart. With a great roar, he concentrated all his strength into his weapon, trying to suppress the tiny human opponent in front of him.
Much to the contrary, there was only cold indifference in Yang Kai’s eyes. The spear in his hand remained steady and unmoving, but Space Principles rippled out, freezing the space around him in an instant.
The Feudal Lord’s roar was caught in his throat, while Shen Ao took the opportunity to swing his sword. With a cold flash, the sword cut towards the Feudal Lord’s neck.
The Feudal Lord was thoroughly shocked and he immediately tried to move back to avoid the fatal blow, but he still suffered a long gash that cut halfway through his neck.
Despite the terrible appearance of this wound, it was not a fatal blow. As long as he could safely return to the Black Ink Clan’s territory and enter a Black Ink Nest, he could recover completely given enough time.
But at that moment, his large body suddenly shook and a look of horror and unwillingness appeared in his eyes.
At the same instant, Young Kai’s heart clenched up tight. There seemed to be some sort of danger rapidly approaching him, but before he could react to the situation, he saw a golden light pierce through the Feudal Lord’s chest and fly straight at him.
In this critical life-or-death moment, Yang Kai shifted his body instinctively. Then, he felt a small prick in his chest, like an insect had just bitten him.
However, Yang Kai clearly felt a terrifying force pass through his body, entering from the front and piercing out the back.
His body flew backwards involuntarily, and a violent force shook his five viscera and six organs, causing him to cough up a mouthful of Golden Blood.
What they just encountered on this battlefield was so sudden that nobody expected it. Even Yang Kai, who had been attacked, did not notice the attack until it appeared right before him, and that was why he was caught unprepared and suffered a big loss.
The Feudal Lord whose body was pierced through by the golden bolt did not die immediately, but he no longer had the strength to continue fighting. He did not even have the strength to escape and could only turn his body back with difficulty to look in a certain direction, a look of hatred filling his eyes as he muttered, “Trivial Black Ink Disciple… You dare…”
Before he could finish his words, the nearby Shen Ao swung his sword again, cutting off his head.
On the other side, after spitting out a mouthful of Golden Blood, Yang Kai stabilized himself and his left eye was instantly filled with a golden light. The pupil of that eye transformed into a vertical golden slit that held infinite might.
With the Demon Eye of Annihilation, he could faintly see a dim golden light flickering between the asteroids several thousands of kilometres away.
That was where the attack had come from!
Taking in a deep breath, he pushed down the churning vitality in his chest and manipulated Space Principles. In an instant, Yang Kai disappeared from where he stood.
Several breaths later, Yang Kai had already appeared on top of a certain asteroid, and his Divine Sense spread out like a tidal wave; however, he found nothing. There was only Death Qi surrounding this asteroid without the slightest vitality.
Only a small trace of aura remained that was dissipating rapidly.
It was clear that the golden light that attacked him earlier had come from here, but as soon as the assailant sent out that attack, they made a quick retreat. So, even though Yang Kai had rushed over after discovering the attack, he was unable to catch the culprit.
Whoever it was had to be a veteran of many battles and knew to immediately flee after failing to kill his target. Such a cunning and cautious opponent would certainly be a great headache to deal with.
Even Yang Kai felt trepidations in his heart when he thought back to the haunting attack he just encountered.
His attacker had even used a Feudal Lord as cover. That attack had passed through the Feudal Lord’s chest before hitting Yang Kai; otherwise, there was no way that Yang Kai would not have noticed it until it was so close.
Fortunately, however, much of the attack’s power was diminished as it passed through the Feudal Lord’s body. If not, Yang Kai’s injuries would most likely have been even worse.
[Who was that?]
Yang Kai had a vague feeling that it had to be a rather important and impressive enemy in this resource-harvesting area.
If that person had been so cunning as to retreat immediately after that blow, then chances were that they were also skilled in the art of concealment. If Yang Kai was unable to find his traces quickly, then locating him again would prove to be difficult.
After standing in silence for a while, Yang Kai looked up into the depths of the void before letting out a grunt and turning back.
He had a hunch that that attack was not the end of it, and that he would definitely meet this enemy again, but the next time, he would definitely be prepared.
On the way back, he was met by Shen Ao and the others, and all of them quickly returned to Dawning Light.
The battle here was over. More than half of the several hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen had been killed. Out of the four Feudal Lords, Yang Kai killed one alone and teamed up with Shen Ao to kill another. While he was chasing the sneak attacker, Dawning Light worked together with Qi Tai Chu and Ning Qi Zhi to kill another.
When the last Feudal Lord saw how bad the situation had become, he immediately fled, along with some of the Black Ink Clan stragglers. However, their numbers were not that high, only around 100 or so in total.
Dawning Light did not pursue them. Even though they were capable of killing them all, their priority was to escort the two battered Warships back to the forward base. So, on Feng Ying’s orders, the three Warships ceased combat.
When Yang Kai returned, the commanders of the two Warships were thanking Feng Ying. These two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were both Squad Leaders, but their auras were both quite weak. They were clearly both extremely exhausted.
When they saw Yang Kai return, the two Squad Leaders naturally began another round of thanks. If it had not been Dawning Light’s quick arrival today, then the situation would have been disastrous for everyone aboard the two Warships.
In fact, with the strength of their two Squads, they were no match for the Black Ink Clan attackers. The reason why the Black Ink Clan had ensnared them but kept them alive was undoubtedly because they wanted to transform them into Black Ink Disciples, which also gave them some breathing room to persist until Dawn arrived.
“Squad Leader, are you all right?” Feng Ying asked anxiously when she saw Yang Kai return looking slightly pale.
Yang Kai waved his hand, “I’m fine.”
Even though it was not a light injury, it did not harm his foundation, so it couldn’t be considered serious.
“That should have been someone from Divine Feather Paradise,” Feng Ying said with a grave look on her face.
She had seen when Yang Kai was struck by the sneak attack earlier. A golden arrow made use of a Feudal Lord as cover in order to land the hit just as Yang Kai and the Feudal Lord were fighting. Whether it was the timing or the angle, everything was perfect. Such skill was something only achievable by someone from Divine Feather Paradise.
Yang Kai nodded, “I guessed as much.”
Many Cave Heavens and Paradises had their own unique characteristics. For example, Bright King Cave Heaven’s cultivators focused on Body Tempering, Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven was proficient in Artifact Refining. Divine Feather Paradise’s cultivators on the other hand were renowned for their archery.
The cultivators from this Paradise may not be very strong in close combat, but once they were given some distance from their opponents, they were basically invincible in the same realm. That was because they were extremely skilled in archery and also at concealing their auras and evading enemies.
There were some Divine Feather Paradise cultivators in Blue Sky Pass, and they accrued a lot of merits during the last war. Even though Yang Kai had never had any significant dealings with this Paradise before, he did know about them to a degree.
The golden arrow that pierced through that Feudal Lord and then through his own body was undoubtedly an extremely profound arrow technique and was an attack that came from several thousand kilometres away. It was truly unbelievable for an attack of this degree to be possible.
It had to be known that Yang Kai’s body was now so intrepid that ordinary attacks would not be able to hurt him in the slightest, but that golden arrow had pierced straight through him, even causing considerable injuries to his five viscera and six organs.
This was a result achieved with Yang Kai possessing a World Spring in his Small Universe. If it were any other person, then it was likely that even their Small Universe would have been severely shaken. And, if it were to happen on a chaotic battlefield, then it would have hindered their combat strength greatly. It would have taken only a single arrow to render them helpless.
“En, he was a really troublesome one.” One of the Squad Leaders who had come forward to thank them added, “If not for him lurking in the shadows, even if we were no match for the Black Ink Clan, we would’ve at least been able to escape. There would be no way that we would have fallen into such a desperate situation.”
The Warships on the Human side could still run away if they were to encounter superior enemy forces that they could not deal with, but only if they weren’t overly damaged. However, every time their Warships tried to escape, they would be stopped by that Black Ink Disciple hiding in the distance. Both of the Warships were damaged in many places from the attacker’s arrows, causing them to end up in the desperate situation they were in.
Fortunately, Dawn was able to arrive in time to provide them with support and resolve the dangerous situation.
Yang Kai frowned, “There’s something I don’t understand.”
“What is it?” Feng Ying asked him.
“If he attacked us, that meant that he was a Black Ink Disciple. However, if he was a Black Ink Disciple, how could he kill that Feudal Lord?”
The last blow passed through a Feudal Lord’s body before it hit Yang Kai.
Yang Kai had lived among the Black Ink Clan for two years, so he knew very well about the position of Black Ink Disciples in the Black Ink Clan. Generally, no matter how strong they were, Black Ink Disciples had an innate reverence towards the Black Ink Clan. A Low-Rank Black Ink Clansman could even beat and yell at a Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciple at will and the Black Ink Disciple would not even dare to make a single complaint.
And yet, the Black Ink Disciple from Divine Feather Paradise had done something completely unexpected.
Clearly, the Feudal Lord had not expected that to happen either, which was why he said those words before he died.
A look flickered in Feng Ying’s eyes, “That is usually true. Unless, the Black Ink Disciple had been specifically instructed by a higher ranking Black Ink Clansman to ignore the life of another Black Ink Clansman in order to kill their enemies at critical moments.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, “In that case, he has to be a Black Ink Disciple under the command of a Territory Lord!”
That made sense. Judging by the power of that attack, that person definitely had to be in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Cultivators in that realm were not something that an ordinary Feudal Lords could capture or possess. Only a Territory Lord could achieve such a feat.
“That’s the only possibility,” Feng Ying nodded.
“We should be careful on our way back. I have a feeling that that person is not far away. If we let our guards down, then he might strike us again with that powerful attack,” Yang Kai said as he swept his gaze around the void. He had felt like he was being watched since he returned, but no matter how carefully he searched, he could not find anything out of the ordinary.
From that, he could tell that this person’s concealment skills were extremely profound.
Yang Kai’s injuries were not light this time. Even though it did not harm his foundation, he would still need time to properly recuperate. After giving out orders, he returned to his cabin to rest.
The three ships moved steadily towards the forward base with the two damaged ships out front while Dawning Light brought up the rear.
It was not until they could see the asteroid where the forward base was located that Yang Kai, who had been recuperating in his cabin the whole time, suddenly opened his eyes. Just now, the feeling of constantly being watched disappeared without a trace. It seemed like that Divine Feather Paradise Black Ink Disciple did not give up on finishing him off this whole time and had been following their Warship all along.
After returning to the forward base, the two Warships set down for urgent repairs. Even though Dawning Light was also hit, the damage was nothing major and only required some simple maintenance.
Feng Ying personally went to see Cha Hu in order to hand in their mission brief and report their Military Merits before returning.
At the camp, Dawn Squad’s members were all resting and restoring their strength.
Their first battle since arriving at the forward base was not very dangerous, but it was the first time that Dawn had fought together, so it revealed some of the flaws they had. Such flaws were not of much consequence in ordinary times, but they could be magnified during difficult situations and could have led to Dawn’s downfall if they weren’t careful.
So, Feng Ying decided to talk to Yang Kai about them after he recuperated.
At the moment, Yang Kai was healing in his own tent.
The most serious injury he sustained during that fight was the sneak attack from that Divine Feather Paradise cultivator. The rest of the injuries came from him charging into battle on his own.
The Black Ink Clan’s final struggle before death was not enough to harm him in any significant way, but it was not to be underestimated either. After the fight, dozens of wounds, both big and small, were left all over Yang Kai’s body.
In just three days though, Yang Kai had fully recovered and was as mighty as a Dragon and fierce as a Tiger.
This was the perk of having a powerful Dragon Vein. He had thick skin and strong flesh, so any non-critical injuries he incurred were basically ignorable.
When she saw Yang Kai come out of seclusion, Feng Ying immediately gathered up Dawn Squad’s members for a post-battle meeting.
35 people gathered together to discuss some of the problems they encountered during their last mission. Unlike the other Squads who had fought together for a long time and built up a tacit trust and understanding with each other, Dawn was considered brand new and a lot of work still had to be done for them to learn to coordinate with each other. Summing up their experiences after the fight would be greatly beneficial to them.
There was a lot of enthusiasm shared by the Squad and everyone eagerly spoke up. The flaws that would normally be overlooked were quickly exposed before everyone so that they could all take note of them. Then, the next time a similar problem arose, they would have a solution to deal with it.
And, when those problems stopped appearing, it would mean Dawn Squad’s coordination has gone up a level.
The post-battle meeting did not last long, only around half an hour.
Yang Kai then went to Cha Hu’s command post again. Since they were here, he naturally had to make Dawn useful. It wasn’t as if they could stay in the forward base forever to look at the scenery.
Not that there was any scenery to look at in this dead void.
After receiving permission, Yang Kai stepped into the tent and asked, “Division Commander Cha, Dawn has fully recovered after its last mission. Are there any tasks to be done?”
Cha Hu glanced at him, “You’ve all recuperated so quickly?”
Yang Kai smiled, “We did not suffer any losses last time.”
“Don’t push yourselves too hard.”
“Rest assured, Division Commander Cha. As Dawn’s Squad Leader, this Junior knows the extent of our abilities.”
Only then did Cha Hu nod, “In that case, I won’t stop you. There is work to be done, but why don’t you have a look and see what interests you?”
Yang Kai was surprised, “We can pick for ourselves?”
Cha Hu smiled, “We have three different types of missions here. The first one is to look for mineable resources; which, relatively speaking, is the safest kind of mission. There’s only a low possibility of encountering the Black Ink Clan, and there’s no need to fight them under normal circumstances.”
Seeing Yang Kai’s indifferent response, Cha Hu continued, “Secondly, we can assign you to defence duty. Your team only needs to patrol a certain area and protect those who are mining resources. If you encounter any Black Ink Clansmen, kill them all!”
Yang Kai nodded. The first type of mission was definitely unsuitable for Dawn Squad. Dawn possessed vastly superior strength and ability to other Squads, so it was impossible for them to go and mine resources. However, the second type of mission was somewhat more to his taste, though still a little bit lacking.
He asked, “What is the third type of mission?”
Cha Hu nodded, “The third type of mission is free hunting. The entire resource harvesting area will be your Dawn Squad’s patrol area. Wherever you find Black Ink Clansmen will be wherever you go. If there are no Black Ink Clansmen around you, you can actively seek them out. If another Squad calls for help and you are close, then you must go to their aid as soon as possible.”
Yang Kai answered decisively, “Then, we will take on a free hunting assignment.”
Compared to the second type of mission, there was certainly more freedom for them if they chose free hunting. They would not be limited to a certain region. However, it would also increase the chances of them meeting Black Ink Clansmen by a large margin, which was exactly the type of task that Yang Kai and Dawn were hoping to get.
Cha Hu seemed to have long expected this answer, so he took out something resembling a crystal orb and handed it to Yang Kai, “Bring this with you.”
“What is this?” Yang Kai asked in puzzlement.
“It is a specially refined communication artifact. Every Squad has one. Even in the midst of danger, this artifact can be relied on to send out messages, and one can also receive messages from other Squads requesting help using it, as well as identify their position and distance.”
Yang Kai raised his brow, “This is a good thing.”
“There are no restrictions on free hunting, but it can be dangerous as there are still Territory Lords active around the area. Even though we have Eighth-Order Division Commanders on our side to keep them in check, there is no guarantee that you will not run into one when you are alone. If you do encounter a Territory Lord, remember to put your own safety first and not act recklessly,” Cha Hu reminded him.
“This Junior will take note.”
“Go,” Cha Hu waved his hand.
Yang Kai took his leave.
A short while later, after returning to camp, Yang Kai told Dawn about the free hunting task he just accepted, and also handed the crystal orb-like artifact to Feng Ying before turning to everyone, “If there are no objections, let us depart.”
There was no objection from the crowd.
A moment later, Dawning Light lifted off from the forward base and sped off into the void.
After entering the open void, Feng Ying suddenly changed her hand seals. Then, a very faint energy wave rippled through the entirety of Dawning Light.
In that instant, it seemed to Yang Kai that there was some sort of change in Dawning Light, but when he looked carefully, he could not tell what had changed. Confused, he used his Divine Sense to figure out what happened, and only then did he gain a clear understanding.
An inexplicable energy was wrapped around Dawning Light’s hull, caused by a type of Illusion Array.
“What is this?” Yang Kai asked in surprise. He had no idea that there was actually an Illusion Array installed on Dawning Light.
Dawning Light was customized by Feng Ying, so even though the modifications cost a lot of Yang Kai’s Military Merits, he really did not know much about its capabilities.
Feng Ying explained, “Dawning Light is a specially refined Warship, and it’s distinctively different from the other Squad-level ships. So, once it enters the eyes of the Black Ink Clan, it might draw their attention. I had this Illusion Array set up when I first began modifying Dawning Light as a kind of camouflage. So, any Black Ink Clansman weaker than Feudal Lords would not be able to see through its disguise within 500 kilometres, and we can also take others by surprise. Otherwise, the enemy might run away if they spot Dawning Light from a distance, which would be troublesome.”
Yang Kai finally understood, “Martial Aunt has really thought of everything.”
Dawning Light and Dawn were not well known now, but it was conceivable that once they achieved enough success on the battlefield, the Black Ink Clan would learn about Dawn and Dawning Light. When that time came, the enemy would be able to recognize Dawning Light’s unique appearance from afar, and if they knew they were outmatched, they could still make a quick escape.
With the Illusion Array, Dawning Light would look just like any ordinary Squad’s Warship from afar, making it easier to catch their prey.
And that was in fact the case. Just a day after leaving the forward base, Dawning Light suddenly encountered a group of Black Ink Clansmen coming in from the side.
These Black Ink Clansmen were using the rubble nearby as cover. When they appeared, even Dawning Light was caught unprepared.
The many Black Ink Clansmen came together to form a tide that flooded in like a tsunami. Dense Black Ink Clouds made it impossible to tell how many enemies there were or how strong they were.
An ordinary Squad would have fled first to gain a better view of the situation before deciding how to act. However, the ones that these Black Ink Clansmen were confronting was Dawn.
Dawn was so eager at the sight of incoming enemies that the member in charge of steering the Warship was already charging towards them before Yang Kai and Feng Ying gave the order.
This uncharacteristic move clearly surprised the Black Ink Clansmen, stopping the incoming tide.
In just an instant, the distance between them had been closed.
As the offensive arrays buzzed, the Illusion Array was automatically broken, revealing Dawning Light’s fierce appearance to the Black Ink Clan.
The many Black Ink Clansmen were taken aback by the sudden change.
The offensive arrays on Dawning Light were already releasing their might at them, sending powerful attack after powerful attack right into the densest pockets of enemies.
In an instant, a large number of the Black Ink Clansmen were killed.
The ones that survived fled backwards when they saw what happened. This Human Warship that they were ambushing was different from what they expected. Even though it was just one salvo, the might displayed was truly terrifying. It was definitely not something that they could withstand.
Most of those who died were just Low-Rank and High-Rank clansmen. These were essentially the cannon fodder in every battle, and they were generally incapable of killing any Human Masters on their own. However, they were perfect to drain the stamina of the Humans.
When these cannon fodder died, they would also leave dense Black Ink Strength behind, which, when built up enough, would transform into thick Black Ink Clouds.
While the Human Race always shied away from the Black Ink Clouds, the Black Ink Clansmen were just like fish in water inside of them. With the help of the Black Ink Clouds, Black Ink Clansmen could often turn the tide of battle in their favour.
No matter how many Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen they lost, the Black Ink Clan would not feel any grief. As long as the Black Ink Nests remained and they had sufficient resources, then they could breed as many Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen as they wanted.
So, whether they were attacking Human territories or fighting for the resource harvesting areas, large numbers of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen could be found in every Black Ink Clan Squad. It seemed dying was the only thing they excelled at.
Dawning Light’s single round of fire had wiped out almost all of the Black Ink Clan Squad’s Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Those who survived were undoubtedly the stronger Masters, including the Feudal Lords.
The survivors moved back into the Black Ink Clouds, but they did not flee immediately. Rather, they waited to see whether they could find an opening to strike back.
It was at that moment that a figure crashed into the Black Ink Clouds like a raging storm, causing screams of misery wherever he passed. One by one, the Black Ink Clansmen were cut down like chopped vegetables, exploding into clouds of black blood.
The Black Ink Cloud rapidly grew even denser.
The heart of one of the Feudal Lords hiding inside of the Black Ink Cloud was pounding as he could sense that a Human had indeed charged into the Black Ink Cloud. According to Human strength classifications, this person should be in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, which corresponded to his own strength as a Feudal Lord, but the killing power this Human displayed frightened him greatly.
The auras of his companions faded one by one at an incredible speed. Even though those were not Feudal Lords, it was still terrifying how they were cut down so quickly.
He lurked in the Black Ink Cloud, remaining motionless but feeling anxious.
In the past, the Black Ink Clouds had always been an absolute Forbidden Zone for Humans and none of them would ever dare charge into them to fight.
However, during their last attack on the Human’s Great Pass, the Black Ink Clan discovered that the Black Ink Clouds which used to be their greatest source of protection had completely lost their deterrent effect.
Many of the Humans looked like they had hot chicken blood shot into their veins, rabidly chasing them into the Black Ink Cloud, happily accepting the corruption of Black Ink Strength as long as they could slaughter their enemies.
And, there was another great concern to the Black Ink Clan after the last war. It seemed that after a certain point in time, the Black Ink Clan had not been able to convert any more Black Ink Disciples. Many Black Ink Clansmen had personally seen many Humans being invaded by Black Ink Strength, which would have been enough to convert them in the past, but the results were less than satisfactory.
Combined with the loss of the Black Ink Cloud’s deterrent effect, the Black Ink Clan’s higher-ranking members came to a consensus that the Humans must have come up with some way of resisting the corruption of Black Ink Strength. Otherwise, how could this have happened?
However, the Black Ink Clan had yet to find out what this new method was.
Under Men Xie Royal Lord’s command, many Territory Lords had received orders to uncover the truth no matter the cost, and this struggle for the resource harvesting areas was a good opportunity to ascertain just that. If they could figure out how these Humans were stopping the encroachment of their Black Ink Strength, that would be a great merit which would allow any Black Ink Clansman the opportunity to return to the Royal City’s Black Ink Nest to cultivate and advance into the next realm.
The enthusiasm of countless of these Black Ink Clansmen was part of the reason why the resource harvesting area was so hotly contested.
The Feudal Lord continued lying still in wait inside of the Black Ink Cloud, having the vague feeling that this great merit was perhaps not far from him. That was because this Seventh-Order Master would definitely be corrupted by Black Ink Strength if he rushed into the Black Ink Cloud like that, and when that happened, he would surely be able to see how he resisted it.
Inside the Black Ink Cloud, a full-blown massacre was taking place when suddenly, all went silent.
The Feudal Lord who had been lying in wait inside of the Black Ink Cloud for his opportunity felt his heart clench and his instincts were screaming at him that something bad was about to happen.
In the next moment, he felt a huge suction power coming from where the Human was standing, and the dense Black Ink Cloud was being pulled in, converging towards him.
The Feudal Lord was delightfully surprised at first, but that surprise soon turned to shock.
He was delighted that this Seventh-Order Master had actually taken the initiative to open a portal to his Small Universe to suck in the Black Ink Cloud. Would that not mean that he was going to be converted into a Black Ink Disciple very soon?
But the Feudal Lord was soon anxious because once the Black Ink Cloud was swallowed up, he would have nowhere to hide and would instantly be exposed to the enemy.
Where did this Human come from, and how could he act so recklessly? He had been fighting with Humans for so many years, yet he had never seen anything like this before.
In no more than a dozen breaths, the dense Black Ink Cloud was completely gone, revealing all the bodies hiding in its midst.
And, at the centre of these bodies stood Yang Kai, a cold gaze on his face and a sharp spear in his hand.
Though he had culled many Black Ink Clansmen after charging into the Black Ink Cloud, there were obviously going to be fish who had slipped through the net. The Black Ink Clouds’ ability to interfere with a Human’s sense was so strong that he was unable to find all of the Black Ink Clansmen in a short amount of time.
Irritated, Yang Kai opened his Small Universe and swallowed all of the Black Ink Strength into his body.
The effect was remarkable, as all of the Black Ink Clansmen hidden inside of the Black Ink Cloud were instantly revealed.
Looking around, Yang Kai sneered. Even though many Black Ink Clansmen had ambushed them this time, their average strength was too low. There was one Feudal Lord among them, but the rest were all High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
At this moment, the Black Ink Clansmen who remained alive were all gawking at Yang Kai as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight. The Feudal Lord’s expression was especially shocked. He thought that Yang Kai would turn into a Black Ink Disciple soon, but now it seemed like this Human was completely unaffected by Black Ink Strength.
After all of the Black Ink Clouds were sucked into this Human’s body, he was still not corrupted in the slightest. At once, the Black Ink Clan Feudal Lord thought of something and called out in alarm, “Four Universe Pillars!”
The Four Universe Pillars were not only famous among the Human Race, but also among the Black Ink Clan; after all, it was a precious treasure that could perfectly resist Black Ink Strength. Humans who possessed a Four Universe Pillar simply had no need to fear being corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
The Black Ink Clan had a deep hatred for the Four Universe Pillars, and they were very much concerned about who held one of them. Any cultivator possessing one of the Four Universe Pillars would be noted on record by the Black Ink Clan, and if ever they were to meet any of these Humans, the Black Ink Clan would do whatever it took to kill them.
This Feudal Lord was not someone in a low position, so he had read that special list before; however, there were few people on the list, and all of them were in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
That was because only those in the Eighth Order had the ability to protect a Four Universe Pillar and keep them out of the hands of the Black Ink Clan.
And yet, he had encountered a Seventh-Order Master with a Four Universe Pillar here. This Human was definitely not on that list.
This was an extremely important piece of news, and if he could bring word of this back, it would definitely be a merit not much lower than finding out how the Humans were able to resist the corruption of Black Ink Strength now.
With that thought, the Feudal Lord opened his mouth, spitting out a cloud of inky blood, hoping to escape from here.
Judging from the power of this Seventh-Order Master’s rampage, he did not believe himself to be his match. If he wanted to live, then he had no choice but to flee immediately.
This was undoubtedly the most correct move to make; however, even after burning his Blood Essence and using a costly Secret Technique, his body remained stagnant. An inexplicable force had seemingly caused the space around him to become extremely viscous, as if he had fallen into a pool of quicksand, making it hard to move.
“Where do you think you’re going?” When that cold voice entered his ears, the Feudal Lord looked over just in time to see the tip of a spear enlarging before his eyes. There, at the tip of the spear, was a terrifying power that had yet to erupt. Once it did, it would surely send him to the next life!
The Feudal Lord roared in terror and his huge body swelled up, releasing his aura without reserve. By struggling with all his power, the confines of space finally grew loose.
But that was not all. He raised his large fist and slammed it in Yang Kai’s direction. With a single blow, he shattered the surrounding space, so it was clear how powerful that punch was.
However, Yang Kai showed no intention of dodging. With a flick of his spear, he pierced through the Feudal Lord’s fist like a hot knife through butter. The Azure Dragon Spear easily penetrated the Feudal Lord’s defence, and more than half of his spear was embedded into the Feudal Lord’s arm.
Expression changing dramatically, the Feudal Lord let out a pained roar.
Yang Kai shook his spear again, and the condensed power at its tip finally erupted, turning the pierced arm into a bloody mist. Fresh ink-black blood gushed from the Feudal Lord’s shoulder as his furious aura withered away.
Before he could do anything else, a towering shadow came down on him.
A few moments later, Yang Kai retracted his spear, but the Feudal Lord seemed frozen in place, motionless with only a shocked glint in his eyes remaining.
Waves of energy from the spear thrust rippled out, sweeping over the Feudal Lord’s body, shredding it into neat, tiny pieces in an instant, like he had been carefully carved up with a knife.
Yang Kai looked around and saw the figures of Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu’s bodies flitting about as Dawning Light’s attacks continued blasting out one by one, and the remaining Black Ink Clansmen were quickly wiped out.
Such a group of Black Ink Clansmen might have caused trouble if their ambush had caught another Squad, but they were hardly enough to hold up against Dawn.
After the end of the fight, it took them a bit of time to clean up the battlefield. These Black Ink Clansmen might not have many good things on them, but any resource was considered invaluable to the Humans on the Black Ink Battlefield.
After returning to Dawning Light, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged, contemplating the successes and failures of their latest skirmish.
His opponent was nothing worth mentioning, but since advancing into the Seventh Order, this was only the third time that Yang Kai had fought. He was able to somewhat familiarize himself with his increased strength now and was confident that he would do better the next time he encountered an opponent.
After recuperating in place for an hour, Dawning Light resumed its mission.
In the coming days, Dawning Light was able to get a catch every few days. With the help of the Illusion Array’s disguise, the Black Ink Clan mistakenly took Dawning Light as an ordinary Squad-level Warship; however, once they jumped out of hiding, it was too late for them to escape.
As many as 20 Feudal Lords died at Dawn’s hands.
After going through fight after fight, Dawn Squad became more adept at working with each other. Once they encountered an enemy, they would do what was necessary without needing someone to order them, and their achievements soon surpassed those of any ordinary Squad by far.
One day, Dawn was in the middle of cleaning up a fresh battlefield. Just an hour earlier, Yang Kai and his men had encountered another Black Ink Clan Squad. They were not considered weak as those in the Feudal Lord rank alone numbered 3, but as usual, they were completely wiped out after the fight.
It was at that moment that Feng Ying suddenly appeared and called out, “Leader, there is a nearby Squad that requires our assistance!”
Yang Kai turned his head towards her and saw that she was holding the crystal orb-like communication device that Cha Hu handed them. At that moment, the crystal orb was glowing crimson, and the light gathered into an arrow-like symbol that was pointing in a certain direction.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes. There was no way he could not tell that Squad had already reached the critical point between life or death after seeing this message; otherwise, the crystal ball would not react this way.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai immediately shouted, “Gather up! We have an emergency!”
Those who were still cleaning up the battlefield immediately converged towards Dawning Light, and within a few breaths, the Warship turned into a stream of light and sped towards the direction the arrow was pointing at.
Yang Kai had no idea whether any other Squads had picked up on the distress call, but the Squad that was calling for help clearly had to be in a bad situation. There might not be any other Squads nearby, so Dawn may be their only hope.
Their fellow clansmen were in grave danger, so Dawning Light pushed its speed to its limit without regard for power consumption.
Within an hour, a Universe Fragment came into Yang Kai’s view.
At that moment, bits of light could be seen flickering at a certain spot around the Universe Fragment. It was clearly the light coming from Human Secret Techniques.
Beyond that glow, dense Black Ink Clouds were threatening to envelop them.
There were seven or eight Human cultivators madly wielding their powers, trying to stop the Black Ink Clan’s advance, but no matter how hard they tried, the enemy’s momentum was unstoppable. Once the Black Ink Clouds fully enveloped them, they would surely be corrupted by the Black Ink Strength.
And, if they were to be corrupted by Black Ink Strength in such a place, they would undoubtedly be converted into Black Ink Disciples.
These cultivators must have been part of a Squad, but their numbers were clearly off. Some members must have been lost already, and Yang Kai did not see their Warship either.
In this case, there was only one possibility, and that was that the Squad’s Warship had lost its functionality, or simply been destroyed.
Without the Warship’s protection, the Human cultivators would surely be at a disadvantage as they faced off against the Black Ink Strength, and that was how they ended up in such a desperate state.
He did not see any Black Ink Clansmen, so they must be hiding inside of the Black Ink Clouds, constantly pushing their Black Ink Strength closer to the Humans.
Every now and then, attacks would appear, directed at the Humans, keeping them trapped here with no opportunity to use the Universe Transference Law to escape.